Speaking Truth to People

Bravo, Ron Paul.

It is our fault.  We blindly vote for unprincipled and self-serving politicians to represent us in government, then turn our backs on them and are shocked to find out the kooky stuff they're cooking up in Washington.  One day, you show up at the airport to fly to your cousin's wedding and are given the option of having a naked picture of yourself taken or experiencing a full-body "pat-down" -- both at the hands of a mostly underpaid, underqualified, and ill-tempered airport Stasi.

This should be the final straw for us -- the sheer ridiculousness of it begs for acts of civil disobedience to help us win back our dignity.  The government keeps telling us how important these measures are for our safety.  If that's true -- if the peep-and-grope is truly our last line of defense against terrorism -- then God help us all.

Stupid

This is a classic case of an organization preferring to be consistently wrong rather than inconsistently right.  I can understand the inclination, but it's still stupid.  Rather than suspend Joe Scarborough, MSNBC should just issue an apology to Keith Olbermann and admit they should not have suspended him in the first place.

News organizations shouldn't ban their reporters from donating to political candidates -- their donations are in the public record and as such, the public can decide whether or not a reporter is biased and at the very least, have the information as to which candidate -- if any -- a reporter supports.  It makes the process less open to ban them from making any contributions.

Smart Move

Robert Gibbs is cutting down on his on-camera briefings.  Thank goodness for small favors.  I can't think of a worse choice for Press Secretary -- this guy is as smarmy and smug as you can get.

John Cornyn, I Don't Know If I Like You

In a closed-door meeting, Sen. John Cornyn apparently made thinly veiled references criticizing the recruitment of "outsiders" (i.e. citizens not completely sullied by DC politics) to oppose his hand-picked candidates for Senate offices.

Cornyn argues that his colleagues who disagree with his selections should come to him privately with their concerns.  To what end?  So he can try to bribe them with some government pork to shut their traps?  Obviously, each parties' leadership in the Senate and the House have a lot of influence over who runs for office, but democracy is supposed to be open.  And if a sitting senator wants to oppose his own party's pick for an open seat, well, it is a free county ... isn't it?

Bottom line:  John Cornyn doesn't really get it.  Maybe an "outsider" can run against him for the next go-round.

Two Sets of Rules

A recurring theme on this blog is highlighting the difference in consequences for those in and of the government versus those of living and working as private citizens.  Here we have a cop -- who as a result of speeding -- struck a boy, paralyzed him and caused permanent brain damage.  The consequence: a $185 speeding ticket.

Do you think that would be your punishment if you were speeding (at almost TWICE the posted speed limit) and physically hurt a child (or any person)?  Are you protected by "limited liability" that severely curtails the amount of money owed to your victim (to help pay for his extensive medical bills) based on the fact that you were driving government property and wearing a uniform at the time of accident?  No?  I didn't think so.

You Can Play God on the Internet

This is truly disgusting.  I think we can all -- pro-choice and pro-life -- agree on that.  Please read this to understand what evil and utter disregard for life can exist among the most normal-seeming among us.  I'm not arguing there should be legal ramifications for what this couple is doing, but there should be very real societal ramifications -- this is what shunning and shaming is for.

Gawker thinks one possibility is that this is a pro-life stunt.  If that's true, it's no less disgusting and will serve no purpose in furthering that cause.

The article also notes that they couple have gone through 2 previous miscarriages, and that they're not sure they're ready to be parents.  There's this funny thing called birth control that I've heard of -- it really helps prevent pregnancy if you're not ready to conceive.  It's unfathomable to me that this woman would go through 2 miscarriages and then even consider the possibility of aborting a healthy baby, not to mention an abortion based on the internet voting of random people.

Our society is rotting and decaying at its core and Pete and Alisha Arnold are right in the middle of it.

Snape Would Be Pleased (If That's Possible)

Harry Potter sings the elements of the Muggle Periodic Table.

Rough Day

Mouse-infested naked man tased, arrested for burglary, assault.  What more can be said?

This is Reassuring

Missile launched off the coast of California and no one seems to know who did it.  Awesome.

UPDATE:  Department of Defense claims it wasn't a missile, has no other information on what it might have been. 

The best guess right now is that it was either an airliner or an amateur rocket, but we may never know for certain.

Really?  Am I wrong to be quite disturbed by this?

Rethinking

I may need to take back my previous statement about Bush's intelligence.

 “I probably won’t even vote for the guy,” Bush told the group, according to two people present.“I had to endorse him. But I’d have endorsed Obama if they’d asked me.”

