A Summer Hiatus (update below) (continued) ===>(somebody stop me!) $$ talks and talking does it pretty good, too.V +++now, w/ obamanator nuggets!

Yup. Even no talent blog hacks, like moi, request a brief respite during these lazy days of summer when golf, bike riding, & travel uh, matters of great importance weigh heavily upon my fevered brow.

Posting will resume shortly.

In the meantime, might I recommend the finest in midwest talk radio? 710 KCMO, which features one of the best morning shows on this rock, the KCMO Morning Show With Chris Stigall & the lovely Paige Powers.
Weekdays 5:00am - 9:00am

As an added bonus, this station does not feature a hate speech platform for la racist, bigot bloggers! So tune in.

Click this link for streaming internet.

Update: An "A-Lube" PSA




















Adam Smith Would Be Proud.


Updated update: What have you done for me lately?

La Shawn Barber has an excellent article, entitled "Why Black People Don’t Care that GOP Is Civil Rights Party", which partially answers my long standing question of "Why do Black people vote for democrats?"

Updated, updated update: Hey. He's just an evil oil chimp. Why listen to him?
June, 2001: Bush warns of impending energy crunch.



Gas tax hike?? Can the congress critters be this stupid?

===>Updated, updated, update with an update: My fellow Americans, we should all take time to thank our democratic socialist congress comrades for their support of Joint Resolution 114 - the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. They include (but are not limited to):

Harry Reid of Nevada, Democrat
Joe Biden of Delaware, Democrat
Max Cleland of Georgia, Democrat
John Edwards of North Carolina, Democrat
John Kerry of Massachusetts, Democrat
Chuck Schumer of New York, Democrat
Hillary Clinton of New York, Democrat

Without their support to initiate boooshitler/deathstarcheney's illegal war, the obamanator would not be able to make his annoited pilgrimage, in relative safety, to The Land of Two Rivers: Iraq.

Be sure and look General Petraeus in the eye, shake his hand, and say "thank you", barry.

PS: The obamanator was not able to vote for or against this support because, in 2002, he wasn't even elected to the U.S. Senate. But he was in the Ilinois state house. And, now, he wants to be your POTUS.

An oily update: Gasoline demand declined for the 13th week in a row. Price of crude oil tumbles to 6 week low. From simply talk of drilling. With a hurricane bearing down in Gulf. Oh. And the dollar rose against the euro & the yen.


Attention democratic socialists! These are market.forces.at.work.

But these congress critters would rather rotate on their thumb, and demonize Wall Street for doing what Wall Street is supposed to do: MAKE MONEY.

Get a clue, guys. Speculators swarm to speculate because an artificially tight (read: gub'mint encumbered) market makes for easy money over a long haul on a high demand, world wide commodity (oil). Reduce the demand or increase the supply, and guess what? The specualators stop swarming because the easy bucks aren't there anymore!!

Attention democratic socialists! These are market.forces.at.work. Idjits.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Blue Crab Boulevard tells us that the obabamantor has denounced the Surge D-Day Landings of 1944.

CBS' wife swap show a flop w/ advertisers

Advertisers Don't Party With CBS's 'Swingers'.
Broadcasters Pay the Price for Competing With Cable.

Out: Procter & Gamble, and Philips North America.

In: Time/Life Music 30 minute info-mercials.

Why? Lack of viewers, and complaints to the network & affiliates. The seedy show features characters engaged in wife swapping, drug use and other (hindsight-is-20/20) incredibly stupid high risk behaviors.

But, hey. It's only a TV show. Who could possibly be influenced by that?

But, wait. There's more! Others have gotten a few brains cells, plus a clue, and pulled support for some adolescent prime time cartoon called 'Family Guy'.

Geez, louise. Is '30' the new '15'??? Grow up, people. Either that, or stay away from the voting booth.

Finally, it's in movies; it's in music; it's on the echo chamber awards shows: every stiffy's fave - but it'll never happen in this life, plus make you under appreciate those who truly matter - fantasy: bi-curious hotties.

Brent Bozell III writes a good memo to explain that the 'sex-me-up-a-bi-curious-hottie' is just another way to re-package homosexuality. And a surprisingly significant number of young woman are buying into this lie.

