Happy Hill'oween!

Mrs. Bill Clinton takes some time off from the campaign trail to ponder costume options...

Nah, too obvious.

Doesn't have the legs to pull this off, but it is cool...and appropriate.

Needs the pincushion headgear.

Nope, people would just use her as a trashcan, tossing stuff into that gaping maw.

Oooooohhhhh! I think we have a winner here! "Royal" purple suits her.

All hail Lennon & Marx?

I read recently about a birthday party/campaign rally held at Harvard for Mrs. Bill Clinton. The reporter mentioned that the Beatles song "Revolution" was playing in the background. Ahhhhh, ain't that cute? This isn't the first time I have read of this song being adopted by pro-Clintons as sort of an unofficial theme song at their events.
But have these morons even ever LISTENED to the lyrics??!!
I'll put them here for edification and with emphasis on certain lines:

You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right

You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We'd all love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well, you know
We're doing what we can
But when you want money
for people with minds that hate
All I can tell is brother you have to wait
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right


You say you'll change the constitution
Well, you know
We all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well, you know
You better free you mind instead
But if you go carrying pictures of chairman Mao
You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right
all right, all right, all right
all right, all right, all right


Certainly sounds like an condemnation of everything they embody rather than a hearty endorsement, iffin ya ax me. This is like playing Oingo Boingo's "I Love Little Girls" at a anti-pedophile rally!

(Yes, I realize that many years later on the White album, I believe, the Beatles did another version of their song that made it sound like they had changed their minds about "revolution", but that one is not as nearly as good or popular as the original. For one, it's too sleepy. The tempo being slowed down. The original with its' familiar ear bleeding fuzzy guitar riff and Lennon scream at the start is the one almost everyone knows and loves. And it's that version the college kids are using, betcha dime to doughnuts, because, dude, it so totally rocks!)

Vowels in the Bowels?

We came home Sunday afternoon from a concert of the Evangel College orchestra (which was excellent, by the way) to find that one of my more neurotic german shepherds, Miz Hannah, had somehow found the Scrabble game, dragged it out, got the lid off the box and had decided that the old cloth bag holding all the letter tiles just had to be a bag of candy.

Wooden letter tiles were strewn about all over the house. The majority of them were in my eldest's room. Some were in the hallway, little piles were in the front room, several scattered in front of the fireplace next to the bag which had a small hole neatly chewed in the bottom seam. With the exception of a "G" which was chewed up, the rest appeared ok. It was kinda comical, finding these letters all over the place. Were we discovering strays clear into the evening. And no, there weren't any cryptic messages spelled out. She may be neurotic and schizo, but not that bad.

Does anyone know off hand just how many letter tiles are in a game of Scrabble?
I'm just wondering if I have to carry a pokin' stick with me whenever I let the dogs out for their constitutionals today.

Wow. Can I Get These on Overstock.com?!

From LGF:

ROME — Italian Muslims have swiftly acted to stop the sale in local stores of toilet seat covers that feature verses of the Noble Qur’an in an unprecedented blasphemous act, reporting the matter to appropriate authorities and politicians, who proved forthcoming.

“I would like to thank Italian authorities who responded positively to our complaints against this profanity,” Samir Al-Khalidi, the head of the Islamic Centre (Al-Huda) in Rome, told IslamOnlin.net Saturday, October 27.

“We reacted astutely to this provocation and threw the ball in the court of security officials and politicians, demanding them to seize the products immediately to head off angry Muslim reaction,” he added.

The Lazio-based Orizzonte Company unveiled this month a new collection of bathroom products including the offensive toilet cover seats. They feature verses from the Noble Qur’an printed on the double face of the cover seats and intersected by colorful flowers and Latin words.

Following Muslim complaints, police raided the four branches of the company in the town of Latina, 60km south of Rome, and seized 2,000 such pieces on sale.

Interior minister Giuliano Amato met Friday with Italian Muslim leaders at the main Rome Mosque to reassure them that Italy would not tolerate such outrageous acts.

“This is an insult to the Muslim faith,” The imam of the Lazio town of Latina’s mosque, Sheikh Yusuf, told Amato. Amato reassured Yusuf, saying: “I would like to tell our friends from Latina that we have been informed of this matter and are taking action because it is offensive.”

Italy has a Muslim population of some 1.2 million, including 20,000 reverts, according to unofficial estimates.

There's a photo of them on LGF. I'm not one for artsy toilet seats, but these are kinda pretty!

More Contrived 'Noose' Paranoia

SHREVEPORT, La. -- "A noose found in a doctors' break room at LSU Health Sciences Center might be a piece of rope fashioned with a knot and a loop used to treat orthopedic patients, the head of the facility said.

After a maintenance worker found the rope on Wednesday, administrators at the hospital and medical school notified federal authorities because they were concerned the rope with loops on each end might have been placed in the break room to intimidate blacks.

