Swift Boating McCain

Stated with the utmost humility, I must confess to being an American intellectual triple threat. Having been an American citizen for over 5-1/2 decades, I am an expert on American culture. Even though I am a White heterosexual male, I do know some Black people and some homosexuals. I also know a lot of women, too, but nobody really has any idea about them. They are from another galaxy that NASA hasn't been to yet. They are often purdy, soft, and smell nice and are valuable being bare footed, pregnant, and working in your kitchen. Vacuum cleaners were invented for them to spare the difficulties of man-handling brooms. But beyond that... beats me.

Since I was once a delegate to the Texas state Republican convention, I am an expert on politics and all thing political. I know that George Washington was our first President and that Jimmy Carter was our best ever. I know that elected politicians are much, much smarter than the average voter and that Washington knows what is best, especially in terms of morality and economics.

Since I served in the U.S. Army for 21 months and 8 days and achieved the rank of private first class, I am an expert in all things military, especially in strategies, tactics, and military intelligence concerning the war on terror in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Every last bit of this vast expertise was required to really understand Karl Rove's swift boating article attack on Senator John McCain.

In Getting to Know John McCain published in The Wall Street Journal, Rove relates stories told to him by Col. Bud Day, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, fighter pilot, Vietnam POW and roommate of John McCain at the Hanoi Hilton. Rove and Day really tore McCain a new one:

Mr. Day relayed to me one of the stories Americans should hear. It involves what happened to him after escaping from a North Vietnamese prison during the war. When he was recaptured, a Vietnamese captor broke his arm and said, "I told you I would make you a cripple."

The break was designed to shatter Mr. Day's will. He had survived in prison on the hope that one day he would return to the United States and be able to fly again. To kill that hope, the Vietnamese left part of a bone sticking out of his arm, and put him in a misshapen cast. This was done so that the arm would heal at "a goofy angle," as Mr. Day explained. Had it done so, he never would have flown again.

But it didn't heal that way because of John McCain. Risking severe punishment, Messrs. McCain and Day collected pieces of bamboo in the prison courtyard to use as a splint. Mr. McCain put Mr. Day on the floor of their cell and, using his foot, jerked the broken bone into place. Then, using strips from the bandage on his own wounded leg and the bamboo, he put Mr. Day's splint in place.

Years later, Air Force surgeons examined Mr. Day and complemented the treatment he'd gotten from his captors. Mr. Day corrected them. It was Dr. McCain who deserved the credit. Mr. Day went on to fly again.

There it is... John McCain has practiced medicine without a license. America cannot trust him in the White House.

Colonel Day also recalls:

"He remembered the Episcopal liturgy," Mr. Day says, "and sounded like a bona fide preacher." One of Mr. McCain's first sermons took as its text Luke 20:25 and Matthew 22:21, "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's." Mr. McCain said he and his fellow prisoners shouldn't ask God to free them, but to help them become the best people they could be while serving as POWs. It was Caesar who put them in prison and Caesar who would get them out. Their task was to act with honor.

McCain is shoving his religion down the throats of others. He, as a military officer, should have known to respect the sacrosanct separation of church and state. America cannot trust him in the White House.

Another McCain story, somewhat better known, is about the Vietnamese practice of torturing him by tying his head between his ankles with his arms behind him, and then leaving him for hours... One night, a Vietnamese guard loosened his bonds, returning at the end of his watch to tighten them again so no one would notice.

John McCain has a history of collaborating with the enemy, and receiving aid and comfort from them. America cannot trust him in the White House.

Mr. Day recalls with pride Mr. McCain stubbornly refusing to accept special treatment or curry favor to be released early, even when gravely ill. Mr. McCain knew the Vietnamese wanted the propaganda victory of the son and grandson of Navy admirals accepting special treatment.

McCain, the baby killer, was too afraid to return home to the wrath and sniper spitfire of America's brave anti-war protesters. America cannot trust him in the White House.

Therefore, we are left with Hillary and Barack as our only sane choices. Luckily for us, neither of these candidates suffer from McCain's dark past.

