Thursday - August 31, 2006

Hip Hop translated…sucks even worse.

Admittedly, my only exposure to hip hop comes from cars passing within six blocks of me. Something that loud and talentless does not endear itself. Then while I know they are ‘rapping’ in English, I don’t understand a word they say.

Thanks to this website, I can now get a translation of rap lyrics. An example:

Lyrics:

First things first, I poppa, freaks all the honeys
Dummies - playboy bunnies, those wantin’ money
Those the ones I like ‘cause they don’t get nathan’
But penetration, unless it smells like sanitation
Garbage, I turn like doorknobs
Heart throb, never, black and ugly as ever
However, I stay coochied down to the socks
Rings and watch filled with rocks

Okay. I give. What was just ‘rapped’? The translation is:

TRANSLATION:

As a general rule, I perform deviant sexual acts with women of all kinds, including but not limited to those with limited intellect, nude magazine models, and prostitutes. I particularly enjoy sexual encounters with the latter group as they are generally disappointed in the fact that they only receive penile intercourse and nothing more, unless of course, they douche on a consistent basis. Although I am extremely unattractive, I am able to engage in these types of sexual acts with some regularity. Perhaps my sexuality is somehow related to my fancy and expensive jewelry.

There are more examples if you dare…

Posted by Christopher     on 08/31/2006 at 07:27 PM   
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Instructions from the religion of peace

How to kill a Westerner

On August 4, 2006, the Al-Hesbah website published instructions on “How to Kill a Crusader in the Arabian Peninsula.” The document was signed by Amer Al-Najdi, and dated June 15, 2006.

Al-Najdi instructs his readers in some possible ways to kill a Westerner, from choosing the victim through following him through the stage of the actual killing.

‘Amusing’, if such a goal has any amusement, is the instruction to pray first. Go read the rest. It might save your life if you ever go to the Arabian peninsula.

Posted by Christopher     on 08/31/2006 at 07:22 PM   
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Through The Looking Glass

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/31/2006 at 05:28 PM   
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Gender Bender

How to Tell the Sex of a Fly
 
 
A woman walked into the kitchen to find her husband stalking around with a fly swatter.
 
 
“What are you doing?”, she asked.
 
 
“Hunting Flies”, he responded.
 
 
“Oh! Killing any?”, she asked.
 
 
“Yep, 3 males, 2 Females,” he replied.
 
 
Intrigued, she asked. “How can you tell them apart?”
 
 
He responded, “3 were on a beer can, 2 were on the phone!
 
 

   

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/31/2006 at 04:06 PM   
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Boiled Peanut

I really, really hate Jimmy Carter. Surprised? I hate everyone who voted for that SOB in 1976. I was in the Air Force during his term and I have to say I don’t think the US military has ever had lower morale in its entire history than was present during those years. We watched from the barracks as the Nightly News brought us more of his embaressing mismanagement every day.

He is even more of an embaressment today than he was then, using Coretta King’s funeral to savagely attack President Bush who was in attendance, sucking up to Hugo Chavez and now attacking Tony Blair for helping in the war on terror. I don’t want the Secret Service paying a visit on me any time soon but I will not be unhappy if Carter expires of natural causes in the near future. With that said, here is a British view of Mr. Peanut ...

Don’t Get Carter. He Won’t Do.
By Oliver Kamm
_{(TIMESONLINE-UK) - August 31, 2006}

Next week the former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami visits the United States. Though he will not meet government officials, the visit is significant and welcome. Khatami is reputedly a reformer. It may be possible, through him, to widen the gulf between Iranian pragmatists and theocratic populists.

But there is a risk. The current Iranian regime menaces Israel and has lied to the EU about its nuclear programme. It must not interpret Khatami’s visit as proof of the value of bellicosity. Khatami must get the message that the West will be receptive to concessions, but will face down belligerence. There lies the problem: Khatami’s host in the US is Jimmy Carter.

