MaxRedline

Whatever It Takes

Desperately struggling to hold onto her fleeting fifteen minutes of fame, Ma Anan Sheehan hits the road - or more accurately, lies in the road.  Of course, she lies everywhere she goes.  In her latest bid toward self-glorification, she and a few cohorts were

arrested Thursday for blocking a road near President Bush's ranch.

And of course, that was the whole idea.  "If I get arrested again, then I can make another profound 'statement'".  That seems to be her main focus.  Unfortunately, she seems unable to grasp the basic concept: most of us just don't care.  We were disgusted by her earliest perfomances, in which she essentially squatted and peed on her son's grave in a pathetic play for attention - which the media and leftists obligingly gave her.  At this point, we can only hope that she'll actually be locked up - and that the key to her cell will mysteriously disappear.

Exit Strategy In Play - For Saddam, Anyway

In a way, it's rather too bad that Islamic "justice" is so swift.  Had Saddam the misfortune to be tried in an American court system, it'd take 20 years or so for all of the appeals to run out.  Likely, he'd have died in prison.  Unfortunately, if he can't be "supreme leader" any longer, then at least he can go out as a martyr - which, in his mind, is exactly what will happen.

“He told them that he was happy he would meet his death at the hands of his enemies and be a martyr and not just languish in prison in oblivion.”

It's a shame, really.  He deserves so much worse.

Farewell note

Apparently, a farewell note from Saddam - who clearly brought about mass murder in his country, back when he was permitted to run it - urges Iraqis not to hate the people who invaded his country.  It is, however, okay to hate the leaders of those countries.  What this seems to mean is that, as there really is no way to get to the hated leaders, then it's okay to blow up everybody else - as long as you don't do this with hate.  Killing and maiming innocent countrymen, women and children - along with the occasional soldier - is really okay, as long as you do it without hate.

We're from the government.

Always a Downside

A COMMON parasite can increase a women's attractiveness to the opposite sex but also make men more stupid, an Australian researcher says.

About 40 per cent of the world's population is infected with Toxoplasma gondii, including about eight million Australians.

Oddly, this isn't about politicians.  Sometimes, the news just writes itself.

Ride The Twinkies

Jack Bogdanski posted a great link some time back, and it really bears repeating.  You can ride soon!  Won't that be great, won't it be cool? 

Holiday Feast!

Well, there we was.  We'd all gone up to Uncle Bob's.  He lives in a nice
little cabin way out in the sticks, but he built the place himself, and it's
very cool: stone fireplace, vaulted ceilings.  Intermittent electricity, but
he's got built-in lantern insets in places all around the cabin.
Glacier-fed stream running just downhill from the place.  Full-size,
wood-fed cookstove and oven.  It's a cool place, and he's a great cook.

We was carving up some ham and dishing out the taters and other stuff when
Sue, Jimbo's bride, looked at one of the plates and commented to Uncle Bob
that it looked like he'd missed a couple of spots when he washed it.  Bob
just glanced it over and commented, "Well, that's as good as cold water can
get it."  A couple of other folks noticed that some of the glasses and forks
and stuff didn't look all that great, but hey - Bob had just mentioned that
it was as good as cold water can get it.

So we all sat down and had a wonderful meal, complete with a big ol' fire
going in the fireplace there, and and an old dog snoozing in front of the
flames.  It was just a picture-postcard holiday dinner, I gotta admit.  We
all porked out, had some wine, then some coffee and dessert (Bob baked three
kinds of pies, and they were all prize-winners, for sure).

Bob brought out some Courvosier, and we all had a toast to a great evening.

As we headed out, the dog roused himself and blasted out the front door,
which apparently Bob had held open just a tad too long.  I was just about to
climb into the car, so I heard Bob's response to this development pretty
clearly.

"Coldwater!" he bellowed, "Get your ass back in here now, boy!"

Reuters Undermines Its Credibility

It appears that Reuters has sided completely with the folks who think it's just fine to have a few million illegal aliens running around in the USA, as evidenced by their headline and repeated references to those who are fed up with illegals as "Nativists". This, of course, is a perjorative term that is used purely in attempts to marginalize those who are against open borders by portraying them as ignorant, red-neck provincials who have no understanding of the hardships that drive these poor, hard-working illegals across our borders. By employing the term, Reuters has clearly abandoned any pretense at being an objective "news agency."

The headline alone is a disgusting misrepresentation of the issues that illegal aliens have brought to this country, but Reuters wasn't content with that slap alone.  Amusingly, they can't get even basic facts right.

Nativist activism has been around for centuries in the United States.

Ummm...anybody at Reuters even have a clue as to how long the USA has been around?  Doesn't it seem rather silly to start a "story" by implying that the USA has been in existence for many centuries?  Clearly, Reuters has departed from its original purpose as a news agency and has instead devolved into an opinion journal.  Their new motto:

Don't Let A Few Facts Get In The Way Of A Good "Story".

Infrastructure 101

Portland has this view of itself as a role model - a place that builds trams, trains, streetcars, floating pedestrian bridges, bike-paths, bike-bridges...toy after toy after toy - and all built with your tax dollars.  Meanwhile, they have some road issues.

A city truck got stuck in a sinkhole in southeast Portland Tuesday, authorities said.

Yeah, great role-model there, kids.  This is how Portland handles traffic congestion.  Innovative, wouldn't you say?  Back away from the trams, Sam.  Take a look at the specs, Rex, before you buy a new toy.  No need to be braggin', Bragdon; we're sick and tired of your raggin'.  Your toys ain't playin' with us.  Just buy us a bus.

Mmmm! Light Rail!

Light rail systems stack the deck in their favor with Transit-Oriented Development zoning overlays — forbidding car-friendly construction and subsidizing development that, presumably, will make the trains run on time.

Well worth a visit!  While the article dicusses light-rail in Phoenix, AZ, there are clear parallels between what's happening there and what's happening in Portland (and possibly Spokane).

A Star Has Passed

James Brown, the hardest-working man in showbiz, died Christmas morning 2006 of pneumonia at the age of 73.

His “Live at The Apollo” in 1962 is widely considered one of the greatest concert records ever.