What Can I Say?
Hugh Hewitt: "Endgame for Obamacare?"
4 hours ago
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Yale Senior "Art" Projected Aborted
From the Yale Daily News:
Art major Aliza Shvarts ’08 wants to make a statement.
Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself “as often as possible” while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process.
The goal in creating the art exhibition, Shvarts said, was to spark conversation and debate on the relationship between art and the human body. But her project has already provoked more than just debate, inciting, for instance, outcry at a forum for fellow senior art majors held last week. And when told about Shvarts’ project, students on both ends of the abortion debate have expressed shock — saying the project does everything from violate moral code to trivialize abortion.
But Shvarts insists her concept was not designed for “shock value.”
“I hope it inspires some sort of discourse,” Shvarts said. “Sure, some people will be upset with the message and will not agree with it, but it’s not the intention of the piece to scandalize anyone.”
Well, what a sweet child. Imagine how lovely her parents are, and how proud of her they must be.
Art major Aliza Shvarts ’08 wants to make a statement.
Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself “as often as possible” while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process.
The goal in creating the art exhibition, Shvarts said, was to spark conversation and debate on the relationship between art and the human body. But her project has already provoked more than just debate, inciting, for instance, outcry at a forum for fellow senior art majors held last week. And when told about Shvarts’ project, students on both ends of the abortion debate have expressed shock — saying the project does everything from violate moral code to trivialize abortion.
But Shvarts insists her concept was not designed for “shock value.”
“I hope it inspires some sort of discourse,” Shvarts said. “Sure, some people will be upset with the message and will not agree with it, but it’s not the intention of the piece to scandalize anyone.”
Well, what a sweet child. Imagine how lovely her parents are, and how proud of her they must be.
And what did Yale have to say about this?
Statement by Yale spokesperson Helaine S. Klasky:
Ms. Shvarts is engaged in performance art. Her art project includes visual representations, a press release and other narrative materials. She stated to three senior Yale University officials today, including two deans, that she did not impregnate herself and that she did not induce any miscarriages. The entire project is an art piece, a creative fiction designed to draw attention to the ambiguity surrounding form and function of a woman’s body.
She is an artist and has the right to express herself through performance art.
Had these acts been real, they would have violated basic ethical standards and raised serious mental and physical health concerns.
...and then these two other statements from Yale faculty were published:
http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/08-04-18-05.all.html
Aliza Shvarts needs to have her head examined, perhaps with forceps.
I am glad that I am not paying $33,800 for my kid to attend such a dysfunctional place of "higher learning." From the same people who care about the treatment of animals...
And just when I thought it was over, Shvarts in an interview later Thursday afternoon, defended her work and called the University’s statement “ultimately inaccurate.” She reiterated that she engaged in the nine-month process she publicized on Wednesday in a press release that was first reported in the News: repeatedly using a needleless syringe to insert semen into herself, then taking abortifacient herbs at the end of her menstrual cycle to induce bleeding. Thursday evening, in a tour of her art studio, she shared with the News video footage she claimed depicted her attempts at self-induced miscarriages.
“No one can say with 100-percent certainty that anything in the piece did or did not happen,” Shvarts said, adding that she does not know whether she was ever pregnant. “The nature of the piece is that it did not consist of certainties.”
I believe someone described her as a malignant narcissist. I'll second that.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Barack The Elitist Snob
Barack Obama is a horrific, elitist snob. And it is as painful watching him trying to bowl in middle America, as it was watching the haughty John Kerry walk into a hunting store and announce, "I gotta get me a gun." Barack and wife Michelle aspired, planned, strategized, and schemed their way to elitism. Now they have it and can practically taste the food on the White House china, think they can bluff their way into the hearts of the people they most disdain.
No state college was good enough for either of them. The blue-bloods with whom they were desperate to become friends with, would have turned their noses up in distaste.
If you read nothing else this week, please read the Townhall.com column by Mary Grabar, titled Yes, Barack Obama, We Are Bitter:
"We know who you’re talking about, Barack Obama, when you talk about Pennsylvania and the Midwest, about small towns where the jobs have left. We know who you’re talking about when you talk about those who “get bitter” and “cling to guns or religion.”
You’re talking about “those people.”
You’re talking about white people who have neither the family connections nor the racial credentials to gain entrance to the world that you inhabit. Many of the people you’re talking about are those whose parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents were immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe who came to these places to work in steel mills, coal mines, and factories. We know the code words.
You’re talking about people whose culture is little known. We have been pretty quiet. We never tried to impose our culture on everyone. We never insisted on putting pictures of ourselves in our native dress into schoolbooks or mandating that our stories and songs be part of the curriculums."
read the rest here
No state college was good enough for either of them. The blue-bloods with whom they were desperate to become friends with, would have turned their noses up in distaste.
If you read nothing else this week, please read the Townhall.com column by Mary Grabar, titled Yes, Barack Obama, We Are Bitter:
"We know who you’re talking about, Barack Obama, when you talk about Pennsylvania and the Midwest, about small towns where the jobs have left. We know who you’re talking about when you talk about those who “get bitter” and “cling to guns or religion.”
You’re talking about “those people.”
You’re talking about white people who have neither the family connections nor the racial credentials to gain entrance to the world that you inhabit. Many of the people you’re talking about are those whose parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents were immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe who came to these places to work in steel mills, coal mines, and factories. We know the code words.
You’re talking about people whose culture is little known. We have been pretty quiet. We never tried to impose our culture on everyone. We never insisted on putting pictures of ourselves in our native dress into schoolbooks or mandating that our stories and songs be part of the curriculums."
read the rest here
Friday, April 18, 2008
Stark Raving Mad Maher
Bill Maher, the bitter, angry little man who hosts Real Time With Bill Maher, really stepped in it this week.
In one of his usual tirades on his HBO show, he stated that the Pope "used to be a Nazi" and compared him to a cult leader. He then went on to call the Church a "child-abusing religious cult" and "the Bear Stearns of organized pedophilia." "And that’s the Church’s attitude: 'We’re here, we’re qu**r, get used to it,' which is fine, far be it from me to criticize religion."
NewsBusters Mathew Balan reported: "Following a profanity-tinged one-liner concerning the raid on the Texas compound of Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Maher quipped, "In fact, whenever a cult leader sets himself up as God’s infallible wingman here on Earth, lock away the kids. Which is why I’d like to tip off law enforcement to an even larger child-abusing religious cult. Its leader also has a compound, and this guy not only operates outside the bounds of the law, but he used to be a Nazi and he wears funny hats. That’s right, the Pope is coming to America this week and ladies, he’s single!" At the "funny hat" line, Maher displayed a picture of Pope Benedict wearing a wide-brimmed hat called a saturno.
