Many pundits talk about Democrats taking advantage of the "Black Vote". The implication is that since blacks vote for Democrats on the order of 95% or more, Dems never really have to give them any concessions. They just keep stringing them along with empty promises.

Today, I was reminded that Republicans do just about the same thing to Libertarians. To wit, John Hawkins:

Oh and don't even talk to me about the Libertarians -- it's easy to talk about cutting the budget down to size when you're out of power, aren't going to be in power, and don't ever have to answer to the voters.

For the major elections, when 2004 rolls around, Bush will not be my only choice. In 2000, I noticed more than half a dozen different names on the ballot. This time around there could be even more. Hell, I've always got the write-in space. I know what some of you are probably thinking, "Go ahead. Throw your vote away." Well, why shouldn't I? The Republicans are acting like they don't need it.

Thanks. I'm truly flattered.

(Permalink woes? Third item entitled: "J'accuse libertarians")

You can only imagine how frustrated I have become, with the attitude of businesses today. Some retailers, namely Best Buy have such an inflexible policy toward their customers, I am astonished that they can make any money, long term. My sister and I had a horrible Best Buy experience a few years ago. She took the brunt of their abuse, and hasn't shopped there since. I was a bit more forgiving, and gave them a second chance. Now they have blown that.

My experience started out with my receiving a gift from my mom. She laid out over $100 and purchased the Godfather trilogy for me for my birthday. Last night, I opened it for the first time. I peeled off the cellophane, and opened up the first disk to pop into the DVD player. Right away, I noticed deep scratches in the disc, and thought to myself that it probably wouldn't make it through the movie. I was right. About an hour into the movie, it started skipping, and the audio was jumping around. After about two minutes, it only got worse, and then shut off completely. I removed the DVD from the player, and tried to return it to Best Buy today.

Typically, with product defects, you expect them to just give you an exchange, and ship the old one back to the manufacturer. Nope. I get the full Monty. "Do you have a receipt?" he asks me. I don't and inform him of this. He asks, "Can you get one?" Now, you would think that if had the receipt, or could have gotten one, I would have brought it with me. I told him I couldn't get one, and that it was a gift. He tells me that there is nothing they can do without a receipt.

I ask to speak to the manager, and Lila Sharp comes over. She is the operations manager. She told me the exact same story that her clerk did. "Our policy is 14 days, and we need a receipt." I told her that I didn't open the movie until I wanted to watch it, which was last night. I still had the cellophane wrapper and everything. She informed me that store policy is that she cannot exchange it.

Then, she insulted my intelligence by telling me it was because of copyright law. Lila implied that if they didn't ask for a receipt, people could exchange pirated movies as defective. I think she figured I was part of some underworld crime syndicate, that counterfeits box sets to the Godfather. Apparently, we manufacture not just the disks, but the custom cardboard cases, and cellophane too. Apparently I even went so far as to stick the adhesive promo label on the cellophane, just to fool wayward Best Buy clerks into exchanging it for the real mccoy.

I said "Copyright law? You're telling me you cannot take this back because of copyright law?!" She saw that I wasn't buying that reasoning, so she fabricated another. She told me that I could have had the DVD for six months, and that the damage could be from "wear and tear". I guess there are people out there that watch the Godfather over and over again until the disk wears out. Although they cannot keep track of the receipt, they somehow amazingly manage to keep the cellophane wrapper looking like it came off the box just yesterday.

Lila did give me their 888-BestBuy telephone number, and the hidden option #4, where people can register a complaint. I called and spoke to Kara, who reiterated what the manager had told me, save the "copyright law" excuse. I had thought the incident with my sister was an isolated one, and local to that store only. Today I find out that Best Buy's perceived zero-tolerance policy is that people are presumed to be criminals until they show proof of purchase.

I will give Best Buy one consolation. I do have a bad habit of not opening my DVDs until I watch them. Then again, I think a lot of people are that way. In hindsight, I should probably open all my Best Buy purchases at the checkout counter, lest my miniscule window of return opportunity pass by before I leave the store. I can tell you one thing, as long as I'm stuck with this $100 set of cheap coasters, I won't be going back in there.

Editor's note: In case any Best Buy lawyer stooges are reading this, and don't understand what libel is, every statement I have made is a verifiable fact.

Where have I seen this before?

Oh yeah, right here.

Talk about filling a niche market. CBS is bringing back Big Brother next week for yet a fourth season. In case you cannot remember, Big Brother is the show that traps a group of strangers in a house and videotapes the three months of monotony that ensues. It is also the show that destroyed Julie Chen's credibility and career.

CBS used to offer Big Brother feeds for free on the internet, but started charging $25 for the privilege last year. From what I hear, they actually raked in a lot of dough. Don't worry too much if you don't have the cash, because CBS will be airing the series three times a week starting July 8th.

Personally, I don't think Big Brother will be a smash hit this year, but it should be profitable. These shows are notoriously low rent, and are sure to raise more money than summer reruns would. Still, I could do without it.

Here are some other shows (past and present) that I could do without:

M*A*S*H - Watchable, and sometimes laughable, but Mike Ferrell and Alan Alda just make me SO MAD. It didn't help that the show killed off most of the major players, and ran 4 times longer than the actual Korean War. Watch the movie instead.
thirtysomething - You just know that anything with that red-haired doofus is going to suck.
90210MelrosePlace - Weren't these the same damn show?
Fame - AHHH! The show has been off for 15 years, and I still cannot get that song out of my head. What's worse is that they are bringing it back to torture another generation!
Cop Rock - Do I really need to give a reason? I wasn't going to include this show because it had such a short run, however, I wanted to remind everyone of it's suckage lest we repeat history. (like we're doing with Fame)
One Day at a Time - One word: Bonnie Franklin.
Saturday Night Live - Had this show run 1975 to 1984 it wouldn't have made my list. After Eddie Murphy left, it was all down hill.
Donahue - Phil Donahue doesn't suck as much for his politics as he does for ushering in a non-stop phase of day-time talk show mania. During the 80s and 90s, talk shows were so plentiful that sets actually came pre-fabricated and stocked with mindless audiences just waiting for the applause light to turn on. All you had to do was "insert host here" and start the cameras.
Whose line is it anyway - It should have been called, how to fuck up a perfectly good Brit-com. I'm amazed that ABC could sink such a lovable British show, especially considering it featured many of the same players. That must have been the 'Disney' ingredient.
CSI: Anything - Lets rip off a hideous show, Law and Order, and combine it with another hideous show, Vega$, and see what happens.
Dateline NBC - Lets show how easily GMC pickups explode in a normal car accident when explosives just happen to be strapped to the gas tank.
Dragnet - This was actually a watchable show, up until the "Blueboy" episode.
JAG - HAHAHAHA!!

I'm sure I've forgotten several. I tried to touch on network shows only. Otherwise I'd have to list Jackass, and just about every show on MTV.

Four. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

Last week, the Million Mom March had a shindig on the front steps of West Palm Beach City Hall to commemorate national ASK Day, a day designed to remind parents to ask whether guns are in the houses where their children play.

Four people came.

Are federal agents doing their best to preempt another terror attack? Some people think they are. A bunch of Muslims were rounded up here in Northern Virginia, and indicted for being part of a "Virginia Jihad Network". The Washington Post reports that the 11 men have been charged with conspiring to violate the Neutrality Act; that is, they are accused of preparing to attack foreign nations with which the U.S. is at peace. Namely, they were said to be training to drive India from the Kashmir pass.

The problem I have with the indictment, is that the evidence seems rather weak.

Specifically, the men are accused of practicing small-unit military tactics on private property in Spotsylvania County and using paintball games, weapons and equipment to simulate actual combat "in preparation for violent jihad," the indictment says.

Four hundred rounds, and the media goes beserk. Is that all it will take to launch a war against India, a nation with nucular capability?

I appreciate the efforts of our men and women in law enforcement, and I know how difficult it is to take preemptive action. However, I really hope that they have more evidence than this article suggests.

Dimwitted criminals are nothing new. But attempting to rob a pharmacy with only your finger is a new one on my list. ABC News reports on the masked bandit:

A masked man tried to rob a pharmacy armed only with his fingers. Police say the man formed his gloved hand into the shape of a gun during the alleged stickup.

A witness says the suspect didn't bother to hide his pointed finger under a jacket or anything.

Although I'm not sure if there is a direct connection, I will note that actor John Ritter used a similar ploy to some success, in the comedy Real Men.

The UK Telegraph reports that the European Commission is drafting some new laws that are rife with feminazism. This shouldn't be surprising, considering these are the same people that closed down children's playground swings. Given that the feminazi rules threaten to spread widespread government censorship, I'm guessing their new constitution won't have a free speech protection. The Telegraph notes:

Advertisements that affront "human dignity" by demeaning women would be prohibited under proposals being drafted by the European Commission.

Television programmes would also be censored to ensure there was no promotion of gender stereotypes... Tabloid newspaper "Page Three" pictures would also be threatened.

Notably, advertising wouldn't be the only creative outlet that was subject to censorship. I can't wait until they sit down and start watching Brit-coms to filter out the parts that are an affront to "human dignity." Hell, what is comedy if it isn't an affront to someone's dignity? You can bet that a show like The Sopranos would be banned. While they say that banning London's "gentlemen's clubs" would be going to far, you can bet that it is on the radar.

The feminist movement is nothing new, but in Europe it actually stands a decent chance at becoming law. After all, look at what else they've passed.

Mrs Diamantopoulou [the queen feminist] has so far succeeded in pushing through legislation such as a "Vibrations Directive" limiting the time farmers can spend on tractors and a "Noise Directive" restricting decibel levels in the workplace.

Europe is turning into a wonderful socialist experiment, isn't it? I can hardly wait to see what their hashed out constitution looks like. For their sake, I hope that some of those countries, England especially, have the authority sovereignty and the fortitude to walk away from it.

(link via Dizzy Girl)

UPDATE: Sky News notes that tabloid nudity seems to have escaped EU censorship. (This time) My guess is they figured out they were making their power grab too soon.

I want to reiterate my policies. If you like an image you see here, and want to use it someplace else, you MUST download it and upload it on your own server. Unless you have explicit permission from me, or are using the link button, you MAY NOT hotlink my images. I pay monthly hosting fees, and bandwidth is quite expensive. Hotlinking images only makes it more expensive for me to run this site.

Right now there are two message forums that are hotlinking my images. This is one (not safe for work anymore). This is the other one (member only). I would ask that the administrators of those forums, or the users that hotlinked to my images, PLEASE remove the hotlink.

I understand that sometimes you find a cool image, and want to use it. But you need to understand, that from my point of view, you are costing me more money. Next time try providing a hyperlink to this site, instead of hotlinking my images directly.

UPDATE: The first link has removed the hotlinks to my images. Not sure about the second one. Again, I don't mind people downloading images and hosting them on their own, but please don't expect me to pay for it for you.

Yikes! I've been linked by The Twins. Now I kinda feel guilty about my Pulp Jedi post.

In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not the only one posting on my site any more. I have to take a few weeks off after the Independence Day holiday, because I've got some book learnin' to do for work. I asked my friend Lope to fill in for me while I'm away. Since he's never blogged before, he's been posting here and there to try to get the feel of things. If everything works out ok, and he survives the blogger hazing probationary period, I may even ask him to stay on here permanently.

His politics tend to contrast with mine, but we've learned to live with our differences. It helps that we can embrace our common interests in guns. When that doesn't work, we resort to armageddon style standoffs of mutually assured destruction.

When it comes to this web site, I expect that you will all show him the same respect that you show me. Actually, I shouldn't wish that on anyone, so I want you all to actually be nice to him instead.

UPDATE: I should add that Lope is short for Interloper. In this case, it seems rather fitting. (grin)

If you like politics like I like politics, then you love the idea of General Wesley Clark getting into the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination, whether you are to the left of Pat Leahy, the right of Rick Santorum or somewhere in the middle. In order to be elected President, a nominee has to run against type. This means a Republican has to appear to be compassionate and inclusive (sound familiar?) and a Democrat has to appear to be militarily and fiscally sensible.

General Wesley Clark doesn't have to answer charges of being "weak on the military" and his stay at Oxford studying economics and then later serving as a Special Assistant to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Ford administration should serve him well in establishing "fiscal credibility".

As to charges he has waited too long to enter the race for the Democratic nomination, Clinton didn't run the first time until October. General Wesley Clark has plenty of time and he has said he is considering seriously a movement to draft him.

I predict General Wesley Clark will enter the race and win both the nomination and the Presidential race. I could be wrong but I've been right every Presidential Election since 1984 (despite my best efforts to help defeat Bush II.) It will be a tough bitter battle for the Democratic nomination but is doable with his friend Bill Clinton maneuvering behind the scenes. It will be a tougher battle for President against a man who has already been successful in defeating two candidates with better military records and a better grasp of economics (McCain and Gore).

Some folks are already worried about General Clark's political ambitions and are attempting to smear him in a similar manner to McCain four years ago. I'm still pissed about Bush's Evangelical Right Stooges savaging of McCain and it will be a long time before I worship THEIR Jesus, as a result. Jesus can't be too happy that they are more interested in making Political Enemies than carrying out The Great Commission but that's between he and them. I digress.

Republicans will make much of Clark's association with Bill Clinton but this will only serve to remind moderates of better economic times and the Clinton-hating Republicans won't vote for any Democrat anyway. Expect to see scurrilous attacks on Clark's military record from the Chicken Hawk Right from which Bush will cleverly distance himself, while enjoying the bounce he gets from it.

Also expect to see some Fundementalist types (rural and South) make much of his being born a Jew, raised a Baptist and now a Catholic convert. In the churches I grew up in, he'll be a shoo-in for Revelations' AntiChrist Role and hell awaits the Good Fundemental Christian that votes for the AntiChrist (although, if they believe the AntiChrist is in God's Plan for the world, shouldn't they get behind this Prince of Darkness?) The "First-A-Jew-Now-A-Catholic" thing may also cost him a few votes with the bigots of America. They are still out there, marching in the woods and stockpiling weapons (Hey Rich!).

Ultimately and despite conservative's lock on cable and radio, more Americans identify with Democrats than Republicans. Republicans (and Republiterians) have spent over 20 years trying to make "Democrat" and "Liberal" synoyms, which makes the numbers favor them because more Americans identify as conservative than liberal. Solid moderate candidates like Bill Clinton and General Wesley Clark are difficult for Republicans to "smear" as liberal and they reach across a broader spectrum of political thought.

Of course, the wildcard in all this is the effect the Green Party will have on the process. I will write on this more in the future as I address Alternative Voting Procedures.

It's hard to believe this guy is the same guy that tried to overnourish the puking tree in my front yard. I don't always agree (cough - okay, I never agree) with his Republiterian Principles but his consistent day-in day-out labor in updating the site has reaped rewards in both community and contacts. Equally important, the evolution of his views has helped shape my own views. (For instance, we both own a boatload of guns but have very different ideas about gun violence and gun laws.)

Keep up the hard work Steve and I'll be able to say "I knew him when.." Actually I'm already saying that but for different reasons. [grin].

For your weekend enjoyment, I dredged up an oldie but goodie: The Top 10 Things We Want To Hear Samuel L. Jackson, "Jedi Master, Mace Windu," say in the Star Wars Prequels.

10. You don't need to see my goddamn identification, 'cause these ain't the motherfuckin' droids you're looking for.
9. Womp rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'll never know, 'cause even if it did, I wouldn't eat the filthy motherfucker.
8. This is your father's lightsaber. When you absolutely, positively, have to kill every motherfuckin' stormtrooper in the room...accept no substitutes.
7. If Obi-wan ain't home then I don't know what the fuck we're gonna do. I ain't got no other connections on Tattooine.
6. Feel the Force, motherfucker.
5. Now don't be all down on the DARK side of the force, you know what I'm sayin?
4. You sendin' the Fett? Shit, Hutt, that's all you had to say!
3. Yeah, Chewie's got a hair problem. What the brother gonna do? He's a wookie.
2. Does Jabba the Hutt look like a bitch?
1. Hand me my lightsaber... it's the one that says, "Bad Mother Fucker."

Virginia Tech has formally been invited to join the ACC, and the University President has announced that he will accept. ESPN reports that VT will not wait until Miami makes their decision on Monday, and will go ahead and accept the offer.

Indeed, I received a lengthy email (sent to all registered alumni) from University President Steger. In the email, he intimated that he must act in the best interests of the University and the State. Virginia Tech is one of only about 40 schools in the nation that has a profitable football program, and he intends to keep it that way.

