America's national museum - trashed by government servants

A crucifix in the video “A Fire in My Belly,” part of the ‘Hide/Seek’ exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. The image shows Christ on the cross with ants crawling over his body and face. (CNSNews.com/Penny Starr)

(CNSNews.com) -- The federally funded National Portrait Gallery, one of the museums of the Smithsonian Institution, is currently showing an exhibition that features images of an ant-covered Jesus, male genitals, naked brothers kissing, men in chains, Ellen DeGeneres grabbing her breasts, and a painting the Smithsonian itself describes in the show's catalog as "homoerotic."

The exhibit, “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture,” opened on Oct. 30 and will run throughout the Christmas Season, closing on Feb. 13.

Yes, this is the type of content we want displayed in our national museum.  The thing that really gets me about this is the fact that more than one total idiot bought the concept.  Honestly, is there anyone left who doesn't think the government is full of the most incompetent morons that can be found?  These people are either stupid or they're very anti-American/religion or both.

So the people we hired to watch over this national treasure have seen fit to allow this total crock of shit? If you ask me, I think it's actually a mixture of the two ... very stupid anti-Americans ... and the Democratics have packed the government with this type of bureaucrat for the last 50 years. We really need a good cleansing.

More here:

Next frame please

Libs... sheesh.

I'm reading the comments on a lib blog- I'll spare you the link because each comment is more vomit-inducing than the previous- and this was the last one I read before being unable to resist the need to share:

Newburgh

Glenn wrote:

But it may also just as easily be the case that the FBI -- as they've done many times in the past -- found some very young, impressionable, disaffected, hapless, aimless, inept loner; created a plot it then persuaded/manipulated/entrapped him to join, essentially turning him into a Terrorist; and then patted itself on the back once it arrested him for having thwarted a "Terrorist plot" which, from start to finish, was entirely the FBI's own concoction.
That's EXACTLY what happened to the Newburgh Four (my wife was one of the attorney's assisting on the case, so I'm a bit biased, but so was the whole thing).

Shameless plug: my band will soon be releasing a song about this particular practice of the FBI, which we call "Teamwork". If interested, you can sample it here:

*link removed*

—billymeltdown

Billy is the one with the hat. That's not his wife-
nor is the woman leaning on his shoulder.

This guy has lib written all over him. First of all, he starts by citing a quote which talks about how evil and inept the U.S. government is (all the while voting to make sure it only gets bigger and more powerful).

Secondly, he references some little-known nicknamed incident as if everybody should know it and know it well (and if you don't, well, you must be uneducated/stupid/clueless).

Thirdly, he stakes his claim to fame (his wife was one of the attorney's [sic] assisting on the case- so I guess he has to stretch like elastoman to feel at all important).

Fourthly, he coyly acknowledges that he's "a bit biased" as if it's just this on time and then excuses himself because "he started it"/"everyone else was doing it" (i.e. "but so was the whole thing").

And lastly, just like every other good Lib, he's above filthy capitalism but he's not above (again, coyly) free advertising his junk band/business/song. Of course, you can't actually hear the whole song- you can just hear a sample. I don't know about you, but after seeing that the content of his post was briefer than his "shameless plug", it might occur to even the most casual reader that his post was more about the "shameless plug" than it was about the post.

Klown News

Performers in New York’s traveling Bindlestiff Family Cirkus protested in October against political campaign language referring to Washington, D.C., as a “circus.” Said Kinko the Clown, “Before you call anyone in Washington a clown, consider how hard a clown works.”

“Tiririca” (“Grumpy”), a professional clown, was elected by resounding vote to the Brazilian Congress from Sao Paulo in October under the slogan “It Can’t Get Any Worse.”

In June, Britain’s traveling John Lawson’s Circus announced a series of counseling sessions for people who avoid circuses for fear of clowns. “Coulrophobia” is reportedly Britain’s third-leading phobia, after spiders and needles.

From "News of the Weird." Shouldn't the plural of "circus" be "circi"? Or in this case "cirki"? And BTW - spiders, needles, and then clowns? Brits are a strange lot.

More strange shit

While recently traveling to Punxsutawney Pa I observed something that I was sure I did not actually see. Yes, a drive through strip joint. I found out it is now for sale and if you are interested you can find out more yourself. Here are some pics that I found on the internet.





I also found it is for sale. They charged 5.00 for 5 minutes and is your car stalled well you better have friends to push or just keep on paying.

The Klown's "Black Friday" experience

Let me just start by saying ... HOLY TOLEDO!!

Now, if you know me, you know I am not the type to engage in "Black Friday" type behavior. In fact, I don't think I've ever done that "Day after Thanksgiving" shopping thing in my life ... but today was different. Here's the story.

I was going to buy a netbook computer for my wife and had done all my research online. I found a reasonable buy on this one at Walmart.com

A-is-A had come over and showed his netbook to my wife and she loved it ... LOVED IT. Part of the attraction/charm of the netbook is it is smaller and easier to carry around, doesn't take up much room on the kitchen table, on and on ... oh, did I mention the netbook was PURPLE? Yes, purple ... my honey loved it (she's a big fan of purple & pink.) Ok, so I went online and loaded my shopping cart with the netbook, a matching purple mouse, and a wireless router ... all set, right?

