Why modernize? It runs fine.

Herry Reid's dream car

In 1935 each seat of congress was given a 1935 Plymouth Deluxe. The car was gifted to the congressional seat not the member - so the cars, now 70 years old, are still in use by members of congress today. As demonstrated in chart below, the Plymouth Deluxe was quite a car for its time – state of the art you might say. It had all the modern day amenities, even an oil filter!

When Republicans gained a majority in Washington D.C., they set about modernizing the dilapidated old Plymouths, after all they are 70 years old. Republicans advocated taking advantage of modern technology and updating the tires, paint, adding seatbelts, changing the oil, overhauling the engines, replacing the worn upholstery etc. Democrat leadership Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi reacted with shock and called the plan “an idea of far right reactionaries.” Nancy said, “The cars are fine. My staff pushed me around the block in mine yesterday.” Mr. Reid said, “We can’t break faith with the American people. These cars have served us for 70 years and we shouldn’t allow the extreme elements of an extreme party to tinker with them.” Ted Kennedy opined that “Republicans just want to line the pockets of their big auto parts dealer contributors with tax payer money.” Howard Dean screamed, “WE’RE NOT GOING TO LET RUSH LIMBAUGH AND OTHER RIGHT-WING KOOKS TAKE AWAY OUR PLYMOUTHS. WE’RE GOING TO DRIVE THEM TO MICHIGAN AND IOWA AND OHIO. THEN WE’RE GOING ON TO WASHINGTON AND IDAHO AND NEW MEXICO EEEEEEHAAAAGHHHH!

Absurd? Well, yes it is. There were no 1935 Plymouths gifted to congressional seats. However, the Social Security System is 70 years old. One party wants to modernize the system. One party thinks the system designed for a 1935 America is just fine and dandy in 2005. SS was a great scam in 1935. The government confiscated money from the worker promising to pay him back when he turned 65. The problem was life expectancy in 1935 was, drum roll please, 62. Today, that’d be like Lex barrowing $100,000 of your money and promising to pay back when you turn 99 years old.

The problem for the government occured when people actually started living long enough to collect some of the confiscated money. That worked out like handing your 8 year old son your can of Coke and saying “here, hold this for a minute.” When you ask for it back, you know it’s going to be empty. And it doesn’t matter if he had just drunk a six pack of the stuff. And that’s where we are now. Uncle took your money promising to pay you back, if you lived long enough, but then Uncle went and spent great sums of the money on such worthwhile enterprises as a black and white photograph of a crucifix in a jar of urine.

Democrats are just fine with the current Ponzi scheme. Republicans are trying to put some honesty and personal responsibility into the system.

1935 Plymouth DeLuxe
$660 Price
113" Wheelbase
Hydraulic Brakes
4 semi-elliptic Springs
Floating Power Engine mounts
Directional Cooling
Bypass thermostat Water circulation control
18.2:1 Steering gear ratio
Silent chain Camshaft drive
Manifold heat control
Engine oil filter (!)
Ventilated clutch
All gears quiet Transmission
Sway eliminator
Tubular Front axle
Double tapered roller Rear wheel bearings
Roller bearing Universal joints
Independent on driveshaft Handbrake
Improved six cylinder Engine economy

Gore Kerry support FL equal force gun law - riiiight

Few things get Libs more exercised than the Second Amendment. Why? Well, a law abiding gun toting citizen is a threat to their major and most reliable constituency – criminals. The more people carrying and using guns in self-defense means fewer and fewer Lib voters.

Libs are having a conniption fit because FL has enacted a law that allows citizens to protect themselves and their families from the predator class. FL has been a right to carry state for some time. Until now though, if a knife wielding OJ descended on you and your date, instead of pulling your trusty Colt and sending OJ to the hell he so justly deserves, you’d first have to retreat – run away if you will. That’s great news for the man because he could probably easily out-distance his date in stiletto heels and a tight dress.

But granted, OJ and weasels like him when faced with a man or woman with a gun are likely to turn as yellow as Homer Simpson and run in the other direction. Libs say “that’s good enough.” And maybe it is for the man or woman with a gun. But weasels being weasels are likely to continue to act like weasels and descend upon another couple and…well we know what happens don’t we. Now, if the first couple had shot OJ in face with a .357 wad cutter - turning the inside of his head as mushy and empty as a three week old jack-o-lantern – after running in a circle several times he’s likely to have collapsed, begun adjusting to the heat and saying howdy-dos with Beelzebub, Hitler, Stalin etc.

John Lott studies and writes about these things. No, he’s not some NRA gun nut like…uh Lex. A few things Mr. Lott has been involved in include:

-Senior research scholar, School of Law, Yale University,1999-2001-Law and economics fellow, School of Law, University of Chicago, 1995-1999 -Visiting assistant professor, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago 1994-1995-Visiting fellow, Cornell University Law School, 1994-Assistant professor, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 1991-1995-Visiting assistant professor, Graduate School of Management, UCLA, 1989-1991-Chief economist, U.S. Sentencing Commission, 1988-1989-Visiting assistant professor, Department of Economics, Rice University, 1987-1988-Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, 1986-1987-Visiting assistant professor, Department of Economics, Texas A&M University, 1984-1986

So he’s a pretty accomplished fellow and a scholar. Mr. Lott, in his book “More Guns Less Crime” contends that the quickest cheapest way to reduce crime is by arming law-abiding citizens through right to carry laws. The logical extension of having a right to carry a weapon is having a right to use it in self-defense. That is what FL did yesterday. Most Americans will say, yeah well duhh. But to Libs the only thing worse than owning a gun is actually using it to defend yourself. I expect pro gun Libs Al Gore and John Kerry to speak out forcibly in favor of the FL legislature. Or were they just trying to BS us in election years?

Two rule Social Security System

Democrats are in high gear doing what they do best. That is - insisting your money is better off in the national treasury in Washington D.C. than in your own bank account. Democrats cannot believe that the president is willing to trust Americans more than Ted Kennedy with tax payer money. Personal accounts? Why that’s insane! How can Mr. and Mrs. America be trusted with 2% of their retirement fund – even when it by law is placed in a government approved thrift savings plan? Why the whole idea is preposterous – personal accounts indeed! Why the next thing you know the people will begin to think that the money the government confiscates for Social Security is actually theirs! If that happens, dependants and other heirs will begin asking for payment even if someone fails to live to retirement age. That’s the biggest big government scam going. You may pay into the system your entire working life, but if you die at age 64-and-a-half, you collect nada. Because personal accounts are…well personal, they would simply ruin that scam.

Yesterday the usual crowd of Democrat obstructionists gathered in front of an adoring crowd of dullards too afraid or dim-witted to mange their own money or anything else for that matter. The crowd, no doubt, was composed of the same kind of people that think that the government is great because the dullards get a couple of hundred bucks back when they file their income taxes. While proposing nothing, the obstructionists shouted their slogans - no personal accounts for the rich, Haliburton and homophobic, SUV driving, tobacco using, gun owners - and the dullards cheered. I cannot believe that a majority of Americans trust a government that spends their hard earned money on “Piss Christ”, the post office, AMTRACK and the like more than they trust themselves.