Virginia Tech is now headed to the Atlantic Coast Conference, an organization of some of the nation�s most prestigious universities. Today we have received the formal offer of membership, which we will accept. We know that this affiliation will be good for our students, athletes, fans, and communities for many years to come.

After launching "safe injection sites", where intravenous drug users will be able to shoot up in safety, Canada has announced that they will also offer "safe prostitution zones" where hookers can safely practice their craft. Since prostitution money is typically used to purchase drugs, it only makes sense to locate the zones very close to each other.

The government will provide free condoms and the back seat of a '77 Camaro where hookers will be able to freely conduct "business". They will be immune from prosecution, as long as they stay in the car. Canadian officials claim that the program will cut down on sexually transmitted diseases, as well as drum up demand for their new "safe injection sites".

White House drug czar John Walters offered up heavy criticism of Canada's plan, and claimed that "drug abuse is a deadly disease."

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien quipped, "I don't know what he's so upset about, eh. One of my staffers came up with the idea while he was at a rock concert down in Detroit."

Sage One, who recently relocated from blog-city to his own domain, has undertaken the task of interviewing fellow bloggers. In a segment he calls "Share Your Wisdom", he probes the minds of webloggers with 10 seemingly inane, but very interesting (to say the least) questions.

First he interviewed Hectorvex, and then Venomous Kate. Today he offers up this particular interview of someone he says has a "unique sense of humor". If you like to read this site, you may want to take a look at this interview. Remember, the third time is always a charm.

Fox News notes that with all the big name book sellers out there, Americans might actually start reading again. I must admit, that I certainly don't get to read as much as I like.

Hillary Clinton's ghost written book is ranked at Number 7 on Amazon's best seller list. Naturally, it has slipped a bit now that it has been out a while. What I find humorous is the "Customer's Advice". (emphasis added)

- 12 people recommended The Clinton Wars in addition to Living History

- 24 people recommended Hillary's Scheme: Inside the Next Clinton's Ruthless Agenda to Take the White House instead of Living History

Another oldie but goodie politi-book is Neal Boortz' The Terrible Truth about Liberals.

Here is today's Friday Five.

1. How are you planning to spend the summer?
- Working, unfortunately.

2. What was your first summer job?
- Scooping ice cream at High's. I was 14.

3. If you could go anywhere this summer, where would you go?
- You mean besides volunteering to be a councilor at that nude teenage summer camp? I'd probably go to Europe. I want to see it one last time before they ruin it.

4. What was your worst vacation ever?
- Well, there was that time my parents tried to leave me at the rest stop. It didn't ruin the vacation, but it almost ruined my day.

5. What was your best vacation ever?
- It's hard to say. Between Mardi Gras, Oktoberfest, my various travel destinations, and the numerous Buffett concerts, who can pick just one. Overall, I'd say Oktoberfest was a good time.

It looks like many of those skulls full of mush that lined up in droves to see Disney's Finding Nemo have started flushing their fish down the toilet. While they are hoping to share with their pets the playful "Nemo" experience, they are actually sending them to watery graves. The LA Times notes:

Margie Valadez, a dispatcher for RotoRooter, is used to calls from upset customers whose watches, rings or even cell phones were accidentally flushed down the toilet. Lately, though, she's been taking calls from hysterical parents asking if plumbers can rescue fish.

"I hear kids crying in the background," she said. "But there's nothing we can do. They're gone."

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the Jordan school board is going to allow employees with concealed carry permits to carry firearms in schools. I'm a bit surprised that the gun grabbers haven't hit the national media with this one.

Personally, I think it is a great idea. The natural reaction for most people is: "Have our schools gotten so bad that teachers and administrators need to carry guns?" My question is, why did teachers ever stop carrying guns? I would imagine that there was a point in time when most teachers had a rifle at hand, especially in the frontier west. I'm no scholar, but I presume that it was probably urbanization (and sub-urbanization) that killed the practice.

We can only imagine how many lives would have been saved at Columbine, had a teacher or principal had a gun handy.

(link via Kate)

Taranto misses the beat on today's Best of the Web.

Remember those two trailers found in Iraq that U.S. officials thought were used to make biological weapons? The State Department's intelligence division disagrees, the New York Times reports: "Among the alternative purposes for the trailers that the State Department report described as plausible were that they had been intended for the refueling of Iraqi missiles, one administration official said."

The Iraqis use trailers to refuel missiles? And we suppose they use the missiles to deliver fertilizer to farmers' fields.

I would like to clear up my position on the whole gay sex, Supreme Court decision. Basically, I believe that both sides are in the wrong. On the one hand, you have an archaic Texas law that tries to legislate people's private behavior, and morality. On the other hand, you have a judicial body of nine un-elected people that are trying to legislate morality for everyone.

Rick Santorum, was absolutely correct that this Supreme Court decision, prohibiting morality laws, effectively strikes down all such laws. From a logical standpoint, if states are prohibited from banning sodomy, they should also be prohibited from banning incest, polygamy, prostitution, smoking, drinking, drug use, gambling, and any other sins that do not deprive someone of life, liberty, or property. Acts like driving under the influence, or married men violating their marriage contract, do have an inherent victim, and are not affected.

Just because I am a libertarian, and hold the beliefs that government should not be so intrusive as to regulate every facet of society, including morality and victimless "sins", doesn't mean that I support the Supreme Court delving into local politics. I will reiterate the position I took back in April:

...if you hold the position that our moral views have changed, then it needs to be settled at the ballot box, and not in the courts, because courts cannot dictate morality.

I think Scrappleface offers the best analogy. Taranto also sums it up well when he says, "By short-circuiting the political process... the Supreme Court took away a little bit of Americans' democratic freedom."

By a vote of 6-3, the SCOTUS struck down Texas' ban on gay sex. FOX News reports that Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority, "The state cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime." They also note:

Of the 13 states with sodomy laws, four -- Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri -- prohibit oral and anal sex between same-sex couples. The other nine ban consensual sodomy for everyone: Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia.

Thursday's ruling apparently invalidates those laws as well.

USA Today notes that if VT and Miami defect to the ACC, they would arguably go from being the worst major conference in football to being the best.

Six of the league's 11 eventual teams likely will be ranked in preseason Top 25 polls this August - more than any other conference.

In the five years of the Bowl Championship Series, six of the 10 teams that played in the national championship game would now represent the new ACC. The Big 12 and Southeastern Conference - widely considered the two strongest football conferences in the country - have combined for three teams in the five BCS title games.

So what does all this mean for "the preciousss" BCS? Well, Lee Corso seems to think that it strengthens their hold on NCAA football. With the "major six" being reduced to a "major five", and with stronger conferences at that, Corso contends, "They got no chance, zippo, nada of messing this thing up now. They got what they wanted. They deleted one part of the pie. They all got stronger and eliminated one group."

USA Today isn't so convinced. They note that the voice of BCS opposition may grow louder.

If the Big East loses its BCS bid as expected after the current contract expires in 2005, for the first time schools without automatic access to the BCS (60) will outnumber the schools affiliated with the BCS (57).

(link via Ravenwood's Universe staff writer, Marnette)

Staff writer, Marnette pointed me to a Washington Post article, where UNC faculty council executive committee chair Sue Estroff had this to say about Virginia Tech.

"Our faculty are very concerned about the reputation of Virginia Tech's players and Virginia Tech's team," said Estroff, referring to past off-the-field problems for Virginia Tech's football team, which in 1995 and 1996 included 18 players arrested on charges ranging from rape and involuntary manslaughter to drunken driving. "We are not accustomed to that kind of behavior. You have to remember, [North Carolina Chancellor James] Moeser tried to hire their coach and one of the arguments against him was the record of his players. . . .

"Part of our concern all along has been the way that sports and athletes fit into the university. There is very little tolerance on our campus for misdeeds and misbehavior by athletes. I'm not saying we're any better, but I do know what happens around here when somebody gets into trouble."

Virginia Tech Athletic Director Jim Weaver responded to Estroff's statements.

"We hold the same values that North Carolina does," Weaver said. "There was an incident or two approximately eight years ago, but that's long been history and our people have performed very well both in the community and in the classroom."

And it was Frank Beamer that turned down UNC. You were falling all over yourselves to get Beamer, so don't give me this high school 'I dumped you first' bull shit. Beamer knew that football would always take a back seat to basketball at UNC. Why go into a program that's always going to be second fiddle? You're just upset that with Miami and Virginia Tech being added, you are bumped down to an at best, fifth place finish in your football conference."

Buried in someone's back yard in 1991?? Wasn't that around the time of the first Gulf War?

If this will be the evidence that supports Bush's claim the Iraqis had a Nuclear Program that posed an imminent threat to us, why not just point back to the Nuclear Reactor that Israel blew up in 1981? What's 10 more years on top of these 12?

And what's 22 years to a Giant Tortoise? Imminent, that's what!

I think the Bush administration was smarter to claim the Iraqi's smuggled the bad stuff to Syria. It fulfilled three key objectives:

1) We didn't have to find evidence.
2) We could freely make war on Syria to free their oppressed peoples.
3) The Bush administration would appear to be resourceful rather than deceitful.

I said back when we took down Saddam Hussein that if Bush would invade and free one more country - any country - I'd vote for him in 2004. The violent liberal in me wants to try Democracy at Gunpoint (DAG). It could work. America is at a time and place in History where we can spread Democracy (or else!) and free the people of the world from Dictators and Repression. I'm not certain however that the President is committed to this vision he himself espoused in an effort to garner support for invading Iraq shortly before doing so.

Stewart Mandel makes a pretty good case for Virginia Tech and Miami telling the ACC to stick it where the sun don't shine.

Ordinarily, I'm inclined to agree. However, if anyone leaves, I want VT to be with them.

Eat your heart out Hans Blix

Mahdi Obeidi told U.S. agents in Iraq he was ordered in 1991 to hide documents and parts for a centrifuge to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons.

"A box of parts and a bunch of documents were buried under the rose bushes in his backyard," one U.S. official told Fox News.

Obeidi also said he was told the materials should remain buried in the backyard of his Baghdad home until sanctions against Iraq ended, when they would be dug up and used to reconstitute a program to enrich uranium to make a nuclear weapon.

And this one: "They look suspiciously like car parts to me... I'm sure you could dig around in my garage and find parts real similar to those [nuke parts] camophaged [sic] as a washing machine...."

The best part is that they are glued to the Fox News Channel, and are hating every minute of it. It must be the Notre Dame Syndrome*.

* The theory that ND football ratings are so high because half the people tune in just to root for them to lose.

The AP is reporting that Ohio Concealed Carry may be dead. House and Senate lawmakers have until the summer break which starts Thursday to reconcile HB12. However, Ohio Gov. Bob Taft is bowing to law enforcement unions, and holding firm that he will not sign a bill that allows people to carry concealed in their vehicle, or use concealed carry to protect their children.

House Bill 12 passed by a veto proof majority, but the Senate seems inept in signing a draft of the bill that would do the same. Unless they come up with something by tomorrow, concealed carry may be a dead issue.

House CCW Supporters
(click to enlarge)

(Photo via OFCC)

Things like this worry me. When I read about them, I think about getting out of the weblog business altogether. It's distasteful. It's petty. It's completely unnecessary. Leave it to a petty cat fight to ruin things.

Basically, it drums up some questions. I mean, what if someone sets their sites on me, and sends an anonymous email or fax to my boss to get me fired? Who knows, perhaps that is how I lost my last job.

Bogie provides an update on the Vast Libertarian Conspiracy, and reminds me that I reported about it back in April. Libertarians are planning to secretly take over an entire state, like New Hampshire. Granted it'll be a small state, but the game plan is the same one the liberals used to conquer California and most of the west coast.

I'm sure we'll have the usual redistricting battles to fight, because they'll want to lump us all into a single congressional district. That is why I proposed living in mobile homes, so that we can keep on the move. So far, that idea has gone over like a lead zeppelin.

UPDATE: On a side note, Elizabeth McKinstry, vice president of the Free State Project says, "Everyone thinks of Libertarians as the angry white male, obsessed with taxes, taxes, taxes, guns, guns, guns."

I wonder how people get that idea? [whistling]

"Throughout my public service career, I have been a strong supporter of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the rights that it grants." -- Ohio Republican (RINO) Gov. Bob Taft, expressing his "strong" support for the Second Amendment, in a letter to the editor of the Toledo Blade.

A few paragraphs later, Taft claimed that Ohio's conceal carry House Bill 12 (which passed the house by a veto-proof majority) is "unacceptable". He thinks that people traveling with children should not be able to safeguard them with a firearm. He also thinks that any concealed carry bill should not be in effect once you get into your car.

The trouble with Taft, and other politicians goes beyond the scope of guns and the Second Amendment. The notion that the inalienable rights protected by the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution are somehow "granted" by the government, is exactly what is wrong with today's politicians and judges. This is exactly the type of attitude that caused Supreme Court Justice O'Conner to say that the University of Michigan has a "compelling interest" to violate the 14th Amendment.

Even though the First Amendment says "Congress shall make no law...", a federal judge somehow held that the campaign finance reform provision that makes it illegal to criticize a politician 60 days before an election is perfectly legal.

In New Jersey, the Democrat party looked for a "friendly" judge to 'interpret' a law that said "51 days" to actually mean "30 days" when they needed to make a ballot switcheroo. Nobody seemed to care what the law said, or that absentee voting had already begun.

We've gotten to the point where the Constitution doesn't mean anything to anyone anymore. Judges, who hold very little accountability, simply change the law to fit their situation on a whim.

An interview, that is.

Last month, when the hideous Assault Weapons Ban renewal was in the news, CNN took some heat over not knowing the difference between an automatic rifle and a semi-automatic rifle. That time, CNN's shoddy reporting, conveniently furthered the gun grabber position.

Today, CNN makes another blunder when they picked up the AP story about Harold McCord. Harold McCord is the three strike felon who used a fake gun made of toilet paper, cardboard, and news print to break out of a Washington court house.

CNN added this photo and caption to the AP wire story:

The cardboard fake gun, left,
resembles a 25 mm handgun, right.
(screenshot)

A 25 mm handgun? That would certainly be a bitch to shoot. I realize that knowing the difference between metric and standard can be a problem for some people, but any idiot should be able to look at that pea shooter and know that a 25mm round isn't coming out of the end of it. They do have an idea of what 25 mm is, right?

Am I being picky? Perhaps. However, I think that CNNs constant mistakes represent an underlying ignorance of firearms. If they have absolutely no knowledge of firearms, how can we expect them to accurately report on the subject? This may be just an honest mistake, but when you add up all the other honest mistakes, you have to assume CNN is either ignorant, does half-assed reporting, or is out to deliberately mislead people (as was the allegation during the AWB flap).

UPDATE: I get results, baby. An hour after I posted this, CNN realized the error and updated their page. Apparently they still have no clue what type of pistol is pictured, because now they simply say that it "is shown by Tacoma authorities."

I never expected this. CNN is reporting that in the ACC/Big East tangle, Miami and Virginia Tech are in; Syracuse and BC are out. This makes no sense to me. World crashing down. Dogs... cats... sleeping together.

I don't really understand the logic behind such a move. That would give the ACC eleven schools. There would presumably be no divisions, and no conference championship game for football. In addition, they already have the Florida and Virginia TV markets, with FSU and UVA. The entire reason for inviting BC and Syracuse had to do with expanding the reach of the ACC. Under this scenario, all they do is expand down the Florida coast a little bit.

I guess the only option that could confound me more would be for them to use the 'nuclear option' and just merge the two conferences completely. That would create a 17 team super conference that would be hell bent on global domination. With 17 teams, their coalition could unilaterally control NCAA football and basketball.

(Photo via CNN)

UPDATE: As for my personal thoughts on this, I think VT should do whatever Miami does. If this is for real, VT should go if Miami goes, and stay if Miami stays. You know the old saying: When in Rome, do what Miami does.

This week's Xtra Large Carnival is over at Single Southern Guy. You should head over there and check out all the good stuff.

For those of you that are keeping score, I forgot this week. That brings my overall record to 28-12.

Since I have already mentioned my personally developed method for humidor humidification, I figured I'd offer up some of my expertise on the initial 'priming' of humidors. A collection of fine cigars can cost quite a pretty penny. With handmade cigars costing anywhere from $2 to $20 for the average stick, a full humidor can literally hold several hundred dollars worth of tobacco goodness. It is therefore very important that you take the time to care for your inventory properly.

When you first buy a humidor, and every year or so as part of routine maintenance, you need to prime it so that it will properly hold the humidity. Out of the 5 humidors that I've purchased or owned, only one has ever included instructions on how to properly prime it.

