Bruce has a caption contest going.

World Net Daily has posted one of John Kerry's VVAW flyers (140k), which slams U.S. soldiers. It reads:

A U.S. INFANTRY COMPANY JUST CAME THROUGH HERE!

If you had been Vietnamese ---

We might have burned your house

We might have shot your dog

We might have shot you

We might have raped your wife and daughter

We might have turned you over to your government for torture

We might have taken souvenirs from your property

We might have shot things up a bit

We might have done ALL these things to you and your whole TOWN!

If it doesn't bother you that American soldiers do these things every day to the Vietnamese simply because they are 'Gooks,' then picture YOURSELF as one of the silent VICTIMS.

HELP US TO END THE WAR BEFORE THEY TURN YOUR SON INTO A BUTCHER or a corpse.

VIETNAM VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR

And this is the guy who wants to be Commander in Chief.

Former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell has been indicted by a grand jury for fraud, bribery, and racketeering. As a former resident of that area during Campbell's administration, I am not at all surprised.

Despite several of his aides pleading guilty on related charges, Campbell calls the whole thing a witch hunt. It's only a matter of time before he plays the race card.

I couldn't help but notice the contrast.

Kerry daughters booed at MTV Awards -- World Net Daily
Kerry's daughters received prolonged booing at the network's Music Video Awards in Miami.

"From the moment Alexandra and Vanessa started speaking, the boos outweighed anything close to cheers," according to the Drudge Report.

Okay, so Drudge isn't exactly impartial. But check out the different tone of the story over at CNN.

Kerry, Bush daughters booed on MTV -- CNN
Reaching out to young Americans at MTV's Video Music Awards Sunday night, the daughters of President Bush and his Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry were met by loud cheers and jeers.

It was unclear exactly whom the cheers and the boos were meant for or why.

I found it all to be inconclusive, but you can judge for yourself.

Maybe Alexandra Kerry should have worn the dress.

The People's Republic of California is set to ban .50 caliber rifles in a feel-good effort to make their subjects feel safe from terrorists. Of course the law will have no impact on crime committed with .50 caliber rifles, mainly because their is none. And should their be a terrorist act committed with one in the future, it will only prove the futility of it all.

Frankly, California has banned so many different types of guns I am not at all surprised by this. Lets face it, California gun laws are so confusing even the police and district attorneys cannot keep up.

Once again, if the national .50 caliber ban takes hold, I'm buying one.

Once again, the Virginian Pilot just doesn't get it. They start off their anti-gun editorial by calling for the so-called "Assault Weapon" ban to be renewed, and then back it up by relying heavily on the flawed analysis of the gun-ban group, Violence Policy Center. It has been widely pointed out that the VPC study greatly expands to the term "assault weapon" to include firearms that aren't covered by the ban. But if they put so much reliance in the VPC, why don't they mention that Tom Diaz, spokesman for the VPC, called the ban ineffective: "If the existing assault weapons ban expires, I personally do not believe it will make one [bit] of difference one way or another in terms of our objective which is reducing death and injury and getting particularly lethal class of firearms off the street, so if it doesn't pass, it doesn't pass."

Perhaps even more disturbing is their cavalier attitude about the Bill of Rights.

Outlawing assault weapons won't violate the Second Amendment any more than outlawing machine guns. There's no sport in using these weapons to hunt.

First of all, machine guns are not outlawed just heavily regulated. And even that is a violation of the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment clearly states: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Have they not read the Consitution, or do they not understand the what "shall not be infringed" means? Imagine the reaction from the press if we claimed that the First Amendment only protected fiction, or didn't protect political speech.

Bush is down 14 points in California, but his point man in the state remains optimistic.

"We've made a sea change in organizing our party, and in reforms'' which have increased GOP registration by 300,000 in California and pumped up party coffers, said Parsky, who chairs the 343-member state delegation here.

"We've made great strides around the president,'' he said. "The president unites Republicans in California ... and the president has made it clear he's going to compete aggressively here.''

He may put in a good showing, but I still think it would take a miracle for Bush to win there.

In some college towns, students are having trouble registering to vote. Students with on-campus addresses are typically denied registration because the address is considered "temporary".

When your's truly was in college, a story circulated about how local authorities had tried to deny all students (on and off-campus) the right to register. They argued in court that the transient nature of students would skew local politics. In Blacksburg, a town of 35,000 (with about 30,000 of them students), that could very well be true. But judges ruled that you could not permit or deny a person voter registration based solely on how they might vote. If a student wanted to claim their residence locally, the town couldn't stop them. Apparently living on-campus has given them a mechanism to do just that.

Personally, I think a student that lives nearly 10 months out of the year away at college should not only be able to, but has a vested interest in local elections.

Republican Senator John McCain will be speaking at the Republican National Convention, and expressing his support for George W. Bush. Remember when this guy was the first pick for the Democrat Veep?

Lifelong Democrats Zell Miller and Ed Koch are also on the George Bush bandwagon.

"We are the majority. A majority of this country opposes this war ... a majority of this country never voted for this administration." -- Filmmaker and propagandist Michael Moore.

Ahh, "majority rules". A simple (and dangerous) concept for a simple (and dangerous) mind.

- A majority was responsible for slavery.
- A majority live off the taxes of the minority.
- A majority have nullified the property rights of the minority.
- And of course, a majority also never voted for Clinton.

There are different types of tyranny. The most well known is the subjugation of the many by the one. Many times throughout history, a single ruler has oppressed the masses. But there is also the subjugation of the one to the many. Today, with increasing frequency, the rule of the masses has oppressed the one.

But don't take my word for it:

"It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part. If a majority be united by a common interest, the rights of the minority will be insecure." -- James Madison, Federalist Paper No. 51.

"Measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority." -- James Madison, Federalist Paper No. 10.

Here are the first pictures from the anti-Bush protests at the Republican National Convention.

Note the lack of body armor on the policeman.

So far, the Republicans seem to be handling the protests pretty well. Contrast this with photos from the protests at the DNC Convention in Boston.

Related articles:
Is this America? - 07/27/2004

The total gun ban in Washington D.C. is working so predictably, they've had to call out the national guard to help deter violent crime.

Tell that to Fairfax Democrat and anti-gunner Janet Howell, who seems to think that D.C. is a safer place to be.

Or perhaps the Washington Post Op-Editors who claim "Virginia is for gun-lovers" and praise the District because they "don't allow all these "freedoms"" should read their own paper.

My compliments to James Taranto to pointing out this bit of fuzzy math by Reuters.

"Now It's Official: Economy Shrunk"--headline, Reuters, Aug. 27

"U.S. gross domestic product--which measures total output within the nation's borders--expanded at a 2.8 percent annual rate in the second quarter."--Reuters, same story

This goes back to the definition of a cut.

The former Senator from Georgia, Max Cleland, has been circling the country campaigning for John Kerry and poking fun at President Bush. In a recent publicity stunt, Cleland showed up at Bush's ranch in Crawford Texas and tried to get Bush to answer questions. So you can imagine my surprise to learn that Cleland is actually a Bush appointee and is drawing a $136,000 paycheck for doing pretty much nothing.

It must be a slow news day.

Note the slight bit of editorializing CNN does in the URL by using the word rabble-rouser.

The college football season starts today and Virginia Tech kicks it off against top ranked USC. I will be at the game at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, so if you watch it on TV be sure to look for me. I'll be the drunk guy yelling obscenities at the ref.

Despite what the Vegas oddsmakers think (18.5 points), I am confident we have a good chance to beat USC. They are from Southern California, and are thus not used to our clean, fresh, smog-free air. However it turns out, there is a 100% chance of drunken revelry.

A janitor at a British gallery apparently saw the bag of trash and promptly through it away.

A bag of rubbish that was part of a Tate Britain work of art has been accidentally thrown away by a cleaner.

The bag filled with discarded paper and cardboard was part of a work by Gustav Metzger, said to demonstrate the "finite existence" of art.

It was thrown away by a cleaner at the London gallery, which subsequently retrieved the damaged bag.

Over here in the United States, the National Endowment for the Arts spends millions of tax dollars a year on exhibits like this.

Geek reports that the state of New Jersey has greatly expanded the term "assault weapon". You'd be surprised what they are including now.

Spoons points out that in a bout of election year pandering, President Bush is claiming that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are the "only likely explanation" for global warming.

It guess that rules out the fact that the sun is burning brighter now than any time in the past 1150 years.

Mike Williams' NCAA career is over. They turned him down for reinstatement. A lot of pundits are slamming the NCAA and want Williams to be reinstated, but I think Stewart Mandel nailed it earlier this month.

Williams has no desire to be a student-athlete. Period. Don't believe me? Check out his comments to the local beat writers Saturday about his geography and cinema classes. "It's trying," Williams said. "People don't understand the situation. How you want to get up and take a flight back home. But I owe it to these guys to stick around."

How noble. He doesn't really want to, but for the good of the team, Mike is willing to sit through a couple of classes this summer. Never mind that every one of his teammates carries that cumbersome burden of having to actually attend college, as do the other 12,000 or so individuals fortunate enough to play Division I-A football. [...]

How's this for entitlement? Among the estimated $100,000 in expenses Mike Williams had to repay former agent Mike Azzarelli in order to be considered for reinstatement was the use of a private plane for a trip to the Bahamas. And that was after he'd been disqualified from the draft. He also got to receive world-class training at Competitive Edge Sports in Duluth, Ga. (a favorite among NFL prospects), get his face plastered on football cards and fulfill every kid's dream by landing an endorsement deal with Nike.

Sorry, Mike. Whether or not you paid back the money, whether or not you got screwed by the NFL, you don't get to live the life of a pro for four months then, when things don't work out for you, come crawling back to college. The classrooms at USC weren't designed as a place for future first-rounders to kill time.

I'm sure there will be a lot of political hay made from the Census Bureau's announcement that poverty is on the rise. The problem with the numbers stems from their definition of poverty:

The Census Bureau's definition of poverty varies by the size of the household. For instance, the threshold for a family of four was $18,810, while for two people it was $12,015.

Your level of income does not necessarily translate into wealth. For instance a person could have a really bad year and make $12,000 and follow it up the next year with $150,000. By the governments definition he's gone from rags to riches, but in reality, he's middle class.

Moreover, a person could have hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank and be cruising around the world on a yacht. But since they aren't earning at least $12,000, he must be living in poverty.

By this standard, the four years I went to college I was living in poverty.

UPDATE: Neal has more:

The average American defined as "poor" by the federal government enjoys a higher standard of living than the average European; not the average poor European ... the average European. It's a scam, folks. A scam to enable more government. If a person has a roof over their head, food in their cupboard, a television set, a washer and dryer, a microwave, air conditioning and a car. Sorry folks, but that ain't poverty.

When Kerry told Bush he should try to stop the Swift Vets, Bush appeared to take the upper hand by lamented all 527 groups. But he is a fool for proposing this:

President Bush wants to work with Sen. John McCain to take legal action against "shadowy" outside groups that have been spending millions of dollars on ads criticizing the president and Democratic rival Sen. John Kerry, the White House said Thursday.

How can this not violate the First Amendment. That he is proposing government censorship is shocking!

Politicians do not own the political process, nor should they be allowed to silence us. Of course they would all feel just dandy if they could eliminate criticism of themselves. But that they are considering using the police power of the government to make it happen is tyranny. Bush should be tarred and feathered for persuing this.

And I would think the political backlash from this would be devastating.

Alice Cooper weighs in on rock musicians who wade into the political foray.

"If you're listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you're a bigger moron than they are. Why are we rock stars? Because we're morons. We sleep all day, we play music at night and very rarely do we sit around reading the Washington Journal."

"Besides," he continued, "when I read the list of people who are supporting Kerry, if I wasn't already a Bush supporter, I would have immediately switched. Linda Ronstadt? Don Henley? Geez, that's a good reason right there to vote for Bush."

Sadly, there are moronic voters out there that are so easily swayed.

"The truth, which is what elections are all about, is that the tax burden of the middle class has gone up while the tax burden of the middle class has gone down." -- John Kerry, quoted by the Associated Press, August 25, 2004.

If you wonder why your $39 cell phone plan ends up costing you $50 a month it probably has a lot to do with line items. You might assume that most of those taxes and fees are for mandates imposed by the goverment. But in the case of some mobile carriers, they could be a clever way for carriers to keep you from weighing competing plans equally.

The fees aren't taxes, though they may look that way on your bill. Wireless, long-distance and local phone service companies use fees like these chiefly to recoup normal business expenses, including property taxes and the cost of posting their rates on the Web.

"The explosion of line items has made it all but impossible for consumers to compare rates and shop around," FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps said in March. "You need a lawyer and an accountant -- preferably both -- to root out what you're being charged for and why."

Given that T-Mobile recently changed accounting practices and started counting fees toward their revenue, I wonder if there will be any SEC implications too.

If you want to deal with an actual person, Northwest Airlines is going to start charging you up to $10 a ticket. Likewise, they are going to start charging travel agents up to $7.50 to book tickets on Northwest. (Didn't they used to pay travel agents to book their tickets?) At United Airlines, frequent fliers who want to book an award ticket will be charged $15 if they choose not to book online.

Of course this is all part of air travel becoming a commodity. With there being little or no differentiation between the airlines, it's no wonder customers are always looking for the lowest price.

