DADvocate

While Michael Moore, and Rep. John Spratt (D) rejoice in the destructive forces of a hurricane because it will happen during the Republican Convention, many will be available to provide aid to those in harms way. Here is a list of some of the agencies and organizations that provided relief for Katrina victims. Note how many of the groups are Christian and religious based as well as "evil" corporations.

I wonder what Michael Moore and John Spratt are doing in preparation to help possible victims of Gustav. Probably not as much as some other people.

At this time there appears to be a 30-40% chance hurricane force winds will hit New Orleans.



Storm surge probabilities for NOLA are lower.

Michael Moore and Democratic Rep. John Spratt of South Carolina are quite happy about the potential death and destruction.

Spratt:


Moore, this video contrasts Keith Olberman's naming Bill O'Reilly the "Worst Person" for saying he wished Hurricane Katrina had hit the U.N. building with Olberman not batting an eye at Moore's comments.



Aside from the questions about existence of God or God's will, what does this say about Spratt, Moore and Olberman?

A good article in the September issue of Scouting Magazine on getting boys to read by giving them books they will enjoy.

Jon Scieszka, author of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, can picture his reading audience quite precisely.

“It’s those knuckleheaded boys who are sitting in the back of the classroom,” he says with a laugh. “I want to engage them and make them sit up.”

Scieszka, recently appointed the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress, isn’t the only one thinking about boy readers. Studies show boys aren’t reading as much as girls, and it’s affecting their success in school.

Why?

The short answer, says Scieszka: “Boys often have to read books they don’t really like. They don’t get to choose what they want to read.”

---

The bottom line: Boys need more exposure to the kinds of books that excite them. “We know a great deal about the reading interests of teen and preteen boys,” says Brozo.

Surveys and studies show that boys prefer topics and genres such as humor, horror, adventure, informational books, science fiction, crime and detective, ghost stories, sports, war, biography, historical novels, and graphic novels.

These kinds of books “appeal to boys because the fun overtakes the challenge of reading,” says Brozo. “Boys can overcome the challenges of what might otherwise be a difficult read, if the material appeals to them.”

An easy read, the article is short and informative with a short list of recommended books for boys of different ages.

Two questions keep coming up in cable news and local radio talk shows I've listened to today. 1) "She's just a heartbeat away from the presidency. Is she the best person for the vice presidency?" 2) "Does she have enough experience?"

I've heard the "heartbeat" question enough times to make me scream. True, John McCain, or anybody else, could die unexpectedly. Remember Hillary's reference to assassination? But, in all reasonableness, John McCain appears to be a very healthy man with many years in front of him.

The heartbeat question is only asked to raise doubt and uncertainty in the minds of voters. Let us not forget that members of the MSM are overwhelmingly liberal Democrats. The is little objectivity in the MSM.

The other part of the question "is she the best candidate" is easily answered. No. Is Barack Hussein Obama the best person for president? No. Is Joe Biden the best person for vice president? Heavens, no. Is John McCain the best person for the presidency. Of the two major candidates he is but no.

Because politics requires a certain amount of showmanship, the most knowledgeable, competent people don't reach the higher echelons. The better speakers, the taller guys, more handsome guys do. The most competent, knowledgeable people most often go into another profession. A few may become advisers to the good looking smooth talkers.

Experience is a tricky question. I always remember the quote "Some people have 20 years experience and some people have one years experience 20 times." Barack Hussein Obama is running for president. His level of experience is arguably no better than Palin's. Jimmy Carter's experience when he was elected was close to Palin's.

John McCain, the Republican candidate for president, holds much more experience than Barack Hussein Obama. Joe Biden was first elected to the Senate when John McCain was still a POW. It's still to be seen if Biden's experience has taught him how to keep his foot out of his mouth.

Palin certainly appears to be a capable, confident person who, if not now, at some point would certainly be presidential material. McCain's selection of Palin was a brilliant gamble. He completely changed the national focus from the Democratic Convention to the Republican agenda. He also exposed a great deal of the bigotry of the left in the process.

I was listening to CNN with John Roberts when McCain made his announcement. Here are some excerpts from CNN's discussion.

ROBERTS: There's also this issue that on April 18th, she gave birth to a baby with Down Syndrome. The baby is just slightly more than 4 months old now. Children with Down Syndrome require an awful lot of attention. The role of vice president, it seems to me, would take up an awful lot of her time, and it raises the issue of, how much time will she have to dedicate to her newborn child?

---

ROBERTS: And I wasn't asking that from a political standpoint either. As the father of two children, you wonder, a child requires a lot of attention when a child is healthy. The child has Down Syndrome, requires that much more care.