The tools you'll need are your humidor, of course, a supply of distilled water, and a clean sponge. Tap water and regular bottled water have impurities that will clog your humidor and leave hard water build up and stains. Distilled water, which is pure H20 only costs about $0.59 a gallon, and is the only water you should ever use. Similarly, your sponge should be absolutely clean. Try to use a new sponge, or have a few sponges that are solely dedicated to humidor maintenance. You don't want your cigars soaking up odors from last night's meat loaf, so leave your kitchen sponge on the back of the sink where it belongs.

Take your humidor, and make sure that it is empty. Pour about a half a cup of distilled water into the humidor, until it puddles up in the bottom about a quarter to half an inch. Use your sponge to completely soak the wooden inside of the box, including the lid. The Spanish cedar will absorb the distilled water, and swell slightly. Also coat any removable trays or inserts that came with the humidor. Don't leave the removable pieces in the humidor, lest they swell up and become jammed, or warp. Once you have a good even coat over all the wooden areas, pour the water out. Set the humidor upside down, or on one side so that it can drip dry. You don't want standing water in the humidor, so wipe out the excess with the sponge if necessary.

Let the humidor sit open for a half hour to an hour, or however long it takes to dry or evaporate. Once the inside of the humidor is dry, take your damp sponge and coat the inside of the humidor again. You should add water to your sponge if necessary, but you don't need to pour water into the humidor again, like you did the first time. Once the wood is coated, let the humidor sit open again, until it is pretty much dry to the touch. If you had any internal shelves or dividers, give them the same treatment.

Next, take your sponge and make sure it is damp, but not dripping wet. Put the sponge on a plate, and set the plate in the humidor. You may use a plastic bag, or something else waterproof, but it is very IMPORTANT that you do not let the wet sponge touch the wood. BEWARE that if the humidor is still wet, or that if you let the wet sponge directly touch the wood, you could end up with some mold or mildew on the inside. If you have any internal shelves or dividers, wait for them to dry, and put them back into the humidor so that they don't touch the sponge. They may still be swollen, so don't force them. Close the humidor lid, and let it sit overnight, or for about 12 hours. The water vapor should soak into the pores of the wood and condition it overnight.

Remove the sponge and plate, and inspect the humidor. Fill your humidification device with distilled water or solution [a mix of Propylene Glycol (PG) and distilled water], and put it into the humidor. Also put a hygrometer in there, and add your cigars. Most humidors come with an analog hygrometer, which is sometimes not very accurate. You may want to invest in a digital hygrometer. Keep an eye on the humidity. If it spikes too much, leave the lid open for a few minutes to let some of it out. If you are using PG solution in your humidification device, it should start to regulate the inside humidity to about 70% which is where you want it.

Reuters reports that the UK is considering a ban on parents smacking (known in America as 'spanking') their children. The notion is that if smacking a child as a form of discipline is made illegal, then abusive parents will simply stop abusing their kids.

"Sweden, which has outlawed smacking, has had no deaths at all over the last 10 years at the hands of parents or carers."

Back in January, I reported on New Yorkers who were supporting a toy gun ban. At the time, the argument in favor of the ban was that "kids can make toy guns look real simply by spray-painting a gun black, or hiding the toy trademark with tape." Earlier this month, lawmakers in Annapolis announced plans for a similar ban on the toys, even though local police have vowed not to enforce it. (So much for garnering respect for the law.)

After an inmate used a "fake gun" to escape from a Washington court room, perhaps states will consider extending the ban to include legal pads, toilet paper, and ball-point pens.

Harold McCord's "gun" was made of cardboard from the backing of legal pads, stuffed with toilet paper and covered with newspaper blackened with ink from a ballpoint pen.

McCord had been sentenced to life in prison without parole, under Washington State's "three strikes law". I wonder if a "fourth strike" means they'll eject him from "the game".

UPDATE: Random Nuclear Strikes notes that McCord was indeed ejected from the game. Analog Kid notes that even though McCord had three strikes and a foul tip, his "family is already in touch with a lawyer and they plan on suing the involved police agencies. They say 'He was a good guy'."

Related articles:
Guns for Tots - 02/07/2003
Taking a Bite Out of Toy Gun Crime - 01/02/2003
Kids don't kill people, 'Violent Toys' do - 12/02/2002
Great Moments in Law Enforcement - 11/21/2002

New York lawmakers today announced plans to ban all internet sales to individuals who aren't "licensed to receive" internet goods and services. The idea was born out of the success of the State's internet tobacco sales ban. The internet tobacco ban was originally touted as a public health measure and a way to keep cigarettes out of the hands of children. But state lawmakers quickly realized the financial windfall, now that consumers had to leave their house to go to actual brick and mortar stores to buy their smokes.

"We were losing literally millions of dollars in tax revenue from internet tobacco sales. I figured, hell, we're losing BILLIONS of dollars of sales tax revenue on all that other stuff people buy online," said State lawmaker Roy Niggardly, chairman of the New York State Ways and Means Committee. "So why not just ban everything."

Sales taxes aren't the only financial gain the state will receive by forcing people to leave their homes to make purchases. Gas taxes, toll bridges, parking, and public transportation revenues are all expected to rise. Although the economic impact for the State of New York is unknown at this time, lawmakers are already thinking of ways to spend the projected budget surplus.

The next time I get pulled over for speeding in Massachusetts, I'm going to report the officer for illegal smoking. Revenge would be more gratifying than going to court and trying to fight the inevitable.

Given that the Boston Globe is reporting that a mere anonymous accusation is enough to get a police officer fired for smoking tobacco, on or off duty, it may be a strategy that pays off.

Wayne Jeffrey, a seven-year veteran of the Fall River force, was fired May 29 after an internal investigation, prompted by an unsigned letter that claimed he smoked tobacco at a party.

That may seem like a silly question, but in some corners of the country it really may be in doubt. Apparently in Waltham Massachusetts, the government owns your kids, or at least, that is how it would appear to one family. Sierra Times writes about two home-schooling parents, Kim and George Bryant. The Bryant's home-schooling has raised the ire of the Waltham Public School system (WPS), who wants them to fill out forms, file paperwork, and administer government mandated tests to assess the children's education level. When the Bryants refused, WPS went so far as to enlist the Department of Social Services (DSS) to seize their children.

When DSS officials and police officers showed up to take the children away, DSS trooper Susan Etscovitz apparently told the Bryants, "We have the legal custody of the children and we will do with them as we see fit. They are minors and they do what we tell them to do." I can only imagine how this would make a parent feel.

That statement seemed to strike a chord with parents across the country, because the DSS and Susan Etscovitz have been deluged by some less than flattering letters. I'm sure some of them even questioned the marital status of Susan's parents. DSS spokesman Denise Montero had this to say to the media: "There have been calls from all over the country, threatening Susan's life and children. We have had to change her phone number and not allow her to check her e-mail account... ...The ultra-conservatives and Bible-thumpers have inundated us with threats and phone calls. No one deserves to be threatened..."

Indeed she is correct. Threats and intimidation are no way to conduct yourself (nor is namecalling for that matter). However, as Sierra Times points out, threats and intimidation seemed to be a justifiable vehicle for the WPS and DSS to use against the Bryants. They noted that "when it comes to government officials, their threats don't count, or are done under the 'color of law'."

So according to the Waltham Massachusetts Department of Social Services, it is justifiable to show up with armed government agents, and use the threat of lethal force to seize children from a home where no abuse has been demonstrated to have taken place. However, it is altogether unjustifiable for the public to express outrage, sometimes through threats and intimidation. That doesn't seem like a very level playing field to me. But then, when has it ever been?

Perhaps we should return to the good old days of one-room school houses, or home schooled chil'ens. I mean, it used to be that if your kid didn't do enough book learnin' in school he simply ended up tearin' tickets at the tilt-a-whirl. Ok, so maybe that isn't the best solution. But have we come so far that you can have your children taken away, merely because you didn't fill out some government mandated forms? It all seems very authoritarian to me. Then again, I'm just a "bible thumper" or an "ultra-conservative".

Taking advantage of the bright spot in his administration's economic meltdown, President Bush refinanced the White House yesterday. A gleeful President Bush inked a deal on a ten year mortgage that offered the lowest lending rate - just over four points.

President and Laura Bush purchased the White House from Bill and Hillary Clinton in 2000 for a reported 191 million dollars. While the President is rumored to have gotten a more favorable interest rate than was being offered at the time, experts estimate the Bush's were making monthly payments of approximately $1,910,000.00 on their thirty year loan, or $1000 for every $100,000 financed.

With a new ten year mortgage at a lower lending rate, the Bush's monthly payment will increase by only about $300,000 but the Bush's will own the White House outright approximately 5 years after President Bush leaves office.

A President of The United States earns about $400,000 yearly but makes up the difference with frequent trip per diems, speech honoraria and White House tours.

The burgeoning Right Wing Outrage Industry burgeoned again when 9th Grader Stanley Twooey announced plans to roll out a Blog taking on Big Government, Tax And Spend Liberals and "freaks who want to have sex with little kids." Mr. Twooey said the recent story about Big Government shutting down a child's lemonade stand was what drove him to enter this sector of the Outrage market. Mr. Twooey said his first big story will be about "that nudey teen camp" but he is still trying to find pictures to run with his story.

The Right Wing Outrage Industry, founded during the Carter Presidency, was largely a monopoly controlled by radio commentator Paul Harvey. In the mid-80's, California rock disc jockey Jeff Christie created a W.C. Fields-Meets-Richard Nixon-like right-wing radio personality called "Rush Limbaugh" that singled out self-proclaimed liberals for derision and denigration. The radio act struck a chord with disaffected fat white conservatives who were left behind during the social progress of America's black and Hispanic underclasses. Jeff Christie took his radio show nationwide in 1987. Since then, Right Wing Outrage has seen double-digit growth every year.

While millions of Americans continue to lose their jobs to a failing economy and cheap labor overseas, Right Wing Outrage grows even bigger. Recent expansions include former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough's new MSNBC television show, conservative radio personality Michael Savage's new MSNBC television show and Fox News Corp Bill O'Reilly's new nationwide radio program.

To add a bit to what Ravnwood posted earlier, Andrew Sullivan writes most eloquently about the politics of homosexuality. I urge everyone to read EVERYTHING he writes about the subject.

Ironically, in his current role as "Gay Conservative", writing to conservatives about homosexuality accomplishes much the same as Andrew blowing a frothy load into one of his friend's asses. It makes Andrew feel really good but is ultimately seed cast onto barren soil, destined for the shitter. Poppers, anyone?

Luckily for us, Mr. Sullivan is much more complicated than one issue so his ultimate failure to make homosexuality a mainstream Republican cause will not be the end of him.

Reuters notes that some bar and restaurant owners in New York are protesting the smoking ban by unplugging lottery machines in their establishments.

Still steamed over a looming smoking ban, some New York bar and restaurant owners hit the state where it hurts -- in the pocketbook.

They unplugged the lottery machines in their establishments.

That is something that New York City Mayor Bloomberg deemed to be a "minor economic issue."

It looks like Dick Gebhardt may not have to overrule the Supreme Court after all. While they struck down Michigan's use of a point system to give "extra credit" to minority applicants, they pretty much said that racial discrimination is ok.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld a controversial affirmative action policy employed at the University of Michigan's law school, but struck down a policy used by the undergraduate school that gave certain racial groups a head start in admissions.

UPDATE: Not that the margins really matter, but MSNBC reports it as 6-3 too. I would watch the video on CNN, but they want $40 just to see it.

It looks like Rep. Lamar Smith and Howard Berman, whose pockets are likely lined with wads of RIAA cash, are planning on using the FBI to act as the enforcer for the RIAA. CNet notes that the lawmakers hope to give the RIAA the full power to use the FBI to enforce their civil copyrights. Thomas C. Greene of The Register takes it a cynical step forward.

There's great economic wisdom in this: by criminalizing such minor misbehavior, the RIAA taps public funds to bankroll its petty squabbles. We should all be so lucky.

Andrew Sullivan makes a case for gay marriage in Time magazine.

We can live and let live. [...]

We needn't all agree on the issue of homosexuality to believe that the government should treat every citizen alike. If that means living next door to someone of whom we disapprove, so be it. But disapproval needn't mean disrespect. And if the love of two people, committing themselves to each other exclusively for the rest of their lives, is not worthy of respect, then what is?

Now, marriage has been around for thousands of years, certainly longer than this nation has been around. The idea of any two persons being required to seek permission from legislators and citizens to enter into the age old practice of marriage is baffling. Even worse, couples hoping to marry are subjected to such nuisances as blood tests, age limits, taxes and fees.

The only reason I can come up with, aside from wanting tax revenue and control over people's lives, is that marriage licences offer some protection against polygamy, fraud, and dead beat spouses. In the day and age of divorce, I can see where having some up front paperwork might make things easier.

Still, the idea that legislators or citizens can prevent any couple who is of sound mind and body from entering into the bounds of marriage is disturbing. It's one thing to tax it, but to deny someone their fundamental right to take a spouse is wrong.

"When I'm president, we'll do executive orders to overcome any wrong thing the Supreme Court does tomorrow or any other day." -- Presidential Candidate and House Representative Dick Gebhardt, discussing how he'd veto the Supreme Court on the issue of Affirmative Action government sanctioned racial discrimination.

Meanwhile, Rev. Al Sharpton offered up the veiled 'Uncle Tom' reference for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas noting, "Clarence Thomas is my color, but he's not my kind."

If you aren't watching HBO, you might want to turn it on. Vitali Klitchko is taking it to Lennox Lewis, and it is only the second round. I thought Gatti-Ward III was exciting a few weeks ago, but this is incredible.

UPDATE: That was a pretty good fight, however I think that overall Gatti-Ward from two weeks ago was an even better contest. If you missed either one, it was your loss. I'm already looking forward to a rematch.

I took a trip to the Bealton gun show today, in search of loopholes. I drove my gas-guzzling, econobox-crushing SUV some 120 miles round trip. I even sped down there and back at breakneck speeds to minimize gas efficiency. Hell, I paid for that gas, it's my right to burn it up.

I didn't really plan on buying anything, but then I walked by a table, where this Romanian SAR-1 was just calling to me. I remembered Kim DuToit's April 15th "Buy a gun to spite Michael Moore Day" purchase, and was absolutely inspired. The SAR-1 is the gun industry's response to the Assault Weapon's Ban that made semi-auto AK-47s illegal. Their desire to ban the gun is exactly what made me want to buy one. Take that Senator Feinstein. Coincidentally, and unbeknownst to me, Kim took his SAR-1 to the range just yesterday.

(click to supersize)

It came with two mags, a 10-round and a 40-round hi capacity pre-ban. It also came with a strap, and a cleaning kit that fits into the stock. I've yet to crack open that cleaning kit. There is either some magic button hidden some where, or you've got to be Mighty Joe Young to get that sucker open. Unfortunately, I bought the rifle (also known as an "Assault Weapon" by the gun grabbers) from a licensed dealer, so I didn't get to take advantage of any gun show loopholes.

The entire package was only $315 +tax. To add further insult to the liberal gun fearing wussys, I used the money from my recent tax refund to pay for it. Having overpaid my taxes last year by $338, it came to just enough to purchase this mean and nasty looking gun. Just think of what I could have bought if I was able to claim those child tax credits like other folks. Perhaps I could have gotten that Bushmaster I've been wanting.

Greetings Stevelings !

Ravnwood asked me to help out for a few days and I have graciously agreed to do so. I understand its hard to get good Bloghelp these days. Hell, its harder to get good Blog, but no one complains about that, right? *cough*

It's been a hectic last coupla weeks for this old friend of Ravnwood's. We moved into the city. As part of my evolution into a full-fledged organic farming and Mother Jones liberal, we made the reverse journey from the suburbs to the city. The savings in commute time should allow us two hours a day more with our children. That leaves 15 minutes a day for you, dear readers. Maybe later I'll post something provocative but right now I need to go turn the steaks on the grill.

-Lope

Kimberly Swygert at No. 2 Pencil chronicles the story of a Maryland high school student that was physically assaulted for displaying a small confederate flag. What is most surprising, is who it was that attacked him.

JT Hunter at Biscuits and Gravy offers up a helping of animal cruelty. It's not beef, but it is what's for dinner.

Jon Ray at PC Watch notes that Canada's gun registration law is so silly, several provinces aren't even bothering to enforce it.

