DADvocate

Instapundit pointed me to this video of Rosie ODonnell on The View going nuts about 9/11 and the collapse of the World Trade Center.

The most ridiculous and totally ignorant statement she makes, and she makes a lot, is this: "I do believe that it’s the first time in history that fire has ever melted steel."

Gosh, Rosie, how do you think they make steel? Did the steel need to melt for the building to collapse? No, Rosie, it did not. It just needed to get a little soft. How hard is it for steel to get soft? Well, blacksmiths have been softening steel and other metals for hundreds of years.

Popular Mechanics gives some details.

Steel melts at about 2,750 degrees Fahrenheit—but it loses strength at temperatures as low as 400 F. When temperatures break 1000 degrees F, steel loses nearly 50 percent of its strength. It is unknown what temperatures were reached inside WTC7, but fires in the building raged for seven hours before the collapse.

A few years ago, I checked out a book on pole buildings from the library. One of the photos in the book, to demonstrate structural strength, was a burned building in which charred polls and wood beams were still standing. Across one of the wood beams lay a steel I-beam, melted in a U-shape.

It's truly unfortunate that Rosie's stupidity has such a loud voice. It's nearly unbelievable that she is actually paid to air her stupidity. I've become a huge Donald Trump fan.

(Another hat tip to Instapundit for the easy links.)

Large urban areas in California are causing average temperatures to rise. Duh! Ever heard of an urban heat sink? Asphalt, buildings and other structures absorb tremendous amounts of solar heat. Temperature differences between urban and rural differences are rather obvious.

Average temperatures across California rose slightly from 1950 to 2000, with the greatest warming coming in the state's big cities and mostly caused by urbanization -- not greenhouse gases -- authors of a study released on Wednesday said.

But, the fact that this is making headlines makes me wonder how much our global warming freaks are taking this into account. How much is the world warming overall vs. how much are urban areas warming? Are higher average temperatures in urban areas skewing the overall data? Does Al Gore actually understand any of this?

Only the Shadow knows.

Instapundit pointed me to this post regarding bias in reporting at The Washington Post. An article with the headline "House Heats Up Over Bill to Give Illegal Immigrants In-State Tuition" never uses the phrase "illegal immigrants" in the article. Rather the article refers to illegal immigrants as "undocumented immigrants."

I've seen this play with words in numerous left wing articles, blogs, etc. Indeed, I'd hesitate to say I've ever found a liberal lefty who will call an illegal immigrant an illegal immigrant. "Undocumented workers," "undocumented immigrants," just "immigrants," "migrant workers", "seasonal workers" all come up in the lefts' attempts to ignore and deny the truth: a person whose first act is to enter this country illegally is an illegal immigrant.

Of course, this is why we have yet to reach or approach any reasonable solution to the problem. The left can't even admit to the truth or maybe they prefer clouding the issue so they can get cheap landscaping done for their houses.

Black Widow arrested in North Carolina:

A 62-year-old woman known as the "Black Widow" is being held in a North Carolina jail on $1.5 million bond for relatively petty charges, while police race to unravel a web of mysteries — including the deaths of her two husbands and a female "best friend" — before time runs out and "she's outta here.

Nice lady!

Two women kill homeless men to cash in on life insurance:

Two women charged with murder for the hit-and-run deaths of two homeless men -- allegedly to cash in on life insurance policies they took out on them -- made their initial court appearance Thursday.

Helen Louise Golay, 75, of Santa Monica, and Olga Rutterschmidt, 73, agreed to waive their right to a speedy arraignment until Aug. 29, after Golay hires an attorney.

I just love the grandmotherly types.

Often, in the popular press, female serial killers are considered a rarity. I wonder if the women above are considered serial killers. According to this paper they would be.

Female serial killers have always been something of an anomaly in criminology and a puzzle for law enforcement. As Eric Hickey (1991) describes them, "These are the quiet killers, every bit as lethal as male serial murderers, but we are seldom aware of one in our midst because of the low visibility of their killing". One of the first writers on female criminality, Otto Pollak, also said that most female crime is hidden. Kelleher & Kelleher (1998) argue that female serial killers are more successful, careful, precise, methodical, and quiet in committing their crimes. They examined 100 cases since 1900 and found an average duration of 8 years before being caught -- double that of the male serial killer.

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American females account for 76% of all female serial killers worldwide.

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In 1992, Aileen Carol Wuornos was convicted in Florida for the murder of 7 men she killed while hitchhiking and was (incorrectly) called America's first female serial killer.

Emphasis added

According to the paper 80% of murders by female serial killers are by poisoning. Watch what you drink.

