Ho, Ho, Ho-Hum.

Powerline notes some recent examples of religious tolerance towards Christians. If these kinds of things were done to Muslims, instead of by them, The Left/ Mainstream Media in the West would be all over the issue, using words like "hatred", "religious cleansing", and, of course, "Islamophobia".

But since the victims were Christian, this is likely the first you've heard of it.

Is it time to start singing this in our churches again?... (Here is audio. One of my favorite hymns when I was I was a kid.)

Proof.

The trouble with socialism - even the most benign and well intentioned - is that, to paraphrase Margaret Thatcher: you eventually run out of other people's money.

(For the record, Maggie's actual quote from a Thames TV interview, 5 February 1976: "...and Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They [socialists] always run out of other people's money. It's quite a characteristic of them".)

On The Cutting Edge Of The Nanny State.

Student gets suspended for the rest of the school year for accidentally... yes, accidentally, bringing a paring knife to school.

This is a perfect example of why joining an organization like Knife Rights is so important these days.

UPDATE: More on the incident here, and here, with some interesting updates.

UPDATE 01JAN2011: Tina left a great comment below, which she expanded upon over at at her blog, Pecan Corner. It's well worth the read, so head on over. She beings up the core point missed by the new Puritans of the Ruling Class: "A knife is not a weapon: a person intent on injury is a weapon."

I Couldn't Agree More.

The American version of Top Gear...

SUCKS!

I hope they put it out of our misery, and soon.

Greed...

...Is somehow evil if you work on Wall Street, but it's OK if you're supposed to plow Wall Street. Let's be honest - what these unionistas apparently did was driven by nothing more than sheer, naked greed; looking out for number one and to hell with the rest. In a just world Mayor Bloomberg would fire these blue-collar Gordon Gekkos. But this is not a just world.

Planes, Trains, And Automobiles.

When making travel plans, the official Villa RSR rule-of-thumb in the Era of Janet Napolitano is this: If you can get there in 12 hours drive time or less, then we drive. Not only does driving provide the utmost in freedom and flexibility (and is therefore quintessentially American), it is often cheaper and faster than flying today. By driving, you get to actually see 'flyover-country', and you avoid all of the hell that goes along with getting in the air - potential gate rapes by the TSA, endless delays and cancellations, multi-hour layovers, $5.00 sodas, yadda, yadda.

Also, every state within a 12-hour drive from Villa RSR will honor a Louisiana Concealed Carry Permit, so a loaded .45 or 9mm (or, both) is no problem if we feel so disposed.

Unfortunately, several of us at will be traveling outside of our 12-hour range in 2011, and therefore we will by forced to fly - a few more then once. There is, alas, no viable alternative anymore to get where you need to go without putting your lives (and liberties) in the hands of the TSA Luftgestapo.

Yes, there is AMTRAK, and we would take a train in a heartbeat - if one went where we needed to go. Some are close, but...

Which brings me to the point of this post - Eugene Garfield died last Sunday at 74.

And who is Eugene Garfield? The man who had the answer to our dilemma; the man who's idea could well revive train travel in the Obama Era; the man who could give millions of us an option to surrendering our Rights in order to travel. You see, Eugene Garfield invented the American Auto-Train. With an auto-train, your car goes on the train with you and you travel in comfort (well, a helluva lot more comfort than crammed into a coach seat on a 757, and you can have a pee within 30 minutes of your destination). When you get where you're going (or nearby), you have your own car to get around. It's a win-win. AMTRAK already runs one auto-train route along the I-95 corridor from Virginia to Florida, and, in your humble blogger's opinion, more auto-trains could increase ridership if they added them to other AMTRAK routes.

If they had an auto-train going out West, we would book AMTRAK to get to Nevada, and again to California later in the year. Is it more expensive? Yes. About 50% more for a family of 4. Is the difference worth not having your wife, or daughter, or son felt-up by some government-sanctioned perv just to get on a plane? Damn right. Freedom isn't free.

Born Free.

I'm not a big fan of Obama-worshipping Lefties, but if this guy does what he says, maybe it will shut-up the Birther idiots. But then again, knowing the tin-foil hat paranoia that infuses most of Birthers I know, it probably won't.

While I do not like Barack Obama as President, and I think he is (and will be) a disaster for this country, I've seen nothing definitive that shows he does not met the Constitutional qualifications for the office. And we - that is, the Citizens of this nation - elected him.

Respect the office, not the man (or, someday, woman).

Well, There's Your Problem.

Want to know why the Democrats lost their collective butts in November? Here's a BIG reason: Six out of 10 Americans currently support the repeal of ObamaCare - not reforming it or "improving" it, but scrapping it entirely - and more than half of Americans have consistently favored putting ObamaCare on the ash-heap of history since the law was passed. I wonder what part of "representative" Ms. Pelosi and the Democrats don't understand? (All of it, I'd say. -ed.)

The Meaning Of Christmas.

Merry Christmas To Those Who Keep Us Free.

Indeed.


(Photographer unknown. From here.)

What Will Happen To The Sport Of Ice Hockey In A Few Years If We Don't Do Something About Global Warming.

Oh, the horror.

Transportation Sensitive Administration.

Janet Napolitano's goons don't seem to like criticism. Is free speech now a threat to our security?

The story hits FoxNews.

UPDATE: Heh. Even The Left/Mainstream Media notices.

Well, We Know Its Fueling 'The Busybody Belt'...

...Because they're the ones having a stroke over this. The operative word here is may.

Finally. Someone Tells The Christmas Story In A Way Those Kids Today Can Understand.

Hattip: The Hayride.

Why Economist Rock Never Made It Big On MTV.

This must be the number one hot video at the Hoover Institution:



Hattip: Libertarian Republican.

Because We're About To Kick The Ferrari Out The Back Of The Garage.

Will Collier finds a timely message for Congress. Especially for the 69 Congressional Democrats looking for another way to leech off the state after 4 January 2011:

The Very Best Of Hands Department - TSA Edition.

The TSA evacuated a regional airport in Louisiana today because of - and I am not making this up - a frozen chicken and a headlamp.

The TSA recently missed a passenger getting on a plane with a real live loaded pistol, but evacuate an airport because they can't tell frozen poultry from C4. Remember this the next time you are getting felt up by one of Janet Napolitano's goons in order to fly.

UPDATE: Via Instapundit, this is not the first time the TSA has shut down an airport over a non-threatening item. And to a member of Polyphonic Spree?.... Lord.

