Nature Conservancy Fattens its Friends

Nature Conservancy Fattens its Friends
Why isn't this story getting more tractions in this country? The Nature Conservancy has been using its money to provide its leadership and their friends with premier real estate. Might it be that the Dan Rathers, Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw's of the world benefitted?

So What if There Are Now Weapons of Indiscriminate Slaughter?

So What if There Are Now Weapons of Indiscriminate Slaughter?
If we find no WMD's in Iraq, does that mean that we were wrong to invade? I don't think so and neither does Robert Crawford.

"Imagine you're driving along the highway, doing 70MPH. You crest a small rise, and see a human figure lying in the road in front of you. What do you do?

Do you swerve to miss? Even if it puts you, your passengers, and those in other cars in danger?

Do you steer straight ahead, running over the figure?

I bet you'd swerve. I would.

Now, let's say you swerve, come to a stop, and go back to check on the person. It turns out it's an inflatable doll. Running over it wouldn't have hurt anyone or your car.

In hindsight, was swerving a mistake? If you had gasped, "Oh my god, somebody's in the road!" to your passengers, were you a liar?"

Read it all.

Maybe The DNC Should Follow The New York Times's Example

Maybe The DNC Should Follow The New York Times's Example
Black Democrats are outraged that recent layoffs at the Democratic National Committee fell disproportionately on blacks. If the DNC followed the example of The New York Times, they would now make things even by firing some white guys too.

The Latest Left Wing Special Interest Group for the Democrats to Pander To

The Latest Left Wing Special Interest Group for the Democrats to Pander To
I won't even describe these wierdos. You'll have to read it yourself.

How Ridiculous is This?

How Ridiculous is This?
Oregon's taxpayers are going to be forced to pay for a death row inmate's kidney transplant. Even the prisoner is uncertain of the procedure's wisdom.
At least this makes slightly more sense than the sex change operation California provided to a death row inmate a few years back.

Is Sidney Blumenthal Even Remotely Acquainted With Reality?

Is Sidney Blumenthal Even Remotely Acquainted With Reality?
His former employer and former coworkers in the Clinton White House say he isn't.

Will The New York Times Report This?

Will The New York Times Report This?
Will Joe Biden or Jay Rockefeller take back what they said? I sort of doubt it. It's been confirmed. Those trailers that the Army captured are indeed mobile bio-weapons labs.

The Myth of Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes

The Myth of Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes
After 9-11, we were lectured endlessly about how we should not hold all Muslims responsible for the crimes of a few. It turns out the crimes are committed by more than a few, but even so, there has been no wave of anti-Muslim hate crimes. Check here for the whole story.

Remember, Arafat Won The Nobel Peace Prize

Remember, Arafat Won The Nobel Peace Prize
Can we dispense with all that happy horse manure about the "cycle of violence" in Israel. There is violence in Israel because the Palestinians commit it. If you really want to know what's going on in Israel, you need look no further than Palestinian television. Check here for a collection of clips. As you watch Arafat's clip, remember that he won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Why Not?

Why Not?
What's the problem here? Somebody want's to open a brothel for dogs. And the German government won't permit it. Why?

Political Correctness Finally Takes a Back Seat to Common Sense

Political Correctness Finally Takes a Back Seat to Common Sense
Last summer, I was travelling with a South Korean and he was stopped and searched every time we boarded a plane or checked luggage. I also saw a couple of blue-haired, little old ladies getting the same treatment. The last time I checked, we had not recently at war with blue-haired little old ladies or South Korea.

And so, it is with a glad heart that I hear somebody is worried about "Middle Easterners." It's not racism, it's common sense.

The Times Continues to Fall Apart.

The Times Continues to Fall Apart.

"Obviously, I'm taking a bullet here," he said of the suspension imposed last week. "Anyone with half a brain can see that." But, he said, "I'm too mad to whine about it."

Star writer Rick Bragg is the Times sacrifice to Editor Howell Raines' affirmative action god, and he's not happy about it.

Month after month, year after year, Rick Bragg said, his mission was to "go get the dateline," even when that meant leaning heavily on the reporting of others.

Hopefully, this will result in new management at the Times.

Herbicides are Good For the Environment

Herbicides are Good For the Environment
As are pesticides and genetically modified crops. Read Michael Fumento's sensible defense of herbicides. In fact, read everything Michael Fumento writes. You'll be much wiser as a consequence.

