Right As Usual

Professor Bainbridge has an intriguing poll: If Dick Cheney Resigns, Who Should Bush Pick as the Next VP? Now, I'm not suggesting that Cheney quit, as has been rumored. Frankly, the rumors strike me as wishful thinking. But, if the VP slot were open for ANY reason, who would you chose? I submitted my choice, and was VERY surprised that the far and away leading pick was C. Rice. My guy, Guiliano, was below the double-digits. Why would I want Rudy? Well, my belief is that the VP in such a case would have a serious leg up on the next election. And he's the guy I'd support, basically because he's a guy who isn't afraid to buck the established wisdom, and he's a tough-minded SOB (I say that affectionately). I don't believe that America can afford to elect anyone who seems to be waffling on foreign policy or security issues. It's pretty clear that Islamicists would hesitate to take on Rudy. They know he'd have no hesitation about punching back. Wh...

When sexual species reproduce asexually, they accumulate bad mutations at an increased rate, report two Indiana University Bloomington evolutionary biologists in this week's Science. The researchers used the model species Daphnia pulex, or water flea, for their studies. The finding supports a hypothesis that sex is an evolutionary housekeeper that adeptly reorders genes and efficiently removes deleterious gene mutations. The study also suggests sexual reproduction maintains its own existence by punishing, in a sense, individuals of a species that meander into asexuality. I can just imagine the scientist persuading his significant other to turn off the computer and come to bed. Tags = Science

The school district of Elmwood Park, IL, has a major problem. After asking 2 potential students about their immigration status, the state, under pressure from state board Chairman Jesse Ruiz, took away their state funding, and suspended their sports teams from competing: "As the son of a Mexican American who was here illegally for eight years, you would have denied me an education,'' an angry Ruiz told Elmwood Park officials during the board's monthly meeting. "You are not supposed to discriminate against any children based on any immigration status.'' Immigration questions shouldn't even be asked during enrollment, he said. So, if I understand that "reasoning" correctly, because your daddy was a lawbreaker, we need to ignore the laws of our country? District 401 was attempting to comply with federal regulations about temporary B-52 visas - districts are not supposed to let them attend school. Ironically, one kid, whose B-52 had expired, wa...

Via another SC blogger, Jason Trommetter , a Perl coder, I found Blogmarks . They seem to work sorta like Blogrolling, with some differences. I've just started playing with them, and may eventually use it in place (or in addition - you can never have too much redundancy, you know) of Blogrolling. Mail me any comments if you end up playing around with it. Tags = Technology

I noticed that a user of Stickam had visited me, and I was curious about what it was, so I followed the link. If you look at the media player (purple tech skin) on the sidebar, you'll see the Stickam player. I'm going to play around with it for a few weeks, and report back on whether it's worth the landscape. After all, now that I have the MP3 player, I need to start getting more into the multimedia world. Tags = Technology

I was avoiding my grading virtuously and diligently searching out worthy blog posts to comment upon, when I re-read Bill Whittle's Sanctuary post . Please, if you haven't ever read it, stop right here and do so. When I finished, I almost felt like packing up this blog - why do I bother, when there are those people who absolutely blow me away to do so much better in this medium? Almost. Because the beauty of blogs is that it's an opportunity to take a look around from the inside of someone else's thinking, unmediated by an editor. And, good as Bill is, he can't have the same stuff inside his head as I do - different sex, different experiences, different temperament. Sanctuary is a long post about the tremendous gift we in America have all been given. And then, on the way to my stunning girlfriend’s apartment to bitch about how unfair life was treating me, I saw a fairly common sight in Los Angeles. I saw a group of young Mexican men gathered on a street corner, ...