But on Thursday, Dr. John McDonald, the hospital's top administrator, said the rope might be one used by surgeons to give traction to fracture patients.

To someone unfamiliar with medical procedures, the series of knots and loops could appear to be a hangman's noose.

University police are investigating how the rope got there and they will turn over their findings to the U.S. attorney's office and the FBI in Shreveport.

Since the Jena Six case made headlines, there have been a number of other nooses found in high-profile incidents around the country _ in a black Coast Guard cadet's bag, on a Maryland college campus, and on the office door of a black professor at Columbia University in New York."

linky

So, they have just broadened the definition of a hate crime noose to include lengths of cord, rope or ripped bedsheet with loops at BOTH ends. Wow.

That would kinda defeat the functionality of the thing wouldn't it? I mean, I ain't no college graduate and I don't get around much, but just how would an alledged hangman's noose work if a loop was at both ends? What is the message with something like that?
Oh! I get it! There were 2 nooses!!! That automatically means it was TWICE as BAD!!!
Nevermind....
Ain't it funny how the administrators' first reaction was to get a hold of the Feds?

Local News

It's been awhile since I posted anything from our local rag. Mostly because there really hasn't been anything worth noting. But this weeks edition is chockfull of goodies.

First off, once again it's time for the annual Headstart raffle. And once again the item up for grabs is a Remington rifle. This affords a great photo op. They always pose the tykes with the firearm.



(I always make sure I email my slightly Left-of-Nancy Pelosi pal in Iowa the raffle article every year, just to get her drawers in a wad. Y'know, the whole guns & innocent children thing? The fact that it's a Headstart program doing this just adds insult to injury. Her outraged replies NEVER get old!)

Then over in the letters to the editor we have one of our few token Dems taking offense at a recent Doug Patton column. I include this only because he thinks he's trying to be clever and funny...but only comes off as stupid and immature. (worth at least one "pffft!" or half an eyeroll.)

This has to be the most curious headline ever printed in our paper:
Girls Report Man in Cape, Horns Entered Camper

Oh God, please tell me they meant a trailer camper and not a 2 legged type! (whew! They do...but still, it's a purty dang weird tale for around here.)

And finally I was pleased to read a lengthy profile on my neighbors who will be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary this weekend.

The Plasters were my mail carriers for ages and subsequently were the first folks I met when I moved here. They always made me feel welcomed and they became good friends. Wonderful people. The article focuses mostly on their long stint as rural route drivers for the US Postal Service. Not an easy gig in these parts! I was always amazed at how they truly did take the postal motto to heart, often at their own peril (as you can read in the story) and I can only recall 3 or so times in over 18 years when I didn't get my mail due to floods, ice or whatever. In the story they also mention Mrs. Plasters legendary coconut cream pies. I can attest to how popular they are, having personally seen one auctioned off for a whopping 170 bucks at a VFD pie supper once. (an interesting cultural note here: the price of your pie at an auction is also indicative of your status in the community-when one of my blueberry pies finally broke the 50 dollar mark I knew I had arrived!)
Nice to see some decent folks get some props, but I can assure you they are probably embarrassed as all get out at the fuss!

If It's October, Then San Diego Must Be On Fire

Like everyone else, I've been following the big story du jour. The wildfires in California.
Seems every year it gets worse.

I grew up there. When I was a kid, we loved the Santa Anas. Their timely arrival always in October meant a comfy night of tricker-treating, the gentle warm evening gusts enveloping and swirling about you as you plodded along in your dime-store costume, sometimes lifting the plastic mask off your head which would always be pulled up because it was too warm to keep over your face. It meant sleeping with the windows open, falling asleep to the breathy gusts of warm wind blowing through the house, rustling the trees and leaves with rhythmic 'shwoooses'. It meant the T-shirt and shorts season would be extended just a few more weeks before the dreary, cloudy, foggy, rainy days of November set in. It was the California version of Indian summer.
It also meant a little excitement in the neighborhood as the amateur pyros would take to the canyons rimming the area and set off small fires, the strong desert winds acting like a narcotic to them, signaling a subliminal suggestion planted in them somewhere along the line to grab a book of matches and go for it when the high winds would blow.

But it was never as crazy as it has been lately.
The local fire departments would often get these small canyon fires under control in short order. Folks whose homes clung to the edges of these canyons would sometimes have it well in hand by the time the firefighters showed up, hosing the creeping blazes down with a backyard waterhose. The next day my friends and I would walk past the canyons edge on the way to school and see a blackened area, maybe not much bigger than an average backyard or 2 charring a canyon side. It was seen as a nuisance. I can't recall a fire ever getting into someone's yard, or threatening a home.

