A Toyota attacks Frederick

It's happened again - this time right here in Fredtown.

A man said his 2010 Toyota Corolla accelerated out of control on U.S. 15 North just south of the West Patrick Street exit shortly after 4 p.m. Friday.

Taneytown resident Frank Santoro, 62, said he was in the middle lane in bumper-to-bumper traffic. The Toyota started accelerating as he pulled into the fast lane.

"The first second or two it wasn't bad, (but) then it took off," Santoro said. "I was going to hit the car in the front of me, so I veered into the left shoulder."

The speed shot up to around 60 mph and he couldn't slow down for about 15 seconds, he said.

"The whole time I had my foot on the brake," he said. "It didn't feel like the brake was doing anything."

Santoro said he passed cars in rush-hour traffic until the engine eventually returned to normal, and cruised to a safe stop.

I have a question for Toyota drivers. Have any of you dipwads ever heard of the concept of shifting the vehicle into neutral when the engine accelerates? Toyota needs to start a national advertising campaign that simply repeats these words over-and-over: Put the effing car in neutral!

Honestly, I think xfloggingkylex's Toyota drivers hypothesis is being proved as accurate more and more every day.

Das Überwachenden in the news

It's been a while since I had a good story about Das Überwachenden. They've been fairly quiet lately. Or perhaps it might be more accurate to say that they've been less visible. Das Überwachenden never sleep.

So what are our Big Brother wannabees up to now? As one of Il Duce's henchmen said some months ago, "Never let a good crisis go to waste." Toyota is having bigtime problems with their vehicles. Not quite a crisis, but good enough for Uncle.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief David Strickland told a congressional hearing on Thursday that the regulator is considering whether to make "black boxes" mandatory for all new vehicles.

The devices can capture data on speed, braking effort and other details which can be vital in reconstructing accidents.

They can capture speed? They can capture speed?!?!?!?!? Oh God no!

As the chagrined recipient of well over 30 speeding tickets in almost 37 years of driving, the LAST THING I want is Uncle Sam or Aunt Maryland keeping tabs on how fast I drive. They implement these black boxes and I might as well turn in my license.

Okay, all joking aside, I'm never surprised at the lengths government will go to in order to spy on its own people. Any flimsy excuse will do.

"Land of the free, home of the brave"? I think not.

Thin-skinned crybaby

The picture you see at the left is at the center of a huge "controversy". It seems that the man who HAD TO BE ELECTED as President in 2008 or it would be the end of the world has his panties in a bunch because of.......wait for it.......a picture of himself in blue-face.

A campaign attack ad that depicts Sen. John McCain as an "Avatar" has the Arizona Republican crying foul over what he sees as a slap to Native Americans. But his primary opponent, J.D. Hayworth, may well be wondering what planet he's on.

This much we know for sure: J.D. Hayworth thinks John McCain is not really, truly a conservative. He makes that clear in an online campaign ad that depicts the Arizona senator as "Nominee for Best Conservative Actor."

The ad [click the picture to see it full-size], clearly an Academy Awards sendoff, portrays McCain bursting out of a gold Hollywood star, with a statuette and an envelope ...

And blue warpaint splashed across his face.

That's the part that has riled McCain, who is accusing his Republican primary opponent of insulting Native Americans.

An insult to Native Americans? You thin-skinned loser! I haven't even seen the stupid movie and I got the reference! What's really got your panties in a wad is that you got called out for campaigning as a conservative but voting like a collectivist.

I warned y'all about this guy in 2008. I told you he wouldn't be a lick better than Il Duce if elected. I hate to say I told you so, but....

I TOLD YOU SO!

Law abuse

This is exactly the sort of story that makes it clear why people despise lawyers.