The Weapon of Mass Consumption Gets Hacked

The Weapon of Mass Consumption Gets Hacked
Professional liar and tub of goo Michael Moore's website got hacked over the weekend, with the truth actually appearing. It must have been very upsetting to the sex symbol of the Left.

Who's Worse, Kim Jong Il or Uday Hussein?

Who's Worse, Kim Jong Il or Uday Hussein?
It's a good question. You decide. Read up on Uday here and Kim Jong Il here.
You'd have to be willfully stupid to fail to understand why whackos like these need to be taken out.

Oh Damn! I Really Wanted to Make This List!

Oh Damn! I Really Wanted to Make This List!
I should at least have been the Jack of Clubs!

Oh, You Mean Those French Passports?

Oh, You Mean Those French Passports?
Just last week, the French were indignantly denouncing a "disinformation" campaign, they believed was being orchestrated by the White House, that was meant to embarass them. I'm not sure it's all that easy to embarass a Frenchman, but one thing there were angry about was a story that many Iraqi leaders had fled the country using French supplied passports. The French said that was ridiculous.
But over the past few weeks, the United States military has found about a dozen French passports here and there around Iraq, which could have easily been used by Baathists to escape. Undoubtedly a few were used just that way.

SARS Caused by Contact With Civet Cats

SARS Caused by Contact With Civet Cats
How could a prestigious journal like The Lancet publish such nonsense as that business about SARS being extraterrestial? One day after publishing that nonsense, we learn that source of the SARS virus was the civet cat, which is eaten and harvested for if fur in Asia.
From the tail of a comet, indeed.

Another Lie From the New York Times

Another Lie From the New York Times
If the New York Times' managing editor, Howell Raines, is really serious about restoring the papers he'll print a correction to Maureen Dowd's lies. So far he hasn't.

Couldn't Iraqi Doctors Have Bought Baby Medicine With This?

Couldn't Iraqi Doctors Have Bought Baby Medicine With This?
More bad news for Baghdad Jim and his buddies. Some Iraqi bigwig tried to smuggle $500 million worth of gold out of the country. Clearly, the UN's Oil for Food program was making somebody very rich. I'll be some of this bootie was finding its way into the pockets of French, German and Russian politicians who wanted to keep Oil for Food going indefinitely.

Guess What, Sanctions Didn't Kill Iraqi Children

Guess What, Sanctions Didn't Kill Iraqi Children
Now this is disappointing news for liberals. Thirteen years of UN sanctions did not kill millions of Iraqi children. Those kids were killed by Saddam Hussein's policies. Who says? Iraqi physicians who are now free to speak the truth without being shot.
Will Baghdad Jim McDermott apologize? Will Ramsey Clark? Will Tim Robbins and Susan Saranden? I doubt it.
Next we'll learn that the World Health Organization was right and Baghdad Jim was wrong about leukemia being caused by depleted uranium.

More Problems for the New York Times

More Problems for the New York Times
The day may be coming when not even the haughty-totty elites won't take the Times seriously. This story from the rival Daily News should help move that day a little closer.
"The New York Times has another reporter problem.
This time, it's Rick Bragg.

The paper will publish an editor's note today stating that the Pulitzer Prize-winning national correspondent did not do all the reporting on a story from rural Florida that carried only his byline.

Bragg - a friend and favorite of the executive editor, fellow Alabaman Howell Raines - could bring a heap of extra trouble on the top Timesman if the writer's stories are questioned."

Annika Won Over (?) After First Round

Annika Won Over (?) After First Round
She did beat the Las Vegas over and under, which predicted that she would shoot a 76. But, she'll still have to scramble to make the cut. Be honest now. Isn't she benefitting from low expectations? I mean really. Making the cut is not considered the ulitmate achievement by the men.

Man's Life Saved By His Erection

Man's Life Saved By His Erection
Now this has the potential to be much better than viagra. Imagine if we could harness this power.

Yes, and Some Members of Congress Believe

Some Scientists Actually Believe That SARS Came From Outer Space?
According to Reuters, there are actually serious scientists who believe SARS came from outer space. How a corona virus came to be floating around in space is unclear. Also unclear is how a virus floating in space could have survived ultraviolet radiation exposure.
But, we must remember that there are members of the United State Congress (all Democrats) who believe that AIDS was created by the CIA to exterminate blacks. And many also believe that Oliver North, acting on orders from Ronald Reagan, created the crack cocaine addiction epidemic.

