Jeans and Economic Theory

My little sister, who is going to a sort of boarding high school in Minnesota (for athletes not dopers or delinquents), was in town this weekend and informed me that I needed new jeans. I agreed, however she pointed out that since I had a big boy job, I should start spending big boy iron on clothes. She proceeded to pull up various $200+ jeans on the internets to show me what she meant. Now, I dress well, but I try to dress on the cheap. I pull it off for the most part, but little EK told me pulling off cheap jeans is impossible. I agreed to meet her in the middle and will tonight buy a little EK approved pair of jeans. Who cares? Well, since I am finally going to be forced to go shopping, I will also be picking up a copy of Freakonomics, THE economic buzz book of the day.



I am stoked.

The blog is fantastic as well, especially the post about peak oil.

The cover story of the New York Times Sunday Magazine written by Peter Maass is about "Peak Oil." The idea behind "peak oil" is that the world has been on a path of increasing oil production for many years, and now we are about to peak and go into a situation where there are dwindling reserves, leading to triple-digit prices for a barrel of oil, an unparalleled worldwide depression, and as one web page puts it, "Civilization as we know it is coming to an end soon."

One might think that doomsday proponents would be chastened by the long history of people of their ilk being wrong: Nostradamus, Malthus, Paul Ehrlich, etc. Clearly they are not.

What most of these doomsday scenarios have gotten wrong is the fundamental idea of economics: people respond to incentives. If the price of a good goes up, people demand less of it, the companies that make it figure out how to make more of it, and everyone tries to figure out how to produce substitutes for it. Add to that the march of technological innovation (like the green revolution, birth control, etc.). The end result: markets figure out how to deal with problems of supply and demand.

Expect a Freakonomics review by next week while the ladies will decide if the jeans were worth the big iron. Expect some extrememly positive reviews...

Mohammed McQueen?

This is an incredibly interesting story, although undoubtedly it did not end on a hilltop with a gatling gun.

The 105th Military Police Battalion, charged with running Camp Bucca in the scorching desert of southernmost Iraq, knew something was amiss: Undetectable to the naked eye, the field's changing color was picked up by satellite imagery. The excavated dirt was also clogging the showers and two dozen portable toilets. The dirt was showing up under the floorboards of tents; some guards sensed that the floor itself seemed to be rising. Mysteriously, water use in the compound had spiked.

Hours before the planned prison break on March 24, an informant tipped off the Americans, who then drove a bulldozer across Compound 5. What they discovered was breathtaking: a fully completed tunnel that stretched 357 feet, longer than a football field. Inside were flashlights built from radio diodes and five larger spaces to provide ventilation. The tunnel's walls were as smooth and strong as concrete, sculpted with water and, the Americans believe, milk. The exit, beyond the compound's fence, was camouflaged with sand-colored cardboard. It opened into a partially concealed trench that would lead the detainees to freedom.

I think it's time for quite a crackdown at the prison where an uprising was staged earlier in the year.

Around 8:30 a.m., the company commander and prison commandant, Lt. Col. T. Paul Houser, a social worker from Catawba County, N.C., heard the commotion. Houser jumped in the back of a covered cargo truck and headed for Compound 3. As he approached, a chunk of cinderblock struck him in the left eye, fracturing his cheek in three places and breaking three teeth.

"I turned and just caught it in the face," said Houser, who was flown by helicopter to a military hospital, where a doctor told him his protective glasses had saved his eyesight.

Suddenly, everything the Americans had provided the inmates over the previous months was turned against them, according to guards and a videotape of the riot made available by the military. The cinderblock had been chiseled from the concrete base of a tent pole. The detainees used floorboards as shields. They hurled socks filled with a cocktail of feces, dirt and flammable, slow-burning hand sanitizer, the Americans said. One of the crude devices ignited a Polaris all-terrain vehicle.

How, only a few months after this display, the terrorists were still being treated with kid-gloves and guards were giving them the unsupervised time to build a reinforced tunnel is beyond me.

You Can't Trust Russ

An unnoticed gem from Kevin Bleyer (what the hell happened to the "star" that were supposed to be on HuffBog?) on at the HuffPo.

And now this: Yesterday on “Meet The Press,” Sen. Russ Feingold revealed that he asked a top general in Iraq when he thought troops should be withdrawn from Iraq.
Problem is, at the time he asked him, it wasn’t on “Meet The Press.” Nor was it for the press.

Mr. Feingold?

I said, "Off the record, your own view, would it help if we had a timeline to let the world know that we're not staying here forever?" And this is what he said, verbatim. He said, "Nothing would take the wind out of the sails of the insurgents more than having a timeline in place."

Remind me: what does “off the record” mean? Just whisper it to me. I swear I won’t tell anybody. Verbatim.

So uh, off the record Russ, do you EVER plan to squeeze helping out Wisconsin in during this term, or is it solely Presidency or bust, constituents be damned?

"Handicapping the crap" out of Cindy Sheehan

The more I read Oddjack the more I like it. Today they decided to lay odds on various Sheehaningans. Since she has already shown her leanings toward antiSemitism, some of the lines have to do with that angle.

(By the way, the over/under on last nights "vigil" in Racine was 35, seems like the Under bettors killed that one!



(Thanks to Real Debate Wisconsin for the pic!)

Odds That Crawford Currently Has More Jews, Vegetarians And Blacks Than Any Other Time In Its History: 1/1

Odds That Larry Hagman Is Signing Autographs Somewhere Within A 10-Mile Radius: 7/2

Odds That Salon Is Spending Three-Quarters Of Its Budget Covering Cindy Sheehan: 2/1

Odds That Her Husband, Who Filed For Divorce This Week, Is Getting A Ton Of Tail Out Of This: 3/2...

FUN WITH THE OVER/UNDER

Percentage Of Texans Far More Concerned About Bill Parcells: 95

Number Of Times Bill Clinton Has Looked At Cindy Sheehan On Television, Gone Quiet For A Moment, Looked Down, Looked Back Up, Then Shook His Head And Said, “Nahhh … Too Old.” : 3

Number Of Times George Bush Has Looked Outside His Window, Turned To His Wife, And, With A Thoughtful, Pensive Look In His Eyes, Said, “It’s Horrible What’s Happened To Tom Cruise. Top Gun Ruled.”: 2

Number Of Hours Protestors Will Spend In Crawford Once Sheehan Leaves: 1

Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead??

Come on, this is a blatant rip off right? Talk about real life immitating art.

A new company plans to unveil new high-tech tombstones with embedded flat screen monitors that would allow visitors to play memorial videos of the deceased, according to a report...

"What we're trying to do is create the ultimate funeral experience," Joachim said. "Funeral directors are realizing it's an important service we can offer, and and we're happy to offer it."

The solar-powered Vidstone will play a video of the person's life at the touch of a button.

Gentlemen, we have boat drinks.

Cindy Sheehan Pegged

I have resisted writing this because this woman really deserves no attention (her son bravely gave his life for a country and a cause he seemingly loved, but his mother is smearing his memory by suggesting he was either ignorant or part of a Zionist conspiracy "Yes, he was killed for lies and for a PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel. My son joined the army to protect America, not Israel.") but Christopher Hitchens really nails how I feel about the situation.

I think one must deny to anyone the right to ventriloquize the dead. Casey Sheehan joined up as a responsible adult volunteer. Are we so sure that he would have wanted to see his mother acquiring "a knack for P.R." and announcing that he was killed in a war for a Jewish cabal? This is just as objectionable, on logical as well as moral grounds, as the old pro-war argument that the dead "must not have died in vain." I distrust anyone who claims to speak for the fallen, and I distrust even more the hysterical noncombatants who exploit the grief of those who have to bury them.

As for the recent revelations that her husband is divorcing her, well, I guess that's the way public life works these days. She thrust herself into the public eye, and as the left has shown as recently as two weeks ago, nothing is sacred. How are adoption records any less personal and private than divorce records?

With smoking banned, NYC nannies march on...

Hate to say I told you so, but the nannystaters are not stopping with cigarette smoke. Look for this trend personal choice limitation trend to spread across the country...kiss your cheese curds good bye?

New York City wants restaurants to narrow their list of ingredients - and maybe some waistlines - by cutting out trans fats. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said the voluntary change could also help fight the city's biggest killer, heart disease.

To comply, chefs would have to dump many margarines and frying oils, and possibly reworking long-held recipes for baked goods.

The New York State Restaurant Association supports the effort, Executive Vice President E. Charles Hunt said in a health department release Wednesday.

The fats, found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, raise diners' chance of developing heart disease in much the same way that saturated meat and dairy fats do, raising overall and bad cholesterol while lowering good cholesterol, American Heart Association President Robert Eckel said in the release.

The Food and Drug Administration has already targeted trans fats. Nationwide, all foods containing the chemically modified oils must be labeled beginning next January.

Some workers and diners were skeptical of the city plan.

"Labeling is as far as you want to go. You don't want to be telling people what to eat," Brooklyn waitress Karen Quam told The New York Times.

The city's request came two years after it outlawed smoking in bars, restaurants and offices, citing concerns about the ill effects of secondhand smoke.

Better start stocking up on those Creme Puffs.

The Trump Blog

What's not to love?

