How Modern Liberals Think

I am four posts backed up in my "drafts" file on Blogger. I want them all to see the light of day as they deal with what I consider to be very important issues.

And yet, after having visited AB Freedom's blog and watching a video he linked on a post, I feel compelled to post that video link here. Thanks, and a very nice hat-tip to ABF.

Be aware: this video is 47+ minutes, and you should have a rather speedy connection to view it properly. I myself have a dial-up running at 54 Kbps and the thing took roughly 7 days and nights to download.

But, ladies and gentlemen, the video is THAT IMPORTANT -- sufficiently important that I put all my other drafts on hold in order to feature this video, hosted by the Heritage Foundation and entitled: "How Modern Liberals Think" featuring a man named Evan Sayet.

Watch the video. Then please leave comments.

BZ

Feinstein's Conflict: She Resigns

Seen this anywhere on the DEM (Defeatist, Elitist Media)?

From the MetroActive website in the Fornicalia San Francisco, San Jose area:

SEN. Dianne Feinstein has resigned from the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee. As previously and extensively reviewed in these pages, Feinstein was chairperson and ranking member of MILCON for six years, during which time she had a conflict of interest due to her husband Richard C. Blum's ownership of two major defense contractors, who were awarded billions of dollars for military construction projects approved by Feinstein.

Did you read this closely? Do you understand that Diane Feinstein has been purposely lining her husband's (and consequently her) pockets because she chaired the committee responsible for APPROVING contracts worth billions of dollars awarded to her husband's companies?

She may as well have reached into your checkbook and forced you to write checks to her account.

And yet, the MainStreamMedia (MSM) are COMPLETELY SILENT on this.

Page one news, above the fold!

No? No news? All you hear are the crickets chirping in the fields?

And where is the GOP on this? Where are their critiques?

I hear, instead, a deafening silence.

WHY IS THAT?

BZ

Changing?

Is John McCain thinking of changing from a big R to a big D?

He evidently considered crossing the aisle in 2001.

From The Hill:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was close to leaving the Republican Party in 2001, weeks before then-Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) famously announced his decision to become an Independent, according to former Democratic lawmakers who say they were involved in the discussions.

In interviews with The Hill this month, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and ex-Rep. Tom Downey (D-N.Y.) said there were nearly two months of talks with the maverick lawmaker following an approach by John Weaver, McCain’s chief political strategist.

Question: why has this been revealed to The Hill at this point, by Democrats, with McCain seeking the GOP nomination? Does someone not want to run against McCain? And if so, why sink McCain?

In Washington, no one does anything absent an agenda.

BZ

1979 Revisited

On November 4th, 1979, the American embassy in Tehran was seized by Iranian "students." Out of the roughly 90 embassy workers, 52 of them were held by Iran for 444 days.

One of those "students" was named Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: "Several former hostages and the former President of Iran have identified Ahmadinejad as one of the key individuals holding Americans inside the embassy."

Keeping well to form, Iran is holding 15 UK sailors and soldiers hostage, insisting they were trespassing in Iranian waters (see map above). UK's Tony Blair said, after his military personnel were paraded about on Iranian state TV, that it was time for the UK to "ratchet up" pressure on Iran.

After first indicating the female sailor was to be released Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki recanted and said that Britain must now admit that its 15 sailors and marines entered Iranian waters -- in order to resolve a standoff over their capture by Iranian authorities.

Meanwhile, UK authorities continue to issue harsh language (to include phrases such as "very concerned" and "completely unacceptable") and have already gotten to the point where they are actually considering the utilization of serious sarcasm or belittling in order to resolve the issue.

This does nothing but prove to Islamists that any and all Western countries are Paper Tigers, and guarantees that this kind of action, and much worse, will continue unabated.

Note to Britain: pull out, say, one or two Invincible class aircraft carriers and float them over to the Arabian Sea. Zip out a flock of Harrier GR7s, perhaps augmented by a Spirit or three, and drop some precision ordnance onto a number of very important Iranian oil pipelines. Destroy their petroleum infrastructure. Take out several refineries for good measure. Target oil facilities at Iranian ports. I suggest that this may actually acquire Iran's attention.

Or, you can violate both common-sense diplomatic tenets. . .

1. Respond to words with words;

2. Respond to actions with actions.

. . . and do nothing.

Clue to Britain (just in case they're still considering belittling as a viable option): we're talking about actions here, folks.

Addendum Update: the US Freighter Mayaguez

I just remembered: does anyone recall the Mayaguez being taken by Khmer Rouge Cambodian gunboats on May 12th, 1975? This ship, in the Gulf of Thailand, had its 40 sailors physically captured and taken to a nearby island? President Ford gave the Cambodian government 72 hours to return the sailors and ship. When this did not occur, he sent the USS Midway and USS Coral Sea into the area. On May 15th, 175 US Marines assaulted the island, and US aircraft bombed the Cambodian airfield at Ream and the port of Kampong Som. All the sailors were subsequently found in a boat earlier set adrift by the Cambodians.

Hey Blair: looking for any kind of precedent? Here it is.

BZ

The Old Players, and a Possible New Player

Rudy may have, apparently, one last chance to even out the upcoming playing field.

Should he?

On the Left:

Hillary and Obama. The Old and the New of the Far Left Wing. Obama is young but a Nice Negro. Hillary is older and anything but nice. O, such confusal!

Hillary is apparently Insufficiently Left to appease the Greater Far Left Occupiers. They are unsatisfied. But this is nothing new.

Some are speculating the most Presidential Hopefuls have exposed their political ploys way too early in the Master Plan -- to the point where many are already experiencing plunging numbers (like I place much credence in polls at this stage of anyone's campaign).

Despite that, I submit there is one Playah many have failed to take into account:

Fred Dalton Thompson.

Old, hangdog, tall, bejowled, bald, white boy, Fred Thompson.

Two-term Senator from Tennessee (1994 - 2003), Fred Thompson.

Smart enough to be on "Law And Order" via television, and co-host of Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story" on radio? Both at once? Free "face exposure," anyone?

