A Shameful Admission

Mark this day in history. I hate to say it, but the New York Civil Liberties Union gets one right - for all the wrong reasons.

Their claim that the searches violate the 4th Amendment is laughable. Entrance to the subways is not freely available to the public - it is subject to a test, that being the payment of a fare. As a result of that test, the subways can add further tests if it so desires as long as those tests are reasonable. Besides that, the searches are voluntary.

Where they get it right is when they say, "The NYPD is not conducting searches at most subway entrances at any given time, is giving advance notice about searches at those entrances where searches are being conducted, is allowing people selected for a search to walk away, and is not basing the searches on any suspicious activity of individuals. As common sense would suggest, the NYPD's program is virtually certain neither to catch any person trying to carry explosives into the subway system nor to deter such an effort. Indeed, given the way the Department has implemented its search program, the only people being searched are innocent users of the subway system."

People who are ready to turn themself into strawberry jam are, by definition, stupid, but that doesn't mean they're dumb. They'd certainly know enough to find a station that's not searched, pick a rush hour and happily go to meet their 72 virgin sumo wrestlers.

Any time New York wants to try implementing an effective way to protect the unprotectable would, I think, be of great interest to us all!

Yawn

So - the Fitzgerald Grand Jury came back with five indictments against Cheney's chief of staff. Whoopee f'kin do.

It still doesn't explain if he was the Robert Novak leak (if there was one) since for years Joe Wilson introduced his wife as a CIA agent. I for one cannot understand why Plame is still employed after that bullshit stunt she pulled of sending her anti-Bush hubby on the mission.

As far as I. Lewis Libby is concerned, he should have been indicted years ago for being a 55 year old man who goes by the name "Scooter".

What A Day!

Between living a dream vicariously through the White Sox World Series sweep (I was born and raised near 58th and Racine in the city), more VA time and trying to catch up on sleep, yesterday was kind of a blur. Cubs? We don't need no stinkin' Cubs!!

I'm not understanding this quite right. When the "elected" head of a sovereign nation makes the statement, "Israel must be wiped off the map." why isn't this treated for what it is - a declaration of war? I can't see any legal or legitimate reason for Israel to hold back, as they know a first-strike from Iran is on the cards. Since Iran's main ally is Russia and Israel's is the U.S., this could be the touchstone that gets the true war on terror going. It would also shine a bright light on those who would actively support terrorism by their position in the fight.

May you live in interesting times.

No S&G, Just Thoughts

As everyone knows by now, Rosa Parks died the other day. If you weren’t paying close attention you could be forgiven if you thought it was a cross between Mother Teresa and WEB Dubois. All this because on one day, on one bus, she refused to stand up and give her seat to a white. Whether it was planned or not, this one act of sheer bloody-mindedness was pretty much her entire contribution to the Civil Rights movement. For this she is being described as “heroic", "courageous" and “inspirational” among other laudatory adjectives. She later set up an organization in Detroit to give 1950’s style bus trips throughout the south – and the civil rights organizations thought so little of it that every single bus trip lost money. Sorry, but I just don’t get it.

The wonderful MSM is now making a big deal about the death of the 2,000th serviceman in Iraq. That premise is wrong in every aspect. There has been the death of a Marine, Soldier, Airman or Sailor 2,000 times caused by the bacon eating, Ramadan breaking, Hajj denying, Allah cursing terrorist wastes of perfectly good pieces of shit. The number they’re trumpeting is totally insignificant – the loss of each individual is. While democratic congressmen, senators and the MSM are having orgasms over their comparison of Iraq to Vietnam they forget that three and one half years isn’t 14 years, and 2,000 isn’t 58,00. The only valid comparison is the yeoman’s work the media is doing in attempting to discredit our government and our military at every turn.

I also see where that Baptist preacher of God’s love has been out with his very own SS troops to celebrate the funeral of another of our servicemen. He justifies this by claiming that every American death in Iraq and Afghanistan is God’s retribution for the tolerance of gays. Just once I’d like to see the Honor Guard wait until after the service and, when the spouse or immediate family has left, have a discussion with these assholes.

S&G - Two in a Row!

