Taliban Terror Tactics - HIV and Needles

This is UNBELIEVABLE.

Taliban fighters are burying dirty needles with their bombs in a bid to infect British troops with HIV, The Sun can reveal. Hypodermic syringes are hidden below the surface pointing upwards to prick bomb squad experts as they hunt for devices. The heroin needles are feared to be contaminated with hepatitis and HIV. And if the bomb goes off, the needles become deadly flying shrapnel.

The tactic, used in the Afghan badlands of Helmand, was exposed by Tory MP and ex-Army officer Patrick Mercer. Senior backbencher Mr Mercer said yesterday: "Are there no depths to which these people will stoop? This is the definition of a dirty war." Razor blades are also being used. All Royal Engineer and Royal Logistic Corps bomb search teams have been issued with protective Kevlar gloves.

It is now time to pull out and nuke the whole place. We can then rescue Waterford from bankruptcy and give them all the free glass they can pick out of what's left. And we can drill our own damn wells in whatever oilfields are left.

I mean it...nuke the whole damn place. Obama wants to get rid of our nukes? Fine...use a bunch of em. Dig Osama bin Laden out of the caves by flattening all of the mountains. Make the whole place a skating rink.

New bumper sticker:


NUKES DIG DEEPER

This is from an entry at The Corner by Andy McCarthy, quoting the SUN in London (with H/T to Steve Emerson).

Honor the Flag

I loath those who disrespect the flag. I'm the neighborhood boor on flag etiquette and The Flag Code. I appreciate the fact that my neighbors come and ask me when and how to fly the flag. I recently called the Milwaukee Airport manager and asked her about a large flag displayed there. I think it's wrong, but their explanation conforms to the code.

I grew up in a much different time, it seems. See the picture. I agree.

H/T American Digest

Tipper gives the boot to the Goracle

Want to bet who gets the $8mm house in California?

Larry Sabato's twitter:

Could anyone have guessed that the Clintons' marriage would last longer than the Gores'?

H/T Outside the Beltway

Where's the Money Coming From?

Excellent video. I might ask the same questions about my credit card debt. Ahem.



H/T The Corner and YouTube

Memorial Day 2010

Best set of pictures are from Pinch.

Go see them all.

H/T Pinch

Israel, Gaza, and "Peace blockade-runners"

All I have to say is, if the NORKS can get away with torpedoing a freaking South Korean ship, why can't the Isrealis get away with defending themselves while they stop a bunch of fake "relief-workers" from running a blockade that the entire world knows is in place?



If you ask me, they should have sunk the damn ships and blamed it on Kim Jong-il.

And Obama can kiss my ass for criticizing the Israeli action.
Too bad he wasn't hit by lightning. Prick.

Recycle or Retread?

H/T Zazzle

What's your Drink of Preference?

H/T Facebook

Here's yer sign

I'd love to put this one up at the end of the driveway for the Census workers.
Just kidding. I think.

H/T Theo Spark

Thomas Friedman: Sharp as a...grapefruit

This is probably the dumbest person in America...including the folks in LA who want to boycott Arizona.


Whack-a-doodle Friedman has a column in today's New York Times. First line:

President Obama’s handling of the gulf oil spill has been disappointing.

Duh. That's as dumb as saying that a "$1-a-gallon Patriot Tax on gasoline" would slow climate change. Oops, he said that, too.

To make things worse, Friedman equates the oil spill with 9-11, and says Obama's reaction is as bad as Bush was in handling the aftermath of that terrible Sept day.

I have news for you, anus-breath. We were attacked on 9-11, and Bush went out of his way to kick some ass, find out who did it, and go free millions of people. Obama? He's simply said the oil companies should do more. Gee, thanks, moron.

What a pair of dumb-asses -- both Friedman and Obama.

H/T The Corner

Fred Thompson - Class Act

I have always liked Fred Thompson. Part of it is his Southern mannerisms...they reflect those that I was raised with and aspired to. Saying "sir" and "ma'am" (except to Boxer, who I'd call "bitch") were drilled into me. I'm over 50 and I still say "yes, sir" and "yes, ma'am" to those that are 30 years younger than I am. It's just how I was raised.