Well, while I was doing my research I reconsidered the netbook and started thinking about a notebook (bigger than a netbook) instead. Why? Because as I looked around I noticed that the notebooks had double the RAM and also included DVD drives (not to mention bigger screens/keyboards, etc. I started thinking I may have to/want to use this machine at times and it might be better to have some of the characteristics of a laptop.

Ok, so I find this laptop by checking out the Black Friday circular for Walmart.

I also took note of the 32: LCD TV for $198.  I'm thinking, "Hmmmm, perhaps I'll just leave my items in my shopping cart and see if I can get one of these laptops on Black Friday ... if not, I'll just come home and hit 'checkout' and be done with it."  Note the sale starts at 5AM.

I figured, if I could get one, I'd just go to skinit.com and get this hot pink skin for it and she'd be in business.

Now 5AM is NOT a problem for me as I am usually up at 4 or 4:30.  So I'm up at 4AM, I gets some coffee (which is rare for me,) I gets my stuff together and I'm out the door at 4:30 for the 20 minute drive to Walmart and my first Black Friday experience.

On the way up there, I start thinking "Hey, I'm going to buy five of each of these if there's no limit and then sell the extras on Craig's list ... that way I get mine for free." Ohhhh, this was superior thinnin' on my part (even more superior to my usual genius level of thinnin') and I smugly take a sip of my coffee.

Anyway, the first thing I notice is all the traffic on the roads.  Don't forget, I'm up early most of the time and usually on the road at 6AM in the summer and the roads are mostly deserted .  Today I noticed it was busier than usual ... MUCH busier ... and the closer I got, the more traffic there was.  I pull in the parking lot about 4:50AM  and it's full of cars and activity.  I stopped to let a poor lady in a wheelchair cross in front of me and she gave me a big smile and a wave.  I think she had been sitting there a while ... sort of tucked in to keep from getting McSmushed.

I finds a spot, parks 'er (in between the constant stream of humanity) and here we go ... IT'S ON, BABY, IT'S ON!  I make my way through the racing track parking lot, grab a cart and enter the store and guess what ... it's utter ... UTTER ... PANDEFUCKINMONIUM!!

I didn't take the pic above but it is representative of what I saw.

Ok, while I'm thinking about it, the last 10,000 times I've been to Walmart, I've failed to get a cart without a flat spot on the wheel ... so as you go through the store it sounds like you're hitting the cart with a hammer every two seconds. You know ... bang, bang, bang ... I mean, WTF?

Also, all the entrance/lobbies at Walmart have a rough tile entryway so there is no way to judge whether you have a bad wheel until you roll it onto the smooth tile of the store, and then it's too late ... GOTCHA AGAIN, JACKASS!!!  Seriously, how do these carts get the flat spots on the wheels?  Is it from the cart attendants dragging them sideways once they get a bunch all carted up?  Does someone hang out in Walmart's parking lot and smack them with hammers? I don't know, it's a mystery, ain't it?

Well, there were abandoned carts everywhere ... EVERYWHERE ... so I kept trying to trade mine but they were all the same. About halfway to the back of the store where they keep the electronics, the lines started. And it was impossible to tell which line you were in. Turns out there were two main lines, one for the cameras/photo dept and one for the computer/tv department. I deduced this after being in line for about 5 minutes (not moving) and deciding to abandon my cart for some advanced recon. Turns out I was in the wrong line. I come back, get my cart, go WAY around (waves hand way around) the store and get in the proper line. I'm guessing there were about 50-60 peeps in line. It stretched about halfway back to the front registers.

After about 10 minutes (line moved maybe 2 spots,) I once again decide to abandon my cart and just go check to see if I could determine whether my wait would be productive. It was murder navigating all the people and carts through the aisles. People were getting fingers banged against carts, it was a tight squeeze.

I finally get back there and see a lady ("Pat" was on her name tag) and I asked her "Ma'am, do you still have the $198 laptops?" "Nay" quothe she, "I'm sorry." So I asked about the TV's. "Nay" again, quothe she ... and then ventured "Honey, most people started getting here at 9PM last night and camped out in the aisles (it's a 24-hour store.) She told me that all the tickets for those items had been given out already.

I just shook my head ... it was unreal. What this told me was I had no chance of getting one of those items unless I was willing to camp out all night in a Walmart ... and I'm not willing. I don't know what time they started giving the tickets out and I don't care.

Here are my final thoughts on the matter. If Walmart is breaking even on these items, why don't they stock more? If the idea is to get people in the door and perhaps sell them another item then they should stock more. What's the sense of having such limited quantities. What's the sense in having a big rush at 5AM? And then it's over before it starts ... the store is cleared out in a couple of hours and it's finished. I'm sure they sold a lot of stuff to a lot of people but I think they could sell much more the other way. Not only that but they wouldn't have to have 100 extra employees on for that morning. I was also going to buy a microwave oven but I blew it off because I wasn't going to stand in one of those checkout lines for an item I can buy anywhere.

Ok, so I'm back home and I'm still laughing a bit at my naivete. What a dilettante. I had no idea, none.  I got schooled by the cognoscenti.

fri pins

Ground Zero mosque controversial? Nah, the guy's a hero

NBC has announced that it has named the developer of the controversial Islamic prayer center near Ground Zero, Sharif el-Gamal, one of the network’s “People of the Year.” El-Gamal will sit down for an interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer on Thanksgiving night.

