You know when the weatherman says it's going to be sunny, and it rains instead, do you blame the weatherman or the rain? When it comes to economics, you blame it on the rain.

CNN/Money, who sometimes takes financial advice from famed economist Billy Joel, notes that the GDP missed the forecast (rather than the forecast missing the GDP).

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economy, grew at an annual rate of 3.4 percent in the second quarter, the Commerce Department reported, down from a 3.8 percent growth rate in the first quarter.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had a consensus forecast for 3.5 percent growth in the most recent period.

So 4 out of 5 economists said it would be 3.5%, but it was actually only 3.4%. I'm sure that this is somehow all Bush's fault.

Debra Saunders reports on more fallout from the Kelo decision. The city of Oakland evicted business owners on July 1, and gave their land to private developers to build apartments.

A letter on the front of what used to be Revelli Tires in Oakland warns: "Eminent domain unfair. To learn all about the abuses of eminent domain, please go to www.castlecoaliton.org. Educate yourself. Pay attention. You could be next."

John Revelli wrote the note after the city of Oakland evicted him on July 1 from his own property -- and a business run by his family since 1949 -- so that a private developer could build apartments on his land. It especially galls him, Revelli told me over the phone Tuesday, that while he has been forced away from his livelihood for weeks, Oakland hasn't done anything with his property. Go look at the building, he said, and the sign will still be there because the city hasn't touched anything. Sure enough, the sign was up on Tuesday night.

Oakland also evicted Tony Fung, Revelli's next-door neighbor and the owner-operator of Autohouse on 20th Street. "I am a first-generation immigrant," Fung told me. "This is my American dream."

To hell with Fung's dream -- the city of Oakland seized it, so that someone else can build on it. And without offering enough money for Fung to relocate his business, he says.

The city has legions of lawyers to press its case, while Fung says he has to scrape together pennies to hire an attorney.

Gun control is having predictable results in Brazil, as even dead people aren't immune from gun violence.

A dead woman lying in her casket was hit by a stray bullet during a wake in Rio de Janeiro and mourners fled in panic, police said on Wednesday.

The bullet, fired in a shootout between a drug gang and police in a slum adjacent to the cemetery Tuesday, pierced the casket inside the cemetery's chapel and got lodged in the corpse's pelvis. Clenilda da Silva, 49, a babysitter, had died the previous day of a heart attack.

The bullet was not removed before burial. . .

Standoffs between drug gangs and police or just between rival gangs often claim innocent lives in Rio, which has one of the world's highest murder rates.

The gun control lobby would undoubtedly point out that gun control in Brazil is relatively new, and needs time to take hold. Maybe after 25 years or so, they'll have a gun crime rate as low as "gun free" Washington D.C., or Chicago.

Oregonian leftists are pushing for a beer tax. Legislators claim that the 10-cent per beer tax would be diverted to anti-drinking and substance abuse social programs. Supporters are lashing out against big beer.

Cheap beer creates serious problems: teen binge drinking, alcoholism, homelessness, violence and driving deaths. Small cost increases drastically reduce these problems.

RAND estimates this dime-a-drink cost increase would save 100 Oregon lives each year.

How elitest can you get? We can save 100 lives by pricing the poor, the undesirable, and minorities out of the market. But why stop at 10-cents a beer? Why not make it a buck? If 10 cents saves 100 lives, a dollar might save thousands. Better yet, why not just make beer illegal?

"Hair found not from sasquatch, experts say" -- Canadian Press Headline, July 28, 2005.

Air America, the much talked about but hardly listened to liberal radio network, has been caught literally stealing from children. Well, their charity any way. Wizbang reports:

The leader of the Bronx-based Gloria Wise Club, Charles Rosen, reportedly loaned $480,000 in the startup Air America radio network, at the request of Air America chairman (at the time) Evan Cohen. The Gloria Wise Club was to benefit from the interest that Air America would pay on its loan. At the time the alleged transfers of funds took place, Cohen was also board member of the Gloria Wise Club.

Evan Cohen was sacked at Air America, and the was company sold to new investors. No one knows where the money went (though it presumably went right into the kitty of the cash hemorrhaging radio network) , or if any of the money has been ever been repaid. Because the Gloria Wise Club depends heavily on federal and city funding for its operations, New York City's Department Of Investigation (DOI) is investigating the charity for financial mismanagement specifically related to the Air America debacle.

This wouldn't sound so bad, if the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Clubs hadn't had to nearly shut down programs because they were missing funds. And those are taxpayer funds at that. Despite all the free publicity and diverted charity money, Al Franken and Air America are getting skunked by Rush Limbaugh.

According to the Arbitron Spring 2005 ratings survey for Boston, San Francisco, Sacramento, and Washington D.C., Mr. Rush Limbaugh consistently continues to beat liberal talkers. In Boston, Mr. Rush Limbaugh's Persons 12+ audience is 16 times larger than Mr. Al Franken's...

Then again, some liberals put a positive spin on everything.

In Los Angeles, KFI, the station carrying Rush Limbaugh lost nearly 15% of its market share, dropping from a 4.6 to a 3.9. KABC, another conservative talk station continuing the pattern for right-wing radio, fell from a 2.3 to a 2.1. Air America�s brand-new affiliate KTLK, 1150 AM, gained in the first quarter of its existence, going from a 0.3 to a 0.8, an increase of more than 140%.

Let's see, 3.9 vs. 0.8. I bet Rush is quaking in his boots. Still, I wish Air America the best of luck. So long as they repay that charity money.

Reader Steve S. sends this blurb about another evil gun that started shooting people all by itself.

An off-duty Seattle police officer was shot in the leg when his gun accidentally fired...

He was apparently readjusting his firearm when it went off, firing at least one, and possibly two, rounds.

Here I am wasting my time and money buying ammo, when KdT just has his readers mail him some.

"Gun-free" Toronto has erupted in gun violence. Of course, it can't be their strict gun laws that are to blame, those are working perfectly as expected. No, it's all America's fault. Apparently Karl Rove, when he's not outting CIA agents, has been running illegal guns up to the great white north.

The city has exploded in gun violence, with seven separate shootings within 24 hours prompting the police chief to maintain the city is safe and the Mayor to insist something must be done. . .

Local news reports compared the city to the "Wild West" and sprayed television screens with bloody images of wounded men undergoing surgery in inner-city hospitals and of the bullet-riddled SUV.

Uh oh. There's Ravenwood's Law again.

The Mayor blamed lax gun laws in the United States for some of Toronto's violence, saying half the firearms in the city originated in America.

So where are the other half coming from? Greenland?

"It really is time to establish an effective strategy, working with the United States, to stop the easy access for guns that people are going to bring to Canada," Mr. Miller said.

"It's a huge problem and it's just not acceptable."

Molon Labe, bitch!

And yet, to Toronto residents, the violence has become strangely familiar.

The city has been rocked in past months by apparently random gunfire, with passersby hit in shootings near the Yorkdale Shopping Centre, across from the Eaton Centre, and a mother of four shot in a north-end club.

Some blamed the violence on the city's inability to provide opportunities for young minorities in a city that's become hyper-sensitive to issues of police racial profiling.

That sounds a lot like other gun control/violence capitals like Chicago, Washington D.C., New Jersey. And isn't interesting that Canada now seeks to crack down on American ownership of firearms, but when we asked for help cracking down on Saddam's Weapons of Mass Destruction, there was nobody home.

Mark Furman apparently followed O.J. Simpson to Miami, snuck into his house, and planted a bootlegged DirecTV system.

A federal judge in Miami has ordered former football superstar O J Simpson to pay a $25,000 fine to the satellite television firm DirecTV for using unauthorised devices to receive its programming.

In December 2001, police and a DirecTV representative entered Simpson's home in Miami, after receiving information indicating that he had been receiving the satellite company's signal without paying for the service.

Simpson, for his part, insisted that he had not stolen the company's signal.

Democrats in the House have unveiled their own retirement plan in response to President Bush's campaign promise to fix Social Security. Of course the Democrat's plan, "Amerisave", doesn't actually touch Social Security and it is only available for "middle and lower income" families. So, what will the bottom 50% get of taxpayers get?

"AmeriSave will help middle-class families build retirement security by expanding opportunities to save, and ensuring pension fairness, guaranteeing workers receive the benefits that they have been promised after a lifetime of hard work," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement.

Under the plan, workers would receive a dollar-for-dollar match for the first $1,000 contributed to an IRA, 401(k), or similar plan. The recipient would receive the match after they filed a tax return, with the funds directed into their retirement savings account.

And just where will they get the money to redistribute to the bottom 50% of income earners? Why from the top 50% of course:

The top 50% of wage earners pay more than 96% of all federal income taxes.

After years of study and thousands of dollars spent, researchers have concluded that people with jobs tend to be fatter than people without jobs.

Having trouble bellying up to your desk? You're not alone.

Working can do a job on your waistline. A poll by the Web site careerbuilder.com finds nearly half those asked say they've gained weight on their current jobs.

Careerbuilder's Rosemary Haefner says it's hard to eat healthy when you're working hard. Finding time to exercise can be a problem, too.

Big surprise, it's hard to find overweight homeless people. Rather than claiming that a job makes you fat, why don't they say that not having a job makes you thin?

Congressional aides say that there are no plans to bring John Bolton's nomination as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. back to the Senate floor before the summer recess, so President Bush may use a recess appointment. Of course, Reuters (and by extension the Washington Post, Boston Globe, etc) still refuses to use the f-word, and call a filibuster a filibuster.

In procedural votes in May and June, Democrats denied Republicans the 60 votes needed from the 100-member chamber to bring debate on Bolton to a close and move to a confirmation vote, which would require a simple majority.

SayUncle wants to know what's on my nightstand. I hate to disappoint, but there's nothing really too exciting.

Alarm clock

Lamp

CD Player

Folder of CDs

TV Remote

That's it. If you were expecting more, that's too bad. Okay, I know, that's not the point of the question. I used to keep a handgun on my nightstand as a "backup" gun. But I put it away figuring that a wussy handgun isn't going to be much help, if this can't do the job:

12 gauge, pump action, 18" barrel, folding stock, 1 in the chamber, 5 in the mag, 5 in the bandolier.

Comments (5)      top   link me

"Roberts faces questions" -- CNN headline, July 26, 2005. They go on to report on Roberts like he's some sort of deviant.

Supreme Court nominee John Roberts declined Monday to say why he was listed in a leadership directory of the Federalist Society and the White House said he has no recollection of belonging to the conservative group.

Neal says that the "Democrats and the media are acting like he might be a member of the Communist Party. Actually, they would probably approve of that." Or the Klan. Oh wait, that's no big deal.

In Russia, an email spammer has been brutally murdered, and the media is actually cheering his death.

Aniston love letters to be auctioned -- CNN.

The seller is asking $100,000 minimum.

Today's road hazard was:

• Woman applying make-up

If you're going to drive in the left lane of the Capitol Beltway, perhaps applying make-up shouldn't be your highest priority task. Yes I'm talking to you, lady in the Blue Honda. You have the honor of being the first Road Hazard of the Day award handed out to an animate object (and I use the term animate, very loosely).

Statistics
Commute: Lead, follow, or get out of the way!
Door to door: 19 minutes

Russian thieves dressed up as police officers to hijack trucks in route from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Ananova reports that when the drivers got out to show identification, they were tied up, tossed into a waiting car, and driven into the forest while other gang members made off with the booty.

In all, the well coordinated operation netted the thieves three trucks filled with thousand of rolls of toilet paper.

In related news, a Chicago man is in deep doo doo after he stole a police car to get to work. The guy was busted after he stopped to assist a citizen who was flagging him down for help.

A few years ago, we reported that Georgia was trying to make it illegal for people to smoke in their car when children are present. Now it's New Jersey's turn, but it would include everybody.

Those cigars, pipes and cigarettes would become no-nos for drivers. Offenders would be stung with a fine of up to $250, under the measure, whose sponsor said it's designed more to improve highway safety than protect health.

Some states, including New Jersey, have considered putting the brakes on smoking while children are in the car. But none have gone for an outright ban on smoking while driving, according to Washington, D.C.-based Action on Smoking and Health, the country's oldest anti-tobacco organization.

Smokers, feeling like easy targets, say enough already. They argue they've been forced outside office buildings, run off the grounds of public facilities, and asked to pony up more in per-pack excise taxes when states feel a budget squeeze. . .

Assemblyman John McKeon, a tobacco opponent whose father died of emphysema, sponsored the legislation. He cites a AAA-sponsored study on driver distractions in which the automobile association found that of 32,000 accidents linked to distraction, 1 percent were related to smoking.

Already smoking has been banned in Georgia, Florida, California, New York, Ireland, Norway, and New Zealand. Currently the bans only impact "public places", but they include private property like bars and restaurants. Successive steps will include private homes and cars, especially where children or employees might be present. Do you have a maid? You might soon need to decide between firing her and continuing your habit. Driving your kid to school? Better not be smoking while you do it.

Anti-smokers and pleasure police have been on the march for decades. They have taken the baby steps approach to pass increasingly restrictive bans on tobacco, with the ultimate goal of complete prohibition.

The Neo-temperance movement is bound to get their wish. A complete prohibition of tobacco products seems inevitable. The smokers just don't have the numbers to withstand the tyranny of majority rule. But a ban on tobacco won't mean cessation. Just like the underground establishments of the 1920s, some defiant bar and restaurant owners will refuse to enforce the ban. Indeed in places where there is already a ban in place, some restaurant workers are looking the other way rather than take on the role of the pleasure police.

Cigarettes may not be as popular as alcohol, but they are certainly more popular than illicit drugs. Throw in cigars and smokeless tobacco, and there are plenty of people around to violate what they view as a silly and unjust law. When criminals organize to meet that demand, lets just hope that we don't get caught in the crossfire.

Related articles:
Neo-Temperance takes control of Austin -- 05/10/2005
Lincoln tax revenue up in smoke with ban -- 04/19/2005
Houston, we have a problem -- 03/10/2005
Neo-temperance movement going after alcohol again -- 02/16/2005
Neo-temperance is inevitable, and doomed to fail -- 02/07/2005
1984: Fired for being a smoker -- 01/26/2005
Neo-temperance marches on -- 11/16/2004
Yet another smoking ban -- 11/04/2004
Temperance movement costing lives -- 01/26/2004
All your vices are belong to us -- 01/08/2004
The Unprotected Minority -- 08/19/2003
Pleasure Police, literally -- 10/22/2002

I'm thinking that a Marine's funeral is not the right place for politicians to show up and start campaigning against the war.

Written apologies will be sent to a fallen Marine's relatives angered by Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll's uninvited appearance at the soldier's funeral and her criticism of the war in Iraq, Gov. Ed Rendell said Sunday.