This, in my opinion, will go down in history as a classic Fred quote:

On Neil Cavuto yesterday: "Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he "misspoke about his service" when he said he served in Vietnam, even though he didn't.Ya know it's a shame. It's little stuff like this that gives lying conniving politicians a bad name." [emphasis mine]

That's pretty good. I got a belly laugh out of it. Fred has played military roles in the movies, and he reminds me of Gen Chuck Yeager and COB6...that southern drawl, laconic, always in control, calm in the face of danger, with a healthy dose of humility and self-deprecation tossed in. (Well, humility from COB? Give me a little literary license, you know?) I know part of that is his acting persona, but it is how I think of the man. Class act.

H/T The Corner

Hi, I'm the Head of Homeland Security

And I don't need to read no stinking bills. Obama tells me they're wrong.



This stupid bitch deserves 2 years in Guantanamo....so we can waterboard her to find out what she knows about plots by illegal immigrants trying to enter the US to kills Americans.

How in the world can this bitch look in the mirror?

H/T Real Clear Politics

Victor Davis Hanson on Soldiers in Office

(Photo credit: Craig Eisenberg)

I think this guy is the smartest man I've ever read. I don't mean cerebral, although he is. I don't mean keen, although he's certainly that. But he sees things most don't, and can write well about those things. Some people perceive; others write. Rare indeed is the man who does both so well.

Insight through the lens of history...that's the best I can do.

Soldier-Citizens for Congress?
-- By: Victor Davis Hanson

by webmaster@nationalreview.com (Victor Davis Hanson)

Usually, a handful of ex-soldiers seek political office every election cycle. But well over 20 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are running this fall for Congress alone. Almost all are riding a wave of public anger at incumbents over a profligate government and a dishonest Wall Street -- and a general feeling that the current Democratic remedy has proven as bad as, or worse than, the recent Republican disease.

The shenanigans of the previously Republican-controlled Congress -- the “Culture of Corruption” -- simply continued under the Democratic majority, thanks to the likes of Chris Dodd, William Jefferson, Eric Massa, Charles Rangel, and the late John Murtha.

Reform candidate Barack Obama has run up more debt in 15 months than unpopular spendthrift George W. Bush did in eight years. Obama once talked of a new unity, but he has polarized America far more rapidly than did the cowboy-sounding “decider” Bush.

In other words, the public is desperate for civic-minded leaders who are untainted by Washington, but who have a proven record of competent service on behalf of the nation. If they are poor or haven’t held office before -- apparently so much the better.

The current combat-veteran candidates certainly aren’t the usual state legislators or congressional aides ready for career advancement. Neither are they antiwar liberals who flash their national-security credentials, nor one-issue hawks who want more defense spending. They don’t claim that their combat experience guarantees good governance per se -- not after the examples of Murtha or disgraced Republican Duke Cunningham. And they aren’t retired generals used to deference and the spotlight.

So, other than a shared furor at out-of-control spending, government takeovers, and corruption, the 20 or so soldier-citizen candidates are an odd bunch. Some are officers; others are enlisted men. A surprising number were wounded in combat.

The vast majority are running as Republicans and seem to have little if any money. They were not so much preselected by Republican operatives as pushed forward through grassroots and sometimes tea-party support.

In New York’s 20th congressional district, retired Army Col. Chris Gibson -- four deployments to Iraq -- is a Ph.D., a former West Point instructor, and author of a book on civilian-military relations. He received a Purple Heart, and recently served in the Haitian relief effort. Gibson, the warrior scholar, is running on smaller government and lower taxes; his main theme is a call for ethics, accountability, and a return to the notion of the citizen-legislator who works in Washington, rather than works the Washington system.

Other veteran candidates are already well known. In Florida’s 22nd congressional district, decorated retired Army Lt. Col. Allen West was involved in a controversy seven years ago when he purportedly fired a pistol near an Iraqi prisoner who he believed had information regarding a planned ambush of West’s battalion. West has MA degrees in military arts and sciences and in political science, and was wounded a few years ago while serving as a civilian adviser in Afghanistan. His theme also is ostensibly smaller, cleaner government, balanced budgets, strong national security, and lower taxes.