Several posts below, Lex proposed a two rule income tax code. In keeping with his “let’s make government simple”, Lex proposes a two rule Social Security system:
1. The worker determines if, when and how much he will contribute to a Federal Social Security System.
2. The worker continues to work until his chosen retirement plan provides sufficient returns for him to stop working.

Maginot mentality will lead to disaster in war on terror

Last weekend the family ventured into France to visit the fantastic Koeningbourg Castle. On the trip back, by happenstance, we passed by Casement 35/3 of the infamous Maginot Line near Markolsheim. Unfortunately, we were running late and could only give the site the once over from the fence.

The Maginot Line was a static defensive line built by France between 1929 and 1940. It consisted of static defenses which stretched from Switzerland to the Ardennes in the North, and from the Alps to the Mediterranean in the South. It was a vast, state-of-the-art, ultra-modern static defensive system. Most of its components were underground, where interconnecting tunnels stretched for kilometers. The line was built to give France a false sense of security from her longtime enemy Germany. It was remarkably effective. The French army, “safe” behind the so called “Great Wall” of France, sipped wine and dined on fine cheeses. Meanwhile, those wily Germans declined to impale themselves on the French army’s prepared defenses. Instead, they simply moved north to invade France through what the French military had deemed Belgium’s “impenetrable” Ardennes forest. In record time, the Germans handed yet another humiliating defeat to what the French call an army.

So what? Well here’s what. Every time you hear some armchair general whine, “we’re not spending enough on homeland defense”, you should think, “we’re not spending enough on the Maginot Line.” In the war on terror, it is a simple fact that we cannot defend every target in America while maintaining an open society. Our path to victory lies in the offensive. Rather than searching for an “exit strategy” in Iraq, we need to pursue a strategy of victory. Rather than trying to figure out how to defend the local Dairy Queen, gas station, grocery and hardware stores from pan-Islmo-terror-fascists, we need to concentrate on finding the terror cells within and taking them out.

A Maginot mentality in the war on terror will lead first to a false sense of security and then to disaster.

Democrats stand for nothing - make 'em talk about it

Democrats these days it seems are standing in the way of everything. They are standing in the way of you and your money when it comes to voluntary private Social Security accounts. They are standing in the way of John Bolton - the president’s plain spoken, call the UN what it is nominee for UN ambassador. They are standing in the way of a sensible energy policy which includes producing oil from a frozen wasteland in Alaska. They stand against a winning strategy in Iraq instead insisting on an exit strategy. They stand against House majority leader Tom Delay for engaging in activities common among D.C. politicians. They stand against you and your right to own a firearm. While jetting to and fro in private aircraft and chauffeured limos, they stand against you and your 26 mile to the gallon four-cylinder SUV. They stand against a sensible forestry policy because they would rather see hundreds of thousands of acres of habitat burn to the ground than see a logging company make ten cents hauling away the dead wood. They stand against you and your children by supporting the loony idea that children can’t bring an aspirin to school without a note from mom but can get a federally funded, partial birth abortion without a word to mom or dad. While protecting the first amendment rights of a couple moppy teenagers to wear black trench coats and read aloud from Mein Kampf in the hallways of Columbine High School, they stand opposed to students who wear a t-shirt with a cross on it or read aloud from the Bible. They stand against a US Constitution which says what it says preferring a constitution which can be bent to the will and ideology of activist judges who base their wacky opinions on foreign law and popular fads.

Unfortunately, I could go on and on with what Democrats stand against. But watching the Sunday talk shows yesterday, I noticed there is not one thing that Democrats are standing for. They have no ideas on how to fix Social Security or anything else. The entire Democrat agenda is one of no, no, no. This is why I think the Republicans should make the Democrats conduct an actual filibuster with cameras running – make ‘em talk. Let’s watch Teddy Kennedy and other Democrats search for a relevant thought for hour after hour day after day. Watching Kennedy and other Democrats search for a cogent thought live on the floor of the senate would certainly replace Comedy Central in comedic value. Democrats stand for nothing. Making them talk will demonstrate that fact and provide a treasure trove of sound bites for the mid-term elections.

Democrats side with Kim Jong "mentaly" Il on Bolton

Inbred, pot-bellied, bug-eyed North Korea despot Kim Jong “mentally” Il blasted President Bush's appointment of flame throwing tell-it-like-it–is Undersecretary of State John Bolton as new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, saying he would only make it harder for NK to get hard cash for exported missile technology. Between romps in the hay with little girls secured for him by the NK secret service, “mentally “ Il further claimed Bolton’s ruff style wouldn’t sit well with the other third-world anti-American dictators, despot, satraps and thugs that populate the UN.

The name calling started when Bolton was serving as undersecretary of state for arms control. In that capacity, Bolton correctly described NK leader “mentally” Il as "tyrannical" and called the life in the Stalinist state a "hellish nightmare." Well even a cursory look at “mentally” Il and life in NK under his “leadership” demonstrates just how “tyrannical” he is. And, starving to death during the NK winter, as thousands upon thousands in NK do, might rightly be called a “hellish nightmare.”

Bolton further exposed the truth about North Korea as "the world's foremost peddler of ballistic missile-related equipment, components, materials and technical expertise." Who, outside the NK capital, denies what Bolton said? Joey-Boy Biden? Uninformed Ohio senator George Voinovich? No, they are not concerned with the facts of what Bolton says but rather how he says it or even that he says it all. These are the same hand wringing girly-men that broke into a cold sweat when President Reagan fittingly referred to the Soviet Union as an “evil empire.” Oh my! The truth? This is diplomacy. There is no place for the truth here.

In response to Bolton’s plain spoken truth NK, in return, took the high road referring to Bolton as "human scum" and a "bloodsucker." Now Democrats and weak-kneed Republicans are siding with NK and “mentally” Il. How could the president send a man to the UN that is willing to tell the unvarnished truth about NK and its dear leader? What’s next – exposing UN corruption? We can’t have that.

Is the Pope a Catholic...again?

Well those darn Catholic Cardinals have gone and really done it this time. The Cardinals should know that by electing another Catholic male – for the 265th straight time no less – they are dooming the 2,000 year old church to irrelevance in today’s hip world. Just when the church needed to cast aside its theology, when it should have given up on human rights for the poor, unborn, infirm and elderly, as the world slips deeper and deeper into a moral relativism those dumb Cardinals go and elect another Catholic as Pope. Shouldn’t they have picked someone more hip like Michael Moore or super genius Sean Penn? How about some “I’m OK, you’re OK”, “who am I to judge” Jewish guy like Woody Allen or Seinfeld? Or we could go with a county fair candidate like Homer Simpson or Bill Clinton. County fair candidate? You know the Foxworthy bit, when you’re really down on yourself, go to the county fair and when you see all of the toothless, trailer dwelling (Hey, Lex used to live in trailer.) white trash there, you’re sure to have a whole new respect for yourself.