Whilst it is speculated some may have blasted off on presidential aspirations too early, Fred has yet to officially make any determination. Is he crazy? Or crazy like a fox?

I submit the New York Sun article may have some legitimate legs. To wit:

-- Mit Romney polls number one;

-- Rudy Giuliani polls number two;

-- Fred Thompson (no official announcement whatsoever) polls number three;

John McCain is all over the board.

But allow me to submit some obvious if not abhorrent reasons for some polling numbers:

• Mit Romney: a Republican, but another one of those damned polygamists;
• Rudy Giuliani: a natural Leader but choice, gun, wife and family issues;
• John McCain: GOP obstructionist, McCain/Feingold, "it's all about him";
  

I say: put Fred into the equation and let's see how things shake out. My guess: no announcement from Fred until June or July.

BZ

First the House, Now the Senate

Invertebrates all.

To be vetoed by President Bush in any case.

The House: 218 to 212.

The Senate today: 50 to 48.

RINO Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska sided with the Democrats.

Managing a war by committee?

Wars cannot be run from these hallowed and comfortable and sanctified chambers 10,000 miles away from the war zone," said Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo. "How about allowing the officers, the men and the commanders in the field who are engaged daily, risking their lives to bring peace and security to Iraq, determine when and how we can best turn over to the Iraqi security forces the critical job, the critical job of assuring security."

Right you are, Senator Bond.

BZ

Questions for Bloggers & Readers:

I have two questions for those who blog and who read blogs:

1. When you access a blogsite, are you looking for short and concise posts, no more than one or two paragraphs, or do you seek more in-depth information in a post?

2. Do you find yourself posting and accessing blogs primarily during the week only, or do you travel to other blogs on the weekend as well -- in other words, are you more active and expect more activity during the week only?

BZ

"Shooter" -- To Be Avoided

The new movie "Shooter" starring Mark Wahlberg ("Italian Job," etc.) is out. I saw it Friday afternoon and can sum it up in this way: stay away. It is boring and tedious. Here is why:

I am so, so, so over Hollywood extolling the standard and prevailing "political" thriller where the bad guys are American and the ultimate string-pullers are white, fat, gray-haired, Republican power-mongers (shame on you, Ned Beatty!) who are motivated by oil, money, oil, money and oh, did I mention oil?

Wahlberg is too young to be believeable. He can't grow a decent beard. He just doesn't "play" in this part. And more Right Wing NutJobs Wanting To Take This Country Down For Oil And Cash -- I am so over that.

You want to support excrement like this, go ahead.

Instead, I might recommend you read the original book by author Stephen Hunter, entitled "Point Of Impact." No comparison.

BZ

New to the BZ "Usual Suspects" List!

It's time to take and give.

My blogroll needs to be minimized and advanced. I evidently have a different take on blogrolls than other blogs I've visited. Most blogs contain massive lists of blogs that no one would remotely have the time to visit. I predicate my blogroll on the apparently unique theory that their content intrigues me and/or I visit them with regularity. I place and introduce every blog to my roll personally.

Revka's Take existed in honor of her fabulous blog but I must needs take this room. This costs me the greatest amount of emotion because I found her site not only refreshing but one of the first to support me completely. Life just got in the way of her ability to blog consistently.

I have likewise liberated CC Christian and Quid Novi, due to a dearth of activity.

The Usual Suspects list must needs be expanded and it is beyond high time for this.

I would like to add and introduce:

1. Wordsmith:

His blog, Sparks From the Anvil, at:

http://hammeringsparksfromtheanvil.blogspot.com/

2. Shoprat:

His blog, The Educated Shoprat, at:

http://gluxian.blogspot.com/

3. Nightcrawler:

His blog, America Under Attack at:

http://nukethelibs.blogspot.com/

4. Gunny John:

His blog, Jarhead’s Firing Range, at:

http://jarheadjohn2.blogspot.com/

You must directly go now to their sites and bask in the glory that is their illumination. It is indeed an honor to sport them on my blogroll for inclusion to the Usual Suspects list.

BZ

Whores For Votes

This past weekend I projected a new post late one night following an intensive V-Cubed (Valium, Vicodin, Vodka) session, and took it down early the next morning. Perhaps some of you saw it, however briefly. Calling that post "vehement" would be an understatement. But I believe I discovered the reason that President Bush panders excessively to Mexicans. Another issue has also come to light regarding an equally if not more dangerous tactic by the Democrats: pandering to Muslims.

I've re-thought my decision to take down the post and shall instead rewrite it minus most expletives, but with some expansion.

FIRST: THE GOP
There are some issues where President Bush leaves me completely speechless, and illegal immigration is one of those issues. Over the course of writing this blog I've become increasingly intolerant of Bush's stance on illegal immigration, his typifying of the Minutemen as "vigilantes" and his refusal to put his foot down on illegal immigration, illegal immigrants and our porous border. His recent trip to South America and the manner of his reception in each of these countries sent my BP into 210/190 territory. Please, if you will, see my post here about the issue.

At first I speculated out loud if Bush were catering to Mexico because he had cut some sort of "under-the-table" deal with former President Vicente Fox regarding oil; that is, favoring the US with a continued supply of petroleum at an express discount, etc.

I now dismiss that theory. The truth is not nearly that logical, mysterious or satisfying.

I remain convinced that Bush panders solely for one reason only: votes. He has somehow been disturbingly persuaded that Mexicans will miraculously see the light and begin flooding the GOP with votes in upcoming elections.

I am afraid that, yes, President Bush and/or his handlers are in fact that stupid.

And the facts be damned.

Rove, Bush, whomever, have decided that the GOP needs to pull up its collective skirts sans panties in order to entice -- not "Hispanics" but Mexicans. Let's be blunt: Mexicans. And specific: Mexicans are historically Indian in origin; Aztecs, Mayans, Toltecs, Olmecs, Zapotecs, Mixtecs and Purepecha. They are not "Spanish." The Spanish are in Spain. Spain conquered Mexico. Mexicans are from Mexico.

