Monday, August 31, 2009

Scotland was just the fall guy

Well, well, well. It seems I may have been a tad rash in my scathing tirade against Scotland. It seems that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was using his homeland as cover for his own pernicious and craven acts (hat tip to Vox Popoli).

The British government decided it was “in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom” to make Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, eligible for return to Libya, leaked ministerial letters reveal.

Gordon Brown’s government made the decision after discussions between Libya and BP over a multi-million-pound oil exploration deal had hit difficulties. These were resolved soon afterwards.

The letters were sent two years ago by Jack Straw, the justice secretary, to Kenny MacAskill, his counterpart in Scotland, who has been widely criticised for taking the formal decision to permit Megrahi’s release.

The correspondence makes it plain that the key decision to include Megrahi in a deal with Libya to allow prisoners to return home was, in fact, taken in London for British national interests.

Gordon Brown, you are a snake! For a Scot to let his homeland take the heat for an act of sniveling cowardice performed on behalf of an oil industry that you and your fellow Leftists scapegoat at every turn is beyond belief.

Great Britain should be ashamed to be represented by such a vile and cowardly man as Gordon Brown.

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Sunday, August 30, 2009

Banks, Automobiles,...the Internet?!?!?

Megalomania (from the Greek word μεγαλομανία; megalo-, meaning large, and mania) is a historical term for behavior characterized by an obsession or preoccupation with wealth, power, genius, or omnipotence - often generally termed as delusions of grandeur or grandiose delusions.
From Wikipedia.


Has there ever been an individual outside of Hitler, Stalin, or Bonaparte who fit the profile of megalomaniac as completely as Il Duce? Wait until you hear about this latest attempted power grab before you answer that questions.
CNET News has obtained a copy of the 55-page draft of S.773 (excerpt), which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency.

The new version would allow the president to "declare a cybersecurity emergency" relating to "non-governmental" computer networks and do what's necessary to respond to the threat. Other sections of the proposal include a federal certification program for "cybersecurity professionals," and a requirement that certain computer systems and networks in the private sector be managed by people who have been awarded that license.
The passage of this bill, coupled with the FCC imposing the "Fairness Doctrine", would create an environment wherein the President could shut down the dissemination of any information he deems "threatening", which, no doubt, would include criticism of him and his administration.

One more thing. What exactly are the "cybersecurity professionals" going to be charged with? Will they be informers to the government as to who might be a potential "threat"?

Obama may not be the worst President we've ever had (give him time, he'll get there), but he's clearly the most dangerous.

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Saturday, August 29, 2009

Wiener of the Week

I was driving in to work Wednesday morning when I stumbled upon a most peculiar scene. How peculiar? Peculiar enough that I whipped out my cell phone and took this crummy photo to send to my friends and family. The sign, hand-lettered but fully legible from the far-left turn lane onto Gallows Road, simply read:

I cheated this is my punishment

Naturally I emailed the photo and story to all of my friends and family. Who wouldn't? I didn't think much more about it, even though it ended up making the 6 o'clock news on Channel 4 in DC. I thought it was a local story of local interest.

Not hardly! The story has gone viral! BuzzFeed featured it. BuzzFeed has an audience that approximates that of CBSNews.com and MSNBC.com, so we're talking about a LOT of people beyond the target audience of Tysons Corner commuters who saw this miserable young man pay his penance. The BuzzFeed link has a better picture of the young man - identified as William Taylor - and his sign.

I almost hesitate to name this guy as the WotW. I mean....hasn't he suffered enough? But he's earned the award, so here it is: William Taylor - you're the Wiener of the Week.

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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

The verdict: it's Shaun Hill!

Toes has been dying for me to post news regarding the 49ers' preseason. Far be it from me to disappoint.

The "quarterback controversy" is over. Maryland alum Shaun Hill has won the job over Alex Smith. I'm CISED! Hill is my boy. I can't say that I'm surprised that he won the job. Hill is Coach Singletary's kind of guy. He's not flashy or outwardly impressive. He just wins.

Now for the other side of the coin. Princess Michael Crabtree, the number one draft pick, STILL hasn't signed and has threatened to sit out the season if he doesn't get "top 5" money. What a tool! He hasn't so much as put on pads yet in the NFL and he wants to get paid! I hope he DOES sit out the season! Who needs his diva ass? I was on record on draft day saying that picking him was a bad decision.

Vulture's First Law of the NFL draft: Unless the player in question is a Jerry Rice, a Randy Moss, or a Larry Fitzgerald - that is to say, a once-in-a-decade or once-in-a-lifetime kind of player - NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, N-E-V-E-R draft a Wide Receiver in the first round. Michael Oher was still on the board, a huge OL with a penchant for destroying defensive linemen!!!!! There were two decent OLB/DE prototype linemen still on the board.

But Vulture, he could end up being that once-in-a-decade guy! Yeah, and I could start shooting fire from my ass!
See? Again I have to say it: I told you so!