So, Bush and McCain have some personal enmity, but voting on that basis is irresponsible.  Do I think McCain would have been a great -- or even good -- president?  No, I do not.  But I don't think he would have been a disaster, which is how I view Obama's presidency.

I would love to know what Bush thinks now.

UPDATED to add the caveat:  if the above quote is accurate ...

Killjoys

Pennsylvania considering statewide guidelines on what food parents can bring in for school parties. 

The president of one school's PTA is disappointed:

"I'm frustrated to hear that (the state) felt like they'd have to do that," said Michelle Sierk of Hempfield, president of the parent-teacher organization at West Point Elementary near Greensburg ... "We tell the party moms to send in one sweet snack, something salty, something healthy and one drink," Sierk said. "We try to regulate ourselves in the sense that it's our kids."

Oh, Ms. Sierk, you're so naive.  Those aren't your kids.  They belong to the state of Pennsylvania. 

How about letting kids have more recess time during the day and encouraging them to actually engage in physical activity?  Makes too much sense?  I thought so.

Something Else About That W. Interview

Matt Lauer spent a fair amount of time questioning George Bush about his popularity and the public's perception of him -- issues that Bush pretty much just brushed off.  This is a man who knows who he is and what motivates him and recognizes that others are entitled to their opinions -- opinions he really doesn't have much control over.  He said something very wise about if you're chasing popularity then you're just chasing a moment in time.

I understand our society's fixation on image and popularity, but I think that fixation is largely manufactured by the media and other celebrities.  Matt Lauer is basically in the business of being Matt Lauer -- his job is to report the news and host the Today show, but his success now comes from his personal brand and being popular with his viewers.  Same goes for Katie Couric, other news figures, and all of the celebrity figures of our culture.  These are people who must maintain a certain image and in interviews such as Matt Lauer's with George Bush, their obsession with image really comes through.  In watching that interview, it seemed to me that Lauer was really surprised at Bush's lack of concern for how people view him.  We should all be more like that -- we should all live our lives according to our values and principles and understand that if we do that, it really doesn't matter what other people think of us.

There's your PSA for today.  The more you know!

W.

Just watched George Bush's interview with Matt Lauer.  I don't agree with everything he did as president and I can certainly understand people of a different political persuasion critiquing his actions from their perspective on the role of government and the presidency, but in listening to this man speak, I'm really perplexed as to how people have painted him as some sort of ignorant cowboy figure.

He's circumspect, articulate (yes, it's true) and provides cogent explanations for his actions.  He takes responsibility and exhibits a fair amount of humility for a man who once held the most powerful office in the world.  For the people who disagree with what he did in office, I urge you for your own arguments' sake to focus your criticism on those decisions with which you disagree and eschew the ad hominem attacks that he's a fool.  Because he's not and you discredit yourselves by taking that route.

What the Hell?

Seriously?  Barbering without a license is a serious offense in Florida, and don't you forget it!

This is just another instance of government/police run amok.  Do they need to raid businesses and handcuff these poor barbers in order to enforce the law that they must be licensed?  The police claim the raids were part of a larger effort to curb criminal activity in the area, but these raids yielded nothing except for a couple of minor drug offenses.  While we're on the subject, why the hell do barbers need to be licensed in the first place?

Exactly Right

This is exactly how we should handle repugnant people such as Fred Phelps.  No one's rights were infringed upon and a community came together to protect their own in a peaceful way.  Well done.

Now Oklahoma Passes Law Fraught With Common Sense

We shouldn't have to pass laws in this country that spell out the fact that this is America and not a foreign country and that our courts should only use US law to determine cases, but such is the world we live in that some states feel it necessary to state the obvious.  Ergo, Oklahoma's new law preventing its courts from considering sharia or international law.  


And now, of course, the lawsuits start.  A fellow named Muneer Awad (a CAIR operative) is suing the state with claims that this law violates his First Amendment rights and will prevent his family from executing his will after he dies.  Apparently, Mr. Awad was too lazy to spell out those wishes in his will and just referred to "his estate divid[ing] his possessions 'in accordance with the guidance contained in the prophetic teachings' of Islam."  


Sorry dude, but you're going to have to explain what guidance Islam provides.  The courts shouldn't be responsible for researching such religious law -- what happened to concern for separation of church and state?  Should I be able to leave a will that says,  "divide my estate according to the principles of Festivus" and expect people to know what that means?  And what sane person would leave a will so vague and expect the government to execute it properly for them?  

