F

You have to read the British press to get anything resembling common sense about Obama. In this scathing take-down, Toby Harndon gives the big guy a failing grade in counter-terrorism.

In his studied desire to be the unBush by responding coolly to events like this, Obama is dangerously close to failing as a leader. Yes, it is good not to shoot from the hip and make broad assertions without the facts. But Obama took three days before speaking to the American people, emerging on Monday in between golf and tennis games in Hawaii to deliver a rather tepid address that significantly underplayed what happened. He described Abdulmutallab as an “isolated extremist” who “allegedly tried to ignite an explosive device on his body” – phrases that indicate a legalistic, downplaying approach that alarms rather than reassures. Today’s words showed a lot more fire and desire to get on top of things – we’ll see whether Obama follows through with action. In the meantime, he went snorkelling.

Can you imagine the rage which would have been directed at Bush if he was goofing around while everyone was reeling from this wiener bomber's failed terrorism attempt, which wasn't stopped by the "system", but by passengers plus a bad case of projectile dysfunction?


I'm especially disappointed with Jan Nepalitano. I figured any chick that butch would be a little tougher at getting these guys, especially dudes obsessed with their phalli. It just goes to show you the danger of gay stereotypes.

Jonah on Obama's Failure

Beautiful and on the mark! Excerpt:

Consider his signature domestic priority: healthcare reform. After a year of working on it, his progressive base is either profoundly disappointed with him or seethingly angry. His Republican and conservative opponents are not only furious, they are emboldened. And independents -- who've been deserting the Democrats in polls and off-year elections -- are simply disgusted with the whole spectacle. Most important, an administration that once preened over its people-power roots, can't even claim that Americans like what he's doing.

The bill does have its supporters: inside-the-Beltway pundits and Capitol Hill deal-makers, the pharmaceutical industry and the supposedly rapacious insurance companies (don't take my word for it, just ask Howard Dean -- or your stockbroker).

Under the Clintonian paradigm of governance, Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson's parlaying of his pro-life objections to the Senate bill into a windfall for his state and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' leveraging of his socialist principles for billions in special deals would be dramatic twists in a conventional story of LBJ-style arm-twisting.

Here's another great line: "He promised the oceans would stop rising but delivered a nonbinding something-or-other in Copenhagen." That's what I ask my wife to give me each year for Christmas. A something-or-other with a twist of lemon and an ice-cube.

Then we end with the devastating conclusion:

Obama's rhetorical audacity breeds cynicism, because utopianism always comes up short. Obama has many victories ahead of him, but his cause is already lost.

Well said, mate.

Ollie North: Obama is "Man of the Fear"

Here's a good rundown of Barack Obama's historic fear-mongering in his first year as President. Excerpt:

Nine days after his Inaugural address, the President said: “These urgent dangers to our national and economic security are compounded by the long-term threat of climate change, which, if left unchecked, could result in violent conflict, terrible storms, shrinking coastlines, and irreversible catastrophe.”

On February 4, 2009, speaking of the urgent need to “stimulate” the economy through massive government spending and debt, Obama told us, “We know that even if we do everything we should, this crisis was years in the making, and it will take more than weeks or months to turn things around. But make no mistake: A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe and guarantee a longer recession, a less robust recovery, and a more uncertain future. Millions more jobs will be lost. More businesses will be shuttered. More dreams will be deferred.”

Five days later, in Elkhart, Indiana, he warned of dire damage if he was not given “the tools” he needs to “fix” our problems: “Economists from across the spectrum have warned that if we don't act immediately, millions of more jobs will be lost. The national unemployment rates will approach double digits not just here in Elkhart, all across the country. More people will lose their homes and their health care. And our nation will sink into a crisis that at some point we may be unable to reverse.”

By June 17, the President was hyping the catastrophic consequences of failing to enact more onerous government controls on the U.S. economy: “millions of people have had their lives profoundly disrupted by developments in the financial system, most severely in our recent crisis. These aren't just numbers on a ledger. This is a child's chance to get an education. This is a family's ability to pay their bills or stay in their homes. This is the right of our seniors to retire with dignity and security and respect. These are American dreams, and we should not accept a system that consistently puts them in danger.”

The presidential fright-mongering continues unabated. On September 9, he boldly promised a Joint Session of Congress, “I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits.” He then threatened, “if we do nothing…our deficit will grow. More families will go bankrupt. More businesses will close. More Americans will lose their coverage when they are sick and need it the most. And more will die as a result.”

Along the same lines, I've been thinking about how the vague and lofty Obama campaign promise to unite everybody in the country and be "post-partisan" will be served by passing his small "s" single-payer health care system. After all, pro-lifers like me will get to finance abortions across the not-so-fruited plain and the radical envirofreaks will get to finance healthcare for my family of seven while we devour resources like bulemic locusts. Everyone will have so much to be happy about, and we'll all give the Big Guy an A minus during his next appearance on an Oprah-clone show.

Lux Lex

Something bright on the longest night
I met this little guy--
Alexander Maria Fry
Yeah, another guy--
Number five.

That's a short bit of poultry for you. Not quite Shelley, but he was a vegetarian. Anyway, he was born this morning at 5:40am and weighed in at 7 pounds 10 ounces. Nineteen inches. Mom and baby are doing fine, sleeping, sleeping. The other four are over at our friends spreading their germs around. I'm strung out on adrenaline.

Mitch McConnell on Obamacare

From the Washington Examiner:

As Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said, "They want us to vote on a bill that no one outside the majority leader's conference room has even seen. That's right. The final bill we'll vote on isn't even the one we've had on the floor. It's the deal Democrat leaders have been trying to work out in private. That's what they intend to bring to the floor and force a vote on before Christmas. So this entire process is essentially a charade."

So for a Republican, voting on this would be sort of like giving up and letting the arranged marriage just go through. I advise running away.

GW on GW

Gerald Warner on Global Warming, that is. Rush Limbaugh is reading this on the air currently and I'm dying laughing. Excerpt:

When your attempt at recreating the Congress of Vienna with a third-rate cast of extras turns into a shambles, when the data with which you have tried to terrify the world is daily exposed as ever more phoney, when the blatant greed and self-interest of the participants has become obvious to all beholders, when those pesky polar bears just keep increasing and multiplying – what do you do?

No contest: stop issuing three rainforests of press releases every day, change the heading to James Bond-style “Do not distribute” and “leak” a single copy, in the knowledge that human nature is programmed to interest itself in anything it imagines it is not supposed to see, whereas it would bin the same document unread if it were distributed openly.

After that, get some unbiased, neutral observer, such as the executive director of Greenpeace, to say: “This is the single most important piece of paper in the world today.” Unfortunately, the response of all intelligent people will be to fall about laughing; but it was worth a try – everybody loves a tryer – and the climate alarmists are no longer in a position to pick and choose their tactics.

But boy! Was this crass, or what? The apocalyptic document revealing that even if the Western leaders hand over all the climate Danegeld demanded of them, appropriately at the venue of Copenhagen, the earth will still fry on a 3C temperature rise is the latest transparent scare tactic to extort more cash from taxpayers. The danger of this ploy, of course, is that people might say “If we are going to be chargrilled anyway, what is the point of handing over billions – better to get some serious conspicuous consumption in before the ski slopes turn into saunas.”

This “single most important piece of paper in the world” comes, presumably, from an authoritative and totally neutral source? Yes, of course. It’s from the – er – UN Framework Committee on Climate Change that is – er – running the Danegeld Summit. Some people might be small-minded enough to suggest this paper has as much authority as a “leaked” document from Number 10 revealing that life would be hell under the Tories.