Rendell said he will send a personal letter to the family of the late Marine Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich, of Westwood, and will ask Knoll to do the same. Goodrich, 32, a police officer and infantry unit leader, died July 10 in a mortar attack in Hit, Iraq.

Rendell said he hadn't spoken with Knoll about the incident, but was disturbed by the family's charge that she made a political statement against the war.

Sports Illustrated thanked Lance Armstrong's mother, Linda Armstrong Kelly for providing some photos from his youth.

I'm not sure Lance will be so thankful.

(Click to Supersize, if you dare)

Leonard Gamage is 87-years old and a veteran of World War II. So when 20-year old James VanderVeen allegedly broke into his home, he relied on his trusty .22 caliber rifle to be his equalizer.

Gamage said as soon as the door was open a few inches, VanderVeen allegedly grabbed the screen door and stepped inside the home.

During the next 45 minutes, Gamage and VanderVeen scuffled twice. The second fight ended when Gamage managed to grab an old .22 caliber rifle from his gun rack.

Gamage said he fired a couple of warning shots, but when the suspect appeared determined to enter the house, Gamage shot the intruder in the left foot.

Gamage broke two rules; never fire warning shots, and never shoot to wound. Now, had Gamage let his Illinois mandated FOID card expire, he'd likely face a Class A misdemeanor charge and a stiff punishment for his unlicensed rifle. Of course other than being shot in the foot, the home invader got off easy.

In a negotiated plea VanderVeen was sentenced to 12 months court supervision and fined $100 plus court costs. If VanderVeen successfully serves the year of court supervision, the misdemeanor will be wiped from his record.

Next time aim for the chest, and shoot twice. (Maybe three times with that .22.)

Businesses are made up of people, and corporations do not hold wealth. When a business earns money, it must be passed on to one or more of the following three groups of people: stockholders in the form of greater shareholder equity; employees in the form of increased wages and benefits; or customers in the form of greater value per dollar. Likewise, when businesses lose money, the cost is passed on to one or more of those same three groups of people. In a free market society, it's usually a symbiotic relationship with all three benefiting in some way or another from each other. Employees sell their labor, stockholders invest in the company, and customers buy product or services all at a mutually beneficial price the market will bear. And they are all in it for some sort of economic benefit.

But then there's this very telling statement about four union's decision to break away from the AFL-CIO, a union of labor unions.

...many union presidents, labor experts and Democratic Party leaders fear the split will weaken the movement politically and hurt unionized workers who need a united and powerful ally against business interests and global competition.

It is a foolhardy employee that is against the business interests of the company to which he sells his labor. And of course the Democrats who come calling every other November aren't too happy about the union split either.

A divided labor movement worries Democratic leaders who rely on the AFL-CIO's money and manpower on Election Day.

"Anything that sidetracks us from our goals ... is not healthy," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., chairman of the House campaign committee.

Yeah, but an employee's goal (union or not) is to get the most benefit they can from their labor, not to subsidize the re-election of a double-talking politician who comes around making empty promises every couple of years.

Eric shut down his blogspot account after moving into prime time. Now he's discovered that someone has re-opened it to peddle their wares.

Is the U.S. Military inventing the news? That's what the mainstream media is bound to think after two different military press releases had the same quote.

A statement about the attack by Task Force Baghdad 3rd Infantry Division contained a three-sentence quote attributed to an unidentified Iraqi. The statement said the Iraqi called the attackers "enemies of humanity" and vowed to "take the fight to the terrorists."

The quote was virtually the same as a quote contained in a Task Force Baghdad 3rd Infantry Division statement released after a car bombing on July 13. That attack killed several children.

Jayson Blair and Michelle Delio could not be reached for comment.

Of all the things obstructionists are accusing John Roberts of being, perhaps this is the most absurd.

Call it the Mary Cheney Strategy. Call it desperation. Some on the Left have started a "maybe he's gay" whisper campaign against John Roberts.

It started with Manhattan Offender in a post yesterday asking "How Gay is This Guy?" and then he quoted Wikipedia's entry for Judge Roberts. He zeroed in on some really damning evidence from Roberts' youthful past: the all-male boarding school, studying French and Latin (gasp!), being a wrestler and, oh the horror, participating in choir and drama.

So, it was only one silly post. Today, however, Wonkette picked up the ball and ran with it:

We're not making any conclusions here -- we wouldn't want to comment on an ongoing investigation -- we're just laying out the facts: He is a graduate of an all-boys Catholic school where, as a member of the wrestling team, he regularly grappled with other sweaty, repressed boys. That is when he wasn't the drama club playing Peppermint Patty, for God's sake.

So, as Charmaine Yoest aptly asks, "Who's homophobic now?"

New York's other Senator, Chuck Schumer, who believes that "the burden is on a nominee to the Supreme Court to prove that he is worthy, not on the Senate to prove he is unworthy", has published his questions for Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. Schumer apparently wants Roberts to pre-judge all the cases he's likely to face over the course of his career. Schumer wants to know when it's okay for the government to abridge freedom of speech or religion, how broad the commerce clause can be stretched, and under what circumstances will the SCOTUS overturn the legislature.

If I didn't know any better, I'd think Schumer has something planned for the American people and he doesn't want any busybody Constructionists standing in his way. Or as Orrin Hatch so eloquently put it, they're a bunch of "dumbass questions".

If I were a French looking senator, I'd probably say touch�:

(2005-07-23) -- In response to Sen. John F. Kerry's call for release of all documents related to Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, President George Bush today said the Massachusetts Senator would "swiftly get a boatload" of data on the little-known federal appeals court judge.

"As a decorated Vietnam veteran, Sen. Kerry deserves swift access to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth," said Mr. Bush. "His own openness to requests for personal records during the presidential campaign is seared, seared in my memory."

The president promised to rapidly hand over all relevant records "in a fashion reminiscent of Sen. Kerry himself, within six months of Judge Roberts' confirmation by the Senate."

"Gun-free" Chicago sure does have a lot of gun crime. So much, that some people are starting to map it out using Google Maps.

It apparently happened in New York, reports the Smoking Gun. Jillian Caruso a 26-year old Birch Lane Elementary School Teacher has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit after she was allegedly forced to resign for displaying a portrait of President Bush in her classroom and for working for George Bush's re-election campaign after work hours.

Gubernatorial wannabe and Democrat Tim Kaine wants to be Virginia's next Governor. But he's having trouble shedding his anti-gun image. The Roanoke Times catches his latest flip-flop, reporting that he plans to vote for more gun control before he votes against it.

[Jerry] Kilgore contrasted his "A" rating with the National Rifle Association with Kaine's "F" rating. Kaine said the state needs no new gun laws, but he would support closing the so-called "gun show loophole" that allows unlicensed dealers to sell guns without running criminal background checks on buyers.

So, we don't need any more gun laws, but he'd support them any way. And for the record, there are no lawful unlicensed dealers. If you're dealing firearms without a license the ATF will throw you in jail before you can say habeas corpus. What they're referring to is people who sell a used gun without going through an FFL gun dealer. It's like selling your car in the trading post. That doesn't make you an unlicensed car dealer.

Senator Jon Corzine, D-NJ, is running for Governor. Barring a shocking upset, Corzine is poised to become the Toll Booth State's next Gov, meaning that he will appoint a person to fill his vacant Senate seat for the remainder of the term. Christian Knoebel thinks that the likely successor is the current acting Governor and State Senate President Richard Codey. This is the same Richard Codey who is so vehemently anti-gun that he's pretty much said that if a woman is being raped, she should just sit back and enjoy it until a man comes along to rescue her.

The Staff Writers at Ravenwood's Universe have been in negotiations with the kind people over at Dumbcriminals.com. We have reached an agreement, so now our "Dumb Criminals" stories are syndicated and we are officially contributing to the Dumb Network.

My sister's birthday is coming up soon, and she was very specific in what she wanted. She has a membership to one of those warehouse clubs, and wanted a gift card. Now, I don't want to disparage the warehouse club by name, but it rhymes with Kostko. I don't have a membership there, but she assured me that I could still purchase a gift card without one.

On any given night during the summer, when I actually have the luxury of getting off work early enough to still have some daylight left, I like to get a little exercise by taking a walk. I checked Mapquest and the store was over 4 miles away or nearly 9 miles round trip. I don't usually walk that far, but I was determined to humanely euthanize two birds with one stone. So, I strapped on my MP3 player, and loaded up on bottled water and headed out for the store.

Now, I don't usually walk that way. The residential parts of the neighborhood are a mixture of nice and not so nice houses, and my trek would also take me through some heavy industrial areas. I had walked these roads before, but not since I discovered it was marked territory of the Salvadoran street gang, MS-13. (Evidenced by the numerous graffiti tags that say 'MS-13'.) But the store was down that way, so I figured what the hell. Besides, I'm a pretty big guy and I like to think I'm prepared to handle whatever trouble might cross my path. (G27 .40 10+1, for those of you who are interested.)

So I start the long arduous walk down to the warehouse club. About half way there it starts to rain. It was just a quick sprinkle, but it was enough to wet the ground and create a fog of humidity that you could cut with a Ka-bar. Like I said, I looked at mapquest before I left and it estimated the trip at over 4 miles each way. I wish I had looked a little more closely, because I took a wrong turn half way there and walked about a half mile out of my way. It was getting late and I had a knot in my stomach from not eating, so I stopped at a gas station to ask for directions and pick up a chocolate bar for some quick energy. The clerk gave me good directions and 15 minutes later I was trotting through the front door.

I walked up to the greeter and asked him about buying a gift card. I told him I didn't have a membership, so he directed me to the "Puerto Rican" guy (his words, not mine) behind the customer service counter. I told the clerk that I wanted to buy a gift card for my sister, but that I didn't have a membership. He asked if she was a member and I said yes. He said that it wouldn't be a problem, and gave me a pass to get by the guard at the front door. He was very helpful and told me where to find the gift cards, and said to just tell the cashier that I'm buying it for someone who's a member. I followed his directions exactly.

When I spoke with the stocker who was filling in at the register, he clearly had no clue what I was talking about. He quickly escalated the transaction to a "supervisor". I knew he was a "supervisor" because it was stenciled on his smock, and they don't just hand those out to anyone. Any way, he informed me that I had to purchase a membership (for $45) just to buy a gift card. I told him "negative" and said that the Puerto Rican behind the membership counter had told me it was okay to buy a gift card without a membership. (I didn't really say "Puerto Rican", but wouldn't it have been cool if I did?)

He told me that you could use a gift card without a membership, but to buy one I'd have to shell out an extra $45. It was beginning to look like it was all for naught. I told him to get a manager, and he ran off to fetch one. The manager never showed, but "supervisor" guy came back and escorted me to an empty register.

He told me that it was against their policy, but that he was going to make an exception. He made it a point to let me know that I was in the wrong, and that he was doing me a favor.

Did I mention that I don't shop at warehouse clubs? There's two major reasons. First, I don't like the fact that they don't give you any bags to carry your stuff out. The second reason is that they don't take credit cards. This was not the best time to find that out.

I handed him my VISA card, and he promptly handed it back to me. They only take Debit and ATM cards, or an American Express charge card. Credit cards are not welcome. I dug into my pocket, with this sinking feeling that the candy bar I had just bought would make me come up short. Luckily I had just enough cash to load up the card with the amount I wanted.

As I headed out of the store, I stopped by the customer service counter to complain. It was packed with other customers, and I was pretty ripe from the long walk, so I decided to just cut and run. It was getting dark, and I figured my complaint would fall on deaf ears any way. To me, it's a training issue. Either their employees aren't trained well enough to know the policy, or they aren't trained well enough to communicate the policy effectively to their customers. Besides, what could they do? Offer me a complimentary membership to a store I would never visit? I headed for home, hoping to make it back before dark.

Next time she's getting a check.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Republican, is authorizing city officials to conduct random searches of passengers entering the city's subways. They won't be racially profiling, so hot chicks are more likely to be groped than people who share similar physical characteristics with your average terrorist. When asked about violating the civil rights of his subjects, Bloomberg had this to say:

"We just live in a world where, sadly, these kinds of security measures are necessary," Bloomberg said. "Are they intrusive? Yes, a little bit. But we are trying to find that right balance."

Proving the futility of the security measures, Police Commish Raymond Kelly noted that "passengers will be free to 'turn around and leave' rather than consent to a search." I wonder how many people too uninformed to know they don't have to consent will be caught carrying recreational contraband like guns, drugs, or cigarettes.

"Police: Bomb evidence found" -- CNN Headline, July 21, 2005.

"...brilliant legal mind, a straight shooter, articulate, and he should not have trouble being confirmed by October. He's good in every way, except he's not a woman." -- Sandra Day O'Connor, commenting on John Roberts who was nominated as her replacement.

Congress is trying to figure out what to do about the dreaded Alternative Minimum Tax. President Bush said of the tax, Americans "have to calculate their tax burden twice, once under the regular tax rules, and once for the alternative minimum tax. And then when you're done figuring out both totals, you get to pay the higher amount."

The tax was originally created in the 1960s to target 154 people who weren't paying their "fair share". But since the income threshhold has never been increased, it will affect more than 20 million taxpayers in 2006, reports USA Today.

Even though it doesn't affect me (yet), I'm all for repealing the AMT or any other tax you want to repeal. But before they do anything, Congress wants to know how they are going to replace the lost tax revenue.

The panel did not determine how to recoup the $1.2 trillion that AMT repeal would cost in lost tax revenue over the next decade. . .

Former senator John Breaux of Louisiana, a Democrat and the panel's vice chairman, said the panel must ensure that wealthy taxpayers won't be able to evade taxation.

Congress has until early 2007, when Americans file their 2006 income taxes, to deal with the issue. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and other key lawmakers have called for abolishing the AMT.

The problem for the tax panel: replacing the lost revenue. "I don't think we were hired to raise rates," [Republican former congressman from Minnesota Bill Frenzel] said.

Notice that something they aren't even considering is cutting spending or growing their way out of it.

Clayton County (GA) is trying to combat teen lawlessness. For starters, if minors are caught out after the 11 PM curfew, parents will be fined up to $1,000 and face 6 months in jail. Sounds tough, doesn't it? Well, this should take the teeth out of it.

If the teenager is found to be in violation of the curfew with their parents' permission, the police could hold their parents accountable and force them to face a juvenile court judge. Parents would not be held accountable if it is determined that their teenager snuck out of the house past curfew.

The County is also getting tough on graffiti. In fact, they've banned it. But guess who's stuck holding the fine for "illegal" graffiti.

An additional ban on graffiti adopted by the commission requires business owners to erase the markings from their premises within 30 days or face fines up to $1,000.

How about we get some juvenile offenders out there cleaning it up as part of their community service. Better yet, make them slaves for a week to local businesses. That ought to help the economy and discourage recidivism.

