Friday, August 20, 2010

Hither and thither 8/20/10

Got a good 'un for your weekend today, friends and neighbors. As usual, possible updates until noon PT. Now, let's launch! It's Friday!


  • Kind of funny, in a dark way: psychic news. The "good" news: the psychic found a body. The "bad": it was the wrong body. Oopsie.
  • Still, gotta say: more impressive that what modern wannabe's try to pass off as prophecy or "word of whatever" (e.g. "The Lord is touching someone with a backache....")
  • Square circles...er, Thin fat people... er, Dry water.... er, Up down... no no no: "Gay" marriage update: the good news is that the insanity has been stayed; the bad news is that it has been stayed so the 9th Circuit could review it — and they're seriously nuts. (For instance, they just discovered a right to lie.)
  • On that same subject, I think Robert Knight (in distinction to a surprising number of Christians and otherwise-conservatives) takes the issue appropriately seriously, sees some of the ramifications, and suggests a course of action. Needs more thought and detail, but at least he's trying.

  • Nationally and politically, a bit of help may be on the way. Michael Barone surveys polls and analyses suggesting that House Dems may be heading for the worse (for them; good for us) election in over sixty years. Further, Mark Hemingway notes a poll that usually under-represents the GOP which shows a seven-point generic-ballot lead for the GOP. So, many analysts are having to revise GOP Senatorial prospects 'way up. They're calling it an "anti-incumbent mood," but I think that's off. Even our own Barbara Boxer is struggling; while I don't love the phrase "Senator Carly Fiorina," I do love me some "ex-Senator Barbara Boxer."
  • To try to offset this, the MSM wing of the DNC will keep talking about "mood" and "anti-incumbency," and will minimize the issues driving the Dems' fading hopes. They will back any plan the DNC throws, including their preference for personal attacks over discussion of issues. (I expect this from Boxer, who first won her office by personal attacks on the infinitely-more-qualified Bruce Herschensohn.)

  • Irony Can Be Pretty Ironic Alert: remember how Obama has blamed Bush for everything, how his supporters say Bush ruined America, created terrorists, made our enemies hate us worse, called him "Chimpy McBushHitler"? Funny thing, life. Now folks from that same crowd wants Bush to come back and save their waffling messiah, by weighing in to support the mosque at Ground Zero. Suddenly Bush is credible to them.
  • But Bush shouldn't. It is not for nothing that Limbaugh calls it the "Hamasque."  It's become a cause-celebre for some liberals to strike their pose of (faux) tolerance. Nancy Pelosi gives a peek the real, ugly face of liberalism, as she calls for "looking into" (!) the funding of Hamasque critics.
  • Just 'twixt you and me, my fear is that Bush will do it. He always had a soft spot for granting misplaced assists to America's domestic enemies.

  • Don't forget, by the way, that Imam Rauf, immediately after 9/11, partially blamed America for the murderous attack, calling it an "accomplice," and saying bin Laden was "made in the USA." But he wants us to think this mosque is all about peace and reconciliation and wonderfulness. Riiight.
  • Similarly: some cartoons make you laugh, some make you think. This one makes a point, and makes my heart hurt. (Thanks for the link, Al.)
  • "Be productive! Save!" says the 0 administration. And if you do? They'll tax you more. Brilliant. Like spanking your kid for earning an A. Brilliant, brilliant. Gotta go to Harvard to think like that.
  • Here's another reason why people who love Palin, love Palin. It started when Emily's List, an organization dedicated to painting all women as bloodthirsty child-murderers above all things, started running these inane "Sarah doesn't speak for me." Palin Tweeted, "Who hijacked term:'feminist'? A cackle of rads who want 2 crucify other women w/whom they disagree on a singular issue; it's ironic (& passé)." Brilliant. And how do libs respond? By whining about Palin's use of the word "cackle." No, really, I'm not kidding. That woman is a dead-eye sharp-shooter.
  • Oh, on Palin: remember how the elitists and O-bots sneered and squealed when she talked about "death camps"? Well, check this out. (Thanks for the tip, Fred.)
  • Wow. If a "business owner" tried anything like this in America, he'd find out pretty quick who really owns his business. (Link thanks to Laura Kelleher.)
  • The good news: "Science" says we all share a common mother. (Something about midichlorians, or something.) The bad news: they get everything else wrong.
  • Another asinine court ruling sparked by dysangelistic atheists. Don't skip this: "First erected in 1998, monuments were paid for with private funds and erected only with the permission of the troopers' families." (Thanks for the lead, Aaron; and M-e-r-r-i-l-e-e sent me the same.)
  • Now, here's a list that has my readers written all over it.
  • Pizza... a health food? (Thanks to Berry Davis for the link.)
  • I am pretty sure that this is not a health food. (Thanks to reader RandomCreativity for the tip.)
  • A coworker pointed out this map of Australia. (Rupert can confirm accuracy.)