We're only about 2 weeks away from Opening Day. In spite of a gawd-awful draft and the switch to the Willie "Too Big" Hall uniforms (see here for the explanation of that reference), I'm really energized and excited for the 2009 season. The Niners are in a weak division, and if one thing is true in the NFL it's this: if it CAN happen, it WILL happen. This could be our year! I'm officially drinking the 49er Kool-Aid!

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Kennedy Dead

When the news broke that Senator Edward M. Kennedy died, several vodka distilleries closed shop.

Okay, cheap shot. Still, one has to feel a certain sense of mild euphoria at the thought that there's one less pompous blowhard in the world.

And cheap though my shot may be, it's far less cynical than the "official" Washington response to the Senator's death.

[W]hen members of Obama's administration questioned the president's decision to spend so much political capital on the seemingly intractable healthcare issue, Obama reportedly replied, "I promised Teddy."
Oh please! Talk about using a bigger shovel!

Ted Kennedy was a lightning rod. Liberals loved him. Conservatives and freedom loving individuals (no, they're NOT the same thing!) loathed him. Teddy was Big Government personified.

Right about now he's probably pulling up a bar stool in Hell and bellowing, "What's a guy gotta do to get a drink around he-ah! Er-ah, where's my vodka?"

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Monday, August 24, 2009

Messiah Complex

Il Duce is becoming more of a caricature of himself with each passing day. Now he has power over life and death.

"We are God's partners in matters of life and death," Obama said, according to Moline (paging Sarah Palin...), quoting from the Rosh Hashanah prayer that says that in the holiday period, it is decided "who shall live and who shall die."
Big Media (the BM for short) heard about this gawd awful pronouncement and the furor was...nonexistent. Can you imagine if King George the Dim had uttered the words, "We are God's partners in matters of life and death"? There would have been holy hell to pay! There would have been calls to have the President's mental health examined! There would have been Senate hearings!

But the BM will not do harm to its savior, even when it appears that their savior is starting to believe his own press clippings.

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Sunday, August 23, 2009

Wiener of the Week

What happened to Scotland? The land of William Wallace has become the land of simpering wieners. Even Il Duce condemns their decision to release a mass murderer from prison just because he's sick.

The US President’s criticism of the “mistake” added to a growing backlash against the Scottish decision to free the biggest mass murderer in British legal history on compassionate grounds.

Hours after the Scottish National Party administration in Edinburgh announced its decision to free him, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the only man convicted of the 1988 atrocity, flew home to a hero’s welcome in Tripoli. Megrahi, a former Libyan intelligence agent, has terminal prostate cancer and has less than three months to live. Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice minister, said freeing him showed Scotland’s “humanity.”
[...]
The US government condemned the decision to release him, as did US relatives of some of the victims of the 1988 atrocity.

One US Senator said that by releasing Megrahi, Scottish ministers had increased the threat of international terrorism, and internet campaigners threatened a US boycott of Scottish products.
A couple of points beg further commentary.
Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice minister, said freeing him showed Scotland’s “humanity.”
Are you kidding me? Who is this panty-wearing thumb-sucking bed-wetting loser? "Humanity"? How does dishonoring the 270 people killed by Megrahi show "humanity"? How is showing kindness to a mass murderer "human"? The glaring lack of rational thought among the Left is mind-boggling.
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the only man convicted of the 1988 atrocity, flew home to a hero’s welcome in Tripoli.
This is sickening to me. Well done, Scotland! You've managed to make a mass murderer a hero in his native land!
One US Senator said that by releasing Megrahi, Scottish ministers had increased the threat of international terrorism, and internet campaigners threatened a US boycott of Scottish products.
First, the obvious point: by showing compassion for a mass-murdering terrorist, Scotland has reinforced the view that the West is weak. This act is every bit as strong a tool for terrorist recruitment as is the "crusader" war in Iraq.

Second...boycott Scottish products? Scotland has...products? What, exactly, does Scotland manufacture? Haggis. Kilts. Bagpipes. Tam O'Shanters. There's a market for that crap?

Full disclosure. I am a Heinz-57 North American mutt, but among the various Eurotrash from which my ancestors descended are the Scots. I used to be proud of that fact. But now that the Scots have shown themselves to be bed-wetters and panty waists, that pride is gone.

William Wallace must be spinning in his grave.

Scotland, you're the Wiener of the Week.

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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Another remake of an ageless prediction

Stop me if you've heard this before - the world is running out of oil. No, really! This time for sure! At least that's what the International Energy Agency is saying.

The world is heading for a catastrophic energy crunch that could cripple a global economic recovery because most of the major oil fields in the world have passed their peak production, a leading energy economist has warned.
[...]
Dr Birol said that the public and many governments appeared to be oblivious to the fact that the oil on which modern civilisation depends is running out far faster than previously predicted and that global production is likely to peak in about 10 years – at least a decade earlier than most governments had estimated.
Ah, yes! Nothing like a remake of a classic.

But Vulture! Aren't you concerned? I might be, except that, if one examines the history of these gloom and doom "We're out of oil! The sky is falling!" predictions, one tends to be a little more sanguine about them.