Aimfighting:

How can I increase my score?

You can�t! You need to get people to add you to their Buddy List� window, and have more people add those people to their Buddy List windows, and have even more people add those people to their Buddy List windows. Your own Buddy List window doesn�t matter in the score.

The next time that someone falls prey to Ravenwood's Law, tell them to quit getting their history lessons from Hollywood and educate them about what really happened in the so-called Wild West.

There were fisticuffs in barroom brawls. When a large group of unattached males had time on their hands, violence could erupt.

However, even in a cattle town like Abilene, Kan., the murder rate was much lower than in most modern American cities. Larry Schweikart, a historian at the University of Dayton, estimates that there were probably fewer than a dozen bank robberies in the entire period from 1859 through 1900 in all the frontier West. Schweikart summarizes: "The record is shockingly clear: There are more bank robberies in modern-day Dayton, Ohio, in a year than there were in the entire Old West in a decade, perhaps in the entire frontier period!"

And if you really want to ruffle their feathers with a reality check, throw this at them:

An interesting conclusion of our study of the West is that today's New West is more conflict-ridden than the Old West. Agencies such as the Forest Service, the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land Management now control nearly one-third of the land in the United States, most of it in the West.

The benefits from these lands are allocated through political and bureaucratic processes that stifle cooperation. The conflict over resource use far exceeds anything that one saw in the Old West of the 19th century.

If one wants to see the "Wild, Wild West" in action one should turn to congressional hearings, political demonstrations and arguments over recreational and consumptive vs. non-consumptive uses of forest lands.

Hillary Clinton, leatherneck?

"Gee, now it was probably 19 years ago - in 1975," Mrs. Clinton recalled. "I decided that I was very interested in having some experience in serving in some capacity in the military."

"Because we all love the military so much," Mr. Clinton interjected helpfully.

Hillary resumed: "So I walked into our local recruiting office, and I think it was just my bad luck that the person who happened to be there on duty could not have been older than 21. He was in perfect physical shape."

She remembered telling the recruiter, "I wanted to explore - I didn't know whether I thought active duty would be a good idea, reserve, you know, maybe National Guard, something along those lines."

But Hillary's bid to become a leatherneck soon came unraveled.

"This young man looked at me and he said, 'How old are you?'" she recalled.

"I said, 'Well, 27' ... I had these really thick glasses on.

"He said, 'How bad's your eyesight?'

"I said, 'It's pretty bad.'

"And he said, 'How bad?'

"So I told him.

"He said, 'That's pretty bad.'

"And he finally said to me, he said: 'You're too old. You can't see. And you're a woman.' And then he went on ... this man, young man, was a Marine.

"He said, 'But maybe the dogs [Army] would take you.'"

"This is not a very encouraging conversation," Mrs. Clinton recalled thinking. "So maybe I'll look for another way to serve my country."

Heh. You know, if I had told a recruiter I've got flat feet, I'm overweight, I've got bad eyesight, and I tend to shoot my friends in the back by accident, would you say I was really trying to join the Marines?

He's not just a mayor, he's a publicity whore.

Washington D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams wants a little respect - from ESPN.

Williams feels the nation's capital is getting dissed by the cable sports network. ESPN is doing a series called "50 States-50 Days" about sporting events around the country. D.C. isn't on the list.

Guam and Puerto Rico could not be reached for comment.

President Bush nominated John Roberts for the Supreme Court, and some Democrats are already out making jackasses of themselves in front of the microphone. Senator Chuck Schumer even stole Joe Biden's make new law quote.

"Now that he is nominated for a position where he can overturn precedent and make law, it is even more important that he fully answers a very broad range of questions." -- Senator Chuck Schumer, D-NY.

"The burden is on a nominee to the Supreme Court to prove that he is worthy, not on the Senate to prove he is unworthy." -- Senator Chuck Schumer, D-NY.

"This is a very, very activist court. I want to know whether he's going to be like that, somebody who would eagerly and willingly overturn settled law." -- Senator Patrick Leahy, D-VT.

No word on whether or not Sen. George Voinovich, R-OH, cried or not.

Reader Mike A sends this link. I think the headline pretty much says where this one is going: "How the rich ignored Niger crisis"

DAKAR, Senegal (Reuters) -- The costs of saving millions of people starving in Niger are rocketing because [evil]rich nations ignored calls for early intervention to avert the ravages of last year's drought, relief workers said on Wednesday. [...]

In common with many other crises in Africa, U.N. officials say the late response in Niger shows how the [evil] rich world often misses chances to avoid worse disasters by reacting only when situations reach critical, headline-grabbing proportions.

In Niger's case, failed rains and locusts [sent over there by Karl Rove, no doubt] left some 3.6 million people short of food last year, putting tens of thousands of children at risk of starving to death...

Jan Egeland, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said on Tuesday it would have cost $1 a day to prevent malnutrition among children if the world had responded immediately. Now it costs some $80 to save a malnourished child's life, he said.

Perhaps foreign aid dropped because a certain U.N. undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs (named Jan) called us stingy.

The Analog Kid has been busy pissing off the hippies. Something as simple as a "Peace Through Superior Firepower" bumper sticker was enough to set one off with hilarious results.

As she got to the car behind me, I saw her focus on the back of my truck and was waiting for a reaction.

I got more of a reaction than I was hoping for.

I saw the blank stare on her face turn into a scowl, which oddly enough, looked very natural on her face. She then walked up to my drivers door window and said "Excuse me."

Those folks that have met me know that I am nothing if not a gentleman and I proceeded to fold up my Shotgun News and ask if I could help her. She said that she was offended by the sticker and asked if I had any clue how stupid it was. I proceeded to tell her that in my opinion, it spoke a very simple truth in four words.

Apparently, she thought I would cede the point to her immediately because the look of shock on her face was as if I had hit her in the face with a two-by-four (which I hadn't).

She went into a rant about how violence creates violence, war is for people who don�t know how to negotiate (or some such BS) and I was waiting for the famous "You can't hug a child with nuclear arms" drivel, but it never arrived. It probably would have except that as she got a couple sentences into her rant, I started unfolding my Shotgun News and that really made her mad.

Her last line something like "And stupid stickers like that one and stupid people like you will never understand and that really pisses me off!" and it was at full volume, so that folks still sitting in their vehicles around us were able to take notice.

I calmly folded my my Shotgun News back up and asked if it made her pissed off enough to try and hit me.

She said, and I quote "No, because you probably have a gun with you right now."

So I replied "Isn't it sad that all of the psychobabble you keep in your head just lost an argument to a bumper sticker?"

(Hat tip to reader Steve S.)

Betta fish have evolved to live in shallow oxygen depleted water, with very little personal space. The resiliance of the fish has made it a popular choice for novelty aquariums like tiny desktop boxes or small glass vases. That, and an artist who put the fish in old lightbulbs filled with water, has Peta seeing red.

"Animals in captivity certainly suffer," [Laura Brown, who manages PETA's Domestic Animals and Wildlife Department] said. "We've seen betta fish displayed in many hideous ways. No matter how small and pretty they are, they should not be used for decoration."

Maybe with some butter and tartar sauce...

Please be aware that Ravenwood's Universe is still banned by AOL. Basically, any email sent from ravnwood.com to an AOL.com email address is automatically rejected. That's probably nothing new for AOL subscribers, since AOL blocks about 80% of all inbound email. But we're sick of getting snide emails from AOL saying that our email has been blocked because we're spammers.

We have tried adding ravnwood.com to the AOL whitelist, but AOL has denied our request. We will continue to try to work with them, but as of right now the giant beast is not cooperating. Their attitude is basically "too bad, we're AOL, what are you going to do about it?"

We've considered retaliating by blocking all AOL IPs from viewing Ravenwood's Universe. While I'm sure that they would get a flood of complaints from users trying to reach our site (both of them), it seems both petty and futile.

For now, we'll keep trying. But if you're email ends in aol.com and you haven't heard from us, now you know why.

My sister traveled the country recently, and brought me back some popcorn from the Corn Palace in South Dakota. They call it on-the-ear popcorn. (click images to supersize)

The ear is small. Much smaller than a regular ear of corn you'd buy at the grocery store. Whether that is because of drying or they just pick small ears, I don't know. I put the ear in the small paper sack that came with it, and taped it shut with scotch tape. Into the microwave it goes.

The popping was irregular, not like traditional microwave popcorn. After it got going, there was a flurry of popping about every 3 seconds or so, instead of the continuous popping you get with regular popcorn. The popping got further apart and slower, so I pulled it out, perhaps a little early. You can see how much corn is on the end of the ear down inside the bag.

After burning the hell out of my fingers, I pulled the ear out and emptied the bag (a few kernels at a time into my mouth). The popcorn was extra crunchy but not tough. It was plain, but tasted very good and had a unique flavor. It wasn't bland like you'd expect regular plain popcorn to be. I tried lightly salting it, but with no oil the salt just ended up in the bottom of the bag. After I was done eating, I put the ear back into the bag for some re-popping.

The re-popping went well. Much more of the popcorn popped off the ear, and it wasn't the least bit scorched. Another little treat of crunchy corn. You can see that if you get the timing right, most of the kernels pop.

It's truly a novelty. It doesn't make much, and I couldn't see buying popcorn like this regularly. But it was a neat gift and the corn was quite tasty.

Barney Frank is calling for impeachment.

Squirrels and power lines don't mix, as flaming squirrels are being blamed for starting fires. And for some reason, I find this passage attributed to Osoyoos fire chief Ross Driver to be hilarious.

He said he's not sure what the Fortis power utility company might do to prevent squirrel fires in the future.

I wouldn't be completely surprised if the Canadian government started putting pint sized fire retardant vests on the little tree-rats.

CNN reports that "President Bush appeared to backtrack Monday from his 2004 pledge to fire anyone involved in leaking the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame." See if you can find the inconsistency, because I don't see it.

"If there's a leak out of my administration I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated the law, the person will be taken care of." -- President Bush, September 30, 2003, as reported by CNN.

"I think it's best if people wait until the investigation is complete before you jump to conclusions. I would like this to end as quickly as possible so we know the facts. And if someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration." -- President Bush, July 19, 2005, as reported by CNN.

That appears to be pretty consistent. But the liberals in the mainstream media appear to be ignoring his initial remarks, and are reacting only to this question from a June 10th, 2004 press conference, where the media misrepresented his original statement.

Q: Given recent developments in the CIA leak case, particularly Vice President [Dick] Cheney's discussions with the investigators, do you still stand by what you said several months ago, a suggestion that it might be difficult to identify anybody who leaked the agent's name?

BUSH: That's up to --

Q: And, and, do you stand by your pledge to fire anyone found to have done so?

BUSH: Yes. And that's up to the U.S. attorney to find the facts.

Then there's this question to Scott McClellan during Monday's press conference, from Terry Hunt. (emphasis mine)

Scott, the President seemed to raise the bar and add a qualifier today when discussing whether or not anybody would be dismissed for -- in the leak of a CIA officer's name, in which he said that he would -- if someone is found to have committed a crime, they would no longer work in this administration. That's never been part of the standard before, why is that added now?

Isn't "violated the law" the same as "commited a crime", or did the meaning change from 2003 to 2005? Who's the one being inconsistent here?

Mark Felt, American Hero, could not be reached for comment.

The 2005 Explorer Limited Edition in RedFire.

It's powered by a 281 cubic inch V8 (4.6L), has 4-wheel drive, and big 17" wheels. It has a five-speed automatic tranny, 240 horses, traction control, and it tows up to 7,000 lbs. It has leather interior, a sun roof, a 6-disk CD changer built into the dash, reverse sensing system, and power everything. The seats go back to my preset position with a flick of the keyless entry remote. It also has steering wheel controls, heated mirrors, heated seats, dual A/C, and airbags all over the place.

And with "employee pricing" and a huge cash rebate, it's all mine. I traded in my 2001 2-door model, emptied her out, kissed her goodbye, and drove this new baby off the lot.

Pundits are already saying that John Roberts, Bush's selection to replace Sandra Day O'Conner on the Supreme Court, seems to be lacking important qualities.

His selection was somewhat of a surprise since there had been some expectations that he would replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor with a woman or minority.

A Seattle man apparently died after a romp in the hay with an equine, which is perfectly legal in Washington State. Now, people having romantic interludes with farm animals is nothing new. But turning yourself into a Darwin candidate under one of them is certainly newsworthy. And in case you're still wondering just how the poor man died, the Seattle Times backs into it.

The dead man was identified as a 45-year-old Seattle resident. According to the King County Medical Examiner's Office, he died of acute peritonitis due to perforation of the colon.

It always comes out in the end.

Would a dork by any other name be just as geeky?

Whatever the reason, being a nerd, a geek, a dork -- whatever you want to call the tragically unhip -- is becoming a source of pride.

Case in point: Steffi Weiss, a 15-year-old in the Chicago suburb of Lake Zurich, who plays violin in the school's orchestra.

This spring, she and a friend bought black mesh sports jerseys -- something like the football team's -- and added "ORCH DORKS" in white letters on the front, their last names on the back and their instrument on the sleeves (VLN I, for first violin, in Weiss' case).

It looks like San Bernardino County (Calif.) is going to start teaching ebonics.

Mary Texeira, a sociology professor at Cal State San Bernardino, commended the San Bernardino Board of Education for approving the policy in June.

Texeira suggested that including Ebonics in the program would be beneficial for students. Ebonics, a dialect of American English that is spoken by many blacks throughout the country, was recognized as a separate language in 1996 by the Oakland school board.

"Ebonics is a different language, it's not slang as many believe,' Texeira said. "For many of these students Ebonics is their language, and it should be considered a foreign language. These students should be taught like other students who speak a foreign language.'

Texeira said research has shown that students learn better when they fully comprehend the language they are being taught in. [...]

"Because Ebonics can have a negative stigma, we're not focusing on that,' [Len] Cooper said. "We are affirming and recognizing Ebonics through supplemental reading books (for students).' [...]

Teresa Parra, board vice president, said she worried the new program would have an adverse effect.

"I'm afraid that now that we have this the Hispanic community, our largest population, will say, 'We want something for us.' Next we'll have the Asian community and the Jewish community (asking for their own programs). When will it end?'

Parra said the district should focus on helping all students who are at risk.

"I've always thought that we should provide students support based on their needs and not on their race,' Parra said.

Tillman disagreed with Parra, saying programs that help Latinos already exist in the district. He cited the district's English- as-a-second-language program.

Texeira urged people not be quick to judge the new program as socially exclusive. She said people need to be open to the program.

"Everybody has prejudices, but we must all learn to control that behavior,' Texeira said. She said a child's self confidence is tied to his or her cultural identity.

