As I mentioned before, it took the United States four years to go from victory to Constitution. The Loony Left has been screaming about how long it has been taking in Iraq, but this news is quite welcome, indeed. Just like we did to Japan following World War 2, we are presenting them with a Constitution that will guarantee the basic freedoms to the peoples of Iraq, and assure representation of all groups and tribes. The people of the nation will have a chance to examine it, argue about it, and vote on it in a national referendum, with general elections to take place maybe as early as next summer.

Real elections. With candidates volunteering (or volunteered) from the local populace, not handed down from on high.

Trust me, folks, this is doing it about as fast as it can be done. First come the basic services (food, water, health care, electricity, etc.). Then the police training, preparation, and assignment, then the military. Simultaneously, they will be showing the Iraqi people how to handle their freedom, and setting up the bare bones of the governmental agencies, to be staffed by the elected officials, once the elections are held (but some jobs simply cannot wait - garbage collection and disposal, economic agencies, administration, etc.)

I’ll try to be back later today, but please understand if I cannot.

(Numbered in alphabetical order, strictly for convenience’s sake)

1. A League of Their Own
2. Animal House
3. Bringing Up Baby
4. Casablanca
5. Chaplin (with Robert Downey, Jr.)
6. Dances With Wolves
7. Forrest Gump
8. Monty Python & The Holy Grail
9. Saving Private Ryan
10. Shawshank Redemption
11. Shrek
12. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
13. The Bridge on the River Kwai
14. The Matrix
15. The Princess Bride
16. The Sixth Sense
17. The Sting
18. The Truman Show
19. The Usual Suspects
20. Willow

So, whaddayathink?

You are...Condoleezza Rice, National Security
Advisor!  Naturally brilliant, you are
successful and put your work first.  Even
though you don’t have as many tight personal
relationships as others, its a sacrifice you
are willing to make to pursue knowledge and to
faithfully serve in your duties.  A keen
intellect and sense of purpose characterize
you.


What Political Diva Are You?
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And the other:

I’m from Gryffindor!

Hogwart’s Sorting Hat Quiz

made by The Genki Gang

You’re known for being brave, loyal and trustworthy, sometimes to a fault. But if the chips were down, wed count on someone like you to help out or save our lives. We just hope you don’t get yourself killed before we can cash in on that.

That’s bullshit, and I’ll tell you why.

First, there is nothing said to prevent them from writing whatever they want. The trial judge has simply proclaimed that any news agency that publishes the personally identifying information to a victim of a crime (who has already received death threats, as has the District Attorney) will be barred from his courtroom. Not “prior restraint”, just a warning that their actions have consequences (being barred from a courtroom).

The news agencies have to decide whether they want to be in the courtroom for the trial or whether they want to further defame the reputation of someone who has (allegedly) been sexually assaulted by a celebrity. The judge has made it clear that he wants to protect this woman as much as possible. I would imagine that the Criminal Justice System would like having a precedent that encourages others in similar circumstances to come forward with evidence.

In other news, there is a case of parents complaining that the replacement teacher of “African-American Studies” is (horror of horrors!) Caucasian. They are arguing that because the teacher isn’t black, that the students wouldn’t learn what it was “really like” to be African-American, I guess.

Exactly who was it that ended slavery here in the United States? I seem to remember something about the Union Army (a huge majority of which was white), Constitutional Amendments (written by white Senators, and passed by overwhelmingly white state governments) and Abraham Lincoln, and all the rest.

Does this mean that you can’t teach Algebra unless you’re Greek? Or History unless you’re Methuselah? Or foreign languages unless you were actually born in that country?

Does anyone else think this smacks of pure-quill, raw-gum racism? Or is it not racist, because it is a white person that is being discriminated against?

Now, on to the news.

Lance Armstrong has managed to win his 5th consecutive Tour de France, tying the record for consecutive wins. Good for him.

The US military reports that it missed nailing Saddam’s Security Chief - and maybe ol’ Mustache himself - by less than 24 hours, in pre-dawn raids at some farms near Tikrit, Saddam’s birthplace, and the main source of his fanatical followers. I guess Himself has realized that he cannot threaten the people into silence anymore, and that he will remain free only as long as he remains unrecognized.

And on a lighter note, I was pointed to this site a few weeks back, and I find it intriguing and entertaining. Maybe you won’t, but I like stuff like this. Check it out, as well as the home page of The Degree Confluence Project. Kind of a cool way to plan your vacation, visiting a few confluences along the way…

Anyhow, I hope you have a great day.

In other news, North Korea and South Korea are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the armistice, with somber celebrations in the South, and with yet more threats of “retaliation” by the North. Like Kwazy Kim doesn’t have enough pressure on his plate, the DPRK is actually threatening to start testing nuclear missiles if the US doesn’t “respond positively” to demands for resolving the dispute.

The only thing Washington is requiring is that the NorKs give up their nuclear weapons, meanwhile they are making shriller and more frenzied demands for economic assistance and various threats to destroy Japan, Australia, and the US in “a sea of fire” (with nuclear weapons they deny having).

In yet more (amusing) events, I was pointed towards a couple of fun games. (Thanks, Sean!) Give ‘em a whirl, and don’t blame me if you get addicted.