You see, I am a child of the 1970's. As such, I've seen the litany of doomsday predictions throughout the 70's, 80's, and 90's...and I've seen each one fall flat on its face. What's worse is that each "prediction" is nothing more than a recycling of the last one.
When projected crises failed to occur, doomsayers moved their predictions forward by a few years and published again in more visible and prestigious journals:

● In 1989, one expert forecast that world oil production would peak that very year and oil prices would reach $50 a barrel by 1994.

● In 1995, a respected geologist predicted in World Oil that petroleum production would peak in 1996, and after 1999 major increases in crude oil prices would have dire consequences. He warned that “[m]any of the world’s developed societies may look more like today’s Russia than the U.S.”

● A 1998 Scientific American article entitled “The End of Cheap Oil” predicted that world oil production would peak in 2002 and warned that “what our society does face, and soon, is the end of the abundant and cheap oil on which all industrial nations depend.”

Similar admonitions were published in the two most influential scientific journals in the world, Nature and Science. A 1998 article in Science was titled “The Next Oil Crisis Looms Large — and Perhaps Close.” A 1999 Nature article was subtitled “[A] permanent decline in global oil production rate is virtually certain to begin within 20 years.”
These predictions of doom and woe actually began WAAAAAY before the 70's.
O]il is a finite resource, and fear of running out has always haunted the petroleum industry. In the 1880's, John Archbold, who would succeed John D. Rockefeller as head of the Standard Oil Trust, began to sell his shares in the company because engineers told him that America's days as an oil producer were numbered.

After World War I, the American government's top oil expert predicted a coming "gasoline famine." One solution was to cobble together the three easternmost provinces of the defunct Ottoman Empire into a new country, called Iraq, believed to be rich in oil resources and safely under British control.

After World War II, fears of shortages spiked again, and the industry invented offshore drilling. (Today, 30 percent of America's crude oil comes from the Gulf of Mexico.) Reserves in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, discovered just before World War II, were rapidly developed.
So why are these predictions recycled again and again? Because the dishonest Big Media (the BM for short) won't call these asshats on their prior erroneous predictions. They simply parrot the doom and gloom because bad news sells. Had they any integrity whatsoever, they'd at least MENTION the history of laughable (and patently wrong) predictions along side the announcement of the newest one. But that runs the risk of individuals breaking from the collective and doesn't contribute to the coming One-World Socialist Utopia! We can't have that!

Since most people know only what they are told and have no working historical knowledge, they fall for this shinola time and time again.

Orwell was right - "He who controls the past, controls the future."

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Monday, August 17, 2009

A little perspective on the Vick signing

Unless you are not a sports fan or are living in a cave, you know that the Philadelphia Eagles signed ex-convict Michael Vick to a 2-year contract late last week. There has been the predictable hullabaloo from the predictable sources.

A Web site, sackvick.net, quickly sought protesters to contact the Eagles' corporate sponsors, and it had posted many of them and their CEOs with e-mail addresses and phone numbers, from PepsiCo and Sprint Nextel to Lincoln Financial.

Philadelphia native Jan Garber spent Friday morning calling Eagles sponsors after finding them on the team's Web site, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

"This is my own campaign; the corporate sponsors are on the Eagles' Web site," Garber said in an e-mail to the newspaper. "I am not an Eagles fan, just a native Philadelphian who is shocked and dismayed by this clandestine signing of a criminal to the local franchise.
And, of course, what's a little hullabaloo without a token protest.
As a board member for the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Jennifer Utley, the wife of Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley,was among a group of protesters who stood outside the Eagles' practice facility Friday as the team introduced Vick during a news conference inside.

"We fight animal cruelty every single day in this city," Utley told Fox 29 of Philadelphia.
Okay, people. Take a deep breath. It's time for Uncle Vulture to shower a little perspective on you.

First, what Michael Vick did - running a dog fighting ring where the "losers" were drowned or strangled - is about the most heinous thing a person can do to an animal as loving and devoted as the dog. He's a disgusting turd of a human being.

Second, I'm no fan of his playing abilities, either. Vick is O-ver-Ra-ted *clap clap clap clap clap*. He is little more than the black Bobby Douglass. He's Vince Young with a slightly more accurate arm.

That stated up front, I find the reaction of fans to Vick's signing more than a little puzzling, especially given the reaction for offenses I consider far more appalling.

Take the case of Leonard Little. His little birthday celebration in 1999 ended up with an innocent women dead. Little was driving with a BAC of .19 when he crashed into and killed Susan Gutweiler. He served 90 days in jail and was suspended for 8 games by the league.

Donte Stallworth struck and killed a man just this past Winter. While it can be argued that the man was at least equally guilty as Mr. Stallworth (he was jaywalking), the 24 days in prison Stallworth received as a sentence for driving with a .126 BAC was laughable. The NFL has suspended Stallworth for the entire 2009 season.

Now look at Vick. He served 19 months in prison for his role in the dog fighting ring, as well as charges of animal cruelty. He voluntarily sat out the entire 2007 season waiting for the criminal justice system to deal with his case. And he's not cleared to play until at least Week 6 of the 2009 season, at which time the Commissioner will decide whether he can be activated again.

