You Mean They Don't Float?

Bill Keller, after having failed to make the sheeple undertstand the NYT's motives for publishing the SWIFT program details, gives it one more shot. Entitled "Let Me Make It Simple For You Morons," Keller uses his first foray into guestblogging to try to correct the record. Naturally, he falls back on Bay of Pigs and the Kennedy's.

After The Times played down its advance knowledge of the Bay of Pigs invasion, President Kennedy reportedly said he wished we had published what we knew and perhaps prevented a fiasco. His brother felt similarly after we failed to alert the public to the non-seaworthiness of the '66 Olds Delmont.

Pretty simple really. I can't believe I didn't get it before.

A Couple of Things

The Volokh Conspiracy asks:

...when and how "international law" gained such cult-like status that well-educated people believe that merely invoking it (or their interpretation of it) is sufficient to settle even the most nuanced and contentious debates, that it should always trump domestic law, etc.

It just does. That's why.

In other news, Whiskey Bar saw it all go down:

The first warning that a hit was in the progress actually came from Byron York at the National Review , who warned in a June 12 column that "no person, and no movement, can attract as much attention as DailyKos has received recently without eventually attracting scrutiny." York claimed he was referring to Kos's writings, which are certainly fair game for criticism. But in hindsight, it looks like York was dropping a fairly heavy hint that even more vigorous "scrutiny" was coming down the pike.

I'll never forget the day I got the signal. All the training, relationship building, and sacrifice finally paying off in a coordinated symbiotic protest against Kos. And in doing so, assisting (in my own very small way) with the delivery of scrutiny to the Dino Democrats.

Thank you great leader, for the chance to act.

Another Brick In...Roger Waters' Head

I love Pink Floyd as much as the next 30-something product of '80s culture, but Roger Waters is truly an embarassment to critical thought wherever it is found. In Israel, Waters laments the wall constructed along the West Bank to protect Israeli's from death by suicide bomber:

If the fence is not removed, "it will be hard for us to be human beings."

Uuuh...ya. I think the Israeli's used that as a justification for building it in the first place.

Waters seems to have difficulty distinguishing between walls designed to keep oppressed people in and those for keeping terrorists-bent-on-killing-innocent-civilians-en masse out. Or, he simply has an adverse reaction to the concept of a "wall" in any form. Next thing you know he will be campaigning to have that oppressive structure removed from between my kitchen and my living room.

UPDATE: Waters will be relieved to know that the Inhuman Wall of Western Shame has gaps. Human-ness follows.

On Sunday, gunmen from Gaza dug under a border fence, killed two soldiers and abducted Shalit, a 19-year-old tank gunner. It was the first such incident since Israel's withdrawal after 38 years of occupation.

See? It's beautiful.

Suggested Security Improvements

In contrasting two major newspaper's explanations for (1) not publishing mo-toons, (2)publishing intelligence secrets, Tim Blair may have come up with the perfect solution to protect America from newspapers:

Here’s a plan: instead of merely classifying its anti-terror programs, the US government should devise a code that renders the programs as Islam-mocking cartoons. Newspapers would never publish them.

Why stop there? They could be hidden in graphs that reflect the positive economic numbers, photographs of soldiers making life better for Iraqi's or Al Gore boarding a jet, abortion statistics, or anti-American protest signs. Newspapers never print those things either.

Liberals wouldn't be caught dead at Wal-Mart. Why don't we hide them there? How about the civics section of school textbooks?

Al Qaeda's American Propoganda Wing

The NYT and the LAT are currently providing the perfect example of the Antique Media's hypocricy, arrogance, and stupidity. After releasing detailed information on an anti-terrorism program that not even the two newspapers can find a legal problem with, they refuse to discuss their decision in public.

I wonder how much more of this treason we are supposed to put up with?

The Scratching Post has the financial picture of the NYT over the lasty five years, and with any luck its stockholders will soon sit up and take notice of how badly the NYT's agenda has damaged the paper's credibility and profit margin.

