The Empire Has Been Struck Back

As I previously noted here and here we are being sued for defamation by a local construction company that did some home improvement work on our house back in 1996.

Yesterday our attorneys filed a counter suit against that company for several violations of Home Improvement Act ATCP 110.01 under which the contract was defined. Our suit alleges that the contractor:

-Represented a warranty which they did not intend to honor in full;

-Made false, deceptive, and misleading representations in order to induce the entrance into the Contract by offering a 20 year warranty on workmanship, but expressly denied such warranty in the Contract;

-Accepted payment for home improvement materials (vented soffits) which they did not intend to provide in accordance with the Contract;

-Substituted products or materials (non-vented soffits) for those specified in the home improvement contract (vented-soffits) without prior consent of the buyer.

We are asking for dismissal of the contractor's defamation claims, pecuniary damages including, but not limited to cost of repair, twice the amount of their recovery, and actual costs and attorney fees along with such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and equitable.

It is interesting to note that our original complaint to the company; that the fashion in which they sealed their trim had caused damages to our stucco exterior has not even entered in to our final complaint. The other observations made by the engineer who has recently inspected the house have not come into play either.

Judging by the reactions of our attorneys after the deposition of the contractor, we feel we have a good case.

Our lawyer also argued a similar case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. If the ruling comes back in his client's favor (sometime in January) that should bolster our own case even further.

An Atheist Looks at the Neo-Atheists

Theodore Dalrymple, an atheist, critiques the neo-atheists in an essay titled, 'What the New Atheists Don’t See', 'To regret religion is to regret Western civilization' in City Journal.

[...]The philosophers Daniel Dennett, A. C. Grayling, Michel Onfray, and Sam Harris, biologist Richard Dawkins, and journalist and critic Christopher Hitchens have all written books roundly condemning religion and its works.[...]

[...]The thinness of the new atheism is evident in its approach to our civilization, which until recently was religious to its core. To regret religion is, in fact, to regret our civilization and its monuments, its achievements, and its legacy. And in my own view, the absence of religious faith, provided that such faith is not murderously intolerant, can have a deleterious effect upon human character and personality. If you empty the world of purpose, make it one of brute fact alone, you empty it (for many people, at any rate) of reasons for gratitude, and a sense of gratitude is necessary for both happiness and decency. For what can soon, and all too easily, replace gratitude is a sense of entitlement. Without gratitude, it is hard to appreciate, or be satisfied with, what you have: and life will become an existential shopping spree that no product satisfies.[...]

[...]Harris tells us, for example, that “we must find our way to a time when faith, without evidence, disgraces anyone who would claim it. Given the present state of the world, there appears to be no other future worth wanting.”[...]

It becomes even more sinister when considered in conjunction with the following sentences, quite possibly the most disgraceful that I have read in a book by a man posing as a rationalist: “The link between belief and behavior raises the stakes considerably. Some propositions are so dangerous that it may be ethical to kill people for believing them. This may seem an extraordinary claim, but it merely enunciates an ordinary fact about the world in which we live.”[...]

For those with no vision for eternity it used to be, 'Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.' 'Christians, stop shoving your 'gospel' down our throats.'

Now, however, it is increasingly likely to be, 'Eat, drink, and don't allow anyone to be merry outside of the approved parameters or tomorrow they'll die.' 'Citizens, we'll judicially legislate our gospel throughout your lives.'

The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming. Psalm 37:12,13 ESV

Bush's Culpability

Thus saith Science Almighty :

The startling claim is made by a pair of American cosmologists investigating the consequences for the cosmos of quantum theory, the most successful theory we have.[...]

In a nutshell, the theory suggests that we change things simply by looking at them and theorists have puzzled over the implications for years.[...]

New Scientist reports a worrying new variant as the cosmologists claim that astronomers may have accidentally nudged the universe closer to its death by observing dark energy, a mysterious anti gravity force which is thought to be speeding up the expansion of the cosmos.[...]

We finally have the proof. In all my aged wisdom, I never thought that I would have to ever recant my beliefs and pay homage to the sagacity of the Far Left. I can no longer resist their claims as The Science (All praises to The Science and His prophets) has reached a consensus.