Jimmy Carter Makes Me Laugh

George Will on Jimmy Carter makes me laugh harder.

A quarter of a century has passed since 44 states said "No, thanks" to Jimmy Carter's offer to serve a second term, yet he still evidently thinks his loss is explained not by foreign policy debacles, such as invading Iran with eight helicopters, and a misery index -- inflation plus unemployment -- of 22, almost triple today's index...

The role of ex-president requires a grace and restraint notably absent from Carter. See, for example, his criticism of the United States when he is abroad, as in England two weeks ago. Having made such disappointing history as president, Carter as ex-president should at least refrain from disseminating a historical falsehood.

So strong, however, is the human impulse to believe comforting myths that Carter probably will continue to promulgate the fiction that I gave Reagan the utterly unimportant briefing book, thereby catalyzing the 1980 landslide. But to be fair: As a candidate, Carter promised only that as president he would never tell a lie, thereby leaving himself a loophole for his post-presidential career as a fabulist.

The fact that Carter thinks he lost to one of the best candidates in recent memory (Clinton was a great candidate because he was given a pass on his Vietnam experience, a helpful pass not granted to President Bush) because Reagan had some knowledge of what Carter might say in a debate is absurd. Hell, I know what Carter would say in any debate..."Weapons are bad mm kay. We should give up all our weapons and other will follow mm kay."

Yeah, brilliant man that Carter. I tried to read his historical fiction on the Revolutionary War and just couldn't make it through. Boring as all hell. THat has nothing to do with the fact that he is a sore loser, but it is in context of the article. Read the article.

My Apologies

Late summer is my busy season. Compound that with the fact that the Brewers are playing tantalizing basebell (which has kept me busy at The Wisconsin Sports Bar) and politics taking a vacation for August, and I have been neglecting this space. It might continue like this for a week and a half or so, but I will be back. In the meantime, just to keep it active, I might crosspost my sports bar posts over here.

Once things start to heat up again in the world of politics I will be back in a more solid nature, til then, hit the Bar and relax.

Enjoy Uecker!

Justin Sowa: Member of Democratic Underground and Running for Congress

This is the guy taking on Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin and a rising star in the GOP. Why is this interesting? Who cares that some dude with a buck or two made a web site and declared they are running for a locked up Congressional seat? Because he is a member of the "I Hate America" Democratic Underground! I look forward to going through the various threads and looking for Mr. Sowa's posts, his DU screen name is bugslsu9 in case you are interested.

By the way, an ongoing debate on DU involving 9/11 has been whether the Bush administration Made It Happen on Purpose (MIHOP) or Let It Happen On Purpose (LIHOP). I am busy working up an email questioning exactly which of these theories Mr. Sowa ascribes to.

I'll let you know what I find out!

PSA: COUP IN MAURITANIA!!!

Stunning news, I didn't even know there was a Mauritania, (but of course, the CIA did).

The military council said it had ended the "totalitarian regime" of President Maaouiya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya.

Troops have seized control of state media and main routes in Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott.

Presidential guards earlier blocked off access to the presidential palace and gunfire was heard.

The new Military Council for Justice and Democracy said it would rule the West African state for two years.

A plane carrying President Taya has landed in Niger's capital, Niamey, on his return from attending the funeral of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, officials say.

Interesting note, Mauritania is an Islamic Republic controlled by light-skinned Moors who apparently violently oppress the Black African population.

This Weeks "I Hate America" Professor? Luciana Bohne of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

This is some truely epic hatred of ones own country. Staggering. Not only does she hate America for having such a reprehensible past, but hates it for the men and women who are currently in office. Lucianna manages to elicit hatred not only for Puritans and men, but for (gasp!) African American conservatives! How dare they!

What brought this on? Why the sight of an American flag being proudly displayed across the street of course!

Some choice, dripping-with-hatred excerpts:

Across my lawn, I can see an American flag waving in my neighbor's backyard. Mr. Smith (not his name, of course) isa nice man but he's 95 years old, and I can't take issue with him. I can't tell him that the sporting of the flag, at this time, is tantamount to saying, "I am a fool. Traitors run the country in our name. They are taking our money from the treasury and spending it on a shortcut to world domination through war...Poor flag, to be raised in a time like this! Wouldn't it be more respectful to tuck it away for more honorable service in better times?

Better times? Time to stop fooling myself. The idiocy is contagious.

When were there better times? Since the birth of this nation, it has engaged in more than 200 armed interventions around the globe...

Since 1945, a conservative death count for US adventures abroad can easily tally up to 6 million. Easily! ...

And not just abroad. There was slavery, reputed to have cost forty million lives and the bloodiest conflict in history up until then, although freeing slaves was merely the hypocritical pretext for one industrial power block to crush the inefficient slave-agrarian one. A different slave system was born—imitated throughout the world, and now in its imperialist, full-spectrum, warpath phase. There was one of the most brutal and cynical genocides in history—against the native population—to reckon with. There was the crime of being the first and only nation to have used the atomic bomb . . . TWICE—without many scruples or visible residual guilt. In fact, today 50 percent of Americans say they would have no trouble using it again...

A slave democracy! And it hasn't changed. Oh, there's a black Secretary of State, but she is only black on the outside. Her heart is white, male, and propertied. Besides, she rubber-stamps the fiction of racial equality. Very useful cookie, ideologically speaking, is Condi Rice. And, anyway, she is only a servant, merely the means by which the social order of the truly Elect—the rich folks—reproduces itself. Ditto for Colin Powell and that fool on the Supreme Court—that black judge with the ethics and sense of humor of a guttersnipe. But it's not like the white-skinned servants are any less revolting. Just look at the president's "advisors." Hypocrites.

Not only does she despise America and everything it is about, she also claims America (and Brittain) have been behind the three latest major terrorist attacks, 9/11, Madrid, and London:

We are the people who will die in bogus terrorist attacks—in New York, in Madrid, in London. At 9 pm in the morning, when we are going to work...

European constitutions mostly forbid aggressive wars, and the European populations positively abhor war. If you go back to the Madrid "terrorist" attacks, you will note that the Bush gang at that time was very eager to get NATO involved. The attacks on Madrid were supposed to scare Europeans into agreeing to NATO deployment. It didn't work...

In the midst of this conflict between Britain and France, there is an alleged terrorist attack in the London tubes. And Blair doesn't want an investigation. What he wants is to terrorize the EU members into compliance with Washington's fiction of "the war on terror"—a.k.a. as the Plan for the New American Century of World Domination...

I believe they are sincere in this because without war for world domination and exploitation how can they hope to stave off the impending implosion of the US economy and the crash of Britain's credit economy which supports a personal debt per person of 110 percent? They are sincere: their backs are against the wall. It's just that they don't tell us that their values and way of life don't exactly coincide with ours. They let our naivete interpret those words: we see Western Civilization (those of us who are devoted to the Telebible) clashing with Islam! That's how they spin it after each convenient terror attack...

The one entity certain not to benefit from the London "terror" attacks is first of all us, the world's people, and, second, Iran—as Afghanistan and Iraq didn't benefit after 9/11. In fact, quite the contrary. It didn't help that the Iranians voted in a leader the West didn't like; Rafshanjani could have been bought; he was their choice....

We live in dangerous times. And the danger is state-grown, here at home. Under the cover of our flag....

Stunning stuff. She hates America, thinks Americans are responsible for all terror in an effort to bring about "world domination" and that Americans are installing anti-American Presidents in countries that "Cheney wants to nuke." Note that it's Cheney's will, not President Bush's.

To top it all of, she even manages to throw some hatred God's way!

This God of theirs is indeed a God of Hypocrisy, for He bestows on their remarkable aggression and love of war a unique affection.

If you want to get in touch with Professor Nutjob er..Bohne, she can be reached at lbohne@edinboro.edu

To get in touch with Edinboro University at Pennsylvania, you can call the Dean at 814-732-2477. His name is Dr. Terry L. Smith.

No Problems Left In Wisconsin!

So what are legislators to do? I know, let's tackle those pesky gift card loopholes that allow businesses to close open accounts payable in a reasonable time! Yeah!!!

In another brilliant idea to make sure the people of Wisconsin are never forced to be responsible Rep Peggy Krusick has introduced legislation to make gift cards redeemable until the end of days, and for full value!

Krusick said American consumers spent about $55 billion on gift cards last year, with the average person buying three of them for a total of more than $100. But about 10% of all gift cards are never redeemed, because they are lost or expired, she added...Store policies on gift cards can vary, with some companies charging up to $2 per month if they aren't used within a year, Krusick said. Other businesses require that the gift cards be used within a certain period, she added.

Wow. People who are stupid enough to exchange $50 dollars that can be used anywhere for 50 Best Buy Bucks, and then give this absurdity as a gift thereby displaying their stupidity for all to see aren't happy with the system? Shocking. So now, Best Buy will have to forever carry that $50 on their books as an outstanding debt, even though little Stevie lost the card three seconds after he got it, or just keeps forgetting to use the damn thing.

How about an ad campaing instead outlining how freaking retarded the people are who give gift cards in the first place? Why in God's name would I want store credit you paid for? Just give me the $50 bucks and let me be damn it! I can see gift cards for one group of people...

Addicts.