MAHER: Now I know what you’re thinking: "Bill, you shouldn’t be saying that the Catholic Church is no better than this creepy Texas cult." For one thing, altar boys can’t even get pregnant. But really, what tripped up the little cult on the prairie was that they only abused hundreds of kids, not thousands, all over the world. Cults get raided, religions get parades. How does the Catholic Church get away with all of their buggery? Volume, volume, volume!
If you have a few hundred followers, and you let some of them molest children, they call you a cult leader. If have a billion, they call you 'Pope.' It’s like, if you can’t pay your mortgage, you’re a deadbeat. But if you can’t pay a million mortgages, you’re BearStearns and we bail you out. And that is who the Catholic Church is: the BearStearns of organized pedophilia -- too big, too fat. When the current pope was in his previous Vatican job as John Paul’s Dick Cheney, he wrote a letter instructing every Catholic bishop to keep the sex abuse of minors secret until the Statute of Limitations ran out. And that’s the Church’s attitude: 'We’re here, we’re qu**r, get used to it,' which is fine, far be it from me to criticize religion. But just remember one thing: if the Pope was -- instead of a religious figure -- merely the CEO of a nationwide chain of day care centers, where thousands of employees had been caught molesting kids and then covering it up, he'd be arrested faster than you can say 'who wants to touch Mr. Wiggle?'"
Maher's tirade was disgusting, irreverent, obscene and not funny at all. But then, not much of what comes out of his filthy mouth is funny; the bitterness, anger, ridiculousness and short man complex always takes precedent.
HBO, which also has aired the fantastic John Adams series, needs to cancel Maher. Where's the outrage from decent people? Perhaps Don Imus can lead the cause.
Audio of the highlights from this rant are available here.
In one of his usual tirades on his HBO show, he stated that the Pope "used to be a Nazi" and compared him to a cult leader. He then went on to call the Church a "child-abusing religious cult" and "the Bear Stearns of organized pedophilia." "And that’s the Church’s attitude: 'We’re here, we’re qu**r, get used to it,' which is fine, far be it from me to criticize religion."
NewsBusters Mathew Balan reported: "Following a profanity-tinged one-liner concerning the raid on the Texas compound of Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Maher quipped, "In fact, whenever a cult leader sets himself up as God’s infallible wingman here on Earth, lock away the kids. Which is why I’d like to tip off law enforcement to an even larger child-abusing religious cult. Its leader also has a compound, and this guy not only operates outside the bounds of the law, but he used to be a Nazi and he wears funny hats. That’s right, the Pope is coming to America this week and ladies, he’s single!" At the "funny hat" line, Maher displayed a picture of Pope Benedict wearing a wide-brimmed hat called a saturno.
MAHER: Now I know what you’re thinking: "Bill, you shouldn’t be saying that the Catholic Church is no better than this creepy Texas cult." For one thing, altar boys can’t even get pregnant. But really, what tripped up the little cult on the prairie was that they only abused hundreds of kids, not thousands, all over the world. Cults get raided, religions get parades. How does the Catholic Church get away with all of their buggery? Volume, volume, volume!
If you have a few hundred followers, and you let some of them molest children, they call you a cult leader. If have a billion, they call you 'Pope.' It’s like, if you can’t pay your mortgage, you’re a deadbeat. But if you can’t pay a million mortgages, you’re BearStearns and we bail you out. And that is who the Catholic Church is: the BearStearns of organized pedophilia -- too big, too fat. When the current pope was in his previous Vatican job as John Paul’s Dick Cheney, he wrote a letter instructing every Catholic bishop to keep the sex abuse of minors secret until the Statute of Limitations ran out. And that’s the Church’s attitude: 'We’re here, we’re qu**r, get used to it,' which is fine, far be it from me to criticize religion. But just remember one thing: if the Pope was -- instead of a religious figure -- merely the CEO of a nationwide chain of day care centers, where thousands of employees had been caught molesting kids and then covering it up, he'd be arrested faster than you can say 'who wants to touch Mr. Wiggle?'"
Maher's tirade was disgusting, irreverent, obscene and not funny at all. But then, not much of what comes out of his filthy mouth is funny; the bitterness, anger, ridiculousness and short man complex always takes precedent.
HBO, which also has aired the fantastic John Adams series, needs to cancel Maher. Where's the outrage from decent people? Perhaps Don Imus can lead the cause.
Audio of the highlights from this rant are available here.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Controversial Obama Quotes
Right Wing News has compiled the most controversial quotes from Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, & Jermiah Wright along with some bonus quotes about Obama's agenda from conservatives and even a few Pro-Hillary lefties. You can take at "Barack Obama in quotes" here:
http://www.rightwingnews.com/mt331/2008/04/barack_obama_in_quotes_version.php
Here are a few sample quotes from the article:
"And if that child should ever get the chance to travel the world and someone should ask her where is she from, we believe that she should always be able to hold her head high with pride in her voice when she answers, "I am an American." That is the course we seek. That is the change we are calling for." -- Barack Obama
---
"We started the AIDS virus. ...We are only able to maintain our level of living by making sure that Third World people live in grinding poverty." -- Jeremiah Wright
---
"Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed." -- Michelle Obama
---
"I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House. And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002." -- Hillary Clinton
---
Once again, you can read them all at the following address:
http://www.rightwingnews.com/mt331/2008/04/barack_obama_in_quotes_version.php
*****************
elitist, condescending, smug, arrogant, pompous... have I left anything out?
http://www.rightwingnews.com/mt331/2008/04/barack_obama_in_quotes_version.php
Here are a few sample quotes from the article:
"And if that child should ever get the chance to travel the world and someone should ask her where is she from, we believe that she should always be able to hold her head high with pride in her voice when she answers, "I am an American." That is the course we seek. That is the change we are calling for." -- Barack Obama
---
"We started the AIDS virus. ...We are only able to maintain our level of living by making sure that Third World people live in grinding poverty." -- Jeremiah Wright
---
"Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed." -- Michelle Obama
---
"I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House. And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002." -- Hillary Clinton
---
Once again, you can read them all at the following address:
http://www.rightwingnews.com/mt331/2008/04/barack_obama_in_quotes_version.php
*****************
elitist, condescending, smug, arrogant, pompous... have I left anything out?
Monday, April 14, 2008
Obesity: A Protected Category?
Massachusetts is trying to one-up California on crazy legislation. There is a movement by obese persons to pass legislation that would see the words "height" and "weight" added to the existing anti-discrimination laws.
Yes, obese persons are trying to declare that it's not their fault they are obese and they can't be discriminated against.
