Friday, December 29, 2006
Saddam to be hung at 10:00 PM
...or 6:00 AM Baghdad time. Drudge has a few links, and Iraq the Model has some thoughts. And, of course, Fox News is all over it.
What do you think?
It is a good thing that Hussein has some judgement (of the Iraqi variety) coming to him, and it means more than it would if we were the punishers; this act of national will on the part of the Iraqis is a sign of the ascent of their own self-sovereignty, as were the elections and the formation of their government.
Add to that the fact that this guy is a genocidal nutcase. It should send a message to the rest of the world’s nutcases...eventually, the good side prevails.
And...your comments? Feel free.
UPDATE (9:57 AM): Drudge links to this New York Times article. Nope...no bias here....here’s a quote:
“Those developments, so unwelcome to the Americans who so easily conquered this nation, showed that Mr. Hussein was also a unifying force whose painful grip held together Iraq’s many ethnicities and sects. Now, three years after his fall, Iraq has descended further into chaos.”
They also mention him watching his country become impoverished under the weight of UN sanctions. What didn’t they mention? His use of chemical weapons. His avoidance of the UN=-mandated weapons inspections. His violations of the no-fly zones.
They also talk a lot about the insult to the Sunnis....who backed Saddam and were favored by him. Now, all things being equal (and remembered, if you know what I am saying), they are filled with angst. If you were to replace “Sunni” with “white”, the left would be orgasmic in their celebrations. But, that isn’t the ethnic type of choice for the Left.
In fact, they don’t care about the Iraqis, unless they can be used to demonstrate George Bush’s and American destructiveness and incompetence.
Gah...that article left a bad taste in my mouth.
Death Penalty discussion thread
I’m curious. (I know, you’re shocked, right?)
How many of you are in favor of the death penalty and how many are opposed to its use?
For those in favor, what methods of execution would you recommend, and for what kinds of crimes?
For those against, is there no crime so horrendous that removing the criminal from society forever would be the most rational action? A soul so corrupt that it could never be rehabilitated and released, lest more harm occur to innocent people (sending it to the foot of the line, in case you happen to believe in reincarnation)?
If I ran the world, I would adapt the method of execution to the specific crime. Arsonists would be burned to death, poisoners would be given the same poison, and rapists… well, you get the picture, I’m sure. 
Mass or multiple murderers would be given a method guaranteed to give five minutes of painful dying for each victim, and I’d read their names to him as he suffered. (h/t Spider Robinson)
Thursday, December 28, 2006
My kind of gift
I’m not an architect or a structural engineer, but I can appreciate ultra-nerdy fine-print books, just like Sam does…
Not that there’s anything wrong with that… 
Maybe I’m just too white and nerdy.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Veni, Vidi, Vici
I Came, I Saw, I Kicked Its Ass!
I just whupped the computer’s ass at chess, and took down notes of the moves made.
I already beat it so often at checkers that I would be willing to let it make my first two moves for me, and still beat it like a rented mule. 
Note to self
Do not - I repeat, NOT - sneak up on this guy, ever.
I mean, EVER.
That is all.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Gerald Ford dies
Requiescat In Pace
He will hold the record for a very long time as the oldest living President, and he will probably be the only man in all of history who will have served as President and Vice President without being elected to either office. He survived two assassination attempts and was the President who hired Donald Rumsfeld as the nation’s (then) youngest Secretary of Defense.
I remember learning about President Ford being a member of the Warren Commission, and then replacing Spiro Agnew as Vice President (under the provisions of the 25th Amendment), and then being promoted to President when Nixon resigned after Watergate.
I got to shake Ford’s hand when he flew out to the opening of a new local airport, many moons ago - the only POTUS hand I ever shook.
May his family be comforted in this time.
Is there an Economist in the House?