Now in the distant areas of the county it was a different story. There would almost always be a "big" fire out in the boonies that time of year. Usually out beyond the Navy base, Miramar. We could see a tall plume of smoke way off to the northeast, tinting the sky at dusk with an intense orange glow. The smokey haze obscuring our kitchen window view of Mt. Palomar for about a week at a time. Sometimes these fires would be more to the due east, out in Santee. The last bit of farm country in S.D. in those days. Sparsely populated, mostly by what we city folk called the "cowboys". Again, really no damage would come of these fires, except burnt shrubs, maybe a shack or outbuilding. The fires weren't even newsworthy in those days. The local Conservation boys and fire departments would eventually get it under control, but I gathered it was no big hurry. These areas were just open scrubland, threatening noone except the occasional cowherd. It was just part of the seasonal thing out there.
I can recall one time when a fire out near Miramar did stray close to the residential area, but still far enough away to not be a concern. The Santa Ana gusts blew ash from the burning scrubland over the neighborhood, dropping it's featherweight gray payload like a weird snowfall. All us kids marvelling, standing outside, arms outstretched, pretending that it was snow. Something none of us had ever seen.

Like earthquakes, the seasonal fires were just routine. Never a threat. Just part and parcel of the devil winds of October.
Now it's all changed.
When I left California over 20 years ago, the Ranch Bernardo subdivision was still new, barely finished, as was the Mira Mesa subdivision- the "rich kids" who went to my high school lived there, bussed in because even though the homes were there, the schools were yet to be finished. And many more swanky homes were starting to be developed out in the boonies. The city was growing, more folks coming to the state wanting to live the California Dream and the developers and contractors were more than happy to oblige. They began to fill in canyons, doze into hillsides, pave over former cowfields and fill the outlying areas with house after house after house. As I watch the news about the current wildfires out there now some of the areas I recognize, but the names of the subdivisions and communities I do not, that's how much the landscape there has changed in just a few short years.
And it is because of this that the once seasonal nuisance has become a regular disaster, getting worse with each passing year.
I am agogged at what is transpiring out there. But at the same time I am amazed at the foolhardy ignorance. The congestion of homes built into the boonies, coupled with seasonal droughts and goofball enviromental regulations that will for some reason allow high density communities to be built in fire prone areas, but disallow any proactive fire prevention to the remaining open scrubland because it might bum out the 3 titted Norwegian blackbill and mess up its' migratory temporary nesting ground is the epitome of the madness that I saw coming up the Hudson and so wisely fled from.

My heart breaks for those who have lost their homes and the terror they are going through. I know I would be inconsolable if it were my house. But at the same time, surely they knew that there would be a possibility that something like this would or could happen. It happens every year, it has for generations.
It's just that now the greed of man and the desire to have a tony address has made it a disaster of ginormous magnitude.

And with every passing year it WILL get worse.

Media Myths About the Jena 6 Case

The Lovely Michelle has the full story from a local insider about the case.
It's absolutely disgusting to read how media has lied, spun, twisted and out and out neglected certain facts about the incident trying to squeeze the story to fit their template of racial unrest dividing this country. (which, personally, is sooooo 1963.)
But, we were kinda figuring that to be the case, weren't we?
The only thing missing is a lacrosse team.

As Michelle said-This story needs to get out!

If Hillary was a Conservative

...she'd be Mike Huckabee.


Just sayin, y'all.

I'm surrounded by southern baptists 'round here and although I count many as my friends, the one thing that stands out is their attitude of superiority when it comes to common human vices.
Yes, they may love you, but they'd love you alot more if ya didn't cuss, drink or smoke. And they go out of their way to let you know it. The world would be so much better without these failings, they feel.
Huck is one of those.
He talks a good talk, but I can't vote for a Nanny-stater.

WTR TARGET OF HATE CRIME

I woke up this morning and when I stepped into my blog I found this:



Naturally, I immediately notified the authorities and the media.
The cops are on it and I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this in short order.
This is obviously a hate crime intended to intimidate and SILENCE ME!
Nevermind that I'm white, I'm a woman and that's reason enough for some misogynist hate monger (AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!) to target me and others of my gender to attempt to put all us uppity wimmen in our place! And that place, no doubt in their sick twisted heads, is at the end of a rope. I guess barefoot and pregnant ain't good enough for them.
This is clearly a HATE CRIME!!!!!!!!!!!! I DEMAND ANSWERS!!!!!!!!!!!
I WILL NOT BE SILENCED! I WILL NOT BE COWED!! I CONDEMN THIS ACT BY SOME COWARDLY MISOGYNIST TERROR GROUP!
What? HOW DARE YOU IMPLY I DID THIS MYSELF! You must obviously be a HATER too!!
Prove I didn't! I'll be happy to turn over my blog files.
Just give me a few hours to review the graphic upload files first.








(oh and just in case you're just really friggin' stupid, the above is just satire. Hey, that excuse works all the time for the Left, why not us too? Lest one thinks I'm making light of the subject, I'm not. What I am mocking is the curious amount of incidences as of late in which the evil noose has been a featured player. Seems odd that such a symbol that arouses so much hysteria has been cropping up all over the place to further somebody's agendas-whatever they may be. It's becoming The Boy Who Cried Wolf. CNN is even jumping on the bandwagon -hell, THEY ARE the bandwagon!)