She compared the low performance of black students to starvation. "How can you be angry when you feed a family of starving children?'

UPDATE: And of course if you want to read this article in 'Jive', just click here.

UPDATE 2: Ebonics in action: Boo got shot. (As requested by Steve S.)

Remember, just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean the Republicans aren't really out to get you. Or in the case of Democrat talking head, Paul Begala, Republicans and members of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy are out to kill him.

Mr. Begala, who was participating in a panel discussion, created a stir when he declared that Republicans had done a "poor job of defending" the United States, CNSNews.com reports.

Republicans, he added, "want to kill us."

He continued, "I was driving past the Pentagon when that plane hit" on September 11. "I had friends on that plane. This is deadly serious to me.

"They want to kill me and my children if they can. But if they just kill me and not my children, they want my children to be comforted -- that while they didn't protect me because they cut my taxes, my children won't have to pay any money on the money they inherit," Mr. Begala said.

Begala apparently thinks the 9-11 hijackers were Republicans.

I'm shocked. CBS ran another heavily biased anti-gun hit piece filled with lies and half truths. If 60 Minutes reporters weren't all over 85 years old, I'd think that Sarah Brady and Michael Moore were staff writers over there.

Fifteen years ago, Osama bin Laden sent one of his operatives to the United States to buy and bring back two-dozen .50-caliber rifles, a gun that can kill someone from over a mile away and even bring down an airplane.

Um, that would be the U.S. Military providing arms to Afghanistan to fight off the Ruskies. Killing a man 5,280 feet away is damn hard and requires years of training and a helluva lot of luck. And there has never been (and probably will never be) a case of a plane downed using a .50 caliber rifle. For starters, hitting a fast moving plane with anything "dumb" (non-tracking) is really really hard, much less with a single shot sniper rifle. Anti-aircraft artillery and even guns on fighter jets usually require hundreds of rounds to shoot down an airplane, and they're usually 20mm or larger and fired en masse. Using a single shot sniper rifle that required accuracy and timing would be a gun of last resort, probably ranking just above throwing a rock at it.

In spite of all the recent efforts to curb terrorism, bin Laden could do the same thing today, because buying and shipping the world's most powerful sniper rifle is not as difficult as you might think.

Thanks to CBS for proving once again that reporters know nothing about guns and have probably never even set foot in a gun store. I'm pretty confident that if Osama bin Laden ever walked into a gun store today, he'd be carried out in several little bags.

But as Say Uncle notes, the timing of the CBS report fits nicely into the United Nation's agenda to ban small arms, and DiFi's agenda to ban .50 caliber rifles on the federal level.

Countertop chronicles the types of evil assault guns that gun-buyback programs get "off the streets".

He bought it for two packs of Chesterfield cigarettes. He sold it for a $75 Target gift card.

But World War II Navy veteran Bruno Filippelli never knew the Japanese rifle that collected dust in his closet for 60 years was a bona fide wartime treasure.

He turned it over to West Palm Beach police Saturday during the city's gun buy-back program, and the rare and valuable firearm � better suited in a polished museum or with a wealthy weapons collector � now lies alongside 450 other submitted shotguns, handguns and assault rifles in the department's evidence storage room.

"I feel like an idiot," said Filippelli, 79, four days after selling the rifle and just a few hours after discovering its worth.

And police say they're not giving it back. In fact, the gun could soon be melted down and destroyed with the others.

The controversy over the rare gun erupted when a picture of Filippelli turning over the rifle appeared in the Sunday edition of The Palm Beach Post. A Palm Beach police officer recognized the rare rifle, researched the gun and then delivered the bad news to Filippelli Wednesday.

"He told me, 'If I was you, I never would have turned it in,' " Filippelli said.

The gun, an Arisaka Type 99 pressure test rifle, is one of less than 100 ever produced. There are as few as 50 left, including about 20 in the United States, according to gun experts and dealers. The type of rifle was never used in the field. It was designed to test the chamber pressure and bullet velocity for the Type 99 rifle, which Imperial Japanese forces widely used throughout World War II.

Alphecca notes that under media scrutiny, the police have decided to return Mr. Filippelli's rifle, however the futility of buyback programs remains the same. Criminals aren't going to line up to turn in their guns unless of course, they're looking to get rid of evidence.

Well, it was only a matter of time before a fatwah was issued against a blogger. While I cannot imagine why someone would walk across the street to kill me, apparently some terrorists are considering crossing the globe to come after Chris Byrne at Anarch Angel. You gotta live Chris' response:

If you attempt to do anything to me, to my friends, to anyone I care about; I WILL KILL YOU. I will not simply defend myself, I WILL kill you, and while you are dying I will piss on you.

I have jsut rolled all my bullets in pig fat. I'm going to start carying around pieces of swine flesh with me; and I'll shove them into your wounds, then force feed them to you. Then I'll cut your cock and balls off and shove them down your throat.

I am heavily armed at all times, I have booby trapped my car and my home, and I am waiting for you. If you come after me or mine, you will die, and I will make damned sure you won't see paradise for all eternity you evil motherfuckers.

I saw this photo making the rounds a few days ago and just ignored it for some reason.

As if we needed more imperial federal regulations in our lives, Senator Clinton wants to create video game laws to be enforced by the federal police force. The software ratings put out by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), which are currently voluntary, would be strictly enforced. Violating the ratings would be a federal crime punishable by a $5,000 fine, reports Gamespot.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has officially entered the Hot Coffee fray. This morning in Washington, the junior Senator from New York said she was calling on the Federal Trade Commission to "take immediate action to determine the source of graphic pornographic and violent content appearing on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game."

Clinton joins the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), The National Institute on Media and the Family, and the Australian government's Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) who are all seeking to determine if the "Hot Coffee" mod unlocks game code already present in San Andreas. GTA publisher Rockstar Games contends the mod enters the sexually explicit minigames into the game, in violation of the game's users' agreement.

In addition to asking the FTC to look into the San Andreas mod, Clinton has also asked the FTC to "determine whether an Adults Only (AO) rating is more appropriate than the current Mature (M) rating for the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game given this new, alarming content." She is also asking that the FTC "examine the adequacy of retailers' rating enforcement policies."

Not stopping there, Clinton said she would soon author a bill to create a federal law that would "put some teeth into video game ratings." Reminiscent of a California bill introduced by Assemblyman Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) and similar measures in several other states, the legislation will "prohibit the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors" and make such action a federal offense. Clinton said the penalty for violating the law would be a mandatory $5,000 fine.

I know what you're thinking, our police force is already overworked and underpaid. But this is for the children.

Newsmax reports that the New York Times has taken it upon themselves to edit a Hillary Clinton quote to make her sound better.

Among the maneuvers cited by the Old Gray Lady was Mrs. Clinton's purported shift to the right on the hot-button issue of immigration.

Included in the evidence cited by the Times: Hillary's quote to WABC Radio's John Gambling on Feb. 11, 2003, wherein she proclaimed, "I am, you know, adamantly against illegal immigration."

The only problem is, Mrs. Clinton never spoke those words.

Apparently, the Times was offended by what she actually said, which was: "I am, you know, adamantly against illegal immigrants" - a quote first reported by NewsMax an hour after Clinton uttered it.

The distinction is important, since, in the Times version, Mrs. Clinton is condemning the crime of illegal immigration, while in realty, what Hillary did was state her opposition to the immigrants themselves.

That's not very politically correct. In fact, we'd venture to guess that if a Republican had blurted out that he was "adamantly against illegal immigrants," the Times would undoubtedly condemn the hapless GOP'er as a racist.

This time it's the dog who was attacked allegedly by a local teen.

A Campobello teen is accused of raping one neighbor's dog and another neighbor's two little girls. Now the dog has died and charges against the teen have been upgraded.

Sadly, the dog suffered from internal bleeding and died a few days later. Looking at the photo, it appears to be a pit bull. Amazingly, none of the news articles mention the breed. Had the dog attacked the boy, I'm sure it would have been national news, especially if it were a pit bull.

(click to supersize)

John Kerry is calling for Karl Rove to resign. Even though Rove didn't leak the name of Valerie Plame, and even though Valerie Plame wasn't a covert CIA agent, and even though the prosecution is saying Rove did nothing wrong, Kerry thinks Rove has to go. He thinks that Rove "outed" the so-called covert agent, and should step down.

But Newsmax reminds us that earlier this year during the John Bolton confirmation hearings, Senator Kerry outed a real covert CIA agent, even after being asked not to by the CIA.

Questioning Bolton, Kerry asked: "Did Otto Reich share his belief that Fulton Armstrong should be removed for his position?" - according to a transcript excerpted by the New York Times.

"The answer is yes," the top Democrat continued.

In his response to Kerry, Mr. Bolton did his best to maintain the agent's confidentiality, reverting to the Armstrong's pseudonym.

"As I said," he told Kerry, "I had lost confidence in Mr. Smith, and I conveyed that."

Did Kerry commit a crime? I don't know. But where's the independent investigation? Where's the media outcry? Where's Kerry's resignation?

At the very least, what Kerry did was on par with Rove's actions if not worse. Yet it continues to go unreported and unnoticed by the mainstream press.

While the anti-war appeasement crowd continues to blame America for inciting terror, Muslim countries are becoming increasingly intolerant of terrorism. A poll conducted by the Pew Global Attitudes Project shows that we are winning the war on terror.

In a striking finding, predominantly Muslim populations in a sampling of six North African, Middle East and Asian countries are shared to "a considerable degree" Western nations' concerns about Islamic extremism, the survey found. Many in those Muslim nations see it as threat to their own country, the poll found.

"Most Muslim publics are expressing less support for terrorism than in the past. Confidence in Osama bin Laden has declined markedly in some countries, and fewer believe suicide bombings that target civilians are justified in the defense of Islam" ...

Compared with previous surveys, the new poll also found growing majorities or pluralities of Muslims surveyed now say democracy can work in their countries and is not just a political system for the West. Support for democracy was in the 80 percent range in Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco and the highest score at 43 percent in Pakistan and 48 percent in Turkey, where significant numbers of respondents were unsure.

"They are not just paying lip service. They are saying they specifically want a fair judiciary, freedom of expression and more than one party to participate in elections. It wasn't just a vague concept," said Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center and director of the project. "U.S. and Western ideas about democracy have been globalized and are in the Muslim world."

While Pew was shocked at the findings, I would bet that most hawks are thinking "we told you so". The foreign terrorists who make up the so-called "insurgency" in Iraq have been targeting civilians as well as coalition troops. It's only a matter of time until they start placing blame with the bad guys holding the bombs and not supporters of the global war on terror.

On page A01 of the Washington Post the headline reads, "Abu Ghraib Tactics Were First Used at Guantanamo". The Post reports that detainees at Club Gitmo were made to wear women's underwear on their head when they became uncooperative.

Interrogators at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, forced a stubborn detainee to wear women's underwear on his head, confronted him with snarling military working dogs and attached a leash to his chains..

In other news, Abu Ghraib tacticts were first used at Delta House, where fraternity pledges were forced to wear women's underwear on their heads and paddled on their buttocks when they became uncooperative.

Robert Birtwhistle is 84 years old. Back in February, 200-pound, 6-foot-1-inch James Rosebush allegedly broke into Birtwhistle's Mishawaka (IN) home and tried to attack him. Because Birtwhistle used a .32 caliber revolver to defend his own life, the 40-year old Rosebush will never see 41. It's a justifiable use of force if there ever was one.

But the local prosecutor is refusing to return Birtwhistle's revolver. Publicola reports that the Indiana DA has pretty much stolen the octogenarian's gun. (That's a man with eight arms for you people who went to public skool.)

84 year old man shoots a burglar. DA calls it justifiable homicide. That was February. They still have his gun. Wanna know the reasoning?

"Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Frank Schaffer said Birtwhistle's revolver is part of a death investigation, and he'll never see it again.

'We keep weapons for evidence for our own records,' Schaffer said. 'You never know what's going to happen, so we keep it all."

Frank Schaffer. Worthwhile to remember his name, since it's not too often you run into a thief so proud of his work that he justifies it to the press. It's a wonder they didn't seize his house; after all that's where the incident happened.

I would suggest the old man complain about the theft to the proper authorities, but then the gun would be evidence in a criminal investigation and he'd be right back where he started.

Remember Sandy Burglar? He's the former National Security Advisor to President Clinton, who was caught shoving classified documents into his shorts and smuggling them out of the National Archives. For some undisclosed reason, his sentencing has been postponed until September.

I'm sure it had nothing to do with this, though:

Senate Democrats moved forcefully into the controversy surrounding White House aide Karl Rove on Thursday, calling for legislation to deny security clearances to officials who disclose the identity of an undercover agent.

Here's another great moment in French socialism. A group of old ladies is being sued because they're car pooling to work. The bus company that operates along the route they take says it's unfair competition.

They might have been congratulated for their "green" efforts in an area of heavy air pollution.

Instead a group of French cleaning ladies who organised a car-sharing scheme to get to work are being taken to court by a coach company which accuses them of "an act of unfair and parasitical competition".

The women, who live in Moselle and work five days a week at EU offices in Luxembourg, are being taken to court by Transports Schiocchet Excursions, which runs a service along the route. It wants the women to be fined and their cars confiscated.

Two years ago a business tribunal threw out the company's case. It is now pursuing the women in a higher court, claiming that their action has cost it �2m.

My father first saw "The High and the Mighty" with John Wayne in the theater back in the 1950s. Ever since then he had been wanting to see it again, but it wasn't available. It was never released on home video (other than 16mm), and was hardly ever shown on TV. It was as if the movie was lost forever.

To make matters worse, each year when I asked pop what he wanted for his birthday, he'd say "The High and the Mighty", knowing full well that it was unavailable. So a few years back, I got it for him. I scoured the internet and was able to purchase (for a pretty penny) a video transfer of the 16mm film. It looked horrible and to me was unwatchable. It looked like a tape of a tape of a tape. But he loved it and was so excited when opening his prize. It had been nearly 50 years since he'd seen it.

Well, now he's about to see it again. And I know where he and many other John Wayne fans will be this weekend. Watching AMC:

Long requested by many fans of "The Duke," the aerial dramas "The High and the Mighty" and "Island in the Sky" will make their DVD debuts Aug. 2 via Paramount Home Entertainment (although both movies were released theatrically by Warner Bros.). Before that, the films will have their first television showings in years on AMC, as the cornerstones of a full weekend of Wayne attractions.

"Island in the Sky" airs Saturday at 8 PM; "The High and the Mighty" will be on Sunday at 8 PM. Don't miss them.

In the wake of the London terror attacks, government officials are gearing up for another great freedom grab. Washington D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, wants every part of D.C. covered with closed circuit video cameras. He likes the way that London was able to quickly identify (after the attack) who the terrorists were. Currently you can't spit on the sidewalk in London without cops seeing you on camera and dispatching someone to issue a summons.

