That Pesky First

1st

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Ever heard of the memory hole? It's where all information Big Brother wanted to eliminate was sent to be forgotten about.
Can it happen today?

Corporate liberals have done their share in shutting down anti-liberal speech, too. "Saturday Night Live" ran a spoof of the financial crisis that skewered Democrats like House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank and liberal contributors Herbert and Marion Sandler, who sold toxic-waste-filled Golden West to Wachovia Bank for $24 billion. Kind of surprising, but not for long. The tape of the broadcast disappeared from NBC's Website and was replaced with another that omitted the references to Frank and the Sandlers. Evidently NBC and its parent, General Electric, don't want people to hear speech that attacks liberals.

I saw the skit and laughed loudly. Far louder then the left leaning audience at SNL that night. Should I be surprised it was taken out?
Remember the movie on 9-11? The Path to 9/11. Democrats tried earnestly to get part of the movie edited not to incriminate Clinton's failure on taking out bin Laden.
Remember in Missouri when the Democrats tried to proscute anyone who created a political ad they felt was a wrong?
Remember the assault via phone and e-mail on Kurtz on WGN in Chicago?
Remember these events, they may be a treacherous precursor to what we will out live in a Obama administration with control of the House and Senate.
Other clear violations of the 1st to be concerned about in the near future:
1. The Fairness Doctrine
2. The elimination of secret ballots in union elections. And we know who endorses Obama.
For a constitutional prof, he has a skewed view of it.

The Vast Wasteland

Outside of the usual sports, (Bears/Football, Cubs & National Soccer action) my TV runs either children shows or the History Channel. Most major network shows are predictable, insipid or in an arrogant sense, numbing.
But there are four shows I eagerly await every week:

Burn Notice on USA: Any chance to see Bruce Campbell hamming it up is worth it. And if you want to catch a real odd film, Bubbal Ho-tep. He is Elvis in hiding and Ossie Davis as JFK. Yes, Ossie is black.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent on USA: I was wary of this show at first. But the unbridled eccentric genius of Vincent D'Onofrio is worth every episode. Even the return of Chris Noth to the franchise is worth it. But most of all, I love Leslie Hendrix. She has played the savvy ME Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers for all three franchise shows.

Eureka on SciFi: This brings out my inner geek. My meager grey matter is generally history or philosophically driven. But the sci-fi angle, perfectly cast and playful physics laden banter makes me giggle like Archimedes. (Who is given his props with a statue in the middle of the town. Plus there is Jo played by Erica Cerra.

Penn & Teller Bullshit on Showtime: And these two. They are bombastic and silent. Atheist and Libertarian. And they make you think. Unafraid to challenge any group, from Code Pink to the Catholic Church to NASA. The profane duo are at their best unchained and self-rightous.

Each show has wit, intelligence, truly character driven and unique. It isn't that other shows reek of mediocrity, but my time is limited. I could never commit to the brilliant Lost like a good marriage. And the original Law & Order is like a drunken booty call at 2 a.m. you never let go.

Let's Wait for # 3

Chef ... dead

Who's the black private dick
That's a sex machine to all the chicks?
SHAFT!
Ya damn right!

actually it was supposed to be obob.
Bernie Mac ... dead

Kids are “nasty, dirty, disease-carrying midgets” who are “too sassy, too grown and talk back too much,”

there may be some skittish entertainers out there

What!

So it isn't so, the Chinese are censoring the press at the Olympics. A communist regime is violating human rights and lied to the grossly incompetent IOC?

China will censor the Internet used by foreign media during the Olympics, an organising committee official confirmed Wednesday, reversing a pledge to offer complete media freedom at the games.
"During the Olympic Games we will provide sufficient access to the Internet for reporters," said Sun Weide, spokesman for the organising committee.

He confirmed, however, that journalists would not be able to access information or websites connected to the Falungong spiritual movement which is banned in China.

Other sites were also unavailable to journalists, he said, without specifying which ones.

Do you get the feeling this is just the beginning?

there is more to picture then meets the eye

My niece is over and it is giving me some breathing room from my kids. Or at least I can breath once I change my son's diaper. I'll get the nasal roto-rooter once he is no longer diaper dependant.

Michael Barone writes a good piece about politics and covering it. Sort of a brief history of his experience and some characters he met along the way. But he mentions a series of books on elections by Theodore White. My dad found those in their house and gave them to me to read. Bartone has a couple paragraphs that describe them:

The classic accounts of American campaigns are Theodore H. White's four "Making of the President" books, from 1960 to 1972. White was part of a generation of journalists who got their start in World War II and thought their role was to celebrate our nation and our leaders. He was a fine reporter who did not ignore practical and even tawdry politics, but his tone was uplifting. His winning candidates were fine and noble, his losers decent though limited.