Carter’s poor reputation as president reflects a record not so much of incompetence as paralysis. He led his Administration mainly in the sense that its internal disagreements faithfully reflected his own philosophical chaos and administrative ineptitude. In domestic policy Carter zigzagged left and right, baffling equally the environmental activists he patronised and the churchgoers whose social values he claimed to share. His proposed system of federal energy controls failed comprehensively. In 1980 he acknowledged that inflation was near a “crisis stage”.

He proclaimed human rights while lauding the Shah of Iran’s repressive regime. When the Shah’s revolutionary successors held 52 American diplomats hostage for 14 months, Ayatollah Khomeini accurately sneered: “Neither does Carter have the guts for military action, nor would anyone listen to him.”

Carter cancelled the B1 bomber in the hope of gaining Soviet goodwill, later acknowledging bemusedly the Kremlin’s persisting “unfriendly rhetoric”. He earned the contempt of friendly European governments by announcing deployment of the neutron bomb and then cancelling it without consulting them.

Last weekend he impertinently attacked Tony Blair’s closeness to George Bush. Doubtless he prefers the model of transatlantic relations he pioneered with Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of Germany, who observed in exasperation that Carter was “just not big enough for the game”.

Less an elder statesman than a soft cushion who bears the impress of whoever sits on him, the 39th president is the last person Khatami should meet.

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/31/2006 at 12:45 PM   
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Showdown

Today is the day. The last several months of negotiations and political maneuvering comes to a head today as the UN awaits Iran’s answer to a demand to stop enriching uranium. Of course everyone knows what the Mad Mullahs and Prez Ahmawhackjob will say. The Iranians are not about to stop or even pause in their mad quest to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran has been thumbing its nose at the entire world since 1979 when “Peanuts” Carter handed the Mad Mullahs the country on a silver platter. All they have to do is agree to allow IAEA inspectors back in to monitor their program (like every other nuclear power in the world does) and start acting rationally. The latter is why it will never happen.

At one time Iran was one of the most advanced countries in the Middle East and Central Asia. The country, under the Shah, was an example of a backwater third-world country achieving a progressive, modern status on a level with the rest of the world. However, “Peanuts” didn’t see it that way and decided that Iran would be better off reverting to a 7th century theocracy.

Now we’re paying the price for that irrational decision. Iran has been a thorn in the side of the world for nearly three decades now and is about to become more than a nuisance. A nuclear-armed Iran is unthinkable. I cannot imagine the repercussions if they are allowed to get away with this. Besides the grave threat to the Middle East, it will embolden every tinpot dictator like Hugo Chavez.

How long before Chavez decides he needs nuclear weapons too? Imagine a country just south of us with nuclear bombs and an attitude. The longer we put this off and allow rogue nations to continue to starve their people in order to finance weapons of mass destruction, the worse it will be in the end. I’d like to think I left my children a better world than that ...

Iran Welcomes Showdown on Deadline Day
_{TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Aug 31, 8:37 AM (ET)}

U.S. and European officials appeared ready Thursday to push for low-level sanctions against Iran, like travel bans, as the country remained defiant on the day of a U.N. deadline to halt uranium enrichment.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not directly address the deadline during a speech to a cheering crowd the day before, but he maintained that Iran had the right to pursue nuclear technology.

“The Iranian nation will not succumb to bullying, invasion and the violation of its rights,” Ahmadinejad said. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi shrugged off the possibility of sanctions, telling state-run television that Iran “will find a way to avoid pressure eventually,”



The deadline was widely reported on the front pages of major Iranian newspapers. The daily Aftab said the showdown offers “the enemies” a chance to ratchet up pressure on Iran. Another newspaper, Kargozaran, expressed doubt that the U.S. would muster enough support within the Security Council for punitive sanctions.

Washington also continues to hold open the possibility that it and its allies - as the next step - might pursue a course outside the U.N. Security Council and impose penalties of their own against Iran. Iran’s refusal to heed the Security Council demand to stop enrichment will be detailed in a confidential IAEA report to be completed Thursday and given to the Security Council. That is likely to trigger council members - by mid-September - to begin considering economic or political sanctions.