Has anyone else noticed that all New England Patriots season ticket holders sitting in the highest priced seats are all around 23 years old, physically fit and really, really pretty? That's what the Coors Silver Bullet ad shows, and they (and the Patriots) wouldn't lie to us, would they?

It now turns out there is proof that George Galloway, the sleazy, lying, Communist piece of Pommie filth lined his pockets with big time cash from the Oil For Fools deal. This proof is certified by no less than Tariq Azizz, the former mouthpiece for Saddam. In his 'testimony' before Congress, Galloway dared them to prove he did anything and promised that, should any evidence surface, he'd return to the U.S. immediately to face it. I guess he missed his flight.

Boy Asswad has worked himself into a snit over the U.N. report that he orchestrated the assassination of the Lebanese Prime Minister. He's so irritated that he organized a spontaneous demonstration in Damascus. He cancelled classes for all Syrian schools and gave the civil servants the day off to take part in this. The AP story seems to have missed that last point. I wonder why?

Speaking of Asswads, the Asswad Copulating Lunatics Unbelievable outfit (yeah, they're f'kin nuts) has now used the Freedom of Information Act to get access to data about prisoners in the War on Terror who died in U.S. custody. They're doing their damnedest to try to show that our troops murdered those poor unfortunate Afghans and Iraqis whose only misdeed was to accidently slay our people. Way to go, guys!

Finally, Stanley 'Tookie' Williams, one of the founders of the Crips, looks like he's going to meet the executioner in California. This oxygen thief, convicted of a murder and sentenced to death in 1981, has recently been nominated for a Nobel Prize for a children's book he wrote, and Jaime Foxx played him in a movie made last year. Un-f'kin-believable. Lets see - sentenced to death in 1981 and still around. And they can't understand why the death penalty isn't a deterrent!

Bloody Typical

The damn terrorist went and blew up all kinds of crap outside the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad and they couldn't even get a single journalist! If I remember right, the last time they hit this hotel, the U.N. packed their bags and left.

You know that the bar there is going to run out of anything remotely alcoholic tonight, and knowing journalists, the toilets are probably backed up there and the laundry man is gonna quit!

Lotsa S, Little G

I've been meaning to put this up for a couple of days, but I couldn't get interested. So cancel my check, OK?

Assuming that the Aussie camera crew showed what they claimed to show, what were those SpecOps guys in Afghanistan thinking? Yeah, it would have been great mind games to play with the Taliban - put the bodies facing West, then set fire to them. Either of these would prevent them from meeting Allah. But to do it with a freakin' camera crew taping it? Idiots!

It looks like the Paleostinians are going to get the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade to lay down their arms. Like that would happen - I'd trust them, wouldn't you? Then they say they're going to bring the gun men into the security police! Overwhelms me with confidence.

Some dickhead "African Studies Professor" named Kamau Kambon shows up at Howard University, a Black school, and announces to the student body (and anyone watching CSPAN) that all Whites are part of a conspiracy to kill Blacks, and the only way to prevent it is to go out and exterminate Whitey first - so all of those hearing his voice should get out and start killing all the Whites they can. I searched CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox and found no mention of this. Aren't you surprised?

And in England, they've had their first case of bird flu. A parrot in quarantine kicked off from it. The bird, a Norwegian Blue noted for their beautiful plumage, apparently had died some time ago but since it had been nailed to the perch it went unnoticed.

John Cleese would be proud.

Last Word: The Opinion Journal's "Best of the Web" either read my blog or they have someone just as sick & twisted. They had the headline about the parrot under the line "He's, Ah, Probably Pining for the Fjords"

A Blanket Shield Law?

So Judith Miller claims that, without having such a law and being forced to divulge her sources, she'd be out of a job. That right there is the best reason I can think of for not having such a law.

As the FBI stated, since 1991 only 12 of 243 subpoenas called for confidential sources. Of those 12, I can't think of anyone other than Miller who has gone to jail over it - and she went knowing full well that she had been released from any confidentiality. She went as a martyr to the cause.

