Lend Me An Ear

Food for thought

2005-07-21T21:07:00.000-05:00

Some 1.2 billion people - nearly one out of every three in the developing world - do not have access to a safe and reliable supply of water for their daily needs.

source: http://www.gdrc.org/uem/data-snapshots.html

Pray for rain

2005-07-20T23:22:00.000-05:00

A major wildfire is burning in southwestern Colorado and is threatening an irreplaceable monument to our past:

Eight-hundred-year-old cliff dwellings and pottery are in danger of being destroyed by a raging wildfire in southwestern Colorado.

A 300-acre fire has been blazing in the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park since Monday. The fire, called the Dwelling Fire, doubled in size Monday and was 40 percent contained Tuesday.

Here is a photo:

Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park

How to win friends and influence people.

2005-07-18T21:26:00.000-05:00

Rep. Tom Tancredo fans the flame during an interview recently:

Talk show host Pat Campbell asked the Littleton Republican how the country should respond if terrorists struck several U.S. cities with nuclear weapons.

"Well, what if you said something like -- if this happens in the United States, and we determine that it is the result of extremist, fundamentalist Muslims, you know, you could take out their holy sites," Tancredo answered.

"You're talking about bombing Mecca," Campbell said.

"Yeah," Tancredo responded

You have to wonder how many new terrorists were created at that moment.

True

2005-07-16T18:26:00.000-05:00

One true sentence from the Portland Oregonian:

"Other than telling us how to live, think, marry, pray, vote, invest,
educate our children and, now, die, I think the Republicans have done
a fine job of getting government out of our personal lives."

What about the social security crisis?

2005-07-15T23:01:00.000-05:00

When was the last time you heard about the social security "crisis" that had to be fixed to save Western Civlization? A long time, right? Well that is just further proof of Dubya's decline. Having spent all that political capital and coming up empty handed....

The death knell for the ss reform was quietly reported in the Washington Post by reporter Mike Allen:

Social Security Fades Into Fall

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) now thinks he may not begin consideration of Social Security legislation until September, an aide said. Thomas told an Associated Press reporter yesterday that, "The issue is dealing with more time-sensitive legislation first." He said Social Security "is not time-sensitive, and we are going to pass CAFTA," the Central American Free Trade Agreement, before Congress begins its summer break. Thomas, referring to a congressional trip to Cape Canaveral, Fla., that canceled votes yesterday, said: "There's no hang-up on contents. It's just how many days we got and how many space shuttles don't get off the ground."

RIP

What, me worry?

2005-07-14T21:26:00.000-05:00

Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck

Never misunderestimate Dubya

2005-07-14T13:27:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Sheelzebub over at http://preemptivekarma.com/ for this insight:

"Do you actually think a man who sent several thousand soldiers to their deaths based upon a lie cares about how proper Rove was?"

Uh, no.

Zell Miller, I challenge you to a duel.

2005-07-11T21:58:00.000-05:00

For someone who claims the pious high ground, Zell Miller appears to be a big league hypocrite:

When this nationally famous figure left the governor's office in 1999, he pocketed more than $60,000 in taxpayer funds
earmarked for entertainment and other expenses at the Governor's Mansion, WSB-TV investigative reporter Dale Cardwell revealed last week.

Miller also picked up a check for more than $20,000 for "unused leave"-a sum to which he was not entitled as a constitutional officer, Cardwell also reported.

Before you judge him however, he has an excuse:

Miller says that he was technically eligible to take the mansion money as his own because no one said he could not.

Now there's an excuse right up there with the dog ate my homework!

So Zell, pistols?

George's Pacifier

2005-07-11T19:57:00.000-05:00

From the Atlanta Journal with a hat tip to good friend Julie K.

Okay guys, go get 'em. I'll wait here.
copyrighted photo

Eureka!

2005-07-08T23:21:00.000-05:00

I had a moment of epiphany recently reading the brilliant Smirking Chimp.