For 30 years after 1865, almost no American could get elected to office without prior Union or Confederate Civil War service. And last century, being a World War II veteran was virtually mandatory for any congressional leader until about 1970.

But Iraq and Afghanistan are seen differently from the collective sacrifice and bipartisan efforts of past wars. Our current veterans usually fought in impossible circumstances, where friend and enemy were sometimes indistinguishable. The aims and means of their mission were often questioned -- with the public as against the difficult later stages of the wars as they once were for their easier beginning stages.

As a result, these veterans are not saying, “Vote for me because I fought for you,” as much as, “Vote me for because I did my duty, even if some in this country questioned why one would.”

We live in a wartime of economic crisis, crushing debt, and endemic political corruption. Rules, obligations, and laws don’t seem to matter. Personal honor is an archaic, fossilized concept.

But suddenly, amid public malaise, dozens of nontraditional soldier-citizens have stepped forward out of the shadows to argue that right now in America, neither money nor incumbency matters as much as civic duty and the old idea of public service. And unlike most of us, they once put their lives on the line to prove just that.

-- Victor Davis Hanson is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and editor, most recently, of Makers of Ancient Strategy: From the Persian Wars to the Fall of Rome. ©2010 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Link to article here.

Department of the Navy and Marine Corps

The House has voted to rename the Department of the Navy, in order to recognize the contributions of the Marine Corps. I heartily agree that the Marines should receive this long-overdue recognition for their contributions to the safety and, yes, the survival of the United States of America. Barbary pirates were a great threat back in the day, and Marines took care of that sh*t, and how.

So, with no disrespect to my Navy and Marine Corps friends (and my Navy grandfather), I wonder what an appropriate name for the Navy Department would be, considering we're on the way (down) toward a 200-ship Navy. I invite Pinch and Lex, CDR Salamander and SteeljawScribe, among others, to weigh (anchor) in here and comment.

How about:

Department of Little Cheap Ships (LCS)
Dept of Brown-Water Navy and Bad-ass Marines
Dept of WTF are we gonna fly when Super-Hornets give out
Department of Navy, Marines, and Diversity (tribute to CDR Salamander)

Comments welcome.

Marines' Hymn:

“From the Halls of Montezuma
To the shores of Tripoli;
We fight our country’s battles
On the land as on the sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
Of United States Marine.

Our flag’s unfurled to every breeze
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in ev’ry clime and place
Where we could take a gun;
In the snow of far-off Northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes;
You will find us always on the job
The United States Marines

Here’s health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we’ve fought for life
And never lost our nerve;
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven’s scenes;
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.”

H/T Fox News Online and The United States Marine Band

Chase 'em out

Only batsh*t crazies and Democrats (not mutually exclusive) opposes the Ariz law.

I like this idea...for any illegal nabbed under the new law...
Give them a one-way bus ticket to San Francisco...see how they like housing them.
--- Rush

H/T Weazel Zippers

Remember November

We Will Remember from Republican Governors Association on Vimeo.

From the Republican Governors Association

They Call The Wind "Obama"

Happy San Jacinto Day!

The San Jacinto Monument is 15 feet taller than the Washington Monument.


Remember The Alamo! Remember Goliad!

Today's the day we kicked Santa Anna's ass...April 21, 1836.
Birthdate of the Republic of Texas.

Click here for a link to a hi-resolution battleground map on TAMU website.

Time for a beer. Here's hoping we can have a second birth of the Republic!

H/T The Corner and The San Jacinto Museum of History

Drop Stupak

We go hunting in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan ("da U.P." for my Texas kin). Unfortunately, we can't vote against Stupak. My brother-in-law does that for me.

The good news is we CAN and DO vote for Paul Ryan.

I like this bumper sticker.

H/T Gateway Pundit

Outrage at Tennessee Congressman's remarks

Oh boy...today's a two-fer. THE BOSS is pissed off...here's the video that set her off..

To: Congressman Steve Cohen
Tennessee – Democrat

Congressman,

I recently had the opportunity to listen to your interview on the Young Turks call in radio show.

