MaxRedline

What Media Bias?

As you know, Senator Robert Byrd has died at age 92.  Left unsaid in most media reports was Byrd's background as a member and a leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

When Senator Strom Thurmond died at age 100, the New York Times ran this headline:  "Strom Thurmond, Foe of Integration, Dies at 100".

Their headline on Byrd's passing:  "Robert Byrd, Respected Voice of the Senate, Dies at 92".

Oh.  Right.  Byrd was a Democrat, first elected to office in 1952, just eight years after penning this memorable note:

"I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side... Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds." - Robert Byrd in letter to Mississippi Senator Theodore Bilbo in 1944.

Of course, the Senator eventually recanted his youthful racisim; dissociating himself from any further connection - just as Thurmond did.  Yet the media saw fit to continue to paint Thurmond, even in death, as an avowed segregationist, while giving Byrd a pass.

If you still believe media "reports", you might be willing to answer a simple query:  Why?

Bus Driver Thrown Under Bus

Our old pal, who's been ranting for years over on his blog, has taken some heat for posting videos there that appeared to have been recorded while he was behind the wheel.  Oh, heaven forbid! 
 

Gosh, what other innuendo can lamestream media gravitate toward?  The guy has an unblemished record as a driver, so what's the point of this drivel?  It's not as though he's holding a big Sony shoulder-mount; hell, my Flip camera fits in a pocket.  You can mount them to a wall or a pole with just a couple of small velcro strips.

One idiot complains four times and it's suddenly a "news" story?

"This particular driver is driving a bus that can be full of a few hundred people," he said. "There's a few hundred people in the roadway, so there's a lot of people depending on this bus driver (to drive) in a very safe manner."

Has this idiot ever actually boarded a bus?  You can't fit "a few hundred people" in a bus, no matter how you stack and cram.

As Bugs Bunny would say, "What a maroon!"

Gold Ray Demolition Halted

In the face of arguments that Jackson County violated its own land-use rules by attempting to proceed with removal of the 106-year-old dam, Oregon's Land Use Board of Appeals has ordered the work to stop, pending further review.

One thing that's especially interesting is that when the government moves in to muck up a river, they call it "placement". They've built this dam across the Rogue River, using timber, boulders, and dirt.  It's okay, though, because they know what they're doing.  God help you if you tried something on a much smaller scale involving a stream in your back yard.  You'd pay for that decision for the rest of your life, regardless of how well-intentioned it was.

You see, what the government has done on the Rogue is referred to as "placement".  The idea is to have you believe that they didn't just slam some pilings into the river bed, backfill with rock, and then toss in dirt.  It is, of course, precisely what they did, but if they call it "placement" then it sounds like everything is precise, well-planned, and and in brief, a typical government endeavor.

I'm Burning, I'm Burning, I'm Burning For You

An eight-year-old boy with burns to 80% of his body has been denied treatment in Atlanta due to governmental red tape.

LILBURN, Ga. -- It's a family's plea to the government. In a letter to the F.D.A Michelle Brethauer is asking them to reverse their decision of denying a clinical trial that could speed up her nephew's recovery.

“Our nephew is being denied a potentially life-saving treatment. We beg you if you can find it in your heart and help us with our appeal,” wrote Brethaeur.

Fortunately, with ObamaCare coming on line, we'll see much less interference with health care decisions, and a whole lot more compassion and hope and change.

Who Do They Think They Are - Portland?

Over in Britain, town officials spent nearly $200,000 to build a pedestrian crossing.  That's bad enough, but the story gets even better:

The Holmfirth crossing, which includes lights that haven't been turned on since they were installed two years ago, was deemed too unsafe to use because pedestrians would have to stand in Angela and Robin Wray's driveway while waiting to cross, the Daily Mail reported Friday.

G20 Explodes

Apparently it's pretty cold up there in Toronto, so the peaceful protesters had to break storefronts and set vehicles on fire in order to keep warm and dry.  At least, that's how one wag describes it.

Over 400 arrests, and for the first time in the history of the city, the sweet scent of tear gas filled the air.

