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Showing posts from April 25, 2010

It's already working!

Illegal immigrants plan to leave over Ariz. law Wow. That was faster than I thought. Maybe they can pass a law against Hippies next.

Trial balloon

Obama Says Everything on Table to Reduce Deficit; White House Says President ‘May Not’ Break Tax Pledge I expect nary a peep from his supporters. They hammered Bush 41 (rightly) over his "No new taxes" pledge. They outmaneuvered him. Didn't matter. He made a promise (even if it was in good faith) and he didn't keep it. Obama had to have known that he couldn't keep his pledge not to raise taxes in any form for people making less than $250,000 per year. Next he'll argue with George Stephanapolous about whether or not the V.A.T. counts as a tax. I'm sure he'll call it a tax on business that we are somehow not paying.

First rule of holes

When you're in one, stop digging.  This is precisely the thing his most ardent critics have feared.  He thinks there's a number after which you should not be allowed to keep your money.  Oh, he hedged with his statement immediately prior.  He said no one begrudges money that is "fairly earned".  See, there's that famous liberal weasel word, "Fair".  The problem is that "fair" is never defined.  Let's assume for argument's sake that number is $5,000,000.  I'd bet that if most Americans had that much in the bank they'd never work again and be happy about it.  IIRC, Obama made about that much last year.  Am I to believe he thinks he has "enough money"?  If so, will he now donate 100% of his earnings to charity, or in keeping with his politics, the Treasury?  If not, why not?  This is a fundamental difference between Obama and the rest of America.  Your average American wants to be a zillionaire.  They believe it is th

It's almost as if more laws aren't working

Two teens charged in gunpoint TTC stickups Two teens under court orders not to have firearms are charged in a string of violent gunpoint heists of TTC subway collectors. For the life of me, I can't understand it. Things are working so well in DC and Philadelphia.

Restoring my faith in sports figures

After Game 7 loss, Capitals' Laich fixes tire for stranded family Class act. Seriously for me, a Rangers fan, to say that is big. This story should be read by athletes everywhere. Well done Mr. Laich. Bravo Sir.

Why I love Jesuits

A Jesuit's Journey: The Color of Correction ...I know this because this week a mother sent me a lovely gift: a small box will an assortment of colored pens. Ironically, she sent me what happens to be my favorite hand-writing pens: the Pilot EasyTouch Fine series of pens. Turquoise. Blue. Black. Purple. A little note accompanied the gift, reading: "Dear Mr. Duns. Red can be hard on the boys' eyes and hurt their feelings, so I thought you might try correcting papers in other colors."... Moved by this gracious offering, I knew that I had to express my gratitude. I immediately returned to the Jesuit Residence, found some nice stationery, and set about writing her a thank you card...using none other than my trusty Pilot Precise V5 RT Red Pen.

Um...what?

Wildlife documentaries infringe animals' privacy, says report Wildlife documentary makers are infringing animals' rights to privacy by filming their most private and intimate moments, according to a new study. But....you know what? Never mind. Have at it.

What does 250 mph look like?

Watch at least until the 2:35 mark when he blows past the stationary camera.   Notice there is no one riding shotgun as he needs the seat for his giant balls. 

This one is going around today...

NB: this is not a safety car as indicated. Rather, it is a track marshals car. Now go and impress your friends and readers.

I'm gonna have to watch that again

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/z1US_4uf4YE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/z1US_4uf4YE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> h/t: Morgan

Point of clarification

You've all seen the signs now from the protests in AZ and elsewhere using the word "Nazizona" and other such references.  I suppose the Mexicans are supposed to be analogous to Jews in that comparison.  I've read a bit on WWII and I'm pretty sure the Jews were escaping Nazi Germany, not going there for jobs.  I'm just sayin'.

Can you run this upstairs for me?

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uh...no.

Did she learn anything? No.

We are not your weapons – we are women Two weeks ago, on a Monday morning, I started to write what I thought was a very clever editorial about violence against women in Haiti. The case, I believed, was being overstated by women’s organizations in need of additional resources. Ever committed to preserving the dignity of Black men in a world which constantly stereotypes them as violent savages, I viewed this writing as yet one more opportunity to fight “the man” on behalf of my brothers. That night, before I could finish the piece, I was held on a rooftop in Haiti and raped repeatedly by one of the very men who I had spent the bulk of my life advocating for. Truly horrible. My heart breaks for this woman. I cannot imagine such an ordeal let alone having the courage to write about it. begged him to stop. Afraid he would kill me, I pleaded with him to honor my commitment to Haiti, to him as a brother in the mutual struggle for an end to our common oppression, but to no avail. He di