Wonder Bread

The winning bid on Ebay was $330, but no change. Rumor has it that it is now in a jam.

Touché

I enjoy sparring in comment sections. One of my regular reads, The Return of Scipio, recently decided to take a break from posting. That produced this exchange:

Scipio,

You are not allowed to take time off or suffer blogger’s block without paying the fine.

Mail your check to Steve Burri or make arrangements for direct deposit.

Hey, I’ve contacted the Postmaster General and your check is NOT in the mail.


Dear Steve:

Right you are. I forgot about the fine. I have contacted my agent, one Dr. Hamid Abdullah of Nigeria. I have asked him to remit you a check in the sum of £ 5,000,000. He will be arranging this payment as soon as he receives from you certain information about your bank.

Open, Honest Discussion about Race
And Other Stuff

I am quite delighted that contender Obama and his corner men are opening up a frank and earnest discussion concerning American race relations. Senator Obama's cut man, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, has been using some classic techniques to heal the wounds incurred by both the rough and tumble political selection process as well as those wounds and scars received in everyday American life.

America has indeed committed various and sundry fouls within the rings of national and international bouts. In a sense, 9/11 could be considered a warning and judgment against these activities. God has often used nations or persons of greater evil to warn other nations of their own wickedness. I'm sure the Reverend Wright would have said the same thing had one of the planes slammed into his church during the Sunday sermon and murdered thousands of his parishioners. He would have used as a text Luke 13:4-5:

Or those eighteen on whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

Reverend Wright's Black Liberation Theology has been entirely misinterpreted. I'm certain his actual thoughts match those of Booker T. Washington:

With God's help, I believe that I have completely rid myself of any ill feeling toward the Southern white man for any wrong that he may have inflicted upon my race. I am made to feel just as happy now when I am rendering service to Southern white men as when the service is rendered to a member of my own race. I pity from the bottom of my heart any Individual who is unfortunate as to get into the habit of holding race prejudice.

There is another class of coloured people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs -- partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do do not want to lose their jobs.(1911)

I am afraid that there is a certain class of race-problem solvers who don't want the patient to get well, because as long as the disease holds out they have not only an easy means of making a living, but also an easy medium through which to make themselves prominent before the public.

My experience is that people who call themselves "The Intellectuals" understand theories, but they do not understand things. I have long been convinced that, if these men could have gone into the South and taken up and become interested in some practical work which would have brought them in touch with people and things, the whole world would have looked very different to them. Bad as conditions might have seemed at first, when they saw that actual progress was being made, they would have taken a more hopeful view of the situation.(1911)

Unfortunately, the intellectuals and their theories of which Mr. Washington speaks are not limited to race relations. Similar slugfests have broken out in venues such as the environment, education, crime and punishment, and many other subsets of 'social justice'.

In the early rounds one or many concerned citizens begin working on a problem. They work in the trenches WITH those effected and FOR those effected. In the later rounds the intellectuals take over with their grand theories from a desk, luxury suite, congressional seat, or judicial bench comfortably outside of the trenches. They will occasionally foray into the trench to take advantage of a photo op or find and use an oppressed soul for their own purposes.

Former Vice President and Presidential contender Al Gore is a prime example. He lectures, wins an Oscar, and is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize while producing a 'carbon footprint' the size of some small countries.

Jesse Jackson is a classic. He learned at the feet of Dr. Martin Luther King. After King was murdered, Jackson continued his methods, but soon devolved into just another intellectual with a utopian/critical theory. Although he turned King's vision on its head by stressing the color of the skin more than the content of character, he was, indeed, able to keep his job and keep himself prominent before the public.

Certainly Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright are not like Gore and Jackson. They would never resort to grand utopian or critical, guilt spewing theories.

UPDATE: Obama's bus sure provides a bumpy ride.

On This Day in World History

Today's birthdays:

Jay Leno


Ann-Margaret


Harper Lee, author of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'


Terry Pratchett, English author. “The truth may be out there, but lies are inside your head.”

