Frankly Speaking

McCain is set to name his choice for V.P. today. Speculation is that it's going to be Governor Sarah Palin. There's also this flight, which arrived in Ohio last night.

If this turns out to be true, McCain may have just proved himself to be a lot smarter than everyone thought.

Labels: presidential politics

You say, "Sho Nuff".

I don't know how I missed this, but Julius Carry died August 19. He stared in several movies, but my absolute favorite was The Last Dragon.

If you've never seen it, I've included a little clip for you below. If you are like 99.99% of everyone I know in real life, you won't like it. But my brother and I love it. In fact, we still use the line from the title when we mock fight.

Labels: pointless silliness

A Connecticut youth baseball team has been disqualified from playing, because they are too good.

The team, Will Power Fitness, has an 8-0 record thanks in large part to pitcher Jericho Scott, the New Haven Register reports. His pitching is so fast and accurate, the Liga Juvenil De Baseball De New Haven asked the team's coach, Wilfred Vidro, to replace him so he wouldn't frighten other players.

So, kid plays baseball. Kid is good at baseball. Too good, in fact. Other teams get their asses handed to them, and the parents call for the disqualification of the child that hurt the feelings of their spawn by daring to be better than they are.

“The spirit of the league was community, family, well-being, nurturing," Peter Noble, the league's attorney, told the Register. "It’s an extended family and it’s been disrupted.”

Whatever happened to the spirit of the game being learning a love for the game and how to play it well so that you can win? Instead of being motivated to get out in the back yard and practice with their own children, these sorry excuses for parents bitch and moan that Jericho is too good and should be disqualified for disrupting their sense of community.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly what is wrong with modern liberal thought. Whenever a disparity exists between two entities, in this case a winning team and the losers, you can approach it one of two ways. You can strive to spur the lesser group on to greatness, pointing out those who are achieving as examples of what could be if they worked harder. Or you can point to the winners and say, "that's not fair, they have an unfair advantage" and attempt to hamstring them and bring them down to everyone else's level. Because it hurts my baby's feelings when someone else does better than her on a test.

That is what brought us the welfare state. And graduated taxes. And grade-less primary classrooms. And little league games where no score is kept.

We are raising a generation of pussies who are taught that if someone else does better than them, it's not their fault. They don't have to work harder or try to achieve more, because they are wonderful and special just they way they are, and to prove it will kick that other kid out of the league and give everyone trophies at the end of the season that say "I'm a winner", even though the kid has no concept of what winning really is, because he doesn't even know how to keep score at a fookin' baseball game, because he's never done it before.

I hope Jericho Scott grows up to be a major league pitcher despite the best efforts of the dipshits in his community who are trying to stifle his talent already.

And if any of the idiots in Connecticut want to see what they should be doing for their children, maybe they should read about Wayne Gretzky's father.

h/t Ace

Labels: nanny state, rise and fall of American culture

Unfortunately, she also stole some of it.

My post is here.

I don't know if I should be mad or flattered. Or maybe something in between.

Labels: all about me

I was out to dinner last night, enjoying a large plate of sauerbraten, spätzle and rotkraut (basically, red cabbage) along with a Bitburger Pils*, when I happened to overhear part of the conversation at the table next to me. There were five or six white guys in their mid-60s enjoying a guy's night out. A couple of them spoke with pretty heavy German accents, and you can tell they have all known each other for quite a while. From their conversation, I assume they had all worked together and were now retired, meeting up monthly to reminisce and talk politics. Which brings us to the meat of the matter.

The first thing I overheard was that they were discussing a Republican senator from our state, and the fact that he was vulnerable this cycle. They spent quite a bit of time trying to come up with viable candidates who should be running against him, but never really found one. The the real fun began. Over the course of the next 45 minutes or so, they discussed all of the following topics.

• We import too much oil and should be drilling here in America


• Oil companies make too much money


• CEOs in general make too much money, and there should be a cap on salaries. "Europe has the right answer to that. A CEO should never make more than 10 times the lowest wage in the company." I nearly spit out red cabbage when I heard that.


• Obama is all but assured of a win in Novemeber. However, there are so many crazies out there with guns, they're sure he won't last long in office. "Not that I want anything to happen to the guy, but I really can't see him lasting out the first term."