Take a close look at the woman below. Her name is Marianne van den Anker. She is a "health" official in Holland, who wants the people of CERTAIN groups to be forced to have abortions - for their own good, of course: The target groups for her program are Antillean teenage mothers; drug addicts and people with mental handicaps, she said, according to a report in Expatica. According to the report, Van den Anker said children from these groups run an "unacceptable risk" of growing up without love and with "violence, neglect, mistreatment and sexual abuse." Well, we can't risk that, can we? The MSM can't be bothered with this story. WorldNetNews is the only major paper I've seen that thinks the story is important. CNN has room to feature the video clip about "The Curse of the Athletic Woman" - which, BTW, is that - horrors - it causes eating disorders! Compared with being forced to undergo a medical procedure designed to rip a wanted...

From the Ohio News Now site: An argument over toilet paper turned deadly in Florida. Marion County authorities say a man accused of fatally beating his roommate initially denied doing it, then later confessed. According to an affidavit, the man told investigators he and his roommate were arguing because there was no toilet paper in the house. He says the roommate pulled out a gun, so he beat the man with a sledgehammer and a claw hammer. Detectives say the victim was beaten so badly he had to be identified through his fingerprints Well, I've been the one sitting on the porcelain, without a shred of paper to complete the job, so I have SOME sympathy. I guess the headline on this one should be: Guns don't kill people, sledgehammers and claw hammers kill people Courtesy of A Face Made 4 Radio, A Voice Made 4 the Internet Tags = Stupid People

Very Smart You scored 79% knowledge, and 6% confusion You are very smart. You know a lot of details about the world. You have probably traveled a bit and were paying attention along the way. Also, you didn't choose any (or many) seriously incorrect answers. Great job on that part. Don't forget to vote on this test! My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender : You scored higher than 10% on knowledge You scored higher than 74% on confusion Link: The World Geography Knowledge Test written by dowland2005 on Ok Cupid , home of the 32-Type Dating Test Tags = Geography

Mischa has a link to a worthy cause - a drive to support the Danes . Christopher Hitchens state the case forthrightly: the question of Denmark: a small democracy, which resisted Hitler bravely and protected its Jews as well as itself. Denmark is a fellow member of NATO and a country that sends its soldiers to help in the defense and reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan. And what is its reward from Washington? Not a word of solidarity, but instead some creepy words of apology to those who have attacked its freedom, its trade, its citizens, and its embassies. For shame. Surely here is a case that can be taken up by those who worry that America is too casual and arrogant with its allies. Has the civilized world learned nothing from history? The tyrants and bullies must be firmly dealt with early - failure leads them to wrongly conclude that they are the Next Great Thing - and the ghosts of Holocaust victims can bear witness to that kind of mistake. As Julia Roberts said in "Pret...

I just read in CNN about the continuing violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The civilian population has taken refuge on "floating islands". Daniel Augstburger, the head of the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Congo, said many people had taken refuge on islands formed by clumps of papyrus plants floating on lakes in Katanga's Upemba National Park. Technically, it appears that it's not officially a war - previously, the Congolese soldiers fought Rwandan-backed rebel forces - but it sure looks like one to me: "Both sides are living off the backs of the population -- there is total impunity. There are attacks, murders, mutilation and pillaging," Augstburger said. "There are now more than 120,000 who are displaced in Mitwaba," an area 400 km (250 miles) north of the Lubumbashi, the capital of copper-rich Katanga. Congo is home to 17,000 U.N. peacekeepers, making it the world body's largest peac...

I just checked my site - the blogroll is missing. I really depend on it, too. I probably should back it up, just in case this happens again. Now, I've got to go to a site that will have links up, so I can catch up on my reading. What, you thought I was too busy posting to read others? No way! Tags = Blogging

Normally, I find returning home after a visit with my family depressing. I miss them, and it can be very hard to be so far away from them. However, this time, my husband and I talked (well, we talk every time) about his coming to SC earlier than originally planned. I should know sometimes around Easter what his plans are. I'm crossing my fingers. I'm also enjoying the new home. It's nice to be coming home to a place you like to be in. Tags = Personal

