…but is there a better columnist in the world today than Mark Steyn? Read all of today’s in the Telegraph:
So suppose we do as Mr Reimers suggests and “take a good hard look” at “racism by exclusion”. As Monday’s Australian reported: “Sydney’s western suburbs remained quiet yesterday after a call for a full day’s curfew by Lebanese community leaders. Mohammed Elriche, 19, said he and his friends would have enjoyed nothing more than their regular swim at Cronulla Beach, but their parents had asked him to stay at home.
“His parents, Eddy and Samira, who have lived in Australia since 1972, said their five children would be allowed to go to the beach again only when the ‘conflict is resolved and peace is restored’ in the Sutherland shire region. ‘If there’s no more conflict, I will let him go,’ Samira, 42, told the Australian in Arabic.”
In Arabic? Let’s suppose that Cate Blanchett got her wish and a tidal wave of tolerance washed into all those “dark corners of Australian society” taking the chill off the chilling glimpse Squires got. How are even the most impeccably diverse multicultural types supposed to welcome into the bosom of their boundlessly tolerant family a woman who prefers to speak the language of the land she left at nine? When it comes to “racism by exclusion”, who’s excluding whom?
There’s a reason my wife has told me that if Mark Steyn shows up at our front door she’ll try and remember to write occasionally…
(Thanks to Tim for the head’s up on the column)
…is very bad for the bird.
Baby Penguin Is Stolen From Zoo
LONDON – A baby penguin thought to have been snatched from a zoo as a quirky festive gift is unlikely to survive until Christmas Day, his keeper warned Tuesday.
Now, give the little guy back, you filthy, cradle robbing, baby snatching, bird bagging, penguin pinching BASTARDS !!
Have you seen this flightless bird? 
Then dial “1-GOT-PEN-GUIN” and you’ll be able to sleep at night.
sequacious \sih-KWAY-shus\ adjective
: intellectually servile
Any nominees?
Ahmadinejad’s ban required the “blocking of indecent and Western music from the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting,” according to a statement on the Web site hard-line Supreme Cultural Revolutionary Council. The council’s members are hand-picked by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to rule on cultural issues.
The ban also includes censorship of content of films.
“Supervision of content from films, TV series and their voice-overs is emphasized in order to support spiritual cinema and to eliminate triteness and violence,” the council said on its Web site.
Ahmadinejad’s latest order means the state broadcasting authority must execute the decree and prepare a report on its implementation within six months, according to the government-owned IRAN daily newspaper.
But it doesn’t sound like the folks’re falling for the hard line this go-round ~ and the Revolutionary Council could have…well…a revolt on their hands. And it couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch.
“This president speaks as if he is living in the Stone Age. This man has to understand that he can’t tell the people what to listen to and what not to listen to,” said Mohammed Reza Hosseinpour as he browsed through a Tehran music shop.
Yeah. What Mohammed says.
Man, does it look yum!
There are many times when the best dinner in the world is breakfast…
…to help one sleep soundly. You know ~ like, where the fresh faced, true blue, all American kids get the bad guy? Florida Cracker found a doozy.
On this day in 1987 I had my first date with my bride.
Sigh.
Okay, well, not exactly. But close enough.
“It was a shameful act for someone to disclose this important program in a time of war. The fact that we’re discussing this program is helping the enemy,” he said at the White House event.
UPDATE: Newsweek’s spin on this:
This will all play out eventually in congressional committees and in the United States Supreme Court. If the Democrats regain control of Congress, there may even be articles of impeachment introduced. Similar abuse of power was part of the impeachment charge brought against Richard Nixon in 1974.
…Jacob Marley dropped by for the evening.
Christmas hasn’t been the same since.
Christmas is coming!
Read more »
Alright, so Ahnold’s name is no longer on a stadium. I’m sure he’s broken up about it. What to do with the ashes of Tookie? Well, according to
Barbara Becnel, who co-authored his anti-gang books, said: ‘Tookie wanted to return to his ancestral home…”
Well, fair enough, so I imagine someone will take his ashes to Ghana, Nigeria or the Ivory Coast, where basically all of the slaves in North America came from.
Well, no:
“…We chose South Africa because I know some members of the Mandela family.'”
This is the equivalent of deciding that someone of Norwegian ancestry has an ancestral home in southern Spain. I’m sure the fact that the hotels and restaurants in South Africa beat the bejeebus out of those in Ghana played some small role in the decision…
…overheard last night on Keith Olberman. He was interviewing the editor of Rolling Stone about their “Troublemakers of the Year” list, which, coincidentally, included Olberman. While discussing how they selected the listees, Mr. Editor noted that President Bush had enough problems with the war and
“…the sputtering economy.”