Can she take the time that she needs with her child? How would it affect that child's development?

Roberts immediately jumps into the the mother must care for the kids routine. Dana Bash sets Roberts straight, "...if it were a man being picked who also had a baby 4 months ago with Down Syndrome, would you ask the same question?"

I've heard more liberals raising questions concerning age and gender than I ever imagined. I'm not surprised because reading blogs it is visible underneath the surface of many liberal comments. I'm just wondering how people will respond now that it is more out in the open.

Saw a couple of interesting signs while at my daughter's basketball tournament today.


I'm not sure what kind of school this is but I don't think I want to know either. I hear the girls are very hard to get along with.

Listening to the TV cable news I hear a litany of "McCain's old, she's a heartbeat from the presidency, what about her kids, she doesn't have enough experience, blah, blah, blah." You'd think McCain was on death's door. He looks pretty healthy to me.

After decades of ranting about women's rights, equal opportunity for women, glass ceilings and more, the media and lefties are throwing out all the typical anti-woman trap they can find. Palin's experience compares well to Obama's and she's running for vice-president not president.

I hear the left throwing out every sexist, agist tidbit they can to try and create doubt in the mind of voters. They are betraying every ideal they claim to have been working for for the past 50 years. The must be scared to death.

John McCain is a genius. I don't care how high Joe Biden says his own IQ is. Listening to CNN and reading blogs, the Dem convention has already been forgotten. Amazing. All talk if focused on VP pick Sarah Palin.

I love it.

A couple of other thoughts: The Dems better tread lightly. How much experience did Jimmy Carter have when he ran for president? Only a little more than Palin and less executive experience. She's only running for vice-president.

I love it that she's a real woman. She unabashedly admires her husband, loves her kids and isn't bitter. A woman we can all hope our daughters emulate. I hope she can hold onto her enthusiasm.

I'm waiting to watch the official announcement of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate. I've had CNN on in the next room. Listening is interesting. John Roberts early on asked the sexist question, can a woman with young children serve as vice-president or president? I don't remember that question coming up when JFK ran or when any number of men ran for Senator, Congressperson or governorships.

At this point I know only what I've heard on CNN and a little from the Internet. At Ann Althouse, women and men seem excited and happy with the pick. The few tidbits I've picked up: she's pro-life and has lived it by choosing to give birth to a Down's Syndrome child rather than have an abortion; 5 kids; lifetime member of the NRA; known as a reformer; there was apparently a minor scandal in her gubernatorial administration in which a staff member, unbeknown, to Palin tried to get Palin's sister's husband fired as a state trooper.

I kind of like that she's from Alaska. Alaskan's have a reputation for self-reliance and individualism.

OK, listened to most of her speech before I had to do something else. She spoke excellently. Obviously intelligent and comfortable in this role. Beautiful family and family roots that will appeal to everyday Americans. She spoke with enthusiasm and energy and an appealing voice unlike Hillary Clinton. I'm willing to bet her IQ is higher than Joe Biden's.

So far, all the Democratic response to her selection sound sexist. The Dems are treading on thin ice here. At this point, I like the choice.

Cousin Pat at Hurricane Radio was rightfully upset at some lefties hoping tropical storm Gustav would reach hurricane strength and bulldoze NOLA during the Republican National Convention.

We could always count on the right wing telling us how New Orleans should be bulldozed, but I never thought it would come from the left. I sure never thought it would come from the left to score political points during the Republican National Convention.

Now, it's looking like Gustav will miss NOLA completely. I guess the lefties will have to wish death and destruction on someone else.

Simply a class act.



Why is Obama using non-U.S. citizens?

Today someone parked their bus in front of my workplace and I couldn't resist getting my picture taken.



That's one big bus. I'm 6'3" tall.

Below are the linemen on my son's high school football team. He's the big kid in the back row on the left end. Number 79. Not quite as big as the bus but close. And, he's only a sophomore.

Monroe High School, near Cincinnati, has been having a big tiff over the cheerleaders not being allowed to wear their uniforms in school.

“If we're allowed to wear it at games, you should be able to wear in school and pep rallies and stuff,” said varsity cheerleader Lindsay Bellaw.

The cheerleaders gained the support of some parents and classmates, who said officials should make an exception to the uniforms.

“I think it's ridiculous they're not allowed to wear them, because it’s like school spirit and they should be allowed to wear them,” said student Emily Campbell.

The cheerleaders, et al, are just being whiny butt, cry babies.

I asked my son if the cheerleaders were allowed to wear their uniforms in school. No. They have warm-ups they wear on game days.

Monroe school officials came up with the same solution. I'm glad they didn't cave in.

