BMEWS
 
Sarah Palin's presence in the lower 48 means the Arctic ice cap can finally return.

calendar   Tuesday - May 25, 2010

You Are So Fired

UK Bobby Stands Around As Man Drowns

“He’s faking it”
“That’s beyond my training”
“Besides, I’d get wet and have to be damp the rest of the day”



A police officer who stood by as a man drowned while two members of the public dived straight in was following his training, an inquest heard yesterday. Pc Robert Bolt said he went beyond police guidelines when he eventually swam into the water from the canoe to try to find drowning swimmer Victor Greenwood. Pc Bolt denied telling a rescuer ‘no, but you can, I’m not allowed to’ when urged to jump in the water and said he had no fears for Mr Greenwood until he got into difficulties. The officer was called to Exeter Quay to back up two female officers who were pacifying Mr Greenwood after he was ejected from a riverside pub. He said he did not think he was very drunk.

He said: ‘In training they say you have to risk assess and you should not go into the water unless you can see what is underneath the surface.

‘Initially if any person is in distress and shouting and screaming for help you should initially try to get their concentration on you and calm them down, then throw a buoyancy aid to them.

‘The next thing is to reach out using any sort of implement and to wade into the water. The final one is to use a flotation device to go out to rescue. We are trained never to jump in after people because there are hazards in there like trollies and there is a risk of infection.
...
‘Also, if he reached the other side safely I would be soaking and would not be able to continue on duty.’


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Posted by Drew458   United States  on 05/25/2010 at 02:00 PM   
Filed Under: • UK •  
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Say What?

Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) Pushes For $165 Billion Union Bailout



Excuse me, WTF is the government doing here? Private sector pension funds are no business of theirs, never have been. And if the union’s pensions are in bad shape, well, gee, maybe they shouldn’t have spent so damn much money on political contributions!

A Democratic senator is introducing legislation for a bailout of troubled union pension funds.  If passed, the bill could put another $165 billion in liabilities on the shoulders of American taxpayers.

The bill, which would put the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation behind struggling pensions for union workers, is being introduced by Senator Bob Casey, (D-Pa.), who says it will save jobs and help people.

As FOX Business Network’s Gerri Willis reported Monday, these pensions are in bad shape; as of 2006, well before the market dropped and recession began, only 6% of these funds were doing well.

Although right now taxpayers could possibly be on the hook for $165 billion, the liability could essentially be unlimited because these pensions have to be paid out until the workers die.

Eff that. I’m pretty sure that both of my pensions have been lost. One from my years as a union employee working for a grocery store chain that since went out of business, and another from my years working for an IT company that since went out of business. Not that either pension was huge, but the money is gone as far as I know. Hell, right now I feel blessed that my 401K is actually worth just a little more now than it was 9 years ago. If that keeps up, maybe by the time I retire I’ll be able to live two whole years on that money.


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Posted by Drew458   United States  on 05/25/2010 at 01:51 PM   
Filed Under: • GovernmentUnions-Labor •  
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BOHICA, BOHICA

Congress Set To Quadruple Oil Tax





Oh you knew this one was coming. Especially with that amazingly serendipitous oil disaster down in the Gulf.

Responding to the massive BP oil spill, Congress is getting ready to quadruple—to 32 cents a barrel—a tax on oil used to help finance cleanups. The increase would raise nearly $11 billion over the next decade.

The tax is levied on oil produced in the U.S. or imported from foreign countries. The revenue goes to a fund managed by the Coast Guard to help pay to clean up spills in waterways, such as the Gulf of Mexico.

The tax increase is part of a larger bill that has grown into a nearly $200 billion grab bag of unfinished business that lawmakers hope to complete before Memorial Day. The key provisions are a one-year extension of about 50 popular tax breaks that expired at the end of last year, and expanded unemployment benefits, including subsidies for health insurance, through the end of the year.

The House could vote on the bill as early as Tuesday. Senate leaders hope to complete work on it before Congress goes on a weeklong break next week.

Lawmakers want to increase the current 8-cent-a-barrel tax on oil to make sure there is enough money available to respond to oil spills. At least 6 million gallons of crude have spewed into the Gulf of Mexico since a drilling rig exploded April 20 off the Louisiana coast.

President Barack Obama and congressional leaders have said they expect BP to foot the bill for the cleanup.

“Taxpayers will not pick up the tab,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Monday.

