Monday - November 28, 2005

Global Warming, Part DVI

THE SKY IS FALLING! THE SKY IS FALLING! THE SKY IS FALLING! We already know Europe is in the middle of one of the worst deep-freeze spells in the last fifty years and it isn’t even December yet. Look what else is happening! Now America is getting a blast of winter cold with a huge snowstorm dumping snow and ice all over the Midwest. Did I mention that it isn’t even December yet?

Hasn’t anyone figured out yet that this crap has been going on for millions of years? The Earth goes through warming and cooling cycles and the Sun does too. The climate responds to all of this and more. There is the influence of the Moon and shifting plate tectonics and atmospheric changes and .... well, you get the picture. Any one of these simply dwarf puny man’s input into the system. Add them all together and the contributions of the human race are almost insignificant by comparison.

So will someone please tell Al Gore and his enviro-whacko buddies to just sit down and STFU, please? It seems a lot of people are buying into this global warming crap because everyone seemed surprised when this winter storm hit yesterday. Wake up people! Your weatherman is only guessing and the enviro-whackos are just flat out making this s**t up as they go along ....

Blizzards Wreak Havoc Across Plains
DENVER (AP)

The first big snowstorm of the season closed hundreds of miles of major highways across the Plains states Monday, part of a treacherous system that also sent tornadoes ripping through Arkansas and Kansas. Six-foot drifts were common in eastern Colorado, western Kansas and Nebraska, the National Weather Service said. Wind up to 60 mph piled drifts 3 feet high in Pierre, S.D., where state government offices were closed. Snow fell as far south as the Texas Panhandle.

Four highway deaths were blamed on the weather. Most of a stretch of more than 330 miles of Interstate 70 was closed Monday because of poor visibility in blowing snow from the Denver area east to Russell, Kan., stranding travelers headed home after Thanksgiving. One accident involved up to 25 cars Sunday.

“We’ll just go when it’s safe. We have a four-wheel drive vehicle but that doesn’t make you any safer in this,” said Julie Ward of Wichita, Kan., who got one of the last rooms available at the Tyme Square Inn in Limon, Colo. More than 300 stranded travelers were put up for the night in Goodland, Kan., at a National Guard Armory, a church and a field house. Others slept on pews at the First Baptist Church in Limon, Colo.

“You can’t even see,” said Bill Kanitig of the Sherman County, Kan., sheriff’s office. “The highway is snowpacked, and it’s slick and everybody’s sliding off.” The South Dakota Highway Patrol shut down a 175-mile stretch of I-90 on Monday from Kadoka to Mitchell. In central Nebraska, a 60-mile stretch of I-80 was closed Monday from North Platte east to Lexington. Numerous other highways were closed across the Plains. The Minnesota State Patrol urged people not to travel in the northwestern part of the state, and schools in large parts of western Minnesota were closed.

The National Weather Service posted blizzard warnings and winter storm warnings for parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota.

- Get out your suntan oil and read the rest here

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/28/2005 at 02:21 PM   
Filed Under: • Climate-Weather •  
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If A Tree Fell In The Forest …

... and no one was there to hear it, would it make a noise? We’ll never know the answer to that one but if Cindy Sheehan held a book-signing for her new book at her stakeout in Crawford, Texas and no one came, we can be sure the media will show up at least. Pitiful, but true ....

Cindy Book-signing A Very Lonely Affair
(WORLDNET DAILY)

While book-signings for political figures like Bill and Hillary Clinton, Ann Coulter or Sean Hannity often feature long lines and people waiting for hours, the scene at Cindy Sheehan’s book-signing yesterday near President Bush’s Crawford, Texas, ranch was a much more lonely affair.

Photographs published by wire services including the Associated Press and Reuters depict a lonely “Peace Mom” in a virtually empty tent awaiting those seeking her autograph on her new book, “Not One More Mother’s Child.”

The Washington Post reported the scene this way: “Sheehan found herself addressing a crowd of only about 100 on Saturday afternoon. The large tent where supporters had erected a stage hung with the banner ‘Speak Truth to Power’ was only partially full. Earlier, Sheehan signed copies of her new book for an even smaller crowd.”

Sheehan’s son, Casey, was killed in the Iraq war, and Cindy has been on an anti-war and anti-Bush campaign since the summer months when she began a vigil in Crawford gaining worldwide media attention.