UPDATE: The anti-emo Polyphonic Spree is a secret favorite of mine, especially this song. And this one, too, which proves that Nirvana's music is pretty good when done by people who, well, don't hate life. And this gem of an amateur video featuring 'Light and Day'. It must be good - it has M & M's!

Forecast: Rest In Peace, Nash.

Nash Roberts, a household name to any New Orleanian who ever survived a hurricane, has died. As a meteorologist, Roberts made a name predicting hurricanes - accurately - long before satellite imagery and computer models. He was the local TV weatherman for almost 50 years. And trusted. If Nash said it was going happen, you could bank on it.

A Lot Of Louisiana Republicans Are Quietly Wondering The Same Thing.

Democrats wondering who can run against Bobby Jindal for governor in 2011.

I voted for a chief executive in 2007, not a chief out-of-state fundraiser. Just sayin...

Reichstag Fire, Disastrous Floods. It's The Same.

Taking the "don't let a crisis go to waste" concept to it's inevitable, constitution-shredding conclusion, Venezuela's National Assembly gives socialist strongman Hugo Chavez the power to rule by decree for the next 18 months. And just before the new, recently elected anti-Chavez Assembly comes to office. Imagine that.

Obama is likely kicking himself for not thinking of this one.

Um, Does anyone know how to say "tea party" in Spanish?...

And Now For Some Encouraging News.

Good Guy, 3; Bad Guys, 0.

Hattip: Gunpundit.

Enough! Enough! Enough!

Another example of "interfaith dialogue", as practiced by the Religion of Peace (tm):

Now, at the end of last month, on the vigil of the feast of All Saints, in the Syriac Catholic Cathedral of our Lady of Deliverance in the city of Baghdad, many dozens of Catholics were killed as they gathered for Mass. Two were priests: one was killed at the altar and the other as he left the confessional. They are joined in death with hundreds of others who have died for their faith in Christ since the current conflict began. An American Dominican Sister, a friend of a friend, has written from that country: “Waves of grief have enveloped their world, surging along the fault lines created in Iraqi society by the displacement of thousands of Iraq’s Christian minority who have fled what is clearly a growing genocidal threat…One survivor was asked by a reporter, what do you say to the terrorists? Through his tears he said, ‘We forgive you.’…Among the victims of this senseless tragedy was a little boy named Adam. Three-year-old Adam witnessed the horror of dozens of deaths, including that of his own parents. He wandered among the corpses and the blood, following the terrorists around and admonishing them, ‘enough, enough, enough.’ According to witnesses, this continued for two hours until Adam was himself murdered.” As bishops, as Americans, we cannot turn from this scene or allow the world to overlook it.

This happened a month ago, yet you've likely never heard about it. The Left / Mainstream Media wasn't too interested. Not surprising, since the victims were Christian. Had the tables been turned - the gunman been Christian and the victims Muslim - it would have been major news; complete with violent protests, UN investigations, and likely some statement from The Episcopal Church (tm) calling of 'understanding' and blaming the Bush Administration.

We in the West may not be at war with a religion, but that religion is at war with us. It is at war with our values, our mores, our ethics - our very understanding of our relationship with the world. It doesn't seek "dialogue", or "diversity", or pluralism. It seeks our subjugation or, failing that, our destruction. I think it's time to recognize that fact. What is being practiced in Baghdad, in Egypt, in Lebanon, in Pakistan, in India, in the Sudan - in large swaths of the UK, for that matter - is a systematic and violent religious and ethnic cleansing in the name of Islam.

Christian values say to wage peace, but they do not require us to commit suicide in order to do it - nor do the values of Western secularism. When are we, the free people of the West, going to stand up for our values? What will it take? When are we going to say, "Enough!"?...

UPDATE: Scratch "seeking mutual-respect" off the list as well.: "In the world, people having different beliefs are separated with walls or wires, even though they are in the same cemetery". Uh, yeah. Thanks for clearing that up.

Making A Bottomless Purse Out Of A Sow's Ear.

My friend Christopher Johnson reminds us not to put away our Gadsden Flags just yet: The lame duck Pelosi/Reid Congress is trying to pass, at the last minute, a 2,000 page, nobody-has-read-it, budget. And, it is loaded with bring-home-the-other-guy's-bacon, who-gives-a-damn-many-of-us-won't-be-here-in-a-month-anyway, spending requests - those infamous ear-marks we hear about.

According to John McCain, there are 6,488 earmarks in this bill alone. And, according to this, 104 of those belong to 'Miss Louisiana Purchase', Senator Mary Landieu (D), and 48 belong to Louisiana's 'Mister Tea Party Conservative', Senator David Vitter (R?).

Which beings up an interesting point: How bad are our Bayou Congresscritters when it comes to bribing us with our own money; or, more accurately, bribing us with money from the Red Chinese?

Well, in order to keep the public informed and small children amused (or, is that the other way around? -ed.), here's how many times in FY 2011 our Louisiana delegation has tried to put their mark on the sow's ear:

(Note: Each 'page' represents 20 requests for an ear-mark, but the last page may not be full - so it's not a straight multiplication to get the number of requests. -ed.)

Senators:

Mary Landrieu (D): 36 pages.
Surprised? She sold her vote on Health Care for $300 million, for pity's sake. Hope she has a fallback job lined up for 2015.

David Vitter (R): 10 pages.
Eh tu, David?... Tea Partiers don't like being cheated on. We have long memories, and Internet connections. You better straighten up. Fast.


Representatives:

Steve Scalise (R-01): None.

Joseph Cao (R-02): 4 pages.
Considering his district, not really a surprise. But, it makes his post-election turn to the right seem pretty hollow. Expect a lot more requests from Democrat Cedric Richmond come January.

Charlie Melancon (D-03): 4 pages.
Like a good Democrat, Charlie was getting while the getting was good. Don't expect the same from Republican Jeff Landry in January.

John Fleming (R-04): None.

Rodney Alexander (R-05): None.

Bill Cassidy (R-06): None.

Charles Boustany (R-07): None.

Beltway Strippers. (UPDATED)

The Washington Post dances around their own poll. Well, we already knew they give lap dances...

UPDATE 15DEC2010: Seems WaPo also does the newspaper equivalent of fantasy phone sex for Lefites. Loved the picture (now apparently missing) of the South African Vektor SS-77 General Purpose Machine Gun to prove their point that legal American firearms are the cause of the Mexican drug wars. Yeah, gun shops across the US are having a 2-for-1 holiday sale on those things. Great stocking stuffer.