The best predictor of the future is the past. And, George: historically the Mexicans have absolutely flooded to the Grand Old Party, have they not, you blockhead? Certainly, Mexicans who have adhered to the law and become United States nationals legally are Good Americans, no question. And they are the ones who generally do tend to vote mid-ground or perhaps slightly to the Right.

But they do not comprise the bulk of voters now-courted by Bush. He is apparently going for the full-fledged, illegal-crossing, American-flag-upside-down-hosting ungrateful fucks who expect that the US will not only spread its legs for them but suck their cocks as well. Many Mexicans have made it only so plain that their job is simply to retake the United States, called Aztlan. And they are well on their way, courtesy of Dubya.

Am I perhaps making this clear enough for you, in the most base of language?

That's bad enough -- the destruction of our country from within by the ungrateful, the demanding, those who claim "entitlements" illegally. But wait; there's more:

SECOND: THE DEMOCRATS
The GOP doesn't have the pandering landscape all to itself, oh no. Recently, Insight Magazine has explored the issue. To wit:

House Republicans have expressed concern that the Saudi-funded Muslim lobby is making serious inroads among Democrats in Congress.

GOP members of Congress have warned that Saudi-funded groups were receiving preferential treatment under the new Democrat leadership. They said some of these groups have records of defending such terrorist organizations as the Iranian-funded Hamas and Hezbollah.

One of these groups receiving preferential Democrat treatment is CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations. CAIR has, in fact, been given direct and physical access to the American Capitol building:

The biggest concern has been the Democratic access to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. On March 13, the Democrats allowed CAIR to hold a seminar on Islam and the West in a Capitol meeting room despite protests by the GOP.

At one point, the House Republican Conference urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to deny the group access. The GOP group called CAIR apologists for terror. The room was booked by Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., New Jersey Democrat.

"The Capitol Building is open to all Americans and should be available to encourage dialogue on the most relevant domestic and international issues of the day," Pascrell said. "My services are available to individuals and organizations that will advance productive debate regarding our nation's policies."

Militant Islam has made absolutely no hesitation in stating that the direct downfall of Western Civilization is an immediate goal, along with the conversion of essentially everyone on the planet. Those who cannot or will not convert are branded infidels and are subject to death, pure and simple.

Moreover, the Jewish contingent is becoming more stupid by the day. American Jews, voting Democrat, are enduring their eradication particularly as the Democrat party courts the Muslim vote.

Because they are Liberal or Left Leaning, Islam will magically find American Jews less responsible for the plight of all Islam?

I don't think so.

Here's what you're courting, Democrats:

• A patriarchal society;
• A society based on religion only and only one acceptable religion: Islam;
• Birkas;
• Clitorectomies;
• Praying five times per day towards Mecca;
• Shariah law;
• The abolishment of every societal perturbation you stand for;
• The complete abolition of the Constitution.

What part of the above do you not comprehend?

To both sides: you are whores for votes.

Keep it up. Your antagonists are hoping and praying you will.

BZ

US House Passes Bill Demanding a Timetable For Leaving Iraq

WASHINGTON - A sharply divided House voted Friday to order President Bush to bring combat troops home from Iraq next year, a victory for Democrats in an epic war-powers struggle and Congress' boldest challenge yet to the administration's policy.

The vote occurred, obviously, predominantly along party lines, 218-212.

Please note that two Republicans crossed the aisle to vote for the measure: Wayne Gilchrest (news, bio, voting record) of Maryland and Walter Jones (news, bio, voting record) of North Carolina. Of the 212 members who opposed the bill, 198 were Republicans and 14 were Democrats.

It seems I've been writing this sentence all too frequently: yes, we are that stupid.

Trust me: those who wish to destroy us, slit the throat of each and every one of us in America and the West, are completely overjoyed at this news.

BZ

GOP: Get the Memo!

BZ

God, I Need a Larf!

17 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity:


1. At lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.

2. Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice.

3. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask: "Do you want fries with that?"

4. Put your garbage can on your desk and label it "IN."

5. Put Decaf in the coffee maker for three weeks at work. Once everyone has gotten over their caffeine addictions, immediately switch to Espresso the next morning.

6. In the memo field of all your checks, write: "For smuggled diamonds."

7. As often as possible, skip rather than walk.

8. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a really serious face.

9. Specify that your drive-through order is "to go."

10. Sing along when you attend the opera.

11. Go to a poetry recital, and ask why the poems don't rhyme.

12. Put mosquito netting around your work area and play tropical sounds all day.

13. Five days in advance, tell your friends you can't attend their party because you're not in the mood.

14. Have your co-workers address you by your wrestling name, "Rock Bottom."

15. When the money comes out of the ATM, scream: "I won, I won!!"

16. When leaving the zoo, start running toward the parking lot yelling: "Run for your life, they're loose!"

17. Tell your children over dinner: "Due to the economy, we're going to have to let one of you go."


HOW TO DETERMINE YOUR PORN STAR NAME:

Your first name should be the name of your first pet: ________________.
Your second name should be the first street you ever lived on: _____________.

What's your porn star name?



Salud!

BZ


Note to Readers: I am simply "politicked-out" today. . .

Czech President

PRAGUE – Czech President Vaclav Klaus said on Wednesday that fighting global warming has turned into a 'religion' that replaced the ideology of communism and threatens to clip basic freedoms.

'Communism has been replaced by the threat of an ambitious environmentalism,' Klaus wrote in response to questions from the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Energy and Commerce.

And then there's Al Gore.

BZ

Will The Odd Get Even?

Everyone looks to the Republicans as the odd ones out. They lost, they lost big.

Well yes, to a degree. But now the newest issue of Time magazine posits: "How The Right Went Wrong."

Time author Karen Tumulty writes:

These are gloomy and uncertain days for conservatives, who — except for the eight-year Clinton interregnum — have dominated political power and thought in this country since Reagan rode in from the West. Their tradition goes back even further, to Founding Fathers who believed that people should do things for themselves and who shook off a monarchy in their conviction that Big Government is more to be feared than encouraged. The Boston Tea Party, as Reagan used to point out, was an antitax initiative.