So instead, the district came up with a compromise. The school will give the cheerleaders special T-shirts to wear to school this year to show their spirit.

Next year, the school will buy policy-appropriate uniforms for the cheerleaders.

But, jees, what a bunch of whiners. At least it wasn't the swim team.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer blew off drill here, drill now protesters.

Pelosi paused and asked the group, “Right here?”

Seeming to enjoy the back and forth, she followed with another question: “Can we drill your brains?”

She went on to refer to the protesters, who continued to chant sporadically, as “handmaidens of Big Oil.” Arguing that increased offshore drilling would reduce gas prices by only a couple of pennies a decade from now, she referred to the demonstrators as the “2-cents-in-10-years-crowd.”

Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer swiped at the demonstrators, too, saying that “sophomoric chanting” won’t solve the energy crisis and that “all thinking Americans know” — stressing the word "thinking" and looking at the crowd — that America doesn’t have a quarter of the word’s fossil fuels yet uses a quarter of the world’s energy.

I wonder if Hoyer includes Pelosi in the "thinking Americans" group. She doesn't seem to think very often.

In an interview with Tom Brokaw, Pelosi said, "I believe in natural gas as a clean, cheap alternative to fossil fuels." Again, in the next her next utterance, "The fact is, the supply of natural gas is so big, and you do need a transition if you’re going to go from fossil fuels,..."

Apparently, nutty Nancy doesn't realize natural gas is a fossil fuel. Plus, Pelosi and her husband have invested "in a company that produces natural gas for use in automobiles,..."

Of course, Nancy doesn't want us drilling for oil. Her money's in natural gas. I've been listening for 8 years about how George Bush is an oil man. I wonder how many lefties will hold Pelosi to the fire. Very few, I bet.

Nancy was also rebuked by the Catholic Church for misrepresenting the Catholic Church's position on abortion.

Politics can be treacherous. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi walked on even riskier ground in a recent TV interview when she attempted a theological defense of her support for abortion rights.

Roman Catholic bishops consider her arguments on St. Augustine and free will so far out of line with church teaching that they have issued a steady stream of statements to correct her.

I doubt Hoyer does much rational thinking either or we could get him to help Nancy out.

BTW - Here's an authoritative article that says we do need to drill to successfully make the transition to alternative fuels.

I noticed that the exterior of the Pepsi Center is decorated with banners topped with a star.



Did they get the ideas here?



Or, maybe, here?


Courtesy broocey

Smilin' Bob ain't smilin.

Steve Warshak will be serving a long, hard sentence in the federal slammer.

In Cincinnati, a man convicted of defrauding customers seeking male sexual enhancement supplements has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Steve Warshak also was ordered to pay $93,000 in fines for his convictions on 93 counts of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering. His company, Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals, and other defendants were ordered to forfeit more than $500 million.

Warshak screwed a lot of people out of a lot of money. The judge took a firm position and now Warshak will experience rigid prison life. By the time he gets out he will be a hardened convict. Reports are that Warshak is afraid of getting whacked off in prison.

Other reports say Warshak thinks he got the shaft. However, many agree that the judge was right to stick it to Warshak.

I'm far from an Edwards fan and I think Elizabeth Edwards has more than her share of snottiness based on her comments about her Republican neighbor and such.

But criticizing her for not disclosing her husband's affair is simply wrong. Even in court a spouse is protected from testifying against the other. Additionally, Ms. Edwards suffers from cancer. Another example of the lefties eating their own.

Give the lady a break. It's not like she drove off a bridge and killed someone.

Ellen Tien at Oprah.com claims she's " She's happily married, dreaming of divorce." Pretty hard to do if you ask me.

From reading the article, she sounds self-centered and not that happily married. The first paragraph gives us a clue.

I contemplate divorce every day. It tugs on my sleeve each morning when my husband, Will, greets me in his chipper, smug morning-person voice, because after 16 years of waking up together, he still hasn't quite pieced out that I'm not viable before 10 a.m.

Here she displays the attitude that it's her husband's job to conform to her desires/whimsy/demands. I wonder if Tien appreciates at all having a bright, chipper person with whom to share the morning.

Tien then goes on to tell anecdotes of a variety of her husband's shortcomings.

Following this she says, "Nor is Will the Very Bad Man that I've made him out to be. Rather, like every other male I know, he is merely a Moderately Bad Man,..." Got that? Every male is a "Moderately Bad Man." In Tien's estimation there are no good men, except maybe in some world to which she has never been exposed.