The U.S. State Department has not said publicly what it might seek. But U.S. and European officials have indicated they might push for travel restrictions on Iranian officials or a ban on sale of dual-use technology to Iran. The hope is to start with relatively low-level punishments in a bid to attract Russian and Chinese support, the officials have signaled.

More extreme would be a freeze on Iranian assets or a broader trade ban - although opposition to that by Russia, China and perhaps others would be strong, particularly since it could cut off badly needed oil exports from Iran. Russia and China seem likely, in any case, to resist U.S.-led efforts for a quick response, which likely means sanctions do not loom immediately.

It’s not clear when exactly the deadline will run out. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, said Wednesday that he believed it would end at 12:01 a.m. Friday in Tehran - or 3:31 p.m. Thursday at the Security Council in New York.

- More on the pending showdown at MyWay News ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/31/2006 at 09:31 AM   
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French Labor

With the Labor Day weekend coming up, Tom Purcell ponders the absolute joy of being Fwench for just a little while, namely the two months each year that people are required by law to dash to the south of Fwance and escape work temporarily. After all, those Fwench laws that mandate a 35-hour work week can really wear a person down, n’est ce pas?

There are times when I too wish I were Fwench so I wouldn’t be forced to work 50-hour work weeks and take vacation without pay (one of the joys of being a self-employed contractor). If I were Fwench, I could rely on my country to avoid war and any other disagreeable international alliances. I could be rude to tourists from (sniff) America. I could enjoy great food and decent wine.

I could also spend my spare time preparing to surrender to the Muslims who are taking over my country bit by bit. I might even take time out to enjoy my monthly bath. Mon Dieu! Who moved my soap ... ?

Labor Day - Why I Wish I Were French
By Tom Purcell

It’s Labor Day weekend, and that got me to thinking: I wish I were French. The French are a wonderful people. Their food is excellent. Their cities are filled with remarkable architecture and an abundance of culture. And, boy, do they have the free time to enjoy it all.

Back in 2000, French politicians, trying to bring the high unemployment rate down, decided to try something bold. Did they cut taxes to spur the economy the way Americans would? Nope. Did they reduce regulations that make it virtually impossible for employers to fire bad workers? Of course not.

They wrote a new law that requires everybody to work less – no more than 35 hours a week, and certainly no overtime. The strategy didn’t work of course – it has since unraveled and the government is still working it out – but one thing is clear: The French sure know how to enjoy the good life.

According to CBS News, the French government also mandates that employees receive at least five weeks of paid vacation. On top of that employees enjoy 22 paid holidays. During July and August, as a result, much of the country shuts down.

People kick back and relax. They travel to exotic places. They enjoy lots of stress-free days without a care in the world – while we Americans are chained to our desks.

There are no laws in America that make vacation time mandatory. The average American enjoys only a few weeks of paid vacation. And when we go away for a break – IF we go away – too many of us keep on working anyway. We check e-mail, participate in phone meetings, and keep on top of projects.

That’s why I’d like to be French just for a little while. Sure, I know that the socialist ways of the grand old country are completely unsustainable. Their unemployment rate stands at just under 10 percent. And every time the government tries to take a holiday away or make it easier for an employer to fire a bad employee, a million people riot in the streets.

I know that in a global economy, as trade barriers come down and competition with emerging nations grows fierce, that only the strong will survive. Life and the world have always been competitive. Pretending that competition doesn’t exist is no longer an option.

I know, too, that the American economy is booming because our government interferes with employers less and because Americans are willing to work so hard. There are lots of opportunities for any American who is willing to go after them.

In my own case, I’ve been able to contract my skills to large, profitable companies for a decent rate. I can work long hours when I want to bring in cash or, as I’ve been doing for a while now, I can cut back to part time, so I can devote more time to personal goals, such as completing a book. I’m as successful as I want to be and if I fail I have nobody to blame but myself.