Saddam
(Not allowed to mention his last name)


Grandpa Chady
In 1962 after seeing a Toyota truck advertised in Motor Trend magazine, "Toyota... sh*t! They will never make it in the United States!"

I wonder how he made out on that prediction.

HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY, CHADY!

Whoa, Nellie!

It has been nearly 35 years since I left the military. Professionalism has increased exponentially since those days.

Super Delegate
Super Dilemma

Two young reporters question Democrat Super Delegates about their preferences concerning the Democrat Presidential nominee:

"Hey, Daddy, come and see the little pussies!"

Burri Pride

It doesn't seem that long ago that Lance completed his Russian language training in the U.S. Army's Foreign Language Anti-terrorism Training 'University.' The rest of the Burri family were so proud of him that we began referring to him as F.L.A.T.U. Lance. He was not amused.

(And when Todd won that ribbon for Rhetorical Elocution...)

Main Stream

The Rock and area rivers are high and flooding, but it's nothing like the floods in South Texas. 16 feet above flood stage really gets your attention. Here is Victoria, Texas in 1998:

A Smidgen of Daily Dollop

Secret Meeting Notes

Below is a transcript from a meeting between Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean, Harry Reid and an unnamed Democratic Superdelegate that they tried to convince to declare for Obama so that they can have leverage to force Hillary Clinton out of the race.

Let’s see how it went:

DEAN: We need you to do the right thing for the party and declare for Obama.

SUPERDELEGATE: Why is that the right thing for the party?

DEAN: Because we need to end this divisive primary race.

SD: So just end it and leave me out of it.

DEAN: You’re a super delegate. It’s your duty to moot the remaining primaries and declare Obama the winner by acclamation right now.

SD: So half my constituents will hate me and I’ll lose my seat? No thank you! You want it done, you do it; you’re the party chair.

DEAN: YEEEEEAAAAARRRRGH!

PELOSI: I think what Howard is trying to say is that you have to remember what the Bible says.

SD: And what does the bible say?

PELOSI: The Bible says, “It is better for thee to voteth for the black guy and be castigated by thy female supporters than to have thine party suffer for thy sake.”

SD: Where does it say that?

PELOSI: It’s right after the part about gay marriage and right before the eleventh commandment that it’s okay to have abortions.

SD: I think you’re making that up. What verse is it?

PELOSI: I’ll have to get back to you on that…

REID: Listen, I think I know a way to work through this.

SD: What’s that?

REID: I have this plot of land in Nevada that’s worth a tidy bundle, and if you play ball with us, I can help you get a little piece of it and then resell it for ten times what it’s worth.

SD: Sorry, no game. Obama’s got much more real estate experience than you do and he offered to fix me up in Chicago.

REID: Then if you don’t help us out, I’ll have some goons come around and beat the piss out of you.

SD: Sorry, Clinton’s got better goons than you do, and they’re already holding my wife in an undisclosed location.

REID: So what are you going to do?

SD: I’m gonna wait until somebody else makes my decision meaningless so that I don’t get my nuts cut off by either candidate, then I’ll declare for the winner after the fact. So you guys can just forget about me taking a beating for you! (Leaves)

PELOSI: So how many superdelegates does that make?

REID: Two hundred and twelve.

DEAN: No, two hundred and six!

REID: We already had this argument!

PELOSI: Quiet, numskulls, or I’ll murderize the both of you!

DEAN: Nyuck-nyuck-nyuck!

Slippery Slope

(Adapted photo from Inventor Spot.)

Another Obama Endorsement

How can you help it when his strategery statements prove so prescient:

Barack Obama's National Security Plan Vindicated: 15 Mahdi Army Assholes Killed in Sadr City by Combined Barrage of 155mm Hope and Laser-Guided Change

(H.T. The Discerning Texan.)

Trophy Hype Already

It appears that the promotion of Trophy candidates has already begun. The following ad was plastered all around Denver in the last few days:


A lineman has never yet won the Heistman Trophy. This could be the year. She is only expected to be a 6th or 7th round draft pick, however.

