Finnish Interpretation of McBride/Flynn Affair

Don't watch this while using drugs. You will die. You will die from terminal giggles.

Marjorie Rock: Sept. 18, 1936 - Sept. 22, 2009

My dear mother, Marjorie Rock, passed away Tuesday morning. With the help of my sister, Kelly, here is the obituary I wrote for publication. She was loved by many.


Marjorie Janet (Kiefer) Rock, age 73, rose to heaven light as a feather early Tuesday morning, September 22, 2009. At the time of her departure Marjorie was a resident of Franklin, WI. However, her final act occurred in Mountain Home, AR -- coincidentally her home for the previous nine years -- where she had traveled to speak at an Alcoholics Anonymous conference.

Marjorie debuted September 18, 1936 in Menasha, WI, the first of eight children born to Rodney and Janet Kiefer. A graduate of St. Mary’s in Menasha, “Mush” was active in the marching band, played the sax, won many prizes for her artwork and danced her way into the hearts of many.

She was married to John W. “Bill” Rock in 1955. Five beautiful children emerged from that union.

The defining date of Marjorie’s adult life occurred February 9, 1970. It was the day she began nearly 40 years of sobriety. Marjorie was a fixture at many AA clubs and was often asked to speak, several times on national stages, about alcoholism and addiction.

On July 9, 1983 she was married to Donald Howard. Marjorie and “The Donald” were inseparable (and irreverent) until the time of her final curtain call. There was so much love. Marjorie was an inspiration to many people, but their bond was something that was rare and beautiful.

Marjorie was a devotee of the theatre and the arts. She was a writer, actor, dancer, choreographer and director. During her West Bend, WI years she was involved in children's theatre as well as Musical Masquers.

After retiring to Mountain Home in 2001, she joined the Twin Lakes Playhouse where she acted in and directed several shows, including their first ever musical. She was also a painter, knitter and master crepe paper flower maker. Marjorie seemingly had time for everything and everyone.

Marjorie had a special creative friend in Diane Bloom with whom she co-wrote the psycho musical comedy drama, Pop Out of the Drama, a two-woman show blending therapy and theatre. They sang and danced in over 25 performances around the Midwest.

Unstinting with her time, Marjorie obtained an AODA certification and began a long association with the former Dewey Center in Milwaukee as an alcoholism and drug abuse counselor. After the Dewey Center, she worked another 16 years with Mary Karegeannes.

Marjorie was also an enthusiastic supporter of LGBT rights; gave generously of her time and was outspoken about intolerance.

Marjorie is survived by her husband Don Howard; her children, Timothy Joseph (Kelly), Kelly Ann (Bruce) Atwell, Thomas Michael (Tammy), Kevin Patrick, Kathryn Mary (Blaine Schultz) and Janet Howard; her siblings, Anne (Richard) Gollnick, Michael (Irene) Kiefer, Douglas, Daniel and Stanley Kiefer, Susan (Ted) Blohm, Bill (Jodee) Kiefer and Diane Bloom; thirteen grandchildren, Benjamin, Samantha, Andrew, Patrick, Brandon, Taylor, Haley, Emily, Kiefer, Keaton, Ian, Abigail and the Mighty Quin; plus a plethora of nieces and nephews.

Nothing left unsaid, all has been done to the best of my ability. So much attachment remains … but it all floats in an openness that feels incarnations old. Through all of the searching I have finally taken birth … and I see that love is the only rational act of a lifetime.

-- Noah Levine

When I die ... you can cremate me
but not right away bury me as I'll be
beneath a Live Oak Tree ...
and the roots they will suck from my decaying body
the tree will grow strong
and lovers will carve a heart in my chest
and children will swing on my arms
and the birds will drop ... down
a nest in my head
then you can chop me down
cremate me in your fireplace
and bury the ashes over the Phoenix International Airport
where they'll rise again
for the sake of HEAVEN
you can say "Marge Rock"
and Marge rocks again!

-- Biff Rose

Ain't This the Truth

From comment section at Sadly, No!.

You know who I would go to as the authority on racism? Conservative white people. I’m sure they know all there is to know on the subject.

It's true. Ask Fred Dooley. He's from the deep South.

They're Liberals Now

Geiger-Hemmer Blames Gall Bladder Surgery

Amy Geiger-Hemmer, who wrote a disparaging blogpost the other day regarding the vicious attack on Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, had this to say today ... an apology of sorts.

"I took the piece from somebody else and reposted it on my blog. Additionally, I did this shortly after having gall bladder surgery and while under the influence of painkillers and anesthesia. In that state I didn't notice anything wrong with the post. I'm from the Town of Merton (where Jessica McBride resides as well) and to me what was posted was not stupid, it was a Merton thing. If I had not been under the effects of anesthesia I would have likely noticed that it could have been taken the wrong way and would have passed on it."

Well, not really. Especially since today she compounds the error with this.

Right-Wing Murder Again

AP via JSOnline: Prominent late-term abortion provider George Tiller was shot and killed Sunday in a Wichita church where he was serving as an usher, his attorney said. The gunman fled but a city official said a suspect is in custody.

No doubt at all in my mind that this was done by a right-wing so-called “Christian”. Probably an NRA member or supporter, too. You know, those who think it funny to threaten to meet peaceful Obama workers at the door packing heat, or those who advertise open carry get-togethers even after its discovered white supremacists are making noises about attending, too. By their actions or inactions, these people enable and encourage the nut-right into committing murder.

It Does Boggle the Mind

Thanks to Tom Tomorrow.

Thoughts on Yard, Part Two

Spring has sprung and our gardens are bursting forth in color and life. Previously, I wrote of the tasks before us at the beginning of spring. The pictures below will demonstrate how far we've come with the limited resources at our disposal this year.

The fifty or so tulip bulbs that Kelly planted late last fall are reaching the end of their blooming cycle. They kept the yard colorful as we waited for the perennials to start arriving. As you can see the hostas are coming into their own. They'll get much larger.

Kelly spliced a number of the hostas and replanted them in the new garden in the front of the house where the ugly bushes once resided. Additionally, she added ground cover, day lilies and a couple others whose names I've forgotten. We did purchase a bird bath, a bird feeder (the finches love this one) and a hummingbird feeder. No tiny hoverers yet.

We haven't done much to the patio garden in the back other than weed and fertilize. Most of the work was done last year with the laying of the brick boundaries.

We were finally able to get the big garden plot moving after too many weeks of frustrating rain. The ground finally dried enough for me to take the tiller and enlarge the plot by two feet all around. We then took out two of the raised beds and added two larger ones.

We have planted two cherry tomato plants and two husky tomato plants; two jalapena plants; two strawberry plants; half a bed of potatoes and half a bed of onions; beans; zuchini; peas;and an entire 8 x 12 foot bed of flowers that Kelly and the girls picked out.

