Cynicallous

A light, airy, effervescent, blog of grave consequence. (NOT!) Dedicated to those of us who must respond to negative stimuli by Chernobyling (entombing in concrete) our innermost thoughts.

Name:
Location: Slaughter, Louisiana, United States

A semi-gruntled corporate reliability engineer trying to make ends meet while keeping my wife happy, and myself out of the asylum.

Sunday, October 31, 2004

Phone poll accuracy?

I've heard people talking about phone polls not taking into account all of the people who have switched to cellular only. What about people like me who have switched to Cable Internet Phones? They're booming here abouts. And the new numbers are not listed to any database that I'm aware of. Any thoughts about this affluent and most likely younger demographic that the pollsters are missing?

Two days to go..

Before the election and all we get from Al Qaeda is this stupid T-shirt? No really, I mean the OBL tape. Homeland Security must be doing a pretty good job to this point. Does anyone not believe that they would have hit us like Spain if they could've?

Saturday, October 30, 2004

She might have a problem...

Having lived in Wisconsin for several years, I know how easy it is to find a store/bar/random guy-on-the-street who is willing to sell you beer.

This woman apparantly didn't think that paying was worth it, so she exhumed her boyfriend's ashes and drank the beer that had been buried with him.

Like I've always said, they have the most creative crimes in Wisconsin.

C'Mon Tuhraisa..

Hey Terri, Didn't the latest OBL tape look a little too clean, what with him standing behind a lecturn and all? Don't you think it might have been filmed in the basement of 1600 Pennsylvania where the Bushies are storing OBL until he is "captured" on Monday?

UPDATE: Walter "I'm in the running for the Dan Rather is my idol Award" Cronkite beats THK to the punch . From Larry King:

  • KING: OK, Walter. What do you make of this?
  • CRONKITE: Well, I make it out to be initially the reaction that it's a threat to us, that unless we make peace with him, in a sense, we can expect further attacks. He did not say that precisely, but it sounds like that when he says...
  • KING: The warning.
  • CRONKITE: What we just heard. So now the question is basically right now, how will this affect the election? And I have a feeling that it could tilt the election a bit. In fact, I'm a little inclined to think that Karl Rove, the political manager at the White House, who is a very clever man, he probably set up bin Laden to this thing. The advantage to the Republican side is to get rid of, as a principal subject of the campaigns right now, get rid of the whole problem of the al Qaqaa explosive dump. Right now, that, the last couple of days, has, I think, upset the Republican campaign.

Friday, October 29, 2004

Maybe this will be it?

Wonder if anyone in the administration might be indicted on Monday dealing with the Valerie Plame CIA agent leak?

Lessons NOT learned.

Man, JFK2 and his surrogates just will not stop demonstrating their collective ignorance about the command and control of the American Military.

If there's one thing that can be taken away from our VietNam experience, it's that wars that are run by politicians do not go very well. Generals are trained and paid to run the military. The president and his cabinet, regardless of their collective military background, are not.

Kerry is whining that W made mistakes in allowing OBL to get away and now that it was the president's direct responsibility to ensure that some amount of possibly non-existant explosives were not looted before during or after the war. This smacks of an expectation of military micro-management on a scale not seen in 40 years.

Sorry buddy, but if you're planning to conduct youself as Commander In Chief as you are venting that W should have, you will end up doing more damage to the US Military than Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton combined.

Thursday, October 28, 2004

Way to go Mr. O'Reilly

Looks like all sides have dropped their claims in the Bill O'Reilly sex-talk case. Press release from O'Reilly's legal team here.

This sounds to me like there was never anything to the original claim and Bill is taking the high road to let her off the extortion hook.

UPDATE: I don't have full confirmation, but it seems that Bill may be paying his accuser a tidy sum (In the $2-10 million range) as part of this settlement. Maybe my initial read of the announcement was more charitable towards Bill than it should have been.

Now the networks show restraint?

Since ABC isn't rushing to air the latest AlQaeda threat video, they must feel that it would be a boon to the president by making JFK2's passive attitude of appeasement look sillier.

Here's a synopsis from the CSM.

Will Bush carry New York?

Now that the Red Sox have taken the series and emerged from under the veil of tears worn by all prior lots of New England based stumblebums for the last 86 years, JFK2 seized the opportunity to state that he's been waiting for this for his entire life.

I guess we'll see what really matters to Yankee fans come Tuesday, won't we.

Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Just Wondering.

Anybody else a little concerned that the reason that 60 Minutes decided to allow the NYT to scoop them on QaQaa-gate is because they found some other pile of shit to throw at W on Sunday instead?

Gloria Steinem must be proud...

I wonder if this is what the bra-burning fruitcakes left over from the hippie revolution thought their daughters would be doing?

Story Here.

Same Stuff, Different Day

Maybe the intervening years between JFK2's senate testimony and enemy pacifying in France and his run for the whitehouse really DON'T matter. Ralph Peters has an excellent article today about what is becoming rather predictable about the candidate who could possibly displace Jimmy Carter as "History's Greatest Monster".

Here's a snippet, "He's an Army veteran of three wars. Now he's working to help Iraq become a democratic model for the Middle East. And he's worried. Not about terrorists or insurgents. He's afraid John Kerry will be elected president. "Kerry's rhetoric is giving the bad guys a thread to hang on," he wrote. "They're hoping we lose our nerve. They're more concerned with the U.S. elections than with the Iraqi ones." "

Signs of the times

From downtown Torrington:


Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Analogy

Let's see, Can anyone complete this one?

? is to Buckner as Francona is to ?

Poor Bill Buckner. The villified, eternally maligned first baseman who committed the famous error in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series when the Red Sox were one out away from breaking the curse. No one asks, well, why didn't they just win Game seven? No one asks why John McNamara, the Red Sox erstwhile manager would even put Buckner in at that position when his knees were so bad he could hardly bend over. Anyone really wonder why the ball went through his legs?

So, flash forward to the current series. Terry Francona, in his first season with the Sox has pulled together a rag-tag lot of bums and whiners into a team that was able to stage the most improbable comeback in the history of ball-sports. Now the Sox lead 2-0 in the World Series. Unfortunately, the games now move to the Cardinal's home park. Obviously, the pitchers are required to bat on the senior circuit and no designated hitter is used.

Why is this a problem? David Ortiz has been the Red Sox main savior in the last six games. Without his spectacular batting prowess as DH, the Sox would have gone down in four and been relegated to the dustbin of sports history once again.

Now, It looks like Francona is going to pull his usual first basemen in favor of placing Ortiz at the #1 bag. Granted, Ortiz used to play first before settling in as DH, and his current .421 average over the last month should continue. But, if he ends up making some silly error because he's rusty on the field, the previous analogy will complete itself.

As long as you're in the neighborhood....

( I admit, this one is tasteless, but I'm rolling with it anyway.)

Brett Favre's wife recently had a lumpectomy to remove a malignant tumor from her breast.

Story Here.

JFK2, aka: The Almighty Healer of the Lame" (Or is that the Almighty Lame Healer? I don't know), is in Green Bay today. Why didn't the Favre's just ask his imperialisticness to lay on hands and cure her like he would've done for Superman?

NTSB Report on American Flight 587

The NTSB has released its report detailing its findings related to the crash of the Airbus A300-600 on November 12, 2001 in New York City. They are blaming the Co-pilot for effectively trying too hard to correct the airliner's attitude after encountering turbulence shortly after takeoff.

They state that because of the way the A-300 is designed, sharp movements of the rudder pedals can cause excessive deflection of the rudder surface and, in this case, cause the entire rudder to break away from the airframe.

Now, I'm just a moron engineer with an average Bachelor's degree, but I think that were I designing any airplane, and I KNEW that there was a way to cause the tail to snap off in flight, I'd modify some of the controls to eliminate the possibility of that ever happening. Hell, I thought the Airbusses were Fly-By-Wire anyway? Why didn't they program the damned thing to NOT SNAP THE TAIL OFF?

I'm praying that the rest of the planes in our global fleet aren't so well engineered.

Best one I've seen this season.

This puppy really knows what's up.



It's a bit more subtle than shredding signs or vandalizing party headquarters, hmmm?

JFK2 and Abortion

My wife and I were talking about some things last night and the debate turned religious. I finally figured out why abortion is/should be more horriffic for Catholics than protentants. Given the Church's teaching on the need for baptism of babies to remove Original Sin, and the fact that unbaptized children will not be known to enter Heaven, one must assume that abortions result in lost souls. Literally.

I'll bet John Kerry couldn't state it that way.

Sunday, October 24, 2004

Is Connecticut REALLY Kerry Country?