Sir, I am appalled by the words that came out of your month and outraged at your thought process.

To reference Tea Party members as people "without robes and hoods" and “clones of the George Wallace fan club” to mention a few slurs that you spoke, is by far racist. To say nothing of your arrogance and hate speech towards anyone that does not agree with your views on healthcare.

Sir, you owe the American people a public apology and should be ashamed of yourself. How do you sleep at night? How are you able to able to keep food down with acid indigestion in your stomach?

At the very least you owe me a written apology, for I am personally insulted, hurt and distressed by your words and I am certainly not a racist.

I challenge you to discuss this matter face to face.

As I said: How can we be racists? Some of our best friends are white!

You've gotten on the wrong side of THE BOSS, my friend, and she's going to fax this to your office tomorrow.

H/T Weasel Zippers

Tingles selling BFD T-shirts

Sigh.

As THE BOSS said, "It's not a BFD, it's an STD...they want us all to catch it".

I got a nice laugh at that.

H/T Weasel Zippers

I Read Blogs...

From THE BOSS:

I read blogs. Some of them are opinions of individuals, some are military, legal or tax related. I try very hard to read these blogs with an open mind and also to understand the other side's point of view. As we all know, knowledge is power; and besides, you never know when you might need a “fact” during a conversation.

On one of the tax blogs I was reading the conclusion of a paper and the last 15 words struck me like a bolt of lightning. I read them 3 times before I thought my head would explode. Here are those 15 words: “the notion that the tax code is founded on basic notions of fairness and uniformity.” The law professor who wrote those 15 words was trying to make the point that all persons need to be treated equally, and currently this one IRC (Internal Revenue Code) does not do that.

Here is how the key word “notion(s)” is defined:
· A belief or opinion.
· A mental image or representation; an idea or conception.
· A fanciful impulse; a whim.

Now let’s take these same 15 words and insert the first definition. It would read “the opinion that the tax code is founded on basic beliefs of fairness and uniformity” or it could be read using the second definition “ the idea that the tax code is founded on the basic concept of fairness and uniformity.”

I know you see where I am going with this. Here are those same 15 words using the third definition: “the whim that the tax code is founded on the basic impulse of fairness and uniformity.” Interesting, but not quite there yet, so let me give it one more try. Here is how it should read: “the opinion that the tax code is founded on the basic whim of fairness and uniformity.”

I like the fourth definition best. It is the correct perspective on the IRS/ IRC. “Why?", you ask? To give you a short answer: “because the IRC is over 75,000 pages long.” The IRS is a machine in the respect that they win 70% to 85% of the cases no matter what strategy the taxpayer takes. They have files, cases of paper and servers full of data to argue the other side. They have more attorney that the largest US Law Firms. Come to think of it, they are the largest US Law Firm!

In 1913 the tax code was 300 pages, moving up to 8,200 pages by 1945. By 1954 there were 14,000 pages, jumping to 67,500 pages by 2008. This is nuts! Today we hover somewhere around 75,000 to 80,000 pages, give or take a thousand.

Let me ask these questions, “How can there be fairness and uniformity?” when the IRS doesn’t even know and understand all 75,000+ pages? “How can the taxpayer get justice when they hire one attorney to go up against the largest law machine in our country?” While the taxpayer is struggling to pay one attorney to file a suit, write motions, research prior cases, the IRS does a data search and out spits a list of cases they’ve won. Reviewing the list, they pick the best ones, cut, copy and paste into a new motion and file it with the court. It cost them cents on the dollar versus the poor taxpayer who is paying hundreds of dollars an hour.

If there is to be fairness and uniformity we need a stepped Flat Tax, one form to fill out and less government with their hands in our pockets.

I married her because she's smarter than I am. So -- what she said!

Oh, I'd love to be an Oscar Mayer WEINER

Just not a Congressman named Weiner.

What a jackass.

It's precisely this kind of chickenshit prevarication that makes my blood boil. We pay these anal orifices a good salary, give them an office and staff, allow them to send us unlimited junk mail -- and they wonder why we don't trust these weasels, er, weiners.