Star Parker, however, in Townhall.com writes:

The liberal media are having a field day trying to portray the Republican Party and conservatives in disarray. The crescendo has reached a new peak this week with Time magazine's cover picture of Ronald Reagan with a tear on his cheek.

Further, she hits a Reality Home Run:

The idea that anything as American as differences of opinion within a party and political struggles for leadership would bring Reagan to tears is a joke. The only tears about his party and this country that he shed were tears of joy to be part of this great, free country.

So as we approach an election year with an outgoing second-term president, and a vice president who is not stepping forward for his party's nomination, intra-party strife, as competing candidates try to define their own uniqueness, is as natural and American as apple pie. Ronald Reagan would have been perfectly at home.

It is actually not Republicans who are confused, but Time magazine.

When Reagan said, in 1985, that the "other side" was "bankrupt of ideas," he was right. He meant that Democrats had no answer to the challenges this country was facing other than the big-government materialism that had already been shown to be the problem, not the solution.

This is as true today as it was 20 years ago.

It is also true that the ideological core of the Reagan revolution -- traditional values and limited government -- points the way to our future as much today as it did then. And Time's reporters or anyone else would have a hard time finding conservatives who would question this.

Star Parker manages to whip it right back at Karen Tumulty when she says:

If journalists want to examine party disarray, perhaps they should be asking what it tells us about the state of the Democratic Party that Sen. Barack Obama, an unknown, with barely two years' experience in a major political office, can be a serious candidate for its nomination for president.

You go, girl.

_________________________________________

Now to comment:

I've already done a post on this. Thousands of bloggers have done thousands of posts on this. They primarily come down on party lines. And there are those within each party who do nothing more than trot out what they expect to be the Standard Party Line, dependent on which side of the aisle one serves.

I have been taken to task on occasion for not completely towing said line for the GOP. OFW. I've said it before and I'll say it again: if we Conservatives cannot stop and stand a little introspection or some spit and lightning thrown our direction, then we truly are lost.

C'mon, get serious. We KNOW what to do. We KNOW how to get back to our basic values and tenets. It's just a matter of finding the politicians with the proper set of balls, male or female, to get us back on track. I've already written about it here, following the recent election, and here following introspection on Reagan.

This is nothing particularly new; no one in either party stalks a strict party line. Yes, the GOP finds itself in some disarray. Pundits and bloggers such as myself disagree as to what it will take to reachieve our goals. But falling apart at the seams like no other time in GOP history? Nope. Wrong.

BZ

Do Or Die For Airbus

A flying demo version of the Airbus A380 has landed in New York -- and another in Los Angeles.

This is "do-or-die" time for Airbus, having had many of its orders canceled by American companies such as UPS and FedEx.

The 239-foot-long A380, now the largest commercial (non-military) passenger plane in the world, can seat as many as 550 passengers, holds 81,890 gallons of fuel, cruise at 560 mph and fly some 8,000 nautical miles. German airlines Lufthansa flew the Airbus into Kennedy International on a demo flight.

The flights come as Airbus looks to put what Louis Gallois, co-chief executive of parent company European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., called "the worst year for Airbus in its life" behind it. Airbus is seeking to recoup its losses by cutting 10,000 jobs and spinning off or closing six of its European manufacturing plants.

Think about this for a moment if you will. I wrote a prior post on Airbus vs. Boeing. Boeing is having one of its best years yet; Airbus, a consortium of businesses governmentally-supported by France, Germany and England, are doing their level best to level Boeing and, with three governments behind them, cannot do it.

Further, the Airbus A380 requires a massive upfit for those airports willing to berth the monster:

The company revised its plan to allow for arrival at both locations. Los Angeles sped up construction of a $9 million gate for the giant gate to accommodate the plane.

The A380 will potentially carry 550 passengers on two levels. I flew 18 times last year on small Southwest Boeing 737s. Many Southwest passengers possess carry-on luggage only. It can take up to a half hour (or more) to get on or off a 737.

Wonder what kind of time it will take to load and deplane 550 persons from an A380? Or, better yet, to extricate 550 passengers from two levels in an emergency?

Me fly on an A380? Not just no way, no damned way.

BZ

Imperfect

We are all imperfect.

Some are more imperfect than others.

And our own personal imperfections run towards more specifics than others.

My imperfections will not necessarily be those of you or your friends or neighbors.

How do we recognize our imperfections? Or do we even acknowledge them, as we should?

Are we aware of our limitations, our personal "chinks in the armour"?

We all have them. We have different explanations or labels for them. Perhaps you know them as your "hot buttons." Perhaps you have many; luckily may you have few.

I have my own and they seem, to me, to be legion.

I have come to examine them now because, realizing that I suspect they are "legion," I must needs reel them in to a reasonable level. I am married now. I have made a commitment to my wife and this requires introspection and examination. By its very nature.

And a further question: having realized and acknowledged our mutual imperfections, how must we then factor "forgiveness" into the equation?

For an aggrieved party, an affront, can there, must there, be forgiveness? And on what level? And for what affront? Are there steps or levels?

And how would the one of most egregious, infidelity, factor into imperfection and forgiveness? Can there, should there, be forgiveness?

Introspection. Questions.

How does one deal with imperfection when it comes? And how must one apply forgiveness?

BZ

Rampant Stupidity Continues

Stay away from airline stocks. Any airline.

I had occasion, last year, to take some continuing education which required I fly twice a month up until October. I primarily flew Southwest Airlines (the subject of A&E's "Airline" show), which is a local carrier in Fornicalia with a solely-dedicated fleet of Boeing 737s. All told last year I took 18 flights on Southwest and had occasion to witness flashes of brilliance and stupendous blunders.

And no matter what anyone says, either despite or because of the TSA, regulations vary widely between carriers and between airports.

