Oh those wacky liberals!

A running item on this blog for some time has been the subject of liberal fascism. On at least three occasions (more if you count the Berkeley city council trying to oust the Marines) I have shown examples of the leftist mentality of "it's for the common good, therefore YOU WILL DO IT!!!"

Today I have three distinct examples of leftist asshattery. The first comes from right here in the People's Republic of Maryland.

A group in Montgomery County, Md., seeking a public vote on a law providing special rights to people with "gender identity" issues has posted a video on YouTube of an aide to a county council member apparently trying to intimidate volunteers collecting petition signatures in support of that vote.

At the time, volunteers had reported to the organization they had been subjected to harassment by those supporting the county law that has been interpreted to mean the county is ordering all "public facilities" be open to either men or women, based on their own perceived gender.

Officials then told WND Dana Beyer, a senior policy adviser to Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg, D-At Large, had approached volunteers while they were seeking petition signatures and provided disruptions, "telling volunteers to 'shut up' and getting petition collectors removed from shopping malls by complaining to the management."

John Garza, an attorney for the volunteers, indicated one possible result could be a civil rights lawsuit.

"I am deeply troubled by these intimidation tactics. Such tactics are commonly used by totalitarian governments. There is no place for this in Montgomery County. This undemocratic conduct is especially reprehensible when it is coming from a senior-level employee of the council," he said at the time.

Today the organization released a statement accompanying a YouTube video officials explained shows Beyer falsely telling petition collectors and would-be signers they would be asked to leave a Giant food store's sidewalk.

The video shows the person telling volunteers, "An e-mail went out; you're going to be asked to leave. Any petitions gathered today are illegal."

What a creative little brown shirt Mr. Garza is! And all in the name of letting men in drag go into women's rest rooms and shower facilities. Such a noble cause! * sarcasm alert *

This item reflects the loony left's growing break with reality.

Experts gathered in Sydney say governments around the world focus too much on fighting terrorism while obesity and other so-called lifestyle diseases kill millions more people. The experts say that overcoming deadly factors such as poor diet, smoking and a lack of exercise should take top priority in the fight against a growing epidemic of preventable chronic disease.

The message at the Oxford Health Alliance Summit in Sydney is that while terrorism is a threat, it poses far less risk to world health than obesity, diabetes and smoking-related illnesses.

Gee, why do you suppose the Left is so concerned about everyone's health? Oh, yeah! It's because THEY WANT TO TAKE OVER HEALTH CARE. Then the fascist bastards will get to tell us all what we can eat, what we can drink, and how much exercise we have to get in order to qualify to wait in line 9 months for brain surgery.

Last but not least, is there no issue into which leftist-led government won't insert itself? Welcome to Big Master.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Tuesday signed one of the nation's toughest laws on pet sterilization, requiring most dogs and cats to be spayed or neutered by the time they are 4 months old.

The ordinance is aimed at reducing and eventually eliminating the thousands of euthanizations conducted in Los Angeles' animal shelters every year.

The ordinance does exempt some animals, including those that have competed in shows or sporting competitions, guide dogs, animals used by police agencies and those belonging to professional breeders.

The average pet owner, however, must have their dog or cat spayed or neutered by the time it reaches 4 months of age (as late as 6 months with a letter from a veterinarian). People with older unneutered pets and newcomers to the city with animals also have to obey the law.

First-time offenders will receive information on subsidized sterilization services and be given an additional 60 days. If they still fail to comply they could be fined $100 and ordered to serve eight hours of community service. A subsequent offense could result in a $500 fine or 40 hours of community service.

Vee haf vays of making you spay! That's right, use the power of government to FORCE people to do what you deem to be "good". Isn't that how a good Liberal always does things?

Do you think that maybe, MAYBE, the dude with the "Liberalism is a mental illness" book was on to something?

Perfect storm brewing?

Two seemingly unrelated news items appeared as links at WorldNetDaily.com the other day. The first dealt with the new, much ballyhooed, extensively reported-upon North American Army. What? You didn't hear about it? No kidding! That's because the news media was too busy chasing after Lindsay Lohan's slutty ass to be bothered with something that affects the lives and liberties of Americans.

In a ceremony that received virtually no attention in the American media, the United States and Canada signed a military agreement Feb. 14 allowing the armed forces from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a domestic civil emergency, even one that does not involve a cross-border crisis. (emphasis mine)

Isn't that special? So......let me get this straight. We can call in the Canucks any time we want to quash a "domestic civil emergency"? And we can do this even if Canada isn't "threatened" by said "emergency"? O-k-a-y.

It couldn't get any better than THAT, could it? Read this -- and try to keep your head from exploding.

The agreement, defined as a Civil Assistance Plan, was not submitted to Congress for approval, nor did Congress pass any law or treaty specifically authorizing this military agreement to combine the operations of the armed forces of the United States and Canada in the event of a wide range of domestic civil disturbances ranging from violent storms, to health epidemics, to civil riots or terrorist attacks. (emphasis mine)

Okay, you're telling me that this "plan" was carried out without so much as a peep from our elected representatives? And doesn't this agreement fall into the category of a treaty, which, if I remember my 12th grade Civics, HAS TO BE RATIFIED BY THE SENATE? Once again, the Constitution is toilet paper to our elitist leaders.

And just what might this little "Army of North America" be used for? Maybe to keep uppity states like Montana in line.

Montana officials are warning that if the Supreme Court rules in the D.C. gun ban case that the right to keep and bear arms protects only state-run militias like the National Guard, then the federal government will have breached Montana's statehood contract.
...

The dispute goes back more than a century. Back in 1889, the settlers of the Montana territory struck a deal with the federal government: They agreed to join the union, and the government agreed that individuals had the right to bear arms.

That has worked fine for the past 118 years, but the Supreme Court is expected next month to hear oral argument in District of Columbia v. Heller, the appeal of a federal court decision striking down the District's gun-ownership ban on Second Amendment grounds.

You may recall that just last month (as reported by me here) Traitor-in-Chief Bush's administration filed an Amicus brief for this case ON BEHALF of Federal gun control. In other words, Bush is thumbing his nose at us all, particularly Montanans.

But Montana can't secede! After all, didn't the tyrant Abe Lincoln see to that once and for all? There'd have to be military action against Montana, in the Lincoln tradition. But surely the American military would NEVER attack Montana now, not with prima facie evidence that they are in the right here. The Canadians..........who knows? It would certainly qualify as a "domestic crisis", would it not?

I'm just sayin'............

Mark adds $.02

Hey Mikey, love the picture of Hillary. The truth will set us free. DW you right wing extremist. Don't you understand that the All Mighty Barack stands for "hope" and "change", and that he's the only one who cares about you.

Mr. Mark, must I remind you that proper blog etiquette requires that I be addressed as "Vulture"? Tsk, tsk, these n00bs!

That said, B. Hussein Obama will make a fine president, just like Jimmy Carter...

Commitment to enforce our borders (yeah, right!)

Just in case you were confused about whether our leaders are serious about enforcing our borders or about tracking and deporting illegal aliens, this story will clear matters up for you once and for all.

It seems that a South Carolina contractor who was fed up with losing work to unscrupulous competitors employing illegal aliens set up a one-man protest at a job site to call attention to the issue. And he was arrested...for disorderly conduct. You can't make this stuff up.

"The day I was arrested, sitting on that hot road being watched over by two police officers, I saw five illegal aliens hard at work, knowing for a fact that they would not be arrested by those two cops. … None of them had any worry in the world about being arrested because in those two cops' eyes these criminals got a free pass. But the thing is, every last one of them was breaking the law, right in front of those two cops. And the cops did nothing," he said.

Wait, it gets better.

He said he's been blacklisted by a lot of politicians and organizations for his challenge to the "system".

I'm sure he has! The politicians don't give a rat's hindquarters about him, his failing (for playing by the rules) business, you, or me. And they sure as hell don't give a rat's posterior about enforcing immigration laws, and neither, obviously, do the police. Like I said, you can't make this stuff up.