Medal of Honor Recipient and Hero

Folks, I was blessed today. I flew into Washington Reagan National Airport at about noon today. At the gate across from mine, there was a crowd gathered, and a lot of clapping and cheering. I figured it was a group of soldiers returning from Iraq or Afghanistan. Little did I know...

The Congressional Medal of Honor Society is having a convention here in DC. And from that other plane came 20 or so Medal of Honor winners. It was difficult to tell how many, as there were so many folks gathered around cheering. I have to tell you, I was mighty proud of my fellow citizens today -- I mean those folks who came out to cheer, and the business folks who stopped what they were doing and let out a big cheer.

Since I really couldn't see them, I decided to be sneaky. I did a bee-line to the security checkpoint, and waited outside. Sure enough, there was a welcoming group there, and the MOH winners came out in ones and twos, most with a spouse. American Airlines had an escort for each and every one of them. Good for AA!

I was able to take pictures of several of these gentlemen, but most important was that I was able to shake their hands and say "thank you for your service to our country". I have never been able to shake hands with a MOH winner before, and I was floored.

I met GEN Pat Brady, and had my picture taken with Charles P. Murray, Jr., who as a LT in WWII won the MOH. 65 years ago he was a young man, ready to allow Uncle Sam to cash that check.

These gentlemen are America's heroes (along with our troops serving around the world). I met several other MOH holders, but I have to tell you that I was tearing up as I introduced myself and thanked them for their service. One of them (I just don't know which it was) said to me, "No, thank YOU...you don't need to thank me; your tears are all the thanks I need".

Pure class. Greatest generation indeed.

Rahm knows how to celebrate

Geraldo (Jerry Rivers) is a complete moron

Point by point (and I'm going to cuss at the end, so fair warning):

1. Jerry said the new bill removes the ability of insurance companies to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions.

Jerry, you dumb ass, pre-existing condition denial is already outlawed by COBRA. Provided that you have uninterrupted coverage for the previous 12 months, your new insurance company can't impose a pre-existing condition. I know -- I've had to fight for it, for both myself and for THE BOSS.

2. Jerry says that this bill will prevent insurance companies from imposing wild increases in premiums -- some as high as 30 and 40%.

Jerry, you dumb ass, insurance premiums are set by state insurance commissions. If you have something to bitch about, take your argument to the government board that sets rates. Just because an insurance company asks for a large increase (and may have a perfectly good set of reasons to do so based on previous costs and claims expenses) doesn't mean they'll get the increase. And ANY increase must be approved by the commissions.

3. Jerry says the bill will mandate that insurance companies cover preventive care -- things like annual check-ups, a mammogram, or a colonoscopy (shudder), and the like.

Jerry, you dumb ass. Most insurance companies included coverage for these things already. And in an open and freely competitive market, companies would rather pay for early detection and cure BECAUSE IT'S LESS EXPENSIVE.

4. The new bill allows kids to stay on their parents' plans to age 26 (something Jerry said was good for his kids).

Jerry, you dumb ass. Why on earth are we coddling kids? Parents should kick their asses out of the house after college, and tell them to get a job, just like we as parents do. Allowing them to stay on the parents' plan will keep them as a dependent, and therefore discourage the kids from looking for work. Great idea, there, comrade.

5. Finally, Jerry was giddy with the fact that EVERYONE WILL NOW HAVE INSURANCE.

Jerry, you dumb ass. Just because you want to provide health care for 10 or 20 or 30 million uninsured (the number is in dispute), why on earth do you want to fuck up my insurance to do this? For all the money we're going to spend on this monstrosity, we could have just set up a new program for those who don't have insurance. And WHERE ARE WE GOING TO GET ALL OF THE DOCTORS? I swear to God, if I have to wait in line for one of Jerry's illegal aliens, I'll punch that punk in the nose.

By the way, do you get the idea that I think Geraldo is a dumb ass? Good - I thought I was being subtle.

Health care is a privilege, not a right. It is also a private contract between two parties (with a service provider in the middle). It is none of the government's business what kind of insurance contract I want to negotiate with my provider.