Truth Laid Bear is keeping track of all the coverage and has an impressive "read all about it" collection, and Malkin has some interesting photoshoppery in the vein of the poster shown here.

The ACLU is attacking the program without even the slightest hint of a legal argument, and Stop the ACLU takes advantage of the opportunity to point out an interesting detail about the ACLU:

It dropped section (a) from its policy, “Wartime Sedition Act.” Before, the ACLU held that it “would not participate (save for fundamental due process violations) in defense of any person believed to be “cooperating” with or acting on behalf of the enemy.” This policy was based on the recognition that “our own military enemies are now using techniques of propaganda which may involve an attempt to prevent the Bill of Rights to serve the enemy rather than the people of the United States.” In making its determination as to whether someone were cooperating with the enemy, “the Union will consider such matters as past activities and associations, sources of financial support, relations with enemy agents, the particular words and conduct involved, and all other relevant factors for informed judgement.”

All of this is now omitted from the Official ACLU policy!

I guess if you include America's enemies, that client list shoots right through the roof. Of course, as Captain Ed points out, criticizing the ACLU from within is one civil liberty too many so we shouldn't expect anyone who likes their job to question ACLU policy.

I think Bird of Paradise has probably summed up this latest sordid episode painfully accurately:

Once again the NY & LA Times have decided that the interests of the enemies of the United States are more compelling that the interests of the people of the United States and the elected government which exists to "provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare."

It would be one thing if "selling newspapers" were the bottom line. As a capitalist I could understand that, if not support it. But neither paper even has that to fall back on. That leaves only idealogy. It has been clear for some time now what that idealogy is and it is not good for the citizens of America.

What's That Noise?

Noel Sheppard agrees with my assessment that this has been a very bad month for the Democratic Party:

Have you heard that strange sound at night lately? No, it's not cicadas. That's the Democrat bubble deflating, a phenomenon that recurs more frequently than every seventeen years, and sounds like this:

Pssssssssssssssssss.

If I were Kos, I'd go after the New Republic too. Anything to distract myself from the unfolding nightmare.

Nick Coleman Fights Back the Only Way He Knows How

The Star Tribune's Nick Coleman does his usual thing with the UND Fighting Sioux controversy. That is, instead of even attempting to answer the criticisms of the NCAA put forth by university president Charles Kupchella, he prefers to just toss out the childish character assassinations that has become part of his signature style.

Why should UND change it's name? Well, because Ralph Engelstad was a Nazi, that's why.

Coleman could have tried to explain why the NCAA's attachment to Pontiac isn't relevent, or why the fact that most of the university's Native American boosters support the name is moot, but he doesn't. Instead the column is just another chance for Coleman to demostrate how superior his thinking is to everyone else's. Unfortunately, next to Kupchella's letter Coleman's column reads more like a temper tantrum than a rebuttal.

I often daydream what Coleman would be doing if his mom hadn't helped him get a job in journalism. Regardless, he would still have been a pompous ass.

It Could Still Get Worse

It's almost criminal how bad June has been for the Democrats. Seriously, I almost felt sorry for them this morning as it became clear the news of the day was the presence of WMD in Iraq.

Kerry's call for full scale retreat as we are rolling up bad guys in Iraq and elsewhere and Murtha's ridiculous Okinawa strategy seem almost a Rovian plot as though the two men are oblivious to anything happening around them.

Zarqawi dead, Rove innocent, Churchill fired?, and now the whole WMD thing.

Kos is exercising his psychosis muscle on The New Republic. Isn't it true, the old adage? You really do lash out at the ones you love.

And while we're exposing terror plots in Canada, London, and today Miami, the Democrats are rolling out the minimum wage as a primary campaign issue. Nothing on Iran but they got that Pell Grant thing going pretty good. Nothing on Iraq but what the hell, the election is still almost five months away.

Lileks has the dissection of the platform. Butter.

Have I mentioned how bad June has been for Democrats? Pretty soon they will longing for the days when they could talk about William Jefferson. I would even say that things couldn't get any worse, but I've learned not to say that anymore. They've long since turned me into the Blogger Who Cried Wolf.