When denied elective surgery by her doctor, one woman decided to advance the fat cause. Gail Burns testified before the Massachusetts legislature how it wasn't fair. "This is decided solely on the basis of a number on the scale, not an examination of the patient. I was denied surgery," read Burns, a church secretary and theater reviewer.
According to Burns and "fat activist" Marilyn Wann, Massachusetts would not be the first state to adopt this type of legislation; a similar bill was approved in Michigan and several cities - including San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Calif., Madison, Wis., and Washington, D.C. - have instated their own variations.
A number on the scale? Do you think that her doctor was perhaps concerned that her size and physical condition made surgery a risk he was unwilling to take?
I remember writing a research paper in the 6th grade on obesity and the condition, "overweight." Even in 1973, before the health and exercise "industry" and awareness began, doctors recognized the need for self-discipline, diet, and exercise.
Ask anyone who has had to lose weight, how difficult, but possible it is. I've had four back surgeries - all within six years. I never had a weight problem before back surgery, but after my physical routine was dramatically altered because of a ruptured disc years, I slowly put on extra pounds. However, after the 4th and final surgery, with careful diet discipline, and power walking, the weight came off and stayed off. No excuses - even rutpured discs are not an excuse.
That's exactly what it becomes - an excuse. Ms. Burns who was denied elective surgery, is looking for excuses and reasons for her hurt feelings because a doctor told her that she was too fat and consequently unhealthy for him to do surgery. I see that. I understand. But stop with the legislation. Look in the mirror and decide what you can or are willing to do about it.
Work or blame. Accept, or deny. Can you do something about it, or not? And if not, why do we need to legislate for obese guilt? Obese persons' poor health is not something that everyone should have to pay for, any more than we should have to pay for smokers, or drug users health problems.
The health issues that accompany overweight as too numerous to list. From bad knees, ankles, and feet to heart problems and even glaucoma, obese people are walking heart-attacks. And unlike a handicapped person with no legs or Cerebral Palsy, obese people can change their condition and situation.
Obesity is no handicap. If is a self-imposed condition (in most cases). When doctors issue handicapped license plates to the obese, they should be challenged. What the obese person needs is more opportunities for exercise, not coddling and legislation.
"I hope people in Massachusetts will take a courageous step. If we establish civil rights for height and weight, we're setting a standard for self-worth," Wann, of San Francisco, added. Wann also attended the hearing. (Of course she's from San Francisco)
Self- worth - now we are legislating self-worth. What next? Legislation against bad attitudes, or for people bad hair, bad skin, and ugly faces? If these people spent even half of the time exercising as they do sitting around and complaining how unfair life is and how they want to be accepted, they'd all be 100 pounds lighter.
The Apologists for the Hispanic family
Journalist Heather MacDonald together with a report in The Economist just confirmed what so many of us have feared: the Mexican culture in America is rapidly and dramatically entering a serious danger zone, with at exhorbanant illegitimatcy, poverty and gangs. For many conservatives, pushing to close the borders is about more than just illegal immigration. And it's not Xenophobic to say so.
***********
“The Hispanic Family: The Case for National Action” By Heather Mac Donald
Those of us who have documented the growing underclass culture among second- and third-generation Hispanic Americans have grown accustomed to being called bigoted “xenophobes” by open-borders conservatives. For some reason, these same conservatives don’t object to anyone decrying the consequences of black illegitimacy rates, or the toll of black gang culture on community life. But point out the high Hispanic illegitimacy and school drop-out rates, or the march of ever-younger Hispanics into gangs, and you can be sure of being accused of “anti-Hispanic cant” by people who work overtime to maintain the myth of the redemptive Hispanic.
read the rest here or continue below:
The apologists for the Hispanic family would have to add to their growing list of anti-Hispanic bigots teens like Liliana, an American-born senior at Manual Arts High School near downtown Los Angeles. “This year was the worst for pregnancies,” she told me in 2004. “A lot of girls got abortions; some dropped out.” There’s no stigma attached to getting pregnant, Liliana reported. The myth-makers might also talk to teachers, who say that for many Hispanic male students, being a “player” now includes fathering children out-of-wedlock.
I am unaware that any open-borders conservatives have taken up my suggestion, but the Economist somehow managed to get some sense of the culture. “Machismo” among young Latinos in Fresno, Ca., makes them less likely to use condoms in their teen trysts, the Economist learned. Cohabitation is seen as normal among the poor, and single parenthood merely regrettable, the magazine reports.
*****************
read the entire column The Hispanic Family: The Case for National Action
***********
“The Hispanic Family: The Case for National Action” By Heather Mac Donald
Those of us who have documented the growing underclass culture among second- and third-generation Hispanic Americans have grown accustomed to being called bigoted “xenophobes” by open-borders conservatives. For some reason, these same conservatives don’t object to anyone decrying the consequences of black illegitimacy rates, or the toll of black gang culture on community life. But point out the high Hispanic illegitimacy and school drop-out rates, or the march of ever-younger Hispanics into gangs, and you can be sure of being accused of “anti-Hispanic cant” by people who work overtime to maintain the myth of the redemptive Hispanic.
read the rest here or continue below:
The apologists for the Hispanic family would have to add to their growing list of anti-Hispanic bigots teens like Liliana, an American-born senior at Manual Arts High School near downtown Los Angeles. “This year was the worst for pregnancies,” she told me in 2004. “A lot of girls got abortions; some dropped out.” There’s no stigma attached to getting pregnant, Liliana reported. The myth-makers might also talk to teachers, who say that for many Hispanic male students, being a “player” now includes fathering children out-of-wedlock.
I am unaware that any open-borders conservatives have taken up my suggestion, but the Economist somehow managed to get some sense of the culture. “Machismo” among young Latinos in Fresno, Ca., makes them less likely to use condoms in their teen trysts, the Economist learned. Cohabitation is seen as normal among the poor, and single parenthood merely regrettable, the magazine reports.
*****************
read the entire column The Hispanic Family: The Case for National Action
SNOB-ama
Here’s the original SNOB-ama remark from Barry Obama:
And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.
I don't know. A comment as stupid and inflammatory as that makes me just want to go out to the shooting range for a little target practice. Or maybe go bowling instead. And at least I scored a 49 the last time I went bowling.
Get your SNOB-ama T-shirts and SNOB-wear here.
Read Lisa Schiffren's piece at NRO: What does Barack Obama, of the international upbringing and elite education actually know about ordinary Americans?
... and see how it came to be: Photoshop of the week: Typical liberal snob; Update: New Obama spin - “I didn’t say it as well as I could have”
and why: Snob-ama disses pro-gun, religious, anti-illegal immigration activists in Penn.
Who does he think he's kidding?