The trend has landed on top of the Billboard pop charts and has dominated the top of the i-Tunes download list in the form of Katy Perry's song "I Kissed A Girl." The concept has become so mainstream that she performed her song on Fox's summer series "So You Think You Can Dance." She's also made a cameo appearance on the CBS soap opera "The Young and the Restless."

Exploiting the "bi-curious" trend is also MTV's formula for the ongoing embarrassment of a reality show called "Tila Tequila's Shot at Love," another noxious offering for youngsters offered by that disgusting network. It just finished its second season with a completely predictable "twist." Miss Tequila is supposed to choose her "love" from a cast of men and a cast of women. In the first season, she chose a male, but the real-life, off-camera relationship failed in time for Season Two. The second time around, she picked a girl named Kristy -- but Kristy rejected Tila. Having built her "bi-curious" credentials, Kristy will next pose for Playboy's August issue.

Get a clue, people.

This just in...

Iran Threatens to Photoshop Israel from Map.

Saint Benedict

He wrote a book which has been the leading guide for Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant monastic communities around the world for the last 1500 years. He was also twin brother to another saint, Scholastica. This man was Saint Benedict of Nursia and today is the day he is remembered by Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians.

MHH has a good post about the man, his times, and his impact on the Christian Faith.

Comedian Bernie Mac insults women at obamanator rally

And he was the opening act!

Toward the end of a 10-minute standup routine at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Chicago, the 50-year-old star of "The Bernie Mac Show" joked about menopause, sexual infidelity and promiscuity, and used occasional crude language.

Fortunately, the audience heard him for the foul mouth fool that he was, and heckled him.

"It's not funny. Let's get Barack on," a man shouted from the crowd, which paid $2,300 each to support the Illinois senator.

When the obamanator came on stage, he gave a tepid, backhanded rebuke toward Mac:

"This is a family affair. By the way, I'm just messing with you, man."

The incident drew response from Obama's campaign, which criticized Mac for his choice of material.

Bus driver. Move that bus!!

Famed Heart Surgeon Michael DeBakey Dead

(AP) Dr. Michael DeBakey, the world-famous cardiovascular surgeon who pioneered such now-common procedures as bypass surgery and invented a host of devices to help heart patients, died Friday night at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, officials announced. He was 99.

DeBakey died from "natural causes," according to a written statement issued early Saturday by spokesmen for Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital.

And under what type of medical care system did this brilliant man develop these modern medical miracle procedures?

Oh. That's right. A privatize, free enterprise health care system. You know. The one which all the rest of the world comes to when it wants the best....

As violence recedes in Iraq, rebuilding gets tough

Ah. The A (w/ t) P. Always eager to tarnish any silver lining.

Violence in Iraq is at its lowest level in four years, but ask Capt. Mike Forbes, and he will tell you his job as a troop commander in Baghdad has gotten harder, not easier.

"The hotter an area is, the simpler," said Forbes. "You just go find the bad guys and kill them."

"A quiet environment doesn't necessarily mean a less challenging one. It just gets more complicated," said a boyish but weary looking Forbes on Thursday, standing inside the small patrol base in Mansour that houses 30 members of B Troop, 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment.

Despite the challenges, Forbes remains optimistic that he can help the Iraqis rebuild their lives in his corner of Baghdad. Working with local officials to get small projects completed is starting to pay off, he said.

"They now have solar powered street lights in Mansour," he said. "A year ago, they didn't even have street lights."

Solar powered? Ooooo. That should get the defeat-o-crats salivating.

Note to AP staff: How about this for a headline? Iraq violence at 4 year low; Rebuilding efforts optimistic.

There. That wasn't so hard.... was it.

Bodies of 2 Missing US Soldiers Found in Iraq

Seven U.S. soldiers, and an Iraqi army interpreter came under attack in May, 2007, during a patrol in a Sunni insurgent stronghold south of Baghdad. Five were killed and three went missing.

GP has the details.

Tony Snow dies of cancer

Dang. 53 years old. I'm gonna miss him.

Tony Snow, the former White House press secretary and conservative pundit who bedeviled the press corps and charmed millions as a FOX News television and radio host, has died after a long bout with cancer.

9% nancy calls drilling protected areas ‘a hoax’

Yup. The woman, and her democratic socialist myrmidons who never met brutal thugocracy or bloody latin american terrorist group they didn't like, will continue to lede the worst.congress.evuh. in holding the American people hostage to the crude oil thugocracies of the Middle East.