There are Far Greater Tragedies

So, I'm over it.

Besides, Carolina deserved the Stanley Cup as much as any team. This is a hard working bunch who proved they could take everything Edmonton dished out and then served it right back. An excellent series. Congrats to the 'Canes. And thanks to Edmonton, for making it a great display.

Game seven had...shall we say...pace.

Anyway, while we're on the subject of hockey, here's a couple of points made by Dennis Prager today on the Left and global warming...

-- The Left is far more likely to revere, even worship, nature.

-- Leftists tend to fear dying more.

...that Al Gore himself made, in just two-thirds of a sentence.

...it’s almost a spiritual issue, because our survival is at stake.

Weird isn't it? That the same people who would call Gore "leader" would also tell Prager to stop spewing lies.

Then again, Gore's followers know that if we don't do something today, like right now, it's going to be 9/11 times a thousand!

So...that will be what? 911,000?

911,000 what?

Make It a Good One

As Fathers Day weekends go, this one has had all the elements of a successful one.

I had Friday off and spent the morning getting all of my paperwork in order to ride the new motorcycle. Insurance, title transfer, tabs, etc. The afternoon was dedicated to riding.

Friday night we got deluged by a rain more relentless than I can remember in quite a while. Since the kids don't sleep very well during storms we spent the night watching VH1's tribute to Judas Priest, Queen, Def Leppard, and Kiss. I taught Daughter #3 and The Boy how to do the heavy metal salute and head-bang. The Boy managed to incorporate playing goalie and head-banging when he sat on the floor in the "butterfly" position (the splits, essentially) and added the heavy metal element.

I had to work all day Saturday but was rewarded with a 4-0 shelacking by the Oilers (peace be upon them) over Carolina that night. After Roloson got hurt and the Oilers fell behind in the series 3-1, it had looked like this year's Stanley Cup final would be one of anti-climax. But the boys in blue clawed their way out of that hole and are now poised to steal the cup from the 'Canes.

One more game...winner takes all.

The weather is beautiful so it looks like Sunday might provide another chance to ride, and the kids have promised to help me dust off my hacky-sack muscles. The Oilers could cap off the entire weekend with a win tomorrow night.

Father's Day reminds me how wonderful it is to have a family that loves you...and hockey.

Happy Father's Day guys.

Captured Documents Reveal Important Instructions

Lileks has captured documents from the latest head of al Qaeda, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, who encourages the freedom fighters to stay strong; they are winning no matter what it looks like.

However, he does take some time to admonish lousy security, knock down a few myths, and introduce new protocal:

You may have read reports that Al-Zarkawi had in his position a tiger-skinned negligee at the time of his glorious. This is Infidel propaganda. He was a man of highest moral standards. The suggestion that he made his bride, whom he nobly made full with child when she was 14, wear such a sinful garment is meant to weaken your spirit, and make you think of slim dark-eyed ripe women draped in the clothing of wild beasts, lips parted, exhaling the softest perfume of –

All warriors must take three cold showers a day, not two.

Damn. That description was just getting good.

Al Gore's Junk

Al Gore, dismantled again. Here's just a very small piece of the overall spanking:

"The man is an embarrassment to US science and its many fine practitioners, a lot of whom know (but feel unable to state publicly) that his propaganda crusade is mostly based on junk science."

Life would be a lot better if environmentalism were properly designated a religion and we could stop funding this nonsense. (Ed. - Al Gore's followers should stay away from all real estate deals.)

Justice Week

It's hard to imagine that this week could have been any better.

First, Zarqawi gets his long overdue justice.

Then, justice if finally done regarding the ridiculous Karl Rove/Valerie Plame circus and now the Left can direct its full attention to other actual intelligence leaks, like the NSA program. (Because national security is a very serious business, right?)

Now I learn that long overdue justice is being done in Colorado:

A majority of the University of Colorado committee leading an inquiry into Ward Churchill recommended today that the ethnic studies professor be fired.