90 days in jail for vehicular manslaughter. 24 days in jail for accidentally killing a man while intoxicated. 19 months for dog fighting and animal cruelty? I'm a little confused at the priorities of the criminal justice system.

Now look at the relative suspensions. 8 games for vehicular manslaughter. 16 games for accidentally killing a man while intoxicated. At least 21 games - maybe more - for dog fighting and animal cruelty. Again, count me as perplexed.

Vick is a scumbag and a lousy player. But he's paid his "debt to society" and he's got every right to a second chance. So lighten up, people!

Besides, the dog in the inset picture has her eye on Vick!

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Saturday, August 15, 2009

Wiener of the Week

There are WotW's, and there are WotW's. This moron reflects the latter, in what may be the airhead ridiculous stupid comment of the year.

Yet in an interview with the Detroit News Monday, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.) - recently appointed to the Senate Energy Committee - made clear that fighting the climate crisis is her top priority.

"Climate change is very real," she confessed as she embraced cap and trade's massive tax increase on Michigan industry - at the same time claiming, against all the evidence, that it would not lead to an increase in manufacturing costs or energy prices. "Global warming creates volatility. I feel it when I'm flying. The storms are more volatile. We are paying the price in more hurricanes and tornadoes."
I feel it when I'm flying? Are you kidding? This intellectually-challenged bimbo feels the effects of global warming when she's flying?!?!?

This woman is either the most cynical snake oil salesman in the world, or she's among the stupidest members of Congress (no small accomplishment!).

Either way, she's the Wiener of the Week.

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Monday, August 10, 2009

Vulture Droppings - The Summer of Our Discontent

Vulture Droppings is a semi-regular feature of this blog. It's a kind of "Random Thoughts" post in which I try to quickly summarize a particularly large event or series of events. Think of it being sort of like what a vulture leaves behind after devouring a horse. You don't get the whole horse, just highly processed leftovers.


Aside from the good news that Congress is on vacation, there really isn't much cause to feel optimistic about the future of the good old US of A. Truly this is the Summer of our discontent. This installment of Vulture Droppings takes a look at the battle lines being drawn (and one might add, quartered) over the issue of Health Care Reform the Fascist takeover of the medical industry.
I'll say this for Il Duce, he's an ambitious son of a gun. Not content with essentially running 2 of the Big Three automakers and a large portion of the financial sector, he wants to run the medical industry as well. What would you expect from a megalomaniac with messianic delusions?

In recent weeks there has been an groundswell of opposition over Duce's takeover plot. Unfortunately, the dim-bulbs showing up at the various town hall meetings have accomplished exactly the opposite of what they set out to accomplish. By foolishly chanting and creating a disturbance, they've given the opposition a plausible talking point: that they're afraid to have people hear about the plan because it isn't what the opposition claims it is.

Look, idiots. You've given Big Media (the BM for short) their talking points - "Look! See for yourselves! The anti-health care reform crowd is a bunch of screaming lunatics." Is that what you wanted? NO! You wanted to stop this mess. So do it like adults! Show up, allow the Congresslizard to speak, then quiz them on their lies. In a measured, adult tone. Without histrionics.

Your histrionics have also had the effect of giving Congresslizards cover for avoiding town hall meetings because of "security concerns".

I don't know who is stupider - Leftists who believe in Il Duce's DoublePlusGoodHopeChange, or so-called "conservatives" who think that acting angry in front of the TV cameras is a good way of winning people over to their side.

The opposition to his grandiose plan has seriously steamed the imperious Duce. He put out a message, ostensibly to his fellow Democrats, to "Punch back harder" at the opposition. Unfortunately, the message was received loud and clear, not so much by Team Donkey, but by Union thugs, who have shown up in force at town hall meetings to bust heads.

One man on the receiving end of a busted head was Kenneth Gladney of St. Louis.
Kenneth Gladney, 38, a conservative activist from St. Louis, said he was attacked by some of those arrested as he handed out yellow flags with "Don't tread on me" printed on them. He spoke to the Post-Dispatch from the emergency room at St. John's Mercy Medical Center, where he said he was awaiting treatment for injuries to his knee, back, elbow, shoulder and face. Gladney, who is black, said one of his attackers, also a black man, used a racial slur against him before the attack.
I suppose it was only a matter of time before Il Duce lost patience and went all Woodrow Wilson on us. Expect more of this type of thug action as Obama faces steeper opposition to his Fascist takeover.

Various members of Congress, particularly members of the so-called "leadership", have been vocal in their disdain for the opposition.

Senator Palpadine (AKA Harry Reid) had the gall to accuse those opposing the plan of trying to "sabotage" the democratic process.

Little Nancy "Air Force 3" Pelosi accused protesters of "carrying swastikas". She also teamed up with Maryland's own special kind of scumbag, Steny Hoyer, to write an editorial in USA Today essentially accusing protesters of being "un-American". That's some badge of honor, being accused of un-American activity by the likes of those two Fascists.

The Team Donkey leadership's rhetoric will only get uglier as September nears and they re-adjourn.