Kid Rock , white trash American in the news

Kid Rock Arrested

Musician Kid Rock was arrested Sunday after a fight in a restaurant in Atlanta, police said. DeKalb County police said they arrested Rock, 36, and five members of his entourage at 5:15 a.m. after an argument with a man who entered the Waffle House escalated into a fight.

Rock, who had given a concert in Atlanta earlier in the evening, left the scene on his tour bus after the fight, police said. He was stopped and arrested about a mile down the road and later released on bond.



The Waffle House????!!!! Great googly moogly! Boy howdy, one can't get any more white trash than that!
Yep, don't matter how rich or famous you become...sooner or later your white trash genes will slip out and take hold.
Of course, from what I know of this jerk, he never really ever tried to hide it.

Ronpaulio

Dish Network doesn't carry Fox News at the tier I'm in, so I didn't get to see the debate last night. A poor substitution was bouncing about the internettubes reading live blogs and post debate quarterbacking. Over at Free Republic some wag has started referring to Ron Paul as "Ronpaulio", a reference to the Beavis & Butthead cartoon- Cornholio is the gibbering alter ego of Beavis when he gets too much sugar or other stimulants. That name is starting to stick over there. It so needs a graphic:



Now one of Cornholio's more famous lines of gibberish is "I need T.P. for my bunghole."

What would Ronpaulio's line be?

Lazy Post Day: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Some links to stories that caught my eye. Plus a bonus royal flush!

The Good: Couple Makes Burglar Clean Up Mess at Gunpoint

(Your feel-good wish fulfillment moment of the day!)


The Bad: Police Raid David Copperfield's Storage Warehouse

(Let's see if he can make this disappear...)


The Ugly: Ignorant, Spoiled Brat Punks Burn a Marines Flag

( Story quote:"I don't think they really knew what they were doing..." Yeaaaah riiii-iiight. This story brought tears to my eyes. It may to you, too.)


And the Royal Flush: Stolen Giant Toilet FOUND!

(Owners are said to be relieved.)


I've got a very busy weekend on tap and it might include good news (depending on your viewpoint) by Monday. So I probably won't be able to say much until then.

Too Hip for the Room

Both my younguns applied and were accepted to be on their school's Academic Teams recently. These are extracurricular activities for kids deigned "bright" by their teachers. The teams compete against other schools in the area, answering questions on general knowledge and specific fields in a game show-like setting sponsored by a nearby school in December. Both are pretty excited about it, and I admit, I am too. Geekiness rates more than sports ability in our household.

Anyway, until the big day in December, the teams are meeting twice a week after school to practice. They run through questions, get used to hitting their buzzer quickly (it is a game-show format afterall) and all that general prep that would go into such a competition of brain power.
Yesterday my eldest had her first practice and came home with some amusing news-and I'm not too sure how to take it.

The teacher/coach told her to stop answering EVERY question!

"Mom, it was kinda funny." she explained. " About 30 minutes into our practice I had racked up about 135 points. I was getting every answer right and I was the quickest to hit my buzzer; well, most of the time anyway. Finally Mrs._______ told me to stop answering because it wasn't fair to the other kids!"

"Well, did anyone else get any answers right?"

"Oh yeah, a couple of the kids had like, 10 or 8 points."

I had to laugh a little bit. I had seen some of the practice questions and word problems beforehand and even I had to pause for a moment to formulate an answer in my head...and even then there was some uncertainty as to whether they were right or not. But that I attribute simply to age, y'know the saying-If you don't use it, you lose it?
Anyway, I just don't know how to react to this. On one hand I can understand the coach's feelings, it's not good to be a show-off and since it's a team effort it's only fair to allow the others to have a chance. But on the other hand, dangit, if the kid's bright and quick-let her shine! It bugs me that she was, in essence, asked to dumb down or hold back for the sake of the others.

I would think that her initial tromping would be the incentive for the others to get with it and try harder. I mean they all too were selected by their teachers for showing brilliance and intellect.
But, then again, it IS public school. It's all relative. Maybe my kids are just the one eyed kings in the land of blind.
Private school kids just might stomp their butts royally in a similar competition.

Membership Has Its Privileges

Iowahawk is not a daily blog, hell, not even weekly. But boy howdy, when he does post, it's always worth it!
Here's his latest PMD-worthy post. Wow, I didn't know all the perks that come with being a Nobel Prize winner!

Branson, Mo.- The Conservative's Hollywood?

Spotted this article over at Free Republic.
(source story here.)

Looks like our lil' hillbilly heaven is gonna see alot of candidates tromping through.
The story hints at a visit by Fred!, too.
Recently, a Missouri Fredhead site had a petition to Fred!'s campaign to come to Branson. I went ahead and signed it just for the hell of it. I don't put much stock in online petitions.
But if the Frederator does stop by, the younguns and I will definately make the drive!