Maybe it's just my end of the state, but the yard signs are running about 8:1 or better Bush:Kerry up here in the Western/Northwestern portion. Also, lots of Bush stickers and magnetic flag/support the troops ribbons on cars.

The conservative base in Northwestern CT seems very energized for this election, even in a locale where I was unaware of an existing conservative base.

Damn. There goes my retirement.

New York finally passed a law that limits City/State liability in lawsuits stemming from clumsy/careless people tripping and injuring themselves. These lawsuits have cost the state millions of dollars per year for a long time. At least somebody is limiting the lawyers.

I wonder what John Edwards has to say about this? Given that he believes that John Kerry can heal the lame, I'm betting that he thinks lawsuits will no longer be necessary after they are elected, right?

One more author guess.

"In the testing process of life, there is a certain inevitability about the discoveries of your abilities and needs, what you want to take from this life and give to others. … Each of us has a duty to examine the problems and participate actively in the decision making. Today's challenges will require addressing complex problems and making difficult and sometimes painful choices. Complex, difficult, painful - but not impossible."

Any thoughts?

This one's from H. John Heinz III, Tuhraiza's first hubby. A Republican senator from Pennsylvania.

This poor bastard must've corkscrewed his way into a different mausoleum by now seeing what his money is helping to do.

Let's play, "Who said this."

"A nation which has forgotten the quality of courage which in the past has been brought to public life is not as likely to insist upon or regard that quality in its chosen leaders today - and in fact we have forgotten."

"
I hear it said that West Berlin is militarily untenable - and so was Bastogne, and so, in fact, was Stalingrad. Any danger spot is tenable if men - brave men - will make it so."

"
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility - I welcome it."

"
Israel was not created in order to disappear - Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and the home of the brave. It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success. It carries the shield of democracy and it honors the sword of freedom."

"
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

"
The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission."

"
The tax on capital gains directly affects investment decisions, the mobility and flow of risk capital... the ease or difficulty experienced by new ventures in obtaining capital, and thereby the strength and potential for growth in the economy."

"
The margin is narrow, but the responsibility is clear."


Still not sure? The man who said all of these things is probably an idol of one of our current candidates. I'm not sure, however, if that candidate is campaigning in this same spirit.

All the quotes above were uttered by John Fitzgerald Kennedy - Neo-conservative.

Now I'm not too fond of people telling me how to do my job,

But this guy is pretty good. I've read several "management" books in my career and with few exceptions, they all strike me as namby-pamby politically correct crapola. This site provides nearly useful and certainly interesting takes on modern personnel management with a twist.

Saturday, October 23, 2004

And another damned thing.

What the hell is that atrocious humming on the Fox Sports Audio that has been plauging all of the playoff games? It sounds like a turbo prop is in a holding pattern overhead.

WS Game 1

OK. Has anybody figured out that they should just freakin' walk Ortiz?

Here's an interview worth reading.

Fresh from her Close Encounter of the Custard Kind, Ann Coulter is interviewed by the Right Wing News.

Fight "Big Battery"

Well, it's that time of year again. Fall back, Spring ahead. And, waste some of your hard earned cash.

When are the ads going to start reminding you to change your smoke detector batteries? Change your clocks, change your batteries.

Don't all smoke detectors these days start that annoying beeping when their batteries are in need of a swap? Why waste chemicals and money changing out a battery that is still good?

Stop listening to the, "Do it for the children" BS and start using your head. Change the smoke detector batteries when they need it.

Friday, October 22, 2004

Not a bad sign

Well, the people who actually put their money where their mouths are are predicting a Bush win. At Tradesports.com, Bush is currently trading at 60 and Kerry is trading at 38. Also, using their valuations of state races, Bush will win with 291 Electoral Votes. Taking Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Great websites.

I've been bothered by the song in a current Mitsubishi commercial. It's been stuck in my head for a week and i could never hear the catch line. Last night I did manage to note that one of the lyrics is, "Making a living the old hard way." So I dug around for a while on the internet and found this site. After a minute or so, it spit out, "Draggin' the Line" by Tommy James and the Shondells.

Pretty useful for getting those horrible unknown songs out of your head.

Also, just as another note, here's a site that can help if you think you may have mangled the lyrics of a song.

Some people should be crushed...

Had to stop at the grocery store on the way home tonight. Rather busy. I guess everybody needed oatmeal and peanut butter for the weekend. Anyway, all the checkouts are open and at least 3-deep. the dork I'm beind allows her kid to pay for her item separately instead of lumping it into her order. Way to waste everybody's time, ma'am. Some of us would liek to get home today!