But no matter what, the stupidity marches on:

SkyWest sorry for not letting passenger use restroom
Desperate, he used air sickness bag for urinary relief
By Paul Beebe, The Salt Lake Tribune

SkyWest Airlines has apologized to a passenger barred from a plane's restroom by a flight attendant.

James Whipple says that after repeated pleas to empty his beer-filled bladder on a recent flight, he finally found relief - with an air sickness bag.

Now, the Sandy man says SkyWest has issued him an apology for his distress.

"It was like I had no choice. I started to urinate on myself. So, thinking the way I thought, I grabbed one of those vomit bags," Whipple said.

"I didn't think I did anything wrong. I could have relieved myself all over my pants. It was almost like that was what she preferred me to do," he said.

SkyWest's position? A spokeswoman said Whipple wanted to use the bathroom while the fasten-seatbelt light was illuminated. That is against Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

Why was the fasten-seatbelt light on? Turbulence? Flatulence? The captain had switched on the fasten-seatbelt light during the hour-long flight because the bathroom was "unusable" - the light was out.

Okay, so let me get this right: no one could piss on that flight because the light was out.

Hey SkyWest, how about this: fix the fucking light? Or didn't you CHECK? No, that would be WRONG because you KNEW the light was out because the CAPTAIN placed the fasten-seatbelt light on. So, that means you're simply NEGLIGENT and then further: STUPID and OPPRESSIVE for refusing to let a passenger do what, after a few minutes, many HUMAN BEINGS must do: urinate or defecate.

Hey SkyWest, how about this: fix the fucking light! Or would that require three workers representing two separate unions managed by a supervisor?

This, and a myriad of other stupidities by the TSA, the carriers, the airports. One example simply from me?

On my final flight last year, during the heinous "no liquids and no gels aboard planes" heresy, I was held up in San Diego because I had packed my Class A uniform (for the class graduation), which naturally contained my badge pinned on my shirt. I was screened by the X-ray process and then pulled aside for a hand search of the luggage. I explained that my badge was in fact not a shuriken (throwing star) but indeed what it appeared. However, gladdening my heart in terms of their scrupulous security, I discovered I had forgotten NOT to pack a few extra things. Every screener, including the TWO who conducted the HAND SEARCH of my luggage failed to discover not only my large tube of proscribed toothpaste, but my three bottles of shampoo.

Passengers have been held captive in airplanes for literally hours and hours due to mechanical and ramp problems. Passengers were held captive recently for 10 hours in thin aluminum tubes in New York. Did they get to piss and defecate? Did the light work? If not, perhaps they shat on the jump seats to the rear. I wonder. . . ?

Also in New York during that same storm, hundreds of Jet Blue passengers were stranded on the asphalt in those tubes whilst thousands more waited inside the terminal for two days, for planes that never took off. From The Week magazine: "Police were summoned to several departure gates after crowds of waiting passengers grew unruly?"

Huh. Imagine that. No communications. Abusive ramp and short-tempered desk personnel. Everyone scared to make a decision. Scared to speak. Scared to tell the truth: we can't handle it.

It's gotten so incredibly stupid that our brain-dead Congress is actually thinking of butting their heads in, mandating that planes be stocked with sufficient food and water to last for "long delays" and a 3-hour cap on how long airplanes can stay on the runway before returning to terminals.

Some have even suggested a Passengers' Bill of Rights. Yes, clearly there are stupid and obnoxious passengers. Hey, reality check: don't let them on in the first place!

I guess, all told, I was lucky: I wasn't forced into a strip search, I didn't endure a colonoscopy, I didn't have to piss my pants in the seat, I didn't lose any luggage (mostly because I insisted on paring my belongings into one carry-on), I wasn't held captive for hours on a hot, toilet-clogged plane.

Ah, the blessings of living in the most civilized nation on the planet, eh?

And the carriers wonder why people aren't flocking to planes? Stay far away from airline stocks!

More and more people are insisting on driving. And with the price of gas now at or over $3 a gallon (I predict: $4 a gallon by this summer), I guess we'll just kill non-mandatory travel altogether?

But that's another post for another day.

BZ

What We Want

What we want and what we need are sometimes two entirely different things.

If you can recall, following WJ Clinton's 1991 inauguration, his "other half" attempted to instigate national Health Care at the federal level behind closed doors. This bulky and besotted attempt fell in flames on any number of levels not the least to include its ponderosity.

Come the 2008 elections Democrats may again attempt to create a national health care plan "for the masses."

Anything having to do with "the masses" I find myself primarily opposed, with some exceptions.

The Demoncats want national health care.

The Republicans do not. And I do not; but for one major fundamental reason.

It's not "the money"; it's the so-called "efficacy" of government.

NOT.

Checked the newspapers or internet lately about how the federal government is running Walter Reed Hospital for our SOLDIERS? Generals fired? Ring a bell? Our military personnel should be the last persons to be screwed over and, yet, apparently they are the first in line to be screwed medically at our FEDERALLY-FUNDED hospitals. And this is only one federally-funded hospital in the news. What about the others?

Anyone see any kind of correlation? And what's that saying? "The best predictor of future actions are past actions"?

BZ

What We Knew, Now Confirmed

I was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z," Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said in a statement read during the session, which was held last Saturday.

In a section of the statement that was blacked out, he confessed to the beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, The Associated Press has learned. Pearl was abducted in January 2002 in Pakistan while researching a story on Islamic militancy. Mohammed has long been a suspect in the killing.

Using his own words, the extraordinary transcript connects Mohammed to dozens of the worst terror plots attempted or carried out in the last 15 years—and to others that have not occurred."

Thousands died in operations he directed.