Giving a blanket shield to a journalist is like giving car keys and a keg to a 16 year old. Not a very smart move, especially when you consider the track record of many journalists. Should Jayson Blair have been given a blanket to hide under, his creative writing may well never have been found out. Indeed, it would allow journalists to fabricate any story about any subject with impunity. And don't think some would do it!

As far as that goes, what is the definition of a "journalist"? Is Glenn Reynolds one? How about Emperor Misha? Me? Who determines this and on what basis?

If not having a blanket shield will make sources dry up, maybe that means that the reporters will have to work a little harder, dig a little deeper to get their stories. And maybe it would put the lazy ones like Judith Miller out of a job.

Don't Be Judgemental

So far, we've been told not to judge Harriet Miers by:

Her religion;
Her past statements;
Her lack of judicial experience;
Her complete lack of Constitutional law training
or experience;
Her writings or her written answers to the Senate
questionaire.

We shouldn't judge her at all - we should wait for the committee hearings.

What the hell is left to judge her on? And isn't being non-judgemental the keystone of the liberals?

Say It Ain't So?!?

I've been talking with Indigo lately, and she's giving serious thought to writing her swan song, folding up her tent and going silently into the night.

That's right - Indigo Insights may end permanently in a short time.

I've been trying to convince her to not make any rash decisions that she may regret - just go on an hiatus. I hope and pray that that's what she finally decides.

Since she has never had comments at her site, anyone who wants to see indigo continue, consider my comments section as a petition. Let her know how you all feel, OK?

In the meantime, I've been wondering what's happened to the Big Squid - he made a semi-triumphant return to his blog at the end of Sept, but has been off the air ever since. Anyone know what's happening?

A Segue S&G

I see where some self-appointed bunch of twits has come out with a list of corrupt nations. Bangladesh ranks last (most corrupt), Iceland ranks first (least corrupt) and the U.S. only makes it to 17th least corrupt. I figure that, if we could get rid of Washington DC, Louisiana and New Jersey we'd top the list. As for Bangladesh being last - couldn't these idiots find Zimbabwe or Venezuela on a map?

As for those two, did you see where they blamed the U.S. for every ill in the world? Hunger, crime, tyrants - we're behind it all. According to Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Bush and Blair are today's Hitler and Mussolini. Bush is Hitler? Who knew Mugabe was a Democrat?

And, of course, we had Toledo over the weekend. The Nazis didn't even march, showing their yellow early. Since the rioters couldn't use that as an excuse, they decided to attack the cops and EMTs. All good fun I guess. I'm sure Je$$e Jack$on, Al $harpton and Farrakhan can describe this as justified. Hollywood is still depressed, though, because there was a gathering of Nazis and neither Bush or Cheney showed up!

And referring back to the lead article, it's looking like Iraq has not only embraced democracy, but they've taken to the Chicago version. Keep those votes coming in, folks!

Lastly, I heard where two fishermen were trapped by heavy seas on a jetty near the Kennedy compound. Teddy grabbed a boat and tried to rescue them but was driven back by the seas. This must have been deja vu for Ted, but pity those poor fishermen - you have a choice of being washed into the sea by the waves or being 'rescued' by Ted. I don't know which would terrify me more!

S&G - The whoopee Version

I meant to have this up by the morning, but I had a shrink meeting at the VA and they adjusted my drugs. Far out, man!!

Speaking of drugs, I heard that Bill Romanowski, the former football player, has admitted to taking steroids. I'm shattered.

I thought from the beginning that the letter intercepted from Al Qaeda was fake - it seemed too pat, too perfect. Now that they are calling it a fake, I have to admit it - it must be legit.

The Chechens and Russians have been at it again - over 60 killed. I wonder if it'll be on ABC news?

The bird flu is still not being passed from person to person, so if you kiss your chicken you'll get sick. Of course, if you choke your chicken you'll go blind.

As if they didn't have enough problems with the earthquake in Kashmir, some Muslim woman decided to do a magic act and turned herself into a smear of strawberry jam across the landscape. Can't these asses give it a rest? Call a time out or something?

I would love to be in England for the next few weeks. It's the bicentennial of Nelson's victory at Trafalgar, and the place is going to be packed, especially at Portsmouth where the HMS Victory is docked and in London where Lord Nelson is entombed at St Pauls. Let's hope that, with the crowds they're going to get, no one decides to take advantage of it.