The last thing we needed right now is someone that is going to tell us, “Well yes, as the matter of fact boys and girls, there is such a thing as right and wrong and good and evil.” Ahhhghggh! Damn! The courts can keep the Ten Commandments out of my view. Can no one rid me of this Pope thing? Why can’t the most corrupt man in congress, Harry Reid, filibuster the election of the Pope? Can’t the 9th Circuit Court step in and make one of its world famous unconstitutional decisions? Where is the powerless World Court when we really need it?

Even before he could get his miter on straight, the MSM, as predicted a couple of posts below, landed on Benedict XVI with both feet pegging him as, gasp! a Catholic! How could an organization that has expanded by 300,000,000 people under the leadership of one Catholic go and elect another Catholic as its leader? It’s suicide in this modern age. If the Church wants to expand, everyone knows it must embrace gay marriage and plethora of other loony ideas that will have the church looking more like Club Med than a church.

But it’s all about popularity – right? We don't join churches. Churches join us - right? Well if the church is going to expand it will need to rid itself of the Catholic wing of the Catholic Church. The best way to do that is to bring Barney Frank in as Pope. His boy friend could use Vatican Square as a free parking for his male prostitution business which would be run out of the papal apartment. We need to get the Catholics out of the Catholic Church!

Republican invertebrates

In an effort to avoid comparison to Tom Delay or any other vertebrate, Ohio Republican Senator George Voinovich shut down the Foreign Relations Committee’s confirmation of truth teller John Bolton. The reason given by Mr. V was, "I haven't been to the hearings and haven't heard all these allegations until now." Haven’t heard all the allegations? Where have you been? Do you have a staff? If you do, they should all be fired. Haven’t heard of the allegations? You are either lying (Which is where my money is.) or too big a blockhead to hold any office above the guy that goes behind the elephants with a coal shovel and a wheelbarrow (OK it’s probably equal parts of each. Mr. V is lying and is too big a blockhead to figure out that we know he’s lying.).

In another statement of colossal ignorance Mr. V went on to whine, "The passion on the other side on this, I don't think is political." You don’t think it’s political? Get the shovel and wheelbarrow. Hey Mr. V, ever hear of Clarence Thomas, Robert Bork, William Pryor, Priscilla Owen, Charles W. Pickering etc.? Again, Mr. V is either lying or just too obtuse to hold high office.

It’s guys like Mr. V that make me avoid saying I’m a Republican even though I’m registered as one. Last week I was in Munchen talking to some tourist from Boston. The talk turned to politics. Since I’d mentioned I had been in the Marine Corps, they pegged me as a “Republican”. I dead panned that I was not a Republican. They asked me several more questions after which they said I had to be a “Republican”. “No”, I said, “I am a conservative.” I am sadly disappointed with the President’s immigration policy or lack there of and I’m sick of the spineless leadership in the senate. So, I am not a Republican. I am a conservative.

Not that it will cause Mr. V to be able to walk upright anytime soon but, e-mail him and ask:

How could you possibly not have heard the allegations?
Do you have staff?
Have you fired them for not doing their job?
If you are so mis/uninformed on this topic, do you intend to resign your office anytime soon?
What other topics are you woefully mis/uninformed on?
If you can’t keep up with this, how do you keep track of developments in China and the war on terror?
If you didn’t know what was going on, why didn’t you abstain and avoid embarrassing an entire state?
Do you seriously believe that it’s not political?
If you do, where do you keep your “Glad Machine” Pollyanna?

The Conclave

Watching the coverage of the Conclave in Rome reminds of a briefing I once attended during my short 20+ year stint in the Marine Corps. The briefer, as they almost always are, was some haggard colonel. He was talking to a group of general officers. The issue was some thorny, complicated, earth shattering matter dealing with pumping fresh water ashore from a ship at sea during an exercise in Thailand. Of course going to a local tap and giving it a quick twist wouldn’t do. No the water had to come from the ship nearly two-and-half miles off-shore.

The briefer started by saying, “Well general, there two ways we are going to get this done - the realistic way and the miraculous way. First the realistic way. St. Peter and hundred angels and arc angels come down from heaven and do it for us.” The general interrupts and says, “You mean the miraculous way. You said ‘first the realistic way’ but the angels would be the miraculous way – right?” The briefer says, “No sir. St. Peter and the angels is the realistic way. The miraculous way would be if we are able to figure it out ourselves.” Well, the fresh water came ashore. If fact, so much water came ashore, that they ended up dumping it back into the sea. It must have been a miracle because I didn’t a single angel in the entire process.

So, what does that have to with the Conclave? I’m sure many of the Cardinals walking into that room have the mind-set of the haggard colonel. How will they, mere mortals, be able to figure the problem out and do what is best for the church? I was watching one of the gabfests as the cardinals were entering the Sistine Chapel to choose the next Pope. The show had a priest acting as the “expert commentator” as if were some sporting event. Some off camera voice says, “Father, what are the Cardinals doing now?” The priest says something like, “They are praying to the Holy Spirit for guidance. They are asking God for wisdom as they contemplate perhaps the most important decision of their lives.” The off camera voice intones, “And they truly believe in Divine intervention and guidance?” “Oh yes. We all believe. It’s called faith” answers the priest.

So, the Cardinals go in realistically praying for Divine intervention and a Pope emerges as the result of a miracle. How else can you explain Polish John Paul the great ending a 400 year Italian strangle hold on the papacy? Picking a Pope is like picking a Supreme Court Justice. You think you know what you’re getting but you really don’t know until you see the opinions on the landmark cases. The same is true with Popes. John XXIII was an old over-weight diabetic chosen to be a caretaker pope but, he gave the church Vatican II. So, one never knows. The gabbers will peg the new pope as a conservative or “progressive” as soon as he is announced. But we won’t know for several years how the next pope really thinks. So, as always, it’s best to ignore the gabbers.

Oh yea, is that dopey woman who protests the all male membership rules at Augusta Country Club set up in Vatican Square? It seems like an ideal location for her since the Masters has come and gone.

Tax Freedom Day

With the MSM’s frenzy centered on Tom Delay, you may have missed Tax Freedom Day. Tax Freedom day is the day you stop working for the government and start earning for yourself. The RNC claims Tax Freedom day occurred on 14 Apr this year, 18 days earlier than in 2000 under the scandal ridden reign of Willy the Slick. The Taxpayer Union says freedom doesn’t come until 17 Apr. At any rate, we’re mid way through the fourth month of the year before any of us start to take care of ourselves and our families. Were things right in the US of A, Tax Freedom day would occur about mid way through February. As noted below there should be only two rules in the US tax code. Anyone earning over $25,000 pays 12%. The only deduction is for people. Simple? Well, I was reminded that Libs have their own two rule tax code. 1) How much did you make? 2) Send it in.

If churches across America can get by on 10%, the government ought to be able to get by on 12%. Our federal budget now exceeds three trillion dollars. Trillion is a fairly easy word to say, but few comprehend exactly how much a trillion is – look here to get an idea of what a trillion really is. Now, our federal budget spends over three of those incomprehensively enormous things called a trillion. That’s 32-33 trillion over a ten year period. Yet Libs think we need to raise taxes to 1) get more money for the federal government and 2) redistribute wealth from the movers and shakers who earn it to the lay-abouts who think that because they were lucky enough to be born an America they deserve some of it.