"It's time to say it. THERE IS NO WAR ON TERROR. There can never be. A war on "terror" is as delusional a concept as a "war on panic," "a war on elation," "a war on consternation," "a war on alarm" or "a war on happy." They are feelings, not groups of angry people".

Brilliant thought, simple language. Wish I had thought of it.

Go Arianna, Go

2005-07-08T22:43:00.000-05:00

Okay she talks funny and is arrogant. But damn if Arianna Huffington doesn't nail it:

"How convenient for the president’s apologists to use the attacks (in London) to absolve him of his responsibility to deal with thorny issues he doesn’t really want to. “Global warming? Africa? Sorry, boys, no time for them, the war on terror’s back on the front burner!”

Wait a minute, if we let terrorists set the international agenda doesn’t that mean, you know, that they win?"

Why I Love Colorado

2005-07-05T12:19:00.000-05:00

Longs Peak over Beaver Meadow
copyrighted photo

Beaver Meadows, Rocky Mountain National Park
copyrighted photo

LOOK AT THIS PHOTO:

2005-06-09T17:53:00.000-05:00

If we are going to start a war, we should be able to see what it looks like:

The reality of war.
copyrighted photo

11/14/2004 Iraqi nurse checks child who lost a leg in fightings in Falluja. An Iraqi nurse treats 2 year-old child Mustafa Adnan, at a Baghdad hospital, who lost a leg when his house in Falluja's Jolan district was shelled during fightings between U.S. forces and rebel fighters in the war-torn city November 14, 2004. U.S. tanks shelled and machine-gunned rebels still holding out in Falluja Sunday in heavy fighting that was preventing an Iraqi Red Crescent convoy from getting aid to civilians trapped in the city for six days. (Ali Jasim / Reuters)

I'm not sure where this photo appeared, but the photographer risks his life daily to document a war with vast suffering. We should be able to look at his work. Our work. Bloody babies, screaming women. Fuck this war and the cowboys that started it.

Look at others:

FallujahInPictures

The Peckerwood Files

2005-06-08T23:06:00.000-05:00

From the Peckerwood Files, todays guest columnist is MediumHeadBoy. MHB comes to us via

rightwingnews

There are many right wing sites out there and for the most part it becomes a violent pity party. Anyone who disagrees withthem are "trolls" and given various epithets. Give yourself a treat and visit one. (I often frequent RightWingNews). It will make you feel a lot smarter, but also scare you.

If you are offended by wingnut collquialisms you might want to read his words with your eyes closed:

Corny, why don't you get away from that computer once in a while and go out and find yourself a nice sheep? Or is your pecker stuck too far up Karl Marx's bunghole?

by MediumHeadBoy on 2005-06-08 14:13:03

Well done, MHB

Kim du toit is an idiot

2005-06-08T10:08:00.000-05:00

Kim du toit should be take outback and beaten like a rented mule.

kimdutoit

Truth be told

2005-06-02T08:27:00.000-05:00

From the presidential files:

"See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."—Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005

For more Bushisms:

Bushisms

Think of this, HUMAN EVENTS, The National Conservative Weekly.

2005-06-01T19:38:00.000-05:00

May 1933, Berlin book burning

"Where they burn books, they will end in burning human beings."—
Heinrich Heine

Read These Books

2005-06-01T17:54:00.000-05:00

Karl Marx: He's No. 1

I had never heard of Human Events, The National Conservative Weekly. But when I saw a link

HumanEvents

to their website that advertised the "TEN MOST HARMFUL BOOKS OF THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY" I had to visit it. I am a sucker for lists. And I hoped I had read at least a few of them. I had. Here is the list, compiled from a panel of 15 conservative scholars and policy leaders. (More on that later)

The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx and Freidrich Engles
Mein Kampf, Adolph Hitler
The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan
Quotations from Chairman Mao, Mao TseTung
The Kinsey Report, Alfred Kinsey
Das Kapital, Karl Marx
Democracy and Education, John Dewey
The Course of Positive Philosopy, August Comte
Beyond Good and Evil, Freidrich Nietzsche
General Theory of Employment,
Interest and Money John Maynard Keynes

Finishing just out of the money is Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, Coming of Age in Samoa, The Population Bomb, and of course The Origin of Species.