BP executives told Congress last week they would pay “all legitimate claims” for damages. But the government needs upfront money to respond to spills, as well as money to pay for cleanups when the responsible party is unable to pay, or is unknown. Money spent from the fund can later be recovered from the company responsible for the spill.

The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund has about $1.5 billion available. Under current law, only $1 billion can be spent from the fund on a single incident. The bill would increase the spending limit to $5 billion.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the tax increase was hastily put together, without adequate study, to help pay for an unrelated bill. The tax increase was unveiled Thursday, without any congressional hearings to study its impact.

Depending on the kind of oil and the type of processing used, the refineries can get about 20 - 25 gallons of gasoline from a 42 gallon barrel. So the additional 24¢ worth of tax, if passed on solely to the gasoline market, would raise prices about another penny a gallon. Which means the price of gas will probably go up 50¢.

So while Harry Reid promises we won’t have to pay the cleanup bill for this latest mess, that’s only true in the real long run, after all the litigation and wrangling is over, assuming all of that goes the government’s way. Which means we’re paying for it, now, later, and forever.


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Posted by Drew458   United States  on 05/25/2010 at 01:39 PM   
Filed Under: • Oil, Alternative Energy, and Gas Prices •  
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calendar   Monday - May 24, 2010

The Other Side Of The Coin

Another great email from Carol. Thanks!

The story of an American working in Mexico

From the other side of the fence ...
Received the following from Tom O’Malley, who was a Director with S.W. BELL in Mexico City:

“I spent five years working in Mexico. I worked under a tourist Visa for three months and could legally renew it for three more months. After that you were working illegally. I was technically illegal for three weeks waiting on the FM3 approval.

“During that six months our Mexican and U.S. attorneys were working to secure a permanent work visa called a ‘FM3’. It was in addition to my U.S. passport that I had to show each time I entered and left the country.  Barbara’s was the same, except hers did not permit her to work.

“To apply for the FM3, I needed to submit the following notarized originals (not copies):
1. Birth certificate for Barbara and me.
2. Marriage certificate.
3. High school transcripts and proof of graduation.
4. College transcripts for every college I attended and proof of graduation.
5. Two letters of recommendation from supervisors I had worked for at least one year.
6. A letter from the St. Louis Chief of Police indicating that I had no arrest record in the U.S. and no outstanding warrants and, was “a citizen in good standing”.
7. “Finally, I had to write a letter about myself that clearly stated why there was no Mexican citizen with my skills and why my skills were important to Mexico. We called it our ‘I am the greatest person on Earth’ letter. It was fun to write.”

“All of the above were in English that had to be translated into Spanish and be certified as legal translations, and our signatures notarized. It produced a folder about 1.5 inches thick with English on the left side & Spanish on the right.”

“Once they were completed Barbara and I spent about five hours, accompanied by a Mexican attorney, touring Mexican government office locations and being photographed and fingerprinted at least three times at each location, and we remember at least four locations where we were instructed on Mexican tax, labor, housing, and criminal law and that we were required to obey their laws or face
the consequences. We could not protest any of the government’s actions or we would be committing a felony. We paid out four thousand dollars in fees and bribes to complete the process. When this was done we could legally bring in our household goods that were held by U.S. Customs in Laredo, Texas. This meant we had rented furniture in Mexico while awaiting our goods. There were extensive fees involved here that the company paid.”

“We could not buy a home and were required to rent at very high rates and under contract and compliance with Mexican law.”

“We were required to get a Mexican driver’s license. This was an amazing process. The company arranged for the licensing agency to come to our headquarters location with their photography and fingerprint equipment and the laminating machine. We showed our U.S. license, were photographed and fingerprinted again and issued the license instantly after paying out a six dollar fee. We did not take a written or driving test and never received instructions on the rules of the road. Our only instruction was to never give a policeman your license if stopped and asked. We were instructed to hold it against the inside window away from his grasp. If he got his hands on it you would have to pay ransom to get it back. “

“We then had to pay and file Mexican income tax annually using the number of our FM3 as our ID number. The company’s Mexican accountants did this for us and we just signed what they prepared. It was about twenty legal size pages annually.”

“The FM3 was good for three years and renewable for two more after paying more fees.”

“Leaving the country meant turning in the FM3 and certifying we were leaving no debts behind and no outstanding legal affairs (warrants, tickets or liens) before our household goods were released to customs.”

“It was a real adventure and if any of our Senators or Congressmen went through it once they would have a different attitude toward Mexico.”