Kind of long, I know, but it's hard picking a best part.

Nature is a language -- can't you read?

How many songs mention Luxembourg? Or buck-toothed girls?

Engrish meets spam scams

This appeared in my inbox today from tangwong.yu@yahoo.com.hk. I don't know why he thought my name was "Acknowledge". But maybe we'll consider that as a boy's name for our child just in case we can't think of one.

Acknowledge,

An Iraqi made a fixed deposit of $6.5m usd in
my bank branch (Hang Seng Bank, Hong Kong) where
am a director and he died with his entire family
in the war leaving behind no next of kin, I'm ready
to share 50/50 with you if you choose to stand as my
deceased client next of kin. If interested mail me at
the address below.

Email Contact: tang.yu@livemail.tw

Yours Truly,
Wong Tang

Well, Tang Yu very much! But no tangs....


Seriously, anyone want to "stand as [his] deceased client next of kin"? Do deceased people stand? All the ones I've seen are lying down.

As Tweety Bird would say, "Dealing with scammers is the wong tang to do!"

Black on black crime

From the Catholic League:

Catholic League president Bill Donohue speaks to the Omnibus Spending Bill just passed by the Senate:

The Congress is now officially on record approving a bill that tells mothers in Washington, D.C. that if they decide to take their baby to term, and elect to send their child to a private school—just like the one that President Obama and his wife have chosen for their own children—they can do it on their own dime: the successful voucher scholarship program that 1,700 poor kids were enrolled in is now dead. But if these same mothers decide to abort their babies, the same government will rush to pay their bills.

Most of those affected are black. The bill will soon be signed into law by America’s first black president. Is there anyone so stupid not to understand what is going on?

A short explanation of why any Catholic should be against Obamacare

Phil Lawler's piece is a summary, but it lays out all you really need to know about what is wrong with Obamacare from a Catholic perspective, even without abortion coverage. Excerpt:

And not only unnecessary but unjust, according to the best traditions of Catholic social thought. In Quadregesimo Anno (79), Pope Pius XI explained:

As history abundantly proves, it is true that on account of changed conditions many things which were done by small associations in former times cannot be done now save by large associations. Still, that most weighty principle, which cannot be set aside or changed, remains fixed and unshaken in social philosophy: Just as it is gravely wrong to take from individuals what they can accomplish by their own initiative and industry and give it to the community, so also it is an injustice and at the same time a grave evil and disturbance of right order to assign to a greater and higher association what lesser and subordinate organizations can do.

By those standards, set forth in one of the main magisterial texts of Catholic social teaching, the health-care reform legislation now pending before Congress could be judged an “injustice” and a “disturbance of right order.” But Pope Pius XI used still stronger language. Such a program, he said, would be “a grave evil.”

Of course, the automated response to this from the social justice robots would be that the "lesser and subordinate organizations" can't do the job. They are obviously wrong; the facts demonstrate this easily. And it's good to know that Pope Pius XI is on our side here.

Now it's stuck in my head

Hey, what's with the grey shirt?

Here's the studio recording:

Theology of the Body for Dummies

From SMDS.

It's never the right time to have kids, but it's always the right time for screwing. God's not a dumbshit. He knows how it works.

Now, I contend that every bit of this tweet is true. It may not be the most beautiful way of stating a truth, and perhaps theological statements deserve beauty. But Sidewalk English is the best way to communicate to some people, and although it hits you sort of hard, a sock in the jaw is what some people need.

Wilder Lower Wolves

Newsmax reports that Sarah Palin has recovered from her earlier popularity dip.

Riding a wave of positive publicity from her book tour, Sarah Palin's favorable rating has crept within just 1 percent of President Barack Obama's job approval rating, according to the latest polls by CNN and USA Today/Gallup.

The results suggest Palin has fixed the dent in her popularity ratings created this summer when she announced she was stepping down as governor of Alaska.

According to a CNN poll released Monday, 46 percent of voters now say they like Palin. That's the same level of popularity she enjoyed before she resigned the Alaska governorship.

I was in a client office yesterday and I heard a bunch co-workers discussing late night hosts. Who did they like best, Conan, Leno, etc. Letterman's name came up and this dude said "He's dead to me because of the way he treated Palin and McCain and threw softballs to Obama." Everybody nodded in approval and I suppressed a huge grin.

The reason for my grin's hugeness? I've known these people for years. One of them for 12 years, another for about 7, etc. They are neither wild-eyed conservatives nor knee-jerk liberals. They are mid-westerners and members of the silent majority in the independent political middle. Sarah Palin has the kind of popular appeal among these people that some of the uber-intellects of the right don't grasp, but the more pragmatic wolves on the left can smell from miles away, hence the fear and loathing.

Oh, sure, they hate her views. But go up to the wolves and shout "Mike Huckabee!" and you'll get no baring of the teeth even though he comes down in the same place as Palin on social issues. These animals fear power, and she has got it. To be truthful, I don't see why she doesn't retire from politics and make millions of dollars writing books, maybe doing a Paul Harvey style news and comment, show up on the news shows every once and a while to point out what an ass-clown Obama is. Making all the female news sluts look ugly just by showing up would be an added bonus.

But if she runs for office, I'm behind her all the way.

Trio Live from '82

Warning: I don't speak German, but the third tune here features some "sign language". I think he also uses the word schwanz.

3 2

So that naturally reminded me of Pete Behrens (this one).

I really think you either love or hate them. I had a friend who considered their skanked out version of Tutti Frutti to be an utter blasphemy against the holy name of Little Richard. Du lieber!

But I love every thing those cats ever done.

A breath of fresh air from Deutschland

Here's a beautiful blitzkrieg from Der Spiegel on Obama's West Point bellyflop. I heard about 10 minutes of the speech, and this Kraut, Steingart, nails it up by it's lederhosen. The piece is short, so read the whole thing. I'm not going to excerpt any of it because I'm lazy and kind of drunk, too. But the ending is sweet: "The American president doesn't need any opponents at the moment. He's already got himself." Maybe Obama should look in der mirror.

David Carr on the "Obama Reality Show"

This NYT piece pulls no punches. My fave excerpts follow.

One of the downsides of having a president who is also Celebrity in Chief is that it creates the impression that the leader of the free world is part of a milieu that is more TMZ than C-SPAN. In an effort to remain connected to the social media world that was so much a part of his electoral victory, the Obama administration may be guilty of a very contemporary common offense: Oversharing.
.
.
.
The president can’t be blamed for a few knuckleheads trying to game their way into his presence, but his shared love of the camera leaves him vulnerable to suggestions that he is too busy appearing as the president and not busy enough being one. And we all know that television shows — reality or otherwise — can jump the shark.

So the Big O's falling approval ratings could be related to standard media ratings, i.e., everyone is sick of his show.

Compare that to Mr. Obama’s outing to Five Guys, where he is filmed taking burger orders from staff members — “You want fries?” — and then sets off with Mr. Williams in the limo, sitting with jacket off and feet up on the seats.

I like that the current president gets out of the bubble, that he enjoys a burger, and is willing to walk back into the White House with a greasy go-bag for the staff. I’m not sure being able to watch it all unfold is good for his presidency.

“When he ran, the Obamas were pitched as kind of a reality show to the public. We’d hear about his dinners with Michelle and we felt like we knew them,” said Michael Hirschorn, a former executive at VH1 who now runs Ish Entertainment, which produces reality programming. “But now that he is in office, there is a danger of the mystique going away. The problem with social media and constant video is that it flows like water and reduces everything to the same level. Not much of it is special, and it all becomes content, even if it’s the president.”