So who is Human Events? Ann Coulter for one. Terrence Jeffrey, editor, and former campaign manager for Patrick Buchanan.

Now that I know what the wingnuts don't want me to read, I have a reading list.

Leave it to Homer

2005-05-31T10:28:00.000-05:00

From our poet laureate, Homer Simpson.

Homer
copyrighted photo

Next time you're expelled it'll be straight to the Army for you, where you will be sent to America's newest quagmire. Where will it be? North Korea, Iran ... anything's possible with Commander Cuckoo Bananas in charge."

What could words possibly add?

2005-05-30T11:40:00.000-05:00

I am speechless.

A girl this skinny selling very large chicken sandwiches? What's wrong with that picture?

2005-05-28T19:09:00.000-05:00

Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton does exactly nothing for me. In fact I look at her picture and feel the need for a shower. As if sleeze could jump off the photo like circus fleas. But..... that should not be enough for the morality police to have it removed from television.

What angers me is the ends to which a company will go to sell their product. What does a promiscuous bimbo have to do with a hamburger? And what does this sandwich have to do with any of the food or animal groups?

Up, up and away.

2005-05-27T22:17:00.000-05:00

It is nice to be remembered.

SYDNEY -- A 30-meter high Vincent van Gogh hot air balloon flies over Sydney, Australia. The balloon, in Australia from its home country of the Netherlands, will participate in the upcoming Canberra Balloon Fiesta, which takes place March 6-15. (03/01/04 AP photo)

Bush: Worst President Ever?

2005-05-26T11:26:00.000-05:00

An article from Real News and reprinted at Alternet by Stephen Pizzo claims George Bush is the worst president ever. Bush:Worst President Ever?

With due respect to Herbert Hooverites, I agree.

Pizzo:

Herbert Hoover may have triggered the Great Depression, but he didn't invade another nation on false pretenses, authorize torture of prisoners, or try to stack the courts. Franklin Roosevelt did try to stack the courts but Congress said "no" and he said "OK," and went on the save the world from fascism and secure the lives of America's elderly by creating Social Security -- which Bush now wants to subvert.

Johnson and Nixon did fight an illegal and immoral war but Johnson lifted millions out of poverty and got the Civil Rights Act passed, much to his own party's determent. Nixon tried to subvert the Constitution but was caught and thrown out of office before he could succeed.

But I fear it's too late to stop George W. Bush and his band of right-wing revolutionaries. We have let them get too far along now to stop them. We have let them neutralize too many constitutional checks and balances. And once they deep-six the filibuster it truly will be game over.

Game Over?

2005-05-25T17:58:00.000-05:00

Or Ruth or Karen or Nicole or .............................
copyrighted photo

Presidential blabbering

2005-05-25T17:31:00.000-05:00

I could not make this up. I will let you read for yourself the comments made by our President. It was in response to a question following a speech in Tampa, Florida on February 4, 2005. A woman in the audience asked:

Q: I don't really understand. How is the new [Social Security] plan going to fix that problem?

Verbatim response:

PRESIDENT BUSH: Because the -- all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculated, for example, is on the table. Whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those -- changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be -- or closer delivered to that has been promised. Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled.

Look, there's a series of things that cause the -- like, for example, benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate -- the benefits will rise based upon inflation, as opposed to wage increases.

There is a reform that would help solve the red if that were put into effect. In other words,
how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if those -- if that growth is affected,it will help on the red.

I am proud to say that I once read 50 pages of James Joyce's Ulysses so I can understand just about anything written in the English language. But I have no clue what he is saying. Which wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't the leader of the free world! Lord have mercy!