The Packers claim that Tony Mandarich should have won in 1989. Their fans definitely felt robbed after the Pack drafted Tony instead of Barry Sanders.

This year's Democrats may indeed draft Hillary ahead of sure Hall-of-Famers Barack Obama, John Edwards, Al Gore, or Mike Gravel.

Brewers' Scouting Report

The Milwaukee Brewers are expected to sign 15 year old Jyoti Amge to a contract as a bases loaded pinch hitter.


The 1 foot 11 inch, 11 pound Nagpur, India native is said to have a 'Ted Williams Eye' for the strike zone.

(H.T. Sandi.)

Crisis

It's a very good thing that President Bush, candidates Clinton, McCain, Obama, and our very own Governor Doyle have all exhibited the leadership and foresight to take action far in advance without waiting for actual evidence or scientific proof to halt the destruction of our beloved planet by evil Man. They each have stood tall and proud even in the face of the incessant mocking by Global Warming deniers such as I. Here is another feather in their caps*:

Sarah Edwards worries about the gasoline she burns, the paper towels she throws out, the litter on the beach, water pollution. She worries so much, it literally makes her sick.

"Fear, grief, anger, confusion and depression," Edwards says, pointing to the negativity that has manifested itself in real-life symptoms such as neck and shoulder pain, fibromyalgia and fatigue.[...]

Edwards suffers from eco-anxiety, the growing angst experienced by those who can't handle the thought that they — or anyone — are in some way contributing to global warming, species extinction and dwindling natural resources.[...]

Things have gotten so bad, a new kind of therapy has sprouted up to keep people from going nuts over the environment.

It’s called "eco-therapy" or "eco-psychology." The time on the couch isn’t spent delving into a patient's childhood to find the source of misery. Instead, it looks at how much time a person spends in nature, the person's carbon footprint and what the individual is doing to save the planet.

And the prescribed treatment may be as simple as a dose of recycling or — you guessed it — hugging a tree.

"...those who can't handle the thought that they — or anyone — are in some way contributing to global warming..."

Do I hear the call for another cabinet position or National Czar?

*(The word 'caps' used in the context of Liberal or RINO initiatives seemed quite amusing.)

Now let’s see her do a boilermaker

A real boilermaker. Nobody ever does that anymore.

I’ve been trying to embed this video: sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. If it doesn’t, here’s the link. Anyway, that's why I'm posting it here instead of over at BBA.

A nice little crumb falling from the table. Aren't I generous?



They make a little fun of her for sipping instead of shooting, but hey, there’s nothing wrong with sipping your shot. It lets you enjoy the liquor a little more, plus sometimes you want to avoid getting blotto. Like, for instance, when you’re running for President and there’s cameras all over the place.

She and Obama should go shot for shot at the convention. Winner takes the nomination!

Does anybody else think she’d kick his ass?

Hat tip Althouse.

Now Hillary's Really in Trouble

More heavies endorse Obama.

1. The Jimmy Carter fan club:

During an interview on WABC radio Sunday, top Hamas political adviser Ahmed Yousef said the terrorist group supports Obama’s foreign policy vision.

2. Hate America First members that were Born in the U.S.A.:

Barack Obama, fighting off charges from Hillary Clinton of being out of touch with the working classes, yesterday found a powerful new champion in the man who wrote the anthem to the blighted towns of America: Bruce Springsteen.

3. Dimetrios Georgios Synodinos:

The black is a better politician to begin with because he's been bred to be that way -- because of his high rhetoric and big victimization factor that runs a big yellow streak up Liberals' backs, and they can talk higher and run without vetting because of their bigger sighs. This goes back all the way to the Civil Rights Movement that they perverted when during introspection, the Liberal -- the Progressive would breed his big guilty conscience to his big sadistic tendencies so that he could have a big hissy fit over America's historical and present racism.