I've been reading The Bourne Identity - very good, quite engrossing. I really can't believe that I never read any of the Bourne novels. However, after a slightly puzzling first chapter, I caught on to enough of the storyline to enjoy the rest immensely. I've added a link to the sidebar - click if you want to buy. I'll admit, I'm part of the associate program - I'll get some small amount of money if enough of you do. It seemed like a good idea, since I already spend my retirement money on reading material. Tags = Books

Thanks to a Cotillion post , I found the following: Gianna Jessen's mother was seven-and-a-half months pregnant when it was decided to abort the foetus she was carrying. A saline solution was injected into Gianna's mother's womb, which doctors thought would kill the foetus within hours. This time, most unusually, the procedure failed and Gianna was born alive, thanks in part to a shocked nurse. She was so taken aback by Gianna's live delivery that she summoned an ambulance to whisk her from the abortion clinic to the hospital. She weighed only two pounds at birth and needed to stay in hospital for nearly three months. In an ironic twist of fate the abortionist had to sign her birth certificate. I've posted a copy of the sturdy survivor below. She's in London, telling her story, and trying to make inroads in the pro-abortion culture. Lots of luck, kid, since people like Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, have this to say: ther...

I'm a few hours early for the weekly post - I'm still a little tired from my weekend trip. The news from Toledo is grim and gives me the shivers (via A Face Made 4 Radio, A Voice Made 4 the Internet. Both the situation with the KindHearts charity (using the pretext of fulfilling Muslim charitable committments to send money to terrorists), and the 4 Toledo residents (guess which religion?) who plotted to attack Iraqi and US military personnel - they've just been indicted in federal court I feel grateful that this was nipped in the bud. But, I have to worry that others may still be plotting. Tags = Immigration

From the Plain Dealer, a Cleveland-area newspaper Federal agents seized the offices of KindHearts - a Toledo-based Muslim charity- on Sunday while the U.S. government simultaneously ordered U.S. banks to freeze KindHearts' assets during an investigation into possible terrorism funding. Well, I can't say that I'm surprised. It's like killing a hydra - the mythical many-headed creature. Each time Hercules chopped off one head, two more appeared. The way he finally prevailed, was to cauterize the wound left at the base of the head each time. Maybe we have to do the same - each time, tie up the funds of the individuals involved, keep them in court fighting to get the money back, and, incidentally, occupy the lawyers involved. Tags = News and Politics

Jane Galt of Asymmetrical Information is amazing - her posts, though not as frequent as I would like, are always pithy and pungent. Once you're living in a Western democracy, it's all frigging quibbling." By the standards of history, the homeless guy sleeping on the church steps next to my building is rich beyond dreams of avarice1. Whether we get a few more bucks for Medicare, or HSA's, just doesn't . . . well . . . matter very much. Yet to go by the picture you get from the media, the four horsemen are ever saddled up and ready to ride. Tags = Culture

I'm trying to remember to post on Immigration/Homeland Security topics on Wednesday, but, due to the recent move, I just didn't get around to it. But, here's a link I think we should all make good use of - it allows you to send a free fax to Congress (hopefully, you'll use that ability to target illegal immigration). I found it on Backcountry Conservative . Tags = Immigration

  I'm uploading another Danish flag, since the one I have is really too small. I'll add it to the sidebar later. 

For those who are not teachers, a dirty little secret exists about taking a day or two off from the job. We work very hard NOT to take them, because it's really more work to NOT go to work than to show up, however impaired with germs. If a teacher takes a day off, we have to prepare the lesson plans (in fact, OVER-plan, since we never know just who will be taking over our job that day. We also have to write very detailed instructions, print out class lists (a bigger job when the kids change classes), put away all stuff you don't want to walk away (hey, what can I say, some kids are a little light-fingered), and take away the keyboard (teachers who don't do that last are likely to come back to find the keyboard - shall we say, different) and mouse (I've had mouses mice given an orchidectomy). But, I had an opportunity to attend a Forensic Science workshop in Cleveland, and, (some of you have already figured this out) also visit my dear family in the same place over a ...

