Stimulate This

OK, so Mr. Chips decided to stop by Potemkin Place to have a look around. Seems things have not fared well since his departure. At least not for the rank-and-file. More lay-offs, more cuts in hours. And now, the unkindest cut of all. It seems that several employees are being denied their vacations. One person has already applied for, been granted permission for, and taken his vacation, but the company refuses to pay.

Meanwhile, however, the owner of the company has managed to find money to invest in still more money-making ventures where he can employ still more people at slave wages.

We're hoping that it won't be long before the entire house of cards collapses and these greedy individuals get what's coming to them.

Hoping and praying.

The Coup That Wasn't

When is a coup not a coup? It's amazing that TPTB don't seem to care about stolen elections in Iran, or even Minnesota. But when the proper authorities in Honduras insist that the HMFC "president" follow the law and -- when he refuses and tries to take over the government himself -- have him arrested, all hell breaks loose.

It appears that the dominant media have largely fallen for that "military coup" stuff. Looking at the facts of the case, it's hard to see how any unbiased person could call it a "military coup". Consider:

Pres. Zelaya of Honduras wanted to change the Honduran constitution to allow him to run for office again.

Changing the constitution in Honduras requires convening a constituent assembly. The president cannot do that. The Honduran congress must approve a national referendum calling for the constituent assembly to consider changes to the constitution. But Zelaya decided to call one on his own, and had ballots printed in Venezuela. The Honduran Supreme Court ruled the referendum illegal and unconstitutional, and then issued an order to the Honduran military telling them not to do the logistical work associated with the illegal referendum.

After the Supreme Court's decision, General Romeo Velasquez tells President Zelaya that he is subject to a proper order from the Supreme Court and will not be able to carry out Zelaya's referendum. So Zelaya fired him. The Supreme Court ordered Zelaya to reinstate Velasquez, and Zelaya refused to do so.

Based on the Supreme Court's ruling, The Honduran Attorney General said that the proposed referendum was illegal and said that he would arrest anyone attempting to carry out the election. Zelaya was arrested by the military and was escorted out of the country.

Now, how is that a "military coup"? One side attempts to circumvent the law and hold an illegal referendum. The other side upholds the law, prevents the illegal referendum, and arrests the one responsible.

Curiouser and curiouser....

In Praise of Michael Jackson

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Philosophy Of Liberty

We came upon this earlier and decided to add it to the blogroll. It's a short piece (ca. 10 minutes) and explains things rather nicely.

Of course, on one level it's "preaching to the choir", and those who don't believe in liberty will ignore it. But even the choir needs to be preached to from time to time, and the truth needs to be spoken even -- and maybe especially -- to those who reject it.

Enjoy.

You're Fired!

It's no secret that we have no use for all the ridiculous "beauty" pageants. (As we've said for years, there's a world of difference between true beauty and mere attractiveness.) However, we don't mind commenting on things that merit comment, especially when it involves the machinations of the collectivists to silence their opponents.

Case in point: the recent kerfuffle involving Miss Whatever from California who was ambushed by a hot-topic question and handled it acceptably well. Naturally, the Usual Suspects were screaming for her head on a platter, demanding that she be fired for not agreeing with their stance on same-sex "marriage".

In a recent twist, the young lady did get fired, but not for the favored reason. (Apparently, it was for not showing up at scheduled appearances. We have no problem with that. One should fulfill one's contractual obligations.)

So who is her replacement? Another young lady who agrees with her stance on the subject in question. Such delicious irony.

No doubt the Left Wing Lunatics are getting their knickers in a twist over this. Looking at The Bigger Picture, who really cares what some "beauty" queen has to say on.... anything, really? Although it does make for a rather hilarious battleground in the culture war.

The real irony here is that Ms. Prejean should have been disqualified. But not for her view on marriage. And not for those silly pictures. She should have been disqualified on the basis of her enhancement surgery. Or don't they have an "all natural" rule? (If they don't, they should.)

Still, it's hysterically funny that the Lefties did everything they could to get Ms. Prejean tossed out and her replacement holds exactly the same views.