“This call for drilling in areas that are protected is a hoax, it’s an absolute hoax on the part of the Republicans and this administration” Pelosi said at her weekly press conference. “It’s a decoy to punt your attention away from the fact that their policies have produced $4-a-gallon gasoline.”

This latest cranial diarrhea spew simply proves she's stupid, insane, or willfully ignorant. Take your choice (see chart, right).

Not to mention that the dems, in general, have been the obstructionist party against new oil drilling for 40 years.

But even if one removes that part of this partisan debate, how about just building new refineries?? Again, the dems are the obstructionist party.



Want change? Build more refineries!

Segway riot gear?

In Beijing. For the Olympics.

No, it's not a photoshop.

Yes. They're serious.

wouldn't new boots be cheaper?

It's not one world

Jordanian boy murders sister for 'honour'.

The 23 y.o. sister had a boyfriend. The 16 y.o. brother didn't like it. He stabbed her in the heart ten times.

Hey, it's only murder, ...but she had a boyfriend.

In 2007, Jordanian authorities recorded 17 such murders, slightly up on previous years.

Killers in such cases, however, often receive light sentences if convicted, as the parliament has twice refused to reform the penal code despite pressure from human rights groups to end the near impunity of the perpetrators.

TY Weasel Zippers

The fauxtos AFP didn't run

Uncovered by all them amateurs in their basements.



Huge TY to TJR for the link.

Update: GP says this iranian fauxtography repetition has been going on for some time. And the msm falls for - every time.

Updated update: From the socialist loving X-ers over at boing-boing; a good one:

Dems whine about Gramm's 'whiner' comment.

Game. Point (proven). Match.

Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas, a top economic adviser for (John McCain's) campaign, said that the country is "a nation of whiners" mired in a "mental recession" that has exaggerated current economic woes.

The truth hurts. Get over it. We're fat, dumb, unhappy, and catterwall more about pre-empted soap operas & $1 ATM fees than putting a muzzle on pork trough, vote buying, congress critters who ram it to the taxpayers every April 15th without dinner, a kiss, or lubrication.

And, John McCain, ever the middle of the road politician, issued a disclaimer:

"Phil Gramm doesn't speak for me. I speak for me," McCain told reporters in Belleville, Mich., noting that a recently out-of-work person "isn't suffering from a mental recession."

Even as the non-recession continues.

But that didn't stop the nanny state from marching on soze the "swooning" masses can eat their cake & still have it on their tables.

U.S. Gub'mint marches closer to nationalized mortgage industry.

Under a conservatorship, the shares of Fannie and Freddie would be worth little or nothing, and any losses on mortgages they own or guarantee — which could be staggering — would be paid by taxpayers.

The government officials said that the administration had also considered calling for legislation that would offer an explicit government guarantee on the $5 trillion of debt owned or guaranteed by the companies. But that is a far less attractive option, they said, because it would effectively double the size of the public debt.

The lone voice of reason came from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson when he told the congress critters this week:

Homeowners should not anticipate a government bail-out, said Paulson.

“These borrowers can and should be living up to their mortgage commitment — government intervention here would be inappropriate.”

"For market discipline to be effective, market participants must not expect that lending from the Fed, or any other government support, is readily available," Paulson said. "For market discipline to effectively constrain risk, financial institutions must be allowed to fail."

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke simply asked congress for greater regulatory controls to make the credit & underwriting process more idiot proof. (DOH!)

But I'm certain this will only cause more whining!!

God save the Republic.

Sadr City edges back to normalcy

Kids play in the streets; women shop in the markets; and public works crews repair Sadr City's war damage brought about by mookie's thugacracy.

"Security is better without the Mahdi Army," said a 42-year-old resident who wanted to be identified only by his nickname, Abu Israa. "We don't want them back."

"We saw extraordinary progress there," said Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "A few months ago, no one could go into Sadr City. I was able to walk openly down a street that until recently was extremely unsafe, and I'm encouraged by that."

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has pledged $100 million to upgrade the quality of life. The U.S. military is also providing some reconstruction and economic aid to help rebuild parts of Sadr City — with about $4 million already being spent and more on the way.

