And Now For Something Completely Different

I bring you pictures of trees in Pakistan covered with spider webs due to recent flooding.

Shame

I would wonder at how we elected such a buffoon as president of our great nation, but then I see who occupies the Oval Office now and I get it.  We're stupid.  Anyway, Jimmy Carter continues his shameful ways -- this time in pursuit of freeing an American aid worker taken hostage by the Castro brothers in Cuba.  He failed, by the way.

To paraphrase the Dixie Chicks:  just so y'all know, I'm ashamed that he's from Georgia.

Georgia: Taking a Few Pointers from the Nazis

I don't want to sound hysterical, but really -- this is what the Nazis did to fill their coffers.  Watch the video and then we need to make this a huge issue in any and every election in Georgia.  This "civil forfeiture" is something we all think would never happen to us, but it very easily could and it's an obscene abuse of power.

Common Sense

Doesn't this sound entirely ... reasonable?  Don't let the unions fool you -- all they want is power and control -- same as Big Government, same as Big Business.  The union leaders do not care about those within their ranks.  They care only about the money of those within their ranks.  That's why they eschew reforms that would save jobs in favor of holding out for completely unrealistic (and greedy) concessions when they know those concessions will result in massive layoffs.  

Why should union dues be automatically deducted from workers' paychecks?  If they want to join the union and direct some of their salary to the union, then by all means -- do it.  But for those who do not wish to join the union, that deduction is stealing.  The workers should be thanking Ohio and Wisconsin for ending this thievery and freeing them from their union masters.  Unfortunately, people aren't that bright -- their ignorance and/or Stockholm syndrome is especially troubling in Wisconsin where the protesters are teachers.  We'd like to think teachers are smarter than that, but hey -- teachers are people, too.  And if I've learned anything in my life, it's that people are stupid.  

Blood: Boiling

What the freakin' hell?   This is your government at work -- taking your stuff and lying to your face (while dressed for work in a spiffy sweatshirt, I might add).  It's not even unbelievable anymore.  This is America.  Get used to it.

I really don't want to sound like a crazy person, but at some point we're going to have to say "ENOUGH!".  I'm afraid that when that time comes, there will be few civilized options left for us to gain back our freedom.  I'm going to have to tell my kids stories about how America used to be and what freedom actually is because they will never experience it for themselves.

Big Brother: Beta Version

The TSA has been researching ways to "screen" us everywhere -- it's not just for the airport anymore.  They responded to the linked blog post (probably via their nifty rapid response TSABlogTeam) to claim that they have no plans to implement this technology for other forms of mass transit or on pedestrians, presumably.  I guess I have two issues with that: 1) why then are they wasting our money on this kind of research, and 2) I don't believe them.

At Least These Guys Are Consistent

Liberal Democrats are questioning US air strikes against Libya.  I don't have much to add to the echo chamber citing the sheer hypocrisy of Obama's actions, but I did get quite an image in my head from the following in the linked article:

Reps. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Donna Edwards (Md.), Mike Capuano (Mass.), Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), Maxine Waters (Calif.), Rob Andrews (N.J.), Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas), Barbara Lee (Calif.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.) "all strongly raised objections to the constitutionality of the president's actions" during that call, said two Democratic lawmakers who took part.

What a seriously motley crew that is.  Can you imagine being a fly on the wall in their conversations?  Do you think Maxine Waters listens to Dennis Kucinich and thinks to herself, "Is that what I sound like?  That dude is crazy."  Or vice versa, of course.