We're looking forwrd to the next nice weekend. We are adding a stand to the middle of the garden for hanging upside down tomato plants and I want to finish moving the stones from the other garden on the side of the house to this one for covering the paths between the beds.

Neumann Guilty

Likely conservative, Leilani Neumann, was found guilty of killing her 11-year old daughter today. The saddest part of this is the daughter died knowing her mother did nothing to save her.

Pro-life indeed.

A Dissembling Fool

Patrick McIlheran resorts to lying to make a point about the marriage amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution.

" ... the amendment wasn’t about gay people but about forestalling any project to redefine marriage."

Sure. If you believe after 150+ years the citizens of Wisconsin, just for the heck of it, decided to upgrade the definition of marriage. Really?

Weak Defense

From today's article in the JS Online on Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland:

"We all considered sexual abuse of minors as a moral evil, but had no understanding of its criminal nature."

This is a fairly amazing statement. How can a person not believe there might be legal sanctions against something morally evil?

I've been willing to give Weakland the benefit of the doubt because I have always thought of him as a thoughtful and compassionate man. But then he writes this explanation for wanting a private funeral for Father Lawrence Murphy, who is thought to have abused up to 200 deaf children.

"So far, we have succeeded in preserving his reputation, and I hope we are able to do so in the future."

So, most important was this priest's reputation! How about the children molested by this priest?

It is not for me to condemn Weakland.

I'll let others make crude jokes at his expense, they have no decency anyway -- plus they have a political agenda since Weakland was a liberal voice in a conservative church. But Weakland's writings seem very self-serving to me.

Peaches and Cream

Eat your hearts out, everyone -- my daughters Quin (2-years old) and Abby (8-years old).

Doyle Signs Smoking Ban

Yes!

Dharma Baseball Bums

Fun piece in the NY Times today. Apparently Jack Kerouac was a big fantasy baseball fan. So big and so mysterious about it that even his closest friends like Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs had no clue.

Kerouac created his own game with imaginary teams and players, collected their stats, analyzed their performance and even had contract disputes.

... Kerouac played an early version of the baseball game in his backyard in Lowell, Mass., hitting a marble with a nail, or possibly a toothpick, and noting where it landed. By 1946, when Kerouac was 24, he had devised a set of cards with precise verbal descriptions of various outcomes (“slow roller to ss,” for example), depending on the skill levels of the pitcher and batter. The game could be played using cards alone, but Mr. Gewirtz thinks that more often Kerouac determined the result of a pitch by tossing some sort of projectile at a diagramed chart on the wall. In 1956 he switched to a new set of cards, which used hieroglyphic symbols instead of descriptions. Carefully preserved inside plastic folders at the library, they now look as mysterious as runes.

Very cool. I made up my own game when I was a kid using simple die throws, too. For example, two 3s thrown in succession would result in a home run. I don't remember many of the other combos, but I do recall keeping copious stats. Interestingly enough, home run hitters like Hank Aaron tended to hit more in my game. Other player performances would be similar to real life.

To this day, since I was absent a calculator, I can add and subtract numbers in my head rapidly -- all because of the dice game.

I'll bet Kerouac would have been a hell of a Strat-o-Matic player.

Good, Clean, White Fun

That influential blog, Badger Blogger, and Mythy, would like to alert us all to an open carry picnic that will be held May 17 at the Marvin Gardens Park, Town of Onanlaska, La Crosse County (you might have to pass Go to get there). Below is the header from the pdf announcing the get together.











Did I mention that Mythy is a friend of Stormfront. Stormfront is the premier White Nationalist Community Internet forum. Its mission is described as providing a discussion board for pro-White activists and anyone else interested in White survival.

So all you Badger Blogger readers (does that include Mythy?), get on your horses, holster those sidearms and head out to Onlaska on Sunday.

Do you think the African-American family above will be welcomed with open arms, so to speak?

Sample Not of Local Blogger

Saw this title to an artcle in JS Online this morning: "Rare Sample from Dinosaur Age Found in Wisconsin". Alas, my first instincts were wrong and it was not a story about Dad29, our local blogger fossil. Coulda sworn though.

Waterboarding New Olympic Sport

As always, thanks to the talents of Tom Tommorow.

From the Influential Blog

This is what passes as commentary at Badger Blogger, supposedly an influential blog.

I hope Wanda Sykes gets gangraped and murdered.

Other conservative blogs aren't much better.

Flowers Blooming

Especially the human variety.

Can't Touch This

My children are well-versed on what websites are age appropriate for them. However, one never knows where the accidental keystroke might lead so we installed Net Nanny a few years ago and have found it a very efficient program for blocking the viewing of sexually explicit and pornographic websites.

For a few months, a group in West Bend has been yammering for censorship in West Bend. Mark Peterson at the Motley Cow has been doing a yeoman's job following the faux controversy. The group is led by a local woman, Ginny Maziarka, who in an effort to excise her prurient desires has insisted on the removal of certain books because their contents offend her religious sensibilities.

I'm sorry that's not right anymore. She's upset because the books are pornographic in nature.

That's changed, too? I see, now her mission is to keep libraries safe.

Well, regardless of the continually changing mission of the confused petitioners, I tried to surf to the WISSUP site that Maziarka runs and was amused to discover I was being blocked by Net Nanny because of pornographic content.


This reminded me of something I read many years ago in one of my philosophy courses with Professor Dan Putnam. It seems apropos considering the twisted motives and ever-changing rationale of the censorship group in West Bend.

When the mind's eye rests on objects illuminated by truth and reality, it understands and comprehends them, and functions intelligently; but when it turns to the twilight world of change and decay, it can only form opinions, its vision is confused and its beliefs shifting, and it seems to lack intelligence. (Plato, Republic)

Robert Freeman

I was checking one of my fantasy baseball league boards this morning and saw a message from Craig Freeman, a friend of mine for over 40 years. Craig noted with sadness that his father, Robert Freeman, passed away Sunday morning, May 3rd.

I remember meeting Craig the summer of 1968. His family had just returned to Wisconsin from a year in England. We were both 12-years old and our birthdays were 12 days apart. We became instant friends. When not involved in adolescent highjinks, listening to music or playing baseball and football, we spent many evenings at each others homes. At the Freeman home our antics were warmly tolerated by Craig's mother, Ethel, and with bemusement by his father.

Craig's mother has always seemed to me a proper English woman. In fact for years I believed she was from England. She has always inquired how I was and listened with genuine interest. My impression of Craig's father was similar; but he was more continental than Ethel I thought. I guess it was appropriate since Robert taught French in the West Bend high schools.

Robert was also, to this adolescent, slightly odd. There were many ways that he appeared so, but most famous was his love for gardening. How many fathers garden? But Robert not only loved it he was very good at it and the Freeman yard was always in full bloom, regardless of the season. He also liked to cook. From childhood on whenever I stayed at the Freeman home a tasty breakfast was invariably waiting in the morning with fun conversation and inquiries about the family and life in general. I always felt like family.