She calls it the Mid-Wife Crisis:

Mind you, when I say Mid-Wife Crisis, I mean the middle-of-married-life kind, not the kind where you go to Yale to learn how to legally brandish a birthing stool. As one girlfriend remarked, it's the age of rage -- a period of high irritation that lasts roughly one to two decades. As a colleague e-mailed me, it's the simmering underbelly of resentment, the 600-pound mosquito in the room. At a juncture where we thought we should have unearthed some modicum of certainty, we are turning into the Clash. If I go will there be trouble? If I stay will it be double? Should I stay or should I go?

She finishes up with:

Maybe one day, marriage -- like the human appendix, male nipples, or your pinky toes -- will become a vestigial structure that will, in a millennium or two, be obsolete. Our great-great-great-grandchildren's grandchildren will ask each other in passing, "Remember marriage? What was its function again? Was it that maladaptive organ that intermittently produced gastrointestinal antigens and sometimes got so inflamed that it painfully erupted?"

Yes. Yes it was.

Tien appears to be a woman without the ability to make the commitment to a man that women often complain about a man not being able to make. She also appears to only be concerned about how she feels and whether or not her husband satisfies her in some way. Finally, she seems to be a rather miserable person and I doubt any man (or woman) could change that. Lacking any vestige of insight, Tien decides men are bad.

Unfortunately, since her writing is probably widely read, she's influencing women and girls to think the same way with no concern to the larger picture.

I didn't get to watch the tribute to Teddy. Was this picture shown?

If Obama and Biden get into office it means more bad news for dads.

On Father’s Day 2008, Sen. Obama could have spoken on any number of topics. His choice was to castigate African-American fathers and blame fathers, and fathers alone, for the ills of the African-American family.

---

he also castigated them for failing to endorse “responsible fatherhood” which essentially means signing up for 18 years of overly highly calculated child support.

---

Senator Biden is the guy willing to give ex-wives free attorneys to help in their divorce cases

If Obama wants responsible fathers why doesn't he fight for a father's right to equal time, equal access and joint physical custody of his children in the event of divorce. To liberals "responsible" fatherhood means writing checks for child support while the "responsible" mother has complete control.

What can I say about Biden? He embodies the white liberal male self-hatred that has helped to flush men's rights down the drain the past 50 years.

USA network airs a show called The Starter Wife. Obviously this is a show about a woman trying to make her way in life after being dumped by her husband for another woman, or something. I've never watched the show and probably never will.

But, the premise of look what another bad man did to this wonderful woman underlies premise of the show. I'm reminded of the movie "The First Wives Club." Another Hollywood production about the evils of men. (I never saw this either so I'm speaking from second hand knowledge.)

I'm still waiting for sympathetic shows on the men's side of divorce. Considering that women initiate divorce some where between 66% and 91% of the time, you might find a large male audience for such a show, except that men don't tend to wallow in self-pity.

Some interesting divorce facts:

The proportion of divorces initiated by women ranged around 60% for most of the 20th century, and climbed to more than 70% in the late 1960s when no-fault divorce was introduced: so says a just-released study by law professor Margaret Brinig of George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia and Douglas Allen, economist at Vancouver's Simon Fraser University. The researchers undertook one of the largest studies ever on divorce, using 46,000 cases from the four American states that keep statistics on which partner initiates the action. In addition to women filing twice as often, the researchers found, they are more likely to instigate separations and marriage break ups.

The Brinig-Allen study also explodes the myth of the brutish husband, finding, for instance, that cruelty is cited in only 6% of divorce applications in Virginia, one of the few states that still uses fault grounds for divorce. More women than men obtain desertion-based divorces in Virginia, but adultery cases are evenly split between men and women.

Hardly shows men to be the cold hearted clods they are often portrayed to be on TV and in movies.

Yet this is the message Hollywood tells our boys and young men they are insensitive jerks and tells our girls and young women that men are not worthy of their love and commitment.

Maggie Hendricks at Yahoo's Fourth Place Medal sports blog makes a big issue that Australian 10 meter gold medal winner, Matthew Mitcham, is openly gay. Curiously, the main quote from Mitcham is:

Being gay and diving are completely separate parts of my life. Of course there’s going to be crossover because some people have issues, but everyone I dive with has been so supportive.

Emphasis added.

Hendricks appears to be on of those people who have issues. She goes on to write:

Though he wants to be known as more than a gay man, the LGBT community is proud of their star. At OutSports, a sports Web site that focuses on the gay community, his win is front-page news. The Web site brings up a good question -- will NBC mention Mitcham's orientation during tonight's broadcast?

Later, Hendricks posts an update to point out that NBC did not mention Mitcham's sexual orientation.