The prayer center, known as Park51, has sparked outrage and massive protests from people who say that building a mosque so close to the site of the World Trade Center attacks is disrespectful to 9/11 victims and their families.

More here:

Let's tax the evil corporations (for my friend, Trice)

Found it at Moonbattery:

Poor law abiding citizens

Found it at Moonbattery:

Let's turn the tables on these morons

Jesse Jackson isn't the only activist that can use corporate boycotts for political purposes. Starting next year, the huge Tea Party organizer FreedomWorks will urge supporters to punish huge corporations like General Electric and Johnson and Johnson for backing President Obama's progressive agenda.

A few examples:

-- General Electric. The firm has a 51 percent favorable image, but when poll takers were told of its support for the Obama economic stimulus plan, only 20 percent had a favorable impression of the consumer giant.

-- Johnson and Johnson. Nearly 69 percent had a favorable impression of the health company before Johnson and Johnson's support for health reform legislation was detailed to survey-takers. Afterward, that favorability dropped to 16 percent.

The poll also found that 81 percent of conservative voters active in the Tea Party would be "less likely to buy products from companies that actively lobbied to pass Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan," and 61 percent would blog, Facebook, or upload a YouTube video urging backers to boycott their products.

FreedomWorks and the National Center for Public Policy Research's Free Enterprise Project will first start by releasing the poll on Tuesday. It will then urge bloggers and other activists to spread the news about how companies lobbied for Obama's agenda. And soon after look for the groups to list the ties of major firms to the Democrats and progressives. "To break up this unholy alliance between government and business, we have to shine a light on it," says Kibbe. "This is a next step in a series of battles," adds Borelli.

More here:

That's right.  Ever see these companies fold like deck chairs when the lefties threaten boycotts?  It's time we started to fight back ... don't you think?

Your intellectual betters

Excerpts from the Harvard Economic Society’s Weekly Letter, 1929-1930:

• Nov. 16, 1929: “[A] severe depression like that of 1920-21 is outside the range of probability.”
• Jan. 18, 1930: “With the underlying conditions sound, we believe that the recession in general business will be checked shortly and that improvement will set in during the spring months.”
• May 17, 1930: “General prices are now at bottom and will shortly improve.”
• Aug. 30, 1930: “Since our monetary and credit structure is not only sound but unusually strong … there is every prospect that the recovery which we have been expecting will not be long delayed.”
• Sept. 20, 1930: “[R]ecovery will soon be evident.”
• Nov. 15, 1930: “[T]he outlook is for the end of the decline in business during the early part of 1931, and steady … revival for the remainder of the year.”

In 1931, strapped by the depression, the Letter ceased publication.

From The Futility Closet:

Happy Thanksgiving, Klownies!

Until today, I did not realize Thanksgiving was really due to Abraham Lincoln.

This is the proclamation which set the precedent for America's national day of Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders similar to this. For example, on November 28, 1861, he ordered government departments closed for a local day of thanksgiving.
Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on September 28, 1863, urging him to have the "day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival." She explained, "You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution."
Prior to this, each state scheduled its own Thanksgiving holiday at different times, mainly in New England and other Northern states. President Lincoln responded to Mrs. Hale's request immediately, unlike several of his predecessors, who ignored her petitions altogether.

His Proclamation here .
Being President back then was WAY harder than it is now, IMHO.

Thoughts on sex

Thomas Browne on sex: “I could be content that we might procreate like trees, without conjunction, or that there were any way to perpetuate the world without this trivial and vulgar way of coition. It is the foolishest act a wise man commits in all his life, nor is there anything that will more deject his cooled imagination when he shall consider what an unworthy piece of folly he hath committed.” (1642)

Shaw on marriage: “When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and exhausting condition continuously until death do them part.” (1913)

From The Futility Closet:

Best burger ever? Mix sirloin, chuck and brisket?

Wombat brought up the subject of burgers ... specifically these "Shake Shack" burgers in Manhattan.  OH, it's a big deal, long lines, people raving about the burgers etc etc.  Anyway, he heard of them so he stopped by one of their more convenient locations on the way back from skiing the other day.  He LOVED them. 

Oops, looks like they have more locations than just Manhattan.  Check out this review of the new one in Miami. This article also mentions the type of beef used. After some research I found the following recipe:

Ingredients
serves 4
• 8 ounces beef sirloin, trimmed of gristle, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 4 ounces well-marbled beef chuck, trimmed of gristle, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 4 ounces well-marbled beef brisket, fat cap intact, trimmed of gristle, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 4 Martin's Sandwich Rolls
• 4 tablespoons Shack Sauce (recipe follows)
• 4 leaves of green-leaf lettuce, clipped
• 8 center-cut slices ripe plum tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
• Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper
• 4 slices yellow American cheese
•
• SAUCE INGREDIENTS
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 4 slices kosher dill pickle
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• Pinch cayenne pepper


Procedures

1. Place feed shaft, blade, and 1/4-inch die of meat grinder in freezer until well-chilled. Meanwhile, place meat chunks on rimmed baking sheet, leaving space between each piece and place in freezer for 10 minutes until meat is firm, but not frozen.

2. Combine meat in large bowl and toss to combine. Pass meat through grinder twice. Form into four disks, about 2-inches tall, and 2.5-inches wide. Refrigerate until ready for use.