Mark my words -- if the government can get involved in setting standard terms for insurance contracts, then they can get in the middle of ANY contract you have. Just like Blue Laws, which we've mostly gotten rid of, the government should get the hell out of the way of my business with whomever I want to contract with (assuming it's a legal contract, of course).

Fuck you, Jerry. And fuck Bart Stupak, too, that traitorous bastard.

John Boehner - Great Speech Against Health Care Bill

Boehner speaks for me.

H/T Breitbart.com

The Day our Freedoms Died

H/T (sorry, pulled off the web and don't recall website. Will post when I find it.)

Stupak screwed us all

Just talked with my brother in law who lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Stupak is his rep...for now. He is (almost) to the right of me (I'm to the right of Ryan). He states that many Republicans in the U.P. support Stupak because he's pro-life and he's pro-gun...he's a huge supporter of hunting rights and gun rights in general.

Wave bye-bye, Bart. You're toast in November.

So much for standing up to Comrade Pelosi on principle.

A Browning in Every Pot

I love this one.

H/T Below the Beltway

Don't Tread on Me - Storming the Capitol Building

This is unbelievable to me...when was the last time you heard that people - patriots - were gathered around the Capitol building and unfurling flags from the building itself!

It's just unfathomable that Comrade Pelosi and all these Democrat morons are so tone deaf.

I think that if there were not Secret Service agents around Pelosi that she'd be physically assaulted. I don't know that she'd be hurt, but she'd certainly be in fear of bodily harm. I don't advocate it, and I deplore violence -- I agree completely with the rule of law and the political process. But she's nuts if she thinks she'd be safe to walk across the Capitol grounds if this vote goes her way.

The good news is she won't be Speaker after November's elections.

H/T The Corner

Paul Ryan on C-Span

I don't normally watch C-Span...it's a little dry for my tastes. I do keep up with politics more than the average person, and I participate in local politics...not really national politics.

Right now, I'm watching C-Span non-stop, and I'm struck by how Paul Ryan's arguments are factual, and how all of the Democrats are reading letters, talking about their moms, dads, neighbors, milkmen, etc. In other words, they are all talking past each other.

I strongly oppose the current health care "reform", mostly because it is no such thing. It's just another entitlement that will cause my taxes to go up and reduce the incentives for folks to get off their assess and get an education to get a job.

Obama said he was going to "focus like a laser beam on jobs". Bullshit.

I'm struck by Paul Ryan's skills as a speaker, his command of facts and knowledge of the financial impact of this crappy bill.

Paul Ryan for President...and Pelosi for dog catcher.

The Damn Congress and the Census - Part 2

Part 1 is here.

So now we hear that if you put "American" on your Census form, the Census Bureau will "impute" your race. Huh.

Wonder how that would work for Tiger Woods. Or his kids. Or Obama. Just saying.

Here's part of the blog post in which the Census Bureau answers the question (BOLD is mine):

Actual Enumeration [Mark Krikorian]

I have a piece in today's USA Today distilling my Corner posts on answering "American" to the census race question. The editor, while writing the paper's own editorial on the subject (mine was the "opposing view"), called the Census Bureau yesterday and asked what they'd do with "American" responses. She was told, as I'd expected, that they'd just impute the race — i.e., make up their own answer based on various factors, like where you live.

I mean, come on. If they can gerrymander a district, what difference is your race to them?

H/T The Corner

New Math

Math? What's math?



Obama says that, under Obamacare, premiums could go down as much as 3,000%. Not a typo. And that means we'll all get a raise! Yippee! A raise. Lessee...if premiums go down by 3,000%, then I'll split the savings with the company...I'll only ask for a 1,500% raise.

So if I make $30,000 a year, now I'll make $750,000! And the company will save that much.
That sounds fair. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Will this freaking moron read anything that's on the teleprompter?

Beware the Ides of March

Looks like everyone is avoiding Chicago's Ohare airport...


(to be fair, this was taken at midnight when my plane got in.)

WURSTFEST 2010

Speaking of sausage, WURSTFEST 2010 will be the 50th-annual event in New Braunfels!