I may have to rethink this whole atheism thing. It's starting to look more and more like there is a God after all.

Incidentally, via Tim Blair, Bull Dog Pundit has the best Rove line of the day:

Perhaps the most despondent person in America today is Joe Wilson, who said he dreamed of seeing Rove “frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs”. Sorry Joe, you’re just going to have to settle for the Vanity Fair photo shoot, the big book deal you and Valerie got, and the adoration of moonbats everywhere.

I almost feel sorry for him. In fact I would if he wasn't such a lying revisionist more interested in partisan gain than national security. Instead I'll feel sorry for the nation that has had to put up with him for the last couple of years.

Choke on It

Indicted...not!

(cough...hrmph....aachr...cough...erfhd...)

Does anybody know the Heimlich?

Fighting Sioux Fight Back

Charles Kupchella, president of the University of North Dakota has come out swinging against the slaves to political correctness at the NCAA. In his hard-edged letter, Kupchella drops any pretense of working together with the NCAA in order to come to a mutually beneficial agreement regarding the nickname "The Fighting Sioux." I last touched on this issue here. Here is an early paragraph in Kupchella's latest salvo.

We certainly do not believe that we agreed by our membership that – as a condition of full membership privileges – a small committee would have the authority to change the architecture of sports facilities that we do not even own or cause us to modify our very history. Athletic issues of even far less magnitude have been handled through legislation, not executive fiat. It appears there may be no recourse but to try to clear this up through litigation.

And that, friends, is just the begninning. Here's another excerpt from the rather long, but highly entertaining letter:

The fundamental irrationality of calling what we do hostile and abusive – on the basis of no basis at all – and then saying that a white guy in war paint, carrying a flaming spear while riding a horse into a stadium, leading fans in a tomahawk chop while singing an Indian chant is okay should be obvious to any jury. Any who try to swallow this convoluted logic will choke on it.

The NCAA’s organizational arrogance extends to the innovative and abusive use of the English language. You indicated that Florida State University was exempted because it has a “special relationship” with the Seminoles. At the time you said this, Florida State enrolled just four Seminole students. We have one-hundred times more Indian students here, yet FSU’s is a “special relationship” while ours, you say, is “hostile and abusive.”

Kupchella continues on, making note of the strong Native American presence at the school, its excellent relationship with said group, and, most persuasive of all, the support the nickname has received from North Dakota's Native American community. Then there is Kupchella's most-excellent rib-stick regarding the NCAA's Pontiac sponsorship:

By the way, it was widely and cynically noted here that “Pontiac” is a corporate sponsor of the NCAA. But perhaps this is unfair; both the NCAA and General Motors may well have gotten the permission of the descendants of Chief Pontiac or the Ottawa Tribe.

Man, I really love this guy.

Then there is this: (I can't seem to stop myself)

...even if we were to stop using the nickname we have used with pride for nearly eighty years, and decided to forgo any nickname – since they may all be at some future risk – and simply be known as the University of North Dakota and used the University’s seal or even the State Seal, we would still apparently be in violation of your policy. “Dakota” is what some of the Sioux actually call themselves. Our University Seal and the State Seal have images of American Indians on them.

Okay, enough. Go read for yourself. It is one of those letters everybody hopes to get the chance to write someday. The kind of letter that gives free license to use words like capricious, arrogant, arbitrary, injustice, and more, with cause.

I hope UND sues the living daylights out of the NCAA. Seriously. They deserve it like few other organizations do for their heavy-handed dictatorial policies.

See Warner Pander

Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner attended the massive tinfoil hat gathering in Las Vegas last weekend, known as Yearlykos. Not only that, he provided a lavish party and gave the keynote speech. The address was filled with exactly the types of statements one would expect to create an orgasmic response from the unhinged, but columnist Charles Hurt notes one statement that left the room flat:

The line that earned him the most enthusiastic applause with hoots and hollers was his call for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to be fired.

But seconds later, Mr. Warner said that "we are all glad to see the end of" terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi. That line was followed by silence.

Hello? Hello? Is this thing on?

