Bush Is Not A Nazi, Really

My wonderful bride is a much better Net surfer than I am, and she is always finding these very interesting sites that I never have seen. Last night she showed me German Joys, and this post where the author, who is no big fan of his, gives a clear example of what life might be like if GWB really was a Nazi.
As the Man says, read the whole thing, but also read the comments, as it’s always entertaining to see the goofy comments that appear in support of the Bushymcchimpyhitler meme.
*link fixed. I am a moron.

A Feast For A Grim Milestone™

Well, ok, it’s probably not much of a feast, but no matter! Tonight we join hands with our Swilling friend Tim Blair and celebrate 1000 Days of Plastic Turkey lore! Tim has honored the occasion with a a Turkey Roll of Fame for those who have done much to promote this tale; I took it upon myself to come up with ways to actually cook plastic turkeys, and serve them to my familly.
But first, what to drink? I was wandering around the liquor store the other day when I saw this:

My friends, you must all buy this wine. A lot of it. allow me to quote the label:

Patriot Red, Australian Red Wine
A toast to the Patriots of America and Australia
United in the pursuit of Freedom, Liberty and Justice
We raise our glass to you!

Blended by Simon Gilbert Wines, Apple Tree Flat, Mudgee, Australia. It only cost $9 and it was quite tasty. Buy this wine! Don’t you question my patriotism; Drink it!
Now, on to the food! For the main course, I thought I’d try some grilled plastic Turkey with olives, pineapple and red pepper strips:

Update: Dessert is ready!

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CNN Gets Racy

With headlines like this:

Police: Throbbing artery gave polygamist away

I bet that throbbing artery was the source of all his trouble…

Differing Standards?

What would happen to you if the following was found in your car:

FBI officials said at a press conference Tuesday that [he] was found with $54,000 in cash, numerous gift cards worth an additional $10,000, 15 cell phones, four portable radios, four laptop computers, a global positioining system device, a police scanner, several pairs of sunglasses and three wigs.

First off, “positioining”? The AP and MSNBC don’t have friggin’ spell check (CNN doesn’t even try to spell it; they just say “GPS device”)? Anyhow, if you’re the leader of a Mormon Sect in Nevada and Utah they think about giving you bail. Somehow I don’t think that would be an option in my case.
This wacko polygamist guy is a real scumbag, and I hope they put him away for a long long time.

A New Ward Petition

Just when you thought he had disappeared, the Ivory Toweristas have come up with a petition in support of poor Ward Churchill.
I’m sorry, that’s “Courageous Professor Ward Churchill.”
My bad.

The actions of the University of Colorado in this case constitute a serious threat to academic freedom.

Is that the freedom to lie? The freedom to be hired solely because you claimed (falsely, it seems) to have the desired ethnic blood?

They indicate that public controversy is dangerous and potentially lethal to the careers of those who engage it.

No, they hopefully show that lying to get your job, and being promoted way over your head or qualifications (only a Masters degree from a school whose name he even misspells on his website), will someday come around and bite you and the racist fools who hired you very publically in the ass; and that can only be a good thing.

They suggest that professors—tenured and untenured alike—serve at the pleasure of politicians and pundits.

No, they suggest that these people should be -gasp- actually qualified.

They call into question standards of scholarship and peer review at Colorado ‘s flagship institution.

This I actually agree with. Who the hell was on the tenure committee for Churchill? Lucy, you got some ‘splaining to do!

They endanger not only those scholars working in that area where historical inquiry, critical social commentary, and political activism intersect—an area that defines the true locus of academic freedom in an open and democratic society—but also those historically disenfranchised “others” who are struggling to have their perspectives and programs represented in, and legitimized by, the academic mainstream.