So where's the defeat-o-crats good buddy, and brilliant (got his butt kicked) military strategist, mookie sadr?

In Iran. Of course.

Gee. Imagine that.

Strange & stupid stories

Feminists (with too much time & too little life) complain to city about "Men At Work" signs.

Family dog receives phone bill for $142.34 (man, these guys are hard up).

Convicted bank swindler ordered to surrender golf clubs (talk about draconian!).

Camel spider in Utah.

Huge drop in police officer deaths

Good news, indeed.

Overall deaths declined from 100 to 59 in the first six months of 2007 compared to the same period this year. The number of overall deaths is the lowest since 1965, when 55 officers were killed.

Midyear shooting deaths fell from 38 in 2007 to 21 this year, the lowest number since 1960, when 18 officers were killed by gunfire.

TY KC Crime Scene

Dog meat off the menu during Beijing Olympics

"Dog meat has been struck from the menus of officially designated Olympic restaurants, and Beijing tourism officials are telling other outlets to discourage consumers from ordering dishes made from dogs, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday."

Why?

Were muslims offended?

"But we're just amateurs in our basements"

MM has the low lights on the low lifes in the msm who've been duped by yet another fauxtography scandal.

And the blogosphere’s all over them.

Rove defies congess critters' subpoena; no show at hearing

You magnificent b@st@rd.

Clutching at straws, these democratic socialist congress critters are investigating whether or not the Justice Dept. prosecuted people for political reasons, and they wanted Mr. Rove's valuable, non-partisan help. Of course.

Turns out Mr. Rove kindly refused their polite request for help: a congressional subpoena. Being the former White House political director, he claimed executive privilege.

The democratic socialist congress critters voted 7-1, with all Democrats agreeing, that Mr. Rove had no such privilege. That vote could not have possibly been for political reasons. Of course.

The panel is trying to determine whether partisan politics influenced the Justice Department's decision to bring a corruption case against former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, a Democrat. Rove has rejected the notion and said he would speak with the committee only in private, not under oath and without a transcript. He also proposed answering questions in writing.

And the democratic socialists continue to beat the rotting horse corpse of the 2006 firing of nine U.S. attorneys.

12% approval rating, nancy! Twelve percent!

Real Estate: It's (still) a buyer's market

Once you get past "spot the headline bias!"

That's right, boys-n-girls, foreclosures surged 53% in June. Surged? Compared to what? Last year at this time. And in that same story is the good news that home foreclosures declined 3 percent from May, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

But, we can't be having that for a headline.... can we.

June's figures mean that two tenths of one percent of all homeowners in this nation will lose their home. Two tenths of one percent. It sux to be them, but this is not a crisis.

We've dealt with this chicken little nonsense before, and we know that half of those facing foreclosure will be able to negotiate or refinance to fend off foreclosure. That brings the actual figure down to one tenth of one percent. Banks want paying customer's, not repossessed white elephants they have to dump.

Still, the AP can't help but wallow in the misery of the "magnitude of the foreclosure crisis" while in the same paragraph highlighting the ultimate cause of this personal misery: poor financial planning by the homeowners themselves.

Analysts say the mortgage industry's effort to assist troubled borrowers is being overwhelmed by the magnitude of the foreclosure crisis, and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said earlier this week that many foreclosures are "not preventable," citing borrowers who "took out mortgages they can't possibly afford and they will lose their homes."

In other words, those 'glorified renters' who dove into the deep end of the loan shark, sub-prime loan pool with no extra income or financial savings to weather any storms. The very people who helped create the over-inflated real estate bubble that the hysterical hyperbolists (like the AP) now demagogue with headline bias because that bubble has popped!.

So where's the buyer's market? In the comparatively slow home sales & (no more sub-prime) falling prices.

Pending home sales fall 4.7% in May.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of homes under sales contracts fell more than expected in May after a surprising spike the month before, a real estate trade group said Tuesday.

Gee. Why is that? Mike Larson, real estate analyst at Weiss Research, said, "...the May decline was caused by falling consumer confidence, rising unemployment, tight credit conditions and high energy and food costs straining household budgets."

Yup. Cheap money & disposable income that once caused consumer frenzy is shrinking, but the real kicker is the tight credit condition that is merely common sense following the sub-prime debacle. Common sense that should have been de rigueur for any lender or borrower with more financial acumen than a four y.o. in a candy shop.