Yeah, well I'm not a TV producer or anything, but I think what the TV-consuming public wants to see now is a big fight with Michelle Obama screaming at the Prezz, stuff like "I own you, mother-f___er!! You wouldn't be here without me!" That might help jack up the ratings again. Let Michelle be Michelle, I say. Let it all hang out. They could call it The Obamas: Reloaded.


Carr concludes by a brief contrast with Jackie Kennedy's White House tour. It's just long enough to make his point; any longer and he'd risk damaging Michelle in the comparison.

Mrs. Kennedy may have been impossibly glamorous and done her share of image management, but she had a chaste relationship with the camera and the public.

“I want to live my life, not record it,” she said.

In other words, Jackie had some class. Nuff said.



Thanks for reading my blog. For current commentary and what-not, visit the Est Quod Est homepage

Teen World Savers, Volume 3

This is the best one yet! More action! More silliness! More pratfalls!

And here's the exciting conclusion....

Fun Facts about John Templeton

From John Templeton's wikipedia page:

Templeton became a billionaire by pioneering the use of globally diversified mutual funds. His Templeton Growth, Ltd. (investment fund), established in 1954, was among the first who invested in Japan in the middle of the 1960s.[8] He is noted for buying 100 shares of each company for less than $1 ($15 in current dollar terms) a share in 1939 and making many times the money back in a 4 year period. In 2006 he was listed in a 7-way tie for 129th place on the Sunday Times Rich List. He rejected technical analysis for stock trading, preferring instead to use fundamental analysis. Money magazine in 1999 called him "arguably the greatest global stock picker of the century”. He renounced his U.S. citizenship in 1968, thus avoiding U.S. income taxes. He had dual naturalized Bahamian and British citizenship and lived in the Bahamas.

A regular St. Benedict, John T was.

Templeton attributed much of his success to his ability to maintain an elevated mood, avoid anxiety and stay disciplined.

No pessimism for Mr. T!

Uninterested in consumerism, he drove his own car[.]

Hey! Just like me! I'm completely uninterested in "consumerism", whatever meaning the word possesses currently in the coffee klatcheries. Plus—as unbelievable as it might sound to you—I drive my own automobile! (Yeah, I know... but it turned out that the car-jacking was just a phase and I didn't even need the therapy sessions.)

As a member of the Presbyterian Church, Templeton was dedicated to his faith. However, Templeton remained open to the benefits and values of other faiths. Commenting on his commitment to what he called spiritual progress, “But why shouldn't I try to learn more? Why shouldn't I go to Hindu services? Why shouldn't I go to Muslim services? If you are not egotistical, you will welcome the opportunity to learn more." Similarly, one of the major goals of the Templeton Foundation is to proliferate the monetary support of spiritual discoveries. The Templeton Foundation encourages research into "big questions" by awarding philanthropic aide to institutions and people who pursue the answers to such questions through "explorations into the laws of nature and the universe, to questions on the nature of love, gratitude, forgiveness, and creativity."

Did this guy invent Beliefnet? Read this excerpt from a Slate piece entitled "God's Venture Capitalist", then you tell me:

The octogenarian Templeton has always been a devout Christian. (His own faith marries the strict Presbyterianism of his childhood with a sunny Norman Vincent Peale-y optimism.) But his genius as a philanthropist is secular: He brings capitalist hucksterism to religious charity. Templeton has transformed philanthropy into marketing, his own name into a brand. His earliest venture set the tone. In 1972, he inaugurated the annual Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion to remedy the Nobel Foundation's omission of religion. His brilliant stroke was to brag that his prize would be worth more than the Nobel, thus ensuring lavish press coverage. The first award went to Mother Teresa (six years before her Nobel Peace Prize. He has raised the prize's profile by awarding it to Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Billy Graham, and Watergate-burglar-turned-minister Charles Colson. (The Templeton Prize helped its founder win a knighthood in 1987. In the '60s, Templeton had moved to the Bahamas--a tax haven--abandoned his U.S. citizenship, and become a British subject.)

So much for rootedness. But sounds like a good chap for a billionaire. And I'm sure he liked granola, even though he didn't wear a beard.


Obviously his philanthropic spirit still reaches out from the grave to help those in dire need. And we can all follow his example by driving our own cars and studying Hinduism, even if we don't possess the moral superiority, the chutzpah or the financial independence necessary to renounce our U.S. citizenship.

Best Article on Palin-hatred so far

H/T to Susan B in a combox for linking to this incredibly insightful and brutally honest article by a former liberal. Excerpt from the setup material:

One clue: the miscreants who were brutalizing me didn't exactly look Reagan-esque. In middle and high schools, they were minority kids enraged about forced busing. On the streets of New York City and Berkeley, they were derelicts and hoodlums.

Another red flag: while liberal men did indeed hold up those picket signs, they didn't do anything else to protect me. In fact, their social programs enabled bad behavior and bred chaos in urban America. And when I was accosted by thugs, those leftist men were missing in action.

What else should have tipped me off? Perhaps the fact that so many men in ultra-left Berkeley are sleazebags. Rarely a week goes by that I don't hear stories from my young female clients about middle-aged men preying on them. With the rationale of moral relativism, these creeps feel they can do anything they please.

This part wonderfully sums up my own thoughts about the real abortion criminals:

My other epiphanies: those ponytailed guys were marching for abortion rights not because they cherished women's reproductive freedom, but to keep women available for free and easy sex.

Except the Kennedy's didn't wear ponytails, but that's okay. Then she connects it all to the insane hatred for Sarah Palin.

Then along came Sarah, and the attacks became particularly heinous. And I realized something even more chilling about the Left. Leftists not only sacrifice and disrespect women, but it's far worse: many are perpetuators.

The Left's behavior towards Palin is not politics as usual. By their laser-focus on her body and her sexuality, leftists are defiling her.

They are wilding her. And they do this with the full knowledge and complicity of the White House.

The Left has declared war on Palin because she threatens their existence. Liberals need women dependent and scared so that women, like blacks, will vote Democrat.

A strong, self-sufficient woman, Palin eschews liberal protection. Drop her off in the Alaskan bush and she'll survive just fine, thank you very much. Palin doesn't need or want anything from liberals -- not hate crimes legislation that coddles her, and not abortion, which she abhors.

You have got to read the entire thing. Robin owns the left in this piece, in which I believe every single word. She was sick and tired of getting fucked by these freaks.

Sparkling Dialogue on the View

It's great getting email updates from the Catholic League to keep abreast of the banality of mainstream media anti-Catholicism which ofttimes resembles a self-parody. Just received this bit of sarcasm from Bill Donohue under the title "THE VIEW PANELISTS SPARKLE".

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on what happened on the ABC-TV show, “The View,” today:

The panelists discussed the controversy between Rep. Patrick Kennedy and Bishop Thomas Tobin on the propriety of an abortion-rights Catholic politician receiving Holy Communion. Why anyone would go on television and discuss something she knows absolutely nothing about is a mystery, but I’ll tell you this much—it makes for a great laugh.

So here’s the transcript. Which one of them was the most brilliant is debatable, but what’s for certain is that all the gals really sparkled.

Now, read the transcript:

Whoopi Goldberg: Now, Congressman Patrick Kennedy said he was asked by a Rhode Island bishop to stop receiving communion because of his stance on abortion. The Church has been sparring with lawmakers about restrictions in the health care bill. But, is this the right tactic to do? To say that you cannot come and take communion? When on one hand…
Joy Behar: You know, Teddy, his father, Teddy Kennedy was pro-choice. And Teddy Kennedy was divorced. And they all, the bishops and whatever all went to his funeral. He was not denied communion. So this all seems political to me. I don’t get it exactly.