UPDATE: Got it. The moron’s name is Will Dana, managing editor of “Rolling Stone.”
DANA: Well, you know, it‘s people who are pushing the envelope. People who are pushing back against this sort of conformity, corruption, stupidity that seems to be raining across America now.
People who, you know, as Michael Moore said, seemed real. You know, that‘s not easy to say. And, yes, this list—It was kind of a lousy year in a lot of ways. You know, war, disasters, the sputtering economy and, you know, we looked around and wanted to have something that we could feel a little better about, you know. And we thought these guys who are up there, you know, they‘re fighting the fight and they‘re getting in the face of the people running the country.
Drudge has a link to some guy’s column asserting this. I’m not convinced. My first thought is that he’s a friggin’ gorilla, and not the kind that Ken likes, either.
But what piqued my interest was this line seemingly offered as ‘proof’ of Kong’s racist ways:
Indeed, a GOOGLE search using the words “King Kong racism” yielded 490,000 hits.
Is this the new standard of veracity, especially given Wiki-invent-o-pedia’s troubles of late? If so, then allow me to present the Bingley Racist Scale…
Read more »
George Bush’ biggest fan is Don King:
DON KING; I love George Walker Bush because I think he’s a revolutionary. He’s a president that comes in with conclusiveness. What they’re doing in tomorrow in Iraq is a demonstration of that for the vote for democracy. The fundamental process of democracy is freedom of speech, law and order, being able to have freedom, working with people and working and governing yourselves. George Bush is that. He included in…
BLITZER: Do you have any regrets supporting him? Take a look at that picture when you and I were there at the diner last year. Do you have any regrets supporting him as enthusiastically as you did?
KING: No, I don’t. In fact, I want to support him more now because it seems like everybody is punching him. You know what I mean? But he’s fighting back, and he’s throwing great combinations. And I think he’s the guy that is really a revolutionary president.
I think he’s a president that cares about the people he represents, but doesn’t compromise himself to the extent that he acquiesce and accommodate. He goes out there and says like it is, and tries to make things better. Inclusiveness, education, is fighting for that.
These are the things that many guys that don’t fight for — George Walker Bush is a tremendous advocate to America, a great president for the great American people, and he’s decisive. He’s doesn’t equivocate.
Only in America, folks. I love it.
(but you’re still a crook, Don)
I really haven’t anything to say on this that isn’t said far better by Tim. I think it’s awful.
For the past few years we’ve been hearing constantly from folks, mostly on the left, about how our essential freedoms were being eroded by the practices and policies of Bush and Blair. Oh, they’d go on about how there was a ‘chill’ in the air, how they were at risk by these neo-con fascists in bravely airing their thoughts on the evil and repressive nature of Chimpy’s jackbooted minions. And we all know how many of these brave academitions and artistes have *cough-cough* disappeared *wink-wink* shall we say into the retched gulags squirreled away in the frozen wastes where the Lileks doth play. Something on the magnitude of, um, zero, I think.
But I’m forced to admit that these folks may have a point. We’ve seen a rise in ‘hate crime’ legislation here in the States. And now there’s this from Mark Steyn about what’s happening across the pond:
So what is a “priority crime”? Well, the other day, the author Lynette Burrows went on a BBC Five Live show to talk about the government’s new “civil partnerships” and expressed her opinion – politely, no intemperate words – that the adoption of children by homosexuals was “a risk”. The following day, Fulham police contacted her to discuss the “homophobic incident”.
…As it is, Lynette Burrows has been investigated by police merely for expressing an opinion. Which is the sort of thing we used to associate with police states. Indeed, it’s the defining act of a police state: the arbitrary criminalisation of dissent from state orthodoxy.
This is the scary trend that’s going on. Curse at Bush and call him Hitler, and you get to host an MTV show. Put a crucifix in a jar of urine and you’re idolized. Make a film showing how muslim women are treated in Europe and you end up like Theo Van Gogh. Express some doubts about letting homosexuals adopt children and the police come calling.
As Steyn says
No society with an eye to long-term survival should make opinion a subversive activity. Here’s a thought: we should be able to discuss homosexuality, Islam and pretty much everything else in the same carefree way Guardian columnists damn Bush’s America as “neo-fascist”.
Words for all to consider.