My literary ADHD is in full effect as I am reading three books at once, The Iliad, The Coldest Winter and finally, White's book on the 1960 election. And I have to say it is a very good read. It tells of an ill fated love story that is our elections and not a biased narrative with mens rea in mind. It spins a yarn of dreams to be fulfilled and dashed along the rocks of our political shores.
Alas, Barone seems to go into eulogy mode as he accurately describes our current media:

After Watergate, White felt betrayed by Nixon and wrote a mea culpa volume. Political journalism took a turn toward exposure rather than celebration, toward cynicism rather than awe.
But none of the fine campaign books written since have sold in anything like the numbers of White's volumes. Cynicism prevails but doesn't sell. Ronald Reagan, who was of Teddy White's generation, and who voted for 12 winning presidential candidates and only four losers in his active adult life, knew about the tawdry things yet believed there was something noble about our politics. Maybe we should feel that way, too. After all these years, I think I do.

I agree Mr. Barone. But neither side will concede to good form. The media knows "exposure" sells.

"While choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it." - George Washington's farewell address.

By the way, my son's diaper was a class 4 squirter. I used a Hazmat suit changing it.

Chapter 2008 Day One

This is going to be a lame post, I can feel it. But the better half is in Vegas and I miss her already. Marriage is work and somedays I feel my life is a Zogby Poll. But enough of that.

The Presidential election being held this Thursday, being very sarcastic. But the MSM loves to give the feeling this will decide the winner.
But my spider-senses are telling me this election could be as close to a European style multiparty election in sometime. Like the fourth horseman, comes the man who cost Al Gore 2000, not Antoinin Scalia: Ralph Nader
from poltico.com, Nader throws support to Edwards.

Nader, a four-time presidential candidate, called Edwards a Democratic "glimmer of hope." He has long criticized Democrats as indistinguishable from Republicans, chiding both parties as slaves to corporate financing and interests.

It was Nader who famously — or infamously to many Democrats — siphoned off enough liberal votes from Al Gore in 2000 to hand New Hampshire and Florida, and as a result, the presidency, to George W. Bush. Since 2004, however, Nader has been increasingly controversial within the political left. He was booed at a national conference of progressives earlier this year.

But he remains a popular figure among some liberals. Activists are particularly influential in the Iowa caucuses, if only because participation asks hours of voters' time. Only a small portion of Iowa Democrats caucused in 2004.

Think about this. Hillary wins the nomination and takes Richardson as her VP. Edwards is on a mission. He is delusional enough to believe he could win as an independent.

Ron Paul could be the same disruption for Republicans or Bloomberg in that role. The more candidates to gobble up votes out there could force the DNC or GOP to focus on true message, not the same old same old.

And well done Michigan with sending Lloyd Carr out with a huge win. Plus the seniors had never won a bowl game. The Illini are getting a woodshed whoppin'.

Put in Scary But True Dept.

I Hope You Went to Church Today

I do enjoy it when he runs for President. The Irrelevant Al keeps the candidates on their toes because he doesn't pander to special interest groups.

Okay kids, we're having another "end of the world moment," I agree with the Irrelevant Al Sharpton on something:

"I accept his apology, just as I want his bosses to accept his resignation," said the Rev. Al Sharpton. He promised to picket Imus' New York radio home, WFAN-AM, unless the veteran of nearly 40 years of anything-goes broadcasting is gone within a week.

Please don't get me wrong, Sharpton is a grand stander, a hypocrite and is a danger to the further advancement of blacks in America, but he got me on this one. The comments made by Imus were not remotely funny nor cool. It reminds me of the comments made by bitter has-beens or wannabes at the bar screaming for attention like a two year old .

"That's some rough girls from Rutgers," Imus said. "Man, they got tattoos ..."

"Some hardcore hos," said McGuirk.

"That's some nappy headed hos there, I'm going to tell you that," Imus said.

From AOL

It didn't stop there, though. Of the Tennessee players, he said, "they all look cute," before someone else off-camera says the game was a matchup of "jiggaboos vs. wannabes." Jiggaboos ... perfect. I see no reason why that should ever offend anyone.

Imus defended himself by saying that people need to relax and shouldn't worry about "some idiot comment meant to be amusing."