Friday, April 11, 2008
Right-Of-Center Bloggers Select The Most & Least Desired Vice-President For John McCain
I participated in the poll that Right Wing News performed. They polled more than 230 right-of-center bloggers (45 replied) on their favorite and least favorite choices for John McCain's VP. You can see who came out on top -- and on bottom. (here for the poll)
Specifically, we were asked to rank 1-5, people we would most like to see as John McCain's Vice-President and the 1-5 people we'd least like to see as John McCain's Vice-President.
All participating bloggers were provided with the following list of potential candidates although they were also allowed to select nominees who were not listed:
Haley Barbour: Governor, Mississippi
Marsha Blackburn: Congressman, Tennessee
Richard Burr: Senator, North Carolina
Jeb Bush: Former Governor, Florida
Tom Coburn: Senator, Oklahoma
Charlie Crist: Governor, Florida
Jim DeMint: Senator, South Carolina
Elizabeth Dole: Senator, North Carolina
Tommy Franks: Former General
Newt Gingrich: Former Congressman, Georgia
Rudy Giuliani: Former Mayor, New York
Lindsey Graham: Senator, South Carolina
Phil Gramm: Former Senator, Texas
Mike Huckabee: Former Governor, Arkansas
Duncan Hunter: Congressman, California
Kay Bailey Hutchison: Senator, Texas
Bobby Jindal: Governor, Louisiana
John Kasich: Congressman, Ohio
Joe Lieberman: Senator, Connecticut
Mel Martinez: Senator, Florida
Sarah Palin: Governor, Alaska
Tim Pawlenty: Governor, Minnesota
Mike Pence: Congressman, Indiana
Rick Perry: Governor, Texas
David Petraeus: General
Rob Portman: Congressman, Ohio
Colin Powell: Former Secretary of State
Condi Rice: Secretary of State
Tom Ridge: Former Governor, Pennsylvania
Mitt Romney: Former Governor, Massachusetts
Mark Sanford: Governor, South Carolina
Michael Steele: Former Lieutenant Governor, Maryland
Fred Thompson: Former Senator, Tennessee
John Thune: Senator, South Dakota
JC Watts: Former Congressman, Oklahoma
Christie Todd Whitman: Former Governor, New Jersey
The bloggers were allowed to make 1-5 ranked selections. Those selections were weighted as follows...
1) Worth 2 points
2 or 3) Worth 1.5 points
4 or 5) Worth 1 point
So, for example, a candidate who received two first place votes (4 points), a third place vote (1.5 points), & and three fifth place votes (3 points), would receive a grand total of 8.5 points.
Also, keep in mind that the scoring cut-off to be included in the lists below was 5 points. If a candidate received less than that, his/her score was not listed. Also keep in mind that not everyone put in 5 selections for each area.
Here are the selections that were made with the total number of points each candidate tallied following his/her name in parentheses...
The Most Desired Vice-President For John McCain
18) Rudy Giuliani: Former Mayor, New York (5.0)
17) Tim Pawlenty: Governor, Minnesota (5.5)
16) Jim DeMint: Senator, South Carolina (6.0)
15) Mike Pence: Congressman, Indiana (7.0)
14) Phil Gramm: Former Senator, Texas (7.0)
13) Elizabeth Dole: Senator, North Carolina (7.0)
12) Sarah Palin: Governor, Alaska (9.0)
11) David Petraeus: General (10.5)
10) Newt Gingrich: Former Congressman, Georgia (11.0)
9) JC Watts: Former Congressman, Oklahoma (12.0)
8) Haley Barbour: Governor, Mississippi (13.5)
7) Mark Sanford: Governor, South Carolina (16.5)
6) Duncan Hunter: Congressman, California (17.0)
5) Bobby Jindal: Governor, Louisiana (20.0)
4) Condi Rice: Secretary of State (22.0)
3) Fred Thompson: Former Senator, Tennessee (26.5)
2) Michael Steele: Former Lieutenant Governor, Maryland (28.5)
1) Mitt Romney: Former Governor, Massachusetts (29.5)
The Least Desired Vice-President For John McCain
15) Tom Ridge: Former Governor, Pennsylvania (5.0)
14) Tommy Franks: Former General (5.0)
13) Tim Pawlenty: Governor, Minnesota (5.5)
12) Rudy Giuliani: Former Mayor, New York (7.0)
11) Newt Gingrich: Former Congressman, Georgia (7.5)
10) Elizabeth Dole: Senator, North Carolina (7.5)
9) Mel Martinez: Senator, Florida (10.0)
8) Condi Rice: Secretary of State (16.5)
7) Christie Todd Whitman: Former Governor, New Jersey (19.5)
6) Joe Lieberman: Senator, Connecticut (19.5)
5) Charlie Crist: Governor, Florida (20.0)
4) Colin Powell: Former Secretary of State (23.0)
3) Jeb Bush: Former Governor, Florida (23.5)
2) Lindsey Graham: Senator, South Carolina (26.5)
1) Mike Huckabee: Former Governor, Arkansas (42.5)
poll by John Hawkins of Right Wing News
my choices?
Candidates I would most like to see McCain Choose as his VP:
1) Mitt Romney
2) Bobby Jindal
3) Duncan Hunter
4) Michael Steele
5) Tommy Franks - I love Tommy Franks
Candidates I would least like to see McCain choose to be his VP:
1) Mike Huckabee
2) Condoleeza Rice
3) Colin Powell
4) Jeb Bush
5) any gratuitous woman vote - Dole, Whitman, Snow, Blackburn, Hutchison
Specifically, we were asked to rank 1-5, people we would most like to see as John McCain's Vice-President and the 1-5 people we'd least like to see as John McCain's Vice-President.
All participating bloggers were provided with the following list of potential candidates although they were also allowed to select nominees who were not listed:
Haley Barbour: Governor, Mississippi
Marsha Blackburn: Congressman, Tennessee
Richard Burr: Senator, North Carolina
Jeb Bush: Former Governor, Florida
Tom Coburn: Senator, Oklahoma
Charlie Crist: Governor, Florida
Jim DeMint: Senator, South Carolina
Elizabeth Dole: Senator, North Carolina
Tommy Franks: Former General
Newt Gingrich: Former Congressman, Georgia
Rudy Giuliani: Former Mayor, New York
Lindsey Graham: Senator, South Carolina
Phil Gramm: Former Senator, Texas
Mike Huckabee: Former Governor, Arkansas
Duncan Hunter: Congressman, California
Kay Bailey Hutchison: Senator, Texas
Bobby Jindal: Governor, Louisiana
John Kasich: Congressman, Ohio
Joe Lieberman: Senator, Connecticut
Mel Martinez: Senator, Florida
Sarah Palin: Governor, Alaska
Tim Pawlenty: Governor, Minnesota
Mike Pence: Congressman, Indiana
Rick Perry: Governor, Texas
David Petraeus: General
Rob Portman: Congressman, Ohio
Colin Powell: Former Secretary of State
Condi Rice: Secretary of State
Tom Ridge: Former Governor, Pennsylvania
Mitt Romney: Former Governor, Massachusetts
Mark Sanford: Governor, South Carolina
Michael Steele: Former Lieutenant Governor, Maryland
Fred Thompson: Former Senator, Tennessee
John Thune: Senator, South Dakota
JC Watts: Former Congressman, Oklahoma
Christie Todd Whitman: Former Governor, New Jersey
The bloggers were allowed to make 1-5 ranked selections. Those selections were weighted as follows...