Folio .01

2005-05-24T09:20:00.000-05:00

Swimmer/Senior Olympics 2005/85 yrs old
copyrighted photo

War reportage, as it must be

2005-05-23T00:33:00.000-05:00

Robert Capa/Spanish Soldier/Instant of Death

War is hell and photos of war should show that hell. This photo by Robert Capa is perhaps the most famous war photo of all time. No blood. Just an instant. An instant stealing life.

Veteran combat photographer Chris Hondros said, "There can be horrible images, but war is horrible and we need to understand that. I think if we are going to start a war, we ought to be willing to show the consequences of that war".

It's hard to sell a war that has a face. Esp. a face in permanent repose.

Walmart again. Walmart always.

2005-05-21T16:33:00.000-05:00

Walmart runs this show and makes no bones about it. As Evan Derkacz reports on Alternet:

Always for sale, always
"Wal-Mart shows who owns our Government," writes David. "Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R) yesterday vetoed legislation aimed at forcing Wal-Mart to provide its workers with more adequate benefits. That wasn't a surprise...What is shocking, however, is how open he was about acknowledging that Big Business pulls all of the strings when it comes to public policy. As the LA Times notes, 'Eduardo Castro-Wright, chief operating officer of Wal-Mart stores USA division, stood at the Republican governor's side as he signed the official veto.'"

How shameless can these people get? Thought for the day: do not shop at Walmart. Or here is a better idea:

Take several pieces of clothing into a Walmart dressing room. Wait a few minutes and then yell at the top of your lungs: HEY, THERE'S NO TOILET PAPER IN HERE!!!!!!!!

That would be fun.

Odds and Ends

2005-05-20T17:33:00.000-05:00

The Senate Intelligence Committee is meeting in private session to amend the Patriot Act. The most extreme parts of the act will expire at the end of the year. The shroud of secrecy is causing suspicion. Many fear the committee will expand authority to look into our lives, using homeland security as a reason. Keep an eye on this.

Dorks and geeks, oh my. Yes I have been watching C-SPAN in the last few days as the debate over judicial nominees continues. After todays session, a parade of very conservative "men of faith" took to the podium to decry the fillibuster. They were alleging that the Democrats filibuster was an attack on Christianity. Huh? How have they made this leap?

From my cold dead hands, or whatever

2005-05-16T15:57:00.000-05:00

GUNS DON"T KILL PEOPLE. STUPID PEOPLE WITH GUNS KILL PEOPLE

Who needs enemies when you have yourself?

Man Accidentally Shot at Pa. Gun Show

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MONROEVILLE, Pa. (AP) - A visitor to a gun show was shot in the shin by a gun that was supposed to be unloaded, authorities said.

"It appears as though one customer at a vendor's table was looking at a 9 mm pistol, and it fired," said Monroeville police Sgt. Larry Lyons.

Walter Gladkowski, 65, of Monroeville, was treated for a flesh wound at Mercy Hospital after the shooting Saturday and released.

The shooting appears to be an accident, Lyons said, but police were investigating whether the gun was loaded before or during the show.

The 64-year-old man handling the gun when it discharged has not been charged.

"Sometimes in the course of a day, you may have dozens of people handle a gun. It may have been unloaded when it was brought into the show and put on display," Lyons said. "It's hard to say. Obviously, it was loaded when the customer was handling it."

The gun was displayed by Hannah's Gun Shop of Tipton, Blair County, police said. A phone number for the shop could not be located.

Richard Vensel, president of the Pennsylvania Gun Collectors Association, also wants to know why the gun was loaded. Gun show vendors must sign a pledge stating that their guns are unloaded, he said.