Here’s the whole crux, isn’t it? There’s no mention of that nasty little word ‘truth’ in that statement, is there? Just a fear-mongering cry of ‘how dare you question what I’m doing!’ Well, I will because I’m, you know, paying for it, and because, well you’re inventing facts, etc. Just because you have a ‘theory’ and you want to ‘study’ it doesn’t make it right. Academics should be seeking the truth, not “struggling” to have every “perspective legitimized”.

Thus, for a variety of reasons that go well beyond the scholarship and politics of a particular individual, we urge the University of Colorado to reverse its decision to fire Professor Ward Churchill.

PS – And for [insert your deity of choice here]’s sake please do not allow them to look into my research!
UPDATE: A Swill Salute to Pirate Ballerina for their most excellent petition.

New MSM Definition: “Jitters”

“Jitters” is defined as “feelings which cause one to hop in an SUV and run down Jews.”
See? Isn’t that simple? No jihad here folks, move right along.
Of course, we get the required “He is a very good person. He is not like that. What’s wrong with him?” from the AP report.
I’m sure the NYT will have a story today telling us about “Young Omeed, known as a quiet man with a quick, warm smile, who often was seen helping kittens out of trees.”

It’s Not Exactly A Tiger In Your Tank…

High prices when you pump sucking you dry? Well, the ladies of the brothel in Australia will get you a discount on your gas bill:

SYDNEY – Hot and bothered by rising pump prices? Australian brothels are offering clients discounts based on their gas bills.
Brothel owners claim the system works much the same way as supermarkets which offer shoppers discounted gas prices by presenting their grocery bills when they fill up their tanks.
“If you come in and spend time with one of our lovely ladies, we’ll give you a discount of 20 cents a litter,” Kerry, manager of Sydney brothel The Site, told Reuters on Wednesday.

Police Pot In Duluth

I think Bill’s take on this story is exactly right:

“A joker”. Yeah, right. The mere presence of these plants is proof that the Duluth police are running a marijuana distribution ring. They should be required to prove in court that they were not growing the plants for illicit purposes, and they must prove that all their assets were not purchased with drug money. If they cannot do this, the Duluth Police Department should be forced to forfeit all their assets under the asset forfeiture laws the rest of us are subject to.

Scotland, Part 3: Up To Inverness

I am a silly man. Anyone who knows me will readily vouch for that, as will many who hardly know me. But I am exceedingly blessed in my Bride, who indulges in my silliness, and this drive was one such occasion. I like to play on my PS2, and one of my favorite games is a racing game called TOCA Racedriver 2. A silly name, I agree, but a great game, especially the online component. One of my favorite tracks in the race is called “Loch Rannoch”…which happens to be a real Loch that was not too far out of our way up to Inverness! How could I resist? Yes, yes, yes; it’s very sad that I plan part of my vacation to visit a spot I only know of from a freakin’ video game. As I said, I am a silly man.
Anyhow, so the Bride agreed and we turned off of the A-9 onto the road towards Loch Rannoch. Well, I guess it was a road. It was paved, but really only about a lane and a half wide, and it followed the course of an old sheep track. Seriously. Any road that is not a highway in Scotland goes up and down and over and around every little contour and dell in the land. Every corner was a blind corner, and I had all of 1 hour’s experience sitting on the wrong side of a car and driving on the wrong side of the road. Oh, and it was raining. Luckily, about halfway there there was a place called “Queen’s View” which looked out over Loch Tummel. There’s some dispute over which particular Queen has dibs here; certainly Victoria visited here (and she was amused by the View, btw) but Mary may have as well. Regardless, the view was lovely:

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Ernesto, Schmesto

Wake Island is going to get pounded by Holy Schmokey Ioke:

Classified as a Category 5 “super typhoon,” Ioke is expected to extensively damage the U.S. territory when it hits Wednesday with 155-mph winds, said Jeff Powell, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in Honolulu.
“This is going to roll up a storm surge that will probably submerge the island and destroy everything that’s not made of concrete,” Powell said.

Ouch.