That’s why, just for a while, I wish I were French. I’d spend July and August basking in the waters of some exotic location, maybe the French Riviera. I’d while away the evenings sipping good wine and swapping stories of vacations past. I’d immerse myself fully in the moment, not giving a care about the next week or month or even the next 20 years.

I’d finally be able to relax fully knowing that if anybody tried to take my vacation away – if anyone attempted to tinker with any of my government-mandated benefits – that a million people would pour into the streets in my defense.

Alas, such are the wistful thoughts that kick around the noggin of a self-employed American now that Labor Day weekend is upon us.

---

_{Tom Purcell’s weekly political humor column runs in newspapers and Web sites across America. Contact him at TomPurcell@aol.com. Distributed by Cagle Cartoons syndicate, call Cari Dawson Bartley at 800 696 7561 for reprint info.}

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/31/2006 at 08:53 AM   
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From The Sandbox

War isn’t always about killing your enemy. Sometimes it is about helping those in need ....

Marine Medics Race Time
To Save Local Girl
_{CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq - Wednesday, 30 August 2006}
By Cpl. Antonio Rosas 1st Marine Division

For a 12-year-old Iraqi girl in need of a kidney and liver transplant, time is the enemy. Her friends are a team of U.S. Marines and Sailors who have applied their medical skills to help keep the girl alive. 

Hadael Hamade is in desperate need of surgery, say U.S. Navy physicians who have treated her in recent months. The girl first befriended Marines from 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, months ago when the Marines were on patrol in Karabilah - a city of about 30,000 near the Iraq-Syria border.

“When we first saw Hadael several months ago, she was walking,” said Navy Lt. Mark D. Rasmussen, an anesthesiologist with the surgical suite here. “Now she can’t move much. The Marines needed to carry her from her house to the Humvee, and from the Humvee to the surgical suite here.”

Hadael’s father, Ahmed, a 46-year-old school teacher, sought the aid of Marines and Sailors, stating that doctors in his country cannot help his daughter. After losing four children to kidney disease, he’s not ready to let Hadael suffer the same fate as her brothers and sisters, he said.

“If I need to go to outside of Iraq to help my daughter, I will go,” said Ahmed through an interpreter. “I will do anything to help my daughter stay alive and I am thankful for anyone that wishes to help me in any way.”

The girl needs immediate surgery and regular medication to sustain her. The procedure and follow-on care, however, could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars – money Hamade’s family doesn’t have, and medical treatment Iraqi doctors are unable to provide, according to Ahmed. Hadael recently received medication donated by several U.S. non-government agencies which doctors say will prolong her life a bit.

But the medicine is a temporary fix to a much larger problem. Without a kidney transplant and further treatment, Hadael will die, said Navy Capt. H.D. Elshire, the officer-in-charge of the Marines’ medical facility on camp.

“If she doesn’t get it soon, her chances of survival are pretty dismal,” said Elshire. “There is no help for her here in Iraq as the doctors in Baghdad don’t have the resources to help her.” Still, a successful surgery would be just the start of a lifetime of medical care. Funding for her medications and treatment could present an overwhelming drain on her family.

Hamade’s case has recently garnered attention in the U.S. after several non-profit organizations and a congressman from California learned of her situation. It was first brought to their attention upon the death of a Marine killed near Karabilah, who just days before had vowed to help the girl by bringing her to the attention of his chain-of-command.

Lance Cpl. Aaron W. Simons, a Marine rifleman, met the dying Hadael during a midnight security patrol through the city, according to her father. Simons befriended the family and wanted to help Hadael’s father find treatment for his daughter, according to Simons’ best friend, Cpl. Ian Kutner, who also visited the family several times.

“I remember the young Marine and how he was interested in getting help for my family,” said Ahmed. “I am very sorry for his death. Without him I would have never gotten help for my daughter.”