I spent most of the evening on tech support - the DSL was installed in the new place, the kit was there, but it took many tries to get the Internet installed correctly. However, all's well... Not so with the Vice-President, however. I'm not sure what the press is going ballistic about: As reporters scold the White House for skimming on the details, Democrats also called on the vice president to be more forthcoming. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., urged Cheney to hold a press conference, which he has not done since 2002. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., accused the administration of being the most secretive in "modern history." "Talk about secrecy, the vice president accidentally shoots someone and keeps that a secret for nearly a day. That man, of course, is now very sick," Reid said. Cheney's office said that he had been informed around 12:30 p.m. EST that hospital officials were going to hold a 1 p.m. press conference. When the vice president re...

As I see it, the best way to respond to the over-the-top excesses of the Muslim rioters protestors is not to give them fuel for their unwarranted rage (i.e., publishing the cartoons), but to expose the world to the hypocrisy of the Islamic world, including: the grotesque caricatures of Christians and, most especially, Jews that are broadcast throughout the Middle East on a daily basis? The sermons on Palestinian TV that refer to Jews as the sons of pigs and monkeys? The Syrian prime-time TV series that shows rabbis slaughtering a gentile boy to ritually consume his blood? The 41-part (!) series on Egyptian TV based on that anti-Semitic czarist forgery (and inspiration of the Nazis), "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," showing the Jews to be engaged in a century-old conspiracy to control the world? Show them for the mealy-mouthed hypocrites they are. I know that most Westerners have no knowledge of the depth of the bigotry that exists in the Islamic culture. We need to h...

I finally closed on the house. The next few days are going to be a lot of moving, cleaning (old place and new place) and arranging and organizing. So, don't expect very many posts, and certainly not anything long. I'll upload some pictures once I've had a chance to take some. Tags = Personal

If you check out the lettering of the riot protest signs below (previous posts), you'll notice something striking - they seem to have been lettered by the same hand. Particularly the "s" letters. I'm guessing that they're mass produced using a "crude" font. Anyone seen that particular font before?

   

   

   

Do these guys look sufficiently alike that you might confuse them? Apparently, it happens a lot. Some might charge racism, others think that two young, light-skinned black men might reasonably be called by the wrong name occasionally. You decide.

   

You've got to see the cartoon on LGF's site . It explains why the West doesn't "get" the major disrespect to Islam shown by the cartoons. Tags = News and Politics

I was out of town Tuesday, wasn't able to get Internet (can you believe lodgings that don't include wireless?), so, I've been a little out of the loop. Network news told me very little; I had to check out the web last night to get caught up. It's pretty clear that the recent "spontaneous Muslim reactions" to the cartoon "provacation" were carefully planned and organized. One of the best explanations for their occurrence is from Civitas , who explains: the likely decision today in Vienna by the International Atomic Energy Agency to report Iran to the UN Security Council for continuing with its programme of nuclear research. If that decision should occur, when the UN Security Council gets round to considering what form of sanctions to impose on Iran, guess to whom chairmanship of the Council will have passed. You’ve got it... plucky little Denmark.Suddenly, the pieces fall into shape. The rumpus suddenly escalated, complete with fabricated offensive ...

I've added Meg's Musings to the Blogroll. I found her on The Cafeteria is Closed . She had commented on something I'd noticed - the apparent crude lettering on many of the signs is, to my eyes, created by the same hand. I'm deeply suspicious of the "spontaneity" of the outraged Muslims. It seems to be a HIGHLY coordinated set of events. Tags = Leftist Riots

  Lest I forget, I'm going to be adding this to my sidebar. I'm actually of Irish, English, German, and Dutch descent, but, WTH, when it comes to standing up to terrorism, we're all Danish. 

See the image below? It's Helena Houdova, a Czech model. Why am I featuring her on this post? Because, when touring Castro's Island Paradise , she took photos of Havana's slums. That's a no-no in those Communist Paradises. So, she was arrested, and her film confiscated. However, the quick-thinking young woman saved the digital memory card - in her brassiere. Story originally found on JunkYard Blog Sometimes, when the media keeps featuring the stupid and narcissistic, not to mention the outright criminal thugs they hold up as "role models", I think it's important to point out young people who have higher values, and who act on them. The photos Houdova saved will be included in an exhibition she plans to organize together with People in Need, a Czech humanitarian relief organization that has supported Cuba's pro-democracy opposition. The exhibition would portray Cuba’s beautiful scenery but also highlight its political oppression, Houdova disclosed. ...

Gib was a Cleveland, OH sportscaster. He was good, and very popular for many years. But it's the flag incident that most people remember best: Some people will always remember Gib Shanley for the Iranian flag incident in November 1979. Of course, he hasn't forgotten it either. A story ran on the 6:00 news about an Iranian burning the American flag. Gib was irate on two fronts, first that an Iranian was using the privileges of our constitution to destroy our flag and second that Americans stood by and watched it happen. He knew the story was scheduled to repeat at 11:00, and he knew he had to do something. He tried to talk Don Webster into doing something with him, but they couldn't really come up with the appropriate reaction. As the story aired at eleven he got angrier and angrier, and without thinking, when the camera came to him he grabbed the Iranian flag they had on the set and set it on fire! The burning flag and Shanley were only on camera for 12 seconds, but it wi...

Aw, Francis, my man, you're in rare form with this one . Leave it to you to spank the striped-pants brigade, and leave a mark: The United States is a highly significant nation in many ways, but most significant in international and symbolic terms for this: we represent uncompromising principles of liberty and justice. We'll go to war to uphold and maintain them; indeed, we've gone to war several times to bring them to others. The other free and semi-free nations of the world point to us as their icon, the land where the ideals to which they've pledged themselves were born and are best defended. The impact of equivocation from the State Department, or any bastion of high federal officialdom, on something as fundamental as freedom of speech could be internationally disastrous. Dear President Bush: Please issue a definitive statement of absolute, unconditional support for Denmark as soon as possible. And kindly instruct those striped-pants clowns at State to keep thei...

This is insulting to Christianity. However, I am not overcome with the urge to gather all my friends together, and storm the gates of the "art" gallery. The artist, Tafa, is pictured below on the left. Lest you think the resemblance to OBL was unintentional, WiredNewYork's Morry Alter talked to Tafa, and asked about that: On the phone with me, the artist declined to do an on-camera interview, telling me the work speaks for itself, but adding, the resemblance to Bin Laden was no accident. His bio: Born in Ghana, West Africa, Tafa obtained a bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. In 1991, he moved to New York City. With vision and energy, Tafa´s expression continues to grasp the core of life, song, motion, and truth. Well, SOME people like his work. The Eickholt Gallery has this to say about Tafa: Born in Ghana, West Africa, TAFA's sensibilities are informed by the vibrancy and rhythms o...

I read of the State Department's apparent caving into PC pressure, and forgoing a long-held committment to human rights from All Headline News : State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper says, “These cartoons are indeed offensive to the belief of Muslims. We all fully recognize and respect freedom of the press and expression, but it must be coupled with press responsibility. Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable.” Where to start? Well, first I checked out the State Department's web site, and found the directory: OFFICE OF PRESS RELATIONS (PA/PRS) Director Tom Casey Chief Press Relations Serv. Julie Reside Press Officer for SA, AID, L, PRM, D Nancy Beck Press Officer for NEA, AC, NP, PM, VC, P Susan Pittman Press Officer for EUR, A, DGHR, IRM, RM, M Brenda Greenberg Press Officer for EAP, CA, EB, H, IO, E Louis J. Fintor Press Officer for SA, INL, INR, OES, G Amanda Batt Press Officer for NEA, ECA, IIP, M/OBO, S/CPR, R Joanne C. Mo...

You have an opportunity to fight the pro-censorship American Library Association , by just clicking the link. Add your vote to those who think the ALA is weaseling on condemning Castro's jailing of those who create private libraries. Here's the problem (via Babalu Blog , who gave the link to the FAWs from Friends of Cuban Libaries . In response to a public statement by President Fidel Castro that "There are no prohibited books in Cuba, only a lack of money to purchase them," Cuba's first independent library, named in honor of Felix Varela, was opened in 1998 in the city of Las Tunas. The Felix Varela Library was established in the apartment of Berta Mexidor, an economist, and her husband, Ramon Colas, a psychologist. Approximately 100 independent libraries, located in the homes of volunteers, now flourish in Cuba despite an unprecedented campaign of harassment, threats, intimidation, police raids, arrests, physical assaults, evictions and confiscations. Most o...

Rick Sanchex is covering the issue of immigration from CNN . While I watch little TV, it might be worth seeing what he has to say. He updates on Anderson Cooper's blog. Tags = Immigration

The issue of immigration isn't just a matter of big, bad, anti-Latino bigots against the desperately poor, humble foreigner, eager to breathe the air of freedom and opportunity. A bigger issue is whether we, the tax-paying citizens of the USA, have a right to control our own borders. By controlling our borders, we can better protect our own citizens from harm. Otherwise, we leave ourselves open to IMPORTING TERROR AND CRIME . A federal task force seized arsenals of illegal weapons and homemade bombs in Laredo, Texas, in connection with a Mexican drug trafficking battle, authorities said Friday. The feds captured more than 30 homemade bombs, grenade components, assault weapons, silencers, machine gun assembly kits, bulletproof vests, police scanners and cash, Julie Myers, assistant secretary of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in a statement. Along with the Latinos and others who just want to be able to get work, a loose border also tempts the evil. When our borders...

From Business 2.0, A study by the University of London's Institute of Psychiatry, commissioned by Hewlett-Packard, finds that "an average worker's functioning IQ falls 10 points when distracted by ringing telephones and incoming e-mails ... more than double the four-point drop seen following studies on the impact of smoking marijuana." So, let me get this straight, it would be better to have a stoned kid nodding off in class than one chained to his/her cellie? And, we all know just how ready to learn and motivated the average toker is. Tags = Technology

From Fox News, this report: the Labor Department report showed the January unemployment rate dropped to a 4-1/2-year low 4.7 percent from 4.9 percent in December. The last time the rate was lower was in July 2001 when it was at 4.6 percent. The closely watched monthly report reflected a relatively vigorous labor market that was likely to fan concern that a tightening labor market could produce stiffer wage demands. What I'm finding a little confusing is that Fox News also posted this news: The number of U.S. workers making new claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week to 283,000, the government said on Thursday, although a more reliable long-term measure of claims fell to its lowest in 5-1/2 years. The Labor Department said initial claims for state jobless aid rose 11,000 in the week ended Jan. 21 from an upwardly revised 272,000 the prior week. Wall Street economists had forecast initial claims would rise to 305,000 from the initially reported 271,000 the previous...

I've not been hugely into Jack Bauer. It's not that I don't like the show, it's just that I haven't a TV right now (that situation should shortly be rectified, once I close on my house). So, a lot of the excitement about the "24" show has passed me by. However, I really like these Fun Facts about Jack Bauer . Found on The Llama Butchers , courtesy of the always wonderful Beth, at Yeah, Right, Whatever . Tags = Humor

Kevin McGehee of Yippee-Ki-Yay! has the ULTIMATE answer to the question of whether global warming really does exist. Take my word for it. Tags = Science

Sometimes, Jane Galt makes me giggle. Like today, posting about the Democratic voting down Social Security reform: Memo to Dems: if the American voter wanted sullen, rebellious adolescents in Congress, they would have sent their own, if for no other reason than to get them out of the basement. Alas, the situation seems to be on permanent "Let's ignore it and maybe it'll go away" status. Guys, act like men (and women). Suck it up, and tell Granny and Gramps that the GOOOOOD times are over. No more raises; no more new entitlements; and maybe, just maybe, we'll still have a few dimes left for the trailing Baby Boomers. I should be so lucky. Tags = News & Politics