Now this won't irk anyone...

Great line, fourth paragraph, second sentence of excellent column, "Then we gave the vote to women and the next thing we knew everybody, encouraged by the likes of the Misses Tannen and Dowd, was demanding not only that politicians do the best they can but also that they show, at least if they want the women's vote, that they care more than the other guys."

Thursday, October 21, 2004

Not too bad.

Quiet night, I guess. New York was pretty quiet and only one dead in Boston.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Acckkk, Aaaccckkkk!

Boy. The Yankees are poised to upstage both Greg Norman in the 1996 Masters and the 1969 Cubs as the greatest CHOKE in sports history.

If the boys in pinstripes blow this game, the entire franchise history is shot. It won't matter how many pennants or World Series wins the club has amassed, they will always be the team that allowed, for the first time in the recorded history of any ball-sport (Hockey doesn't count), themselves to be beaten in a four game sweep after winning the first three games of a seven game series. They might as well move to Toronto. (I hear they have a stadium?)

The real reason I'm rooting for the Sox tonight is I want to see dueling riots. Boston will be set ablaze because the curse is broken and Ruth's ghost is dead and New York will obliterated for the same reasons.

UPDATE:

Yowch. 6-zip in the 2nd. Still a long way to go, but this can't be what Steinbrenner wanted to see this early.

UPDATE II:

And so it goes. 10-3. The best team won. $129 million beat $195 million. (Still the two highest payroll teams in all of the MLB.) Now. Anybody placing bets on who Steinbrenner fires? Cough, Cough, Stottlemyre, Cough, Cough

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Woah.

This is worth watching and sending on.

Monday, October 18, 2004

**WARNING** This one is Blue

Well.

L. Brent Bozell, president and head wanker of the Parents Television Council is recommending that NBC and all of its affiliates be fined for Dale Jr's slip of the tongue during a post-race interview a couple weeks ago.

Story here.

Quote: "This is precisely why Congress needs to increase indecency fines. Television networks need to get serious about halting the flow of indecent material over the broadcast airwaves, but that won't happen when the financial penalties can be absorbed as a reasonable cost of doing business.

"We are demanding that the FCC impose the maximum fine allowable under the law against every NBC affiliate that aired this offense. We further demand that the FCC consider license revocation as a real option given the repetitive nature of these offenses," said Bozell.

OK. Now Brent, I appreciate that you donated a couple thousand bucks to Bush in 2003, but Christ. Get a freakin' life. Brittney Spears gyrating like a harlot at a gynecological exam on MTV? Rap "singers" using misogynistic language and inuendo so foul it actually transmits an odor into my living room? The evening news spewing forth stories that are based on nothing but fabricated bullshit?

All that is Okey-Dokey and you're worried because a 5 year old might have overheard Jr. use the word "SHIT"?

Have you been to a grammar school lately, you putz? Kids these days are raised by the friggin TV. If the only four letter word a five year old knows today is SHIT, he's more sheltered than most.

Have you watched an NBA game lately either? I'm not deaf, but it doesn't take a moron to lip-read mutha-fucka forty times an hour.

Why don't you clamp down on the stuff that's actually a problem. Leave NASCAR out of it. The only sport (other than NHRA Drag Racing) that is mainly wholesome. Who would you rather your kids emulated? Dale Jr.? or Dennis Rodman?

High times at the NAACP

I guess this is why the DNC is hiring so many lawyers for post-election duty?

Story Here.

Or maybe this is another of Karl Rove's brilliant schemes to make democrats look stupid?

Sunday, October 17, 2004

Undecided voters

Here's what sucks about our democracy. Why should a decision as important as a presidential election be decided by a bunch of people who are so ignorant of politics that they are unable to discern a difference between our current two candidates? We really need to start administering a civics test that people must pass prior to allowing them to cast any ballot.

Friday, October 15, 2004

Now we're getting somewhere.

Autumn in New England.










Opened the door and In Flew Enza.

I wonder if anyone has conducted a study (normalized for population growth) showing the number of yearly Flu cases before and after the current 'vaccine' became readily available.

I still swear that I've only gotten sick in the years I got that damned shot.

Now it makes sense...

I overheard a girl at my wife's church complaining that since she was getting married, her pocketbook had been geetting bigger and bigger to carry all the new stuff.