I am of the opinion that a government that can’t get by on three trillion, probably won’t be able to get by on four, five, or six trillion – the budget will simply grow to match the amount of money available. Think about that. If congress can’t get by on three trillion of your dollars, what does that say about the people we’re sending to Washington? It’s as if Bill Gates was to say to his wife and family at the dinner table one night, “Well, I’ve looked at it seven ways to Sunday, but I just don’t see how we’re going to get to Disney World this year. I could sell off 100 billion or so of my Microsoft stock, but the taxes will kill us.” It’s insane.

Hot shots

Taxes
Well, if you didn’t know it, your taxes are due today. I finished mine, and as a result I am a big fan of the flat tax. Here’s how I think it ought to work.
1. Everyone at some threshold of income say $25,000 ought to pay a certain percentage say 12% of that income. People - students, the elderly, the poor, etc - who don’t reach the threshold don’t pay taxes.
2. The only exemption, say $5,000 each, is for people - yourself, your wife and your dependant children and elderly parents.
Wait, only two rules, it has to be more complicated than that. No that’s it. This plan would allow exemptions for people only – period end of sentence, end of tax code. Screams of, “The tax code must be progressive.” can be heard from Libs. Well, if I make a $100 and you make $1,000 and we each pay 12% on our earnings, who pays more? For those public school graduates, you do! The flat tax is progressive. The current system is not because politicians use the tax code to “buy off” wealthy donors with tax shelters. As a result the flat tax will have the added benefit of getting some of the money out of politics - probably more effectively than the 1st Amendment shredding McCain-Feingold bill that ironically put more into politics – all of it from the fat-cats the bill was supposed to limit. And oh by the way, it’s not money that makes politics dirty. It’s dirty politicians that make politics dirty.

Delay
Dems are rethinking their attacks on Tom Delay. It turns out that Dem leaders Pelosi and Reid are much dirtier than anything Delay is being accused of. Pelosi was fined $21,000 for buying her Dem leadership position with unlawful campaign contribution to certain Dems. Harry Reid is perhaps the filthiest member of congress. Read it here. Dems it turns out, although in the minority, take more trips paid for by lobbyists than Reps. At least a dozen prominent Dems have multiple family members on the dole. As noted below, I’m all for getting rid of every one that has a family member on the dole. But only Delay has attracted any media attention. Once the hypocrisy, a mainstay of Lib politics, of this story is pointed out, rather than fair-play, the story will just go away.

Bolton
Things in Iraq are going too well for the MSM and Lib pols. As a result, they have turned their attention to trashing John Bolton for telling the truth about the UN. I for one am delighted that the Dems are being seen as standing up for a corrupt, anti-American UN rather than a man who will hold them to account. Most thinking Americans see the UN for what it is – a corrupt dysfunctional organization run by anti-American dictators, satraps and thugs. This the Dems will defend.

Nuclear option
Bill Frist is finding that spontaneous generation of a backbone is a time consuming process. Just get on with it. If Reps lose at least we’ll know who to can – John McCain - a man who never saw a baby that wasn't worth splitting. (Solomon not abortion)

Lt. Pantano is not your average 2nd Leiutenant

Marine Corps 2nd Lieutenant Ilario Pantano is not your average jarhead butterbar. Living among the smoldering ruins after the September 11 terror attacks that killed several of his friends, Pantano quit his cushy six figure civilian job in Manhattan and joined the Marine Corps. Pantano became what is known in the Corps as a “retread”. A retread is a guy who joins up, does a hitch or two, gets out and then, at some point down the road rejoins. Pantano’s first tour took him to Iraq in1991 and then to Yugoslavia.

Pantano put his time between tours in the Corps to good use. He got a college degree, a good job, a wife and two children. After 9-11 he kissed the family good-bye, answered his country’s call to duty and reported to the “Crossroads of the Marine Corps” Quantico, VA for officers’ training. After receiving his commission Pantano became a “mustang”. That’s Marine Corps speak for an enlisted man turned officer. Mustangs are highly respected with-in the Corps for their ability to see issues from both sides of the fence and to smell BS from ten miles away.

Here’s where the story takes a sad turn. On April 15, 2004, "commanders dispatched Lt. Pantano's men to a house believed to hold insurgents and weapons. The Marines found bomb-making equipment and were removing it when two Iraqis tried to speed away in a sport utility vehicle, according to Lt. Pantano's account. The Marines stopped the SUV by shooting out the tires, apprehended the two (Iraqis) and placed them in flexible handcuffs. After setting up a security perimeter, (so as not to injure any Americans) Lt. Pantano took off the cuffs and had the two search the vehicle as he supervised."

Pantano’s lawyer explains, after a few minutes, the two insurgents stopped searching and began to move quickly toward Lt. Pantano "they started talking in Arabic and turned toward him as if they were going to rush him." Pantano shouted at them in Arabic to stop. They declined. Pantano then did what he was trained to do. He shot and killed both of them. It turned out that both were unarmed, which would have been a temporary condition had they gotten to Pantano. Pantano was cleared of any wrong-doing in an internal investigation, but now is up on murder charges for killing the two Iraqis fleeing the bomb making plant.

The government case hinges on a former squad leader that Pantano fired. That disgruntled squad leader now claims Pantano murdered the two Iraqis, shooting them in the back. Because of the danger, the bodies of the two Iraqis cannot be exhumed for autopsy.

Many are claiming that the Marine Corps has gone totally PC in this case. I think not. The services have to investigate and prosecute every allegation, least the left leaning press turn the story into a national security issue as with Abu Ghraib. Lt. Pantano has waived his Article 32 hearing (think Grand Jury here) and asked for an immediate trail. Not the legal strategy of a guilty man. Pantano wants his day in court and a verdict from a jury of his peers. When he is found not guilty, the Corps should give him a medal, promote him and send him back to Iraq, because as we have said before, “my God, we need people that”. You can support Lt. Pantano here.

Managing a forest is no different from managing anything else

Any activity worth participating in is worth trying to manage. Baseball teams have managers. Other sports teams have coaches who try to see what is happening on the field and react to it in an appropriate manner. Parents manage their children. They don’t let them stick pennies into outlets or make a blind mad dash through a busy intersection. Businesses manage their activities. Costs versus expenses are closely watched. Unpopular inventory is marked down and sold at discount to make room for more popular stock. As individuals, we all manage our own time and money. Why is it then, in a world where everything worth doing is managed, that a group of enviro-nuts can convince other wise rational people that our forests should be allowed to burn to the ground rather than have humans manage their growth and health? The enviro-nuts claim, “It’s nature taking its course.” Well “nature is also taking its course” when your four year old goes dashing into the street, but we don’t think it’s unwise to grab him and stop him when he tries – even if he cries when we do so. Enviro-nuts, it seems, would rather have 100,000s of acres of habitat and wildlife destroyed in unnecessary and costly forest fires than let the logging industry make a dime’s profit clearing out the deadwood and creating firebreaks to protect the forests.