Marc at Quit That was trying to get a photo of the neighbor chick, and ended up with a picture of a very angry mom. Better luck next time.

Phillip Loco at Loco's Lunacy goes back in time, to what might have been said in 1957.

Phillip at PhillipCoons.com celebrates the Navy taking delivery of the latest Super Carrier. The Ronald Reagan will be one of the most technologically advanced of the Nimitz class carriers. She and the George H.W. Bush that is currently under construction will lead the way into the modern age of the Super Carrier.

Any of you who are going to see Terminator 3 when it opens, be sure to look for my cameo. I'll be one of the T-800 models helping Arnold save the day.

(click to supersize)

This will be my big screen debut. I'm excited, but I think they may have picked me more for my muscular resemblance to Arnold Schwarzenegger than for my acting ability. Oh well.

"...that same flag that took me so long to love, respect, and protect, threatens to become a haunting banner of murder, greed, and treason against our principles, honored history, Constitution, and our own mothers and fathers. To become a vulgar billboard, advertising our disloyalty to ourselves and our allies." -- Actor Sean Penn, telling everyone what he thinks of the Stars and Stripes.

Nod to the MRC, who is showing quite the intestinal fortitude by wading through Penn's 4000-plus word incoherent babbling.

"How can we ensure that hard-working middle income families and the low paid get a better deal, except by those at the very top of the pay scale contributing more?" -- Peter Hain, leader of the UK House of Commons.

Peter Hain is concerned that the UK's top tax bracket, a whopping 40%, is affecting too many middle class families. One Labour Party solution being offered is to raise the top tax bracket to 60%, so that more middle and low income families can be moved out of the higher brackets.

An opponent of that plan, "shadow chancellor" Michael Howard, says "They haven't learnt the lessons of the 1970s when under Labour tax levels rose to 98%."

Isn't California just wonderful. Where else can a "low-level Department of Finance functionary" trigger a $4 Billion state-wide tax increase. The LA Times reports that the office of the state controller, with the blessing of Gov. Gray "out" Davis, has tripled the California car tax, because of the "dire financial straits" of the state. While some lawmakers are planning on suing over Davis' liberal interpretation of the law, there is nothing they can do to stop the tax increase because of this little legal tidbit.

The state Constitution prohibits courts from stopping the collection of any tax until the case against it has been fully litigated.

"They know they can collect an illegal tax for at least a few years before the courts can stop them, and that is why they are doing this," [Sen. Tom] McClintock said of the governor and controller.

Where are the tar and feathers when you need them?

That's going to leave a mark.

(Photo via AFP)

How do these photographers get such great photos of people setting themselves on fire? Is it really part of the journalistic code to just stand there and watch?

Caption anyone?

New Zealand farmers have the Kyoto Protocol to thank for the new tax. Live stock in New Zealand are said to produce about half of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions. To meet the Kyoto targets, farmers of sheep, deer, cow, and goats will be taxed on "emissions" from the livestock.

If only short-sighted green weenies could see the economic impact. For starters, higher food prices and less profitable farms. That means less farmers, which could compound the problem of high prices. Fewer jobs has a destructive effect on the economy, which affects everyone. All in the name of cutting "greenhouse" gases, which have never been proven to hurt the environment in the first place. Considering PLANTS are the main consumer of "greenhouse" gases like CO2, the effect could be less vegetation, and an overall negative impact on the environment.

Related articles:
Cold weather blamed for missing global warming goal - 05/07/2003
Satire: Pro-tree environmentalists blast Kyoto - 02/19/2003
Enviro-wackos continue to push agenda - 11/14/2002
Kyoto lowers standard of living - 10/11/2002
Global Warming - EU to regulate bovine flatulence? - 06/04/2002

Uh oh. NASA scientists claim that the Earth and Mars are hurtling toward each other at a rate of 30 km per second. And there is nothing we can do about it.

This is just plain mean.

While Andrew Orlowski and The Register is looking for Google to fix the "blog noise problem", it would appear that competitor, CNET, is relying on bloggers as "borrowed" resources.

Yesterday, Laurence Simon wrote this:

Senator Orrin Hatch's website uses a very impressive set of Javascript code for its menus, developed by Milonic Software. A professional developer's license is $34.99, and a corporate side-wide license goes for $899.00. [...]

So, does Orrin Hatch and his web support staff have a license number, or is he guilty of using unlicensed software himself? There's a "* i am the license for the menu (duh) *" comment in the View - Source, but no license ID number.

Later, a CNET staff writer wrote this:

On Wednesday, Hatch came under attack for allegedly being a copyright pirate himself. His hatch.senate.gov Web site's menus use JavaScript code created by the U.K. company Milonic Solutions. Milonic Solutions charges between $35 and $900 for the right to obtain a license number for its JavaScript menu, but Hatch's site does not include a license number. Instead, this comment appears in the site's HTML code: "i am the license for the menu (duh)."

A Hatch representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

NBC (as does the Naples Daily News) reports that another crime in progress has been stopped. Cops shut down a little girl's lemonade stand, when an eagle eyed neighbor turned her in for selling without a permit. Thanks to the due diligence of this busy-body neighbor, this hardened criminal was stopped from hawking her lemony goodness on the street.

"We didn't have a permit so she called the cops," said six-year old Abagail, referring to the unnamed neighbor, whose heart is presumably two sizes too small. Not to be dissuaded, the pint sized entrepreneur had her mom go down and get a temporary business permit from the city of Naples (FL). The city was even nice enough to waive the $35 (per day) fee.

(Photo via Naples Daily News)

Apparently, however, this isn't a new phenomena. The Liberation Journal notes that neighborhood ice cream men and street vendors have been shutting kids down for years. Apparently they don't like the idea of a kid selling for a nickel, something for which they usually charge two dollars.

"We need more Hispanics on the federal bench, but we should choose people because they have the right record, not just the right last name." -- Presidential Candidate and Senator John Edwards, D-NC.

Ruben Navarrette at Indystar notes that Edwards is a fool and a tad racist "to imply that someone with Estrada's credentials -- Honduran immigrant, honors graduate from Harvard Law School, clerk for a Supreme Court justice -- received an appellate court nomination simply because he is Hispanic."

You can believe what you want. But from looking at his DOJ bio, I can conclude (1) that he must have graduated magna cum laude from Columbia College and Harvard Law School, just because he is Hispanic; (2) that he must have been the Assistant to the U.S. Solicitor General just because he is Hispanic; or (3) that John Edwards is a complete fool. I pick number 3.

Related articles:
Dems to filibuster third minority judicial nominee - 06/17/2003
Daschle Tries to Filibuster Hispanic TV Merger - 05/30/2003
Dems continue to block minority judges - 05/06/2003
Dems Improve Constitutional Judicial Process - 03/06/2003
�Como Se Dice "Liar"? - 02/17/2003

Diligent staff writer's Ken and Marnette sent me this rumor, (and this), which really makes the ACC/Big East fight interesting. Word through the grape vine is that the ACC has agreed to also let Virginia Tech come along with any expansion that takes place. ESPN notes:

The decision to add Virginia Tech was made during a three-hour teleconference of the nine league presidents on Wednesday after it appeared that the original expansion involving Miami, Boston College and Syracuse would not get the required seven votes for approval, a government source with knowledge of the talks said.

As a VT fan, I must say that the notion of going to the ACC is intriguing, it isn't exactly pleasant. Having to play a championship game every year makes the task of getting to 'the big show' even more difficult. Then again, not as difficult as it would be if VT were an independent, or a member of Conference USA.

Related articles:
Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed - 06/18/2003
Will the ACC destroy the Big East? - 05/16/2003

Tulane president Scott Cowen is on a mission to destroy the BCS. He's still miffed about Tulane's having gone 11-0 in 1998 and being banished to the Liberty Bowl where it missed out on millions of dollars. Cowen's plan is to try to unite the teams left out of the BCS, to try to pressure the organization to be more inclusive. If that fails, he could try an anti-trust lawsuit.

While some may think Cowen is just being a sore loser, I think that he has a pretty valid point. The way that the BCS is currently structured, 53 teams are essentially locked out of playing for the NCAA National Championship. To me, that seems akin to holding a Miss America pageant with only 35 states. At best, you could argue that those 53 teams are vying for one of the two at-large bids, but everyone knows their chances of getting one are slim and none. Especially when you throw big money draws like Notre Dame into the mix.

Personally, I wish Cowen the best of luck. I haven't liked the BCS since Virginia Tech had to back into the championship game after going undefeated. If margin of victory hadn't been taken into account (VT won by an average 31 points), once-beaten Nebraska would have gotten to play instead. Of course, margin of victory has been replaced by the "quality win" calculation to discourage running up the score. What many fans are asking, is that if all the mathematical computer formulas are so great, how come they keep changing every year? To fix the system for last year's winner of the "Tough Luck" prize, that's why.

The current BCS system actually penalizes good teams for being good. The reason being that your opponent has a better "strength of schedule" because they are playing you, and you are playing them. Plus, there are the annual scandals. The first BCS season, in 1998, resulted in Florida State being picked over Ohio State because they had a loss earlier in the season. To fix the problem "strength of schedule" was added and more emphasis was put on the computer formulas. Then for the 1999 season, margin of victory was the only thing that kept undefeated Virginia Tech ahead of one-loss Nebraska. Again, the computer formulas were tweaked.

In 2000, one-loss Florida State was picked ahead of one-loss Miami, even though Miami had beaten FSU head to head. Miami claimed they were screwed by the BCS, and the formulas were once again changed, and the "quality-win" component was added. The 2001 blunder had Nebraska playing in the National Championship, even though they couldn't win their own conference. The scandal once again resulted in a change of the BCS computer formulas. Last years BCS put together a good title game, but matched SEC champ Georgia against a mediocre 8-5 Florida State. FSU won the ACC only because of the ineptness of every other team in the conference. It also destroyed the Rose Bowl tradition. When the Orange Bowl selected Iowa and USC, the Rose Bowl was left without a Big-Ten/Pac-Ten match up for the first time since 1947.

Something that might help Cowen wreck the BCS is the current flap between the Big East and ACC. My friends in legal circles tell me that the contractual "out" clause in the Big East pretty much negates any legal claims the member teams have. That means the Big East could be toast in the next year or two. Without the Big East, the BCS would need more re-tooling. There would also be some big name teams like Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia that would join the ranks of the 53 currently locked out of the race for the national title. They certainly won't be as favored as Notre Dame, who has their own special BCS rule.

That means that Virginia Tech could theoretically play for the National Title one year, and be barred from playing in it the next. For those of you that didn't notice, Virginia Tech was ranked 5th in Stewart Mandel's Spring Poll. Mandel also notes that Vick won't necessarily be given the top QB spot. He has to earn it, and right now Bryan Randall isn't giving it up very easily. With either QB, they could be a force to be reckoned with this season.

Related articles:
Will the ACC destroy the Big East? - 05/16/2003
Lowly FSU clinches BCS bid - 11/24/2002
NCAA Football and the BCS - 11/14/2002
The BCS Sucks - 10/21/2002
BCS Looney Bin - 10/19/2002
BCS Tweaks - 9/30/2002

The AFP reports that two women in Paris set themselves on fire to protest the French crackdown on the Iranian armed opposition group, the People's Mujahedeen. This looks like a fabulous idea. Perhaps we can get the Iranian mullahs to torch themselves to counter-protest the students who are calling for them to abdicate. Maybe DPRK dictator Kim Jong Il will follow suit.

Presumably, the only reason French officials extinguished the flames, was so that they could charge the two women with willfully polluting the environment. I'm sure this won't help them meet this years Kyoto numbers. If this form of protest catches on in the U.S., who knows what might be in store.

- Senator Tom Daschle might torch himself to protest the House changing the latest "tax cut" so that it actually goes to people that pay taxes.
- Perhaps Actor Alec Baldwin will self-immolate to keep from having to pack up and move when Bush wins re-election in 2004.
- Self-professed leader of the women's rights movement Martha Burk may torch herself to protest women having been excluded from next year's NFL draft.
- NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg may set himself on fire to raise his approval ratings above 0%.
- California Gov. Gray Davis may serve himself up extra crispy, rather than let the voters do it this fall.
- The white boys club of Presidential candidates, Edwards, Gebhardt, Graham, Kerry, Kucinich, and Leiberman, may decide to do a group burn, rather than face a humiliating defeat to Reverend Al Sharpton.

UPDATE: Laurence Simon has a photo caption contest going...

(Photo via AP)

A recent article in the Washington Post notes that St. Jerome's Catholic Church in Hyattsville is turning down charity money that was raised through the legal sale or raffle of firearms. It strikes me as odd that the church would turn down any money that wasn't raised through illegal or immoral acts, so what's with the bias against firearms?

Church member John Aquilino set up the independent Catholic Sportsmen's Organization, because the church didn't want St. Jerome's name connected to the gun raffle. Even though Aquilino's gun auction has raised a lot more cash than all those bake sales they put on, church administrators have refused to take money from the Catholic Sportsmen's Organization, unless it was raised in a way that they deem worthy.

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, archbishop of Washington, favors gun control... [and] decided that the sportsmen's group could raise money for St. Jerome's only if the events are not "related in any way to the use or sale of guns."

"It's pretty painful," says Peggy Alexander, who now worships over at the Episcopal church. "To be 52 and a lifelong Catholic and to feel so betrayed by the church that you've grown up in -- it's hard." [...]

"We're not looking for a fight with the church," Aquilino says. "But this smacks of the same sort of intolerance and prejudice that racism is built from."

No, says Alexander, "it's a moral issue. It's about putting more guns out on the street. It's against the life-affirming doctrine that the Catholic Church preaches."

What irritates me the most, is the hypocrisy of the whole thing. To wit:

"...he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." -- Jesus Christ, Luke 22:36
"When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace." -- Jesus Christ, Luke 11:21

This week's Carnival is over at Real Women Online. You should head over there and check out all the good stuff. Having a feminino-centric theme, they bumped all us guys down to the bottom, so we could look up their dresses just for spite. I also noticed that their background has a real uteral hue to it, and kind of makes you feel like you're still in the womb. It's a bit creepy.

Acidman is bitching that people who don't offer full disclosure on their site counters can manipulate the numbers and make it say what they want. My problem is that I don't use sitemeter or some high fallutin' third party script. My counter is an internal CGI script, and it only does one thing. It counts.

Sure, I can make it say if I want to. But why would I? As for stats, all of my stats are built into my webhost, and revealing them would require giving out my account password. I'm not about to do that.

Related articles:
All Hail the Hit Counter - 01/19/2003
Big Deal, Larry Simon turns 100,000 - 10/09/2002

What is: Why can't lesbians diet and wear makeup at the same time??

Now, I've got nothing against gays, but I do disagree with this assertion that women wearing makeup is an "archaic and burdensome sex-based stereotype". Most of the women I know wear makeup for themselves, and for other women. While a man may consider a woman to be unattractive without makeup, it is women who pick at and denigrate each other until they conform to their own silly rituals.

From a purely business standpoint, I've always felt that any employer has the right to dictate a persons appearance or dress code. If they want to act as a representative of your company, and interact with the public, then you have the right to dictate how they appear. It is the same principle that gives us the expression, "He has a face for radio." If you don't like it, go get a different job.

Still, I'm not so certain that the Ninth Circus Court of Appeals is going to agree. It would be interesting if they outlawed such appearance based sexual discrimination. Just imagine the ramifications it could have in Hollywood, if movie producers were no longer allowed to dictate how actresses appear in their films.

OFCC notes that Ohioans are a step closer to restoring their Second Amendment rights. An amended form of HB12 recently passed a Senate committee by a vote of 6-0. While the bill is a step in the right direction, sadly, it is less than ideal. The Ohio News Network has some of the details: (emphasis mine)

The legislation would require permit holders to pass a background check and complete a 12-hour training course. Some of the changes to the legislation include requiring weapons to be displayed in plain sight in a car, or be kept in a locked container. Additionally, the bill would also require anyone with a conceal carry permit who has children under 18 in a car to have the gun locked away in the car.

1. A background check will keep criminals from carrying concealed firearms, because statistics show that members of street gangs wouldn't dream of carrying a firearm without a proper permit.

2. It takes a whopping 12 hours of training to master a firearm and explain the secret mystery of firearms safety. (Conversely, there should be little or no testing for such monumental tasks as graduating high school or operating a two ton guided missile automobile.)

3. Ohio police are so incompetent that they might pop off a few rounds if they fear someone has a concealed firearm in their vehicle. For this reason, all persons carrying a firearm in their vehicle should post one of those yellow "Firearm on Board" signs in their back window.