• There are too many guns in America, and too many people unfit to own guns. "That's why we have all these crazy school shootings." This was followed by, "What we really need to do is ban all guns in America. I just don't know how you could do it." It took everything in me to not turn around and say, "Are you fucking insane?" but I managed to keep my cool

I seriously had to keep eating to keep from jumping into this debate. You can tell they were nice old guys just trying to work through some big issues. The problem is that they use emotion instead of reason to tackle any of the problems.

I overheard them setting the date for their next get together. Maybe I'll just have to be there again so I can jump into this debate with them. They need some opposing viewpoints to get them to think.

*I love German food. And German bier. Ah, who am I kidding, I just love food.

Labels: all about me, obamessiah, rise and fall of American culture

Acting quickly and decisively, Obama came out and condemned Russia's aggression against Georgia and called for an immediate cease-fire. Luckily Russia heard about Obama having to take time off from body surfing to make this announcement and, fearing the wrath of the Teh One, immediately complied. As is evidenced by this quote from Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA)

“[Barack Obama’s] goal was to be tough and smart, and so when the [Russian] action happened on Thursday, he immediately called for a ceasefire, condemned the unwarranted use of force by Russia. It was a bad crisis for the world. It required tough words, but also a smart approach to call on the international community to step in—and I’m very, very happy that the senator’s request for a ceasefire has been complied with by [Russian] President [Dmitry] Medvedev."

Thank G-d we had the messiah here to take care of things.

But wait, what's this?

Russian tanks rolled into the crossroads city of Gori on Wednesday then thrust deep into Georgian territory, violating the truce designed to end the six-day war that has uprooted 100,000 people and scarred the Georgian landscape.

You mean that Barack Obama utilized his Political Voice of Doom^tm and yet they still didn't stop? Do they not realize that if they don't comply with his wishes he will be forced to yet again call a press conference and use the Political Voice of Doom^tm to express his extreme displeasure at this turn of events?

I mean, all it takes to stop any conflict in the world is being willing to talk to the aggressor and ask him/her to stop all aggressive behavior, right? That's what Obama's been telling us during most of his campaign, that talking to your enemies is enough to make them stop.

I'm sure the Russians just didn't see how serious he was when he made his statement.

Labels: biting sarcasm, obamessiah, presidential politics

Actual email conversation I had just a few minutes ago.

Her: "I just saw the cutest picture ever.. some little yorkie half buried in the sand, head and feet are the only thing out."

Me: "And then a flock of seagulls came along and ate him. It was both sadly horrific and quite amusing at the same time. Which shows you just how rough life has gotten for those 80s wave bands. I think this will be on VH1s 'Behind the Music' next month."

Labels: all about me

Actor Morgan Freeman was in a car accident late Sunday night.

There is also an historic uprising in the House of Representatives demanding a vote on domestic drilling.

Which one do you think is going to get more press coverage on the evening news tonight?

Don't get me wrong, I wish Morgan Freeman a speedy recovery. But in the grand scheme of things, which is more important; bringing relief from high oil prices, or the fact that Easy Reader had an accident at 71 years old?

Labels: biting sarcasm, mediots

House Republicans are back on the floor to continue their protest about domestic drilling. To follow the action, check out the updates from Rep. John Culberson.

Congressman Culberson on Twitter.

Congressman Culberson on Qik.

For the first time in a long time I've found some Republicans I'm proud of. Let's see how long they can keep this fire in their bellies.

Update:
John Culberson has left the floor, but you can still follow the action here, or at the live blog.

If you haven't done so, be sure to call your congressman and tell him/her that you support this action. If your congressman is at home, enjoying his/her vacation, be sure to thank them for abandoning their constituents.

Yesterday Pelosi characterized the GOP uprising as a "war dance of the handmaidens of the oil companies." I would characterize it as members of congress finally realizing that putting the good of America first is the right thing to do. A lesson which Speaker Pelosi needs to learn.

Update 2:
Congressmen are using #dontgo to mark their tweets about the uprising. click here to search this tag.

Update 3:
Twitter feed of conservative blogger and journalist Robert Bluey.

Nick Schaper blogging live from the floor

The Republican Cloakroom has a list of all Republicans participating today. Check the list and see if your rep. is on it.

Update 4:
House GOP Leader's flickr.

Update 5:
Don't Go Video channel on Youtube.

Congressman Rob Wittman's twitter

dontgo.us, links and twitter feed of #dontgo

Update 6:
C-SPAN live streaming video, if/when the cameras ever get turned back on.