UPDATE: NBC did not mention Mitcham's orientation, nor did they show his family and partner who were in the stands. NBC has made athletes' significant others a part of the coverage in the past, choosing to spotlight track athlete Sanya Richards' fiancee, a love triangle between French and Italian swimmers and Kerri Walsh's wedding ring debacle.

Sanya Richard's fiancee is a professional athlete, cornerback for the Super Bowl champion New York Giants. I find that somewhat more interesting than someone's sexual orientation. The story about French and Italian swimmers appears to be quite interesting, involving the female moving to Italy for love, a break-up, nude pictures and video. Something worthy of Paris Hilton or Pamela Anderson. Of course, "Kerri Walsh's wedding ring debacle" occurred during Olympic competition. She lost her wedding ring during a game, not while washing her hands after dinner or such.

I'm not sure what it is that makes some members of the LBGT community want to flout their sexual orientation. To a large degree their assumed goal of gaining widespread acceptance or tolerance of gays has been reached. Indeed, being gay is now as blasé as being straight. Hence, not enough of a story for NBC to pick up. Isn't that how it should be?

But, some people have issues.

During my entire life I've had allegiance to only university - the University of Tennessee. I came into this world while my father attended graduate school there. Upon graduating he was hired as a professor and stayed there until retirement.

My father earned an M.S. and Phd at U.T. Others in my family: mother - B.A and M.S.; sister - B.A. and J.D.; myself - B.A. and M.S.; brother - B.S; other sister - Phd. That's a lot of history with one university.

Although, my parents often related the story of my yelling out, "That's my Daddy" as my father walked across the stage to receive his Phd diploma, my earliest memory of U.T. is listening to football games on the radio. As a teenager I was fortunate enough to know football game broadcaster and founder of the Volunteer Navey, George Mooney. I even road with him in his boat to football games a couple of times.

When Mr. Mooney decided to stop announcing games and focus on business, John Ward took over announcing duties and quickly became a legend. (There may have been someone else broadcasting for a year or two.) Ward continued to announce games for 31 years.

To this day the on sentence that sends chills up my spine is John Ward saying, "It's football time in Tennessee."

How in the hell is this guy making racist comments going to help Obama get elected? Good news for Republicans.

This past week in Knoxville, TN, the town where I grew up, a student shot and killed another student. Both were male. The killer was black, the victim white. The shooting was apparently personal and not random.

Katie Allison Granju, blogger at KnoxNews.com, wrote a terribly insightful piece, "Teenage boys are stupid."

I can see Granju hasn't matured since pre-school when she first had to put up with yucky boys. Granju could have chosen to insult blacks because blacks commit murder at at rate more than 7 times higher than the rates for whites". Of course, by doing so she probably would have picked up her last paycheck very soon. But insult males, no problem.

Granju is now trying to back off on her comments, i.e. explain herself.

First of all, I am the mother of a teenage boy, a teenage girl, and two younger children. So there's some context for you.

Yippee! You have a teenage boy. That doesn't make you a good mom or any less of a misandrist. For all I know Granju may be raising her son in misery. I learned over the years that when someone starts off with "First of all..." or "To begin with..." that they're trying to take an authoritarian approach and you dare not question them.

This reminds me when my liberal mother tried to explain to me that legal discrimination against me and all other white males was OK. I am also reminded of my Thanksgiving dinner at my liberal sister's house. (In this anecdote, Mary is my sister.)

The perception of misandrists is so heavily tinted that nearly any incident is interpreted as an opportunity to insult men. This Associated Press article on Obama's vice presidential choice uses the common phrase "white male club." In liberal, misandric parlance "white male" ranks as a strong pejorative. Tossing out the phrase "white males," "old white men," "angry white man," etc. invalidates any concerns, rights, needs these white males may have.

The prejudice against white males has grown so strong in our society that most barely blink an eye when witnessing it. People walk on egg shells fearing the slightest comment insulting minorities or women will cost them their job, a la Larry Summers. But, insult white males, no problem.

Boys are under performing in schools and over medicated.

At last June's graduation at Franklin High School just outside of Milwaukee, three of the four students who tied for valedictorian were girls. Among the National Honor Society members, 76% were girls. And girls comprised 85% of the students on Franklin's 4.0 honor roll.

---

the skewed performances by gender at Franklin pretty much mirror the imbalances across the state — and the nation.

---

...many educators merely advocate prescribing more attention-focusing Ritalin for the boys, who receive the drug at four to eight times the rate of girls,...

---

One reason boys are losing academic ground to girls appears linked to a shift by schools to more word-based learning for which girls' brains are believed to have an advantage. Over the years, even math problems have become more word oriented, according to education researchers. But because schools are doing little to help boys adjust, males risk becoming second-class academic citizens. Already the academic success girls enjoy in high school translates into more college acceptances — 56% of the students on campuses are female.