For Ken

I ain’t much of a memer, but since it’s Ken we’re talking about I’ll make an exception:
1) A book that changed my life:
The Bible. Has it turned me into a street corner preacher? No, but it has helped me to change some of my ways.
2) A book I’ve read more than once:
The Star’s My Destination by Alfred Bester
3) A book I’d take to a desert island:
LOTR
4) A book that made me laugh:
“Crusade” by David Weber and Steve White
5) A book that made me cry:
“Iron Horse”, a biography of Lou Gehrig. I’m a sap.
6) A book I wish had been written:
“Damn. Ronnie Was Right After All” by the Democratic National Committee
or maybe
“My Undying Love For Bingley” by Paulina Porizkova…
7) A book that should never have been written:
Rousseau’s The Social Contract
“Noble Savage” my left nut.
8) A book I’m currently reading:
“Gengis Khan And The Making Of The Modern World” by Jack Weatherford
9) A book I’m planning to read:
Jeesh, whatever catches my eye; there’s no telling what that might be.

They Said He Said It…

…and they’ve got the tape to prove it. I heard it differently, but then…I worked around airplanes.

Video courtesy of al-Reuters.
In the interest of complete disclosure: EBOLA SENT THIS TO ME.
(There’s your credit, you miserable little puke.)

Tajiika…Komikaa…Pateeka…

Freakin’ enough alreadystan!

You try.

The UN Shows Its True Colors

There’s an amazing article in the latest Weekly Standard that, if it is accurate, should remove all doubt on where the UN stands:

DURING THE RECENT month-long war between Hezbollah and Israel, U.N. “peacekeeping” forces made a startling contribution: They openly published daily real-time intelligence, of obvious usefulness to Hezbollah, on the location, equipment, and force structure of Israeli troops in Lebanon.
UNIFIL–the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, a nearly 2,000-man blue-helmet contingent that has been present on the Lebanon-Israel border since 1978–is officially neutral. Yet, throughout the recent war, it posted on its website for all to see precise information about the movements of Israeli Defense Forces soldiers and the nature of their weaponry and materiel, even specifying the placement of IDF safety structures within hours of their construction. New information was sometimes only 30 minutes old when it was posted, and never more than 24 hours old.
Meanwhile, UNIFIL posted not a single item of specific intelligence regarding Hezbollah forces. Statements on the order of Hezbollah “fired rockets in large numbers from various locations” and Hezbollah’s rockets “were fired in significantly larger numbers from various locations” are as precise as its coverage of the other side ever got.

Now, one must pause a little when the byline is by someone who is “president of the Zionist Organization of America, Greater Philadelphia District,” but after a little digging I found the documents she is refering to here, and they bear out her story. The UN is supplying up-to-date intelligence on IDF movements.
Disgusting.

Katherine Harris Is An Idjit

Ok, so that’s not the most brilliant of insights, but I mean, really, what else can one say after this:

MIAMI, Florida (AP) — U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris told a religious journal that separation of church and state is “a lie” and God and the nation’s founding fathers did not intend the country be “a nation of secular laws.”
The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate also said that if Christians are not elected, politicians will “legislate sin,” including abortion and gay marriage.
Harris made the comments — which she clarified Saturday — in the Florida Baptist Witness, the weekly journal of the Florida Baptist State Convention, which interviewed political candidates and asked them about religion and their positions on issues.
Separation of church and state is “a lie we have been told,” Harris said in the interview, published Thursday, saying separating religion and politics is “wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers.”

God does not choose our leaders; he gives us the free will to choose them for ourselves, for better or worse, and to render unto our Caesers what is theirs. Christians are in their core just as sinful as non-christians; our hope lies in confessing our sins and in Christ’s salvation. The Founding fathers, whatever their spiritual views, most certainly did intend our nation to ruled by secular laws. The laws may or may not be based on moral precepts from christian scripture, but they most certainly are meant to be applied across the board without regard to the religion (or lack thereof) of the citizenry.
I wonder how many dimpled chads we’d find between her ears?