A Nation Of Snitches.

Like a broken clock is right twice a day, so sometimes even the tinfoil-hat crowd gets it right. And today is one of those times - they are rending their Reynolds Wrap® over PatriotApp, an iPhone app that, and I quote, "...allows citizens to assist government agencies in creating safer, cleaner, and more efficient communities."

And well the tinfoilers should be upset. This scares the hell out of me, too. We are at war, so I understand reporting possible security threats - but we already have an app for that.

It's called dialing 9-1-1.

So this app, with its buttons for reporting grave national threats like "Product Safety" and "Environmental Safety", seems to have little really to do with citizen participation in the War on Terror. It does, however, redefine patriotism in terms of being a willing agent of the state, snooping on and tattling on your neighbors. That's something more common to socialist thuggeries, not a free society and a free people.

That may be how the regimes in Cuba or North Korea define the being a patriot; it is not how we Americans understand it.

Further, by asking people to make judgements on activities where they are not qualified know if something is a threat or not, or only have a few facts, is downright dangerous. I mean, do we really want folks (say, an architect, or a green jobs expert...) hitting the 'Pandemic' button because they saw a bunch of people get sick in the shopping mall food court? Really? I mean, really?? Frozen yogurt does go bad, y'know.

A Nice Jewish Boy From Minnesota Puts Some Serious Polka Funk In A Christmas Carol.

And does it well:



Hattip: Maggie's Farm.

Voter's Remorse?

After November, we thought things had changed. The GOP supposedly stood their ground on extending the Bush tax rates - the rates are only "cuts" in terms of the Clinton-era tax increases - and Obama blinked. We thought the era of limited government and fiscal sanity had begun.

Now, I'm not so sure. It seems the "deal" with Obama and Congressional Democrats - and old-school RINOS - to continue the rates is becoming just another cash-for-votes bill. I agree with Professor Jacobson:

If there aren't enough Democratic votes to pass the tax deal without payoffs, then let it fail. Elections matter, and the nation is sick and tired of passing unpopular bills by paying off Senators.

If the original tax deal was good enough, then there will be plenty of opportunity in January to pass a bill without these payoffs. Or perhaps an even better bill.

Let the Democrats explain to the American Public - the half that pay the taxes, anyway - why their taxes increased on 2 January. Let Obama find an excuse as to why his "not one dime" increase for those under $250,000 was utter bullshit.

Remember, you people on the government payroll, what 2 November was all about: It's. Not. Your. Money.

Have A TSA Christmas.

Hey, kids - there may be a slight delay this year...


Stolen from Visual Consumer.

Archi-Torture.

I started architecture school 31 years ago; got my license 21 years ago; and started by own business 9 years ago. Truer words have never been spoken (Warning: language):



Hattip: My colleague, friend - and employee - Jennifer.

Relative Moralism.

Ick. Just, ick. Remember this the next time some East Coast liberal makes a dismissive snark about Southerners and inbreeding. I mean, how "weak and self-centered" are you if you - allegedly - feel the need to bang your daughter?

Wonder how long it will be before some Episcopal Church (tm) flunkie comes to Prof. Epstein's defense?

UPDATE: Forgotten link added.

Journalists Lie. Americans Will Die.

The next time The Left/ Mainstream Media tries to hide behind their standard "defending the public's right to know" excuse, know this: Journalists have been hiding anti-American Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in the UK for the last three weeks.

Assange wasn't "on the run", as had been reported - he was being well protected by the very people who spun that lie; people who support him and his actions. And, Assange wasn't living underground and eating from a cache, either.

See? God Does Have A Sense Of Humor.

Global Warming doomsdayers meet in Cancun — amid record cold temperatures.

How long will it be before these same people are pestering us for greater government control over our lives, redistributing our wealth, and the general destruction of Western civilization, to prevent an imminent Ice Age?

Duping The Climate Dupers.

When they're not partying on someone else's Dollar (or Euro, or Yen, or Yuan.. -ed.), the participants at the Cancun climate meeting are very concerned about... crippling the US economy and banning water:



Which begs the question: Should we believe the dire predictions, and buy into the drastic solutions, of environmentalists who don't know 'di-hydrogen monoxide' is water?

Religious Vandals.

2,000-year-old Holy Thorn Tree of Glastonbury is cut down. Let's hope it's vandals; and not... y'know.

UPDATE: The more I think about it, this is sorry a metaphor for the state of Christianity today in the UK, and in particular the Church of England.

Multi-Tasking.

Police in Indianapolis arrest a man for allegedly:
Being drunk.
And driving.
And watching porn on a portable DVD.

At the same time.

I recommend Mr. Green read this apropos bit of advice from a driving expert before he indulges in some quality leisure time again.

Hattip: Tamara at View from the Porch.

If Obama Was A Soccer Goalie...

...It would look something like this.

Hope For Change.

And not for the kind of "change" we got in 2008: Majority of Americans now say they are worse off under Obama. Expect that number to grow.

Liberty For Me, But Not For Thee.

There is a reason why libertarianism, the true ideological home of most conservatives and independents in the US, gets such a bad rap in the public mind. And that reason is idiotic, out-of-touch-with-reality things like this; and the idiot who did it.

Let's hope his son has a better grasp of things.

UPDATE: Darn. No Paul-bots have chimed in to defend their messiah. They usually do, and they're always entertaining - in that "watch-the-dog-bark-furiously-at-the flashlight-beam-on-the-ceiling" kind of way.

I'm Now In The Christmas Spirit.

Thanks to a jolly fat man:

The Chatty Duelists.

A great mashup: The Princess Bride, with light sabres:

69 Years Ago Today.

A date which lives in infamy.

Leading By Example.

Janet says, ‘If You See Something, Say Something’. While it wasn't at a Wal-Mart, I'll play:

IF you drive a car to work with government plates that read "Department of Homeland Security", and...

IF you drive that car through the flashy lights that say "school zone"...

THEN shouldn't you make an effort - even a teensy-weensy effort - to slow down? I'm just sayin.

UPDATE: Edited a bit.

Why I Switched My Default Search Engine.

Glenn Reynolds notices that Bing remembers what happened 69 years ago today with a respectful image of the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, while Google has...nothing.

Putting Your Checkbook Where Your Mouth Is.