The claims of the Far Left are scientifically based conclusions. While the Bush administration observed the growth and progress of tropical storm Katrina, it evolved into a massive hurricane and aimed straight toward New Orleans. When Dick Cheney observed the jihadists through FISA and other means, they grew in strength and number so are now invincible. While Condoleezza Rice glanced over the IPCC report, climate change ignited the California wildfires. As Karl Rove observed the economy, poverty, homelessness, and joblessness grew to record numbers.

The article's ultimate scientifically proven conclusion:

Bush Eyed and People Died

A Reminder and a Bad Memory

On February 6th of this year I posted the results of our secret basement lab computer calculations. Here are some of the insightful conclusions:

And voila! The computer spat out only one predictive statistic worth printing. Since the Packers won world championships in 1961 & 1962, the Chicago Bears won in 1963, the Packers won in 1965, 1966, & 1967 (the last two were Super Bowls I & II), the Bears won Super Bowl XX, the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI, but lost Super Bowl XXXII, the Bears lost Super Bowl XLI...

The lab computer predicts that the Packers will soon play in two, perhaps three, successive Super Bowls, winning two under either circumstance.[...]

I'm making reservations now for Glendale, Arizona, for February, 2008, Tampa, Florida, February, 2009, and maybe even Miami, in February, 2010.

Then Favre can retire.

That dang computer has been unbearably braggadocious lately, so I decided to give it another test.

Tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, the 9-1 Packers travel to Detroit to play the 6-4 Lions. It has the outward appearance of the situation in 1962 when the 10-0 Packers traveled to Detroit to play the 8-2 Lions. I well remember that game:

For [Bart] Starr, though, there would be no escaping the Lions' pass rush in the rematch. The Packers simply couldn't hold up on the offensive line against Detroit's version of the Fearsome Foursome. That would be defensive ends Sam Williams and Darris McCord and tackles Alex Karras and Roger Brown, an agile 300-pounder, the first in the league. Brown led the assault of Starr, who was sacked 11 times for a minus-110 yards. Besides forcing a Starr fumble that was recovered and returned by Williams for a touchdown, Brown also tackled Starr in the end zone for a safety; accounting for the final points in Detroit's commanding 23-0 halftime lead.

The final score was 26-14 and it was the only blemish on a 13-1 season for the Packers who went on to win the NFL championship with a 16-7 victory over the New York Giants at Yankee Stadium.1

(I can remember thinking how Roger Brown at 300 pounds was freakish. Heh. Today he would be an undersized defensive tackle.)

I again loaded reams of data into the computer's program and waited for the result. The computer confidently said, "Packers, 34; Lions 17."

I hope the Packers win 35-14, so I can remind that big-headed computer (who we have nicknamed Hal) of how far off he was.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving; today, tomorrow, and every day.

Urgent Message From
The Democrat Party of Wisconsin

November 2007

Dear Mrs. Burri,

A few days ago, I was sitting back and thinking about the last time a Democrat was President of the United States and how it made me feel. It wasn't just that a member of my party was the President, it was something else. I had a feeling of optimism and hopefulness; that things would be better tomorrow, that our country would thrive.

The United States served as a beacon of hope to so many of our neighboring countries. When there was a crisis in the world, American would in some way be a part of making things better.

For eight solid year we were on the right track. We had a strong economy. Budget deficits were a thing of the past. Working families were finally getting ahead. It was a peaceful time.

Like so many others, I felt like it would never end; that good times were here to stay.

Today, after living through seven years of the Bush presidency, my feelings couldn't be more different. I truly despair and worry about this great nation we share.

How will we regain respect in the world?

How will we get our troops out of Iraq and bring to a conclusion this terrible chapter in our country's history?

How will we get average citizens to believe that our Government can do something to affect their lives in a positive way?

In just twelve short months, we will finally have the opportunity to end the disaster of the past seven years. We have a chance to bring hope to a new generation of people who today have none.[...][emphases in original]

Mrs. Burri, we know that you passed away over five years ago, but, nonetheless, we appreciate all the votes that you have given to our candidates since.

When we take back the White House in 2009, not only will those in wheelchairs be able to walk again, but also will those who are dead be able to live again through our embryonic stem cell research projects. We are already planning for your 90th birthday Bush bash!

We know that your estate has already been disbursed, so please contact John Edward or another psychic medium to tell your children to donate to the Democrat Party of Wisconsin. (Except for Grandpa John, of course, 'cause he is already faithful to our world saving causes.) We need more funds to keep sending out mailings to thousands of other people who have long since passed away.