Chester the Molester CAPTURED!!

Best news of the week!

LAS VEGAS - "A fugitive accused of raping a 3-year-old girl on videotape was arrested quietly during a traffic stop, telling the officer, "I'm tired of running," police said.

Chester "Chet" Arthur Stiles, 37, was pulled over late Monday in Henderson for not having a license plate. He admitted his identity after police said his license looked suspicious.

"He said, 'I'm Chester Stiles, the guy you're looking for,'" Henderson police Officer Mike Dye said. "He said, 'I'm tired of running.'"

Las Vegas police Capt. Vincent Cannito said Stiles has been wanted since Oct. 5 on warrants issued for 21 felony charges in connection with the acts seen on the videotape. The charges include lewdness with a minor, sexual assault and attempted sexual assault.

The videotape, found in the rural Nevada town of Pahrump last month, had prompted an equally intense search for the young girl who appeared in it. Police with little to go on had encouraged news organizations to broadcast the haunting image of the 3-year-old. When the now-7-year-old was found on Sept. 28, authorities shifted their resources to finding Stiles.

Dye said he stopped Stiles at about 7 p.m. on a busy thoroughfare just outside Las Vegas driving a white sedan with no license plates.

Stiles, who had been portrayed by authorities as a dangerous, knife-wielding survivalist, provided an expired California drivers license with a photo that Dye said looked "suspicious."

"The picture on the license didn't quite match the gentleman in the vehicle," Dye said.

After further questioning, the officer said Stiles revealed his true name. Dye said Stiles cooperated and didn't resist. Dye called for backup and another officer arrived to handcuff Stiles."


Typical of these perverted whackjobs- brag to their friends and associates about what a badass they are and when confronted with any type of adult authority, they fold like a garage sale yard chair. So much for your alledged Navy SEAL training, eh, Chester? What a total crapweasel. I have no pity for you. What. So. Ever.
Fuggin' amateur...driving around with no tags, carting around a bogus license. A real criminal mastermind there, boys.

Hey, Chester...ya gots a purty mouth. Better get used to hearing that, dikveed.

And So It Begins...

First Baby Boomer Files For Social Security Benefits

WASHINGTON — Kathleen Casey-Kirschling filed for early retirement Monday, becoming the first baby boomer to start collecting Social Security.

Born one second after midnight in January 1946, the retired teacher leads the way for as many as 80 million individuals who will qualify for the retirement payout.

"I think I'm just lucky to be at the top of the boom. I'm just one of many many millions and am blessed to have been in this generation and really blessed and to take my Social Security now," Casey-Kirschling said during a ceremony held at the National Press Club featuring Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue.

Casey-Kirschling said she supports anyone who wants to collect retirement benefits whenever he or she is eligible to take them. But many Washington officials and American workers are wondering if Social Security will be able to support them.

The rest at Fox News.com


Yes, Kathleen, I'm sure you're tickled pink. Enjoy it while it or you last. As for the rest of us who are in the ass end of the Boom, we'll be lucky to buy a pack of cigs and a pop with our share when it's time. I count myself lucky that took things into my own hands and am funding my retirement with my own dime and won't have to rely on the gub'mint Ponzi scheme. But damn, there will be so many who aren't so fortunate.



Totally Unrelated Observation: This marks post number 666 on this blog. But now that I think about it, maybe there is a connection.

I Bet You Say That to All the Girls...

Dentist claims breast rubs appropriate

WOODLAND, Calif. - "A dentist accused of fondling the breasts of 27 female patients is trying to keep his dental license by arguing that chest massages are an appropriate procedure in certain cases. Mark Anderson's lawyer says dental journals discuss the need to massage the pectoral muscles to treat a common jaw problem.

Police say Anderson said during recorded phone calls that he routinely massaged patients' chests to treat temporo-mandibular joint disorder, or TMJ, which causes neck and head pain..."

Via Yahoo News

Well, October is Breast Awareness month.

This Just In! Fmr. Vice President's Cranium Apparently Increasing in Size, Said to be Creating Its Own Gravity!

Well, we knew this was gonna happen.
Algore has now attained global Popehood.
My question is: What in the frig does espousing a bogus theory as fact, trying to scare the bejeeuz out of gullible people, lowering the living standards by law and taxes of developed, modern countries and increasing the nanny state mentality while all the while merrily going about in a hypocritical way with your excessive lifestyle have one whit to do with PEACE????!!!!!!!

I'm waiting...
Anyone?


Oh! Because he's Al Gore!?

Dangit, I shoulda known.
Duh. Sorry for axing such a stupid question.
I'll crawl back into my carbon neutral, recyclable refridgerator carton, curl up to my solar heated thermal rocks and eat my granola now.

And learn to love Algore, our savior.


(early morning update...

