Safety Tip

If you need to change a light bulb in your office, don't stand on the chair with the wheels. Don't try to show off your mad balancin' skillz. Take the time and move the chair WITHOUT wheels the 4 feet necessary to do the task. Just sayin'.

Smoking Ban Blues

Mitch at Shot in the Dark points out that the smoking ban has claimed another three victims. I had no idea that the Mall of America's bar scene had gotten so desolate. I haven't been there since... uh, oh yeah, since the smoking ban went into effect. If anyone thinks that doesn't play a part in how people choose where they are going to go out, they must be smoking something.

Worst Story I've Seen Today

The New Orleans Police Department has long had a well-deserved reputation for being one of the most corrupt in the nation. This absolutely makes me want to puke. The link is down, so I'll update it when it's back.

One man said police directed him to Wal-Mart from Robert's Grocery, where a similar scene was taking place. A crowd in the electronics section said one officer broke the glass DVD case so people wouldn't cut themselves.

"The police got all the best stuff. They're crookeder than us," one man said.

Thanks to The Corner for pointing it out.

**** Update **** Here's the link.

Operation Thank You in San Diego

Smash tells a really neat story about the events at a counter-protest to say thank you to the sailors and marines in San Diego during President Bush's visit. The good guys had a surprise guest stop by. Like I said, it's a neat story. Go read it.

Judy Garland's Famed Ruby Slippers Stolen

From the AP:

A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz" and insured for $1 million is missing from a Grand Rapids museum.

Police Chief Leigh Serfling said the slippers were stolen late Saturday or early Sunday. Someone entered the museum through a window and broke into the small display case holding the slippers.

"There's not a whole lot of evidence," Serfling said. "We're hoping that someone in the community has seen something."

Police have alerted locals to be on the lookout for this man:

Linked to the Jawa Report's Fatwa Festival. While you're there make certain you read his post about the good news in the terrorist killing area.

Economic Explanations

I recently read Freakonomics by Steven Levitt. It does a great job of applying economic principles to explaining everyday events. It "explores the hidden side of everything." It's a rather grandiose claim, but so many things follow simple incentive reasoning that it really is interesting once you start thinking in that fashion.

Brian at Iowa Voice does a really good job of explaining the blogosphere in economic terms.

The Night Writer does similar work when doing the unthinkable and actually shopping for health care.

Ooops

I saw this story on the AP tonight.

Ga. Pilots Forget to Put Down Landing Gear

A twin-engine plane crash landed on its belly at the Eastman-Dodge airport after the two people on board forgot to put down the landing gear.

The Georgia Aviation Technical College plane slid to a halt after scraping down the runway around 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, Eastman Fire Chief Carl Johnson said.

"They didn't know they had a problem until they touched down," Johnson said.

An intern flight instructor and his teacher were practicing single-engine landing and forgot to lower the landing gear, said Johnny Payne, public affairs director with the college.

No one was hurt in the incident. The plane received only minor damage, Johnson said.

Payne credited the intern's quick thinking when he noticed the landing gear was still up, saying the pilot kept the plane level and did not panic.

Now, I'm not a pilot, nevermind an instructor pilot. But if you're PRACTICING landings, isn't putting down the landing gear one of the things that is at the front of your mind? This is like practicing your tennis serve and forgetting to toss the ball in the air before you swing.

The Reason For All The Lawyer Jokes

What happens when a lawyer takes Viagra?

He gets taller.

Over at Joe's Dartblog he points out an enraging article in the Fairfield County Weekly.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently found that the city's original seizure of private property was constitutional under the principal of eminent domain, and now New London is claiming that the affected homeowners were living on city land for the duration of the lawsuit and owe back rent. It's a new definition of chutzpah: Confiscate land and charge back rent for the years the owners fought confiscation.

In some cases, their debt could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Moreover, the homeowners are being offered buyouts based on the market rate as it was in 2000 .