The Griffin has a forestry degree from Michigan State and is an avid outdoorsman. He gets it right in this timely post from Ohio, where we all know only 70,000 votes separated Kerry from his quest for the White House. The Griffin sends:

“Renewable resources are ...renewable, fulfill a need, and provide jobs. We are concluding the winter logging season here in Ohio. The protesters don't show up during the period from Christmas to spring break. Too cold. But they have been out in the woods lately as the weather is breaking, actually on the roads by the woods, singing kum-by-ya and we shall overcome. The loggers are collecting the raw material to build furniture and homes from stands of timber that are growing at a much slower rate because these stands are in decline. As a result of this forest management, space for new trees is created, and life in the forest goes on.

“In my lifetime, much of it spent outdoors, and someone that knows some things about the environment, wildlife, and trees, the protestors being the open minded and inclusive do-gooders that they are need to consider a few facts.
1) FACT -There are more deer in N. America today than were here when the Mayflower hit Plymouth.
2) FACT -There is more timber growing today than when the pilgrims had the first Thanksgiving.
3) FACT- License fees from hunters and fisherman generate more income for land and wildlife mgt (by a factor of 1000) over all the environmental groups combined.
4)FACT- The USDA, Dept of Forestry budget in 2004 was $245 million. Over $100 million was set aside to pay legal fees from the lawsuits they receive every year.
5)FACT - Natures way of eliminating old growth forest is catastrophic fire that kills everything and leaves a moonscape look to the land. Yellowstone in the 1990's.

“A scientific, healthy approach to land mgt includes logging. Market factors and economics are included in the plan. Plastics and metals are not renewable and very little is recycled as the energy needed makes it uneconomical – even if the energy is produced by nuke, wind, coal, etc, it is still uneconomical. Get the facts. Above are only a few.

“We really need to keep an eye on those that are misguided and threaten our forests. And they are not the loggers. They are the protesters, courts, judges, and environmental radicals. Here in Ohio it is the time of year to protest logging. People say they are not hurting us so let them have their say. Well, between the lawsuits, their trespassing, work disruptions, revenue loss through logging bans by courts and judges that will not learn the facts, they come with a big price tag. They are getting expensive and we all pay for it in increased taxes and wood products. Get your wallets out.”

Kerry pushes voter bill for dopes

Former Democrat Presidential nominee John Kerry, who you may have heard served in Vietnam but not Cambodia, insisted on Sunday that he may have lost the 2004 election because Democrat voters are still just too stupid to vote. After the 2000 election, Democrats claimed that a butterfly ballot, designed by Democrats too stupid to know that their own constituency is too stupid to follow an arrow from their candidate’s name and punch out the corresponding hole in their ballot, cost Al Gore that election.

Apparently Democrats aren’t getting any smarter. Now the dower one claims he’d be president today if his constituency wasn’t too stupid to figure out which day is election day. Kerry, moaned, "Leaflets are handed out saying Democrats vote on Wednesday, Republicans vote on Tuesday. People are told in telephone calls that if you've ever had a parking ticket, you're not allowed to vote." He went on to lament, “Let’s face it, our constituency is just too damn dumb from years in prison, constant drug use, welfare dependence and public education to figure this stuff out.”

In what can only be described as a statement of colossal ignorance, John Boy sniffed, "Last year too many people were denied their right to vote, too many who tried to vote were intimidated." Where was Mr. Four Month War Hero when union creeps were chasing little old ladies away from the polls? When did Mr. Gold Digger speak up about his looser supporters shooting up, looting, and otherwise terrorizing Republican campaign headquarters? When did Mr. Whiner condemn his Junior High School drop out supporters too stupid to get to polls on the right day and even if they accidentally did too stupid to figure out the ballot but smart enough to slash the tires on the Republican’s campaign rental vans?

Mr. Kerry ended his talk by saying, “What we really need is a Dopey Dopus voter rights bill which says, ‘We know that there are at least 5 million people out there who are stupid enough to support us but too stupid to vote. Therefore, Democrats should start every election with a 5 million vote advantage.’ It’s the only way we can ensure that the will of stupid people, who overwhelmingly support Democrats, is heard.”

The Turkey trip

Women's World Tae Kwon Do champ arrives home in Turkey on Lex's plane. The team and their fans are draped in Turkish flags

Lex and the family visited turkey over the Easter weekend. We were in central Turkey an area called Cappadocia. It is an area which was formed by volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. Historians date Cappadocia’s early civilizations to about 3,500 BC. These civilizations carved their homes into solid rock and even constructed vast underground cities. The nearest thing to it that I’ve seen before, and it’s really nothing like it, is the cliff dwellings in Arizona. Aside from the natural beauty of the area and the ingenuity of the early inhabitants, three things struck me about this trip.

The first occurred before we left. I took my eight year old to our barber for a hair cut. The barber in this one chair shop is an old Italian fellow named Giuseppe. I told Giuseppe we going to Turkey for the Easter holiday and he said, “Noa one a liva a there a anymore. The a whola place is a empty.” “What do you mean?” I asked. “Noa one a there. They a alla over here now.” Giuseppe was referring to the huge influx of Turkish labor into Europe. Lex has noted this before and has attributed it to western European countrys’ too generous social welfare systems and declining population growths.

The next thing that struck me was our tour guide’s insistence that while Turkey was a 98% Muslim country, it was secular to its core. She never missed an opportunity to reinforce that. When asked about her religion, she’d answer the question and then throw in a, “But in my country politics and religion are never mixed.” I find that hard to believe. Religious people tend to act in religious ways. There is nothing wrong with that. It’s when some religious prelate urges the murder of the innocent in the name of religion that we have problems. I do believe that Turkey is a very proud nationalistic country rather an Islamo fascists one though. The reason I believe that is the ever present Turkish flag. One cannot walk or drive very far without seeing one displayed in a shop window or from an apartment balcony. Our fist experience with this phenomenon was at the airport when we arrived with a Turkish woman who had just won the World Tae Kwon do championship. Turkish flags were everywhere. Islamo fascist seem to drape themselves in a phony version of Islam rather than any national symbol.

The last thing that struck me was our tour guide’s attempt to airbrush history with regard to the Armenian genocide 1915-17. She said, rather of mater-of-factly, that the Armenian genocide – she never called it that of course - was necessary because the Armenians supported Soviet Russia. I guess this was supposed to be good enough for the Americans on her tour. Well if the Armenians were supporting the Russians then every man woman and child deserved whatever they got - right? Except for one thing, the timeline is all wrong. The Bolsheviks began their rise to power in October 1917 forcing a Tsarist Russia to withdraw from WWI with Turkish ally Germany. So the biggest part of the between 1 and 2 million Armenians killed in Turkey were dead long before the Bolsheviks took control of Moscow in November 1917. I guess it is natural to want to airbrush certain embarrassing things from history. You know like, Uncle Willy isn't a drunk. He was scared by war. But if you use a straw street broom to apply the paint it ain't going to look like airbrushing.