3. Open buns but do not split hinge. Brush lightly with butter, then place under broiler or in toaster oven until golden brown, about 1 minute. Spread 1 tablespoon Shack Sauce on top half of each bun (for true authenticity, squirt out of squeeze bottle into three lines, three passes on each line). Place 1 leaf lettuce and 2 slices tomato on top half of each bun.

4. Using wadded-up paper towel, rub inside of heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet with vegetable oil, then place over medium-high heat until just beginning to smoke. Season beef pucks on top side with salt and pepper, then place, seasoned side down, in skillet. Using back of heavy, flat spatula, press down on beef pucks firmly to form 4-inch round patties, being careful not to let it stick to bottom of spatula. Season top side with salt and pepper. Cook until crisp brown crust has formed, about 2-minutes.

5. Carefully scrape patties from skillet, and flip. Top each patty with 1 slice American cheese. Cook until cheese is melted, about 1 minute longer. Transfer patties to burger bun bottoms, close sandwiches, and serve.

6. Shack Sauce: Combine all ingredients in blender until smooth, scraping down sides of blender with rubber spatula as necessary. Makes about 3/4 cup sauce.

Here's a bunch of reviews written by normal, everyday peeps.

I found the recipe here:

Ok, my honey says she will try to make these after Thanksgiving.  She says you can just go to the butcher shop and order the meat to be ground.  I'll be sure to report back.

Meanwhile, if you decided to try it, you can report your findings (with pics/video if possible) to Wombat (click the link in the right column of the blog.)  Just remember, he may post your findings on the blog and that would make you world famous so ...

How Family Guy has changed

You think it matters what you say or how you vote?

Bold is mine:

The Federal Communications Commission is expected to announce plans next week for regulations that would forbid internet service providers from blocking or favouring content online.

The so-called “net neutrality” rules could be passed by the commission as early as December 15. The move would fulfil a campaign promise by President Barack Obama and infuriate the new Republican majority on Capitol Hill, which has said it would oppose the plan, but would have little power to stop it.

"Net neutrality"   Don't you love how everything congress names is the exact opposite of its name?  LMAO @ the majority in congress can't stop it.  Hey, asshats ... if congress can't run the country then why do we elect them?

The facts are, this is actually true.  The bureaucrats are running things and the hell with what congress says.  Like the EPA.  They'll be deciding whether CO2 is a pollutant or not.  The Supreme Court just said so.

When we allow the government to grow and grow and grow uncontrollably .... without the congress having to do an affirmative vote each year to extend the life of these "agencies" then we get what we have now ... a giant, wasteful, uncaring, unresponsive, parasitic behemoth.  It's name should be No-jobba the Hut.

If the FCC passes such regulations it would likely defer – at least temporarily – a separate plan endorsed by Mr Genachowski for broadband providers to be subjected to a tighter regulatory regime known as “Title II”, which would open the door to price controls and other tough new rules.

OH awesome -- a bunch of incompetent boobs will be in charge of pricing and other "tough new rules"... can't wait.

Republicans on Capitol Hill responded to Mr Genachowski’s expected move with anger. In a letter, 18 members from the House energy committee asked him not to move forward with the plan.

What a joke ... congress is begging a bureaucracy not to write its own laws.  Good luck with that, jackasses.  I recommend defunding FCC activity except for bare bones minimums until we can  replace it with a fair market solution and disband it completely, along with about 50 other government agencies.

“Reigniting the network neutrality debate will only distract us from [other] work [at the FCC] and further jeopardise investment, innovation, and jobs,” they wrote.

Right, and they care, why?  They could give a flaming damn what you say.  None of you have the guts to make anything happen up there.  LOL @ writing letters. ...  way to go, geniuses.

This is great news though.  Republicans will either make a huge difference or they won't.  If they make a huge difference we'll all be better off and more of them will be elected next time.  

If they don't make a difference and it's business as usual up there, the Republican party is done and we can start from scratch with a new party.  Yes, it will take some time but it's better than letting these two parties continue as they have for the last 70-80 years.

More at ft.com:

Oopsie Daisy.

You mean that's not okay?

Well, THAT'S Weird.

(Newser) – The parents of a toddler who fell to his death from a luxury suite at a Los Angeles Lakers game were taking or looking at digital photos when "somehow the child went over the edge of the section," said a police spokesman. Lucas Anthony Tang, 2, plunged some 30 feet from the third-deck suite, striking his head as he hit empty plastic seats beneath just after the basketball game ended at the Staples Center. Witnesses said he was moving when he was rushed from the scene by paramedics, but was declared dead in a local hospital.

The glass barrier in front of the seats where the boy fell is about the height of an adult's waist, and meets city safety codes, officials told the Los Angeles Times. The accident, however, has raised safety concerns about high, steep stadiums where barriers can be as low as 26 inches. In 2009 a worker at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium tripped in the press box and fell to his death. The Lakers offered condolences to the dead boy's family yesterday. "For people who have kids or nieces and nephews and understand how special a child's life is, it's very sad news," said Lakers guard Derek Fisher.

Nowhere do they wonder wtf the parents weren't watching their child.  "somehow the child went over the edge of the section", "the glass barrier... meets safety codes", "the accident... raised safety concerns about high, steep stadiums".

Meanwhile, BOTH parents were preoccupied and not watching their child. Nothing to see here, folks... move along. Clearly the parents did nothing wrong here. Clearly, it's not their fault. Clearly, there was nothing they could have done.