My prediction: This will spread to grocery stores. Right now you have the option of ringing up and bagging your groceries yourself. In a few years, customers will probably be charged extra (like they are for gas) if they still want full service.

The liberal idea of fair and balanced is getting Alan Alda to play a Republican on the West Wing.

Celebrities are lining up to support he anti-Bush campaign of Moveon.org. The "A-list" includes: Benny Boom, Moby, the Roots, Natalie Merchant, Kevin Bacon, Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Norman Mailer's son, Woody Harrelson, Martin Sheen, John Sayles, Margaret Cho, Matt Damon, Rob Reiner, Illeana Douglas, Ione Skye, and Scarlett Johanssen.

Whew.

Spoons points out that Glenn gets as much traffic in a day as sites like this get in a year.

If the children are our future, we may all be doomed. Some educators are going the extra mile to turn America into a nation of sissies, and this year it shows more than ever. Now they want to ban red ink because it's too frightening.

When it comes to correcting papers and grading tests, purple is emerging as the new red.

"If you see a whole paper of red, it looks pretty frightening," said Sharon Carlson, a health and physical education teacher at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Northampton. "Purple stands out, but it doesn't look as scary as red."

The color red is scary? You've got to be kidding me!

Red's legacy as the color used in correcting papers and marking mistakes goes back to the 1700s, the era of the quill pen. In those days, red ink was used by clerks and accountants to correct ledgers. From there, it found its way into teachers' hands.

So we've been using red for hundreds of years. But now all of a sudden it's a problem. These people are crazy. (not mentally unbalanced, not socially unstable, they are crazy) Check out what some of the teachers have to say about it:

"I do not use red," said Robin Slipakoff, who teaches second and third grades at Mirror Lake Elementary School in Plantation, Fla. "Red has a negative connotation, and we want to promote self-confidence. I like purple. I use purple a lot."

Sheila Hanley, who teaches reading and writing to first- and second-graders at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Randolph, said: "Red is definitely a no-no. But I don't know if purple is in."

I could see this easily translating to the grown-up world. Yeah, he's still fired, but we don't like to make the "pink slips" pink. It's too negative. We use purple with yellow polkadots to make the worker feel good about themselves on the way down to the unemployment office.

Related articles:
The Sissification of America VI - 04/20/2004
The Sissification of America V - 02/09/2004
The Sissificaton of America IV - 11/04/2003
The Sissification of America III - 07/28/2003
The Sissification of America II - 06/11/2003
The Sissification of America - 05/12/2003
The Empire Strikes Backpack - 01/06/2003
California trades back pain for eye strain - 10/14/2003

The Communist Dictator from North Korea, Kim Jong Il, has made his choice for U.S. President. Big surprise, it isn't Bush.

"The North Koreans made it very clear, politely, that they want Mr. Kerry to win the election," said Kenneth Quinones, a former U.S. diplomat who was in Pyongyang this month for a Korean studies conference.

"North Koreans are going to play wait-and-see," Quinones added in an interview in Tokyo.

Rather than negotiate peacefully with Bush, they seem to be biding their time to see if he gets booted from office this November. I wonder why would they rather negotiate with Kerry than with Bush?

Gun grabbers are working overtime to spread lies and deceit about the so-called Assault Weapons Ban. Check out some of these whoppers:

Labbe wrote that the assault weapons ban covers guns "no deadlier than my .22-250 deer rifle." However, most deer rifles are designed to fire a few bullets before being reloaded. Assault weapons can fire 150 bullets without reloading. I say that makes them far deadlier than the average hunting rifle. It takes just five seconds to spray 30 rounds from an Uzi semi-automatic assault weapon. The law bans features that would never be associated with hunting, such as grenade launchers, flash suppressors and barrel shrouds. Hunting rifles aren't the same as assault weapons.

If criminals can pull an Uzi trigger 6 times a second, I guess anything is possible. BWS designed a 300 round magazine for the Uzi 9mm. It stands over 5 feet tall and weighs more than 16 lbs fully loaded. That doesn't include the weight of the gun. Of course they also make a .50 caliber BMG entry weapon. And to think, pundits said a .50 BMG subgun was impossible.

There are plenty more lies, damn lies, and statistics in this piece, but they aren't worth giving any more attention. Mostly the author plays loose with the definition of "assault weapons", and then quotes statistics about gun deaths which not only includes all guns (not just "assault weapons"), but suicides and even defensive uses.

A month after signing the largest tax increase in Virginia's 400 year history, the Virginia Governor Mark "I will not raise taxes, I will not raise taxes, I will not raise taxes" Warner announced we were actually running a budget surplus of more than $300 Million. We are also expected to run an even larger budget surplus for the this fiscal year which started July 1st. After much criticism, Warner announced that he will accelerate the planned increase in personal exemptions.

Addressing a joint meeting of the General Assembly's powerful committees responsible for crafting the state budget, Warner said that the commonwealth's $324 million surplus -- which is fueled by higher- than-expected tax collections during the latter part of the fiscal year -- allowed him to begin the break Jan. 1, 2005, instead of a year later.

This change will provide each family of four with $400 of income free from state income tax, beginning with paychecks they receive in January," Warner told a packed room of lawmakers, lobbyists and state officials at the morning meeting.

That means a family of four will get $400, right? Well, no. It means that a family of four will get to deduct $400 off their Virginia income tax return. Assuming Virginia's highest tax rate of 5.75%, that would mean a tax cut of $23 for that family of four. Your's truly stands to haul in an extra $5.75

I cannot wait until Warner and his tax and spend cronies start selling this as a tax cut.

British mums are pushing for tougher knife laws.

The mothers of two murdered Lincolnshire teenagers are demanding tougher punishments for people caught carrying knives.

The mother of schoolboy Luke Walmsley says the offenders should face the same sentences as those found with guns.

Why don't they just pass a law against murder?

The mothers' campaign is being backed by a national organisation - the Victims of Crime Trust.

Trust director Norman Brennan said: "Each year more people are murdered by knives than guns."

He said tougher sentencing for knife offenders should be a priority for the government when it returns after parliament's summer break.

What? More people are being murdered by guns? But guns are already banned.

Under current law possessing a firearm carries a mandatory five-year prison sentence, but offenders could be jailed for up to 10 years.

Anyone caught carrying a knife without good reason faces a maximum sentence of four years.

If the blade is less than three inches long the punishment could be as little as a �50 fine or a caution.

That's right, if these nuts were running the asylum the pen knife I keep in my pocket (and use every day at work) would get me an $90 fine.

What, you mean loud rock music won't deter a hungry bear?

Not even loud rock 'n' roll music could discourage a 350-pound bear that repeatedly raided plums and watermelons from a couple's garden.

Eldon and Gerry Nihues hung a radio from the plum tree, tuned it into a rock station and turned it up loud in hopes of scaring off the bear, which helped itself to about 50 watermelons, including 11 in one night.

"It was this crazy rock stuff that was playing, but it didn't bother him," Gerry Nihues said. "He'd eat the plums right out from under where the thing was playing."

The local Wildlife department trapped, tranquilized, and relocated the bear. I think a 12 gauge shotgun and some hefty bags would have been cheaper. Better yet, have the guy made into a nice throw rug in front of your fireplace.

Once again "hate crimes" are being treated more seriously than regular crimes. To me, murder is murder and should be dealt with accordingly, but in some areas murder is more serious when the killer doesn't love his victim?

Some 25 detectives have been called into the investigation. Among the possibilities they are considering is that the killing might have been a hate crime, Edmonds told reporters. The two were evangelical Christian camp counselors with plans to marry and open a Christian camp of their own.

Investigators at the scene along the rugged Sonoma County coast had found no evidence that robbery, sexual assault or suicide had occurred.

"They were shot in the head and that was it. It is very odd," Sonoma County community services officer Dave Huber said.

Note to hate criminals: rape your victims or steal their wallets next time so that police don't think the killings are too unusual. Who knows it might even lessen your punishment if you can prove you had a normal motive.

Reuters reports:

President Bush said on Monday advertisements by independent groups attacking Democrat John Kerry's service in Vietnam should be stopped along with all other ads run by independent groups.

The president said he wants to stop "all of them. That means that ad and every other ad." He was referring to a commercial by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, who have claimed Kerry lied about his record.

Unlike previous statements by the White House, Bush this time referred specifically to the ad attacking Kerry's Vietnam service record.

He did not specify what action might be taken to stop the advertisements run by independent groups.

Any specific actions taken to prevent campaign advertising is a violation of the First Amendment. In this author's opinion, the mere suggestion by political powers that be that 527 groups should cease and desist their ad efforts reeks of intimidation. Shame on both the Republicans and Democrats for even thinking such a thing.

And why is the press letting them get away with this? Could it be that they want to continue to enjoy a near monopoly on campaign speech? With 527 groups out of the way it's much easier for the media to continue furthering their political agenda. Otherwise you would think they would be the biggest proponents for keeping political speech unregulated.

That we are even discussing the regulation of political speech is appalling. Should specific action be taken on either side of the political aisle, it's time to gather up the tar and feathers.

Back in 1997, a group of friends got together to go see the movie Titanic. I was unable to go because Monk and I got stuck babysitting. When I say "stuck" I really mean "volunteered", and when I say "babysitting" I really mean "telling the kids to go play while we played games on the computer and got drunk." At the time, we both figured why bother. The movie seemed predictable enough: kids fall in love, boat sinks, she lives, he dies, blah blah blah.

A year or two later Monk finally watched Titanic on VHS. He told me to just put in tape two, but I never bothered. For years afterward I would hear people talking about the movie.

"Have you seen Titanic?" they would ask.

"You mean the iceberg movie? Kids fall in love, boat sinks, she lives, he dies. Nope, never seen it."

Many people wouldn't believe me, or would accuse me of lying. Or they would try to explain it to me like I cared.

"Well you see there's this boat, and an iceberg..."

Well, a few months ago I saw the DVD on sale for $10, so I broke down and bought it. I figured 7 years was long enough, so this weekend I finally freed the movie from it's cellophane prison and watched Titanic.

If you haven't seen it, aside from the obvious Iceberg vs. the unsinkable ship, the movie is about a slutty rich girl slumming it with a homeless transient on her way across the Atlantic. Her lack of virtue and morals are justly rewarded when a giant iceberg comes from out of nowhere to smite her and her forbidden lover boy. I found the movie to be quite watchable, but I still found myself actually rooting for the Iceberg. I also wanted the predictable villian, Billy Zane, to punch that smartmouthed brat in the face; just because.

They also made me wait nearly two hours to see a single boob shot of the comely tramp Gwenyth Paltrow Kate Winslet. I understand that they can't show too much and maintain their PG-13 rating, but come on. Kramer vs. Kramer was rated PG and they rewarded the audience with full frontal JoBeth Williams.

Overall, I'm glad I didn't spend $10 to see it in the theater. The movie's not bad so much as it is long, and dull. Okay, so maybe it is bad. Yeah, I know the movie won 11 Oscars, but aside from Best Picture and Director the rest were all nobody awards like Best Digital Iceberg Effects. Neither Caprio, Winslet, nor the Iceberg won any acting awards.

New Jersey governor McGreevey wrote an op-ed for the New York Times (a newspaper from a neighboring state) defending his decision to stave off a special election.

First, there are immediate public policy considerations and actions, which need to be completed. Simply put, there are demands and projects which need to be addressed and put in place now. [...]

Moreover, security concerns in light of the heightened level of terror alerts surrounding the Republican National Convention also argue for continuity of leadership.

He was so concerned about security he tried to appoint his lover, a poet and a foreign national, to head the state's Homeland Security Department.

The second major reason is that our 1947 state constitution establishes the Senate president as the official who would succeed a governor in an unexpired term. I acknowledge that the constitution would permit a special election to occur if I were to resign at or about the first week of September. But the constitution does not outline provisions or state requirements for the timing of a resignation. While the constitution does provide the mechanism for an election, the decision of when to make that resignation effective is a personal one.

I made this decision in the context of what I thought was in the best interest of the state. I truly believe that an orderly transition is important for continuity and stability. An acting governor is more inclined by title to finish the good work that has been started. Moreover, in this case, there will still be an election next year as called for in the constitution. There is a great cost to staging an election hastily; even a statewide race could get lost in a national election year and the momentum and investment made in still developing initiatives would most likely be diminished.

So his social programs, political agenda, and legacy are more important to the well being of the state than the distraction of free elections. If his resignation can wait three months, why not another few years? Will he even go through with it in November, or will there be more work to do?

With new federal overtime rules set to take effect today, a lot of people are confused as to who should be paid overtime and who shouldn't.

On Monday, new federal rules detailing which workers get time-and-a-half and which ones don't are due to take effect. The changes mark the first major overhaul of the federal overtime law in more than 50 years. In response, employers and employees alike are scrambling to figure out what they mean.

With some 500 pages of legalese to pour over, the task isn't easy. [...]

Look on the bright side: the previous rules spelled out these and other exemptions in roughly 30,000 words. The new guidelines take only 13,000.

You can't tell me that 500 pages and tens of thousands of words just to say who gets overtime and who doesn't isn't too much government meddling. It seems to me that all this regulation could easily be scrapped.