To all the rich, guilt-ridden Lefties who want everybody's taxes raised because you say you are not paying enough to the Treasury Department; well, here's a way for you to sleep soundly at night: Just write out a check to Uncle Sam for the additional amount you think you should be paying, and mail it in:

Gifts to the United States
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Credit Accounting Branch
3700 East-West Highway, Room 6D37
Hyattsville, MD 20782

No one is stopping you from paying more if you want. Me, and millions like me - we do not want.

Hattip: The MCJ.

Ohh... Nevermind.

Paging Emily Litella... "for the past 15 years, global warming has stopped".

Who are you going to believe - the expert's and their computer models, or your own freezing butt?

The Jean Lafitte Option.

Wikileaks and it's head, Julian Assange, are clearly a threat to the national security of the Unites States - and have been since their first document "dump" months ago. But now that it's making Barry, Hillary, et. al., look bad, Team Hopenchange has come to the realization that it's now a threat to them - not just military folks and the former Bush administration - something must be done. Better late than never.

What Assange has done is pointedly aimed at harming the United States of America. And, he thinks he can get away with it - which so far, he has. He hasn't released thousands of documents damaging to the EU - Europeans think him a hero, and apparently are helping to hide him - nor has he "dumped" thousands of documents damaging to Iran, or Russia, or China - Assange knows if he did, in less than a week he'd be fish food in the Caspian Sea, or the Volga River, or the Yantze. Assange only sees America as toothless; and to the rest of the world, we seem to be exactly that.

We must act. Now. And act within the law.

Which brings me to a wholly legal and gratifyingly private-enterprise solution: Article I, Section 8, of the US Constitution.

The Congress shall have Power To... grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal.

Assange and his organization are not a government, or an agent of a government (that we know of). He is purposely waging his warfare against America outside of the laws of nations and the laws of war - so let's return the favor, and hire us some privateers. Grant Blackwater (or whoever they are today) a contract (with some fat bonuses for getting the job done quick) to bring Assange back to the US - dead or alive - and wreck Wikileaks. Let any country know that if they harbor Assange, or his organization, they become fair game for active measures by our privateers against Assange and Wikileaks, and we will not be responsible for collateral damage.

Hell, we should do the same thing with respect to Bin Laden and his buddies, and that American Anwar al-Awlaki guy in Yemen. Be cheaper in terms of American blood and treasure than what we are doing now.

UPDATE: Post title was changed because, well, I'm a coon-ass. Sort of. Here is a bit about Jean Lafitte.

"Man-cession".

How Lefty special-interest politics - not economic necessity - drove the Team Hopenchange response to the Great Recession. And, one of the reasons why we're still in it.

Preparing The Cultural Battlespace for Theocracy.

Louisiana professor talks about significance of hijab. I found this bit of hypocritical fear-mongering very interesting:

She outlined how many European governments are legislating against Islamic women’s wear as a way to discriminate against Muslims in general and detailed how some countries are already banning the new construction of mosques and the immigration of Muslims into their countries.

This professor doesn't seem too upset most "Islamic" countries legislate against Western dress (heck, try wearing a mini-skirt - or a crucifix - down the street in Riyadh -ed.), ban the construction of churches and synagogues, and forbid the immigration of non-Muslims - other than human trafficking in indentured servants importing them for cheap, exploitable labor.

People Skills 101.

When you're the boss, the big cheese, the top dog, A Number One, sometimes you have to suffer through things you really, really don't want to do. When that happens, at least pretend you are even remotely interested. Don't do... this.

The local connection to that menorah is here.

The Cutting Edge. (UPDATED)

My friend Doug Ritter's Knife Rights, the NRA for blades, got a mention in this New York Times story about - what else? - our right to own and use to knives.

If you have followed what has happened in the UK in the last few years the busybodies have been going after knives - to fight something they call (queue scary music) "knife crime".

Doug and Knife Rights have been working tirelessly over the past few years to defend our rights and stand up to the busybodies here in the US. Their efforts are paying off: Stopping Congress from declaring single-hand opening folders as "switchblades", a preemption law passed in Arizona, and a knife rights bill passed in New Hampshire.

Knife Rights is currently contesting the claims by New York District Attorney, Cyrus Vance, Jr., that your Spyderco is some kind of eeeeevil switchblade.

If you support our right to keep and use knives and don't want us going the way of the UK, think about making a donation to Knife Rights this holiday season.

Along with Knife Rights, Doug is also the editor of the emergency preparedness website Equipped to Survive (full disclosure: I occasionally write for ETS). To help support ETS, Doug has just released a new survival knife, the RSK Mk2 Perseverance, designed in cooperation with well-known knife designer Ethan Becker. It is now my No. 1 on my Christmas wish list.

UPDATE 06DEC2010: Wow. First, some inches in a local paper; now, notice by the Blogfather Himself (pbuh). Kinfe Rights is moving on up!

I Think I'll Skip McNuggets For A While.

Worker decapitated in chicken factory after being sucked into machine.

Doing A New Aslan.

Actor Liam Neeson gets in touch with his inner Kate Schori:

'Aslan symbolises a Christ-like figure but he also symbolises for me Mohammed, Buddha and all the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries.

‘That’s who Aslan stands for as well as a mentor figure for kids – that’s what he means for me.’ (emphasis added)

That last bit just screams "Episcopal Church (tm)", doesn't it?

Your Saturday Morning "Indeed".

This is why The Borderline Sociopathic Blog For Boys is one of the best stops on the Interwebz.

Exterrrrrminate! Exterrrrrminate!

Separated at birth?


Ancient Jew-hater Helen Thomas.


Ancient Who-hater Davros.

UPDATE 5DEC2010: Welcome Theo Spark readers! Glad you stopped by - feel free to look round.

I Need A Pick-Me-Up. (NSFW)

It's been a morning of dealing with smoke and mirrors excuses, explanations and frustrations, and writing architectural specifications. I need a pick-me-up.

There. I feel better.

Why Bobby Jindal Has No Hope In Hell Of Being President...

...And why this guy does:



Chris Christie is focused on being the best governor he can for his state and it's people. While our governor - in which we had such high hopes - seems to be focused on book tours, speaking gigs, and fundraising events anywhere but Louisiana.

Reading Between The Backscatter.

In trying to remind our government that 'gate rape' doesn't comport with that pesky Constitution thingy, some folks have painted slogans on themselves and some have stripped down to their skivvies. Others have worn only swimwear. One fellow, in a move I intend to emulate, wore a kilt.