I may not be the most politically correct person on the planet, pro-global warming, anti-PETA, etc. but respect is respect and the lack of is evident. If the idiot doesn't know the difference between a joke and a slur, then he should keep those remarks to himself and off the airwaves.
He is meant to be a "shock jock." But there is a line and he crossed it. Comments like his discredit any further remarks or comments of relevance for it shows a lack of awareness of consequence or logic.

Which is more heinous?

I can't decide which is more irritating:
the immature and childish remarks of Sen. Boxer or,
the cheerleader remark from the male Democrat Propaganda Officer from CNN in the end.
Had this been Inhofe making these remarks to Boxer, he would have been chastised by either of the DPOs oon duty.
More cartoons to make fun of Al Gore.




I saw this comment at The Liberal Lie, The Conservative Truth and it touched my heart in a very special way. As much as I am for free speech, I have to edit this in case a child of yours or mine should read this:

Anonymous said...
A**hole, just f***ing insane american a**holes. Maybe you don't believe in global warming but have you looked at the black sky ? how about f***ing acid rain that used to melt your auto's paint job, how about the entirely polluted water table, how about you yanks have contributed to the destruction of the entire genetic code of the planet. You dare create comedy about this serious s**t ? may your f***ed up little plutocratric fascist naziesque orwellian roveianlly infanticidal yankees burn in hell for eternity, the end, f**k are you freaks, die like the lemming dogs of war you are you sick f***ing pukes

Isn't it the cutiest and most adorable comment you have ever read. It screams tolerance and freedom to disagree or create satire.

What the Sam Hill?

First
Murtha Seeks To Prohibit Military Action Against Iran

WASHINGTON — A leading Iraq war opponent threatened yesterday to try prohibiting any American military action against Iran without congressional sanction as House Republicans used military veterans within their ranks to oppose a resolution renouncing President Bush's Iraq troop buildup.

Those evil Republicans using vets, as opposed to the heroic vets on the Democrat side of the aisle who are for the wise non-binding resolution and not misguided or brainwashed.





















Second



I have a hard time looking at Obama as legitmate leader of our country if he insults our troops who are braver than he can imagine. He is the face of the Democratic party, he is an ass!












Third

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

From 1945 to 1953 he was imprisoned for writing a letter in which he criticized Joseph Stalin - "the man with the mustache." Solzhenitsyn served in the camps and prisons near Moskow, and in a camp in Ekibastuz, Kazakhstan (1945-53).

more

Publication of the first volume of The Gulag Archipelago (1973), one of the greatest works in Russian prose, resulted in his being charged with treason. Expelled from the Soviet Union in 1974,

or what about the Cubans who are so beloved by the Left and the Media of this country:

HAVANA - Veteran dissident attorney Rene Gomez Manzano, who helped organize an unprecedented gathering of opponents of the Cuban government two years ago, was unexpectedly released from prison after being held for 19 months without being charged.

It goes again and again, the Left really has no clue how safe and coddled they are. Protected by a media with thier agenda in mind, they can fire salvo after salvo with no recourse. Unless you count the money lost by the screeching dixie harpies.

And in an immature stunt, this really bad angle of Speaker of the House Pelosi

Why Muncie is the entertainment capital of the world

I spent five alcohol induced years in Muncie in the late 80s and early 90s. To say it was memorabe would be nice if I remembered any of it. The people were nice, slightly odd but entertaining. So when I heard CBS's new show, Armed and Famous was being shot there, I will watch it. I really don't watch reality shows, I am rather a snob in that degree. But dammit, they have Wee-man!
Tully's description from the Star:

Here's the concept: First you take five celebrities -- including Erik Estrada of "CHiPs" fame, La Toya Jackson of the Jackson family, and a guy named Jason "Wee-Man" Acuna, whose previous career highlight was appearing in the movie "Jackass." Then you train the stars, swear them in as reserve police officers and send them out on the night shift with real Muncie police.
Yes, La Toya and the rest have been given guns, badges and policing powers.
Any doubts about that were eliminated Friday, when the Muncie Star Press ran a front-page story headlined, "Community activist Randall Sims stabbed, argues with Erik Estrada." Next to the story was a picture of Estrada, a gun in his holster, shouting at the victim, who was also a suspect.