Back in the 70's while in college we went to Wurstfest every year. A plastic pitcher of beer was $2, you got to keep the pitcher, and refills were one measly dollar ($1)! Ah, those were the days...cheap beer, drinking age of 18, and plenty of cops who'd look the other way when you were driving home drunk! Ah well...it didn't hurt that one of my college pals' father was the Sheriff. I tended to ride with the son whenever I was going out drinking...safer that way. ;-)

So come on down to Wurstfest this year! The used to call it "The Best of the Wurst!"

Reid, Pelosi, and Sausages

No, this is not a porn post.
Will Rogers said that the two things you don't want to watch being made are legislation and sausage.

Well, to prove the point: the Senate this week is taking up discussion about the FAA reauthorization bill. Fine and dandy. I fly every week on business, and while I think the FAA could do a better job, they do get me safely from point a to point b. Never on time, but whaddaya want fer nuthing? Rubber biscuit? (If you don't get that joke, sigh, I'm old and you're too young. But I digress.)

I was reading The Foundry this evening, and noted this:

The Senate will continue work on H.R. 1586, the FAA reauthorization bill. Potential amendments include earmark reform, discretionary spending limits and the continuation of the DC school choice program.

Now, excuse me while I go off on a rant here, but WTF does DC school choice have to do with the FAA? Are all the little tykes in the DC school system going to end up as ATC controllers? And why oh why are we adding earmark reform to the freaking FAA funding bill?

I know, I know, the political realities are such that since the FAA bill must be passed, it's easier to tack on more controversial legislation than try to vote on it as a stand-alone bill. BUT THAT'S THE POINT!

You want to know why the Tea Parties are successful? Why no one trusts Washington? It's because Congressmen do stupid crap like this. IF they would simply vote on bills one at a time, then we would have all of that "transparency" that Obama said we'd get, along with debate about the FCC money and DC vouchers on CSPAN.

The Dems are touting the line of "let's have an up or down vote". OK, put your hiney where your mouth is. Here's a better idea...toss em all in the Potomac and let em all go down. Up Yours, Congress!

As much as I hate to say it, we'll have to throw all of the bums out. Thank GOD I can keep Paul Ryan and my brother in law can keep Bart Stupak.

H/T The Foundry

BZ to The Sniper

Out-freaking-standing.

H/T The Sniper

The Damn Congress and the Census

I don't encourage anyone to break the law. As much as I may not like a particular law, it's the law. Our actions to follow the laws of our country are, in large part, what make us free. Sounds counterintuitive, but knowing that there's a law against someone breaking your nose in the grocery store (as well as confidence that the vast majority of citizens won't violate that law) gives you the freedom to go to the store and walk the aisles in a carefree manner (even if you do stand in the middle of the damn aisle and get your glasses out and look at EVERY SINGLE BRAND of tomato sauce...sorry).

Let's also honor those who wear the uniform by obeying the law. They put their lives on the line so that we can have freedom, democracy, and, yes, congressmen who write dumb laws. We dishonor our warriors if we don't follow the law. If we don't like a law, we have a way to change it without resorting to the barrel of a gun. That's the legacy of our Constitution and how it's defended -- by the military.

So while I don't like the census form, or what's on it, I'm going to follow the law when it comes to answering the questions on the form. Honestly and truthfully. While holding my nose.

From The Corner:(emphasis mine)

To Answer or Not to Answer the Census – That Is the Question [Hans A. von Spakovsky]

I have been deluged lately with requests asking me whether one has to answer all of the questions on the 2010 Census, particularly those about race and ethnic background. Like Mark Krikorian, I don’t like those questions and don’t think the U.S. government should be collecting that information — its only use is to continue to separate us on racial grounds, for reapportionment purposes and for certain government programs.

Mark has said that he is going to answer “American” on the race question. I have always been tempted to answer “Native American,” since I was born and raised here. However, people need to understand that they may incur a legal liability if they use such answers or don’t answer questions at all.

In Article I, Section 2, the Constitution says that an “Enumeration” must be conducted every ten years “in such Manner as [Congress] shall by Law direct.” Congress has directed through a federal law that anyone who “refuses or willfully neglects…to answer, to the best of his knowledge, any of the questions” on the Census form can be fined $100 (18 U.S.C. § 221). If you deliberately give a false answer, you can be fined up to $500.