We Have a Shooting Solution
Flood Torpedo Tubes

(Chris Muir)

'What the Hell is Going On Out There?'

Micheal Ledeen observes in The Corner:

Huge, perhaps historic, victory for Berlusconi's "Popolo della liberta'" (which translates a bit awkwardly as "the people of liberty;" maybe it's better to call it "the freedom folks"). It's considerably worse than AP lets on. Berlusconi defeated Walter Veltroni's "Democratic Party" by a full 9 points in both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. And since the Italian electoral system gives a bonus to the winning side, the margins are very big and stable: 340 to 241 in the Chamber (with another 36 for a couple of small parties), and 167 to 137 in the Senate (with 5 to three little parties), which was expected to be a photo finish.

The big news is that the Communists are gone,...

The Greens are also gone.

And there's an even more annoying feature to these elections, as seen by the chattering classes: Berlusconi is an outspoken, even passionate admirer of George W. Bush and the United States of America. Reminds one of the elections that brought Sarkozy to the Elysee, doesn't it? Best to keep that quiet, or somebody might notice that hatred of America doesn't seem to affect the voters in Italy, France or Germany.

Haaay!! The Europeans are supposed to hate Bush at least as much as the American mainstream media!

Bill Cosby: Himself

While doing research for today's column (yes, I do research, but I don't have a secret lab in my basement), I found a website where you can watch "Bill Cosby: Himself" in its entirety.

Anyone clicking over here from my place, click the link above and advance the video to 43:35 for context.

A Swiss Zit

On March 29th of this year I excerpted an article by John Fund titled Cuckoo for Switzerland. My conclusion:

Our part of the Burri family left Switzerland about 100 years ago. Switzerland realized its mistake and undertook massive reforms to prevent further duplication of such egregious misfortune. The Old Country has done well.

It also appears, however, that the home land still misses its favorite sons in the worst way:

GENEVA (AFP) - Plants deserve respect, a group of Swiss experts said Monday, arguing that killing them arbitrarily was morally wrong -- except when it comes to saving humans or maybe picking petals off a daisy.

In a report on "the dignity of the creature in the plant world," the federal Ethics Committee on non-human Gene Technology condemned the decapitation of flowers without reason, among other sins.

I am required by law to place Swiss chocolate on the endangered species list.

(For those of you old enough to remember)

N-E-S-T-L-E-S...
Nestlé makes the very best...
Gravel.

Maybe we should stop worrying about the monkeys and the robots…

…and the zombies and the ninjas and the squirrels, and worry about the bedbugs instead.

Kells first encountered a bedbug in about 2000 while working in the pest-control industry in Canada.

He dipped it into insecticide. The beast lived for four days and laid eggs.

“At that point, I knew we were in trouble,” he said.

…“They’re very hardy,” Kells said. “They’re very tough to kill. But they can be killed.”

Heat will kill them, but you have to cook them to 120 degrees.

Cold will kill them. Kells recommends chilling bugs down to minus 10 for 10 days to two weeks to be sure. A British company has developed a minus 108-degree carbon dioxide spray that is supposed to do the trick.

Kells has deprived them of oxygen for up to 24 hours. They’ll still live…

It’s hard to starve them. Bedbugs have been known to survive up to a year without eating.

“These bugs have an ability to conserve water that’s equal to a desert insect,” Kells said.

Hat tip FoxPolitics.

Obama is Wrong

When Senator Obama claimed that small town Americans were bitter, frustrated, gun-totin', religious xenophobes, he was wrong. In my section of south central Wisconsin alone I have seen many, many signs of hope and change and salvation by Barack. Here is a representative example:

I realize that this campaign sign was located in a more upper class, affluent area of Rock County, but I am sure that there are many, many more who feel the same way, but cannot afford such opulent, professional signage.

(Click on photo to more clearly read the hope)

What an Insult!

The real Moe, Curly, and Larry should not have to suffer this indignity.