“What if Cindy had a book signing and no one came?” asks one poster in an online messageboard. “Well we know what happened. No one cares about her but the press. Cindy is finished.”

“Frankly I’m amazed the DNC/AP allowed these photos to see the light of day,” writes another. “Usually their photogs do their (unlevel) best to angle their cameras and crop their pictures to make Mother Sheehan always appear to be at the center of a worshipful swarm. I’m afraid someone is going to be in hot water for letting us glimpse the truth.”

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/28/2005 at 07:45 AM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Stoopid-People •  
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Gotcha!

_{Jerry Holbert, The Boston Herald}

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/28/2005 at 07:42 AM   
Filed Under: • Humor •  
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   Sunday - November 27, 2005

Adding Insult To Injury

If you ever wanted an example of “Your Government At Work”, this is it. I don’t blame the Border Patrol agents who are livid over this latest FUBAR from Uncle Sam, forcing them to wear uniforms that are made in Mexico. I know things are tight in the federal budget with only a few trillion dollars to spend each year but this boggles the mind. Why not go whole hog and arm the agents with pistols made by Taurus** while you’re at it ....

^{** Made In Brazil}

‘Made in Mexico’ Uniforms Miff Border Cops
November 27, 2005, 11:49 AM EST
WASHINGTON (AP)

The labels inside the U.S. Border Patrol uniforms have been making many federal agents feel uneasy. It’s not the fit or feel of the olive-green shirts and pants, but what their labels read: “Made in Mexico.” “It’s embarrassing to be protecting the U.S.-Mexico border and be wearing a uniform made in Mexico,” says T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, a 6,500-member union.

Agents and lawmakers are concerned about the consequences if the uniforms for agents charged with combating illegal immigration fall into the hands of criminals or terrorists. “If we’re manufacturing uniforms in Mexico, what’s to stop someone from walking across the border in a Border Patrol uniform?” asked Rep. John Carter, a Republican from Round Rock. “How do you know who are our guys and who are their guys?”

For more than a year, the shirts and pants worn by agents and inspectors with U.S. Customs and Border Protection have been made in Mexico. The uniforms are supplied by VF Solutions of Nashville, Tenn., which subcontracts its work to plants in the United States, Mexico, Canada and the Dominican Republican. “The principle of it seems almost like an oxymoron,” said James Stack, the National Border Patrol Council’s vice president for the region that includes Texas and New Mexico. “Most agents don’t like it.”

Customs officials say they haven’t detected any security breaches or misuse of the uniforms. Strict security measures are in place, including on-site inspections at the Mexican plant. U.S. officials conducted a review in August, a statement from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection released Wednesday said. “Based on this review, a report will be submitted to the CBP commissioner for determination on the made-in-Mexico issue, and no decisions have been made at this point,” the statement said.

House members are expected to consider new immigration and border security measures after the Thanksgiving congressional break. Carter and Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz. say they plan to press a measure that would require the uniforms be made in the United States. Renzi said he wants Republican House leaders to include the requirement as part of an immigration enforcement measure expected to be introduced in early December.

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/27/2005 at 04:33 PM   
Filed Under: • Homeland-Security • Illegal-Aliens and Immigration •  
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Nyet, Homer!

Just when you thought you had seen the most ridiculous lawsuit of all time, along comes a Russian who is offended by ... Homer Simpson. My guess is it was Krusty The Clown who really ticked this Russki off ... or maybe it was Sideshow Bob. Then again, we all know Marge is a real slut with next-door neighbor Ned Flanders when Homer isn’t looking .... which is why Bart deals drugs and Lisa runs a prostitution ring. And Maggie? Don’t get me started on that little tart ....

Simpsons Row Heads to European Court of Human Rights
(ANANOVA)

A Russian lawyer plans to take his case against The Simpsons to the European Court of Human Rights. It comes after a Moscow Court rejected Igor Smykov’s appeal to have the show banned from Russian TV.

Mrr Smykov wanted to have the cartoon series taken off the air in Russia, or at least shown at a later time, claiming it promoted drugs, violence and homosexuality.