.....

Everyone should realize that if you don’t complete a Census form, you are violating federal law. The chances of actual prosecution may be remote, but it could happen. The only real answer to this problem is for Congress to prohibit the Census Bureau from collecting such information and to make all government programs (and the reapportionment process) explicitly race-neutral.

No, I don't like it, and I'd be willing to pay a fine of $100 as a protest, but I really don't want the feds up my rear end, either.

Freedom's a bitch...unless you don't have it.

I Might Send Money to the ACLU

They ran a full page ad in today's NYTimes.
When Obama loses the ACLU, he's seriously FUBARed.

I will sleep peacefully tonight.

H/T WeaselZippers

Commies to the left, Commies to the right

I work for a living. I put myself through college. I worked while I was in college...3 jobs. Now, I didn't walk 10 miles to school in the snow (both ways), and I had a great time in college. I also got some scholarship money (academic and athletic).

I have news for you...education is NOT a right...it's a privilege...like a driver's license.



I just don't understand these morons across the country, mostly in California. Where the hell do they get off thinking they are ENTITLED to MY TAX DOLLARS to put them through college? If you don't like the fact that California raised tuition, vote with your feet. Go somewhere else. Trust me -- there's always a way. And guess what? When (if) you finally get out of college, you'll get that job, because on your resume you'll describe how you are a responsible citizen who knows how to work, show up on time, and be dependable.

Protesting and destroying property will just get you arrested. Try getting into law school with that on your record. Oh, yeah, forgot...you're not thinking that far ahead, are you?

And I'd take the "resist" word off your literature...not a great word in the private sector.

Morons.

God Bless Larry Gatlin

Larry was on Hannity tonight, and had the best line of the night. He was talking about Harry Reid, and how Reid talks out of both sides of his mouth. Larry said hey, you can't have it both ways:

"It's kinda like the old boy is the veterinarian and the taxidermist...either way you get yer dog back".

Now I could vote for Larry Gatlin. Plus he's got great music.

Dallas Tea Party - This Saturday

I don't watch Olberdummy. He's about as whacky as Ron Paul.



I sure like this smack-down of Olbie. Wish I could be in Dallas this weekend...I have a lot of friends who'll be there, ready to moon Olberman if he shows his face. Those moons will be better looking than his ugly mug.

H/T The Dallas Tea Party

Proof that Obama is OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY

This moron is the cause of the problem.

I swear this guy is intentionally ruining this country. Prick.

This Gets My Vote

H/T Weasel Zippers and FoxNews Channel 11

Deforestation Coming

H/T Weasle Zippers

More Flying Jihadis

More good use of my tax dollars.



More money for weapons platforms, less for booze on Pelosi's plane.

Business Trip

(The Jameson Vintage was 350 Euros...didn't buy it, but I sure wanted to. This is Duty Free in Istanbul.)

Just returned from Istanbul. We had a sales meeting there last week, and I had to spend a Saturday night to get the cheap fare. $700 for a round-trip from Chicago to Istanbul (on Delta, via JFK) vs $2,900 with no Saturday night stay. So a week blown for a 2 day sales meeting. Go figure.

Also, the return flight was 2 hours late leaving Istanbul, and the winds aloft were very strong, so the return trip was 11 hours from IST to JFK, so I missed my connection to Chicago and had to stay overnight at JFK. The delay was not Delta's fault, as they had to stop in Dublin on the way over to let off a very sick passenger. All in all, Delta handled the overnight very well. I have over 3 million miles on Delta/Northwest, and this was one of the best "bad" experiences I have had in 30 years of flying.

I may post a few pics of IST, but the weather was crappy (1st snowfall there in 5 years) and we were locked in the hotel for the meeting, so we didn't really get out. The people at the hotel were very nice, great service, and very reasonable prices. I didn't like the food, though, but I'll chalk that up to it being hotel food instead of restaurant food. I've traveled extensively throughout Europe, and I'd have to give Istanbul about a 5. I'm sure if I had a few days, a chance to play golf, and warm weather, my rating would go up!

More later.