Here's another intriguing case where Three newborn babies have been dumped 11 months apart in California. This could be a man behaving very badly.

The first newborn was discovered swaddled in a blanket on a park bench, an umbilical cord still hanging from his tiny body. Then, at neat 11-month intervals, two more abandoned babies were found in parked pickup trucks in the same neighborhood.

Someone is very sick. When I read of cases like this, I can't help but wonder if the increased acceptance or even glorification of abortion has cheapened the value of the lives of newborns and people in general. This is a question that to which there will probably not be a widely accepted answer any time soon. But I know where I stand, I have four children and wouldn't trade the joy and richness they've brought into my life for anything.

This little baby polar bear, Knut, rejected by its mother and raised by humans, became temporarily endangered when a terribly misguided animal rights activist suggested it should be killed.

Virtually every news source reported on this but only FOXNews.com made the right connection.

Bild daily, which has featured regular photo spreads tracking fuzzy Knut's frolicking.

Emphasis added

Yes, the bear is a male.

Stopping at a local drug store the other day to pick up some wine, I found this bottle covered with a sticker from MADD. This wasn't the wine I planned on buying but I bought it in order to blog about the sticker. The sticker reminds the buyer that it is a misdemeanor to purchase alcoholic beverages and then give them to a minor. Damn! There goes another source of income.

Does any one not know this? Later I went to the grocery store and find another sticker pasted to the end of the check out lane. A quick Internet search found a MADD page where MADD has a program where they "approach" merchants and ask permission to place the stickers. I wonder how many merchants have the nerve to say "No."

That would be looked upon by MADD as promoting drunken driving and underage drinking.

Do we really need some do-gooders shoving things in our face at every turn? Apparently so. Now in Butler County, Ohio (just north of Cincinnati), if you order take-out or home delivered pizza, you expected to help find deadbeat parents who are behind in their child support.

Customers at some suburban pizza parlors are getting something extra with their pepperoni and mushrooms — wanted posters for parents accused of failing to pay child support.

The idea came to Cynthia Brown, executive director of the Butler County Child Enforcement Agency, while she was ordering pizza.

"It suddenly dawned on me that most people running from the law don't eat out, they order pizza," said Brown, whose county is north of Cincinnati.

How long will it take until no one cares any more because we've been beaten over the head for so long by all these misguided social engineers?

I long for the day when getting a pizza was getting a pizza. Or, you could buy a simple bottle of wine without having to tussle with a Carrie Nation wannabe.

Give it a break, people, try enjoying life a little.

The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra canceled appearances by John Schneider and Tom Wopat in a "Dukes of Hazard" themed show because they decided it was too racist.

The Dukes of Hazzard are getting driven out of town over the Confederate imagery in their good ol' TV show.

The stars of the series, John Schneider and Tom Wopat, have segued into musical careers since the show ended production in 1985. Schneider says the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra canceled a planned "Dukes"-themed appearance after contracts were signed because some in the community found the show racist and offensive.

"It's a huge shock to me that in this day and age people could be so narrow-minded, especially professional people," Schneider said Friday. Although he didn't want to start a feud over the decision, "I would like for people to examine their motives, however, and their knee-jerk reactions to someone else's prejudice and bigotry."

The orchestra said in a statement that it has had a long artistic relationship with Schneider and Wopat, but "we decided that some of the messages conveyed in the program are not consistent with the efforts of the Pops to reach out to all members of our community."

I agree with Mr. Schneider.

Is this, "he didn't want to start a feud", the writers feeble attempt at humor?

Obviously, the Cincinnati Pops had no problem with the show portraying and perpetuating Appalachian Southerners as dumb, inbred, rednecks that barely speak English. And, Cincinnati pretends to be SO enlightened by having a law that forbids discrimination based on "Appalachian regional origin."

Of course, some anonymous idiot raised a stink and then the Cincinnati Pops contacted the NAACP. What do you expect the NAACP to say? I'm of "Appalachian regional origin" and I can take a joke. How about the rest of you hyper-sensitive Princess and the Pea types?

The other day at DrHelen, I made a comment that may be more true than I expected.

The article says, globally, February was the warmest ever. It sure wasn't in Cincinnati. Average temperatures were more than 11 degrees F. below normal. It makes me wonder, at least a little bit, how they come up with these "global" temperatures.

Emphasis added

We all may have very good reason to wonder about "global" temperatures. It turns out whatever method being used to calculate "global" temperature may not be valid. Science Daily published this article March 18, 2007: Researchers Question Validity Of A 'Global Temperature'.