It's been quite a while and I've lost count of how many years, but Robert had been long afflicted by that most terrible of diseases, Alzheimers. I have seen firsthand how hard for Craig it's been not to have more than a one-way conversation with his father. I can only imagine the pain Craig must have felt to not even be recognized by his father.

The last time I saw Robert was at the funeral of his oldest son, Scott (another painful story). That was five years ago. Though he turned to me when I said his name, his gaze was fastened somewhere else. Still, the smile was the same.

To Ethel, Craig and Julie (and all other family members) my condolences.

Oh, one of the loves of my life is my yard and its gardens. I learned from Robert it was alright to depart from the stereotypical. Thank you, Robert, for that gift.

Let's Go a Noodling

In a previous post about atheism, and Pastafarianism, one of the commenters wrote a tongue -in-cheek reply that caused me to inquire whether the author was "noodling" me. Having written that, I wondered whether there wasn't some sort of other meaning to the word noodling, in the same manner as the sexually explicit word -- teabagging -- which right-wingers latched onto cluelessly to describe the actions they took for their failed protestations on Tax Day this year.

Ah ha. There is, though fortunately not embarrassingly (I still shudder to think of Fred Dooley teabagging anyone). From Wikipedia:

Noodling is a southern US practice of fishing for catfish using only bare hands. Many other names, such as catfisting, grabbling, graveling, hogging, dogging, gurgling, tickling and stumping, are used in different regions for the same activity. Noodling is currently legal in eleven states. The term "noodling", although today used primarily towards the capture of flathead catfish, can and has been applied to all hand fishing methods, regardless of the method or species of fish sought. Noodling as a term has also been applied to various unconventional methods of fishing, such as any which do not use bait, rod & reel, speargun, etc., but this usage is much less common.

I'll just purchase them at a store, thank you.

Swine Flu: No Worries

Comment seen at Media Matters.

I think Rush has more to fear from swine flu than from anything else. It doesn't have to jump species to infect him.

Coming Out of the Closet

Atheists and Pastafarians are less likely to remain in seclusion according to a recent article in the New York Times. His Noodly Appendage will be pleased.

You are not alone!

Invasion of the Odd Parents

Our daughter, Quin, was visited by an odd couple on Sunday who claimed to be her parents. She grabbed the phone, but not knowing how to dial 911, acquiesced in the end to having her picture taken with them.

That's it for today, though I will be trying to write 30 minutes a day regularly from this point forward. It won't be anything specific and it will probably be link-free mostly because these will be my thoughts and I won't be trying to convince anyone with *proof* or such. I'll leave that to all the serious people. In fact, I may come back and edit things periodically. That's what aspiring writers do. It will sort of be my on-line journal -- saving me paper costs.

One thought does come to mind about the torture discussion. We as a nation have always been good at condemning other countries for their [let's say] lapses in judgment. And yet, when we slip up similarly the sanctimony comes oozing from our national pores. I just think we should be more invested in doing what we say -- perhaps the rest of the world would be more respectful.

Who Are Them

Stephen Colbert mocks Glenn Beck -- pretty easy to do.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The 10/31 Project
comedycentral.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

Death to America

First time I saw this. It's funny.

Delusional

This from today's Milwaukee JSOnline in which Judge Randy Koschnick expresses encouragement from the results of a survey.

The late-February poll, conducted by a professional pollster for the MacIver Institute, had Abrahamson leading - by a 41% to 13% margin. But the remaining 46% of those who responded were either undecided or didn't know either candidate. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

"I think the poll was actually good news," Koschnick said. "She has the advantage of incumbency. I'm the challenger. Heading into the election, I have an excellent chance of winning this race."

A number of things come to mind. Koschnick is being a bit delusional if he thinks trailing by 28 percentage points is an encouraging sign, regardless of the origin of the survey. Plus with no money and no help from outside sources, how does Koschnick expect those 46 percent undecideds to get to know him?

And regarding the origin of the survey, one would have thought the author of the article, Steve Walters, would have identified the pollster and noted that the MacIver Insitute is a far right-wing conservative group.

Just another example of the demise of objective and accurate reporting and how Faux News-like the JournalSentinel has become.

Pork Loin and Sauerkraut

My wife's side of the family is mostly Irish. The Rock side is classic American mutt ... a dash here and there from almost everywhere in Europe according to research my Dad has done.

However, when cooking it's my German side that most often makes an appearance -- in this recent instance a craving for sauerkraut and pork occurring while visiting the local Pick 'n Save. I saw the sale price for the boneless pork loin (with packages of sauerkraut conspicuously placed nearby -- ah the power of suggestion) and I was hooked.

I had to hurry. It was nearly 10:30 am. I knew I was going to use the slow cooker to cook the pork and wanted at least seven to eight hours. So, I quickly gathered the following ingredients.

3-4 pound boneless pork loin
1/2 cup of flour
2 tbls of vegetable oil
1 medium onion, sliced
2 tbls of minced garlic
5-6 red potatoes, cutup
package of sauerkraut
1/2 to 1 cup apple juice
pepper and salt

1. Add oil to a frying pan. Roll the pork loin in the flour and brown all sides of the pork, about ten minutes.

2. Slice the onion and cover the bottom of the slow cooker. Add garlic on top of onion.

3. Place the pork loin on top.

4. Cut up 5-6 red potatoes and place strategically around the pork. (I've always wanted to use the word strategically in a recipe.)

5. Salt and pepper to taste.

6. Add sauerkraut on top and pour apple juice all around.

7. Let it slow cook about seven to eight hours.

Mmmm good. Unfortunately, I discovered at dinner that no one in my immediate family (wife, 13, 8 and two-year old) likes sauerkraut -- the dog did. Everyone agreed the pork and taters were tasty, however.

Strip-search Case before Supreme Court

I remember this case about a [then] 13-year old girl who was strip-searched for, get this, ibuprofen.

I can say with certainty that school officials better not ever touch my children – especially if searching for ibuprofen.

Still, the case is interesting as it will likely set a precedent on the limits of school searches and what rights do adolescents have.

Thoughts on the Yard

I thought it would be fun to provide before and after pictures of the yard as the season progresses. This first picture is of the north side of the house. Arrayed alternately through the garden are two different varieties of hostas – I'll have to ask Kelly if she knows the names of the varieties. We have been trying to induce vines to grow on the trellis but without much luck. It possible because of a lack of sunlight.

There used to be some huge ugly bushes here in front of the living room windows. I chopped them down late last season and managed to dig out two root systems before winter struck. A bit of work. Once the ground has thawed sufficiently I will remove the others. With finances not as robust as previous years, we are thinking of splicing some of the hostas and replanting in the front; intermingled with flowers for color. Haven't given it much thought yet.