Due to a lack of sophisticated medical resources in the region, four of Hadael’s siblings have died from the same hereditary kidney failure now claiming her life, Ahmed said.

The disease, called “Oxalosis,” began in Hadael’s liver, where it limited the organ’s metabolizing capabilities. Her other organs were affected in turn - especially her kidneys, which suffered permanent failure. The disease has drained the girl’s energy, and caused her to appear weak and small for her age, U.S. doctors say.

The disease is prevalent in the Middle East and is the leading cause of renal (kidney) failure in Iraq, according to Elshire. Ahmed sought the aid of the Americans because professionals in Iraq have already given up on saving his daughter’s life, he said.

“She is alive right now because of the Americans,” said Ahmed. “My other children died because there is no medicine here in Iraq.” For now, Hadael has enough medicine for the next six months, thanks to donors in the U.S. But surgery remains the only hope for a long-term solution.

“She needs a kidney-liver transplant now,” said Elshire. “The longer they wait for a donor, the less chance she has of living.” Even if Hadael receives a financial sponsor and medical institution willing to perform the surgery, there is a likelihood her whole family may have to relocate outside of Iraq in order for her to receive the long-term follow up care she will require.

For the time being, Hadael will continue to make regular trips to the Marine base to receive her weekly medicine. For their part, the Marines say they will continue to visit Hadael’s family from time to time.

Hadael’s father says she doesn’t play with the other kids in her neighborhood and doesn’t smile much anymore, although when the Marines come around she smiles a bit more.

Staring at his daughter as she lies on a green stretcher, receiving medication inside the Marines’ medical facility in Al Qa’im, Ahmed says that now “all that is left to do is wait.”

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/31/2006 at 08:32 AM   
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   Wednesday - August 30, 2006

Through The Looking Glass

“Are You Looking At Me?”

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/30/2006 at 11:24 PM   
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Loser Of The Day

Life Rule #2: If you find yourself in a deep hole on the road of life, the first thing you need to do is stop digging. Poor Deric Gendron just couldn’t stop digging his little hole. Now he sits in a lonely jail cell, charged with a truckload of felonies, his bride has tossed him out, the police are pissed at him for assaulting an officer and he is probably about to get a cellmate who thinks he has cute cheeks. Not to mention the fact that his name is now carved in stone on the World Wide Web.

Congratulations, Deric. Say hello to Bubba from all of us ...

Groom Arrested Twice On Wedding Night
_{SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass. (UPI) - Aug. 29, 2006}

A Massachusetts couple’s marriage got off to a rocky start after the groom was arrested at the wedding reception.

Southbridge, Mass., police said 24-year-old Deric Gendron of West Brookfied, Mass., was arrested Sunday night in the parking lot of the Knights of Columbus hall where the wedding reception was taking place.

Witnesses said Gendon had gotten into a fight after accusing one of the guests of groping the bride. Police said he made matters worse by allegedly kicking one of the arresting officers, the Boston Herald reported.

Gendron was released on bond but arrested later that night for calling the bride to get a divorce, which violated a restraining order she took out on him after the first arrest, the newspaper said.

Gendron was charged with assault and battery on a police officer, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, resisting arrest and disturbing the peace.

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/30/2006 at 11:56 AM   
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Helping Out Down Under

It does my heart good to see hard-working citizens stepping up to do their part to reduce the pain of increased gas prices. Why, it literally brings a tear to my tired old eye to think of these fine young ladies discounting their “product” to help out the ordinary working man. I think a Nobel Piece Peace Prize is the least they should get ...

Brothels Take The Sting
Out Of Pump Prices
_{SYDNEY (Reuters) - Wed Aug 30, 7:51 AM ET}

Hot and bothered by rising pump prices? Australian brothels are offering clients discounts based on their gas bills.

Brothel owners claim the system works much the same way as supermarkets which offer shoppers discounted gas prices by presenting their grocery bills when they fill up their tanks.