4. Protecting yourself from harm is one thing, but protecting your kids is another. Firearms should either be locked away, or children should be stowed either on the luggage rack, or across the hood along with any deer that you might have tagged.

- You can carry a gun in your car, but your wife has to follow along behind you on a bicycle with the bullets.

- Women would be banned from carrying guns whenever they are menstruating.

- Similarly, men would be banned from carrying guns whenever the Browns are losing every Sunday.

- Drivers Education classes must now cover the proper way to retrieve, load, and fire a gun at 60 miles per hour.

- Anyone carrying firearms in their vehicle must immediately put their hands out the window whenever they are pulled over by the police.

- Upon receiving your concealed carry permit, Ohioans will also get new drivers licenses with both a front and profile mug shot photograph.

- When stopped by police and carrying a concealed firearm, citizens should empty their gun by firing it repeatedly into the air until it is empty.

- Drivers that wish to carry a concealed firearm must wear mittens to prevent them from sticking their fingers inside the trigger guard.

Meanwhile, over at Greeblie, Dave wants to know which is more embarrassing; being chased down and caught by the person you just robbed, or having your getaway car crushed by their monster truck.

This is bound to stir up the anti-SUV nazis. Either way, it makes for one goddamned unique ad campaign, that's for sure.

Tazteck has had quite a few good posts recently, which is unusual for him.

First there was this one about your own car testifying against you in traffic court. Like I needed another reason not to buy a GM car.

Then there was the one about Information Superhighway Road Rage. I'm sure we can all relate.

Then there was this story, which I simply call Death by Pun.

I think the Democrats have finally gone off the deep end. This Bushenstein cartoon is pretty entertaining, but it would have been better around Halloween (right before the election). Too bad for them that it's just a "flash and trash" gimmick that lacks substance. Is this where the Democrat campaign dollars are going?

This should be an interesting concept. They'd better offer more than two artists to mix though.

I knew it!

Fox (SEARCH) News reports that Democrats are lining up to filibuster a third minority judge. They offer no comment from the Senate Minority Leader, Tom Daschle, on why the dems would filibuster such a well qualified candidate.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl is poised to join Miguel Estrada and Priscilla Owen on the list of President Bush's judicial nominees to be filibustered. [...]

Kuhl has heavy support in California's legal circles, where 100 judges, many of them Democrats, have written Congress in support of her nomination.

Her backers say she is fair, even-handed and is being unduly criticized.

Related articles:
Daschle Tries to Filibuster Hispanic TV Merger - 05/30/2003
Dems continue to block minority judges - 05/06/2003
Schumer: Bush shouldn't nominate judges - 05/01/2003
Democrats vow to filibuster another minority nominee - 04/30/2003
Dems Improve Constitutional Judicial Process - 03/06/2003
�Como Se Dice "Liar"? - 02/17/2003

If you don't want to get noticed, you probably shouldn't post wonderful photos like this. As a natural born Virginian and southerner, I cannot in good conscious, NOT post this.

(link via Acidman)

Visitors to North Carolina, and residents of neighboring states will be happy to know that North Carolina passed a CCW reciprocity bill this weekend. That means that concealed carry permit holders of states that recognize North Carolina's permit will automatically gain reciprocity. VCDL notes that the law doesn't kick in for 60 days, so if you are traveling to North Carolina, you need to make sure that your state's permit is recognized there. Packing.org is a good reference, but you should always check with the state Attorney General or police department to be sure.

As a resident of Virginia, I know I'll feel safer when I go to North Carolina, now.

"He's a good man but for one three-day weekend of terror." -- Steven Feldman, lawyer for David Westerfield, who kidnapped and murdered seven-year-old Danielle van Dam. September 17, 2002

"Kasey has been a model citizen since all this occurred." -- James A. Brisbois Jr., attorney for Kasey L. Lake, 17, an Arthur Hill High School honor student who was convicted or robbing a McDonalds. June 14, 2003

Lake and her two accomplices were caught because they neglected to remove the drive-thru employee's radio headset when they locked everyone in the cooler. The employee told a drive-thru customer, who then phoned police.

Naturally, "Big Union" is claiming that driver, Rick Bronson, is being fired because he helped organize the Coke merchandisers in Southern California. While I've never worked for Coca-Cola Enterprises, (CCE), I have worked for the Coca-Cola Company. (Yes, they are two different companies). I can attest to you that the attitude there is very serious. If you want to work for Coke, you do not drink Pepsi. It is that simple.

I'm happy to see that Pfizer is having some success with Lipitor. Drug trials show that it is highly successful in cutting the risk of a heart attack in some diabetic patients. Reuters notes that the trial was so successful that they ended them early to allow all patients in the trial to have access to the drug.

Now, I can only hope that the government will allow Pfizer to profit from their innovation. Even though research and development of new drugs is extremely expensive, there are people out there that think drug companies shouldn't be allowed to sell their products on the free market. They assume that Pfizer and other drug companies will continue to pursue new treatments and cures, when they aren't permitted to benefit economically from their discoveries.

If you haven't already done so, I recommend you read the Democrat's (Secret) Plan for America, by Neal Boortz. It is a long read, but well worth the time. Here is a breakdown of the topics he covers. Ask yourself, how many of these items are already being implemented.

-Remove a majority of voters from responsibility for income taxes
-Shift Social Security and Medicare Taxes to the "Rich"
-Massive increase in Social Security taxes
-End the home mortgage interest deduction
-Socialized Medicine
-Tax your pension funds
-Tax your pension contributions also
-The Magic of Imputed Income
-Economically Targeted Investments -- controlling your pension fund investments.
-Force employers to pay for "family leave."
-Seizure of property of those who flee Democratic tyranny
-Government paid childcare for majority of voters
-Government control of all childhood education (indoctrination)
-Government imposed limits on executive income
-Repealing the Second Amendment
-Destroy talk radio

"...not all kids can afford to have a good computer at home. No problem, the state can simply issue them and raise taxes to pay for it." -- Ravenwood, October 14, 2002.

"Maine school gives students own laptops" -- CNN, June 15, 2003.

The state does not yet have the money, but [Gov. John] Baldacci said he'll "turn over every stone" to find a way to expand the program. [...]

"I'm optimistic. You can't hold this back. Parents have told me, 'You better not touch that laptop fund,"' he said. "It's almost like the students and families are going to be demanding that it be continued and expanded."

I'm somewhat torn on what position to take here. I want to envision a Wesley Crusher-like learning environment, where all classrooms are equipped with state of the art built-in computers. Instead, I end up wondering how out of date the computers are going to be, and how much it is all going to cost. Especially since we live in a time when parents are getting all the tax breaks, and those of us that thus far do not have any children, are footing most of the bill. I also wonder why Maine is using expensive Apple computers when the business world largely uses more inexpensive PCs. Perhaps that is just my Steve Jobs is a commie pinko anti-Apple attitude showing through.

I thought Microsoft had been doing this for years. It seems like Windows needs to be wiped and re-installed every six months. By then, they are out with a new $89 upgrade that naturally incorporates the latest utility-of-the-month, and forces the third party vendors out of business.

Ok, since the article is really talking about Digital Rights Management, I'll ask, does anyone besides "big media" really want DRM? Probably not, considering their goal of total world domination. Reuters editorailizes, albeit correctly, that:

The media barons insist that if consumers are going to listen to music and view movie clips and news headlines on any gadget with a screen, then the rights holders must be paid.

Has it been 56 days already? It must have been, because I have an appointment to get stabbed this afternoon.

Last month, I featured a story on Tony Martin. Martin was a homeowner who was jailed for shooting a home invader who burgled his house. Martin was denied parole, because of fear for the safety of future burglars, whom the parole board stated were "entitled to protection." So Martin sits in jail, as does the burglar, Brendon Fearon, who was convicted on an unrelated heroin charge. (The second burglar is taking an eternal dirt nap.)

The London Telegraph noted Friday, that Fearon (who they errantly label the "Martin victim") will be allowed to sue Martin for �15,000 in damages. The burglar, who has more than 30 criminal convictions has even been granted legal aid from the state to pursue his claim. "Fearon claims that his injuries, which included a leg wound, have affected his ability to enjoy sex and martial arts and that he has suffered post-traumatic stress," the article states.

Another article, from early last week notes that when both men are released from prison, Martin will not even be allowed to hide or conceal his identity, because Fearon, the burglar "victim" with more than 30 criminal convictions is "entitled to be told his whereabouts". It would seem that Martin, who by the way was invaded and burgled by Fearon, has less rights than Fearon, himself. (emphasis mine)

Officials from Scotland Yard's witness protection scheme (WPS) have been liaising with Martin since last autumn about how best to safeguard him, including possibly sending him abroad.

However, they have now been told that Fearon, a career criminal who was also shot during the raid on Martin's remote Norfolk farmhouse, must be kept notified of his location. Declared a "victim of serious crime", Fearon is entitled to state an opinion on Martin's release under the Government's Victims' Charter.

He is also entitled to express views which may have a bearing on where Martin is allowed to live. If a victim has particular concerns the offender may be subjected to a restriction or exclusion order.

(link via Kim DuToit)

I ordered one of these Humidor/Cigar bundles for a buddy of mine. It was only $35 including shipping, and came with 25 hand rolled cigars. I haven't tried any of the cigars, but the humidor is a really nice starter model. It's well constructed of Spanish cedar, and has a great seal. It looks incredible, and has a beautiful cherry finish. I came very close to keeping it for myself.

The cigars are hand-rolled Dominicans that measured 6 inches with a 46 ring gauge. I'm sure they are decent smokers considering the price. It also came with a nice blow torch butane lighter which I did keep for myself (along with 5 of the 25 cigars).

I was so impressed with the humidor that I'm considering ordering another bundle for myself. It's not as large or as nice as my current humidor (pictured below), but it would make a great overflow model. Right now my humidor is a little over stuffed, with over 90 cigars in there. They are stacked three high on one row, and the shelf is a little full. I keep them rotated, and have an excellent humidification system, so I'm not too worried about it.

Those are shot glasses on the right. If you take a paper towel loaded down with PG (propylene-glycol) and distilled water, it will keep your relative humidity pegged at 70%. The PG doesn't evaporate, but should be changed every year. I use an eye dropper to keep the shot glasses full of distilled water, and it's by far the most effective humidification system I've ever used. (Not recommended for earth quake prone areas where they might tip over.) Those plastic sponges (see black thing on the lid) are worthless, and hard to tell when to fill. If you over fill them, they tend to drip onto your cigars. (nice).

Bogie at BogieBlog is having an adverse reaction to an insect bite. She'd better get that thing looked at before it falls off.

Ruston Eastman at Conservatives notes how much Senators really make, on and off the hill.

Master Yoder at the Accidental Jedi has something growing in her apartment.

Kevin at Wizbang has photos of President Bush having trouble with his segway. Apparently it aint just like riding a bike.

Kim Crawford from Velociworld takes a nostalgic trip down slaughterhouse lane.

James at Parkway Rest Stop thinks mail order brides are sexist. That may be true, but his mail order husband solution seems to be a bit disturbing.

Fox News reports that a Texas mom left her 7 year old daughter at the scene of the crime when her shoplifting scheme went sour.

A 7-year-old girl was abandoned by her mom in a grocery store Monday after a shoplifting scheme soured, and investigators have not yet been able to locate the girl's home, her mother, or two accomplices.

Big Lake pastor Phillip Mielke has been indicted by a grand jury in the shooting death of two men he says were robbing his Church. I'm sure Renee is thrilled. My personal opinion is, indictment be damned. I'd rather be tried by twelve than carried by six.

(Hat tip to reader Tom Scott, who for some reason has two first names and no last name, for providing the link.)

I didn't do it, nobody saw me do it, you can't prove anything.

Here is today's Friday Five.

1. What's one thing you've always wanted to do, but never have?
Punch Tom Daschle in the nose.

2. When someone asks your opinion about a new haircut/outfit/etc, are you always honest?
Someone? Like a guy would ever ask that? Being honest would mean a reply like "No dear, you don't need those jeans to make you look fat," and would probably get me a vicious right cross to the chin. That being the case, I would say I'm never honest about it.

3. Have you ever found out something about a friend and then wished you hadn't? What happened?
Well, I found out about Shawn's anal fixation. In hind sight, I wouldn't have let him have the remote.

4. If you could live in any fictional world (from a book/movie/game/etc.) which would it be and why?
You mean like that fictional Utopia that liberals are always dreaming about? If I was forced to pick, I'd probably want to live in Lawrence Watt-Evan's Ethshar. Then again, I might just end up being the town drunk, or a village idiot.

5. What's one talent/skill you don't have but always wanted?
Telekinesis, assuming there is such a skill. For one thing, I'd be able to move that slow asshole on the road in front of me up into second gear.

The U.N. has graciously decided not to prosecute U.S. soldiers for the liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Naturally, France, Germany, and our good buddy Syria abstained from voting against us. It convinces me more than ever that Bush did the right thing by withdrawing U.S. Bill Clinton's support for the International Criminal Court, (ICC). Subverting our Constitution to an international body could completely change our way of life.

Now if we can just get the U.S. out of the U.N. and the U.N. out of the U.S.. They have proven their irrelevance, and should be rewarded with some nice beach front property; perhaps in Reykjavik. Who knows, perhaps Belgium will soon have some space available.

Oh PLEASE let this be the next big pro-gun movement. Hat-tip to Kim for pointing out that Alaska has scrapped their concealed carry registration scheme for a "Vermont style" law. By "Vermont style", they mean that a permit will no longer be required by law abiding citizens to carry a concealed firearm. (Actually Vermont never had any such restriction on a person's freedom in the first place.) You have a gun, you carry it. It's that simple.

I relish the thought that one day more states may no longer require citizens to ask the government for permission, and pay the obligatory tax just to exercise their Second Amendment rights. In Alaska's case, this will no doubt exhibit the "Dodge City" cry, a favorite among gun grabbers. "They'll be shooting each other in the streets!" It was gun grabber DA Hynes who claimed, "Brooklyn was like Dodge City," while he was zealously prosecuting Charles Dixon for saving his son's life. I wonder if the good people of Dodge City ever get offended by the slight. Perhaps a slander suit is in order.

Any way, I digress. Congrats to Alaska and all it's citizens on this pro-Second Amendment win. I am truly envious of you today.

I have trouble feeling sorry for these people. When you move into a house next to a golf course, you might expect to have a few errant balls coming your way. The homeowners constant whining and complaining are nothing new, and the fact that they've retained the services of an attorney isn't at all surprising in today's litigious society. What strikes me as odd is how work at home mom, Gail Halladay, seems to me to be a bit obsessed with the whole thing. Whenever a ball lands on, near, or around their house, she "logs each one into a database that includes its identifying number, its target, and comments from club management." The Williamette Week Online (Oregon) also noted this reaction for Ms. Halladay:

"Since these balls can hit anytime in my yard, the sheer terror of the random hit becomes overwhelming."

With all the tax cut hoopla going on, I wanted to repost this tax form that liberal tax-hikers may want to use. IRS Form W-UR4KD (PDF) will allow pro-tax liberals to return their tax rebates, and even throw in a little extra if they want.

Next time some moron wants to vote to raise your taxes, feel free to hand them this form. I'm sure they are more than willing to voluntarily send their tax money back to the government.

Ravenwood's Universe Staff Writer Jenn with two 'n's recommends these nifty cat costumes to cheer up that melancholy feline. Don't these look like happy cats?

Perhaps Laurence Simon and Jack Cluth could buy a couple of these costumes for their feline friends. They would make for an interesting puppet show on the kitty porn web cam.

(Photos courtesy of CATPRIN, for all your kitty tailor needs.)

While I'm not normally superstitious, the fact that Friday the 13th comes in June really disturbs me. As I pointed out last June, I really, REALLY hate this month. Last year, my grandmother died, followed by my uncle, followed by a friend. So far, this June hasn't been any better.

On June 1st, my mother told me that my cousin's wife died. A week later, on June 8th, my aunt passed away. The month isn't even half over, and I'm afraid to think of who might be next. (knocking on wood) For most people, June is about springtime and weddings. Not me. I just want to lock myself in my room and not come out until its over.

Kim du Toit goes on another tirade against the 9mm. I don't own a 9mm pistol, and probably never will. The only 9mm I would consider buying would be a machine pistol like an UZI. If you're going to crank out 750 rpm, it helps to have a cheap ammo supply. That is one reason I buy cheap commie rifles like the SKS. It's a straight shooter, costs about $120, and shoots for 7.5 cents a round.