Discussions on global warming often refer to 'global temperature.' Yet the concept is thermodynamically as well as mathematically an impossibility, says Bjarne Andresen, a professor at The Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, who has analyzed this topic in collaboration with professors Christopher Essex from University of Western Ontario and Ross McKitrick from University of Guelph, Canada.

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"It is impossible to talk about a single temperature for something as complicated as the climate of Earth", Bjarne Andresen says, an an expert of thermodynamics. "A temperature can be defined only for a homogeneous system. Furthermore, the climate is not governed by a single temperature. Rather, differences of temperatures drive the processes and create the storms, sea currents, thunder, etc. which make up the climate".

He explains that while it is possible to treat temperature statistically locally, it is meaningless to talk about a a global temperature for Earth. The Globe consists of a huge number of components which one cannot just add up and average. That would correspond to calculating the average phone number in the phone book. That is meaningless. Or talking about economics, it does make sense to compare the currency exchange rate of two countries, whereas there is no point in talking about an average 'global exchange rate'.

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These are but two examples of ways to calculate averages. They are all equally correct, but one needs a solid physical reason to choose one above another. Depending on the averaging method used, the same set of measured data can simultaneously show an upward trend and a downward trend in average temperature. Thus claims of disaster may be a consequence of which averaging method has been used, the researchers point out.

What Bjarne Andresen and his coworkers emphasize is that physical arguments are needed to decide whether one averaging method or another is needed to calculate an average which is relevant to describe the state of Earth.

Seems we've still a lot of work to do in order to determine what is going on climatically and how much impact Al Gore's excess CO² is having on the climate.

A commenter, rightwingprof, left a link at DrHelen regarding an article that claims Man-Of-Steel Mentality Helps Guys Heal Faster.

The stereotypical “tough guy” or “real man” rarely asks for help or shows signs of weakness, because then he wouldn’t be a guy, right?

While many scientists have considered these masculine tendencies to be barriers to health and recovery, a small study of about 50 men suggests the opposite. The man-of-steel mentality, often associated with military men and those in other high-risk occupations, can boost and speed up a guy’s recovery from a serious and/or traumatic injury possibly.

“It has long been assumed that men are not as concerned and don't take as good of care of their health,” said lead study author Glenn Good of the University of Missouri, Columbia, “but what we're seeing here is that the same ideas that led to their injuries may actually encourage their recovery.”

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Perhaps, the scientists report, an inner narrative is the engine behind the boost in health. For example, a brawny boy might think, “Yeah there are tough challenges, but nothing will stop me from reaching my goal,” the scientists state in a report of this study published in a recent issue of the journal Psychology of Men and Masculinity.

And, after I've been told so many times that being masculine is bad, bad, bad.

In this largely positive article about masculinity, the female author seems ot have let her bias show through. For example, "a brawny boy might think, “Yeah there are tough challenges, but nothing will stop me from reaching my goal," (My emphasis) Brawny boy? I was a very skinny boy (5' 11" and 128 lbs. at the beginning of the 8th grade) and quite determined to reach my goal of being a good basketball player. A goal I reached along with many others over the course of my life.

Today I worked out with my 13 year old son who wants to be a great football player and is well on his way. Being 200 lbs at 6' tall, he isn't skinny. He expressed much the same attitude I did at that age. He wants to prove he can do it and prove any naysayers wrong. He carries this same attitude into academics and his musical interests also. He seems to especially enjoy proving that he's smarter, stronger, better, etc. than others think he is or can be.

Being brawny or not doesn't make you more or less of a man or more or less determined. "Thin-lipped determination" is an old masculine tradition.

Another interesting bit of potential bias, the phrase career achievement links to an article titled "Study: Office Bullies Create Workplace 'Warzone'" Huh? How does "career achievement" equate to workplace bullies?

Oh well, it's just nice to know that someone recognizes at least a few of the upsides of being masculine.

The vast right-wing conspiracy is back!!

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday described past Republican political malfeasance in New Hampshire as evidence of a "vast, right-wing conspiracy." Clinton's barbed comments revived a term she coined for the partisan plotting during her husband's presidential tenure and echoed remarks she made last weekend in New Hampshire, which holds the nation's first primary.

Any right-wingers (Wingnuts R Us) interested please contact the Right-Wing Double Secret Conspiracy Committee. If you don't have the secret email address or phone number, hang around some of your right-wing friends and say things like, "We've got to stop Hillary." or "If Hillary gets elected this country will be in deep doo-doo."

If one of them says, "The whip-or-will only sings at night," you should respond, "Yes, but the mockingbird is the state bird of more states than any other."

Then they will say, "Five states border the Gulf of Mexico." to which you reply, "Eight states border Tennessee."