He also demanded £6,000 in compensation from TV channel REN-TV saying the show had morally damaged his nine-year-old son. But the Moscow City Court rejected his appeal and Smykov says he now plans to take the case to European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Court Rules for Simpsons Cartoon
MOSCOW (ST PETERSBURG TIMES)

After spending a day in court watching cartoons, a Moscow judge on Friday rejected a lawsuit brought against RenTV for broadcasting two American programs that the plaintiff said had piqued his young son’s interest in cocaine and prompted the child to insult his mother. The Khamovniki District Court judge rejected the claim by Igor Smykov, who filed the suit almost three years ago claiming that the cartoon series “The Simpsons” and “The Family Guy” were morally degenerate and promoted drugs, violence and homosexuality.

Smykov sued the channel in June 2002, asking for compensation of 50,000 rubles, which was eventually increased to 300,000 rubles ($10,770). He also demanded that the station be banned from airing the two programs or at least be required to show them later in the evening. “The Simpsons,” which RenTV still runs, is a popular and sophisticated cartoon series that chronicles the adventures of the Simpson family, while “The Family Guy,” known in Russia as the “Griffins,” is darker. Its characters include a talking dog and an evil-genius baby with ambitions of world domination and homicidal inclinations toward his mother.

Smykov said that his son Konstantin, who was 6 in 2002, approached his parents after watching an episode of “The Family Guy” and asked them what cocaine was. After he was reprimanded, Konstantin called his mother a toad, Smykov said. The suit alleged that RenTV, by broadcasting the two programs, was interfering with a child’s right to a normal, healthy childhood. But Judge Lyubov Dednyova was apparently not impressed by the evidence, which included video recordings of several of the offending episodes.

Smykov was not present in the courtroom Friday. RIA-Novosti reported that he had appeared for the start of the day’s session drunk. He sounded distraught when reached by telephone at his home that afternoon. “I am shocked to the depths of my soul,” Smykov said. “I cannot even talk. It is scary. I cannot understand why no one wants to defend the children.” Smykov, who explained his absence during Friday’s proceedings by saying he “could not take it” if he lost, said he nevertheless had expected to win. “I did not care about the money,” he said. “I was hoping to set a judicial precedent.”

Smykov and his lawyer, Larissa Pavlova, said they would appeal the decision. RenTV lawyer Viktor Zinovyev looked relieved as he lit up a cigarette outside the courthouse Friday afternoon. “This was the absolutely correct decision,” he said. “There could not be any other decision consistent with the law. Parents above all should decide what a child watches. The government cannot decide that for parents.”

The decision had been expected Thursday, but the plaintiff introduced more evidence in the form of video recordings of several episodes of the two shows. The judge and both sides, along with representatives of the Federal Drug Control Service, spent most of Thursday’s session watching the cartoons on a television placed in front of the judge’s bench. Reporters in the courtroom could not see the screen and simply listened to the audio tracks, while Pavlova and Zinovyev traded barbs.

As evidence that “The Simpsons” promoted homosexuality, the plaintiff played for the judge an episode called “Homer’s Phobia,” in which the family befriends a local gay businessman. Homer Simpson is scared that his son Bart will become gay if he spends time with John, but in the end he learns to accept the businessman. The court also watched a “Family Guy” episode titled “If I’m Dyin’ I’m Lyin,’” in which the buffoonish Peter Griffin lies and says his son is dying in order to prevent his favorite television show from being canceled.

“You call this a normal family,” Pavlova snapped at Zinovyev. Several of the trial participants were laughing during the screening, including one woman from the Moscow branch of the Federal Drug Control Service, who went red in the face trying to hold in her guffaws. The involvement of the drug police in the case could have been far from funny for RenTV, one of the last bastions of critical news coverage in the country. The service presented as evidence for the plaintiff expert opinions from linguists that the two programs contained language that promoted drugs.

RenTV has already received one warning from the federal service that oversees the mass media. The service issued the warning in November for what it deemed drug propaganda on the television show “Priznaki Zhizni,” or “Signs of Life,” with host Artyom Troitsky. Under Russian law, a second warning could result in the channel having its license revoked. RenTV spokeswoman Maria Olshanskaya said the channel was “obviously satisfied” with the court decision.

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/27/2005 at 10:15 AM   
Filed Under: • Judges-Courts-Lawyers • Odd-Strange • Stoopid-People •  
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Spare Parts For Sale

Forget about selling off your children or an arm and a leg to pay off debts, a man in Croatia has gone one better - he’s offering to sell a kidney and an eyeball to pay off his debts. Years ago, I would have thought he owed money to the Mob but nowadays with CitiBank, BankOne and others charging 29% interest and going after consumers who pay late like pit bull attack dogs (while forgiving billions in debt to South American dictators), I can only assume this man’s night out on the town must have been ... priceless ....