Found a delicious smackdown editorial by a brit at the Telegraph, it begins:

"The former US Vice-President has already taken over from Michael Moore as the most sanctimonious lardbutt Yank on the planet. Can you imagine what he'll be like if the Norwegian Nobel committee gives him the prize?

More to the point, can you imagine how enormous his already massive carbon footprint will become once he starts jetting around the world bragging about his new title?

Just after Gore won an Oscar for his global warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth - in which he asked American households to cut their use of electricity - the Tennessee Centre for Policy Research took a look at Al's energy bills.

It reckoned that his 20-room, eight-bathroom mansion in Nashville sometimes uses twice the energy in one month that the average American household gets through in a year. The combined energy and gas bills for his estate came to nearly $30,000 in 2006. Ah, say his defenders, but he uses rainwater to flush his lavatories. Is there enough rainwater in the world, I wonder? "


And it just gets better from there on out, echoing my sentiments about this inconvenient jackass. A must read!

Hope Springs Eternal!

My God, could it be possible that I may see high speed internet IN MY OWN HOME in my lifetime?!! (or at least in my children's lifetime?)

Blunt Works to Expand Rural Access to Current Technology
Governor Creates Rural High-Speed Internet Access Task Force with Executive Order

COLUMBIA – Gov. Matt Blunt today signed an executive order creating a new Rural High-Speed Internet Access Task Force that will identify opportunities to increase access to technology across the state. The governor signed the executive order at a telecommunications symposium held on the campus of the University of Missouri-Columbia.

“No Missourian should be left out of today’s technology based economy because of where they live,” Blunt said. “Expanding access to high-speed Internet in Missouri’s rural communities is an important step for economic development, agriculture and education. I have created the Rural High-Speed Internet Access Task Force to help ensure we are doing all we can to deliver current technology to the doorstep of every Missourian who wants it as quickly as possible.”

The governor’s new Rural High-Speed Internet Access Task Force is rooted in the fact that by combining the collective ideas of both the government and representatives of private industry, the technological needs of Missouri rural communities can be heard and solutions can be reached.


Yeah, I know for most of you in high density areas or in or close to major metropolitian cities this ain't jack, but for us podunks who have been far and in large left out of the tech revolution this is HUGE!
Those ATT ads with the chubby lil' brit/ozzie dork extolling upon the wonders of their wireless internet card saying that the internet can't hide any more are a standing joke in our house.
Yes...it can and does hide! In exactly a 2 mile radius around our home! I've checked on their site for availablity. And the further out one zooms you'll see that the entire region has shakey availabilty at best. But as for us, nothing. Nada, zip, nothing, black hole of Calcuttaville.

Satellite reception is our only option and the costs are ridiculous. I keep waiting for the cost to drop, but in the past 4 years it hasn't. So we languish at the mercy of dial-up. I ain't asking for much...I would just like to see videos like everyone else and get whatever work I do online in a much more timelier fashion.
I know that it was my choice to live out in the boonies and so I should expect some sacrifices, but really, folks, the technology is there...why can't we have it?

It's odd that I heard this story about the Gov.'s intentions this morning, just yesterday I spent a good chunk of time online looking into how one would start-up a small wireless network for profit in this area. It could be doable and I would be more than happy to pursue it. See a need, and fill it...ain't that the American way to prosperity?
But IR not 2 geeky. But damn! It would be a cool idea!

Still Dead!

Today is the 40th anniversary of the death of Ernie "Che" Guevara.
Ahhh, violent communistic revolution...the gift that keeps on giving!

Get all your Che T-shirt clothing needs to commemorate the occasion at The People's Cube branch of the ministry of mockery and blatant capitalism, Che Mart.

Pointless Update: I've just ordered this one!:

Odd Resemblance

Or maybe it's just me...



Just saying, that's all...

CLANK! CLANK!

That's the sound of Hilldebeast's brass ones.

From the St. Lou Examiner:

"Sandy Berger, who stole highly classified terrorism documents from the National Archives, destroyed them and lied to investigators, is now an adviser to presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton. Berger, who was fired from John Kerry’s presidential campaign when the scandal broke in 2004, has assumed a similar role in Clinton’s campaign, even though his security clearance has been suspended until September 2008. This is raising eyebrows even among Clinton’s admirers."

Holy muthaofgawd. I'm speechless.

Talk About a Housing SLUMP!

Can I admit I'm just a wee bit amused about this? And not the least bit surprized?

SAN DIEGO - Holli Weld was taking one of her sons to preschool when the street gave way under their feet. "It was sinking as I was walking by," she said. "The street was sinking before our eyes." She was witnessing a landslide that collapsed a swath of ground in one of the city's swankiest neighborhoods, destroying two homes, damaging several others and leaving a major street closed.

No one was hurt in Wednesday's slide, but more than 100 homes in the hilltop La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego were evacuated as authorities braced for further earth movement.