In other news, it's a mystery why our society as a whole is going to hell in a handbasket. Parents stopped parenting decades ago and no matter how much blame we place on society, the goverment, schools, teachers, and anyone but the parents, we still can't figure out why children grow up to be such rotten adults who know neither personal responsibility, accountability, or good manners.

From Newser.

Slow Learner.

The woman who became a symbol of voter dissatisfaction after telling President Obama she was "exhausted" from defending his policies has now got even more reason to be dissatisfied. Velma Hart, who told the president she was worried about her financial future, has lost her job as chief financial officer for a nonprofit Maryland-based veterans services organization, the AP reports.

"It's not anything she did," the national executive director of Am Vets tells the Washington Post. "She got bit by the same snake that has bit a lot of people. It was a move to cut our bottom line." Hart, the mother of two teenage daughters, says unemployment is a "scary proposition," but she's trying to stay positive—and she still supports Obama. "I want to focus on the positive and be optimistic," she tells CNBC. "And assume that somehow things will work out, that there's an opportunity out there with Velma's name on it that's right around the corner."

Right. Spit in one hand and wish in the other and see which one fills up faster.

From Newser.

Pin Droppage.

At a time when our president and other politicians tend to apologize for our country's prior actions, here's a refresher on how some of our former patriots handled negative comments about our country.


These are good


JFK'S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60's when DeGaulle decided to pull out of NATO. DeGaulle said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible.

Rusk responded, "Does that include those who are buried here?"

DeGaulle did not respond.

You could have heard a pin drop.


When in England , at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of 'empire building' by George Bush.

He answered by saying, "Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return."

You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying, "Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intend to do, bomb them?"

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: "Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?"


You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of officers that included personnel from most of those countries.

Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English. He then asked, "Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?"

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, "Maybe it's because the Brit's, Canadians, Aussie's and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German."

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...


Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane.

At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport
in his carry on.

"You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically.

Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.

"Then you should know enough to have your passport ready."

The American said, "The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it."

"Impossible.. Americans always have to show their passports on arrival in France !"

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, ''Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchmen to show a passport to."

You could have heard a pin drop.

It's about time

Want to customize the cover on your laptop/phone, etc?

Check out "Skin It"

I wondered how it worked so I found a review of the product.

Tell me- what can we do TODAY? Tell me! Tell me!

AHA! You have no solution! You complain but you offer no solution!

This Made Me Laugh

I Just Gained A LITTLE Respect for James Carville

fri pins

Priceless !

One "Czar" Down, How Many to Go?

Former Obama car czar Steven Rattner has agreed to pay $6.2 million to settle federal charges over his role in a "pay-to-play" scandal, but says he won't be "bullied" into accepting a harsher penalty from New York's attorney general.
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday that Rattner had accepted the fine and a two year ban from the securities industry to resolve allegations that he paid illegal kickbacks to help his private equity firm land a lucrative investment from a state pension fund.

He'll pay $6.2 million, but that's ALL. How much is this weasel worth that $6 million seems acceptable?? Well, he WAS a czar after all...

Story here.

Slow learning Libs.

I read this article on Scientific American's website regarding aging people being more susceptible to scams. Now, I know as well as anyone that SA is a Lib publication but I was still surprised at the fact that the first comment attempted to drag the Tea Party down without getting the facts straight. I felt compelled to elucidate.

Frankly, I didn't expect my facts to change his mind but I also didn't want them to go unmentioned to future readers. Let's face it- Libs aren't exactly great at doing their own research. I figured I'd save them the trouble and put it plainly, simply and in black and white. Somehow, it didn't take as demonstrated by gagemosher's exuberant agreement with Dolmance. Perhaps I didn't dumb down my comment sufficiently. Perhaps it's impossible to do so.

Either way, I've set it up to email me when new comments are posted. I'll update this post if anything interesting shows up on the thread.

In case you missed the link above, here's the link to the original article and ensuing comments.

"Democratic" senator tells you what he really thinks

 

Senator Jay Rockefeller

NEWS ALERT: Senator Dip McShit runs off at the mouth without pea-brain engaged.

Here's part of Rockefeller's statement: "There's a little bug inside of me which wants to get the FCC to say to FOX and to MSNBC: 'Out. Off. End. Goodbye.' It would be a big favor to political discourse; our ability to do our work here in Congress, and to the American people, to be able to talk with each other and have some faith in their government and more importantly, in their future."

Rockefeller's statement is concerning for a number of reasons but the most striking to me is the portion that reads: "It would be a big favor to political discourse...and to the American people."

As I'm reading this, Rockefeller is saying that the United States electorate will be better informed if we ELIMINATE two major media voices - that getting rid of them would essentially be addition by subtraction.

Put your own politics on FOX and MSNBC aside for a second and let's just agree that they can both sometimes present potentially polarizing views.

What Rockefeller is suggesting with his statement is that the views presented on FOX and MSNBC have no place in the news consumers' world and, because they are not "quality news," the government should intervene. Simply put, that's absolute censorship and undermines having a diverse flow of information in the market. It also destroys market-based competition among the networks. This is America, right? More here:

More here:

Yep.  Perfectly typical of a liberal/Democratic tyrant.  If you don't agree with them, they'll shut you down ... if they possibly can.  