“The Mexican government uses its vast military and police forces to keep its citizens intimidated and compliant. They never protest at their capitol or government offices, but do protest daily in front of the United States Embassy. The U.S. Embassy looks like a strongly reinforced fortress and during most protests the Mexican military surrounds the block with their men standing shoulder to shoulder in full riot gear to protect the Embassy. These protests are never shown on U.S. or Mexican TV. There is a large public park across the street where they do their protesting. Anything can cause a protest such as proposed law changes in California or Texas.”

To be fair, I do not know what the reality of the American H1B visa application process is like, but on paper it does not seem so complicated and corrupt. I think what we have here is another case of unequal rules between countries. Americans can’t own property in Mexico I’ve heard, although Mexicans can own property here. And there are some major legal issues and punishments for those trying to sneak into Mexico, trying to find under the table work. We’ve all seen those posts; if the USA had the same laws, regulations, and enforcement efforts on our side that they have on theirs, we wouldn’t have anywhere near as big a problem. This letter is just another case in point.

Round ‘em up, throw ‘em out, fine the daylights out of those who illegally employ them. Drop the “student workers” thing, and drop the “anchor babies” thing. Set up a clear immigration process and pick a number of allowed immigrants per year. And make that number really really low for the next 25 years because of the abuse to the system we’ve suffered. No amnesty, no back door path to citizenship. Because all of that is exactly what they do in their country. So who can argue with full international equality?

Mexico ought to have the 3rd or 4th most viable economy in the western hemisphere. They have lots of resources and a population more than willing to work. They’re the ones who need a whole lot of Change so that they can have some Hope right at home, not us.


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Posted by Drew458   United States  on 05/24/2010 at 11:48 AM   
Filed Under: • Illegal-Aliens and Immigration •  
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nothing much yet, still LOST

Not working today, but not much drive to search the news yet.

I’m still reeling over last night’s LOST finale. Trying to untangle the time lines in my head. Attempting to figure out if either reality was the reality, or if it was both. And was there a third one, finally ... because the people who flew off on Ajira Air went back to where? They could not have flown off to continue their lives in the alternate reality. Or maybe they just flew off into the sunset and ceased existing, once they were over the event horizon.

The Claire/Charlie awakening was only surpassed by the Sawyer/Juliette one, which was epic. I’m smelling Emmys here, or whatever TV-land awards apply for Best Scene. And in the end, the long end, the new protector was Hurley, which we all realized was going to happen about 5 episodes ago. But I never expected his #2 to be who it turned out to be ... not because of who it was, but because of who it was: a non-evil, non-manipulative Ben Linus, who didn’t drink the magic water, who wasn’t out for personal power and domination.

You can’t accept the simplistic solution for the series that everyone was dead the whole time and that this show was a record of their time in purgatory. Yeah, that works at a simple physical level ( as if purgatory is bound by physical laws ) because no one survives falling out an airplane going 500mph half a mile up in the air, but throws away the depth of the entire series. No, I’ll take the magical island as real, and Daniel Faraday’s math as accurate ... which means Juliette did set off the bomb which created the alt reality, a universe whose walls were thin at times and allowed certain people to suddenly taste and remember an entire life spent in another universe and what that all meant ... and the show ended in a final, different flash forward into yet another alt universe. One completely outside of time, one that served as a final doorway.

On the other hand, last week we learned that alternate timeline corrupt cop Ana Lucia “isn’t ready yet”. To come into the light. And if that isn’t a dead giveaway (Ok, pun intended that time) that the alt world was a pleasant bit of Muzak for souls on Hold, then I don’t know what was. So the questions are answered, but they aren’t really. Or they only generate more questions.

I predict that Amazon is going to sell a whole lot of DVDs for this series. It’s reason enough to go out and get an HD TV and a Blue-Ray player. In light of the ending (no pun intended) the entire series needs rewatching. While taking notes.

I think it may all come down to what you are willing to believe. As Miles said in his last line, “I don’t believe in much, but I do believe in duct tape.” It’s hard to beat that.

Namaste.


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Posted by Drew458   United States  on 05/24/2010 at 09:56 AM   
Filed Under: • Television •  
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calendar   Saturday - May 22, 2010

Looking A Gift Horse In The Mou … ahem

DC Youth Demand Better Quality, Larger Free Condoms From Government



Because, you know, buying your own would be both expensive and humiliating. And probably racist too. Which is why they need bigger ones. In gold wrappers. From Uncle Sugar.