The landslide cut a 50-yard-long chasm in a four-lane street and left a 20-foot-deep ravine overlooking Interstate 5 hundreds of feet below.

City officials just one day earlier had warned residents of four homes not to sleep in them because the land might give way. It wasn't clear if those residents heeded the warnings.

The neighborhood, which comprises many million-dollar homes, is in an area that has a history of landslides dating back to the 1960s.

Orange traffic cones and sections of big concrete pipes sat in the fissure across the crumpled residential street, which serves as a busy shortcut between the surf neighborhood of Pacific Beach to the south and the fancy enclave of restaurants and shops in downtown La Jolla, a major tourist draw.

More, with the obligatory pics, here via Yahoo News

This is my former neck of the woods, having been born 'n' raised just a stones' throw from Mt. Soledad. (Yes, that Mt. Soledad, the focal point for a 'church vs. state' conflict that has been tying up the courts and taxpayers moolah for DECADES!) See what happens when you piss off the atheists? I bet the presence of the cross atop that hill will somehow enter into this incident.

Now when I fled that state over 20 years ago, that stretch of road was a 2 lane and was for the most part scrub and open canyonland. There was an enclave of fancy homes further up the hill, residences of the more notable San Diego citizens (Dr. Suess amongst the more famous home owners.) Mt. Soledad was also the mythical location of the fabled "Munchkinland"- a street said to be inhabited by former "midget" actors who had their homes custom built to scale to accomodate their smaller size. Many a youthful night, in the company of my pals, was wasted trying in vain to find the street. Come to find out that it's merely an optical illusion that creates the impression of miniscule homes on that street, something to do with the siting of the houses in relation to the level of the street, but I digress.

I guess the only reason I posted this was out of smug meaness and to point out the folly and vanity of man. Over the past 25 years out there in San Diego a madness had enveloped the folks. They just HAD to have a tony zip code (La Jolla) even if they weren't technically in the area proper and just had to have the obligatory McMansion to go with that false impression of wealth.
Morons.
That area is smack dab on a known earthquake faultline (the Rose Canyon fault) and, as noted in the article, that particular spot has been prone to geological screwiness for nearly 50 years!!
Oh, but don't let that get in your way of trying to BE the Jones, let alone trying to keep up with them.
It's stories like this that reinforce my belief that I got out of there just in time.
Any native born resident there would have never bought a home on that stretch of road, let alone even think about building there in the first place.
I maybe stupid in a lot of respects, but even I know better than to build on a pile of pudding!
Greed, just plain, simple ignorant greed.

I'm not begrudging these unfortunate homeowners (or rather, in the case of most folks in San Diego, home leasers, because, let's face it, most will never be able to pay off their mortgages in their lifetime.) hell, if you think you got the dough-have at it-have the most gaudiest, opulent home you desire-what I'm saying is don't be blinded by location...do your damn research first.
"Oh, hey, prone to tremors, unstable canyonland, known and documented landslides...hmmmm...but DAMN!!- checkout the view!! Yep, honey...let's build HERE!"

...And the Winner

Of the coveted White Trash Republic "Mother of the Year" award goes to:

Wendy Cook of Saratoga, New York.

Here is the heartwarming story that won over our judges in this very competitive competition :

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — A woman had her 5-year-old daughter and 2-month-old son with her as she took drugs and performed sex for money, New York police said.

Wendy Cook, 37, of Saratoga was arrested along with four other women during a prostitution sweep early Monday, according to Schenectady Police Lt. Brian Kilcullen.

Cook was arrested when she offered to perform a sex act on an undercover officer for money, Kilcullen said.

While Cook's children were in the car with her, she performed sex acts on at least two men for money, smoked crack cocaine in the car and even snorted cocaine off the infant's stomach while she was breastfeeding, Kilcullen said.

Cook is in Schenectady County Jail without bail on charges of prostitution and child endangerment, pending a court appearance Tuesday. Her children were turned over to family members.


For me, it was the breastfeeding part that really slam dunked it. That told me that despite her tough life, trying to eak out a living for her and the kids, the health and well being of her children always came first!

UPDATE! Stop the presses! This story just gets better and better...maybe we'll make her Mother of the Decade!

Apparently Miz Cook is the daughter of a prominent family there in Sarasota, of the horse racing kind. The owners of "Funny Cide", Kentucky Derby winner of '03. We'll let the New York Daily News pick it up from here:

The Thoroughbred missed his shot to become the 12th Triple Crown winner when he finished third in the Belmont Stakes.

Sources said Knowlton and his wife recently reported their daughter missing.

Cops said Cook performed oral sex on men in the front seat of their cars while her kids sat in the back.

At her arraignment on prostitution and child endangerment charges, Schenectady City Judge Vince Versaci told her, "I've never come across such an atrocity in my life, and that's saying a lot."

"Congratulations," he sarcastically told the sobbing mother, whose kids were placed with relatives.

He set bail at $15,000 cash or $30,000 bond.