The 2008 Democrat Convention in Denver
AKA The Tower of Cirth Ungol

I flipped the television channel to TNT and it appeared to be a preview of the 2008 Democrat National Convention in Denver. The truth had been paralyzed, taken, and held captive atop a tower in Denver. Two groups of captors began to fight over control, pretty much killing off the whole gaggle before the a final showdown Presidential election battle.

I finally realized that I was in fact watching The Return of the King, the third installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy:

During the Quest of the Ring Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee were led to this pass by Gollum to Torech Ungol, the lair of the giant spider-like creature Shelob who dwelt there. [Shelob's sting paralyzed, but did not kill Frodo.]

Shagrat [a Mordor orc, nicknamed Hillary] brought Frodo Baggins through the Undergate to the Tower of Cirith Ungol and imprisoned him in the topmost chamber of the turret. Frodo was stripped and questioned mercilessly. Gor[e]bag — an orc from Minas Morgul [nicknamed Barack]— coveted Frodo's mithril shirt and he fought Shagrat for it. The orcs of their two companies fought and killed one another until nearly all of them were dead.1

It is understandable to mistake the splintered Democrat Party for two separate parties of orcs of Mordor. Tolkien was sure ahead of his time.

Obama's Deep Thoughts...

...in Janesville:
(Photo by a bitter, frustrated Jerry Burri)
"And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Update: Senator Obama apologizes for not realizing that typical Americans are too stupid to understand what he meant.

Liberals-
After the Mugging

MEMRI excerpts some of what Liberal Arabs are saying on the 5 year anniversary of the American invasion and occupation of Iraq. Here are some excerpts of the excerpts:

Iraqi Journalist 'Abd Al-Jabbar Al-'Atabi: "You see that people, despite their proud grief, are talking about hope, and optimism, and the happiness to come. Despite the confusion, the anarchy, and the unconceivable occurrences, you hear the words: the breakthrough is at hand. They speak of the democracy that they had misunderstood, and they emphasize that these five years have taught them a lot and enriched their experience. They have come to know the true from the false and to distinguish between the good and the evil. You hear people saying: April 9 is a national holiday, despite the imported terrorism, or that concocted by the former regime, that came in its wake."

Egyptian Journalist Ashraf Radi: "There is no doubt but that Operation Iraqi Freedom has many enemies, both within Iraq and in the neighboring countries… There is no future for Iraq without democracy. Those who sacrificed, and continue to sacrifice, are worthy of liberty, and they will never accept any prize less than this…"

Palestinian Liberal Ahmad Abu Matar: "How should the Iraqis deal with this new situation? The objective answer to this question must draw on similar experiences from recent history. Two countries, Japan and Germany, were also placed under American occupation. How did these two countries deal with the new situation, which was entirely analogous with the situation in Iraq? They both considered the occupation an opportunity to reorder their own affairs [and get rid of] all the negative sides and errors that invited this occupation - from rewriting the school curricula in Japan to putting an end to Nazi ideology and practice in Germany. And look how far Germany and Japan have come."

Khudayr Taher: "We forsook you and betrayed you - we, whose history is an expression of massacres, conflagrations, and ruin. We killed you, and we killed our dream and aspiration of reaching the sun, the moon, and the stars - [we killed our dream] of availing ourselves of the opportunity to live as true humans, thanks to your presence."

Shaker Al-Nabulsi: "The new 'Baghdad 2003' has transformed the war between [the Iraq of] the Saddam Hussein era and America into a war between liberalism and fundamentalism, between modernity and reaction, between dictatorship and democracy…

"It is inevitable that every country and every people, after liberation, pass through a stage of corruption, thievery, and lack of security; but this stage will be the womb that begets the stage of modernity, creation, and the new liberal thought. The best examples of this are Japan, [South] Korea, Germany, and Eastern Europe."

"The best evidence of the advance of Arab liberalism in the past five years is the fact that so many liberal writers have appeared on the stage of the Arab media and have expressed their views on various Arab issues and problems. This is one of the many kindnesses that the new 'Baghdad 2003' has bestowed on us.