Naturally, the BM has been foursquare behind their Beloved Leader. You can see it in the little jabs at the protesters; calling them "teabaggers", a reference to an ugly, sexually perverted act (see this entry from the Urban Dictionary for details). I never thought in my lifetime I'd see the BM stoop so low as that.

But even when they're not engaging in perverse slams, they're engaged in bald-faced promotion of the plan.
One of the signs waved by a plan opponent said "Don't tell my gigi how to die," referring to allegations that the bill would allow senior citizens to be euthanized, something the nonpartisan group FactCheck.org said is false. Cohen also denied that the bill would pay for abortions -- another claim made by opponents.

Roger Fakes, 70, said he sat quietly during most of the meeting, but Cohen's insistence that citizens would be able to keep their private health care drove him to his feet.

He argued that changes to private insurance would force citizens into the government plan.
Here's the thing. Technically, all of those allegations deemed "false" by the writer of this story are, in fact, in the bill.

Keep cheerleading, BM. It'll catch up with you soon enough.

So what is the denouement, Mr. Vulture? How will this little adventure end?

There isn't a chance in hell of this crap legislation passing unless public opinion is swayed by the childishness of the majority of the protesters. Please, do everyone a favor - STAY HOME is you're just going to scream and act like a child!

But, what happens in the off chance that this steaming pile of legislation DOES pass? Pray for good health, my friend. Because prayer is about all you're going to have once the rationing begins.

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Racist voted to Supreme Court

Did I miss something? I thought that Congress was off on vacation for the month of August? Oh, wait! When you're doing something harmful to the country and which flies in face of wisdom, common sense, and the will of the American people, you sneak it through when you think that no one is paying attention. Such was the confirmation vote of new Supreme Court Justice Sonya "La Raza" Sotomayor of Aztlan.

Sotomayor was easily confirmed in a 68-31 vote. Nine Republicans joined a unanimous Democratic caucus in supporting her nomination.
Nine members of Team Elephant supported this nightmare, racist, elitist, [really bad word]. Nine Elephants don't have a problem with her MEChA ties (for those of you unfamiliar with MEChA, think of it as a "brown supremacist" group).

I'm not surprised that every Team Donkey member voted in favor of Sotomayor. After all, loose cannon Justices like her make implementation of the One-World Socialist Utopia possible.

I gotta wonder, though, what Il Duce will come up with as an encore to this nominee when the next Justice steps down. Louis Farrakhan? Al Sharpton? Gloria Steinem?

If the consequences of these appointments weren't so key to the survival of the country, it would be a non-stop laugh. Constitutional expert Robert Bork: too extreme for the Court! La Raza member Sonya Sotomayer: welcome aboard!

Rome is burning; I wonder if the sheeple will look up from watching American Idol long enough to notice.

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Saturday, August 8, 2009

Wiener of the Week

Jane Velez-Mitchell has issues. And, no, I'm not referring to the dopey name of her insipid show Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell. And it's not just the fact that she SCREAMS throughout here entire show (xfloggingkylex says you can hear her even after you press the Mute button). Nor is it the fact that her show is a formulaic ripoff of Nancy Grace's show, which, itself, after a fine start, gradually because a formulaic stultifying nightmare.

No, the issues to which I refer have to do with a failure to think.

The evening after that loser in Pittsburgh shot up a gym (Deadeye's comment to me was, "See. That's why I don't work out."), Jane hosted a panel of guest "experts" to discuss this heinous, cowardly act.

There were positive moments in the exchange, mostly provided by criminal profiler Pat Brown, who correctly categorized the shooter as a sociopath, NOT a psychopath. And Velez-Mitchell scored a correct answer when she categorized his attitude as "[A] victim mentality...Everybody's to blame but him. OK, he is not to blame."

But the rest? To quote my Jewish brethren, "Oy, vey!"

The following are excerpts from the transcript.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Apparently, he was using -- Jeanne, he was using 30-round ammo clips that were illegal before the assault weapons ban was lifted in 2004. And those ammo clips allow you to kill a lot of people very quickly, right?
Translation: 30-round clips - once illegal - make it "easier to kill people", so we should ban them again.

If this statement alone isn't worth of a WotW, I don't know what is! Bringing back the ill-conceived (and unconstitutional) Assault Weapons ban wouldn't have saved those people, you stupid cow!
[Dr. Judy] KURIANSKY: ... then guns are often that kind of a sexual acting out, because a gun is like a sex organ. And when men are extremely frustrating and frustrated, they can end up taking all that aggression out with a gun.
Translation: Guns are a substitute sex organ, and shooting them off relieves aggression just like an orgasm.

Again, a statement worthy of a WotW on it's own merits. This is quack pop psychology at it's worst.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Brad, you`re the defense attorney. Do these women who were injured and the families of the dead have a lawsuit, and if so, against whom?

[Attorney Bradford] COHEN: It`s definitely -- it`s something that they should consider. And it`s probably against L.A. Fitness for some sort of lack of security. He went there once before, and he was fully armed. I don`t know, in terms of what kind of security they have, if there is that kind of appropriate security that`s in place. But I`m sure, believe me, with civil attorneys around, there`s definitely going to be someone who`s going to be filing a civil lawsuit.
Translation: Can they sue? You're damn right! Let's start looking for deep pockets right now!

