Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics

Those cretins over at Err Amerika just can't stop lying to you. Wolfman had his radio tuned to them during a recent visit (what? not enough aggravation in your life? blood pressure too low?) and we heard the old "10 children are killed each day by handguns" line in one of their PSAs.

Too bad we didn't get the phone number, or we would have called to ask: since when are 18- and 19-year-old gang-bangers "children"?

It never ceases to amaze us how the lunatic left can contort things around to couch the debate in intellectually dishonest terms. The same thing happened recently with the execution of convicted multiple murderer Stanley "Tookie" Williams when some fool asked what was to be gained by "executing a children's book author".

The esteemed Neal Boortz gave a good partial answer to that one when he said "the preservation of the rule of law". But even he seemed to have missed the intellectual dishonesty behind the framing of the question. The State of California did not execute "a children's book author"; Williams was not convicted of authoring children's books. He was convicted on four counts of cold-blooded murder, for which he never showed the slightest sign of remorse.

Happy What?

Over at KKOB Radio, Jim Villanucci has been engaging callers on the subject of whether the "war on Christmas" is real or imagined. There is, of course, one very easy test.

Imagine, if you will, the resultant uproar if you were to dare say to someone "Oh, please don't say 'Happy Kwanzaa'. That might offend some people. Say 'Happy Holidays' instead."

Just be sure to duck.

Sauce For The Goose, But Not The Gander

The folks over at Err Amerika have been getting all exercised about the possibility that Pres. Bush might have violated some law by authorizing wiretaps of phone calls that took place partially within the US, maybe even involving American citizens.

Since the facts are still not all in yet, it's next to impossible to tell whether or not any law was violated. Compounding that, of course, is the convoluted nature of the applicable laws. What strikes us as amusing, though, is the blatant hypocrisy involved in excoriating Bush for the same thing that Carter and Clinton did.

Of course, the fact that Carter and Clinton did it in no way excuses it for Bush. It's just really entertaining, listening to these cretins turning themselves inside out.

And The Winner Isn't....

This week's Henry Waldo Award For Literary Excellence does not go to Dan Patrick. Sitting in for Laura Ingram the other day, he addressed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as "General Gonzales". Someone give this cretin a style book. "Mr Attorney General" would have been perfectly acceptable, as would "Mr Gonzales". But the Attorney General is not a military position.

Buying Their Votes With Your Money

Very quietly (of course), the junior Senator from New York has proposed a bill (SB 419?) to grant a tax "refund" to Puerto Ricans. Just one problem: Puerto Ricans pay no income tax. This raises a couple of very interesting questions:

1) How do you "refund" money that was never paid in the first place?

2) Why have the dominant media not called her on this?

3) Will the Puerto Rican voters of New York be stupid enough to vote to re-elect her to the Senate next year?

Patriot Act 3

Don't kid yourselves. It's coming. The only questions are how and how soon. It's rare that we agree with the Democrats on much, but it was gratifying to seem them shoot down the extension of the unconstitutional (un)Patriot(ic) Act that they themselves originally voted for . Whether or not they acted for the right reasons is still up for grabs. And remember: if you're doing the right thing for the wrong reason, you're not really doing the right thing.

Of course, as soon as the junior Senator from New York gets settled in the Oval Office, those odious provisions -- and more -- will be very enthusiastically promoted by the very same people who just voted against them.

It's OK, though. You can trust the government. Ask any Indian.

What Happened To The Rule Of Law?

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human rights. It is the motto of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
-- William Pitt

Since there's no way that the dominant news media will report all the facts concerning the President's authorizing wiretaps of suspected terrorists, we can only go on what's been reported so far.

The key question here is whether or not the President had statutory authority to do so. And opinions seem to vary on that point. Neal Boortz seems to think that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillancce Act of 1978 gives that authority. But does it? And should it? And has the President complied with the provisions of that Act by obtaining the required warrants within the required 72-hour period? So far, we've not seen evidence that he has.