Scotland Part 2: Zoo Britannia

The next day we decided to go to the Edinburgh Zoo in the morning and then take a bus out to see the Royal Yacht Britannia in the afternoon.
We spent quite a bit of time at the Zoo. I won’t bore you with too many details, but it was quite lovely and sort of meanders on this hillside on the edge of town…and it was empty. That was odd, really. Here it was a beautiful Saturday morning, bright sunshine in Scotland even, and there was nobody there.
Who would have thought we’d run into Ken?

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Scotland, Part 1: Spot 23

Well, I’ve congealed a lot of the nearly 400 photos I took, so here’s the first part of the trip. I’m putting most of the pictures below the fold so as not to tie up the bandwidth of folks who ain’t interested.

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Here Nessie Nessie Nessie…

Loch Ness is stunningly beautiful.
And the visitor’s center at Urquhart Castle is the best I’ve ever seen.

I Just Flew In From Edinburgh…

And boy are my arms tired!
Looks like Sis didn’t burn the place down in my absence.
It’s great to be back in the Great Satan, and I’m offloading pics from the camera as we speak.

Searching for Answers Friday

Contrary to major dad’s expectations, I’m gonna let my favoritest mayor slide, since he seems not to need my help publicizing his pearls o’ wisdom at the moment. No, I’m gonna stick up for another Democrat ~ yes, I am. Our confusing situation quote of the day…

“The rule requires everybody to file it. The rule doesn’t exclude anyone from filing it,” Reed said.
He said Todd should be punished for not following the rule, because the challenge was filed against her and not against other candidates.

…causing concern that the Democratic Party is seriously off their nut(s). Or worse, the nut(s) are running the Deomocratic Party. Lemme see if I can lay this out for you. Here goes. It’s so twisted, I can’t begin to.

A Democratic Party committee Thursday night disqualified an openly gay candidate for the Alabama Legislature and the woman she defeated in the primary runoff because both women violated a party rule that party officials said no other candidate has obeyed since 1988.

That’s the first part. Now, NO ONE ELSE in any Democratic race in any part of the state of Alabama had followed the rules either. (Got that?) So, HOW did these two particular ladies come to the party’s attention. Welll, the winner, Ms. Todd ~ who is gay and WHITE ~ defeated Ms. Hendricks (who also had not filed said paperwork) ~ who is black ~ by 59 votes in a MAJORITY BLACK district. Ms. Hendricks M-I-L filed a challenge about Ms. Todd’s late filing of paperwork. There has been a great deal of pressure to keep the seat…black.

“Of course if I was black I don’t think they would have contested the election,” Todd said. She blamed the contest on Joe Reed, longtime chairman of the black Democratic caucus, who wrote a letter before the election urging black leaders to support Hendricks because of her race and stressing the need for keeping the seat in black hands.
Segall also alluded to Reed’s influence in his closing statement to the committee.
“This is about race. Folks are upset that a white woman won in a black district. There are some times you just have to say ‘this isn’t right,'” Segal said.
Contacted after the hearing, Reed said he was not responsible for filing the election challenge, but he said he believes Todd should be disqualified for violating the party rule.

Oh, I’ll bet he wasn’t responsible. I’ll have to give the last word to the Gay and Lesbian Victory spokesman.

“Patricia got the most votes in two separate elections — the primary and the runoff — but party bosses didn’t like the outcome, so now they want to simply handpick a candidate. What happened today in Montgomery was unfair, undemocratic, un-American and unwise,” Dison said.

Can’t disagree. And where are the operatives screaming about stolen this and disenfranchised that? Just remember you saw it here because (as deeply BURIED at MSNBC as it was), I don’t think you’ll hear much of it anywhere else.
Damn shame these weren’t Republicans ~ even British papers would have front page fodder then.