Mohammad said:

- Al-Qaida wanted to take down a second trans- Atlantic aircraft during shoe bomber Richard Reid's operation
- He was involved in planning the 2002 bombing of a Kenya beach resort frequented by Israelis and the failed missile attack on an Israeli passenger jet after it took off from Mombasa, Kenya. - - He also said he was responsible for the bombing of a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia. In 2002, 202 were killed when two Bali nightclubs were bombed.
- He planned attacks against the Sears Tower in Chicago, the Empire State Building and New York Stock Exchange, the Panama Canal and Big Ben and Heathrow Airport in London.
- He said he was involved in planning assassination attempts against former Presidents Carter and Clinton, attacks on U.S. nuclear power plants and suspension bridges in New York, the destruction of American and Israeli embassies in Asia and Australia, attacks on American naval vessels and oil tankers around the world, and an attempt to "destroy" an oil company he said was owned by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on Sumatra, Indonesia.
- He also claimed he shared responsibility for assassination attempts against Pope John Paul II and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said he was responsible for planning 28 attacks and assisting in three others.

Read the transcript here.

Living Beyond Our Means

The US stock market tanked yesterday, roughly 2%, over fears revolving around sub-prime (loaning to applicants who are less-than-perfect) mortgage lenders and homes foreclosed on weak owners.

This is nothing new and should come as absolutely no shock whatsoever. In this case, both parties are at fault, not one or the other.

New homeowners are to blame for insisting that they get into a brand-new 2,900 square foot, two-story home in a beautiful neighborhood, and then go out and acquire a brand new Chevrolet Tahoe Z71, a Honda Gold Wing, boat with trailer. They don't wonder how they managed to wedge themselves into a $597,000 home with NO MONEY DOWN? Are they that stupid?

Lenders are to blame for failing to identify the new and aspiring homeowner/family, for failing to perform sufficient financial backgrounds on them, for overselling potential properties, for twinking the loan system sufficiently to sell an oppressive loan and for failing to understand the human psyche and the motivations for applicants to want to own a home at, now, all costs.

I am failing to generate even one tear for anyone on either side of the equation.

To the potential homeowner: if it all sounds too good to be true in terms of getting you into a huge home -- well, it probably is.

To the lender: so you managed to hook one more potential for an overstuffed and underfunded loan. Goodie. Now you can watch your investments tank because you were greedy and stupid.

This no shock whatsoever. And I watch it every day at work: new employees jabbering about their brand new home in an exclusive part of town whilst I watch them drive their new Hummer H2 or their Land Rover or their Chrysler 300 Hemi.

All stupid things will catch up to you. No matter who you are.

BZ

Not Biased

Nice cartoon. Rather true.

BZ

Good Will?

President Bush has made another mistake, and it is a matter of timing. He has decided to tour Southern American countries at this point in our history, on something of a "goodwill" tour and is, of course, receiving miniscule amounts of actual good will.

In fact, the prevailing theme is "gringo go home."

Gringo go home, eh?

Anyone else reading this blog about completely fed up with this shit besides myself?

First: fed up with Bush even putting himself and our nation in this position.

Second: for the countries that so readily sup at the cup of the American Taxpayers blood, sweat and labors and then, at the same moment, excoriate and gnaw the hand that feeds them?

Gringo go home, eh?

How about illegal MEXICANS and EL SALVADORANS and VENEZUELANS and URUGUAYANS "go home" and stay the fuck in your OWN country and assume, for once, an actual principled stance: REFUSE to take those horrible proffered American dollars.

But no -- your countries and your peoples want it both ways: to suck dollars from the tits of the American Bitch and to slap her whilst she delivers breast milk to you and your children.

And then we, in the form of our very own President, turn the other cheek and, in essence, say: "thank you sir, may I have another fist to my face?"

To President Bush: you too can stay the fuck at home and take care of our domestic agenda, our terrorist agenda, and firm up our borders.

"Firm up our borders?" Bush asks with a pronounced laugh. "The Minutemen are vigilantes."

Why do you so bend over for Mexico and Latin America, President Bush? Are you so in need of a good ass-fucking? Because it is surely what you are inviting and receiving publicly for this country. You refuse to even call Chavez what he is: a tinpot dictator who has found a temporary place in time.

I have pretty much lost all faith in you sir. I almost cannot wait for you to vacate the White House. You shame my country. And I am ashamed for you. You fight for some things and then completely and totally abandon our country on other fronts and, moreover, do your best to ensure that our sovereignty is damaged and threatened.

I cannot understand you. I cannot understand your motives. You are strong in one area and so incredibly weak in others. You make no sense.

And I am sick and tired of America being pushed against the wall and ass-fucked by countries not fit to shine their own shoes.

BZ

300

In 480 BC the forces of the Persian Empire under King Xerses, numbering according to Herodotus two million men, bridged the Hellespont and marched in their myriads to invade and enslave Greece.

In a desperate delaying action, a picked force of three hundred Spartans was dispatched to the pass of Thermopylae, where the confines between mountains and sea were so narrow that the Persian multitudes and their cavalry would be at least partially neutralized. Here, it was hoped, an elite force willing to sacrifice their lives could keep back, at least for a few days, the invading millions.

Three hundred Spartans and their allies held off the invaders for seven days, until, their weapons smashed and broken from the slaughter, they fought "with bare hands and teeth" (as recorded by Herodotus) before being at last overwhelmed.

The Spartans and their Thespian allies died to the last man, but the standard of valor they set by their sacrifice inspired the Greeks to rally and, in that fall and spring, defeat the Persians at Salamis and Plataea and preserve the beginnings of Western democracy and freedom from perishing in the cradle.

Two memorials remain today at Thermopylae. Upon the modern one, called the Leonidas Monument in honor of the Spartan king who fell there, is engraved his response to Xerses' demand that the Spartans lay down their arms. Leonidas' reply was two words:

Molon labe.

"Come and get them."

I have returned from viewing one of the finest movies from Hollywood in some time. Yes, some liberties were taken to make the film visually more dramatic; yes, the movie minimizes or completely dismisses the true number of warriors firming up the pass at Thermopylae (actually numbering, it is estimated, at 5,200) accompanying the 300 Spartans. And yes, much to the chagrin of the New York Times, it becomes a matter of lighter-skinned warriors (Greeks and their variants) vs. darker skinned warriors (Persians). Mr. Scott, in his review, completely dismisses 300 as an excursion into violence and stupidity. His review reveals himself to be likewise ignorant of core values such as loyalty, honor and courage. In times like these the film stands accused of improperly emphasizing the maleness of its characters, and there is much testosterone on the screen. I'll get back to this in a moment.