Oh, Do You Mean Those Terrorits?

Oh, Do You Mean Those Terrorits?
Iran admits to sheltering Al Qaida terrorists. Hmm. Don't we have soldiers on Iran's eastern and western border?

We're Not Taking Orange Alerts As Seriously As We Used To

We're Not Taking Orange Alerts As Seriously As We Used To
Meanwhile, the lead story in the Sacramento Bee is sturgeon poaching.

Will Martha Burke Picket for Esteban Toledo's Rights?

Will Martha Burke Picket for Esteban Toledo's Rights?
If matters were permitted to flow to their logical conclusion, the biggest potential winners this weekend would be guys like Esteban Toledo, Luke Donald, Chris Riley, and Dean Wilson. What? You’ve never heard of them? Frankly, you’d have to be a real golf fanatic if you had. On those occasions when these guys have cause to take their clubs out of the bag on weekends, their tee times are scheduled well before the networks beam their coverage to affiliate stations. All of the guys mentioned above are professional golfers who have fallen somewhat short of dominating their profession at the highest level. Aside from obscurity, one other thing that all of them have in common is that they can drive a golf ball farther than Annika Sorenstam.
Brahmans, soothsayers, pundits and other know-it-alls insist that Annika Sorenstam is the greatest female profession golfer in the history of the game. But nobody in their right mind believes that she has the slightest chance of winning this weekend’s tournament against the men. Although she played a very respectable first round of golf Thursday, as I write this, she is tied for 73rd. place and will have to scramble to make the cut. Only the top 70 gets to play on Saturday and Sunday. This is one rule that will not be waived for her benefit.
When one peruses the Professional Golf Association’s statistics, one finds few remotely familiar names among those who hit their drives as short as Sorenstam’s 275-yard average. Now driving distance does not necessarily translate into a low scoring average. Nobody knows this better than me. I can hit a golf ball 300 yards off the tee without getting any closer to the pin. But among those who can impose their will on a golf ball’s direction, driving distance makes the rest of their game easier. Being 30 or 40 yards closer to the cup permits one to employ the more accurate short irons and allows competent golfers ( I excuse myself from this fraternity) to stop their ball on firm greens.
Were they granted Annika Sorenstam’s privilege of choosing which tour they wished to play, Toledo, Donald, Riley and Wilson, along with many others, would likely enjoy greater success than they have enjoyed on the men’s tour. Competing against only women has permitted Annika Sorenstam to win 43 tournaments and bank nearly $3 million dollars in winnings. That’s less money than a male golfer would have pocketed after winning 43 tournaments, but it’s one hell of a lot more than Annika Sorenstam could have won had she been forced to compete every weekend on the men’s tour as the afore mentioned quartet must.
Sending women against the men violates one of the few principles of common sense left in our land. Up until now, we have managed to keep political correctness from intruding upon those things that really matter, such as sports. Instead we try gender homogenize those frivolous sectors of our society, such as the military. No sensible person would expect the world’s fastest female sprinter Marion Jones to compete for a spot in Olympics against the likes of Maurice Green. When I was a senior in high school, I compared the world records held by woman against my own high school track team. An all-star team made up of the best women in the world could not have scored a point against my high school. But we seem to have no problem sending Jessica Lynch to go mano a mano with the Iraqi Republican Guard.
Martha Burke, the howl at the moon feminist who once advocated forced sterilizations of all male children, recently made headlines in the New York Times by demanding that Augusta National, home course of the Master’s golf tournament, admit women members. Augusta National declined to be intimidated by Ms. Burke and her homely handful of protesters. Ms. Burke will not expend her indignant energies demanding that gender equity be extended to Ladies Professional Golf events by demanding that Toledo, Riley, Donald and Wilson get their shot at stardom.
Golfer Vijay Singh, invoked the wrath of political correctness by expressing his indignation at Sorenstam’s invitation to this weekend’s tournament. He could have made his point better by imposing himself upon LPGA tournaments and winning every weekend. But he probably wouldn’t care for the play cut.

What if This were an Indian Burial Ground?