  • Ever wonder how Jelly Belly comes up with its flavors? Wonder no more.
  • Wow. Whoever rated Sacramento as one of America's most underrated cities definitely looks for something different than what I look for. Who did this list? Oh. Huffington Post. Never mind.
  • And now, a Star Wars quadruple-header:
  • SW fans will geek out at this life-sized TIE interceptor. 
  • Reader Barbara found some very cool Star Wars cakes.
  • Speaking of Star Wars (?), care to see some easily-pleased fans? Right here.
  • Best of all: do you remember that fans had undertaken a project to redo all of Star Wars in 15-second segments? Well, it's completed. While they're working out legal issues, you can see one complete sequence (including an in-poor-taste bit, unfortunately), and the 50 favorite scenes (watch for Alfalfa, Sheriff Woody, Legos... and Wilhelm!).
  • Score a victory for pro-life free speech in schools.
  • So: government reeducation-camp students cheat in math competitions. The solution? Ban homeschoolers. Seriously, I can't make this stuff up.
  • Goodness, what a horrible and dangerous time to have an inept, unqualified, clueless, God-defying president with misplaced loyalties. Exhibit A, and Exhibit B. If only those who inflicted him on the world received the consequences individually; but by their folly, the endangered a country, and the world. Which leads us to a....
  • Nostalgic moment: remember when we had a president who even occasionally could handle numbers rationally?
  • Ironically, a British writer nails it in ten reasons why the Obama presidency is tanking. The major quibble that leapt out to me, however, is with #1: " The Obama presidency is out of touch with the American people." I would say "openly contemptuous of." Our keepers know so much better than we what is good for us, why should they bother with the buzz of the hoi polloi?
  • A church-worker in Durham, UK, is Twittering the Bible a chapter a day.
  • Mainly for our beloved English Muffin. But you can look, too.
  • Now let's get just plain graphical:












26 comments:

Kay said...

Loving the cake - just made one myself, only without the eyestalk. Or the globes. Or the.. oh, alright I just baked a flat one, but I might ice the word 'dalek' on it.

Chris H said...

When I was in high school, one of my friends wore a shirt that had a picture of a garbage can and read, "Is this any place for a child? God gave woman a womb, not a tomb."

She was called to the office and asked to turn it inside out for the rest of the day, and not wear it again. She replied that she would comply only when all of the pot-leaf, Jack Daniels, Rob Zombie, etc shirts were also treated the same way, and when certain other girls were made to wear actual clothes.

The principal didn't have an answer for her. She continued to wear that shirt whenever she wanted.

DJP said...

I think your friend rocked, Chris.

David Regier said...

It's wonderful to live in a state where the judges can change the dictionary.

Pierre Saikaley said...

"They'll tax you more"

They must be taking a lesson from Ontario's Liberals, where a the old Goods & Services Tax is now replaced with the Harmonized Sales Tax(HST) and the PROVINCIAL SALES TAX to make that a whopping 13 % tax on most things you buy and use.

The zinger is they kept the press down on this new tax, and even tried to sneak in an "ECO FEE" -another gov't charge on goods that affect the environment, like say...paper towels.

Now whadaya think happened when people started to get whiff of the ECO FEE? They wnet ballistic...which is saying A LOT for us Ontarians.

With more taxes and fees comes more bureaucracy. And this Eco Fee was so mishandled in the first copule weeks that the LIBERALS had to scrap the idea....for the time being.