1) Worth 2 points
2 or 3) Worth 1.5 points
4 or 5) Worth 1 point
So, for example, a candidate who received two first place votes (4 points), a third place vote (1.5 points), & and three fifth place votes (3 points), would receive a grand total of 8.5 points.
Also, keep in mind that the scoring cut-off to be included in the lists below was 5 points. If a candidate received less than that, his/her score was not listed. Also keep in mind that not everyone put in 5 selections for each area.
Here are the selections that were made with the total number of points each candidate tallied following his/her name in parentheses...
The Most Desired Vice-President For John McCain
18) Rudy Giuliani: Former Mayor, New York (5.0)
17) Tim Pawlenty: Governor, Minnesota (5.5)
16) Jim DeMint: Senator, South Carolina (6.0)
15) Mike Pence: Congressman, Indiana (7.0)
14) Phil Gramm: Former Senator, Texas (7.0)
13) Elizabeth Dole: Senator, North Carolina (7.0)
12) Sarah Palin: Governor, Alaska (9.0)
11) David Petraeus: General (10.5)
10) Newt Gingrich: Former Congressman, Georgia (11.0)
9) JC Watts: Former Congressman, Oklahoma (12.0)
8) Haley Barbour: Governor, Mississippi (13.5)
7) Mark Sanford: Governor, South Carolina (16.5)
6) Duncan Hunter: Congressman, California (17.0)
5) Bobby Jindal: Governor, Louisiana (20.0)
4) Condi Rice: Secretary of State (22.0)
3) Fred Thompson: Former Senator, Tennessee (26.5)
2) Michael Steele: Former Lieutenant Governor, Maryland (28.5)
1) Mitt Romney: Former Governor, Massachusetts (29.5)
The Least Desired Vice-President For John McCain
15) Tom Ridge: Former Governor, Pennsylvania (5.0)
14) Tommy Franks: Former General (5.0)
13) Tim Pawlenty: Governor, Minnesota (5.5)
12) Rudy Giuliani: Former Mayor, New York (7.0)
11) Newt Gingrich: Former Congressman, Georgia (7.5)
10) Elizabeth Dole: Senator, North Carolina (7.5)
9) Mel Martinez: Senator, Florida (10.0)
8) Condi Rice: Secretary of State (16.5)
7) Christie Todd Whitman: Former Governor, New Jersey (19.5)
6) Joe Lieberman: Senator, Connecticut (19.5)
5) Charlie Crist: Governor, Florida (20.0)
4) Colin Powell: Former Secretary of State (23.0)
3) Jeb Bush: Former Governor, Florida (23.5)
2) Lindsey Graham: Senator, South Carolina (26.5)
1) Mike Huckabee: Former Governor, Arkansas (42.5)
poll by John Hawkins of Right Wing News
my choices?
Candidates I would most like to see McCain Choose as his VP:
1) Mitt Romney
2) Bobby Jindal
3) Duncan Hunter
4) Michael Steele
5) Tommy Franks - I love Tommy Franks
Candidates I would least like to see McCain choose to be his VP:
1) Mike Huckabee
2) Condoleeza Rice
3) Colin Powell
4) Jeb Bush
5) any gratuitous woman vote - Dole, Whitman, Snow, Blackburn, Hutchison
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Lipstick On A Pig
If you put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig. I’m not picking on pigs so don’t send me emails. However, I am not a fan of Socialists, however you dress them up.
“New Progressives,” “Progressive Centrists,” “Progressive,” “Progressive Democrat,” it’s still lipstick on a pig. A Socialist is still a pro-government hack who believes in the redistribution of wealth (except their own), promotes welfare programs and other free stuff, believes in the nationalization of business and industry, and mostly is about people who deal in ideas, not reality.
I have a friend at work who originates from Canada. He’s always hard-timing me about how great Canada’s socialized healthcare system is. He is most vociferous during our health insurance annual open enrollment, at which time I have to announce to our employees the inevitable increase of health care premiums.
This year he got me thinking. Maybe he’s right. Maybe you can put lipstick on a pig, and enjoy a piggy-kiss. Maybe we conservatives should stop working so hard, and just sit back and enjoy all of the free stuff we already pay for.
Think about it; every level in government has Socialists fighting to give away free stuff; from our Mayor to the two Democratic Presidential candidates – they all believe in Socialism. In fact, they are trying to give us more welfare programs and “free” health care. So what am I fighting?
Socialists have a history of great ideas. Look at how well busing worked to integrate public schools. Or how lovely public housing is, and the high quality of life the residents of the HUD Section 8 high rise apartments and project housing have. And don’t forget the superior health care the socialists provide. Why pay for health insurance when for free, you can see the same doctor I see, receive the same prescriptions, and get treated in the same hospitals. Affirmative action was a great idea as well – nothing like affirmative action to boost the ole’ self-esteem of minorities and women.
The coercive power of the state does not improve the human condition. French Revolutionary Gracchus Babeuf thought that one must take by force through the power of the state to implement socialism. Babeuf came up with the idea of outlawing private property so that all could be "equal." "Liberty, equality, fraternity," said the French revolutionaries. The German Socialist Freiderich Engels came up with the idea that all private property is theft and that competition and capital leads to a concentration of wealth, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
It is fitting that Karl Marx is the most famous socialist of all. Objective biographers detail how much of a deadbeat he really was and how he spent his entire life mooching off others, like many socialists. They don’t want to work, but work at mooching for a living. Further, he had virtually no contact with, nor did he want anything to do with, the poor working-man he claimed to want to help. Does this sound at all familiar? Hillary Clinton comes to mind. And on a local level, Mayor Fargo, Councilpersons Rob Fong, and Sandy Sheedy, as well as the rest of the City Council, don’t want anything to do with the working-man they claim to want to help. It’s all for show, it’s all for votes and reelection. The majority of residents of Land Park, and Curtis Park, East Sac, The Sacramento Bee Publishers and Editorial Board, and Limousine Liberals talk about social programs, and wanting to “help” the little people, but think attending black-tie fundraisers is how it is done.