"It was an unfortunate incident," Vensel said. "We strive for safety education, to inform the public and those that are less familiar with the use of firearms the safe operation of firearms." --

Hugging Ban Sparks Dispute at Oregon School

2005-05-15T22:03:00.000-05:00

What the world needs less of is...........you guessed it. Hugs. At least in Oregon:

Public displays of affection are against the rules at Sky View Middle School in Bend, and 14-year-old Cazz Altomare found that out the hard way.

She got detention earlier this year after hugging her boyfriend in the hallway as he headed to lunch and she went to gym class.

What a great school Sky View Middle School must be. No fighting, no smoking, no drugs. Yeah. They have time to bust people for (gasp) hugging.

"Really, all we're trying to do is create an environment that's focused on learning, and learning proper manners is part of that,"

So like they punish giving the finger, cutting in line, eating with mouths open and hugging.

America is such a great country.

Link

Here today, gone tomorrow

2005-05-13T21:50:00.000-05:00

ARE YOUR BUTTS COVERED? WE THOUGHT OURS WERE.

United Airlines stews posed for this photo to increase awareness of their pension cuts. The airline cut retirees pensions in half.

Read the story:

Propaganda: Is Not A Family Value

2005-05-13T20:44:00.000-05:00

Damn Japs

Damn Nazis

Wherever did they learn to use this kind of propaganda

Whatever happened to terrorist alerts? Or loose lips sink ships

2005-05-13T18:18:00.000-05:00

Just in case you have forgotten the sequence of alerts, I have reprinted this graphic as a public service.

This system was NOT used as a political tool. The fact that we haven't heard much about them since the '04 election is purely coincidental.

Are we safer yet?

2005-05-13T18:11:00.000-05:00

BlogItemTitle>

<$Skin$>

Notes:

When was the last time we had Homeland Security Advisory? You remember those.

State of Alabama To Deny Tut's Existence

2005-05-12T15:06:00.000-05:00

King Tut or King Tut the queen?

A controversy is raging in Alabama over the legitimacy of King Tut as a historical figure. State Representative Gerald Allen has introduced legislation that would deny that King Tut ever existed. Allen declared that Tut was queer, or at least looked queer and his bill would protect Alabama citizens from such vile images.

Egyptologists have neither denied or confirmed Tut's sexuality.

Had you going, didn't I. Alabama. Oh Alabama. Not much of a stretch to believe you would do this.

How sweet it is

2005-05-10T22:46:00.000-05:00

Someone stop these bastards:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army said on Tuesday it had awarded $72 million in bonuses to Halliburton Co. for logistics work in Iraq.

What the fuck? First they have earned this:

Overall, KBR (a unit of Halliburton) has earned $7.2 billion under a massive 2001 logistics contract with the U.S. military and has obligations to earn more than $10 billion under that deal. It has separate deals with the government for reconstruction work in Iraq.

Then they screwed up or downright cheated us:

KBR's logistics deal with the U.S. military has been in the spotlight from the outset in Iraq, with allegations by auditors that they overcharged for some work, including dining services.
In addition, investigators are looking into whether the Texas-based firm charged too much to supply fuel to Iraqi civilians.

And then they get a bonus! Where is the liberal press? Why hasn't there been a backlash of such furor that we can forget the recent pie throwing incidents. There are a few Democrats are protesting:

Critics, especially from the Democratic Party, have accused the Pentagon of giving special treatment to KBR because of its former ties to Vice President Dick Cheney, who ran the company from 1995-2000.

Ya think? Reminds me of the old antiwar quote: "War is good for the economy. Invest your son." Dick Cheney will thank you.

Whatever happened to old fashioned craftsmanship?

2005-05-09T19:41:00.000-05:00

There are few things I despise more than an incompetent corset piercer. This puts me in good company. Shannon Larrat is the editor and publisher of BMEZINE.COM, the largest and oldest full-spectrum body modification publication on the planet. Here’s what he has to say:

Seriously, WTF? START DOING CORSET PIERCINGS PROPERLY

“I’m far too often struck with a mix of sadness and anger. Sadness for the women who are being tricked into mutilation, and anger at the likely incompetent, irresponsible, and in my opinion, negligent piercers who are doing it to them.”