We are in the planning stage for this year's backyard garden. Last year we tried onions and carrots without much success. However, every year is a learning cycle and we now know that we need to add more sand to the soil. This year we plan on trying potatoes and onions, abandoning the carrots. Additionally, we will be planting cherry tomato plants again. Last year's crop was especially tasty. Also, we are going to try the latest fad – upside down tomato plants.

As always the purpose of the backyard garden is to be functional as well as decorative. Consequently, Kelly will be given the options of which flower types to grow. I do know that we will be surrounding the outside of the garden with marigolds again.

I had hoped to built a more permanent enclosure around the garden this year. I was going to plant posts at approximately six foot intervals and insert frames of two x fours with chicken wire stretched over the frames between the posts. I was also going to lay out some flat bricks along the edge for decoration and to provide a buffer for the encroaching grass. Don't know if that will happen.

Anyway, more later as the plans become more fleshed out.

Elaine Paige - Memory

A New Beginning

There is too much beauty in the world -- and to be angry all the time as so many local bloggers seem to be, and as I often was, is such a wasteful use of energy and time.

So we will start over. Here's to a new blogger day.

Lord Limbaugh the Bellicose

Dave Letterman had this to say to Katie Couric recently about Rush Limbaugh.

Letterman: What about this bonehead Rush Limbaugh? Honest to god, what is going on there?

Couric: [laughing] Dave, don't do this to me. Please don't do this to me.

Letterman: No, because now ... he gets up at Washington and he's the keynote speaker at some function and he comes up ... he he he looks like a Eastern European gangster. You know, he's got the black jacket on. The black silk shirt and it's unbuttoned like "Oh yeah, when you think Rush Limbaugh you think ... oooh, let's see a little flesh".

I saw the video of Limbaugh. Letterman is exactly right. Limbaugh was grotesque. He was careening all over the stage and sweating profusely. It was really a frightening scene. And his message "pro-failure"; project much.

I couldn't get the thought of Luca Brasi out of my mind when I saw Limbaugh. You know Brasi, the Corleones' very frightening hitman. I can just see Limbaugh playing the role at Connie's wedding. He's been practicing his lines outside and finally is escorted in to see the Don. And he says very stiffly, "Don Corleone, I am honored and grateful that you have invited me to your home on the wedding day of your daughter. And may their first child be a masculine child."

Except, the problem is Limbaugh is not frightening in the least. Physically he looks like an ugly Pillsbury Doughboy. So I don't really understand this kowtowing to this limpid load of lipids.

It's just funny that the Republican party seems to have lost its balls. These were the guys who were always talking tough, you know the chickenhawks. Now they're crawling all over each other to offer their obeisance to this loudmouth.

Good. Five years from now they'll be a regional party.

He's No Partisan, Bah

I don't pretend to know much about how judges are supposed to interpret the law, or not. It's always seemed to me that the job of a judge was to hand down common sense decisions based on legal precedent. If that is not the case, then what's the point of keeping records of decisions?

Anyway, I have been only somewhat interested in the Wisconsin Supreme Court campaign between Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson and Judge Randy Koschnik. I probably should be more interested, but of late the bantering back and forth has been boring and I have three kids to raise. Still, from the little I've read I see no reason not to vote for Abrahamson. Sure, I come from a more liberal background and would likely have voted for Abrahamson if I'd read or heard nothing at all up to the moment of voting itself, but I'm willing to take a look and I have. Randy Koschnik (“I'm not a partisan”) is an extremely partisan conservative. His beliefs about free society do not match mine.

Now more so than ever. I came into possession of a letter ostensibly written by William “Butch” Johnson. Mr. Johnson is CEO of Johnson Timber out of Hayward, Wisconsin. From the content of the letter it's fair to say he's a rabid /Republican/conservative. Lot's of them out there in the deep woods, apparently. Nothing new. What's troubling is the letter is authorized and paid for by Koschnik for Justice. In the letter, Johnson is asking for $100,000 real quick; like in the next ten days (the letter was date Feb. 11, 2009 – who knows if they reached that goal). As the Illusory Tenant points out, nothing like scaring open the pocketbooks.

Knowing that Judge Koschnik had pledged to run a clean campaign (he could begin by shaving off that hideous beard) I was curious to see if the rhetoric in the letter matched his promises.

Small businesses struggle while violent criminals walk free ...

Whoa, that's quite a dichotomy. That sentence makes it sound as though Justice Abrahamson is to blame for violent criminals ravaging small business in Wisconsin. Since the letter is preaching to the choir, who cares about facts backing the nonsense.

The quiet menace of tyranny lurks in the shadows as liberal judges seize power from the people's legislature. In all of this, one common thread emerges …

Quiet menace of tyranny? Liberal judges seizing power? Those be fighting words and hardly representative of running a “clean” campaign. I wonder if Peter DiGaudio is writing for the Koschnik campaign.

As a conservative and a leader in tbe Republican Party, I believe that three equal branches of government are necessary to maintaining a functioning government capable of defending individual rights and maintaining an even hand of justice.

Well, if that were true, Johnson would be voting for Justice Abrahamson, because the Supreme Court already tilts to the conservative side of the ledger; bought and paid for by Republican extremism. This is not about defending individual rights, it's about stacking the deck so right-wing business owners in Wisconsin like Mr. Johnson are provided a free hand.

On the other hand. Shirley Abrahamson has lost sight of these crucial principles. Instead. she is leading our entire legal system down a destructive path toward her revolutionary dream of a Supreme Court with unchecked power to re-create society in its own image.

Whose image? If the efforts to seat Annette Ziegler and Michael Gableman are any indication, it's conservatives who are being revolutionary and un-democratic in their attempt to re-create the Supreme Court in their own narrow-minded image.

Shirley Abrahamson is one of the leading liberal activist justices in the entire country. Her decisions have eroded the Rule of Law, undermined our economy, jeopardized the safety of families and breached the principles of our republican form of government. Your generous gift will help Judge Koschnick defeat the leading liberal scion of judicial abuse. I hope you'll respond in the next 10 days. Thanks again!

It's rhetoric like this that dominated the eight years of the Bush administration and contributed mightily to the 2006 election results and the smashing victory for decency and American values in the 2008 election. Apparently these thugs have not learned their lesson.

Deathstar Obama

A friend of mine sent this to me.

Conservative Flab

Hi, I'm Patrick X. You might not know it now, but I used to be an intellectual lightweight. But then I bought Conservative Flab (available for three easy payments of $19.95) from the Charlie Sykes show and now I'm a heavyweight. Yup – I got these amazing flabs just by listening to Charlie (and other conservative talk show hosts – radio frequencies included on cd) without getting out of my chair 24/7. I can't wait to share Charlie's diet secrets with you.

Charlie will show you his "Nobama” technique for quarter barrel flabs and adding intellectual heft all over your body. And don't worry if you can't type, he'll teach you the one-handed hunt and peck technique (keeping the other free for other activities) and you'll be ready to post in no time.