Finally, they'll say, "Al Gore sucks." To which you should reply, "And his house is too big"

Then you will be given the double secret email address and phone number to Join the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. Carry on!

When it comes to illegal immigration, I could just point to Lou Dobbs column when he writes about it. Today:

That was the idea behind the North American Free Trade Agreement. This president's father truly believed that NAFTA was only the beginning of a hemispheric free-trade area that would stretch from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego. But it all went horribly wrong.

Now almost a decade and a half later, the United States has lost a million jobs as a direct result of NAFTA, manufacturing wages in Mexico have declined, and illegal immigration to the United States, primarily from Mexico, now poses a national crisis for both nations. And instead of investing hundreds of billions of dollars in our hemisphere, corporate America has carried out the greatest transfer of wealth and knowledge to Communist China in the history of nations.

Our president told the Guatemalan people that the American people "need to be persuaded" that the U.S. government takes seriously its responsibility to secure our national borders before passing so-called comprehensive immigration reform. I almost got sick to my stomach as I heard President Bush try to explain that he couldn't just throw the borders wide open because his foolish fellow citizens truly believe that their president has first an obligation to secure the nation and the safety of all Americans.

This administration seems to believe "persuasion" of the American people is a sufficient response to every challenge, rather than a straightforward resolution of issues. And this from the president that likes to call himself The Decider. I think even he now realizes that's only true in the most limited sense.

Bush is really going down the tubes since last November's elections.

Read the whole column.

"Iranian Officials Angry Over 'Hostile Portrayal' in Hollywood Hit Movie '300'"

Iran, which turned a deaf ear last year to protests over its attempt to rewrite history through a Holocaust conference, now is crying foul over what it calls a "fabrication of culture and insult" to Iranians in the Hollywood hit movie "300."

"Cultural intrusion is among the tactics always used by the aliens," a government spokesman charged in a statement made to the state FARS News Agency. "Such a fabrication of culture and insult to people is not acceptable by any nation or government and we consider this attitude as hostile."

The Iranian press has seized on the outrage, with one newspaper, Ayandeh-No, proclaiming: "Hollywood declares war on Iranians."

Poor babies. I can't think of a better group to offend.

Last Saturday night, I went with my son to see "300." He had seen it the night before and declared it the best movie ever, claiming it would change the way I look at movies forever. Needless to say, "300" fell far short of replacing "Dr. Zhivago" as the best movie I've ever seen. But the story reminded me of another famous Greek, Aesop.

"300" chronicles the Spartans, lead by King Leonidas, and their heroic stand a the Battle of Thermopylae. Although eventually wiped out, the Greeks and their allies killed an estimated 20,000 Persians. The movie focuses on honor, courage and commitment. Indeed, I wondered during the movie if the film maker was promoting the idea that war is sometimes necessary and honorable. Apparently, I wasn't the only one to have such thoughts.

One of the few war movies I've seen in the past two decades that doesn't include at least some nod in the direction of antiwar sentiment...

(Hat tip to Tom Maguire at Instapundit.)

The movie reminds us that to remain free, we must sometimes fight, kill and be killed. I don't recommend "300" unless you like watching video game scenes and flying, decapitated heads. Find a good book on the subject. Definitely not for younger kids.

Which brings me back to Aesop and The Story of the Dog and The Wolf.

Better to starve free than be a fat slave.

PS. The irony that Aesop, himself, was a slave is not lost on me.

My youngest daughter's 5th grade basketball team completed another near perfect season this weekend. They lost only one game against other 5th graders. They avenged their only defeat, which came early in the season, by beating that team in a later tournament. (They played in one 6th grade tournament where they only had one victory.)

Over the last month, her team made a quantum leap in their level of play. They played with a true understanding of the game. Something unusual for 5th graders, boys and girls. You could see it in how they spaced themselves on the floor relative to other players, how they passed, played smothering defense, rebounded, etc.

The players on the team, including my daughter, developed the hearts and minds of athletes, also. They play hard all the time. They dive after loose balls. They battle for rebounds. When they take a hit they keep playing. And, they have a true team spirit. They never hesitate to pass the ball to an open teammate.

Lastly, they love the game. You can see it in their faces, hear it in their voices and you can feel their enthusiasm. This is truly one of the most unique groups of kids I've ever had the honor to know.

Congratulations, girls!

My daughter's specialties are defense, shotblocking, and rebounding, same as her Dad in his day. She is the middle girl in the picture. (They are setting up of an inbounds play.) She began the season at 5' 2.5" tall and ended it at 5' 5" tall. For a 10 year old girl, that it TALL! Since she is the youngest girl on her team, hopefully, she will continue to have dominate height. There was only one 5th grade game in which the other team had a taller player.