Far be it if for me to simplify things, but I would think you could just leave it up to the employee and employer. Just like salary and benefits are negotiated depending on who has the clout in the relationship, so could overtime pay. If you have a rare skillset or there is a high demand for your labor, you could negotiate overtime pay. Likewise, during periods of high unemployment when labor is cheap, employers could get away without paying overtime.

Why should the government have any say in what price I charge for my labor? If I want to work for free or charge doubletime, it should be my business and the business of my employer.

UPDATE: Not surprisingly, Neal Boortz and I are on the exact same page.

With all the campaign promises being bandied about and politicians looking to buy as many votes as possible, it looks like free government health care is inevitable.

"Free" health care sounds like a noble goal, but with it come all the serious problems of any new entitlement. Perhaps most obvious is that with any entitlement, the government has to compel someone to provide it. They can either force doctors to work for free, which is essentially stealing, or they can seize tax dollars from you and me to pay for it, which is essentially stealing. Most likely they'll do both; forcing doctors to work at a "discount", and then seizing tax dollars to pay for the discounted medical care.

If the Republican-controlled Congress enacted President Bush's entire health care agenda, as many as 10 million people who lack health insurance would be covered at a cost of $102 billion over the next decade, according to his campaign aides. [...]

Kerry, for example, estimates his health care proposals would cover 27 million people at a 10-year cost of $653 billion. But that assumes $300 billion in "savings" that the Bush team says might prove elusive. Without the savings, the cost of the Kerry package jumps to nearly $1 billion. [that should read $1 Trillion]

Both candidates are pushing for taxpayer provided health care. At least with Bush you're more likely to get much needed tort reform to help lower medical costs. Kerry seems to be more than happy to enrich his trial lawyer buddies while soaking the evil, hated rich to pay for it.

The Democrats are once again coming out in favor of censorship. This time John Edwards is claiming that Bush could stop ads being run by the independent "527" group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Edwards, a senator from North Carolina, said President Bush could end the dispute if he were to say, "Stop these ads."

What should he do? Intimidate them? Use police power? Then he would be blamed for stifling free speech.

Both Kerry and Bush have filed complaints with the FEC about the ads. Of course, they both have Campaign Finance Reform and themselves to blame.

I just caught the tail end of a men's Olympic basketball game, where about $50 Million worth of NBA talent got schooled by 5 white guys on the Lithuanian team. Not to take anything away from the Lithuanian Olympians, but when is the last time you saw any white guys on an NBA team. They are still there, but they're usually warming the bench or taking drink orders for the real players.

So, I ask you, if a bunch of white guys on the Lithuanian team can beat a team of all or mostly black NBA pro athletes, why aren't there more whiteys in the NBA? Maybe the pro scouts should take a look around the eastern bloc for some fresh talent.

UPDATE: Opinion Journal takes a look at why Americans are cheering the Europeans in Olympic Basketball.

A mentally ill suspect in Indianapolis went on a shooting spree with an SKS rifle. Thanks to the handywork and bravery of the boys in blue, he's now taking the eternal dirt nap. Good work guys.

But unfortunately, situations like this are fodder for the gun grabber crowd. With the upcoming sunset of the 1994 Clinton Gun Ban, the usual suspects are clamoring for action to renew it.

"When the framers wrote that in the Constitution, I'm sure they didn't mean you have a right to bear arms if you are mentally ill. You can get one undetected at a gun show and you can go out and kill somebody with it." Representative Julia Carson said she has already signed on to a letter to President Bush asking him to stop the federal assault weapons ban from expiring Sept. 15.

"Rationally, hunters don't need an assault rifle to kill a rabbit."

No, you need a varmint rifle to kill a rabbit. The .30 caliber SKS isn't bad for larger game though.

Nevermind that an SKS is not affected by the Clinton Gun Ban, this politico thinks the Bill of Rights makes exceptions for certain classes of citizens.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

She wants to make it so that you can't own a gun if she can find a doctor to say you're ill. And for some reason she thinks the Second Amendment is about hunting. Perhaps she should actually try reading the Constitution that she's sworn to uphold.

John Kerry has filed an FEC complaint against the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth for running their anti-Kerry ads. Similar groups like Moveon.org have been running anti-Bush ads for years, and you've hardly heard a peep out of Bush. But as soon as Kerry starts taking some heat, he cries foul.

Personally, I think this strategy will backfire on Kerry. The media has been ignoring or working to discredit the Swift Boat Vets, but now, anyone who hasn't heard of the Vets soon will. It doesn't help that Kerry offers no evidence beyond mere accusation.

It was during a campaign stop Thursday that Kerry, a highly decorated Vietnam veteran, said the fact that Bush won't denounce the ads "tells you everything you need to know -- he wants them to do his dirty work."

Gee, no drawing conclusions there.

Bug Me Not appears to be back.

I have to take issue with this:

Google's Wednesday initial public offering, despite its failure to price as high or sell as many shares as the company had hoped, still made a host of existing stockholders instant millionaires and billionaires.

About a dozen insiders as well as friends, family and some folks just lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time sold portions of their Google holdings for a total of more than $464 million.

The Washington Post doesn't say who these lucky people were that apparently were walking down the street and had a chest full of Google shares fall into their lap.

I'm sure they aren't talking about the Google founders, who with some hard work and diligence, managed to build a multibillion dollar company the size of General Motors. Certainly they are talking about Andreas Bechtolsheim, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems, "who invested $100,000 in 1998 before the company was even formally organized." Sure, Bechtolsheim's stake is now worth $326 Million, but tying up your hard earned money for 6 years is hardly "luck". It takes a lot of fortitude to hand over $100,000 to two guys with little more than a vision and a dream.

No, I think this is just another example of liberal bias. Investors in Google weren't working hard and making smart decisions to earn their millions. No, they just happened to be lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. Maybe someday you or I will be lucky enough to have the Brinks truck pull up to our house and just start tossing sacks of money onto our lawn.

I think I'll cut out of work a few hours early, and buy some lottery tickets and beer on my way home to wait for it.

Someone probably got fired over this. (WMV: 973k)

You have to love ad-bots. They pick up key words in a news article and run with them. Check out this story from CNN/SI about American gymnast Carly Patterson. Patterson won the all-around gymnastics award, a first such win for America since Mary Lou Retton in 1984.

Now check out the advertising links on that same page:

But it's been around since July. Because I wouldn't stand a snowballs chance in hell of winning, I would never actively campaign for anything like this. (cough) click here (cough)

This is getting tiring. Open carry in Virginia is NOT NEW, as the Philadelphia Inquirer would have you believe.

One night recently, 30 people walked into a Fuddruckers restaurant in northern Virginia, most of them openly wearing handguns.

They weren't law-enforcement officers, and they weren't desperadoes. They were law-abiding Virginians, celebrating the state's newly strengthened pro-gun laws.

Virginia - like 36 other states, including Pennsylvania - has a law that requires local courts to issue permits to all nonfelons who want to carry concealed handguns. But the state requires no permit to visibly carry a handgun.

A statute that went into effect July 1 further bolstered the state's gun laws by prohibiting any Virginia locality from enacting any regulations at all on gun ownership, carrying, storage or purchase.

The Commonwealth of Virginia has never regulated open carry. It has been a right of every Virginian for almost 400 years. On July 1st, a state law went into effect that nullfied any local restrictions on firearms. The goal was to have uniform laws throughout the state, so that gunowners wouldn't inadvertently commit a felony by crossing to the other side of the street and entering a different town. There were one or two localities (like Falls Church) that banned open carry.

But these are not demonstrations. In fact, the 30 people in question were members of VCDL going out to dinner after a monthly meeting. As far as I know (I've never attended one), they've been doing these for years.

If you've heard about any of these news stories, you'll notice that they all have one thing in common. People are open carrying in restaurants. The reason they are open carring in restaurants, is because they are obeying state law. When Virginia passed shall issue legistion back in the 1990s, they took away concealed carry in restaurants that also serve alcohol. It had previously been legal, but now is illegal. Thus the only way to carry in a restaurant is openly.

Something many folks don't realize is that gun control laws were initially targeted at Blacks and immigrants. Both slaves and free blacks were debarred the use of arms. In the North, similar gun control laws were passed in response to large waves in immigrants flooding into America.

Gun control in both the North and the South is inherently racist, and was intended to be that way from the start. Even today you'll notice that the most stringent gun control laws are in inner-city urban areas; places where lots of immigrants and black people live. The term "Saturday Night Special" also has a racist connotation.

(And in case you didn't realize, local and federal anti-drug laws followed a very similar path; initially being targeted at Blacks.)

The Ninth Circus Court of Appeals is telling the RIAA and MPAA to leave P2P software alone.

"Under the circumstances presented by this case, we conclude that the defendants are not liable for contributory and vicarious copyright infringement and affirm the district court's partial grant of summary judgment," the Ninth Circuit wrote in its decision (PDF). "In this case, the Software Distributors have not only shown that their products are capable of substantial noninfringing uses, but that the uses have commercial viability."

Basically they are saying that software makers should not be held liable for the criminal misuse of their products. Especially since those products have been shown to have a legitimate use. (I wonder if the 9th would rule that way about firearms?)

What this means for the RIAA is that they need to continue suing their customers for copyright infringement on an individual basis.

Axis of Evil member, Iran, is threatening to make a preemptive strike against the United States and/or Israel.

Six Days Bitch.

Bugmenot.com, the website that posted logins and passwords for newspaper websites, seems to have disappeared. Is their site just down, or was it taken down by the media establishment?

Given the media's obvious desire to protect their right to collect reader's personal information for direct marketing purposes, methinks the latter.

UPDATE: It looks like their host pulled the plug on them.

There is a lot of hoopla surrounding Congressman Bereuter's criticism of the Iraq war. It's being trumpeted by all the news organizations, and is sure to be fodder for Democrats.

But what you aren't hearing much about is that "Maverick" Senator from Georgia, Zell Miller, who has not only "broken ranks" with the Democrats, but is actively campaigning for Bush. Mr. Miller, a lifelong Democrat, will even give a speech at the Republican National Convention.

Neal Boortz points out Kerry's latest flip-flop.

"I will have significant, enormous reductions in the level of troops ...In the Korean peninsula perhaps, in Europe perhaps." -- John Kerry, August 1, 2004.

"Why are we withdrawing unilaterally 12,000 troops from the Korean peninsula at the very time that we are negotiating with North Korea, a country that really has nuclear weapons. This is clearly the wrong signal to send at the wrong time." -- John Kerry, August 18, 2004.

Of course, the August 1st speech was made before President Bush announced his plan to pull troops out of Korea and Europe. Kerry should be saying, 'See, he's stealing my ideas', but instead opts to takes the anti-Bush path.

Yet another congressman wishes Saddam Hussein was back in power. Only this time it's a republican. But he appears to be blaming himself.

Breaking ranks with his party and reversing his earlier stance, a senior retiring Republican lawmaker said Wednesday the military strike against Iraq was "a mistake," and he blasted a "massive failure" of intelligence before the war.

The unexpected four-page statement came from Rep. Doug Bereuter of Nebraska, who until earlier this month was the vice chairman of the House Intelligence Committee -- a panel that reviewed much of the evidence the administration cited before going to war.

How brave of Congressman Bereuter to blame his very own committee for any mistakes made in Iraq. But I'll never understand this glossy explanation that Saddam was an innocent victim in this whole thing.

"I've reached the conclusion, retrospectively, now that the inadequate intelligence and faulty conclusions are being revealed, that all things being considered, it was a mistake to launch that military action, especially without a broad and engaged international coalition," Bereuter wrote in a four-page letter to his constituents.

Read "without France and Germany". God this 'unilateral' argument is getting really old. For the sake of the argument, if we did go it alone, who cares? We still got the job done. Why is a broad international coalition so important if they aren't needed militarily? Is the objective somehow more noble just because France and Germany are on board? I don't buy it.

Bereuter was particularly critical of the pre-war intelligence, which described an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. But no such weapons have been found since the U.S.-led invasion.

Well if you can't find it, it must have never been there right? All those Kurds must have gassed themselves. And the Iranians too. Also, nevermind those sarin gas canisters found by U.S. troops. They were obviously planted by George W. Bush.

Another question that springs to mind is, if we went about this war without an international coalition, just who were we leading in that "U.S.-led invasion"? (Oh that's right... government contractors mercenaries from Halliburton.)

Democrats are showing grave concern for voters being disenfranchised this go 'round. That is, unless you intend to vote for Ralph Nader.

Ralph Nader's efforts to get his name on ballots in important swing states as an independent candidate for president are becoming mired in legal challenges and charges of fraud by Democrats who have mounted an extensive campaign to keep him from becoming a factor in this year's election. [...]

But he is entangled in an assortment of lawsuits, including ones in states that may be the most contested in November. He is in court in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Arizona, and faces potential suits in Oregon, Iowa, New Hampshire, West Virginia and Nevada.

He is also in court in states like Texas (for Bush) and Illinois (for Kerry) that are not expected to be battlegrounds. But the legal challenges there are diverting his time and resources.

This is coming from the party that forced 122 year old Frank Lautenberg onto the ballot for NJ Senator, even though the deadline was so close that absentee ballots had already been mailed. In forcing the ballot switch just days before the election, Democrats like Senate Minority Leader Tom Dashle claimed that violating election law was necessary, in order to give voters a choice.