I thought, how appropriate, their purses get bigger while our wallets get smaller...

Hmmmm.

First pic.

Here's a quick shot from my old back yard.


Thursday, October 14, 2004

Let the (legal) games begin...

Anybody else wondering if the real reason that the dems have blocked so many of W's judicial appointments is they wanted to stack as many judiciary decks as possible in preparation for their November 3rd sue-a-thon?

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

At least calmer heads prevailed. (Texas-style)

Having lived in the vicinity of Paris, TX for almost four years, this story was a welcome reminder of what I'm missing by paying so much in income and property taxes. Top of front page above the fold, right above the story about the bull rider being stomped to death is this beauty.

Why hasn't the New York Times picked this one up?

Several exceptionals today

Anybody in the NorthEast noticed the foliage this year? WOW! is about all I can say. The cool, wet summer was worth it. I hope my mom is taking some pics with her new camera. I'll post them if I can get her to give them up.

;-)

Right on...

Another exceptional column by Mark Steyn.

Absolutely exceptional.

Must Read.

May require free registration.

Vote for JFK2 and more coyotes will be knocking at your doors.

A community in San Jose, California is up in arms because their city won't let them slaughter a family of Coyotes that has taken up residence in their gated homestead. They fear for their pets and their children.

Geee. Appeasement didn't work. Now that it's too late, it sorta seems like a decent policy of pre-emption might have been in order, hmmmmm? It would have been nice to kill the canine terrorists before they became more than a "nuisance" wouldn't it've? The democratic "plan" for combatting terrorism won't even work with semi-sentient animals. How the hell is it going to work in practice in the real world against real killers?

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

St. John of Massachussettes

John Edwards just stated, "When John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve are going to walk. Get up out of that wheelchair and walk again."

Wow. I knew that they were on the ropes, but stating that republicans murdered Superman for idiological sport is somewhat unexpected.

Now I know it will come up in the debate.

Monday, October 11, 2004

Pander-time

So, anybody wanna bet whether JFK2 will use Christopher Reeve's passing in the debate this week?

If he does, I have to ask, well, my didn't you and TuhRaisa donate the tissue from her "Pinkies" to help with foetal stem cell research?

Practice what you preach, brother.

Sunday, October 10, 2004

Flip-Flop

I've been wondering.

When I was in highschool, my fantastic history teacher, (Wayland Currie, by the way), took us through the American election process. After analyzing all of the results, we noticed that the American politic tended to cycle about every twenty years. Twenty years of democratic control, twenty years of republican control and back and forth ad infinito.

Looking back on the last 36 years or so, though, I'm starting to see a different trend emerging. Since 1968, there have only been 12 years of democratic control of the white house. And, because of the current war, I'm going to lean toward another four at least. That will end up being 28 years for republicans, 12 for democrats. (And who knows, maybe we can get Michael Steele to run against Hillary in 2008.)

Now what I've been wondering is: Could this be the inevitable rebellion of the children of the children of the sixties? Are the Gen Xer's and Y-ite's becoming more conservative because they realize that their parents are the ones who screwed this place up in the first place? I mean really. No one my age had anything to do with the election of the worst president of the modern era. (Jimmy Carter, if you were wondering.) And Carter had everything to do with the current unstable situations in the Middle East and Asia.

Not that the aging hippies like Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon, Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, and Peter Jennings, are going to go quietly. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict this election will be called a virtual draw until six months after all the lawsuits are settled when in reality, the vast majority of Americans, who understand that the political system that allows them to express their thoughts freely is worth exporting to other less fortunate cultures, will vote for the continuation of our current path forward.

Now that all of the children who have grown up with the internet are ready to take control and express their opinions, maybe the mainstream media's stranglehold on information is weakening a bit. In general, people my age do not watch the evening news. They surf the internet constantly looking for updates and reading real time evaluations of current events. It's a decent bet that they don't really care who the suits in the idiot box want them to vote for. That kind of silliness might have gotten Clinton elected twice, but more people are starting to listen to their kids. And the kids are starting to understand that they have access to the information required to know that they are correct.

Well, that was kind of a ramble, but you get the gist. The pendulum is slowing. Now, if we can only get it to stop in the right place.

Saturday, October 09, 2004

Ahhhh, the children have learned well....

I wouldn't have expected the Afghani's to develop a culture of worthless lawyering so soon. The non-winning candidates are threatening to boycott the election results.

Thanks Al.