Breaking News: Keith Olbermann Supports Democrats

Shocking!  I would love to know the actual reason for his suspension and probable termination.  Because it certainly isn't due to violating NBC's rule against political donations.  People (i.e. lefties) have been quick to point out that other members of the NBC news operation's family, including Joe Scarborough and Larry Kudlow, have made political donations to their candidates of choice and the rule seems to only apply to "impartial" members of the news group.  What kind of imbecile thinks Mr. Olbermann is impartial?  I don't think he's even deluded enough to claim impartiality.  So, what gives?  It will restore my faith in humanity to find out that even those of opposing political views to mine find him completely insufferable and will cling to any reason  to remove him from their presence.  But I do think it's cowardly to use such a flimsy, illogical excuse.  His ratings suck -- how 'bout that for a reason?

What will really make me laugh is when the lefties use the above examples of Scarborough and Kudlow to claim that MSNBC is part of the vast, right-wing conspiracy that controls American media.  Wait for it.

She Seems to Know Her Boss Pretty Well

I'm not sure who should be more embarrassed by this quote -- Obama or Valerie Jarrett?

I think Barack knew that he had God-given talents that were extraordinary. He knows exactly how smart he is. … He knows how perceptive he is. He knows what a good reader of people he is. And he knows that he has the ability — the extraordinary, uncanny ability — to take a thousand different perspectives, digest them and make sense out of them, and I think that he has never really been challenged intellectually. … So, what I sensed in him was not just a restless spirit but somebody with such extraordinary talents that had to be really taxed in order for him to be happy. … He’s been bored to death his whole life. He’s just too talented to do what ordinary people do.

We can't say for sure if this is truly Obama's impression of himself, but evidence leans in favor of him having a pretty high opinion of himself.  There was that thing about slowing the rise of the oceans and healing the planet -- you know, typical superhero feats.

In terms of politics, I hope he (He?) thinks this way about himself.  The simple fact of his egomania will prevent him from pivoting to the center.  He knows better than us yokels, dammit!  And he won't capitulate to the opinions and values of his lesser citizens (that being all the rest of us).  Therefore, he will continue down the road to electoral defeat and at least we now have a majority of representatives in Congress who will (hopefully) put the brakes on his more ambitious endeavors.

From a personal perspective, I hope he doesn't think so highly of himself.  That must make for a very lonely life.

Flying Broomsticks Would Be Cooler . . .

But I guess they have to start somewhere and the invisibility cloak was pretty awesome.  But remember, Harry's cloak was truly unique in that it was a Deathly Hallow.  What?  I'm a Harry Potter fan and I'm in countdown mode to the premiere of the final pair of movies.  You get a life.

Biggest Disappointments of the Night

1.  Harry Reid.  I really thought we could retire that smug, feeble-minded buffoon. 

2.  Defeat of California's Proposition 19.  Prohibition doesn't work and we have much bigger fish to fry -- especially in California.  This was going to be the first major step towards a common sense drug policy, but as California has proven in many other areas, the voters there seem to lack common sense.  LEGALIZE IT.

3.  Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer.  California is in crisis.  It's Greece, only bigger.  Brown is not the man to fix it from within and Boxer (excuse me, Senator Boxer) is not the woman to represent Cali's interests in D.C. -- especially not now.  They will try to make California's problems the problems of every taxpayer in America.  We cannot allow this.  You reap what you sow.  This has given me an idea -- there should be some sort of minimum requirement of financial solvency to be a part of our great union.  If we bail out states that destroy and cannibalize their own economies, there will be no incentive for fiscal responsibility. 

Stay Classy, Barney Frank

Note his disdain for having to participate in a democracy.  This is America and one of the greatest things about America is that anyone -- ANYONE! -- can run for public office.  Suck it, Barney. 

Great, Now Don't Mess It Up

Looks like big gains for the GOP in the House tonight and promising gains across the board.  The biggest question mark now is whether or not the Republicans understand -- or care to understand -- why they won.  If they want to keep their jobs the next go-round, they should look to Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and Jim DeMint for information on their job description.

They cannot return to business as usual.  Otherwise, we'll just keep pinging back and forth between Republican and Democrat every election cycle.  I want to see true conservatism in action -- show me what limited government and fiscal restraint looks like.  Show America what it looks like and how it can help foster growth in the private sector.  We have to prove to our fellow citizens that ours is not just the right way in principle, but that it works in practice as well.  Show America that conservative principles don't just benefit the rich, they benefit everyone.

You have two years to prove your intentions -- get to work.

OMG, WTF

Conducting foreign diplomacy via Twitter -- this is your government, America.  In all its hip, cool glory.