Author Joshua Muravchik (Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism) estimates that more than 100 million people were murdered in the name of socialism since 1917. Does that mean anything to these self-proclaimed socialist libs? Or do they not follow history? That would be too much work, after all.
So, it’s not just about the free stuff. Free health care, food stamps, rent, and education, all come with a hefty price. Besides losing any respect you may have had for yourself, Socialism will put you will be on par with everyone else – except for the fat-cat leaders who live exceedingly well. The “level the playing field” concept is always from a liberal. That’s why liberals tell their kids that they are all winners; no one is a loser.
Washington D.C. Court of Appeals Judge Janice Rogers Brown wrote on Socialism: “Instead of celebrating capitalism’s virtues, we offer it grudging acceptance, contemptuous tolerance, but only for its capacity to feed the insatiable maw of socialism. We do not conclude that socialism suffers from a fundamental flaw. We conclude instead that its ends are worthy of any sacrifice – including our freedom.”
Our Liberal Democrat-dominated state legislature as well as our own liberal, democrat-dominated city, is chipping away at personal responsibility, accountability, and our freedom.
Government derives its power from the consent of the governed, not the other way around. No amount of free stuff is worth losing more control and more liberty to the socialists. Pay attention city leaders. Your citizens are growing weary of your excesses.
Socialism appears to be a wonderful panacea to the naïve, to the physically and intellectually lazy… until the bodies start piling up.
“New Progressives,” “Progressive Centrists,” “Progressive,” “Progressive Democrat,” it’s still lipstick on a pig. A Socialist is still a pro-government hack who believes in the redistribution of wealth (except their own), promotes welfare programs and other free stuff, believes in the nationalization of business and industry, and mostly is about people who deal in ideas, not reality.
I have a friend at work who originates from Canada. He’s always hard-timing me about how great Canada’s socialized healthcare system is. He is most vociferous during our health insurance annual open enrollment, at which time I have to announce to our employees the inevitable increase of health care premiums.
This year he got me thinking. Maybe he’s right. Maybe you can put lipstick on a pig, and enjoy a piggy-kiss. Maybe we conservatives should stop working so hard, and just sit back and enjoy all of the free stuff we already pay for.
Think about it; every level in government has Socialists fighting to give away free stuff; from our Mayor to the two Democratic Presidential candidates – they all believe in Socialism. In fact, they are trying to give us more welfare programs and “free” health care. So what am I fighting?
Socialists have a history of great ideas. Look at how well busing worked to integrate public schools. Or how lovely public housing is, and the high quality of life the residents of the HUD Section 8 high rise apartments and project housing have. And don’t forget the superior health care the socialists provide. Why pay for health insurance when for free, you can see the same doctor I see, receive the same prescriptions, and get treated in the same hospitals. Affirmative action was a great idea as well – nothing like affirmative action to boost the ole’ self-esteem of minorities and women.
The coercive power of the state does not improve the human condition. French Revolutionary Gracchus Babeuf thought that one must take by force through the power of the state to implement socialism. Babeuf came up with the idea of outlawing private property so that all could be "equal." "Liberty, equality, fraternity," said the French revolutionaries. The German Socialist Freiderich Engels came up with the idea that all private property is theft and that competition and capital leads to a concentration of wealth, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
It is fitting that Karl Marx is the most famous socialist of all. Objective biographers detail how much of a deadbeat he really was and how he spent his entire life mooching off others, like many socialists. They don’t want to work, but work at mooching for a living. Further, he had virtually no contact with, nor did he want anything to do with, the poor working-man he claimed to want to help. Does this sound at all familiar? Hillary Clinton comes to mind. And on a local level, Mayor Fargo, Councilpersons Rob Fong, and Sandy Sheedy, as well as the rest of the City Council, don’t want anything to do with the working-man they claim to want to help. It’s all for show, it’s all for votes and reelection. The majority of residents of Land Park, and Curtis Park, East Sac, The Sacramento Bee Publishers and Editorial Board, and Limousine Liberals talk about social programs, and wanting to “help” the little people, but think attending black-tie fundraisers is how it is done.
Author Joshua Muravchik (Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism) estimates that more than 100 million people were murdered in the name of socialism since 1917. Does that mean anything to these self-proclaimed socialist libs? Or do they not follow history? That would be too much work, after all.
So, it’s not just about the free stuff. Free health care, food stamps, rent, and education, all come with a hefty price. Besides losing any respect you may have had for yourself, Socialism will put you will be on par with everyone else – except for the fat-cat leaders who live exceedingly well. The “level the playing field” concept is always from a liberal. That’s why liberals tell their kids that they are all winners; no one is a loser.
Washington D.C. Court of Appeals Judge Janice Rogers Brown wrote on Socialism: “Instead of celebrating capitalism’s virtues, we offer it grudging acceptance, contemptuous tolerance, but only for its capacity to feed the insatiable maw of socialism. We do not conclude that socialism suffers from a fundamental flaw. We conclude instead that its ends are worthy of any sacrifice – including our freedom.”
Our Liberal Democrat-dominated state legislature as well as our own liberal, democrat-dominated city, is chipping away at personal responsibility, accountability, and our freedom.
Government derives its power from the consent of the governed, not the other way around. No amount of free stuff is worth losing more control and more liberty to the socialists. Pay attention city leaders. Your citizens are growing weary of your excesses.
Socialism appears to be a wonderful panacea to the naïve, to the physically and intellectually lazy… until the bodies start piling up.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Lying Liar, and More of Her Lies
... as if anyone is surprised about Hillary getting fired for telling lies...
You know that experience she's always touting? That would probably be the past 37 years of perfecting her lies.
*********************
Dan Calabrese’s new column tells the fabulous story:
As Hillary Clinton came under increasing scrutiny for her story about facing sniper fire in Bosnia, one question that arose was whether she has engaged in a pattern of lying.
The now-retired general counsel and chief of staff of the House Judiciary Committee, who supervised Hillary when she worked on the Watergate investigation, says Hillary’s history of lies and unethical behavior goes back farther – and goes much deeper – than anyone realizes.
Jerry Zeifman, a lifelong Democrat, supervised the work of 27-year-old Hillary Rodham on the committee. Hillary got a job working on the investigation at the behest of her former law professor, Burke Marshall, who was also Sen. Ted Kennedy’s chief counsel in the Chappaquiddick affair. When the investigation was over, Zeifman fired Hillary from the committee staff and refused to give her a letter of recommendation – one of only three people who earned that dubious distinction in Zeifman’s 17-year career.
read more here
****************
Wait! there's more!