But sorry, DipShitafeller, our founding fathers knew there would be tyrants like you at every turn and they protected us from you with the Constitution .... so, no, you won't be shutting anyone down.  Isn't that a shame.  It's nice to know you'd do it if you could though, jackass.  Hey, try using the commerce clause to justify it, genius.  That's typically what you lefties do when you're looking  to  justify government intervention into something.  

I can't understand why West Virginians put this asshat in congress.

What a great idea

 





In these hard times its good to know you don't have to spend so much of your income on good times.

So what are we gonna do about the deficits/debt?

Just look at this graph. Who is responsible for this?  I say it's the voters.  I think the voters have decided to take control of the situation in this last election.  I can't WAIT for 2012.
 

(Reuters) - Warning of a "death spiral" without drastic changes, a group of experts on the U.S. federal budget deficit on Wednesday called for a 2011 Social Security tax holiday, a soft drink tax and government spending freezes.

In an ambitious plan to slash the deficit and the fast-mounting national debt, the group also called for a new 6.5 percent national sales tax, as well as lower and simpler individual income and corporate tax rates.

Ooooo, a national sales tax.  I like the fact that they recommended this as part of the solution.  Now, if they'd just read the Fair Tax book and implement it, the problem would be solved and we could all move on.  The only caveat I have is this ... a tax INCREASE is NOT a solution.  Our problem is not a shortage of money ... our problem is too much spending.  Therefore, I support a change in the method of taxing but not an increase in the amount we give the government.  In fact, I support a significant DECREASE in the amount we give to the government.

Former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Alice Rivlin and former Republican Senator Pete Domenici -- both veterans of Washington's long-running deficit wars -- headed the 19-member group organized by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank.

Domenici called the deficit "a quiet killer" undermining the economy and compared the effort required to vanquish it to the sacrifices made by Americans during World War II.

LOL @ sacrifice like we're fighting an enemy ... only this time the enemy is our own government. Yes, I notice these asshats don't recommend shrinking the government back to its same level as 1930 .... Nooooo, the government doesn't shrink and sacrifice , YOU AND YOUR FAMILY DO! YOU GOT THAT?   JACKASS!!

At an event to unveil the center's plan, Rivlin said its twin goals were to boost the economy and "drastic tax reform."

Americans are worried about the deficit and want action, polls show, but politicians cannot agree on tax hikes and spending cuts, even though experts say both are needed.

Oh really?  Is that what the "experts" say? And who is the person who deems them "experts?"  Screw you, geniuses.  I think it's clear where all the "experts" and geniuses have gotten us.  Here's a free clue ... stop ... squandering ... money.

"What's clear to me is that the era of debt denial is over," Erskine Bowles, co-chairman of the presidential commission, told reporters on Tuesday evening.

More here:

A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.

The origin of the quote above seems to be in dispute but it rings true to me.  The part I like best?  The last five words.

I think the answer is here:
1 - Limit government spending to X% of GDP.
2 - Oh wait, there is no number 2

"Cutting the cord"

The number of people subscribing to US cable television services has suffered its biggest decline in 30 years as younger, tech-savvy viewers lead an exodus to web-based operations, such as Hulu and Netflix.

The total number of subscribers to TV services provided by cable, satellite and telco operators fell by 119,000 in the third quarter, compared with a gain of 346,000 in the third quarter of 2009, according to SNL Kagan, a research company.

Although television services offered by telecoms and satellite providers added subscribers over the period, cable operators were hard hit, with subscriber numbers falling by 741,000 – the largest decline in 30 years.

The figures suggest that “cord-cutting” – one of the pay-television industry’s biggest fears – is becoming a reality as viewers drift to web-based platforms.

More here:

Gee, that's a shame.  You mean the cable companies ripped us off year after year for decades and now, all of a sudden, customers jump ship the first chance they get?  Oh, who could have foreseen such a tragedy?  I sure hope they don't go to hell.

Bull-headed laws of economics insist on being followed

Low-tax states will gain seats, high-tax states will lose them
By: Barbara Hollingsworth

Migration from high-tax states to states with lower taxes and less government spending will dramatically alter the composition of future Congresses, according to a study by Americans for Tax Reform

Eight states are projected to gain at least one congressional seat under reapportionment following the 2010 Census: Texas (four seats), Florida (two seats), Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington (one seat each). Their average top state personal income tax rate: 2.8 percent.

By contrast, New York and Ohio are likely to lose two seats each, while Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania will be down one apiece. The average top state personal income tax rate in these loser states: 6.05 percent.

The state and local tax burden is nearly a third lower in states with growing populations, ATR found. As a result, per capita government spending is also lower: $4,008 for states gaining congressional seats, $5,117 for states losing them.

And, as ATR notes, “in eight of ten losers, workers can be forced to join a union as a condition of employment. In 7 of the 8 gainers, workers are given a choice whether to join or contribute financially to a union.”

Imagine that: Americans are fleeing high tax, union-dominated states and settling in states with lower taxes, right-to-work laws and lower government spending. Nothing sends a message like voting with your feet.

From The Washington Examiner:

The unedited photo.

Oh lord, the worst of all possible worlds

An elderly man suffered a massive heart attack. The family drove wildly to get him to the emergency room.

After what seemed like a very long wait, the ER doctor appeared wearing his scrubs and a long face.

Sadly, he said, "I'm afraid Grandpa is brain-dead, but his heart is still beating."

"Oh, Dear God," cried his wife, her hands clasped against her cheeks with shock.