Maybe they aren't glad.

Zarqawi Blizzard

Liberal Larry ain't biting on the whole "We got Zarqawi" theme being pushed by the Bush junta. He is prepared to show that the Zarkman has actually been kept on ice at a Baghdad area Dairy Queen. However, so far the manager has proven uncooperative.

Thus far, demands to search the restaurant and crack open its icy vault have been met with angry refusals by the belligerent manager, who brandished a scimitar and threatened to chop off Michael Moore’s genitals if he did not remove his lips from the milkshake machine and leave the premises immediately. Obviously, he has something to hide.

Think about that next time you take a bite out of a creamy, delicious, Dilly bar.

Is Haditha a Crock?

As people get a closer look at the evidence alleging a "massacre" at Hidatha, gaping inconsistencies begin to emerge. Two articles today, one from Clarice Feldman at the American Thinker and the other from Andrew Walden at the Hawaii Reporter attempt to compile the inconsistencies.

For a staggering collection of articles and conflicting information that casts doubt on the massacre story, see Sweetness & Light.

While it is not clear whether American forces did or did not gun down innocent people in Haditha, the evidence that is beginning to emerge now is very disturbing. Has the media screwed the pooch again? Has the Left in this country once again jumped to conlusions and rushed to condemn are troops unfairly?

Time will tell, but if Haditha unravels in the coming weeks and months and our troops are vindicated, those who simply couldn't wait to convict the Marines, like John Murtha and the bulk of the American media for instance, should never, ever, ever, be allowed to forget it.

Comparisons are being made to Plame and Memogate as to the media's quick rush to judgement on less than reliable sources. Those comparisons are wrong. If this story is a hoax it is a far worse breach of trust.

You Can't Keep a Dirtbag Down

It appears now that my earlier disdain regarding the negative side of Zarkman's departure was a bit premature. Zarqawi must really have the blog-bug because he has found time in the afterlife to continue his wonderful relationship with Iowahawk. Here he takes a moment to describe his experience thus far in nirvana:

Anyway, I'm standing there trying to figure out my next step, when this badass crew of straightup masked assassins comes around the corner. Talk about a relief, I was beginning to wonder if Allah had made some sort of mistake. And I'm like, "yo, cuz, which way to the virgina?" Then the assholes start eying me up and down, lauging. And then I'm like, "come on, holmes, don't bogart the cooch," and then you know what those douchebags did? Throw a friggin' burqqa over my head and drag me into an abandoned warehouse. I'm goin' finally, some action.

I will spare you the ribald details, but let's just say after that 12 hour train bang I know how Marilyn Chambers felt after Behind the Green Door III.

Ouch. That had to hurt. Read it all, it is one of his finest contributions.

Zarqawi's Last Words Revealed!

It is being reported that al Zarqawi was alive and actually spoke just before he kicked the proverbial bucket. Now, a deep, deep Les Enfants Terrible source reveals the content of the Zarkman's final thoughts:

Do you...(gasp)...want...(eergh)...to buy...(cough)...my Dixie Chicks tickets?

Of course, it is possible that the translation from my source is incorrect. If anybody has heard other translations, please put them in the comment section.

Zarqawi's Dead, What A Drag

Welcome to the last blog to post on the death of Abu Musab al Zarqawi. It's not that I haven't been paying attention, just a busy day.

Let my name be added to the long list of celebrants that a fungus responsible for the deaths of so many innocent people has been eradicated from the earth. Still, my joy at this significant milestone in the war on terror is tempered by the realization that the Zarkman will no longer be guestblogging at Iowahawk. The insight he provided into the world of Terrorism Inc. will certainly be missed by this seeker of knowledge.

Not to worry though, I think I will conquer the malaise. The journey will likely be eased by the news that Israel rid the world of Jamal Abu Samhadana. God only knows how many lives that airstrike saved. Then there is the fallout from the Zarkman's demise, with at least 17 more raids. And our own Conflicted Dave will likely rejoice for Iraq now that they have indeed filled the vacant cabinet posts that so vexed him. Click here to read details and see pictures of jubilant Iraqis.