Crazed Sex Poodle Forms LLP

The lead prophet for the Religion of Anthropogenic Global Warming, Nobel recipient and all-around nice guy globe-trotter Al (The Penguin) Gore is presently hunkered down in London, but not before having set up a LLP and transferring his and Tipper's many properties into its control.  The beauty of the LLP is that it is a stand-alone entity which cannot be held liable in the event that lawsuits are filed against either AlGore or Tipper.

In essence, they've moved preemptively to shelter their substantial assets from any legal action.  And what does that tell you?

Al's in deep doo-doo, and it seems clear that he expects legal ramifications to arise - lending credibility to the allegations of his activities in Portland and elsewhere.  Further lending credence to the allegations arising from his Portland incident, his lawyers were apparently successful in persuading the Portland Tribune to quash a story on the subject.

When the Portland Tribune considered running a story in 2007 about the allegation, Gore's lawyers fired off a letter declaring the one-time Tennessee senator's marital credentials were impeccable. "You ... are aware that everyone who knows Al and Tipper Gore well can and does attest to the integrity of their 37-year marriage and to his honorable character," the letter said.

Saturday Night Linguini

The girls loved it, though my Bride accused me of harboring secrets. 

No secret at all.  Basic stuff.  You salt and pepper a chicken breast and sautee it in a bit of olive oil.  While that's going on, chop some tomato and a couple of large garlic cloves, add some parsley and basil.  Remove the chicken, add a bit of olive oil, and toss in the mixture.  Add a bit of sugar and key lime juice, and fresh-ground pepper.

While all this is going on, you should have a pot of water going to full boil.  Throw in half a pound of linguini and stir it around a lot. 

When it's al-dente, you've got it all together.  Chop up the chicken and toss it into the sauce.  Stir, dump atop the pasta, and top with shredded cheese.  Chardonnay goes well with it.

Time: maybe 20 minutes, perhaps more - depending on how organized you are.

Cut Services, Build More Light Rail!

TriMet passed their new budget a couple of days ago, but it is, of course, a liar's figure.  Their pension plans are mostly unfunded, and they need to cut more bus service.  That's okay, though - a proposal to place a moratorium on buying properties to ram through the Milwaukie light rail lines failed.  Media reports noted:

TriMet had a $27 million budget gap.  Federal stimulus money filled $7.25 million of the gap and the rest came from administrative cuts, salary and hiring freezes with a reduction of 120 staff, service reductions and fair increases.

Really.  "Service reductions and fair increases."

This is what passes for "reporting" in the USA today.

Clackamas County Fire Chief, Ed Kirchhofer testified on the planned Milwaukee light rail stating that there was a “current lack of a regional strategy,” and an “overreliance” on the use of urban renewal districts and tax increment financing.

Clackamas County Sherriff, Craig Roberts followed Kirchhofer and stated that the creation of an urban renewal district to help pay for new rail will “deprive” them of additional deputies while simultaneously creating an increased need for service, and would be a “mistake” for public safety.

Activist Steve Schopp, testified that from experience in Tualatin, the Clackamas County urban renewal plan to finance the Milwaukee rail plan “will not happen.”  He also spoke to job losses described as being 600 displaced by 60 businesses from the rail takeover.

John Charles, President of Cascade Policy Institute, OP’s parent organization, called for an independent third-party review board for the Milwaukee light rail project similar to the one for the Columbia River Crossing.   John Charles also noted TriMet’s “unsustainable” fringe benefits calling it “institutional suicide” to continue operating in such a manner noting that at least a billion dollars of liabilities are off book in their 10 year financial forecast.

Not that any of that matters - TriMet is going to build that seven mile train line at a cost of over $1.2 billion.  They're going to continue to gut basic service in favor of fixed rail, and they don't give a rat's heinie about hundreds of lost jobs nor the roughly one billion dollars in liabilities that they can't pay.  It's not their problem - it's yours.

Toxic Shock

What an incredible surprise:  those "green" re-usable shopping bags turn out to be great breeding grounds for bacteria.  Don't ask; don't smell.