D.C. to begin using more-expensive Trojan condoms in HIV prevention program

High school students and college-age adults have been complaining to District officials that the free condoms the city has been offering are not of good enough quality and are too small and that getting them from school nurses is “just like asking grandma or auntie.”

So D.C. officials have decided to stock up on Trojan condoms, including the company’s super-size Magnum variety, and they have begun to authorize teachers or counselors, preferably male, to distribute condoms to students if the teachers complete a 30-minute online training course called “WrapMC”—for Master of Condoms.

Health officials and consumer advocates say that in terms of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, there’s no difference between Trojans and the less-expensive Durex condoms that the city is offering.

Scientists and D.C. health officials said the appeal of Trojan condoms can be attributed to the company’s marketing strategy, including the packaging of Magnums in a shiny, gold wrapper.

“The gold package certainly has a little bit of the bling quality,” said Michael Kharfen, a spokesman for the city’s HIV/AIDS administration.

Consumer Reports magazine said in a report last fall that Trojan and Durex, as well as the Lifestyles condoms repackaged by the New York City health department, both scored 100 percent in tests of “strength, reliability, leakage and package integrity.”



image



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Posted by Drew458   United States  on 05/22/2010 at 10:20 AM   
Filed Under: • Health-Medicine •  
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har har

A bit of teh phunnie, stolen from Rodger.


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Posted by Drew458   United States  on 05/22/2010 at 08:26 AM   
Filed Under: • Humor •  
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calendar   Friday - May 21, 2010

Moonbats On Parade

Gosh, if Chicago Mayor Richard Daley had been a Republican and done this, he’d be attached by nails to a great chunk of lumber already. Instead, he “snapped” and “lost his temper”. But proved the point of the journalist by doing so.


Chicago Mayor Threatens to ASSassinate Reporter Who Questionned Handgun Ban

Irate with a reporter’s question on the effectiveness of the city’s handgun ban, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley offered to give a first-hand lesson following the shooting of an off-duty police officer.

“Oh, it’s been very effective,” Daley said, according to MyFoxChicago.com. “If I put this up your butt, you’ll find out how effective it is. If I put a round up your … you’ll know.”

Daley, whose comments came at a news conference on Thursday previously scheduled to discuss the city’s ban and a pending U.S. Supreme Court lawsuit challenging the law, became testy when a reporter questioned the ban’s effectiveness as the mayor held a rifle confiscated from city streets.

Jacquelyn Heard, Daley’s press secretary, later told the Chicago Sun-Times that Daley was somewhat exasperated because the individual asking the question—a reporter from the Chicago Reader—was “missing the point that unrestricted guns are a devastating issue” for the city.

“To illustrate the point, he offered what admittedly could be considered a less than ideal example, but it’s one that is a stark reminder of how destructive gun violence has been,” Heard told the paper.

Maybe we should have total gun control. For liberals. They can’t seem to handle the responsibility very well at all.

So Mayor Daley, just how effective is this ban of yours that keeps firearms out of the hands of the law abiding, while the criminals can get stolen firearms at will? How safe are your citizens who can’t defend themselves against a very large criminal element who uses wanton violence whenever the mood strikes them? When the crooks can out-gun the cops whenever they want to? Pretty piss poor if you want my opinion. Don’t you already have a total ban on handguns in Chicago? Doesn’t Chicago have some of the most draconian gun laws in the entire nation? But somehow the crooks are all armed to the teeth! You’d think they don’t obey the law or something! So tell us, how is adding yet another gun control law to the pile going to make things better? Oh, and in 2 weeks the Supreme Court is going to hand you your own ass on this one, so what’s the point here?

Thomas Wortham IV, a 30-year-old Chicago police officer who recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, was shot and killed Thursday when several people approached him outside his family’s home and tried to steal his new motorcycle, authorities said.

Wortham IV’s father—a retired Chicago police officer—came to his son’s aid and shot two of the attackers, killing one of them late Wednesday, police said. Retired police officers are allowed to keep guns.

“This is a tragedy,” said Chicago Alderman Freddrenna Lyle. “This young man survived two tours in Iraq, and came home and got murdered on the streets in front of his house that he grew up in. In front of his father, it’s just unbelievable.”