A picture is worth a thousand words

Hillary poses with her Master

DW Vents

Venting 101 I know Vulture you have probably already covered this but I must I must! After reading more on Barack O Bomb Us and seeing him in a turban, Makes me even more convinced he is the scariest ArseLick running for president. His programs and policies will even further bankrupt America. His foreign policies, typical for a far far leftist idiot. He is being compared to JFK? Not even close except for the gift of BS. He has no experience and if I hear one more time from that ass that he voted against the war I'll implode. Please for those of you who are awake on this humble blog, WAKE THE HELL UP! Stop the hypnotic trance he seems to have on all you puppets.

Go get 'em, tiger!

From the suggestion box

That DW is an idea man. Here's his latest:

Vulture, Somewhere on here maybe you should think about putting a spot for our everyday gripes. Something like The Bitching Post. Or a Venting Station or Stop Me From Going Postal. Just a thought...

Uh, D? I believe this whole blog is the place for bitching.

What I could do is a second blog "page" for gripes, venting, bitching, pissing, and moaning (or, what Liberals call "activism"). I'll certainly take it under consideration. I'm in the middle of a site redesign right now, but perhaps I can retool my "test" blog (where I'm creating the new design) into "The Kettle" (a Kettle is a group of circling vultures).

Shoot I could even open up "authoring" authority to those of you interested in writing your own rants without having to go through the middle man (me). Sound like a plan? Who's interested?

Darwin Awards finalist?

I shouldn't laugh. Really, I shouldn't. I mean, accidents happen. But...getting MOWED to death?!?!?!?

LONDON (Reuters) - A Buddhist monk from Japan was killed after slipping and falling under the blades of his runaway tractor lawnmower, an inquest into his death has found.

The Reverend Seiji Handa, 50, was cutting the grass around his peace pagoda in the English city of Milton Keynes when the accident occurred last August.

He got out of the tractor to inspect something but the vehicle, which was pulling a multi-bladed grass cutting machine, slipped its handbrake.

On the bright side, now that he’s scattered all over the lawn, he’s achieved the Buddhist goal of becoming one with nature.

DW discovers weak sisters seeking government intervention

DW found a news item that highlights an issue frequently broached within Vox Popoli. That is the issue of crybaby weak sisters clambering for the government to step in and “do something” about some perceived problem or other. This one is headed, predictably, by a “Ms”.

Passengers Bill Of Rights! Another TSA in the making?

Human beings should never be treated this way.” Hanni contends that airline greed is the real problem and she is adamant in her belief that it will take a Government mandated Airline Passengers Bill of Rights to rectify the situation. “Airline industry attempts at these band aid solutions are way too little… way too late. This is going to take the active involvement of our Federal representatives to finally take a stand for everyone who travels.

Why can't the airlines stand up and take care of this? Sounds like another TSA situation forming. Responsibility?? The tarmac does suck. I am torn with this.

Maybe the guy with the “Liberalism is a mental illness” book has a point. The first response to any inconvenience for a liberal is to ask the government to intervene. Every time.

Just as I suspected!

It seems that a noted psychiatrist has determined that liberals are nuts.

Just when liberals thought it was safe to start identifying themselves as such, an acclaimed, veteran psychiatrist is making the case that the ideology motivating them is actually a mental disorder.

"Based on strikingly irrational beliefs and emotions, modern liberals relentlessly undermine the most important principles on which our freedoms were founded," says Dr. Lyle Rossiter, author of the new book, "The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness." "Like spoiled, angry children, they rebel against the normal responsibilities of adulthood and demand that a parental government meet their needs from cradle to grave."

Wait, it gets better.

Rossiter says the kind of liberalism being displayed by the two major candidates for the Democratic Party presidential nomination can only be understood as a psychological disorder.

"A social scientist who understands human nature will not dismiss the vital roles of free choice, voluntary cooperation and moral integrity – as liberals do," he says. "A political leader who understands human nature will not ignore individual differences in talent, drive, personal appeal and work ethic, and then try to impose economic and social equality on the population – as liberals do. And a legislator who understands human nature will not create an environment of rules which over-regulates and over-taxes the nation's citizens, corrupts their character and reduces them to wards of the state – as liberals do."

Now, as much as I would like to jump up and down and ROFL and all of that, I have to take the good doctor's premise with a grain of salt. Suppose some commie rat bastard had written a book in which he "proved" that Libertarianism was a mental illness caused by a psychotic Greta Garbo complex - then how would I react? I mean, these people can claim to have "proof" of just about anything, but that don't make it so, now does it?

Still...the thought of pinko heads exploding at the very idea that their cherished Liberalism is equated with being a spoiled, angry child...

Asshat Generation

Lest you had any doubt whatsoever that our education system is producing a generation of asshats.

Big Brother. McCarthyism. The patience of Job.

Don't count on your typical teenager to nod knowingly the next time you drop a reference to any of these. A study out today finds that about half of 17-year-olds can't identify the books or historical events associated with them.

Twenty-five years after the federal report A Nation at Risk challenged U.S. public schools to raise the quality of education, the study finds high schoolers still lack important historical and cultural underpinnings of "a complete education." And, its authors fear, the nation's current focus on improving basic reading and math skills in elementary school might only make matters worse, giving short shrift to the humanities even if children can read and do math.

"If you think it matters whether or not kids have common historical touchstones and whether, at some level, we feel like members of a common culture, then familiarity with this knowledge matters a lot," says American Enterprise Institute researcher Rick Hess, who wrote the study.

Among 1,200 students surveyed:

•43% knew the Civil War was fought between 1850 and 1900.

•52% could identify the theme of 1984.

•51% knew that the controversy surrounding Sen. Joseph McCarthy focused on communism.

In all, students earned a C in history and an F in literature, though the survey suggests students do well on topics schools cover. For instance, 88% knew the bombing of Pearl Harbor led the USA into World War II, and 97% could identify Martin Luther King Jr. as author of the "I Have a Dream" speech.

Fewer (77%) knew Uncle Tom's Cabin helped end slavery a century earlier.

I'd say we're just about as dumb as we can get short of skipping school entirely and just watching TV all day. Bring on the bread and circuses (and Hillary-health)!

More peace and love from the religion of peace

Islam is just plain strange...

A 70-year-old Iranian man was arrested and sentenced to four months in jail and 30 lashes for walking his dog. Police caught the man on the street with his dog in Shahr Rey, a suburb of Tehran.

Owners of domestic animals are forbidden from taking them on the streets of the city because Islam considers dogs to be impure. An Islamic judge later charged the man for "disturbing the public order,”.

Despite repeated warnings by the police, dog owners continue to defy authorities by taking their dogs outside their homes. Typical punishment for people caught with dogs outside is a fine or the "detention" of their animals in a pound.

Dogs? Impure? Them's fightin' words, pardner!

Okay, all kidding aside - who whips a 70-year-old man for WALKING HIS F'IN DOG?!?!?!?! Can somebody please explain this for me? Because I'm at a total loss. That old man may die in the course of his 30 lashes -- DIE -- because those extremist asshats consider dogs to be impure. Amazing!

Now, if it was a CAT, I'd understand it......

The full-service blog

DW asks:

Would it be possible to post clip art (appropriate) along with our comments?

The answer is a resounding "yes", provided the clip art is accessible via an internet address. For example, if you have an AOL Albums account, a Google Web Albums account, a Kodak account, or whatever, then you can send me a link to the picture.

Otherwise, I guess you could email the clip art and I could upload it myself. Whatever works, right?

DW celebrate's Nader's candidacy

DW chimes in on the Ralph Nader candidacy:

Hey welcome back Ralph. That sour-puss is going to give some of the deserving Dems what-fer.

Mr. Nader vociferously disputes the spoiler claim, saying only Democrats are to blame for losing the race to George W. Bush. He said Sunday there could be no chance of him tipping the election to Republicans because the electorate will not vote for a "pro-war John McCain." "If the Democrats can't landslide the Republicans this year, they ought to just wrap up, close down, emerge in a different form," Mr. Nader said.