Inspiration for the film comes from the Frank Miller/Lynn Varley graphic novel of the same name: 300. Frank Miller, a minimalist artist who once worked for Marvel Comics and was responsible for taking the character Daredevil to his most lofty heights, has also drawn a number of comics for DC, Dark Horse and produced many of his own graphic novels to include the infamous, corrupt and groundbreaking Sin City. Miller is known for the stark and sometimes harsh noir-like lighting of his work -- as well as its unabashed violence (excellent all-encompassing Miller website here).

Midpoint through the film I began to think: this is nothing more than an allegory for our times now. Here is a king, Leonidas, who decides to do what he must to save his country and, in making this decision, goes against an edict from the Oracle and therefore stands against the law. He takes a small group of 300 true warriors, inspired by his leadership, buttressed by some allies, and decides to make a strategic stand in the best possible place extant utilizing tactics born and bred of the best Spartan traditions.

King Leonides is betrayed on two fronts: first by Ephialtes, a misshapen Greek who is told he must stand completely erect with his shield firmly in place in order to not provide the proverbial weak link in a necessarily-strong chain (and who subsequently reveals to King Xerxes the "back door" to the Spartan stand), and at home by Theron, a politician who rapes and then betrays Leonidas' wife (and Queen) Gorgo. A Spartan woman to the core, Gorgo runs a sword through Theron in the Sparta assembly where it is revealed, through clattering gold Persian coins displaying the profile of Xerxes, that Theron is indeed a traitor. And Ephialtes learns that where once he could have stood, he now must kneel.

Love, honor, courage, loyalty, strength, manliness, resolution, capacitance, bravery -- this film embodies all those traits and more. It indicates that a motivated few can stop or stay an irresolute many.

And at a time when we need these traits to be emphasized, to have the gray removed from our perspective, 300 manages to do this and more. My audience sucked in their breath at the violence, leaned forward in its anticipation, cheered at the victories and clapped at the end.

And whilst the staid and unknowing of Sparta discussed and debated, the warriors of its culture willingly laid down their lives in sacrifice.

Although extraordinary valor was displayed by the entire corps of Spartans and Thespians, yet bravest of all was declared the Spartan Dienekes. It is said that on the eve of battle, he was told by a native of Trachis that the Persian archers were so numerous that, when they fired their volleys, the mass of arrows blocked out the sun. Dienekes, however, quite undaunted by this prospect, remarked with a laugh, "Good, then we'll have our battle in the shade."

-- Herodutus, The Histories

Make no mistake, the movie is remarkably violent and bloody. Much of its action is Sam Peckinpah-ishly slow in motion. But it is an absolute feast for the eyes on every level, visually, audibly. And it teaches a very important lesson:

The second monument, the ancient one, is an unadorned stone engraved with the words of the poet Simonides. Its verses comprise perhaps the most famous of the warrior epitaphs:

Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,

that here obedient to their laws we lie.

You must see this film.

BZ

At The Bar

My ISP lines have been been up and down until now, hence my dearth of posts. Now I am up and rollicking at my normally-astounding and blazing 48.2 to 53 Kbps, via a common black phone jack. God bless dial-up (for that's all we have in the Sierra Nevada mountains)!

BZ

Greatest Bass Players

About a year ago I postulated the best drummer was Ginger Baker. Many disagreed and proclaimed Neil Peart to be the best drummer of all. I claim now the temerity to list the best bass players extant (electric bass, that is):

1. Les Claypool (Primus)
2. Jack Bruce (Cream)
3. Felix Pappalardi (Mountain)
4. Chris Squire (Yes)
5. Geddy Lee (Rush)
6. Jaco Pastorius (Weather Report)
7. Bill Laswell (Material)
8. Sir Paul McCartney (The Beatles)
9. Jonas Hellborg (jazz)
10. Stanley Clarke (jazz)
11. Percy Jones (Brand X)
12. Leland Sklar (The Section
13. John Wetton (King Crimson)
14. Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath)
15. Jack Casady (Hot Tuna)

These are in no particular order, by the way, except position #1. Your thoughts?

BZ

Hypocrisy?

Not in the slightest, if you're a Democrat. Because, after all, being a Demo is all about "feelings" and "emotions" and has little to do with facts.

And as I've said a million times, never let facts, rationality or proportion get in the way of a good screwed-up stance or perspective.

LEFT WINGERS and "PROGRESSIVES" -- STOP READING NOW!

You're about to have your monetary Sugar Daddy exposed.

Because, after all, nothing succeeds like success. From the WorldNetDaily:



Soros makes Halliburton stealth buy

Report reveals billionaire funder of left-wing groups invests more than $62 million

Billionaire George Soros has quietly invested $62 million in the purchase of more than 2 million shares of Halliburton, the major government contractor criticized by his own Open Society Institute and the activist group he funds, MoveOn.org.

The holdings were disclosed in a quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by Soros Fund Management LLC.

Vice President Cheney is the former CEO of Halliburton.

As WND reported, another outspoken leftist who had criticized Halliburton was discovered to own stock in the company – filmmaker Michael Moore.

Huh. Isn't that interesting -- and completely UNREPORTED.

But, of course, that's why you read me, related blogs and other internet sites.

New Media indeed.

And I'm just a little Flappy Bird.





BZ

Hesitation

I hesitate to make this post, but thought it might stimulate discussion and, admittedly, I'm curious about a possible response via comments. Some people think I'm sufficiently mentally borderline anyway, much less considering what I'm about to write. But in any event it was, to say the least, wholly unnerving. And I have never, ever, experienced anything like it in my 50+ years.

In the process of driving home from our honeymoon last week, my wife and I stopped, last minute, at a motel overlooking Lake Shasta in order to avoid being stuck in a nasty snowstorm ravaging I-5 in California. I can distinctly remember we were on the second floor in room 214. There were perhaps 5 others in the entire motel complex.