Well, a company has come up with an even better way to let Janet and the Junk-grabbers (sounds like a great band name... -ed.) know that we don't appreciate being electronically strip-searched and/or sexually assaulted just to get on a plane: The 4th Amendment printed on underwear with metallic ink, so it will read clear as day in the X-ray. They also make them for kids that say, "Read the 4th Amendment, perverts".

Though, I guess great minds do think alike...

Help You Make It To Your Flight.

Another TSA parody video. Honestly, these things almost write themselves.



Hattip: Theo Spark.

Good Point.

Capitalism - what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller - is not an academic theory. It is a natural fact. Just follow the arrowheads.

Do As We Say, Not As We Do.

Remember, when the chicken-little alarmists call for rationing of resources to combat global warming climate change (insert current, non-specific, scary euphemism here), they don't include, well, themselves:



Sacrifice is for the little people. Like, you and me.

Why The Second Amendment Matters.

Proof that an armed citizen is not just a free citizen, but a living citizen as well: "But against the soldiers, what can we do? They have arms. We have rocks."

Christopher Johnson is right - this will end up being yet another example of inaction in the face of mass murder; an en passant mention on the evening news.

Napolitano To The Left; Napolitano To The Right.

We know Janet "It's Constitutional For Us To Touch Your Junk" Napolitano is a nutter on the Left. No news there. But now my suspicions about Fox News' Judge Andrew Napolitano being a nutter on the Right have been confirmed. And I mean, confirmed at the Alex Jones nutter level.

Judge, if you're going to pontificate on things you don't understand, read an 'effing engineering report first - written by, y'know, people who actually understand how buildings stand up (and fall down). And ask yourself - how many architects and engineers buy into the twaddle of 9/11 "Truth" conspiracy theories?

Hope And Change!

Narcissism is no longer considered a psychiatric disorder:

Narcissistic personality disorder, characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance and the need for constant attention, has been eliminated from the upcoming manual of mental disorders, which psychiatrists use to diagnose mental illness.

It is now the personification of The Ruling Class. (Instapundit has photographic proof.)

Did TSA Co-Opt 'Opt Out'?

TSA and The Left / Mainstream Media declared National Opt-Out Day a failure. But Volokh is asking if the TSA, in order to defuse the protest the day before Thanksgiving, purposely kept many x-ray strip search machines off-line - and therefore limiting the chance for flyers to 'opt-out'? The answer seems to be: Mmmmaybe. If they did, it proves what they are putting the flying public through - gate rape - has little to do with national security and everything to do with hyping fear for power and their job security.

Volokh also links to this video from last February, where a woman - a new mother - appears to be (according to her story) purposely targeted and harassed by the TSA "officers".

The evidence is mounting that TSA is an agency out of control, and Janet Napolitano is a greater threat to our liberties than she is to any terrorist. We need to fire her butt, scrap the whole system, and start over.

And, put some of these mall cop wanna-bees on trial for sexual battery and civil rights violations.

Indeed.

The Borderline Sociopathic Blog for Boys, says: "You Can Call Yourself An "Artist" All You Want. You're Still My Hero For Finding A Way To Play With Matchbox Cars After Puberty."

Speaking Truth To Idiots.

"Just who the hell do you people think you are!?!..." Republicans coming into Congress, take some notes. This kind of honesty that will be required:

Twit For Tat.

John Kerry calls for Israel to give up the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem. I think Israel should respond by calling for Kerry to give up his wife's (inherited) fortune and his $7 million sailboat first.

Cry Me A River.

Awwwww. The TSA folks don't like gate raping us. Well, just like nobody's forcing us to fly, nobody's forcing you to fondle our junk. If you don't like it... quit.

It's the holiday season - mall security companies are hiring.

Irony Alert: Where Nancy Pelosi And Harry Reid Keep Their Blue Dogs.

On a blue dog leash. Really, you would think they would have made it in some other color.

The perfect holiday gift for Charlie Melancon and/or Mary Landrieu.

Advent.

Sunday began the first week of Advent, so here is a little something to get us in the spirit of the season:

But... But... That's Not How The CBO Scored It...

Try as they might, those Team Hopenchange wizz-kids - you know, the ones who are soooo much smarter than us proles - can't seem to repeal that pesky law of unintended consequences: Growing number of doctors refusing Medicare patients due to "reforms" in payments.

When you set prices based on political considerations alone, and not on what something actually costs, what do you expect?

How long do you think it will be before doctors are forced to accept Medicare and Medicaid patients - and the fee structure Congress arbitrarily decides - as a provision of their license?

It Was The Best Of Leaks, It Was The Worst Of Leaks.

A Tale Of Two Narratives: Powerline notes a bit of hypocrisy at The New York Times. Just a bit.

P.J., Times Two.

Via Theo Spark, two great videos from the incomparable P. J. O'Rourke:



(Full 93 minute talk is here.) And, PJ's idea to save the world:

Today's Required Reading.

Bill Whittle adds a new, 7th installment to his What We Believe series of video essays. Watch it all:



If you haven't seen them, the first six installments are here. Nice way to spend Black Friday.

Alfred Hitchcock Meets Andrew Lloyd Weber.

People Can Leave The Church, Not Dioceses. Oh, Wait...

The liberal Diocese of Uruguay, a supporter of The Episcopal Church (tm), has voted to secede from the more conservative Province of the Southern Cone. There is opportunity here: Perhaps Gregory can trade Uruguay to Kate for San Joaquin and Pittsburgh, and save everybody a lot of legal bills.

"Dear Rowan..."

Wow. The GAFCON Primates of the Anglican Communion, who represent the majority of Anglicans worldwide, have had it; and today they issued the 'Oxford Statement', a "Dear John" letter to Our Gracious Lord of Canterbury and his Lefty puppet-masters.

For those on the run today, here is the Clifford's notes version of the 'Oxford Statement':

- We believe in traditional Anglicanism. We want to continue in that way.

- We have asked those who are destroying traditional Anglicanism to stop, but they won't.

- We can't pretend any longer that nothing is wrong here. We won't participate in gatherings with those who are wrecking the place, and in useless meetings that won't address the issue. Like, Your Grace's next Primate's Meeting.

- The proposed Anglican Covenant is now toothless, and therefore DOA. Nice try.

- To those who think they can buy our acquiescence to their agenda through dependence, think again; we don't want your 30 pieces of silver anymore.

- We'll have our own meeting in 2011, and our own General Convention in 2012. Hope you can make it.