When it comes to Nader, Democrats are no longer pro-choice.

So these are the type of guys Schwarzenegger was talking about. European men are being shamed into urinating like women.

German men are being shamed into urinating while sitting down by a gadget which is saving millions of women from cleaning up in the bathroom after them.

The WC ghost, a �6 (metric for $10) voice-alarm, reprimands men for standing at the lavatory pan. It is triggered when the seat is lifted. The battery-operated devices are attached to the seats and deliver stern warnings to those who attempt to stand and urinate...

"Hey, stand-peeing is not allowed here and will be punished with fines, so if you don't want any trouble, you'd best sit down," one of the devices orders in a voice impersonating the German leader, Chancellor Gerhard Schroder. Another has a voice similar to that of his predecessor, Helmut Kohl.

The manufacturers of the WC ghost, Patentwert, say they are ready to direct their gadgets at the British market.

Their prototype English-speaking WC ghost says in an American drawl: "Don't you go wetting this floor cowboy, you never know who's behind you. So sit down, get your water pistol in the bowl where it belongs. Ha, ha, ha."

They also plan to copy the voices of Tony Blair and the Queen.

I don't know about you, but if I lift the lid (in Germany or elsewhere) and get yelled at, I'm peeing in the sink.

Somehow I missed the memo that Greeblie blog is no more. I knew Dave was on a semi-hiatus, but apparently he's gone and pulled the plug. I shouldn't feel too sorry for myself though, apparently the Axis of Greeblie didn't know either.

For me this is just another sign that I don't read other weblogs nearly as much as I used to. One reason the blogroll is so small is because I keep it to blogs I read. If I narrowed it to blogs I read every day, you'd probably have trouble finding it.

Well, I guess it's clear that Dave isn't coming back, so if I can remember my blogroll password, I'll smite his name from the list.

Kim du Toit tells the story of a man protecting his family.

Mr Caeiro claimed he was woken by his 28-year-old wife's screams at 2am on Saturday when the burglar came into their bedroom.

He said the 6ft tall intruder had pulled away their 14-month-old daughter's cot from the side of their bed causing the child to fall on the floor and cry.

Mr Caeiro said: "This man was kneeling at the side of my bed and started touching the legs of my wife.

"My wife woke up screaming and then I woke up. The man then ran downstairs and went out through the kitchen door."

Mr Caeiro, who is 5ft 6ins, rang 999 to report the break-in and was told by police that because the intruder was no-longer believed to be in the house they would be there in 15 to 30 minutes.

He said: "I looked out into my yard and saw a shadow. I was frightened and I grabbed the bread knife from a rack because my first thought was that I had to stop my family being harmed. I opened the back door ... then this man attacked me with a metal bar.

"He hit me on the shoulder and I was knocked back into the kitchen. The door opened and the man tried to come inside.

"I stabbed him in the leg and then we ended up fighting and I stabbed him in the chest.

"We fought for about a minute outside ... then he managed to break away and run down the alley at the back of my house."

The police finally showed up, and promptly arrested, guess who... Mr. Caeiro. That's right, this occured in the United Kingdom where self defense has been outlawed. Mr. Caeiro was supposed to pick his 14-month old baby up off the floor, gather the rest of his family, and cower in the closet until representatives of the government arrived. Since he opted to defend his family himself, Caeiro faces possible assault charges which will likely carry a more serious penalty than what the predator faces.

I can't speak for everyone, but most people I know would respond to someone tossing their baby onto the floor and fondling their wife's legs, with extreme prejudice. The pair of pliers and a blow torch type of prejudice.

The CNN Headline reads: "Convicted rapist suits up for college ball"

The AP story reads: "A jury acquitted Dixon of rape, but he was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the molestation charge... On May 3, the Georgia Supreme Court overturned the felony conviction and its 10-year sentence."

Professor Mike Adams has decided to do what he can to help combat violence against women. He realizes that sometimes the best way for a 5-foot 120-pound woman to keep from becoming a victim, is to equalize herself with a handgun. A 6' 4" - 250 pound rapist doesn't stand much of a chance against a Glock. Adams is offering his services and expertise (free of charge), but he's not finding too many takers.

That reminds me, it's been a while so here is my obligatory link to an article by the Independent Women's Forum on disarming women. This should be required reading for all women.

Like I said years ago, the article makes several key points:

• Less than 5% of 911 calls dispatched to police are early enough to actually prevent a crime.
  
• Police and government organizations have no legal obligation to protect you as an individual.
  
• Firearms proficiency can take only a few hours of practice.
  
• While martial arts training may "equalize" the disparity between a woman and an attacker, multiple attackers have an advantage.
  
• Firearms proficiency can make ANY woman strong enough to fend off attackers, regardless of their size or strength.
  
• In more than 92% of "defensive gun uses" simply brandishing a firearm, or firing a warning shot is enough.

Draconian gun control laws and mandatory waiting periods only serve to put law abiding citizens at risk. Forcing or encouraging women to rely on restraining orders and the 9-1-1 system as means of protection is not only foolhardy, it's dangerous. A lot of good a court order does when she's dead. Maybe they can paste it on her tombstone.

It's no secret that France and Germany have been the source of a lot of anti-American sentiment as of late. As far back as 2002, support for U.S. efforts in the war on terrorism has been waning. But now that we've decided to pull tens of thousands of troops out of Germany, the Germans want to know what gives.

"Base closures would hit us very hard," fretted Ole Kruse, spokesman for the Bavarian city of Wuerzburg, home of the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division.

Baumholder, a town in rural western Germany, will lose $150 million a year if the U.S. military training area leaves, Mayor Volkmar Pees complained today to the Associated Press.

"We view this with great concern," Bamberg spokesman Steffen Schuetzewohl chimed in.

To put that number in perspective:

The district of Birkenfeld is one such area that could be hit hard. Up to 20 percent of GDP is dependent on the Baumholder military base in the region where parts of the 1st Infantry Division are now stationed.

Apparently the German moral convictions only go so far:

Despite substantial anger among the German populace at US actions in Iraq, and protests at some bases, many Germans see the economic considerations outweighing moral ones when it comes to a continuing presence of American troops in the neighborhood. Officials have begun doing what they can to convince the Americans to stay.

"We're now in negotiations with the Americans, trying to make it appealing for them to stay at their current sites," said Eric Schaefer, press spokesman for the Interior Ministry of Rhineland-Palatinate, where several bases including Baumholder are located. "We're talking to the US about not just closing the base, but using it differently, perhaps as a training ground."

But keep in mind that these base closures are not new ideas. Base closures have been happening for decades. Bush campaigned on the idea of scaling back foreign military bases, and Clinton used the savings from base closures to pay for military improvements and advancements in equipment.

The Governor of Illinois announced plans to set up a prescription drug program that will violate federal law by importing drugs from other countries and bypassing FDA testing and approval. I've already covered the dangers of importing prescription drugs, noting that:

Buying medicines from Canada may sound reasonably safe, but how would you feel if you knew your drugs were coming into Canada from Bangladesh, Brazil, or Iran. Canadian imports from those countries has increased dramatically, and it's mostly being fueled by U.S. demand. These and other countries like China and the Philippines are known to counterfeit drugs, and all of them are increasing shipments to Canada.

These shipments are processed through drug clearinghouses and usually go uninspected. It is precisely these clearinghouses that Illinois plans to use:

The state won't import the drugs itself, but it plans to contract with a Canadian company to connect Illinois residents with a network of foreign pharmacies that have been approved by state health inspectors. [...]

The clearinghouse Blagojevich proposed Tuesday would be an "aggressive expansion" of the governor's previous push to import drugs from Canada only, and the drugs it would allow access to would be illegal and unregulated by U.S. agencies, said William Hubbard, FDA associate commissioner for policy and planning.

The Governor estimates that savings would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $91 Million to $1.9 Gazillion Billion, depending on the scope of the program.

Of course, what Gov. Blagojevich doesn't say is that Illinois is opening themselves up to untold Billions of dollars in liability if some bad drugs get through. I have a feeling that trial lawyers (like John Edwards) will be chomping at the bit to represent anyone with negative side affects from illegally imported drugs.

If you think I'm overstating the potential for danger, keep this in mind. The Galen Institute reports that:

When asked about the potential impact of U.S. pharmacies limiting shipments to Canadian pharmacies, a Canadian pharmacy owner and non-pharmacist told surveyors for the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy, "We won't have any problem getting drugs. We have creative ways to get them."

Does that sound like someone from whom you want to buy your meds?

Of course all these medicines are sold with liability disclaimers. The foreign e-pharmacies disclaim all liability if you get sick or die from their medicines. Likewise, states that encourage folks to buy drugs from Canada also try to disclaim legal liability. Of course, they can't exactly do that. By promoting behavior that is illegal, the state and local governments are setting up a hazardous condition. Because of the inherent negligence, the state has no protection from liability when someone is injured as a result. State laws vary, but most courts have agreed that negligence offers no liability protection, no matter how many disclaimers people sign.

The bottom line is that public officials need to tread lightly on the subject of drug re-importation. Not only are they breaking federal law, but they are setting themselves up for potential lawsuits. The short term savings just aren't worth the risk. In the long term, it could end up costing much more than it saves.

(Editor's Note: I feel it necessary to point out that I do hold stock in a major pharmaceutical company. I don't think that has biased my opinion, and I stand by the facts I have presented here. But I still think that I should at least let you know.)

I have to chuckle every time I hear the government accuse people of price gouging.

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist filed lawsuits Tuesday against two hotels he said engaged in price gouging and other unfair practices as people fled Hurricane Charley.

These are the same people who use the threat of lethal force to seize money from citizens to pay for government goods and services. I wonder if the state of Florida temporarily rescinded their hotel and restaurant taxes in the wake of the storm? I doubt it.

I'm too lazy to cover the subject thoroughly, so I'll let Neal Boortz take a whack at it:

First we have the guarantee in the United States Constitution that the government will not interfere with the operation of valid contracts between individuals. An agreement by one to sell and another to purchase a chain saw for three times its common retail price is a contract between two individuals. As long as that contract is voluntarily entered into, and there is no fraud involved, and the parties are of the legal age to execute a contract ... the government has no legitimate cause to intervene.

I'm told that yesterday some reporter from the Fox News Channel said that chain saws were being sold in the path of Hurricane Charley for "more than they're worth." Think about this for a moment. If you needed a chainsaw to clear some trees around your home, would you willingly go out and pay more for that chainsaw than it is worth to you? The value of that chainsaw increases with your need for it. If the cost exceeds that value you will walk away. The actions of free people operating in a free market set prices. The only time you will see a product costing more than it is worth is when the government steps in and interferes with basic economic liberties by setting the cost of a product or service. Social Security comes to mind. There is no doubt but that for the average American Social Security costs far more than it is worth. Few people would willingly shell out that kind of money for such a pathetic disability and retirement plan.

In Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations you will find this line: "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest."

If social security isn't price gouging, I don't know what is.

One of the problems with evacuating your home ahead of a storm is that the police never want to let you go back there. They always set up road blocks and tell people it's not safe. The storm blows over and most people just want to get back to start cleaning up and assessing the damage. But they always want to keep you away from your home until some government bureaucrat says it's okay.

Just how far will they go to keep you from putting yourself in danger? Well, in the aftermath down in Florida, police are using tazers to keep some citizens away from their homes.

Baby Geniuses is ranked #29 on the Bottom 100 worst movies. I've seen parts of it, and could make an argument that it's still overrated. Still, with an ultra-low budget of a mere $13 Million it made money. Perhaps that explains why Sony Pictures decided to punish us with a sequel.

Looters are preying on Florida storm victims.

Charlotte County Sheriff's Office spokesman Robert Carpenter said his office is getting regular reports of looting from residents of the area's many storm-wrecked neighborhoods. Carpenter said his officers are responding when able, but that they are saddled with more pressing demands, such as caring for survivors.

"No question about it," he said. "We are behind on these types of calls."

The fear of looting is so widespread, many residents are staying in their damaged homes to protect their valuables. Emergency shelters have far fewer people than officials had expected given the extensive damage in Charlotte County.

Remember, the police have no responsibility to protect you or your property, and in some cases they are simply unable to help even if they wanted to.

But there's one guy these goblins won't victimize.

Down the road in the park sat Vietnam veteran Gary Snyder, drinking Miller High Life. Snyder, who was among only a handful in Harborview who rode out the storm, said residents were anxious about looters, but he was prepared.

"If I see 'em, I'll shoot 'em," he said. "They're gone. I'll tell 'em I had a flashback."

Get some!

UPDATE: Kudos to Jack Cluth for coming up with a pic.

Investigators in Florida are looking into allegations of voter fraud that occurred back in May. Bob Herbert of the New York Times says the investigation is all part of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. He concludes that the "long and ugly tradition of suppressing the black vote is alive and thriving in the Sunshine State".

Two years ago, James Taranto pointed out that Japan keeps the tally rolling on deaths caused by the atomic bombings. This year he reports that they are still using the same old trick:

As of the end of March, the number of hibakusha [atomic bomb survivors] in Japan stood at 273,918. Their average age is 72.46. Over the past year, 5,142 people who suffered from the bombing in Hiroshima have died, bringing the toll to 237,062.

It would appear that eventually the "death toll" from the bombings will top 500,000 people.