Cook was one of five alleged prostitutes netted in a crackdown this week in the upstate town. She used to run a Saratoga bookshop featuring Funny Cide memorabilia.

Why the Nation Mocks West Virginians (part 1,206 of a 3000 part series)

West Virginia Man Tries to Flee Police on Lawnmower

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A man accused of drunken driving tried to outrun the police but his vehicle wasn't up to the task.
Michael Ginevan of Bunker Hill was driving a riding lawnmower on Runnymeade Road about a mile from his home when a Berkeley County sheriff's deputy attempted to pull him over. Ginevan, 39, allegedly sped away and Deputy J.H. Jenkins stopped his cruiser and gave chase on foot, according to magistrate court records.

Jenkins caught up to the lawnmower after a short chase but Ginevan allegedly wouldn't stop so the deputy pulled him off the machine. Ginevan refused to take a field sobriety test and was arrested. Jenkins then found a case of beer strapped to the lawnmower's front, court records show.

Ginevan was charged with fleeing while driving under the influence and obstructing an officer. He was being held Tuesday at the Eastern Regional Jail on $7,500 bond.

Early Warning Symptoms

Y'know, congress and the senate have been pissing on the graves of our military with such alarming frequency lately I really think the whole bunch of 'em oughta be tested for diabetes.

Oooooh! Do they have lampshades, too?

Just what I want for Christmas- "synthetic" human skin fashioned into a backpack.

Hattippo: Hot Air

We are all soldiers

Dear Senator Harkin,

Yesterday on the floor of the senate you castigated Rush Limbaugh, a private citizen, for not ever serving in the U.S. military saying that he had no right to question anyone's patriotism since he had not served in the armed forces.
Sir, do you realize how broad a brush you have just painted over a large group of American citizens? Do you care?

If military service is now the benchmark for patriotism, then I must confess that I am sadly lacking, being a female who did not choose to serve when I was of age. That was my choice at the time, seeing that opportunities for women in the service in the 1970's was limited. It was my choice, Senator, a value you guys seem to be very eager to uphold, choice.

With that one flippant comment you have just insulted all American children under the age of 18, a good chunk of female senior citizens, the handicapped, and some of the male population, young and old, who, for whatever reason, whether due to family concerns, furthering their education or their own personal reasons they chose not to volunteer for service.
Some of these are you own constituents! Senator Harkin, have you no shame?

You sir, regardless of your military record, are a coward of the most loathsome sort denigrating that group and questioning THEIR loyalty to this country. How dare you play the moral authority card! You disgust me.

Mr. Limbaugh has done more to boost the morale of our military more than any of you crapweasels in congress has ever done...period.
In this war against the Islamic terrorists, all of us- all Americans, young, old, men, women, enlisted or not- are citizen soldiers in this fight for the survival of western civilization.

With no due respect, Senator Harkin, bite my crank.

Have nothing but utter contempt for all of you.

Disrespectfully,
WTR

Uncle Georgie's Travelling Puppet Show

(Uncle Georgie really would like to use the Hillary puppet, but it won't let a man's hand up it's skirt.)

I knew the U.S. dollar was down globally...but, DAHN-UUM!

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - "Taliban militants hanged a teenager in southern Afghanistan because he had U.S. money in his pocket,and they stuffed five $1 bills in his mouth as a warning to others not to use dollars, police said Monday. Taliban militants elsewhere killed eight police.

The 15-year-old boy was hanged from a tree on Sunday in Helmand, the most violent province in the country and the world's No. 1 poppy-growing region."The Taliban warned villagers that they would face the same punishment if they were caught with dollars," said Wali Mohammad, the district police chief in Sangin..."

From Yahoo News.

Ok, so let's see if I have this straight- The poppy warlords/Taliban don't want the locals using U.S. currency, BUT they don't mind using it to fund their nasty lil' terror club after it's been 'washed' 5 or 10 times in the course of their global drug trade.

That's what I thought he said...

They're still trying to explain 'Dinnerjacket's no gays in Iran comment and when I read this I had to giggle.
Yep, according to the academia, I was on the right track afterall with my lil' rant last week about it. My view was that Turd Monkey was saying that the open gayboy culture was nonexistent in Iran. And that would seem how Columbia is choosing to spin it.
This from the New York Daily News.

"In this Sunday's News Forum, WNBC's Jay DeDapper spoke with Columbia History Prof. Richard Bulliet, who acted as the go-between in the arrangements to bring Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the school earlier this week...

On the much-repeated and derided assertion by Ahmadinejad that there are no homosexuals in Iran, Bulliet noted that it is, in fact, true that Westernized gay culture does not exist in the Arab world, which is not to say that same-sex relations don't occur. (italics mine) Bulliet cited the book "Desiring Arabs," written by his fellow Columbia professor Joseph Massad, which basically says the same thing."

Jeez, the revelation that I think like them is kinda scarey.

Hatippo: LGF