(By the bye, is Perez Hilton on suicide watch yet?)

Say It Ain't So!

Well, if this isn't a shock. Who could have guessed that there could have been commie spies in the State Department?

Oh, right. Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

We can't wait for Ann Coulter's column next week. Maybe she'll even put out a Special Edition.

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Miss America 2012

It's well known that we have no use for all these useless "beauty" pageants, but we've found a shoo-in candidate for any one of them as soon as she's old enough to qualify. The heroine's name is Jem Lugo, and she hails from somewhere in Florida.

We find this story disturbing on a number of levels. To begin with, isn't the valedictorian supposed to be the smartest of the graduates? And yet, school officials -- being the control freaks that they are -- can't seem to trust one to write her own speech. What's wrong with that picture?

(It should be noted in passing that the principal of the school was reprimanded for plagiarism. Apparently, those who can, do. Those who can't, become teachers. As least Miss Lugo's speech was her own work.

For the sake of posterity, we are pleased to render the original (rejected) speech here:

Springstead High School's class of 2009. Look around you. This is it.

No more essays, no more FCAT, no more required reading. We survived 13 grueling years of school, all for this moment, where we get to wear gowns that kind of remind me of a silk version of a Snuggie, and these hats that make every single one of us look absolutely ridiculous. Hate to break it to you, but no one looks good in these hats. Even you, Ben Noury.

So, I was stuck with this arduous task of extra writing to create this speech, and I decided to make this different. I'm not gonna get up here and start spouting these crazy incomprehensible seven-syllable words I probably can't even pronounce. Why would I want to do that? Last time I checked, we're done with school. We don't want to THINK anymore. I would never, ever put you all through that pain. Another thing, nobody in speeches ever tells you what you actually need to know in life. They stand up here and gush about these lofty, inspirational concepts that are supposed to make you feel all warm and gooey inside. You know, I could stand up here and tell you all that I have a dream for this class, that among us are future doctors, lawyers, maybe even the next president, and you guys need to go out there and seize the day! Carpe diem! But really, what good would that do you? How much help will my words be when you wake up tomorrow, and realize that it truly is over? The babied path that's been set out for you since you were born has ended. You've left the womb, the cord's been cut, congratulations, welcome to your life. Your choices actually matter now, and your future is finally in your own hands. Sure, telling you to seize the day sounds impressive, but how are you going to know how to seize it?

Instead, I'm going to remind you of some basic concepts you can actually apply to your life. Crazy, right?

First off, get money. You can't do anything without money. Do something with your life where you're able to have a steady, reliable, source of income. Gamers, I'm sorry, but farming for gold in World of Warcraft is not considered a RELIABLE, or socially acceptable source of income.

Second, after you have your money, be sure to pay your taxes. I hear the IRS can get pretty nasty with tax avoiders.

Also, don't get arrested. Sure, the jail lifestyle might seem like a luxury nowadays, but in 20 years, when you're going for that top-notch CEO position, that misdemeanor you got for stealing a street sign with your friends might just come back and bite you in the butt.

Moreover, take some time in your life to stand up for something. Whether it's a stance for pro-choice, religious debate, vegetarianism, or even something as simple as cleaner bathrooms, just make sure your voice is heard. It feels good to stick it to The Man every once in awhile.

And though you will be earning your steady income with your job, make sure not to waste your entire life working. You're making this money for a reason. Use it to have some fun. Go out and party. Use all of your vacation days. Use it to travel. Explore the world. Free yourself from the monotony of the workforce. I promise you, having fun will keep you sane.

Be sure to have that one person or thing that makes you smile whenever you see it. I'm not going to put on an act and tell you you're future's going to be peachy. No, life is gonna suck sometimes. Believe me, you're gonna need that one thing in your life that can always brighten your day, whether it's a significant other, a dog, a lava lamp, or the blankie you've had since you were a baby. Hey, whatever it takes to smile.