In other words, GAFCON has just put it all in the pot and had called. Let's see if Rowan Williams is holding more than a pair of North American jokers and a three of diamonds.

UPDATE: Well, that was fast. It seems the pair of North American Jokers and the Three of Diamonds are actually holding Rowan Williams, and he has done their bidding by blowing off those knuckle-dragging, ignorant, homophobic, border-crossing, uppity wogs conservative Africans.

No Confidence.

Why you should never elect a socialist community organizer to run the world's leading market economy: It won't be the world's leading market economy for long.

The Worst Thing The TSA Is Doing.

Making this guy seem sane and reasonable.

"We're Mad As Hell, And We're Not Going To Take It Anymore" Reminder. (UPDATED ALL 'OPT-OUT' DAY)

If you are flying tomorrow (Wednesday, 24 November), don't forget it's National Opt-Out Day. If you or your family get picked for the strip-scan machine, ask to "opt-out" and make the former Wal-Mart associates TSA do an "enhanced pat-down". Be polite and respectful - treat them like you wish you were being treated. Take pictures or video if you can, and post them. Learn first-hand how your government treats you.

UPDATE 24NOV2010: Here is a great way to let TSA um, directly feel your displeasure - go 'Braveheart' on them:

Robert Shofkom wasn't too worried about delayed flights, maybe just strong breezes.

The 43-year-old from Georgetown, Texas, said he planned for weeks to wear a traditional kilt — sans skivvies — to display his outrage over body scanners and aggressive pat-downs while catching his Wednesday flight out of Austin.

UPDATE 24NOV2010: Video of a Speedo protest.

Oops.

While a majority of Americans support the TSA generally today, that number has fallen 15 points in just over a week as more instances of outrageous violations of privacy hit the 'Net. The same survey shows just over half of the respondents think the TSA's groping policy is wrong, and that is not going to improve. (The numbers are rather worse for TSA among those who have flown in the last few months.)

TSA knows they are in a losing battle here, and yesterday they did a PR end-run direct to Congress, to show them how the sanctioned molestations "enhanced pat-downs" are no big deal. It didn't go well:

“The dumbest part: they did two pat-down demonstrations – male on male, and female on female,” the House staffer said. And they used a young female TSA volunteer “and in front of a room of 200 people, they touched her breasts and her buttocks. People were averting their eyes. The TSA was trying to demonstrate ‘this is not so bad,’ but it made people so uncomfortable to watch, that people were averting their eyes.”

“They shot themselves in the foot,” the staffer continued.

Not that most of Congress or their courtiers would ever have to suffer 'gate rape' like the rest of us.

UPDATE: Not all polls find majority support of TSA. Zogby poll says 61% oppose what the TSA is doing.

TSA Security... Myth-Busted.

Via GIZMODO, here is a video from back in May of Adam Savage of Myhtbusters, relating his experience with TSA. Remember this the next time you are being 'gate raped'. (Note: Strong language.)

Fiscal Jeopardy.

US: "I'll take 'Common Sense' for $50 billion, Alex."

ALEX: "The answer is... 'Yes'."

US: "Is it time to lay off Federal workers, Alex?"

ALEX: "You are correct for $50 billion!"

And when we do, let's start by tossing out the useless deadwood at FEMA and the TSA. Which would be... pretty much all of 'em.

Update Your Dictionary.

Via Instapundit, going through TSA security now has it's own special term: gate rape.

Tat For (Feeling Up) Tit.

As much as I want to, I have little sympathy for TSA workers who are complaining about recieving the brunt of the public's outrage at the government's mandated molesting in order to get on a plane.

We have been curtly told by Janet Napolitano that if we don't like the new rules, we are free "to travel by some other means". Well, all you TSA employees, if you don't like fondling other people's junk and receiving the (just) indignation of your victims, you are free to earn a paycheck by some other means.

That "just following orders" excuse went out in 1945.

Um, I Think You And Ben Already Did That, Tim.

Timmy Geithner warned Republicans against politicizing the Fed.

The Free Market Works.

Because a state-run, planned economy could never respond to a need this quick: X-ray shielding 'privacy' undergarments for the flying public.

Divinylgloves New Hit.

Hattip: Libertarian Republican.

Who Would...

...Say something like this:

She says she understands "how offensive it must be" for some people to undergo the searches. She says there's a need to strike "the right balance" and to "get it better and less intrusive and more precise."

Would she submit to a pat-down? "Not if I could avoid it," Clinton says. "No. I mean, who would?"

Somebody who sees an opportunity to run in 2012, that's who. Why else would Hillary take the side of the American people over the dictates of her boss?

Picture - A Thousand Words. Video - An Election.

Don Surber: Video Killed The Congressional Star. Indeed. And the score is...

Army Of Davids 3, People Who Forgot Who They Work For 0.

So far.

Hattip: Glenn Reynolds.

Security - Team Hopenchange Style. (UPDATED, AND UPDATED AGAIN)

I Got Nothing.



I'm a dad. The moment one of those blue-shirted bastards started taking off my son's clothes in public and feeling him up, there would be more than words. I'm sorry, but there are some things worth going to jail for; and the safety and security of my children qualifies. What would it say about me as a father, and an American, if I allowed them to be humiliated like this?

---

UPDATE 22Nov2010: Double click on the video above to go to the Youtube link, and read what the video taker (lukemtait) said happened after he took the video. That will make you as mad as the video itself. Expand the description that begins "Lets get the facts straight first. Before the video started the boy went thro..."

---

Here is a rather creative way to get back at the Blue Shirts:



Me, I'd spend a bit more time and put this on the inside of the T-shirt:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated...

Hmmm. I see a lucrative commercial opportunity here.

UPDATE: "It's not a grope. It's a freedom pat." New TSA Slogans. ROTFLMAO!!

We'll Miss 'Ya, Dahlin'.

Baton Rouge icon Price LeBlanc, Sr., has passed away.

A Nail Clipper Too Far. (UPDATED, With More TSA Antics.)

This... Just read it. If this turns out to be true, heads shouldn't just roll, the TSA should be eliminated. All. Of. It. Let the TSA folks go back to their old jobs at McDonald's and Wal-Mart - at least there they were contributing to the betterment of society. I mean, taking away nail clippers from a soldier coming back from Afghanistan, who is carrying an M-4?

UPDATE 20NOV2010: A thread at flyertalk.com about alleged TSA selection of sexual assault victims potential terrorist threats for digital strip-search/personal groping that should get your blood pressure up. Especially if you are a good-looking female. Or you have a daughter flying anytime soon.