Am I My Brother's Keeper?

"Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?'"

Cain's question is most often interpreted to be a selfish denial of his responsibility to be his brother's keeper. To the contrary, however, Cain had actually presumed to be his brother's keeper. He considered Abel's life to be under his authority, to be given or taken at his pleasure. Cain had taken and swallowed the bait of temptation just as his mother, Eve, had done when she chose to act upon the claim, 'You will be be like God.'

In more modern times, the seductive lure of being like God changes only in outward rhetoric. It nonetheless remains as Solomon stated so long ago, "There is nothing new under the sun."

One 'academic scribbler from a few years back' causing wannabe 'madmen in authority to distill their frenzy' is Julian Huxley. In his essay, 'Transhumanism' published in New Bottles for New Wine in 1957, Huxley purported to be like God, albeit in more sophisticated, yet nevertheless thinly veiled terms:

As a result of a thousand million years of evolution, the universe is becoming conscious of itself, able to understand something of its past history and its possible future. This cosmic self-awareness is being realized in one tiny fragment of the universe-- in a few of us human beings.[italics mine][...]

It is as if man had been suddenly appointed managing director of the biggest business of all, the business of evolution-- appointed without being asked if he wanted it, and without proper warning and preparation. What is more, he can't refuse the job. Whether he wants to or not, whether he is conscious of what he is doing or not, he is in point of fact determining the future direction of evolution on this earth. That is his inescapable destiny, and the sooner he realizes it and starts believing in it, the better for all concerned.

What the job really boils down to is this-- the fullest realization of man's possibilities, whether by the individual, by the community, or by the species in its processional adventure along the corridors of time.[...]

The world's unrest is largely due to this new belief... The unrest will produce some unpleasant consequences before it is dissipated; but it is in essence a beneficent unrest, a dynamic force which will not be stilled until it has laid the physiological foundations of human destiny.[italics mine][...]

We are already justified in the conviction that human life as we know it in history is a wretched makeshift, rooted in ignorance; and that it could be transcended by a state of existence based on the illumination of knowledge and comprehension,[...]

We shall start from new premises. For instance, that beauty (something to enjoy and something to be proud of) is indispensable, and therefore that ugly or depressing towns are immoral; that quality of people not mere quantity, is what we must aim at, and therefore that a concerted policy is required to prevent the present flood of population-increase from wrecking all our hopes for a better world;[...]

It is only a small wonder that Progressive politicians are distilling their frenzy from this academic scribbler's voice in the air. It has always been seductive to view yourself as God, not only over your own life, but also over the lives of others. It is certain, they say, that we are our brother's keeper.

The intended answer to Cain's question is, "No, I am my brother's brother. LORD, you are my brother's keeper, as well as mine."

Picking Scabs

McCoy:


(H.T. The Discerning Texan.)

Medved on American Imperialism

Michael Medved writes an excellent essay countering the specious claims of American imperialism-

"...but hardly justify film-maker Michael Moore’s proclamation that the United States constitutes an “Evil Empire” resembling the mass-murdering excesses of the old Soviet Union. (“One Evil Empire down and one more to go,” the portly provocateur declares on camera in his little-seen, America-bashing 1998 documentary, “The Big One.”)"

Medved uses the old 'It's a Wonderful Life' analogy to end his piece.

[...]The best way to put America’s place in the world in proper context is to call to mind a famous sequence from the most beloved Hollywood movie of them all. In “It’s a Wonderful Life,” small town banker George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) contemplates a Christmas Eve suicide before guardian angel Clarence provides the ultimate life-affirming vision. He provides the disheartened hero with a dark, dysfunctional view of the town of Bedford Falls if he’d never drawn breath, as the community would have taken shape without his good deeds and benevolent influence. With that sharper perspective, George can go home to his loving family to celebrate the holiday with gratitude and joy.

Those who condemn the United States should perform a thought experiment involving a global “Bedford Falls Vision.” Imagine that the United States had never become a world power, or never existed at all. Would the ideals of democracy and free markets wield the same power in the world? Would murderous dictatorships have claimed more victims – or fewer? Would the community of nations strain under the lash of Nazism, or Communism, or some vicious combination of both? Would multi-ethnic, multi-religious democracy flourish anywhere on earth without inspiration from the ground-breaking example of the USA? Would the threat of jihadist violence and resurgent Islamic fundamentalist menace humanity more grievously, or not at all?