Enough said. Go Sour-Puss.

I actually wasn't going to even mention the Nader candidacy because, well, let's face it, the guy's an ultra-fringe candidate palatable only to the ultra-ultra-ultra moonbat Left. And he's in danger of becoming Harold Stassen.

That said, let the fun begin.

Wiener of the Week

This week's Wiener is the Washington Post for their roll in the John McCain character assassination piece.

Hold on, Vulture, that story (if you can call a rumor-laden hit job a "story") was broken by the New York Times. Right. And who, within hours of the news of the Times story breaking, was right behind them with a "The New York Times today reports...." me-too! me too! me too! report?

Ah, but it gets better.

NEW YORK The Washington Post, which published its own story about Sen. John McCain's questionable ties to a Washington lobbyist just hours after The New York Times broke the story, was unable to finish its work on the story until the Times broke the news, according to Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr.

"We had elements of the story in story form," Downie told E&P Thursday. "When the Times story appeared on their Web site last night, we were able to talk to sources who gave us further information that made it able to be published today. There were people who talked to us last night in ways that made us able to finish our story after the Times story went up."

What "elements" could you POSSIBLY have been missing? The spelling of "Iseman"? I mean, the "story" was nothing but 9-year-old rumor and innuendo, with some 20-year-old "Keating 5" thrown in for good measure. Are we disingenuous much, Mr. Downie?

This isn't the paper of Woodward and Bernstein any more. This is a poodle, carrying water for the Big Dog, the NYT.

For it's bed-wetting subservience to the NYT, the Washington Post is my Wiener of the Week.

Conservatives really are THAT dumb

Four years ago I left Team Elephant and became a Libertarian. Nevertheless, I still considered myself a conservative. Not any more. Why is the world would I want to align myself, even nominally, with these simpletons?

Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign claimed vindication Thursday night after a sophisticated 24-hour counterattack turned a potentially lethal story in The New York Times into a conservative call to arms.

The piece about McCain’s friendly relations with a telecommunications lobbyist — long-discussed in political circles and planned for weeks by McCain operatives — was the first test of his ability to confront a public-relations crisis since becoming the GOP’s presumptive nominee.

But the reaction may have said as much about the mindset of the conservative movement on the brink of the general election as it did about McCain and his team.

“Even if they want to quibble within our own tribe, they’ll circle the wagons when we’re attacked by the Times,” said McCain campaign senior adviser Charlie Black. (emphasis mine)

Are you f'in kidding me? We ARE talking about John McCommie here, aren't we? The same "maverick" of whom you said you'd vote for Hillary rather than him, right?

Is this what passes for THOUGHT in the modern Republican party? The enemy of the New York Times is our friend? If you had any doubts about whether the party has permanently lost its way or not, doubt no more. It's official. RIP GOP.

The anti-Big Brother device

xfloggingkylex sent me this little tidbit (please excuse the poor Google translation from German).

Infrared light against surveillance cameras

The URA / FILOART developed device promises to the citizens a more reliable protection against security measures of the state (and other Überwachenden). IR.ASC offers the safety and security therefore to the asymmetry of power between the individual and Überwachenden.

That word Überwachenden came up twice, untranslated, so I went out to an English-German dictionary online to see what it meant...and I can see why it didn't translate. It's meaning is entirely dependent on context. The gist of it is control, policing, surveillance, shadowing. Sound like Big Brother to you? Das Überwachenden. It sounds ominous. I like it.

Anyway (back from my ADD moment), the gist of the article is that these German brainiacs have devised an IR headset that essentially masks the wearer from the ubiquitous closed-circuit police cameras that are cropping up everywhere, particularly in Europe.

While I appreciate the spirit of those evading the ever-present gaze of Big Brother, I think a preferable solution is the old "hide in plain sight" method. But it is cool to see that there are people out there who are NOT on board with government intrusion into every aspect of our lives, always in the name of "security", or "for the children", but always bringing less freedom and more burden to the individual.

I've been hit!

I received this link to Hugh Hewett's blog from my brother, Mark. The sub-linked story describes a TSA success.

AMPA - A 21-year-old Clearwater man was arrested at Tampa International Airport this weekend after security personnel found a box cutter in a hollowed-out book, authorities said.

Benjamin Baines Jr.

If convicted, Baines faces up to 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for a federal charge of attempting to board an airplane with a concealed dangerous weapon. He is currently serving a 30 day sentence after pleading guilty Monday to a state misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon.

The follow up email from Mark said:

Hey Asshat!! Go to HughHewitt.com and see why we have airport security.

Why I never! A guy could get his feelings hurt!

Okay, maybe if I go a l----i----t---t---l---e s---l---o---w---e---r I can FINALLY get this explained once and for all.

My beef is NOT with the presence of security. Can we all just drop the straw man? I think everyone agrees that we live in interesting times and we have to be vigilant to the REAL threats that we face. Can we at least cede that point, once and for all? Good.

Now....where exactly did the FEDERALIZATION of airport security aid in the detection of said shiv? X-ray machines have been in use in our nation's airports for...what? Maybe forever. I certainly can't remember a time when I didn't have to run my stuff through the x-ray machine, can you? But adding the coercive force of the federal government to the enforcement of security had NOTHING to do with this story, now did it? The measures added by the feds -- the ridiculous near-strip searches, the pat-downs, the shoes, the ludicrous restrictions on fluids -- what exactly did those things contribute to this security success? The fact that I have NO RECOURSE against UNCONSTITUTIONAL invasions of my person (because YOU CAN'T SUE THE GOVERNMENT)...contributed what? Are you starting to grok my beef now, finally?

Or are you okay with the ever-lengthening arm of government insinuating itself into every aspect of our lives? Because I'm not. I'd rather be a little less safe and a LOT more FREE.

DW isn't happy with the coverage

The plague of media jackals swarming to cover the McCain scandal has irritated DW.

I am outraged with the reporting of the New York Times piece on McCain. This is another example of Democratic Bias reporting and smear campaign. I don't know if the allegations are true. That is not my point here. My point is the way the media brain washes and the other news agencies jump on it. The way CNN is treating it is sickening. I despise the plastic-headed Barbie with her horse face and bleached hair salivating over this like it was the second coming. You want a third party Vulture? So do I and the first step is to silence the rotten one-sided idiots who lead some of us around by the nads. WAKE UP PEOPLE, you may be the next smear job.

The Vulture can only shrug. They don't call it the Clinton News Network for nothing.

That said, silencing the media is most definitely NOT a Libertarian position. I don't care if the media has biases, as long as they're HONEST about it. Hell, there's no one more biased than ME. But I think the credibility of the NYT and CNN suffers immeasurably from their laughable insistence on declaring themselves "non-partisan". It rings as hollow as a prostitute claiming to be a virgin.

McCain's chickens come home to roost

They say that when you lie down with dogs you shouldn't be surprised when you come away with fleas. John McCain lay down with crocodiles...and now it's bit him in the ass.

Hints of a campaign scandal involving Sen. John McCain and a female telecom lobbyist broke into the open today, with the New York Times running a front-page story that features unnamed McCain aides' suspicions of a romantic relationship between the Senator and Vicki Iseman. Some details of the story reports of an improper relationship between McCain and a lobbyist had appeared on the Drudge Report earlier in the primary season. The NYT story says that in 2000, "waves of anxiety swept through" McCain's "small circle of advisers" because "a female lobbyist had been turning up with him at fund-raisers, visiting his offices and accompanying him on a client's corporate jet. Convinced the relationship had become romantic, some of his top advisers intervened to protect the candidate from himself - instructing staff members to block the woman's access, privately warning her away and repeatedly confronting him, several people involved in the campaign said on the condition of anonymity." After media reports that McCain "had written letters to government regulators on behalf of the lobbyist's client, the former campaign associates said, some aides feared for a time that attention would fall on her involvement." McCain, 71, "and the lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, 40, both say they never had a romantic relationship. But to his advisers, even the appearance of a close bond with a lobbyist whose clients often had business before the Senate committee Mr. McCain led threatened the story of redemption and rectitude that defined his political identity."

