2006 Predictions

So once again my predictions for the last year were off. Although I would say I did about as well as Sylvia Browne who makes predictions for a living - most of which don't happen (Hussein dying before his trial began? Not).

Of course inaccurate predications never stop any fake seer worth his salt from making more. So here are my predictions for 2006.

1. Pink will become the new pink. The number 5 will be the new 9.

2. Moveon.org will claim that all citizens are entitled to iPods. Democrats will submit a bill to subsidize iPod purchases for the homeless. The homeless will then use their iPods as hammers to fix the wobbly wheels on their shopping carts.

3. PETA will continue to kill 80% of the animals it receives while claiming to advocate for animal rights. (I guess that means they have the right to be killed in the backs of vans and thrown into garbage dumpsters.)

4. Church critics will be appalled that Pope Benedict XVI continues to be catholic.

5. Democrats will continue to be appalled that George W. Bush wants to nominate conservative leaning judges to the Courts. (I know, some of these predictions are like shooting fish in a barrel).

6. A pharmaceutical company will find a cure for cancer. The previously undiscovered side effect that the drug increases flatulence will allow lawyers to sue the company into bankruptcy while claiming they are protecting consumers from the increased threat of global warning.

7. Michael Jackson will leave the music business and invest heavily in movie theaters. He will henceforth be known as “the King of Popcorn”.

8. Google will index everything in your house. Activists will complain about invasions of privacy, but most people will cheer when they learn you can google “car keys” and find you left them in the den.

9. Iran will be eliminated in the first round of the soccer World Cup after loosing all its games to Mexico, Portugal, and Angola. Iran will call on all Muslim countries to attack Israel after blaming the losses on a Zionist conspiracy.

10. Another country will win the soccer World Cup. Americans won’t notice.

Florida isn't the "show me" state

A Florida teenager who flew to Iraq without his parents knowledge is headed back to the U.S. He apparently wanted to see the Iraqi elections firsthand.

According to the AP, the teenager recently studied immersion journalism and wanted to see what the Iraqi's are living through. If you haven't heard of "immersion journalism", that is where you learn about journalism by having all of your common sense removed. Apparently he was an excellent student.

Then again, he is a teenager. Common sense is removed from kids at about age 12 before being returned randomly sometime after 20.

At least they weren't criminals

Susanne Ostraff was taken hostage in Iraq by terrorists. The German government paid a ransom to free her. Her take on her captors? "I was so happy to know that I had not fallen into the hands of criminals,"

So let's get this right. She thinks the goons who kidnapped her aren't criminals. Okaaayyy.

Saddam didn't do it?

I think there is a special place in hell for mass murders. I think that place has an adjoining room for the lawyers who defend their attrocities.

Christmas in Las Cruces

Merry Christmas!

Another nephew

My sister-in-law and her husband welcomed their second son into the world today. Happy birthday Tyler John.

Now here's a corny idea*

The high cost of natural gas is encouraging people to look for other ways to heat their homes. One Colorado company is cashing in by selling stoves that burn shelled corn. The corn is about half the cost of natural gas and it burns so clean there are no restrictions on burning it.Now that is cool.

You know they say that the U.S. is the Saudi Arabia of corn.


*(I know that is a horrible pun. Please don't report me to the blog police.)

Happy Anniversary

Today Honeybun and I are celebrating our eighth anniversay. Woohoo!

Most ridiculous iPod accessory

Anyone who has an iPod knows you need a case for it. The problem with the new iPod is that none of the cases from the previous generation iPods fit it because they moved the headphone jack from the center to the right side.

So Apple's solution? A sock. Yep a sock which they call "stylish" and "fun". Really, it is half a sock. They do come in packs of six though. You have your choice of various colors too!

So what do you pay for this innovation in iPod protection?

29 fricken bucks! Yep, that's $29 for six half-socks. What a bargain. I think that breaks down to $2 for the six half-socks and $27 for the Apple logo sewed on to each one.

Happy Birthday...to me

I'll not dwell on how bad I've been feeling the last couple of days. (Wait, was that dwelling right there?)

The good news is that I was able to enjoy a quiet birthday celebration this evening with Honeybun and my mom and brother. This was number 36 for those of you keeping score.

Honeybun gave me the 60 GB video iPod. The black one. Together, we have about 500 CDs that I had already copied to our computer. Tonight I transferred them to the iPod - all 5022 songs and I only reached about 18 GB. Cool. I'm going to have to download one of the Pixar shorts next. Just because I can ya know?

Oh, and this is the only time I can ever having a "white birthday". Isn't living in Colorado great?

I'm an elf?

Elvish


To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?
brought to you by Quizilla

Not sure how this came out, especially since I chose Eomer (not an elf) as the leader I'd most like to follow.

Happy Birthday Marines!

Today is the 230th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Eat a piece of cake for the USMC.

How to self-destruct

Terrell Owens is arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL. Even so, the team he plays for suspended him indefinitely today because he just can't help himself. His talent on the field is undeniable. Sadly, he just can't keep his mouth shut off the field.

During the last off season, he criticized his teammate Donovan McNabb for the way he played in their Superbowl loss last season. Then he did not report to training camp in pre-season to try and get his contract re-negotiated. This past week he said his team would be undefeated if Brett Favre were the starting quarterback instead of McNabb.

It's amazing watching someone like this. He seems to have everything going for him in talent and skill. His performance on the field is amazing, yet he just cannot control himself to be a team player. He alienates everyone around him. Why did the 49ers so willingly let him go to the Eagles? It seems now we know.

What will happen to T.O. now? He wanted more money. That dream is gone. He's damaged goods now. One thing is sure, he won't be with the Eagles much longer. He has pretty much secured the legacy of a problem player rather than a Hall of Fame contender.

I just find it strangely fascinating to watch a someone self-destruct. There aren't many Shakespearean characters with more tragic flaws.

Doom - movie review

Movie fact: When entering a building inhabited by monsters, military tactics call for splitting the unit up so that soldiers can be picked off one by one.

Doom exploits this tactic to the fullest. A science station on Mars is being over run by monsters. Marines are sent in to search for and destroy the threat.

This is easily the best video game movie adaption. Of course that doesn't make it good. The monsters are sufficiently scary. The special effects are good. The best part was how they incorporated an important game element. On second thought, Rosamund Pike might have been the best part.

There are some plot holes. Like why do they keep splitting up after a few of their buddies have died that way? Why do the keep referring to marines as "soldiers"? (OK, so Hollywood doesn't know the difference.)

Be prepared for a gory, "f" bomb laden, not suitable for children flick.

2 stars (Slightly more fun that a complete game of Monopoly.)

Semi-annual insanity

It is once again time to move your clocks back an hour. Why, because the government thinks we need to somehow save daylight. Except since it is fall, we apparently don't need to save it anymore. Doesn't really make any sense, does it?

When will we stop this foolishness and end daylight savings time?

Dishonoring the troops

Michelle Malkin points out how the New York Times misquotes dead soldiers. Cpl. Jeffrey B. Starr wrote a letter prior to his death in Iraq. Here is what the Times printed:

"I kind of predicted this," Corporal Starr wrote of his own death. "A third time just seemed like I'm pushing my chances."

Here is what he wrote:

"Obviously if you are reading this then I have died in Iraq. I kind of predicted this, that is why I'm writing this in November. A third time just seemed like I'm pushing my chances. I don't regret going, everybody dies but few get to do it for something as important as freedom. It may seem confusing why we are in Iraq, it's not to me. I'm here helping these people, so that they can live the way we live. Not have to worry about tyrants or vicious dictators. To do what they want with their lives. To me that is why I died. Others have died for my freedom, now this is my mark."

When you see it in whole, it doesn't sound as much as someone who regretted his duty.

Rough week for the President.

Harriet Miers withdrew her Supreme Court nomination yesterday. Acting according to plan, Democrats immediately mischaracterize it as the "extreme right-wing" (read religious right) controlling the party. Of course it was the so-called extreme right like James Dobson that were actually supporting her.

Now New York Senator Chuck Schumer says he hopes President Bush consults with the President this time. He conveniently forgot that Harry Reid, the Democrat minority leader, suggested Miers' name prior to her nomination. How much more consulting can the president do?