I thought my head was going to explode at this point. Are you kidding me? You're talking lawsuits? For WHAT?!?!? It's a gym, asshats! You don't have security at a gym! Nor should you! Memberships are expensive enough as it is! And the idea that the gym is responsible for a sociopath shooting up the place is absolute nonsense. This exchange alone is grounds for tort reform!
DAVID SCHWARTZ, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know what the bottom line is, Jane? What are we going to do to prevent this in the future? You know, there needs -- we need to spend more money as a society on mental disease and defects. This is something very serious.
Translation: MORE GOVERNMENT SPENDING!!!

That's right. We're already blowing out unrepayable debt into the third and fourth generation of our grandchildren. Let's spend some more money on...what? What exactly are you going to do? Screen for sociopaths? Who will do it? The government? Oh, THAT'S not a recipe for persecuting political enemies of Der Staat or anything! Assclown!
SCHWARTZ: We need more -- the insurance companies also...
Translation: Make the insurance companies pay!

Not content with mere government spending, Mr. Schwartz wants to FORCE insurance companies to spend more money on...what? Again, the act of spending more money does not a solution make.
KURIANSKY: No question that in this -- in this whole time of health care...[crosstalk]...we need to pay more attention to mental health care here. And there`s another important issue that`s very psychological that has to do with bystanders. Because there have been real-life bystanders who stand by when people get murdered and don`t want to get involved. And now it`s turned to the Internet and the responsibility that people have to notice what people are blogging about. And who are they going to report to? That`s what we need to pay attention to now.
Translation: Anyone who suspected this act has to pay!

So...if someone read the rantings of this loser prior to him going on a rampage (which, it turns out, wouldn't have been possible, since he posted the entire "diary" just prior to the event), they are guilty, too? What is this, the USSR? We're supposed to rat out people based on rantings?

I've spent a lot of time around teenagers. They go off on rants where they say they're going to do this or going to do that. If you're not familiar with teenagers, you'd be alarmed. If you are familiar with teenagers, you'll shrug. Why? Because it's all bluster. There are exceptions to be sure, like the Columbine teenagers. And that begs the question: if you can't separate the bluster from real threats, and you're "required" to "report threats", how long will it be before every little childish threat becomes a crime?
DAVID SCHWARTZ, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Jane, it does take an intervention. I have had plenty of cases where there have been psychopaths who have had this intervention.

This guy went 49 years without killing anyone. There needs to be an intervention; it does take a village sometimes. And I guarantee you the writing was on the wall. If you sent Tom Ruskin out there to that gym to do an investigation, I guarantee you in five minutes he would find people that would come out and say that the writing was on the wall in this particular case.
Translation: It takes a village. Sing Kum Ba Ya everyone.

No further comment necessary.

Megapoints to criminal profiler Pat Brown for this scathing comeback to an insipid Velez-Mitchell comment.
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, I would agree with you Jane, if I believed that this was actually necessarily true.

But the part about getting help; again psychopaths do not seek help because they don`t think they need any because it`s everybody else`s fault. You cannot help them. They wont -- they will lie to their therapists and that won`t go anywhere.

What we need to do is work with children who are small. To teach them that they`re not entitled to everything that -- the selfishness that they`re being brought up with where they just get everything they want and think they can have everything.

No. You have to bring up children to realize that you have to earn things and that sometimes it takes time. You have to wait for things. And this guy apparently didn`t grow up with that, so he thinks that he should get what he wants and he`s is not willing to do the work.

In other words, he could probably get a lady in his life if he treated them nicely. If he stopped looking for a cheerleader type of 20-year-old instead of perhaps a nice 50-year-old librarian, a little overweight, who he was sweet to. He could have somebody in his life. But he has chosen not to do that.
Pat Brown, you've made a fan of me.

But Jane Velez-Mitchell? You're the Wiener of the Week.

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Friday, August 7, 2009

A new ride for "Air Force 3"

I guess that Little Nancy "Air Force 3" Pelosi just got tired of riding around (on the taxpayer dime, of course) in an ordinary Air Force aircraft. It was time for an upgrade - not just for her, but for the other "public servant" bigwigs as well.

Last year, lawmakers excoriated the CEOs of the Big Three automakers for traveling to Washington, D.C., by private jet to attend a hearing about a possible bailout of their companies.

But apparently Congress is not philosophically averse to private air travel: At the end of July, the House approved nearly $200 million for the Air Force to buy three elite Gulfstream jets for ferrying top government officials and Members of Congress.

The Air Force had asked for one Gulfstream 550 jet (price tag: about $65 million) as part of an ongoing upgrade of its passenger air service.

But the House Appropriations Committee, at its own initiative, added to the 2010 Defense appropriations bill another $132 million for two more airplanes and specified that they be assigned to the D.C.-area units that carry Members of Congress, military brass and top government officials.