Pardon me for a second, will you?

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

ROFLMAO

For the past eight years McCommie has been the NYT's house RINO, their cute little "Maverick". He's the guy they could point to and say, "this is how Republicans SHOULD be". They loved him, and he loved them back -- saying what they wanted to hear, doing what they would want him to do, supporting Liberal issues/opposing Conservative issues, doing whatever it took to get that positive press from the Times (whose opinions, of course, trickle down through every newspaper in the country that fancies itself a Times wanna-be).

How's that working out for you now, John?

Conservatives and Libertarians can't stand you. Okay, that's too polite. We L-O-A-T-H-E you for your phony-baloney populist persona, for McCommie/Finegold, for the McCommie/Kennedy "scamnasty", for opposing tax cuts, for your sanctimony, etc, etc, etc. But you didn't need us. "Ha!", said you, "I have the Moderates, Independents, and my friends at the New York Times. Look! They even ENDORSED me! They love me! They really love me! I don't need no stinkin' Conservatives!"

Again, how's that working out for you now, Johnny boy? You're cooked, pal.

Note the funny timing of the revelation. Facts dating back to 1999, and already reported, albeit at a 30,000 foot level, by Drudge W-A-A-A-A-Y back in December, suddenly come to light in The Paper of Record once America's own little Pravda has determined that McCommie has the Team Elephant nomination sewed up. Naturally the Washington ComPost and every other commie newsrag in the country is all over it as well. I assume those news outlets have Internet access in their newsrooms and can get to The Drudge Report -- why weren't they on this sooner? Oh, wait! I get it. They had to wait for their cue from "The Big Dog".

I have no sympathy for McCommie nor for Team Elephant. You both got what you deserved.

Black Democratic voters = Conservative Republican voters

For years the lament in the black community has been that the Democrats take their votes for granted. Blacks vote overwhelmingly Democrat (over 90% in most elections), but are treated like red-headed stepchildren by Democrats. Oh sure, Democrats pay lip service to the needs of the black community. But it's all hot air. And why should Democrats exert themselves to actually represent the blacks? The conventional wisdom is: where else are they going to go? They're certainly NOT going to vote Republican!

So blacks piss and moan and grumble and groan about the way they're disrespected and taken for granted by their party of choice. But nothing is ever going to change so long as they continue to vote in this monolithic style. Democrats have no incentive to do anything for blacks until they feel that their votes are in jeopardy.

The situation with Team Elephant is exactly the same. The Republican establishment takes the Conservative vote for granted. Conservatives are treated like the red-headed stepchildren of the party. Their desires are ignored, dismissed -- even RIDICULED -- by the party aparatchiks. They are basically told to sit down and shut up. And why can the Rockafellerites get away with this? Where else are they (the conservatives) going to go? They're certainly NOT going to vote Democrat!

Can you see where I'm going with this?

I got off of the red-headed stepchild train a long time ago. The only reason I'm a registered Republican is so that I can vote in the primaries in my home state. I left the party in terms of my loyalties 4 years ago, and, barring some miraculous return to the ideals of our founding fathers (and Ron Paul), won't ever identify myself with that party again.

If you count yourself as a political conservative or libertarian, DO NOT VOTE REPUBLICAN in the national elections this Fall. Vote Libertarian. Vote Constitution Party. Hell, vote for Mickey Mouse. The only way to reclaim the Republican party is through tough love. And, if the party is beyond reclamation, then so be it -- we align ourselves with a third party and do everything within our power to make it into something.

Lost in the history books is the fact that the Republican party is only a little more than 150 years old. So....who was the opposition party to the Democrats prior to that? The Whigs. Whatever happened to the Whigs? The Whigs disappeared from the American landscape when a third party, the Republican party, came onto the scene as the answer to a split within the Whigs over important issues of that day. Oh, that can't happen NOW, you say. The hell it can't! ANYTHING is possible.

Stop giving away your vote to ingrates who, in their heart-of-hearts, HATE the things you hold dear.

DW has his say (on security)

It seems DW didn't care for my take on Amtrak security.

Alriiight Vulture I have to say something here. I have not been a follower of your blog spot. I have known you for years and always knew you were a reasonable thinker. But railing against security? I do a lot of travel on the airlines and so do my kids. Not once have I been DENIED to travel or even searched. I am very glad the security measures are in place. Not once has any of the security measures been a delay. So I don't get where you think putting security measures in place for Amtrak, which by the way is a dirty way to travel, is a bad thing. What if I disagree with the vulture I am a sheeple? I think not my Berkeley loving foe. The Muslims just love us!

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Please try to follow along, won't you? (Arrogant, ain't I?)

Security is a good thing. Security is something the providers of travel should be striving to achieve as a matter of good business -- a safe business is one that can count on the return business of its satisfied customers.

So what's my beef? Airport (and now train) security has been co-opted by the government. This is just one more little trip down the slippery slope to totalitarianism. You haven't had any problems with the TSA Nazis? How about I have -- just about every third time I fly. I've been wanded and patted down. I've had to "f" with my laptop until the Nazi in question was satisfied that it wasn't a bomb. I've had to undo my belt and my pants - in public! - to satisfy some Nazi who must have liked the cut of my jib. I've had the contents of my checked luggage searched.

I haven't been denied travel BECAUSE I HAVEN'T PUT UP A FUSS. Once I say, "No, I won't submit to this unconstitutional invasion of my property and person", I'll be standing curbside waiting for a cab to take me to the bus station -- that is, if I haven't been arrested. Does that sound like freedom to you? Mind you, this is done to me, and to you, and to your kids, and to 95-year-old grandmothers in wheelchairs so that we won't be accused of "profiling", which, to me, is a word that means "good police work", but to the PC crowd, it means something dark, sinister, and racist.

We're sheeple (and trust me, I count myself in that category in this case). Why? Because we WON'T STAND UP TO THIS FLAGRANT ABUSE. Because we just LET IT HAPPEN. Because we subject ourselves to being groped, prodded, and wanded. We submit to having our personal property searched without cause, without warrant, and without due process -- the very things the fourth amendment was written TO PROTECT US AGAINST.

Mark my words -- the people who brought us the TSA "in the name of public safety" will bring us some other "security" apparatus in the near future to "protect" us. And it'll be something that makes the ATF look like a bridge club.

DW has his say (on Cuba)

DW on the historic passing of power in Cuba from Castro to, well, Castro.

WHO NEEDS ELECTIONS?

With the Ole man going and the much younger brother (6 years) TAKING, not getting power in Cuba, we should adopt their way of elections. That means Jeb Bush should be the next president. By the way does Cuba have oil?

Another Bush? *groan*

They hate us for our freedoms II

As if airports aren't enough of a nightmare, now we have Amtrak entering the world of harrassing the innocent in the name of "security".

Amtrak will start randomly screening passengers' carry-on bags this week in a new security push that includes officers with automatic weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs patrolling platforms and trains.

The initiative, to be announced by the railroad on Tuesday, is a significant shift for Amtrak. Unlike the airlines, it has had relatively little visible increase in security since the 2001 terrorist attacks, a distinction that has enabled it to attract passengers eager to avoid airport hassles.

There goes the neighborhood.

Yeah, let's sacrifice a little more liberty to the cause of 'security at any cost'. Asshats.

Amtrak plans to roll out the new "mobile security teams" first on the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston, the railroad's most heavily used route, before expanding them to the rest of the country.

The teams will show up unannounced at stations and set up baggage screening areas in front of boarding gates. Officers will randomly pull people out of line and wipe their bags with a special swab that is then put through a machine that detects explosives. If the machine detects anything, officers will open the bag for visual inspection.