This is just un-effin-believable. I hope that the people of New London vote out every single one of the cock-suckers who have anything to do with this. Then break out the tar and feathers, stocks, or whatever else they might still have laying around from colonial times. The Supreme Court ruled in the Kelo decision that this wasn't unconstitutional. It needs to be remedied legislatively. The people of New London have to remedy this FAST or they are complicit. God, what fuckers.

Update -- A Stitch in Haste is doing a great job following Kelo-related affairs.

Link: Wizbang and Jack Army

President Bush's reply to Cindy Sheehan

Scott Ott is fantastic at parody. One of the funniest guys on the web. But this just knocked my socks off.

Well said.

Recruiting Strategies

Dave at Garfield Ridge has become my go to spot for really funny stuff to read with Ace of Spades out of commission. I can't recommend him enough as a place to go whenever mu.nu or whatever stops working.

Anyway, he has a fantastic serious piece on recruiting strategies. He does a really great job of pointing out what he thinks the Army needs to do for recruiting strategies. I don't think there's much that you can argue with in his thinking. It also includes some pretty cool old recruiting posters that did a better job of getting the message across.

This has sort of interested me ever since I read Prodigal Soldiers by James Kitfield. The book details the military's long journey from Vietnam to the Gulf War and what made it into the incredibly effective fighting force that it has become. One of the things that is mentioned is the "Be All That You Can Be" campaign of the 1980s.

That shift in mindset really helped out because it was aimed at getting people in order to challenge themselves and try to be a part of something larger. The Marines have done a much better job of this over time.

Getting back into the swing of things

I've been wondering lately if I've maybe become misogynistic due to a recent personal experience. I haven't felt like even reading anything, much less writing. But since my slut of a soon-to-be ex-wife continues to brag openly about her recent (and not so recent) affairs and not show an ounce of remorse or acknowledgment of wrongdoing for what she's done to our son's family I felt like sharing my new favorite song.

Love this video

If you are here and aren't yet a reader of Garfield Ridge, what the hell's the matter with you? Stop wasting your time with my piddly crap.... But anyway, he pointed out a video tonight that made me laugh as if a blind person slipped on the ice in front of me.

A Quick Cost-Benefit Analysis of Vengeance

Ok, time to restart the engine. Over the past week I've had some personal crap going on and haven't had much interest in thinking about or writing about anything else. I haven't written much about what HAS been on my mind either because I'm afraid I'll do or say something I'll regret. It's a fine line between justice and vengeance.

I'm afraid I drew the wrong conclusions from my reading of The Count of Monte Cristo. I was never sure if the story was meant to show the futility of seeking revenge, or if it was a heroic tale of someone who was going to get his justice regardless of costs. Maybe both.

People say, "Let it go, there's nothing to be gained from revenge." There are always costs. I'm still not sure which way the scale tips. Actually, I do. I'm just still questioning the calibration of the device.

In the meantime, there is a simpering little dishonorable dribble of pigshit out there who has probably done irreparable harm to a five year-old's family. If he were a man I'd punch him. I don't believe in Karma. I hope I'm wrong. Ironically, he is being protected behind the skirt of the person to whom I want nothing bad to happen, but is probably more guilty.

This is the last I'll say on this subject. Regularly scheduled mediocre writing to return shortly.

UPDATE --- ok, I lied. It wasn't the last I'd say. Gotta tell you. I was wrong. I feel MUCH better. Oh and Dave at Garfield Ridge seems to have had some experience with her as well.

Carnival of the Clueless

Right Wing Nut House is once again hosting the Carnival of the Clueless. Go check it out.

Supersize Me

Anyone catch the sanctimoniously bullshit movie, Supersize Me? These guys do a great rendition of the nonsensical argument that's REALLY funny. My only criticism of the film is, come on dude.... 8 days? That's a decent trip to Vegas, not an experiment. Cowboy up and get back at it.