Quick hits

Since the pope died, Lex has been busy pointing out the idiocy of the left leaning MSM’s attacks on the pope and his church. A few quick notes on other topics that have escaped note over that period:

The Minuteman Project: The press is lamenting a few citizens going down to our unprotected southern border to observe and call attention to the disorder that is taking place down there. The problem here is the name. The name “Minuteman” invokes the image of men of action with guns. With exactly the same mission, the Minutemen should have called themselves the “The Welcome Wagon to Save the Whales, Advance Gay and Women’s Rights and Oppose Globalization” or WWSTWAGAWROG for short. The MSM would have to have spent the first five minutes of every story debunking the name. It would have been comical after a while. By the way, the border patrol added 500 agents to southern border, the Mexicans mobilized their army on the border and illegal immigration is down everywhere the Minutemen have shown up. Can we call that success?

Tom Delay: Mr. Delay is in a bit of trouble for, gasp!, having family members on the payroll! Shocking! Simply shocking! Every member of congress who has a family member on the dole ought to resign today! Of course tomorrow Washington D.C. would be ghost town – which would be a good thing.

Sandy “The Pinch” Berger: Sandy, as Clintonistas are want to do, lied about purloining material from the National Archive. Mr. Burglar pled guilty to stealing the materials and then cutting them to pieces. No doubt the shredded documents would have would have proven embarrassing to Burglar and his boss – former president and reprobate for life Willey the Slick.

Changing the rules: I’m not crazy about the so called “nuclear option”. I’d support the rule change but only after Reps made Dems take to floor of the senate, cameras running, and jabber 24 hour a day for at least ten days. Then I’d vote to change the rules to vote for one of the president’s stalled nominations. As soon as the vote was taken, I’d vote to return the rules to status quo anti and start the process all over again. Make 'em talk. They are never funnier than when they search for a relavant thought.

Schivo Memo: In perhaps the most shocking development, Republicans are talking politics in Washington D.C. Sen. Mel Martinez fired an aide for penning a memo that indicated that the Dems might be vulnerable if they were thought to be complicit in the starving to death of Ms. Schaivo. Well, the Dems of course circulated memos on how to thwart the president’s minority judicial nominees and how to slow roll the president on Iraq. That of course is different – those were Dems and the MSM finds nothing untoward about Dems doing the exact same thing that Reps are strung up over. I think it’s all a bunch BS. Of course it’s political. It should be. Everything in Washington should be framed in the sharpest political context possible. The only way we have to hold these people accountable in the political arena. Let the memos flow. Reps have memos on supporting life. Dems have memos on opposing minorities. Now, let’s vote.

Lex, The Griffin and Jane Fonda

Except for piss on Jane Fonda urinal screens, still popular in many US military Officers' Clubs and NASCAR men’s rooms, I pretty much ignore the treasonous bit…uh woman. When the Ho Chi Min Braves were ripping the National League, I did root for the American League in World Series, yes even the Yankees. Fonda’s most recent mea culpa for her treason in North Vietnam comes just in time to bolster book sales of what no doubt is a woe-is-me piece from a pretty, pampered, self-indulgent and clueless liberal. She says she was young and impressionable. Well so were the Americans dying in Vietnam. Now she offers a flip “so sorry” as if that’s that. That’s sort of like the Steve Martin, “Well Excuuuuuse me”, bit on Saturday Night Live. Sometimes “sorry” doesn’t cut it. You can’t say, “Look, how many times do I have to say, ‘I’m soooorrrrry’ for killing your dad by my depraved indifference and treason. Let’s just forget about the whole thing and ‘move on’. By the way, I have a new book out about how rough and interesting my life has been. Wanna buy one?” The Griffin has a great idea about how Jane’s fortune including any profit from her tome ought to be spent. The Griffin sends:

“Okay, we all make mistakes. Ask the Dixie Chicks. JF is now saying she should have never have manned a N.Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun and otherwise cavorted with enemies of the U.S. Oh, and the POW's that smuggled messages to her which she later turned over to their captors so they could receive more torture....sorry about that too. Oh yea, allowing the NVA to use her for propaganda that helped keep NVA troops well motivated...well please forgive her for that too.

“Well I guess we can tell those last 10,000 American GI's that died in SE Asia..sorry about that. The North Vietnamese were ready to give it up. They had their butts kicked in their TET offensive in Jan 69' but the media was able to portray this as a US defeat, public opinion was growing anti-war but the vast majority of Americans wanted to see it through, and the N.Vietnamese decided to recommit themselves to continuing the war.

“I had three cousins wounded in Vietnam. We all knew troopers who did not make it back. So when Msssss. Fonda says she is ‘sorry’ that her actions instilled more fighting spirit in an army trying to and succeeding in killing Americans, then I say tell the families of those who came back in body bags. Go find a few who lost limbs or suffered some trauma as a result of combat and tell them. But to really PROVE your sincerity, take 3/4's of your total assets (Henry Fonda's and Ted Turner's) and give it to those you helped to injure. Don't tell me you made a mistake, go do your best to make it right. If you can travel to a jungle half way around the world to comfort our enemies, then surly you can drive an hour (or be driven) to a V.A. Hospital to hand out some checks to some young guys recently wounded in Iraq/Afgan. They probably will not even know who you are, so they’d probably cash your check.

“The death of the pope reminds us to be considerate and forgiving of everyone. But to go on TV and say ‘I'm sorry’ will not cut it Janey. Where is the ‘beef’? My eyes are not welling up yet baby. Do the right thing or be accused of just ‘spouting off’....again!”

Giovanni Palo Magnus. Pope John Paul II reached out to the world and the world reached back.

The Griffin on the pope and Ron the dope

I got the following post from the Griffin who has been soaking up the sunshine south of the border for a week or two:

“Lex is right on track. The Libs cannot say ‘I have no opinion’ or ‘I have nothing to add to the discussion’. Our mothers and fathers taught us to keep our mouths shut if you do not know what you talking about.

“Ron ‘Tight Pants’ Reagan is a great example of someone who ignores mom and dad’s advise. Soooo Mr. Ron, could you enlighten us on the pros and cons of 21st century technology in harnessing the energy released by the two processes of fission and fusion? Knowing that you are against nuclear power generation and being a progressive means that you must have some insight into our future energy needs and our options. Please avoid any reference to windmills or oceanic wave action which would generate about 0.002% of our future needs.

“By the way, what was the pope's position on the world's future energy needs? My advice to Mr. Lite Loafers is to defer to the experts. That is why we have experts. The pope concentrated on bringing salvation to the people of the world. You have brought salvation to....? The pope is the leader of the Catholic Church. You are the leader of ...? The pope is an expert on the Catholic Church and its catechism. You are an expert on…?

“Personally I have a problem with a person that gives a eulogy at his father’s funeral and uses the solemn occasion as an opportunity to criticize a sitting president. Aren't the two disjointed? It seems a long, self serving stretch to me.

“As a final comment I would say that those that truly dedicate themselves to being priests, doctors, teachers, patriots, parents, etc, deserve to be heard as those with insight and expertise. If you want to know about how to drill for oil, don't call the Sierra Club. If you want to know how to set a broken leg, don’t call a plumber. If you want to know more about religion, don't ask Ron-Boy from the land of fruits and nuts. Later.”