Kim duly notes that servicemen were only loading 10 rounds into their mags to solve a feed problem with the weak spring.

Ummmm and I thought the M9's big advantage over the 1911 was magazine capacity? Strikes me that a Beretta carrying 10 rounds is not much better than a Colt 1911 carrying 8 rounds -- and 10-round mags for the 1911 are readily available.

I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than I am is willing to chime in on the subject. I'm also sure that there are plenty of .40 caliber haters out there. In my opinion, however, it's much better than an under powered 9mm.

The wonderful Dr. Walter Williams is bringing a "diversity" grading system to his economics classes at George Mason University. As Dr. Williams notes, points will be subtracted from the exam grades of white student, and then added to the grades of black students. As Williams notes, "meritocracy must yield to broader social concerns."

Creating an advantage for one American by creating a disadvantage for another American, based upon race, has become an entrenched feature in our age of racial enlightenment.

ED. NOTE: This was originially intended to be posted on 5/28, but one of the staff writers screwed up and it sat around in the outbox for a few weeks. The staff writer in question was flogged sufficiently for the oversight.

So, Microsoft wants to get into the telephone business. There is a huge reason why Microsoft won't get off the ground without some serious help. QoS.

Quality of Service is going to be a HUGE hurdle for Microsoft to jump over. Not only are there strict government regulations regarding quality of service, but Microsoft has a bit of a perception problem. To wit, would you feel confident that you can pick up the phone and dial 911 without a hitch, if you knew that Microsoft was at the helm?

Today is a good day to die. After nearly 6 long months of waiting, the Amish Tech Support Dead Pool finally has some points on the board, with an unprecidented three scores in one day. Laurence Simon puts it best when he says:

[The] drought has ended. No longer will it be considered the Live F-ing Forever Pool, the mockery of the blogopshere.

Remember where you are - this is Thunderdome, and death is listening, and will take the first man that screams. Aunty Entity

Laurence Simon has never won a Nobel Peace Prize.

You cannot tell me this isn't behavior modification. Two liberal democrats in the House from the Socialist States of California and New York want to abuse our nation's tax law, in an attempt to change the rules for private organizations like Augusta National Golf Club. Since when did tax laws become a weapon to be wielded by politicians?

Just print 150 Billion of them and you solve the deficit problem, right?

Since several bloggers seem to be into sharing their musical tastes (Michele seems to have an affinity for 80's hair bands), I'll share mine. About 6 months ago, or whenever it was that their new album came out Back in October 2002, I started listening to Bond. (You'll never guess what attracted me to them.)

I heard them do a few numbers on Fox and Friends one morning, and I really enjoyed it. I've always liked classical music, but they add something to it. Classical purists will probably hate the way they've jazzed up centuries old music, but I would disagree. For one thing, I think it will help introduce today's hip-hop crazed generation to the classical genre. The closest kids ever get to classical music these days is by watching car commercials.

I'm not saying you should run out and buy their album, but if you do, you might be surprised. I think the music fits nicely into the "classical music for people who hate classical music" category. Oh, and they are pretty easy on the eyes too.

UPDATE: Apparently my comment about Michele has pissed her off.

A well-written auto-biography like this just makes my life seem boring. And no, I'm not talking about that other pack of lies being sold by the self appointed "smartest woman in America".

Imagine waking up to a noise in your home in the middle of the night. You go to investigate, and find a stranger in the room of your infant son, rifling through some drawers. He lunges at you. What would you do? Would you defend your family with a firearm, or would you run and call the police and hope they get there in time?

Late last year, Charles Dixon was faced with that choice. Now the City of New York is throwing Dixon in jail for possession of a firearm. I had previously noted just how zealous New York was to prosecute the victim. Prosecutor Charles Hynes had even stated, "If you get caught with a gun in Brooklyn, you're going to do jail time." That is pretty much a true statement. While New York City does have a process for law abiding citizens to follow if they do want to legally own a gun, it is so arduous and costly, that people seldom bother. Even if you are willing to wait 6 months, sit through an interview, and can justify your "reason" for "needing" a gun, you still have to pony up $244, more than a month's worth of groceries, before the city grants you "permission" to own it.

Fellow gun nut, Kim DuToit once noted that getting a permit to own a firearm in New York City is so difficult, that the "law-abiding are scared away from getting a gun in the first place," which is "precisely the purpose of New York's gun laws." Just like the poll taxes that were set up to keep people from voting, the restrictive laws are purposely set up to be a barrier to the Second Amendment. They have been purposely constructed to prevent firearm's ownership by law abiding citizens. New York City has discretely repealed the Second Amendment, so that they do not attract too much attention.

Yesterday, World Net Daily featured this anonymous letter:

"By prosecuting Ronald Dixon on spurious charges, you are sending a very dangerous message to the residents in your jurisdiction: Defend your family, go to jail. You are also sending an equally dangerous message to the criminal element, who would realize that law-abiding citizens would now be hesitant to defend themselves for fear of criminal prosecution, and therefore make prime targets for violent crime."

link via RWN

If you are thinking about impersonating a cop, you may want to be careful and not pull over a real policeman.

KANSAS CITY - Police say a man who was playing law enforcement officer made a big mistake Tuesday night in Kansas City. He stopped a real policeman.

Officials say the man used a flashing blue light atop his car to pull over an off-duty officer. The officer, in his personal car, was suspicious because Kansas City police use a combination of red and blue emergency lights.

When the real officer started asking him questions, the impersonator fled in his dark Ford Crown Victoria, a car commonly used by police. He was captured after a brief chase.

John Mays has put a list of his DVD collection online. I'm quite impressed with the way his list is compiled into a database. He offers much more than just the title of each move as well. Still, I'm not saying that size matters, but I did notice that mine is much bigger.

Just because your pregnant, doesn't mean you can't have fun at your prom.
UPDATE: For those of you that have been asking, no I am not the one.. um.. responsible for that.

(click to supersize)

Even though Goddess forgot to remind me yesterday, I managed to remember to submit an entry to this week's Carnival of the Vanities. You should head over to Overtaken by Events and check out all the good stuff.

After you are done here, of course.

Here is a wonderful lesson on how to screw up a really good product. What shall we ruin next? How about we release a VCR with no fast-forward button.

The heavy backpack crusade marches on. CNN reports that they've conducted a "study" to prove the obvious. Heavy backpacks make you walk funny. (That was money well spent.)

Thirteen children ages 8 and 9 walked about 1,310 feet without a backpack, and wearing packs weighing 9 and 13 pounds, while researchers filmed them with a high-speed camera.

"Immediately, you can always tell when backpacks are too heavy, or the kids are tired," said researcher Heidi Orloff of the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. "Their chins are on their chests."

Studies conflict on whether the packs cause the pain, however.

Research by Dr. Andrew Haig, an associate professor of physical medicine, rehabilitation and surgery at the University of Michigan, found no relationship between the weight of the pack and reports of back pain. In his study conducted in 2000, 184 Ann Arbor, Michigan, pupils from third grade through middle school filled out questionnaires. [...]

About one-third of all the children reported back pain, ranging from about 15 percent of the third graders to 46 percent of middle schoolers. But there was no relationship between pack use and pain, Haig said. [...]

He speculated that packs could cause pain by making some pre-existing back problems more severe. But in most cases, parents should not assume first that the pack caused the pain, he said in a telephone interview from Vienna, Austria, where he is on sabbatical.

All of this pampering and nannyism is making me worry about the future of this country. Could we have liberated Europe in WWII with people that had grown up whining about every little thing?

"Sarge, my rifle is too heavy. Do I have to carry all these bullets around with me?"

Yet another 'sin tax'. These things make me want to scream. The Boston Globe reports that New York State Assemblyman Felix Ortiz is pushing for passage of sweeping new sin taxes.

A proposal to tax junk food, video games and television commercials to pay for an obesity prevention program faces stiff opposition from politicians and business groups. [...]

The 1 percent tax hike floated by Assemblyman Felix Ortiz would apply to junk food, video games and television commercials, which Ortiz blames on New York's growing obesity problem. Ortiz, a Brooklyn Democrat, did not rule out proposing tax increases on other things that he believed contribute to obesity.

The evolution goes like this. Employers originally provided health care as an incentive to lure good employees. Gradually, people develop a sense of entitlement, and conclude that employers must provide health care for them. Then politicians convince them that health care should be taken away from employers and implemented by government. This spreads the sense of entitlement to everyone; those that are unemployed, and those that simply don't have health care. Now that the government is providing health care, be it to everyone or merely the "less fortunate", they assume the right to tell you how to lead your life, in the interest of lowering health care costs and solving health care "problems".

Where does this end? These standards can be applied to anything in life. Your type of car is more dangerous than mine, so you should have to pay a penalty tax. Your computer monitor causes more eye strain than mine, so you should have to pay a penalty tax. Your mobile telephone generates more EMFs than mine, so you should have to pay a penalty tax. Your brand of toilet paper doesn't degrade as well as mine, so you should have to pay a penalty tax. Your hairspray contains more tert-butyl alcohol than mine so you should have to pay a penalty tax.

I think it's about time we go back to the good ol' days, when politicians that came up with ideas like this were met on the capital steps with tar and feathers.

The pleasure police are pushing for a state wide smoking ban in Kentucky. UPI and the Louisville Courier-Journal are not very clear whether the anti-smoke nazis will try to pass a ban on public buildings or "public buildings"; the latter being publicly accessible buildings that anti-smoke nazis try to wield control over. Either way, it is the same old game plan. Keep pushing for incremental bans until eventually all tobacco is outlawed. Most interesting is the way nobody even questions the junk science any more.

The Jefferson County Smoke Free Coalition released a poll showing people there are aware of the dangers of second-hand smoke. [...]

"We already know the dangers of secondhand smoke," Julia Brackett, director of advocacy for the American Heart Association told the Louisville Courier-Journal. "What's next is a grass-roots effort to bring the community together on the issue."

Check out this 'Best of Ravenwood' from September, 2002 [minor changes made]:

The second hand smoking scare is pretty remarkable. It started about 7 years ago [1993] when the [EPA and] World Health Organization (WHO) started studying the effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Long before the results of the study came back, pleasure police recognized ETS as a good way to advance their agenda. They immediately started demonizing and attacking ETS. In 1998, the WHO concluded their study, and immediately tried to bury the results. Under pressure from the British media, like the London Telegraph, the WHO finally released their findings. Although the WHO released a biased and misleading press release entitled "Passive Smoking Does Cause Lung Cancer," the facts were clear. When using a statistically large sample, there was no significant risk for non smokers that lived with or worked with smokers.

CNN reports that people are drowning in Florida because of rip currents. I'm not sure why they think it's national news, but they do offer some valuable advice from the National Weather Service. I love rule number one.

HOW TO SURVIVE RIP CURRENTS
o Know how to swim
Source: The National Weather Service

Reuters, via CNN notes that a professor puts the odds of the world coming to an end at 50-50. They start out by noting that the odds are getting worse and worse as man pursues technological advancement.

The demise of civilization has been predicted since it began, but the odds of keeping Planet Earth alive and well are getting worse amid a breakneck pace of scientific advances, according to Martin Rees, Britain's honorary astronomer royal.

He also suggested better efforts to "reduce the number of people who feel excluded or otherwise motivated to cause harm."

Fox News reports that the professional hockey season is finally over, and that the NJ Devils have won the Stanley Cup. Don't worry about being bored, hockey fans. The season ramps back up in August and will run for another 18 months.

Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh frequently talks about the 'Limbaugh Echo Syndrome'. Rush contends that issues and concepts discussed on his show are frequently echoed in major media. Today, I experienced a Ravenwood Echo Syndrome. It was lunch time, and I was out driving around in my SUV polluting the environment, when I overheard Rush discussing my very own Child Tax Credit position.

Rush went so far as to say that those of us without children should be given a Child Tax Credit as well, because we have been footing the bill for years. This is the position I took last Monday.

"...why should single people continue to pay for everybody else's kids? You know there are a lot of people, who are single, who don't have kids, who don't get this exemption, who are ending up paying it for everybody else. [...]

"I think I'm gonna support this, I'm gonna suggest... single people with no kids get this child credit. I'm gonna fight for it because you people deserve it. You've been paying for others, you don't have kids, but you love 'em and you know they're the future of the country. [...]

"In order to be fair, to extend the fairness of this tax cut to everybody, people without children should be given the child tax credit exemption."

I would like to dedicate this one to Renee and Bob. KIRO TV reports that a disabled Washington State man used a 9mm firearm to fend off an attack from a home invader.

[Police Officer Jim] Mattheis says the episode began during the noon hour Monday when a 64-year-old bedridden man heard someone enter his home, in the 600 block of 88th Street.

The homeowner used one hand to grab a nine-millimeter Glock handgun and dialed 911 with the other.

He told police an intruder with his face hidden behind a handkerchief entered the room, then started to back away, but turned around and advanced again. The homeowner told police he opened fire when the man said, "I'm going to get you." The man then fled.

Although the goblin managed to flee, he succumbed to his injuries and was discovered taking the eternal dirt nap a day later. Society should be thankful that this thug won't be around any more to terrorize people.

This must be a good week for friends and family members of criminals to express their displeasure with me. This weekend there was Bob. Today, Renee questions my bravado as well as my intelligence with this comment.

I am the mother of one of the "burglars" sons and I personally think you are a stupid coward just as the so called pastor is. No, they did not have any right stealing FOOD...by the way, however, they didn't deserve to die! The pastor stole my sons father from him.....does that give him or I the right to go kill him to protect what was ours?? I think not!! The next time you think its so wonderful to blow someone away with a .44 magnum over food...why dont you take a moment to think about the families they leave behind!!

Someone add this to the growing list of nanny laws. Reuters reports that Britain is considering implementing a 'fat tax' to try to control what people eat. Do-gooder nanny-state fucktards lawmakers simply cannot stand to see someone enjoy a delicious greasy hamburger. Therefore they think they have the right and obligation to slap you on the wrist with a fine (they call it a tax) for eating food that you want to eat. Their ultimate goal is to get you to eat the kind of foods they think you should be eating.

I am really becoming outraged at this type of thinking. I find it offensive that these do-gooder neo-fascists think they can control my lifestyle. I'm a grown man, and I reserve the right to make decisions about what I pollute my body with. This crap about growing health care costs is just another excuse for government nannying. Since I don't feel it is necessary for me to justify my lifestyle and dietary choices to any person on this planet, I'll close with the immortal words of Dr. Walter Williams:

If a lifestyle Nazi, politician or not, wants me to stop smoking or eat less, let him personally take the cigarette out of my mouth or the food off my plate. I guarantee you that when the dust settles only one of us will be standing.

With the increased threat of terrorism, the chicken registration debate can take no pause. This weekend, police in New Zealand were taunted by an 'explosive' rooster.

A POTENTIALLY explosive rooster had New Zealand police running around like headless chickens yesterday.

The bird, which had canisters with protruding wires strapped to its wings, was spotted by a member of the public in the Christchurch suburb of Sydenham during the morning.

Police decided to take no chances and herded the bird up an alleyway and called the army bomb disposal squad, Senior Sergeant Ian Freeman of Christchurch police said.

The chicken was put down, and the contents of the canisters strapped to the body were found to be harmless.

I wonder if this tragedy will be used by politicians to rein in the rights of general aviation enthusiasts? Since September 11th, 2001, general aviation has been under an increasing attack in the name of 'security'. A good example was Chicago Mayor Daley's generic use of "security concerns" to close and destroy Chicago's famed Meigs Field. (Daley had wanted the field closed prior to 9/11 and found a convenient excuse in the tragedy.)

I guess it doesn't matter that much more damage can be done with an automobile than a private plane. Likewise, there have already been two devastating attacks using rental trucks, which seem to pose a much more credible threat.

I dedicate this post to Bob.

Channel 9 in Chattanooga, TN reports that the local Hispanic community has suffered ten home invasions in eleven days. The latest home invasion involved three armed thugs who kicked in Pascual Gomez' front door at 2 AM. After hearing that Gomez didn't have any cash, they allegedly shot him in the face. Another resident grabbed his gun and opened up on the trio of robbers, killing 19-year-old Christopher Leon Benn.

Neighbor Rafael Rivera lamented, "We're trying to get the American Dream. So far, we're getting nightmares. But, there are going to be better days."

I certainly hope so.

For those of you that haven't heard, Virginia now has a womyn on death row. My guess is that they sentenced Teresa Lewis to death, to stave off any Martha Burk protests of the formerly all male 'club'. Virginia hasn't executed a woman since 1912, which I'm sure Martha Burk finds unacceptable. This isn't a complete victory for womyn's rights though, because Ms. Lewis is still subject to being segregated from the rest of the male death row population, in a womyn's only cell.