Then today the vice president's chief of staff is indicted for obstruction of justice and perjury. Ho hum. There is noticably no charge of revealing the identity of CIA employee Valerie Plame, the whole point of the grand jury investigation. It looks like Libby probably did lie to the grand jury. Unfortunate since if he did lie, he lied about something that wasn't a crime.

What kind of catholic am I?

The results from Quizfarm.com:

You scored as Neo-Conservative Catholic. You see that the government of the United States was originally founded on recognizably Catholic natural law principles and reason in the tradition of Saint Thomas Aquinas, and the freedom of religion acknowledged in the Constitution has allowed Catholicism to flourish in this largely Protestant country. You recognize that the American system of government, even with its faults, is the most moral social order developed in history. You are committed to being a Catholic active in society. Like the Liberal Catholic, your views might be too determined by American culture, and you may uncritically accept many theories that may be harmful to yourself and society; instead you may need rediscover traditional Catholic teaching. You should emphasize the love of your neighbor, especially love for the poor, in your everyday business dealings. Neo-Conservative Catholic 76% New Catholic 67% Evangelical Catholic 64% Traditional Catholic 45% Radical Catholic 43% Lukewarm Catholic 43% Liberal Catholic 26% What is your style of American Catholicism? created with QuizFarm.com

Hmmm, seems pretty accurate. I've even mentioned in conversations with others how the faith of American Christians in general is shaped by American culture. I don't see that as all bad as this is the greatest nation on God's green earth. Yet it is something to be aware of.

I do disagree that I uncritically accept theories that are harmful to myself. I suspect they are talking about thing like "tax cuts for the rich". In Colorado, we are voting on referrenda C & D in November. The referrenda are state tax hikes. My voting against it (which some would say is against my immediate self-interest) doesn't mean I did so uncritically.

Check out Angela

I happened across Angela Catherine's new blog about her journey (which she is still on) to catholocism. Raised evangelical, searching for a deeper faith and a grad student. Where have we seen this theme before?

Been there, done that, have the t-shirt. Good luck Angela.

Remembering Beirut

Twenty two years ago today a muslim terrorist drove a truck full of explosives into the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. 220 Marines, 18 sailors, and 3 soldiers died.

Here is an excerpt from President Reagan's televised address responding to the bombing:

May I share something with you I think you'd like to know? It's something that happened to the Commandant of our Marine Corps, General Paul Kelley, while he was visiting our critically injured Marines in an Air Force hospital. It says more than any of us could ever hope to say about the gallantry and heroism of these young men, young men who serve so willingly so that others might have a chance at peace and freedom in their own lives and in the life of their country.

I'll let General Kelley's words describe the incident. He spoke of a "young Marine with more tubes going in and out of his body than I have ever seen in one body."

"He couldn't see very well. He reached up and grabbed my four stars, just to make sure I was who I said I was. He held my hand with a firm grip. He was making signals, and we realized he wanted to tell me something. We put a pad of paper in his hand - and he wrote 'Semper Fi.' "

Well, if you've been a Marine or if, like myself, you're an admirer of the Marines, you know those words are a battle cry, a greeting, and a legend in the Marine Corps. They're Marine shorthand for the motto of the Corps - "Semper Fidelis" - "always faithful."

General Kelley has a reputation for being a very sophisticated general and a very tough Marine. But he cried when he saw those words, and who can blame him? That Marine and all those others like him living and dead, have been faithful to their ideals. They've given willingly of them selves so that a nearly defenseless people in a region of great strategic importance to the free world will have a chance someday to live lives free of murder and mayhem and terrorism. I think that young Marine and all of his comrades have given every one of us something to live up to.

They were not afraid to stand up for their country or, no matter how difficult and slow the journey might be, to give to others that last, best hope of a better future. We cannot and will not dishonor them now and the sacrifices they've made by failing to remain as faithful to the cause of freedom and the pursuit of peace as they have been.

I will not ask you to pray for the dead, because they're safe in God's loving arms and beyond need of our prayers. I would like to ask you all - wherever you may be in this blessed land - to pray for these wounded young men and to pray for the bereaved families of those who gave their lives for our freedom.

God bless you, and God bless America."

Semper Fi

Broncos Rule!

Julie over at Happy Catholic is excited that her Cowboys beat the Giants yesterday and the Eagles the week before.

That's all well and good but it is really the Broncos who have emerged as the dominant team in recent weeks. Shoot, yesterday they beat the two-time defending champion Patriots (was there really any doubt they would?).

Of course the Colts are still undefeated. In fact, the Colts are so good they may not even lose a game until they face the Broncos in the AFC Championship!

Why did Columbus sail?

The always controversial Columbus Day Parade in Denver will take place this Saturday. Organizers of the parade like to celebrate Columbus' discovery of the New World. Protestors claim they are celebrating genocide of American Indians. I'm skeptical of that belief since I've not once seen anyone claiming Indians should be wiped out.

Beyond that, I've coincidently read a little about Columbus this week. American education teaches children that Columbus sailed to prove the Earth is round. Columbus had to overcome the objections of the Roman Catholic Church which taught that the bible proved the world was flat. He was able to overcome the Church's ignorant assumption and convince the Queen of Spain to fund his expedition. Even after his voyage the church still taught the world was flat until Magellan circumnavigated the globe in 1512 give science a "crushing blow" against the teachings of the church.

The problem with that story is that it is entirely a lie. Every educated person during the time already knew the world was round. Learned men like the Venerable Bede (ca. 673-735) Bishop Virgilius of Salzburg (ca. 720-784), Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), and Thomas Aquinas (ca. 1224-1274) all taught the world was round hundreds of years before Columbus ever lived. Incidentally all four of those men are Catholic saints.

Learned men (who were catholics) did oppose Columbus voyage. Not because they thought the world was flat. Rather they thought Columbus calculations of the circumfrence of the world was too small and that he would starve before he got to Asia. Turns out they were right. Only (unknown to both Columbus and his critics) a couple of other continents were in the way. This doesn't take away from Columbus' bravery as an explorer. It does show that Medieval scholars were a lot brighter than we give them credit for.

So where did this lie that is even taught in today's schools come from? The most influential person in spreading the myth of oppressive Christianity including the Roman Catholic Church fighting science was Andrew Dickson White, the founder and first president of Cornell University. It seems he didn't like Christians and wrote his book A History of the Warfare of Science with Tehology in Christendom to get even with Christians who were critics of his plans for Cornell.

Rodney Stark documents how the story of Columbus was corrupted in his book For the Glory of God. Incidentally, Stark is a sociologist who denies being a catholic. His book details how science was only able to develop because of Christianity, not in spite of it.

OU suicide bomber

This past Saturday a student at University of Oklahoma died when a bomb he was carrying on his body blew up about 100 yards away from the crowded OU football stadium.

Michelle Malkin has been following the story. The national media is strangely silent on this. The student carrying the bomb was known to frequent a mosque. He wore a muslim style beard. He had tried to purchase a large amount of ammonium nitrate (the same compound used in the bombing of Okalahoma City federal building). Being unable to purchase that, the bomber used another explosive - but very unstable chemical - TATP that can be created out of household cleaners.

OK. So a muslim decides to commit suicide by detonating a bomb near a crowded stadium but has no terroristic motive? Or is it more likely that a wannabe martyr was waiting for a crowded stadium to begin emptying where he could get access to a crowd of people but his homemade unstable bomb exploded prematurely.

Yes, I'm speculating but the story that a depressed muslim decides to commit suicide by blowing himself up in public where no one else gets hurt is not a convincing story. That may be because of all the other muslims who have blown themselves up in the world, most recently in Bali, where they were seeking out crowded places. Muslim bombers don't have a history of seeking out isolated public places. They want crowds and a stadium of tens of thousands of people were just a few hundred feet away?

Thank God he didn't get to buy a ticket to the football game that day.

Miers - a great pick

Powerline is still convinced that Harriet Miers is a bad nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court. The say

The two most relevant issues now are (1) is she qualified and (2) is she conservative (and if so, in what sense). We don't know the answer to either question, which confirms how bad Bush's decision was.