And so it goes.

Who cares? Very few it appears.

Hat tip: Instapundit

UPDATE: More thoughts HERE and at DrHelen (At least a couple of women get it.)

Yesterday there was quite a to do on Chris Collinsworth's interview of Kobe Bryant. Conservative bloggers began harshly criticizing Collinsworth as a "liberal NBC announcer." At the bottom of the above link you can find a long list of conservatives who unfairly jump on Collinsworth's case.

I say unfairly because Collinsworth is a conservative. Collinsworth was setting Kobe up to express his patriotism which, I'm sure, reflects Collinsworth's feelings.

In the 18 plus years I've lived in the Cincinnati area I've listened to Collinsworth on WLW radio (home of conservative talks show hosts Bill Cunninghame of Barack HUSSEIN Obama fame and Mike McConnell) and as a sportscaster. Never have I seen or heard of any evidence of liberalism. I once sold Collinsworth a hot dog at a Little League Baseball game. Just a few weeks ago my elbow brushed his shirt at a football scrimmage involving our sons' teams. (I haven't washed my elbow since.)

Collinsworth also generously supports many causes in the Greater Cincinnati/Northen Kentucky area.

Collinsworth earned a law degree in 1991. He knows how to lead a witness, i.e. ask Kobe Bryant the right questions.

Further evidence: Collinsworth calls Keith Olberman a "no talent."

If any of these conservative bloggers would have bothered to check opensecrets.org, they would have found that Collinsworth and his wife have donated thousands to Republicans.

I'm deeply disturbed that such respected conservative bloggers as Gatepundit whose post was publicized by Instapundit, Melissa Clouthier, would participate in a free for all mauling with bothering to do what they accuse the MSM of not doing: checking the facts.

Funny how little ole me, who gets about as many hits in a week as some of these guys get in a few minutes knew better. Maybe it's because I actually worked at a newspaper once.

Lots of conservative bloggers owe Chris Collinsworth an apology. And, they should rejoice that an NBC sportscaster pulled out the patriotism of one of the premier sports figures in our country.

P.S. The elbow part was just a joke. Figured I better explain that.

Recently Bill Clinton warned that we are becoming more divided as a nation.

Gee, I wonder why.



More here.

Funny that Bill Clinton would warn us of being divided, Bill Clinton helped create that divide. In their blind hatred of corporations, non-liberals and "people who aren’t like them" liberal Democrats don't care how much damage they do to America and its citizens.

Wikipedia defines totalitarianism as:

Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe political systems where a state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private life.

American Heritage Dictionary gives this definition:

Of, relating to, being, or imposing a form of government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control over all aspects of life, the individual is subordinated to the state, and opposing political and cultural expression is suppressed:

More from Wikipedia:

Totalitarian regimes or movements maintain themselves in political power by means of an official all-embracing ideology and propaganda disseminated through the state-controlled mass media, a single party that controls the state, personality cults, central state-controlled economy, regulation and restriction of free discussion and criticism, the use of mass surveillance, and widespread use of terror tactics.

State regulation and governmental control over all aspects of live makes up one of the core principles of totalitarianism. Even a perfunctory look at Democratic policies and actions shows that Democrats hold totalitarian beliefs and use totalitarian tactics.

The Democratic approach to "opposing political and cultural expression" is suppression. Although liberal Democrats have an already liberally biased media, "20 major media outlets studied, 18 scored left of center...," Democrats plan for further suppression of opposing view points. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently expressed her support for reinstating the "Fairness" Doctrine.

Lurking in the gloom of the Democrat agenda is a resuscitation of the so-called “Fairness Doctrine,” which would allow the federal government, at the behest of liberal special interests, to selectively harass and intimidate radio stations whose broadcasting format it finds objectionable. Thus, the proliferation of conservative talk-radio and virtually all of the alternative media would be threatened with eventual extinction.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is unquestionably moving in such a direction once again. In only the past few weeks, she has castigated what she terms "right wing hate-radio," while refusing to allow even for Congressional floor debate on a measure that would ensure political discourse on the radio, like all other forms of public dialogue, is protected from the specter of government regulation.

Although the "Fairness" Doctrine enacts an obvious breach of freedom of speech and freedom of the press, labeling radio talk show hosts who oppose Democratic viewpoints as "right wing hate-radio," it makes totalitarian tactics OK.

How do Republicans feel about the "Fairness" Doctrine? U.S. Representative Mike Pence of Indiana strongly opposes it and has introduced a bill to prohibit enacting the "Fairness" Doctrine.