It's going to come back when the LIBERALS get their act together, cuz that's what it means to live in the NANNY PROVINCE.

Chris H said...

I think so too, DJP. She was always a source of encouragement, and it was my pleasure to repay that in kind when it came to this issue.

My school wasn't as hostile towards Christians as the ones the kids in my Youth Group attend, but there were moments.

Of course, at least I was still able to attend school without the fear of getting my head chopped off because I wasn't an adherent to the religion of peace.

trogdor said...

As a 17-time recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the court's ruling that people can freely lie about military honors is rather offensive. Still, I wonder how fundamental the "right to lie" is. Could this ruling keep my former governor - the one and only Rod Blagojevich - out of jail? Apparently at one time, the right to the "exculpatory lie" was also granted by courts. Seems the courts, institutions where truth is supposed to be paramount, just can't get enough of excusing lies - as long as it isn't to them, of course.

GrammaMack said...

I worked in a flavour lab for a couple of years, mainly on gelatin desserts like Jello. Thirty-some years later, I still can't eat the stuff.

Barbara said...

I think Rachael gets to claim dibs on that Australia poster, seems I've seen it on her old blog before?

Paula Bolyard said...

Speaking of an ECO-Tax, Cleveland "Most Miserable City in America", OH is now rolling out evil ECO-spy trash cans. You can be fined $100 for not recycling and up to $500 for throwing out grass clippings! So while Obama's going after the rich, Cleveland's finding a way to effectively tax the poor. WHERE IS DENNIS KUCHINICH?? Why isn't he protecting the poor, miserable citizens of his district????

...meanwhile, 30 miles south is..ahem...Akron...one of the most underrated cities? Note that half of its features are it's nearness to...'x'. It's nearly legendary that everything is 'about 20 minutes' from Akron. And the new art museum is a cold and forbidding scar on the historic architecture of the city...hmph! And besides, the Akron Zoo is the top (and best) tourist destination.

The atheists may get their way on those highway signs, but they can't be everywhere. Disclaimer: I'm not saying I did hear this and I'm not saying I didn't hear this. I'm not saying this is a school my son goes to and I'm not saying it isn't. I'm not saying if it's a real school or a hypothetical school. But I might have overheard a new principal at a public high school telling a staff member that they will indeed continue the school's tradition of opening the school year with the Pledge of Allegiance and prayer.

Rupert said...

Good morning DJP and fellow visitors. It's 9am Saturday morning here.

The map of Oz is fairly accurate. It's just that some items listed occur in more places.

Where I live we have lovely long curving beaches - but you can only swim in small netted areas most of the year due to the stingers. We also get cyclones. And crocodiles. And mosquitoes.

Poisonous snakes are everywhere. The babykiller dingoes occur more in 'NOTHING' and on some sections of the east coast rather than where they are identified on the map.

Many more backpacker murders took place in NSW (mid-east coast), mostly by a man called Ivan Milat.

The man-eating koalas only eat tourists. There are more angry natives in the capital cities than the outback (politics).

Tasmanians have a scar on their left shoulder - why? - it's where their other head used to be!

Today is our national election day. Even our most conservative politicians would be considered liberal commie scum in the USA. You'd probably assassinate our lefties!

Sonja said...

H&T has taken on a dark and sinister tone.

DJP, you want us to be alert or something?

word verification: unplychi. Worth pondering.

Rupert said...

We've just lost two more of our boys in Afghanistan. That makes six in the last several weeks. I had a peripheral involvement with the funerals of two of the boys who dies some weeks back.

I know our losses are infinitesimal compared to yours - we have a much smaller contingent in the theater than you do - but they've been escalating.

I can't help but think two thoughts which are tied together. Has any real improvement been wrought by going into Iraq? If we had not gone into Iraq, would there be such a level of resources available that Afghanistan would be significantly more advanced in it's journey?

It all makes me sadder and sadder.

candy said...

Notice how the one thing that is claimed for Sacto (other than a few historical buildings, is food. Lure them in with food.

I LOVE the map of Australia. Soooo funny.

P.D. Nelson said...

"They'll tax you more" I think I've seen this before. Could it be:

One, two, three, four...
Hrmm!
One, two, (one, two, three, four!)

