An Astounding Feat

Everything you ever thought about global climate warming change and its sycophantic followers in one single column.

Making Me Sick

The downside of high-speed is being compelled to watch inanity like this.

I would gladly breath coal dust and drink raw crude for the rest of my life if Harry Reid would just shut up.

Busy, Busy

We've received a few inquiries wondering how we are enjoying the high speed service. Well, essentially we've spent the last three days sitting in the family room with two computers searching up free music to listen to.

Most of it is stuff we haven't heard in years because we never replaced the tapes with CDs, albums were lost, or they were in someone else's collection. Some of tracks we searched up include "So Much Mine" by The Story, "Three Strange Days" by School of Fish, "Close But No Cigar" by Thomas Dolby (w/ Eddie Van Halen on guitar), "Rainbow Child" by the Dan Reed Network, "Chain" by Chris Whitley, "Glutton of Sympathy" by the Jellyfish, "Crew Slut" by Frank Zappa, "So Like Candy" by Elvis Costello, "Dee" by Randy Rhoads, "Lay It Down" by Ratt (ya, that's right, it's got a badass riff), "Changes" by Tesla, and "The Only Time" by Nine Inch Nails.

Since we're on the subject, here's "Dust Radio" by Chris Whitley, the all-time coolest effing song on the planet.

The New Easy

Trouble in paradise:

"We have a union cap or an organic cap," Mr. DeMasse says. "But we don't have a union-organic offering."

The DNC is killing itself trying to have the "greenest" convention ever. It's unbelievably expensive, all but impossible to coordinate, and extremely time intensive; and that is for a group that has vast monetary resources with which to pull it off.

Kind of dispels the notion it's "easy to be green" doesn't it?

What Perfection Looks Like

Fresh off their second place finish at the Hudson Border Battle, my U13 girls (pictured in white) returned to league play this week and earlier tonight sewed up an express trip to the state tournament.

Ya, that's right. No trip to district playoffs for these ladies. Tonight's win made them 9-0 in league play with only one game to play. The next closest team (we beat them tonight) has two losses, which means my side will finish in first place and go "straight to state."

Would you believe it, I had one player actually disappointed because she "likes" districts.

Anyway, instead of having to spend mid-July fighting our way to state, we'll be off from the 8th to the 25th. Plenty of time to iron out those kinks. Oh, and to sit back and enjoy it, which stress has prevented me doing since about week three.

Ah. Technology

Went to sign in to Blogger and I was at the post page within seconds. This new-fangled high speed stuff is suh-weet! I'm going to go watch videos at YouTube. Posting will be light until I grow bored of the vacuousness.

Great minds?

I swear I had this exact same thought about a week ago, after tuning in to watch O'Reilly for the first time in about six months. I think I'll give it another six months.

James Hansen: Leading Fruitcake

James Hansen says today that if we don't reduce carbon emissions massively and rapidly, WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE:

James Hansen told Congress on Monday that the world has long passed the "dangerous level" for greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and needs to get back to 1988 levels. He said Earth's atmosphere can only stay this loaded with man-made carbon dioxide for a couple more decades without changes such as mass extinction, ecosystem collapse and dramatic sea level rises.

Holy Jeebus! We are all well and truly screwed...because of 35 parts per million.

Although Hansen isn't ready to start chaining himself to coal plants just yet, he is raring to start holding McCarthyite trials of oil executives:

James Hansen, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, will today call for the chief executives of large fossil fuel companies to be put on trial for high crimes against humanity and nature, accusing them of actively spreading doubt about global warming...

Voicing an opinion is a "high crime" now? Hansen is officially the world's preeminent fruitcake. You hear me James? You're a fruitcake. Fruiiiit-Caaakkke.

The Future is Now

Blogger suggests author conduct policy at team site, including the use of "updates" to minimize comment section monopoly.

Blogger adheres to said policy.

YoungAngryJournalist (YAJ) says: You're not following your own policy!!!! You are so feeble! And uncreative!