Need help contacting your representatives? Check out this site to find them.

I've already written my congressman and both of my senators in support of the uprising.

Viva la Revolución!

Update 7:
More Linky goodness
John Boozman's twitter
James Kotecki at Politico.com.
Don't Go petition to the 110th Congress.

Update 8: What is all of this without a little video?

Labels: conservatism, governmental idiocy, liberal hypocrisy

John McCain has been ratcheting up the rhetoric about energy policy lately. If he really wants to both stick it to Obama and look very presidential, he should show up at the House in support of the uprising, media in tow.

If the media doesn't want to cover this event, then putting the GOP nominee right in the middle of it pretty much forces them to at least mention it. And if not, he should be streaming video of the event on his site.

Labels: conservatism, liberal hypocrisy, presidential politics

Alexander Solzhenitsyn dead at 89.

If there is one writer, outside of the founding fathers, that should be required reading in every American high school, this is that man. Of course, that would put an end to the nanny state, so the teacher's union would never stand for that.

If you've never read anything by Solzhenitsyn, you should start with his 1978 address to Harvard.

Socialism

It is almost universally recognized that the West shows all the world a way to successful economic development, even though in the past years it has been strongly disturbed by chaotic inflation. However, many people living in the West are dissatisfied with their own society. They despise it or accuse it of not being up to the level of maturity attained by mankind. A number of such critics turn to socialism, which is a false and dangerous current.

I hope that no one present will suspect me of offering my personal criticism of the Western system to present socialism as an alternative. Having experienced applied socialism in a country where the alternative has been realized, I certainly will not speak for it.

His insights into the west will really make you examine exactly what it is we have here in America. And maybe appreciate it a little more.

h/t Ace

Labels: ejukayshun, historical figures, liberty, life

I just ran across something that I missed when it was published, but is still unbelievable. According to a July 11 article in the NYT, there is still debate about whether McCain is eligible to be President.

I rank this right up there with the idiots still making waves about Obama's birth certificate. Nothing will come of it, because no one wants to be the asshole that claims that because he was born to an American naval officer serving overseas that he is ineligible to serve as President.

Although the funniest of all outcomes would be to find out around September that neither Obama nor McCain is eligible and everyone has to scramble to find new candidates. Now that would be political theater at its best.

Labels: presidential politics

1. Receive copy of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium
2. Realize that the 80gb hdd in my laptop is nearly full
3. Purchase 200gb SATA drive to replace it
4. Wait 3 hours while Norton Ghost creates an image of my hdd
5. Go eat Polla con Crema for lunch while I wait for the image to finish. Make sure to add extra jalepenos and habenera hot sauce because they make it really bland for the gringos around here.
5. Get back from lunch, pull old drive, replace with shiny, new one
6. Boot from CD and restore drive image to shiny, new drive
7. Spend another 3 hours watching the little line go across the screen
8. Boot up the shiny, new drive and, wonder of wonders, everything worked right the first time
9. Try not to act surprised that everything worked right the first time
10. Start installing Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium so I can start acting like I know what I'm doing with Photoshop, Flash and Dreamweaver.

And that is a day in the life of this computer nerd. Doesn't that sounds like fun?

Labels: all about me, geek talk

So are you dreams of going to college.

The scholarship program started by former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards that has sent rural high school graduates to college for free is ending after three years, a newspaper reported Thursday.

...

The pilot program has sent 190 Greene County students to college and cost $600,000 in its first two years. It was started in 2005, the year after Edwards was the Democratic vice presidential candidate.

Before his presidential nomination campaign ended this year, Edwards said he wanted a similar national program, spending $8 billion to send 2 million students to college.

According to the article, the program was designed to last three years and is now ending. Like it was intended to do. They are notifying rising seniors that they won't be eligible for the program, because the program never existed.

Now, this could all be perfectly legit, but it leaves a lot of unanswered questions.

1. Why would a program designed to pay for college be designed to only last three years. Last I checked, undergrad was four years.

2. Did Edwards really care about this program, or was this a thinly veiled attempt to swing some votes while he tried to make it into the White House?

3. The article also states that the program was privately funded and that Edwards was in charge of fund raising. Now that he's been caught with a love child, is he shutting down the program because he's going to need money for a good divorce attorney and child support?

Labels: ejukayshun, presidential politics