When is it Acceptable?

This is from a dear friend in the Chicago area, and I had to reproduce it in honor of my Blogmum, Indigo.

When is @#$% Acceptable?

There are only eleven times in history where the "F" word has been considered acceptable for use. They are as follows:

11. "What the @#$% do you mean, we are sinking?" -- Capt. E.J. Smith of RMS Titanic, 1912

10. "What the @#$% was that?" -- Mayor Of Hiroshima, 1945

9. "Where did all those @#$%ing Indians come from?" -- Custer, 1877

8. "Any @#$%ing idiot could understand that." -- Einstein, 1938

7. "It does so @#$%ing look like her!" -- Picasso, 1926

6. "How the @#$% did you work that out?" -- Pythagoras, 126 BC

5. "You want WHAT on the @#$%ing ceiling?" -- Michelangelo, 1566

4. "Where the @#$% are we?" -- Amelia Earhart, 1937

3. "Scattered @#$%ing showers, my ass!" -- Noah, 4314 BC

2. "Aw c'mon. Who the @#$% is going to find out?" -- Bill Clinton, 1998

and a drum roll please............!

1. "Geez, I didn't think they'd get this @%#*^ing mad." -- Saddam Hussein, 2003

Vikings Wave Their Horns

As a lifelong Chicago Bears fan (and a new Carolina Panthers one) this couldn't have happened to a more deserving bunch of wads.

And they want the people in Minnesota to buy them a new stadium. Somehow I don't think this will help.

I'm Confused

From my Blogmama - in case it's been everywhere else:

Lemme see; have I got this straight?

Clinton awards Halliburton no-bid contract in Yugoslavia - good...
Bush awards Halliburton no-bid contract in Iraq - bad...

Clinton spends 77 billion on war in Serbia - good..
Bush spends 87 billion in Iraq - bad...

Clinton imposes regime change in Serbia - good...
Bush imposes regime change in Iraq - bad...

Clinton bombs Christian Serbs on behalf of Muslim Albanian terrorists- good.
Bush liberates 25 million from a genocidal dictator - bad...

Clinton bombs Chinese embassy - good...
Bush bombs terrorist camps - bad...

Clinton commits felonies while in office - good...
Bush lands on aircraft carrier in jumpsuit - bad...

No mass graves found in Serbia - good...
No WMD found Iraq - bad...

Stock market crashes in 2000 under Clinton - good...
Economy on upswing under Bush - bad...

Clinton refuses to take custody of Bin Laden - good...
World Trade Centers fall under Bush - bad...

Clinton says Saddam has nukes - good...
Bush says Saddam has nukes - bad...

Clinton calls for regime change in Iraq - good...
Bush imposes regime change in Iraq - bad...

Terrorist training in Afghanistan under Clinton - good...
Bush destroys training camps in Afghanistan - bad...

Milosevic not yet convicted - good...
Saddam turned over for trial - bad...

Ahh, it's so confusing!

Ultimate Outsourcing

Congress today announced that the office of President of the United States of America will be outsourced to India as of October 20th, 2005. The move is being made to save the President's $400,000 yearly salary, and also a record $521 billion in deficit expenditures and related overhead the office has incurred during the last 5 years.

"We believe this is a wise move financially. The cost savings should be significant" stated Congressman Thomas Reynolds (R-WA). Reynolds, with the aid of the Government Accounting Office, has studied outsourcing of American jobs extensively. "We cannot expect to remain competitive on the world stage with the current level of cash outlay" Reynolds noted.

Mr. Bush was informed by email this morning of his termination. Preparations for the job move have been underway for sometime.

Gurvinder Singh of Indus Teleservices, Mumbai, India will be assuming the office of President as of October 1st. Mr. Singh was born in the United States while his Indian parents were vacationing at Niagara Falls, thus making him eligible for the position. He will receive a salary of $320 (USD) a month but with no health coverage or other benefits.