Tropical Depression Five

…has formed…

REPORTS FROM AN AIR FORCE RECONNAISSANCE PLANE INDICATE THAT THE
TROPICAL WAVE MOVING WESTWARD THROUGH THE WINDWARD ISLANDS HAS
DEVELOPED A CLOSED WIND CIRCULATION…AND ADVISORIES ON EITHER A
TROPICAL DEPRESSION OR TROPICAL STORM WILL BE INITIATED AT 5 PM
AST. MAXIMUM WINDS AT THIS TIME APPEAR TO BE JUST BELOW TROPICAL
STORM STRENGTH…BUT IT IS POSSIBLE THAT STRONGER WINDS MAY BE
OBSERVED PRIOR TO ADVISORY TIME.

…and DARN if it isn’t in just the rattiest spot to do so. Dr. Jeff at Weather Underground is all over it. If it has fired up even more, it will be ‘Ernesto’. Tell me ~ is that as WHACK a name as ‘Ivan’? We seem to attrack the oddly named ones.

Ralph Peters

…in the New York Post.

…A culture of blame prevents moral, social and political progress. This is a self-help universe. The nonsensical Arab insistence that all Arab problems are the fault of America and Israel (or the Crusades) ignores the fact that Arab civilization has been in decline for 700 years – and has been in utter disarray for the last 200.
This is a homemade failure. Through their own choices, cherished beliefs, values and norms, Arabs have condemned themselves to strategic incompetence. No society that oppresses women, denies advancement on merit even to men, indulges in fantastic hypocrisy, wallows in corruption, undervalues secular learning, reduces its god to a nasty disciplinarian and comforts itself with conspiracy theories will ever compete with us.

Calling Apple Lap Tops! Calling Apple Lap Tops!

“Smokin'” might not refer to your processor speed.

Apple to recall 1.8 million notebook batteries
Recall is second-biggest in U.S. history involving electronics or computers

Is That a Dye Packet Exploding in Your Pants…

…or are you just happy to see me?

The ‘Not-Too-Bright-Bandit’

…yes, that’s really his name ~ is off the streets, capping this week’s edition of “I’ll Take My HamBurglar Well Done”.

Police have captured the Not-Too-Bright Bandit, whose attempts at bank robbery ended badly, including having a dye pack explode in his pants.
Ralph Chapman Jr. 23, was arrested in Orlando last night shortly after 8 p.m., according to Tampa Police Detective Joseph Fish.
Police were able to capture Chapman thanks to his picture being widely distributed, police say. They also have a partial fingerprint from the note he left at the Bank of America robbery attempt earlier this month.
He is being charged with that attempt and one at a bank in Clermont, near Orlando.
The results there weren’t much better.
Chapman waited his turn behind another customer, then said something that indicated the dye pack debacle* had made a strong impression.
He told the teller, “Give me something that doesn’t explode,” Tampa police said.

Cagey criminal mind there. Living green, he also cleans up after every job…

…The teller refused, forcing him to leave empty-handed. Before he did, police said, he asked, “Can I have my [stickup] note back?”

In spite of his conscientious behavior, it didn’t take insensitive Tampa police but five seconds to start casting aspersions.

Police dubbed Chapman “The Not-Too-Bright Bandit” on Friday because, well,
“he’s not,” police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.

Smug bastards.
* Re: ‘dye pack debacle’

…[Aug. 2 robbery attempt] Surveillance video shows him waiting in line about 10 minutes and flashing the clerk a handgun stuffed in his waistband before cramming cash and a hidden dye pack down the front of his pants.
He made it as far as a hedge in the parking lot before the dye pack burst at a temperature of about 425 degrees, police said. He escaped in a cloud of red smoke, flinging dyed bills in his wake, police said.

Opponents “Smell Blood…”

“and I think they’re going to get it,“

It look like cosmic curtains for Pluto. Grief stricken protestors are rallying around their doomed orb as I write ~ tearing at their hair, ululating…

‘No, Pluto is a nice planet’