Anybody who is selected for screening and refuses will not be allowed to board and their ticket will be refunded.

Wow! Really? We have the right to refuse this flagrant violation of the Fourth Amendment? Sweet! Oh yeah...we WON'T BE ABLE TO TRAVEL. And this is okay with the American sheeple.

But the last line of the AP story is the one that justs melts my cold, Vulture heart.

"There is no new or different specific threat," Kummant said. "This is just the correct step to take."

And there you have it. There's no threat. There's no eminent danger. The government just deems it "the correct step to take." Well, by all means, then!

* Vulture's head explodes *

More Liberal Fascism

I know it's been a while since I've railed against the fascism of the Far Left. Sorry. I hate to let down my readers.

This one really made me chortle. Dude must be auditioning for the part of Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor of the One-World Socialist Utopia.

David Suzuki has called for political leaders to be thrown in jail for ignoring the science behind climate change.

At a Montreal conference last Thursday, the prominent scientist, broadcaster and Order of Canada recipient exhorted a packed house of 600 to hold politicians legally accountable for what he called an intergenerational crime.

Capture the infidels! Torture them until they pass legislation!

I'm telling you, you can't make this stuff up...

Presidents Day

For President's Day, AOL posted the results of a poll to select "The Top 10 U.S. Presidents". There were some surprises, to be sure. George W. Bush ranked 10th. GW "Chimpy" Bush, 10th! Uh...WTF? Who did they poll for this list - a Toby Keith concert?

There were two presidents whose ratings were, to me, insultingly low. Thomas Jefferson at 7th? George Washington at 5th? W-T-F?!?!?!? How about these two are 1st (Washington) and 3rd (Jefferson) on MY list of best presidents. Again...which historical illiterates made these choices?

Bill Clinton ranked 6th. Cut through the hype from the left and the right, and Bill Clinton was a mediocrity as president, as were 8th ranked Harry Truman, 9th ranked Teddy Roosevelt, and 4th ranked John Kennedy.

FDR ranked 3rd. Franklin f'in Roosevelt! FDR did more to open the door for the unconstitutional intrusions of the federal government into every aspect of American life and did more to foment socialism in this nation than any president other than LBJ. FDR's policies EXTENDED the Great Depression, contrary to the popular mythology that FDR saved America from it. FDR sux.

2nd ranked was Ronald Reagan. Good choice. He's my 2nd choice as well. He didn't accomplish everything he set out to do. He made some terrible judicial appointments. But, on the plus side, he undid 17 years worth of national decline resulting from the policies of LBJ-Nixon-Ford-Carter (particularly Carter) and saved us from the ruination that would have been a 2nd Carter administration. He faced down and ultimate brought down the Soviet Union. And he REALLY pissed off the far Left, which makes the Vulture smile like nothing else. In fact, that's the ONLY thing I like about Bush -- he makes the far Left go bananas.

But the choice for 1st rank made my head explode. It shouldn't have; I should have absolutely expected it. There is a mythology in this country that Abraham Lincoln was a great man. The Emancipator. The man who Saved The Union. Hell, it's right there in the history books, so it must be true, right?

Rather than go on a 800-word rant here, let me summarize the reasons Why Abraham Lincoln Is the 3rd Worst President (behind Carter and LBJ):

• Habitually exceeded his Constitutional authority (suspension of Habeas Corpus, attempt to jail the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court)
• Coerced Maryland at bayonet point to remain with the Union during the war (against the will of its citizens, who wished to join the Confederacy) and kept a military blockade on the Port of Baltimore to "ensure cooperation"
• Fought an unconstitutional war to force the Confederate States to return to the Union
• Was a virulent racist who believed that Blacks were little more than animals

C'mon, people! Read a book once in a while. Look beyond the "approved" reading and see what else is out there. You might learn something!

At least Woodrow Wilson (the 4th worst president and the father of "nation-building war" and the League of Nations) didn't make the list.

Wiener of the Week

This week's winner is skeezy old battle ax Jane Fonda. Hanoi Jane, whose despicable history of treason and America-hatred is unparalleled, once again managed to stir controversy when she dropped a "C" bomb on live network TV.

Now, I've dropped a few bombs in my time. It's not something I'm proud of, certainly. But at my worst I never dropped a "C" bomb in the presence of ladies, let alone children. "F" bombs, yes. But the "C" bomb is particularly offensive to women. Which makes the shadenfreude that much more enjoyable, what with Ms. Fonda's reputation as a feminist.

Hanoi Jane, you're the Wiener of the Week.

DW has seen the light!

"I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT!!!" - Jake Blues

DW reaches the same place the Vulture reached just 4 short years ago.

This is a formal apology to the Vulture: I am soo sorry I commented on McCain the way I did. I did like most people just see some old man saying happy uplifting things. It was not until I dug deeper that I realize he is worse than the two Dems running. I am sorry vulture you are right. He scares me. And now Romney SELLS OUT! Really Mitt, please decide which side of the fence you are jumping to. So, now what? I shall head the advice of the creator of this blog for further instruction. Yours truly Scared $%^&less in AZ. By the way how come none of you other readers EVER say anything except JF? Come on now we must support the Vulture.

Preach it, brother. I am proud to have served as your sensei. My sensei was Vox Day, who finally convinced me via his outstanding blog that:

• Voting for the lesser of two evils is still supporting evil
• Just because the guy you're voting for has an "R" after his name doesn't mean he's going to abide by the Constitution

Welcome home, son. Don't be afraid. Just hang on and try to enjoy the ride.

DW loves the election coverage

DW's a CNN fan -- NOT!

You know I just love CNN especially the hack Blitzer!! I did watch the coverage of the failure-aries the other night. It was interrupting American Idol eliminations. My finger got sore jumping from channel to channel. The drama was about the same. I found it very pathetic that not one interview with Ron Paul was given, his name is never brought up. I have not yet been allowed to vote in AZ but I am going to register as an independent. Maybe someday that party will become organized.

Who names their kid Wolf anyway? Now Vulture...........

numberunoasshat

JF weighs in via the comments widget:

obviously I am your number one asshat...since I am the frequent sender of unchecked garbage such as the o'hare-touched by an angel debacle. I shall diligently try to be more vigilant in my forwards to the vulture. still love and admire you...(gawd that sounds so gay)

Back off people, he's my father...he's allowed to sound gay.

Sorry, dad -- I thought I gave you an out with the "he probably sent it as a lark" caveat. You didn't need to "out" yourself. Besides, I'm a little more patient with Internet users over 70 than I am with dumbass people my own age or younger who send that crap. You can plead "technology challenged". They can't.

Milestones - 200 visitors

It took nearly 2 months for TVL to reach 100 hits - the second 100 hits took approximately 2 weeks.

Thanks to all of my loyal readers (all 3 of you) as well as the visitors who have made this site what it is today -- underwhelmingly obscure.

DW weighs in

I may have created a monster. :)

DW is the first to take advantage of the new "Comments/Suggestions/Thought of the Day" widget. Any input I receive via this mechanism will be posted to the blog, unedited, with minimal commentary by the Vulture. It's your chance to shine.

DW's first post mostly concerns his belief that we should hold our noses in November and vote McCommie.

Wa Holy Crap! This is probably the first time ever one of my humble suggestions have been posted. So, with all this I can now give a shout out to the following: Hi Mark, Mike H, John F.
My condolences to the fine people of my beloved ex state of MD. At least the Dems voted for the better choice. GOP - You tried. I still stand by my original notion that the country is safer with McCain than ANY of the choices offered. It is interesting to read up on all of the canidates and what they stand for. McCain is NOT the best Rep. I know he is for a lot of things I am not. I am however in support of the freedoms we do have.

Next DW opines on the major grandstanding and asshattery that is going down in Washington this week.

Why in the wide wide world of sports is the Congress so consumed with steroid use in Baseball? Too much government. Baseball has always been berry berry good to me. Who the frick is congress to even question Roger Clemens? Lets talk about some of their indiscretions. Ass Licks

Ass licks, indeed. Well said, my friend.