Have a great weekend.

free enneagram test

Type One
The Reformer
The principled, idealistic type. Ones are conscientious and ethical, with a strong sense of right and wrong. They are teachers, crusaders, and advocates for change: always striving to improve things, but afraid of making a mistake. Well-organized, orderly, and fastidious, they try to maintain high standards, but can slip into being critical and perfectionistic. They typically have problems with resentment and impatience. At their Best: wise, discerning, realistic, and noble. Can be morally heroic..

If you want to be a Democrat

1. You have to believe the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.

2. You have to believe that the same teacher who can’t teach 4th graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.

3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans are more of a threat than US nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Chinese communists.

4. You have to believe that there was no art before federal funding.

5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical, documented changes in the earth’s climate and more affected by yuppies driving SUVs.

7. You have to be against capital punishment but support abortion on demand.

8. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.

9. You have to believe that hunters don’t care about nature, but loony activists who’ve never been outside of Seattle and San Francisco do.

10. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.

11. You have to believe the military, not corrupt politicians, start wars.

12. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.

13. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.

14. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, General Robert E. Lee or Thomas Edison.

15. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides aren’t.

16. You have to believe Hillary Clinton is really a lady.

17. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn’t worked anywhere it’s been tried, is because the right people haven’t been in charge.

18. You have to believe conservatives telling the truth belong in jail, but a liar and sex offender belongs in the White House.

19. You have to believe that transvestites and bestiality should be constitutionally protected and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.

20. You have to believe that illegal Democratic Party funding by the Chinese is somehow in the best interest of the United States.

21. You have to believe that this list is part of a vast right wing conspiracy.

And finally, your bonus…

Thanks for stopping by.

There are lots of variables at work here, not least of which is whether any Democrats are going to announce their candidacy. As of the latest polls, Gray might win the recall vote (and keep his job) if there are no Democrats to choose from on the replacement ballot, but just Republicans. But if a single one breaks ranks, Gray is gone, and whoever wins the plurality from among the replacements will occupy the Governor’s Seat.

It’s a really nervy game of “chicken”, because any Democratic candidate must announce their candidacy before August 8th (60 days prior to the election). So they’ve got two weeks to decide. The catch is that even if none of them announce, Davis’ approval rating might continue to slip, and he might lose his margin. If that is the case, and it shows up the week after the deadline, then there’s not a damned thing the Dems can do to stop it.

The likely successor is former LA mayor, Richard Riordan. Good for him.

In other news, the Administration has released photos of Saddam’s two hellspawn. I, among many others, am glad that they no longer continue to waste oxygen. The pics can be seen here (morbidity alert - not for the squeamish).

Crack a beer, soldiers! Only one more to go.

Bumper Stickers

25 - Boldly going nowhere.

24 - Heart Attacks… God’s revenge for eating his animal friends.

23 - How many roads must a man travel down before he admits he is lost?

22 - CATS—The other white meat.

21 - Don’t be sexist—broads hate that.

20 - I’m an imbecile and I vote.

19 - Money Isn’t Everything… But it sure keeps the kids in touch.

18 - WARNING! Driver only carries $20.00 in ammunition.

17 - You’re just jealous because the voices are talking to me, not you!

16 - Don’t piss me off! I’m running out of places to hide the bodies.

15 - Save Your Breath...you’ll need it to blow up your date!

14 - Forget world peace. Visualize using your turn signal.

13 - Grow your own dope, plant a man.

12 - All men are animals, some just make better pets.

11 - WANTED: Meaningful overnight relationship.

10 - BEER: It’s not just for breakfast anymore.

9 - I need someone really bad… are you really bad?

8 - Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

7 - All men are idiots… I married their King.

6 - The more you complain, the longer God makes you live.

5 - IRS: We’ve got what it takes to take what you’ve got.

4 - Out of my mind… back in five minutes.

3 - Where there’s a will… I want to be in it.

2 - It’s lonely at the top, but you eat better.

And the number one bumper sticker…

1 - Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies.

Long Story Short ^(TM), I ended up calling a repairman to come take a look. The lights are on, the fan is running (and my wife keeps wanting me to “check the plug”, bless her heart), but I have a deep fear that the compressor has quit. The repairman asks a few quick questions, and says that he tends to agree with me.

The compressor is the part of the refrigerator’s motor that makes the “hot-to-cold” cycle work. Without it, the heat-exchangers (the vanes and small pipes on the back of the refrigerator) are just some kindergartener’s art deco show-and-tell project.

But, like all appliances, once the main component has died, it would probably be cheaper to buy a new one.

Dammit.

I hate moving.

In other news, it has been repeatedly confirmed that Uday (the one who supervised the plastic-shredding-machine into which people were fed - head-first, if they were lucky) and Qusai (the one who snatched 12-year-old school girls off the streets for an afternoon of rape for him and his buddies - the girl was usually allowed to live if she didn’t fight back too much) have “assumed room temperature”. This indicates a rather major shift in the thinking of most Iraqis, because dead people can’t spend money. If an Iraqi dropped a dime on them because he wants that $30 million reward (good for him!), it also shows that he thinks that he and his family are in no greater danger for having informed on the previous regime than they would be if that regime were to regain power.

Two down, one more to go. I think Saddam will be nailed before Labor Day. And another Iraqi will be $25 million richer.

Thanks for stopping in.

UPDATE: The repair man just left, and says it would cost about $600-650 to fix the compressor, which has a busted rotor. It would be cheaper to buy a new one.

Dammit.