Hillary Clinton didn't pay health insurance bills for her campaign staff.
During the first two months of the year, the [Hillary] campaign did not pay down any of that debt. In fact, it accrued another $16,000 in unpaid bills last month, and it finished the month owing Aetna $229,000. the debts reported: It’s not just the size of Clinton’s debts that’s noteworthy. It’s also that her unpaid bills extend beyond the realm of high-priced consultants who typically let bills slide as part of the cost of doing business with powerful clientele whose success is linked to their own. Some of Clinton’s biggest debts are to pollster and chief strategist Mark Penn, who’s owed $2.5 million; direct mail company MSHC Partners, which is owed $807,000; phone-banking firm Spoken Hub, which is waiting for $771,000; and ad maker Mandy Grunwald, who’s owed $467,000.
...and if you need more proof, read William Saffire's 1996 essay:
Blizzard of Lies
By WILLIAM SAFIRE Americans of all political persuasions are coming to the sad realization that our First Lady -- a woman of undoubted talents who was a role model for many in her generation -- is a congenital liar.
Drip by drip, like Whitewater torture, the case is being made that she is compelled to mislead, and to ensnare her subordinates and friends in a web of deceit.
1. Remember the story she told about studying The Wall Street Journal to explain her 10,000 percent profit in 1979 commodity trading? We now know that was a lie told to turn aside accusations that as the Governor's wife she profited corruptly, her account being run by a lawyer for state poultry interests through a disreputable broker.
She lied for good reason: To admit otherwise would be to confess taking, and paying taxes on, what some think amounted to a $100,000 bribe.
2. The abuse of Presidential power known as Travelgate elicited another series of lies....
3. In the aftermath of the apparent suicide of her former partner and closest confidant, White House Deputy Counsel Vincent Foster... [h]er closest friends and aides, under oath, have been blatantly disremembering this likely obstruction of justice, and may have to pay for supporting Hillary's lie with jail terms.
Again, the lying was not irrational. Investigators believe that damning records from the Rose Law Firm, wrongfully kept in Vincent Foster's White House office, were spirited out in the dead of night and hidden from the law for two years -- in Hillary's closet...
The records show Hillary Clinton was lying when she denied actively representing a criminal enterprise known as the Madison S.& L., and indicate she may have conspired with Web Hubbell's father-in-law to make a sham land deal that cost taxpayers $3 million...
By concealing the Madison billing records two days beyond the statute of limitations, Hillary evaded a civil suit by bamboozled bank regulators....
"Why didn't she just come clean at the beginning?" She had good reasons to lie; she is in the longtime habit of lying; and she has never been called to account for lying herself or in suborning lying in her aides and friends....
excerpt read the COMPLETE ARTICLE
***************
How can her followers not despise her? The web she spins, the lies that flow freely and easily from her lips, should be an embarrassment - to her as well as the people who claim to support her.
You know that experience she's always touting? That would probably be the past 37 years of perfecting her lies.
*********************
Dan Calabrese’s new column tells the fabulous story:
As Hillary Clinton came under increasing scrutiny for her story about facing sniper fire in Bosnia, one question that arose was whether she has engaged in a pattern of lying.
The now-retired general counsel and chief of staff of the House Judiciary Committee, who supervised Hillary when she worked on the Watergate investigation, says Hillary’s history of lies and unethical behavior goes back farther – and goes much deeper – than anyone realizes.
Jerry Zeifman, a lifelong Democrat, supervised the work of 27-year-old Hillary Rodham on the committee. Hillary got a job working on the investigation at the behest of her former law professor, Burke Marshall, who was also Sen. Ted Kennedy’s chief counsel in the Chappaquiddick affair. When the investigation was over, Zeifman fired Hillary from the committee staff and refused to give her a letter of recommendation – one of only three people who earned that dubious distinction in Zeifman’s 17-year career.
read more here
****************
Wait! there's more!
Hillary Clinton didn't pay health insurance bills for her campaign staff.
During the first two months of the year, the [Hillary] campaign did not pay down any of that debt. In fact, it accrued another $16,000 in unpaid bills last month, and it finished the month owing Aetna $229,000. the debts reported: It’s not just the size of Clinton’s debts that’s noteworthy. It’s also that her unpaid bills extend beyond the realm of high-priced consultants who typically let bills slide as part of the cost of doing business with powerful clientele whose success is linked to their own. Some of Clinton’s biggest debts are to pollster and chief strategist Mark Penn, who’s owed $2.5 million; direct mail company MSHC Partners, which is owed $807,000; phone-banking firm Spoken Hub, which is waiting for $771,000; and ad maker Mandy Grunwald, who’s owed $467,000.
...and if you need more proof, read William Saffire's 1996 essay:
Blizzard of Lies
By WILLIAM SAFIRE Americans of all political persuasions are coming to the sad realization that our First Lady -- a woman of undoubted talents who was a role model for many in her generation -- is a congenital liar.
Drip by drip, like Whitewater torture, the case is being made that she is compelled to mislead, and to ensnare her subordinates and friends in a web of deceit.
1. Remember the story she told about studying The Wall Street Journal to explain her 10,000 percent profit in 1979 commodity trading? We now know that was a lie told to turn aside accusations that as the Governor's wife she profited corruptly, her account being run by a lawyer for state poultry interests through a disreputable broker.
She lied for good reason: To admit otherwise would be to confess taking, and paying taxes on, what some think amounted to a $100,000 bribe.
2. The abuse of Presidential power known as Travelgate elicited another series of lies....
3. In the aftermath of the apparent suicide of her former partner and closest confidant, White House Deputy Counsel Vincent Foster... [h]er closest friends and aides, under oath, have been blatantly disremembering this likely obstruction of justice, and may have to pay for supporting Hillary's lie with jail terms.
Again, the lying was not irrational. Investigators believe that damning records from the Rose Law Firm, wrongfully kept in Vincent Foster's White House office, were spirited out in the dead of night and hidden from the law for two years -- in Hillary's closet...
The records show Hillary Clinton was lying when she denied actively representing a criminal enterprise known as the Madison S.& L., and indicate she may have conspired with Web Hubbell's father-in-law to make a sham land deal that cost taxpayers $3 million...
By concealing the Madison billing records two days beyond the statute of limitations, Hillary evaded a civil suit by bamboozled bank regulators....
"Why didn't she just come clean at the beginning?" She had good reasons to lie; she is in the longtime habit of lying; and she has never been called to account for lying herself or in suborning lying in her aides and friends....
excerpt read the COMPLETE ARTICLE
***************
How can her followers not despise her? The web she spins, the lies that flow freely and easily from her lips, should be an embarrassment - to her as well as the people who claim to support her.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Would You Like A Saucer Of Milk With That Comment, Heather?