I get it, you don't want your boy running out and buying heroin so you get him a Barnes and Noble gift card. Fine. Otherwise, stay away from the gift cards for God's sake!

Democratic Underground: If only we could have another Depression!

Here's hoping...jackass.

A DUer will out themselves...

And run for a seat on the US House of Representatives, from our own great state of WI.

Seems he will be trying to represent the Janesville area, forgive me its friday and I don't feel like looking up who he will be running against. All I know is that the guys name is Justin and he'll be announcing his candidacy at Janesville Parker High School at 2 pm on August 7th.

I honestly can't wait. How easy would it be to discredit a DU poster? Good luck nutter.

Because it's Friday...

Are toilets my new Friday gimmick? You never really know, my mind tends to wander. However, I did go out one evening to about 12 dive bars in downtown Milwaukee that I hadn't been before and being drunk decided it would make a nice montage to take a photo of all the different stalls in each place. It was a nice screen saver for awhile...If I had my digital camera back from Casio right now, i would show you what a 23 year old's toilet looks like before it gets cleaned for the first time in a few years (I'm moving and it must be done) but alas...

Anyway, I don't like this urinal, and that's the real story.

NEW PABST PLAN

The folks over in Berlin have given me a fantastic idea for the decrepit old Pabst grounds. It is sure to attract tourists (look at Amsterdam)

A German company is looking to cash in on an expected boom in the sex trade during next year's soccer World Cup with a 60-room brothel a walk away from Berlin's Olympic Stadium, German media reported on Friday.

Named after the virgin huntress of Greek mythology, the "Artemis" complex is due to open for business in September with whirlpool, sauna, cinema, buffet restaurant and a staff of 100 prostitutes, mass circulation daily Bild reported.

"This is no flash rip-off joint where clients are taken for a ride," a spokesman for the Artemis GmbH investment company behind the project, told the newspaper.

Prostitution is legal in Germany in designated areas. Dortmund, one of 11 other cities to host World Cup matches, has said it will install drive-in wooden "sex garages" in time for the tournament in a bid to keep the trade off the streets.

Honestly, it is perfect. Build the area into a place to specifically employ women. The only way you can oppose this plan is if you are a sexist and don't want women to work. You don't want a brothel over at Pabst? Male-chaveunist pig!

No, You Show Me Your Documents

Interesting article by law professor Steven G Calabresi over at www.weeklystandard.com about Chuck Schumer's crusade for nominee Robets' documents (do you really need his grocery lists and fantasy football notes Chuckie?)

Evaluation of whether Schumer is or is not on a fishing expedition is impossible given the public record as it stands now. Accordingly, Senate Republicans and the administration should call on Senator Schumer to immediately release and make public all conversations and emails between the senator and his staff, between Schumer staffers and outside left-wing advocacy groups, and between Schumer staffers themselves relating to the Roberts nomination. Schumer should also be required to release phone records of all telephone and cell phone calls that were placed between his office and outside advocacy groups since the Roberts
nomination.

It is critically important that these internal Schumer-office documents be made public to determine whether the senator's demand for the Roberts's solicitor general's office memos is a good faith demand based on a genuine concern about positions Roberts may have taken as an executive branch lawyer or whether the senator is on a fishing expedition, as his cell phone declaration of war leads many on the right to suspect. There is simply no way given the public record as it currently stands to determine whether Schumer's request even meets the threshold for deserving serious consideration.{/satire off}

IN MY EXPERIENCE as an executive branch staffer, I became persuaded that some senators and congressmen simply do not appreciate how intrusive and improper their document requests are in terms of the chilling effect they have on the internal deliberations of a co-equal branch of the government. I think that is the case here.

If Schumer is really committed to the cause of openness in government and of transparency, he will not hesitate to make available his internal office records as described above. If Schumer refuses to honor this request, then his opponents are entitled to reject the senator's request for the solicitor general's office documents on the grounds that he is applying a level of disclosure from executive branch officials that he is unwilling to live by himself.

I Can't Believe She Is Still Alive?!?

Veteran wire reporter Helen Thomas is vowing to 'kill herself' if Dick Cheney announces he is running for president.

The newspaper HILL first reported the startling claim on Thursday.

MORE

"The day Dick Cheney is going to run for president, I'll kill myself," she told the HILL. "All we need is one more liar."

Thomas added, "I think he'd like to run, but it would be a sad day for the country if he does."

How does she keep getting into briefings?

Senator Manslaughter thinks bloggers have a leg up

Teddy Kenndy thinks the White House is feeding info to rightleaning bloggers. It seems his wife is an astute surfer of the blogosphere (think she enjoyed all the Kennedy killed a hooker talk last wek?)

Senate Democrats and Judiciary Committee minority staffers are miffed that conservative bloggers appear to have more information about Bush Supreme Court nominee John Roberts than they do. "They've got material out there that we don't know about," complained Sen. Edward Kennedy, who's leading an effort to force the White House to turn over any documents it has on Roberts.

Other Democrats said that they believe the White House is providing supportive bloggers with information that paints Roberts only in a positive light. Kennedy, speaking to reporters last Friday, said that he was unaware of the prolific GOP blogging on behalf of Roberts until his wife pointed it out. Kennedy has said that while he doesn't want to mount a fishing expedition into Roberts's past, he will demand paperwork on most of the cases he has handled as a judge and lawyer.

Have another highball Senator, we barely recognize you when you aren't in a red-faced, forthing rage at a Bush nominee to something or other.

Follow Up; Souter Gets KELO'd

In a follow up to this post, it seems the "take Souters home" movement isn't losing steam. This emminent domain thing could get funny, and fast!

Clements has his share of local supporters, including David Archambault, who runs a go-cart track near Souter's home.

"What this is doing I think is wonderful, because he's getting a point across to all these people that they're getting too much power," Archambault said.

Robin Ilsley, who makes syrup on a family farm about two miles from Souter's place, thought the justice brought the controversy on himself. "It was a pretty stupid ruling," she said.

Even her mother, who watched Souter grow up, is unsympathetic.

"I like David very much, but I don't like his ideas," said Winnie Ilsley, 77, who runs a doll museum at her farm. "I just don't think it's fair," she said of the New London decision.

And the hotel?

"Let 'em build - but I don't think it's going to happen," she said.

What DU Thinks of You

Right now the brilliant minds over at DU are conduction a poll on their opinion of the Average American's intellect. Thus far the results are quite telling.

"Poll question: On A Scale Of One To Ten: How Smart Do You Think The Average American Is?"

So far, 76% of people who hve answered said they think American's are at a four or below on their 1-10 scale. So basically, they feel America is a bunch of idiots. 63% of respondents said the average American is a 3 or below.

What great respect for their common man. This is the attitude of the leftist, they are better than you and you should listen to them. High taxes are necessary because they can spend your money better than you can. Nannystate tactics like banning smoking, fast food, and Oreos are necessary, because you idiots can't handle making choices on your own.

The only choice you are smart enough to make is if you want to kill your unborn kid, and that is only if you are the mother. The guy is always too stupid to have any input.

Perhaps this is good news. These brilliant minds underestimate their competition, thus allowing the right to run away with most national elections.

I'll take being with the "dumb majority" if that means my team keeps on a-winnin'.

Former Klansmen Byrd calls Large American Cities Dangerous Jungles

If it were Barak Obama maybe it would slide. A Senator with well known ties to the KKK, probably not...

"One's life is probably in no greater danger in the jungles of deepest Africa than in the jungles of America's large cities," he writes. "In my judgment, much of the problem has been brought about by the mollycoddling of criminals by some of the liberal judges who have been placed on the nation's courts in recent years."

I agree with the sentiment, that "mollycoddling" criminals has led to en explosion of crime, but to call cities more dangerous than African jungles seems to be a touch, shall we say, insensitive?

The story is basically about Byrd praising Judge Roberts, so it seems that his confirmation by the Group of 14 (who now control the senate it seems) is more and more likely.

Rove Still in the Spotlight (A "Rovian Ploy?")

And Kos is giddy about it.

Well, Roberts bought Rove all of what, 24 hours? I hope he got some sleep in, because he's got no reprieve.

I don't quite understand why.

Also, Drudge is reporting leading lefties are handing down marching orders instructing their minions to keep the heat on Rove.

ROLL CALL reports: "In a set of talking points issued Wednesday morning, the Senate Democratic leadership urged rank-and-file Senators to continue spotlighting Rove's involvement in the leaking of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. 'A Supreme Court nominee will not distract the country from the growing credibility problem at the White House,' Democrats were told to echo."

Most on the right like the nomination of Roberts and will be thrilled to have a 50 year old conservative (pretty on the record on everything except abortion) skate through confirmation as leftists focus on Rove.

This is great news to me. Pound on Rove all you want, tear him to shreds, the President has no more elections to win, only a legacy left to leave. Two or three staunch, young conservatives and a shift of the Court to the right is a pretty good place to start.

Lefties are claiming Bush released his nominee early to take the heat off of Rove, I disagree. It seems to me President Bush nominated Roberts in the midst of a leftists driven firestorm knowing they don't let go of a bone once they gets their jaws on it. This manufactured Rove story paves the way not only for a smooth Roberts nomination, but it sets a tone for future nominations, of which President Bush will surely get at least one, probably two more.