No one can provide definitive, authoritative answers to such hypotheticals, but merely confronting the questions should help put the American role in more complete context. As George Bailey’s view of an alternate reality convinced him “It’s a Wonderful Life,” even the briefest contemplation of a world without America should persuade us that “It’s a Wonderful Nation” – in fact, the Republic rightly recognized as the Greatest Nation on God’s Green Earth.

Michael Medved's last 4 or 5 articles have been most excellent sources of information written with style.

To Pork or Not To Pork
That Is the Question

The Club for Growth issued its RePORK Card for the U.S. House of Representatives. Anti-pork scores for Wisconsin Representatives:

Ryan, P. (R-WI-1)-- 100%-- 50 / 50
Sensenbrenner (R-WI-5)-- 100%-- 50 / 50
Petri (R-WI-6)-- 94%-- 47 / 50
Kind (D-WI-3)-- 2%-- 1 / 50
Moore, G. (D-WI-4)-- 2%-- 1 / 49
Baldwin (D-WI-2)-- 0%-- 0 / 50
Kagen (D-WI-8)-- 0%-- 0 / 49
Obey (D-WI-7)-- 0%-- 0 / 48

Wisconsin Senators:

Feingold (D-WI)-- 80%-- 12 / 15
Kohl (D-WI)-- 7%-- 1 / 15

The best scoring Democrat was Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) with an impressive 80%, tying with (4) or scoring better than (35) thirty-nine Republican senators. (The next Democrat was at 40%)

Barack Obama scored 33%; Hillary Clinton, 11%; John McCain, 100%; Ron Paul, 29%.

Dr. Mike Adams
A Man Big Enough to Apologize

Dr. Mike Adams expresses his remorse for the verbal melee during the Q&A session after a speech given at UNC-Charlotte:

[...]I am also sorry that yet another communist attacked my position on gay marriage by saying that the government should stay out of marriage altogether.

I am sorry that when I asked whether the government had the authority to keep a 43-year old from marrying a five-year old he could not give a straight answer.

I am sorry if the aforementioned communist was gay and, therefore, offended by my suggestion that he could not give a “straight” answer.

I am sorry for my bad puns.[...]

But, honey, it's for a good cause!

Pin-ups for Vets

The Writers' Strike

Kyle-Anne Shiver:

If we get really lucky here, more and more actors will follow their writers out and we could replace them as well. The way I'm seeing it, with all the anti-war movies bombing at the box office, and the majority of us wanting good, clean PG flicks, the old actors aren't looking so hot anymore. Let them retire on their laurels along with their writers. Maybe they can form a commune, pool the money they've made off of us, and sit around the rest of their lives telling each other how smart and beautiful they are.

Murder, She Writed

Jes' Fer Fun

Dinesh D'Souza in Townhall.com:

Richard Dawkins has a bright idea: Atheists are the new gays.[...]

Dawkins explains that gays used to be called homosexual, but then they decided to pick a positive-sounding name like "gay."[...]

Dawkins cited this example in advocating that atheists call themselves "brights."[...]

"Bright" sounds so much happier and, more important, smarter.[...]

But can an atheist "rights" group be far behind? Hate crimes laws to protect atheists? Affirmative action for unbelievers? An Atheist Annual Parade, complete with dancers and floats? Atheist History Month?[...]

Little wonder that Todd and Grandpa John are laying low. They are afraid that Dawkins will out them.

My main interest in this, however, is to be in on the ground floor of a new cottage industry of coining derogatory terms for the new gays, the brights:

-Lite Bright; after an old children's artistic dust collecting toy.

-Maggots; not only for its applicable rhyming value, but also exemplifies the bright Aldous Huxley's confused view of the common man on the street.

-Compact Florescent Lite Bulbs; CFL's, expensive, low energy, dim bulbs.

-Democrats; those that are by far brighter than the rest of us. (It also makes me wonder how deep in the closet Todd really is.)

-Lightning; its thunder loud, its sight frightening. It causes a lot of damage and is about the only thing that will coerce avid golfers to flee the course. Is of no palpable cultural value.

Dawkins has only one legitimate excuse; he's British. And we threw them out almost 225 years ago. Richard, don't let the door hit your behind on your way out and please remember to turn off your bright light as you leave.