While I agree that we don't know the answer to those questions I disagree that it somehow proves that her nomination was a bad decision. President Bush believes he knows the answers to these questions.

What we do know is that President Bush knows Harriet Miers. We also know that she already has the votes to get confirmed - the Democratic leadership can't reject her after asking for her nomination. We know that she has worked to further George Bush's conservative agenda.

Why are conservative bloggers so convinced that Miers has worked for George W. Bush for years in a conservative administration all the while successfully hiding her liberal agenda only so she can reveal her liberal policies as a Supreme Court Justice? Evil genius, that's what she is! Please.

Chill conservatives. You have been aching for President Bush to get in a show down with the democrats for years. That is not the purpose of a supreme court nomination. The purpose of the nomination is to get someone on the court who will justly interpret the constitution. Conservatives are forgetting the means (i.e. the showdown they want) is not the end (getting a conservative justice on the court).

President Bush has already successfully placed a Chief Justice of his choosing. Now he has another nominee that democrats are obligated to approve. Chill. President Bush knows what he is doing. Everything is going according to plan.

Justice Miers?

President Bush nominated Harriet Miers today to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. The conservative blogosphere is worried that Miers isn't a conservative choice. Powerline calls the pick "a disappointment". Instapundit is "underwhelmed". Michelle Malkin shares his sentiment. Apparently senate minority leader Harry Reid even suggested Miers name for nomination.

I'm with Hugh Hewitt. George Bush has a history of not revealing his strategy. He has five years at beating the Democrats at every turn. Some may say that is all Karl Rove. The fact is President Bush has not over extended his hand politically. When he has been attacked he doesn't not immediatly respond. He has patiently waited and let his critics destroy themselves.

We don't know Miers (which is why some conservatives are expressing disappointment) but President Bush does. The president already has the support of Democratic leadership guaranteed. Reid can't suggest her then back out once Bush acts on his advice. Schumer has already gone on record as saying he is happy with the pick.

I think President Bush knows what he is doing.

Weeds of communism

For most of the summer I fight dandelions in my front yard. I spray the yard with weed killer and have green grass (well, kinda green) for a few weeks. Then one day I'm in front of the house and see another dandelion. Thankfully, there are no mainstream media reports around my house. If there were, they would be standing in front of each weed saying, "Look at all this green grass. Look at this close up. Nope, no weeds around here."

That's pretty much what they do with communists. Just like the San Francisco Chronicle did. Zombietime.com shows how they do it. First, start with a young protestor in San Franciso. Run photo of said idealistic youth protesting against the United States. Be sure to hide the fact that communists organized the rally. Nope no communists here.

Surely the fact that the protests are being organized by communists is significant. These are not people who love their country as much as the Chronicle may wish you to believe it.

When Cindy Sheehan protests, remember she is supported by ANSWER. Chrstopher Hitchens points out their pro-communist/anti-U.S. views.

No, the war protestors are not patriots. They don't love their country as they are sometimes likely to claim. They want the U.S. to lose.

Internet to keep working

The U.N. wants to control the Internet. Specifically, they want to control domain names. U.S. officials say no way thereby guaranteeing that the U.N. won't screw it up.

The U.N. can't even handle humanitarian aid without corrupting it. Look what happened with oil for food in Iraq and sex for food in Africa.

Besides, the U.S. invented the Internet (just ask Al Gore). It's ours.

The Greatest Game Ever Played - movie review

The Greatest Game Ever Played tells the story of how 20 year-old amatuer golfer Francis Ouimet won the 1913 U.S. Open by beating his boyhood idol, Englishman Harry Vardon. Really, the movie is about breaking class barriers to succeed on merit rather than social station.

Franics came from a working class family and taught himself to play golf while caddying for country club members at the golf course next to his house. As a young man Francis fights for the right to play in an amatuer tournament. He is first told he is not allowed to play in the tournament because of his social status. Golf is a "gentleman's" game. After failing to make the cut in the tournament, his father's criticism keeps him from playing golf until an opportunity is offered to play in the U.S. Open. This is the same tournament Harry Vardon has returned to the United States to play in. Another leading English golfer, Ted Ray, accompanies Vardon and the two are financed by English aristocracy to take the U.S. trophy back to England and therefore prove English dominance in the sport.

Peaks into Harry Vardon's past parrallel Francis' struggle to get past the class barreirs to play golf in a time when aristocrats view social position with more weight than merit.

The wonderful part of this movie is the portrayal Ouimet's rivals Vardon and Ray. Unlike Cinderella Man where the rival Max Baer was falsely portrayed as a womanizer and a dirty fighter, Vardon and Ray are not villianized. They both compete with integrity and recognize the talent of the younger golfer. At the end of the movie I was as much a fan of Vardon and Ray as I was of the unlikely champion Ouimet.

The show stealing character was Eddie Lowery. Unable to pay a caddie, Ouimet is forced to use 10 year-old eddie. His youthful exuberance and comments on the golf course, "easy peasy, lemon squeezy," contrast with wisdom beyond his years when he gives Ouimet valuable advice during the tournament. Somehow the combination works and makes for an entertaining character.

The movie's theme of men struggling against the odds to become champions in a sport that doesn't welcome their working class backgrounds is one that American's love. The way it is able to do it so that rival competitors are both admired is masterful.

4 stars (I laughed, I cried. It changed my life. Better than Cats.)

Serenity - movie review

Earlier this month I was invited to an advance screening of Serenity. Knowing that my friend Melissa is a great Firefly fan (the prematurely canceled TV series from which the movie is based) I invited her to the screening. The only catch was that she write the review (heh, heh). So, here is Mel's guest review:

A Cowboy Space Opera by Melissa

You have seen this story a thousand times. A small group of people, trying to stay under the government’s radar, discover something of momentous importance. When the government finds out, the chase is on. Sounds ho-hum? Not in this universe.

Based on the television show Firefly, Serenity is set in a future that could be ours, and what really brings this story to life is its characters and their beautifully detailed backdrop of Asian-American influence.

Meet River Tam: schizophrenic, government-trained warrior and meek 17-year old girl all in one. Serenity is really her story. River has been used as a lab rat for the Alliance government to create a psychic assassin. Her brother Simon, a brilliant doctor, rescues her from the facility where she is being held at the very beginning of the movie.

Meet Malcolm Reynolds: Captain of the spaceship Serenity, enemy of the Alliance, survivor of the Alliance and Rebel civil war, sarcastic shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later kind of guy, part parent and part commanding officer. Serenity is his ship. Mal has taken in Simon and River Tam as he has taken in the other members of his crew: First Mate Zoe, a fellow survivor of the war; her husband Wash, Serenity’s pilot; Kaley, their sweet natured mechanic; and Jayne, Serenity’s muscle, guns and thuggery.

If you have seen the television series, you already know how the actors bring these characters together to form a family unit as alive, loving and complaining as your own. If you have not seen the series, you will see for yourself how the actors play off each other to create the tension and force that drives the movie along.

And there is tension. This is a very dark movie, which may come as a surprise to fans of Firefly. One of the drawbacks to a 2 hour time limit is that we don’t really get to see the depths these characters show throughout the series. There are simply too many of them. What we see is a little more one dimensional, the darker, more serious side to characters we have come to love and laugh with throughout the television shows.

But that’s all right. The amusing one-liners from the series are still there. The pointed jabs and in-fighting flow throughout the movie. This movie is one facet of the whole, River’s story, and we get to see sides of her only hinted at in the series. Never before had she used her abilities openly, with the knowledge and understanding of the crew. River is the catalyst that moves the plot along, and the movie flows well with her.

The universe of Serenity is an odd mix of western and science fiction, Asian and American influences. In the simplest sense, two great superpowers, China and America, fused together with onset of space travel. A lot of time has passed since the merge, and what we now see is a gorgeous tapestry of influences throughout the whole.

You will see classic cowboy style clothing next to brocade robes next to body armor, dusty hats, helmets and elaborate headdresses, shot glasses and sake sets. People speak English, but write with Asian characters. Fighting is done with six-shooters, swords, machine guns and martial arts. We also can’t forget the laser guns and hovercraft. The world flows together so nicely you would have to watch several times to see what the different influences even are. The CGI effects are dramatic, but tastefully done only where it makes sense.