I try not to look too far down the road, but if these girls continue to develop and progress the way they have been. They'll be the best team for a long way around. Plus, they are a smart group of kids. Five of them, including my daughter, are on the schools academic team which won the District Governor's Cup competition a couple of weeks ago.

Consumer's Union, of which I am a member, sent me an email soliciting support for credit card reform. Credit card companies lure customers in by offering easy approval and then bleed them with usurious interest rates. Many credit cards allow the company to raise the interest rate if a user is late on a payment for a different loan or credit card.

I don't understand why this industry has gotten such a free pass from outspoken criticism while the oil industry, which is much more subject to supply and demand, gets lambasted frequently. Here are the main points Consumer Union supports for credit card reform:

* late fees if my bill payment is postmarked by the due date;
* retroactive interest rates - changes that apply a higher interest rate to charges I made under the old interest rate;
* interest rate increases due to a late payment I made on some other debt;
* over-limit fees if my credit card company has pre-approved the charge;
* "elastic" contract terms that allow credit card companies to change terms for any, or no, reason.

And:
* Each bill should update me about the financial result of making a minimum payment--how long it will take to repay the balance and how much it will cost in interest;
* The pricing disclosed in the contract and in my bills must be simpler and easier to understand.

Finally, if I can't always understand my credit card contract, how can I expect my teenaged children to understand? Congress should protect young consumers from marketing practices that place them at risk of crushing debt that can ruin their financial futures.

I would, and did, add to this list that payment due dates actually be days that the company accepts payments. I noticed that all to often that my credit card due date is on a weekend or holiday. In February, the due date was Martin Luther King Day, making the effective due date three days earlier.

Click HERE to send an email to Congress supporting credit card reform.

Listening to the Bob and Tom Show on the drive to work this morning, I heard Mark Schiff discussing the book "I Killed" which he co-authored with Ritch Shydner. On the drive home from work this evening, I listened to J.C. Watts on the Sean Hannity Show. They both touched on a point which I believer very deeply.

Schiff, talking about his interview with Joan Rivers for a portion of the book, told how, when he told her she was a very funny woman, objected. She said don't call me a woman. You're either funny or your not, whether you're a woman or not has nothing to do with it.

J.C. Watts discussed how the ultimate goal for racial equality is for everyone to be blind to each other's race, i.e. race makes no difference in our interactions with others. He made the point that you don't choose to be born on race of the other but you do make the choice of whether you will treat others equally or not.

Every time we emphasis a unique characteristic of a group, be it their gender, skin color, accent, etc., we often drive a small wedge between that group and others. Over time, small wedges make large cracks. Not a very good way to achieve an egalitarian society with equal opportunity for all. Special social and government programs for particular groups fall victim to the law of unintended consequences.

These groups may develop an unhealthy sense of entitlement. They may become more resented and disliked by others because they perceive that group as having an unfair advantage or special "rights." We saw how the politics of racial division harmed the Duke lacrosse team and will, probably, harm genuine victims of crime in the future because they may well be met with greater skepticism.

Bringing us together as one is not accomplished by dividing us into different camps. You would think all this would be self-evident, but it, obviously, is not

Newsweek reports the Europe's costly social programs have created a tremendous burden on young adults

they be forced to pick up the tab for a welfare system that offers far more to the elderly than to the young, but they will be forced to do so with less: Europe's economy remains skewed in favor of the old and its politicians have been shy about pushing painful reforms that might correct the balance. No wonder one recent poll in France showed that only 5 percent believed young people had a better chance of succeeding than their parents.

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but it's clear who's to blame for today's sorry situation: the boomers. The sunlit decades of postwar prosperity saw the creation of generous welfare states across Europe. Dynamic economies assured the boomers secure employment (Germans still like to speak of "job owners") and hefty pensions on retirement. But this good fortune came at a price. The same labor rules that protect the jobs of the middle-aged shut out the young. And dwindling birthrates mean there will soon be fewer workers to support the retirees.

The other day, DrHelen posted about female politicians should quit talking about motherhood and their grand kids. Female politicians in France have the same problem.

Socialists' Ségolène Royal, has pledged more housing, €10,000 loans and guaranteed jobs or training after six months of unemployment. As Royal told a party rally last week: "As a mother, I want for all children born and raised in France what I wanted for my own children."

They now seem unlikely to get it.

Emphasis added

No wonder they call it the "mommy state." And, despite however pretty, warm and cuddly it may be, socialism doesn't work.