Secrets to Flabs

If you buy Charlie's cds, he'll demonstrate faux outrage that will keep you glued to your chair. Remember to get mom involved. She'll need to know when to bring you those tasty barbecued ribs (featured in the Conservative Flab Cookbook) while you write.

Cardio-Carrying Conservative

This is not your liberal next door neighbors video. You'll learn how to ignore your lawn, home upkeep and annoy your libtard neighbors with the general rundown appearance of your property – it's unimportant – as you listen to Charlie extoll the virtues of personal responsibility. If only those liberals could see you now down in your basement.

Flab Sculpt

Charlie will fine tune your racist commentary with the use of code words (“they” and more) you've always wanted to use but had to get up from your chair to do so. Now you can do it without moving a large muscle group.

Step-by-Step Nutrition Guide

Charlie will also share his secrets for exposing the great liberal myth of tolerance for others. You'll be able to shatter any libtard argument and still eat the foods you love!

Hips, Buns, and Thighs

Get ready to add to those stubborn problem areas. With the help of Charlie Sykes, you'll be out of your skinny jeans in no time and will have joined the legion of conservative bloggers nationwide fighting liberals, socialists and personal hygeine.

If you don't completely transform your body within 30 days just like I did, Charlie will keep your money and chastise you personally on-line and on his radio show (hey, at least you got on). So what are you waiting for? C'mon, let's battle liberalism together.

Stratergizing Blame

Republican (conservative) strategy for placing the blame for the ills of the economy:

Blame minorities and Barney Frank (you know, because he talks funny and he's, ick, gay).

Greedy, rich, white bankers couldn't possibly share in any blame.

Fairness Doctrine Revisited

Boots and Sabers author and West Bend News columnist, Owen Robinson, would have you believe that the Fairness Doctrine is an evil plot by liberals to cancel the free speech rights of conservatives. Robinson would be wrong for a number of reasons. Mostly because he doesn't let facts get in the way. Let's take a closer look at the pertinent parts of his Feb. 13 editorial in the West Bend News.

Robinson says this about the history of the Fairness Doctrine.

The Fairness Doctrine was an unconstitutional provision whereby the federal government used its power over the licensing of specific frequencies to dictate that the station owners provide "equal time" to opposing viewpoints. President Reagan rescinded the doctrine.

About the only thing correct about that paragraph is there was a president named Reagan and there was in existence something titled the Fairness Doctrine. First of all, there was nothing unconstitutional about the Fairness Doctrine., In fact, the Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality by a vote of 8-0 in response to charges that the doctrine violated the First Amedment (Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 395 U.S. 367 (1969). Can't get much more constitutional than an 8-0 vote by the Supreme Court.

It wasn't until the advent of the Reagan Administration that the FCC, now staffed by Reaganites and headed by former Reagan campaign staff member Mark Fowler suceeded in overturning the doctrine. The reasons for this move -- conservatives who claimed the press was savaging Reagan (I don't recall the press letting up with Carter or Clinton, but then I guess liberals are not so thin-skinned). Want to get around constitutional protections, pack the FCC.

Secondly, the Fairness Doctrine had nothing to do with “equal time” as Robinson purports. The Fairness Doctrine required that controversial matters be discussed and opposing views be aired. Hardly a free speech barrier as Robinson states. Additionally, stations were given choices as to how to present these views, however equal time was not required for these views.

There was an Equal Time rule which applied only to political candidates and provided that the opposition be provided an equivalent chance to respond. Wow. Such clamping down on free speech.

In fact, if anything – considering that conservative thought and the Republican party were in minority status for 40+ years, you'd think they'd love the Fairness Doctrine and the Equal Time rule. Of course they had other things in mind. Note that Rush Limbaugh's national radio show began August 1, 1988, shortly after the FCC ruling on the doctrine.

The rest of Robinson's piece is mostly nonsense. To back up his attack on liberals and their supposed universal support of the Fairness Doctrine, he offers us an example of government regulation of newspapers on government roads. Huh? The problem with this silly analogy is there is no limit to the number of newspapers that can be printed, nor roads that can be traveled. Unlike broadcast frequencies which are a limited resource.

But it's all really a moot point. Personally, I think that attempting to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine is misguided. Twenty-first century communcation does not lend itself to government oversight, no matter how benevolent the intent may be. Regard the efforts of Communist China to rein in its increasingly electronic-savvy populace and you see the issue. If it is next to impossible to regulate in China, imagine the difficulty here.

That is why we should all join with Robinson and his cohorts to ensure the Fairness Doctrine is never reinstated. Back in the 20th century when conservative ideas were relegated to the background, not by delivery mechanism, but by the ideas themselves, conservatism floundered. Now, after a short hiatus in which Americans were hoodwinked by the lying liars on hate radio, the Republican party and its ideas have declined back into minority status. Why? It's because the more they spoke (and because of the rise of the Internet) people understood conservatism, weighted down by its prejudices, its bigotry and its lack of inertia does not represent what is best for this country.

So, let the conservatives spew their many strata of hate. It's best they be allowed to rant on hate radio. Nobody's gonna get fooled again anyway

Unbelievable ... Well, Maybe Not

The words are just beginning to fly regarding this editorial cartoon in the New York Post. Predictably the Post is defending the cartoon saying it was a parody of the recent "Travis the Chimp" attack in Stamford, Connecticut. Apparently a chimp attacked a woman forcing police to shoot and kill the monkey. Because of this, the Post says the image has nothing to do with the President, who is we all know considered the author of the stimulus bill.

Okay, a couple of things. Why a parody of the dead chimp? I'm 100% certain the dead chimp did not provide any assistance to the writing of the stimulus package. So, the chimp is not to blame. And it is certainly not a play on the old "shoot the messenger" schtick. Another excuse being it's a play on the old infinite monkey jokes -- you know, how many monkeys would it take and how many years to write the complete works of Shakespeare. Sure.

So what is it? Who else could the cartoonist be referring to? Even obliquely. Think seriously about it. If the cartoonist was not referring to our President, it was a mightily clumsy attempt at humor. The only thing remotely redeeming about it is the quality of the drawing; not very good. No wonder the author works for the Post, not exactly top drawer in the realm of journalism.

It's really quite pathetic. One writer actually had the audacity to compare this to those calling former President Bush a chimp. Really. What racial overtone regarding chimps and caucasians am I missing?

Fess up. It's just another stupid wing-nut saying what he really believes.

Green Fights Malaria in Africa

Good for Mark Green. Now if only he could get Fred Dooley and Peter DiGaudio to join him.

Brought to You By GOP Talking Points

I don't ever want to hear how Faux News is "fair and balanced" and independent. As Media Matters points out about a recent edition of Fox News' Happening Now:

In purporting to "take a look back" at how the economic recovery plan "grew, and grew, and grew," Fox News' Jon Scott referenced seven dates, as on-screen graphics cited various news sources from those time periods -- all of which came directly from a Senate Republican Communications Center press release. A Fox News on-screen graphic even reproduced a typo contained in the Republican press release.