What if This were an Indian Burial Ground?
Here in Washington state, we're fighting a big battle of a set of 9,000 year-old bones discovered along the Columbia River. The Indian tribes demand that the bones be returned to them for reburial. But, because the bones appear to be those of a European, scientists want custody for study to determine if, in fact the bones are those of a European.
Liberal sentiment seems to side with the Indians, that Indian graves should not be disturbed. But, in England, archeologists are digging up a 4300 hundred year-old burial ground near Stonehenge. And nobody seems to be complaining of grave desecration. I suspect that the UN would get involved if a similar dig were conducted in this country.

CNN Admits Error Over Gun Error

CNN Admits Error Over Gun Error

Will this change CNN's attitude? Left wing groups are routinely given a presumption of honesty and good faith. CNN gave a gun control group such a presumption and was made a fool of. The big difference is that CNN admitted its error. Does this indicate that a change, however small is coming?

The Ever Vigilant and Unbiased Press Strikes Again!

The Ever Vigilant and Unbiased Press Strikes Again!

A fine example of the ever-vigilant and unbiased media was booed off the stage during his commencement address to Rockford College graduates.
"New York Times reporter Chris Hedges was booed off the stage Saturday at Rockford College’s graduation because he gave an antiwar speech.
Two days later, graduates and family members, envisioning a “go out and make your mark” send-off, are still reeling."

Hedges began his abbreviated 18-minute speech comparing United States’ policy in Iraq to piranhas and a tyranny over the weak. His microphone was unplugged within three minutes.

Voices of protest and the sound of foghorns grew.

Some graduates and audience members turned their backs to the speaker in silent protest. Others rushed up the aisle to vocally protest the remarks, and one student tossed his cap and gown to the stage before leaving."

Of course, these are the people we rely upon to provide us with a clear eye upon events we cannot see ourselves. And of course, his extreme left-wing views would never color his reporting.

Who Needs Oliver Stone When We Have the BBC?

Who Needs Oliver Stone When We Have the BBC?

According to the BBC, the whole rescue of Private Jessica Lynch was a made for television event, with the soldiers firing blanks and setting off fake explosions. Next, the BBC will be telling us that we never really landed on the moon, that the whole thing was staged. Wait! Didn't they already do that story too?

All Pooped Out

All Pooped Out

Sorry for the light blogging this weekend. I was at a Dave Scott Ironman Triathlon clinic. For those of you who've never heard of Dave Scott, he's the six-time Ironman world champion and even at age 48, is probably still one of the top 10 in the world.
Anyway, I had an opportunity to train with and learn from Dave Scott and I couldn't pass it up. It's like getting golf lessons from Tiger Woods.
My next Ironman race is June 29, less than six weeks away, so I won't get much use out of what I learned between now and then, but I should be able to reap the benefits next summer.

The Queen of Blow Jobs?

The Queen of Blow Jobs?

Did Susan Estrich really want this column published? Susan Estrich has gained considerable attention with a column that demands that the Clintons and their toadies leave the stage and make room for other Democrats. Unfortunately, in that column she calls Monica Lewinsky the "Queen of Blow Jobs." As such many newspapers that normally run her column declined to put this one to print.
It's too bad that everyone didn't read this column. But, it's also a good thing that papers retain standards higher than this Democratic activist.