Man Offers Kidney, Cornea to Pay Off Debts
Nov 25, 8:55 AM (ET)
ZAGREB (Reuters)

A Croatian man has offered to sell his kidney and cornea in an attempt to pay back loans worth 35,000 euros, a local newspaper reported Thursday. “I know that selling organs is illegal, and I know that by losing a cornea I will go blind in one eye, but I am ready for it,” 40-year-old Nenad Vrbanic told daily newspaper Vjesnik.

“I see no other way out. By selling these organs I will help myself and someone else,” said Vrbanic, who has sold his car and house in a Zagreb suburb. He now lives with his mother in a rural area in the north.

Croatia has had a steady credit boom for private consumers in the last few years and observers have recently pointed to a growing number of citizens who declare insolvency.

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/27/2005 at 10:03 AM   
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Ultimate Gamer PC

Just in time for your holiday shopping .... Do you have a little geek-gamer in your family? Say, about 15 years old who loves Star Wars and computer games? If so, then we have the ultimate Geek toy fer you. Base price starts at $1493.00, which is cheap for the prestige your little nerd will have among his buddies when they see the cool case. Choose from either Light Side (Luke Skywalker) or Dark Side (Darth Vader) in case styles then soup up this monster system from AlienWare. May the Force be with you ....

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/27/2005 at 09:20 AM   
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Global Warming, Part DV

Here we go again. If the Wacky Left and the Al-Gorebots can take a snapshot of climate data and proclaim “global warming”, then I can do the same thing, right? Europe is freezing and under several inches of snow and it isn’t even December yet. It must be “global freezing” and we need to do something about it before this radical climate change wipes out civilization as we know it. Hurry! Go buy an SUV! Build more coal-burning power plants before it’s too late!

Actually, the Enviro-Wackos will tell you that the Gulf Stream is being diluted with fresh water from the melting Arctic regions and the Greenland ice cap, thus causing the Gulf Stream to shut down and stop carrying warm water North, which keeps Europe warm in winter. Not entirely true. It turns out that the Gulf Stream is only a small part of the overal global climate picture (DUH!). The weather in Europe is also drastically affected by conditions in ... the Rocky Mountains.

When will the Green-Heads learn that we have only seen the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, as far as our knowledge of the Earth’s monstrously large and complex climate system goes. The creatures that walk on the Earth have only minimal effect on this huge system. You might as well say that dinosaurs became extinct when all that dinosaur flatulence released into the atmosphere increased the methane levels so high that the Earth cooled and they became extinct because of too much farting. Al Gore would like to convince you that is true and we’re next ....

Early Winter Brings Chaos to Europe
November 26, 2005, 5:02 PM EST
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP)

An early winter cold spell brought heavy snowfall to parts of Europe over the weekend, paralyzing public transport and roadways, toppling trees and cutting electricity to tens of thousands of households.

Ski slopes in Belgium and Germany opened early after as much as 8 inches of snow fell overnight into Saturday in some countries, while in Paris, the Eiffel Tower closed to the public for four hours after a morning snowfall made it too slippery to climb.

In the Netherlands, high winds and sudden freezing temperatures caused havoc on the national rail and road networks. Hundreds of stranded Dutch commuters spent Friday night in temporary Red Cross shelters at train stations, theaters and more than a dozen other locations.

With more than an inch of snow falling per hour and winds up to 100 mph sweeping in off the North Sea, road traffic officials reported the worst gridlock in the country’s history, with hundreds more people sleeping in their cars after waiting up to 10 hours alongside highways.

Both Belgium and the Czech Republic reported car crash deaths. For some, the chilling winds brought an early winter treat as ski slopes opened in the Belgian Ardennes region and hilly central Germany.

In Britain, 500 vehicles were stranded by snow storms on a remote moor in southwest England, police said. Devon and Cornwall police said rescuers in four-wheel drive vehicles were gradually evacuating people from a closed road.

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/27/2005 at 08:32 AM   
Filed Under: • Environment •  
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Sunday Funnies

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/27/2005 at 08:01 AM   
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   Saturday - November 26, 2005

Fwench Cwime Fighters?