From the looks of it, and from the obvious way this is going to shake out, Rove will be battered a bit, Roberts will skate through, and a precedent will be set. Conservative are okay. Fillibusters are not.

I applaud the administration for using the rabid left to get a good man what looks to be an easy Supreme Court appointment.

Javon Needs a "Decent Wage"

Thank you, Mr. Rosenhaus, for putting things in perspective. I mean, it's not like Javon is asking for anything unreasonable. How do you expect a man to live on a measley half million a year? Javon has needs too people.

Seriously, if Tom Cruise is making $50 million a movie, surely Javon can get paid a decent, livable wage.

It's all relative, baby. It's OK for Tom Cruise to make $50 million a movie? But a guy who risks his life can't get paid a decent wage? B.S. I'm not standing for it."

No you idiot, your line of reasoning is bullshit, and Wisconsin won't stand for it. Perhaps you thought this time around Green Bay would buckle since new management was in town. Well as long as Thompson stays strong and keeps you and your meal ticket in limbo, I will put up with a thinner receiving corps. I will put up with two years of mediocre football to ensure that this never happens again.

At some point there has to be a massive backlash against people like Rosehaus, but first we need to find us some decent human beings who are willing to play football.

My email to a jackass...

As inspired by GBfan.

Finally, we get a glimpse into the men and women who write the editorials at the Journal Sentinel.

It is no longer shocking to me how you folks can be so incredibly stupid. It seems you simply are, in fact, incredibly stupid. I honestly hope you are an old codger a la Andy Rooney, because if you’re not you really need to get a life. I can’t wait to read your next complaint about Summerfest (I can’t sleep with that racket) the Milwaukee Mile (honestly can’t you find something quiet to enjoy, like a ballet?) or the NAACP convention (I couldn’t find a parking spot anywhere).

On pins and needles waiting for your next banal bitching,

I eagerly await his response.

Google Moon: Very Cool

Thanks again Lifehacker

In honor of the first manned Moon landing, which took place on July 20, 1969, we’ve added some NASA imagery to the Google Maps interface to help you pay your own visit to our celestial neighbor. Happy lunar surfing. More about Google Moon.

How stupid do you think we are?

From Barbara Boxer:

"Without prejudging the nominee, I do believe Judge Roberts' record raises questions about his commitment to the right to privacy, protection of the environment and other important issues."

So, without prejudging the nominee she goes ahead and prejudges the nominee? Why even begin the sentence that way you stupid hag?

NYT on Roberts, quick and dirty hit

In an interesting editorial, the New York Times suggests that Senators take their time and wait for hearings before passing judgement, and then promptly passes judgement on what type of SC Justice Roberts WILL be.

The far right is on a drive to resurrect ancient, and discredited, states' rights theories. If extremists take control of the Supreme Court, we will end up with an America in which the federal government is powerless to protect against air pollution, unsafe working conditions and child labor. There are reasons to be concerned about Judge Roberts on this score. He dissented in an Endangered Species Act case in a way that suggested he might hold an array of environmental laws, and other important federal protections, to be unconstitutional.

That's right ladies and gentlemen, John Roberts wants America to have forced child labor. How do we know? Because he dissented in an Endangered Species Act case.

Are there really that many homeless insane in New York that the liberal press is forced to employ them? Who the hell wrote this insane bit?

Luttig in DC (Bench Memos)

KLo is reporting that CNN has shown Luttin family in DC shots, and that the kids are in "uncomfortable-for-D.C.-in-July kinda clothes."

I think this would be astounding, and fantastic. A Luttig/Edith Hollan Jones pick would be great.

Check out the DU thread already!

RedState.org: Bait and Switch

The folks over at Red State are claiming they are getting tips that President Bush will actually be nominating Edith Jones, whom they call "the female Scalia." I like that idea.

However as they say themselves:

Reminds me of the Novak generated Rehquist retirement frenzy of two weeks ago, but with more credible people participating this time.

Blowing CIA Cover, NYT Style

Remember when extraordinary rendition was the outrage of the day amongst pacifists and defeatists? They couldn't believe that we would send prisoners to foreing countries to be interrogated. They went so far in arguing this point that on May 31st of this year, Scott Shane, Stephen Grey and Margot Williams, in a NYT article written by Scott Shane, OUTED THREE CIA FRONT COMPANIES.

Central Intelligence Agency has rapidly expanded its air operations around world since 9/11, using rural hideaways, front companies and shell corporations to conceal its ownership of at least 26 planes; planes, regularly supplemented by private charters, are operated by real companies controlled by or tied to CIA; companies are Aero Contractors Ltd, Pegasus Technologies and Tepper Aviation

Where is the outrage? I am curious as to whether or not these companies had trouble flying their aircraft into "places American military craft would not be welcome" which is the reason the article gives for using these front companies?

cap tip econopundit

Boom Goes the Dynamite

President Bush will announce his first nominee to the Supreme Court at 8 o'clock tonight. Most likely wil be Judge Edith Clement.

More on her here, here, and here.

I assume Bench Memos over at NRO will continue their fantastic coverage.
I'm gonna head over to DU to see what they have to say about it.

Bomb Mecca? I Like It

Perhaps Tom Tancredo would be a good Presidential candidate after all!

WASHINGTON: A Republican congressman said in a radio interview aired by a Florida station that if a multiple-city attack happened in the United States in the next 90 days, as predicted by an Israeli expert, and was found to be the work of extremist Muslims, then “we should take out their holy sites.” Congressman Thomas G Tancredo, Republican from Colorado, was being interviewed by AM 540 WFLA radio host Pat Campbell, who asked him what the response of the United States should be were terrorist attacks on US cities to take place and were attributable to extremist Muslims. The Congressman replied, “ ... then we could take out their holy sites.” Asked if that meant Mecca, Tancredo answered, “Yes.”

Could there be a more appropriate response? Maybe not Mecca, perhaps other sites would be more appropriate, but if terrorists want to strike at our way of life why should we not retaliate in kind?

Hitchens on Rove: Good stuff

Christopher Hitchens, quickly becoming the intellectual version of Dennis Miller, writes a great piece in today's Slate (how long will they let him keep working there?). He has managed, throughout this ridiculous witchhunt, to look at the entire thing from a rational and detached point of view, at least compared to leftists at Time and the NY Times.

He manages to put Joe Wilson into perspective:

First, the most exploded figure in the entire argument is Joseph Wilson. This is for three reasons. He claimed, in his own book, that his wife had nothing to do with his brief and inconclusive visit to Niger. "Valerie had nothing to do with the matter," he wrote. "She definitely had not proposed that I make the trip." There isn't enough wiggle room in those two definitive statements to make either of them congruent with a memo written by Valerie Wilson (or Valerie Plame, if you prefer) to a deputy chief in the CIA's directorate of operations. In this memo, in her wifely way, she announced that her husband would be ideal for the mission since he had "good relations with both the Prime Minister and the former Minister of Mines (of Niger), not to mention lots of French contacts."

And the law which nutters everywhere claim Rove has broken:

OK, then, how do the opponents of regime change in Iraq make my last sentence into a statement of criminal intent and national-security endangerment? By citing the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982. This law, which is one of the most repressive and absurd pieces of legislation on our statute book, was a panicky attempt by the right to silence whistle-blowers at the CIA. In a rough effort to make it congruent with freedom of information and the First Amendment (after all, the United States managed to get through the Second World War and most of the Cold War without such a law), it sets a fairly high bar. You must knowingly wish to expose the cover of a CIA officer who you understand may be harmed as a result. It seems quite clear that nobody has broken even that arbitrary element of this silly law.

While I am not entirely sure that the protection of covert CIA operatives is a "silly law" I do agree that it is absurd to think Rove broke this law. Any attempt to say such a thing is ludicrous on its face.

Hitchens doesn't let the journalists covering this story off the hook either:

But the coverage of this non-storm in an un-teacup has gone far beyond the fantasy of a Rovean hidden hand. Supposedly responsible journalists are now writing as if there was never any problem with Saddam's attempt to acquire yellowcake (or his regime's now-proven concealment of a nuclear centrifuge, or his regime's now-proven attempt to buy long-range missiles off the shelf from North Korea as late as March 2003). In the same way, the carefully phrased yet indistinct statement of the 9/11 Commission that Saddam had no proven "operational" relationship with al-Qaida has mutated lazily into the belief that there were no contacts or exchanges at all, which the commission by no means asserts and which in any case by no means possesses the merit of being true. The CIA got everything wrong before 9/11, and thereafter. It was conditioned by its own culture to see no evil. It regularly leaked—see any of Bob Woodward's narratives—against the administration. Now it, and its partisans and publicity-famished husband-and-wife teams, want to imprison or depose people who leak back at it. No, thanks. Many journalists are rightly appalled at Time magazine's collusion with a prosecutor who has proved no crime and identified no victim. Far worse is the willingness of the New York Times to accept the demented premise of a prosecutor who has put one of its own writers behind bars.

In the end, the left is going to be left holding the bag on this one. The only chance they are still clinging to is that Rove purjured himself before the grang jury, but if we learned anything from Bill Clinton, its that purjury isn't a crime if you work in the White House.

Happy 36th Anniversary Teddy-Boy

On this day, 36 years ago, Teddy Kennedy caused the death of one Mary Joe Kopechne. This is not disputed. He drove the car into the Chappaquiddick, causing his companion to drown. Not disputed.