Bearing in mind that the Constitution exists to put limits on government power, we'd have to side with Vox Day in taking an extremely jaundiced view of the whole situation.

Individuals are properly presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a preponderance of the evidence, but government does not enjoy that protection.

Never trust a government that doesn't trust you.

Justice Has Been Served

Amid all the incredibly stupid comments made about the pending execution of Tookie Williams, one cretin (probably another "civil rights" agitator) was heard to ask "What is served by executing a children's book author?".

Well, since the State of California was executing a convicted killer and not a "children's book author", justice was (somewhat belatedly) served. The real problem is that it took them 24 years to do it. If revenge is a dish best served cold, justice is a dish best served warm. Justice delayed is justice denied.

In typical fashion, most of these anti-death-penalty left-wing loonies were pointing to his authorship of children's books as some sort of sign of his "redemption". We'd really like to get our hands on a couple of these books. Somehow, we don't think we're talking Dr. Seuss here.

This morning, some woman was quoted as saying "we're not going to forget what they did tonight to Tookie Williams". Let's hope not. Even better, let's hope you learn something from it. Nah, that'd be too much to ask.

Neal Boortz gives a run-down of what Williams has done in prison since 1981.

800 Books???

Exactly how does a shipper lose 800 books? Neal Boortz reports that the company contracted to ship 800 copies of his "Fair Tax Book" has managed to lose all 800 (one shipment of 300; another shipment of 500).

Isn't there a tracking number involved? Don't they know who was driving the truck?

As soon as we find out who the shipper was, we'll be posting it here. Whoever it was, they won't be getting any business from us.

Whirled News, 20051212

(Apologies to The Old Sarge for stealing the title.)

Commenting on the recent mishap in Chicago, some spokesidiot for Southwest Airlines stated that "safety is our top priority".

Oh, really?

We always thought that making money was the top priority of a business. No wonder American businesses are in such trouble.

* * * * * * *

Former (thank God!) Secretary of State Madeline Not-All-That-Bright still maintains that we "have no exit strategy" in Iraq.

Apparently, she missed the President's speech. Either that, or the words "complete military victory" aren't in her somewhat limited vocabulary.

* * * * * * *
Who are the cretins who scheduled a PBS pledge drive for the time period just after Thanksgiving? Hey, dummies! Guess where everyone's money is going? Hint: not to you.

By the by, remember when those drives were annual affairs. What are they now --- monthly?

* * * * * * *

If Stanley Williams were white, would all these "activists" be trying so hard to save him?

Not A Bad Idea

Hang on to your seats; this could be a bumpy ride.

Social-Democrat Gov. Bill "Smiley" Richardson has come up witn an ide that actually has some merit. He's proposed another border crossing with Old Mexico.

Now, before you get your knickers in a twist, let's take a look at the benefits. Aside from the short-term infusion of tax dollars into the local economy, and the short-term increase in construction jobs, there's also the long-term increase of jobs for Border Patrol agents.

But there's more. This shiny, secure new facility could also help to solve a few problems here in North Mexico.

Just make it one-way southbound.

Not A Bad Idea

Hang on to your seats; this could be a bumpy ride.

Social-Democrat Gov. Bill "Smiley" Richardson has come up witn an ide that actually has some merit. He's proposed another border crossing with Old Mexico.

Now, before you get your knickers in a twist, let's take a look at the benefits. Aside from the short-term infusion of tax dollars into the local economy, and the short-term increase in construction jobs, there's also the long-term increase of jobs for Border Patrol agents.

But there's more. This shiny, secure new facility could also help to solve a few problems here in North Mexico.

Just make it one-way southbound.

Lessons Learned In Cyberspace

Health issues and the preparatins for the coming winter have prevented us from doing as much blogging as we'd like. Which is unfortunate, as we seem to have missed a little dust-up over on Vox Day's blog. More on that later.