But let's not forget all the 99.98% home owners in this nation who are not facing foreclosure. Plus, don't forget the long time home owners who aren't even considering selling their home. Like most investments, real estate values go up & down. Sit tight. It'll go back up. In the meantime, contact your local county assessor to request an adjustment - which will reflect your now lower property value, which, in turn, determines your property tax.

Sit tight and prosper.

As for the well prepared, well informed, and financially able home shoppers - It's (still) a buyer's market.

Shop wisely, and prosper. Chicken little is road kill.

R dem eebil wich peeple 'paying their fair share'?

How about not just yes, but h3ll YES.

Try 1% of the wealthiest citizens pay forty percent of all taxes!!

This is 'fair'? This is 'equal under the law'??

How about this is a democratic socialists wet dream vote buying scheme.

The only solution is here, here, & here.

Boortz has more from the WSJ.

"The candidate for change"

Link

NY DOT sues citizen to remove Gospel message

The Gospel message is lettered on both sides of a tractor trailer located on the private property of one Dan Burritt. Mr. Burritt's property is adjacent to NY state hwy 11.

In a letter dated May 16, 2008, a NYDOT official demanded that Burritt either remove the trailer by June 15 or face forcible removal of the vehicle and legal action.

The letter stated that Burritt was in violation of state highway laws and required that he either correct the violations noted or face having his trailer classified as a “public nuisance” subject to removal.

At issue is whether Mr. Burritt has the proper permit to display his message.

I've got no problem with citizens having to obey the law, especially in terms of 'public nuisance', but, like bubba said, "It depends what the definition of 'is' is...", and I'm sure it has a lot to do with the 'spirit' of the ordinance.

For instance, under the same ordinance which prohibits Mr. Burritt, private citizen, from displaying such a message near the highway, a commercial business is allowed to advertise near the highway - no permit required!.

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) has taken up a defense on behalf of Mr. Burritt.

ADF attorneys filed suit against NYDOT after it recently issued a warning to Burritt under rules requiring permits for non-commercial messages but not for similar commercial ones.

“Christians shouldn’t be penalized for expressing their beliefs,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “The right to display a personal message on private property, including a religious message, is protected under the First Amendment. In this case, NYDOT’s rules unconstitutionally require permits for such messages while not requiring permits for commercial messages,” explained ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman.

On Wednesday, June 11th, NYDOT agreed to allow the 'offending' trailer to stay at its current location until a judge issues a ruling in the case.

That hearing is scheduled for Sept. 26, 2008.

Gee. I wonder where the 'guard against the slippery slope & defend every vile utterance' ACLU is at??

This just in...

The nut doesn't fall far from the tree.

Osama Bin Laden’s 16 y.o. son calls for Britain to be wiped out.

Oh. And all its allies, too.

14,500 y.o. woolly mammoth skeleton unveiled at Museum

Milwaukee museum unveils woolly mammoth skeleton, considered most complete in North America.

Few paleontological specimens are as complete as the Hebior mammoth. The skeleton lacks a rib as well as a few bones in the tail and feet, but is otherwise nearly whole.

Standing more than twice the height of a person, the woolly mammoth is among three with scientific significance for southern Wisconsin.

The Milwaukee museum already had skeletons of a mastodon and Chinese elephant. This is its first woolly mammoth.

Link to the Milwaukee Public Museum.

FARC's useful idiots

As in nancy pelosi and her democratic socialist myrmidons who assume the position for every brutal thugacracy & terrorist group on both sides of the Atlantic.

So says Betsy on the heels of last week's brazenly successful hostage rescue from FARC (the marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia is designated as a terrorist group by the US government).

Unfortunately for Chavez and some Democratic politicians, the documents that have been recovered from a FARC computer have implicated them with working to aid FARC and undermine the democratically elected president of Colombia, Mr. Uribe.

Nancy Pelosi and Jim McGovern need to answer for why their names are showing up in the reports from FARC terrorists.

Anti-Sharia candidate for Congress

As in Congress of the United States.

Meet Vijay Kumar, an émigré from India who is seeking the Republican nomination in a Tennessee primary Congressional race set for August. He is running on an anti-Sharia platform.

And judging from the way the rest of the Western world is prostrating before the tantric islamists, this maybe a necessary component of future American political debate.