“If you come in and spend time with one of our lovely ladies, we’ll give you a discount of 20 cents a liter,” Kerry, manager of Sydney brothel The Site, told Reuters Wednesday.

There is no link between brothels, petrol providers or supermarkets but brothels like The Site and Madame Kerry’s say the system is simple. Once you’ve filled up your car, bring your receipt to the brothel and they’ll discount the price of your visit.

The bill for a full 50-liter tank at 126.9 cents per liter comes to A$63.45 ($48.22). With the offered 20c a liter discount, the petrol bill would have instead come to A$53.45. That A$10 difference is taken off the A$150 cost of a 30-minute session with one of the brothel’s “service providers.”

The Site has taken out cut-out newspaper ads offering the service. “We’re getting more media exposure, if you want to put it that way, than basically bums on beds,” Kerry said.

Brothels are legal across most of Australia, but states have strict laws against soliciting and running brothels in residential areas, and near churches or schools.

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/30/2006 at 11:27 AM   
Filed Under: • Economics • Sex •  
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Our Feature Presentation

Good evening, Ladies and Germs! Welcome to the Skipper Theatre and our feature presentation for today’s matinee. Today we bring you a rock ‘em, sock ‘em, rip-roaring comedy that’ll leave you rolling in the aisles. Today’s feature is entitled “The Three Stooges In Lebanon” and features our favorite slapstick bozos in a wild comedy full of their usual hilarious antics and pratfalls. So settle back with your popcorn, root beer and Raisenets and enjoy the show ...

Moe is in Jerusalem giving the Jews a hard time and blaming them for everything that has gone wrong since the beginning of time.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday that Israel was responsible for most of the violations of the UN-brokered cease-fire that ended the 34-day conflict between Israel and Hezbollah two weeks ago.

Annan said he would ask Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in talks on Wednesday to lift Israel’s air and sea blockade of Lebanon, imposed at the start of the war nearly seven weeks ago.

Speaking after a meeting with Defense Minister Amir Peretz in Jerusalem, Annan appealed for all sides to work together to ensure the peace holds and “not risk another explosion in six years or 20 years.”

- HAARETZ (Israel) - August 30, 2006

Larry is in Beirut preaching to Hezbollah in hopes of convincing them to let his people go free. Hallelujah!

US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson met with exiled Hamas leaders to try to mediate an exchange of prisoners between the Palestinian group and Israel, a high-level Hamas member said.

“Reverend Jackson had a good and useful meeting yesterday evening with Khaled Meshaal,” Hamas politburo member Mohammed Nazzal said. “Hamas is open to discussing all details, but we insist that any exchange of prisoners must be simultaneous, which is the main sticking point,” Mr Nazzal said.

Rev Jackson, who is not an official US government representative on his trip, is hoping to use respect he has gained in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East to succeed where others have failed.

- The Australian - August 29, 2006

Curly Joe is in Damascus stirring up trouble and sucking up to any dictator he can find. Oh, a wise guy? Whoop-whoop-whoop!

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Tuesday that his government is united with Syria in strong opposition to the U.S. government’s “imperialistic” aggression in the Middle East.

“We are here in Damascus to call for peace,” Chavez told Venezuela’s state television by phone shortly after arriving in Syria late Tuesday. “These two countries are strongly united against the imperialistic aggression and hegemonic pretensions of the U.S. empire.”

Chavez was scheduled to meet Assad on Wednesday, the Venezuelan president’s office said in a statement. Officials of both governments will sign a document opposing Washington’s “aggression” in the Middle East, Chavez said.

- Washington Post - August 30, 2006

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/30/2006 at 03:00 AM   
Filed Under: • Middle-East • Satire • Stoopid-People • United-Nations •  
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Katrina: In The Rear View Mirror

In this exclusive mid-week editorial, Michael Reagan looks at Katrina in the rear view mirror - one year later. A year has passed and not much has changed ... the Bush administration has allocated the $11.8 billion asked for to rebuild New Orleans but the money is being held up as the local Democrats in Louisiana argue over how to spend it and blame Bush for the sorry mess their area is still in.