Because the Appropriations Committee viewed the additional aircraft as an expansion of an existing Defense Department program, it did not treat the money for two more planes as an earmark, and the legislation does not disclose which Member had requested the additional money.

An Appropriations Committee staffer said the military was already planning to replace its passenger fleet, and the committee “looked at the request and decided they should speed up the replacement.”

The Gulfstream G550 is a luxury business jet, which the company advertises as featuring long-range flight capacity that “easily links Washington, D.C., with Dubai, London with Singapore and Tokyo with Paris.” The company’s promotional materials say, “The cabin aboard the G550 combines productivity with exceptional comfort. It features up to four distinct living areas, three temperature zones, a choice of 12 floor plan configurations with seating for up to 18 passengers.”

The version Gulfstream sells to the military is reconfigured for the government with modest accommodations, not the luxury version sold to private customers, said a source familiar with the planes.
Ah, that Nancy! Always sacrificing for the folks! She's getting the Gulfstreams with "modest accommodations". What exactly does that mean? Domestic as opposed to Italian leather?

The imperious Ms. Pelosi will no longer have to badger the Air Force for "adequate transport" at the last minute, as was previously the case. No, now she can cruise in style.

Don't you just love it?

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Thursday, August 6, 2009

Boycott Nokia

I've seen some amoral behavior by large corporations in my time - but this easily takes the cake.

Also there is this poster, which describes a “new Nokia product, produced with the cooperation of the Islamic Republic of Iran” that is “capable of identifying, torturing and killing Iranian youth.”

These images show Iranian anger against the wireless company after it was revealed to have provided the Iranian government with sensitive surveillance technology that aided in the post-election crackdown.
Are you f'ing kidding me? They sold surveillance technology to the Iranians?!?!?!?!

How amoral does it get?

Yes, it's heinous that they sold surveillance technology to a nation whose leaders oppress, torture, and murder their own people. That's one angle. But consider this. They sold surveillance technology to a country that has threatened destruction on a massive scale against Israel and the West. It's not that much of a stretch to reach the conclusion that Nokia, by aiding and abetting the Ayatollahs, could potentially have the blood of millions of people on their hands.

I will never, EVER, purchase a Nokia product again. I suggest you do likewise. Since it's money they value over all else, it's money we'll deny them.

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Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The immorality of the AGW crowd

Gaia worshipers and Stateists of all stripes are trying to use mythical anthropogenic global warming (AGW) as a cudgel with which to flay the scourge of Mother Earth, that virus known as humankind. These followers of the official religion of the coming One-World Socialist Utopia are bound and determined to ensure that humans - particularly those in the wealthy West - are made to suffer for their sins against nature.

The penance of choice has been to levy onerous taxes on Western Nations in the form of carbon credits. Our suffering is manifested in the predicable results of this ridiculous and unnecessary drain on Western economies: jobs lost, and economic opportunity squandered.

This is a small price to pay compared to that suffered by the developing Third World. Policies employed (read: dictated) by Western "leaders" are causing real death and disaster, particularly in Africa.

Life in Africa is often nasty, impoverished and short. AIDS kills 2.2 million Africans every year according to WHO (World Health Organization) reports. Lung infections cause 1.4 million deaths, malaria 1 million more, intestinal diseases 700,000. Diseases that could be prevented with simple vaccines kill an additional 600,000 annually, while war, malnutrition and life in filthy slums send countless more parents and children to early graves.

And yet, day after day, Africans are told the biggest threat we face is – global warming.

[...]

However, the real problem isn’t questionable or fake science, hysterical claims and worthless computer models that predict global warming disasters. It’s that they’re being used to justify telling Africans that we shouldn’t build coal or natural gas electrical power plants. It’s the almost total absence of electricity keeping us from creating jobs and becoming modern societies. It’s that these policies KILL.

[...]

Not having electricity also means disease and death. It means millions die from lung infections, because they have to cook and heat with open fires; from intestinal diseases caused by spoiled food and unsafe drinking water; from malaria, TB, cholera, measles and other diseases that we could prevent or treat if we had proper medical facilities.

Hypothetical global warming a hundred years from now is worse than this?

There's more - much more - that I'd love to share from this extraordinarily well-written commentary. The only problem is that, short of quoting the entire article, I wouldn't know what to leave out.

Please read the entire article. It is a chapter-and-verse indictment of the immorality of the AGW crowd.

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Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Rather presumptuous

Dan Rather, apparently operating under the delusion that he's still relevant, has popped up from under whatever rock he currently resides beneath to voice his opinion on the decline of Big Media (the BM for short).

Apparently he thinks someone might actually give a rat's hindquarters what he thinks about anything. He'd be wrong.

But what he said DOES have some comedic value, so I thought I'd pass it on, just for grins.

Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather called on President Barack Obama to form a White House commission to help save the press Tuesday night in an impassioned speech at the Aspen Institute.

“I personally encourage the president to establish a White House commission on public media,” the legendary newsman said.

Such a commission on media reform, Rather said, ought to make recommendations on saving journalism jobs and creating new business models to keep news organizations alive.

At stake, he argued, is the very survival of American democracy.