Ok, this may not have been the best circumstance for the reporter to ask those questions in. But the real problem is out of control gangs, heavily armed, who can commit the worst and boldest of crimes at any time. Which is par for the course for Chicago. Hell, it’s what makes Chicago Chicago. From the top on down. And you and your goon squad are making no inroads there at all. Because why? Are you paid off? That’s the Chicago Way too. We know.


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Posted by Drew458   United States  on 05/21/2010 at 05:00 PM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat LeftistsGuns and Gun Control •  
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Neat!

Today is the 30th anniversary of the Pac-Man video. My how time flies. In celebration of this Google has done one of their neat letterhead logos:


image




Except that it’s not just a logo. It’s an actual Pac-Man game you can play.

Instead of search, hit the “Insert Coin” button and drive everyone in the office nuts, with the clanging bells of 1980’s synth yore.

Pac Man was originally built by Japanese firm Namco and spawned the unauthorized spin off, Ms. Pac Man, a licensed television show and countless items of branded paraphernalia.

I didn’t see any Insert Coin button. I just clicked on the logo, and a few seconds later it started right up.

And all these years later, I still suck at it. Rats.


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Posted by Drew458   United States  on 05/21/2010 at 04:54 PM   
Filed Under: • Fun-Stuff •  
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So there! Neener neener!

nah-nah  nah-nah  nah-nah  nah-nah  nah-nah  nah-nah  nah-nah  nah-nah  nah-nah  nah-nah  nah-nah  nah-nah  nah-nah  nah-nah



#2 Suit at DHS: We Won’t Process Any Illegals AZ Sends Us

Don’t you just effing love it how these lefty law ‘n order types get to pick and choose the laws they want to enforce? Hey asswipe: you’re FIRED!

A top Department of Homeland Security official reportedly said his agency will not necessarily process illegal immigrants referred to them by Arizona authorities.

John Morton, assistant secretary of homeland security for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, made the comment during a meeting on Wednesday with the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune, the newspaper reports.

“I don’t think the Arizona law, or laws like it, are the solution,” Morton told the newspaper.

The best way to reduce illegal immigration is through a comprehensive federal approach, he said, and not a patchwork of state laws.

So go ahead and make your law, Arizona. We’re going to ignore it because we feel like it. Neener, neener, Arizona is a booger head!!

So, let’s see how that would work. A comprehensive federal law already exists. A whole department of the federal government exists, given the task of enforcing that one single law. Duh, that’s why they’re called illegal aliens, right Pancho? Otherwise we’d call them Guest Beaners and send out invitiations. So now we have the assistant secretary of the top let’s-tear-down-those-Jamie-Gorelick-walls-and-coordinate-our-efforts-and-work-together agency in the country, the one put together for no other reason than to enhance national security, saying that state laws, which are simply a copy of the existing federal law but will actually be enforced, are NOT a solution, but a comprehensive federal approach - like the entire ICE agency, which doesn’t seem to want to enforce the law they are hired to enforce - is the right approach.

Somebody get this lobotomized monkey in a suit the hell out of DC. That has to be the most stupid thing I’ve ever heard. Hell, that’s even dumber than the Stimulus Package’s idea of going into massive debt and spending billions on pet leftist earmarks as a means to rev up the economy.

So what are the feebs feds going to do? Um, let’s have a blue-ribbon commission and study the problem for future analysis!

In response to Morton’s comments, DHS officials said President Obama has ordered the Department of Justice to examine the civil rights and other implications of the law.

“That review will inform the government’s actions going forward,” DHS spokesman Matt Chandler told Fox News on Friday.

Right - it’s more important to consider the poor poor illegals, and how upset they’ll be if somebody takes away their welfare check than to consider their impact on our economy, sovereignty, public health system, education system, highway accident rate, et cetera et cetera. But catch them and give them the boot? That would hurt their widdle feeewings!

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-AL, said it appeared the Obama administration is “nullifying existing law” and suggested Morton may not be the right person for his post if he fails to enforce federal immigration law.

“If he feels he cannot enforce the law, he shouldn’t have the job,” Sessions told Fox News. “That makes him, in my view, not fulfilling the responsibilities of his office.”

Sessions said the U.S. government has “systematically failed” to enforce federal immigration law and claimed Morton’s statement is an indication that federal officials do not plan on working with Arizona authorities regarding its controversial law.

“They’re telegraphing to every ICE agency in America that they really don’t intend on cooperating with Arizona,” Sessions said. “The federal government should step up and do it. It’s their responsibility.”