You have seen this story a thousand times. But you have not seen the world in which this story is set or the characters with which it is played out. Watch the movie. Let yourself be taken away for a few hours to a unique place that Hollywood, for once, has never visited before.

3 Stars (More fun than Disney's Matterhorn)

Would you believe.....?

Don Adams of Get Smart fame has died. Best television spy comedy ever. Not that I can think of any other television spy comedy right now, but still the best.

Christians don't do that

Yesterday the Anchoress mentioned that a friend of hers had a sex dream about Rush Limbaugh.

Today she mentioned that she received a few emails from people who had problems with her mentioning it. So are Christians not supposed to dream about sex. Or is it that they just aren't allowed to tell anyone that they do?

You are stuck on stupid

At one time those who worked in the press were considered to be in a noble profession. Now they aren't much better than used car salesman. Clearly they still have a high opinion of themselves though.

General Honore provided the quote of the year. The General is in charge the troops protecting New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Now with hurricane Rita threatening the Gulf Coast, he is assisting with another evacuation of the city and isn't playing any games with the press who still want to talk about blame for problems after the first hurricane.

General Honore isn't having any of that though. When a reporter tried asking a question about hurricane Katrina, the general told him, "you are stuck on stupid."

You can check out the video at The Political Teen. Now THAT's comedy.

Round 2

Tropical storm Rita looks like it is headed to the Gulf of Mexico. Projected paths right now have it headed towards the Texas coast. The warm waters of the gulf will probably turn the storm into a hurricane. Don't put too much faith in that projected course either. It could just as likely turn a bit to the north and hit where Katrina went on shore.

The possibility of another hit on New Orleans is so worrisome that some elected officials are starting to change their politices. In halting the reopening of New Orleans, Democrat Mayer Ray Nagin said, "If we are off, I'd rather err on the side of conservatism to make sure we have everyone out."

Which way is it?

The angry left continues to show they have lost all touch with reason. Earlier this week Cindy Sheehan continued her rant against President Bush. In an article on the Huffington Post she says (emphasis added):

George Bush needs to stop talking, admit the mistakes of his all around failed administration, pull our troops out of occupied New Orleans and Iraq...

New Orleans is now (apparently unjustly) "occupied" according to the angry left. Yet before the National Guard got there President Bush was criticized for not getting them there sooner.

Well what is the President supposed to do, send in the National Guard or not? You just can't please the angry left. I guess that's why we call them "angry". When they run out of things to be mad about, they starting making up stuff.

Freak cat

Mila just loves the dog's water. What a weirdo.

Cherry Lime?

I bought a six pack of cherry lime soda last night. As I'm drinking it right now, I realize that it doesn't particularly taste like cherry and/or lime.

Progress with black voters

Hugh Hewitt points out the bigotry of the New York Times today where they felt the need to point out the economic status of a black preacher. It is clear the Times doesn't feel that T.D. Jakes is a "real" African-American because he is rich and supports the President. Have you noticed that Jesse Jackson's wealth never seems to get mentioned whenever he makes a statement?

The article's headline tells us that "Bush's Status With Blacks Takes Hit". It says a poll shows that "two-thirds of African-Americans said the government's response to the crisis would have been faster if most of the victims had been white". If you read further down, this may be an indication of good news.

But when I read the article, it sounds like there is good news for Bush. In 2004 89% of black voters voted against President Bush. Since African-Americans already don't like the President, is his status really taking a hit? The good news is only two thirds of them think he is a racist. That sounds like progress to me.

Football....sigh

Julie over at Happy Catholic is...well, happy. The Cowboys won today. I'm happy that football started. We won't disucss how the Broncos did today though.

Celebrating America

Many blogs I read regularly has a post commemarating 9/11.

I'm not one for anniversay mourning year after year. We can't forget what happened, but I don't see how manufacturing sorrow every September 11 is productive. I work today, so I don't have a lot of options, but instead of walking around in a funk all day, I'm going be thankful I live in America. I'm going to listen to football games, go out for lunch, and live free in the greatest nation on God's green earth.

Poor Honeybun

Honeybun and her friend went to Coyote Ugly last night. If you haven't seen the movie of the same name, it's a bar where the women bartenders and some customers dance on the bar. Honeybun ended up on the bar twice.

Needless to say, she has a headache this morning.

Eric the tile guy is demolishing the bathroom.  

Gilligan, dead?

Bob Denver who played Gilligan in the TV show Gilligan's Island has died.

Come on. Gilligan can't die. I mean he's Gilligan, ya know? Who hasn't watched Gilligan on TV while growing up? He was an American icon. God bless Gilligan.

History

Ever feel you are living in a moment that changes everything? First we have Katrina. Then tonight Chief Justice Rehnquist dies. At this moment there are two Supreme Court vacancies, one of which is the Chief Justice.

Environmental arrogance

In the aftermath of Katrina, the environmentalist zealots are out bashing President Bush for not signing the Kyoto treaty. According to their articles of faith (yes, environmentalism is a religion) hurricane Katrina happened because President Bush didn't sign Kyoto. We could have avoided all this misery just by reducing green house gases.

James Glassman (hat tip Steven Milloy) reveals the problem with the environmentalists' baseless claims.

Katrina has nothing to do with global warming. Nothing. It has everything to do with the immense forces of nature that have been unleashed many, many times before and the inability of humans, even the most brilliant engineers, to tame these forces.

Giant hurricanes are rare, but they are not new. And they are not increasing. To the contrary. Just go to the website of the National Hurricane Center and check out a table that lists hurricanes by category and decade. The peak for major hurricanes (categories 3,4,5) came in the decades of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, when such storms averaged 9 per decade. In the 1960s, there were 6 such storms; in the 1970s, 4; in the 1980s, 5; in the 1990s, 5; and for 2001-04, there were 3. Category 4 and 5 storms were also more prevalent in the past than they are now. As for Category 5 storms, there have been only three since the 1850s: in the decades of the 1930s, 1960s and 1990s.

Fewer hurricanes in recent years? In wanting you to think otherwise, the environmentalists count on ignorance of history and must themselves be willfully ignorant.

It is a continued failing of human nature. We want to be safe all the time. People think we can be safe if we just engineer better buildings or levees, or reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The fact is the world is a dangerous place. Hurricanes happen weather you drive a hybrid car or an SUV.

It was arrogance that led people to believe the Titanic was unsinkable. It is just as arrogant to believe the Kyoto treaty could have saved people from hurricane Katrina.

Katrina and God

The Anchoress points out that people are looking for God in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.

Sometimes you find wisdom in the most curious of places. I've been reading H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. It's taken me over a month to get about half way through the book. Yet that timed perfectly with this week's events. That's where I found Well's comment on God and disaster.

The narrator is talking to a curate (clergyman) after the Martians have attacked the city of Weybridge. The curate exclaims, "this is the beginning of the end." The narrator's response is... well see for yourself.

"You are scared out of your wits! What good is religion if it collapses under calamity? Think of what earthquakes and floods, wars and volcanoes, have done before to men! Did you think God had exempted Weybridge? He is not an insurance agent."

Insert New Orleans, Mobile, or Biloxi for Weybridge.

Are our expectations of protection from calamity justified? Where does this expectation come from? There is no where in the Bible that claims God will avert calamity for us. We are not protected from every harm. We look at Job and learn that bad things happen to good people and like Job we will never learn why. That may not be a satisfying answer but it is reality.

Meanwhile, those of us who are safe can still pray and send what assistance we can.

Idiot protesters

Wackos from both the extreme left and right are competing to demonstrate who are the bigger idiots.

This past week Code Pink has been criticized for harrassing war wounded at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Now the Kansas based Westboro Baptist Church is protesting at soldiers' funerals in Tennessee. They claim that God punished the soldiers for defending a country that harbors gays.

I'm curious where this story about the Baptist Church will go. The news article so far is short on background. The Westboro group is the same people that protested at the Matthew Shepard funeral. They do not represent a mainstream Christian view and are frequently criticized for their tactics. Their lack of influence is apparent as well. They only had 10 people at this latest "protest". That isn't a movement. It is a group of morons with nothing better to do.

Code Pink and Westboro Baptists. Who knew opposites could have so much stupidity in common?