Was he drunk? Was she is pregnant girlfriend? Is there, as Mr. Kennedy claimed in 1973, "one system for the average citizen
and another for the high and mighty?"

Sure seems that way. At the least, manslaughter seems appropriate, if he was drunk as is widely believed, vehicular homicide.

So, how did a drunk, womanizing known killer become the voice of a political party? I honestly have no idea. These days the media goes wild over the thougth a President may have "inahled" or unfounded rumors that another did coke in college. How the heck does a guy who kills his pregnant girlfriend in a drunk driving accident avoid scrutiny?

It's a mad mad mad mad world.

Cheers Teddy, tip one back for your victim on this, the anniversary of your deed.

Well, It is Friday...

I could have used this as a kid when I used to try and read magazines while simultaneously trying to go to the bathroom. Inevitably, the magazine wound up wet.

This thing would have held mt attention, of course it would have led to competitive pissing...is that bad?



Thanks Gizmodo!

PSA: Fish Tank for Sale

This may be a little tacky but I figured since it's there, I might as well let people know in as many ways as possible. I'm selling a real nice plexiglass fish tank over at eBay. If anyone is in the market, check it out.


Now forget that I am such a shill and thanks for your time.

Once Again, the Laffer Curve is Working

Larry Kudlow over at RCP. It's really fantastic commentary.

have long believed that stock indexes reflect the health, wealth, and security of individual nations. That explains why stock markets are standing tough in the face of al Qaeda’s latest attack. Worldwide investors are telling the enemy they have long-term confidence that the war on terror will be won, just as they believe in the resiliency and flexibility of free-market economies and the outlook for pro-growth policies, which are in action across nations.

Ben Bernanke, the former Fed governor and new chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, told a Washington group that “We are in the midst of a healthy and sustainable economic expansion.” He’s got that dead right. Besides rising share prices, appreciating real estate and declining unemployment are boosting family wealth and incomes, allowing consumers to withstand higher energy prices. Meanwhile, sales at stores open at least a year are surging at better than 5 percent; corporate profits, which are the lifeblood of business expansion and investor class wealth, have soared to record shares of gross domestic product; and recent surveys by the Institute for Supply Management show both the manufacturing and service economies to be strong.

Though President Bush’s critics will never admit it, his supply-side tax reforms of two years ago are working brilliantly. With new incentives to work and invest, the economy is expanding, the income base is widening, and businesses and individuals are producing an unprecedented surge of tax collections. All this is occurring at lower marginal tax rates. Once again, the Laffer curve is working.

The budget deficit is shrinking to roughly 2.5 percent of GDP in line with the average of the past four decades. As for the claim that trade deficits are bad for U.S. workers, consider this thought from Café Hayek blogger Russell Roberts, a professor at George Mason University: “The U.S. has run a merchandise trade deficit for every year since 1976, trillions of dollars of deficits. And since 1976, the U.S. economy has created over 50 million jobs.”

Round of Applause: Greg Oberdorf

Pertaining to the proposed smoking ban in Milwaukee, the problem I see is: How are the police going to enforce this law? As it is, they can't handle the current laws. How many more murders will Milwaukee have this year? What about illegal guns and gangs?

The police can't control the smoking of crack, use of other drugs, crime, prostitution, murder, robbery, rape. Or the simple things like litter, jaywalking, unlicensed dogs, street bums panhandling, unsafe and unlicensed vehicles, domestic problems.

Now the police could be using that time going into bars and giving tickets to law-abiding citizens doing nothing wrong but enjoying a cold drink and a cigarette after a hard day's work so they can pay their taxes.

Greg Oberdorf
Milwaukee

The Urinal Exposes the Tactics of a Nanny State

The Urinal editorial board has exposed the tactics that it hopes to employ in order to dominate our everyday choices.

From a practical standpoint, that's the problem. Davis has the right idea, but he's trying to do too much too fast, especially when it comes to banning smoking in taverns in a city in which neighborhood bars have long been a part of the social fabric.

A more incremental approach, banning smoking in restaurants to begin with and later expanding it to other public places, such as bars, would give Milwaukee bar owners and those who smoke more time to adjust to a total ban.

More important, it would also have a far better chance of being approved.

What is the next step after banning smoking in public? Banning smoking around family? Outlawing smoking? Incrementalism is the key. They accepted banning smoking in bars? shit, lets expand it. They accepted banning smoking in all public places? Shit, lets keep pushing...

Then what, once smoking is abolished, what is next? Cheeseburgers? After all, we allowed them to dictate our personal choices on "health reasons" in regards to smoking. Overindulgence in cheeseburgers can be bad. Are we going to give vouchers for burger purchases, so we can regulate how many a person can eat in a week? How about some sort of bracelet that tracks calories so the government can stop us from overeating?

Based on the health of not just yourself, but of others around you, I think it is imperative we next ban cell phone use in public. After all, there are one or two studies that show cell phones cause cancer. Is it possible they cause second-hand cancer by walking near a cell phone user? I don't know, but I'm sure Rob Reiner can pay a scientist to whip up a "study" proving it.

As a matter of fact, we should all be assigned out own personal watchdog, paid for by the state of course, to make sure that we aren't doing anything to endanger ourselves or those around us.

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the world of the future. The only things you may ingest are dry salad and filtered water. Driving and bike riding are illegal, as is walking without the proper body armor. We will all ride ultra armored public transportation to and from low-stress, government approved jobs. A permission slip from the State is required for sexual intercourse, and is only approved for reasons of reproduction, which labs hope to eliminate the need for altogether soon. We will sleep strapped to our beds in padded rooms surrounded by rounded and padded furniture so as to not stub a toe or bang a shin. Glass, stoves, microwaves, and knives have been outlawed.

Enjoy your day, but not too much since it might lead to adrenaline, which can lead to stress, which may lead to heart failure.

We won't live longer, we won't be happy, but shit, at least the overprotective asshole left-coasters won't have anything left to bitch about.

WSOP Day 5

For those who care, the $10,000 no-limit hold 'em championship (the Big One) is going on day 5 today.There are 185 players left, and it is probable that today will be the last day befre the final table.

Greg Raymer, the much maligned winner of last years tournament, is currently the chip leader with 1,064,000 chips and is playing well it seems. Some other notable include Phil Ivey in 7th, Howard Lederer in 31st, Mike Matusow in 39th, John Juanda in 59th, JC Tran in 93rd, Dutch Boyd in 165th, and Paul Darden in 179th.

Over at Tao of Poker he is running fantastic updates live. Check it out if you care.

TheWisconsinSportsBar

I have a new place to post my anger and jubilation about the one and only Crew. GBfan has set up a new blog to discuss Wisconsin sports. I am hoping to post my thoughts after every game, especially ones I got to.

Should be fun, stop by and check it out.

(By the way, by blogrolling thing isn't working, hence the dearth of updated links to the left. Hopefully I will get this kinked out soon)

WHACK (McCain)

via Drudge

Who is this man, and when did he become a Republican?

Sen. John McCain [R-AZ] Strong Words On Surpeme Court Nomination At Dallas Fundraiser: 'During the campaign, President Bush said he will appoint judges who will strictly interpret the constitution...thinking anything else is either amnesia or ignorance...elections have consequences....whomever he nominates deserves an up or down vote and no filibuster....and an up or down vote is what we will have'...

Damn right John, better round up that motley crew of 14 and whip em into shape.

Laurie David is hyperventilating

If we do not sign the Kyoto Treaty we will be udner constant threat of "Non-stop flooding, killer heat waves, energy and food shortages." What's more "millions of people [will be] displaced from coastal cities..."

She goes on to make an extraordinary link.

Munich Re, the worlds largest reinsurer, recently said that the frequency of weather disasters has tripled since the 1960s and insured losses have risen ten-fold. WeÂ’re talking hundreds of billions of dollars -- soon to be trillions of dollars -- and thatÂ’s a bill that gets handed right back to the American people in the form of higher premiums. In other words, weÂ’re already paying the price for global warming.

Without any proof or attempt at forming a logical and provable link, Laurie David says conclusively that every weather disaster since 1960 is caused by global warming.

How did a guy like Larry David get mixed up with a nutter like this?

Redstate.org: REHNQUIST TO RETIRE TODAY

At 4:50 (i assume 3:50 our time), when the President lands, Chief Justice Rehnquist will, supposedly, hand in his walking papers.

The interesting thing is that this is getting some conservatives wound up, because they think it will make it harder to "pack the courts." I don't know, seems to me President Bush hasn't exactly been the great compromiser. I expect great things from these nominees in the way on constructionists. Whether or not they are willing to overturn Roe, well, that isn't high on my list right now of "litmus tests."

A source close to the White House tells me that the White House is operating under the assumption, based on presumed knowledge of Novak's source, that this will, in fact, happen. Yes, keep in mind that I am not being told that the White House is confirming this, but that the White House has a good idea it should trust Novak's source.

Interestingly, it seems the same sources are saying Justice Stevens will also retire at the end of this year. If Rehnquist indeed hangs up the robes this afternoon, this source may be on to something.