I've always taken pride in Virginia's justice system. She usually lands in second place, right behind Texas, when it comes to the number of annual executions. When you figure it per capita, Virginia may even be number one. Where-ever she ranks, you can bet our governor won't be pandering to the Nobel committee by giving everyone on death row a free pass. Yes, I'm talking about you.. Illinois.

Normally I don't respond to hate mail (or in this case comments), but I found this piece to be particularly interesting.

It would seem that Bob was a bit miffed at a particular self-defense story. Bob writes:

First of all, I was best friends with the, yes VICTIM. The kid was drunk and had no idea where he was. He never would've hurt a fly. He made no advancement no Linn Stordahl who stole the life of an innocent 16 year old kid because he's a messed up military piece of shit. I think its bullshit that you write something as insulting as this. You guys get a big fuck you

Assuming the events are accurate as depicted in the article, your libelous assertion that Linn Stordahl "stole the life" of this kid is patently ridiculous. A 16 year old drunk intruder, setting fire to someone's property is not a victim of anything but his own stupidity.

First of all, drunkenness cannot excuse any crime. When a person makes a conscious decision to abuse alcohol, they do not cease to bear responsibility for their actions. If that were true, we would have to excuse everyone who is guilty of drunken driving.

Second, your contention that "he never would've hurt a fly" seems to be off base. He was allegedly setting fire to a person's garage. That not only endangers the resident, but any firemen and police that show up on the scene. It also puts anyone in the path of rescue vehicles responding to the scene, at an unnecessary risk. If you don't believe me, go down to your local firehouse and ask a fireman if he thinks arson is dangerous.

Third, his intentions should not even be an issue. If you break into someone's home, you risk being shot. A homeowner has no idea what your intentions are, nor does he have time to assess them. It doesn't matter if you are an axe murderer or the Avon lady, you take your life into your own hands when you enter someone's residence without an invitation.

Fourth, if you are offended by anything I write, that is just too damned bad. I suggest that you exercise your own rights, and simply close your web browser. I suggest you do the same if you have a problem with any of my weblog policies, which are freely posted on my web site.

Regards,

The Management.

With an election just around the corner, and campaigns starting to gear up, the vote buying is already starting to take off. CNN reports that the Senate overwhelmingly passed a welfare bill that would give low income earners a refundable credit for $400 worth of taxes that they never paid to begin with. This is yet another step toward welfare entitlement, and serves to shift the burden of social security and medicare away from low income earners to the middle class and high income earners.

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, who insisted on capping the tax cut at the arbitrary number of $350 Billion, discarded her principles to push through another $10 Billion in tax cuts and outright welfare gifts. When challenged by the fact that people who were not eligible to receive the child tax credit were not eligible because they had no income tax liability, Ms. Snowe said, "They do pay taxes. They pay payroll taxes that are an enormous burden."

While I agree that the medicare and social security payroll taxes are a huge burden to us all, I don't see what it has to do with income taxes. By that school of thought, you could cut people $400 checks for almost anything. Most poor folks still pay sales tax just like the rest of us, so I guess we need send out another $400 check. Do you pay car taxes? If so, here's another $400 check from Olympia Snow. What about property taxes? Here's another $400. Don't worry, the "rich" folks will pay for it. After all, they get all their money by stealing it any way.

When I first read that Big East schools were suing to keep the conference together, I thought it just a bogus attempt to try to convince Miami, BC, and Syracuse to stay. I figured why try to force people to stay, when they don't want to? After reading into it, however, it looks like the Big East schools have a pretty valid legal argument. As CNNSI points out, several of the schools invested large sums of money on improvements, based on promises from Boston College and Miami that they would stay in the conference.

Anyone who knows anything about contract law, knows that consideration makes an enforceable promise. Consideration, is when one party gives up legal rights based on the promise of a second party. For instance, if I offer to pay you ten dollars to mow my lawn, and you accept. That is an unenforceable promise. I could revoke the offer, up until you get your lawn mower out and start mowing. Once you start mowing, you've given consideration, and I am legally bound to give you that ten dollars, should you complete your end of the deal.

In this case, it would appear that BC and Miami made a promise to stay in the Big East Conference. Based on that promise, Virginia Tech, UConn, and other schools made substantial financial investments, which Miami and BC could be liable for. VT spent $37 Million on stadium construction, and UConn has spent about $90 Million. Although they are receiving assets in return for their investment, it could be argued that BC and Miami's broken promise has caused serious and irreparable depreciation to those assets. Basically, they could be held liable if they leave.

Of course, don't believe me. After all, I sort of have a vested interest.

Have you ever wanted to drive a car that will get you noticed? Have you ever wanted to relive that late-70s/early-80s sitcom magic? Perhaps you simply want to piss off your homeowner's association. Well, for a mere $15,000 you can do all three. This 1969 Dodge Charger is dressed out in the Dukes of Hazzard "General Lee" package.

(click to supersize)

Your neighbors will just love to see this baby parked in your driveway. It sports a 383 ci engine which should be ample for cruising around town. However, if you really want to jazz it up, upgrade to a 426 Hemi like this guy. Then we're talking serious gas-guzzling power, that is sure to make any enviro-weenie cringe.

Due to the wussification of this week's Friday Five, I will not be posting my answers.

Please. Someone make him stop. I cannot take any more.

Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied Bush Lied

If you repeat something often enough, does that make it true?

I love it whenever I see major media publish something like this, because then I can point out that the blogosphere beat them to the punch by more than a month.

Howell Raines resigned today, but that doesn't put a damper on New York Times liberal lies. Just check out this deceptive Op-Ed piece divisively titled "The Poor Held Hostage for Tax Cuts".

Millions of low-income families were cruelly denied child credits in the administration's latest detaxation victory. Now, with consummate arrogance, Republican leaders in Congress are threatening another irresponsible tax-cut bidding war as the price for repairing the damage.

The Times never does explain just how it is that poor people are harmed by not receiving a refund of money that they never had in the first place. Perhaps I'm not smart enough to read between the lines, because I just don't get it.

I think I'm beginning to see a pattern here.

Jobless Claims Fall
Initial jobless claims dropped by 9,000 to 424,000 in the week that ended May 24, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week moving average, which smoothes out weekly fluctuations, fell to a six-week low of 427,000.

Bush Signs Jobless Benefits Extension
President Bush signed legislation Wednesday [May 28] making federal unemployment benefits available through December.

Jobless Claims Rose by 16,000 to 5-Week High Last Week
Initial jobless claims surged unexpectedly in the week ended May 31, rising by 16,000 to 442,000.

Unexpectedly? Really?

Is anyone at all surprised that the Palestinian Authority turned down another offer to create a Palestinian State? It looks pretty clear that Arafat and company will not accept any "deal" that also includes the recognition of Israel's right to exist.

I also wonder, that if Arafat and his goons have the ability to "call off" Hamas and the various other homicidal attacks, wouldn't that mean that they are sponsoring them to begin with? At the very least, it implies that they have some sort of control over them.

The Publicity Whore of the Day Award goes to the Sierra Club. Their latest escapade would make even Martha Burk proud. The ignoranuses over there plan to take advantage of Ford's 100th Anniversary Salebration, and declare that Ford vehicles are actually less fuel efficient now, than they were 100 years ago. Their evidence to back up their claim is that the Ford Model T got 25 miles to the gallon, and current Ford's only average 22.6. Shame, shame says the Sierra Club.

I guess they don't see anything wrong with comparing a single model of vehicle, to an entire fleet of vehicles, which includes large trucks and sport utilities. Of course, there are also staggering differences between vehicles made in the early 1900s and the early 2000s so any one on one comparison would be extremely flawed.

For instance, a 1908 Model T weighed a mere 1200 pounds. Compare this to the 1993 Ford Festiva, that I used to own. It weighed 1700 pounds and got 44 miles to the gallon. The Model T boasted a 4 cylinder engine that made a whopping 20 horsepower. Most modern small cars get over 100 horsepower. The Model T also burned oil for the headlights and various other lamps that adorned the vehicle. It wasn't exactly eco-friendly. Compare this to the 2003 Ford Focus. The Focus weighs over 2600 lbs, and it's 4 cylinder engine makes 110 horsepower and gets 27 to 36 miles to the gallon. Of course, they also don't bother to take into account that today's vehicles are subjected to countless government mandated safety standards.

Modern cars are larger, faster, safer, and more powerful. They hold more people, more stuff, and only emit a fraction of the pollutants compared to that of older cars. Pound for pound, we are all much better off. Who cares if they burn a few more gallons of fuel.

In a free market, I should be allowed to use as many resources as I want, so long as I am willing to pay for them. The notion that we are all sharing the same supply of natural resources, and should thus be rationed is bunk. Now pardon me while I go out and do some laps around the block in my SUV. I've got money and fuel to burn, and there is nothing those enviroweenies can do to stop me. MUAHAHAHA.

I don't see the big deal over Martha Stewart being handed a 9 count indictment from a grand jury. Along with the Scott Peterson case, I'm holding my personal judgement until the facts are in. I may choose to speculate one way or the other, but don't expect to see those "bitch had it coming" messages here.

What does surprise me is how some people are convinced that Martha Stewart, who was worth BILLIONS, used insider information to make about $200,000. Meanwhile, nobody seems to question the market savvy that DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe showed by turning $100,000 into $18,000,000 by investing in the now defunct Global Crossing, which was run by his good golfing buddy, Gary Winnick.

Following up on yesterday's report, I've finally found a web link for the Surgeon General's testimony to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. (Energy and Commerce?) CNSNews reports that the U.S. Surgeon General, Richard H. Carmona came out strongly against all tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco. Here is what Carmona had to say.

"If you're asking me, would I support banning or abolishing tobacco products? Yes."

"If Congress chose to go that way, that would be up to them. But I see no need for any tobacco products in society."

In a related story, CNN reports that the president of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO), Dr. Paul Bunnn, called for a massive federal tax increase on cigarettes, and the formation of a "blue ribbon committee." (Uh oh.) The committee would "study the medical, social and economic aspects of tobacco worldwide." Translated, that means it would seek to prove that American cigarettes are more deadly, and that America is at fault for forcing tobacco and tobacco related illnesses on the World.

"The end point is a tobacco and smoke-free world," Dr. Bunnn said.

It won't be long before cigarettes and tobacco are banned outright, in some cities and states. A national ban won't be far behind, and soon tobacco will be treated as an illicit drug.

When that happens, everyone will just stop smoking, right? Wrong. Cigarettes and tobacco products will go underground. As enforcement increases, prices will skyrocket and trafficking will be a lucrative business. It will also lead to more serious crimes, like murder, and money laundering. In general, crime will increase, and rather than profiting with tax revenue, governments will be spending millions to try to keep our streets tobacco free. Ironically, instead of being less accessible, cigarettes and tobacco will be more accessible than ever; especially to young children.

Making tobacco illegal, will wipe out all government regulation and control. Temperance will mean that the Fed can no longer regulate the price, the quality, the potency, and the availability of tobacco products. Plus the government will lose all of the tax revenue, and the states can kiss their tobacco settlement money goodbye. Ultimately, we will end up spending vast amounts of money on enforcement.

Tobacco will also become more available to children, and there will be no control over how it is packaged, marketed, sold, or what other illicit drugs it is laced with. It will also become a staple product of organized crime and smugglers. Ironically, banning tobacco will set back the anti-tobacco movement farther than the "Big Tobacco" lobby ever could.

According to the National Review Online, Presidential wanna-be John 'Falafel' Kerry is apparently some sort of veteran. The news slipped out at a recent South Carolina campaign rally "speech to veterans" that Massachusetts Democrat, John Kennedy Kerry had served in Vietnam.

"...the sound of machine-gun fire, the bombs bursting, the sight of the wounded, are always with those who have served. I think being tempered by war, as President Kennedy said, is a valuable experience as you lead a country as commander-in-chief."

...although Sen. Kerry did experience combat in Vietnam, earning the Silver Star, the third-highest award for valor, he did so as a junior officer. His actions there, no matter how exemplary, in no way prepared him to make the national-security decisions required of a president.

The New York Post reports that 69 year old Jose Acosta, who faces New York City weapons charges for defending himself against three armed thugs last month, may be deported if he is convicted. While New York City routinely punishes citizens for defending themselves against predators, the threat of deportation by the INS raises the stakes.

"How about if we deport the three kids who broke into the store," said the Rev. Brian Jordan, an immigrant advocate at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Manhattan.

Manhattan DA staffers declined to discuss the issue, perhaps because they face the same dilemma encountered by their counterparts in Brooklyn and Queens who were legally bound to prosecute two vigilantes who used illegal guns to kill attackers.

The Acosta case, however, raises the stakes because a man considered a hero by local merchants who were being terrorized by a gang of thugs could be thrown out of the country.

CLARIFICATION: Acosta is not an illegal immigrant. He has lived here legally for 25 years, and may face deportation by the INS if he is convicted of a firearms charge.

Even though I forgot about this week's Carnival of the Vanities, you should head over the Drumwaster's and check out all the good stuff.

CNN reports that "Veteran singer-songwriter Barry Manilow, recently waking up disoriented in the middle of the night, walked into a wall and broke his nose"

I wonder if Manilow has any connection to Tawny Kitaen.

Flag burning, and desecration of the flag of the United States is a hideous act. I hold nothing but contempt for people that burn our colors. That said, I think that Republican's repeated attempts to ban flag burning are wrong, and should be stopped.

Flag burning is a form of political expression, that should be protected under the First Amendment. This is exactly the kind of unpopular political speech that the First Amendment was created to protect. (Too bad the First was repealed by the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Incumbent Protection Act.)

That is why it upsets me to hear that the House of Representatives passed a Constitutional Amendment that, if ratified, would decree: "The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States"

Fortunately, passage of this Constitutional Amendment to protect the flag is not likely. Although it passed the House, it still needs to pass the Senate with a two-thirds majority, AND be ratified by at least three-fourths of the states. Perhaps they could try attaching the William Jefferson Clinton Third Presidential Term Amendment to the measure as a sort of 'poisoned pill'.

Apparently Venomous Kate is intrigued by this offer. Too bad she didn't see the free vacation offer I posted back in the summer of 2001.

Although I did receive a few responses, they were too late for my 2001 trip to Oktoberfest. I haven't been back since then, but I am considering Chinese New Year in Hong Kong early next year.

Tazteck shares my worries about this crazy tax scheme Oregon is considering. How scary is it? Lets just say it involves attaching a GPS to your car and tracking your movements throughout the state.

Lovely.

"So what Jefferson was saying was "Hey! You know, we left this England place because it was bogus. So if we don't get some cool rules ourselves, pronto, we'll just be bogus too." Yeah?" -- Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

"When we allow pridefull killers to define our value as presumption, then only murder can live in our dreams." -- Sean Penn, full page ad in the NY Times, which cost an estimated $150,000.

The Amish are cleaning up their act. Apparently the self-censorship has something to do with link whoring.

...I'm too deep in the blog-gutter to link to [...]

The F-word has been banished. So have [sic] the S-word. Even the D-word has been given the boot.

Heck, let's play a game. If you spot an empty meaningless profanity, toss me a note with the post's URL and I'll banish it.

My father was a sailor, and I sometimes swear like one. While I don't use a lot of 'adult language', I don't censor myself either. There are tens of thousands of words in the English language, and I reserve the right to use any of them I see fit.
I don't believe in being 'politically correct.' While I generally try not to offend people, I don't use PC terms like person-kind, gentlepeople, and hyphenated-American.

It looks like AOL is blocking emails from my ravnwood.com mail server. They went so far as to accuse me of spamming. (the nerve!) I am considering suing them for making false accusations.

"The information presently available to AOL indicates that this server is being used to transmit unsolicited bulk e-mail to AOL"

*For the record, I am able to easily circumvent the block, which goes to show just how competent AOL is at blocking spam.

UPDATE: I got a quick response back from Hosting Matters. Here is what they said:

Unfortunately, AOL has entered some IP ranges into its blocking system incorrectly and blocked a couple of our servers instead of their intended targets. As it happens, we have just received our own block of IPs directly from ARIN and are in the process of switching our servers to these new IPs which will (as a side benefit) take care of the AOL problem. I am sorry for the inconvenience. Further information can be found here:

http://forums.hmdns.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9078

I think that the Palestinian Authority is likely to agree to the establishment of a Palestinian State. If they get their way, the middle east should look something like this.