U.S. Congressman Mike Pence gave the following speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives today calling on Democrats to sign a discharge petition that would bring H.R. 2905, the Broadcaster Freedom Act, to the floor of the U.S. House. The Broadcaster Freedom Act would ensure that no future president could bring back the ‘Fairness Doctrine’ without an act of Congress.

Of course, Pelosi is preventing Pence's bill from coming to a vote.

“So I don’t see it [the Pence bill] coming to the floor,” Pelosi said.

“Do you personally support revival of the ‘Fairness Doctrine?’” I asked.

“Yes,” the speaker replied, without hesitation

Liberal operative, former Washington Director and lobbyist for MoveOn.org , Tom Matzzie, has a different plan for suppressing opposing viewpoints where he will "will unleash what The New York Times describes as "a variety of potential dangers, including legal trouble, public exposure and watchdog groups digging through their lives." Apparently, it doesn't bother Matzzie that his actions may be in violation of the Ku Klux Klan Act.

"A key federal civil rights law (42 U.S.C. § 1985(3)), popularly known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, may be applicable if ‘two or more persons conspire to prevent by force, intimidation, or threat, any citizen who is lawfully entitled to vote, from giving his support or advocacy in a legal manner, toward or in favor of the election of any lawfully qualified person as an elector for President or Vice President, or as a Member of Congress of the United States; or to injure any citizen in person or property on account of such support or advocacy.’"

Next, look at "political systems where a state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private life" or political authority exercising "absolute and centralized control over all aspects of life..." Examples of this from liberal Democrats abound. From Al Gore forcing us to use "Gore approved" commodes, current global warming "solutions", forcing Catholic hospitals to dispense contraceptives and perform abortions, and other procedures against their religious beliefs.

The liberal National Education Association opposes school vouchers partly on the grounds that beliefs of which they don't approve might be taught.

About 85 percent of private schools are religious. Vouchers tend to be a means of circumventing the Constitutional prohibitions against subsidizing religious practice and instruction.

This is the part of The Constitution that "prohibits" vouchers: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." Looks to me as if government must take a neutral position on this, neither prohibiting or endorsing. If the child's family freely chooses the school, as opposed to being forced a particular school as in most today's educational system, is that subsidizing a religion or subsidizing a good education? Plenty of religious colleges and universities get federal money.

The truth is that the NEA want to force their values upon gullible children in "a great public school," i.e a school they control.

Liberal Democrats brought us political correctness which grossly intrudes into our expression of our thoughts. Even the slightest politically correct comment can ruin a career.

There are the ever increasing efforts of the largely liberal based "nanny state" to control what we eat, drink, breath, do, etc.

When it comes to "personality cults" only two names need to be mentioned: Barack Hussein Obama and Al Gore. Nuth said.

Calls by liberal Democrats for a "central state-controlled economy" occur routinely, whether it's threatening oil companies or the constant call for nationalized health care. Some liberal Democrats seem to think government should control everything.

Conservatives aren't entirely void of these urges but the overwhelming charge of totalitarianism comes from the liberal Democrats. How far will this go? I don't know but we need to fight it with all our vigor.

UPDATE: An current example of Democratic totaltarian tactics where they take away you livelihood if you disagree with them. I don't agree with the form of livelihood but for liberals that promote equal opportunity, etc., it's a completely hypocritical move. To have fired him for religious belief, race, nationality or gender would have been illegal. But not for supporting John McCain.

Driving and drinking alcoholic beverages is dangerous. But, so is driving and drinking a Frutista Freeze from Taco Bell!

...the car suddenly crossed into two lanes of oncoming southbound traffic, and left the roadway between the guardrail and a traffic sign located in front of the Social Security office. The silver car traveled along a grassy ditch area in front of the Social Security Office before entering a wooded area at the foot of a ravine in front of Tumbleweed restaurant and to the rear of Hardees.

Amstutz estimated the car traveled a distance of 1,000 feet before coming to a rest...

---

Fite said she had just left Taco Bell, where she had purchased a frozen fruit drink called Frutista Freeze. Fite said after taking a drink of the concoction, she remembered "my head feeling like it was going to blow up." Fite said the next thing she knew, she was in her car, which was covered in bushes, her lunch of chicken poppers was scattered around her and the police and fire department were on the scene.

Remember, folks, be careful out there!

Microsoft Flops and Loses 7% of the Browser Market in Last 12 Months - Vista Still Only Used by Less Than 15% of all Users, per Janco

As long as Microsoft keeps making software that is less functional that previous versions, they can expect a continued downslide. I switched to Firefox after IE 7 came out and gave me problems. I never saw a reason to try IE 7 again.