I think it's fair to ask: Does TSA hire off of Mehgan's List??...

UPDATE 20NOV2010: Flyertalk.com has more on TSA and their continuing abuses of the air-traveling public. They also have a running list of the airports with the offending digital strip-search machines. Note: the 'TSA TOOK MY SON' story has been shown to be, um, bloody false a large exaggeration.

Happy Birthday, Jack!!

From an old ground-pounder who will be happy if you sit behind this desk in a few years.



P.S. No staying up too late playing, OK?

A Sign Of Hope And Change.

From here.

Obama's Progress.

Some hope. Some change.

America, 1787:


America, 2010:

(image source unknown - via Drudge.)

Government Is Hard.

Senator-for-life Jay Rockefeller (D-Ruling Class) thinks shredding the Bill of Rights will somehow restore our faith in government. Really. Privilege-boy wants the Federal government to ban Fox News and MSNBC, because... y'know... it would, like, make the government's life sooooo much easier. Interesting selection there, being that Fox News is watched by about 50% of the country during the week, while MSNBC - on a good week - is watched by about 10%. Not exactly fair and balanced...

Refudiate This.

Hey, all you Lefty, NPR-listening, smarter-than-us-teabaggers folks - how many 'Word of the Year' words have you added to the English language?

In Louisiana, Our Tigers Come In All Sizes.

But these gators seem to come from Florida:

Enhanced Logic Of The Police State. (UPDATED)

Oh, sorry. I meant the TSA:



Thanks to Comrade Janet Napolitano, our family - and I suspect millions of others - will be driving this holiday season.

UPDATE: Comrade Janet and Team Hopenchange don't get it, but Free Range Anglican does:

Faced with the minuscule chance of having to confront a terrorist on an airplane or the guarantee of being repeatedly assaulted in an airport every time I try to travel, I'd rather deal with the terrorist. If I defend myself against the assault of a TSA agent, I'm going to jail. If I defend myself against a terrorist, I'm a hero.

And FRA has the image that puts it all into, um, perspective:


(image: david wolf / flywithdignity.org)

UPDATE 18NOV2010: Here is a link to Flying With Dignity. How sad it is that we need such an organization.

Is Somebody Selling Tickets?

Because I'm in for a pair just to watch this: The Westboro Baptist Church plans to picket the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan.

Greennecks.

"College men from LSU, go in dumb, come out dumb too..."
- Randy Newman, Rednecks

Via Hot Air, here's one reason why Mr. Newman was right:



If you're from Louisiana and/or send your kids to LSU, remember your tax dollars and your tuition payments give this fellow a paycheck. Critics are saying Governor Jindal's cuts in higher education will force the lay off faculty. OK. I say we start with this Dr. Schaefer guy.

And if he does get laid off, Dr. Schaefer should know that out-of-work radical Lefty academics are always welcome as clergy in The Episcopal Church (tm). It seems to be a career fast-track.

(Full disclosure: Your humble blogger holds a degree from LSU. Make of that what you want.)

The Open Letter.

The Wall Street Journal yesterday took the unusual step of publishing an open letter to The Ben Bernanke over The "Quantitative Easing". Read it all.

'Downfall' - Post Election Edition.

Almost as good as the 'Downfall' iPhone 4 leak...



Hattip: Powerline.

Obama's TSA, Set To Music. (UPDATED, AND UPDATED AGAIN, AND BUMPED)

UPDATE 15NOV2010: Via Theo Spark, it appears that the TSA has a new travel book for the kids:


Just in time for the holiday travel season, too. And speaking of holiday travel, if you are planning to fly anywhere on 24 November don't forget it's National Opt-Out Day. More on that, here and here. Remember to tell your traveling friends.

MORE UPDATE 15NOV2010: Here are some recent TSA horror stories (in the reader comments), and one reader's (MAR51) suggestion that I think would put a stop to all of this mess in a Chicago second:

Maybe the entire Obama family can get patted down on TV just to show us how non-invasive it is. Yes, the are patting down children! Let's see how Obama feels watching his daughters and wife get groped while he must stand there and smile.

But if that doesn't work to rein in this insanity, then I agree with this - abolish the TSA.

MORE UPDATE 15NOV2010: 'Big Sis' Janet finally responds to this issue, using all of the Washington bureaucratic-spin lexicon she can. Clifford's Notes version of her piece: "We say it's good for you. Shut up and take it". This apparent justification for Janet and pals getting in our pants seems very interesting:

"And the weapons and other dangerous and prohibited items we've found during AIT screenings have illustrated their security value time and again."

Really? Exactly what "weapons and other dangerous and prohibited items" have been found, Comrade Secretary? How many? When? Has a single act of terrorism been foiled by your magic machines and your invasive procedures? Ever??...

UPDATE 16NOV2010: Michael Graham of The Boston Herald nails it - lead by example, Madame Secretary:

OK, fine, Janet. I’ll do it. Only, you go first.

I want you to zip over to Reagan National and, on live cable TV, go through the full body scan - with the images available for broadcast and our review. Since it’s no big deal and it’s all for security, I’m sure you won’t mind setting the suck-it-up example.

And after that, you can step over to the personal screening area for what you euphemistically call a “pat-down.” We’ll all watch as a female TSA employee does to you what she did to American grandmothers over this weekend.

I’ll do whatever the TSA says, and without complaint, as soon as I see Janet Napolitano do it. Until then, I’m fighting back.

Indeed.

UPDATE 16NOV2010: Tat for no tit: The man who refused a scanning strip-search and a TSA groping is now being investigated by the TSA. Why? Because of this tidbit Comrade Janet the TSA aren't saying too loud:

When he tried to assert his rights, Tyner was told by a TSA supervisor on tape, “By buying your ticket you gave up a lot of rights.” (emphasis mine)

Oh, really? What rights do we give up? Since criminal penalties and fines in excess of $10,000 are involved, I think it is incumbent on TSA to make the airlines disclose, Miranda-like, exactly what rights we give up when we buy a ticket - and the consequences thereof. I'm sure that won't hurt ticket sales during the holiday season...

'What We Believe'.

Call it the "Bill Whittle Lecture Series". Watch them all. If you like these, you might like Silent America, a collection of Bill's superb essays.

"Quantitative Easing" for Dummies.