Presented for your consideration…
I present the following premise for your arguments, comments and discussion…
A production cycle creates exactly enough purchasing power for its consumption cycle. If any part of this potential purchasing is not used for consumption but instead is invested in new production, it appears as a cost charge in the new items of production, before it re-appears as new purchasing power. Therefore, it causes a net loss of purchasing power in the earlier cycle. Therefore an equal amount of new money is required by the country. This money must be a new issue, not borrowed from the banks, for there is no way to pay it back. To tax it back from the country is to destroy necessary purchasing power at a later date.
Well?
Dateline April 10, 1942
Just 17 weeks after the event that precipitated our entry into a Second World War, the Roosevelt Administration leadership in Washington, DC has reached an impasse as more Americans have now died overseas against the Japanese than the 2,403 military deaths that occurred on that infamous day (along with 68 civilians and 1,178 injured, of course).
This also does not include any of the countless hundreds of thousands of Japanese deaths that certainly must have occurred, and analysts are saying that the public no longer has the heart to engage in war where many thousands of other young men will be certain to be killed, and there is nothing - not even the freedoms we enjoy - that is worth dying for. Not to mention the hundreds of additional deaths in that absolutely unnecessary ground war against Reichfuhrer Hitler, who had absolutely nothing to do with the attack on that Sunday morning…
Fortunately, we don’t allow the military experts to actually run the war, choosing instead to let people who have never served a single day in uniform (such as the neolib, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his VeeP, Henry Wallace) make those critical decisions for a nation already tired of death and devastation.
We call on President Roosevelt to step down, apologize for his many failures and let the League of Nations handle this issue, as it was designed to do.
Monday, December 25, 2006
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
From myself, Martha, Brenna, and Brigid....Merry Christmas, everyone, and thanks to Drumwaster for his overriding hospitality for me on his blog.
Be safe and enjoy. I’m off to Aunt Mary’s house.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Cop Killer’s Caucus
Typical dealings of left-wing weenies.
I just got this e-mail from the California Gang Investigators Association. We have a wonderful collection of left-wing weenies in California, although judging by the list, they seem to have friends all over the nation. Ironically, they all banded together to defend France.
12-11-06
The House yesterday passed a resolution “condemning the decision of St. Denis , France , to name a street in honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the convicted murder [sic] of Philadelphia Police Office Danny Faulkner.” The vote was 368-31, with 8 members voting “present.” Here’s a list of what one might call the Cop-Killer’s Caucus, the congressmen who voted against the resolution, all Democrats:
Cop Killer’s Caucus
Neil Abercrombie ( Hawaii )
Carolyn Kilpatrick ( Mich. )
Robert Scott ( Va. )
William Clay ( Mo. )
Barbara Lee ( Calif. )
ose Serrano (N.Y.)
Emanuel Cleaver ( Mo. )
Cynthia McKinney ( Ga. )
Fortney Hillman Stark Jr. ( Calif. )
John Conyers ( Mich. )
Gregory Meeks (N.Y.)
Edolphus Towns (N.Y.)
Jim Cooper ( Tenn. )
Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.)
Mark Udall ( Colo. )
Danny Davis ( Ill. )
James Oberstar ( Minn. )
Nydia Velazquez (N.Y.)
Raul Grijalva ( Ariz. )
Major Owens (N.Y.)
Maxine Waters ( Calif. )
Maurice Hinchey (N.Y.)
Ed Pastor ( Ariz. )
Anthony Weiner (N.Y.)
Mike Honda ( Calif. )
Donald Payne (N.J.)
Lynn Woolsey ( Calif. )
Jesse Jackson Jr. ( Ill. )
Charles Rangel (N.Y.)
Eddie Bernice Johnson ( Texas )
Bobby Rush ( Ill. )
The Democrats refuse to protect us from terrorism, or even look at a Muslim without issuing a public apology, but they’re more than happy to support a convicted cop killer.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
How would you reform the UN?
Other than kicking the diplo-weenies to Geneva and turning the complex into low-income housing, I mean…
I mean, if we really wanted to turn it into a real force for the advancement of human freedoms and prosperity, instead of consigning it to its deserved destiny on the dustheap of history.