Thought of the day

Diet Coke makes people overweight. Proof: have you ever seen a skinny person drinking it?

Best frontline reporter

Michael Yon is a freelance reporter working on the frontlines in Iraq. Go read his latest story about LTC Kurilla.

Donate to his blog if you can.

That must have been painful

News headline: Jerry Seinfeld has third baby

Ouch

School daze

The new semester started this week. It starts for me today. I got my pens and paper, same old computer. I'm buying books today. I think the only thing I'm missing is an i-pod...

Hootie lives!

OK, there is no "Hootie" in the group, but Hootie & the Blowfish have a new album out. I got it last week. As always Darius' voice is great, I think re-emphasized on this album. The harmonies are quintessential Hootie.

Now for those of you who are skeptical, go see them live. They are a band that made it big by touring endlessly before they got signed to a major label. While good on CD, they are a completely different experience in person. You won't find any recorded help at the concert. These guys are real.

How to marginalize yourself - 101

On Monday, Pat Robertson suggested the U.S. should assasinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Of course his remarks have started a controversy.

Pat Robertson was right about one thing. Chavez is not a good man. Chavez is showing all the signs of being a totalitarian.

Robertson's suggestion of assasination is just foolish. He has done the opposite of his intention. Instead of drawing attention to the problems of Venezuela, he has given Chavez a diverision. Even worse, Robertson is now denying he suggested assasination. Don't try to cover yourself with such an obvious lie.

If there weren't enough misconceptions of the so-called religious right, now we have to deal with this. Thanks Pat. As Shrek once said, "That is the opposite of help."

Castro

USA Today published a "Snapshot" of Fidel Castro noting that Castro is one of the world's longest reigning heads of state and that there have been 10 U.S. Presidents since he came to power in 1959.

So what should we take from this? How this - the United States is able to change leaders every four or eight years and still have the largest economy in the world and have freedoms. In spite of Castro's revolution for the people in 1959, the only Cubans who know those same freedoms are the ones that live in this country.

Blog? What blog?

Ok, I haven't been posting a lot. I mean between Michelle Malkin, Happy Catholic, Hugh Hewitt and The Anchoress (even Instapundit is linking to her) there hasn't been a lot left for me to say.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking it may be time to redesign the blog.....

NFL tragedy

Thomas Herrion, a lineman for the 49ers, collapsed in the locker room after last night's pre-season game with the Broncos in Denver. Medics treated him in the locker room before taking him to the hospital where he was declared dead.

He was only 23.

Say something funny

I just added TrackBack to my blog. Who will be the first to use it?

Exploiting a mother's grief

The sad story of Cindy Sheehan continues to get headlines. For those who don't know, Ms. Sheehan's son Army Spc. Casey Sheehan was killed while serving in Iraq. Ms. Sheehan has decided to stage a protest in front of President Bush's ranch in Crawford Texas to demand an audience with him in order to berate him with her anti-war talking points.

You tell me the truth. You tell me that my son died for oil. You tell me that my son died to make your friends rich. You tell me my son died to spread the cancer of Pax Americana, imperialism in the Middle East. You tell me that, you don't tell me my son died for freedom and democracy.

Bored reporters at the ranch are giving her air time since they have nothing else to report on. Even Fox News is asking if the President should grant her an audience.

Here's what you haven't heard. Cindy Sheehan did get an audience with the President in June of 2004 (hat tip James Taranto).

After that meeting she told a reporter:

"I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis," Cindy said after their meeting. "I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."

Quite different from what she is saying a year later while acting as if the meeting never occured.

So President Bush isn't ducking grieving parents. Let's acknowledge the real story. An anti-war activist is using her son's memory for her political agenda. She had her meeting with President Bush and now wants another chance to say what she choose not to say before.

Hey! You don't sell Amway!

The couple wanted for killing a prison guard during a jail break was arrested early this moring. Jennifer Hyatte ambushed two guards as they were leading her husband out of a court hearing in Kingston, Tennessee. One of the guards died during the escape.

The couple was arrested after cab driver Mike Wagers told police where they were staying. He had driven them from Kentucky to a hotel in Ohio not realizing they were wanted. But something about their story made him suspicious.

As they were driving, the fugitves told him they were going to an Amway convention. That was the give away. When asked about what raised his suspicion Wagers said, "they didn't strike me as the Amway type because to be honest they weren't very pushy about their product and I've dealt with them before so — that was my only real suspicion."

What gave them away is that they weren't obnoxious enough about selling Amway. The lesson here is that if you are trying to blend in, don't pose as an Amway salesman.

It's all the President's fault

The DNC has issued a press release using President Bush's excellent results from his annual physical as an opportunity to criticize him for his policies. The Anchoress gave the DNC a good lesson in what an appropriate response would have been.

Instead of showing maturity as The Anchoress suggested, the DNC claims that the president's "personal habits indicate that physical fitness is not just fun and games for him. Don't our kids deserve the same opportunities to be physically fit? President Bush should stop running from his responsibility and make sure that all American children have access to physical fitness programs."

Again, the DNC doesn't stop to think about the stupidity of their statement. That's because the president doesn't rely on a government program to get fit. He gets off his ass and works out six days a week. That means that all these women and children already have exactly the same opportunities to be physically fit that President Bush does.

Now really DNC, how many people have been whining to you that they would be physically fit if only there was a government program that would fund their (lack of) effort? There was a recent time in this country when kids played sports outside instead of sitting in front of a Playstation simulating sports.

The DNC also shows how little they respect they have for women in their press release. In the press release they not that unreturned surveys of women asking about interest in college sports are assumed to be an indication of no interest. Seems reasonable. But the DNC seems to think this is some form of discrimination. They believe that women can't be trusted to return the survey if they actually are interested so we can't just assume that they aren't interested if they don't bother to return the survey. The nanny state at its finest. They know the women are interested even when the women aren't.

But the DNC may have a point overall. Admittedly I'm a little overweight now. If only Honeybun would understand, it's not my lack of motivation. It's President Bush's lack of funding my physical fitness. The DNC understands that I'm not responsible for getting outside and doing some physical activity. I can't get on the excercise bike in the basement without a government grant. Come on Honeybun, don't blame me. Blame the President. It'll make us both feel better. Right?

It's like having the DNC around so I can blame my faults on the government. Yep, life is good.

Someone who is supporting the troops

Matt Hicketheir is a young Marine completing his training before shipping to Iraq for a year. His father and mother took him to The Fort, a very expensive restaurant in Morrison, CO, this past Tuesday to celebrate before their only son left. President Clinton ate at this same restaurant when he visited Denver a few years ago.

The entire family dressed up. Matt wore his dress blues and his mother and sister wore their best dresses. They spared no expense in their dinner on this special occaision even though it was a hit on the pocket book. They drank champagne and ordered exotic dishes like rattlesnake, quail eggs and buffalo tongue to enjoy the time they had with their son and brother. This occaision was a special one that deserved some indulgence.

When they were finished, the restaurant told them another customer had given the manager his credit card and told him to keep the Hicketheir's tab open. "Anything they order is on me," he told the manager before he left. The man only insisted on one condition, that he remain anonymous. The Fort has kept the man's confidence admitting only that he's a businessman from Texas who was in town for a few days. He had been sitting at a nearby table and apparently was able to gather why the family was there.

This man's kindness was great example of someone demonstrating love their country and the troops who fight for freedom. His avoidance of attention for his actions show what a truly kind heart this man has.

Update:
A number of people beat me to this story including:
Peenie Wallie
Michelle Malkin
Hugh Hewitt

PETA Kills Animals

The following story is from This is True dated 17 July 2005. It is
Copyright 2005 Randy Cassingham, all rights reserved, and reprinted here
with permission:

"Ethical" Defined

After more than 100 dead dogs were dumped in a trash dumpster over
four weeks, police in Ahoskie, N.C., kept an eye on the trash receptacle
behind a supermarket. Sure enough, a van drove up and officers watched
the occupants throw in heavy plastic bags. They detained the two people
in the van and found 18 dead dogs in plastic bags in the dumpster,
including puppies; 13 more dead dogs were still in the van. Police say
the van is registered to the headquarters of People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals, and the two occupants, Andrew B. Cook, 24, and
Adria Joy Hinkle, 27, identified themselves as PETA employees. An autopsy
performed on one of the dogs found it was healthy before it was killed.
Police say PETA has been picking up the animals -- alive -- from North
Carolina animal shelters, promising to find them good homes. Cook and
Hinkle have been charged with 62 felony counts of animal cruelty. In
response to the arrests PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said it's against
the group's policy for employees to dump animals in the trash, but "that
for some animals in North Carolina, there is no kinder option than
euthanasia." (Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald) ...Oops, my mistake: that's
"Playing God" Defined.