On another front, D.C. Metro authorities are eager to conduct "random" searches of people riding the bus and rail system, as if you needed another reason not to ride Metro.

Metro Transit Police Chief Polly L. Hanson said the system is considering inspecting passengers' bags at random. She said officials have begun researching the legal issues associated with such a practice.

"It's something I very much want to do," Hanson said. "The timing is important on something like that, and I feel that this is a time when it would be received well."

Translation: We need to grab their freedom now while the sheeple are still willing to trade it away for the empty promise of security.

In more positive news, the 30-minute rule has been lifted from flights out of Ronald Reagan National Airport. That's the rule that said you had to remain seated for the first and last 30 minutes of flights departing and entering Reagan Airport. I could have seen 5, maybe 10 minutes, but in 30 minutes you're well over West Virginia or New Jersey.

Reader HomoAffectual is not happy with this venerable post from early 2003 about so-called "hate crimes" legislation in Hawaii. I tried to make the point that tacking on punishments for different classes of people is nothing more than discrimination.

In the state of Hawaii, gays and transgendered people are worth more than regular folks like you and me. If one of them get's murdered, the sentence will be much stiffer than if you or I get murdered.

HA writes:

This is TOTAL crap. No one's life is "worth more" than anyone else's. If someone were to attack someone for being hetero, they too could be charged with using the hate crime statute and received an enhanced penalty.

Give me a damn break, and spare me your right-wing propaganda.

BTW, thanks for censoring me, so I couldn't post a comment on that entry.

I responded:

Dear HA,

Thank you for commenting. Comments are closed on items more than 30 days old to prevent comment spam. That post is 806 days old, and if left open would be filled with offers for cheap viagra, online texas holdem, and access to millions of dollars worth of nigerian gold. Besides, I have no duty to provide you with a feedback forum, and closing comments is not censorship in any way shape or form.

Hate crimes legislation applies stiffer penalties based on race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. That's discrimination. It also does nothing to prevent gay bashing and so-called "hate crimes" from occuring. People that would commit murder aren't going to be swayed by the threat of going to jail for 25 years rather than 20. If Hawaii really wants to help the gay community, they should get rid of some of their silly firearms laws. The right wing propagandists at Ravenwood's Universe support the Pink Pistols and the right of all citizens (regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation) to keep and bear arms for their self defense.

Hawaii, on the other hand, has notoriously unfriendly laws for self-defense and the right to keep and bear arms. They do not grant concealed carry licenses to anyone and have strict firearms registration schemes. This creates a victim disarmament zone with sheeple just waiting to be attacked by those who would not obey the law (hate crimes or otherwise).

I think the Pink Pistols put it best, "Armed gays don't get bashed."

Sincerely,

Ravenwood

The gun control lobby, Violence Policy Center, is emphasizing that D.C.s complete and total handgun ban and near total ban on long arms gives them a suicide rate of 0%.

Children and youth in the District of Columbia are far less likely than their peers in the 50 states to be victims of firearm suicide, a new Violence Policy Center (VPC) study reveals. . . The study finds that NO District youths 16 years of age or younger died as the result of firearm suicide during the years 2000 through 2002. . .In addition, during this period there were no suicides by any other means by District youth in this age group.

They note that the gun loving states have the highest rates of gun suicide, with Alaska leading everyone with 14 total gun suicides or 2.61 per 100,000. The VPC recommends a total gun ban as a model for the other 50 states. (emphasis mine)

VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand states, "This study shows that the District's ban on handguns and assault weapons works to prevent youth suicide by keeping guns out of D.C. homes. The findings highlight the sheer lunacy of Congressional efforts to repeal D.C.'s tough laws. Congress would virtually be writing a death sentence for some young people by repealing District laws that are working to prevent youth suicide."

Of course what they don't tell you is that the "gun-free" utopia that is Washington D.C. has one of the highest rates of gun violence. In the year 2000, there were 239 murders in the District, and 8,626 violent crimes. Compare this with gun-loving Alaska, who had 27 total murders and 3,554 violent crimes. Per capita, the numbers are even worse. D.C. had 41.8 murders per 100,000 citizens compared to Alaska's 4.3. The "gun free" city of Washington D.C. had more murders per capita than the entire state of Alaska.

Ben Jones, the former congressman and actor who played Cooter on TV's Dukes of Hazzard, is urging moviegoers to boycott the feature film.

"From all I have seen and heard, the 'Dukes' movie is a sleazy insult to all of us who have cared about the "Dukes of Hazzard" for so long." [...]

"Sure it bothers me that they wanted nothing to do with the cast of our show, but what bothers me much more is the profanity laced script with blatant sexual situations that mocks the good clean family values of our series," he declares. "Now, anybody who knows me knows that I'm not a prude. But this kind of toilet humor has no place in Hazzard County. Rather than honoring our legendary show, they have chosen to degrade it."

I haven't seen the script, but I don't think Jones has much to worry about. Moviegoers are likely to boycott the flick out of sheer good taste. On the other hand, fans of Coy and Vance are likely to show up in droves.

"Death Less Painful for the Rich" -- Live Science Headline. Apparently the oldest are hardest hit too...

Everybody tends to suffer toward the end, however.

"Regardless of wealth, older Americans carry an unacceptable burden of suffering in their last year of life," said Maria Silveira, a physician at the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System and a research scientist at the university.

Maybe we should turn them over to PETA

Here's a mystery for you:

The number of U.S. job openings fell in May but more positions were filled, the Labor Department said on Tuesday.

You gotta love this correction from the "ultraliberal" LA Times:

In the Critic's Notebook by Times pop music critic Robert Hilburn that ran in Section A on July 3, the term "ultraconservative" was added by a copy editor to describe Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly. Hilburn, before interviewing O'Reilly about the social activism of U2's Bono, had told the commentator he would not label him in a subjective way. The adjective that was inserted did not reflect that agreement or the critic's views.

At least illegal immigration isn't a serious problem:

The manager of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles office at Springfield Mall was charged yesterday with selling driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and others for up to $3,500 apiece.

The arrest of Francisco J. Martinez marked the second time in two years that a Northern Virginia DMV employee was accused of fraudulently selling licenses for cash. A similar scheme two years ago at the DMV office in Tysons Corner led to the guilty pleas of two employees.

What's more, this was NOT uncovered by the Virginia DMV, but by the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security. The DMV will "cancel" the licenses, but they don't say how the documents will be retrieved.

It's either a slow news day or a shameless attempt to demonize pit bulls. Via Say Uncle:

"Pit bull chases puppy into house" -- Greely Tribune Headline, July 12, 2005.

In America, if a wolf attacks your farm animals you get a gun and shoot it. In France, you stage a protest and delay the start of your nation's most prestigious sport. (Entire article quoted below)

Tuesday's 10th stage of the Tour de France started about 40 minutes late in the Alps after angry cattle farmers protested about attacks by wolves.

The stage was also shortened from 192.5km to 181km after the farmers made their protest in Grenoble, where the start was initially scheduled.

The riders then moved on and the start was given 11.5 km further away.

The farmers were protesting against recent wolf attacks against sheep and cattle.

The Big Bad Wolf could not be reached for comment.

Fourteen copies of the latest Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" were inadvertently sold before it's intended release on Saturday. An ambitious grocery store clerk in British Columbia stocked the books on the shelf a few days too early. Now the customers who bought the book are being forced into silence by the Canadian government.

[B.C. Supreme Court] Justice Kristi Gill last Saturday ordered customers not to talk about the book, copy it, sell it or even read it before it is officially released at 12:01 a.m. July 16.

The order also compels them to return the novel to the publisher, Raincoast Book Distribution Ltd., until the official release. At that time it will be returned to them.

Now, being a freedom loving American, I would encourage the Canuckers to thumb their nose at the court. I'm not advocating copyright infringement, but selling the book or even reading it shouldn't be considered a crime.

At least the publisher is taking a more capitalistic approach:

As an added incentive, Raincoast will include Rowling's autograph and a gift pack.

One out of every four Americans is of Irish descent, and I'm one of them. I must say that I'm more offended by the political correctness than anything.

Democratic candidate for mayor C. Virginia Fields is apologizing for using the term "paddy wagon" in an interview with NY1 last week.

In Alabama on Friday, the Manhattan borough president talked about being arrested during a civil rights protest in 1963. In her comments, she described police vans as "paddy wagons" - a term that's considered offensive by some Irish-Americans. "Paddy" is a word used in the past as a pejorative to insult Irish people.

If you have to explain why it's insulting, is it really insulting?

The city of Columbus (Ohio) has unanimously passed a ban on rifles that look like assault rifles. Publicola reacts. Of course the ban is much more strict than the federal ban that expired last year. As Publicola already pointed out, it will affect a lot of brown guns as well as the black ones.

Julianne Malveaux, who writes for USA Today calls President Bush a "terrorist", and the United States a "terrorist nation". Newsmax reports on her interview with radio pundit Sean Hannity.

"Terrorism in the United States is as old as we are. You want me to give you a litany of terrorism? You want me to start with what's happened to the Indian population? You want to go on to what happened in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921?"

"C'mon now, Sean," Malveaux told Hannity. "We are terrorists."

Asked point-blank if the U.S. was a "terrorist nation," Malveaux shot back: "Oh, Absolutely."

In the next breath she added, "The chickens have come home to roost," in an apparent reference to the 9/11 attacks.

Asked if America was "a good country," Malveaux responded tersely, "We're a country." Pressed on why she omitted the adjective "good," she replied: "I can't answer that. I think we have some good and I think we have some evil."

Malveaux made her comments over public airwaves, without fear of government retaliation or retribution. Terrorist state indeed.

Money Magazine, who once took financial advice from famed economist Billy Joel, has ranked the Top 100 places to live. I've noticed that out of the Top 25 finalists, only 2 are in the South. Many of them are in bastions of freedom like Californiastan and the Peoples Republic of New Jersey, however most of them are suburbs as opposed to the urbs. Number one on the list is Moorestown, NJ (near Philadelphia).

Julian Bond and the NAACP are clamoring about President Bush rolling back civil rights, reports the AP. Of course, they don't cite any specific evidence, other than this:

President Bush has turned down five invitations to attend NAACP gatherings, including this year's, and Bond on Sunday invited Bush to the next one, in Washington.

"Mr. President, we're extending the invitation a year in advance," Bond said. "We want to see you and we want you to see us - we want to know you think you're our president, too."

A week before the 2000 election, the NAACP ran the infamous James Byrd ad to scare blacks into voting against Bush. James Byrd was a black man who was beaten, chained to the bumper of a pickup truck, and dragged to his death by some white racists. The NAACP said that when "Governor George W. Bush refused to support hate-crime legislation, it was like [Byrd] was killed all over again."

Would you want have dinner with these folks?

Once again the media is clanging the bell of record high gas prices. The Ass. Press notes:

Gas prices have hit a record high of $2.33 a gallon, pushed up by the climbing cost of oil and strong demand in the midst of the summer vacation season, an industry analyst said Sunday.

But then there's this:

The $2.33 mark remained well below the inflation-adjusted high � $3.03 a gallon, in March 1981.

Isn't it funny how every week we hear about record setting movie box office receipts, instead of the record high movie prices. (Popcorn tops $4 a barrel!) Of course, when adjusted for inflation, even the mighty Titanic is sunk by the venerable Star Wars.

Wal-Mart just seems to have a big bulls-eye on their back. Now campsite owners are pushing for legislation to block Wal-Mart from letting RVs park in their parking lot overnight. Wal-Mart has always been RV friendly, and many campers would rather park at Wal-Mart for free, than pay the nightly fee at camp grounds.

Here we go with the class envy:

Critics of the practice � especially campground owners who feel they are losing money because of [Wal-Mart] � argue that people who can afford to drive vehicles worth hundreds of thousands of dollars across the country surely can afford to pay the $20 or $30 nightly fee for a campsite.

But RVers say it's not always about saving money. Most Wal-Marts are easy to find, the lots are lit up at night and usually have security cameras. Campers can restock their supplies, get something to eat and be back on the highway with ease � which is important to people who have someplace else to be.

Camp grounds do offer services that Wal-Mart doesn't, like wireless internet access, power and water hookups, and a place to empty the shitter. But campers apparently don't think those amenities are worth the cost. Rather than add value to their offerings, campground owners are looking to the government to force people to pay up.

"If you look, the areas where staying at Wal-Mart is not allowed are generally places like Florida, Arizona, Southern California, where you get winter snowbirds who would go in and occupy parking lots and there would be no room for cars," he said. "Also, there are small towns where campground owners go to the city council and say it's hurting their business."

In Jamestown, N.D., campground owners pushed the city government to ban parking in the Wal-Mart lot earlier this year, but the issue was dropped when local residents argued against it.

Some pundits (third item) noticed that in the wake of the London terror attacks, Reuters and the BBC were back to using the word "terrorist". Well, it didn't last long. Now the Beeb is going back and editing the news.

The BBC has re-edited some of its coverage of the London Underground and bus bombings to avoid labelling the perpetrators as "terrorists", it was disclosed yesterday.

Early reporting of the attacks on the BBC's website spoke of terrorists but the same coverage was changed to describe the attackers simply as "bombers".

The BBC's guidelines state that its credibility is undermined by the "careless use of words which carry emotional or value judgments".

Consequently, "the word 'terrorist' itself can be a barrier rather than an aid to understanding" and its use should be "avoided", the guidelines say.

Compare this to the plot of Nineteen Eighty-Four: "Winston works in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth - the section charged with modifying historical news archives for consistency." History and news articles were cleansed with Newspeak, "a greatly reduced and simplified vocabulary and grammar," which "suited the totalitarian regime of the Party, whose aim was to make subversive thought ('thoughtcrime') and speech impossible."

UPDATE: Via Michelle Malkin: Next: "Burglars" will be "takers." "Child molesters" will be "ticklers." "Rapists" will be "unplanned lovers."

Sign off on this or else:

A judge in Maryland is threatening jail time for county planners if they don't approve a 254-townhouse project in a badly congested region, despite a shortage of water and a petition signed by 600 residents.

"What is the point of having commissioners if the county is going to be run by lawyers and judges?" Carroll County Commissioner Dean Minnich told the Baltimore Sun. "All the decisions at this level of the courts seem to be pro-development."

Remember the evil looking black gun I ordered for BAG Day 2005? I'm beginning to wonder if I'll actually take possession of it before another BAG Day rolls around again next April.

I actually ordered it (and paid for it) way back in March. Bushmaster is still in the process of building it and transferring it to my dealer. They haven't even coughed up a serial number yet, so I can't even start the paperwork cycle to transfer it from my dealer to me. Throw in a month for Fairfax sheriff to get around to signing off, and 3-6 months for ATF paperwork, and it literally could be after New Year's before I get the call to come pick it up. And of course last (and certainly least), I'll still have to undergo a NICS instant background check right before I pick it up.

