The Last Ephor

TCS Daily - 'What If...' Why sexual harassment isn't. Unlikely skewering of Michael Moore . Photo evidence of what mass once was and some are trying to make it again. I'm not a particularly devout person but there's certainly something to be said for the "smell and bells". Perhaps this guy can train our baggage handlers. Quote of the day: "You Americans have so much, life is important to you. That's why you build walls, wear your [IBA] vests and drive those trucks [pointing to my uparmored HMMWV]. We have nothing in Iraq so we don't care if we die." Bill Gates no longer world's wealthiest man. Headline of the day: I KICKED BURNING TERRORIST SO HARD IN BALLS THAT I TORE A TENDON

Al Gore's son out on bail after arrest in O.C. - Los Angeles Times When the Bush daughter was busted trying to buy a drink in a bar when underage, we were clobbered with wall to wall coverage from Regis to Letterman and every program in between. There were countless pundits castigating the Bushes for their inadequate parenting. The deafening silence of Gore's son being arrested is very telling. Perhaps it's because this is his first scrape with the law? Well, no. Gore, 24, was arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana in Bethesda, Md., in 2003 and later was ordered to participate in a substance abuse program. In September 2002 , military police ticketed Gore for driving under the influence near Ft. Myer, Va., a military base outside Washington. In August 2000, he was ticketed by the North Carolina Highway Patrol after being clocked driving 97 mph in a 55-mph zone . In an agreement with prosecutors, a reckless driving charge was dropped. Gore was fined $125 and hi...

Celebrating 231 years of independence and liberty.

Hube is angry that DelawareLiberal is downplaying the terrorism stories of the day. Frankly, he's missed the point. Jason is arguing straw man. It is not that we should be afraid but that we need to take these attacks seriously. This one may have been a dud, but that doesn't mean anything. Imagine that 19 young Saudis were thwarted in their efforts when their bags were lost or they were denied boarding. We would have read posts on Kos and DelawareLiberal about how those bumbling idiots thought they were going to hijack a plane with a blade embedded in a toothbrush! Complete fools! Nothing to see here, move along. Look! Bush said something non-inclusive! Atheists/gays/liberals were disrespected! What a buffoon. Hube correctly points out the neat trap they've constructed for anyone who takes terrorism seriously. Doing something makes you a jackbooted civil liberties squasher. Doing nothing makes you either an incompetant rube or worse, a opportunistic soul-less ...

Once again, that myth is put to bed with the latest installment from Ole Blighty. 'Terror ringleader' is brilliant NHS doctor We've been told time and again that desperation and poverty breed terrorists. They have no other avenue but violence to be heard. Crap. Crap. Crap. It's desperation alright but not that kind. They're desperate because their societies are so oppressive and strict. They are denied anything approaching fun for their entire life. They are told by everyone that they are God's chosen people but their societies are failures. Aside from oil, they produce nothing. They see the decadent and indulgent West doing everything they deny themselves and we're kicking their asses in every measure that matters. Economically, militarily, culturally, technologically, you name it. That has throw everything they're told into question. How can this be? How can we, God's faithful and chosen, be doing everything right and have nothing to ...

The Spanish pulled out of Iraq after Islamic terrorists bombed their train stations . This, they reasoned, would keep them safe. Not so. Suicide Bomber at Yemeni Temple Kills 9 AHMED Al-HAJJ The Associated Press Monday, July 2, 2007; 1:31 PM SAN'A, Yemen -- An al-Qaida suicide bomber blew himself up Monday at the site of an ancient temple popular with tourists, killing seven Spaniards and two Yemenis less than two weeks after the U.S. Embassy issued a terror warning about the area. They will follow us home. If they have their way, we have two choices. Dhimmitude or Death. Preferably the latter.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/450392,CST-EDT-REF30b.article Global warming hysteria melting "For example, Gore claims that Himalayan glaciers are shrinking and global warming is to blame. Yet the September 2006 issue of the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate reported, "Glaciers are growing in the Himalayan Mountains, confounding global warming alarmists who recently claimed the glaciers were shrinking and that global warming was to blame." There are plenty of other examples listed. It is not unreasonable to be concerned about global warming or even climate change (more broadly). However, to rush headlong into a conclusion that is far from proven and suggesting remedies that may lead to very serious shortages and possibly wars is madness. NPR : At Camp, Teens Blow Stuff Up, As They're Told How about some tour photos from the Beasties . Star Wars fans hate Star Wars . Proof that the word "fan" is derived from "fanatic...