And you know what the hilarious irony of this whole thing will be? Fox News will have Grrrrrrrreta Van Susteren on TV tonight getting a contrary opinion from ... Senator John McAmnesty. We are so fucked.




How about if Arizona passes yet another illegal immigration law, that creates a state agency that actually deports these people? Cut ICE out of the picture entirely. Outsource the deportation work to a mob controlled company that just happens to also own a deserted silver mine or two out in the deep desert. Hey, as long as they can show the state the paperwork, those illegals are considered gone.

Ooh, that would be bad Drew. Ok, give the job to a bunch of screaming jihadis. I’m sure Sharia law demands a hand or a foot or two chopped off for breaking and entering, which is really what these illegals are doing, just on a broader scale. A couple hundred scimitars, a few pots of boiling tar; good to go.

Still too wough Dwew. Oo has to be nicer todese paw, paw iwwegals. Ok, Ok. Round them up, give them a plastic knapsack with 12 MREs, 3 gallons of water, a ground cloth, a blanket, and a roll of TP. Dip them all in purple ink, head to toe. Then run a daily prison train down from the border 500 miles into Mexico. Catch and release. Pay the Mexican army to guard the train, put GPS actuated locks on the doors, and then send it back empty. See, I can do it nicely too. Meanwhile, the state penalties for anyone employing an illegal just went up to $10,000 per illegal per incident per day, and applies to everyone from massive corporations right down to homeowners. Another state law requires doctors and hospitals to check SSNs of all patients, or their parents if minors, and anyone who blows the check gets the old dip in the Iraqi Voting Ink. Citizens turning in a Purple Person are given $100 cash, tax free. A final state law says that illegals have no civil rights, or at least much lesser ones. Heck, call them a threat to national security, and according to Holder they don’t even have Miranda rights. Or rather delayed ones. Unconstitutional? Sure. But it would take years to get to the Supreme Court, and the Purple People Purge would get the illegals out of Arizona by the tens of thousands. Per day. Don’t forget the “toll booths” on the highways at the state borders. That ink sticks to cars too you know. [ All these new laws are just Drew daydreaming. Not even Arizona has gone that far. Yet. ]

But if Arizona has to deal with the problem with no help from the feds, then they should do it whole hog. Or as Maximum Pig as possible. Should they kick out the feds from the border? Or should they call up the state militia and form a second line of defense a couple miles further in? And when the heck is New Mexico getting on board? Texas? California? Wisconsin? [ what, you thought all illegals are Mexicans? Oh hell to the no! At least 9 out of every 10 first generation Chinese in the USA are illegals, and most of them that didn’t wash up on the beaches of California came down from Canada. And let’s not forget the tens of thousands of illegal Irish and Portuguese in the Boston area. And how many hundred thousand eastern europeans are here on expired student visas? You can’t count that high. ]

It’s long past time to clean up the mess. Open borders is a disaster. Amnesty has been proven not to work. We can’t find work for our own citizens, so the millions that don’t belong here have to go.


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Posted by Drew458   United States  on 05/21/2010 at 03:56 PM   
Filed Under: • Illegal-Aliens and Immigration •  
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Racist and Anti-Islamic

Using “Barack Hussein Obama” Is Humiliating




Political Correctness runs into a wall during Texas school textbook wording debate.

The nuts are in the nuthouse, arguing over nonsense. I love it when the left eats their own.

Obama’s Middle Name Ignites Textbook Battle

Will history books refer to the 44th American president as Barack Obama, Barack H. Obama or Barack Hussein Obama?

Late into the night, the Texas Board of Education considered these and other questions for the state’s social studies curriculum. The debate has set off a culture war, pitting conservatives against democrats in a battle that attracted 40,000 e mails from parents, teachers and academics from around the nation.

Despite deep political differences, the debate remained polite until the topic focused on President Obama. Then it got personal. Lawrence Allen, a black former high school principal from Houston offered a motion to enter President Barack Obama’s name in a section of the curriculum that recognized significant dates in U.S. History.

David Bradley, a white businessman from Beaumont, motioned that the president’s legal name should be used, Barack Hussein Obama. “I think we give him the full honor and privilege of his full name.”

“I am getting pretty fed up with this,” said Democrat Mary Helen Berlanger. “You don’t have to be derogatory. We don’t always put in Jefferson in William Jefferson Clinton.”

“The intent behind what you are doing I think is pretty obvious,” said Republican Bob Craig.

“This is our first black president,” said board member Mavis Knight, who is black. “You are making it sound humiliating.”