Sherri Shepherd: He was asked not to take communion in 2007. So why is he bringing it up now?

Joy Behar: Why is he bringing it up now? Because he’s running for office.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck: Somebody brought it up again. This is my home state. I’ve done breast cancer walks with Patrick Kennedy before. And you know, I’m not, uh, the Catholic Church in terms of communion, I remember one of my friends who got divorced, they asked her not to go up and take communion. And for me, communion is the opportunity for someone to take part in and enjoy the sacrament as well, so I never, even from a young age, I never appreciated it when someone was not allowed to go up and receive communion with the rest of the church.

Joy Behar: You’re supposed to be without sin.

Sherri Shepherd: But who is without sin?

Joy Behar: What you’re supposed to do as a Catholic, you go to confession. You get the absolution and then you can receive communion. That’s the way it works. But it doesn’t always work that way. I mean, they don’t allow divorce. Yet, if you’re married 25 years and have 5 kids and you have a lot of money, you can get an annulment. So, I mean, there is a lot of hypocrisy in every religion.

Whoopi Goldberg: I thought in the Catholic Church, that in the Bible, at least as I remember it and I could be fuzzy on this, but I thought that God pretty much says to you, you don’t have to talk to anybody but me. You don’t have to talk to anybody but me. And I’m the one. I’m the one you go to. You don’t need a liaison. Now, great, if you happen to go into the Church, but basically your relationship with God is personal and, and, very clear. So I don’t think anybody is supposed to tell you what you can’t participate in. I don’t remember that as being part of the deal.

Barbara Walters: It’s interesting that he’s bringing it up.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck: Political season.

Barbara Walters: Yeah, and it is certainly for Catholic’s…

Whoopi Goldberg: Do you know why he brought it up?

Barbara Walters: Well, I don’t know why he brought it up.

Whoopi Goldberg: Because they recently clashed over the Church statement that they won’t back the health care overall without tighter restrictions on abortion. That’s why it coming up now.

Barbara Walters: So there is a political overtone to it.

Sort of reminds me of Psalm 2, except instead of "the kings of the earth tak[ing] their stand" we get the doofuses sitting around on comfy chairs and couches in a television studio.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck is supposedly on the view to provide some sort of political "balance". It's arguable whether she does but on thing is for sure—she doesn't do anything to elevate the combined intellectual level.

Uhhhhh....well..... I mean.... uhhhhhh....

We sort of knew this

Reports that U.S. soldiers damaged Iraqi antiquities turn out to have been media hype. "Media hype" is nice-speak for lies. Excerpt:

In recently reviewing the Unesco report, which came out after his book, Chaplain Marrero said to me that the cracks in the ancient bas-reliefs were already there when the U.S. came in. He doesn't believe that the helicopter base could have caused any damage because it was "up to two football fields away." The choppers rose vertically upon lift-off and the ancient remains are located in an excavation considerably below ground level.

The accusations about cracks in the paving stones caused by allied tanks rumbling over the Royal Way don't make sense, he says, because it was already encircled by iron railings with no access to vehicles. A narrow pedestrian path outside the railings barely allowed enough room for light Humvees to drive around to keep the area secure.

Finally, he notes that the Unesco report's details of defensive trenches dug by subsequent occupation forces, such as the Polish troops and defense contractors, occurred in areas beyond what was always considered the site proper, even in Saddam's time. It was in those areas, he says, that sandbags were filled with local earth and the ground leveled.

Why do the media always go out of their way to smear the military?

The Other McCain on "Other Conservatisms"

Your homework for Monday is to read this piece by Robert Stacy McCain. Here's a teaser:

Beyond this, however, is the basic confusion caused by the fact that no one holds a copyright on the word “conservative,” and there is nothing to prevent anyone from saying, “I am a conservative and therefore . . .” Which brings us to the problem of Rod Dreher, who has provided what he calls “A Conservative Read On Palin’s ‘Going Rogue’” at National Public Radio.

Why was this invitation extended to Rod Dreher? Because he was willing to do what NPR wanted: Slam Sarah Palin.

We will stipulate that it is possible to dislike Sarah Palin — or at least to believe her not to be an ideal Republican presidential candidate — and still be a conservative. But the person who accepts an invitation from a liberal outfit like NPR to be the token “conservative” who attacks Sarah Palin has a few other hurdles to clear. And over these hurdles, Dreher stumbles badly.

When you are finished reading it, please comment for an automatic passing grade. If you finish before Monday, you are a geek. That's fine, just don't go complaining about the popularity of the prom queen and the quarterback. They got their gig and we got ours.

And, oh, yes—extra credit for a full paragraph on the last line explaining how and why it applies in spades to the subject.

(Hat Tip to Dianonymous.)

New approval rating low

Big chief's numbers at record low. Excerpt:

President Barack Obama's job approval rating has dipped below 50 percent nationally for the first time, as Americans worry about the war in Afghanistan, a new poll released Wednesday found.

The Quinnipiac University poll showed 48 percent of Americans approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president, compared to 42 percent who disapprove.

The president also scored low marks from Americans on his handling of the situation in Afghanistan, with just 38 percent saying they approved of his approach, but a majority did say it was the "right thing" for US troops to be in the country.

Maybe Obama should pose in running shorts. But not bowing in the shorts, thanks.

Oy

Yesterday I was involved in an exchange with the Anchoress about Sarah Palin's "readiness" for holding national office. I was appalled to realize that even someone as hard-hitting as Anchoress believes that for Palin to be "ready" for office, Palin must first master the unctuous, non-responsive interview style that serves so well for firebrand conservatives like ... um ... oh, wait, I can't think of anyone. Then I was told that Liz Cheney would be a better option than Palin. I love how conservative bloggers who fret about the incompetence and unfairness of the Washington establishment turn around and say they prefer establishment candidates to outsiders from Alaska. It's not enough to have a Bush dynasty, now we have to have a Cheney one.

Even though I was a teenager in the 1980's I distinctly remember the media establishment discussing ad nauseam how "stupid" Reagan was. I can't help but wonder whether Anchoress would chime in in agreement, were Reagan new on the scene today. Unlike Liz Cheney, Reagan's daddy was never VP, and let's just say you could *definitely* tell. The man starred in a movie with a chimp! Yuck!

Interestingly, when I defended the notion that a conservative can succeed politically without kissing up to the press, especially if said candidate has the strong support of fellow conservatives, I was told that I'm "unquestioningly passionate" about Sarah Palin. Wow! That sounds extreme! I better shut up about the fact I think Palin is competent, or else I'm going to be called essentially an extremist. (Where have I heard that before ...?)

Info Page on Stun Guns and other non-lethal weapons

Here's an informative page I just came across on non-lethal weapons: stunguns, pepper spray, etc. Obviously they want you to buy from them; here's their top model at $65. So for less than two thirds of a Ben Franklin bill you can give someone a taste of the patriot inventor's famous kite experiment.

Brigitte Gabriel: "Nothing Short of Madness"

Act for America's website.