With the race for Sacramento Mayor heating up, I wrote this column for The Sacramento Union Friday March 24th. I will post the follow-up column tomorrow.
*************************
On March 5, former NBA player and Sacramento native Kevin Johnson announced that he is challenging two-term (and wanna-be three-term) Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo in the upcoming municipal election in June.
Described by NBA.com as “blindingly quick and possessing the ability to shoot or dish off his drives, Kevin Johnson can be as difficult to defend one-on-one as any point guard in basketball.” I am hoping that this translates to his political career. He’s going to need those fast-moving skills in the turbulent flight ahead.
After Johnson’s announcement, Fargo sneered on KCRA Channel 3, “If he is going to question my record, I get to question his. He will need to open up his books and explain to the taxpayers where all that money went in Oak Park… He has a fair amount of back taxes owed. He has some liens on his property. He will have to clear that up.”
Meow. Someone offer Mayor Fargo a saucer of milk.
While Bee columnist Marcos Breton contends, “Fargo didn’t just take the gloves off – she put on her brass knuckles,” I find her words more malicious and ill tempered. In other words, you are finally seeing the real Heather Fargo and not the tame, folksy persona she prefers in public.
Where Fargo made her big slip up was telling the Bee, “People are amazed by how many 9-0 votes we have,” referring to how everyone on the city council is like-minded. “What (he) is doing is running against the entire council, all of our records, and we have to defend what we’ve done together—and I think there is a lot.”
Another meow, Heather.
The Sacramento City Council members are also the same people fouling up all of the local boards and commissions in Sacramento—of course they all vote 9-0 on issues. They all share a bed as well as the same political consultant. Fargo is so out of touch, she is touting this political incest as a good thing.
That’s reason enough to want a different mayor—especially someone who has been the recipient of the city’s attack machine as soon as he started showing interest in running.
Just as with Hillary Clinton’s claim of “vast experience,” Sacramento residents don’t like the “experience” we have had with Heather Fargo. She has never been responsible for employees on her own dime or had to operate within a real budget or has even been on the receiving end of the redevelopment process. To his strengths as a candidate, Kevin Johnson has done those things. He has real business experience and responsibility where Heather Fargo has none. Spending other people’s money does not count, although she’s really good at that, as her “vast travel experience” is evidence. If only “Sister City” residents could vote.
Fargo told KCRA Channel 3 that voters should consider both her and Johnson’s records before choosing a candidate.
“We both have been entrusted with public money, taxpayer money and I think we need to review those records, and I think the public will be much more comfortable with mine,” Fargo said. “The improvements that he’s touting in Oak Park were all done with taxpayer money and that’s why we have to take a look at that.”
Meow, meow. Heather Fargo and the city council spend taxpayer money faster than we can get those property tax checks in the mail every April and December. The K Street Mall is an excellent example of wasteful spending and even worse oversight.
Let us remember the outrageous $8 million purchase of the Joe Sun & Co. building and store inventory—only a fraction of the $28 million spent on the hideous K Street redevelopment in just 2006. It seems that the city lightweights blew their budget on Joe Sun’s ugly building and now can’t afford to pay Moe Mohanna market value for his property. Heather Fargo is already demonstrating that she’s just another unsophisticated liberal harridan with her own self-interest in mind. She’s had eight years to show us otherwise. But she hasn’t.
Finally, Sacramento has a real race for mayor. Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the fasten seatbelt sign. Return your trays to the upright and locked position. If further action becomes necessary, The Sacramento Union crew will inform you of this in a timely manner. We are about to encounter some heavy turbulence.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Human Predators
Someone stole my geese. A couple of months ago, my geese, "Click" & "Clack," voluntarily moved from my backyard across the street to the big city park. There were other domestic geese living in the pond, and my geese joined them.Saturday morning, they were gone. Since December, at least 11 of the domestic geese in the park's pond are gone.
Domestic geese don't fly nor do they migrate. They live at the pond as one, happy little flock.
Animal Control told me that the city is having a big problem with Southeast Asians stealing ducks and geese from city parks. If that is the case, then my Click and Clack were sold to an Asian market.
I am sickened. I am repulsed. And if the thieves are caught, it's just a misdemeanor.
Why did I have geese?
Last March 2007, two goslings appeared on my doormat - two fuzzy, yellow chicks. Except for the big feet, they looked like ducklings. Their parents had been hanging around my yard for a few weeks, so I figured they were nesting in the bushes. But the parent geese left the week-old goslings one day, and went back to the park. They came around periodically, but never showed interest in their babies. I have since found out that Chinese geese aren't always the best parents.
They would have ended up as raccoon food if we left them outside all night, so we brought them in the house and put them in a dog crate. I went online to find out what to feed them. The first night, it was mashed up cat food. The next day I went to the feed store and bought waterfowl starter feed. The rest is history.
They waddled around my kitchen for a couple of months. I put out baking pans of water for them to play in. I made them a nest with soft alfalfa hay inside of a plastic bin - the kind that fits under the bed. They ate a diet of waterfowl food, Romain lettuce and dandelion greens.
They grew and grew and grew. Their yellow down was pushed out by funny-looking feathers. They started to get aggressive, chasing visiting teenage boys, around the kitchen (that was a sight!). We all got a few goose bites. They went through that awkward stage where their feet and legs go so big that they looked like Ostriches.
We eventually moved them outside into our backyard. It is fenced with wrought iron fencing and has a big pond and fountain in it. A friend gave me an extra-large dog cage where they slept at night, safe from predators on their bed of alfalfa hay. We taught them to climb into the pond and swim. They loved the pond.
They grew and grew. The honking started. And everyday, they looked across the street longingly at the other geese in the park and honked.
Finally, we started letting them go to the park during the day. They came home every evening for food and bed.
And last December, they decided to make the park their permanent home. They visited everyday, as they waddled over from the park, often bringing two of three other goose friends. My son started calling me the crazy goose lady because I could hand feed all of them. I'd walk them back across the street to the pond, and visit them in the evening before dark, armed with Romain lettuce, a treat of dandelion greens and waterfowl food. Eventually, I made friends with all 14 of the domestic geese who lived at the pond. I named them: Mr. & Mrs. Brown, Frick & Frack, my own Click & Clack, Gabby goose, Louie, Yak and Mrs. Yak, Zack, Jack, Mack...
And then they started disappearing, two by two. We are down to only 3 big ganders: Yak, Louie and Gabby. Mrs. Yak is a Canadian honker - technically a wild goose. Ducks are missing as well.
Human predators are far more dangerous. We are supposed to know better, and take care of the animals, not prey on them.
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