Garfield Ridge and Attu both highlighted this groundbreaking film. Though I do have a bone to pick with Dave at GR. "Hey, do you guys think I can jump all the way down these stairs and land on my side?" is the best line.

Tipping point revisited

I've asked this question in the past, but at what point do the advocates of the war in Iraq begin touting and EMPHASIZING the civilian casualties there? For the past two years the left has been hyping and lying about the number of civilians killed as a result of the war. They relentlessly spout the ludicrous 100,000 number published in The Lancet. They never seem to grasp the simple concept that the United States military does whatever it can to AVOID killing civilians while our enemy openly targets them.

The Jihadis who are now targeting the civilians are probably not affected very much by how the press and other leftists who constantly blame the US for these deaths, but the former Hussein regime certainly was. Hussein knew how to use the press. He knew that high civilian casualties would help his side in the PR war. As a result he did everything he could to maximize the number of civilian deaths. What this means is the media's and anti-war fetish for hyping civilian casualties led to them being put in greater danger.

Greyhawk at The Mudville Gazette has a couple of really good pieces on this topic here and here. He alerted me to an article in Newsweek that does a lot to debunk the nonsense that the US is responsible for [insert outlandish moonbat number here] civilian deaths.

Back to my original question. At what point do we start to hear from the advocates for the war things like, "40 civilians were killed today in a car bombing in Mosul. Our enemy is killing innocents wholesale. THIS is why it's so important for us to win. Withdrawing beforehand would put the people intent on killing the civilians in charge of a nation."? Why don't we already hear more of this sort of thing?

Jimmy Carter - Foreign Policy Genius

Will someone please give this guy a hammer or something shiny to look at to keep him occupied?

BIRMINGHAM, England - Former President Carter said Saturday the detention of terror suspects at the Guantanamo Bay Naval base was an embarrassment and had given extremists an excuse to attack the United States.

Carter also criticized the US-led war in Iraq as "unnecessary and unjust."

"I think what's going on in Guantanamo Bay and other places is a disgrace to the U.S.A.," he told a news conference at the Baptist World Alliance's centenary conference in Birmingham, England. "I wouldn't say it's the cause of terrorism, but it has given impetus and excuses to potential terrorists to lash out at our country and justify their despicable acts."

Carter said, however, that terrorist acts could not be justified, and that while Guantanamo "may be an aggravating factor ... it's not the basis of terrorism."

"What has happened at Guantanamo Bay ... does not represent the will of the American people," Carter said Saturday. "I'm embarrassed about it, I think its wrong. I think it does give terrorists an unwarranted excuse to use the despicable means to hurt innocent people."

If there's anyone who has his finger on the pulse of the will of the American people, it's Jimmy Carter. Is there any area of presidential responsibilities that Jimmy Carter was more lacking than foreign policy?

Even setting aside his remarkable ineptitude for protecting American interests while he was president, there are the post-presidential forays into "helping out" such as being the architect of the 1994 deal with North Korea which prevented them from acquiring nuclear weapons... oops. And let's not forget his "help" in 1991 of sending letters to the leaders of Security Council nations urging them to vote "no" on the American backed resolution authorizing the use of force to eject Saddam Hussein from Kuwait.

What a douchebag.

Others who have commented on Carter's latest inanity include:

Burque Boy who has the great line, "Ok, but seriously if Jimmy Carter speaks and no one listens, is it still idiotic?"
Dirty Harry at GOP Vixen sums things up nicely with his post titled, "Jimmy Carter is an asshole."
Jeff Goldstein at Protein Wisdom writes, "And do you honestly believe terrorists don’t have more important things to do than pay attention to the partisan sniping of grandstanding western politicos? There are nail bombs to make, and buses and subway cars to blow up."
Pattishub makes the apt observation that, "This is like Neville Chamberlain criticizing Winston Churchill."
Captain Ed is always good, "Carter has long shredded his charitable reputation by reminding us how inept his grasp of foreign policy was and is."