You broke my irony meter

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h/t: Ace Um...what? The word "illegal" is right there in the name. The only difference is that the Feds have no intention of enforcing their own law. Given that Arizona has a right to defend it's own borders. I'm a big fan of the Tenth Amendment. I'm glad California is standing up to the Feds viz. legalized weed. I'm glad Oregon is doing their own thing viz. assisted suicide. People have an inherent sovereign right over their own bodies. So long as you don't harm anyone else with it, you may do with it as you please. The idea that suicide is against the law is insane. My moral code has no bearing on you choosing to end your own life. (NB: I make exceptions for people who are mentally incapable of understanding that choice) It is well past time the citizens of the several states stand up to the Feds and remind them that they have the right to determine what is best for their citizens. So long as they do not violate a specific, demonstrable secti

He had me fooled

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"Adulterous" ex-Giants star Tiki Barber sued for divorce - NYPOST.com He was running around town with his young mistress -- while his pregnant wife spent a week in the hospital -- and yesterday, Tiki Barber got tackled. The ex-Giants star was slapped with divorce papers over his shameless gallivanting with 23-year-old former NBC intern Traci Lynn Johnson. "He couldn't be more heartless," said a friend of the gridiron great and his eight-months-pregnant wife, Ginny, whose Manhattan divorce suit cites tricky Tiki's "adultery." "[Ginny] is very heavily pregnant and was last week ordered into the hospital on bed rest," the friend said. Emphasis mine. I thought he was a good guy. Never saw him in the papers as a party guy or in trouble with the law or the ladies. Makes me sad to think that I was so easily fooled. Shame on you Tiki. I wish you had never worn the Blue.

Can we cure addiction?

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Ibogaine -- the Magic Plant That Could Cure Addiction, Still Banned in the U.S. How much are we spending in the war on drugs? Billions? How many lives destroyed from addiction? Not just directly but indirectly? How many of those people want nothing more than to get, and stay, clean? How many of those billions are spend on research on Ibogaine? None. Does this make any sense to you? Even if this drug might have psychoactive effects and yes, some people may die from taking it, isn't that better than this insane and endless war we're fighting? The question here is what is the goal? Do we want to keep this as a fight or do we want to minimize, regulate and control this as much as possible? The fact is that if you could somehow ban every drug that got you high (or drunk) people would still play dizzy bat on their front lawn or cut off their own oxygen supply to get a rush. The best we can hope for is reducing the number of addicts, making the drugs as safe as possible f

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain

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The American Spectator : What Lies Beneath The economic report released last week by Health and Human Services, which indicated that President Barack Obama's health care "reform" law would actually increase the cost of health care and impose higher costs on consumers , had been submitted to the office of HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius more than a week before the Congressional votes on the bill , according to career HHS sources, who added that Sebelius's staff refused to review the document before the vote was taken. "The reason we were given was that they did not want to influence the vote," says an HHS source. "Which is actually the point of having a review like this, you would think." The analysis, performed by Medicare's Office of the Actuary, which in the past has been identified as a "nonpolitical" office , set off alarm bells when submitted. "We know a copy was sent to the White House via their legislative affairs staff,&q

Striking the balance

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Three men who showed up in full Nazi regalia to a hardcore punk show at an Old City bar Friday night were attacked by as many as 50 people on the streets after leaving the venue, according to witnesses and club management. (snip) He said that although men dressed as Nazis were at the downstairs show, at the same time a largely gay dance party was going on upstairs. "There was a man on the second floor wearing a wedding dress," he said. "I don't think he had any problems going out on 2nd Street." So....punk rock fans beat up Nazis and leave the guy in the dress alone? Sounds about right to me.

Crazed Teabaggers go international with their violent attacks

OH NO! They're escalating! Eco-terrorists 'plot to blow up IBM headquarters' thwarted in routine traffic stop Whoops. Should have read the whole thing through. I read a story about political violence and given the coverage of late I couldn't help but assume it had to be those lunatics who think that maybe we're paying enough taxes already. I would never have suspected the peace loving environmentalists would harm anyone. I mean, look at Earth Day. They'd sing Kumbaya if it weren't so overtly Christian. (Maybe they change the words and make it about Gaia or just sing "Imagine" or some such dreck) Seriously. I've been hearing no end to the imminent threat proposed by Tea Partiers. Has there been any violence? No. Does that even matter? No. The problem is that the Left sees their dream crumbling. They had it all in the bag. Obama was the one who was going to give them shelter from criticism. He was a great orator, beloved by

Onboard cameras

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First up: a hot lap from the Nurburgring . Specifically, the Nordschleife(Northern Loop). A notoriously difficult track for both driver and car. The new champion for a production car goes to the Ferrari 599XX (a car so close to race prep it hardly qualifies imnho) This is a very fast time, no doubt. However, to put this in perspective, an F1 driver once made the same lap in 5:17 which is hard to fathom. The estimated F1 lap speed was an average of 147 mph which is absolutely mind boggling. Lastly, let's take a ride with Mark Webber on a simulator around the Australian Grand Prix track