"We’ve never had a Democrat in the family before." 

Press button now!

My friend Kevin sent me this in email.

Click here for your own button.

Kelly's Always Thinking Ahead

Courtesy of Beaner.

Tuesday Taste of the "Town"

GRAVY “A SOUTHERN EATERY”
NEAR CALABASH, NC

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
It’s basically a big barn-looking building. Very quiet when we were there, decorated oddly (if it were nicer I'd say eclectic). It was very clean. Tall people abounded, for some reason.

SERVICE:
Excellent. She answered all questions and was helpful when we needed her.

CHEESEBURGER & FRIES:
EK had heard stories of a burger “as big as a hubcap”, so this was the place for him. Apparently this item is not on their "new" menu, but if you ask for “the Beach burger” they will make it. We were informed that all burgers would be cooked well-done, but EK said “if it’s undercooked, it won't hurt my feelings.” That request fell on deaf ears (thank you government nannies!). The burger arrived, and it was quite large – it required two slices of cheese to cover it. A bit dry looking, but EK called it a big winner, nice flavor, and lots of good-looking fries. I’d say B+

OTHER FOOD:
I had “the” liver and onions. Yeah – I know – who eats that stuff? I do – and it was outstanding – tender and not overcooked, and a great pile of sautéed onions, with a side of corn and potato salad (both not homemade, and mediocre). Iron is good for you, you know.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE:
It’s an odd place – but I liked it. Cash only - no credit cards. Given the right circumstances I’d go back – not fine dining by any stretch, but good food at a very fair price.

WTF? EVENT:
This place has been a fixture for years – and it was always called “The Beach Diner”. Now the same owners decided it would be a smart idea to change the name to “Gravy – A Southern Eatery”. It’s Calabash you geniuses – that sort of rubric will scare away even your regular customers!

Yep, global warming -- Brrrrrrr

BERLIN, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Climate change could lead to colder winters in northern regions, according to a study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research on Tuesday.

Vladimir Petoukhov, lead author of the study, said a shrinking of sea ice in the eastern Arctic causes some regional warming of lower air levels and may lead to anomalies in atmospheric airstreams, triggering an overall cooling of the northern continents.

"These anomalies could triple the probability of cold winter extremes in Europe and northern Asia," he said. "Recent severe winters like last year's or the one of 2005/06 do not conflict with the global warming picture but rather supplement it."

More here:

Yes, surely you can see how this is true.  The clothes on the emperor are mighty fine ... mighty fine, indeed.  You see them, don't you?

Note to self: Helicopters = A bit drafty

Tourette's karaoke

This guy with Tourette's does karaoke.  He posted some ..."Fuck off" ... videos here:

"It's a Great Conversation Piece"

I cartoonized these babes

Make yer own here:

JimBob?

Strange requests

I want to hate this ... but I like it instead

ooops

much screaming and running

Government schools - full of communist geniuses

Found the pic at Drudge

DENAIR - 13-year-old Cody Alicea rides with an American flag on the back of his bike. He says he does this to be patriotic and to honor veterans, like his own grandfather, Robert. He's had the flag on his bike for two months but Monday, was asked told to take it down. A school official at Denair Middle School told Cody some students had been complaining about the flag and it was no longer allowed on school property.

More here:

Hey, I'll give you one guess what state it's in.  Yes, good guess.

I think it's FAR past time  to fire some "school officials,"  don't you?  Well, good luck with that.  You won't be getting rid of incompetent boobs.  Instead you'll be paying them very well for doing idiotic crap like this on a daily basis.  Gee, why can't kids read and write?

Want to call or write them to let you know what you think of them?

Denair Middle School

3460 Lester Rd.
Denair, CA 95316

PHONE: (209) 632-2510
FAX: (209) 634-0269

fri pins

Now that the puzzle has been solved, I can post a pic I found while "researching".

Not quite as cool or mind-bending as A is A's but still pretty impressive.

Now, if they could just figure out some way to prevent all the energy going skyward instead of sideways, they could probably get these things to do some real damage.

What Is This?

Hint:

It's 1 millisecond old.

Tuesday Taste of the "Town"

ANGELO’S BRICK OVEN PIZZA
SHALLOTTE, NC


FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
Another pizza joint in a strip mall. Clean inside, with a very large brick oven and visible kitchen. It smelled very good.

SERVICE:
The service was fine, attentive but not overbearing. It’s pizza – how much can they do?

THE PIZZA:
We ordered a large with bacon, mushrooms, and onions. Why the departure from the “control pizza” of pepperoni & mushrooms? I’ll tell you that later. It arrived medium hot, and was decent looking, but I knew immediately that the dearth of cheese was going to be its downfall. Indeed, it was. The sauce was flavorless, but the crust was actually pretty good, thin and crispy (I’m going to credit the oven). Toppings were good (maybe too much bacon), but the mushrooms were fresh! I give it a C-.


OVERALL EXPERIENCE:
I’m not a big fan – I probably won’t go back. The price was fair, but there were 3 of us there and we didn’t finish the pie – ‘cause it just wasn’t that good.

WTF? EVENT :
We ordered our pizza sans pepperoni, as our frequent fellow diner “doesn’t like pepperoni”. Huh?!? Who doesn’t like pepperoni? But EK is a tolerant fellow and allowed the substitutions. And as an aside – what school has a manatee for their mascot? We love you, fellow dining lady!