Blind Witnesses

If you've ever taken courses in self-defense and the proper use of firearms, you should have encountered the concept of "creating witnesses". This means that before you fill some scumbag up with 40 caliber felon repellent, you say things loudly and clearly like "Drop your weapon; I don't want to shoot you!" and "Don't make me shoot you!" and "Don't come any closer!" This is a really good idea since there are always three fights involved in any altercation in which you use deadly force: you against you, you against the assailant and then the longest and hardest one, you against the legal system. And if you happen to stop or drop the bastard, he will be the "victim" in the wrongful death civil trial, not you. So shouting these things out will be heard by bystanders and can be used, hopefully, in the courtroom in front of the Oprah-indoctrinated jury to help counter the witness of the mommy sobbing, "He never wanted to hurt anyone!"

But forget self-defense for a moment. Suppose instead you want to shoot a bunch of people and want a chance to get away with it via an insanity plea in case you survive. What should you shout out to create witnesses for that scenario? Well, shouting "Allahu Akbar!" seems to be a good way to make people think maybe you've "cracked under stress". You also might want to give people business cards with the title "Soldier of Allah" and frequent Radical Islamist web sites. And actually having ties to an Imam with extremist views would be kind of a cherry on top for the ol' insanity plea.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Won't people maybe think that you are actually an Islamist terrorist who had planned the incident with cold, calculated premeditation if you did and said all these things? Surprisingly not; it's more likely you will be diagnosed with Pre-traumatic Stress Disorder. Go figure.

I'm going to turn dining back into eating

Not so fast

Here's something about the Bishop's view on health care on the USCCB site.

Q: Why are the bishops so vocal about health care reform?

A: One out of three Americans under the age of 65 went without health insurance for some period of time during 2007 and 2008. Of these, four out of five were from working families. Sixty four percent of the uninsured are employed full time, year round. This state of affairs is unacceptable. In the Catholic tradition, health care is a basic human right not a privilege. It is a fundamental issue of human life and dignity.

Did you catch the switcheroo? Let's concede that health care is a right, although the meaning of that phrase in the context of insurance regulations is seemingly opaque by design. Because they didn't even mention people not having access to health care, they mentioned people without health insurance coverage. These are two different things altogether. This is not difficult to prove; I pay for health care out of pocket all the time from a bottle of Ibuprofen to chiropractic adjustments. Likewise I'm covered if I need certain treatments which I haven't needed. So coverage and care are two separate issues. It's an example of the two overlapping circles.

So I don't buy this idea that people can't get health care. My friend's father was in between policies when he had a heart-attack. He was not denied care. The other thing I hate is this anti-doctor sentiment that goes hand in hand with this push for Obamacare. I know so many doctors who do Pro Bono work and come up with payment plans for the poor. It's sick and wrong to suggest there is some kind of concerted effort in our country to deny people health care.

But just watch what happens to the number of people not receiving care if this government plan kicks in and the number of doctors willing to work under the brave new system begins heading in the other direction. Then we'll wish we could start over as we watch this "fundamental issue of human life and dignity" go from bad to worse to "good enough for government work".

A note to those involved in telephone fundraising efforts

After your shpiel, if I say to you "Please send me a letter", you really should be using your next breath to ask me my address. If instead, you choose to tell me that most people like to pay over the phone, chances are you won't get the contribution or the address.

Check out these white dudes

Yeah, baby. Matchin' strats an' all.

If you missed it a year ago

A few days back, Iowahawk reposted his classic "election analysis" from a year ago. At that time, I welcomed it as playful yet poignant example of "apocalyptic standup", a phrase used and possibly coined by Bill Bennett in describing Steyn's America Alone. Excerpt:

Yes, I know there are probably other African-Americans much better qualified and prepared for the presidency. Much, much better qualified. Hundreds, easily, if not thousands, and without any troubling ties to radical lunatics and Chicago mobsters. Gary Coleman comes to mind. But let it not distract us from the fact that Mr. Obama's election represents a profound, positive milestone in our country's struggle to overcome its long legacy of racial divisions and bigotry. It reminds us of how far we've come, and it's something everyone in our nation should celebrate in whatever little time we now have left.

Indeed. Lolz @ Gary Coleman.

Well, there's always some reason to be positive. Noticed these pappies in the store yesterday—time to go a-stockin'.

Chopra and the Green-eyed Monster

Hugh Hewitt pegs Deepak Chopra as a typical leftist without very much to offer except sneers of hatred directed toward Christianity.

Chopra’s rage against mainstream Christianity may have its roots in nothing more complicated than a simple though vast jealousy at Warren’s enormous success, and not just success in selling books but in attracting tens of thousands of pastors and their congregations to a revitalized Christian faith in the new millennium.

Warren’s call, heeded by millions of American Christians, to lead faith-filled lives, to give sacrificially and to work for the alleviation of suffering across the planet has been the focus of astonished applause by intelligent observers across the political spectrum.

Warren’s church and the millions of American Christians who hold similar beliefs and practice similar disciplines model authentic and traditional Christian belief. There isn’t much to hate there, but Chopra and others on the Left want to try to transform mainstream Christian belief in traditional marriage into a postmodern scarlet letter, and they will use the tactics of extremist hate if they have to.

We are not “long past irony” here, just face to face with the unpleasant reality of the Left’s genuine agenda of silencing its opponents.

I'm an Occam's Razor kind of guy, so I agree with Hewitt that most likely it's Rick Warren's success that irks Chopra more than anything. So why doesn't he become a Christian? Then he can make lots more money selling books to American Christians and go to Heaven someday. Oops, that was probably really insensitive of me to say. Sorry.

Look at me: I'm self employed

This is my 5-year-old's favorite song.

The WTF Hat

Here is a hat for the mentally challenged to purchase and wear. I'm sure it's overpriced. The person in the picture has an eyebrow piercing, so she's already down 40 or so IQ points.

A new white knit cap from designer Lauren McCarthy promises to give wearers a happy face - by poking them in the skull with a metal spike.

It has a bendable sensor that attaches to your cheek and measures your smile size. A hidden motor then jabs you in the head "inversely proportional to the degree of your smile," the hat's description proclaims.

"Through repeated use of this conditioning device you can train your brain to smile all the time," it says.

"It definitely works, and it actually does kind of hurt you. It doesn't draw blood, but it's pretty uncomfortable," McCarthy, 22, told the Daily News.

"It's a call to think about the ways we interact and how a simple smile will make you and other people feel better," she said.

What a stupid idea. And I'm sure it violates the Geneva Convention's stipulations about torture. At least Dick Cheney didn't make people smile. How about a hat that waterboards you whenever you swear at a homeless person?

Karl Rove's "Straw Man Watch" page

Karl Rove is one of the smartest political guys out there. So it's a good idea to take note of what he says, whether or not you agree with him on a majority of issues or whether or not you like him. I found this great page on his web site. It's a collection of President Obama's attacks on "straw men". It's worth reading through to become accustomed to just how often he constructs these non-existent enemies and bases a large portion of the support for his policies on the necessity of toppling them.

Now I'll admit that showing your opponents views is the most negative light possible is a time-tried and well accepted rhetorical device. And I would never claim that Obama is alone as a user of the straw man fallacy in American politics. But I do think it's worthy of noting the quantity of uses and how their use has a way of giving a confrontational color to his speech. Check out this one from a press conference on 2/9/09:

As I said, the one concern I've got on the stimulus package in terms of the debate and listening to some of what's been said in Congress is that there seems to be a set of folks who—I don't doubt their sincerity—who just believe that we should do nothing. Now, if that's their opening position or their closing position in negotiations, then we're probably not going to make much progress, because I don't think that's economically sound and I don't think that's what the American people expect, is for us to stand by and do nothing.

This kind of thing is maddening to conservatives. Every conservative pundit I was listening to at the time was suggesting that making the Bush taxes permanent would strengthen the economy. And that's just one example. Up higher on the page there's a link to a good post on Newsbusters exposing the myth that the GOP has no plans for health care.