How to Buy 15 Minutes of Fame

How to Buy 15 Minutes of Fame

This is too much like that Ameritrade commercial that shows up on television every now and then. In that advertisement, a fairly average person, who owns a minute fraction of a large, well-known company’s outstanding shares, is mistaken for a board chairman. But imagine that concept turned around. Imagine that the owner of those paltry few shares mistakes himself for a big shot. This scenario describes Spokane’s John Osborn. John Osborn owns all of .00034% of Potlatch Corporation, but believes that he should be dictating the company’s operations.
Before ascending to his new post as the imaginary CEO of the Potlatch Corporation, Osborn made his nut as a Spokane physician. Thus capitalized, he moved on to found The Lands Council, an inland northwest environmental activist organization. But John Osborn also owns 100 shares of Potlatch Corporation stock. There are roughly 29 million publicly traded shares of Potlatch stock in circulation. Nevertheless, his teensy-weensy holdings entitle John Osborn to attend shareholder meetings and propose changes in the way that Potlatch Corporations conducts its business. At each of the last two annual meetings, John Osborn has introduced a resolution suggesting that the company modify its dividend policy.
Certainly the logic behind Potlatch’s current dividend policy is opaque to my unschooled eyes. Even though the company has lost more than a third of a billion dollars over the past three years, the company has still paid its stockholders millions of dollars in dividends. I always thought that dividends were intended as a means to distribute a share of a corporation’s profits. Clearly, Potlatch doesn’t agree with me. But neither does Potlatch Corporation agree with John Osborn. Osborn would prefer that, rather than reward stockholders, Potlatch spend that money on environmental remediation projects dear to his heart.
This year, his proposal won only 18% of the votes. But, as he points out, that’s really the same as getting 36% of the votes because, half of Potlatch stock is held by blood sucking space aliens. No, actually he believes that he won 36% because, half of Potlatch stock is owned by the Weyerhauser family who, in Osborn’s eyes, are much worse than a horde of blood sucking space aliens. If only Al Gore had John Osborn counting votes in Florida, then Saddam Hussein would still be safe in his palaces.
But, it’s not entirely true that John Osborn simply wants to change the way that Potlatch manages its finances. John Osborn is less interested in changing the way that Potlatch does business as he is in putting Potlatch out of business. One of the causes backed by The Lands Council is the “End Commercial Logging Campaign.” To quote The Land’s Council’s website: “Transforming the vibrant energy of a grassroots movement to end commercial logging into a targeted advocacy campaign is not a simple task. Because of our history of grassroots empowerment, the Council is uniquely positioned to aid in that transformation.” Yeah brother, whatever you say. Pass the doobie.
For that matter, The Lands Council opposes all modern forest management. “In less than 200 years, our industrial culture has severely damaged the forested ecosystems of the American Northwest. Like the coastal forests before them, the vast forests that once existed in the Inland Northwest have largely been lost. Industrial forestry has wiped out enormous resources while making an arrogant assertion that the ecological cycles of intact forests can be replicated and improved upon by human manipulations.” Or, so reads their website.
Osborn’s strategy is part of a growing trend among environmental groups in which they purchase small blocks of stock to gain entry into stockholder meetings, where they grandstand by introducing frivolous proposals that attract the attention of the press but have no chance of passing. While it is unlikely that any corporation will take an environmentalist’s advice, it does give people who are of little genuine consequence an opportunity to make a nuisance of themselves to the people who really make the world work. It’s like spray painting obscene graffiti on bridges.
But let’s get to the real point. Buying a few shares gets these nuisances their fifteen minutes of fame. Potlatch stock sells for about $25 per share. How else could John Osborn get a front page, above the fold story about himself for only 2500 bucks?

Schumer's Bodyguard Packs Heat

Schumer's Bodyguard Packs Heat

Frothing gun control advocate Chucky Schumer doesn't want you to own a gun, but his personal bodyguard carries a gun. This reminds me of Rosie O'Donnell. Of course, the difference is that the insatiably ambitious Schumer is important enough to deserve personal defense and the rest of us aren't.

Golfer Struck by Lightning Twice in One Round

Golfer Struck by Lightning Twice in One Round

This guy was struck by lightning twice in a 30 minute span, and still finished his round. And, he complained about his score.

Another Chance for Amnesty International to Redeem Itself

Another Chance for Amnesty International to Redeem Itself

A mass grave containing 600 executed Kuwaiti POW's has been discovered in Iraq. What will the Human Rights crowd have to say about this?

LA to Impose Slavery Tax?

LA to Impose Slavery Tax?

The Los Angeles City council is planning to force all companies that once profited from slavery to disclose that information. This is obviously a first step toward the almost inconceivably stupid idea of slavery reparations. But, you can be sure that, if local governments are getting on board, it will be for the purpose of sucking up all the money themselves. Just look at what became of all that money in the tobacco settlement.

Isn't This Easier Than Suicide Bombing?

Isn't This Easier Than Suicide Bombing?

Only 71 more and we can make potential suicide bombers the same offer they get from Osama Bin Laden. A Chilean student who needs tuition money is auctioning her virginity off to the highest bidder. Perhaps we can buy a few more and use them to buy off Islamist terrorists.

Ban Assault Duct Tape!

Ban Assault Duct Tape!

Here's why.

Where Was Old Gerhardt When It Mattered?

Where Was Old Gerhardt When It Mattered?