One argument against using waterproof paint for your ceiling.

The story is that there was a flood upstairs and that the ceiling paint is now holding its fair share of the runoff. I'd be putting down the camera and figuring out some way of doing a controlled drain thus avoiding a messy deluge of unwelcome moisture on my dry stuff occupying the first floor.

Three more photos at theChive.

I'd watch more football if they did more of this.

And I Thought I Was Good At This Stupid Game

Everybody wins. Nobody loses.

Along the same lines as the post below ("The decline and fall of Western Civilization"), this commercial teaches the same lesson. Now, I know this is "just" a commercial and for that reason, academics will tell you "it doesn't matter", "don't pay any attention to it", or "why are even commenting on a commercial in the first place?". Of course, I know better. I know that there is truth to every jest. I know that when "it's not about the money" it's about the money. I know that when you say, "I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, but..." you're trying to hurt my feelings.

In other words, nice try, Lucy, but I'm not kicking the ball.



I know that the cognoscenti who regularly read this blog will think I'm stating the obvious here but this commercial caused me to ask one big question: "Who is going to feed all those animals?"

I suppose the Libs will suggest a government social program to feed them. I'm also sure that it will cost a fortune and ultimately fail leaving everyone and everything involved much worse off than they were beforehand. Of course when it does inevitably fail, the Libs will shrug their shoulders and shed a tear because "we did the best we could but because of the bad Republicans and Corporations, we never really stood a chance."

Life would be easier for us all if Libs believed in God. If they did, they'd stop trying to fix everything that already works. For all their years of studying nature, they haven't learned a damned thing. Animals eat other animals. The benefits of this plan are numerous and vast. This whole Disneyfied idea of animals all getting along does not work. Of course, any sentient individual recognizes this as a thinly veiled argument for cultural and racial diversity. In the real world, diversity doesn't actually work.

In the real world, resources are limited. When resources are limited, different species compete. Where there is competition- real competition- there are winners and losers. The only people who can convince themselves that there is no such thing as winning and losing are Libs. If we start believing what they're promoting, we'll be in just as much trouble as they are.

The decline and fall of Western Civilization.

This is what I've been saying all along. For some reason, Libs have decided that self-esteem should come above everything else in a child's life. Unfortunately, Libs have no sense of right or wrong, logic, or common sense so they take it to a ridiculous extreme. There's a difference between seeing the silver lining around a cloud and not seeing the cloud at all- but not for Libs.

Rather than encouraging the strengths and letting the weaknesses wither, they're just calling the weaknesses "strengths" and going from there. The problem with this strategy is that it's not based in truth and just like calling radical Islamic terrorism "the religion of peace", it's only going to blow up in not only your face but in the rest of our faces as well.

The old adage, "it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game" still holds true, however, the spirit of this message is that you should learn to play the game properly because if you do, you will ultimately start winning regularly. Any sports fan can tell you that it's no fun when your team loses. Any athlete knows this even better.

There is pleasure in winning by playing the game better than the other team. A clean win comes from working harder, focusing better, having better leadership and experiencing better teamwork than the other team. These are all positive influences on the life of an individual and the lessons learned are carried with you for life and will serve you well in every aspect of your life. This does not, however, mean the same thing as winning at all costs.

True to form, Libs don't understand this simple philosophy. Rather than doing the work and earning a win, they instead try to find an "angle", a backdoor, a loophole, or a shortcut. The reason for this is that it's human nature to want to win but when you convince yourself that you're "above all that", simple rules and simple solutions are no longer an option. This is why the overwhelming majority of cases of voter fraud are perpetuated by Democrats. For the sake of their self-esteem, they have been brainwashed into believing that there's no such thing as winning or losing.

I keep thinking that this is all going to come to a crashing halt any day now but it continues. The story that follows is an extreme example of a very real problem.

It‘s something of a stretch to compare a soccer game among eleven-year-old boys with the fate of the democratic world, but I’ve always managed to see big issues in small things.

My son is playing on a local soccer team which has lost every one of its games, often by humiliating scores. The coach is a nice guy, but seems an archetype of contemporary thinking: he tells the kids not to care about whether they win, puts players at any positions they want, and doesn’t listen to their suggestions.

He never criticizes a player or suggests how a player could do better. My son, bless him, once remarked to me: “How are you going to play better if nobody tells you what you’re doing wrong?” The coach just tells them how well they are playing. Even after an 8-0 defeat, he told them they’d played a great game.

And of course, the league gives trophies to everyone, whether their team finishes in first or last place.

Much more at PJM.

Oh yeah -- farm life baby, nuttin' like 'er

My friend Stuart sent me this in email.

The Fed cannot be stopped

The Fed's action may in fact lower borrowing costs, but it has counteracting effects in other ways, especially through the weakening of the dollar, which raises the cost of imported oil and thus of gasoline...

Meanwhile, the price of US crude oil jumped $2.5 a barrel to $87. It is up 20pc since markets first concluded in early September that 'QE2' was a done deal. This amounts to a tax on US consumers, transferring US income to Mid-East petro-powers. Copper has behaved in much the same way. So have sugar, soya, and cotton...

More here:

Exactly ... now, just wait for the inflation.   And they'll say "how were we to know that would happink?"  No worries though ... the media will tell you who's fault it is ...  it's BUSH!!