Did Wisconsin Invent Moonbats?

On this day in Wisconsin History:

1862 - Draft Riot of 1862

On this date angry citizens protesting a War Department order for 300,000 additional troops, rioted in Port Washington, Ozaukee County. As county draft commissioner William A. Pors drew the first name, cannon fire resounded and a mob of over 1,000 angry citizens wielding clubs and bricks and carrying banners scrawled with the words "No Draft!" marched through the streets. The mob stormed the city destroying buildings, setting fires, and gutting the interior of homes and shops. Troops were brought in the next day to quell the violence. The Ozaukee rioters were captured and remained prisoners at Camp Randall for about a year before they were finally released. In all, more than a half-dozen homes were damaged and dozens of citizens were injured. [Source: Ozaukee Country Wisconsin]

Lincolnnero? Civil War a quagmire? Lincoln lied and people died? No blood for Blacks?

Through the 1864 election, Wisconsin newspaper editor Marcus M. Pomeroy called Lincoln "fungus from the corrupt womb of bigotry and fanaticism" and a "worse tyrant and more inhuman butcher than has existed since the days of Nero... The man who votes for Lincoln now is a traitor and murderer... And if he is elected to misgovern for another four years, we trust some bold hand will pierce his heart with dagger point for the public good."

The Copperheads were also called 'Peace Democrats' and 'Butternuts'.1

Butternuts- I think that is quite catchy. Will Hillary Clinton be the Butternut Party nominee for the 2008 Presidential election? Her campaign slogan could be 'Have another nutter butter issue stutter sandwich kookie!'

Working to Fix Social Security
by Circumventing the First Table

Social Security- George Bush, Paul Ryan, and Lance Burri just don't get it. They have been sucked into the vortex of the great misconception swirling throughout the present political scene. Like them, most think that there presently exists no politically feasible fix to the fast approaching Social Security collapse.

Although President Bush proposed a solution, it was swept from the table with scorn and derision. Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan's plan never even saw the light of day as it was ripped from the womb and thrown into a D.C. dumpster. Few others even dare speak of the 'third rail' (other than to criticize the present administration) so no other serious plans are even being discussed. This totally misses the reality, however, that this national economic crisis is already well on the way to being solved. There are just a few of the small preparatory steps to be laid and/or finished in order to complete the successful Progressive fix of Social Security.

The first stepping stone in a Social Security fix has already been laid and is nearly finished. This is the rock of the public/government educational system. It's importance is not only prescribing particular accepted curricula, but also proscribing that which may not be taught or even broached for the purpose of contrasting ideas. Its inculcation stretches from pre-kindergarten on through Ph.D. programs throughout the system.

The next step is actually composed of a mosaic that incorporates numerous smaller stones to form a single step. It is made up of individual tiles such as global warming/climate change, diversity, immigration issues, multiculturalism, imperialistic foreign policy history, political correctness, poverty, racism; all the evils of capitalism. To be an American is to be guilty; guilty not only for one's own selfish missteps, but also for those of all other Americans, especially those long dead.

One major issue of the upcoming 2008 election that will form the final stepping stone toward the Progressive fix of Social Security is government run health care. The universally proven high cost and limited efficacy of similar programs in other nations will prove invaluable tools in fixing Social Security in ours.

With all these stones in place, the ancient First Table will have been totally bypassed; the Second Table will be written on recycled paper in pencil with a large eraser on standby. The path to saving Social Security will be successfully completed.

In the near future, the 'Baby Boomers' will be the majority of recipients of Social Security. For each recipient there will only three or four taxpayers to support them. Economic pressure, both personal and national will be great. The guilt-trip laid upon the shoulders of the elderly would even make a 'Jewish Mother' blush. Already weakened by decades laden with the guilt of having lived a life of greed, imperialism, racism, and planet-destruction, these senior parasites will finally succumb under the further burden cast by accusations of selfishly spending their children's inheritance through over usage of medical facility space and equipment, wasting technical expertise and staff hours, and causing skyrocketing costs. They are not even keeping up with their carbon credit payments for their planetary sins. Legislated euthanasia will ease that pressure. The elderly will be humanely provided a painless death with dignity.

A good death. A death with dignity. Every senior a wanted senior. It's for the children. It will help save the planet. Who would be so callously selfish as to protest against that?