Blogger uses suggested policy (scroll) of "update" to point out for YAJ that "update" is suggested policy. Cautions against premature determination.

The high-water mark, YAJ, after much introspection, admits he is "no perfect."

But wait! YAJ is perfect, and demonstrates it by retracting "no perfect" comment, fashions an entirely new argument out of whole cloth, declares victory!, and offers advice to vanquished blogger.

Behold the future of journalism.

Being Force Fed the Green

As a DirecTV subscriber, one is able to fashion their own channel listings list. Shortly after purchasing the service we set up a "favorites" list, which is supposed to include only those channels we prefer to keep an eye on.

So how is it that the recently debuted Planet Green channel suddenly appeared on our favorites list? We certainly didn't put it there. Perhaps the "new global priority" takes precedence over the personal viewing choices of those silly customers.

A Well-Tapered Post

LearnedFoot experiences the joy of a son's awakening to the pride in a really good dump:

There, laying in the bowl was the most remarkable specimen I have ever seen eliminated by a toddler. Moonchild's poop was about 8 to 10 inches long and about 2 inches in diameter at its widest point; well tapered, with a healthy color and a solid appearance.

Do read on.

Following a long period with a high suck factor, its nice to see KAR returned to the quality writing and elite commentary we have come to expect.

Atonement Largely Achieved

Even though I don't always agree with him, I do very much like reading Robert Samuelson. So, it pains me to read something like this:

Start with Barack Obama. Even those who disagree with him ought to feel pride in his impending nomination, because it continues America's racial reconciliation and atonement for slavery.

This nation ran its rivers red with the blood of its sons, brothers, and fathers for over four years in the 1860s. In the end, over 600,000 Americans died, more than all of our other war casualties combined. I'm not so sure there's much atonement left to be done.

Rockefeller Lied

Contrary to Senator John D. Rockefeller's statement, "In making the case for war, the administration repeatedly presented intelligence as fact when it was unsubstantiated, contradicted or even nonexistent," people who have looked at the Senate Intelligence Committee's Phase II Report on pre-war intelligence have concluded the opposite.

Fred Hiatt at the Washington Post finds that nearly all of the Bush administration's claims about Iraq were "substantiated by intelligence information." Hiatt even thought he had the wrong report:

As you read through the report, you begin to think maybe you've mistakenly picked up the minority dissent. But, no, this is the Rockefeller indictment.

Hiatt also includes a rather damning statement from Rockefeller himself:

"There has been some debate over how 'imminent' a threat Iraq poses. I do believe Iraq poses an imminent threat. I also believe after September 11, that question is increasingly outdated. . . . To insist on further evidence could put some of our fellow Americans at risk. Can we afford to take that chance? I do not think we can."

Was that a Democratic senator, in the lead up to war, saying the time for providing evidence is over? Why yes, I think it was.

Power Line thinks Rockefeller, with his report, has gone beyond just another example of Democrats playing politics with national security into the realm of fraud, and adds:

It's easy to understand why Chairman Rockefeller and other Senate Dems want to see the history of the prewar debate rewritten in order (a) to perpetuate the phony "Bush lied" mantra and (b) air-brush themselves out of the picture. And it's easy to see why the Committee Democrats were frustrated by their inability to support the anti-Bush mantra except through specious reliance on the kind of statements they themselves made in spades. But frustration isn't a defense to fraud.

Senator Kit Bond, Vice-Chair, adds this special and unique snowflake:

“It is ironic that the Democrats would knowingly distort and misrepresent the Committee’s findings and the intelligence in an effort to prove that the Administration distorted and mischaracterized the intelligence."

Of course, there is no chance the heavy-breathers will ever admit they were wrong. And Rockefeller's refusal to simply admit the obvious is all the proof we need that the Dems have no plan to choose national security and honesty over partisan politics any time soon. But it is interesting to note that the MSM, in reading the report, no longer feels comfortable carrying the Democratic Party's water.

Most of the aspects of the report have been out there for anyone to see for years. It's just too bad the people who are supposed to find the truth were so uninterested in doing so years ago, when it might have made a difference.