“A truly free and independent press is the red beating heart of democracy and freedom,” Rather said in an interview yesterday afternoon. “This is not something just for journalists to be concerned about, and the loss of jobs and the loss of newspapers, and the diminution of the American press’ traditional role of being the watchdog on power. This is something every citizen should be concerned about.”
Boo. Frickin'. Hoo.

First off, an "independent" press hasn't existed in this country for a very long time. The media is a fully-owned subsidiary of large corporations like General Electric and Disney. Second, why should anyone outside of the BM care one whit whether the current fossilized "old media" dinosaurs -- newspapers and network news -- survive? We have other options, options that don't talk down to us like we ride the short bus, options that don't whiz on our boots and and tell us it's raining.

This is typical of the Liberal mindset. If you can't make it in the competitive market on merit, government needs to step in and give you what you want anyway.

Mr. Rather, there's a reason why you're on HDNet now and not at CBS - it's because you're a lying, deceitful slug. You got what you deserved. And the BM is, ever so slowly, getting what IT deserves as well.

And I wallow in the schadenfruede...ah, sweet, sweet schedenfruede!

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Sunday, August 2, 2009

Further proof that McCain is a tool

John McCommie lost the 2008 election the old fashioned way: he earned it. The campaign he ran against Il Duce was Bob Dole '96 redux. But what could he have done differently? After all, when everything is said and done, there's only about a dime's difference between him and Il Duce. If that.

So why bring him up now? Here's why.

Sen. John McCain is lamenting the latest report of a baseball player linked to performance-enhancing drugs.

[...]

McCain sent a message on his Twitter account that read, "David Ortiz tested positive for steroids, 'where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?'"

McCain says the situation in baseball makes him sick. Even more bothersome, he says, is the idea that someone in a laboratory somewhere is trying to develop a substance that tests can't detect.
Pardon me while I projectile vomit!

First, what the deuce is a fossilized tool like McCommie doing with a Twitter account in the first place? Isn't Twitter a vehicle for middle school girls seeking relevance or for fanboys of various ages to chase celebrities?

Second, the whole steroids "scandal" is complete horse-mierda. People have REALLY short memories, it seems. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were the kings of the world in 1998, and nobody -- N-O-B-O-D-Y -- gave a rat's ass that they were the size of small planets or bothered to mention that people don't get that large w/o steroids. NOW - only now, because Big Media (the BM for short) has decided that it's a scandal - everyone is shocked - SHOCKED! - that steroids were being used by baseball players.

Everyone turned their backs to the issue in '98 because baseball was trying to recover its fan base after the disastrous strike of 1994-95. Baseball NEEDED the giant men hitting prodigious home runs in unbelievable numbers to win back fans jaded over a strike pitting billionaires against millionaires. Now everyone wants to crucify anyone who ever used or was suspected of using steroids (Note that Mark McGwire has NEVER been linked to a test proving that he used - NEVER. Yet Hall of Fame voters - BM all - refuse to elect the man who is 6th on the all-time home runs list to the Hall simply because "he is linked" with steroids).

Third, and perhaps most importantly, who gives a flying f*** what that old tool McCommie thinks about ANYTHING?!?!? Why is his opinion about a manufactured baseball scandal the least bit relevant?

You want something to Twitter about, you old desgraciado? Twitter about how easy it was for you to sell out your party over a 20+ year Senate career in order to win over your core constituency, the New York Times.

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Saturday, August 1, 2009

Wiener of the Month - July

July was not a good month for our WotM. Not good at all.

Il Duce started July with a strong approval rating and Big Media (the BM for short) in his back pocket. But a serious of missteps left him in negative approval rating hell and his agenda in shambles. The BM is starting to actually report negative news about their savior. The push to produce his birth certificate is not just gaining momentum in the Internet conspiracy community, but in the mainstream BM as well!

But the real slap in the teeth he took in July was the failure of his pet project: health care reform take-over.

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Congratulations to Il Duce! You're the Wiener of the Month for July.

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Wiener of the Week

Major tip of the beak to TheFrolickingMole at Tizona for this gem.

We're constantly badgered by the Gaia worshipers about the need to adopt (and quickly!) alternative energy sources. "What alternative sources?", you may ask. You know! Unicorn farts, hippy tears, cosmic convergence, etc.

In Australia, the Gaia worshipers were given an option called NaturalPower, where they are charged for (and, I would assume, provided) only "renewable" energy. Now, fortunately for the rest of us, they're getting a lesson in real-world economics - and they're PISSED.

Environmentalists are angry at a move by Synergy to lift “green” power prices about 35 per cent from today.

But Synergy says the change, more than a recent 23 per cent increase in standard electricity charges, reflects the higher cost of sourcing limited renewable energy supplies to satisfy increasing demand for the clean energy option.
You catch that, leftards? It costs more money to produce your precious alternative energy. And in the real world, when things cost more to produce, you are CHARGED MORE for them.

Please take the time to read what TheFrolickingMole wrote - it's practically Shakespeare for schadenfreude junkies like me.

Leftard Gaia worshipers upset about paying more for your precious "renewable" energy - you're the Wiener of the Week.

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