Tuesday, December 16, 2008

The weather having now added a bit of freezing mist to the mix,

though in this area it's spotty, I'm still not heading to the range, day off or not. Thought the chance for sliding along the floor Wanted- style as you fire at multiple targets, stylishly curving bullet paths in defiance of the laws of physics, is not to be passed up lightly. Except by me. So, again, I'm looking at lots and lots of news and idiocy. Like a breakdown of the Banana Republic of New York.
When you’re done reading the Blagojevich complaint, with its attendant insights into Illinois politics, spare a thought for New York — where Caroline Kennedy wants a sit-down with Governor David Paterson, with the aim of claiming Hillary Clinton’s soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat.

Is there anything wrong with that picture?

Ummm, yes, there is. Besides the thought of another Kennedy demanding an official shot at running our lives.

Another piece on the 'friends of friends of the Governor' up in Caponeland. If you define 'friends' as 'other politicians and crooks(not exactly redundant, but close)with their hands in the till'.
Recently, Blagojevich has been meeting with high-profile defense attorney Edward Genson, the lawyer of choice for Chicago mob figures and politicians.

And I'd like to think of the governor's brain as a wet sponge dripping with information. After a couple of hours in Genson's office, the governor's brain would be as dry as his fluffy coif. In criminal defense circles, as in political circles, information is power
.
That's going to be a powerful lawyer sitting in that office.

Rep. Pelosi(Socialist Appeaser-CA) is apparently telling Rahm I Didn't Have Anything To Do With Gov. Blago Emanuel how he and The Obama will behave over the next few years(assuming he's there, of course). Wonder how well that'll go over with The One?

Reason has a piece about how long it took Obama to say how terrible the mess in IL is. It includes this:
This is the downside of what is best about Obama: his careful, deliberate approach to decision-making. In the normal course of events, it's far superior to the impulsive style of John McCain, which gave us Sarah Palin and "today we are all Georgians."

But Obama came to public attention because of a speech, at the 2004 Democratic convention, that showed he was capable not only of clear thought but of genuine passion. This week—in the face of a scandal involving his state, his party, and his Senate seat—that passion was absent
.
Well, for one thing, he hadn't had speechmakers spending weeks putting together his speech on how horrible IL is("Never mind that I've been in that pool for years, I knew nothing about this!") so he'd have a properly passionate statement. Second, hey, he did have to figure out how to say something that wouldn't piss off the Governor and all the other people he's connected to. I'll pass on the idiotic hit at Palin for now; I will point out that Obama's 'careful, deliberate' approach is at least partly based on figuring out what to say that'll serve him the best, not what he actually thinks or believes. Not as admirable as Chapman thinks it is.

Another reason why, if I had young kids and cable, Nickelodeon wouldn't be on the menu.

What was that about 'friends of friends'?
Businessmen with ties to both Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson discussed raising $1 million for Blagojevich as a way of persuading him to appoint Jackson to President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, a Chicago newspaper reports.

Ah, the wonderful tolerance of the homosexual activists on display once again:
She never advertised her politics or religion in the restaurant, but last month her donation showed up on lists of "for" and "against" donors. And El Coyote became a target.

A boycott was organized on the Internet, with activists trashing El Coyote on restaurant review sites. Then came throngs of protesters, some of them shouting "shame on you" at customers. The police arrived in riot gear one night to quell the angry mob.

The mob left, but so did the customers
.
Because she can't be allowed to give money to the non-PC side of the question, that's just not tolerable to the activists who insist on their version of 'free speech'. And among the results:
Sections of the restaurant have been closed, a manager told me Friday during a very quiet lunch hour. Some of the 89 employees, many of them gay, have had their hours cut, and layoffs are looming.
Backblow sucks, doesn't it?

I've got a problem with two bits in this story:
I, on the other hand, opposed Prop. 8. And as I wrote more than once, I think organized Christian religion reached new levels of hypocrisy in using the Bible to preach discrimination and promote the initiative.
and
"I agree with you on this," said Fred Karger. On his Californians Against Hate website, Karger has been outing Prop. 8 supporters, but he thinks Christoffersen's small personal donation didn't warrant such a backlash against El Coyote. Karger also spoke out against the resignation of a Sacramento theater director who gave $1,000 to Yes on 8 and happens to be Mormon.
I would like someone to tell me how it's hypocrisy to go with what your church teaches about something. If someone believes in the Bible as written, and it says men and women shouldn't marry others of the same sex, and you stand with that, that's not 'hypocrisy', that's standing up for your beliefs, whether Mr. Lopez likes it or not.

Second, isn't it just wonderful that Karger not only 'outs' people who dared to disagree with what he wants, but he has the Solomon-like wisdom to decide who does and doesn't deserve to have their life ruined for disagreeing with him? I also like the name of his group; telling people that standing up for their beliefs means they hate other people is just guaranteed to get people to change their minds, isn't it?

Codrea finds another 'Call 911 and die' case:
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Brittany Zimmerman, a 21-year-old college student who wanted to be a doctor, called 911 as she was being attacked by a stranger, police say.

But the police did not come for 48 minutes. By that time, Zimmerman was dead. Her fiance found her body.

Although the dispatcher claimed later to have heard nothing, the 911 tape captured screams, gasps and what sounds like a struggle, according to the court documents.
Now, the 48 minutes was bad enough; she died during that time. But this from the police is just disgusting:
Zimmerman managed to call 911 at 12:20 p.m. The call was taken by the Dane County 911 center and an internal investigation revealed the dispatcher did not hear any sounds that would signal an emergency.
Now, if the 911 tape plays the sounds, just how the hell did the investigation find no sounds 'that would signal an emergency'? And, let us add, what the hell does that matter? So if you retreat to a locked bedroom and the 911 operator can't hear the guy kicking in the door, or doesn't hear you screaming as you're being stabbed, that means the call that you're being attacked, or your home broken into, isn't an emergency call?
Police are still looking for her killer.

"We are working diligently on this case, have generated significant leads, and are making progress," said Joel De Spain of the Madison Police Department
.
Which does her dead body and her family and friends a whole hell of a lot of good.

Uncle notes a few of the oddities in the world, some of which seem to be a long way from explanation. He also notes that Bill Schneider seems to be having some buyer's remorse on The Obama. I'd read Schneider's first piece and it thoroughly pissed me off. Take the "You only care about guns, not the rest of the Bill of Rights!" bullcrap, throw in "Obama is too smart to go after the 2nd with so much other important stuff" crap. Oh, and the "we squander billions overseas to fight unwanted, unwinnable wars" hit(I guess Iraq has been the total loss that Reid and Pelosi & Co. tried to make it and we just haven't heard about it). Standard-issue "You don't have to worry about The Lightworker" bull. Except he finally took note that Obama doesn't seem to be living up to what he wanted him to be on this. Well SHAZAM!!, Mr. Journalist, and it only took you till now to take notice of what everyone worried about the 2nd(among other things) has been pointing out for a long time?
Moron.

Just amazing, what all's happening out there. Or turning up, in some cases.

No comments: