Right As Usual

I've been watching some immigration stories unfold: A U.S. Border Patrol agent who fatally shot a Mexican illegal entrant in January has been charged with murder by the Cochise County Attorney who said Monday that the shooting was not justified. On Monday, Cochise County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer filed a complaint against agent Nicholas Corbett charging him with four counts of homicide: first-degree and second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide. Monday's filing comes more than three months after Corbett, 39, shot and killed Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera, 22, of Puebla, Mexico, on Jan. 12 about 150 yards north of the border between Bisbee and Douglas. The shooting occurred while Corbett was trying to apprehend Dominguez Rivera and three others who were trying to enter the country illegally. The organization that represents agents disagrees. The decision is a part of a nationwide pattern of politically motivated prosecutions against Border Patrol agents, said Br...

Via http://liberalismisinsanity.blogspot.com/2007/04/inconvenient-truth-about-californias.html ">Liberalism's Insanity , I found some fascinating information about the status of California's immigration situation. Despite what common sense and responsible governance would dictate, San Francisco Mayor San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom continues to declare The City to be a "sanctuary city," and vehemently opposes federal raids to ferret out illegal aliens who have violated deportation orders. Mayor Newsom even went so far as to say, "I will not allow any of my department heads or anyone associated with this city to cooperate in any way, shape or form with these raids." Thanks a lot, Mayor. You DO realize that it's CITIZENS that elected you (we HOPE no illegals were part of the process)? Our desires and wishes take precedence over the illegals, every time.

I've been reading about the shootings at Virginia Tech. There are those that use the incidents as a rallying cry to Take Away Guns From Law-abiding Citizens! - forgetting that VTech was already a Gun-Free Zone. Or not. It's probably fairer to call it a Disarmed Zone for Law-Abiding, Sensible Citizens. Otherwise known as a free-fire zone. There seem to be only 2 solutions: Lock up the crazies. So many people who encountered Cho knew him to be "off" at best. He had been ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation (I would LOVE to see the report from that psychiatrist - he or she must be squirming now). But, our society has deemed it a violation of rights to lock up such obviously insane and dangerous people. It would be non-PC to single him out for involuntary committment. Instead, 32 people lost their right to life. Which brings me to Stop taking away people's guns, short of a felony conviction, or history of drunkenness or other instability. An armed populac...

Wow! The above link is to some of Ernie Pyle's columns. What is amazing is that they could have been written yesterday - the politics of much of the world has not changed much. This column on the North Africa campaign could have been written yesterday, with the words "French" and "German" changed to "Iraqi" and "insurgent".

Via SondraK, I found these very funny versions of science laws, filtered through political bias . Since I teach science, they're even funnier. It's a geek thing, you wouldn't understand.

I've been terribly lax lately about updating this blog. I have only a ridiculously hectic schedule (and more than a little personal sloth) to blame for it. My take on current events: The Duke trio has been let loose. Unfortunately, they still linger under a cloud, according to those for whom it's impossible to believe that those privileged white males aren't guilty of SOMETHING! Too bad there isn't a law on the books against that - perhaps LWW - Living While White? The Imus stupidities have dominated the headlines far too long. Yeah, he was deliberately insulting and obnoxious - what an unusual activity for celebrities! Get over it, ladies. By beating on the issue with melodramatic swoons, you make yourself look ridiculous. So he called you names - so what? Did you respect his opinion before? So what's changed? The bigger issue is the fact that Sharpton, Jackson, et al, aren't holding black men and women to the same standards. If the words are offensive...

I have a confession to make. My hit counter, for the last few months, has been averaging over 200 hits a day. At first, I was excited. Yippee, I've been found, and blogstardom is right around the corner. Then, I checked the referring page, and I plummeted right back to Earth. It turns out that the site they were seeking was related to this: The funny thing is, the original post didn't celebrate the tattooed female - quite the contrary - I find them annoying on women - another wannabee pseudo-male thing that women have latched onto, in an attempt to be "tough". "But they're so attractive!" - no, they're not. Virtually universal among porn stars, girls-gone-wild, minor-celebrities like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Anna Nicole Smith, and girls with no career ambitions, they signal "I'm so boring that I have to permanently disfigure myself to provide a conversational starter". What's next?

I just spent the most frustrating hour of my life, since I tried to "reason" with a 2-year-old (or a teenager, same thing). Some things, while theoretically possible, are not, really. I was in a customer service loop - you know the kind: Call the phone number Work your way through a L-O-O-O-N-G list of choices, which then send you to the next list, then the next. FINALLY talk to a person (to be fair, English-speaking, and not apparently from another country). Be told that another department is needed. Don't worry, the helpful service person will transfer you, but, to be sure, here's the number. Call is dropped. Call the number, only to get right back in the loop. I'm a slow learner. It took 2 tries before I said, "I don't want the automated number, I want a real person". Customer service person sweetly assures me I will reach a person. She lied. I got right back in the Circle of Hell. 4th try - I did get a person, who helped me right to the poin...

I found the Winston Churchill quote on Sharp Knife . Noel can be found there, and at Cold Fury .

Due to extensive work on my husband's part (he really is a stubborn man), we finally have our riding lawn mower working. We spent most of the afternoon working to clear the foot-high lawn. It wasn't that bad this time - I had my husband and eldest daughter helping.