It is believed that Mr. Singh will be able to handle his job responsibilities without a support staff. Due to the time difference between the US and India, he will be working primarily at night, when few offices of the US Government will be open. "Working nights will allow me to keep my day job at the Dell Computer Help Desk call center" stated Mr. Singh in an exclusive interview. "I am excited about this position. I always hoped I would be President."

Mr. Singh will rely upon a script tree that will enable him to respond effectively to most topics of concern. Using these canned responses, he can address common concerns without having to understand the underlying issues at all, putting him on equal footing with the Congress.

Mr. Bush will receive health coverage, expenses, and salary until his final day of employment. Following a two week waiting period, he will be eligible for $240 a week unemployment for 13 weeks. Unfortunately he will not be eligible for Medicaid, as his unemployment benefits will exceed the allowed limit. Mr. Bush has been provided the outplacement services of Manpower, Inc. to help him write a résumé and prepare for his upcoming job transition.

I Smurfed My Pants!

Have you heard about the new UNICEF fund-raising film? In the vein pioneered by "Bambi Meets Godzilla", this starts with the Smurfs - the original Blue Man Group - dancing, singing and generally smurfing around in their little village.

In the middle of this, aircraft appear which proceed to bomb the smurf outta them, smurfing out the entire population. Their moral? Bombs hurt people.

No smurf.

Gas Price Collusion? Nah

The following AP story was in today's Winston Salem Urinal. I produce it without further comment:

Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Lawsuit says gas supplier fixed costs
Pumps locked after station did not raise prices, lawsuit says
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RALEIGH

A fuel distributor padlocked the pumps at a Durham gas station and then emptied the store's tanks after the operator refused to increase his prices, Attorney General Roy Cooper said in a price-fixing lawsuit filed yesterday.

"I won't stand for a gas supplier leaning on a local station to hike prices," Cooper said.

"Consumers and businesses are already paying more than ever before for gas. They don't need gas prices hiked even more by somebody trying to make a fast buck."

Cooper's suit says that representatives of McLeod Oil Co. in Mebane pressured Steven M. Grover, the owner of the A&P Mini Mart in Durham, to raise gas prices Sept. 28 by 40 cents a gallon. The suit claims that operators of other stations supplied by McLeod were upset with Grover's low prices.

In an affidavit, Grover said that McLeod told him that his prices needed to be "in the ballpark" of those charged by other stations. Grover declined, and McLeod padlocked the store's pumps, which McLeod owns.

McLeod representatives returned the next week and asked Grover's wife to "get with the program and raise your prices," according to Grover's affidavit. She also declined, and McLeod emptied all of its gas from the store's tanks, which McLeod also owns.

A woman who answered the phone at McLeod referred questions to the company's lawyer and spokesman, David Permar, who is unavailable for comment until Monday, according to an assistant at his office.

Cooper's office said that McLeod was expected to resume supplying gas to A&P yesterday.
In the weeks since hurricanes Katrina and Rita disrupted oil distribution from the Gulf of Mexico, Cooper's office has received hundreds of complaints about gas prices, which yesterday averaged $3.05 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline.

The lawsuit accuses McLeod, its affiliate Home Oil Inc. and their manager, Wesley C. Mehring, of conspiring to fix prices. Cooper is asking the court to fine each party $5,000 and to force them to relinquish any illegal profits.

And Then, Depression Set In

We've had a solid week of crap weather here at Grouch Manor, which is normally not conducive to fun & frolic. Weather like this, as any of you older folks know only too well, also lights up every point in the body that you've abused over the years.

It also gives you time to think. Having spent 13 months in Islamabad, Pakistan during my youth, I got to know the place pretty well and made a couple of friends there. One in particular was Mohammad Chefias Khan - who I called Cheffy. When you went north from Islamabad you were in the Margala hills - these are the foothills of the Himalayas.

Murree Hill Station was the first town you came to. It was a little place mostly dedicated to tourism but very pleasant. Cheffy lived in the third village north of Murree, which I was privileged to visit several times. No shops - hell, no streets. The housing was scattered on both sides of a small valley and I loved the quiet and the joyous welcome that was extended each time I went.

Abbottabad wasn't too far further north from there - a magical place with some of the best views I've ever experienced.