I'll nver buy into the conservative spiel that the mainstram media has a liberal slant, especially the way its hitting Obama (well maybe, it is more intelligent) -- if there were such a slant, it's unintentional. Unlike Faux News which makes no effort at all to disguise its bias.

Brown Sugar Unlimited

Really? Sometimes the jokes just write themselves. From the New York Times:

Michael Steele, who was recently elected chairman of the Republican National Committee, paid a Maryland company run by his sister more than $37,000 for work related to his 2006 Senate campaign, a payment that Mr. Steele’s spokesman said Saturday was entirely appropriate.

[...]

Mr. Steele did not dispute that his sister’s company, Brown Sugar Unlimited, of Bethesda, Md., had been paid $37,262 by his Senate campaign in February 2007, as federal election records show.

Pretty sweet deal for a catering and web services firm. Odd combination that.

Odder yet, she's an ex-wife of Mike Tyson. You know, the guy who used to box when he wasn't raising pigeons and biting ears off.

Buh Bye

Thanks to Tom Tomorrow.

Of Fish and Spines

I wrote the other day that the GOP vote en masse against the stimulus bill in the House was a fishy sign that Republicans were already abandoning any pretense of an attempt at bi-partisanship. A commenter by the name of Tony Turner engaged me for a number of hours in a debate over the stimulus bill and the real meaning of the GOP response. Tony's arguments were not bad. His grasp of the economics of the bill was good I should say; at least from the Republican point of view. But then, how would I know?

I had not intended to get into the meat of the package because I really didn't know what was involved; nor do I understand economics. I admit it. I take it as a given that the GOP response is a failure – it's how I'm wired after 14 years of Republican majority rule -- and I never blog about economics. Best not to if you know nothing about it (good advice for both sides, me thinks).

So my posting effort was really about motivations. However, today I found a different slant on the plan, one that I could understand and agree with. Frank Rich, a favorite columnist of mine, had this to say about the Republican vote.

The problem is not that House Republicans gave the stimulus bill zero votes last week. That’s transitory political symbolism, and it had no effect on the outcome. Some of the naysayers will vote for the revised final bill anyway (and claim, Kerry-style, that they were against it before they were for it). The more disturbing problem is that the party has zero leaders and zero ideas. It is as AWOL in this disaster as the Bush administration was during Katrina.

Ah! It wasn't fishy that no GOPer voted for the plan; they just had nothing new to offer.

I admit I am a casual peruser of only the periphery of national events; I often go by what I feel is right. So, in our mini-debate Tony told me that tax cuts are a stimulus. Why wouldn't the Dems agree to that? I couldn't say. All I knew was that I thought I'd heard differently about tax cuts. Frank Rich to the rescue.

The Republicans do have one idea, of course, but it’s hardly fresh: more and bigger tax cuts, particularly for business and the well-off. That’s the sum of their “alternative” stimulus plan. Obama has tried to accommodate this panacea, perhaps to a fault. Mainstream economists in both parties believe that tax cuts in the stimulus package will deliver far less bang for the buck than, say, infrastructure spending. The tax-cut stimulus embraced a year ago by the G.O.P. induced next-to-no consumer spending as Americans merely banked the savings or paid down debt.

Hmmm. That's what we did – paid down credit cards and we anticipate doing the same this time if the tax cuts go through. And anyway, is Tony suggesting, like Rush Limbaugh did recently that because the Republicans won approximately 46% of the national vote in the last election, 46% of the stimulus package should be Republican ideas?

Now, of course Tony is not suggesting that. I actually have a lot of respect for his foray into my blog and for his thoughts. What he had to say (even though I could not answer whether other Republican proposals were good or bad) sounded reasonable though in hindsight, much the same as has (apparently) been written and said before. But thanks are in order nonetheless. You won the debate, Tony ( I knew I was missing out in high school not getting involved in debate). We'll win the war, I hope.

Which brings me back, one more time to the cult that is Limbaugh. I commented previously about Phil Gringrey, a right-wing dust bunny. Rich takes him on, too (and other Republicans).

Most pathetic of all was Phil Gingrey, a right-wing Republican congressman from Georgia, who mildly criticized both Limbaugh and Sean Hannity to Politico because they “stand back and throw bricks” while lawmakers labor in the trenches. So many called Gingrey’s office to complain that the poor congressman begged Limbaugh to bring him on air to publicly recant on Wednesday. As Gingrey abjectly apologized to talk radio’s commandant for his “stupid comments” and “foot-in-mouth disease,” he sounded like the inmate in a B-prison-movie cowering before the warden after a failed jailbreak.

No ideas and no spines. That's all most Republicans have these days. If that's reflexive commenting, so be it. It's also the truth.

Arrogance

This is ridiculous. I'm sorry, but how does one forget to pay a $128,000 tax bill?

First this year there was the problem with Timothy Geithner's taxes. Now Tom Daschle's nomination for health secreatary is in danger because he apparently forgot to inform the Obama team of a $128,000 tax bill during the vetting process. The President is standing behind his nominee and Robert Gibbs, Obama's press secreatary has said the president understands that nobody is perfect.

Fair enough.

Yet, Daschle knew about the taxes last June. How come it took so long to pay this? Is there a bigger grace period for somebody's as opposed to guys like me? You know darn well the IRS would come after me pretty quick if I fell behind paying my taxes.

Republican and Democrat alike have been guilty of this arrogance. I thought the Obama administration would be unlike the previous one and expect a higher standard of ethics and performance from its members.

So far, not good Mr. President.

Update: And having read this post by Glenn Greenwald, I must say I am very disaappointed. There must be someone better than Daschle to lead the fight for health care for all?

And also, this is straight from Greenwald's post. I have written previously of the hypocrisy of Republicans. I can do no less when it is a Democrat exposed as a sleazebag.


I also can't help but contrasting this passage detailing how Tom and Linda ended up married, from The Washington Monthly article . . . :

Yes, it's true: Before Mrs. Daschle was Mrs. Daschle, she was Miss Kansas, 1976.

Petite and blond, with perfect, straight white teeth, Daschle is still strikingly beautiful at 46. But she has a vise-like handshake you wouldn't expect from a beauty queen that suggests the steely interior necessary to survive in Washington power circles. . . .

She met Tom Daschle on a work trip to South Dakota. At the time, Tom Daschle was a freshman congressman, married to the woman who in 1978 had helped him ring 40,000 doorbells and go on to unseat an incumbent by 14 votes. By 1984, Tom had divorced his first wife, with whom he had three children, and married Linda . . .