German Chancellor Gerhardt Schroeder had and interesting observation, reported in the English Language version of Deutche Welle.

"German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said during a visit in Singapore Tuesday that countries around the world need to work closer together to fight terrorism. He said the fight against terror can only be waged when countries pool their anti-terror resources."

A little late for that now, isn't it?

What Planet is Bob Graham From?

What Planet is Bob Graham From?

I read somewhere recently that Bob Graham's uphill path to the Democratic nomination was in part a consequence of his thoughtfullness and sobriety. Such a man does not draw the spotlight to himself enough to gain much name recognition. It seems that he must have read the same article and has chosen to remedy the situation by modeling himself after Bob Byrd and Al Sharpton.

"It could have been avoided if you had actually crushed the basic infrastructure of al Qaeda," said Mr. Graham, Florida Democrat. "They would not have had the capability to launch such a sophisticated attack." he thundered.

Now did he really think that if he were president that he could have guaranteed that there would never be another terrorist attack anywhere in the world? Does he really believe that George Bush is the Commander in Chief of Saudi Arabia as well as the United States. Even the Saudis admit that the security failure was their's.

Bob Graham is likely to emerge from his campaign with greater name recognition, but his fame will be like that of Michael Moore's. And I don't think that America is nearly ready to trust its governance to Michael Moore.

It's About Damned Time!

Arabs are beginning to grasp the horror of terrorism and more importantly and beginning to look inward for its origins. This from today's Arab News.
"Words are inadequate to express the shock, the revulsion, the outrage at the suicide bombings in Riyadh. Are expatriates working here an army of occupation, to be slaughtered and terrorized into leaving?

This was an undertaking of sheer evil. Life — be it the life of Muslims, of Saudis, of Westerners, of anyone — is sacred, a gift from God. It was targeted as much against Saudi Arabia as against Westerners — not just because Saudis and Westerners alike have been killed and maimed but because the prime aim of those responsible for this despicable crime is to create panic and terror. Those responsible are the new fascists. Merciless, cold and full of hate, with a demented vision of Islam, they declared war on humanity for the thoroughly un-Islamic goal of separating and insulating the Muslim world from the rest of humanity, as part of which they hope to terrorize Westerners into leaving the Kingdom. They have no qualms about killing anyone who gets in their way; they spread hatred and resentment, not peace; yet they have the blasphemous effrontery to claim that they do God’s work. They make a mockery of Islam, an open, inclusive faith."

And, it gets better.

"It goes without saying that those responsible, those who poisoned the minds of the bombers, those who are planning to become bombers, must be tracked down and crushed — remorselessly and utterly. But crushing them will not be enough. The environment that produced such terrorism has to change. The suicide bombers have been encouraged by the venom of anti-Westernism that has seeped through the Middle East’s veins, and the Kingdom is no less affected. Those who gloat over Sept. 11, those who happily support suicide bombings in Israel and Russia, those who consider non-Muslims less human than Muslims and therefore somehow disposable, all bear part of the responsibility for the Riyadh bombs."


Islamic Nations must recognize, not only that terrorism threatens all civilizations, not just those they disapprove of. And, they must recognize that the fermenting hatred that they often condone and encourage is the origin and not Ariel Sharon or Exxon.

So What's the Big Deal?

New York Times reporter Jayson Blair has been fired for writing fiction in the New York Times. Since Howell Raines took over the New York Times, the Gray Lady has been devoted to publishing fiction for years. The only requirement is that the fictions does harm to Republicans.