Some things never change ... especially the stoopid people who keep voting for the Donk weasels in spite of the fact that the Democratic Party is intent on hosing the little guy for no other reason than to gain political advantage. Politicians will always pimp themselves out for your vote but a decent prostitute will at least give you your money’s worth instead of just screwing you over, giving you a case of the clap and then blaming somebody else ...

Katrina Revisited
by Michael Reagan

For a long time now we’ve been listening to the Democrats and their toadies in the media complaining about the Bush administration’s handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster and its aftermath.

They charge it up to what they call the administration’s incompetence, implying that had the Democrats been running the show, things would have been handled much better.

It takes a lot of gall to make that charge because as one Town Hall blogger, Cato’s Corner, recently pointed out, the Democrats were in charge before, during and ever since Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.

In the United States, the authorities at the state and local levels are responsible for what happens in their areas. In Louisiana the governor is a Democrat, and the mayor of New Orleans is a Democrat. They were the so-called first responders, and their response was pitiful. They can blame President Bush all they want, but it was their job to handle the disaster and their handling of it was a disaster in itself.

That incompetence continues, especially in New Orleans where the cleanup and rebuilding efforts are lagging far behind where they would have been had they done their jobs competently. And they can’t blame that on the president or the federal government.

The fact is that $11.8 billion has been allocated. That’s everything that New Orleans asked for. They got $6 billion in December, another $4 billion in May, another $1.8 billion recently, and yet they haven’t spent the money.

One big problem: New Orleans has yet to come up with a master plan that will allow people to know what they can do and how to do it.

“The citizens of New Orleans need to know what the plans are, so the citizens can make their plans on whether they should rebuild, repair or sell their homes,” Norman Francis, chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, which oversees federal aid given to Louisiana told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

“A lot of people are holding their money back pending an affirmation that the city really has a broader idea of where it’s going in the future. What kind of a city is it going to be?” added Ken Topping, a California planning consultant hired to help.

Moreover, the city refuses to relax the red-tape provisions to allow the people to get the money to be able to rebuild, which is exactly the opposite of what Mississippi’s Republican Governor Haley Barbour has done in his state. He cut through the red tape to allow the people to get the funds necessary to go ahead and rebuild.

Another reason is that the folks in Mississippi are working together, not standing around waiting for the federal government to rebuild. Officials in Louisiana are still whining, waiting for somebody to do everything for them.

The federal government has supplied the funds. It is the local government that refuses to distribute the money. I was talking to a member of Congress from Louisiana who recalled that the Congress had authorized $6 billion last December but New Orleans made the determination that they were not going to spend any of it until they got the whole $10 billion they were then demanding.

In Mississippi, on the other hand, as they were getting the money they were finding ways to spend it to help the people rebuild.

Tragically, the President is playing into the hands of his critics by implying that he is somehow to blame for the situation. He’s allowing the Democrats to use him as fodder in their attacks on him. He needs to stand up and shout, “We’re not to blame. We gave you the money. If the people in New Orleans don’t have the money it’s not because the federal government hasn’t done its job; it’s because your local government officials refuse to do theirs.”

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_{Mike Reagan, the eldest son of the late President Ronald Reagan, is heard on more than 200 talk radio stations nationally as part of the Radio America Network. Look for Mike’s new book “Twice Adopted”. Order autographed books at http://www.reagan.com. Email Comments to mereagan@hotmail.com. ©2006 Mike Reagan. If you’re not a paying subscriber to our service, you must contact us to print or web post this column. Mike’s column is distributed exclusively by: Cagle Cartoons, Inc. Cari Dawson Bartley email Cari@cagle.com, (800) 696-7561.}

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/30/2006 at 02:00 AM   
Filed Under: • Climate-Weather • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Editorials •  
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   Tuesday - August 29, 2006

Late Night Humor

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/29/2006 at 11:16 PM   
Filed Under: • Humor •  
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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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