Third party sources are now telling me that the John Paul Stevens rumor is true and that the White House is now planning for a third vacancy, but not until the end of the year. Third party sources, who I treat as credible, say that Stevens has begun taking actions in his personal life to make arrangements for personal affairs. It is presumed that Stevens is taking steps to retire.

World Series of Poker Started Today

More specifically, the "main event," the $10,000 no-limit hold 'em tourney started today. It's gonna go something like a week, with 5661 entrants/

If anyone cares, this guy is liveblogging it. Gotta be bustin his hump.

And it seems this guy is taking the ballcap and shades thing a touch far.

"Unfortunately, the Europeans' devastating urge to do good can no longer be countered with reason."

A rising star in the world of economics (at least in my eyes after this interview) James Shikwati explains why aid to Africa is, literally, killing Africa. Read the interview, it is both incredibly insightful (where else are you going to hear the truth, that handouts are what is killing these people, not apathy) and funny. The interviewer has no freaking idea what to say when Mr. Shikwati shoots down every notion this guy holds true.

SPIEGEL: Even in a country like Kenya, people are starving to death each year. Someone has got to help them.

Shikwati: But it has to be the Kenyans themselves who help these people. When there's a drought in a region of Kenya, our corrupt politicians reflexively cry out for more help. This call then reaches the United Nations World Food Program -- which is a massive agency of apparatchiks who are in the absurd situation of, on the one hand, being dedicated to the fight against hunger while, on the other hand, being faced with unemployment were hunger actually eliminated. It's only natural that they willingly accept the plea for more help. And it's not uncommon that they demand a little more money than the respective African government originally requested. They then forward that request to their headquarters, and before long, several thousands tons of corn are shipped to Africa ...

SPIEGEL: ... corn that predominantly comes from highly-subsidized European and American farmers ...

Shikwati: ... and at some point, this corn ends up in the harbor of Mombasa. A portion of the corn often goes directly into the hands of unsrupulous politicians who then pass it on to their own tribe to boost their next election campaign. Another portion of the shipment ends up on the black market where the corn is dumped at extremely low prices. Local farmers may as well put down their hoes right away; no one can compete with the UN's World Food Program. And because the farmers go under in the face of this pressure, Kenya would have no reserves to draw on if there actually were a famine next year. It's a simple but fatal cycle.

SPIEGEL: If the World Food Program didn't do anything, the people would starve.

Shikwati: I don't think so. In such a case, the Kenyans, for a change, would be forced to initiate trade relations with Uganda or Tanzania, and buy their food there. This type of trade is vital for Africa. It would force us to improve our own infrastructure, while making national borders -- drawn by the Europeans by the way -- more permeable. It would also force us to establish laws favoring market economy.

What comes next is the most ridiculously condescending question I have read in a loooong time. Well, since the previous, "if we didn't help the people would starve" question.

SPIEGEL: Would Africa actually be able to solve these problems on its own?

Wow. So this knucklehead thinks that Africans can't figure out how to trade. Moron.

The discussion then turns to AIDS, and Mr. Shikwati is actually able to have an intelligent discussion with a total idiot. Of course the discussion is one sided.

Shikwati: If one were to believe all the horrorifying reports, then all Kenyans should actually be dead by now. But now, tests are being carried out everywhere, and it turns out that the figures were vastly exaggerated. It's not three million Kenyans that are infected. All of the sudden, it's only about one million. Malaria is just as much of a problem, but people rarely talk about that.

SPIEGEL: And why's that?

Shikwati: AIDS is big business, maybe Africa's biggest business. There's nothing else that can generate as much aid money as shocking figures on AIDS. AIDS is a political disease here, and we should be very skeptical.

SPIEGEL: The Americans and Europeans have frozen funds previously pledged to Kenya. The country is too corrupt, they say.

Shikwati: I am afraid, though, that the money will still be transfered before long. After all, it has to go somewhere. Unfortunately, the Europeans' devastating urge to do good can no longer be countered with reason.

And that, as they say, is the money shot.

Unfortunately, the Europeans' devastating urge to do good can no longer be countered with reason.

via Will over at Vodkapundit

DU Post of the Day (for amusement purposes only)

Titled: The ultimate revelation is still 9/11

Gangsters in government. Media covers for them. That is the problem.

The only solution is 50 million of you out in the streets shutting it all down until they topple. People Power. Like Moscow '91, like Venezuela '02.

Oh yes, let Junior's little segment of the Bush mob be brought down by Plame or some such, but remember: on Watergate followed Reagan, just six years later, and it all continues through Bush, Clinton and Bush.

Nothing will have been won unless the whole ball of wax is exposed -

9/11 as the inside job it so obviously was, an arranged Reichstag fire event to seize the Zeitgeist and brainwash all of you into submission.

Vote fraud 2000 and 2004.

Drug-dealing, money laundering and plunder by the thousand tentacles of the Bush Family Evil Eempire.

Inexcusable war of aggression on the people of Iraq, nuclear threats to the whole world, a history of genocide in Central America...

Only if these become common knowledge and the perpetrators are actually pursued for criminal prosecution. Only then might we see an end to the real problem:

- the centralization of power in the hands of a few thousand owner-emperors, the protection of their "interests" through "national security" institutions that operate above the law and in secrecy;

The self-appointed powers who remain "in government" no matter who plays president, who pick the president and lay the ground for the next war, the next crime.

For a start, if the whole Bush crime family has not been acknowledged as the morally cross of the Corleones with the Hitlers on a global scale... if this just ends up being the scapegoating of a few figures for their personal mistakes and petty crimes (Rove? Who the fuck cares about Rove?!) we will never get out of this nightmare.

The next Bush (under whatever name) will be brought in just a few years hence.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what we are dealing with. These people live amongst us, we probably buy coffee from them in the morning, get cab rides from them, and tip them for delivering our pizza. They are normal folks...on the surface. I have yet to meet an open DUer here in Milwaukee, but I have no doubt they exist. Of course, it could just be Michael Moore and Howard Dean having elaborate third, fourth, and fifth person conversations with each other...

Joseph Duncan's chilling, disgusting weblog

Chilling...the aformentioned beast who kidnapped the two Idaho children and brutally murdered their family has a web log. Truely disturbing stuff.

My intent is to harm society as much as I can, then die...was in prison for over 18 years, since the age of 17. As an adult all I knew was the oppression of incarceration. All those years I dreamed of getting out...And getting even. Instead, I got out and I got even, but did not get caught. So, I got even again, and again did not get caught.

What a disgusting shame. Anyone have a spare island where we can send these disgusting, unforgivable pederasts to rot and die? Not in my back yard is damn right.

Props to Jawa Report

Barbara Bush...Volunteering in Africa?

I often hear and read complaints about those "spolied" Bush daughters. A fun rallying cry for leftists nutters is "why aren't the Bush twins in Iraq?" (funny, they never mention Chelsea, after all Hillary did/does support the war). Well, it seems that Barbara Bush is doing her part, and a lot more than most of us.

It is here, say some doctors and nurses, that Barbara Bush, one of President Bush's twin daughters, has been working in near anonymity as a volunteer.

While no one disputes that she has been in Cape Town for the last six weeks, nearly everything about her stay is shrouded in mystery. Hospital officials yesterday refused to confirm her presence, and many hospital workers ducked questions about Barbara Bush's role at one of the premier health facilities in Africa for children with AIDS and other ailments.

A White House official, Peter Watkins, confirmed yesterday that her mother, Laura Bush, will visit Barbara in South Africa later this week, after the Group of Eight summit in Scotland where President Bush and other leaders of the industrialized world will consider how they can help ease poverty in Africa. The official said Laura Bush and her other daughter, Jenna, will spend five days with Barbara and then will travel to other African countries to speak about AIDS relief and education initiatives.

Bravo.

Convictions can carry the death penalty (Idaho Kidnapping)

Honestly, that was the only reason I wanted to read the story. I wanted to know that this sick prick would be killed. Not spending a life in jail where he can get his kicks with other sicko sex offenders, but put to death.

The intent of the crimes, the documents say, was to rape, seriously injure or commit a lewd and lascivious act on a child under 16 years old. Convictions can carry the death penalty or life in prison.

Duncan, who was raised in Tacoma, Wash., had spent more than a decade in prison for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy at gunpoint and was a fugitive at the time of his arrest for allegedly molesting a 6-year-old boy in Minnesota. Wayman on Tuesday ordered him held on $2 million bail on the fugitive charge.

Preemptive strike against SCOTUS nominee

Yeah, I am guessing that this will be a nice quiet confirmation process, well, until a name gets named. PFAW is already circulating a fundraiser to block any Bush nominee, and they don't have the slightest clue who it will be.

We hope President Bush will select a consensus nominee after consulting Senators from both political parties, but given his track record, the odds are good that he will nominate someone who threatens our rights and liberties — in which case you and PFAW will have to mount a tireless campaign this summer to keep that nominee from being confirmed by the US Senate.

So, PFAW opposes anyone Bush nominates. How does anyone donate to this group? Isn't this a "preemptive strike" against a potential nominee? I thought leftists hated preemptive strikes?

It Starts! O'Connor to Retire

And you thought last nights Summerfest fireworks were good. Wait til next week!!

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court and a key swing vote on issues such as abortion and the death penalty, said Friday she is retiring.