And you thought rednecks only voted for Bush...

Here's a story of a set of parents that will someday make their kids really proud.

Friday, October 08, 2004

AMEN!

Great artical on "Brand Sprawl." Something I work around every day, but had never put a name to.

Thursday, October 07, 2004

What. Was he grieving too loudly for ya?

That was my immediate response after reading this headline on the CNN site: "Police kill son of slain couple."

Read the article and see if you think that a better headline might have been, "Double homicide suspect killed during altercation with police."

A banner day for rape victims everywhere...

Not that it matters much, given the atrocious conduct of the Colorado judicial system during the aborted Kobe Bryant criminal procedings, but the judge presiding over the civil case is probably going to release the identity of the victim yet again.

Maybe this is good and will reduce the number of women hiding behind a veil of annonymity when they falsely accuse a man of rape because he dumped them for someone else.

Or maybe there could be a reduction in actual victims reporting crimes because they fear being dragged though the mud.

I don't know. But I wonder if the feminists care? I haven't heard them jumping to this woman's defense yet.

Wednesday, October 06, 2004

The last word on the DRAFT rumor Bullsh!t

Here it is.

H.R.163
Title: To provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Representative Charles B. Rangel (D-NY 15th) (introduced 1/7/2003) Cosponsors (14)
Related Bills: S.89
Latest Major Action: 10/5/2004 Failed of passage/not agreed to in House. Status: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Failed by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 2 - 402 (Roll no. 494).

Good 'ol Cholly. And his fourteen co-sponsers:

Representative Neil Abercrombie (D-HI 1st)
Representative Corrine Brown (D-FL 3rd)
Delegate Donna M. Christensen (D-VI At-Large)
Representative Wm. Lacy Clay (D-MO 1st)
Representative John Conyers (D-MI 14th)
Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD 7th)
Representative Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL 23rd)
Representative Jesse Jackson (D-IL 2nd)
Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX 18th)
Representative John Lewis (D-GA 5th)
Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA 7th)
Representative James P. Moran (D-VA 8th)
Representative Fortney H. Stark (D-CA 13th)
Representative Nydia M. Velazquez (D-NY 12th)

and one who backed out -
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC At-Large)


After this bill was squelched by a vote of 2-402, Cholly held this press conference,

  • "The Republican leadership decision to place the draft legislation on the Suspension Calendar is a political maneuver to kill rumors of the President's intention to reinstate the draft after the November election.I am voting no, because my bill deserves serious consideration. It should be subject to hearings and to expert testimony. The Administration should come and tell us about our manpower needs, about recruitment and retention, about the extent to which out troops are overextended. And they should give us their views about shared sacrifice. If they did all of those things in a serious way, they would have to admit that my bill is an option.But what we are seeing now is election-year politics. They are using the Suspension Calendar, which is reserved for non-controversial items, to make a cynical political statement. The American people are deeply concerned about this issue deserve more than this. So do our troops, who after we leave here today, will still be on ground, and left with the message that we couldn't take the time to discuss their situation and what should be done to relieve them.This is hypocrisy of the worst kind. I would not encourage any Democrat running for reelection to vote for this bill."

And these jackasses along with the DNC are playing up the "REPUBLICAN's plans" for introducing mandatory conscription?

Who are they trying to kid?

Oh.... Riiiiiiight.....


Alright, P.C. run amok

I work for a large corporation. A Fortune 500, multinational company. We're base in the United States. More employees of my company reside in the United States than in any other country on earth.

Why is it, then, that when I have to look someone up in the corporate directory, I have to scroll down nearly all the way to Uruguay before I can select United States? It's infuriating to think that there is no way to bump the US and Canada to the front of the list so the bulk of the company's employees can waste less time.

Politically correct alphabetizing be damned. Set it up for maximum efficiency!

Tuesday, October 05, 2004

God and man at the Wireless Company

I usually dread calling any of my numerous service providers to make account changes. Seven hundred buttons to get through the automated system only to be transferred from agent to agent until you get disconnected.

I had to call Cingular customer service last Sunday to cancel one of my phone plans. I expected a hard sell to get me to renew the contract with an accompanying side of surliness.

I was shocked. Not only did the associate do exactly what I asked immediately, he was pleasant, apologized for keeping me waiting, and to my surprise, ended the call with, "God Bless."

I wonder. Could he have been reprimanded for his closing comment if his employer had overheard? If not, Cingular is less average than I first thought.