Lou Dobbs' column at CNN.com yesterday: Dobbs: Democratic hacks embrace lunacy of amnesty

his new Congress was supposed to be different. Instead, it is being led by a gaggle of partisan hacks pandering to the same special interests and corporate masters as the previous Republican-led Congress.

So-called comprehensive immigration reform legislation is about to take a privileged position on the Democratic agenda in the Senate. It will likely succeed, just as it did in that august chamber last year, when 38 Democratic senators sided with the president to pass the bill and tried to slam amnesty down the throats of the House of Representatives and their 300 million constituents.

And the now Democratic-controlled House is likely to embrace rather than combat the lunacy of amnesty.

The same characters are already shoveling the same nonsense that overwhelmed reason in the Democratic Party and the Bush administration last year. Front and center in their march to madness: The bill's sponsor, Senator Ted Kennedy, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force Rep. Luis Gutierrez and House Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren.

As long as the corporations have cheap labor available and the rich have low cost lawn care and domestic help, they don't care about the rest of us. The old line of "they do work Americans won't do" is baloney. It's the wages, not the work. Illegal aliens are paid wages below the going rate or even below minimum wage. Few Americans will work for those wages.

Latinos are taking over jobs in the construction industry.

two out of every three new U.S. constriction jobs went to Hispanic workers, the center said.

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Undocumented immigrants accounted for about two-thirds of the increase in recently arrived Hispanic workers, the center estimated.

As I remember, there used to be plenty of Americans working in the construction industry. It's a safe bet the undocumented immigrants, the polite, schizophrenic term for illegal aliens, are paid significantly less the American workers had been thus lining the pockets of the construction companies and the owners.

Durn cold in Cincinnati.

From the National Weather Service for February:
Average highs and lows more than 11 degrees below normal. 17 day were the high was below or equal to freezing. 24 days where the low was equal to or below freezing. This explains why there was large sheets of ice on the Ohio River and the creek behind my house was frozen over for 3 weeks.

WEATHER	OBSERVED VALUE	DATE(S)	NORMAL VALUE	DEPART FROM NORMAL	LAST YEAR`S VALUE	DATE(S)
RECORD
HIGH	76	02/10/1932
LOW	-17	02/09/1899
HIGHEST	53	02/25	43	10	65	02/16
LOWEST	-2	02/06	25	-27	3	02/19
AVG. MAXIMUM	31.7		43.1	-11.4	43.7
AVG. MINIMUM	13.7		25.0	-11.3	25.8
MEAN	22.7		34.1	-11.4	34.8
DAYS MAX >= 90	0		0.0	0.0	0
DAYS MAX <= 32	17		7.2	9.8	4
DAYS MIN <= 32	26		21.1	4.9	24
DAYS MIN <= 0	6		1.2	4.8	0

February temps for Ohio from 1895 to 2007. You can easily see Feb., 2007 was COLD.

(or grandkids)

A seven-year-old girl called the police on her grandfather on Sunday – because she said he was cheating in a family game of cards.

PETA tells Al Gore you can't be a meat eating environmentalist.

PETA seems to have an extremely hard time understanding that humans have consumed flesh for the entire existence of the species. Humans are omnivores. They eat just about anything that they can.

PETA is one of those groups that believes they are wholly in touch with the universe, or whatever, but are actually quite the opposite. They live in a fantasy world where humans and animals are equal and the natural food chain doesn't exist.

Al, eat all the meat you want. (Although you really should cut back a little bit. You're getting a little heavy.)

John Edwards says Jesus would be appalled.

Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards says Jesus would be appalled at how the United States has ignored the plight of the suffering, and that he believes children should have private time to pray at school.

Edwards, in an interview with the Web site Beliefnet.com, said Jesus would be most upset with the selfishness of Americans and the country's willingness to go to war "when it's not necessary."

"I think that Jesus would be disappointed in our ignoring the plight of those around us who are suffering and our focus on our own selfish short-term needs," Edwards told the site. "I think he would be appalled, actually."

Edwards sounds like some of those right-wing Christians that liberals so often complain about.

Although I haven't researched John Edward's charitable activities and donations, I have a hard time with a millionaire lawyer, who is built himself a 28,000 square foot estate telling us we're too selfish. I have a hard time with anyone claiming Jesus would be "appalled" with us. Edwards may well have crossed the line of "Judge not, lest ye be judged." (Matt 7:1) which I take as judging a person's worthiness in the eyes of God.