But people miss the fallacious nature of the argument; many of them obviously agree with the caricature of conservatives which he draws. Besides, this sort of fighting against an imaginary opponent seems to be working pretty good for the President. It's much easier to attack FOX news and Rush Limbaugh than confront, say, House Minority Leader John Boehner as an entity with opposing views. People rightly point out that Obama "inflates" FOX and Rush when he attacks them, but who cares? From his point of view, it's much better than inflating Boehner or Mitch McConnell or Joe Lieberman—elected officials who can and do oppose the President on some or all of his policies.

So the best thing to do is to take note on how many times and to what degree Barack Obama relies on the straw man fallacy in his rhetoric to get his points across. Rove's collection is a good starting point.

I agree with Will Feltus

John Harwood writes a piece about "partisan fragmentation" in the media outlets. Excerpt:

Press critics worry that the rise of media polarization threatens the foundation of credible, common information that American politics needs to thrive. Will Feltus, a Republican specialist in voter targeting, does not.

If it complicates the choices facing leaders in Washington, Mr. Feltus argues, it also decentralizes political communication in a way that is both inevitable and healthy in the information age. “I feel no hand-wringing about it,” Mr. Feltus said. “People are smart enough to understand what color filter is over the lens.”

I say good to this "fragmentation" so-called. News programs other than FOX news are bleeding and they will continue to do so until they get with it and cover all the news. If they don't want to cover anything which will make Obama look bad, then FOX will be the place to get the real story. If people cannot figure this out, they need to have their diapers changed.

My Next Car

I've been a Saturn fan for nigh on 12 years now, but since GM decided to kill the deal with Penske I'll be moving on from that brand. If I buy another American car it will be a Henry Ford. They're doing pretty well.

The company reported net income of $997 million, or 29 cents per share, a $1.2 billion improvement compared with the same period last year. Wall Street had been expecting the Dearborn automaker to lose 12 cents a share, according to a survey of 11 analysts by Thomson Reuters. Ford lost $129 million during the same three-month period a year ago.

"Our third quarter results clearly show that Ford is making tremendous progress despite the prolonged slump in the global economy," said Ford CEO Alan Mulally. "Our solid product lineup is leading the way in all markets. While we still face a challenging road ahead, our 'One Ford' transformation plan is working and our underlying business continues to grow stronger."

...and they haven't drunk the Obama koolaid like GM and Chrysler.

Effect of the latest Warholian 15

Check out the seismograph readings on Alexa.

"In the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." Andy Warhol, d. 1987

"Sister in the Lord" needs money

Just got this email from gracemichael0401@msn.com. Maybe one of our readers could help her out.

Dear in Christ.

I am Mrs..grace michael an ageing widow suffering from long time illness. i am currently admitted in a privet hospital in Abidjan cote d' ivoire, I have some funds I inherited from my late loving husband Mr Patrick michael, the sum of US$5.500. 000 which he deposited in BANK Here and I need a very honest and God fearing Christian that can use this funds for God's work and 15% out of the total funds will be for your compasation for doing this work of God. I found your email address from the internet and decid to contact you.
Please if you would be able to use these funds for the Lord's work kindly reply me.

Your Sister In The Lord.

Mrs. grace michael

Good news on friend's font abuse

In the continuing saga of large-fonted conspiracy emails, we have some good news. My friend is down to 18-point Calibri which is 2 points lower than where he was at on October 10.

Watching this is never a waste of time

Where's my Almond Joy?

Michele Bachmann says "Contact your legislators"

Here's the new number I'm using which allows you to bypass switchboard operators: 800-833-6354.

Of course, you can go here and get the direct numbers for any of the U.S. Senators.

Lather, Rense, Repeat

I have a new poll question up. So fill it out, and be honest.

No Fake, Dick Tracy

Kudos to Wellpoint for tellling the truth. They'll probably get bitch-slapped by the White House now.

[T]he most important health-care questions continue to be about the policy substance—particularly those that Democrats don't want asked.

Foremost among them is: How will ObamaCare affect insurance premiums in the private health-care markets? Despite indignant Democratic denials, the near-certainty is that their plan will cause costs to rise across the board. The latest data on this score come from a series of state-level studies from the insurance company WellPoint Inc.

At the request of Congressional delegations worried about their constituents—call it a public service—WellPoint mined its own actuarial data to model ObamaCare in the 14 states where it runs Blue Cross plans. The study therefore takes into account market and demographic differences that other industry studies have not, such as the one from the trade group America's Health Insurance Plans, which looked at aggregate national trends.

In all of the 14 states WellPoint scrutinized, ObamaCare would drive up premiums for the small businesses and individuals who are most of WellPoint's customers. (Other big insurers, like Aetna, focus on the market among large businesses.) Young and healthy consumers will see the largest increases—their premiums would more than triple in some states—though average middle-class buyers will pay more too.

This will affect everyone. It will affect my family directly.

Loved this one from Disputations

Our friend, Tom @ Disputations, has some insightful thoughts on the brouhaha being raised in some quarters over the Vatican's outreach to Anglicans.

I do, though, have an opinion about the sort of reaction to yesterday's news exemplified in this comment by Michael Sean Winters:

But, I worry, too, that some of these newcomers will also be nostalgists, anti-feminists, and anti-gay bigots.

Some have suggested this translates to worrying that some of these newcomers will profess Catholic doctrine. But even granting that some Anglicans may join the Catholic Church out of sheer cussedness, I say:

So what?

I joined the Catholic Church out of sheer helplessness. When I was baptized as an infant, I not only lacked a good reason to become Catholic, I lacked any reason; I flat lacked reason altogether.

A Church that practices infant baptism is not a Church with demanding membership requirements.

I thought that part was brilliant, and he anticipates the next objection and deftly answers it:

I get, of course, that someone who has reached the age of reason ought to join the Catholic Church if, and only if, he believes the whole of the Catholic Faith. By the same token, though, parent ought to have their children baptized if, and only if, they believe the whole of the Catholic Faith, and I've heard no one grumble about the children of nostalgists, anti-feminists, and anti-gay bigots joining the Church.

Full communion with Christ's Church is a big deal. Too big, I'd say, for us to screw with it much. Let the Church welcome those who demonstrate the wish to be a part of her, and leave the personal judging to God.

You see, this is the same problem as you see in the hate crimes legislation. People can't just look at intent by asking "is this person going to be a good Catholic?" they just have to suspiciously probe motives. So they put their suspects under a microscope and pick apart their entire thought processes. And this provides us with... what exactly?


I converted from a very "conservative" Protestant denomination, so I didn't have the same axe to grind as some of those now under Mr. Winters's microscope. But I can imagine someone thinking to himself the following in a completely sensible manner, without a hint of prejudice or yen for nostalgia: "I'm watching progressive types whack away at my traditions, I'm listening to angry feminists howl about male domination, I'm seeing gay bishops parade their sins for all to see and the head of my church is conceding to Islamic Sharia Law. I'm just not sure there is much continuity with the historical Christian church here anymore. Maybe I'll look into Roman Catholicism." Those last two sentences describe my journey to the bark of Saint Peter. And the fact that the first part was neither experienced by me as a 20-something, nor Tom as an infant, nor Michael Sean Winters as an open-minded guy with a middle-name is completely irrelevant.

I got's a peace prize

I need to lighten up? I need to lighten up?? Srsly?