Let me tell you how it will be;
There's one for you, nineteen for me.
'Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.

Should five per cent appear too small,
Be thankful I don't take it all.
'Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.

(if you drive a car, car;) - I’ll tax the street;
(if you try to sit, sit;) - I’ll tax your seat;
(if you get too cold, cold;) - I’ll tax the heat;
(if you take a walk, walk;) - I'll tax your feet.

Taxman!

'Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.

Don't ask me what I want it for, (ah-ah, mister Wilson)
If you don't want to pay some more. (ah-ah, mister heath)
'Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.

Now my advice for those who die, (taxman)
Declare the pennies on your eyes. (taxman)
'Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.

And you're working for no one but me.

Taxman!

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Chris - I like your friend!

And Barbara is right. I've seen that poster at Rachael's. At her old blogger blog, which I can't seem to find anymore.

Oh, wait for it... <a href="http://squarepeggedness.blogspot.com/2009/10/in-case-you-were-thinking-of-moving-to.html>yes, I think I can.</a>

And what the map is missing, really, is the emptiness. Lots and lots of empty space.

Happy weekend,

Julie

Pierre Saikaley said...

Paula: Up here they euphemistically call it other than a T A X...That's cuz, they tried to get away with it's secret passage the same day the new actual TAX come into effect.

Y'know...the TAX which has driven up inflation almost 3% in my province.

Some good news on this front...People in British Columbia have put 200K signatures to protest the HST tax. A judge said it's good to go. So who knows, maybe we'll have a tax mutiny and they'll repeal it there. But I live in Ontario...we're as "revolutionary" as ball of yarn.

DJP said...

Well now Candy, I know for a fact you've had some good food in Sacto.

Paula Bolyard said...

Zaphon said, "Paula: Up here they euphemistically call it other than a T A X.

The fines-that-aren't-really-taxes-but-really-are....are the latest ways for budget strapped states to raise revenue. In Ohio, they raised raised a cool $6.4 million in the first quarter of last year by surreptitiously slipping a $20 late fee for license plate renewal into the law. Over 300,000 people - myself included - were caught by this scheme before it received widespread publicity. Many farmers who license their vehicles only during harvest season were also hit with big fines for their multiple vehicles.

As a result of these fines-that-aren't-really-taxes-but-really-are...schemes, governors like Ohio's Ted Strickland claims he's "[p]residing over the largest tax cut in modern Ohio history" (which is a bunch of nonsense).

trogdor said...

I certainly hope Pelosi figures out who's funding opposition to the monument to our attackers. All this time I've been opposing it for free! I didn't know there was someone out there paying people to take the obviously-correct position. Come on Nancy, figure out who it is so I can contact them and get my money already.

candy said...

Dan. Yes we have! Good company too. And......after a good bike ride on the beautiful American River path, we always go to the Spaghetti Factory, which we really like.

Mike Westfall said...

So, roadside crosses are out, then? I dunno about where the rest of you live, but here in the southwestern states, roadside crosses and small religious shrines privately erected near where people died are very common. They gonna make them disappear too?

Mike Westfall said...

So, roadside crosses are out, then? I dunno about where the rest of you live, but here in the southwestern states, roadside crosses and small religious shrines privately erected near where people died are very common. They gonna make them disappear too?

Pierre Saikaley said...

Paula:"latest ways for budget strapped states to raise revenue."

In my state/province, the latest thing to do that is cash in on the on-line gambling industry, which is billions of $ worth of revenue.

This was a failed experiment in British Clumbia, which shut down due to security concerns.

Publicity is like sunlight to a vampire to sneaky politicians.

Paula Bolyard said...

Zaphon....it's amazing how they keep resurrecting the same tired, failed ideas. Last year Ohio rammed a casino gambling scheme down our throats, convincing people it's the only way to save the ailing economy and cure double-digit unemployment in the most depressed cities. You know, so we can be just like Detroit. Lather, rinse, repeat.

DJP said...

Herding - that's funny. I also see that I noticed the Australia map when Rachael put it up. But then I evidently forgot about it until a coworker showed it to me.

Notice, too: I censored my version.

(c;