Well, here is the right way (according to Larratt):

Real attractive, no? I, too am struck with a mix of sadness and anger. To see more and see the "mistakes" go to: WARNING: NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART

http://www.bmezine.com/news/pubring/20050417.html

The Legend of John Ashcroft

2005-05-06T13:37:00.000-05:00

The purple one's queer.

We Missourians can occasionaly be a wise lot. For example in 2000 we elected Mel Carnahan as governer over John (Soar Like an Eagle) Ashcroft. The interesting thing is Mel Carnahan had been killed in an airplane crash in early October prior to the election. So Missourians elected a dead man rather than put John Ascroft in office. A similar situation is brewing in HEDWIG VILLAGE, Texas:

Voters in a Texas town have a decision to make about the mayor -- elect the previous one, or the dead one. Hedwig Village Mayor Dee Srinivasan died from heart disease last month, but supporters are still trying to win Saturday's election and ensure former Mayor Sue Speck doesn't win. Speck lost to Srinivasan in 2001 by 12 votes and has been criticized for her management style.

As a Missourian I advise Hedwig Villagers to follow their hearts and don't be afraid to vote for a dead person. It saved Missouri from suffering through at least 4 years of an Ashcroft administration.

Bigger really is better

2005-05-04T22:41:00.000-05:00

Americans aren't fat enough. So an eatery in Pennsylvania has created a 15-pound burger affectionately named the Beer Barrel Belly Buster.

the burger comes with 10.5 pounds of ground beef, 25 slices of cheese, a head of lettuce, three tomatoes, two onions, a cup-and-a-half each of mayonnaise, relish, ketchup, mustard and banana peppers -- and a bun

The BBBB supercedes a skimpy 6 pounder previously a hot item

In February, a 100-pound female college student became the first to eat the burger within the three-hour time limit. Kate Stelnick, of Princeton, N.J., was awarded a special certificate, a T-shirt and other prizes and Leigey picked up the $23.95 tab for the burger. (ed-she was on her own for the angioplasty)

Did she weigh 106 pounds when she was finished?

How outdated are our schools? (See also previous post)

2005-04-30T18:43:00.000-05:00

From the FSA Files, Depression Era Classroom

How outmoded are our schools today? (See also next post)

2005-04-30T18:20:00.000-05:00

Love him or hate him, when Bill Gates speaks we ought to listen. What he had to say recently should scare the hell out of us. From economist Thomas Friedman :

One of America's most important entrepreneurs recently gave a remarkable speech at a summit meeting of our nation's governors. Bill Gates minced no words. "American high schools are obsolete," he told the governors. "By obsolete, I don't just mean that our high schools are broken, flawed and underfunded. ... By obsolete, I mean that our high schools - even when they are working exactly as designed - cannot teach our kids what they need to know today.

Instead of tackling this fundamental problem, guess what? The president is obsessed with privatizing social security. The press gives more coverage to the Michael Jackson trial,

… neither Tom DeLay nor Bill Frist called a late-night session of Congress - or even a daytime one - to discuss what Mr. Gates was saying. They were too busy pandering to those Americans who don't even believe in evolution.

Want more?

"Training the work force of tomorrow with the high schools of today is like trying to teach kids about today's computers on a 50-year-old mainframe. ... Our high schools were designed 50 years ago to meet the needs of another age. Until we design them to meet the needs of the 21st century, we will keep limiting - even ruining - the lives of millions of Americans every year."

Since the global economic playing field has been flattened more people from more places will be competing with your children. What will happen to us as a nation if our children cannot compete in the world marketplace? Here is how Friedman paraphrased Gates:

" Let me translate Mr. Gates's words: "If we don't fix American education, I will not be able to hire your kids." I consider that, well, kind of important

Godzilla on wheels

2005-04-29T21:33:00.000-05:00

International CXT

Question: What is nine feet tall, eight feet wide, 21 1/2 feet long and gets about seven miles on a gallon of diesel? Answer: The latest pickup truck release from International called the CXT. The truck that will make the Hummer the choice of girlie men.