Well, it’s humiliating having this wiener in charge, so why not use his real name? I mean, his current real name. Um, the anglicized version of Buraq Hussein Obama. What the heck, he’s named for Mohammed’s griffin-like dream horse El-Buraq, so why not spell it properly? Would that be calling too much attention to his islamic roots? Maybe we should use the name on his birth certificate. Good luck with that one.

And the whole thing in Texas is utterly stupid. Duh, you list the guy’s whole name once, then you use his last name and title for everything you write about him. But I still think it’s funny that, nearly 3 years since he appeared on the national scene, that lefties still assume that they’re the target of some kind of insult whenever anyone says “Hussein”. Gee, too bad.


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Posted by Drew458   United States  on 05/21/2010 at 10:29 AM   
Filed Under: • Politically Correct B.S. •  
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calendar   Wednesday - May 19, 2010

Another Reminder

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h/t to OCM, and yes, I do read your blog. Not every day, but often enough.

Ok, now I really have to get out of here and go earn some money. 


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Posted by Drew458   United States  on 05/19/2010 at 07:51 AM   
Filed Under: • Illegal-Aliens and Immigration •  
Comments (10) Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

Sunny Day

Well, at least the rain seems to have passed. So that means it’s back to work cleaning windows.

Consider this an open thread.

What new insanity is the left up to today? What impact is the tea party having already, and I don’t just mean the primary results. But, ah, the sweet taste of those primary results!

Personally, I’m loving the little bit of election news I’ve had the chance to see!

Angry Electorate Roars at Washington, Hands Setbacks to Establishment Candidates

If Tuesday’s primaries were any indication, incumbents and establishment-backed candidates in November should be shaking in their boots.

In Kentucky, Secretary of State Trey Grayson, who was backed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and former Vice President Dick Cheney, was soundly defeated by Tea Party favorite Rand Paul. In Pennsylvania, five-term Sen. Arlen Specter, who ditched the Republican Party last year to save his career, ended up being sent into retirement anyway by Rep. Joe Sestak in the Democratic primary.

And in Arkansas, Sen. Blanche Lincoln was forced into a runoff against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter after she failed to win the majority of votes in the Democratic primary.

See ya Arlen. Better a Sleestak than a shit stack. But Twomey will beat him too.

image DEFEATS image

Rep. Joe Sestak sent Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter into retirement Tuesday with a stunning come-from-behind victory in the the Democratic primary.

Specter becomes the third incumbent member of Congress in two weeks to lose his job, after Republican Sen. Bob Bennett lost the GOP nomination at the party’s Utah convention and Democratic Rep. Alan Mollohan lost a primary in West Virginia.



Tea Party favorite Rand Paul, who defeated Republican establishment candidate Trey Grayson in Tuesday’s GOP Senate primary in Kentucky, warned Washington to “watch out, here we come.”

After giving the anti-big government movement its most significant political victory yet, Paul said the Tea Party movement has a message, loud and clear.

“We have come to take our government back,” he said in his victory speech, drawing thunderous applause from his supporters.

“It’s just a tremendous mandate for the Tea Party,” he said. “It cannot be overstated that people want something new. They don’t want the same old, same old politicians and I think they think the system is broken and needs new blood.”

Paul was leading late Tuesday with 59 percent of the vote to Grayson’s 35 percent, with nearly all the precincts reporting.

“It cannot be overstated that people want something new,” Paul said, “They don’t want the same old, same old politicians and I think they think the system is broken and needs new blood.”

The same could be said in Pennsylvania after 80-year-old Specter lost his bid for a sixth term. His rival for the Democratic Senate nomination accused party leaders of trying to foist Specter on Pennsylvania voters.

“My party’s establishment got off track,” Sestak told USA Today before the election.

In Arkansas, Lincoln didn’t do well enough Tuesday to avoid a June 8 runoff against Halter. Her 17-year career in Congress is now at risk.

“Voters are so angry they are throwing plates,” said Democratic consultant Dane Strother.



It’s a start. 3 down, 532 more to go. We have not yet begun to fight!

image

See? I told you it was a sunny day.