Kessler on Obama’s Failings and his War on FOX

Ronald Kessler penned this damning piece on the failings of the Obama Administration and shows how they all in some way come to light in his war on FOX news. Here are a few of his bullet points:

* Obama is a whiner. At almost every chance he gets, the President whines about the previous administration and how it is responsible for every problem he faces. He neglects to point out that in the examples he cites — as with deficit spending — he has made the problems worse.

People used to complain that Bush was too gracious toward Bill Clinton. Well, I'll take his graciousness over Obama's assholishness any day.

* Obama is fixated on spin rather than substance. Why else would he and his aides become so agitated about what a network is reporting? Obama’s decision to outsource drafting of healthcare legislation to Congress shows his lack of interest in performing the basic functions of his job.

* Obama is ineffective. The spectacle of refusing to let Fox participate in a pool filming, then backing down when the other networks objected, shows that Obama is over his head. That same ineffectiveness prompted him to announce the closing of the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay without having any idea where he would send its prisoners.

* Obama has no appreciation for the profit motive and its importance in America’s success. In warning networks not to follow Fox, Obama adviser David Axelrod said, “Mr. [Rupert] Murdoch has a talent for making money, and I understand that their programming is geared toward making money.” Never mind that Obama is making millions in profits from book royalties.

Yes, and never mind that MSNBC, NBC et al exist to make money as well.

* Obama is weak. The press ganged up on the Bush administration, but Bush never tried to isolate a news outlet. By showing how thin-skinned he is, Obama reveals his fragility. That is symbolized by his constant need to apologize to the world for imagined failings and by his hand-wringing, while finding time to play golf, about making a decision on his own commander’s request last August for more troops to fight the war in Afghanistan.

I read and re-read this article several times and thought about why someone would still support the guy. I decided that although these failings and weaknesses are there for all to see, only those who are really looking will see them. Those who are really looking do not include those still enamoured of him, but they do include America's enemies, unfortunately, who have been smelling his weaknesses for months now.

I wonder...

Am I the only person in the SCCB who truly has no desire whatsoever to buy coffee merely by virtue of the fact that it is allegedly roasted and sold by Carmelite Monks?

Healthcare Action

The next step for anyone who signed the Free Our Health Care Now petition is to go to this website and fill out all the fields to send an automated email blast to your Congress person and Senators.

Normally I don't bother doing this because I don't think emails have that big an effect on elected officials. However, these people are well organized and have 1.34 million email addresses to which they are emailing a notice advising this action. So if everyone who signed the petition filled out and submitted the form--which takes about 2 minutes--you're talking about Senators and Reps getting hit with somewhere between 15,000 and 50,000 emails per office, depending what state their in (my estimate). That's a lot of emails.

Then after you do this, call the capitol switchboard toll-free at 866-220-0044 and ask for your Senator. When the staffer gets on, say "Please tell the Senator to vote no on government health care." Then repeat this for the other senator. I've been doing this now for awhile. I usually add something scary to the Democrat Senator call, my new one is "Passing this bill will destroy the Democratic Party." Remember, some people think this would be a bad thing.

Finally, it's probably a good idea to send some snail mail to your legislators sharing your concerns on the Obamacare bills, especially the Public Option. I highly recommend using the text from the aforementioned Free Our Health Care site as a guide and template, here it is:

Government-run health care will increase cost, decrease quality, and limit access. As taxpayers and as patients, Americans simply can’t afford government-run health care. The Free Our Health Care NOW! Action Army needs YOU to fight for responsible reform and against government-run health care.

On September 9, the Free Our Health Care NOW! petition was delivered to Congress. Signed by more than 1.3 million Americans, the petition was not only the largest public declaration of opposition to government-run health care, it was the largest policy petition ever assembled . Despite the incredible size and historic importance of the Free Our Health Care NOW! petition, President Obama and liberal Democrats in Congress ignored the petition and the voice of the 1.3 million Americans who support it.

Today, the fight to stop government-run health care legislation continues and we need your help! Join the fight! Register with The Free Our Health Care NOW! Action Army and send a letter to your Representatives in Congress. Tell them you oppose government-run health care because you value:

* Choice. The right to choose your own doctor and your own health insurance plan.
* Access. The right to receive the treatment you need when you need it.
* Fairness. The right to enjoy equal status under the tax code.
* Portability. The right to keep your insurance plan even if you change jobs.

You have a voice! By joining the ranks of The Free Our Health Care NOW! Action Army, you can let your voice be heard!

I like the style of the group running this, the NCPA. They are not alarmist nor caustic in their rhetoric, but they state the case against the government takeover of our health care system accurately, boldly and concisely. If you want to contribute funds to them in support of this effort, go here.

Larry David Part 3: Getting ready for another wave of goofballery

Now Last Day Report, a "prophecy" site, has linked to Est Quod Est with the title "Jews laugh at urinating on picture of Jesus". I feel like a kindergarten teacher 'splaining this, but here I go.

Let's take the core of it, subject-verb, "Jews laugh". As far as I know, plenty of people initially laughed about this scene in Curb Your Enthusiasm, and they weren't all Jews. I'm sure they were of many religious backgrounds, some were Catholics without a doubt, some certainly had no faith at all. I think most people watching a show like this experience a "cuing effect" which is predominantly responsible for the laughter. The audience expects to laugh and does so on cue. I say this because honestly, the actual "peeing" part of the scene--which you can see on Youtube now if you want to--is so embarrassingly puerile that most "big dick jokes" seem mature in comparison. If the camcorder kiddies next door filmed it at the mall and showed it to you, you wouldn't laugh.


As a side note, but one which might help me to explain what I mean, a lot of people pointed to this effect being responsible for all the awkward-sounding audience laughter at David Letterman's revelation of sexual misconduct on his show recently. One person laughs and everyone around thinks "This must be funny, I'm supposed to be laughing." This phenomenon was been known for years and many comedians seed audiences with "laughers" to make sure their jokes don't bomb. If you still don't know what I mean, go read the text of what Letterman said and ask yourself if that material is in the least bit funny.

Back to "Jews laugh": with regard to my link and the subsequent comments, I don't think any commenters were Jewish, laughing or not. It might be a bit unfortunate that Donohue mentioned the fact that Larry David is Jewish, but it was still a remark made only in passing, as were mentions of his being Jewish in the comments. No one focused on a Jewish aspect to this until the Rense Front Party members arrived beginning yesterday afternoon.

So to conclude, the "Jews laugh" wording in both links is fundamentally inaccurate and misleading whether it applies to the scene being discussed or our discussion of the scene. The only excuse I can offer is that the originator at Jeff Rense's site mistook my obvious sarcasm in calling the pee scene "funny" as seriousness. This speaks to his own basic unseriousness due to the blurred vision caused by obsession and bigotry. If I thought it was funny, why would I even refernce Bill Donohue's take on the subject?

Editorial Advises Looking at the GOP's Health Care Proposals

Op-ed in yesterday's Chicago Tribune, excerpt:

Over the summer and fall, Republicans in the House and Senate have introduced six -- yes, six -- health care reform proposals. You didn't hear? Well, those plans didn't produce much of a ripple because Democrats dominate the Congress.

But now Republicans are weighing a shift in strategy. Instead of taking more potshots, some Republicans say their party should present a coherent alternative to whatever final Democratic plans emerge in the House and Senate. Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee reportedly are drafting legislation the GOP could introduce when Democrats bring their proposals to the floor.

H/T ohiogop.

Rock the vote

NPR asks: "In White House Vs. Fox News War Of Words, Who Gets Your Vote?" Go over here to this poll on their site to vote for FOX news.