To be able to help everyone and offer them the same opportunities that we have here in the US would, it can be argued, be a worthwhile goal.
However, I refer to the equality of opportunity, not the socialist/communist goal of equality of outcome. (Bill Whittle gives a much clearer description of the differences here, which I will reproduce after the fold.)
Make it bicameral (with membership allocated by what means? GDP, population, military force?)?
Minimum standards of membership?
Minimum guaranteed freedoms (and what would those be?)?
What mechanisms would be needed to ensure its decisions?
Or would you scrap it and start over? (Because those questions still remain...)
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Definite thumbs up
We lost this war. Through mismanagement, corruption, fabrication and overreaching, we lost. We are up to our neck in this morass while wearing lead boots.
We need to cut and run. Stop the destruction of cities and the population. Staunch the hemorrhage of money; put this capital to better utilization in this country. I actually believe Murtha, Feingold, Kennedy and Kerry must stand up and make these demands. Do you hear them?
Ready for a shocker? I agree with him!
Unbunch your panties, Jethro, you need to go read the rest of this telling expose on the war we have been waging for FAR too long with some of the worst rates of success in recorded history.
Almost as bad as the French…
A place to bookmark
Found on GorillaMask
This is possibly the largest list of Christmas-related stuff in cyberspace, but it is certainly the largest I have seen.
You’re going to want to spend some time there browsing through the awesome selections offered.
And all for free.
If you’re not in the holiday spirit by the time you leave, you left too early. Enjoy. 
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Back-to-Back Dubs
The beauty of being a government employee.
You know what the best thing about being a law enforcement officer is? We get absolutely no sleep. I say that with full and complete sarcasm, as I am just getting home from yet another 16 hour day, in which the watch commander called and made me stick around for another shift. At least it wasn’t like last week, where I was crawling back to the locker room, tearing off my flack jacket and uniform, only to be asked if I could work for another eight hours, making the grand total a twenty-four hour shift.
In the cop world, when you work one shift, only to be “drafted” (a nice way to say forced) to work a second shift, followed by a few hours of sleep, only to return the next day to pull the exact same schedule, we call it a back-to-back double. Essentially, you’re sending your body into overdrive to cover for the lack of public servants available to arrest bad guys.
Why does this happen? Because no one wants to be a cop any longer! Back in the days, there used to be lines going around the block to sign-up to be a police officer or a deputy sheriff, but now we have a hard time getting enough recruits to fill a single class. The FBI and the other Feds are having the same problem, and no one seems to understand why.
If you’re in the Southern California area, and you’re looking to make $100,000 grand right out of the box, may I suggest applying to the Los Angeles Police Department or the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department? This town needs a few good cops, and I need a few more hours of sleep.
Will it help if I say please? At this point I’m willing to throw weekly barbeque’s at my house and pay people to take the admission exam.
It was, shall we say, “interesting”
I don’t know how many of you out there have heard of the quirky movie called ”Shortbus”. I just got through watching it.
Weird as suspenders on a snake.
It tells the story of a group of New Yorkers who are coming to terms with themselves and their relationships. It’s not for kids or work or easily offended people or clergy, because it includes a shitload of graphic nudity and what the cable companies delicately refer to as “graphic sexual content”, to the point where the most common criticism of the film (by anyone who hasn’t seen it and has no intention of EVER seeing it) is that it is “nothing but pornography”.
I can kinda see their point, but having seen the film, I can honestly say that no matter how graphic the act, none of it was “gratuitous”.
Not a bit. They could probably make the same film without all of the sex scenes, but it would have been a lesser film IMHO.
Although I’ll never hear the Star Spangled Banner in quite the same way, ever again. 
That particular scene (among others) isn’t for the squeamish, but I was laughing at it by the end.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of stuff that will make you uncomfortable, because the characters use sex, in all its permutations, to carry the story. And I do mean all the permutations.
Like I said, it’s as weird as a basketball bat, and is all set to offend a large chunk of the populace, but if you can stand it, you’ll be as impressed as I am when it’s over…