The Slickster wieghs in

Drudge has the following report: En route to Rome, Clinton told reporters the pope “centralized authority in the papacy again and enforced a very conservative theological doctrine. There will be debates about that. The number of Catholics increased by 250 million on his watch. But the numbers of priests didn't. He's like all of us - he may have a mixed legacy.”

As with everything Clinton says, this statement needs to be parsed or as they say in the bloggesphere fisked.

Let’s work backward. “He's like all of us - he may have a mixed legacy.” Yes JPII is just like the rest of us who have tens of millions show up for our funeral. JPII is exactly like that family member we all recall who had people waiting 24 hours to get inside the funeral home. JPII is exactly like all of us who have expanded our main concern by 300 million. JPII is exactly like Joe next door who helped bring down communism. JPII has had no more influence on the world than my son’s second grade teacher. JPII is just like a former US president who, when he wasn’t abusing the women around him, was lying to a Grand Jury and as a result being impeached and disbarred for five years. The fact is that JPII is not like all of us and certainly nothing like a treasonous (Oh yes he is. Check out campaign contributions from the ChiComms and subsequent rocket technology transfers to China.), raping (Wanita Broderick), felonious (Pick one of about a dozen), draft dodging (Letter to local draft board), lying (Pick one of 1,000,000s), abusive (Broderick, Flowers, Jones, Willy, his own wife, etc. etc) dope smoking (Oops he didn’t inhale - riiiight.), self-centered creep (He wouldn’t be in the news if he weren’t.) like the former president.

Next, “The number of Catholics increased by 250 million on his watch. But the numbers of priests didn't.” The slick one is implying here that had the Pope just abandoned principle and embraced homosexuals, women and married priests he could have expanded the priesthood as well as the total number of Catholics. What the slickster doesn’t get is that one issue might be diametrically opposed to the other. Besides, as stated in the post below, the Pope is not elected to put his finger in the wind and ensure that the church follows an ever indulgent society down every sewer hole of depravity it chooses. Slick Willy cannot comprehend anyone who would place principle ahead of popularity.

Last, “[the pope] centralized authority in the papacy again and enforced a very conservative theological doctrine.” Again the clueless one wouldn’t understand. The Pope’s job is not political. His job is to act as the voice of the church as reflected in the word of God and its catechism. Now, if the slickmiester and others do not believe what is being offered, they are free to ignore it, but hundreds and hundreds of millions of people have heard JPII and 300 million have joined him. That is a tremendously impressive record for a church that the MSM and Libs insist is irrelevant and dying.

You join a church, a church does not join you

UPDATE: I was forced to watch CNN International while on the treadmill at the gym. As millions upon millions jam Rome to see or be near JPII at his passing, CNNI’s star reporter Christiane Amanpoure kicked her fake accent up a notch while trolling the streets of Rome for a disaffected Catholic or two. That’s right. The story for CNNI wasn’t the several hundred million who joined the church under JPII or the tens of millions in Rome to honor him. The story was about a couple of disillusioned Catholics swilling beer in a café as if nothing unusual is going on in Rome.

The news blabbermouths are agog with speculation about who the next Pope will be and his political bent. I haven’t heard a single blabbermouth consider the teachings and catechism of the church. The blabbermouths talk gay rights, women’s ordination, birth control and abortion without regard to the primary duty of the Pope or any religious prelate. It’s as if the next commissioner of baseball is going to OK the use of tennis balls from time to time because the fans want to see more homeruns.

I was working on my taxes late last night and had the TV on to drown out my uh… frustration. The great minds at Armed Forces Network have determined that their captive audience should be watching the unwatchable – as ratings and advertising rates will bear out – MSNBC. The show featured failed ballet star Ron “I’d be selling shoes at J.C. Penny were it not for my old man whose principles I now trash with glee” Reagan. Reagan, who wears his atheism like a badge of honor, brought up the ordination of women and opined, “I don’t know how you can exclude over 50% of the world’s population.” He then threw in a “Although, I don’t believe in a higher being” for good measure.

The guest, a deacon due to be ordained in a year, set agnostic Ron straight and cut through all of the social engineering arguments that have the blabbermouth crowd in a tizzy these days. The deacon noted that Pope is not a political position. It is a position to advance the teachings of God. The Pope, whatever other power he has, cannot change those teachings - end of paraphrasing. Therefore, even if the Cardinals elect Boy George Pope, it will not change the word of God. It would only serve to set the church back 2,000 years.

This is what the blabbermouths don’t get. The church is not running for prom king. They are not taking positions to garner the most “votes”. The church is not joining the world. The world is joining the church. The blabbermouths ignore the fact that the church grew by more than three hundred million under JPII. They harp incessantly about the church’s decline in Europe. Yes the church is in decline in a Europe that is in decline. The population in most old European countries is dying – literally. Birth rates in Europe, due to abortion and birth control, (Did JPII ever talk about those two things? Why yes, I believe he did mention them from time to time.), are so low as to make the current culture unsustainable past about 2050. So, by extension, every institution – except Islam - in Europe is dying. [Prediction: Like Australia, European governments will soon have to begin to pay people to have babies.]

So, the Cardinals should simply elect a strong advocate for “the word” and let the blabbermouths continue to wring their hands.

Lex meets John Paul II

Pope John Paul II Last Summer at Castle Gandolfo

I met Pope John Paul II last summer. OK, I didn’t reeeally “meet him”. I saw him at Castle Gandolfo with several thousand other people. Castle Gandolfo is a 16th century Jesuit monastery about 10 miles from the Vatican. Popes use Gandolfo to escape the heat and hustle-bustle of Rome during the summer months. We happened to be in Rome so we hopped a bus to Gandolfo to see the Pope.

It was a rainy Sunday morning. We stopped on the way to the castle to buy umbrellas and ponchos. We also bought a small Saint Christopher’s medal to be blessed by the Pope. We got back on the bus and the rain really came down. Spirits were not all that high. On the bus I was lecturing my 7 year old about how solemn the ceremony would be and that it was important that he be on his best behavior.

When we got to Castle Gandolfo, not thinking it possible, it rained harder. We stood in the rain outside the castle with the thousands of others who had gathered to see John Paul and receive his blessing. The gates finally opened about an hour before the Pope’s scheduled appearance. The thousands of people rushed forward through the single entrance. I feared my son would fall and be trampled, but we were just rushed through the gates in the sea of people to a great position about 40 feet from where the Pope would deliver his message.

The court yard at Gandolfo is covered, but it leaks in about as many places as it doesn’t. We stood for about an hour in the mass of people. There were soccer teams, young men and women who were in the early stages of committing the rest of their lives to the church. They were singing, chanting and having a wonderful time in the pouring rain. Finally, right on time, the door cracked; the great man appeared; the crowd erupted, and the rain stopped.