(photo courtesy BMW)

No. Please tell me that I didn't really see this in Target today.

The fundamental tool of Communism is Karl Marx's theory of distribution of resources. Marx said, "From each according to their ability, to each according to their needs." Please keep that in mind while you read this.

The Media Resource Center, which tracks media bias, has been pretty busy lately. With the realization that the Child Tax Credit will only go to people that actually pay taxes, major media outlets have been blaming Bush for leaving poor starving children out in the cold. (emphasis and comment added by me.)

"On World News Tonight, the tax cut surprise. Some of the people who need it most will benefit the least." -- Canadian Peter Jennings on ABC's World News Tonight.

"...it turns out that a whole lot of people in the country who could use the money are not going to get it." -- Peter Jennings on ABC's World News Tonight.

"One group of taxpayers was cut out of this legislation at the last minute, and that was low-income working families with children." -- ABC's World News reporter Linda Douglass. Douglass later admitted, "Many low-income families do not pay income taxes but are entitled to a portion of the child credit."

"Millions of U.S. taxpayers won't get the rebate they're expecting." -- Jane Clayson on CBS Evening News.

"...it turns out the tax cut the President just signed will not help many who need help the most." -- Jane Clayson.

"The check may not be in the mail. This family is looking forward to the new child tax credit. But, surprise. Millions of low-income families won't get it." -- Announcer, CNN's Inside Politics.

"Cut out. Why millions of lower-income families may not be getting the help they expected from President Bush's new tax cut." -- Tom Brokaw on NBC's Nightly News. Brokaw also described it as an "embarrassing omission," that Bush left out low-income families in the tax cut.

"I just think it's ridiculous. I can't believe that they would give money to the rich when the poor need it so much. I can't understand it." -- CBS soundbite.
So letting taxpayers keep more of their own money is a gift.

"...critics say many who do not need a tax cut get one anyway." -- CNBC Anchor Brian Williams.
Just what we need, the government deciding who needs what.

"...spokesman Ari Fleischer said since these workers do not pay federal income taxes, though they pay other federal taxes, it's okay that they don't get the tax cut." -- ABC White House Correspondent Terry Moran.
He's referring to payroll taxes. The next big liberal move is to shift social security and Medicare taxes to "the rich".

"Carlesha Remmy [sp a guess] earns just above the minimum wage, the kind of taxpayer the President says he wants to help. But she won't be getting that refund check the President says is in the mail." -- Bill Plante, CBS News.
If she pays taxes, she'll get a cut. The only way she wouldn't is if she's not a taxpayer to begin with.

"...the vast majority of these families go to work every day and are playing by the rules." -- CBS and NBC soundbite of David Harris, Children's Research and Education Institute.
So, I guess the rest of us are lying and cheating.

The MRC also notes that:

The bias even extended to the White House briefing yesterday. NBC's David Gregory incorrectly insisted a "large group of people" won't get "their money." ABC's Terry Moran proposed to Ari Fleischer he should agree with his summation: "I just want to make sure that you are saying that the White House agreed to make the choice to leave these children behind."

All but one network story ignored how those making more than $110,000 don't get the higher child credit either and none pointed out how the tax cut bill eliminates another three million families from having to pay any income tax at all.

I heard an ABC radio news brief that reported the U.S. Surgeon General testifying to Congress the he would support banning all tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco, cigars and cigarettes. There isn't any market news yet, but this blurb confirms that there is a movement to ban tobacco nation wide, or regulate it as a drug or controlled substance.

I'll reiterate what I said back in March.

When that happens, everyone will just stop smoking, right? Wrong. Cigarettes and tobacco products will go underground. As enforcement increases, prices will skyrocket and trafficking will be a lucrative business. It will also lead to more serious crimes, like murder, and money laundering. In general, crime will increase, and rather than profiting with tax revenue, governments will be spending millions to try to keep our streets tobacco free. Ironically, instead of being less accessible, cigarettes and tobacco will be more accessible than ever; especially to young children.

Someone doesn't understand how a tariff works. In discussing the steel tariffs, Tazteck writes:

You, as the buyer of an American made vehicle, will not pay any more.

You will also not be driving a vehicle made from sub-standard steel, and you will be keeping Americans working in good paying jobs.

Being from Ohio, we have seen first hand what the effects are from importing(dumping)sub-standard steel. Our steel mills are closing at a fast pace, dumping many workers into the unemployment line.

Now when ACME goes to sell those mobile homes, that increased cost of steel is built into the price of the home. Elasticity of demand means that as the price goes up, the sales go down. The higher cost to the end user for steel products means decreased sales. Decreased sales, means decreased jobs. You may have just saved 5000 steel jobs, but it ends up costing you jobs at the ACME mobile home company. It also costs jobs in the construction business, automotive industry, and anyone else that relies on imported steel. Also, American consumers end up paying higher prices across the board for steel products, so we are all financially impacted.

As for quality, that should be a consumer choice, not a government mandate. For instance, when I go to buy a car, I can buy a Kia, or a Cadillac. Now both cars have 4 wheels, airbags, and all the government mandated safety devices. However, I get to make the personal choice between the quality/luxury brand, or bargain basement brand. Steel should be the same way.

So, what should we do about those 5000 steel worker jobs, and all jobs threatened by imported products? Well, I could take the heartless, kitten stomping point of view and say screw 'em. If they cannot compete, then they lose their jobs. However, since there is a better solution, I'll present that instead.

American companies should face a level playing field with foreign companies. Currently, they do not. U.S. companies are required to pay income taxes to the U.S. on all revenue generated in this country. Sounds reasonable, right? Well, they also must pay income taxes on all revenue generated outside of this country. That means that if Ford Motor Company, has overseas operations where cars are made in overseas plants by overseas workers for sale overseas, they still have to pay income taxes to the U.S. Since they are also paying income taxes overseas, they are double taxed.

Now, foreign companies that set up a manufacturing plant in the U.S. are also taxed by the U.S. for their business that is done here. However, since they are NOT taxed by their own government on operations in the U.S., they have a huge competitive advantage over U.S. corporations.

In addition to the double taxation, Congress is threatening to 'penalize' companies that try to move their operations off shore. Stanley (the tool company) recently backed off from relocating their business to Bermuda, because the U.S. Congress threatened severe economic penalties. Some congressmen had the nerve to claim that Stanley was trying to shirk their civic duty by getting out of paying higher taxes. Under that train of thought, people should be 'discouraged' from moving from New York to Florida to take advantage of the lower state income tax. Rather than New York lowering their tax to give people incentive to stay, they should simply use their governmental police power to prevent people from leaving, and thus shirking their civic duty to the state of New York.

When it comes to imports, the easiest way to level the playing field for U.S. companies, would be to eliminate the double taxation. After all, that is the variable that the U.S. has control over. We cannot dictate what other countries do, and tariffs on imported goods only risk retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods in other nations. We are at a point where trade barriers should be coming down, not going up. And then, if the U.S. companies still cannot compete, too bad. It's time to find another line of work.

I actually caught this display on CSPAN this weekend. There is no love lost between these two.

This should come as no surprise.

[At McMahon's Brownstone Alehouse in Hoboken, NJ] the pub's owner, Francis McMahon, said many new faces are frequenting his bar - and a good chunk of them say they are there because they can smoke.

"This is a hard business, but the ban in New York [City] is helping us," McMahon said.

Proponents of smoking bans, like Drew (whose permalink no worky), try to make the point that smokers will eventually get used to not smoking, and no longer care; a point that is not new to the debate. Drew, however, makes a false analogy to the smoking ban at his high school. I understand your point, Drew, but customers aren't rounded up for truancy when they choose not to go to a bar after work.

Even if people do get used to being oppressed, that doesn't make it right. When property rights are nullified, which is what a smoking ban does, business owners and employees both suffer the economic consequences. Something NYC Mayor Bloomberg calls, "a minor economic issue."

The bottom line of this issue is that nobody forces people to patronize, or work in, a bar where smoking is permitted. Employees can quit and go find another job, and customers can leave and go find another place to patronize. If there really is a huge demand for non-smoking establishments, market economics dictate that someone will meet the demand. If you think 90% of the people would prefer a non-smoking restaurant, then open your own damned restaurant and wait for the crowd to come pouring in.

It is just that simple.

Toranto had some notable quotables today. These two were probably the most bizzare.

"The energy of the stars becomes us. We become the energy of the stars. Stardust and spirit unite and we begin: One with the universe." -- Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Presidential Candidate.

"I can personally say that I am the only person running for the presidency of the United States that knows what it's like to stand up without being able to go to the bathroom for five hours." -- Howard Dean, Democratic Presidential Candidate.

Well, at least they can pronounce nucular.

I am deeply upset that I have been excluded from receiving the Child Tax Credit. Unlike people making minimum wages, I actually pay taxes. (Thousands of dollars in taxes) Unfortunately for me, not only will I not receive the $400 increase in the child tax credit, I won't receive the initial $600 either. I am being discriminated against simply because I was smart enough not to have any children. Now, I realize that many of you are probably thinking that I've gone off the deep end, but please hear me out.

You may be thinking that since I don't have any children, I don't "need" the child tax credit. You may be thinking that the child tax credit is for people that have actual children. To that, I ask why do people with children get to claim them as dependents, AND receive a child tax credit, while I get neither? To me, it doesn't seem very fair.

I can understand that people that are caring for dependents, can certainly benefit from a lower tax liability, but they already have that in the form of deductions. They've had it for years. Joe Taxpayer claims himself, his wife, and his four kids as deductions from his income. Then for some reason, and I suspect it has something to do with political vote buying schemes, he gets to double dip, and claim those children again for a "child tax credit". Here I am, Mr. Single Guy, Mr. Responsibility, paying huge sums of cash to the government every year, so that Joe, who doesn't know what a condom is, or how to use it get to claim his children twice and get out of paying taxes altogether.

[This is the part where people get upset at me, and claim that I don't "need" the money as much as Joe, or some single mom with four kids.]

Well that may be true, however, nobody forced Joe to go out and have four kids that he could not afford to raise. Bringing a child into the world without the means to care for it, is the worst form of abuse, and it certainly should not be rewarded. If anything, people with children should pay more taxes because they use more government services. Instead they punish those of us that don't have children by making us cough up more tax money every year.

It looks like there is more talk of doing an Indy 4. The AP reports that the subject came up to Harrison Ford recently, when he received a star on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. Ford said of the Indiana Jones script:

"I don't know anything about it except that Steven's very enthusiastic," he said. "He's got a period of time to work on the script before I see it. So I should see it in a couple of weeks."

Does that mean a new film about the whip-cracking archaeologist is a definite go?

"I can't say that until I read it," Ford said. "But it feels like a go to me."

Then again, Harrison is getting older, so perhaps there is some urgency.

Sky News is reporting that Comical Ali is alive and well, and living in Baghdad. What a relief. I expect the Iraq Body Count to decrease by one.

For some reason, though, I'm reminded of something...

I wonder if this is how they discovered him?

The Dead Collector: Bring out yer dead!
[A man puts a body on the cart.]
Large Man with Dead Body: Here's one.
The Dead Collector: That'll be ninepence.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm not dead!
The Dead Collector: What?
Large Man with Dead Body: Nothing. There's your ninepence.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm not dead!
The Dead Collector: 'Ere, he says he's not dead.
Large Man with Dead Body: Yes he is.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm not!
The Dead Collector: He isn't.
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, he will be soon, he's very ill.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm getting better!
Large Man with Dead Body: No you're not, you'll be stone dead in a moment.
The Dead Collector: Well, I can't take him like that. It's against regulations.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I don't want to go on the cart!
Large Man with Dead Body: Oh, don't be such a baby.
The Dead Collector: I can't take him.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I feel fine!
Large Man with Dead Body: Oh, do me a favor.
The Dead Collector: I can't!
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, can you hang around for a couple of minutes? He won't be long.
The Dead Collector: I promised I'd be at the Robinsons'. They've lost nine today.
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, when's your next round?
The Dead Collector: Thursday.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I think I'll go for a walk!
Large Man with Dead Body: You're not fooling anyone, you know. Isn't there anything you could do?
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I feel happy! I feel happy!
[The Dead Collector glances up and down the street furtively, then silences the Body with his a whack of his club.]
Large Man with Dead Body: Ah, thank you very much.
The Dead Collector: Not at all. See you on Thursday.
Large Man with Dead Body: Right.

Wow, some actual praise for webloggers. While I really don't give a hoot that some paid blogger who writes for geeks and computer programmers thinks that I am antisocial, it is nice to hear something positive every once in a while. John Naughton of the Observer (UK) writes:

I would sooner pay attention to particular blogs than to anything published in Big Media - including the venerable New York Times. This is not necessarily because journalists are idiots; it's just that serious subjects are complicated and hacks have neither the training nor the time to reach a sophisticated understanding of them - which is why much journalistic coverage is inevitably superficial and often misleading, and why so many blogs are thoughtful and accurate by comparison.

Even though most reporters deny it, it IS all about the money. Otherwise they wouldn't have a job. Media outlets that freely admit that their primary function is to earn money for their owners score big points with me. Neal and Rush are the first to admit that they are nothing more than entertainers, whose sole purpose is to keep people glued to the station while they run ads. Fox News also admits this, as they routinely mention having to "pay the bills" whenever they cut to a commercial break.

Then there are the media outlets out there that suffer from delusions of grandeur. The ones that act as though they are making some great sacrifice in the name of pubic servitude. Shows like NBC's Dateline, who once deceitfully strapped explosives to a GMC pickup truck to demonstrate how easily it exploded in an auto accident. Earlier this year, Dateline chastised Fox for pandering to Michael Jackson's freakishness, despite the fact that NBC had offered Jackson a cool $5 Mill to obtain the same content. They try to pretend it's about news, when it's really about money. If it weren't about money, CNN wouldn't try to charge you $40 every time you click on a video on their site. If it weren't about money, the 11:00 news would give you the good stories in the first five minutes, instead of making you stay up late. If it weren't about money, they'd be PBS, who runs just enough ads to pay the bills that the taxpayers don't cover. (Even with PBS, it's about getting more money from viewers, or more access to public funds, so that they can pay for their pet projects, or 'artistic' shows that don't have enough entertainment value to hold an audience.)

So how does this apply to blogging? Well, there are some bloggers out there that do it for the money. There are others out there that simply want to take advantage of their traffic, and earn a few extra bucks. Others still, claim that they just want to recoup their production costs. I don't really have a problem with anyone doing that. It is their business, and this is America, so I say go for it.

Personally though, I refuse to run ads, accept gifts, or try to earn any money from the web site. Basically, I run this web site, for my own personal interests. I like it when people visit, and I like it when traffic goes up. I get a certain amount of enjoyment and self satisfaction out of it, but that is not my reason for existing. I do not want my mission to be about increasing traffic, or earning money. I feel that once I start down that road, it gives me an obligation to my readers, or to my advertisers to keep people coming back. I feel that I'll have to be entertaining, or at least attempt to hold an audience. I feel that I'll have to make some guarantee about quality, and pander to readers' interests. It would basically mean that I would have to post more photos of Anna Kournikova, and less photos of my pistols. It would mean that I would have to open up my blogroll to hundreds and hundreds of web sites, to feast off of the reciprocating linkage. It would mean that I'd have to try to unlock the hidden secrets to the MT trackback system that confounds so many of us.

Perhaps one day, I'll change, and actually care about revenue generated from this site. Perhaps one day my hosting fees will get so prohibitively expensive, I'll have to do something to cover the cost. Then again, perhaps one day, I'll just walk away.

Site traffic increased in May. Here are some raw numbers according to Webalizer: 11583 visitors (7936 last month), 26640 page views (18718 last month), 374537 hits (162261 last month), and 3.07 GB (2.28 last month).

The Ravnwood.com page counter also went over 70,000 last month, with very little fanfare.

There were 140 posts in May, compared to 127 posts in April, 123 in March, 153 in February, 171 in January, 131 in December, 186 in November, 157 in October, and 155 in September.

State's cash grabs have hit a new low. Fox News reports that Illinois plans to take a license plate away from a 93 year old woman, to auction it on the open market. The low numbered license plate, 105, along with thousands of other 'coveted' plates will be sold to the highest bidder. Even though it has been in her family for 40 years, state officials say their need for cash is paramount.

State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka seemed skeptical, however. She says, "I suspect that we will be in court, and it will be lawsuit after lawsuit after lawsuit for people who are going to want to keep their license plates." I tend to agree, and wonder if it will be worth it in the long run.