So why is Muncie the entertainment capital of the word?
1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind was set in Muncie, but they found the city to cultured so they actually filmed it in Georgia
2. In the Coen brothers' film, The Hudsucker Proxy, Tim Robbins' character gets off the bus from the Muncie School of Business, obviously this is polite reference to Ball State's School of Business which makes Harvard's look like a third rate community college. He did invent the hula hoop in that movie and the frisbee.
3. Jim Davis, Garfield's creator, is from Muncie, enough said
4. Don't forget the left wing nut job David Letterman went to Ball State.
5. Finally, the mighty Obob has one degree from the School of History and was a member of the mighty Phi Sigs. Our house was green and we once shut down a party because the floor joists broke under the weight of the crowd. Nothing like three hundred people chanting, "Our house, our house, our house is falling down." We're classy!

Finally ... Lazy Muncie

Thoughts of the New Year

I am still stewing of the Bears loss to the communist regime known as Green Bay. think about it, the people own the team ... do the math comrades. Am I bitter, think a rosie o'donnel and nancy pelosi cocktail.


















I think the comic is dead on and I hope he shares a room with ahytollah khomeni
















Do you think this guy has any skeletons? The trouble is he sounds like a Republican at times and has the privilege of hands on work with the mighty Senator Lugar. He could be a tough one, but he may have peaked early and the right leaning media sharks have yet to smell blood.




















What I get out of this cartoon is Sadaam provided stability in Iraq through his regime. So let me get this straight, through tyranny and terror can you keep ethnic groups under control. So MarshallTito was in the right in Yugoslavia and hitler had every right to keep those pesky French andJews under his thumb. So much for the liberal belief that mankind deseves free will and right to protest. This is as hypocritical as the feminists attacking Monica Lewinsky after she was the victim of a sexual predator ...















Yep and we are going after them in time my friends, just realize foreign policy is not only like the Pottery Barn but it isn't a McDonald's drive thru, more slow cooking rib joint. mmmm ribs ...

Good Ridance

I just got in from drinking with the guys in the neighborhood and visit to the bar. My mother-in-law told me the good news, this is how he should be displayed, like il duce.







Addition: I just saw the hanging on Drudge done by a cell camera, brutal. I should post it ....

You may think I am a sick person for showing this, but how many times did you watch the Zapruder film?

Addition II, the sequel: What I find fascinating about this video is the historical impact. This could be a defining moment in history. This is the historical equivalence of King Louis and Marie A getting their heads lopped off in public. Or the Romanov family gunned down in a basement, better burial though. The fear of other royal families in Europe knowing their divine rights where getting relocated by the people scared the hell out of the them. Why do this Qaddafi in Libya gave up some of his WMDs after we went into Iraq.
We have hit a part in history where one of the usual gang of tyrants met their demise and we watched it. This Dick Tracy technology gave us the satisfaction of knowing Hussein is worm food.
The people to watch for now are the leaders of the theocracies or totalitarian regimes in the region. Fear is a very powerful weapon and that cell phone camera is more catastrophic than any nuke or UN resolution .... sorry couldn't stop laughing at the concept of a UN resolution being anything more than a waste of money or something to doodle in a meeting.

DOD website

I will link this to the sire, but this is an essential website. Far to often the impervious MSM rants and rails aganist our brave troops with lies and distortions. The DOD's reply page gives rebuttlas to the many manipulations of the media. Enjoy and keep the anger at a minimum.

The Real Record on Transformation

Times editorial gets it wrong
Nov. 9, 2006 — The Pentagon has again requested a correction for a New York Times editorial. On November 8th, the New York Times wrote that “Truly transforming the military would have meant trading in expensive cold war weaponry, like attack submarines and stealth fighters, for pilotless drones, swifter ships and lighter, more mobile ground forces. Mr. Rumsfeld never had the interest—or the political will—to take on that fight.”Secretary Rumsfeld has in fact worked hard to do precisely what the Times accuses him of not doing, in order to transform the military to address the threats of the 21st century. This transformation has included, among many other things: the massive increase of unmanned aerial vehicles—there were 132 in 2001, as compared to over 3,400 today; the design and development of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)—part of a new class of warship designed for speed (up to 40 knots) and inland operations in shallow water; and the shift from a division-based to a brigade-based Army—which has created autonomous units that are more agile, lethal, and deployable on shorter notice. Special Operations forces have received significant increases in manpower, funding, and responsibilities.As the letter notes: “Editorial pages are obviously forums for opinions. But those opinions should be based on facts. In this instance, your editorial is factually incorrect, and I believe you owe it to the public to be honest about the facts and correct the record.”

The fact this was a huge criticism of many that Rummy was making the military designed for welterweight bouts not the traditional heaveyweights we became accustomed to. Keep the faith.