A few other basics to remember. Always say please and thank you; it's always appreciated. Wash your hands when you leave the bathroom; you'd be surprised how many people don't. Listen to your gut instinct and your conscience. When there's a choice between the little angel on one side, and the little devil on the other, please listen to the angel. Respect your elders, because one day, you'll be old too. Plus, they might leave you something in their will. Don't treat Spelling and Grammar check as a God. It definitely misses things. If you ever achieve any sort of fame or acclaim in your life, don't mess it up. Think Michael Phelps and Britney Spears. And if your mother would not approve of your actions, then you probably shouldn't be doing it. Don't believe everything you hear or read, and definitely don't click on every link someone sends you. Some of us have learned that the hard way. Countless times, I've been duped into clicking links that sent me to the music video of "Never Gonna Give You Up". I'm not sure if I'll ever properly get that song out of my head.

But, the most important thing that I can tell you tonight is to remember where you came from. You were an eagle once. We've been through four long years here. Some of us have loved it, some of us have hated it, but we all had to endure it, and for all of us, it's finally over. What's Springstead going to be like without us? The academic world is going to be missing some of its top performers, and the sports are going to be hurting without some of their best players. Mr. Pennington is not going to know what to do without his core group of seniors that are graduating. No one's going to be rampaging through the hallways, brandishing signs with their name. Frankly, Springstead's going to be a lonely place without us. We've survived a lot. Making it out of Spring Hill alive is a feat in itself. Some of us even resorted to hanging out at a busy intersection to pass the time. We've gone from going to see A Christmas Carol every year with our elementary school, admiring over the actors, to actually being an actor in the production of A Christmas Carol, being the ones asked for their autograph by the younger kids. We've gone from getting our star pulled for bad behavior, to being relocated to STAR for bad behavior. From girls wearing bell bottom jeans to guys wearing girl's jeans. From listening to N'Sync and the Backstreet Boys, to listening to Lil' Wayne and Flo'Rida. From wasting all of our time creating a Neopet, to wasting all of our time talking to people on Myspace and Facebook. From collecting and playing Pokemon, to, well, collecting and playing Pokemon. Some things never die. Unfortunately for us, it looks as if High School Musical and Hannah Montana will never die either. You either love it, or you hate, but either way, we survived it.

Four years ago, we showed up for high school, short and innocent, totally baffled by why there were classrooms with the same numbers, and amazed that the water fountains were gold. Then in our junior year, after we had become more knowledgeable and grown taller (well, some of us), those numbers we came to learn so well were completely rearranged, forcing us to be just as lost as the incoming freshmen. The construction period was intense. We were squeezed through tiny aisles created by temporary walls, never making it to class on time. The outdoor lunch tables that some had religiously sat at were removed, and we were relocated to a grander, spacious cafeteria with plasma TV screens that never played anything but ESPN. Those of us lucky enough to get a lunch leave pass during our junior year had no idea that we'd be the last class to have that privilege. Sure enough, everyday you could find at least 15 people meeting up at PJ's for lunch. Oh, and you can't forget the new parking lot rules, that you were trapped in the parking lot until all of the buses left, for fear of being hit by a parked school bus. We all know the countless deaths caused by those kinds of accidents, God rest their souls.

When it all comes down to it, we're made for bigger things than this. We're going to get out of here, and we're going to live our lives, no doubt about that. Just remember to keep in touch. You'll regret it if you don't. As I said, there are hard times ahead. There are times where you'll just sit there and think to yourself, "Man, I lost the game." Times like that when you're going to need a friend. Don't throw away the friendships you've made here. One of these people might be able to get you a job someday, or might be able to lend you a helping hand. Life is all about connections.

Now I've been talking long enough. We're all dying to just get this over with. So I'm going to resort to a cliché ending, and quote one of the most influential men of all time, Freddie Mercury. "Just gotta get out, just gotta get right out of here." Congratulations class of 2009, we did it!

Wise words from one so young.


Look out, Neal. You've got some competition now.

Perspective

Let's see if we understand this all correctly:

a guy who made a career out of murdering unborn (and perhaps even newly born) innocents is shot by some nutcase and everyone's howling for "justice" (which is defined as "the perp's head on a pike").

two young men who were about to embark on a career defending their homeland are shot, and....

The silence is deafening.

Hypocrisy, thy name is "journalism".