A Florida court unilaterally ruled that Governor Jeb Bush's school voucher program violates a provision of the Florida state constitution that clearly states poor, inner-city kids must remain trapped in failing schools. The ruling comes in spite of a 2002 ruling by the United States Supreme Court that found that voucher programs did not violate the U.S. Constitution.

The usual suspects (teachers unions and race warlords at the NAACP) have fought the law since it was enacted in 1999. They claim that the voucher program could destroy the government's stranglehold on edumacation, and give poor and minority students a way out of the ghetto.

I can see there is no French equivalent of the American's with Disabilities Act. Reuters reports:

A wheelchair-bound woman with no limbs sued Air France for discrimination on Friday, alleging she was kept off a flight by a gate agent who told her a "torso cannot possibly fly on its own."

Adele Price, 42, a British citizen, sued the airline in Manhattan federal court seeking unspecified damages.

Price, who was born without limbs because her mother took the drug thalidomide during pregnancy, said in the suit she is able to manipulate a wheelchair and has traveled by air many times.

The suit states that she had bought a ticket in 2000 for travel between Manchester, England and New York. After Price had checked her luggage, she alleged that she was stopped by an Air France agent who told her that "a head, one bottom and a torso cannot possibly fly on its own."

Price said in the suit that Air France let her take another flight to New York but only after she was able to get a companion to go with her. However, Price said she had to pay for the companion's airfare and lodging.

She said the airline also made it difficult for her to return from John F. Kennedy airport to Britain by requiring her to get opinions from four U.S. doctors certifying she was able to fly alone.

It's interesting that she chose an American court in which to sue. Given the flight was a France-US* leg it's not altogether inappropriate. But I still wonder if it doesn't illustrate the friendly perception that U.S. courts have for civil litigation awards.

*I'm making an educated guess here. She was reportedly flying from the UK to the US, but since she was flying Air France my knowledge of airlines tells me that she must have flown through France.

Scrappleface Reports: (2004-08-16) -- President George Bush today announced that the United States would begin "drawing down" its military forces in Germany, signaling the impending end of the U.S. occupation of post-Third Reich Germany and thus the official end of World War II.

"The dictator is gone and it's time for the German people to chart their own course," said Mr. Bush. "Their land is now safe for democracy and our mission is accomplished."

Meanwhile, Democrat presidential candidate John Forbes Kerry said he would have voted to give authority to the president to remove troops from Germany, "but I oppose the way the president is going about it."

"It's good that the dictator is gone, and that World War II is over" said Mr. Kerry, who is also a U.S. Senator, "but does the president have a plan to win the peace?"

I just wish I was. Sorry for the lack of postage today. Jenn with two 'n's is getting married soon and I participated in the sophmoric ritual of taking her financee out for a night of drunken debauchery. Our party started on Saturday morning at about 8:00 AM. We played paintball, where I got to put all of my shooting experience to good use. After a long hard day of crawling around on the ground, cussing and beating my defective paintball gun, and running like hell to avoid the fury of paint coming in my direction, we hit the DC night life in our tricked out Mac Daddy-mobile; a superlong 24 passenger stretched Cadillac Escalade. The partying didn't end until about 4 AM on Sunday, so needless to say I am still a little weary.

Overall it was a successful night. Nobody was arrested, very few things were broken, and only a few people threw up.

This has to be the biggest sham report on the subject of economics and taxation that I've ever seen. Jonathan Weisman of the Washington Post, who apparently doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground, is whining about the tax burden of the middle class. Weisman complains that "President Bush's tax cuts have shifted federal tax payments from the richest Americans to a wide swath of middle-class families". They even sport a fancy graphic that states: "Under President Bush's tax cuts, the share of federal taxes paid by the middle class rose." He does his best to make it sound like the evil, hated, rich are getting government handouts while the middle class is paying more taxes, which is a lie.

The CBO study, due to be released today, found that the wealthiest 20 percent, whose incomes averaged $182,700 in 2001, saw their share of federal taxes drop from 64.4 percent of total tax payments in 2001 to 63.5 percent this year. The top 1 percent, earning $1.1 million, saw their share fall to 20.1 percent of the total, from 22.2 percent.

Over that same period, taxpayers with incomes from around $51,500 to around $75,600 saw their share of federal tax payments increase. Households earning around $75,600 saw their tax burden jump the most, from 18.7 percent of all taxes to 19.5 percent.

Wow that seems like pretty damning evidence. That is, until you realize that it doesn't mean anything. The rich, the middle class, and the poor are all paying less taxes. The rich and middle class are both keeping more of the money they earn, and even the dirt poor who don't pay any taxes at all are getting larger refundable tax credits welfare handouts from the government. Given that, does anyone really care what their percentage of the whole really is?

They should ask Joe Taxpayer: "Even though the Bush tax cuts put $3000 more cash into your pockets, aren't you worried that your income bracket may be paying a slightly higher percentage of total taxes collected? Would you be interested in paying higher taxes again, if it meant you were paying a lower percentage of the total taxes collected?" If they guy is stupid enough to say yes hand him his Federal Voluntary Tax Refund Forfeiture form and tell him to write a check for $3000.

The reason for the shift has to do with the progressive nature of the tax code. Since the top brackets pay such a large portion of the total taxes collected, even a tiny cut in the top tax bracket is more money than a much larger cut in the lower bracket. Even though both brackets are cut and all taxpayers are playing less, the proportion of the total shifts slightly downward. But since we are all paying less, should we really care?

Well I guess that depends on how you view money. Is the money that you earn really yours, or does it belong to the government? This passage is perhaps best illustrates how the Democrats view it:

The tax cuts this year will boost the income of millionaires by 10.1 percent, while middle-income families see a boost of 2.3 percent, the Democrats said.

So tax cuts are boosting income now? As if letting you keep more of the money you earn is a gift from the government. Notice too how they mix the term millionaire (which refers to wealth) with income. John Kerry is a billionaire, but he doesn't earn a billion dollars a year. (And the Kerry's apparently pay less than 15% of their income in taxes.)

But even if that statement is true, isn't a boost still a boost? They even use raw dollar amounts to prey on people's envy.

But to Democrats, the conclusion was clear. For the bottom 20 percent of households, the combined Bush tax cuts averaged $250 each. The middle 20 percent received $1,090, while the top 1 percent garnered $78,460, said Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee who analyzed the report.

What do they propose we do; give $78,460 tax cuts to people that only earn $14,900 a year?

UPDATE: Neal Boortz points out that the numbers were twisted by the media to include Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you take those out of the equation, the evil, hated, rich actually pay a larger portion than before.

The media wanted to take these CBO numbers and report them in a way that would make the Bush tax cuts look bad. It's all part of the template. If you can spin a story so that it looks favorable to Kerry, and bad for Bush ... do it. How do you monkey with the CBO figures to accomplish this? Simple ... you include Social Security and Medicare taxes in your equation. The Bush tax cuts cut income tax rates, not Social Security or Medicare rates. The only fair way to report on how these tax cuts affected the various income levels would be to cite income tax rates only. Guess what? If you only include numbers from who is paying what federal income taxes you will find that the rich are paying a higher percentage of income taxes collected by the federal government now than they were before the tax cuts!!!

What media bias?

It's a pretty sad state of affairs when one guy gets a gun permit in New Jersey and it's so shocking and rare that it makes the newspaper. Carry permits issued in New Jersey are extremely rare unless of course you are rich or politically connected. If you happen to live in New Jersey though, don't get your hopes up too high. This was apparently a special circumstance, and regular folks still have a snowball's chance in hell of getting permission to carry a gun in New Jersey.

A Warren County ship captain may carry a concealed weapon in New Jersey waters and ports, state Superior Court Judge John Pursel ruled Wednesday.

The judge cited the post-Sept. 11 world of terrorist threats and the recent rise in the terrorist alert system as part of the reason for his decision to grant the carrying permit.

The County Prosecutor's office lobbied against the permit. While they agreed that ships may be a terror target they dismissed the threat and offered their own solution to domestic terrorism.

Cunningham argued in part that New Jersey citizens are not entitled to a carrying permit based only on "generalized fears" or "to protect property." [He should be tarred and feathered for such a statement]

But the judge found Atanasio's concerns are much broader.

"It is about protecting the public interest by protecting people or the infrastructure in light of the genuine threats which have been disseminated daily to the public," the judge wrote.

The assistant prosecutor argued trained security professionals are available to protect ships.

That's right, only trained professionals should be allowed to protect the public. Your average Joe Citizen is too incompetent to be trusted with a firearm. Maybe the all powerful government could provide every citizen with a trained (make that government trained and unionized) guardian angel who has the elite commando training that it takes to handle something so complex and mysterious as the modern firearm. To pay for it we'll just go out and seize some more tax money from the evil, hated, rich.

When the no-good, rotten, lying, son-of-a-bitch, Democrat Mark Warner ran for Governor of Virginia he promised "I will not raise taxes. I will not raise taxes. I will not raise taxes." Earlier this year, Governor Warner pushed the largest tax increase in Virginia history. A few weeks later, it was revealed that Virginia had actually run a surplus for the year.

One component of his tax hike was capping the tax cut on automobiles. With the dreaded car tax bills set to arrive any day now, Virginia conservatives in the legislature want the tax cut restored.

Earlier this year, the Republican-controlled legislature approved the cap as part of a plan that raised the state sales, cigarette and real estate taxes by $1.38 billion and lowered others.

[Virginia House Speaker William J.] Howell still questions the necessity to raise taxes and freeze the car tax since the state reported a $323.8 million budget surplus this year. Mr. Howell said he expects a surplus of between $400 million and $800 million over the next two years as the economy rebounds.

Mr. Howell said his constituents also question the tax increase. "People know we had a very significant tax increase and then they see two weeks later the state has a $324 million surplus and that doesn't add up to them, nor to me," he said.

It certainly adds up for Governor Warner, who is already saying that any attempts to decrease taxes are irresponsible. (I hope his dick falls off.)

New Jersey Governor James McGreevey is a self-serving liar and an adulterer. He could not even keep the sacred vows he made to his wife, so one has to wonder how he could serve the best interests of his constituents. The fact that his affair was homosexual should not even matter.

I think it's obvious that he is throwing his homosexuality up in front of him like a sort of "gay card" in order to deflect criticism and blame. In excusing his infidelity and possible criminal activity because he's gay, he is in fact insulting all homosexuals. Especially those that live otherwise normal lives, committed to a loved one. Basically, by implying we shouldn't blame him because he's gay, he's giving gay people a bad name.

I also take issue with his resignation. If his behavior is so reprehensible that it requires his resignation (and it is), why not resign now? He's making no secret of the fact that he's postponing his resignation for three months because he doesn't want New Jersey to hold a special election. By waiting, he ensures that the Senate President (a Democrat) will serve out his term and the citizens of New Jersey won't have to be bothered with all that democracy stuff.

UPDATE: Geek points out that the Senate President who would become Governor is none other than the rabidly anti-gun Senator Dick Codey, who recently said women who are being raped having a "dispute" with a rapist should not attempt to fight back. (Apparently she should just lay there and enjoy it until a man comes along to rescue her.)

Bugmenot, the web service that provides bogus logins and passwords to news registration sites, has their own registration page. And boy is it a good one. This is priceless.

The Britons continue to fret over their violent crime problem.

Mr Howard said that since Labour came to power in 1997 gun crime had doubled, robbery was up by more than half and violent crime had risen by 83 per cent. Last year it reached the one million mark for the first time - more than 100 violent crimes every hour.

What else happened in 1997? If you said guns were banned, go to the head of the class.

So how do the Tories want to fix the problem? Build more prisons. (Some Britons are already prisoners in their own home.)

Virginia Tech's ACC Preview looks pretty bleak. Stewart Mandel picked them to finish near the bottom with an overall record of 5 and 7. I like (and miss) being considered the underdog, but this is a little scary. They face top ranked USC for the opener and a lot of people are expecting a blowout.

Still, I'm keeping my hopes up. I cheered for them when they were 2-8-1 just as hard as I did when they were 11-0. I'll love them no matter what, and I think a lot of people are underestimating them this year. We'll have to wait and see.

Love him or hate him, Mandel had a great line about Miami's chances in the ACC: "How do the 'Canes stack up in their new conference? Well, they've beaten the defending champ five straight times."

"It's all about team, right? I mean, I'd much rather have a terrible game and have my team come out on top than have a great game and see my team lose." -- Virginia Tech Quarterback, Bryan Randall, on his lackluster performance in Tech's victory over No. 2 ranked Miami last season.

Such is an attitude you rarely see in sports any more. Compare this to Randy Moss who said he only plays hard when he feels like it. Then there was Deion Sanders who said he might want to come back to Oakland for the playoffs if it looked like he could get a Super Bowl ring. Sanders went on to say that if it looked like Oakland would lose, he wasn't interested.

"The record business is really bad right now. That's not where the money is. The business is with the real customers, the fans. They're the ones who say, 'OK, we'll come and see you perform.' That's who we're trying to connect with." -- Charles 'Black Francis' Thompson of the Pixies.

Maryland doctors are asking to cancel their malpractice insurance. Apparently premiums are set to increase 40% next year.

But trial lawyers disagree. [I'm shocked, I say, shocked!]