In what is sure to be called a victory for the heavy backpack brigade, students in Vail (Ariz.) won't have to carry any text books starting next fall. Instead they will carry government provided laptops, with homework and online assignments done on computer.

The laptops cost $850 each, and the district will hand them to 350 students for the entire year. The fast-growing district hopes to have 750 students at the high school eventually.

A set of textbooks runs about $500 to $600, Baker said.

As I pointed out back in October (of 2002), the simplest solution is to invest $20 in a good rolling backback. (Or make kids use both straps instead of one.) I'm not one to shun electronics or progress, but with along with laptops comes myopia, carpal tunnel syndrome, and tennis elbow. Solving one problem will create a whole host of others, which I'm sure teachers and administrators will want to throw more taxpayer dollars at.

You may never take your SUV off-road, but you are still destroying the mountains (if the environmentalist wackos are to be believed).

Edmund Hillary, the first climber to conquer Mount Everest with his Sherpa guide, on Monday urged that the world's highest mountain be placed on the United Nations' list of endangered heritage sites because of the risks of climate change. . .

Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions from industrialized countries also threatens the coral reefs in Belize and glaciers in Peru, according to activists who have petitioned for their inclusion too on the endangered list.

It's going to get so hot the mountain will melt away.

From the AP story in which Clinton compares Bush to Alfred E. Neuman:

[Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, S-NY] said the United States should remain in Iraq until peace can be maintained by the Iraqi people, saying the mission was part of the "long struggle against terrorism" by the U.S.

Is it just me or is that revalation buried in the classifieds?

Edward Klein's book "The Truth About Hillary" debuted at number 2 on the New York Times best seller list, and is still there this week at number 4. Klein, who is a liberal and former editor of New York Times Magazine, has had trouble selling his book. The mainstream media seems to be circling the wagons around Hillary, with Klein facing cancelled interviews and a lack of media coverage about the book.

And now the New York Times has taken to putting a disclaimer on the best seller list, vilifying Klein and his book. News Max reports:

The Times has yet to review the book, but took the unusual step in Sunday's book section to publish a disclaimer attacking the book from pillar to post in a sidebar column adjacent to the best-seller list.

"'The Truth About Hillary' has united [no easy task] literary critics," Timesman Dwight Garner fumed, adding "it is easily this year's most vilified book."

Then Garner promptly joined in the vilification:

"Writing in the Book Review in 1988, Joyce Carol Oates coined the term 'pathography' to describe hatchet jobs like Klein's. Reading Oates's taxonomy of that genre today, it sounds as if she somehow had an advance copy of Klein's book rotting at her elbow."

Rotting?

Still - in what must have been a gut-wrenching admission for the paper - Garner lamented, "That hasn't stopped Klein's book from landing on beach blankets; it makes its debut at No. 2 on this week's hardcover nonfiction list."

The paper's vitriol against Klein contrasts with its first-class treatment of Kitty Kelley's works, including her recent hit book on the Bush family. Kelley's book on Nancy Reagan - in which Kelley alleged that Ronald Reagan engaged in date rape, among numerous other scurrilous allegations - made Page One coverage in the Times. . .

Hours after speaking to NewsMax, Klein told WABC Radio's Monica Crowley:

"Hillary and her people have called up ... all the TV networks and the newspapers and said to them that if you give Ed Klein exposure, we're not going to be very happy about it." The result: "I've been canceled on many of the TV shows that I was booked on," Klein said, "and have not had my book reviewed by any of the major media."

Normally, any allegations against a former first lady and sitting U.S. Senator would be loudly echoed in the media. If Hillary were a conservative Republican, the mainstream press would call for an investigation based solely on the "seriousness of the charge". Instead, they don't want to discuss it.

Of course one mainstream media outlet that hasn't engaged in the petty boycott of Klein and his book is the "right wing" Fox News Network. And you just know that has to be a thumb in the eye of the liberal elites.

Is anyone else wondering if Republican Senator Arlen Spector is completely off his rocker? Senator Spector is weighing in on the issue of Supreme Court vacancies. Spector is suggested that President Bush nominate to the position of Chief Justice, a former lawyer named Sandra Day O'Connor.

"I think it would be very tempting if the president said to Justice O'Connor, 'You could help the country now,' " Mr. Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania and a pivotal player in any confirmation hearings, said in an interview on the CBS program "Face the Nation." "She has received so much adulation that a confirmation proceeding would be more like a coronation, and she might be willing to stay on for a year or so."

There are several problems with this approach. First of all, Ms. O'Connor has already announced plans to retire from the Supreme Court. Second, the position of Chief Justice isn't even vacant. It's occupied by Justice William Rehnquist.

Now, the wacky comments of a single Senator wouldn't normally be so newsworthy, except that Mr. Spector is the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. You would think that as Chairman of the Committee that examines judicial nominations, he'd at least know who's on the Supreme Court.

The Lost Angeles Times finds a silver lining in the terrorist attacks in London, in that the list of victims was so diverse.

Nazy Mozakka came from Iran. Slimane Ihab, from Tunisia, arrived by way of Paris. Gamze Gunoral, a Turk, moved to London just a few weeks ago. Rachelle Yuen of Mauritius, Karolina Gluck from Poland and Anat Rosenberg of Israel had settled here years before.

The names of the missing � now presumed dead � read like the phone directory of the United Nations. Their faiths run the gamut: Jews and Christians, Muslims and Hindus. Their faces, many shown smiling on posters of the missing that flutter from billboards and light posts, could be a photo album from a company committed to diversity.

Next time a little girl runs out in front of your car, you may want to think twice before swerving to avoid her. From World Net Daily:

A man who grabbed a 14-year-old girl's arm to chastise her after she walked in front of his car, causing him to swerve to avoid hitting her, must register as a "sex offender," the Appellate Court of Illinois has ruled.

Fitzroy Barnaby, a 28-year-old Evanston, Illinois, man was prosecuted for attempted kidnapping and child abduction charges following a November 2002 incident in which he nearly hit the teen with his vehicle.

The girl testified Barnaby yelled, "Come here, little girl," when he jumped out of his car and grabbed her arm. She broke away and called authorities. Barnaby says he was merely trying to lecture her for her carelessness. . .

Trial Judge Patrick Morse ordered registration reluctantly, acknowledging it was "more likely than not" Barnaby only intended to chastise the girl. "I don't really see the purpose of registration in this case. I really don't," Morse said. "But I feel that I am constrained by the statute."

Kim du Toit says there's plenty of blame to go around for this travesty of justice. He lists the following people, at a minimum, who need a swift kick in the nuts:

1. The Chicago cop who arrested Barnaby for an action which was no offense.
2. The parents of the little girl, who, instead of giving her a severe spanking for playing in the traffic, pressed charges.
3. The Illinois state's attorney who decided to prosecute this case, despite the obvious injustice and misapplication.
4. The trial judge who allowed this bullshit to continue.
5. The appellate judges who didn't follow common sense, but instead just went with the letter of the law. So much easier, and he brought all this on himself. [...]

Every single person mentioned in 1-5 needs to be flogged, tarred and feathered, because an innocent man has now been tagged with the label of "sex criminal", with all that this implies, when he is, in fact, anything but. His reputation has been destroyed, his freedoms have been taken away, and he has been turned into a felon, just for trying to do the right thing. He'd have been better off if he'd run the girl down instead.

Zero-toleranceintelligence has hit prime time.

The Analog Kid has put together an e-postal match. Those of you that want to participate, download and print your targets, shoot them up on your own time, and then email them back to the Kid by July 25th. This match is for centerfire carbine rifles with a 20" or shorter barrel. It's also offhand, meaning none of that wussy laying on the ground or sitting at a bench rest.

Please take up your open-sighted, centerfire carbine rifle and place 10 rapid fire, off hand shots in this target at 50 yards.

Targets will be scored as follows:

Center = 10pts
Small Black ring = 9pts
White ring = 8pts
Large black ring = 7pts

All shots outside the large black ring will counted at zero points.
10 shots on the target. Every shot on the target over 10 will be counted at -5pts

Shots that break a line will be scored at the higher value.
Ties will be decided at the measurement of total group size from the outer edges of farthest shots. Pictures or scans will then be necessary for scoring purposes.

The Live 8 Tax Increases for Africa concerts were a huge success. The G-8 countries have agreed to cough up $50 Billion per year in tax dollars.

Since celebrity rock stars and musicians are so concerned about tax dollars for Africa, I think the tax should be applied to their music CDs. Let Bono and Madonna (and their CD-buying fans) shoulder the load with a 50% tax on the price of their CDs. At an additional $5 to $10 a CD, we should have that money in no time.

Ocean City's recent crack down on illegal fireworks isn't very popular. And the response from the citizenship is remnicient of the golden days of tarring and feathering.

[Lori Riggs, of Newtown, Pa.] said the city's crackdown was ill-conceived. She said the people behind the amateur displays are responsible and safety-minded. In past years, they would keep everyone a safe distance away and shoot fireworks over the ocean. . .

But police were not prepared for the angry reaction they got from many south-end residents, who hurled eggs and insults. Some people tried to block in police cruisers. Others reportedly spit at police.

Police were enforcing a new city ordinance making fireworks possession a municipal offense. No arrests were made, but Lt. William Wilent said police had cause.

"That would have created more problems than it solved. You had thousands of people elbow to elbow. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor," he said.

Is this a sign that the citizens of the People's Republic of New Jersey have finally had enough?

Say Uncle asks where has all the fisking gone. Well, here's a fisk of an anti-gunner from San Diego. Not satisfied with banning guns for all the regular folks, the gun grabbers are seeking to disarm police officers. Richard Riehl argues that allowing police officers to carry guns makes the county fair unsafe. Off-duty police officers want permission to carry guns out of fear of retaliation from thugs they've arrested.

Riehl doesn't actually have anything against the police. He just figures that if exceptions are made for off duty cops, then other groups will want preferred citizenship status as well. His argument for keeping the cops unarmed, is filled with the usual holes, contradictions, and pretzel logic.

The San Diego County Fair is not alone in banning guns. Legoland, Disneyland and Dodger Stadium all have similar policies. It's hard to understand why the court would single out the fairgrounds to change their policy.

The difference is easy to understand. Disneyland is private property. If they want to ban guns on their property, that's their business. County fairgrounds are public property paid for with taxpayer dollars. Duh!

But it's even harder to understand how allowing concealed guns into the fair will make anybody any safer.

No. It's hard to understand how banning guns makes anyone safer. If gun bans worked, Washington D.C. would be the safest city in the world, instead of a periennial contender for armed robbery capital of America.

The recent courtroom murder of an Atlanta judge is a graphic example of what can happen when someone takes a gun away from a police officer. More guns on the fairgrounds will make such tragic confrontations more likely.

Actually, the guard wasn't carrying a gun at all. Brian Nichols was being led to trial on charges of rape when he allegedly overpowered the 5' unarmed grandmother, took her keys, and retreived her gun from lockup. He now faces charges for 4 murders as well as the original rape charge.

Metal detectors and security searches provide some assurance now that no concealed guns are being carried into the fairgrounds. If off-duty officers feel threatened, shouldn't their police training enable them to protect themselves against unarmed assailants?

Since when do metal detectors guarantee people are disarmed?

Guns are a deterrent only when they are visible. Some off-duty officers may choose not to carry them. Potential assailants won't know whether the officer is armed until a weapon is drawn, putting all innocent bystanders at risk.

One statement contradicts the other. Visible guns don't deter crime at all. They simply shift the crime to unarmed victims. Would be armed robbers will just target those that are obviously unarmed. That potential assailants don't know who has a gun and who doesn't deters them from commiting a crime against anyone. (It's the same principle as the skymarshal program. If you make skymarshals wear a uniform and sit right outside the cabin door, terrorists know exactly what planes to target. By giving them anonymity, terrorists are at a disadvantage.)

How will the fair's on-duty officers recognize a person drawing a gun as a cop and not someone who has smuggled in a firearm?

More contradictions. What happened to the metal detectors and everyone being unarmed? I don't know about California, but cops in Virginia (on or off duty) don't go around brandishing their sidearms for no reason. They also don't demand money from strangers at gunpoint. If San Diego cops are so stupid at recognizing a threat from a non-threat, what's to keep them from shooting kids playing over at the arcade? (Assuming that California hasn't already banned "violent" arcade games.)

If it becomes known that off-duty cops are carrying guns, we can expect the bad guys to figure out how to fabricate IDs to gain entrance to the fairgrounds with their own concealed weapons.

This guy is grasping at straws. As long as we're playing what if, what happens when the bad guys figure out they can just parachute into the fairgrounds to avoid the metal detectors set up along the perimeter fence? Picking off the disarmed masses as they rain down from the skies should be like shooting fish in a barrel.

How nerdy are you?

5% scored higher (more nerdy), and
95% scored lower (less nerdy).

All hail the monstrous nerd. You are by far the SUPREME NERD GOD!!!

Via Countertop.

TIME Magazine grades the Supreme Court justices as either staunch or moderate liberals, or staunch or moderate conservatives. Well almost. According to TIME, there are no staunch liberals, and hardly any moderate conservatives. See for yourself.

TIME says that the Supreme Court lacks "a deep blue liberal". To bring balance to the Court, perhaps George Bush should nominate a justice who:

- expressed strong sympathy for constitutional rights to bigamy and prostitution
- attacked the Boy and Girl Scouts for perpetuating sexual stereotypes
- proposed abolishing Mother's and Father's Day with an androgynous Parent's Day
- advocated an end to single sex prisons
- supported court-ordered quotas to change the racial composition of a workforce even in the absence of any intentional discrimination on the the part of the employer but failed to hire a single black in his/her 50 person office even though the city in which he/she worked was majority black.

TIME still wouldn't be happy, because these are the beliefs of the "moderate" Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

(Hat tip to Spoons)

Future darwin candidate.

(Photos may be "questionable" for work.)

Apparently our "gun-free" national parks are plagued by gun toting illegal aliens growing pot.

Marijuana cultivation in the park has increased steadily over the past 10 years. Since 2001, however, the number of plants seized in California's oldest national park has jumped eightfold.

The pot fields are financed by the Mexican drug cartels that dominate the methamphetamine trade in the adjacent Central Valley, drug-enforcement officials say. The officials say there is evidence that the cartels, in turn, have financial ties to Middle Eastern smugglers linked to Hezbollah and other groups accused of terrorism.

This is the most serious and largest assault on this park since we took control of the land in the 19th century," said Bill Tweed, Sequoia's chief naturalist. The park was established in 1890, one week before Yosemite was designated a national park.