A customer-friendly blog

Yesterday DW posted the following:

Just a thought for your blog. I realize it is your blog oh Vulture, but you should have a suggestion link [so] your over 100 hits can leave suggestions. Or even a place where we could post the thought of the day if you so decided it was worth it. I know you probably think that is a gay suggestion but what ever works. I still love ya

Why dear DW, how wrong you are! Behold - the New and Improved TVL! I've taken the liberty of adding a new widget to the bottom of the blog whose purpose is to give you, the reader, a way to contact the Vulture with email comments, suggestions, and "thought of the day"-type input.

I really like the idea of a thought of the day -- I have some very smart readers among the few, the proud, the too-much-time-on-their-hands readers of TVL.

I've also posted a new widget in the "Vulture Fun Facts" section - a widget that counts down the days-hours-seconds until the Vulture turns 50. This is what a full-service blog does for its customers.

Internet Hoaxes (and the Vulture that loathes them)

Like most Americans, I receive a LOT of email every day. Some of it is mail from friends and family. Some of it is "subscription" email: updates from news sites, notifications of new column availability from one of the columnists I follow closely, etc. Some of it is "necessary evil" email: newsletters you receive because you signed up for some software or registered some product. Some of it is spam -- Satan's own way of tormenting us. No, I do NOT want to try your product for "male enhancement", thank you.

And then there's the stuff that absolutely drives me nuts. Glurge is one of those things. No I will NOT send this POS to 12 of my closest friends so that they can be as annoyed with me as I am with the asshat who sent me the crap in the first place.

But top of my list is Internet Hoaxes. You know what I'm talking about - "the government is going to tax every email", "such-and-such drug contains poison", "'in God we trust' has been removed removed from the dollar coin", etc, etc, etc, ad nauseum.

So you can correctly surmise that I was none too pleased when I got this ancient nugget in my inbox yesterday.

DR. DOBSON'S PLEA FOR ACTION

CBS discontinued 'Touched by an Angel' for using the word God in every program. Madeline Murray O'Hare, an atheist, successfully managed to eliminate the use of Bible reading from public schools a few years ago. Now her organization has been granted a federal hearing on the same subject by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Their petition, Number 2493, would ultimately pave the way to stop the reading of the gospel, our Lord and Savior, on the airwaves of America .
...

Please press 'forward', and forward this to everyone that you think should read this. Now, please sign your name at the bottom (you can only add your name after you have pressed the 'Forward').
...

My head exploded. This little "nugget" has been around F-O-R-E-V-E-R (the original version first appeared in 1996). And the copy I received had 2,118 signatures. 2,118 asshats who fell for the BS! I "replied all", with the following:

This may be the second longest-lived Internet hoax of all time, trailing only "Bill Gates will give you cash to forward this email to all your friends".

Here are the clues: Touched by an Angel was canceled years ago (2003), and Madalyn Murray O'Hare has been DEAD for even longer (1995).

See http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/fcc.asp

Okay, a little terse, perhaps. But Judas Johnson Methusalah! It takes less than 5 minutes to fact check this s****! And Snopes ALWAYS has the real dirt - at least check Snopes before sending me that crap!

This morning, I got an email from the sender (whose identity I'll protect; he didn't sign the thing and I'm sure he sent it more-or-less on a lark), saying, in his inimitable tongue-in-cheek way, "What a killjoy! All those people hoping to bolster Chritianity and you shower them with cold water.....shame."

Yeah, I'm a real bastard.

But, here's the thing. I wonder, when I see stuff like that, if people even READ that crap before they forward it, or if they bother to run it through their BS detectors -- or if they even HAVE BS detectors. Maybe because mine is S-O-O-O-O sharpened by following politics the way I do, I have expectations for the general populous that just don't jibe with reality. Or maybe we, as a general population, have become such sheeple that the merest hint of authority (the reference to Dr. James Dobson) is enough for the credulous to fall in line.

And they wonder why McCommie is able to sell himself as a conservative and "666" is able to sell herself as a moderate...

The Potomac Primaries

Color the Vulture underwhelmed. And disappointed.

First, the highlights. Props to Virginia voters, who almost beat the "let's vote for the front-runner" mentality in the GOP race. Props to Barack Obama for absolutely SLAUGHTERING "666" in all three races.

Now the lowlights. Brickbats to the voters of my adopted home state of Maryland, who not only overwhelmingly voted for McCommie in the GOP race...but also delivered more votes to EX-candidate Mitt Romney than to Ron Paul.

Sometimes I'm so ashamed to be a Merlander. *sigh*

But, I have to say, yesterday was the first time since 1984 that I've voted for a candidate for president and actually felt PRIDE in having done so. When I saw that blue 'X' on the touch screen next to Ron Paul's name, I felt like I had done something GOOD. I wish more of my fellow Merlies had done the same...

Bush says McCain is a Conservative

President Bush was on Fox News Sunday, spreading more of his fertilizer.

John McCain is a "true conservative," President Bush says, although the likely Republican presidential nominee may have to work harder to convince other conservatives that he is one of their own.

McCain "is very strong on national defense," Bush said in an interview taped for airing on "Fox News Sunday." "He is tough fiscally. He believes the tax cuts ought to be permanent. He is pro-life. His principles are sound and solid as far as I'm concerned."

But when asked about criticism of McCain by conservative commentators Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, the president said, "I think that if John is the nominee, he has got some convincing to do to convince people that he is a solid conservative and I'll be glad to help him if he is the nominee."

He probably also said that the check is in the mail, he'd still respect us in the morning, he gave at the office, and, my favorite, "you can trust me!"

I'm not sure this is exactly the kind of ringing endorsement McCain needed right now. Chimpy the faux conservative doesn't have any street cred among Conservatives and Libertarians right now. Bush calling McCain a conservative is a little like Jose Canseco serving as Roger Clemens' alibi in the steroids investigation.

And help from Mr. 35%-approval-rating is something I'm thinking McCommie will pass on. Thanks, but no thanks.

The Potomac Primaries

Tomorrow is Subpar Tuesday - the Potomac Primaries. Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Calamity get to vote for the nubbins leftovers from Super Tuesday (and before). Do we get a chance to decide between John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, Rudy Guiliani, Mitt Romney, Duncan Hunter, and Fred Thompson? Do we get to select from Hilary "666" Clinton, Barack Obama, Dennis "Alien" Kucinich, Bill Richardson, Joe "Hairplugs" Biden, or Chris Dodd? Nope, and Nope. Aren't primaries great? Places you wouldn't visit, let alone live in, get to decide who everyone else get to vote for. Thanks, Iowa! Thanks, Vermont! Thanks, Massachusetts and Georgia!

Okay, the subject of why the primaries are structured the way they are (hint: so that the ruling elite can front-load the folks most likely to vote for a continuation of the quest for One-World Socialist Utopia) can wait.

Right now, I want to discuss something extremely important. It's times like this that I wish I had a larger reader pool. Because what I'm about to say is something I want to shout from the rooftops.

Attention Mid-Atlantic region voters: if you have a dog in this race, one of the five remaining candidates for whom you feel a great affinity and desire to support, please vote for them in good conscience. But if you feel like you have to hold your nose to vote for one of the front-runners, I would humbly suggest that you do no such thing. There's no time like right now to register a protest vote to let the ruling elite know that we are NOT on board with their sham candidates. A vote for Hillary, Obama, McCommie, or Huckabee, is a vote that says to the ruling elite, "Thanks for giving me a candidate I can get behind!" On the other hand, a vote for Ron Paul, or a write-in vote for one of the previously-eliminated candidates whose policy leanings are more in keeping with your personal beliefs sends a message to the elite that they can kiss our hairy backsides.

Will it change the results of the election? NOT AT ALL! The die has been cast; it's Hillary vs. McCommie, and may the best socialist win. But the more people do this, the more the parties will have no choice but to rectify the primary format so that half the country isn't voting for nubbins leftovers from maleducated asshats in the "chosen" front-loaded states.