I was just out walking on Water Street, getting some grub, and I saw Santa darn near get run over while he was jaywalking.
That’s why he needs the reindeer to lead him around; dang fool is blind as a bat.
*thanks for the correction, John!
Words escape me.
Chicken Salad Mold
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can chicken and rice soup
1 (3-ounce) package lemon Jell-O
1 (5-ounce) can chicken
1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Heat soup (do not add water). Add lemon Jell-O and stir until dissolved. Cool. In a separate bowl, mix all other ingredients. Fold into Jell-O mixture and spoon into a mold or 8-inch-by-8-inch dish. Chill.
To the instructions I can only add: bury in backyard.
…on the Red Cross. What a surprise.
“Their ability to raise money outpaces their ability to spend it wisely.”
God bless (and I take nothing from) their volunteers, but I can’t stand these arrogant a$$holes. Ever since they shook Marines out of the barracks to go sandbag multi-million dollar homes in Newport Beach at zero dark thirty one morning. And then charged the soaking wet, freezing kids for their cup of coffee.
glogg \GLUG\ noun
:a hot spiced wine and liquor punch served in Scandinavian countries as a Christmas drink
One of the reasons it’s the second most wonderful time of the year.
“It makes no sense to execute the author of children’s books.”
A Tookie supporter, on World News Tonight.
UPDATE and BUMP: Florida Cracker has a link to Governor’s Clemency Statement that you must read.
…considering our discussion. This was front page news in the local fish wrap this morning.
Man released after judge rules rights were violated
Prosecutors to appeal testimony’s suppression in slaying
Sounds like the typical judicial outrage, right? It was until I read it. The murder was in 1997. He was arrested for it in 2000 and has been held without bond ever since ~ 5 1/2 years. The judge let him out, with a monitoring device, because the sheriff’s department had used another inmate to solicit information (as opposed to that inmate coming to them). So? Well it turns out, after all these years, that the jailhouse testimony is the only thing they’ve got.
“In the absence of physical evidence … the state understands its burden (of proof) and feels that this evidence that Mr. Groves has is absolutely essential in putting this case forward,” Molchan said.
Now, there’s no mention that this is a capital case, but it could have have been in other circumstances and something similar probably has been in some other state, some other time.
No physical evidence. And a criminal’s solicited/rewarded testimony is the whole prosecutorial enchilda.
UPDATE: As for the Corey Maye I keep citing, Balko, the Legal Wonder Dog, is all over a death penalty case that could be any of us. Read his posts. They’ll blow your mind. And drop him a note of encouragement ~ I did.
This is not something the Dems wanted to hear…or have broadcast.
Surprising levels of optimism prevail in Iraq with living conditions improved, security more a national worry than a local one, and expectations for the future high. But views of the country’s situation overall are far less positive, and there are vast differences in views among Iraqi groups — a study in contrasts between increasingly disaffected Sunni areas and vastly more positive Shiite and Kurdish provinces.
An ABC News poll in Iraq, conducted with Time magazine and other media partners, includes some remarkable results: Despite the daily violence there, most living conditions are rated positively, seven in 10 Iraqis say their own lives are going well, and nearly two-thirds expect things to improve in the year ahead.
If the administration has any brains at all, they’ll be handing these two surveys out with their talking points at every whistle stop and hammering them home on every Sunday morning talk show. But it worries me, as they haven’t been real adept at the PR stuff so far…
…can be a wonderful thing.
From the first day of boot camp, a Marine is part of a team, rarely serving or fighting alone. That ends when a Marine is severely injured in combat and rushed from the field for medical care. Those without family to care for them at home can find themselves alone with no place to go.
“They don’t even have uniforms,” said Lt. Gen. James Amos, commander of the II Marine Expeditionary Force. “A lot of their stuff was left in Iraq or lost.”
To give recovering Marines daily support and companionship, the military created the Wounded Warrior Support Section, a renovated barracks at North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune, the Corps’ largest base on the East Coast.
There is nothing else like it in the Marine Corps, Amos said. Some battalion commanders were initially reluctant about the idea, he said, but the experience of wounded Marines living and recovering with each other has proven to aid their healing process.
“Some of these kids have seen things that few humans will see in life,” said Amos, whose commands include more than 47,000 Marines and sailors. “When you’re in a huge gun battle, you come away with thoughts and memories. Some may struggle with it. What we found is these kids need to talk to one another.”
Media | Crusader | 
December 20, 2005 2:50 pm | 
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