The 62-year-old Ogletree, you see, was headed to Las Vegas on December 30 when he stopped at a pizza place in the Houston airport. Upon departing the food court in Terminal C, Ogletree somehow forgot to take his "expensive black leather coat," an XL Polo model (with a fashionable plaid lining) worth $800. Not surprisingly, the coat subsequently disappeared. Now Ogletree is threatening to sue the City of Houston, Continental Airlines, and the food court's management company for failing to have "collected the coat, kept it in a secure place and held it for a reasonable time" until he was able to reunite with the garment. These prospective defendants, Ogletree reasoned, "breached their duty" in connection with how they "manage lost and found items for which they are responsible." In his January 18 litigation threat letter, a copy of which you'll find below, Ogletree, pictured at right, noted that "further legal action" could be avoided if he simply was paid $800 "for the cost of the coat."

To summarize:

• Lawyer enters airport


• All parties in the airport are immediately libel for any damage or loss involving his person and possessions

And to think! Once upon a time it was understood that personal responsibility requires one to be RESPONSIBLE for one's PERSON. By extension, one is also to be responsible for one's PERSONAL EFFECTS.

Mr. Ogletree, you're the recipient of the Wiener Award.

There is one lingering question, however. Could this possibly be the Caput a Palos, TxBluesMan himself?

Maryland, my Maryland

What is it about my adopted home state that it attracts so many.....odd.....people? Or is it just that they're of a collectivist mentality? After all, Maryland has two of the ten most liberal Senators according to the National Journal. I mean, it's not like we got that pair by accident -- they were elected by people who, apparently, like collectivist policies and the loss of personal freedoms they precipitate.

But this is a new low, even for the People's Republic of Maryland.

How far out of touch with reality are women legislators anyway? That’s exactly the question being asked by citizens (women and men) regarding a proposed bill in the Maryland General Assembly, that would restrict men’s rights to use dating sites to meet foreign women and will likely spur copycat legislation in other states.

Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio, Vice President of the women’s caucus is leading 35 other delegates (all women) on a campaign for passage of HB 65, that would shockingly require Maryland men to submit their fingerprints and other background information before they can initiate communication with a foreign woman if they use an “International Marriage Broker”.

Yeah. It seems that the Cougar population isn't happy that men have options apart from their bitter, sagging asses. And, as is sadly the inborn inclination of women, they want to take away those options, by force of law if necessary.

Vox Day had a field day with this.

Frankly, I don't see why they're starting with what can't even reasonably be described as half-measures. This is pathetically insufficient! What is the point of only making it vaguely difficult for Maryland men to talk to foreign women? Obviously the law should forbid men to date or even talk to any woman without a license specifying what strata of women is permissible for them to have contact. These strata would be set on an annual basis by a panel of women and each community would have its own panel of judges who would interview every male individual over the age of 16 decide what license would be assigned to him. Licenses would require renewal every five years, they would be color coded, and the licensed man would be required to produce it upon the request of any adult woman. And no contact of any kind with foreign women will be permitted at any time; a first violation will result in a fine, the second in the loss of a man's license.*

The insane thing is that at least half the women who will read this will find themselves thinking, "you know, a system like that really would make society a much better place." But they're not fascists. No, not even a little bit. They're just strong, independent, beautiful, intelligent snowflakes who care too much about the planet to permit those bestial American men to oppress and abuse foreign women too.

I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO embarrassed.

Of course, it could be worse. I could live in Kahleefornia and have to live down the moonbattery perpetuated by the legislature there...

Earthquake

Chile was hit with one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded this past weekend. The 8.8 monster killed at least 214 people and was felt as far away as the River Plate in Argentina.

I have some history with Chile. I lived there for a short time in the late 70's. I have very fond memories of the Chilean people. They are very warm-hearted and giving.

Just recently, thanks to the world-shrinking technology of the old WWW, I was contacted via Facebook by two old friends from Chile, whom I'll refer to as 'Carlos' and 'Pati' in the interest of maintaining their privacy. My prayers are with them.

I've never experienced an earthquake bigger than about 4.5 to 5.0 in spite of having lived in a couple of places reknown for their earthquakes (California and Chile). I can't imagine the horror of a three minute quake of that intensity.

Let's keep Chile in our prayers, gang.