Month: August 2013

  • Most versatile word in the English language?

    Guru huckster Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh makes some excellent points in a hilarious video classic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyBap-T4ZDU&feature=youtu.be

  • God hates fags?

    Of the two major political parties, one is especially obsessed with persecuting a minority of Americans who engage in an activity which the party considers unhealthy, disgusting, and immoral. No, I’m not talking about anti-gay Republicans. I’m talking about mostly “liberal” Democrats who are waging a holy war against cigarette smokers. The war on tobacco…

  • Save our sodomy laws, even if it means losing to a Democratic hack!

    Terry McAuliffe seems to be pulling away from Ken Cuccinelli in the Virginia governor’s race, and while I am no fan of McAuliffe, I can’t say I’m surprised. In the new PPP poll, 44 percent support McAuliffe, 37 percent Cuccinelli, 9 percent libertarian Robert Sarvis and 9 percent are undecided. That suggests there is room…

  • War means impeachment, Biden warns!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0xpfpciJzBU Thus spake Biden in 2007: …the President has no constitutional authority…to take this nation to war against a county of 70 million people unless we’re attacked or unless there is proof we are about to be attacked. And if he does, if he does, I would move to impeach him. A mere seven years…

  • “Representation” by representatives who are ruled by the same people who rule over those who elected them, is not representation at all.

    Earlier today I was reminded that a very powerful but much disliked city employee cannot be fired, no matter who is elected to the local city council, because the city council simply does not have the power to fire municipal employees. Ordinary taxpaying voters — myself included — like to kid ourselves when we imagine…

  • Only a lousy prophet would punish lice killing

    Some of these Islamic Sharia terrorist nutjobs are even crazier than I thought: Sharia Authority in Aleppo By the name of God most merciful most gracious Circulation number (12) Thanks to God and prayers and greetings to our master Muhammad and his family and companions, then.. The Sharia Authority in Aleppo has prohibited the killing of…

  • If they go ballistic over fake cigarettes, let’s give them the real thing!

    Here’s just what we need! A well organized attempt to ban E-cigarettes: …the latest push from tobacco eliminationists doesn’t involve actual smoking, which has already been driven out of polite society more thoroughly than Rev. Jeremiah Wright sermons, early David Allan Coe records, and Three’s Company-era gay jokes combined. But it does lay bare the…

  • The focus on race misses the point

    The trial of George Zimmerman touched a very raw nerve in this country. That’s because it was the most racially charged event in recent history, and Americans are less comfortable discussing race than ever before. Any discussions involving race are dangerous, especially if they are public, not only because they are emotionally volatile, but because…

  • “Today in history: King Richard III”

    I love errors like the one in this caption: “On Aug. 22, 1845, England’s King Richard III was killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field, effectively ending the War of the Roses.” Sure, I realize anyone can screw up keystrokes (I do it myself), but to see it in the major media is always funny,…

  • There is no harm in being a libertarian moderate if you can get away with it?

    As I’m one of those people who doesn’t easily fit into most categories, I’m always intrigued by the various political litmus tests that float around, and today I found a new one. While the home page called it the “Social Values Test,” my results — described as “Political Values” — follow: Radicalism        58.25 Socialism          12.5…

  • Attention all cisgendered readers!

    I saw an odd phrase today in a missive calling for attacks upon the “hetero-cis-patriarchy.” The meaning of the words “hetero” and “patriarchy” I understand. But “cis”? And a hyphenated cis? That was a new one for me, so I googled. Sure enough, there is such a word, and while it seems to be recently…

  • “America’s gun crisis” cries out for laws!

    A lot of people are talking about the murder of an Australian baseball player by three feral teens in Oklahoma. [Chancey Luna, 16 ], the alleged shooter of a .22 calibre revolver, and Edwards, an alleged passenger in the Focus, were both charged with first-degree murder and face life in prison without parole if convicted. They…

  • “more sooty baggage than a 90-car freight train”

    Here’s Camille Paglia on Hillary Clinton: As a registered Democrat, I am praying for a credible presidential candidate to emerge from the younger tier of politicians in their late 40s. A governor with executive experience would be ideal. It’s time to put my baby-boom generation out to pasture! We’ve had our day and managed to muck…

  • Tunnel Vision

    Going through a tunnel on the Pennsylvania Turnpike earlier. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJYTklabKnE&feature=youtu.be I’m back, and exhausted. MORE: Not my video, but this was also nice to listen to in the car. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTO3h9CutTE So nice that it still resonates… And so was this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48mqaZzCr2w  

  • Maybe they should have been careful what they wished for

    Seeing stuff like this just warms what cockles remain in my heart: White House Had Advance Notice on Heathrow Detention… Security seized encrypted computer files… ‘They said I would be put in jail if I didn’t cooperate’… Agents asked ‘about my entire life’… GUARDIAN: ‘A betrayal of trust and principle’… Britain forced newspaper to destroy…

  • I hate scanning! Right?

    Like many people, I have boxes and boxes of old pictures,  many of which are of irreplaceable sentimental value. While it is possible for me to scan them, I have long thought of scanning as being an inordinate, time-consuming pain in the ass. I have an old Umax Windows 98 era scanner which takes a…

  • Great Paragraphs

    This year that means freedom even from getting citations for smoking marijuana in public. The City Council hasn’t yet made that a ticketable offense. So police officers may issue warnings along with free snacks. They’re handing out free Doritos bearing a link to more information on what’s allowed, and what’s not, under I-502. ***  They said…

  • On the road…

    I’m in Pennsylvania after an all day drive, and in no shape to write a damned thing! Not that a little thing like that should stop me, but still… I’m just too tired.

  • It’s All My Fault

    You might be amused by the comment to a piece I recently wrote for my publisher. I am Among the Most & Least Trusted Professions in America. And just to give you a hint. My least trusted side is journalist.

  • Destroying the environment in order to save it

    I live in a student neighborhood here in Ann Arbor and it is customary for people who are moving out and don’t need something to just leave it in the lawn extension (the grassy strip in front of a house between the sidewalk and the street). Yesterday, some student who was moving out left a…