Penn-demonium

AP
If we're going to whack Hugo, we might as well do it now. Drop a 2,000 lb JDAM. We can get a two-fer.

Let's just not allow Penn back into the country. Yea, that's the ticket!

NOBama 08

And I thought this was an anti Univ of Alabama sticker...

Pardon Me for not Paying Taxes

I LOVE this idea.

Most interesting idea:

Derb—-You said: 'Imagine, for example, President Ron II trying to push his bill to abolish the IRS through Congress. Congress! — whose members eat, drink, breathe and live for the wrinkles they can add to the tax code on behalf of their favored interest groups!' That's a good point, but please consider this: if elected President, Ron Paul can bring the income tax grinding to a halt by very publicly giving full pardons to anyone convicted of violating the IRS code. He could even deliver television speeches encouraging Americans to stop filing returns. Faced with a public rebellion, and with the "teeth" pulled from the IRS by the pardons, Congress would have little choice but to bow to Paul's will. See? I can dream too!

H/T The Corner

When Marines Eat Their Own

W. Thomas Smith, a Marine, says this about Murtha...

Murtha, who retired from the Marine Corps Reserve as a colonel, is a disgrace to his uniform and should never again refer to himself as a "Marine," former or otherwise. He is an ex-Marine, and is not fit to look a real Marine in the eye. And I know many senior Marines who — though perhaps not as vocal as I am about it — have expressed similar sentiments.

Don't piss off a real Marine. Murtha is whale dung...the lowest thing on the Earth.

H/T The Tank

Robert Heinlein and Society

H/T The Corner at National Review Online

Heinlein was a great libertarian. Here's a great, short piece on belief in man.

Our Noble, Essential Decency

by Robert A. Heinlein

I am not going to talk about religious beliefs but about matters so obvious that it has gone out of style to mention them. I believe in my neighbors. I know their faults, and I know that their virtues far outweigh their faults.

Take Father Michael down our road a piece. I'm not of his creed, but I know that his goodness and charity and loving kindness shine in his daily actions. I believe in Father Mike. If I'm in trouble, I'll go to him. My next-door neighbor's a veterinary doctor. Doc will get out of bed after a hard day to help a stray cat—no fee, no prospect of a fee. I believe in Doc.

I believe in my townspeople. You can knock on any door in our town, say, "I'm hungry," and you'll be fed. Our town is no exception. I've found the same ready charity everywhere. For the one who says, "The heck with you, I've got mine," there are a hundred, a thousand, who will say, "Sure, pal, sit down." I know that despite all warnings against hitchhikers, I can step to the highway, thumb for a ride, and in a few minutes a car or a truck will stop and someone will say, "Climb in, Mack. How far you going?"

I believe in my fellow citizens. Our headlines are splashed with crime. Yet for every criminal, there are ten thousand honest, decent, kindly men. If it were not so. no child would live to grow up. Business could not go on from day to day. Decency is not news. It is buried in the obituaries, but it is a force stronger than crime.

I believe in the patient gallantry of nurses, in the tedious sacrifices of teachers. I believe in the unseen and unending fight against desperate odds that goes on quietly in almost every home in the land. I believe in the honest craft of workmen. Take a look around you. There never were enough bosses to check up on all that work. From Independence Hall to the Grand Coulee Dam, these things were built level and square by craftsmen who were honest in their bones.

I believe that almost all politicians are honest. For every bribed alderman, there are hundreds of politicians—low paid or not paid at all—doing their level best without thanks or glory to make our system work. If this were not true, we would never have gotten past the thirteen colonies.

I believe in Roger Young. You and I are free today because of endless unnamed heroes from Valley Forge to the Yalu River. I believe in—I am proud to belong to—the United States. Despite shortcomings—from lynchings, to bad faith in high places—our nation has had the most decent and kindly internal practices and foreign policies to be found anywhere in history.

And finally, I believe in my whole race—yellow, white, black, red, brown—in the honesty, courage, intelligence, durability, and goodness of the overwhelming majority of my brothers and sisters everywhere on this planet. I am proud to be a human being. I believe that we have come this far by the skin of our teeth—that we always make it just by the skin of our teeth—but that we will always make it, survive, endure.

I believe that this hairless embryo with the aching oversized braincase and the opposable thumb—this animal barely up from the apes—will endure, will endure longer than his home planet, will spread out to the other planets—to the stars and beyond—carrying with him his honesty, his insatiable curiosity, his unlimited courage, and his noble essential decency. This I believe with all my heart.

OUCH...You're SO strong!

Check out the wimp handshake from Teddy. That's a real Texan handshake from the President. Teddy's got a broken drinking hand after this one.

H/T National Review...photo by Ron Edmonds/AP

Is this a Presidential Picture?