Actually it is being marketed to businesses that need a shitload of power or the ability to tow 20 tons. But.........

How long do you think it will be before some buffoon in Los Angeles will have to have one? Some one who has way too much money and way too little social conscience?

Be the first in your neighborhood to get one of these bad boys! If you have the 100 grand it will go for.

2005-04-29T15:58:00.000-05:00

See no evil..........

PHOTOS OF FLAG DRAPED COFFINS RELEASED, REALITY OF WAR SHOWN

2005-04-29T15:06:00.000-05:00

The Defense Department reluctantly released photos of flag draped coffins returning home from Iraq. Photos of War Dead Released by Pentagon They had no choice. Ralph J. Begleiter, a University of Delaware professor, made an official request under the Freedom of Information Act for all such photos from Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001.

The Pentagon censored them by placing black bars over all identifiable faces. They provided little or no information about dates or locations.

All photos were taken by military photographers. Censorship continues on photographers working independently.

Why? They don’t want you to see the realities of war. They know that public opinion turned rapidly against military efforts in Viet Nam when photos began appearing that showed the grit and death of war.

Town of Idiots has a new resident, Gerald Allen.

2005-04-26T23:45:00.000-05:00

Alabama has outdone itself. A state with citizens still refusing to admit the South has lost the Civil War, that can’t accept Negra’s attending the University of Alabama or that evolution has a place in the educational curriculum, is now leading the country into a new realm of censorship.

Enter Representative Gerald Allen who has introduced legislation outlawing the purchase of new books for public libraries and schools written by a homosexual or that contain homosexual characters. I couldn’t make this stuff up. Read a description of what Alabama House Bill 30 prohibits:

“…..expenditures of public funds or use of public facilities by state agencies, public schools, libraries, or colleges or universities to purchase or promote homosexual lifestyle or violations of above laws, prohibited”

Allen sees a gay agenda in book after book. I wonder how many people have read Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and decided to become gay. Nothing like brutal, grisly murder to confuse the x and y chromosomes!

"I don't look at it as censorship," says State Representative Gerald Allen. "I look at it as protecting the hearts and souls and minds of our children

Well thanks for protecting our children. They need not fear Tennessee Williams, Gore Vidal, Alice Walker or Truman Capote.

This is scary stuff folks. Keep up on this bills progress at House Bill 30. I’m not a big fan of slippery slope theories, but this has me scared. Fahrenheit 451 scared!

Don't let Representative Gerald Allen tell you your son or daughter they cannot read:

Walt WhitmanGertrude SteinCarson McCullersJames Baldwin

If it sounds too good to be true, in this case it isn't!

2005-04-25T17:18:00.000-05:00

Just today I was playing Texas Hold'em and thinking on ways to solve our energy crisis. What if I could come up with something that would power automobiles, but come from a renewable source? What if we tried vegetable oil or algae? That would be a non flammable and non explosive fuel. That would burn cleaner and be non toxic.

Nah. If that was possible surely we would already be filling up our Hummers with peanut oil. Wouldn't we?