I have VISTA on my new computer but find it much more awkward to use than Windows XP and would go back to Windows XP is I wasn't so lazy. At my work virtually everyone has a computer on their desk (200-300 computers, maybe more). They all run XP except for an occasional Mac or Unix based machine.

I don't know exactly what the point of this short post (Free Market Update) is. The blogger points out that the in the recent bus crash in Texas the bus had illegal tires and the driver's medical certification had expired.

Then he writes: The thing about government regulation is, you have to enforce the regulations. Otherwise, the free markets will decide.

Is he implying that the free market is to blame or shares blame for this bus crash? Sounds like it to me.

Government regulations need to be enforced, true enough. But, we all know that government regulation is spotty. However, he continues on to make the logical fallacy that free market forces somehow caused or contributed to this accident.

Being old enough to remember when blown tires were more common, free market forces have made our roads, and buses, much safer over the years. Looking at tire technology over the past 50 or so years easily shows this. Tires used to use cotton cords and by bias ply rather than radial. The invention and introduction of nylon and kevlar cord, radial tires, better tread designs and improved rubber compounds have increased the safety of tires tremendously.

Was this the result of government regulations? No. It was the result of a competitive free market in which different companies fought for a larger market share by providing products superior to that of their competitors. When I first started driving, tires that lasted 40,000 miles were unheard of. Now 40,000 mile tires are the cheapest ones you buy at Wal-Mart.

Some government regulation is necessary to attempt to control criminally minded people such as the owners of the bus that crashed in Texas. But, over time, the free market provides us with the best available products and services.

Just muttering's post on John Edward's affair, his claim of narcissism (duh) and jau's link to Maureen Dowd reminded me of this video. (Beautifully accompanied by the song "I'm So Pretty."



No, Edwards isn't narcissistic. He's beyond that, way beyond.

A couple of days ago some of us walked 6 or 7 blocks to eat lunch at Ollie's Trolley in Cincinnati. Ollie has his place covered with various photos inside and some outside. He very obviously supports Barack Hussein Obama for president with pictures, posters, banners, etc. inside and out.

Here's a framed photo of Ollie (if that's his real name) with Obama.



I noticed an interesting juxtaposition however. Elsewhere in the wall was this picture.



Few outside Cincinnati will recognize the guy with Ollie this time. It's radio talk show host Bill Cunningham who ruffled many feathers referring to Barack Hussein Obama as Barack Hussein Obama during a warm up speech for John McCain.

I have a great deal of respect for Cunningham although I don't agree with him 100%. I believe the Barack Hussein Obama incident was greatly exaggerated by the Obama loving press. I'm certain Cunningham would go to the wall for Ollie. Cunningham doesn't strike me as one who has his photo taken with people he doesn't consider a friend.

Across the street from Ollie's stands a sight that warms the heart of every man - a brewery. This one happens to be a Samuel Adams Brewery. Cincinnati's history holds a long line of brewing. Indeed, it made the top ten of America's hard drinking cities.



Saw this calendar in a local mall. Wonder what would happen if the genders were reversed? This type of gender smashing makes me sick.



Finally. I came across this cute, little snapping bike riding a couple of weeks ago. Little and cute really don't describe snapping turtles. How about ill tempered and ugly? I like turtles though. Not sure why. At one point as a kid I had 6 or 8 box turtles for "pets." Box turtles are just the right size and gentle. Snapping turtles will bite! Don't get too close. I've seen snapping turtles so big that I swerved into the other lane in my car because I didn't think it would pass under my car.

I haven't posted in a while. Summer activities with children and a busy work schedule come first. I have wanted sorely to post regarding Barack Hussein Obama. Hearing his frequent, shallow statements regarding inflating your tires and that the republic is no longer what is was (I thought he promised change) have me spinning.

Keeping it simple, Barack Hussein Obama reminds me of a patient I worked with at the mental health center years ago. He was in his late twenties or early thirties, a pleasant, outgoing black guy who happened to be functionally illiterate. But, he possessed the gift of gab.

He carried a leather brief case full of meaningless documents, most of which he couldn't read. With his sociable, extroverted manner, he easily fooled most people into believing he was quite literate and well informed. Only after I spent quite a bit of time with him did I realize he could barely read.

After I asked him why he carried the brief case, he readily admitted it was because it made him look important.

I realize that Barack Hussein Obama completed a healthy education but he seems also to possess the lack of real depth just as the patient. Occasionally, Obama says or does the right thing. I can't help but wonder: does he really understand or grasp the problem or did he just get lucky?

Maybe Barack Barack Hussein Obama got to where he is by Chance.