It is a grave mistake to claim to know how Jesus or God would judge us. It reminds me of the line I've heard so many adults say to children, "Jesus doesn't like little boys/girls that ...." No wonder so many people reject Christianity as adults. Jesus loves us all. Sure, he wants us to live up to certain standards, but He loves us all.

I'm no theologian and I'm sure innumerable people possess greater knowledge on this subject than I. But, I don't believe the subject needs in-depth analysis or great knowledge. It's really quite simple. And, although I'm a Christian, a politician who invokes Jesus as part of his/her presidential campaign most likely has lost my vote.

Instapundit points out that Donald Sensing is defending Al Gore. Sensing begins "Never thought I’d see the day . . . when I’d be defending Al Gore." Well, if he'd thought about it just a little bit more, he wouldn't have seen that day. Not yet, anyway. Sensing continues on to defend Gore's energy usage on several counts, but he lightly skips over the whole point of most criticism of Gore.

Is Gore a moralist preacher, as Glenn Reynolds and Eric Scheie have said? Well, yes. He demands severe cutbacks in first-world lifestyles and business practices in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Given that Gore believes "global warming is the worst crisis we have ever faced", one would think he would be taking drastic action in every way possible. For Gore, global warming ranks worse than Black Death, the threat of nuclear annihilation, HIV, hunger, the fascism of Hitler and Mussolini, communism, etc.

Yet, Gore flies around in private jets and maintains high energy consuming residences like any other rich guy. That's hardly the actions of someone facing "the worst crisis" ever. Donald, it's not the energy he consumes, it's the Grand Canyon size chasm between what he says and what he does. Gore is a self-serving hypocrite of the first magnitude.

On August 29, 2006, I blogged about the murder of Marcus Fiesel, a three year old boy who was left in a closet for two days while his foster family attended a family reunion in Kentucky.

Liz Carrol, the foster mother, has been convicted for Marcus' death and will most likely spend the rest of her life behind bars where she belongs. Here is an interesting tidbit from the prosecuter's closing argument.

Prosecutor Woody Breyer closed by a holding a picture of a smiling three-year-old Marcus Fiesel.

"That was Marcus Fiesel," said Breyer as he held up the picture.

"What's left of Marcus Fiesel would fit in this cup," said Breyer, holding up a small paper cup. "And who did it? She did. They say you wouldn't treat a dog like that. You know what she wouldn't. She took the dog with her. She took the dog with her."

Liz Carroll then called out, "The dog was alive!"

Emphasis added.

Most of Marcus' body has never been found. After it was burned, remains were dumped into the Ohio River off of a bridge about a mile upstream from my house.

Following the outcome of this trial, the foster father, David Carroll, plead guilty to charges of murder. But, Carroll, a trained martial artist, blamed it all on his 5' 3" live-in girlfriend (a very twisted web).

Amy Baker did (it)," he said.

Judge Jerry McBride sentenced Carroll to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 16 years, but only after insisting that the whole story be told in his courtroom.

The 5-foot-3 Baker wouldn't let him and his wife, Liz, call police to report the child's death, said Carroll, who is 6-foot-3 and has studied martial arts.

While Baker has said that Carroll had physically abused her, he said Tuesday that she threatened to have her family kill his other four children if police were notified about Marcus.

"I was afraid for my family's life," Carroll said.

At this point, Amy Baker has not faced charges but is being investigated in Mason County, Kentucky for abuse of a corpse. The Ohio River, south of the low water mark, is actually in Kentucky. Thus, the dumping of the corpse occurred in Mason County, KY.

Hopefully, Amy Baker will end up on the inside of the bars, also. I hate to see anyone involved skate for such a heinous crime. But, nothing will bring Marcus back. Hopefully, future deaths and abuse will be prevented because of this sordid incident.

Yet, it appears we have a lot of work to do.

FoxNews carried this story of a substitute teacher taping students to a chairs a few days ago.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A mother is defending a substitute teacher who was banned from working in Jefferson County schools following reports that she taped several fourth-graders to their seats.

Kelley White said the incident at Pleasant Grove Elementary School was all in fun. White said her 10-year-old son became upset at how the event was being portrayed after seeing a television news broadcast.

"My little boy said they were laughing and cutting up," she said.

The substitute, whom school officials declined to identify, was banned Tuesday from teaching in Jefferson County schools. Nez Calhoun, a spokeswoman for the county school district, said the action stands.

At best this is a borderline incident. Taping children to chairs fails to pass the test of appropriate "fun" activities at school. Additionally, in this instance, what may have been "fun" to one kid might well have been quite frightening to another. I can't say that I know any children that enjoy being physically restrained.

Earlier this school year, we had similar incident at the local elementary school. In this case no one made a claim of having fun.