Yet another reason to nuke Fwance. We better hurry though because if “les racailles” discover that this is all they have to watch on Frog TV, they will burn the country down to the ground. Which might be a good thing. Who knows, Les Fwench might decide to make a TV series called “Les Ducs De Hazarde” next .... and that would be a crime against humanity ....

Les Flics Discover Their Gallic Soul in New Model of Starsky and Hutch
PARIS (LONDON TIMES)

STARSKY AND HUTCH are to be reborn as a pair of French cops called Madani and Duval in a Gallic version of the 1970s hit series. The show is being produced by the trendy M6 channel, which hopes to tap into the French love of American television while respecting its legal obligation to make 40 per cent of its programmes in France.

Work on a pilot episode will begin next week with Alexandre Brasseur, the French television actor, taking the part of Starsky, or Madani, as he will be known, the role originally played by Paul Michael Glaser. David Soul’s Hutch has been renamed Duval and will be played by Laurent Hennequin.

Half of the initial 22 episodes will be based on scripts from the original series, which was a success in France when it was broadcast on TF1 between 1978 and 1984. However, Duval and Madani will be more nouvel homme than their American counterparts, who are considered too macho for a contemporary French audience. The part of Captain Harold Dobey, Starsky and Hutch’s gruff boss, will be played by a woman, according to M6. Olivier Jamain, the director, is also looking for the right person for the role of Huggy Bear, whose name will be changed to César.

M Jamain has not yet chosen the car that will replace the red Ford Torino that featured in the 1970s series. With the French manufacturers largely absent from the high-performance vehicle market, the actors may have to settle for a Citroen 2CV, though Madani, otherwise known as Starsky, could have some trouble landing on its considerably smaller bonnet. In real life, French police officers tend to drive family saloons, such as the Renault Scénic and complain that they have difficulty catching crooks in fast German limousines.

M Jamain has already lined up Rémy Julienne, a famous French stuntman, to oversee the spectacular car chases that M6 says will be an integral part of the series. “We are always looking for lasting heroes,” a spokesman for the channel said. “There are no greater heroes than Starsky and Hutch. We are making our own version because everyone has seen the original. “It is also important that we meet our quota for French-made programmes, and this will obviously be included.”

French television is under fire for what critics say is a failure to maintain highbrow cultural traditions. But despite a continued belief in French cultural superiority in some quarters, viewers remain deeply attached to American shows: Dallas, Dynasty, Love Boat, Columbo and Charlie’s Angels are regularly repeated, while French series from the 1970s and 1980s have disappeared.

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/26/2005 at 10:42 AM   
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Deployment Wedding

Not all post-Thanksgiving, post-"Black Friday” news is bad. Sometimes love wins out, even when there is 7,000 miles between a man and a woman. Congratulations to Sergeant and Mrs.-Sergeant Bowden. Hang in there, kids. Stay safe and look forward to the homecoming. Our best wishes to you both .... and if anyone here says anything about the bride “wearing combat boots” I will personally kick their ass ...

Sergeants Exchange Vows Via Teleconference
November 26, 2005, 4:50 AM EST
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AP)

The bride wore camouflage and combat boots. The groom, 7,000 miles away in Qatar, forgot the ring. But nothing could stop the wedding. Air Force Staff Sgts. Courtney Reynolds, 26, and Christopher Bowden, 25, exchanged vows via teleconference Friday, kissing the video monitors when a chaplain pronounced them married.

“I always said I was going to be untraditional,” said Reynolds, who wore a white veil along with her uniform. She said she decided to forgo a wedding dress because she knew Bowden would be wearing camouflage.

The couple, both members of the 21st Security Forces Squadron, had dated for five years, and with deployments threatening to keep them apart for several more months, they decided to marry over the phone.

The bride’s mother from Florida and sister from New Jersey joined her in a conference room at Peterson Air Force Base, the headquarters for U.S. Northern Command where Reynolds works. Her other sister listened in by cell phone.

Following the ceremony, Bowden cut into a cake and Reynolds tossed her bouquet to her best friend, Staff Sgt. Barbara Brooks. “This is probably one of the happiest days of my life next to, I don’t know, Atlanta losing the Super Bowl,” Bowden said. “I love you, sweetheart.”

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/26/2005 at 10:10 AM   
Filed Under: • Military •  
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Annual Family Shootout

What would Thanksgiving be without at least one family argument. Unfortunately, every year folks get together who haven’t seen each other for at least a year. Even worse, some of them seem to have forgotten why they avoided each other all year. For one family in Ohio, it turned into a gunfight. This time over ex-wives and girlfriends. When will they ever learn? When will they ever ....