O'Connor, 75, said she expects to leave before the start of the court's next term in October, or whenever the Senate confirms her successor. There was no immediate word from the White House on who might be nominated to replace O'Connor.

It's been 11 years since the last opening on the court, one of the longest uninterrupted stretches in history. O'Connor's decision gives Bush his first opportunity to appoint a justice.

"This is to inform you of my decision to retire from my position as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, effective upon the nomination and confirmation of my successor. It has been a great privilege indeed to have served as a member of the court for 24 terms. I will leave it with enormous respect for the integrity of the court and its role under our constitutional structure."

The White House has refused to comment on any possible nominees, or whether Bush would name a woman to succeed O'Connor. Her departure leaves Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the only other woman among the current justices.

Possible replacements include Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and federal courts of appeals judges J. Michael Luttig, John Roberts, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Michael McConnell, Emilio Garza and James Harvie Wilkinson III. Others mentioned are former Solicitor General Theodore Olson, lawyer Miguel Estrada and former deputy attorney general Larry Thompson, but Bush's pick could be a surprise choice not well known in legal circles.

Another prospective candidate is Edith Hollan Jones, a judge on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals who was also considered for a Supreme Court vacancy by President Bush's father.

The interesting thing here is that it changes the makeup of the court if a decent person is appointed, instead of one of those Godless liberals.

Also this means that President Bush will more than likely get two nominations.

Funding Religion

Anne Coulter's column over at Townhall.com got me thinking. Why isn't the ACLU suing the Army? After all, the taxpayers are definitely promoting a specific religion down at Gitmo. Shouldn't we be distributing books about science and self-help books by Dr. Phil instead of the Quran? After all, the Guran mentions God! The horror! Sounds like promoting religion to me. I plan on writing ACLU-WI to file a suit on my behalf. I'll let you know if I get a response.

State Office
ACLU of Wisconsin
207 E. Buffalo Street, Suite 325
Milwaukee, WI 53202-5774
Phone: 414.272.4032
Fax: 414.272.0182
Email: liberty@aclu-wi.org

Legal Department
ACLU of Wisconsin
207 E. Buffalo Street, Suite 325
Milwaukee, WI 53202-5774
Phone: 414.272.4032 ext.16
Fax: 414.272.0182
Email: inquiries@aclu-wi.org

Madison Office
ACLU of Wisconsin
122 State Street, Suite 507
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: 608.469.5540
Fax: 608.255.2688
Email: DRiley@aclu-wi.org

It's Called A Bunt!!

For two years I have been harping about Yost and his seeming inability to call for a sac bunt. Finally, he has started calling for it. Sadly, the Brewers players are totally unable to come through.

I finally get why he was so hesitant to move runners over, no one on the team can bunt!

Square around, face the pitcher, direct your bat to the left or the right and deaden the ball 20 or 30 feet away from the plate. That's what we call a bunt...For some reason, that basic skill has eluded the Milwaukee Brewers too often this season, and it played a role in another close defeat Wednesday to the Chicago Cubs. Todd Hollandsworth decided the issue with a one-out, run-scoring single in the bottom of the ninth to give the Cubs a 3-2 victory at Wrigley Field.

"You have to get bunts down and you have to get big hits," manager Ned Yost said after his club its third consecutive game. "We didn't do it."

Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets failed to get down a sacrifice bunt in the third inning against Kerry Wood, rendering Clark's two-out single meaningless. The one that really hurt came in the ninth, when Geoff Jenkins led off with a walk, only to have rookie J.J. Hardy foul off three consecutive bunt attempts against reliever Roberto Novoa.

The Gambler Goes Wild

Obviously, Kenny just didn't know when to walk away. Check out the story and video here. I love sports!

The 40-year-old left-hander first shoved Fox Sports Net Southwest photographer David Mammeli, telling him: "I told you to get those cameras out of my face."

Rogers then approached a second cameraman. He wrestled the camera from Larry Rodriguez of Dallas-Fort Worth television station KDFW, threw it to the ground and kicked it.

Rodriguez filed a formal police report against Rogers on Wednesday night, claiming assault. Police went to interview Rodriguez at about 9 p.m. ET at the Medical Center of Arlington where the cameraman was being examined for possible injuries.

We Need A Marquette Deep Throat!

Or maybe some Wells Street Memo's. Either way, I want this conspiracy uncovered. I want the paper ballots. I want an independent source to count the number of Warriors votes.

They really expect me to believe this?

n the first round of voting, 12,180 people voted for Golden Eagles, and 9,298 voted for Hilltoppers. In addition, the school disclosed that 5,587 people made a write-in vote selection. Of those people, 3,264 chose to write-in Warriors, even though the school had said in advance that any vote for the old nickname would not be counted as valid.

Bullshit! Four times as many people voted for Golden Eagles?!? Nope, didn't happen. These are totally arbitrary numbers.

This was all a nice plan after they realzied how stupid they looked after "Gold." Hey, we can save face and make Golden Eagles look beloved...I know, a fake online vote!!


Nice work Fr. Wild, you look like an idiot, the university looks like a bunch of idiots.

I hope I get a chance to talk to you in person about this at the Milwaukee BRAVES game! For this reason alone, I will go to as many MU Basketball games as I can and start the FSU Chop and wear full indian regalia. I might even see if I can't sneak a teepee in and recreate the sccene from Major League.

For shame...

Byron York asks a solid question

Where do our Federal Representatives get all this free time?

There was a scene in Fahrenheit 9/11 when Michael Moore asked Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), "Um, how could Congress pass this Patriot Act without even reading it?" Conyers leaned across his desk and answered, "Sit down, my son. We don't read most of the bills..."

What Conyers meant, I think, was that lawmakers have more to do than they have time to do it. Members of Congress, at least in the public mind, are very, very busy men and women who -- burdened with things like drafting bills and attending endless committee meetings -- delegate a lot of communications and PR tasks to staff.

Does that include writing for The Huffington Post? It started with Conyers himself, but the Huffington Caucus has now come to include Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill), Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.), Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), Sen. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.), and perhaps others I have missed. Some of their entries seem to be personal statements, while others read a bit like press releases. So my question to each of the busy lawmaker-bloggers on this site is: Is that really you? Are you actually writing the posts that appear under your name?

I eagerly await the answer!

More on the Economy

From David Malpass (via Econopundit)

So This Is a Weak Economy?

The U.S. expansion has been strong and steady despite the warnings of fragility, the repeated claims of a slowdown, and the fear of China (as intense as the Japan fears of the 1980s). U.S. growth has averaged a fast 3.9% pace since the initial 7.4% tax-cut-related growth celebration in the third quarter of 2003. Thanks in large part to smaller businesses, U.S. unemployment has fallen to 5.1%, with wage and salary income growing at a 10% annual rate in the revised fourth-quarter data. Beyond housing, household liquid assets have increased more than both total debt and foreign debt, helping build solid resources for the future. Add to that the nation's biggest unrecorded asset -- a robust system of innovation, market-based capital allocation, and decentralized decision-making.

Yet the litany against the U.S. economy is so ingrained and familiar that few disputed this spring's "slowdown." When strong data on income, employment, consumption and profits showed 3.5% first-quarter GDP growth and a continuation into the second quarter, the headlines shifted to other attacks -- adjustable-rate mortgages, a housing "bubble," the distribution of income -- rather than revising the slowdown story.

The recent decline in bond yields is being presented as a likely economic slowdown and a justification for the Fed to stop hiking rates. But similar yield declines gave way to solid growth and higher yields in both 2003 and 2004. Rather than a "conundrum," bond yields in the U.S. and abroad are probably being held down by the extraordinary U.S. monetary accommodation since the 9/11 attacks and an underestimate of its inflationary consequences.
...

One of the most needed steps in finding good policies is to marshal more understanding and confidence in our own economic system's strengths and weaknesses. The first issue facing policy makers (and investors) is whether current growth is a fragile interim between the deflation crisis of 2001 and a new crisis; or, more likely, a durable expansion in which each quarter's strong growth argues that we're on the right path, with an urgent need for more structural improvements.

Mr. Malpass is chief economist at Bear Stearns.
Copyright 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

read the entire article if you get a chance, it was in today's WSJ but Steve at Econopundit got it straight from the horses mouth, as such I think (hope?) it is okay t link to.

China rails against evils of market intervention

A freaking communist country is lecturing the US on market interference?? (via Drudge) Something is definitely wrong with this picture.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said that China National Offshore Oil Corporation's $18.5 billion offer for Unocal was "normal commercial activity between enterprises."

Liu said "economic cooperation between China and the U.S. serves the interests of both sides and commercial activities should not be interfered in or disturbed by political elements."

Stunning.

Scientology, A Study

What Is Scientology (seems like a good place to start, at their home page).

The aims of Scientology are a world without insanity, without criminals, without war, where the able can prosper and where Man is free to rise to greater heights.

And if you were to ask any Scientologist they would tell you it is a practical religion, with practical answers — tools that can be applied to achieve greater awareness and purpose in the here and now.

Or, as we say it, when you have the answers to life's questions — there is virtually no part of existence it cannot be applied to for the betterment of life itself.

Seems like a utopian ideal, okay, normal enough.

As it turns out there is a branch (Church of Scientology Mission in Milwaukee) at 6806 W Wedgewood Dr. Check it out...if you dare!