I shudder when I think that this picture could be hanging in all government buildings, all Federal courthouses, etc.

Just -- YUCK.

H/T The Corner

McCain Loses Presidency

As if he ever had a chance, this dope lost it when he voted "aye" for cloture on the Amnesty Bill today.

I hope he wrangled an invitation to Hyannis, because he won't be sleeping in the White House. Note to John: Don't drive with Teddy.

H/T National Review

The Immigration Bill in PLAIN ENGLISH

If you are not afraid, VERY AFRAID, of what can happen if this terrible bill passes, please read this great article by John Shadegg, Congressman from Arizona. Shadegg has obviously READ the bill (can Voinovich say that?) and clearly states the consequences if it passes.

Can you say "dirty bomb"?

Build The Fence, Deport Illegals who are Arrested, and Fine Employers who Hire Illegals. It really is that simple.

BTF DIA FEHI Good bumper sticker material.

H/T COB and The Corner

I Fear that It Is So

Re: Re: Lugar [Andy McCarthy]

I don't mean to be harsh regarding Senator Lugar. He is hardly a singular voice here. Unlike the foreign policy establishment, however, I have spent many years dealing with real live jihadists. Fact: They really do think they can and will win. They don't need a lot of hope to carry on — people willing to kill themselves in order to kill you are already pretty motivated. But they derive great hope from what they (rightly) see as our surrenders and our ambivalence — compared to their own great certainty and confidence.

I am not a fan of how the war has been directed, and I believe expending our time and effort on the democracy project rather than on defeating our enemies in Iraq and elsewhere will go down as one of history's great blunders. But with all that said, I note with the heartache of one who has seen it all too many times before: We will rue the day we leave Iraq without routing radical Islam. What we have not killed, we have made stronger.

H/T The Corner on National Review Online

This day in History -- 20 years ago today

"Mr. Gorbachev, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL".

One of the all-time greatest speeches, June 12, 1987. Watch and listen here.

I was in Berlin in the spring of 1990, just after the wall came down. The Berliners were all grateful to Reagan for leading the way.

WORST...SOPRANOS...EVER

Nuff said.

Sudafed and Methamphetamine

In Wisconsin, the state statutes state (get it?):

961.23(6)
(6) No person other than a physician, dentist, veterinarian, or pharmacist may purchase more than 7.5 grams of pseudoephedrine contained in a pseudoephedrine product within a 30-day period without the authorization of a physician, dentist, or veterinarian.

There is apparently a large Meth industry in Wisconsin, due to all of the state parks and forests throughout the western and northern parts of the state. In doing a little research I have found that one method of making Meth is to somehow cook products that contain ephedrine and come out with Meth. (See here for a link to the US Dept of Justice website on how it's made -- generally.) In its infinite wisdom, the state of Wisconsin now prohibits the purchase of small amounts of pseudoephedrine (see above). Ok, I get it...let's not sell large lots of Meth raw materials in order to restrict the flow of Meth being made in the state.

It turns out that 2 packs of Sudafed 12-hour tablets is about 8 grams. How do I know this? I tried to buy 2, and was restricted to 1. I went into the pharmacy where I know the pharmacist and most of the assistants. I'm not a Meth user, maker, or seller, and would gladly snap the neck of anyone making it or (worse) selling it to our kids.

I'm one of those people that always buys 2 when 1 would do. Hey, I snore, so to keep the Mrs. happy, I'll take a Sudafed now and then, especially now that the flowers are blooming. It's convenient having 2 packs -- one in the medicine cabinet, and one in my travel kit. But no -- can't do it. What a pain. And I'm not gonna go around the law and get the Mrs. to buy some, too. I could go to the doc and get a prescription for it...but it's called an over-the-counter-med for a reason. And why should I pay for a doctor's visit just to get some anti-stuffy meds? Dammit, why do a few morons make it so hard to just live a normal life?

And why does the state impose an inconvenience on me when it should be giving the local cops and sheriffs enough money to catch the bad guys?

Rosie the Irrelevant

Great post over at The Corner on National Review Online by Victor Davis Hanson. I think this is one of the best lines of the year:

That's why the "View" is so valuable, because it is our window on the moronic affluent American mindset, the perfect result of abject ignorance colliding with unchecked affluence. (Italics mine.)

Amen, brother.

And another thing...

Lower the drinking age back to 18. If you're old enough to vote and old enough to fight and (perhaps) die for your country, you are old enough to drink beer.

Period.

Help a Cop out

This headline from the AP caught my attention:

JANESVILLE, Wis. — A driver who was stopped for speeding and tested over the legal limit for blood-alcohol content, but was not arrested, was killed less than three hours later Monday when his car hit a tree, according to police.