The Jersey Shore gets a bad rap. I can't imagine why.

Guy catches .50 BMG ricochet to the head . If you watch the video, you can hear that they're trying to put a round through a piece of iron. Complete friggin' morons. It drives me insane to see people mishandling firearms. This guy was lucky. Very lucky. Quarter inch to the side and he'd have a mouthful of lead. (NB: for those unfamiliar with firearms, the .50 BMG is the largest handgun in the world. The rounds are comparable to a .308 rifle.)

How to misuse 911 It's a wonder that any real calls get through. Simply gobsmacking.

This one at Miriam's Ideas is flat out home run . Go read it.

Damn You Global Warming

Read the sunspots the hold the answer. At least that's what the article contends. Could it be that the scaremongers of the 70's were right when they were scaremongering about a new ice age. Frankly, I've always believed that global cooling was more dangerous than global warming. Global warming gives us more arable land. Global cooling does not. The great irony of global cooling would be that in extremis, population centers would move to many of what are now third world nations.

Japanese pitcher gettin' tricky . So awesome.

Climate Books Cooked? asks American Digest. The one example cited is certainly a damning case even if it's only one example. I've always failed to understand why the weather babe always tells me what the wather was at the airport. If there's one place that's going to give a skewed temperature reading, it's the airport. Consider also, the temperature difference between large cities and the more suburban or even rural areas. If you take the mean temperature for a region based on temperature readings in the city, you're going to get significantly different results than you wold if you took them on a farm 20 miles outside the city. Additionally, as Dennis Miller noted "Excuse me if I don't trust temperature readings from 150 years ago."

Fruit-picking robots closer to reality making an end run around the illegal labor market in California. Add to that improvements in the robot mowers and the trend continues. In all seriousness, automation of cheap labor has been the norm for centuries and will only continue apace. Update: Reader Alan Coffey asks: "Did they imply that the fruit picking robots would actually have an impact on the illegal situation anytime soon? The other major areas of illegal employment are janatorial, agriculture (livestock), landscaping and construction. See any automation posibilities there?" No there was no implication that the robots would have any sort of impact on illegal labor markets. Given that they won't be ready for deployment for another 10 years or so, we can similarly assume the cost will be (initially) high which narrows the market further. However, like everything else the cost will eventually come down and be available on a mass scale. Any effect on labor markets ...

Who sang “(What if God Was) One of Us”? asks Kevin Smith. It's an interesting exchange that illustrates the simultaneous laziness of journalists with their tenacity to cling to their story when it's clearly demonstrably wrong. It's evident that the writer did not do even the slightest research for the article in question. Even if Alanis did do a version of the song, that would be a cover, not the original. Sort of like referring to Crazy Train as a Pat Boone song rather than Ozzy Osbourne. ( Yes, Pat did cover the song .) Laziness + stubbornness = journalism

Dick Cheney is telling the National Archives that his office is not part of the Executive Branch. I'm curious to know which branch he believes his Office belongs to. This is compounded by the absolutely stunning news that the DOJ has done exactly nothing despite a letter from Senator John Waters Henry Waxman. h/t: Delaware Liberal

Girl enraged after getting Lexus from parents These people are seriously derelict in their jobs as parents. I would never be in their position as I'd never give my kid a Lexus. Not only can I not afford to do so but giving a 15 year old kid a car like that irresponsible. However, if I were magically inserted into the role of Dad as this scene was unraveling, she'd get exactly what she asks for at the end of the clip. Nada. No car, no party, nothing. She'd also be off to Outward Bound or something. Working for Habitat for Humanity or JVC for the next year might be in order.

I get a: Delaware Liberal gets a Paul Smith Jr. garners a Colossus of Rhodey gets a Interesting. Shame on you Paul! Clean up your act!