What followed resembled a pep-rally – there was even a brass band - more than a solemn religious ceremony. The Pope had been made aware of the various groups that had come to see him. As he called them out, each group would do a cheer or sing a hymn for the Pope. I couldn’t understand any of it, but some of the cheers must have been funny as the Pope and the crowd laughed on queue at certain points. I had my son on my shoulders through most of the ceremony so he could see the Pope. He snapped the picture at the top. The Pope read a message, offered the blessing and returned to his living quarters inside Castle Gandolfo to the cheers of the crowd that lingered, they cheered and chanted as if fans at a rock concert begging for an encore.

Finally, we filed out; took a few pictures in the fog that had settled around Gandolfo and headed back to the bus. The ride back was totally different from the ride up. The bus was alive with conversation about what people had seen and their experiences in the crowd of people. I never thought that merely being in the presence of someone, not understanding a single word spoken, could affect my outlook on what started out to be such a crummy day. My son summed up his observation, “That wasn’t like church dad.”

MSM uses PJII's death to attack his church

If you don’t get CNN International (CNNI), send your cable company a thank you note for not exposing you and your children to CNNI’s incredible anti-American, anti-conservative drivel. Living here in Germany, we get CNNI 24-7. If that’s not bad enough, the brilliant programming minds at the Armed Forces Network (AFN) have bombarded us with 23 hours-a-day of American Ted TV since the Pope died. The bigs at AFN decided on this colossally stupid programming option in the face of CNN’s death spiral in the ratings. At any given point in the day, FOX garners about twice as many viewers as CNN. However being entrenched government bureaucrats and not responsible to turn a profit, the hacks at AFN can pretty much make the dumbest programming decisions possible without being held accountable.

If you thought it impossible for any human being to be more arrogant and pompous than the face of American CNN, Aaron Brown, check out Shihab Rattansi on CNNI. This boob makes Aaron Brown look like your blue collar drinking buddy. Then there’s Christiane “How do you like my fake accent so far” Amanpour. While remaining mute on the religious teachings of Pan-Islamo-terror-fascist, Mzzzzzzzz. Amanpour has taken the Pope’s death as an opportunity to opine on and thrash the Catholic catechism. Watching Amanpour, you’d think the sole purpose of the Pope and the Catholic Church should be to advance, abortion, birth control, homosexual and women rights. Of course she has pointed out at least a 1,000,000 times that Pope opposed the Iraq war while supporting the Bosnia intervention.

For quite a long time I have believed that there are only two kinds of people, personality driven people and principle driven people. Personality driven people are like feathers in the wind. They focus inward. What’s important in the world is only what’s important to them. They have to have the latest clothes, cars, phone etc. etc. They rob and steal because what others have is not as important as them having those things. Personality driven politicians are poll driven wet noodles that can be bent into any shape and incapable of leadership.

Principle driven people have a set of core beliefs that are not negotiable – they are immovable rocks. They focus outwardly. They work for, support and defend those weaker than themselves. Principle driven politicians are not affected by polls and would rather lose an election than compromise principal.

I think that all of us can be found somewhere on a continuum from shallow self-absorbed personality based creeps (think entertainers and spoiled sports stars) at one end to altruistic outwardly focused humanitarians at the other (Think Pope JPII). This is not a Lib Vs. Conservative distinction. Both sides have plenty of people at each end of the continuum.

Pope JPII was as far to the principled side of the continuum as anyone. He frustrated Libs and Conservatives alike. He was unbending in his beliefs and voiced his beliefs to every corner of the earth. It’s the second part of that sentence that scares the elites in MSM. Pope JPII was an incredibly effective advocate. So now that death has silenced the great man, the MSM thinks that they will get the last word in on his legacy. They are wrong. CNN, Christiane Amanpour and other MSM elites taking on JPII, even after his death, is like a child trying to stop a tank with his BB gun.

President saves agent's life!!

The White House is reporting that late last night George Bush saved a man’s life in the White House kitchen. The AP is reporting that the president had wondered down to the kitchen for snack and to sneak a real beer late last night after watching Murphy Brown reruns on Nick at Night. Expecting to meet his latest love interest intern, Mr. Bush found a choking Secret Service agent instead.

Reacting quickly, the president immediately administered the Heimlich maneuver and dislodged a chicken bone from the stricken agent’s throat. The agent heaped great praise and thanks on the president. “I’m one lucky guy. If he’d not shown up, I was a gonner.” In an unusual twist, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, “The president learned the Heimlich maneuver while a member of Yale’s secretive club Skull and Cross Bones.” It seems the exclusive club, far from the frat party image often associated with it, is nothing more than a high level “life saving club” where members learn mouth to mouth, the fireman’s carry, and the four life saving steps (Start the breathing, stop the bleeding, protect the wound and treat for shock) in addition to the Heimlich.

It seems not everyone is impressed with the president’s late night heroics. John Kerry, also a Skull and Cross Bones member, complained of the president’s unilateral method of administering the Heimlich. Kerry said, “I mean come on, Heimlich is a German name but the president has so alienated our allies the Germans wouldn’t even assist him in rescuing the agent.” In a well thought-out and consistent position, Mr. Kerry said, “I would have saved that agent too, but I’d have done it cheaper and smarter.”

Ted Kennedy said the president “cooked the whole thing up” at a Bar-B-Q in Crawford to aide his buddies at Haliburton who Kennedy claimed has purchased all rights to the Heimlich maneuver. “Ahh, this is a cheap stunt by the, ahh, president to, ahh, line the pockets of big business and keep the working man down.” Mr. Kennedy went on slam Haliburton, “Ahh, Haliburton’s purchase of all rights to, ahhh the Heimlich maneuver will cause millions, ahh to lose their lives because, ahh they can’t pay Haliburton’s outrageous royalties.” Haliburton officials dispute the Kennedy claim saying that as far as they know, no rights to the Heimlich maneuver even exist. Kennedy scoffed at the Haliburton statement saying, “Ahh time after time we have seen this president side with the rich while starving our children and the poor. Ahh last week I saw the president and ahh the Haliburton CEO steal a ham sandwich from a hobo.”

NOW president, what’s her name, condemned the president’s heroics saying, “This president stays up late saving the life of one male agent while millions of female agents die from chicken bone in throat syndrome everyday. Where’s the justice? This president has the worst record on chicken bone in the throat of female agents in history.”

Jesse Jackson asked for hearing on the incident saying,
“Black man looses his coat - agent gets a bone stuck in his throat.
Black man freezes in cold - pres puts agent in Heimlich hold.
Loss of coat demonstrates hate - so now we must investigate.”

Michael Schaivo and the ACLU weighed in as well. Michael said the agent told him that if he ever had a chicken bone stuck in throat, he wouldn’t want to live like that and he should receive a lethal injection to ease his pain. The ACLU said the federal government had no right to intercede in the agent’s immanent death – that the president’s life saving measure was a violation of state’s right. Libs across the country have called the president a hypocrite for abandoning his position on federalism. In a surprise move the Florida Supreme Court and Judge George Greer have insisted that the bone be reinserted and that the agent be allowed to die “with dignity”. The Supreme Court has refused to hear the appeal.

Can't believe it's already April.