. . . . with this 2003 clip of Tom Daschle, explaining to Jon Stewart that gay marriage must not be allowed because "a man and a woman have a sacred and a traditional cultural bond within this country. . . it's a statement of fact: society is embracing the marriage of a man and a woman, and by and large, that's the way it should be . . . DOMA is the statute and I don't think it's unconstitutional":

Tom Daschle Pt. 2

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Military Pledge a Hoax

Says World Nut Daily:

A recent Internet report that a battle was shaping up between the U.S. military and the White House because of executive plans to have soldiers pledge allegiance to the president instead of the nation and its Constitution raised alarm among the patriotic this week.

But it didn't seem to include the detail that the Department of Defense knew nothing about the "issue."

[Still, I find it funny that WND claims the alarms were only raised among the patriotic. The non-patriotic not being as easily duped, I guess.]

Anyway, that didn't stop our local resident nutcase, Peter DiGaudio, from jumping all over the rumor and distorting it to read that the oath of allegiance would now be made to President Obama himself. Spouting Peter wrote this:

If Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Barack Hussein Obama gets His way, members of the United States military will be pledging allegiance to Him rather than the U.S. Constitution.

and

That’s breathtaking in its arrogance. It’s also reminiscent of 1930s Germany, when members of the German military had to pledge allegiance to Hitler. Here’s a draft of the new allegiance oath:

I swear by God Allah this sacred oath that I will obey without question the Führer of the German Reich United States of Obama Nation and people, to Adolf Hitler Barack Hussein Obama, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and that I am prepared as a brave soldier to lay my life on the line at any time for this oath.

Peter is so deluded that he now actually believes that what he wrote previously is being enacted.

I give it 24 hours before Peter pulls a Fred Dooley and sends his post down the memory hole. It's what local wing-nut conservative bloggers do when faced with -- facts and truth.

Oh, by the way, the original piece was clearly labeled satire.

Who's Got Family

Eat your hearts out. I was in bed this morning with four beautiful females.

My stunning wife, Kelly; my eight-year old daughter Abby; my two-year old daughter Quin; and our little cockapoo puppy Molly all joined me in our king-size bed for some morning family goofing around.

I'm a lucky husband/daddy. Yo conservatives -- you haven't cornered the family values market, you just think you have.

When Are We Going to Get Over It

by Andrew M. Manis

For much of the last forty years, ever since America "fixed" its race problem in the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, we white people have been impatient with African Americans who continued to blame race for their difficulties. Often we have heard whites ask, "When are African Americans finally going to get over it? Now I want to ask: "When are we White Americans going to get over our ridiculous obsession with skin color?

Recent reports that "Election Spurs Hundreds' of Race Threats, Crimes" should frighten and infuriate every one of us. Having grown up in "Bombingham," Alabama in the 1960s, I remember overhearing an avalanche of comments about what many white classmates and their parents wanted to do to John and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Eventually, as you may recall, in all three cases, someone decided to do more than "talk the talk."

Since our recent presidential election, to our eternal shame we are once again hearing the same reprehensible talk I remember from my boyhood.

We white people have controlled political life in the disunited colonies and United States for some 400 years on this continent. Conservative whites have been in power 28 of the last 40 years. Even during the eight Clinton years, conservatives in Congress blocked most of his agenda and pulled him to the right. Yet never in that period did I read any headlines suggesting that anyone was calling for the assassinations of presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, or either of the Bushes.

Criticize them, yes. Call for their impeachment, perhaps. But there were no bounties on their heads. And even when someone did try to kill Ronald Reagan, the perpetrator was non-political mental case who wanted merely to impress Jody Foster.

But elect a liberal who happens to be Black and we're back in the sixties again. At this point in our history, we should be proud that we've proven what conservatives are always saying -- that in America anything is possible, EVEN electing a black man as president. But instead we now hear that school children from Maine to California are talking about wanting to "assassinate Obama."

Fighting the urge to throw up, I can only ask, "How long?" How long before we white people realize we can't make our nation, much less the whole world, look like us? How long until we white people can - once and for all - get over this hell-conceived preoccupation with skin color?

How long until we white people get over the demonic conviction that white skin makes us superior? How long before we white people get over our bitter resentments about being demoted to the status of equality with non-whites?

How long before we get over our expectations that we should be at the head of the line merely because of our white skin? How long until we white people end our silence and call out our peers when they share the latest racist jokes in the privacy of our white-only conversations?

I believe in free speech, but how long until we white people start making racist loudmouths as socially uncomfortable as we do flag burners? How long until we white people will stop insisting that blacks exercise personal responsibility, build strong families, educate themselves enough to edit the Harvard Law Review, and work hard enough to become President of the United States, only to threaten to assassinate them when they do?

How long before we starting "living out the true meaning" of our creeds, both civil and religious, that all men and women are created equal and that "red and yellow, black and white" all are precious in God's sight?

Until this past November 4, I didn't believe this country would ever elect an African American to the presidency. I still don't believe I'll live long enough to see us white people get over our racism problem. But here's my three-point plan: First, everyday that Barack Obama lives in the White House that Black Slaves Built, I'm going to pray that God (and the Secret Service) will protect him and his family from us white people.

Second, I'm going to report to the FBI any white person I overhear saying, in seriousness or in jest, anything of a threatening nature about President Obama. Third, I'm going to pray to live long enough to see America surprise the world once again, when white people can "in spirit and in truth" sing of our damnable color prejudice, "We HAVE overcome."

My mother sent me this editorial written in the Macon Telegraph by Andrew M. Manis, an associate professor of history at Macon State College in Georgia.

What Patriotism

This from the often wrong perfesser from Tennessee, Glenn Reynolds:

I think the stimulus is objectively a bad idea. But politically, opposing it seems like a no-brainer: If it passes and the economy gets better it’s old news, and who’s to say the economy wouldn’t have gotten better on its own? If it passes and the economy doesn’t get better, it’s an issue for the GOP.

So, what's good politically supersedes what's good for the country. Thanks for clarifying.

You Hate Me

From God is for Suckers. [Click on image to enlarge]

Only "Good Americans" Wanted

Can you hear the jackboots and the sound of breaking glass?

No Spine

Another demonstration of what it means to be a conservative. Kind of reminds one of local bloggers who delete posts when it's found they made a mistake.

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA), yesterday (from Politico):

"I mean, it's easy if you're Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh or even sometimes Newt Gingrich to stand back and throw bricks. You don't have to try to do what's best for your people and your party. You know you're just on these talk shows and you're living well and plus you stir up a bit of controversy and gin the base and that sort of that thing. But when it comes to true leadership, not that these people couldn't be or wouldn't be good leaders, they're not in that position of John Boehner or Mitch McConnell."

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA), today (h/t Think Progress):

“I want to express to you [Limbaugh] and all your listeners my very sincere regret for those comments I made yesterday” and “the best possible message for this country would be for every single Republican to vote against [the economy recovery package].”