Front Page Magazine interviewed Mr. Kumar.

FP: Why do you think there is such a silence in the West about Muslim tyranny? Why do you think the Left refuses to stand up for those who suffer under Islamic despotism?

Kumar: The Left and Islam share many of the same values. Both deny that individuals have a personal ethic. A central authority should control all things. Both insult and denigrate their opponents and see themselves as victors in the movement of history. Both hate the native cultures and individual efforts.

The mindset of the Leftist is one of deliberate ignorance. I was a Leftist, a bleeding heart liberal until a few years ago. I came from a Marxist family in India. The Left, by its silence on the issue of radical Islam, has betrayed its own professed ideals, if it has any.

The fight against Political Islam should have been led by the liberal intellectuals in our universities, but instead they deliberately and systematically support a seventh century totalitarian ideology that negates all forms of rational thinking, intellectual pursuit, and pluralism - the very ideals which are supposed to be central to the philosophy of the Left.

There's more. Rede it all.

Related: England's Top Judge Bows to Sharia Law.

Coming soon to a North American Continent near you.

1908 Color Movies

Yup. Color. 1908.

Well, it was more of a faux color; and it was complicated; and expensive; and not too reliable; but it was color!

It was called Kinemacolor.

Democrat controlled congress critters rank dead last

A recent Gallup Poll confirms what many lawmakers say they're hearing from their constituents: that confidence in Congress has never been lower. Only 12 percent of Americans say they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in Congress as an institution – the lowest level ever for any US institution since Gallup began asking the question 35 years ago.

The Military; the Police; and Small Business rank at the top. Big Business; HMOs rank at the bottom. And the nancy pelosi's 'most. ethical. congress. evah.' ranks dead last.

Even lower than sewer rats. ok. I made up that last part.


BTW: GW ranks in the middle.

"Rainbow Family" assaults Forest Rangers w/ rocks, sticks & profanities

Five of the dirty hippies were subdued & arrested by Forest Service Agents for ain't it flippen obvious?? alleged drug use.

The confrontation Thursday night escalated as about 400 Rainbow participants tried to intervene in the arrest, the Forest Service said.

It was then that the 'family' assaulted the officers. Three more of the hippies were arrested later.

John Twiss, director of Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations in Washington, D.C., said he was among the officers who responded when Rainbow Family members threw sticks and rocks at federal officers.

Twiss characterized the Rainbow participants as "non-compromising," "arrogant" and "anti-authority." He said this year's episode and other disturbances at recent gatherings should prompt a review of whether Rainbow Family events are allowed.

"I think we have to have that discussion within the agency," Twiss said. "We spend an awful lot of time and effort on these people. And frankly, the taxpayers deserve better."

Especially when this mass of unwashed humanity displaces hardworking civic organizations like the Boy Scouts of America.

The Order of the Arrow, which is the Boy Scouts' national honor society, anticipates 5,000 or so participants will provide more than a combined 250,000 hours of service this summer helping to restore portions of national forests in Missouri, Utah, Virginia, California and Wyoming, according Stewart.

Leaders with the Boy Scouts' Order of the Arrow have decided to cancel a long-planned forest restoration project near Dutch Joe Guard Station in the Wind Rivers, said Mary Cernicek, spokeswoman with the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

The rainbow family chose that same general area for their annual hippie fest. And even after meeting with Mark Rey, the federal undersecretary who oversees the U.S. Forest Service, the dirty hippies refused to move. Too 'inconvenient' for them.

The U.S. Forest Service was scrambling Monday to come up with a similar project in a different location in the Bridger-Teton, to serve as a substitute for the Scouts when they come July 26 through Aug. 2.

What's wrong with this picture?? Especially when these hippies turn violent. And guess who (the aclu) decided (the aclu) to investigate the actions (the aclu) of federal officers who had arrested five of the dirty hippies?

Go on. Guess.

UAE Cancels Nearly $7 Billion In Iraq Debt

The United Arab Emirates is the first Arab nation to step up to the plate to offer any significant financial help toward Iraq's fledgling democratic republic.

The UAE's official news agency WAM said the principle debt owed by Iraq totaled $4 billion loaned at different times. A UAE diplomatic source told Reuters the total sum that would be forgiven was almost $7 billion, including interest and arrears.