In his author's notes section, Cassingham had more to say about this
story:

The more I learn about PETA, the less I think of
them. The story of them killing animals isn't even unusual. According to
PETA's own filings, in 2004 PETA killed 86.3 percent of the
animals entrusted to its care -- a number that's rising, not falling.
Meanwhile, the SPCA in PETA's home town (Norfolk, Va.) was able to find
loving homes for 73 percent of the animals put in its care. A shortage of
funds? Nope: last year PETA took in $29 million in tax-exempt donations.
It simply has other priorities for the funds, like funding terrorism
(yes, really). But don't take my word for it: I got my figures from
http://www.PETAkillsAnimals.com -- and they have copies of PETA's state and federal filings to back it up. The bottom line: if you donate money to PETA because you think they care for and about animals, you need to think some more. PETA literally yells and screams about how others "kill animals" but this is how they operate? Pathetic.

And you know what I wonder? PETA's official count of animals
they kill is 86.3 percent. But if they're going around picking up
animals, killing them while they drive around and not even giving them a
chance to be adopted, and then destroying the evidence by dumping
the bodies in the trash, are those deaths being reported? My
guess: no. While 86.3 percent is awful, the actual number is probably
much, much higher. How dare they lecture anyone
about the "ethical" treatment of animals!

(This is True is a weekly column featuring weird-but-true news
stories from around the world, and has been published since 1994. Click
the link for info about free subscriptions.)

How they suck you in

My brother had the deep thought of the day:

"What I can't figure out is why it's free to apply for a credit card, but then they charge you postage to pay the bill."

Internet bill paying to grow

The U.S. Post office is asking congress to allow them to raise postal rates. They want to increase the price of a first class stamp to 39 cents.

It keeps getting more expensive to pay your bills if you mail them in. Watch Internet bill paying services get more subscribers as well as companies develop ways to pay them directly without have to send in a payment.

Doing fine

Good news.

Honeybun is out of surgery and is doing fine. No complications. Doc said, she should be back to 100% in a few weeks.

Doing fine. Honeybun just got

Doing fine. Honeybun just got out of surgery and everything is good. No complications.

Honeybun isn't doing well

Early this morning I had to take Honeybun to the hospital. They ran some tests and found she has appendicitis. She's going into surgery in a couple of hours. I came home to take a shower and grab a couple things before heading back (who needs sleep?).

Please pray for Christy for a successful surgery and healthy recovery.

Idiot of the day

A rapper is complaining about get firing as an airport screener for recording songs that talk about commiting terrorism.

In an interview on Fox News, the rapper said, "It's just entertainment."

The good news is that the Transportation Security Administration didn't get cowed by claims of free speech. Common sense finally prevailed.

Would you want this guy screening bags at the airport you were traveling through?

Best golfer ever?

Tiger woods won his second British Open today. It is his tenth major championship title. It seems only a matter of time before he beats Jack Nickalaus record of 18.

Karl Rove: Political Genius?

Instapundit.com has a round up on the implosion of a scandal. For those who don't know - and that's most of you because only political junkies and left-wing wackos care* - Karl Rove is being attacked by Democrats who are calling for him to resign.

I know, who is Karl Rove? He is President Bush's Chief of Staff. Karl Rove was also the strategist behind the Presidents campaign for election. He is also considered the ultimate evil by radical liberals (i.e. most Democrats it seems).

Bear with me for a little background. Karl Rove is accused of "outing" a covert CIA operative who is the wife of a U.S. diplomat who criticized President Bush. The accusation is that Rove outed Valerie Plame to get even with her husband.

Democrats are calling for Rove's resignation and they are trying to pass a law to revoke security clearances for anyone revealing the name of a covert agent. Dems think they can put Rove out of a job by getting his clearance revoked.

The problem is it looks like Rove didn't break any laws. Plame was not an covert agent.
- She had been working in Langely for years.
- She was married to a U.S. diplomat (not a good cover for an agent).
- She freely admitted to friends and neighbors she was a CIA employee.

Rove didn't reveal her name. The press told him who she was. You can't reveal facts to people who already know the facts.

So what it sounds like is a U.S. diplomat who was lying about President Bush got caught lying. His deflection was to blame the administration for pointing out that he lied (How dare they!).

Here is where the genius comes in. The administration seems to have a strategy for dealing with accusations made against the president.

1. Don't immediately respond to allegations.
2. Let your accusers work themselves up into hysteria.
3. Weather the storm until the truth comes out.
4. Truth comes out and discredits your accusers.
5. You are now in a stronger position because your accusers and political enemies have been shown to allow their hate of you to affect their judgement.

It happened with Dan Rather's memogate. It's happening now.

Simply brilliant.

It takes patience, and a thick skin to allow your enemies enough rope to hang themselves.



(*I guess that makes me a political junkie but I'm in a program to overcome it.)

Abortion clinic boming Christians

Last week USA Today published letter's from infamous abortion clinic bomber Eric Rudolph who eluded capture in the mountains of North Carolina for five years. He had been held up as the poster child of all that is wrong with the Christian right.

The only problem with that, he isn't a Christian. In a letter to his mother he wrote about his prison experience printed in a USA Today article.

"Many good people continue to send me money and books," Rudolph writes in an undated letter. "Most of them have, of course, an agenda; mostly born-again Christians looking to save my soul. I suppose the assumption is made that because I'm in here I must be a 'sinner' in need of salvation, and they would be glad to sell me a ticket to heaven, hawking this salvation like peanuts at a ballgame. I do appreciate their charity, but I could really do without the condescension. They have been so nice I would hate to break it to them that I really prefer Nietzsche to the Bible."

But there was not a word about how his radical athiestic views ("God is dead") were the cause of his evil - unlike when the press thought he was a Christian extremist.

Stupid news of the day

We have the evening news cast on right now. They just reported a story about the space shuttle. Tuesday when a window cover fell off the shuttle and damaged thermal tiles near the tail.

The local news cast report that cover was held on by tape and that officials did not yet know why the cover fell off.

Something tells me that it fell off because it was held on by tape!

Islamacists - a time to review

Yesterday terrorists attacked London by bombing a bus and subway trains. Before the smoke had cleared, the blame-America-first crowd was...well, blaming America. Hugh Hewitt posted a transcription of Al Franken's interview with Pat Oliphant. Here is a sample of the exchange:

Franken: Or have we made things worse...

Oliphant: Or have they gone in the wrong direction...

Franken: Right

Well, it is time to review exactly what al Qaeda is demanding from the U.S. Back in November of 2002, bin Laden wrote an open letter to the U.S. Here are his demands:

(1) The first thing that we are calling you to is Islam.

(2) The second thing we call you to, is to stop your oppression, lies, immorality and debauchery that has spread among you.

(i) You are the nation who, rather than ruling by the Shariah of Allah in its Constitution and Laws, choose to invent your own laws as you will and desire.

(3) What we call you to thirdly is to take an honest stance with yourselves - and I doubt you will do so - to discover that you are a nation without principles or manners, and that the values and principles to you are something which you merely demand from others, not that which you yourself must adhere to.

(4) We also advise you to stop supporting Israel, and to end your support of the Indians in Kashmir, the Russians against the Chechens and to also cease supporting the Manila Government against the Muslims in Southern Philippines.

(5) We also advise you to pack your luggage and get out of our lands. We desire for your goodness, guidance, and righteousness, so do not force us to send you back as cargo in coffins.

(6) Sixthly, we call upon you to end your support of the corrupt leaders in our countries. Do not interfere in our politics and method of education. Leave us alone, or else expect us in New York and Washington.