A buyer for everything

The SF Chronicle's Mark Morford really, really, really, really, really, really, really, likes Barack Obama:

Barack Obama isn't really one of us. Not in the normal way, anyway...

...it's not merely his youthful vigor, or handsomeness, or even inspiring rhetoric. It is not fresh ideas or cool charisma or the fact that a black president will be historic and revolutionary in about a thousand different ways. It is something more. Even Bill Clinton, with all his effortless, winking charm, didn't have what Obama has, which is a sort of powerful luminosity, a unique high-vibration integrity.

Sheezus. And Morford is barely tuning up. Two graphs later he says Obama will "usher in a new way of being on the planet."

If anyone ever decides to put an official Barack Obama bowel movement on E-Bay, I think we've identified a buyer.

"Charge those lines"

A column offering in recognition of Minnesota's seski....sesqu...sesque 150th anniversary; its greatest contribution to the nation.

A Declaration

Five, six years ago when I hung up my guitar and voice it seemed like a permanent move and a pretty good one. Today for the first time, and for so many reasons it would take the rest of the day to list, I am experiencing a deep, deep longing for the simplicity and satisfaction of just being a musician.

Good Question

In response to Hillary-ripping by another cleric at Obama's now former church, Rev. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite said:

As a woman, I was offended by Pfleger's mocking of Senator Clinton for showing emotion.

Which, in turn prompts this question from St. Paul:

If it is an intolerable offense to stereotype one's behavior based on gender, why is she brandishing her gender as a special qualification to be offended?

While I cannot supply the answer, St. Paul gives it the college try.

Promise?

I'm one of those conservative voters who is, at best, lukewarm on John McCain. Today though, Susan Sarandon made a difficult decision much, much easier:

She says if John McCain gets elected, she will move to Italy or Canada.

If we could get that in writing, I might go so far as to actually campaign for McCain.

C'est La Vie

So I resigned my post as a company blogger today. It pained me greatly, but life is too short to spend the rest of it defending myself against being called a "dumb skank" and a "bigot." And why? For this comment:

In other words, you make a stereotypical assumption about my positions that, at the very least makes me look like someone indifferent to the civil liberties of chosen minorities, and at worst, a bigot.

See, rather than the obvious interpretation of "chosen minorities" - they being minorities chosen to be singled out for oppression - the comment was read to mean that certain groups, gays in particular, choose to be minorities, i.e. Teaparty believes people choose to be gay and is therefore a dumb skank bigot. And no amount of explaining how the English language works seems to get these people off the ledge. [Ed. "These people." There I go again.]

It would be one thing if the name-calling was coming from random commenters. But it is coming from other company blog authors. Don't get me wrong, there has been plenty of flaming disagreements and I certainly gave as good as I got. I still take great pride in what the blog site has become, and management's willingness to give it a shot. I wish it all the success in the world and hope you visit often.

But, when the name-calling starts I walk away. Maybe that makes me a wimp, I don't know. But the writing on the wall seemed to be that, from this point forward, my sole job would be to defend conservatism against the wolf pack.

No thanks. I'm 38-years-old with four kids, athletes to coach, great friends, lots of joy in my life, am comfortable in my politics, and am working hard to be successful in a second career. I would have to be a dumb ass to volunteer for that duty.

Fingers and Fishing

Yesterday, GD⁴ asked mom if he could take her cell phone outside and photograph the picturesque low-lying fog that emerged after the storm. Mom, thinking how precious it was that her little man wanted to capture beauty in the natural world, was more than happy to let him use the phone.

Later, mom was going through the pictures to see what he came up with, and this is what she found:



I don't suppose it would have done any good to point out he was only flipping off himself. There's just something special about capturing it on "film."

Speaking of pictures, you might be wondering how the fishing season is going so far. Glad you asked. GD⁴ caught this guy today:



And Scroo-Loo caught this monster very recently as well:



Wring out that drool rag Boz.