However, a relative of a student who was in the classroom said two students were taped around their feet, and a piece of tape was placed over their mouths, as the entire class watched. The relative also said the teacher instructed the students not to tell their parents, and if they were ever asked to say it was a game.

Hmm, could this be why the student in Alabama thought it was all in fun?

At best the teacher in the local case received a little sympathy but mostly condemnation, as you can read in this area bulletin board service. The school system is very hush-hush about this. I know several teachers in the system. The best I got out of them is that the teacher in question is not allowed to work at that school any more but was not fired.

I question the wisdom of this non-action. In my experience, schools often get a pass from child abuse investigators and other law enforcement. I in what other setting an adult would receive a mere slap on the wrist for such actions. The school system in Alabama made the right decision, the one in Kentucky did not.

Is what illegal immigration really about? Having someone to mow your lawn and clean your house? Seems I remember Hillary Clinton saying something similar including waiting tables but I can't find it on the Web. At least the Dems agree with that idiot Bush on one thing.

"Every time a Border Patrol officer is transporting a load of future housekeepers and landscapers to someplace to be returned, he's not looking for drug dealers or drug loads," - Michael Chertoff (Story HERE)

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John McQuaid asks this question at Huffington Post: Why Aren't Conservatives Funny?

Answer: They are. Liberals just don't get the joke.

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I ask this question: Why are liberals obsessed with homosexuality?

Mediocre NBA big man, John Amaechi announces he's gay and suddenly he's everywhere. I'm a casual follower of basketball. I generally watch one or two games of the NBA play-offs each year. My oldest son follows the NBA pretty closely as do some of my co-workers. I've never heard of John Amaechi. It's a good guess he's not related to Don Ameche. They spell their names differently. I saw John Amaechi on The Daily Show. He seems like a decent fellow, unlike many other NBA players.

Time magazine proclaims Ellen Degenerate (Go ahead and laugh you crazy liberals. It's a JOKE. A bad one, maybe, but no worse than much of what you say about non-believers, i.e. us fascist, Nazi, fundamentalist, wingnuts.) to be "mainstream." I guess you know you've made it when Time magazine declares you "mainstream." But isn't that a double edged sword? If you're mainstream, your no longer a cutting edge, avant guard trend setter. You're as plain as vanilla ice cream. (My favorite, btw.)

The article contains this tidbit of wisdom:

Lesbians simply don't inspire the kind of social-sexual unease that gay men do. Two chicks kissing is a male fantasy, a sweeps stunt. Two dudes kissing is gross-out humor.

Is the author of this article homophobic? Sounds like it when it comes to male homosexuality.

I keep hearing that two chicks kissing is a male fantasy. Whose? Apparently the writer of the story and a few others, but not mine. One woman is enough to fulfill my fantasies. (Is that too boring for you? If so, don't look at me. Investigate why you're so easily bored.) I suppose that men may tolerate lesbianism more easily because men desire the female body and can understand why others would too.

I didn't watch the Oscars but I saw one of Ellen's jokes on cable news. It was about America voting for Al Gore. Geesh! Get over it. You lost! The audience laughed but maybe it was a sympathy laugh. It wasn't that funny.

But I digress. All this reminds me of an anecdote I heard years ago regarding a drug rehab program. The addicts would go cold turkey. After they shivered and sweated and shook for however long it took, they would usually jump up and jubilantly announce, "I did it, I did it. I kicked the habit!" Then a staff member would come over to them, hand them a mop and say, "Good, now do something useful."

Being gay is not an accomplishment unto itself. Indeed, the politically correct view is that you're born than way. It's in your genes. A gay person can't help being gay any more than I can help being a testosterone drenched, macho, pile driving, heterosexual love machine. (Laugh. It's another JOKE.)

So quit making such a big deal out of it and do something useful.

UPDATE: Ed Morrisay at In response to a comment by Ann Coulter, Captain's Quarters thinks, "At some point, Republicans will need to get over their issues with homosexuality." Maybe so, but Dick Cheney and his daughter seem to get along quite well although they obviously disagree on some issues.

Democrats need to get over their issues with normal, heterosexual, white males. (Don't consider this last statement, you bigoted liberals, as anti-gay. Some of the best friends I've had in my life are/were gay.) Coulter called John Edwards a "faggot". If that's the best insult you can come up with for an elitist, carbon producing, ambulance chasing, hypocritical, liberal Democrat lawyer, you should expect criticism.

Al Gore is the only vice president to win an Oscar.

Who is the only vice president to have composed the music to a number 1 song?

Answer HERE.

BTW - Wasn't Bill Clinton the vice president?