Senator Tom Coburn on the Obamacare Bill

Hitler loses it over the "Balloon Boy" hoax

As always, it helps if you don't understand German.

Ich Liebe Lieberman!

Obviously this is yesterday's news, but I wanted to link to it for my oh! so clever title.

Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Tuesday that he’d back a GOP filibuster of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s health care reform bill.

Lieberman, who caucuses with Democrats and is positioning himself as a fiscal hawk on the issue, said he opposes any health care bill that includes a government-run insurance program — even if it includes a provision allowing states to opt out of the program, as Reid has said the Senate bill will.

"We're trying to do too much at once," Lieberman said. "To put this government-created insurance company on top of everything else is just asking for trouble for the taxpayers, for the premium payers and for the national debt. I don’t think we need it now."

It's funny reading the libs on this. One site I went to had enraged commenters saying they were going to hit him with a two-by-four and throttle him. One person called him a whore. I was going going to point out that the politically-correct word is "sex-worker", but didn't have the heart.

Jeff Rense is an idiot

Jeff Rense, an anti-Semitic nut-job, linked to my Larry David piece with the text "Jews Laugh At Urinating On Pic Of Jesus In Show". So, hey, mazel tov to y'all, I guess we're Jewish.

Larry David Pisses on Jesus, Part II

Marisa made a comment on my first post on Mr. David's problem with dribbling on the Curb:

Write to all the head figures, this blog is not enough, go to fox, go to all the important networks, write to HBO. There is a great article on FOX and the comments are at least made to the point and with intellect. This attack on Christianity has to stop. It's true NO OTHER RELIGION WOULD ALLOW THIS in fact I am certain Larry David would be scared to DEATH to make fun of Islam.

The line "this blog [Est Quod Est] is not enough" cracked me up. Baby, I get 60 visits a day on average.

But the FOX link she provided is a good place to go. FOX links to a youtube video of the scene, but if you go there now you see "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by HOME BOX OFFICE, INC." Oh, yeah, HBO is a real stickler about copyright infringement. That's why they've allowed this clip of the Sopranos finale to get almost 1.5 million hits in over 2 years.

First Movement of Anton Bruckner's 9th Symphony

Bruckner lives, dude.

Advent Candles

Going here is the best way to buy my wife's handmade, 60% beeswax advent candles. These are really beautiful, trust me. And since they contain more than 51% beeswax you can have them blessed by a priest.

Byron York on Obama Moving America to the Right

York shows how Obama's left liberal policies seem to be pushing Americans toward Republicans and making them more conservative. Excerpt:

They still call themselves independents, but they're worried by the left-leaning policies of President Obama and the Democratic Congress, especially on the economy. "The middle, which wanted to move away from George W. Bush, did not want to move this far left," says a Republican pollster who is tracking the shift. "They are tending to agree with what Republicans are saying more and more, despite the previous eight years."

For example, in a private poll done recently for the House GOP leadership, voters were asked whether they think the economic stimulus package is working. The two parties were on opposite sides of the question -- 60 percent of Democrats said the stimulus is working, and 79 percent of Republicans said it's not. But among independents, 57 percent said the stimulus is not working -- a number much closer to the Republican than the Democratic position.

When you look at public attitudes toward the budget, health care, the environment, and other top issues, you see a similar picture: Republicans and Democrats are on either end of the spectrum, but independents aren't exactly in the middle. They're leaning a little bit right. And even though Republicans remain unpopular, voters seem willing to take a new look at them, if only by default.

Heck, it's change I can believe in.

Deeds not exuding confidence

I laughed at the very last line of this article where Creigh Deeds, Democrat candidate for Virginia Governor, states "I don't think they're throwing me under the bus," they being the Obama Administration. That's not the best rhetoric to inspire confidence in the undecided voter, dude. I'm guessing the Creigh-ster is busy packing the ol' parachute.

Rapture Riders

I am totally into this right now. Color me mesmerized.

Larry David Pisses on Picture of Jesus

How original! Never heard of that before.

At one point in the show, David goes to the bathroom in a Catholic home and splatters urine on a picture of Jesus; he doesn’t clean it off. Then a Catholic woman goes to the bathroom, sees the picture and concludes that Jesus is crying. She then summons her equally stupid mother and the two of them fall to their knees in prayer. When David and Jerry Seinfeld (playing himself) are asked if they ever experienced a miracle, David answers, “every erection is a miracle.” That’s what passes for creativity these days.

Was Larry David always this crude? Would he think it comedic if someone urinated on a picture of his mother? This might be fun to watch, but since HBO only likes to dump on Catholics (it was just a couple of weeks ago that Sarah Silverman insulted Catholics on “Real Time with Bill Maher”), and David is Jewish, we’ll never know.

That's so frickin' funny. Really.

UPDATE: I think a few who have stumbled onto this post, not being regular readers, haven't realized that I'm being utterly sarcastic when I said the bit was funny. It's not funny at all from my perspective.

UPDATE, 10/29/2009: Here are my new thoughts on the "Jews laugh" links.

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Strategic angle of the Vatican's ecumenical move

I liked this Douthat piece very much. Excerpt:

Here Catholicism and Anglicanism share two fronts. In Europe, both are weakened players, caught between a secular majority and an expanding Muslim population. In Africa, increasingly the real heart of the Anglican Communion, both are facing an entrenched Islamic presence across a fault line running from Nigeria to Sudan.

Where the European encounter is concerned, Pope Benedict has opted for public confrontation. In a controversial 2006 address in Regensburg, Germany, he explicitly challenged Islam’s compatibility with the Western way of reason — and sparked, as if in vindication of his point, a wave of Muslim riots around the world.

By contrast, the Church of England’s leadership has opted for conciliation (some would say appeasement), with the Archbishop of Canterbury going so far as to speculate about the inevitability of some kind of sharia law in Britain.

There are an awful lot of Anglicans, in England and Africa alike, who would prefer a leader who takes Benedict’s approach to the Islamic challenge. Now they can have one, if they want him.

This could be the real significance of last week’s invitation. What’s being interpreted, for now, as an intra-Christian skirmish may eventually be remembered as the first step toward a united Anglican-Catholic front — not against liberalism or atheism, but against Christianity’s most enduring and impressive foe.

Earlier he makes the point that this Benedict's move is not "good manners". But what are good manners going to buy you when your head is being sawed off?

People's Cube Reports: Obama's War Is a Quagmire

His war on FOX News, that is. Too funny.

Despite the President's promise of a swift and decisive victory, Obama's War on Fox News has developed all signs of an unwinnable quagmire, making the White House even more isolated in its unilateral attempts to crush the growing media insurgency. As the war continues to grind on for a second month, public opinion is shifting towards a quick and complete withdrawal. While many observers still agree that the "War on Limbaugh" is a "just and necessary war," even the former supporters of the war effort are now labeling the War on Fox an "unnecessary war of choice" and claim that the cable channel had nothing to do with Obama's falling approval numbers.

I also have to include this bit on Dan Rather:

The war is also personal for the aging media veteran Dan Rather, who had won many media battles but one single failure brought him a dishonorable discharge. As a result he is now suffering from Post-Traumatic-Stress Disorder (PTSD), has become homeless, and lives somewhere under the Manhattan Bridge. "This war has put a lot of wear and tear on liberal commentators," Rather observes. "Their families are being broken up because they come back home with PTSD, STD, PMS, with drug and alcohol addictions, and afflicted by severe violent and suicidal tendencies."

Check out the whole page for great fake commie art, the Cube's specialty. Here's a taste.


Love it. Looks like she's about to sneeze.