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Posted by Drew458   United States  on 05/19/2010 at 07:06 AM   
Filed Under: • Politics •  
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calendar   Tuesday - May 18, 2010

Curses, out-tacticalled again

Summer bowling league started tonight. For the 4th year in a row we’re doing the Tuesday night group. Maybe this isn’t such a great idea, because it’s only 7 or 8 teams. The hardcore men’s league comes in on our heels, so the squeeze is on us to finish early and skeedaddle. Although with stale lanes, I can’t say just how really hardcore they’re going to be. Bunch of nonsense IMO, as our lanes were seriously breaking down after just 2 games. Hey alley folks, how about actually spreading some oil out there?

And we started the season off by losing. Hey, this is a different team. My wife and I, our friend Rex, and whoever. This year whoever is this fellow John. Together our team has a 694 book average. We played a family team tonight. Father, son, two daughters. We know these folks. Been bowling against them in leagues for ages. None of them bowled in a winter bowling league this year, but son bowled in a Sport Bowling league. And the USBC does not yet have the averages up for the winter season. ( Boo hiss, lazy ass USBC. Take our money, screw us over by eliminating lots of the fun awards we used to try for, and fall down on the job when we need you. ) But these folks have all been bowling for ages, and if you go back an extra year looking up their numbers, then their team average is 691. Just 3 pins less than ours.

Problem is, any league can write the bylaws that define entering averages, and the boilerplate bylaws for the summer leagues are really lazy. So they just say this year’s past winter league. And that’s as far as they go. They don’t count any summer league, or any winter league older than last season, or anything like that.

So the whole family had to “bowl for average”, even though we knew it was a total crock. And for extra fun, the league had voted at the start-up meeting to use a 90% handicap. So we bowled. Scratch points, we won the first game by a little bit. We were about 30 pins over average, they were about 24 pins behind us. Son bowled a 214. He’s a junior in college; I’ve known him since he was in high school. He’s a 200+ average bowler, always. We stayed pretty much on course for the 2nd game and their scores dropped. We were sitting down by the lanes, they were up on the tables behind us. We could hear them talking averages and running numbers on their cell phone pocket calculators. One sister even reminded the other, right on the approach, that they were bowling for averages. To put it bluntly, they totally sandbagged it. We took the 2nd game by maybe 50. Rex made the 6-7-10, and that’s a thing of beauty. No prize for that anymore. Son bowled a 179. We won the 3rd game scratch as well, but not by a lot. Our new guy is a major cranker, and he couldn’t adjust to the rapidly declining lane conditions and was over-hooking like mad. Having gone a mere 3 over average in the first 2 games, I finally got all my shit in one sock and threw 20 over for a 190. Happy me. Son threw a 114.

These kind of scores are pretty much expected; their team is just as good as ours is. It’s just that we had to bowl against our averages, and they didn’t. Because of loose rules. So when we added up all the numbers, their “actual” against our book, and took 90% of that, they got 47 pins per game. Which means we lost at least 2, possibly all 3 games, and they also took wood.

You know, I’m getting more than a bit tired of the BS built into league bowling. The handicap system, unless it’s 100%, is strongly weighted towards the higher average team. In a typical 80% handicap league, they can bowl below average and still win. The lower average team has to have a superb night just to break even. That can’t be right. It’s a false handicap. Hey, you can run the 100 yard dash in 5 seconds. I can run it in 10 seconds. Let’s race! But to make things “fair”, you’ll give me a 3 second head start. Nice. Who’s going to win almost every time we run? You are. That’s how bowling league handicap works. It only looks fair. It’s a sucker’s game. Even a 100% handicap still favors the better team, but it goes a longer way towards leveling the playing field than the 80% handicap.

And there has to be a way to stop this sandbagging. I don’t know what the solution is, but I’m mulling over ideas. Perhaps a universal rule for entering averages that a league can’t rewrite? “Any sanctioned league you bowled in, anywhere, in the last 5 years, as long as you bowled at least 21 games, we take that average and use it. And if you’ve bowled in multiple leagues in those 5 years, we take the highest average and use that. And that average will be your average for the first 4 weeks/12 games bowled for this league.” That would allow summer league averages to count for winter leagues, winter league averages from a couple years ago to count now, etc. Ok, maybe it should be only 3 years, or maybe only 2. But there has to be a fixed way that can break the fix. Or the fixing. Because, yes, sad to say but true, most folks are smart enough and immoral enough to use the rules, any rules, to their advantage. It isn’t honorable, it isn’t sporting, but it is legal. And everyone wants as much advantage as they can get, whether they need it or not.


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Posted by Drew458   United States  on 05/18/2010 at 10:03 PM   
Filed Under: • Bowling Blogging •  
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