Okay, scientology.org is boring. I'm gonna check out Wikipedia.

Wikipedia's scientology section here.

Central Beliefs:

The central beliefs of Scientology are that:

* a person is an immortal spiritual being (termed a thetan) who possesses a mind and a body, accompanied by a lesser "genetic entity";
* that the thetan has lived through many past lives, stored memories of which can cause problems in the present day;
* and that a person is basically good, but is "aberrated" by the memories of past traumas.

The Church states that the goal of Scientology is a world without war, criminals, and insanity, where good decent people have the freedom to reach their goals.

Another basic tenet of Scientology is that there are three basic interrelated (and intrinsically spiritual) components that are the very makeup of successful "livingness": affinity, reality (or agreement), and communication, which equate to understanding. Hubbard called this the "ARC triangle". Scientologists utilize ARC as a central organizing principle in their lives, primarily based upon the belief that raising one aspect of the triangle increases the other two.

Scientology claims to offer an exact methodology to help a person achieve spiritual and ethical education, awareness, and improvement, so that he or she may achieve a level of spiritual purity as well as greater effectiveness in the physical world. The ultimate goal of Scientology is to "rehabilitate" the thetan, restoring its superhuman abilities to control "matter, energy, space and time" (MEST).

Past lives...hmm, okay, not quite overly strange but nearing weird.

Xenu, where things get incredibly odd..

Most famously, those who reach OT level III will learn about Xenu, the galactic tyrant who stacked hundreds of billions of his frozen victims around Earth's volcanoes 75 million years ago before blowing them up with hydrogen bombs and brainwashing them with a "three-D, super colossal motion picture" for 36 days. The traumatised thetans subsequently clustered around human bodies, in effect acting as invisible spiritual head lice that can only be removed using advanced Scientology techniques. Reportedly, the cost of reaching OT III approaches $360,000.

Controversies

* Scientology's harassing and litigious actions against its critics and "enemies."
* Differing accounts of L. Ron Hubbard's life, (critics charge Scientology with being a cult of personality, with much emphasis placed on the alleged accomplishments of its founder). Scientologists claim that government files, such as the FBI, are loaded with forgeries and other false documents detrimental to Scientology.
* Deaths of Scientologists due to mistreatment by other members.
* Scientology's disconnection policy, in which members are encouraged to cut off all contact with friends or family members critical of the Church.
* Criminal activities by some members of the Church of Scientology.
* Claims of "brainwashing" and mind control.
* Accounts of L. Ron Hubbard discussing his intent to start a religion to make money.

A religion to make money...noooo.

Here is a list of famous scientologists including Jason Lee (for shame), Courtney Love, Charles Manson (shocking), Patrick Swayze and Greta Van Susteren (I did not know that)

Moving on (The Secrets of Scientology)

Crazy brainwashing

The crazy Xenu space alien story (from L Ron Hubbard himself).

The head of the Galactic
Confederation (76 planets around
larger stars visible from here)
(founded 95,000,000 yrs ago, very space opera)
solved overpopulation (250 billion
or so per planet -- 178 billion on
average) by mass implanting.
He caused people to be brought to
Teegeeack (Earth) and put an H Bomb
on the principal volcanoes (Incident 2)
and then the Pacific area ones
were taken in boxes to Hawaii
and the Atlantic Area ones to
Las Palmas and there "packaged."
His name was Xenu. He used
renegades. Various misleading
data by means of circuits etc.
was placed in the implants.
When through with his crime Loyal Officers
(to the people) captured him
after 6 years of battle
and put him in an electronic
mountain trap where he still
is. "They" are gone. The place (Confed.)
has since been a desert.

That's all I can handle, these people are nuts. NUTS.

ECONOMIC GROWTH BETTER THAN EXPECTED

Since nobody else in the media is talking about it, i figured I wouldp oint ou to the dozens that come here daily, the economy is doing well, despite the oil prices. In a strange, recent phenomena, oil prices and the markets are not relating inversely. Oil has been up and up and until Thursday and Friday of last week, the markets had been climbing steadily.

Today offered more good news, as the "economy logged a solid 3.8 percent growth rate in the first quarter of 2005."

The new reading on gross domestic product, released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday, marked an improvement from the 3.5 percent annual rate estimated for the quarter just a month ago and matched the showing registered in the final quarter of 2004.

GDP, the broadest gauge of the economy's health, measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States.

Stronger spending on housing projects, more investment by business in equipment and software, and a trade deficit that was less of a drag on economic growth all played a role in the higher first quarter GDP estimate.

I feel a Eugene Kane column coming on...

Hmmm. The Bucks fire their black coach and pick up three white players, while vowing to resign Tony Kukoc...







C'mon Eugene, lets hear what a racist bastard Larry Harris is.

The Speech

Here is the text.

Here is the video.

As far as I am concerned, this is the gist:

The terrorists know that the outcome will leave them emboldened, or defeated. So, they are waging a campaign of murder and destruction. And there is no limit to the innocent lives they are willing to take.

We see the nature of the enemy in terrorists who exploded car bombs along a busy shopping street in Baghdad — including one outside a mosque. We see the nature of the enemy in terrorists who sent a suicide bomber to a teaching hospital in Mosul. And we see the nature of the enemy in terrorists who behead civilian hostages and broadcast their atrocities for the world to see.

These are savage acts of violence — but they have not brought the terrorists any closer to achieving their strategic objectives. The terrorists — both foreign and Iraqi — failed to stop the transfer of sovereignty. They failed to break our Coalition and force a mass withdrawal by our allies. They failed to incite an Iraqi civil war. They failed to prevent free elections. They failed to stop the formation of a democratic Iraqi government that represents all of Iraq’s diverse population. And they failed to stop Iraqis from signing up in large numbers with the police forces and the army to defend their new democracy.

The lesson of this experience is clear: The terrorists can kill the innocent — but they cannot stop the advance of freedom. The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of September 11 … if we abandon the Iraqi people to men like Zarqawi … and if we yield the future of the Middle East to men like Bin Laden. For the sake of our Nation’s security, this will not happen on my watch.

UPDATE: Roenick still a classless A* Hole

In his first comments since insulting hockey fans everywhere, Jeremy Roenick doesn't apoligize. Instead he says simlpy "show the whole interview."

"Before I went into my rant, I was talking about the game of hockey, about getting it back on the ice, about what we have to do for the fans and telling people it's not about who wins or loses, it's about the game," Roenick told the paper.

"But the media picked out the negative stuff ... Don't show snippets of the interview; show the whole interview, the whole message. My message during the interview was: How do we make the game more appealing to the fans?"

Telling fans to kiss your ass multiple times then telling them to stay away isn't the best way to "make the game more appealing to fans...moron.

I've seen the whole interview, it changes nothing. Jeremy Roenick is a classless prick.

By the way, ESPN now has video of this jag pulling a Sheffield and forever killing his image.

More Like Europe? Really?

Europe's socialist democracy is failing. The economy cannot sustain the convoluted system of "work if you want, we'll cover you if you don't." Tino over at Truck and Barter breaks down why "old Europe" is failing, almost irreversably so.

By all relevant measures the Western European economies are not doing well compared to America. GDP per capita is some 40% higher in the US than among the EU 15. Unemployment for many of the welfare states is stuck in double digits, and even higher using comprehensive measures.

The relative poverty is reflected in many areas, such as lower private consumption, and lower quality of public services despite higher taxes. One would expect a vivid debate in Europe of their economic problems, especially given how resentful many Europeans are of America’s superior wealth and power. But Europe has chosen a much more painless approach: Denial.

“Who says the Europeans economy is doing badly? Our enlightened system is burying the McAmericans! Haven’t you heard of “Balanced Growth”?

There seems to be an entire industry devoted to making up more or less fanciful arguments why Europe is really doing better than the US. I want to exemplify and debunk some of those myths. In the process I also hope to convince you that Americans work less and have more free time than Swedes.

Forgive an econo-porn post every once in awhile.

Kohl Talks Some Sense

I am shocked by the senators remarks in the Stevens Point Journal today.

U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl on Monday broke from fellow Democrats who are demanding President Bush set a date for bringing troops home from Iraq...Kohl joins Republican Reps. Mark Green of Hobart, Tom Petri of Fond du Lac and Jim Sensenbrenner of Menomonee Falls, who say a timetable would encourage the insurgents to continue their fight until after the pullout..."The president needs to tell us where he's coming from - what his expectations are and what is his approach," Kohl said, referring to Bush's televised speech tonight. "People in Congress as well as people around the country are wondering where is this going."
A timetable, he said, might make the situation "worse for our goal, which is to provide a stable democracy there.

I can't believe it, but I couldn't agree more. I think we need to know what steps are being taken to advance Iraqi training, and if it is known, why the training has been seemingly slow. However, a timetable and benchmarks just give the terrorists and murderers solid and important targets. Timetables and benchmarks do nothing but aid the terrorists in planning.

Not surprisingly, Dave Obey (socialist - Wausau) has already declared defeat.

"There will be no victory in Iraq," Obey said. "The question is whether there is some way of salvaging the situation."

Dave Obey, socialist, democrat, and speaker for Iraqi terrorists.

Cross posted at BBA