That sounds like a pretty damn good day. Good for Iraq, good for the world, for freedom, and a bad day for barbarism.

Speaking of malaise though, it appears to be attacking the Leftoids today. If I didn't know better, I would think the free thinkers were less than enthusiastic that countless future lives have been saved by two smart bombs.

In this Kos thread, any confusing ambivalence about the death of Zarqawi was solved by the realization that Bush might get a bump in his approval ratings. That made the decision on how to feel pretty easy.

yes, this makes such good election campaign fodder for the Americans, doesn't it? Expect a rise in those Bush poll numbers for sure.

There is also quite a biut of whining that we didn't try to take the guy alive (likely so the Koskids could get him a good ACLU lawyer), which caused this rare breath of reality to opine:

Arrest Zarqawi? How was that going to work? Are we envisioning he'd turn himself in? Maybe if we sent a couple cops to the door he'd meekly lay down his guns?

The entire thread is worth reading, as it is laced with people trying to figure a way to spin Zarkman's death in a way that expresses strength on national security without endangering the whole "Bush is Hitler" theme so popular in the sandbox.

Naturally, Kos's special brand of cynical propoganda has circulated around the net. This poor bastard seems to actually be in mourning over the untimely death of al Zarqawi:

At this juncture, we have nothing to brag about, no moral high ground to run to, no legs left to stand on. I don't understand why this is so hard for people to grasp.

I hope he doesn't jump off a bridge or something.

Here's an excellent theory from the citizens of the world at DUh:

They had to kill him. They couldn't ban gay people.

As is usually the case these days, rather than lead, Democratic Party leadership is taking their cue from the unhinged.

Peter Stark says:

This is just to cover Bush's [rear] so he doesn't have to answer" for Iraqi civilians being killed by the U.S. military and his own sagging poll numbers...

Dennis Kucinich added that this would be the perfect time to start a full scale retreat.

It's official. The Left is too concerned that the Republican Party might reap some reward to express any enthusiasm for the death of one of the most heinous people on earth. Even the ones who are smart enough to know that the American people know this is a good thing admit it only grudgingly and with endless caveats.

What a pathetic excuse for an American political party.

Al Gore? Who? What? Huh?

I highly doubt that I am the only person in the 'sphere to make this snide remark (I haven't bothered to check), but it seems Paramount has discovered the most inconvenient truth of all regarding An Inconvenient Truth.

Gore's name is not featured on the dramatic poster promoting the movie...

At Deadline Hollywood, Paramount Vantage says Drudge is "drumming up a story" about the star of the film's name not included on the poster. Huh?

IMBd describes the film this way:

A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.

Furthermore, the cast list contains only one name. Anyone want to guess who that might be? And this article strongly suggests that Gore wrote the film as well as starring in it.

When was the last time that a person who inspired, wrote, and starred in a film didn't appear on its promotional materials?

Despite the fawning of the MSM over Gore as this summer's "shining star," the lack of proper credit speaks volumes about how Paramount believes the rest of us feel about him. They would just as soon we didn't know Al Gore is the star of the movie until after we have forked over the money.

That would be really funny if it wasn't so sad.

Barking up the wrong addiction

[Ed. - It's been a while since I have done it, so I thought I would post my column from this week's edition of the paper. Since we have gone to paid online subscriptions opinions are no longer available at the free site, but I will still occasionally post those columns here. This week's is on a subject near and dear...anti-smoking hysteria.]

With most behaviors society considers hazardous efforts are made to adjust bad habits. Driving is dangerous so wear your seat belt. AIDS kills so use protection. Sound reasonable? For some reason though, when it comes to nicotine, society insists on a zero-tolerance policy proving ineffective.

That topic was recently explored by epidemiologist Philip Alcabes. Despite piles of money spent, only 4 to 5% of smokers quit annually. That is roughly 2 million quitters, while a million will start smoking in the same year. After 40 years of stop smoking efforts, it is a dismal outcome.