Next phase of keeping us safe from ourselves.

I heard a new ad for Allstate Insurance yesterday. They said they give good rates to good drivers. They mentioned distracted driving specifically. Things like talking on youe cell phone, adjusting the radio or drinking you coffee.

I guess they're going to have to outlaw drivethru's next right?

Monday, October 04, 2004

The Ansari X-Prize is won!

I'd like two round trip tickets to the moon, please. Aisle seat, non-smoking...

Here.

Exactly!

Fred Reed of the exceptionally readable FredOnEverything.net has a great article this week about the state of education in America today. Check it out.

Sunday, October 03, 2004

Speaking of Racial Conceit

Now. Listening to the media's attempts to turn the Liberation of Iraq into my generation's VietNam, I'm starting to get the feeling that there is a bit of, (pardon the gracelessness), "He who smelt it, dealt it" going on.

What would be said if any conservative, even Clarence Thomas, made a statement like, "I don't believe that black people as a race are incapable of learning for themselves like white people do."? The Main Stream Media would drum that person right into the realm that Robert Bork currently inhabits.

Now, in that previous statement, replace the word "black" with "Arab" and replace the words "learning for" with "governing". This is what the MSM is saying to all Middle Eastern peoples by their constant hammering of the Bush administration and its handling of Iraq. They are looking to create another (this time world-wide) class of victims that will be forever attached to their leash. (And seeing how some liberals are trying to enfranchise illegals, how long before the democratic national committee charters a container ship to ship all of those poor, unfortunate, backward, incapable of any government except rule by a iron fist Middle-easterners to the dole lists in "swing-states"?

Is this how the liberals see the current underclass in America? As a group that is unable to control its appetites, respect authority, and progress to the point of self-destiny? It would seem so given their enormous resistance to any type of reasonable welfare reform.

Why the resistance? Because once people stop receiving handouts and start working for their money, they realize that taxes suck and then start voting republican.

And I Though I was Whiny

Here's an interesting article about today's planned protest of the Talledega NASCAR Race. The protest is being held by the "National Association for Minority Race Fans". Near as I can tell these overly-sensitive twits are depressed that there happen to be many confederate flags displayed in the infield and stands at NASCAR races.

The group's purpose is "to create a safe race track environment while pursuing the political, social and economic equality of minority groups and citizens who desire to enjoy NASCAR events without racial bigotry."

What the hell does that mean? I've followed NASCAR very closely since Dodge re-entered the lineup and I can't remember any type of lynching, burning crosses, social workers shot in their cars or anything serious related to racial prejudice. NASCAR is a sport with south-eastern heritage. Get over it. I don't hear caucasians protesting about the degradation of the American music catalog by the inclusion of Rap. (Although they should.)

For Christ's sake, Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition (Now that's probably a coalition that John Kerry considers "legitimate".) have already bent NASCAR over and extorted money from them under the threat of a civil lawsuit for not having enough minority drivers. (Yeah, and I think I should be paid about what Kobe makes to play basketball. A bunch of inept short white guys would surely boost the NBA's ratings share, right?)

Jesus. Why can't people just mind their own business. Again, I blame lawyers. It's too easy to sue someone who "offends" you rather than develop a thick skin and an ability to laugh at yourself.

Saturday, October 02, 2004

YEEEAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!

And I'm not talking about Howard Dean.

A Long Island woman gave birth to a 13 pound 2 ounce boy last Thursday.

Read about it here.

I don't even want to think about it.

Friday, October 01, 2004

WFB Jr.

I talked my mom into purchasing a signed copy of Bill Buckley's latest book. She coughed up about an extra $25 over the list price to do it. The book arrived today and she called me immediately to tell me about the signature. Her description was. "I think you could have done this the first time I put a pen in your hand." I apologized profusely and she was good humored about it as she always is. Now she wants me to find a documented version of his signature. She says she'll feel better if he signs everything like that.

I had recently read this article and it didn't make much sense, what with its intriguing annonymity. Now I understand.

That was it?

Well. The first debate went off without much fanfare. And about as I expected. W was semi-inarticulate but consistant. Kerry was polished and bombastic but provided nothing but unworkable schemes and Move-On.org style talking points.

The only thing that really struck me was the multi-lateral, summit at all cost, global test bullshit that Kerry kept spewing.

The pundits may be spinning themselves into a froth saying Kerry looked better than W, but I think W will have better commercial material for the rest of the run.