And, contrary to what some may say, staying home is NOT an option. You might say that voting lends legitimacy to the charade...and you may be right. But how is the ruling elite to know whether they're dealing with a populous fed up with their crap, or whether low voting numbers reflect a bunch of Gen-X slackers who can't be bothered to put down the joint and get off the couch long enough to vote? I say vote, and vote for whomever is going to most piss off the elite!

Just as predicted

Former presidential candidate John "Lurch" Kerry stepped forward as the first asshat in line to prove the contention of New York Times science writer John Tierney (as highlighted by the Vulture in my post on January 6th) that Global Warming True Believers would use any and all inclement weather occurring for the foreseeable future as "proof" that Global Warming is "real". Here is a sampling of what Mr. Tierney had to say:

Today’s interpreters of the weather are what social scientists call availability entrepreneurs: the activists, journalists and publicity-savvy scientists who selectively monitor the globe looking for newsworthy evidence of a new form of sinfulness, burning fossil fuels.
...

“In the last few months,” Mr. Gore said, “it has been harder and harder to misinterpret the signs that our world is spinning out of kilter.” But he was being too modest. Thanks to availability entrepreneurs like him, misinterpreting the weather is getting easier and easier.

Here's what Mr. Botox had to say, speaking on MSNBC on February 6th:

[I] don’t want to sort of leap into the larger meaning of, you know, inappropriately, but on the other hand, the weather service has told us we are going to have more and more intense storms,” Kerry said. “And insurance companies are beginning to look at this issue and understand this is related to the intensity of storms that is related to the warming of the earth. And so it goes to global warming and larger issues that we’re not paying attention to. The fact is the hurricanes are more intensive, the storms are more intensive and the rainfall is more intense at certain places at certain times and the weather patterns have changed.

Ah, yes! It's inarticulate, it's circular reasoning, and it's the expression of belief in the One True Faith - Global Warming. Who better to prove Mr. Tierney (and the Vulture) correct than Senator Frankenstein? The next original thought John Kommie has will be his first.

New and Improved!

I have heard your grumblings about how hard it is to enter comments for this blog, and have taken appropriate steps. I have upgraded the comments software to Haloscan, one of the best free (what, you think I'd PAY?) comments posting interfaces available. Why, even the great Vox Day uses Haloscan! I hope you'll note the improvement, and be that much more willing to post.

It could happen!

Wiener of the Week

This week the Wiener of the Week is.......The Vulture!

Why, you might ask, would I "out" myself as being guilty of some error or asshattery when, as the lone voice of this blog, I could have just as easily pretended that said asshattery never occurred? Because if I'm not honest with you, my readers -- the few, the proud, the way-too-much-time-on-their-hands, then I'm not worth much as a voice for our times, now am I?

I am the Wiener of the Week because I broke Web Programming Rule #1 - ALWAYS test any change to HTML against ALL potential browsers (particularly the Mozilla-based browsers and Internet Exploder) before releasing to production. Two week ago (give or take) I made a change to the blog template to make the post area wider. I noticed on wider screens like the one I have at work only about 1/3 of the screen was being used for the actual content of the blog. Even on the crap "print server" machine I have at home, with its HURTING resolution, there was about 15% of the screen blank and not containing content. So I, being every bit the intrepid software geek, changed the template. It looked amazing on Firefox. Too bad I didn't check IE - it looked H-U-R-T-I-N-G; overlapping text into the "gray" areas, missing decorative graphics, etc. Here's the worst part -- it looked H-U-R-T-I-N-G for TWO FULL WEEKS AND I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT!!!! Now THAT'S worthy of a Wiener of the Week award!

I have since changed the template to where both IE and Firefox have similar layouts as part of the change noted in my next post. Of course now both are HORRIBLY bland; I'll remedy that in my copious spare time.

For breaking Rule #1, I am my own Wiener of the Week.

Nate is a genius

Nate, AKA Der Hausfrauhrer, has a blog called The Pan Galactic Blogger Blaster. Nate is Southern - REALLY Southern, "The South shall rise again!" Southern. One of his favorite post topics is ATF - not the federal agency, but rather the alcohol he's drinkin', the seegar he's smokin', and the weapon he's firin'.

And there's a brain along with all of that "Southern". It turns out that Nate's a genius.

You see, in the endless debate of "God or Science", the one argument I'd never heard is the one made by Nate last week in his blog. There's really no summarizing it, and I can't do it justice with snippets, so here's the whole thing, intact. Well done, Nate!

History vs. Science

Given that History and Science are both bodies of knowledge... and both are systems for verifying knowledge... it seems a bit odd that I would choose to juxtapose them so. After all...we're supposed to pit Theism and Science against each other aren't we?

This matchup seems far more logical to me...as the two are in many ways mirror images of each other. Science is the study of what is real. History is the study of what has happened. Again...the matchup doesn't seem natural. After all... what's happened is obviously real...isn't it?

See there-in we have the rub.

The processes of historical investigation are tried and true. They are just as self-correcting as science.

But what can science say about history?

Not a lot really. We can't really experiment to determine if Caesar crossed the Rubicon. In fact...science is really pretty useless for determining anything that may have happened. See science hamstrung by its "repeatability" requirement. Which is odd for something designed to study nature...since nature isn't necessarily prone to performing on demand.

History says...This Happened!

Science says...This couldn't have happened because I don't understand it and can't make it happen again.

History says...Science is irrelevant.

The trouble here is scientists. They have reached the point where they no longer acknowledge that there are things they don't understand. Rather than simply saying, "we don't understand" they claim that the offending phenomena is simply impossible.

History says that Jesus Christ was Crucified and Resurrected. Science doesn't understand it...so it hisses from a safe distance.

3000 years ago we were wise enough to realize that we didn't know everything...

Today...we have shiny trinkets and machines that go "PING!" but we're fools. We're stupid enough to believe that if we don't understand something...it must not be possible.

I can only applaud. Again, well done, Nate!

Fait Accompli

As if it wasn't bad enough for serious conservatives (read: non-libertarian conservatives or conservatives concerned with "viability") who had to swallow hard and vote for Mitt "flip-flop" Romney in a vain effort to prevent a John McCommie landslide. Now there's no choice left at all.

Mitt Romney suspended his faltering presidential campaign on Thursday, effectively sealing the Republican presidential nomination for John McCain. "I must now stand aside, for our party and our country," Romney told conservatives.

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror," Romney told the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

I call BS. Romney got squeezed out because the Team Elephant establishment wanted to nip in the bud the conservative uprising against McCommie.

Now all of you "viability" types get to choose between McCommie or "Jimmy Carter Redux" - excuse me, Mike Huckabee. Or, like me, you could ACTUALLY VOTE ON PRINCIPLE. Ron Paul is still out there, people. He's still the only legitimate candidate for president who doesn't wipe his ass with the Constitution. If you're really as disgusted with McCommie as you claim to be, then vote Paul and REALLY piss off the establishment.

They hate us for our freedoms

Just remember these two news stories the next time our dear, addled president tries to tell us that the reason for terrorism is that "they hate us for our freedoms".

This first story presents, in a shockingly approving manor, what I consider to be a major violation of the 4th amendment.

Police officers in Daytona Beach are swabbing the mouths of persons of interests during traffic stops with special DNA kits in the hunt for an elusive serial killer, sources close to the investigation told Local 6.
...
Agents are using the DNA kits to collect as much DNA as possible during traffic stops and special operations in hopes on making a match.

Local 6 showed agents stopping a person of interest from Canada, who gave his DNA to officers on the street using the DNA kit.

The DNA kits are also being used in prostitution stings in the area.

Stop me when I get to the part that bothers you. Is it that citizens are being compelled to give police officers evidence, or that citizens are being compelled to give police evidence that is not related to the offense for which they were stopped, or that the asshat reporter sees absolutely nothing wrong with these patently illegal searches? Ah, the "freedoms" we enjoy!