"This shows that as time passes Arab liberalism is gaining for itself more and more writers and intellectuals…"

Yes, we must get out of Iraq now. Our valiant, albeit uneducated, youth could be spared a useless death in Iraq. Instead, they could be honored by a drunken high speed meeting with an American bridge abutment. They would also be spared the indignity of international loss of reputation as displayed by the following Australian soldier's account in a letter to his father:

….don’t get me wrong, we are good at what we do but the Yanks are so much better…..they are complete at what they do, how they do it and their attitude is awesome….they don’t complain they just get on with the job and they do it right…

I feel safer just knowing that the US Army is close by…

No questions asked, no glory sought, the Americans would just fight with us and for us because that is their nature, to protect those in need of protection…

….what gets to me is that the Yanks don’t walk around with a “we are better than you attitude” and they could because they are, they treat us as equals and as brothers in arms. If nothing else, coming here has taught me that the Americans are a truly great Nation and a truly great bunch of people…1

We must spare our best and brightest from this humiliating loss of self-esteem. Pull out now!

Technical Vernacular

I love it when a psychiatrist talks shop:

As we finish the last two years of Bush's Presidency, we are witnessing "end stage" Bush Derangement Syndrome, which manifests itself by the histrionic and blind hatred of anything the President does or does not do.

This "end stage" BDS--like terminal syphilis--has culminated in blindness combined with an insanity so profound, the consequences to those who suffer it--as well as to our country--will likely be quite profound, if not lethal, since they hinder and undermine this country's ability to deal with real threats.1

Victor Davis Hanson

Worried frantic over a zit while cancer ravages much of the rest of your body?

In an interconnected global petroleum market, our energy appetites mean that drilling goes on at a breakneck pace throughout South America, Africa, the Middle East and Russia. Yet do we really think that the Russians can protect their Arctic tundra better than we could in Alaska, or that there will be less pollution from oil platforms off the Nigerian coast than off California or Florida?

Homegrown, clean-burning biofuels sound great as a partial replacement for polluting foreign petroleum. But at present, to supply grain-based ethanol, we are diverting a large percentage of American farm acreage away from food production. The result — apart from the net energy loss needed to grow and refine ethanol — is that the price of basic food staples is soaring.

It is politically incorrect to say so, but an oil well in Alaska might cause less damage to the world environment, less strain on our own food supply, and more savings to poorer American consumers than most of the present alternatives.1

America, sit in the corner and think about what you have done.

Manifest Destiny

Good decisions at the NFL owners' meeting

Missed this last week: NFL owners voted to eliminate the "force-out" rule at their meeting in Palm Beach.

It was a dumb rule. We're well rid of it. Defensive backs are now free to shove receivers just as hard as they want.

I do wonder what happens if a DB catches a receiver on his shoulder and carries him several yards to the sideline.

The owners also decided that "A direct snap from center that goes backward will now be treated as a fumble. Previously, it was ruled a false start."

I had no idea that was the rule. Regardless, that was another dumb rule. That should be a live ball, and now it will be.

And they tabled a proposal to re-seed the playoffs, to allow a wild-card team to host a game against a division winner with a worse record. That will be a dumb decision, if they ever do it. Winning the division has to mean something.

What's Good for the Goose...

Would I ever like to see the U.S. Congress, Federal policy makers, state legislatures, and Presidential candidates subject their proposals to some variation of an Environmental Impact Assessment.

“Environmental Impact Assessment can be defined as: The process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made.”1

It would be nice to have such proposals go through one tenth of the rigor that a new drug must endure to receive the blessing of the FDA.

Do we have any data for study of The War on Poverty? The government's education system? Any information on other nations' forays into universal health care? Increased centralized power?

Would Michael Jordan have been successful with a 300 pound gorilla on his back? Can a citizen of Zimbabwe succeed with Robert Mugabe reaching in his pocket?

Perhaps the data is inconclusive.