I have never been a subscriber to the 'Federal-Reserve-Secretly-Runs-The-World' conspiracy theories of the tinfoil hat crowd, and this pretty much proves my point. Such an out-of-touch bunch as the Fed would clearly have a hard time just running across the street, much less conspiring to secretly run the world. That said, their sheer incompetence right now - plus Team Hopenchange's cheering on of it - could be the ruin of us all economically. So maybe putting our crazy uncle in the oversight chair come January might not be such a bad idea. It'll at least be entertaining.

Hattip: Libertarian Republican.

How I Spend My Saturdays.

Doing this. Well, as many Saturdays as I can. My grandfather worked at Higgins Industries during WWII. This is the least I can do to honor his efforts, and the efforts of thousands of other New Orleanians, building landing craft, PT boats, and lighters during the war.

Get A Raise Last Year?

No? It's OK - our Rulers did.

Shouldn't There Be Big, Green Signs That Say, "This Groping Funded By The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act"?

There is a bit of a backlash against Janet Napolitano's crash program of putting "strip-search scanners" in airports - you know, the ones that let the TSA see your goods in the name of "security". I don't know what Jan and the guys expected the response to be, considering the abusive and degrading treatment meted out to those who "opt out" of the process.

But here's the real kicker - know how all these let's-see-your-goods machines were funded? According the first link above, this invasion of your privacy was paid for by... Stimulus! But the only thing we seem to be stimulating here are the TSA goons when they get to cop(!) a feel.

To be fair, the TSA is a Bush idea. But Team Hopechange sure do seem to be playing the same tune, and even turning up the volume. Along with TARP, the TSA is the worst legacy we have of the Bush years. (No, Robert Gates as SecDef and banning incandescent light bulbs tie for a close second.)

Being an unrepentant capitalist, I see a way to make a few bucks off this problem: I propose opening up a series of kiosks just ahead of the strip-search scanner security line, called 'Package Foods'. It would sell things like cucumbers and zucchini (and grapefruits by the pair for the ladies) for those who felt, um, a little shy about what God gave them being seen on the scanner screen. We'll have an IPO out next week...

Pay Day.

Today is Veteran's Day. Take a moment to thank those who were willing to pay the price to purchase your freedom. Many walk beside you; and many more lie beneath your feet.

To those who also served, and have done so much more than my meager enlistment, you have my thanks. Especially:

John - Marines
Morgan - Army
Keith - Army
Toby - Army
Chad - Army
David - USAF
Jack - Marines
Garland - Army
Fritz - Marines
Hugh - Marines
Kicker - Army
Rich - USAF
Lloyd - Army (WWII)
Bruce - Marines
Jason - Marines
Josh - Marines
Jesse - Navy
Donnie - Army
Jackie - Marines

And to those past:
John, Sr. - Army (WWI)
Earl - Navy (WWII)
Bert - Army (WWII)
Paul - Army (WWII - KIA 21DEC1944)
Hilkiah - Army (Revolution)
Demelle - Army (1812)
V.F. - CSA (Civil War)
Alexander - Spanish Army (Revolution)
Eric+ - Army (Vietnam)
Jack - Army (WWII)

235.

Happy Birthday, Marines.

The Scientific Is The Political; The Political Is The Scientific.

Not letting a serious crisis go to waste, Obama used the BP oil spill last spring as an excuse to stop all deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico for six months. Barry said a team of scientists and engineers backed him up on imposing the moratorium, and the White House released a report saying that in late May. But the scientists who wrote the report said wait a minute, that's not what we said - someone rewrote the report. No, we didn't, said the White House.

Now that the whole BP thing has fallen off the national radar, it comes out that... oops!... the White House did rewrite sections of the report to fit their ideological conclusions.

Stopping oil drilling in the US is a fantasy wet dream of radical environmentalists. Many of them are now on the Administration payroll, and some of them had a hand in what happened with this report. While stopping oil production in the Gulf may have caused the eco-greenies an orgasmic private moment, it caused the loss of at least 12,000 jobs here in Louisiana, and $1.8 billion in economic loss.

Enough! It's Time To Man The Ramparts And Light The Torches!

I went to a Tea Party when they passed the "Stimulus". I got politically active when they imposed ObamaCare. But via Instapundit comes word of... this. Which may well (in our house, at least) qualify as legal grounds for open rebellion.

In 1776, Mr. Jefferson penned,

"He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance."

I think you would agree, dear readers, that inflation qualifies as "eat out", and bacon qualifies as "substance".

'Indecision Points' - In Stores Sometime Next Year.

Former Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco takes issue with the version of events following Katrina in George Bush's new book, Decision Points.

Oh, really? Let's take a paddle down memory lane:



According to the linked article:

The former governor is now working on her side of the story in her memoir that she hopes will come out sometime next year.

And 20 Years Ago...

...Al Qaeda’s first victim.

21 Years Ago Today...

...The world woke up from history. After reading Scott's post at the link, turn this up. Way Up.

Bumper Values.

'Coexist' Explained.

Well, It Wouldn't Be Devastating For The Budget, Or The Taxpayers Who Pay For It.

Vivian Schiller, the NPR Commissar, says defunding public broadcasting would be "devastating" to... public broadcasting.

Comrade Schiller gave her little pep-talk for state-controlled media at an Episcopal Church, so it's no surprise her reason to keep the government cash spigot turned on came right out of the Kate Schori elitism-on-parade excuse-book:

Schiller criticized cable news during the forum for what she sees as its partisan nature. She also praised NPR’s audience as more intelligent than other media audiences...(emphasis mine)

In other words, public broadcasting's audience is waaaaay smarter than us ignorant rubes in flyover country, so of course PBS/NPR deserve some of our hard earned jack.

Public broadcasting is the very poster-child of a government program that has lived on far past it's reason d'etre. 50 years ago - in the era of three TV channels - public broadcasting made good sense. But in the era of cable, satellite and XM/Sirrus - with their hundreds of channels for viewers and listeners to choose from - it doesn't. So, why are we still paying for it?

If the limousine liberal set want to listen to NPR and watch PBS, fine - privatize it and let them pay the cost. If PBS/NPR are as important as their proponents claim and have the loyal viewership they imply, then the networks will survive. And if they don't, MSNBC could use some diversity...

UPDATE: D'Oh! I should check Stand Firm first. My friend Jackie already posted on the Schiller/Schori elitism connection. Jackie's link to Schori's infamous quote about Episcopalians being better educated was better than the one I had, so I stole hers.

An American Prypiat.

In New Orleans:



The Prypiat reference.