I say 'was' because, while I hope Cheffy, his family, his villagers and the rest survived the earthquake unscathed, I don't hold out much hope. The terrain and the flimsy building methods are against them.

I have no way of contacting Cheffy and I doubt he'd have a computer - back then his village didn't even have electricity - but if by some miracle he or a friend see this, my hopes and prayers - to my God and yours - are with all of you.

A Fortune Waiting to be Made!

My Blogmother emailed me this picture today. I may have to go into business manufacturing these little beauties!



Bill Moyer, 73, wears a "Bullshit Protector" flap over his ear while Senator Ted Kennedy addresses the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

(This came to me with no copyright information. If this is copyright, I hope the owner doesn't mind my use of it)

I've Been Slimed

It took long enough, but the f'kin spambots have finally grabbed my f'kin email address and beat the f'kin crap out of it.

If there's anyone out there who's tried to f'kin email me lately without getting a f'kin reply, this is the f'kin reason. Leave a f'kin comment to this and I'll see what I can f'kin do.

It looks like a new mail box is going to be required. Pisses me right the f'k off.

Also, I got one real email asking what S&G meant. That's Shits & Giggles - my own twisted take on the events of the day. The abbreviation is due to my Blogmother, who hates having her delicate sensibilities dragged thru the f'kin mud (not that I'd ever do that)!

Sitemeter's Getting Interesting!

These new options on Sitemeter, besides being informative, are downright shocking!

In the last day or so, besides the United States, I've had visits from:

Norway
Australia
New Zeland
United Kingdom
Singapore
Hong Kong
Netherlands
Germany
Switzerland
Canada
Bulgaria
Guatemala
Uganda

I'm taking for granted that most of these people made a spelling error when typing in a URL - there ain't squat here to justify folks from that wide a scope stopping by on purpose!

S&G - The Sky is Falling!!

Once again, the international medical fraternity is trying to extort money from the U.S. for a cure to the “Bird Flu”. It seems that they just know that this disease is going to kill millions world wide in a pandemic, because in the last couple of years over 60 have died in Asia from this. Excuse me? Over 60 have died – in a population of over two billion reasonably tightly packed people? I remain skeptical.

It seems that Stately Wayne Manor is no more. According to the AP and FoxNews, the mansion went up in flames yesterday morning while extensive renovations were taking place. Of course, last night CNN claimed that it was the building next door that went up, so make your own decision. UPDATE: CNN got it right - it was indeed the mansion next door to Stately Wayne Manor that went up in a cloud of smoke yesterday. Tell Alfred the Batcave is being evacuated!

I see that Ann Coulter has, once again, gotten downright vicious over a Supreme Court appointment. After shredding Roberts, she’s now after Miers, along with many other right-wing commentators. I’ve got an idea – what if we were to actually hear what she has to say before deciding she’s a Stalinist? Just because Bush didn’t nominate a Pat Robertson clone. Sheesh!

Apparently Ronnie Earle in Texas chucked a shit fit because one of his grand juries refused to indict DeLay. What a shame. Now, I couldn’t care less if DeLay is convicted or not, but it strikes me as slightly odd that Earle would be making a movie about this whole thing. Ulterior motive? Nah – couldn’t be.

Speaking of legal problems, Karl Rove is apparently going to testify for the fourth time before Pat Fitzgerald’s commission into the Valerie Plame outing. I never particularly cared for Rove – he always struck me as the typical behind-the-scenes sleazly machine politician – but as with DeLay, if he screwed the pooch, he gets convicted. What will be interesting will be comparing any sentence that they get meted out to the "whack on the pee-pee" Sandy Berger got.

And while I’m at it, is it just me that finds it really strange that a 55 year old man is called “Scooter”?

I also see that the IAEA and it's head, Mohammed Elbaradei were given the Nobel Peace Prize. I guess Cindy Sheehan's nomination got lost in the mail.

Finally, a Kangaroo gas station down the street from me is selling regular gas for $3.00 per gallon – about average for this area – but their diesel is going for (wait for it) - - $3.60 per!! All the other stations here are flogging their diesel for about $2.90. I’m so glad there’s no gouging going on, aren’t you?