Catch the full story on Fox News here.

I want to encourage you to join me and contribute to the legal defense fund for the poor cop that let this guy go. The driver, besides being a candidate for this year's Darwin Awards, wasn't even wearing his safety belt. I've been a vocal and tireless (and not-very-effective) opponent of mandatory seat-belt laws for adults. I truly believe that we all have the right to be dumb...and need to take a little personal responsibility in our lives, get the damn government out of the business of being a nanny, and pay the consequences for our actions.

Now I don't want to hear from the MADD folks on this. Yes, this guy COULD HAVE killed someone else. But he didn't -- he has taken the ULTIMATE responsibility for being one with nature (and that tree) now.

I don't give a damn about this guy's personal life, nor about what his problems were, nor why he was pounding some beers before he got in the car. Unless we're going to pass laws requiring sobriety tests at the exits to all bars and homes (not likely), we'll get this now and then. Our laws (and the punishments) are designed as deterrents to bad behavior. As long as we don't hurt someone else in the process, we need to think carefully where we're going to draw the line on legislating against bad behavior.

I know, I know, I AGREE that we should have DWI laws (where did the term 'DUI' come from, anyway?), and I think they should be enforced. But this cop stopped the guy, made him take the breath test, had a friend come pick him up, and sent them on their way. It sure as hell is not the cop's fault that the guy ended up behind the wheel later. Sure, he could have sobered up in the drunk tank. BUT...he'd just hit the bottle again the next day and wrap himself around that tree (or maybe around your bumper).

You know that this cop will lose his job over this...and all because he treated this guy as we'd like him to treat us if we were in this scenario. Reminds me of my Dad when I first "tasted" beer. He wouldn't give me aspirin the next day...said that I needed to understand what the price of beer was (besides the $1.99 per six-pack). Smart man, yes, he was.

Send money to this cop.

Personal responsibility...that's what it's all about.

Thank God he's an EX-President

This week, former President Jimmy Carter was asked about Tony Blair's legacy. Said the Pea-brained Nut from Georgia:

"I think that the almost undeviating support by Great Britain for the ill-advised policies of President Bush in Iraq have been a major tragedy for the world."

Now, it's one thing to criticize Blair (he should not), but it's quite another for the Peanut Man to take a shot at President Bush. An unwritten policy of gentlemanliness has always been followed by former Presidents: You don't criticize the President who's in office. As a Southerner, I'm embarrassed that Carter would show the lack of manners and class to violate this courtesy. Recall that neither Nixon nor Ford ever said anything bad about Carter while he was in office. They just didn't comment. A little professional courtesy would be nice, and, dammit, just plain good manners are lacking in this hick. I'm sure his mama, Miz Lillian, would slap him silly.

H/T COB

Immigration Reform (NOT) and Amnesty

Here's a great post from National Review Online. This should remind you why Ted Kennedy is a moron and can't be trusted behind the wheel of a car, let alone writing laws.

Ted Kennedy on Immigration [Mark Krikorian]

1965: "The bill will not flood our cities with immigrants. It will not upset the ethnic mix of our society. It will not relax the standards of admission. It will not cause American workers to lose their jobs."

1986: "This amnesty will give citizenship to only 1.1 to 1.3 million illegal aliens. We will secure the borders henceforth. We will never again bring forward another amnesty bill like this."

2007: "Now it is time for action. 2007 is the year we must fix our broken system."

H/T NRO 5/18/2007

Harry Reid, once again, worthless

Please visit COB's blog. This is very important and personal for him, as his son is currently serving in Baghdad with the 82nd Airborne.

And I propose a mass boycott of all of Nevada until the voters of Nevada get rid of this POS Harry Reid.

From COB:

http://crotchetyoldbastard.com/blog/2007/04/thank_you_senator_reid.html.

I humbly ask that you all give this the widest spread possible across your blogs or those that you frequent.

Senator Reid has gone beyond just pandering and political amatuerism; he is now endangering my son. I am sure that most of you can imagine how I feel. Imagine if one of your sons were in a dangerous place and a politician's acts and statements did no less than greatly increase his danger?

Again, I ask your indulgence but I think thousands of messages just might make a difference. It likely won't change Reid's position but I will copy the message to every Senator and, if nothing else, might steel the resolve of those who still believe in the US military.

Thanks for your help,

COB6

Texas Independence Day

Today in history, March 2, 1836, Texans gathered in Washington-on-the-Brazos signed the Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico. The Alamo in San Antonio was under siege, and the Declaration was written - literally - overnight, between March 1 and 2. Texas became an independent nation until joining the Union in 1845.

Celebrate Texas Independence Day -- Kiss a Texan (preferably of the opposite sex).