The whole affair brings to mind a few rules which all would do well to follow when cruising the Information Superhighway:

#1. In cyberspace, nothing is private. Possibly not even if it's hidden behind a secure server (where the URL begins with https://). Even "private" blogs are not all that private.

#2. Unless the person is a public figure (e.g. Vox), or well known to you, it's a good idea to co-ordinate any linkings in advance.

#3. There is context and there is context. Before flaming someone, be sure you've read enough of that person's writings to have a feel for what that person is really all about.

#4. Make sure that your point is clear enough that the average person gets it.

The whole fiasco got started when someone (see Rule #2) innocently followed a series of links and wound up at one of Vox's more controversial -- and less understandable posts. (The point of which still eludes us. See Rule #4.) Being offended by what she read, she wrote a post to her own blog, intended only for friends and family.

Unfortunately, due to Rule #1, Vox became aware of her post and chose to post a retort to his own blog (see Rule #2). Then things got completely out of hand, ending up with the poor young lady getting run over by the Voxwagen. Vox's regulars are a rowdy lot (self excluded), even though he does try from time to time to rein them in (leastwise as far as his own blog is concerned).

What is truly distressing here is that these two people probably have a great deal more in common than either realizes. Having read Vox for a couple of years now -- and having also scanned thru the young lady's blog -- we see striking similarities. Both are writers. Both are apparently trying to pursue a Christian lifestyle. Both appear to be decent people. (Going out on a limb here, as we've met neither in person and know them only from their writings.) The young lady in question is hardly some frothing-at-the-mouth, male-bashing feminazi intent on attacking Vox for no other reason than that Y chromosome he carries. To the contrary, her writings show her to be intelligent, articulated, and well-mannered. In this case, Vox would have been well served by Rule #3.

This was undoubtedly the worst introduction anyone could have had to Vox and his writings. (And the situation was not helped by some of his regulars ganging up on her like a pack of junkyard dogs). Had she discovered him by any of his other articles or postings, the outcome would surely have been different. As it stands, the young lady will probably never read Vox again and is thus deprived of the intellectual stimulation and moral encouragement the rest of us enjoy. For his part, Vox might have forever lost an ally in the war against evil.

There was no link on the young lady's blog to send her an e-mail, and comments are limited to LiveJournal users. It is regrettable that we cannot offer our condolences directly.

The Envelope, Please

This week's Henry Waldo Award For Literary Excellence does not go to Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia al-McKinney. During congressional Bush-bashing testimony, she was heard to say: "And the world saw the effects of American-style racism in the drama as it was outplayed by the Katrina survivors."

Maybe Georgia will get lucky and she'll get outvoted (agian!) next year. One can only hope.

"School Daze...

... school daze, good old broken rule days".

So, it seems that Anthony Trujillo, principal of Highland High School down in Albuquerque, got caught doing drugs and is currently in the hoosegow awaiting trial. Unbelievably, he's actually been relieved of his job (leastwise, for the time being).

The incoming replacement even made some crack about Highland's "60 years of excellence". Sorry, lady. Highland might have been around for 60 years, but there's never been any excellence in government schools.

The really sad part is that the students are all up in arms about this. Time was, kids would be dancing in the streets if their principal wound up in the Grey Bar Hotel. In such a case as this, some of them would actually be saying "Gee, how could he have done this?".

Nothing like government schooling, eh?

Detect This....

Well, gee. Now Pres. Bush wants to use all sorts of hi-tech gear to "detect" illegals crossing the border. Isn't that special?

Got a better idea for you, pal. How about deporting them?!

Remember, of course, that the same technology that can be turned outward to spy on sneak-ins can also be turned inward to spy on honest citizens. And don't think that Pres. Hitlery wouldn't it.

Oddly enough, we don't seem to recall the Minutemen using much by way of hi-tech gear to detect illegals. Maybe we should just put them in charge.