When Man's path circumvents the First Table- The commandments that state 'I am the Lord your God' to 'You shall have no other gods before me' to 'You shall not bow down to them or serve them' to 'Honor your father and mother'- The Second Table's commands- 'You shall not murder, commit adultery, steal, lie, covet'- devolve into moralisms. Moralistic law not derived from absolutes are easily moldable to keep up with the enlightened, pragmatic 'scientific' fads of the times. Forced euthanasia could soon become as common and acceptable as present day abortions. Social Security will be saved.

Without the First Table, Man's actual guilt before God devolves into an impotent angst. To assuage these feelings, modern American Man is rendered incapable of seeking removal of them according to God's ordained plan, but chooses to seek salvation elsewhere. In our case the saviors become those more highly educated, those purported to be scientific experts, and government officials. Man becomes easily manipulated and directed, even made to feel more guilty, becoming sheep being led to slaughter. It is not difficult to see how closely 'The Jewish Problem' and 'The Social Security Problem' have similar solutions.


Grandpa shipped out to open sea as a sacrifice for the children. (An old dignified Eskimo custom) He will also provide a last supper for the polar bears that he helped to doom.

Madmen in authority,
Who hear voices in the air,
Are distilling their frenzy
From some academic scribbler of a few years back.
- Adapted from a quote by John Maynard Keynes
(Ironically, both a madman in authority and an academic scribbler of a few years back.)

(Dr. Sanity re-investigates the asylum.)

My Best Joke- Ever

WARNING! Do not read this if you have any scheduled appointments requiring a stoic demeanor (such as a funeral or shopping for dresses with your wife) within the next 48 hours.

While taking a human neuroanatomy/physiology test many moons ago, I came across this question concerning the human mesencephalon:

37.) What structure(s) is/are considered to be the seat of motivation in man?

I wrote, 'The corpora cavernosa'.

Of course the answer was wrong, but my professor gave me extra credit along with a 'sly dog winking smiley face'.

Toldja! That one still cracks me up.

Truth in Advertising

I seldom find a product label as entertaining as the 'water with vitamins' bottle that I found today:

Legally, we are prohibited from making exaggerated claims about the potency of the nutrients in this bottle. Therefore, legally we wouldn't tell you that after drinking this, Eugene from Kansas started using horseshoes as a thighmaster or that this drink gave Agnes from Delaware enough strength to bench press llamas. Heck, we can't even tell you this drink gives you the power to do a thousand pinkie push-ups... just ask Mike in Queens.

Legally, we can't say stuff like that- cause that would be wrong, you know?

Made for the Center for Responsible Hydration

For best results, stick it in the fridge.

The inside is natural, the outside is plastic.

With my late mother's voice still ringing in my ears, I pondered buying some. She would never buy pop for the household when grocery shopping, saying, "I ain't payin' money for no sugar water." She's probably rolling over in her grave about now.

Very entertaining, but, sorry, no sale. (But perhaps I should. The last time I tried, I could only do 999 pinkie push-ups [with hand claps], but I had a llama on my back who was smushing horseshoes between his thighs.)

How many people have died at the hands of the American peace movement?

Let's see, 2 million in the killing fields of Cambodia . . .

Man, I find the best stuff by reading Instapundit.

George Washington's representative on earth.

Krauthammer's got an awesome column today, about a potential Clinton redux.

One of the five best parts:

We've had just two father-son presidencies in the 230 years of the republic, and the first (the Adams family) had the son taking over 24 years after the father, and just one year before the father's death. The Bush succession is more anomalous with only eight years separating the two presidencies, a proximity that has launched a thousand Maureen Dowd ruminations on the hidden furies driving Oedipus Prez.

Although I don't know what might ever move me to use the word "quotidian." Except I guess I just did.

It means "common." Ironic.

Rejected!

Winner of 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Turns It Down

[...]It is my turn to cringe when I hear overstated-confidence from those who describe the projected evolution of global weather patterns over the next 100 years, especially when I consider how difficult it is to accurately predict that system's behavior over the next five days.

Mother Nature simply operates at a level of complexity that is, at this point, beyond the mastery of mere mortals (such as scientists) and the tools available to us. As my high-school physics teacher admonished us in those we-shall-conquer-the-world-with-a-slide-rule days, "Begin all of your scientific pronouncements with 'At our present level of ignorance, we think we know . . .'"