But Mark Cohen, a medical malpractice attorney in Baltimore who said his 2-year-old daughter died late last year after receiving a lethally high dose of potassium through an intravenous drip, termed the situation less dire than doctors are saying. He predicted that doctors will not follow through on their threat because they would lose their hospital privileges and contracts with health care plans.

"It's scare tactics," Cohen said. "I think what they want to do is generate sympathy, but they will just generate anger. It's a money issue. It's not that they're not making money. It's just that they aren't making enough money."

A trial lawyer accusing a doctor of being greedy. Now I've heard everything.

*One a side note, law schools are churning out so many lawyers that by the year 2025, it is predicted that there will actually be more lawyers than humans.

Howard�Nemerov debunks the VPC pretty thoroughly, concluding that they ought to be called the Violence Promotion Center. Given that victim disarmament tends to increase crime, and the way the VPC uses those tragic stories to further their anti-gun agenda, he's pretty much spot on.

Here is a story about more gun confiscations, this time by the British Empire.

PITCAIRN Islanders have been ordered to hand their guns to British authorities amid fears a six-week sex trial on the island could lead to violence, officials said today.

Seven Pitcairn Island men face 96 charges over allegations of sexual abuse.

Some of the alleged offenses were committed up to 40 years ago. The trials, which are due to begin on the island on September 23, have caused rising tensions in the tiny island community.

Pitcairn Deputy Governor Matthew Forbes, who is based in the New Zealand capital, Wellington, said the island's governor, British High Commissioner to New Zealand Richard Fell, had ordered residents to surrender their firearms, which they use for hunting and shooting coconuts out of trees.

If people do not hand in their guns, authorities will legislate to suspend all firearm licences on the island and guns would be taken from residents, he said. [...]

Herb Ford, head of the California-based Pitcairn Islands Study Centre, told The Associated Press in an e-mail that islanders had been given until September 7 voluntarily to hand in their guns "or have police conduct a house-to-house search for firearms".

What choice do these people have? Keep in mind that these confiscations by the government are conducted with the threat of lethal force. The government might as well be saying, "Turn in your guns, or we will kill you."

And just how will they find the guns? The NZ Herald sheds light on that:

The island's licensing system would enable police to target all the firearms that existed.

It's easy for me to say this because it has never happened to me, but personally I would choose the latter. I don't know about you, but if you hear that Ravenwood's guns have been taken, you'll know Ravenwood is dead.

CNN/Money gets it wrong again. Discussing the notion of a retail sales tax, Money comes up with this gem:

What's more, a simple sales tax would punish people at the lower end of the income scale, who tend to consume almost all of their income in order to stay afloat. That means they'd be taxed at the 30-percent rate on their full income, while the wealthy would be taxed only on whatever part of their income they spend.

If somebody making $500,000 spends $250,000, for example, they'd be taxed 30 percent of what they spend, or $75,000, which amounts to just 15 percent of their total income. That's called a "regressive" tax -- the higher your income, the less tax you pay -- and it is not a politically popular idea.

So if a person makes $50,000 a year and spends $50,000 a year, their tax would be $15,000. For some reason the math geniuses over at Money magazine think that $75,000 is less than $15,000. But then they are the ones who take financial advice from Billy Joel.

This "regressive tax" notion is old hat. They've been shoveling it for so many years that people just assume that you should pay tax on your income rather than on your consumption of government services. Whats more they think that the more you earn the higher percentage you should pay, just as a penalty for earning so much money. An individual such as myself with no dependents and who uses very few government services ends up paying twice as much as a family of four with the same income level. I'm supposed to pay more taxes on less services because they "need" the money more than me. Karl Marx would be proud.

Without resorting to the communist philosophy, "from each according to their ability, to each according to their need", there is no way you can look at the equation and conclude that $75,000 is less than $15,000.

Kevin Baker is hosting this week's Carnival of the Vanities. It's my first Carnival since October 2003.

In one California school district, students could face expulsion for making others feel left out.

A California school district is considering adopting a new policy that could cause students to be expelled for "rejecting" each other, for sharing "unpleasant stories" about each other - even if true - or for associating with like-minded peers in groups if others feel "left out." [...]

The center says national race-based organizations came to the district to propose language for the policy, which prevents students from forming or openly participating in groups that tend to exclude, or create the impression of the exclusion of, other students. [...]

Under the policy, Ackerman says, no group would be allowed to engage in any behavior that makes others "feel left out."

The school board is scheduled to vote on the proposal tomorrow.

Welcome to Fantasyland High School, where nerds and jocks hold hands with each other and sing Kumbaya.

The Associated Press is trying to paint Bush as a wealthy bureaucrat. They chronicle a preacher's sermon about material wealth, and list Bush's massive assets.

The current president lists among his assets his Texas ranch, worth between $1 million and $5 million. He also has U.S. Treasury notes valued at $5 million to $8.7 million. He sold his share of the Texas Rangers baseball team in 1998 for more than $15 million.

Of course, pundits like myself realize that compared to Kerry, Edwards, and Cheney, Bush is the pauper of the four candidates. If Billionaire John Kerry's total assets were listed as a mere $29 Million, he'd be crying all over the obituaries while looking for another rich widow. For the record, Kerry's Gulfstream V private jet retails for $35 Million.

Boston city officials projected that hosting the Democrat National Committee Conference would infuse $154 Million into the local economy. According to the Beacon Hill Institute, they fell just a wee bit short of that.

The Democratic National Convention netted Boston's economy just $14.8 million, less than a tenth of what city officials promised, a local think tank reported yesterday - a claim quickly rejected by Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

In total, the event brought in $156.7 million in extra spending, the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University found. But BHI said the loss of events that could have happened and the drop in commuter spending cost the city $141.9 million.

The Mayor called it a "victory" because the city made money. But using the Democrat logic, this was a 90% cut.

This is an excellent idea.

FMG Publications is encouraging American sportsmen to vote to with their wallets this fall by supporting their Second Amendment right. The message from the publisher of American Handgunner, GUNS and Shooting Industry magazine: "Buy a Gun for America."

But Aaron the Liberal Slayer came up with it almost two years ago.

When I sent this letter to the Virginian Pilot in response to their anti-gun editorial, I never thought they'd actually print it. Shows how much I know. (Had I known they'd actually print it, I would have had a lot more to say.)

My mom pointed the letter out to me. It is in today's edition, but letters to the editor are only available to paid subscribers. She also noted that the food regulation is only for establishments with licenses to sell hard liquor. Beer and wine permits have no such stipulation. I told her to let me know when she finds a "bar" that only sells beer and wine.

UPDATE: I knew my letter seemed terse, so I checked the archive I had saved on my computer. They cut out a few lines, but didn't really change the meaning of of the letter. Here is what I originally wrote:

Your anti-gun rhetoric and lies are appalling. "Packing heat", "Billy the Kid". Could you be more cliche?

The reason gun owners carry openly in restaurants is because concealed carry in restaurants is ILLEGAL. They are merely abiding by state law.

Since Virginia has no bars every establishment is effectively a restaurant. That means that while they may serve alcohol, they also serve food and some people are there just to eat. You may find this hard to believe, but some of us can actually go to a restaurant and not get snockered or even consume alcohol. There is no reason to disarm us, just because you are pounding boilermakers at the next table.

Given that it is already illegal for any Virginian to be out in public with a BAC over .08, restaurants shouldn't have any drunk people in them at all. Thus I fail to see a problem with people carrying firearms in restaurants. Period.

Your use of the term "gun show loophole" illustrates your strong anti-gun bias. There is no such thing as a gun show loophole. All gun dealers are REQUIRED to conduct background checks, no matter where they sell the firearm. Your insinuation that they are somehow exempt at gun shows is dishonest.

But then, I've come to expect that from your paper.

It looks like they mostly just cut out the insults flung at them. Oh well, it is their paper.

"I've seen some cowardly things in my career, but this is the worst." - Senator Mary Landrieu, D-LA, August 7, 2004, expressing her disgust at Rep. Rodney Alexander's sudden switch from the Democrat to the Republican Party.

"He made a principled and brave decision today, and if we all embrace the lesson, this could be one of the most successful congresses in history." - Senator Mary Landrieu, May 24, 2001, expressing her respect for Senator Jim Jeffords' decision to switch to the Democrat Party*. Landrieu also gushed, "Sen. Jeffords is a well-respected, genuine and sincere leader who has always been dedicated to the best interests of his constituents and I am confident that he made this difficult decision in an effort to better serve the people of Vermont."

*Okay, so technically he's "Independent".

I've never understood people who get starstruck. I abhor People magazine, E!, or any other vultures that follow celebrities around and make a big todo about who is sleeping with who this week. But now apparently even sleeping in the same beds as celebrities is a big tourist attraction. It would give me the heeby jeebies.

Sleeping in the same bed as Madonna, Bill Clinton, Victoria Beckham, Derek Jeter, the Vanderbilts, Sean Connery or Madeleine Albright is a claim to fame shared by many well-traveled corporate executives.

OK, so maybe it wasn't on the same night.

Hotels all over the world glory in stories about guests past and present - royalty, rock stars, politicians, athletes, gangsters, ghosts and the English poet who carried on an affair with the hotel owner's wife.

Madonna? Bill Clinton? That's not a bed I'd like to dive into.

John Kerry is continuing to play both sides of the Iraq argument. Kerry recently told reporters in Arizona that he would like George Bush to answer a few questions about Iraq.

"My question to President Bush is why did he rush to war without a plan to win the peace?" Kerry asked. "Why did he rush to war on faulty intelligence and not do the hard work necessary to give America the truth?

"Why did he mislead America about how he would go to war? Why has he not brought other countries to the table in order to support American troops in the way that we deserve it and relieve a pressure from the American people?

"There are four, not hypothetical questions like the president's, but real questions that matter to Americans," Kerry said. "And I hope you'll get the answers to those questions because the American people deserve them."

Kerry has been hammering away at Bush about bad intelligence, rushing to war, no WMD, no exit strategy. But when asked if he would have changed his vote, Kerry said he is standing by his 'yes' vote on the war in Iraq. (He's also standing by his 'no' vote to deny funding for our troops.)

Kerry thinks Bush should be held accountable for his decision on the war (that Kerry authorized), but don't you dare hold Kerry up to that same standard. Adding another flip-flop, Kerry said he would either reduce or increase the number of troops in Iraq.

Kerry said his goal would be to reduce the number of American troops in Iraq within six months of taking office, but he said he would put more troops into the country "if the commanders ask for it."

Now that's leadership. NOT.

Homeless man on smoke break stops thief

What happened to Brandon Maxfield is tragic. For a seven year old boy to be rendered a quadriplegic is tragic. But his blame is misplaced. Brandon blames the gun, and the gun manufacturer. He sued the gunmaker and a sympathetic California court awarded him $24 Million, forcing the manufacturer out of business. Now Brandon, at age 17, is on a misguided quest to buy the gunmakers inventory and melt it all down into a modern art masterpiece.

Brandon says he doesn't want those guns to hurt anyone else. He says the manufacturer "should take full responsibility". I disagree, and here's why:

Maxfield's life-changing injury happened when he was 7 and a 20-year-old family friend who was babysitting thought he heard a suspicious noise and grabbed a gun from a dresser drawer. The babysitter called Brandon's mother, who instructed him to immediately unload the .38-caliber pistol. While trying to do that, the babysitter accidentally pulled the trigger.

Lets analyze this. Brandon's parents left a loaded gun in their dresser drawer. The babysitter grabbed it, pointed it at their son, and pulled the trigger. And the Maxfields are blaming the gun.

A jury in Oakland assigned more than half the blame for what happened to the boy's parents and the babysitter who fired the gun. But they said the gun maker also was liable because the pistol could only be unloaded when its trigger safety catch was switched off.

The jury awarded damages totaling $50.9 million - an amount calculated to compensate Maxfield for pain and suffering, future medical and educational expenses, lost earnings and diminished life expectancy.

The trust established to guard the funds has collected $8.75 million from an ex-wife of Jennings and from the insurance company of the firm that distributed the gun to the pawnshop where Maxfield's parents bought it.

Since neither the parents nor the babysitter have any money, the $24 million awarded from Jennings and his companies represent most of what Maxfield can expect to get.

But he has yet to collect any money from Jennings, who shuttered his Costa Mesa, Calif.-based factory and moved to Florida. Jennings laid off 25 employees and put his manufacturing business into bankruptcy.

So not only is Maxfield's life ruined, he's out to ruin everyone elses. He's already socked it to Jenning's ex-wife, Jenning's employees, and some nameless insurance company. The parents and the babysitter are getting off scott free.

Neal Boortz gives his annual school supplies lecture. As always, he drives the point home pretty hard.

The students are instructed to bring all of their precious school supplies - their property -- to the front of the classroom and put them into a huge box. These supplies no longer belong to them.

They are now community property ... they belong to all of the class. The teacher, representing the government, will from that point on assume the responsibility of distributing the supplies to the students as they are needed.

"Whoaa! Hold on a minute here! These are MY supplies. My daddy bought them for me. You can't have them! They're mine!"

Not any more kid. Those pencils and erasers were yours. They have now been seized by the government to be used and distributed for the common good.