"To have people out there, showing up with AK-47s to greet visitors � that's not how it's supposed to be in a national park. The premise of the park as a special place is now in trouble," Tweed said. So is the idea that you can put a " 'fence of law' around a national park," he said, adding that the park is "not immune from the ills of society."

So drugs are illegal, guns in National Parks are illegal, and illegal immigrants are illegal. Somewhere out there, a politician is busy thinking up a new law for these bad guys to disobey.

Effective July 1st, a change in Virginia law allows concealed handgun permit holders to enter a school parking lot or traffic circle with a handgun in their vehicle. The handgun must remain locked in the vehicle at all times. Prior to the change, gunowners faced felony charges for simply making a u-turn on any public property where a school function was taking place.

Naturally the usual suspects are spreading panic.

Parent Ritter said the new law worries her as a citizen.
"It's just really scary to me and it looks like an opportunity for disaster. You can't trust the judgment of kids and adults."

Stella Edwards is the "legislative liaison" for the Virginia PTA. She seems to think that people who bother to get training, undergo a background investigation, and pay for a handgun permit are a threat to the safety of Virginia's government school students.

Q. What would you say to gun owners who say they are law-abiding citizens whose permits should allow them to carry a gun anywhere they go?

A. To those law-abiding, permit-carrying citizens . . . the Virginia PTA would strongly request that they put the health, safety and welfare of all students, teachers and other school personnel at a higher priority than their personal desire to simply not be inconvenienced.

We would pray that these law-abiding citizens would accept the responsibility of taking a few minutes to unload their legally permitted firearms and place them in a secure, locked location in their car before entering school property.

I think it's worth pointing out that carrying a concealed handgun on school grounds is still illegal. The change in the law simply permits a person who is carrying a firearm to pull into the parking lot or traffic circle without facing felony charges. You still cannot carry your handgun without breaking the law.

Montana's new harassment system.

For motorists wondering whether police are working on a quota system, an answer can be found in Montana.

A new policy requires state troopers to stop at least one vehicle an hour, whether the driver has done anything wrong or not. But the driver doesn't have to be ticketed, so police officials say it's not a quota system.

Via Say Uncle, via No Quarters.

We've moved to a new host. The domain name should take a few days to transfer over, and the permalinks all refer to the IP address. But in a few days we should be back to normal.

This new host (Bluehost.com) provides 4 GB of space, which was the main impetus for changing. I've been testing it all week, and it appears to be just as fast, especially with the rebuilds and SQL access. I can now do a full export of MT, something I could not do at the old site.

Comments and feedback are still be emailed to the old host, and should transfer as the domain propagates. That means that I might miss a few emails if they get misrouted. I'll do what I can to stay on top of it, but if you send me something during the transition and I don't respond, that's why.

Also, there may be some issues with your site cookie, but those should clear up when the transfer is complete. And the archives were not rebuilt very far back. Recent archives (June and July) should be okay, but older pages may link back to the old host. I'll rebuild everything once the domain transfer is complete.

UPDATE: The domain name seems to have propagated (for me any way). I don't have any trouble accessing the site via ravnwood.com, .net, .org, or .info. I presume that most of you can use ravnwood.com now too. But there may still be far reaches of the globe (like Australia), that are still pointing to the old host. I'll probably switch it all back to ravnwood.com on Sunday night or Monday.

Also, I have no intention to change the look of the site. Just the host.

Around D.C., you can go to just about any coffee shop and use their wi-fi internet connection. You simply power up your laptop, scan the airwaves, and connect to their internet connection. Shopping malls and other businesses are following suit. For $50 a month and the cost of a few cheap wireless routers, you can let your customers surf the web while they suck down your coffee and eat danishes. It seems harmless and must be good for business or they wouldn't do it.

But in Florida, it is apparently a felony.

Benjamin Smith III, 41, faces a pretrial hearing this month following his April arrest on charges of unauthorized access to a computer network, a third-degree felony.

Police say Smith admitted using the Wi-Fi signal from the home of Richard Dinon, who had noticed Smith sitting in an SUV outside Dinon's house using a laptop computer.

Now, I'm not saying that Smith is completely innocent. Exactly what he was doing on the internet wasn't made clear. He could have been surfing for kitty p0rn, downloading illegal music, or harvesting credit card numbers. If he was, he should be charged with those crimes. But on the other hand, he could have been just checking his email and stock quotes. Or looking for directions to a local address.

Unless they can determine malice, charging him with a felony just seems idiotic. And shame on Dinon for not securing his connection. You don't leave your curtains open and then complain because people watch you get undressed.

UPDATE: I wonder if the Communcations Act of 1934 weighs in here. It basically says you are allowed to receive whatever someone is transmitting. (We've amended that, obviously, to exclude cell phones and encrypted transmissions.)

Back in 2001, the 'Blame the Joos' crowd blamed Jews for committing the 9/11 terror attacks. They claimed that Jews were warned not to go to work that day, and it was proof that they were in on it. They claim it was all a big Jewish plot to get us to go to war with the Arabs. So, their reaction to this will probably be more of the same.

British police told the Israeli Embassy in London minutes before Thursday's explosions that they had received warnings of possible terror attacks in the city, a senior Israeli official said.

Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had planned to attend an economic conference in a hotel over the subway stop where one of the blasts occurred, and the warning prompted him to stay in his hotel room instead, government officials said.

It's bound to bring the anti-Semites out of the woodwork.

I know that love makes people do stupid things, but this is rediculous.

To prove his love, a 38-year-old man set himself on fire before getting down on one knee and asking his girlfriend to marry him. . .

About 100 people gathered to watch Todd Grannis perform the flaming stunt on Monday, which involved wearing a cape soaked in gasoline.

Grannis climbed a 10-foot scaffold, was set on fire and then plunged into a swimming pool, dousing the blaze. Emerging unscathed, he got down on one knee and proposed.

To our friends in England, you are in our hearts and prayers.

Breaking Story...

In case you missed the statement from Tony Blair:

. . .It is important, however, that those engaged in terrorism realise that our determination to defend our values and our way of life is greater than their determination to cause death and destruction to innocent people in a desire to impose extremism on the world. Whatever they do, it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country, and in other civilised nations throughout the world. . .

Spoons does a good job of spelling out why reimporting drugs from Canada is a bad thing.

Cigarettes are still technically legal, but if you try to buy them online your credit card company will refuse to pay for them. And if you try to have the shipped common carriers are refusing to deliver them. Apparently DHL doesn't have an "adult signature required" option.

One of the world's largest package-delivery companies will stop delivering cigarettes to individual consumers nationwide under an agreement with Attorney General Eliot Spitzer of New York.

Spitzer said yesterday that DHL is the first major shipping company to agree to the ban, and negotiations continue with other companies and the U.S. Postal Service.

It's hard to imagine a world where service providers refuse business because they were intimidated by the government and those who don't like the products you buy. Today it's cigarettes, tomorrow it's alcohol, guns, and porn.

New York failed in their bid to get the 2012 Olympic Games. You might think that it had to do with transportation and facilities issues, or maybe New York just didn't bribe the IOC enough. But apparently the IOC gave the bid to London because they didn't take unilateral action in Iraq like we did, reports Filip Bondy.

The bid's downfall could be more complicated, involving an international slap at George W. Bush's unilateral attitude toward the world.

If only New Yorkers had voted for Kerry.

Local firewomen are suing Fairfax County for unfair treatment and harassment, and it sounds like they have some valid claims. Shower and housing facilities are alleged to be inadequate, and some of the women claim they were subjected to sexual harassment and innuendo. That's wrong.

But then there's this:

Carolyn Ruwe, said the department makes it difficult for women to stay. She said she had to resign in 2003 after becoming pregnant because department officials ignored her repeated requests to develop a flexible schedule in which she wouldn't have to sometimes work 24 hours straight.

That's not equal treatment. She wants them to change the rules to accommodate her being knocked up. Frankly, if my building catches on fire I don't want a team of pregnant ladies showing up to put it out. But that's just me.

"You can't raise a family being gone for 24 hours," Ruwe said. "Many women are leaving because they have to choose, and that's terrible. We work our butts off to get this career. This was my dream job. . . . I cried the day I had to turn my gear in."

I thought choice was a good thing?

Other plaintiffs allege discrimination in promotions. Stanley said her promotion to captain was delayed by a supervisor who told her in recruit school that she wasn't "the right image for the fire department. He said that when he pictured a fireman, he pictured someone who can break down a door and go rescue people."

Even after she was promoted in 2003, Stanley said, the supervisor was still telling other department personnel in meetings that "he didn't think I could do the job. It was degrading, demoralizing. He never did that to any man, ever."

Being a fireman requires a certain amount of strength. You have to not just be willing to rush into a burning building, you have to be able to carry 100 pounds of gear with you when you go. Judging by the photo in the Post, and while I'm not saying they're the weakest firemen in the house, I'd be willing to bet my paycheck that they're on the bottom half of the physical scale.

When you're sending men into death defying situations, they're going to have more respect for you if it's something you're both willing and able to do yourself.

The good news for D.C. property owners is that Councilman Kwame R. Brown (D-At Large), who compared smokers to murderers, withdrew his emergency proposal for a smoking ban because of lack of support. The bad news is that it lacked support only because the anti's thought it didn't go far enough. Even Brown expressed glee over the lack of support for his bill:

"I am so excited I don't know what to do with myself," Brown said after withdrawing the bill. "Today's a great day. I'm excited, having so many colleagues to say no, no, no, no to this emergency. The reason I'm happy is because we all agree that we don't want something to be limited to the dining room only."

Future bans will likely include the living room and bedroom too.

Indoctrinating kids to be dependent on government starts early. In Pennsylvania, kids enter contests to come up with new ways for the government to interfere with our lives. And now they're talking about arresting dogs:

Rover won't be able to hang his head out the car window any more if an 11-year-old boy gets his wish.

Marc McCann came up with the idea of ensuring that dogs are restrained while in cars as part of state Rep. Tom Stevenson's [a Republican]annual "There Ought to be a Law" contest. . .

"I never did like dogs sticking their heads out the window," said McCann, one of more than 500 students from his legislative district who proposed laws. "Maybe a sign might have been too close to the road and they'd get hit. Maybe they'd jump out the window on a highway."

Why aren't there any "There Ought not be a Law" contests? I can think of hundreds of things that are overlegislated: alcohol, tobacco, firearms, drugs, seatbelts, wetlands, etc, etc.

Spoons was speculating on who really leaked to the media that Valerie Plame was a secret agent man. Spoons thinks it was Ashcroft. I made the case for Rove:

I think it was Rove, but the right wing media sat on the information all last year because they didn't want to ruin Bush's chance of being re-elected.

It seems that all the flakyness with the website is a conflict between MT and the latest build of CPanel. MT is working on it. Provided last week, this information could have saved me hours of troubleshooting.

Neal Boortz shares one of his threatening letters. Boy, I'm sure glad Neal filtered out the guys email address. Nope. We'll never figure that one out. Clever.

"[The Supreme Court] is a totally different ball game . . . A circuit court judge is bound by stare decisis. They don't get to make new law. They have to abide by [legal precedent]." -- Senator Joe Biden on Face the Nation explaining why they would filibuster Janice Rogers Brown for Supreme Court, right after confirming her for the Appeals Court.

(Hat tip to Sgt. Fluffy)

At least it doesn't cause cancer.

Taking regular showers could pose a health risk and even result in permanent brain damage, it has been claimed.

Scientists believe that breathing in small amounts of manganese dissolved in the water may harm the nervous system.

The damage may occur even at levels of the naturally occurring metal normally considered safe, say the US researchers.

Former Beatle Paul McCartney is rocking on at the Live8 Higher Taxes for Africa concert. While Sir Paul collecting his $12,000 goodie bag and asking taxpayers to throw more cash at African poverty, the U.K. Telegraph notes that the McCartney's had a history of playing the good capitalist and avoiding as much of their tax burden as they could. Despite living in the U.K. for more than 30 years, Linda and Paul spent her final months working with lawyers to set up a "qualified domestic marital trust" and ensure that she wouldn't have to pay any death taxes.

By filing for probate in New York rather than the United Kingdom, Linda McCartney avoided the 40 per cent death duties levied by Her Majesty's Government. That way, her family gets all 100 per cent - and 100 per cent of Linda McCartney's estate isn't to be sneezed at.

For purposes of comparison, Bob Geldof's original Live Aid concert in 1985 raised �50 million. Lady McCartney's estate was estimated at around �150 million. In other words, had she paid her 40 per cent death duties, the British Treasury would have raised more money than Sir Bob did with Bananarama and all the gang at Wembley Stadium that day.

In other news, the Scotsman reports that U.S. donations to Africa are 15 times larger than Europe's.

When asked about her own lobbyist funded trips, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, usually dodges the question and tries to point the finger of blame back toward Republican Tom DeLay.

"It is not an issue of members of our Caucus having the same sort of a problem. Make no mistake - there is a drastic difference between the timing of reporting things and ethical behavior."

Way back in May, Grant Swank even pointed out just how huffy she got when pressed by George Snufalufagus:

In her exchange with George Stephanopoulos, Pelosi practically shouted at the man with: "Do not fall into a Republican trap of equating technicalities on reporting, timing of reporting with not upholding an ethical standard of the House."

Her lack of making sense plus her dramatic verbalizations brought, at one point, a slight smile to Stephanopoulos' face.

But look who took advantage of the Independence Day weekend to try to sneak her delinquent travel reports by the media.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) filed delinquent reports Friday for three trips she accepted from outside sponsors that were worth $8,580 and occurred as long as seven years ago, according to copies of the documents.

The Post notes that her unreported trips were financed by NBC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and mostly by the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce.

A Texas man was arrested and taken to jail for jumping into the water and saving the life of another man who was drowning. Not saving people is the government's job, and they don't like private citizens horning in where they don't belong.

Police say Dave Newman, 48, disobeyed repeated orders by emergency personnel to leave the water. The police report does not mention Newman's rescue of 35-year-old Abed Duamni of Houston on Sunday afternoon. . .

After being handcuffed and put in a Texas State University police squad car, Newman was taken to jail and charged with interfering with public duties.

"It is offensive to suggest that a potential justice of the Supreme Court must pass some presumed test of judicial philosophy. It is even more offensive to suggest that a potential justice must pass the litmus test of any single-issue interest group. The disturbing tactics of division and distortion and discrimination practiced by the extremists of the new right have no place in these hearings and no place in the nation's democracy." -- Senator Ted "A Bridge Too Far" Kennedy, during the 1981 Supreme Court confirmation battle for Sandra Day O'Connor.

I've been having issues with the Universe lately, and in trying to resolve the SQL database was inadvertently dropped this morning. ACK! Luckily I had a backup from yesterday evening, so I was able to simply restore it from backup. The bad news is that the few comments (about 2 or 3) that were left last night and early this morning were lost in the ether.