Well there's an April Fool's joke I wish was the truth

KC in the running for naming rights to new Dallas Cowboys stadium

Word has it, that Kimberly Clark, the Fox Valley paper giant that began in Neenah over 100 years ago and in the 80's moved it's corporate headquarters from Neenah to Dallas, is in the running for the naming rights to the Dallas Cowboys brand new billion dollar stadium in Arlington, Texas. That's way too funny. Have the Cowboys lost their minds????? Kimberly Clark IS Wisconsin. Kleenex, Kotex, etc.etc.etc...all Wisconsin originated, and, in spite of the corporate move south,several major manufacturing and product development operations remained in Neenah. So, let's get this straight. When the Packers play Dallas..... at Dallas..... they could be playing at a stadium named after a Wisconsin company whose entire operation originated, develeoped and expanded 35 miles south of Green Bay?? Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Don't they also make toilet paper?

Ah, well. It could've been true.

'When people stop believing in God, they don't believe in nothing — they believe in anything.'

G.K. Chesterton

There exists a blog titled Is Barack Obama the Messiah?

Here are a few of the post titles:

Obama - The Transfiguration

"He communicates God-like energy..."

"a man of resplendid vision with the wisdom of Solomon"

"He appeals to all that is innate and created in us in a longing for that “better country, that is a heavenly one” discussed in Hebrews 11"

"not just an ordinary human being but indeed an Advanced Soul"

"What he is offering ... is a covenant for PERFECTION"

Obama walks "the hero's journey" . . .

"Unless Ye Become as Little Children . . . "

"The similarities between Obamian hope and biblical hope are extraordinary"

"It’s so rapturous, everything around him. All these huge rallies."

"He's running a THEOLOGICAL campaign . . . at some point, he took off his arms, and grew wings"

"He's All Things to All Men"

"Barack Obama is the Hope of the Entire World"

"What if God is trying to make a statement?"

"I'll collect paper cups off the ground to make his pathway clear"

'B' Cups?
Do her nipples form his nose?(s)
Bra-rack Obama?

Carter and Obama Sittin' In A Tree...

"Don't forget that Obama won in my state of Georgia. My town, which is home to 625 people, is for Obama, my children and their spouses are pro-Obama. My grandchildren are also pro-Obama. As a superdelegate, I would not disclose who I am rooting for but I leave you to make that guess."1

"I've looked a lot on Obama with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times."

The Georgia swamp rabbit, however, is an apparent anti-terror McCain supporter:(Photo courtesy of Jimmy Carter Library. Via Jerry L. Callen)

For those of you not familiar with this rabbit reference:

April 20th, 1979

On a fishing trip in Plains, Georgia, President Carter had an encounter with a "swamp rabbit".

Suddenly, for no apparent reason [...] the President volunteered the information that while fishing in a pond on his farm he had sighted a large animal swimming toward him. Upon closer inspection, the animal turned out to be a rabbit. Not one of your cutesy, Easter Bunny-type rabbits, but one of those big splay-footed things that we called swamp rabbits when I was growing up.

The animal was clearly in distress, or perhaps berserk. The President confessed to having had limited experience with enraged rabbits. He was unable to reach a definite conclusion about its state of mind. What was obvious, however, was that this large, wet animal, making strange hissing noises and gnashing its teeth, was intent upon climbing into the Presidential boat.

The President then evidently shooed the critter away from his boat with a paddle.2

Invest!

Got this in my inbox today. I'm not vouching for the numbers.

If you had purchased $1,000.00 of Delta Air Lines stock one year ago you would have $49.00 left.

With Enron, you would have had $16.50 left of the original $1,000.00.

With WorldCom, you would have had less than $5.00 left.

But, if you had purchased $1,000.00 worth of beer one year ago, drank all of the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling REFUND, you would have had $214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle.

It's called the 401-Keg.

Ferris Darwin's Day Off

R.C. Sproul interviews Ben Stein about the movie, Expelled, No Intelligence Allowed that is due out in theaters either April 11th or 18th. Perhaps the only person drier in wit and intelligence than Stein is Sproul. I could listen to either for hours.