The Bush Administration has been pushing hard for Arab nations to help Iraq financially & diplomatically to ease its isolation, and promote stability in the region.

But, true to form, as in very limited help after the devastating Dec. 2004 tsunami, which inflicted mass death & destruction on the most populated muslim nation in the world: Indonesia; the muslim nations of the world have offered precious little in the way of help to their Arab brethren in Iraq.

And, again, true to form, the West (along with Japan) has done most of the heavy lifting.

Over the past three years, about $66.5 billion of Iraq's overall $120.2 billion foreign debt has been forgiven. The Paris Club canceled $42.3 billion, including Russia's $12 billion.

Non-Paris Club members have canceled a total $8.2 billion. A total $16 billion has been canceled by commercial creditors.

Last year, Saudi Arabia pledged to cancel 80 percent of more than $15 billion in Iraqi debt but has yet to follow through. Kuwait, also owed $15 billion, has yet to write off any debts.

The only other diplomatic bright spots this year are proposed visits from Jordan's King Abdullah and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. King Abdullah would be the first Arab head of state to visit Iraq since the invasion.

Sunni Arab governments who once funded Iraq's 1980-1988 war against Shi'ite Iran have held back from establishing top-level ties with Baghdad since the U.S.-led war toppled Saddam Hussein, citing poor security and extensive Iranian influence.

Yup. It does appear that Iraq's Arab neighbors don't want to stick their neck out for their infant Mid East brother.

I predict that once the West is done with their investment of blood, toil, and treasure to return the "Land of Two Rivers" to its cultural & economic preeminence, those same cuckold Arab neighbors will strut into Baghdad with tail feathers high, loudly crowing how great allah is, and how strong islam will forever be (as long as the West does all the heavy lifting & feeds them all those petro-dollars).

Heller Kitty

"Hello Kitty" with attitude.

On a T-Shirt.

Think of it as "the anti-che."

Drew has all the details on the woman graphic designer who did the design on a whim, and now her printing company is swamped with orders.

Capitalism at its finest.

The obanantor's secret weapon: The DNC Gift Shop

Us rethuglicans are in biiiig trouble.

Ms. Underestimated has the video.
(runs about 2:20)

Why do golf balls have dimples?

All us worm killers want to know.

The answer ranks right up there with "Why is there air?"

NEA still pushing liberal ideology

The group held its annual meeting in D.C. over the July holiday to promote one of its fave pet projects: the LGBT agenda in public gub'mint schools.

Paid for with union dues. Of course.

LGBT is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.

NEA's ongoing support of the homosexual agenda is evident on their website, where a National Summit on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues in Education is advertised. The event, to be held in Chicago July 17-18, is sponsored by NEA.

"We must do more to close the achievement gap. We must ensure that every child is learning and succeeding in school, regardless of race, gender and sexual orientation," Reg Weaver, outgoing president of the nation's largest teachers' union, said on the promotional page.

Why the sexual orientation of any student is the business of any teacher is beyond me. Unless these teachers are perving & using the school yard as a stalking ground. And judging by the avalanche of sex fiend teachers in the news lately, that's not an outlandish statement to make.

It seems to me more prudent and pragmatic to simply promote common courtesy & public politeness toward all individuals, and leave the sex-me-up-a-tot garbage to porn sites & soap operas.

"The NEA leadership has abused its mandate and used teachers' dues to subsidize its liberal ideology, which includes everything from promoting homosexuality and same-sex marriage to contraception in schools and abortion on request," Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, wrote in his Washington Update e-mail.

"It is not the job of the NEA to issue mandates on social and moral issues. To do so is a misuse of members' dues and a misrepresentation of teachers' views," Perkins wrote.

Golly. That would be like promoting a particular philosophical ideology in a tax payer supported venue at tax payer expense for the express purpose of a favorable influence to that particular philosophical ideology.

Kinda like breaching a wall of separation, or something.

And we can't be having that now... Can we.


BTW: Guess which presidential candidate the NEA recently endorsed?

Oh, sure. The obamanator talks about merit pay for teachers - this week. But that's simply to pander 'red' votes. You really don't think the most powerful union lobby in D.C. will allow the most liberal, far leftist senator in congressional history to undermine the most sacred pillar of unionism, do you?