I've heard him make this point a dozen times. This year he left out the part where parents who are in the know deliberately buy the cheapest school supplies they can. After all, why buy premium when you know that the government teachers are just going to take them away. That's socialism for you.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle are lamenting the actions of 527 groups. Those are the political action committees (PAC) that raise funds to stump for specific candidates. John Kerry has a huge money advantage when it comes to 527 groups like Moveon.org and their ilk, and that has the GOP hopping mad. Bush has called for the FEC to step up regulation of the groups. But Bush has his own backers, like the Swift Boat Veterans who are actively smearing John Kerry's Vietnam record that he's been bragging about for years. The Democrats want the fed to look into the Swift Boat Vet's finances.

Of course, all this was ushered in by the recent passage of the McCain-Feingold First Amendment Repeal. The campaign finance law was supposed to take the soft money out of politics. But now with both sides refusing federal funding limits for hard money and using widespread 527 soft money, there is more cash than ever in politics. The bill passed with widespread bipartisan support, and was signed into law by President Bush himself, but now they seem to be having buyers remorse.

They have nobody to blame but themselves.

Emily Berns reports that the contempt for Lance Armstrong and his achievements was on full display in Europe.

My seat in Old Europe is in Munich, from which I watched not only Armstrong's extraordinary, awe-inspiring performance but the tangible reluctance among European observers to acknowledge it as such. After he achieved his record-breaking title, a BBC reporter went out of his way to rank the American biker below several past Tour greats. During the three-week race, rumors of drug-taking were revived by the French and others, though the five-time champion and cancer survivor had never failed a drug test. On the German TV station I watched, Armstrong's early wins in the mountains were attributed to his team members' assistance, his dominance in the two individual time trials was played down, his rivals--no matter how visibly inferior--were lavished with praise and attention while the real star was virtually ignored. When Armstrong snatched a last-second victory from a German biker in a stage he did not need to win, a stunned German commentator struggled for words to describe the Texan. "He's so . . . ambitious," he said finally. . .

Lance Armstrong's European critics--even if they are not overtly anti-American--resent even more than his dominance of what has traditionally been a European sport his very American style of success. He trains too hard for them, plans too carefully, strives too relentlessly. He does not wear his talent lightly or camouflage his intense desire to win.

Damn collectivists.

In the U.S., this would be classified as assault.

Unsolicited toe-licking would be banned in the Netherlands under a law sought by the Dutch Labor party after police were unable to prosecute a would-be Casanova with a taste for female toes because he had committed no crime.

A police spokesman said Friday a man had been detained after women sunning themselves in Rotterdam's parks and beaches claimed he had snuck up on them and begun to lick their toes.

It might also get you shot.

The PC police have also struck Irish soccer fans, reports Scott Norvell.

Irish soccer fans who fly the Confederate flag at matches because they like the colors are being told it should be banned because it's racist and insensitive in multicultural Ireland, reports Ireland Online.

Cork GAA fans, who favor just about any flag with red and white colors, were told by the Socialist Workers Party that the U.S. flags are inappropriate in this day and age.

Party spokesman Joe Moore said: "It represents the promotion of racism and slavery but Ireland is a multi-cultural society and such symbols should not be on display.

Nevermind the fact that the Confederate flag is not a U.S. flag, how can it be offensive if the Irish just picked it out because they liked the colors. Of course the Confederate flag never stood for racism or slavery. It's modern day bad rap comes mostly from the racists bastards at the KKK (like Senator Roberty Byrd) who use it while they spread their messages of hatred and racism.

Of course they also use a cross. Given their support for Marxism, I presume the SWP would want to ban the cross as well.

I'm wondering why a few of my posts are quoted on this site, verbatim, without attribution.

See the one's from August 6th, entitled "Second Amendment" and "Cause and Effect?" They look awfully familiar to this and this.

The environmental movement has slowly moved from a cute little owl asking people to "give a hoot, don't pollute", to jack-booted thugs and nanny-state dickheads forcing people to comply, or else. They are the primary reason I choose not to recycle any more. (If you ask nicely I will comply, but when you tell me I have to recycle or face punishment meted out by the government, I say "Thhbbbbbt".)

If city workers don't see bundles of newspapers or the blue bags used for glass, cans and plastic placed outside a home on recycling day, the city will contact the resident about the requirement, said Guy Costa, the public works director.

"If we send you a letter and then you continue not to recycle, then we send you a citation," Costa said, who called the fines a last resort.

I don't care how noble the cause is, when you start using the threat of lethal force and the police power of the government to compel people sort their trash (or else), that's tyranny.

This would truly be a huge problem for me. I usually eat out, and most of the trash I generate is what comes in through my mailbox. That would surely send up red flags with the trash police.

A Catholic woman was fired by Muslims for eating "unclean" meat.

The more I read about this story, the more it smells like reactionary government tyranny. Some guy has a lot of guns and that makes the government nervous. They start asking things like why does he need all those guns. They think it's better to seize them (civil rights be damned) just in case.

[Article quoted in full]

In Jamestown, police say one resident had enough firepower in his house, to equip a small army.

Officers confiscated somewhere between five hundred and a thousand guns from the home of 63-year-old Thad Schank. He faces a weapons possession charge. Police also say one of Schank's weapons was stolen a couple months ago, which means it's somewhere out on the streets. When police realized just how many guns Schank had, they decided to get them out of his home, so that no more guns would end up in the hands of criminals.

Channel 7 also had a video, but it basically just reiterates the same poorly written story. What I really wanted to know is why police felt it was okay to seize his property violate his private property rights, and what this guy was charged with. So far the report is nothing more than reactionary anti-gun bias. (GASP! Lots of guns! Seize them! Yay!)

A quick google search and I found a better article, which helps confirm my suspicions.

In all, Lt. Todd Isaacson said Tuesday, about 500 to 1,000 guns were recovered, including 75 to 100 handguns.

Gasp! Handguns! And what do they mean by recovered?

Thad L. Schank, 63, of 116 Thayer St., was charged with eight counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Sounds kinda vague. What was the actual crime? Damn those reporters.

Isaacson said on June 29, officers received a report of a burglary at 116 Thayer St. that a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol was stolen.

''During a followup investigation it was learned that this gentleman indeed had numerous handguns laying around the residence that were unsecured,'' Isaacson said.

This is called blaming the victim. As if leaving your car unlocked causes auto theft, or wearing a short skirt causes rape.

Also recovered were long guns and shotguns. Most of the guns were operational, but not loaded, Isaacson said.

There's that word again: recovered. As if he had stolen them from the police and they were able to get them back.

Isaacson said Schank didn't have proper permits and a search warrant was obtained from City Court Judge John LaMancuso.

Now we're getting to the root of it. He didn't have proper permission from the state to own that many guns. They want to put him in jail for not having his 'I's dotted and his 'T's crossed.

''If this got out that this many weapons were in that residence, not only would he be a target, but public safety certainly would be compromised,'' Isaacson said.

So if word got out that you, lets say, had a bunch of expensive cars, the state should come take them away from you. After all they are just going to be stolen some day and will ultimately end up putting the public at risk.

Isaacson said most importantly, he wanted to get the weapons secured and they are now in the custody of a New York state federal firearms dealer. [Fancy talk for gun dealer] Schank did have a relic permit, which allowed him to own antique or outdated guns. Isaacson said Schank thought his permit was valid for all his handguns.

So he had a permit, it just wasn't a pistol permit.

Schank also had a valid state pistol permit, Isaacson said.

Oh wait, he did have a valid pistol permit. So what exactly is the problem? He only had a permit for 492 to 992 of them, thus the 8 counts of criminal possession.

''Close to 1,000 weapons in any residence almost qualifies it as an armory. In a residential neighborhood, it's not a good idea and it's not safe,'' Isaacson said.

Safe from whom? The police? Notice that 500 to 1,000 is now "close to 1,000". Call that creative rounding or fuzzy math.

Isaacson said during the investigation, several of the guns were in plain view scattered about the residence in bedrooms and in hallways.

How many? Is that two, three, eight? (eight counts) Out of "close to 1,000", "several" seems pretty miniscule.

Some of the guns didn't have serial numbers.

Again, how many?

''In the event of some criminal act, not only do we not know where it was stolen from, but it would be tough to track it,'' Isaacson said.

Far be it for me to own anything that's hard for the government to track.

Isaacson said city fire officials and city housing inspectors also had concerns with the residence for structural reasons, stating that the weight of the guns was a concern. Also debris and maneuverability within the residence was difficult.

They're going to pile on fire code violations, just wait and see.

Isaacson said JPD worked closely with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on this case.

That explains a lot. So, what is the moral of the story?

If something gets stolen, don't ever call the police.

Larry Elder tells what it's like to be a conservative at the DNCC.

In the past few months, comedian Bill Cosby has publicly stated that black Americans need to start taking more personal responsibility. John Kerry disagrees.

While he was careful not to just brush aside Bill Cosby, he basically said that black parents can't be expected to raise their kids by themselves, and that the government and society play an important role in helping minorities.

"We also need to do the things we need to do as a society to empower those people, have plans for those kids, to make the world safer," Kerry said. "It's all of us together."

"These people"? Is that anything like 'you people'? Kerry's condescension of black Americans is appalling. To steal from the great Dr. Walter E. Williams, "his vision differs little from one that holds that blacks are a rudderless, victimized people who cannot control their destiny and whose best hope depends upon the benevolence of white people." Kerry's attitude is as dangerous as it is stupid. Quite frankly, as long as he continues to enjoy 90% of their vote, Kerry has more to gain than anyone by keeping blacks dependent on government assistance.

Talk about reading into things. Kevin Baker looks at the thought processes of the moonbat left.

Missouri Governor Bob Holden vetoed their concealed carry bill to keep his subjects from packing. Now Missouri voters have sent him packing.

"A person not prohibited from receiving a firearm by Section 922(g) of title 18, United States Code, shall have the right to obtain firearms for security, and to use firearms -- in defense of self or family against a reasonably perceived threat of imminent and unlawful infliction of serious bodily injury; in defense of self or family in the course of the commission by another person of a violent felony against the person or a member of the person's family; and in defense of the person's home in the course of the commission of a felony by another person." - HR 648, affirming an individual's right to keep and bear arms for self defense.

Kudos to Rep. Joe Wilson, R-SC for proposing it. But it's more than symbolic. It would offer a federal affirmative defense against gun grabbing localities.

it provides a citizen recourse if refused "permission" to purchase or own a weapon: "A person whose right under subsection (a) is violated in any manner may bring an action in any United States district court against the United States, any State, or any person for damages, injunctive relief, and such other relief as the court deems appropriate."

Booya!

After three trials and nearly ten years of trying to pin the accidental shooting death of a 14 year old California boy on poor gun design, Sarah Brady and her gun ban group have struck out.

Kenzo Dix was killed when his friend played with a firearm that was left loaded and unlocked by an irresponsible parent. The jury deliberated only five hours before returning a verdict in favor of Beretta U.S.A. Corp., finding the pistol's design did not cause the accident. [...]

This was the third time the case had been tried. The lawsuit was filed in 1995 on behalf of the parents of Dix by lawyers from Handgun Control Inc. (since renamed as Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence). Handgun Control Inc. tried to claim Beretta was at fault for not having included a built-in lock and for not providing more warnings by having a different "loaded chamber indicator" feature than the one on the firearm. [...]

The Dix case was the first major lawsuit filed and funded by the Brady Center against a firearms manufacturer in an attempt to use litigation to force the redesign of firearms to include so-called "safety" devices. The Brady Center has filed similar suits against other manufacturers.

"The Brady Center has struck out. This jury -- as two others before it -- listened carefully to all the evidence and again refused to blame the product manufacturer for reckless misuse of its product," said Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president and general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearm industry's trade association.

"Unquestionably, the Brady Center has suffered a major setback in its efforts to use the courts to force its gun control agenda upon product manufacturers and their design engineers who care deeply about the safety of consumers and who design safe and reliable products," Keane added.

The basic concepts of firearm technology havn't changed much in several hundred years. You pull the trigger and a projectile flies out the other end very very fast. The simple fact is that all the safety devices in the world are useless when someone recklessly points a gun at someone else and pulls the trigger.

The NTSB wants the government to require cars be outfitted with computers that spy on drivers.

The National Transportation Safety Board yesterday recommended for the first time that the federal government require passenger vehicles to be equipped with black boxes that record speed, seat belt use, and braking, among other data. [...]

"We believe very strongly that vehicles should have a black box," said the transportation board chairwoman, Ellen Engleman Conners.

In June, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said automakers are adding black boxes fast enough on their own. About 15 percent of vehicles now on the road have the data recorders, and the safety administration says between 65 percent and 90 percent of 2004 vehicles have some sort of recording ability.

The ramifications of this technology boggle the mind. Sure, many cars today already have the technology, but it's not illegal to disable it.

If this gains traction, I'm going to start driving classic cars. I've always wanted a 1962 'Vette, maybe it's time to start realizing my dream.

To the delight of Libertarians everywhere, House Speaker Dennis Hassert wants to get rid of the IRS. While that is a monumental task given the size and scope of the IRS, not to mention the dismay of tax accountants like H&R Block and anyone else who makes their living off the government red tape, I think a lot of Americans would support the idea. But someone who doesn't support the idea is George W. Bush. Well, at least he isn't about to make it a campaign issue.