Ohio Father Kills Son on Thanksgiving
November 25, 2005, 11:58 PM EST
CANTON, Ohio (AP)

A man shot and killed his 26-year-old son after the two got into an argument while preparing Thanksgiving dinner, police said. Russell Huff II, 49, was charged with murder and was being held in Stark County Jail on Friday. Russell Huff III died of a gunshot wound to the chest.

“They were having a family disagreement and the father wanted the son to leave, and it escalated beyond that point and he shot him with a .22-caliber rifle,” police Lt. Jerry Steiner said. The two lived in the home together, and police had responded to past calls of domestic violence there, Capt. Doug Shackle said.

Betty Huff, the elder Huff’s ex-wife, said she had been visiting the house with a friend and left shortly before the shooting. “The argument was about me,” she said. “My son got me to the point that I had to leave the house, and his dad didn’t want me to leave.”

The victim’s girlfriend was still at the home and told investigators the argument initially involved Betty Huff, said Canton Police Lt. Tommy Thomas. After she left, the father told the son to leave, then got the rifle from a bedroom and fired warning shots, Thomas said.

Betty Huff told the Akron Beacon Journal she asked a friend to call the house to check in after she left. “I got on the phone, and my son started yelling: ‘Mom, you gotta come get me, dad’s shooting at me,’” she said.

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/26/2005 at 10:03 AM   
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Discount Days

_{Day By Day by Chris Muir}

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/26/2005 at 09:54 AM   
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   Friday - November 25, 2005

Obituary

LOS ANGELES, California (AP)

Actor Pat Morita, whose portrayal of the wise and dry-witted Mr. Miyagi in “The Karate Kid” earned him an Oscar nomination, has died. He was 73. Morita died Thursday at his home in Las Vegas of natural causes, said his wife of 12 years, Evelyn. She said in a statement that her husband, who first rose to fame with a role on “Happy Days,” had “dedicated his entire life to acting and comedy.”

In 1984, he appeared in the role that would define his career and spawn countless affectionate imitations. As Kesuke Miyagi, the mentor to Ralph Macchio’s “Daniel-san,” he taught karate while trying to catch flies with chopsticks and offering such advice as “wax on, wax off” to guide Daniel through chores to improve his skills. Morita said in a 1986 interview with The Associated Press he was billed as Noriyuki “Pat” Morita in the film because producer Jerry Weintraub wanted him to sound more ethnic. He said he used the billing because it was “the only name my parents gave me.”

He lost the 1984 best supporting actor award to Haing S. Ngor, who appeared in “The Killing Fields.” For years, Morita played small and sometimes demeaning roles in such films as “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and TV series such as “The Odd Couple” and “Green Acres.” His first breakthrough came with “Happy Days,” and he followed with his own brief series, “Mr. T and Tina.”

“The Karate Kid,” led to three sequels, the last of which, 1994’s “The Next Karate Kid,” paired him with a young Hilary Swank. Morita was prolific outside of the “Karate Kid” series as well, appearing in “Honeymoon in Vegas,” “Spy Hard,” “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” and “The Center of the World.” He also provided the voice for a character in the Disney movie “Mulan” in 1998.

Born in northern California on June 28, 1932, the son of migrant fruit pickers, Morita spent most of his early years in the hospital with spinal tuberculosis. He later recovered only to be sent to a Japanese-American internment camp in Arizona during World War II. “One day I was an invalid,” he recalled in a 1989 AP interview. “The next day I was public enemy No. 1 being escorted to an internment camp by an FBI agent wearing a piece.”

After the war, Morita’s family tried to repair their finances by operating a Sacramento restaurant. It was there that Morita first tried his comedy on patrons. Because prospects for a Japanese-American standup comic seemed poor, Morita found steady work in computers at Aerojet General. But at age 30 he entered show business full time.

“Only in America could you get away with the kind of comedy I did,” he commented. “If I tried it in Japan before the war, it would have been considered blasphemy, and I would have ended in leg irons. “ Morita was to be buried at Palm Green Valley Mortuary and Cemetery. He is survived by his wife and three daughters from a previous marriage.

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/25/2005 at 01:38 PM   
Filed Under: • Celebrities •  
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