California Leads the Way Again

A new smoking ban ordinance in Belmont, CA is now in effect. The effort to eliminate second-hand smoke was begun by an elderly man named Ray Goodrich who suffers from pulmonary disease and has a lifelong allergy issue. Because of his efforts and the efforts of other elderly citizens, apartment buildings have now been added to the list of places where smoking is outlawed.

And about time. Good for Mr. Goodrich and Belmont, CA. Hopefully, Wisconsin is not far behind.

Your right to smoke does not supersede my right to breathe smoke-free air. Period!

Every Sperm Is Sacred

For Steve Edlund.

Someone We Know?

Saw a catchline regarding old reptile becoming a dad at an exceedingly old age. Linked over and read this:

A captive reptile in New Zealand has unexpectedly become a father at the ripe old age of 111 after receiving treatment for a cancer that made him hostile toward prospective mates.

I couldn't help but think of dad29. You gotta know him.

(Just kidding daddio -- I know the reptile referred to is just a kid compared to you.)

Hate Club

I was zipping through TV channels last night just before going to bed when, for no reason really, I turned on Sean Hannity's new Fox television show, Hannity. Mr. “Reasonable” was sitting with his back to the camera, looking at a relatively large sound meter with a sign overhead that stated Hate Meter. In succession different voices became audible (all interestingly with what one might charitably call an Ozark accent); all ranting obscenities about Hannity which resulted in the predictable response on the Hate Meter.

Hannity finally turned to face the camera and claimed the voices were those of liberals who had been invited to call in and rant at him. It was all done altruistically, he claimed, so they could release their hate at him and not at his viewers. He then provided a phone number for future call-ins.

Aside from the fact that I think the voices were actually those of Hannity's parents, I couldn't help but recall in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four something called the Two-Minute Hate. It occurred to me that Hannity (and other squawkers these days) rely on this sort of fear-mongering to incite their followers and enable them to loath and hate anyone different from them. Liberals have become Emmanuel Goldstein and it has been very successful. The word “liberal” is now conservative code word for traitor, commie, tax and spend socialist, etc.

So successful that local conservative bloggers who are losing arguments (most all) resort eventually to calling their debate antagonist a member of the hate left. One local blogger known for less than real debate has even taken to calling a local lefty the king of the hate left. It doesn't matter the subject, anyone writing anything that disagrees with most anything he writes is not only hateful, but the evil falsehoods will likely be sent on a short, quick trip down the memory hole (as does anything he writes that proves to be false).

This reinforces my belief that Hannity's show and the others like him (squawk radio host Charlie Sykes, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, etc.) are merely instruments for conservative brainwashing; the members of the incurious club who are affected most then carry out the demonization of liberals on the local level.

It's sad really. They never had a chance.

Refreshing Change

Dennis C. Blair, retired admiral and President Obama's choice as top intelligence official is a refreshing departure from the psychopathic lackeys employed by the previous administration. On the disturbing surveillance activities previously supported Blair said:

I do not and will not support any surveillance activities that circumvent established processes for their lawful authorization. I believe in the importance of independent monitoring, including by Congress, to prevent abuses and protect civil liberties.

Ah, civil liberties. And regarding these and basic human rights, you know those things that America has been respected for upholding in past times, Blair said:

The intelligence agencies of the United States must respect the privacy and civil liberties of the American people, and they must adhere to the rule of law.

He added that torture is “not moral, legal or effective” and said any interrogation program would have to comply with the Geneva Conventions, the Convention against Torture and the Constitution.

And lastly, what impressed me most was Blair will not simply sugarcoat his message and try to please the president by providing intelligence he thinks the president wants to hear. Instead, he said:

There is an obligation to speak truth to power.

He added that he would honestly present “unpleasant” facts to the president.

This sort of openness and honesty is going to dismay the incurious crowd.

Classy Guy

Patrick McIlheran -- no class.

At Least There Were Times He Made Us Laugh

With the "End of an Error" nearly upon us, I thought it appropriate to look back and review some of the pearls of wisdom [inadvertantly] provided for our entertainment by the appointed King of Comedy (he was not elected) -- George W. Bush.

The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.

If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child.

No senior citizen should ever have to choose between prescription drugs and medicine.

I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy - but that could change.

One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'.

Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things.

I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.

The future will be better tomorrow.

We're going to have the best educated American people in the world.

One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures. (during an education photo-op)

Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it.

We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.

It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.

I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.

You know what's even more amusing? Conservatives wanted to elect a person even less comprehensible than Bush -- Sarah Palin.

Isn't This The Truth

Thanks to Tom Tomorrow.

Inauguration Spending

There having been cry and hue over the estimated $40M spent for George Bush's second inauguration, it seems fair to question why an estimated $150M will be spent for the Barack Obama swearing-in festivities.

I understand the uniqueness of this event. Obama is our first minority President and the numbers of people attending are expected to shatter records. Still, security money aside, it's a heaping amount of cash. Fortunately, most of it is paid for through individual and corporate gifts.

The Greatest Canadian Song

And finally, number one may not asthetically or musically match the other nine, but it is a tribute to a proud and beautiful land -- Geddy Lee of the rock group Rush sings Oh Canada.

The Second Greatest Canadian Song

Number two on our magical illogical look at top great Canadian songs is Heart of Gold. This is Neil Young's second foray into this top ten list. Surely there are other artists who merit attention in such a prestigious list you might opine.

True.

But it's my list and I like Neil Young.

Three Years Yesterday

I saw at Thoughtful Conservative that a few blogs were celebrating anniversaries. So I checked my begin point and was shocked to see that my first post was January 13, 2006. That post can be found at BRASS League, a Strat-0-matic baseball site I run for a couple of leagues. It used to be The Other Side. Then I renamed it. Then I got the itch to blog again and so restarted my original blog.

It gets confusing at times.

Interestingly, the first person to leave a comment was my mother. She has not left another.

Guns and Cowboys

I'm guessing it was a couple of "Bubbas". From ESPN:

DALLAS -- Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin says he calmly chatted with a gunman in another vehicle after the armed passenger turned out to be a Dallas Cowboys fan.

Irvin, who was not harmed, says he was "very afraid."

A Dallas police report says Irvin was stopped at a red light Monday night when two men in a truck pulled up next to him.

The driver rolled down his window, so Irvin did the same, thinking the two men recognized the radio talk show host and television commentator.

The passenger flashed a gun. Then the retired NFL star heard one of them call out his name and mentioned being a "huge Cowboy fan."

Irvin says he began talking with the men about the team's disappointing 9-7 season and Dallas not making it to the Super Bowl.

The pair eventually drove off.

This is exactly why conceal and carry should not be passed here in Wisconsin. For every responsible gunowner there is a dipshit (a number of local bloggers would be included in this description) who thinks what happened to Michael Irvin is funny. Unfortunately, what those who rally for conceal and carry forget is even one incident like this is too much.