I haven't seen that type of climate humility lately. Rather I see jump-to-conclusions advocates and, unfortunately, some scientists who see in every weather anomaly the specter of a global-warming apocalypse. Explaining each successive phenomenon as a result of human action gives them comfort and an easy answer.[...]

But what is the economic and human price, and what is it worth given the scientific uncertainty?

My experience as a missionary teacher in Africa opened my eyes to this simple fact: Without access to energy, life is brutal and short. The uncertain impacts of global warming far in the future must be weighed against disasters at our doorsteps today. Bjorn Lomborg's Copenhagen Consensus 2004, a cost-benefit analysis of health issues by leading economists (including three Nobelists), calculated that spending on health issues such as micronutrients for children, HIV/AIDS and water purification has benefits 50 to 200 times those of attempting to marginally limit "global warming."

Dr. John R. Christy (of the IPCC) also stated:

The other half of the prize was awarded to former Vice President Al Gore, whose carbon footprint would stomp my neighborhood flat. But that's another story.

Neanderthal, hater, anti-science! 'Missionary' teacher... forcing Western ways upon the pristine, trusting, and unsuspecting lives of the Noble Savage.

(H.T. The Discerning Texan.)

Quiet! Postmodernist Trying to Think

John Coté, (SF) Chronicle Staff Writer, reports:

Attorneys for Norman Hsu are prepared to argue in a Redwood City courtroom Friday that the disgraced Democratic fundraiser's 1992 grand theft conviction should be dismissed because prosecutors didn't try hard enough to find him after he skipped out on sentencing 15 years ago.

Hsu failed to show up for sentencing in 1992 after pleading no contest to a $1 million fraud scheme in San Mateo County. He fled to Asia, where he lived for several years, and eventually returned to the United States.[...]

"Mr. Hsu lived an open and public life, and the government made no apparent efforts to arrest him," Brosnahan wrote. "The case must be dismissed because the delay in sentencing violates Mr. Hsu's Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial."

Brosnahan also argues Hsu should be allowed to withdraw his no-contest plea to a single count of grand theft because he has a right to be sentenced by the same judge who accepted the plea in 1992. That judge has since retired.[...]

If Brosnahan loses this case he will appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. There his arguments will be ruled credible.

Free Lyle and Erik Menendez- They are poor orphans.

(H.T. Commonsense and Wonder.)

It's an epidemic!

The gummint must do something!

...aging is responsible for two-thirds of all death -- now that means worldwide 100,000 people every single day -- and in the industrialized world, it is something like 90 percent.

Quote of the (last) century

Talk about bad timing for bad predictions.

On Oct. 9, 1903, the New York Times wrote:

"The flying machine which will really fly might be evolved by the combined and continuous efforts of mathematicians and mechanicians in from one million to ten million years."

On the same day, on Kill Devil Hill, N.C., in his diary, a bicycle mechanic named Orville Wright wrote:

"We unpacked rest of goods for new machine."

Lawd, Don't Have Mersa on Me

Superbug... He's one baaad motherfShut yo mouth! There has been quite a bit of news reported lately on an increased occurrence of MRSA infection. It's a crisis! The government has to do something about it. Help us, Hillary!

Indeed, contraction of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a serious matter that can even prove fatal if not treated properly and in time. Infection can occur from the slightest abrasion. I am grateful that outside of hospitals, it is rare.

Does the development of this resistant superbug help prove Darwinian macro-evolution? The following video from Intelligent Design- The Future discusses that question while including the audio of a short video segment from the Icons of Evolution curriculum modules DVD:

He Flew the Coop

Here's an interesting interview with Antony Flew by Dr. Benjamin Wilker.

"Nobody here but us Dawkins."

We Got One Almost This Bad

wake-up.wmv

(H.T. Mindful Hack.)

'C-Can't We All Just Get Along?'

I've often heard people lament that the level of political speech is going downhill quickly via all the mud-slinging. I doubt that this is anything new, however. From the latter 1800's:

When William Gladstone attacked fellow statesman Benjamin Disraeli in front of the British Parliament by saying that Disraeli would die “either on the gallows or of a horrible disease,” Disraeli responded, “That depends on whether I embrace your principles or your mistress.”—Excerpt from Encyclopedia of 20th-Century American Humor

They were Victorian era British politicians; very proper, indeed.