At the dawn of the atomic age in the 1950s, kids were taught to "duck and cover" during a nucular attack. It didn't make them any safer, but it's easier to kiss your ass goodbye when you're cowering under your desk in the fetal position. As a product of the Cold War, growing up in the 1980s, and living on the largest Naval facility on the East Coast I accepted my fate. Even as a young boy, I realized that if a nucular war every happened, I was toast. No amount of ducking and covering would help.

Maybe that explains why I think these people are nuts.

They weren't terrorists - just lawyers with BB guns.

Police responding to an emergency call at a St. Louis office building found a handful of women hiding under desks and in closets.

Some of them reported they had seen two men carrying guns.

But Melinda Hagaman, who works in the building, told the officers not to worry. She said it was just a couple of lawyers who work down the hall having some fun.

She adds boys will be boys.

I guess hiding in the closet or under your desk might save your life from a man with a gun. But I still think that if you aren't armed yourself, running away hysterically is the best defensive move. If everyone does it, just stay toward the middle of the pack like a zebra or gazelle. Also little kids are clumsy and tend to run pretty slow, so just kick them out of the way. Hey it might even buy you some time when killers go for them instead.

Frequent commenter, Rhett, has gone from commenting to blogging. Show him some love.

Watch out, because illegal usage of the letter 'W' could cost you big bucks if you aren't careful. The 'W' hotel chain is actively and agressively trying to protect their trademark, reports the New York Post gossip column:

THE W hotel chain is aggressively laying claim to the letter W, no matter what President Bush's nickname is. The group behind the chain, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., has fired off legal letters to two political merchandisers, demanding they remove the letter W — as in George W. Bush — from "apparel and accessories" they are selling. The offending items include baseball hats and T-shirts "that mimic the trade dress of the W hotels, which has the effect of eroding the unique brand identity developed in the W logo."

Lucky for me, I've trademarked the letter 'R'. I had better not catch any of you using it either.

Allah points out that anti-Bush protesters are planning some nasty things for the RNC convention in New York. "Passive resistance" may include such devices as turning over parked cars, throwing rocks and bottles, vandalizing police cars, and making phony bomb threats. The police, I'm sure, will do all that they can to ensure that no protesters are hurt. I'm confident that no fire hoses will be used, rubber bullets will not be fired, and skulls will not be cracked. I mean, to do otherwise would be a form of tyranny, right? And that would just break my heart.

Imagine the horror, shock, and dismay that would occur if we saw a bunch of granola-eating, tree-hugging, long haired, no-job-having hippies getting battered by police batons right there on prime time TV. Hell, that'd be just awful.

In Washington D.C., there is a big kerfuffle being made about all the security checkpoints. The fed received some intelligence from Pakistan on Friday and released an upgraded terror warning. That sparked off checkpoints in and around D.C., where police were visually checking every car by glancing through their windows.

Tempers are running high and the Bush bashers are claiming that the whole thing is staged for political reasons. They are half right. Bush's opponents have politicized the 9/11 terror attacks. The commission was busy pointing the finger of blame at America and Bush bashers are asking "What did he know and when did he know it." That puts him in the tenuous position of having to cover his ass. If he failed to issue a terror warning and something happened, we would never hear the end of it. Now they are trying to have it both ways by saying "what's with all the terror alerts?"

Another factor has to do with political correctness. With officials not allowed to profile suspects, they have no choice but to check every person and every car. We wouldn't want to hurt anyones feelings, now would we?

In the end, of course, it's all bullshit and the people are no safer this week than they were last week. Unless of course you think we'd be lucky enough to actually spot a terrorist by simply looking in the windows of cars stuck in rush hour traffic.

Robert Redford's Sundance channel is going to start carrying Al Franken's radio show. Beginning in September and running through the election, one hour of Franken's program will air at 11:30 PM and again at 2:30 AM each weekday.

Air America has been floundering as of late, but Franken's picking up an actual paid syndication is a positive sign. Hopefully the network will find it's niche and succeed. As a fan of that hate filled extreme right wing talk radio, I worry about the return of the fairness doctrine. If liberals fail at talk radio, they are sure to try legislation and the courts to bring it down.

Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result. That said, government bureaucrats from Detroit are calling for the federal government to renew their ineffective gun control laws, reports the Detroit Free Press:

Dozens of antigun violence activists were joined Monday by Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and the city's police chief in calling on Congress to renew a federal ban on assault weapons that is scheduled to expire next month. [...]

"If you live in the toughest neighborhoods of Detroit, it appears that things are going to get even tougher."

Detroit has faced a surge in gun violence in recent months, including a mass shooting during a fireworks show that left nine people wounded.

So in spite of the Clinton Gun Ban, Detroit has still had a "surge in gun violence". And we should renew it because?

Presidential Candidate and at-large Senator John Kerry urged President Bush to call Congress back into a special session. Presumably, he wants to go back to neglecting the job that Massachussets taxpayers pay him to do.

After President Bush announced that his administration will create a national intelligence director position to oversee the CIA and other intelligence-gathering agencies, as part of the recommendations made by the 9/11 commission, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry urged the president to call a special session of Congress to implement the recommendations.

Congress should return early from its summer recess so it can create "what strengthens America as rapidly as possible. It should happen now," Kerry said.

Kerry has missed more than 80% of the votes this year, after missing more than 64% of the votes last year. When Kerry's comrades were hard at work in Congress, he was busy campaigning. Now he's asking them to give up their vacations and campaign time, just so he can brush up his shoddy image.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger pressured a doll maker into removing the machine gun from a bobblehead doll they were selling. Arnold also got them to donate a portion of the proceeds to a charity he founded.

A bobblehead doll featuring California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger packing a machine gun will drop the weapon, and profits will go to charities under an agreement between the governor and the maker of the toy dolls.

Schwarzenegger's Oak Productions Inc. and Fitness Publications Inc., a magazine company he co-owns, sued the Bosley Bobbing Head Doll Co., claiming the $19.95 doll violated the former bodybuilder's right to control his image and used unauthorized copyrighted photographs on the packaging.

This raises several interesting questions. First, did Schwarzenegger lose his marketing rights now that he's a politician? Politicians images and likeness are usually considered public domain. One would think that entering politics would nullify the copyrights he held as an actor.

Of course, the whole notion of Schwarzenegger coping a fit over his doll's machine gun is laughable. After making movies like Commando, Predator, and Terminator, Auh-nold's self righteousnous seems a bit hypocritical.

Poll: No 'bounce' for Kerry so far - CNN, August 1, 2004.

Kerry Leads Bush in Post-Convention Poll - Washington Post, August 2, 2004.

If you don't like the results the first time, just take another poll.

Drudge is reporting that a second Bush term could mean an end to the IRS.

Don't ever get this drunk. (376K)

(Hat tip to Tazteck)

Hollywood is continuing their crusade to influence the 2004 Presidential elections, reports Matt Drudge:

A new film set for release from PARAMOUNT has raised the pop culture threat levels at the White House -- a film which mocks the war on terror and media urgency using puppets, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. [...]

The new fuss film TEAM AMERICA, set for release two weeks before the November presidential election, is entering post-production from with SOUTH PARK creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone

A deep voice using serious tones opens the film's teaser: "We live in a time of unparalleled danger. Weapons of Mass Destruction are being offered to terrorists all over the world. Global chaos is about to consume every country on Earth. And there is only one hope for humanity." [...]

Marionette puppets are used throughout the film to mock terror threats, and media figures who dominate the nation's airwaves.

Drudge reports that "unnamed" White House officials are fuming over the film. Personally I don't know what the big deal is, South Park type movies appeal mostly to the 18-24 demographic and those people usually don't vote.

This year the Virginia General Assembly passed a law making all of Virginia's firearms laws uniform throughout the state. With the three day waiting period imposed by Fairfax and Arlington counties out of the way, Northern Virginia held the first gun show in decades at the Dulles Expo Center this weekend.

The show opened at 9 AM Saturday, with your's truly showing up a fashionable 15 minutes late. When I arrived, to my amazement I discovered that so did the rest of Fairfax county. On both sides of the door were huge lines of people, which according to Channel 9 stretched for a half mile in each direction. I picked a line and started walking. It took me a full 10 minutes to walk to the end of it, which stretched from the front doorway all the way around to the shopping center next door. The astonished look on the shopkeeper's faces was enough to tell me that they had never seen crowds this big. A full 1 hour and 17 minutes later, I was walking into the first gun show Northern Virginia has seen in decades.

It was a good show, with plenty of tables. Several pro-gun state congressmen had tables set up for this year's election. The prices weren't too bad either, very competitive for Northern Virginia.

Now when I was in college, I purchased my first gun at age 18. It was a Chinese SKS 56 that set me back $120 on my credit card. A few weeks later, I sold the gun for beer money; a move I've regretted ever since. This weekend, I remedied that. Using the evil gun show loophole, I bought a nice Chinese SKS rifle from a private collector sans any background check. It has excellent wood with a fantastic finish, the parkerizing is excellent, and all the serial numbers match. It is a 1979 sharpshooter model with the original Chinese scope attached. For those of you who are wondering, I stole it for $195. My dealer was at the show so I showed it to him. He took a glance at it and told me it was only worth $150, but I think he's full of shit. Walking around the show I had several people offer to buy it off me, but I'm not making the same mistake twice.

Click to supersize

The downside is that now, Kim probably won't talk to me.

Kerry's campaigning has gotten off to a rough start, reports the New York Post. Senator Ketchup apparently received a cold reception from some Marines he tried to exploit during a campaign stop.

Kerry was treating running mate Sen. John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, to a Wendy's lunch in Newburgh, N.Y., for their 27th wedding anniversary - an Edwards family tradition - when the candidate approached four Marines and asked them questions.

The Marines - two in uniform and two off-duty - were polite but curt while chatting with Kerry, answering most of his questions with a "yes, sir" or "no, sir."

But they turned downright nasty after the Massachusetts senator thanked them "for their service" and left.

Kudos to them for not letting themselves be turned into a photo-op for an anti-military candidate. Back when Kerry actually participated in Senate votes, he voted against every major military weapons system on the docket. More recently Kerry voted to send troops to war, but then flip-flopped and voted against providing them with the tools and equipment necessary to do their job.

Propagandist Michael Moore has been hit with a lawsuit for copyright infringement by an Illinois newspaper used in his mockumentary film Fahrenheit 9/11. While Moore and his apologists will undoubtedly cry censorship, the lawsuit appears to have merit. [sarcasm]Surprisingly[/sarcasm], Moore's film was misleading and deceitful about the newspaper's story on the Florida election.

"While we are highly flattered to be included in the movie," said the newspaper's President and Publisher Henry Bird, "we are a bit disturbed that our pages were misrepresented."

Early in the movie, according to the paper, a large headline appears in the film, purporting to be from a Dec. 19, 2001 edition of the paper, and reading "Latest Florida recount shows Gore won election." The paper contends that the headline actually appeared on Dec. 5, 2001, in much smaller type, and above a letter to the editor, hardly a factual news story or editorial.

The date shift seems like an honest mistake. There is little significance, other than it puts it after the December 9th Supreme Court decision to stay the recounts and the December 18th electoral vote. But portraying a letter to the editor as a major news story is deliberately dishonest. Not that Moore doesn't already have a track record for dishonesty.

UPDATE: Access Atlanta has it too.

Doug Clifton, editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, has his nose bent out of joint over Ohio concealed carry. His newspaper decided to publish the personal information of every Northern Ohio citizen who has applied for and received a concealed carry permit. In retaliation, Ohioans for Concealed Carry decided to publish his personal information.

Ohioans for Concealed Carry, the lobbying arm for proponents, posted my name, home phone number, address and a map to my home on its Web site. It also reported what I paid for my house in 1999 - $550,000 - my wife's name - Peg - and that I have two children and two grandchildren (in fact, I have three).

The posting, I gather, had two purposes. The first was to say "turnabout is fair play": Public records are public records, and you're not exempt.

The second was to intimidate. Why else run a map?

Calls home began flowing shortly after the posting went up at noon on Wednesday. Because I was at the office, my wife bore the brunt, though most of the callers were polite. (One apologized to her and told her it was "just your moron husband" he had a problem with.) A few, predictably, were ugly.

A map to his house? I wonder where they got that information. (At one point they had linked that post.)

Clifton is practicing quite the double standard. He is posting personal information about concealed carry permit holders, but that's the public's "right to know". But when his personal information is published, clearly it's "intimidation".

Washington D.C. has one of the highest crime rates in the nation. That might have something to do with cops that waste their time harrassing people over illegal candy bars.

Hansen says Stephanie Willett, 45, of Bowie, Md., had been warned several times not to eat in the Metro.

The scientist from the Environmental Protection Agency was finishing up the PayDay candy before entering the station when she was arrested.

"She would not stop to allow the policewoman to issue a citation. And, this could have all been averted if the woman had first of all, not violated the law. It is against the law to eat, drink, smoke in the Metro system," Hanson says. "Transit police officers do have the uncomfortable task of enforcing those minor violations."

Willett didn't make the situation any better by mouthing off to the cop who was harrassing her. She ended up spending several hours in jail over the incident which is an incredible waste of police resources.

I haven't quite figured out the motive yet, but I think this might all be part of the grand scheme to chase Metro riders away.

Women are apparently pretty slow learners when it comes to driving.