(7) We also call you to deal with us and interact with us on the basis of mutual interests and benefits, rather than the policies of sub dual, theft and occupation, and not to continue your policy of supporting the Jews because this will result in more disasters for you.

If you fail to respond to all these conditions, then prepare for fight with the Islamic Nation.

According to Osama bin Laden himself, al Qaeda is fighting to spread Islam. They demand we abandon our constitution and accept Islam. Isn't it amazing that Franken and Oliphant are suspicious of President Bush's motives and at the same time don't believe bin Laden when he says he hates Western culture?

Bin Laden wrote over two years ago how he hates our lifestyle and culture, and the Franken-phants thinks we are the problem. I'd like to know when the Franken-phants are going to give up their western culture and start facing east and pray?

Amazing Health News

Male circumcision cuts AIDS risk

Male circumcision reduces the risk that men will contract HIV through intercourse with infected women by about 70 percent, according to a study reported in The Wall Street Journal.

After discovering the dramatic results, French and South African researchers halted the study about nine months in order to offer the uncircumcised men the opportunity to undergo the procedure, the newspaper reported.

This may explain why heterosexual AIDS is so rampant in Africa yet rare in the U.S.

Vacation from the vacation

We came back from Las Cruces a couple of days ago. I needed to do finish a paper for school and we both thought a couple days of vacation from taking a vacation would be good.

Las Cruces was HOT! I did get to golf (and I use the term loosely) a couple of times. I should really practice and play more often. Maybe I could hit a ball that way.

How American are you?

You Are 89% American

You're as American as red meat and shooting ranges. Tough and independent, you think big. You love everything about the US, wrong or right. And anyone who criticizes your home better not do it in front of you!

How American Are You?

100 degree vacation

we're on our way to Las Cruces. This is no temperature for a vacation.

Aurora Mall to close

Aurora Mall in Aurora, Colorado (a suburb just east of Denver) has had a reputation for a gang problem for years. Last night the danger peaked in a shooting in the mall.

One person was shot and killed and two people were wounded after an argument escalated at the mall Tuesday night.

Police were able to immediately apprehend the suspects and recover the weapons suspected in the shootings.

I pray for the victims of the violence, that the family of the woman who was killed will be comforted in their grief and those wounded will recover.

The business owners in the mall will have a tough time coming up. Who wants to go to a mall where people get shot? Yeah, the mall will struggle on for years while sales drop. Still, if you were a business owner, would you open a store there? More importantly would you shop there?

We can't have people shooting others in public spaces with impunity and expect to remain a civilized society. These thugs didn't care who they shot. One of their victims was a woman in her 50s or 60s who got caught in the crossfire.

It's time for Aurora to get tough on gangs again.

Happy Father's Day Papa

The Perfect Man - movie review

Hillary Duff and Heather Locklear star in The Perfect Man. Hillary Duff plays Holly, the daughter of a single mother, Jean (Locklear). Jean is desperate to find a good man. When she dates, she has high expectations for a lasting relationship and gets heart broken when the boyfriend leaves. Jean moves her and her daughters to a new town after each relationship where the pattern starts over.

Holly decides she is tired of moving when they settle in Brooklyn. She comes up with a plan to invent a secret admirer for her mother who is the perfect man so that Jean will be happy and they won’t have to move again. Holly gets lessons from her friend’s uncle and restaurant owner Ben played by Chris Noth in how the perfect man would treat a woman.

Meanwhile, Holly meets a boy at school and experiences her first love.

The show stealing performance was from Mike O’Malley playing Lenny - an overly enthusiastic but inept suitor for Jean. His idea of romance was a Styx concert, one of the funniest scenes in the movie.

I was expecting a “chic flick” with an over-the-top romantic dating movie. It even has the obligatory girls-dancing scene. However, the movie was well acted and not overplayed. Movies like this have a tendency indulge in the teenage angst and focus on the tears of the characters. The Perfect Man managed to avoid that pitfall for the most part. The scenes of conflict between Holly and Jean were kept brief and not overly emotional which served to subtly emphasize the characters’ problems. Even the girls-dancing scene was mercifully short.

Girls-dancing scene

The biggest distraction in the movie came from the gay bartender at Ben’s restaurant. While some of his scenes were funny, the character did not have any impact on the plot and was irrelevant to the story. It seems the only reason he was in the movie at all was to provide a gay character. If not for his scenes where he comments on wanting to be with other men, the movie probably would have received a “G” rating.

This movie about women dating does have more to offer than a mere rehash of Mermaids or Sleepless in Seattle. The comedy is well done with good timing and the drama is not overplayed which offers a sense of realism.

3 stars (out of four)

Lab in a Saturn

Cowboy

What movie are you?

Turns out I'm Easy Rider. Is that a good thing?

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Renaissance Festival 2005

Went to the Ren Fest this past Saturday with a big group of friends. This is the first time we went in costume - gypsies. It was fun. The best part was when three of our group got on stage at the hypnotists show. Our gypsy king pretty much stole the show there when the hypnotist told him to act like a woman and he started doing stripper poses.


Get your geek on. 


The ladies! 

And Honeybun was looking good:

My Honeybun gypsy. 

Academic thought

Academics are frequently criticized for not having real-world knowledge. That is, they know all the theories and advise people on how they should run businesses or create policies, but have no real experience on what the consequences of implementing a policy would be.

Which brings me to the point. Last night I started the summer semester in a class on organizational communication. One of the authors, Eric M. Eisenberg, is a communications professor whose father was also a communications professor. In the About the Authors section, he noted a weakness in his experience:

Having been raised in a household with no links to corporate America, Eisenberg was intrigued by the possibility of learning about the "real world" of organizational communication.

Sounds like he realized he needed "real world" experience. He must have gone out into the corporate world and worked for large and small companies to develop first hand knowledge.
That sounds like a reasonable move. But Eisenberg decided the best way to get "real world" experience was to....go back to school!

Determined to become fluent in both management and communication, and under the expert guidance of Dr. Peter Monge, he immersed himself in management theory and practice, publishing work on organizational communication networks and superior-subordinate communications. Eisenberg received his doctorate in Communications from Michigan State university in 1982.

Eisenberg illustrates the logical flaw in academic thinking. The best way to get "real world" experience is self-evidently not to remove yourself from the real world. Yet for academics, it is the preferred method.

Jedi test

What kind of Jedi are you?
I'm a Jedi Master:

You are the best the Jedi have to offer. You have great wisdom and your combat abilities are hard to match. The Force is your ally, and it is useful to solve difficult problems, to help you push yourself to your limits and to accomplish seemingly impossible feats. Patience and inner strength have made you the person you are now.

You are the pinnacle of the Jedi Order.

Quiz of the Day

The Anchoress pointed me to this quiz about what wise quotes fit you. Here is my result:

*************
Your wise quote is: "The best antiques are old friends" by Unknown... Your buds is the source of your happiness (maybe not all but still). Even if it's just one, a couple or a whole group they are the ones you can't wait to see. It does not matter if you're shy with everyone else or not, with them you let your true spirit shine and can be as loud as you want. They accept you, and you love them for that.
What wise quote fits you?(pics) UPDATED
brought to you by Quizilla
*************

There are supposed to be some pics that go along with the answers, but they don't seem to be working at the moment.

Cinderella Man - movie review

Cinderella Man is the story of depression era boxer James J. Braddock played by Russell Crowe. In the late 1920’s, Braddock was a title contender living in comfort if not richness. After a loss in a title fight and nagging injuries, Braddock became a washed up boxer. The market crash left his investments worthless and his family destitute.

In the middle of the depression, Braddock got a second chance. After stepping into a high profile fight, Braddock got an unexpected chance to revive his boxing career and try for another title shot.

While boxing is a central point of the movie, the story really is about Braddock’s struggle to provide for his family during the depression and the problems they face as he has difficulty finding work when there are not enough jobs. At the same time, feeling as if he has failed his family, he wants to earn back their pride in him.

Renee Zellweger plays Braddock’s wife Mae who is torn between needing the money provided by boxing and the desire for her husband to be safe.

Crowe and Zellweger work well together on screen. They portray a couple who are deeply committed in their marriage and to their family. The movie depends on this relationship for its success. It is the catalyst for Braddock’s return to the ring and emotionally involves the audience in his story.