Biodiesel - Wikipedia

Biodiesel is an alternative to petroleum-based diesel fuel and is made from renewable resources such as vegetable oils, animal fats, or algae. Chemically, it is a fuel comprised of a mix of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids. A lipid transesterification production process is used to convert the base oil to the desired esters and remove free fatty acids. After this processing, unlike straight vegetable oil, biodiesel has very similar combustion properties to petroleum diesel, and can replace it in most current uses. However, it is most often used as an additive to petroleum diesel, improving the otherwise low lubricity of pure ultra low sulfur petrodiesel fuel. It is one of the possible candidates to replace fossil fuels as the world's primary transport energy source, because it is a renewable fuel that can replace petrodiesel in current engines and can be transported and sold using today's infrastructure. A growing number of fuel stations are making biodiesel available to consumers, and a growing number of large transport fleets use some proportion of biodiesel in their fuel.
Biodiesel is non-flammable, and in contrast to petroleum diesel it is non-explosive, with a flash point of 150 °C for biodiesel as compared to 64 °C for petrodiesel. Unlike petrodiesel, it is biodegradable and non-toxic, and it significantly reduces toxic and other emissions when burned as a fuel. The most common form uses methanol to produce methyl esters, though ethanol can be used to produce an ethyl ester biodiesel. A byproduct of the transesterification process is the production of glycerol.

Maybe we should be putting our efforts in to making this our major source of automobile power.

And worry less about Tom Delay, Terry Schaivo, and what Michael Moore is up to.

Thought for the day

2005-04-24T10:45:00.000-05:00

"Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people
are conservative."
-John Stuart Mill, 1806-1873, British philosopher

Men who wear pants like this should not be allowed near guns or Mexicans.

2005-04-23T21:24:00.000-05:00

Happiness is a warm gun and a coupla rails of illegals!

Marla Ruzika Is Not Mother Theresa, But

2005-04-23T15:37:00.000-05:00

It is unfair to compare Marla Ruzika to Mother Theresa since Marla died at the young age of 28. Who knows what great things this young, determined and pretty girl from southern California could have accomplished. Instead we know this about her: she fought a one woman war for the victims of war. We know she persuaded the United States to set aside $20 million dollars to aid civilians it injured by mistake in Iraq and Afghanistan. We know she walked the walk living in extreme poverty and risking her life daily. A risk that eventually claimed her life. She was killed in a car bomb attack on April 13.

Leave it to the sub humanoids at Little Green Footballs to take this sincere soul and demonize her. One particularly rich post came from WV Hillbilly who gives hillbillies everywhere a bad name:

Q: What color were Marla Ruzicka's eyes? A: Blue. One blew one way, one blew the other.

Choice, hey? But the 'billy wasn't alone:

I remembered an old skit on SCTV with John Candy, called "Celebrity Blowup". They would always say "she blowed up real good". Ain't it the truth. BWAH-HA-

These morons have a fetish for blowing things up don't they? Finally (there were many more, but this was all I could stomach):

We'll never hear a decent word about civilians over there actually doing something, like those who work for Halliburton and other companies too numerous to list.But when commie symp spreading agitprop happens to get herself killed by the terrorists she supports, the media goes into tearjerk mode.

Makes me wanna vomit.

Yes LGF'ers that's exactly how I feel when I read your posts. Like vomiting.

Michael A Smith Needs Help

2005-04-22T14:48:00.000-05:00

Michael A. Smith is a moron who waited in line with 900 people at a book signing just for the chance to spit tobacco juice in the face of Jane Fonda:

Smith, a Vietnam veteran, told The Kansas City Star Wednesday that Fonda was a "traitor" and that her protests against the Vietnam War were unforgivable. He said he doesn't chew tobacco but did so Tuesday solely to spit juice on the actress.

"I consider it a debt of honor," he told The Star for a story on its Web site. "She spit in our faces for 37 years. It was absolutely worth it. There are a lot of veterans who would love to do what I did."

This man has been carrying this poison around inside him for 37 years, folks. Why hasn't he gotten help long, long ago? Can there be a lot of veterans that would love to do this too? And where are all the wingnuts that were so outraged by recent pieing incidents?

Raise your hand if you would prefer a glob of Redman on your face to lemon meringue.

For her part, Jane Fonda reacted gracefully. She wiped the juice off her face and continued to sign books. She made a mistake 4 decades ago. She is repenting for it now. Shame on Mr. Smith.

I repeat, GET HELP MICHAEL A. SMITH.

2005-04-22T14:46:00.000-05:00

I suffer
My Hero