This story also disturbs me. It seems that flying with electronic devices has been identified as a breach of National Security if you're an Arab or South Asian.

Nabila Mango, a therapist and a U.S. citizen who has lived in the country since 1965, had just flown in from Jordan last December when, she said, she was detained at customs and her cellphone was taken from her purse. Her daughter, waiting outside San Francisco International Airport, tried repeatedly to call her during the hour and a half she was questioned. But after her phone was returned, Mango saw that records of her daughter's calls had been erased.

A few months earlier in the same airport, a tech engineer returning from a business trip to London objected when a federal agent asked him to type his password into his laptop computer. "This laptop doesn't belong to me," he remembers protesting. "It belongs to my company." Eventually, he agreed to log on and stood by as the officer copied the Web sites he had visited, said the engineer, a U.S. citizen who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of calling attention to himself.

Maria Udy, a marketing executive with a global travel management firm in Bethesda, said her company laptop was seized by a federal agent as she was flying from Dulles International Airport to London in December 2006. Udy, a British citizen, said the agent told her he had "a security concern" with her. "I was basically given the option of handing over my laptop or not getting on that flight," she said.

The seizure of electronics at U.S. borders has prompted protests from travelers who say they now weigh the risk of traveling with sensitive or personal information on their laptops, cameras or cellphones. In some cases, companies have altered their policies to require employees to safeguard corporate secrets by clearing laptop hard drives before international travel.

Today, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Asian Law Caucus, two civil liberties groups in San Francisco, plan to file a lawsuit to force the government to disclose its policies on border searches, including which rules govern the seizing and copying of the contents of electronic devices. They also want to know the boundaries for asking travelers about their political views, religious practices and other activities potentially protected by the First Amendment. The question of whether border agents have a right to search electronic devices at all without suspicion of a crime is already under review in the federal courts.

The lawsuit was inspired by two dozen cases, 15 of which involved searches of cellphones, laptops, MP3 players and other electronics. Almost all involved travelers of Muslim, Middle Eastern or South Asian background, many of whom, including Mango and the tech engineer, said they are concerned they were singled out because of racial or religious profiling. (emphasis mine)

Can you believe this? The courts have to review whether an illegal search is okay? You can't make this stuff up!

You might argue with me for getting bent over a minority that protects terrorists being harassed by "the man". But it's the old slippery slope, my friend. How long before these Nazis decide that MY laptop is fair game? Or your phone?

Our liberties - whether immigrant citizen or free-born American - are supposed to be GUARANTEED under the Constitution. The actions of the Daytona Beach police and the TSA Nazis is simply more evidence of the way our government wipes its ass with the Constitution.

More Leftist Fascism

The left hates the military. Not little hate -- H-A-T-E. We're talking a hatred more visceral than that held by the Klan against Blacks. So what happened this past week in Berkeley made perfect sense.

Hey-hey, ho-ho, the Marines in Berkeley have got to go.

That's the message from the Berkeley City Council, which voted 6-3, with Gordon Wozniak, Betty Olds and Kriss Worthington dissenting, to tell the Marines that its Shattuck Avenue recruiting station "is not welcome in the city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders."

It also voted 7-2, with Wozniak and Olds dissenting, to explore enforcing its law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation against the Marines and to encourage the women's peace group Code Pink to protest in front of the station.

In a separate item, the council voted 8-1 to give Code Pink a designated parking space in front of the recruiting station once a week for six months and a free sound permit for protesting once a week from noon to 4 p.m.

That's a nice, cozy relationship between the City Council and ultra-leftist moonbat group Code Pink, isn't it? I wonder what kind of reaction there would be in the mainstream media to such coziness between, say, Pocatello, ID and the John Birch Society? Would the story still have the same "neutrality" in its tone? Just asking...

Aren't you glad the freedom-loving City Council of Berzerkly uses that freedom to harass those who are most essential in preserving it?

Ah, but it gets better, because, as of yesterday, the City Council was "reconsidering" their hateful letter to the Marines. It might have upset a couple of people, including their own constituents.

"I think we shouldn't be seen across the country as hating the Marines," said Olds, who voted against last week's proposals. "If you make a mistake, like we did, you should admit it and correct it and move on."

Gee, ya think?

Of course, ultra-leftist (make that U-L-T-R-A, so far left I can't even see them from here) Code Pink is pissed.

"I hope they're not acting out of intimidation," said Code Pink spokeswoman Medea Benjamin. "Berkeley is a city of peace, and a recruiting station does not fit Berkeley's values."

You're right, sweetie. The Marines do NOT fit Berkeley's values. They LOVE America.

Suicide Voters

Apparently there is a movement afoot for conservatives to become "suicide voters", throwing their votes to The Beast (AKA 666 or HRC) rather than vote for John McCommie. At least that's what Charles Hurt is reporting in the NY Post.

Still, McCain has so radicalized key conservatives that some have vowed to turn themselves into suicide voters next November by pulling the lever for Hillary Rodham Clinton over him.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Again with the small thinking! Conservatives, listen up! THERE ARE MORE THAN TWO POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE USA!!! Don't cast your vote with that soulless succubus HRC! Vote Libertarian! Vote Constitution party! Write in the "favorite son" of your choice. Show your displeasure with Team Elephant and the Rockefellerites who have hijacked the party by registering a vote that is a MEASURABLE display of conservative displeasure.

Also, consider this: any vote you give to HRC can contribute to her winning by more than 50%. If HRC is even .001 percentage points over 50%, she'll claim a mandate, the media will trumpet that mandate, and there'll be HFH (holy hell) to pay.

Because at heart, they're fascists

It was a busy week for our Stalinist friends, the Clintons. First, in a speech that didn't get nearly enough play in the media, mainstream OR alternative, former co-president Clinton made the mistake of blurting out the truth, probably for the first time in his repulsive life. I'm not speaking about his pagan "certainty" of the reality of global warming. I'm talking about the overriding goal of the global warming adherents and the rest of the left: to bring down the economies of Western nations.

"Everybody knows that global warming is real," Mr. Clinton said, giving a shout-out to Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize, "but we cannot solve it alone."

"And maybe America, and Europe, and Japan, and Canada -- the rich counties -- would say, 'OK, we just have to slow down our economy and cut back our greenhouse gas emissions 'cause we have to save the planet for our grandchildren.' We could do that.

I think I've heard this speech before - from Jimmy Carter, the "Malaise" speech, which essentially told a 21-year-old Vulture and my contemporaries that we would have to get used to a lesser standard of living than our parents achieved. 8 years of Ronald Reagan pretty much fixed that. Nice call, asshat.

The Left just LOVES to tell the rest of us how to live. And, of course, it's always a call to live lesser lives. Always.

Ah, but Hillary was a busy little communist/fascist as well. In an appearance Sunday on ABC's This Week with Clintonista George Stephanopolis, the Beast (666) said that her health plan will be mandatory. And how!

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday she might be willing to garnish the wages of workers who refuse to buy health insurance to achieve coverage for all Americans.

The New York senator has criticized presidential rival Barach Obama for pushing a health plan that would not require universal coverage. Clinton has not always specified the enforcement measures she would embrace, but when pressed on ABC's "This Week," she said: "I think there are a number of mechanisms" that are possible, including "going after people's wages, automatic enrollment."

Clinton said such measures would apply only to workers who can afford health coverage but refuse to buy it, which puts undue pressure on hospitals and emergency rooms. With her proposals for subsidies, she said, "it will be affordable for everyone."

Only the ultra-Left thinks that health care at bayonet point is a peachy-keen idea.

I can hardly wait to foot the bill for less care, fewer doctors, waiting lines for services that are routinely available now, and a gun to my head prohibiting me from seeking health care outside "the system". That sounds familiar...wait, isn't that what Canada has now? Awesome, let's do that! Let's trade our current system, which provides the best possible health care, for THAT. Asshat fascist commie bastards!