Sorry about that. If you left a comment early this morning and it's now missing, that's why. I did'na do it on purpose.

Oh well, I still have a lot of tinkering to do with this to figure out just what is wrong. Right now I'm leaning toward disk space issues, as the website is approaching 500 meg.

Following England's lead, New York police are also blaming the iPod for a recent crime wave. Entire article quoted below:

Two teenagers were under arrest Sunday on suspicion of killing another teen for his iPod portable music player, police said.

Samuel Darran, 16, and Daryl Stephen, 17, were facing charges of murder, robbery and weapons possession in the death of 15-year-old Christopher Rose, police said.

Rose and three friends were accosted by a group of young men Saturday evening in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn, police said. Members of the group demanded Rose's iPod and stabbed him twice in the chest when he resisted. The group fled, taking Rose's iPod and a backpack, police said.

Police also have reported a wave of iPod robberies on city subways, saying in April that 50 iPods had been stolen this year, compared to none over the same period last year.

It's believed that most robbers kept the devices, which can retail for about $100 to $500, for personal use rather than selling them.

Anyone who thinks that activist judges aren't a problem in this country should be made to read about the Kansas Supreme Court.

The Kansas Supreme Court said Saturday it will consider keeping schools closed because state legislators have failed to comply with the court's demand for more money for public schools. . .

The order was the latest development in a school finance lawsuit filed in 1999 by parents and administrators in Dodge City and Salina. They argued the state did not spend enough money on schools and distributed its aid unfairly.

The court ruled in January that legislators had failed to fulfill a constitutional duty to finance a suitable education for every child, then followed up with a ruling in June demanding additional money.

The justices had ordered legislators to provide, by no later than July 1, an additional $143 million, which lawmakers failed to do.

On the national level, all spending originates in the House of Representatives, because they represent the people. Courts have issued unfunded mandates, but I've never seen them demand money. Apparently though, buried somewhere within the Kansas Constitution, there's a line that says taxpayers must provide another $143 million for government education.

Some lawyer serving on some court announced her resignation last week, and the NAGs (National Organization for Women) consider it an assault on reproductive freedom. They warn of going back to a time when women were nothing more than barefoot and pregnant kitchen slaves. "Oh woe is us, please send money."

Then there's this:

[Rosemary J. Dempsey, a Connecticut lawyer who joined NOW in 1970] wants to focus on attracting younger members and opposing President Bush's economic agenda, which she says inflicts disproportionate harm on women.

Younger women indeed. James Taranto would probably point out that NOW suffers from the "Roe effect". That's his theory that supporting abortion has wiped out would be abortion supporters. But abortion aside - are any of their members even young enough to have kids anymore - attracting younger women as members has got to be difficult. After all, women are basically liberated and empowered to do anything they want. I doubt that too many of today's young women even feel persecuted. And just who wants to join a bunch of bitter old bra burners any way?

Ace of Spades reports that the FEC is trying to make it illegal for people to blog at work. You may have thought that weblogging was just expressing your opinions online. But the FEC considers it political speech that they're allowed to regulate. (Because McCain-Feingold trumps the First Amendment.)

More than that and you could be subject to a legal complaint -- the complaint being the coporation, through you, is making illegal in-kind donations to a political party, because, I guess, the coproration is faciliating your expression of your opinions by providing you with a job and a computer.

And maybe even legal pads and post-its, if you write longhand before posting.

If this catches on, look for weblog timestamps to disappear.

Shootings are so rampant in "gun-free" Brazil that city officials have stopped enforcing traffic laws. They hope that if people can just zip through the city without stopping, they're less likely to be attacked.

Rio de Janeiro legislators voted to end enforcement of speed limits in parts of the crime-plagued city at night to try to cut down on attacks on slow-moving cars.

The city's legislative assembly passed a bill on Thursday to turn off cameras used to enforce speed limits of 40 kph (25 mph) in accident-prone points of the seaside city.

It was unclear whether Mayor Cesar Maia would approve the legislation, which is necessary for it to go into effect. He argues that most accidents occur during the night.

Many drivers already ignore traffic signals late at night for fear of being robbed or killed in a carjackings. The city has one of the world's highest murder rates.

If there weren't so much money in enforcement, I'd recommend that Washington D.C. take the same approach.

Sick and tired of a Texan winning the Tour de France, French officials sprung a surprise drug test on Lance. Sure, they conducted random tests on other cyclists, but Lance's selection was anything but random.

They've been trying to convice people he's been doping for years. It just bugs the hell out of them that an American (a Texan no less) would dominate them so badly.

Remember Ross Perot? He's the independent Presidential Candidate that gave us 8 years of Bill Clinton. Apparently he received a speeding ticket. In his boat.

Yawn.

Everyone have a fun and safe Independence Day weekend. We're back to blogging on Tuesday. Until then, check out Col. North's wonderful article on the American Patriots.

Entire article quoted below:

On the Fourth of July, only a handful of Americans will pause to commemorate the anniversary of our nation's independence. I used to think it was a shame, how little attention was paid to our national birthday. But on reflection, I've decided it's good that we not dwell on the people and events that gave rise to this little holiday. First, it's not politically correct. The "founders" as they are sometimes called, were all men -- white men -- and crediting white men with anything today just doesn't wash. Second, a careful examination of that handful of patriots who gathered 224 years ago this week to sign that Declaration of Independence invites too many discomfiting comparisons with today's political leaders.

Few Americans know that the Declaration was actually drafted by a committee of five: Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Philip Livingston, Roger Sherman, and of course, Thomas Jefferson. Fewer still know that most of the work on the document was done between June 10 and July 2 (when the Continental Congress actually resolved to declare independence from Great Britain) in a boarding house at the intersection of Market and 7th Streets in Philadelphia. The draft document was so good that when debate ended late on July 4, the larger body made but 86 changes, eliminating 480 words, and leaving 1,337 of the most dramatic words in any political manifesto.

The Declaration is far more than an assertion of freedom or a bill of particulars levied at a tyrant. No other founding document for any nation reflects on "the laws of nature and of nature's God." No other proclamation declares that all people are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." No other national manuscript appeals to "the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions." And no other mechanism of national design or intent places the fate of its founders in the hand of God with words like this: "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor." Good thing they weren't writing this stuff in a public school!

In an era when Fidel Castro and Che Guevara are revered revolutionaries, the 56 who signed the Declaration just don't cut the mustard. They were all men of means, well educated and wealthy by the standards of the day. Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists; 11 were successful merchants and traders; 9, like Jefferson, were prosperous farmers. Nine of them would die before the war was over; 5 were captured and tortured by the British and 12 had their homes looted and destroyed.

Neither John Morton of Pennsylvania nor Button Gwinnett, the signer from Georgia, would live to see the first anniversary of their signatures. Philip Livingston, the merchant from Albany, New York who served on Jefferson's drafting committee, was dead before the second anniversary. Thomas Lynch, a farmer from South Carolina died of wounds received in a 1797 naval engagement.

Carter Braxton, a wealthy trader from Virginia saw his armada of trading vessels swept from the seas in battle. To pay his debts, he sold all that he owned and died in rags in 1797.

Thomas McKean, a lawyer from Delaware, served without pay as a member of the Continental Congress. The British forced him to flee with his impoverished family five times during the war. When he died in 1817, his sons had to take up a collection from their neighbors to pay for his funeral.

Thomas Nelson of Yorktown, Virginia borrowed 2 million dollars to provision the French Fleet that would eventually come to our aid. After the war he liquidated his entire estate to pay back the money he borrowed because the Congress refused to reimburse him. He died penniless in 1789.

John Hart, a New Jersey farmer was driven from his wife's sickbed by a British patrol and lived on the run for more than a year. Upon learning that his beloved wife was failing, he took the terrible chance of returning home to find her dead and his children gone. When he died a few weeks later, on May 11, 1779, his friends said it was of a broken heart.

John Hancock, the merchant from Quincy, Massachusetts, claimed that his bold signature would allow King George to read it without spectacles. When the British burned the port that made him rich, Hancock was reported to have said: "Burn, Boston, though it makes John Hancock a beggar, burn!"

All 56 signers were hunted, hounded and declared criminals. All were indicted, tried in absentia for treason, and all were convicted and condemned. Yet, despite all they endured, not one man broke his pledge.

People are apparently shocked that Iran elected a terrorist to be their president. But it certainly didn't bother NBC Anchor and former intern to President Carter, Brian Williams:

"...what would it all matter if proven true? Someone brought up today the first several U.S. presidents were certainly revolutionaries and might have been called terrorists at the time by the British Crown, after all."

Happy Independence Day from Mr. Williams.

UPDATE: Chaos-in-Motion has more. As does Say Anything.

Today is July 1st, and traffic cameras are officially dead in Virginia. The state legislature let the law permitting red-light (s)cameras expire, but not all cities are taking them down. Falls Church plans to leave them on, and use them in an innovative way.

State lawmakers failed to renew the pilot program, meaning the cameras have to stop clicking as of July 1. But the City of Falls Church plans to keep its video red-light system on in the name of safety. While still cameras only snap a picture of the offending vehicle's license plate, the video system has a unique feature.

"It automatically sort of gauges the speed and distance of a vehicle before it runs into the intersection, and then adjusts the lights accordingly," said Councilman David Snyder.

All the lights at the intersection remain red until the offending car passes. This reduces the risk of a T-bone style crash, in which a red-light runner hits a car proceeding with a green light.

"Our objective all along with this was public safety," said Snyder, who was the city's mayor when the cameras were first installed in 2001.

I look forward to running red lights all weekend long. Don't stop me now, I'm having such a good time, I'm having a ball.

Since banning guns has failed to cut down on crime, the U.K. is pushing forward with their ban on knives. With knife crime on the rise, the Scottish government has unveiled plans to ban most knives and almost all swords. Even legal knives will be heavily regulated.

It would be a criminal offence for anyone to buy a non-domestic knife from an unlicensed shop, and sellers would have to record the buyer's name, address and age.

Of course one of the problems with banning guns has always been the illegal manufacture. Guns are not very complex, and criminals have even figured out how to turn cell phones into makeshift guns. Keeping them from getting knives will be impossible.

Knives have been around for tens of thousands of years. Prehistoric knives were nothing more than razor sharp chips of obsidian. Incarcerated prisoners make shivs out of toothbrushes. Simply put, if someone wants to cut you, they will. And when knives are illegal, only criminals will have them.

. . . and "Welcome to the White House", Simon and Schuster presents their next literary masterpiece. Bill Clinton, call your office...

If drinking, driving and college admissions aren't enough for the parents of teenagers to worry about, there's a new specter on the horizon: "rainbow parties."

As explained in a new paperback novel for teenagers from Simon & Schuster, rainbow parties are group oral sex parties in which each girl wears a different shade of lipstick, and each guy tries to emerge sporting every one of the various colors.

This is a play on a really old joke that I first heard when I was a teenager. It went something like, "Would you please tell your girlfriend/wife/sister/mother to quit changing her lipstick?"

Cat-burglars broke into a Miami pet shop and made off with a dozen of the store's cute and fuzzy little puppies (and several bags of dog food). The burglars, who targeted small-dog breeds, were caught on tape but were wearing disguises. What's most striking about the story was this reaction from Tyler Thomson, the store's owner.

"I just feel sorry for those dogs, because they don't deserve those dogs. They come in and steal, and how are they going to take care of them?" said Thomson.

Probably with that stolen dog food, some stolen dog bowls, and stolen water. Then there's this:

His next step is to buy a big guard dog, to keep a eye on the remaining pups.

Won't they just steal the guard dog too?

What kind of pretzel logic is this?

Early deaths caused by smoking cost the nation about $92 billion in lost productivity between 1997 and 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

Smoking reduces life expectancy an average of about 14 years by way of lung cancer, heart disease other illnesses, according to the CDC.

In the study, "lost productivity" meant lost wages.

So if I die tomorrow, my salary is considered "lost wages"? Just who is it that lost them? I thought my wages were technically still there, they're just being paid to whoever it was that took over my job. Or, if my job was eliminated and my duties split among other employees than my death actually caused an increase in productivity because the work is now being done by less people.

I don't like this idea that my earning power is somehow tied to the nation's productivity. What's next, will the government send me a bill for lost tax revenue because I had the misfortune of dying young? Oh right, I almost forgot we already have a death tax.

Prosecutors are charging a New York man with a hate crime (a/k/a thought crime), after he beat someone with a baseball bat. Hate crimes are like normal crimes, except the perpetrator is motivated by hatred of his victims, unlike normal beatings. The two beatings may look the same and may result in the same injuries, but hate criminals must also be punished for what they are thinking inside their head as they thump away on their victims.

A white man faced hate-crime charges after police said he and two friends set upon three black men with a baseball bat, leaving one with a fractured skull, in a neighborhood that became infamous for a fatal racial confrontation two decades ago. . .

Nicholas Minucci, 21, was to be charged Thursday with first-degree assault as a hate crime, menacing, criminal possession of a weapon and other charges, police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.

So Minucci faces a more serious punishment, because he is white and his victim was black. If instead he had. . .oh I dunno. . .beat down a little old white lady, that's not as serious. Because he was beating a black man, he was obviously thinking something like, "I'm gonna kill this black mofo." If it were grandma and he was slugging away while thinking, "When's this old bitch gonna die", that's a lesser crime.

Now, I know what you're thinking, an assault is an assault. No! Bludgeoning someone for the $10 in their pocket is perfectly understandable. It serves them right for walking around with $10. But bludgeoning someone just because they look different than you is reprehensible, and must be punished more severely.

That's one goddamned unique ad campaign.

With good reason, Kim du Toit is ranting over this plan by the Brits to intimidate more people into recycling.

A council is putting microchips in all 100,000 of its wheelie bins to monitor whether householders are recycling enough of their rubbish.

The 50,000 households in the South Norfolk district council area are being issued with two bins - a grey one for run-of-the-mill rubbish and a green one for plastic bottles, cans, paper and cardboard that can be recycled.

Dustcarts will empty grey bins one week and green ones the next, with on-board scanning equipment weighing each one and identifying which home the contents come from.

Over time, officials in the Liberal Democrat-controlled council will be able to calculate which households are backsliding on recycling and then advise them on how to do better.

Kim notes that the first thing he'd do is keep switching all the bins with his neighbors. Sounds effective, but it implies that you're still going to put your recycle bin down there every other week. Personally, I think I'd just paint the green one gray and thank the city for the extra trash bin. And the first piece of trash to go in it would be that embedded microchip that I carved out with my unregistered knife.

Ann Coulter takes on the Ten Commandments case, and offers up other offensive speech being funded by taxpayer dollars.