We had dinner at the motel's restaurant bar and found it overpriced and disappointing. We went back to the room through a heavy downpour, where we watched some television for an hour or so, and I went to bed first. She continued to watch television for a bit longer.

I had a dream where I found myself in that same precise room, in the darkness. I could see, in my dream, the shape of my wife sleeping on her left side, away from me, as a darker object framed by the slightly lighter shades of the bathroom in the background. I found, in my dream, comfort in front of me and terror behind. I was on my back in the motel room, my right hand hanging over the bed.

I can recall an overwhelming feeling of malevolence in the room, encompassing the room, draping the room. I can describe it in no other fashion: malevolence, a permeating malevolence, something clearly wishing to do me harm. And, as my hand lay over the side, there was pressure on my hand and it was clutched by something much larger than my hand, damp and cooler than my prevailing body temperature. I was being touched. Clasped.

There was pressure and contact; my brain told me so.

Because of this contact, I recall my brain awakening me from the dream. And yet this, this, presence was still there, a damaging presence, an ill presence. I had had the dream and yet the dream seemed to have followed me into the present. There was the silhouette of my wife, rimmed by the light from the bathroom window. I could hear her heavy breathing away from me; I could hear the rain and wind outside, spattering against the glass. My hand was held. The presence was on my right. I turned my head left to see my wife. I did not want to look to my right. I pulled my hand, successfully, away from the edge of the bed. A large, large presence was still at the direct edge of my side of the bed though no longer grasping me. It was massive.

And then it was gone.

I remained awake for at least another hour and then fell asleep.

The next morning my wife asked: should I wake you up when you do that?

I asked: do what?

When you moan in your sleep, she said.

It was some time after midnight, perhaps 12:30, and you were moaning in your sleep. I've never heard you do that before. Do you want me to awaken you? she asked.

I said: how did you know I was moaning?

She replied: I heard something. There was something in the room. I felt it and I heard it. And then I heard you moaning. It was so strange.

I have never, ever, retained a dream into wakefulness where my dream contained my immediate reality. That is to say, I've never dreamed about my actual surroundings and incorporated them into my waking reality threshold. Though, I must admit, my dreams have always "taken care of me" in the past when I am in danger of being "killed." When my demise is imminent my brain has always dragged me into the land of the living. I have survived any number of actual critical incident events during my career but, despite this, have found myself challenged but never "killed" in my dreams.

Despite that, I knew I had come closer to death than ever before that early morning.

Was it a dream within a dream?

It was, I must admit, all too real to me.

BZ

This Is Why

This is why, amongst other things, no Republican should endorse John McCain for president.

First: McCain officially announced his candidacy on the David Letterman show.

However, on this show McCain said:

Americans are very frustrated, and they have every right to be," McCain said Wednesday on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman." "We've wasted a lot of our most precious treasure, which is American lives."

So: being in Iraq has wasted lives. I tend to disagree. I do not agree with many of the ways and means employed by our Commander In Chief; in truth I vehemently disagree with the manner in which he has waged this war and a number of the strategies involved. That is another issue entirely. But to state that those military lives have meant nothing is beyond egregious.

This confirms that (and though I must acknowledge McCain's service to his country and his sacrifices made as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam conflict) McCain is not a stable individual or influence and is a distraction on the order of Ross Perot.

Even the Democratic National Committee called McCain on his comments:

Senator McCain should apologize immediately for his callous comments," said Karen Finney, a DNC spokeswoman. "How is it that John McCain now believes American lives are being wasted, yet he so stubbornly supports the president's plan to escalate the war in Iraq and put more American lives in harms way?"

They have a point. An excellent point.

Once again proving that, in terms of this man, McCain considers that it's all about McCain and no one else. His Gang of 14: wrong. His McCain-Feingold legislation: wrong.

As far as I'm concerned John McCain is so far out as to be beyond Pluto. Every GOP member, take heed and remember: this military veteran honors not the sacrifices of our valiant military personnel.

BZ

P.S.

You want to read about Vietnam heroes and their exploits in the Hanoi Hilton? Check out:

1. Vietnam pilot Dave Carey at http://www.davecarey.com, who was held in the Hanoi Hilton for five-and-a-half years, and subsequently wrote the book "The Ways We Choose."

2. Vietnam pilot Charlie Plumb at http://www.charlieplumb.com, who spent six years in captivity and is a highly sought-after motivational speaker.

Leadership

United States Army Colonel David Hackworth had his vision set by VMI Commandant Colonel Glover Johns. We would do well to incorporate these philosophical tenets into our military, leadership and daily lives.

PRINCIPLES OF GOOD SOLDIERING by Col. Glover Johns:

• 1. Strive to do small things well.


• 2. Be a doer and a self-starter -- aggressiveness and initiative are two most admired qualities in a leader -- but you must also put your feet up and THINK.


• 3. Strive for self-improvement through constant self-evaluation.


• 4. Never be satisfied. Ask of any project, How can it be done better?


• 5. Don't over-inspect or over-supervise. Allow your leaders to make mistakes in training, so they can profit from the errors and not make them in combat.


• 6. Keep the troops informed; telling them "what, how, and why" builds their confidence.


• 7. The harder the training, the more troops will brag.


• 8. Enthusiasm, fairness, and moral and physical courage - four of the most important aspects of leadership.


• 9. Showmanship-a vital technique of leadership.


• 10. The ability to speak and write well-two essential tools of leadership.


• 11. There is a salient difference between profanity and obscenity; while a leader employs profanity (tempered with discretion), he never uses obscenities.


• 12. Have consideration for others.


• 13. Yelling detracts from your dignity; take men aside to counsel them.


• 14. Understand and use judgement; know when to stop fighting for something you believe is right. Discuss and argue your point of view until a decision is made, and then support the decision wholeheartedly.


• 15. Stay ahead of your boss.

Some basic principles never decline with age.

Check out: Soldiers For The Truth, at sftt.org.

BZ