Honeybun commented this is a movie that has everything. She said, “it made me laugh and cry and even like boxing.”

The movie is rated PG-13 for some brutal boxing scenes. There are a couple times the movie seems formulaic such as an obligatory training scene with Braddock and a speed bag (reminiscent of Rocky movies). Honeybun also pointed out that Crowe had difficulty maintaining his Jersey accent throughout the film.

Even though centered on Braddock’s boxing come back, the movie succeeds on its story of James and Mae. This is a movie couples will enjoy. Best movie yet this year.

3 ½ stars

Be right once

Mark Cuban has a good thought on success in business - You only have to be right once.

He talks about all the jobs had and businesses he owned. After some failures and a lot of hard work, he became rich. At that point, he was told how "lucky" he was.

Work hard and eventually you will get "lucky".

Hate crime or hoax?

Someone has anonymously posted fliers around Southern Oregon University calling for the killing of homosexuals. School officials are "shocked". No one has claimed responsibility for the fliers. The creator(s) remain unknown.

In response to the publicity, SOU President Elisabeth Zinser has proposed a 10-point plan to combat hate-crimes. In doing so, Ms. Zinser is ignoring recent history - faking hate crimes. Michelle Malkin has been documenting this trend.

Before SOU goes on a homophobia witch-hunt, how about making sure the fliers aren't bogus.

Marketing thought of the day

If Doritos taste better now, did they taste worse before they were made 'Nacho Cheesier'?

Mila

How can such a cute kitty be such terror?

Homeless update

The Denver Commission to End Homelessness has set a lofty goal. They are going to end homelessness in Denver within 10 years through an approach that is popular with other cities. The focus of their plan is "Housing First". They believe that homelessness is caused by poverty. Therefore, if you give people a home, they will be able to solve their poverty.

A Rocky Mountain News editorial points out the problem with the program:

In Housing First, surprisingly, the homeless are not required to get treatment as a condition for housing, although the expectation is that they will once they are in a stable environment.

The housing first approach assumes that poverty leads to addiction. The Denver commision has it exactly backwards. The Rocky cites a well known Denver columnist's who investigated the homeless issue. He concluded that although problems like batterings, unemployment, and medical issues were listed as the official cause of homelessness there was a common element behind these problems - substance abuse.

This is why government is not the solution to these problems. Giving people a place to live rent free without requiring them to seek treatment for their substance abuse will do nothing to solve the homeless problem. It was not poverty that lead to homelessness and substance abuse. It was substance abuse that led to poverty and homelessness. Housing First only perpetuates the problem by enabling people to sustain their substance abuse inside government housing. We are going to end up with a government program that uses tax dollars to sustain poverty rather than solve it.

This is why I am for more private and faith based intervention programs like Step 13 in Denver. They don't take government money because the government will prevent them from requiring people to receive substance abuse treatment in their program.

Any program that hopes to be rehabilitate the homeless must first address substance abuse (or mental health) before it will be successful.

Lessons in fraud

Wendy's CEO Jack Schuessler published an article in the Wall Street Journal on lessons his company learned from the false claim of a fingertip being found in their chili. Mr. Schuessler pointed out the hoax led to a 50% drop in revenue in San Jose (where the claim was made). He also wrote about how it affected workers.

There was only one part of the article I found disingenuous.

It might have been expedient to pay off the accuser in an attempt to end the media onslaught--after all, that is the preferred form of capitulation in this trial-lawyer-driven age; but we never considered this option.

Mr Shuessler also compliments his customers who "appreciate the fact that we protected our brand and didn't simply try to "make it go away."

In reality, Wendy's did not have the option to buy their way out of it. Mr. Schuessler even explained why earlier in the article. "Within an hour [of the claim being made] the story was on TV news, and soon after, Wendy's was fodder for Jay Leno."

The news coverage was so massive that Wendy's had no choice but to fight it. If Wendy's had tried to pay off the woman making the accusation, the public would have taken that as an admission of guilt. The 50% drop in the San Jose area would have been nothing compared to the empty stores they would have had across the country.

Wendy's did do the right thing by not caving, but they really had no choice. The woman committing the fraud underestimated the uproar her claim would cause. The scope of the news coverage worked against her. This became clear when she dropped her planned lawsuit.

It was too late for her though; the damage was already done. Wendy's national reputation was hurt. At that point, the fight was not just to avoid a million dollar lawsuit. They were fighting for the life of their business. It wasn't about a million dollars. It was about the three billion dollars in revenue they earn each year.

Yes, Wendy's did the right thing in this case. I still wonder how many other lawsuits they settle instead of investigating.

DNC and rational thought

Last year, Republicans and most Democrats figured out that Howard Dean lost any sense of rational thought. He was considered the front runner to be the Democratic nominee for the presidential election when the wheels fell off his campaign and he let loose with the infamous “I have a scream”.

Apparently this made him ultimately qualified for his current position as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee where he continues to use the same rationality he had during his scream.

Dean doesn’t like Republicans. He has said he thinks they are evil. Of course evil people should be punished. Right now he has Republican House majority leader Tom Delay at the top of his list. Last week Howard Dean said, "I think Tom DeLay ought to go back to Houston, where he can serve his jail sentence.” The remark was made about an investigation by the House ethics committee.

Since Delay has not been charged with a crime, it seems Delay’s biggest offense must be that he is a Republican. When it comes to people who have committed terrorism against our country, Dean is much more thoughtful. During his run for President he was asked about Osama bin Laden. Dean said, "I've resisted pronouncing a sentence before guilt is found. I still have this old-fashioned notion that even with people like Osama . . . we should do our best not to, in positions of executive power, not to prejudge jury trials."

So Dean is convinced that a man who has not been charged with a crime should be in jail while we must not prejudge a terrorist who laughs about killing our citizens. It’s a sad day when Democrats think the Republican House majority leader is more evil than Osama bin Laden.

Remember, Dean is now the leader of the Democratic Party. His statements reflect the official party line. When did Democrats lose their ability to reason?

Not news of the day

Headline as it appeared on yahoo.com news

Latest 'Star Wars' movie a box-office hit

Catholic Faith and social issues

The Catholic Church acts in two ways to try to further its social agenda. The first is through Catholic Charities where the church acts through private donations to assist people in need. The second is by advocating government programs.

During the past few decades, Catholic voters have generally supported the Democratic Party. This is mostly because the Church has taken a position of supporting socialist policies such as welfare programs. For some reason, the Church has taken the position that the importance of helping the poor through government programs trumps the moral issues it advocates – specifically its pro-life and pro-family positions. Catholics have a history of voting for candidates who promise to "help the disadvantaged" while those same candidates advocate abortions or gay marriage.

Even if helping the poor was the more important issue, history has revealed problems with relying on government to fix it.

Government assistance does not work

People who receive from the government only come to rely on the government, not God.
Churches that advocate more government welfare are undermining their own witness. Welfare recipients don’t thank the taxpayers for what they receive. They come to believe the payments they get are a right and that taxpayers are obligated to support them.

The government does not hold people accountable for changing their lives. Did you know it is illegal for an organization that receives federal money to require the people they help stay off drugs? That is why groups like Step 13 in Denver who work with homeless and street people will not accept government funds. Because they require their clients stay off drugs, they change lives.

Churches should be self-reliant

By relying on the government, the church abandons its responsibilities. Europe shows that charitable giving and involvement decreases as people come to rely on the government for assistance. Look at the great Tsunami last year. Europeans criticized the size of the U.S. government’s contribution. They didn’t acknowledge the hundreds of millions of dollars private citizens donated. These contributions dwarfed those of European countries. Europeans private contributions were nothing compared to the generosity of Americans. It is a natural tendency for Europeans not to give since they believe they are already giving through the tax collector.

Reliance on government only hurts the soul. People that receive aren’t grateful; they will change their behavior only reluctantly.

People that are forced to pay the taxes are not involved in the lives of the people they are supporting. They have no influence to improve the behavior of those getting the benefits.

The Catholic Church is large enough to have a great impact on the world. If it were to use its own resources instead of abandoning some of its mission to the government, it could change even more lives.