Judging from results of recent data on local substance abuse by teens, our obsession with smoking is having a negative effect as well. While 95% believe smoking is a moderate to great health risk, only 43% of sixth graders attribute that risk to alcohol. That number will drop to 35% by 12th grade. Considering that societal affects of alcohol abuse far outweigh those of smoking, it makes one wonder if we haven’t been barking up the wrong addiction.

Robert Levy and Rosalind Marimont showed in 1998 that, outside factors removed, the risk of dying prematurely (before age 75) from smoking related illness is 1 in 12. Not a healthy choice, to be sure, but also not a sure path to early demise.

Risks from second-hand smoke have also been exaggerated. The accepted risk factor for second-hand smoke is 1.19. Epidemiologists generally dismiss anything less than 1.3 as random, otherwise known as not noteworthy. The British Medical Journal has stated, “the commonly reported 30 percent increase in heart disease risk...is highly implausible.” The EPA had its “benchmark” study struck down by a federal court in ‘98 for torturing data and deliberately misleading the public about second-hand smoke. Among other things, said the court, the EPA “adjusted established procedure and scientific norms to validate the Agency’s public conclusion.”

Oh, but the health care costs are astronomical says the anti-smoking lobby. Not so says Harvard’s Kip Viscusi, who has shown that smokers pay more in taxes than the costs of the habit to society.

In the end it is smoke, not nicotine, that is a hazard. Yet, instead of offering safe smokeless alternatives society has decided nicotine must be eradicated. The cost of that hysteria is proving expensive in new ways, as our youth remain dangerously unaware of the affects of far more destructive addictions.

As a smoker I can guarantee my habit will never cause me to – beat my children, kill a family with my car, get a fatal STD, cause an unwanted pregnancy, be raped – to say nothing of long-term health affects. Alcohol is responsible for all this plus generations of fallout that many families never overcome at a toll impossible to measure. Yet only 35% of 12th graders see alcohol as risky.

A question: How many parents out there are worried their son or daughter will smoke during the plethora of upcoming graduation parties? That’s what I thought.

Attitudes toward smoking and alcohol prove that teens do listen...to what we say, and what we do not. Maybe it’s time to start adjusting our priorities.

California Kids Destined To Be Idiots Now For Sure

While reading this excellent article by Tricia Shore at LewRockwell.com, on the subject of free "pre-school for all on the backs of the rich" in California (Prop. 82), I had the weirdest daydream.

I envisioned a whole new approach to child birth. Rather than sending laboring mothers-to-be to the hospital, they will be sent to the nearest classroom. They will sit in special harnesses that prop the vaginal canal above specially designed school desks ready to receive the children. That way, an entire of generation of kids could just plop out and voila!...they are in school.

Back in caveman 2006, before the great child-birth/education enlightenment, apparently evil rich people are turning out in massive numbers as Prop. 82 looks headed for defeat. This must come as a kick to Rob Reiner's mommy-and-daddy-button, as he had high hopes for the measure:

The change you make with your vote today will last forever.

We can only wish, but somehow I get the impression the above sentiment would only be true if the proposition had passed. My guess is that the "change" voters made today will last only until the very first legal opportunity to bring the proposition forward again.

Roli Rolls the Knee

UPDATE: The image to the right is what getting punched in the stomach looks like. FOX Sports confirms what was alleged last night.

The Oilers won't have Superman, a.k.a. goalie Dwayne Roloson, to lean on anymore. He suffered a knee injury late in the third period of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Carolina Hurricanes and is done until next September.

The Boy woke up to the grim news and gave me a look that said "The world doesn't make sense anymore."

***

ORIGINAL POST: Edmonton Oilers (peace be upon them) goalie Dwayne Roloson was injured tonight doing exactly what he does best, getting square to the shooter. Unfortunately, he happened to have his right leg on the outside of the post and when the action carried two players right into him, knocking him left, his right knee was damaged to the extent that he shall not return this season.

At the time the score was 4-4 with the Carolina Hurricanes making a valiant attempt at a comeback. Roloson's replacement (didn't catch the name) made an honest rust-induced mistake on a routine dump from behind the net and the 'Canes Rod Brind'Amour scored an easy open net goal with 30 seconds to play. 'Canes win game one 5-4.

I don't know how the well the Oilers will recover from losing their Rock Between the Pipes and blowing a three goal lead to fall one game to nil. We shall see, but it doesn't look good right now.

Hats off to Roloson though, who has been unbelievable since the trade that took him from the Wild. He took a team with the worst goals against average in the league and carried them to the Stanley Cup final. I sure hope the squad can pick up the slack and become one of those rare 8-seeds to win the cup.

When The Boy wakes up in the morning he is going to be pissed. He lived to watch Roloson.

Save Us From the Truth

David Harsanyi has a very good piece in the Denver Post today focusing on Colorado State University's Bill Gray, who isn't too afraid to speak out regarding the greatest hoax of our time:

"They've been brainwashing us for 20 years," Gray says. "Starting with the nuclear winter and now with the global warming. This scare will also run its course. In 15-20 years, we'll look back and see what a hoax this was."

He goes on to add that he expects the slight warming trend to begin a natural reversal in the next few years. He adds however, that we aren't likely to hear much from scientists on the subject of global warming hype:

Both Gray and [climatologist Roger] Pielke say there are many younger scientists who voice their concerns about global warming hysteria privately but would never jeopardize their careers by speaking up.

Imagine. Scientists fear jeopardizing their careers by speaking the truth. Perhaps that trend, like warming, will soon begin to reverse itself.

Here Comes the Smear Machine

Steyn weighs in on the impact of Haditha:

For three years, coalition forces in Iraq behaved so well that a salivating Vietnam culture had to make do with the thinnest of pickings: one depraved jailhouse, a prisoner on a dog leash with a pair of Victoria's Secret panties on his head and an unusually positioned banana. "Just look at the way U.S. army reservist Lynndie England holds the leash of the naked, bearded Iraqi," wrote Robert Fisk, the dean of the global media's Middle Eastern correspondents. "No sadistic movie could outdo the damage of this image. In September 2001, the planes smashed into the buildings; today, Lynndie smashes to pieces our entire morality with just one tug on the leash."

Down, boy.

But now at last the media have their story. They're off the leash. And, if the worst rumors are true, those 10 Marines will come to symbolize the 99.99 percent of their comrades who every day do great things for the Iraqi and Afghan people.

Far be it from the NYT to waste such an opportunity.

Obligatory Space for Alarmism and Armageddonism

Kyle Smith has the latest in a string of columns pointing out, and making fun of, Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Pack of Lies." Here's a taste:

He implies that no reputable scientists dispute anything he says - basically, that the ice caps are melting and people on the 50th floor of the Empire State Building had better learn to swim. But there is wide disagreement about whether humans are causing global warming (climate change preceded the invention of the Escalade) and about whether we should be worried about the trends. Look carefully at Gore's charts and you'll see that the worst horrors take place in the future of his imagination.

Why does Al Gore need to make such wild assertions and employ fear-mongering to make people "wake up?" Because, as Greenpeace can tell you, making outlandish claims get people's attention. Unfortunately Greenpeace appears to be getting lazy and now just want us to take their word for it in recent press releases:

"In the twenty years since the Chernobyl tragedy, the world's worst nuclear accident, there have been nearly [FILL IN ALARMIST AND ARMAGEDDONIST FACTOID HERE]," the sheet said.

Greenpeace later said they were making "a joke." Greenpeace? Joking about the dangers of nuclear destruction? I guess they do think we're stupid.

Much more likely, some entry level environmentalist posted the press release before [FILL IN GENDERLESS DESCRIPTIVE HERE] could fill in the obligatory hysteria in the proper blanks. Later in the day, the release warned of "plane crashes and reactor meltdowns" in place of the blanket reminder to find alarmist rhetoric to justify their propaganda.

Apparently he/she found some. Seriously...do these people even try anymore?