Mike Price Used Up All His Chances

Second chances are over rated. They are especially frivolous when the transgressor is a 57-year old man who has been forewarned by his boss and has watched others suffer the consequences of their own misbehavior. It doesn't require a great deal of wisdom for a man to learn from his mistakes. And frankly, you don't have to be all that smart to learn from the mistakes of others. And by the time one ripens to the age of 57 years, a man would have to be a real dunderhead to have failed to learn the lessons that Mike Price failed to absorb.
During his tenure at Washington State University these sorts of difficulties never manifested themselves. Or, at least, they never made the newspapers. But then, there aren't that many topless bars to choose from around here. Virtue is easy in the absence of temptation.
Mike Price complained that he didn't get a second chance at the University of Alabama. But what exactly did Mike Price expect to learn from a second chance - that getting drunk in topless bars and propositioning strippers is wrong? I strongly suspect that Mike Price has known that for a long time. The only lesson he might have learned from another chance is the limit of this boss's tolerance. And how would that have helped Mike Price to grow? That's not a lesson in morality. That's a lesson in expediency and that lesson doesn't make one a better person - just a more calculating person.
The whole scene, as it is being reported in Sports Illustrated, seemed to have been choreographed in omens. The stage name of the topless dancer with whom Mike Price became alcoholically enamored performed under the stage name of "Destiny Boudreaux."
"I offered him a table dance. He tipped me $60," Boudreaux told Sports Illustrated. "Then he asked me to take him to the semi-private dance area. He got a little bad there. We have rules, and touching is not allowed.
"He told me I was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He kept telling me he had a room at the hotel, and he wanted me to meet him there late that night. He was definitely persistent. I told him my husband was coming to pick me up after work, which he did, by the way."
Frankly, from the pictures I've seen, his eyesight is every bit as bad as his judgment. Oh well, as the old country song goes: "I never went to bed with an ugly woman, but I sure woke up with a few." Or, as another crooner opines, "The girls all get prettier at closing time."
So, the trouble started when he tried to arrange a rendezvous with Destiny. How much bolder could the writing on the wall have been?
I am more inclined to accept Mike Price's version of events in the hotel than Sports Illustrated's. Sports Illustrated reports that, after his topless bar escapades, Price had sex with two women in his room. Price claims he woke up (or came to) in his room fully dressed. I have my doubts about whether a drunken 57 year-old man could accomplish the feats Sports Illustrated credits him with.
But it's the denial of a second chance that so many of Price's allies bothered. Price's players at Alabama thought he deserved probation. A few of them are probably on probation themselves. His former players and assistants at WSU wonder why he wasn't given a chance to repent and repair.
"Whatever happened to a second chance in life?" Price asked. "I've been doing this for many years, and you don't have to go very many places to ask my players about second chances in life."
But, according to Alabama president Robert Witt, Mike Price was on at least his second chance. ''Coach Price had been warned several weeks before about his public conduct," Witt said. ''His conduct in Florida was not consistent with the warning he received."
Would a third, a fourth or a fifth chance have been enough?
Aside from the pain this episode has caused Mike Price's family, the really sad part is that Robert Witt will not hold his faculty to the standards he demands of his football coach. And in the end, what is a university really supposed to be about?

Frist Moves to Change Senate Rules

The Democrats are abusing the rules, so now it's time to change them. Bill Frist, manifesting the first evidence of cajones since assuming the job of Majority Leader, is moving to change the Senate's rules so the Senate can actually do its job. Democrats have decided to filibuster almost every judicial nomination, thwarting the will of the minority. The solution? Change the rules so a simple majority can confirm judges. In effect, going back to the way it was when Democrats still retains a shred of dignity. The old rules presumed decency. The Democrats have elected indignity and so will pay the price.

Women Think George W. is a Hottie!

Now we know the real reason why Robert Byrd is so angry about the president flying onto the deck of that aircraft carrier. He looks good in a flight suit and he turns women on! Women liked this even better than Al Gore sucking Tipper's face at the 2000 convention. They are more turned on that they were when George W. Bush gave Oprah a peck that same year.
It seems there's a shortage of real men in some neighborhoods: "You don't see a lot of that in my neighborhood, the Upper West Side of Manhattan."
"The American media were fully aware of how stunning the president looked last week. And they chose to defuse it by referring endlessly to the "photo-oppiness" of the event. The man uses overwhelming military force to vanquish a truly evil foe, facing down balking former "allies," and he is not taken seriously as a foreign-policy president. He out top-guns the Hollywood version, and all the media can talk about is the impending campaign commercial."

More Corruption in Oil for Food Program

Is it any wonder That France, Germany, Russia and the UN opposed the war. Is it any wonder that they all supported and still support Saddam Hussein's regime and are sheltering his henchmen. The sanctions were making lots of powerful people, including Saddam Hussein very rich.

Quick, Somebody Call Ramsey Clark

With all the whining about the treatment of prisoners warehoused at Guantanamo Bay, you'd think that at one bleeding heart liberal would be howling mad about this.
Iraqi prisoners of war, held in Iran for up to twenty years were free. During that time they had experieced torture and starvation. Most had died in Iranian captivity.
"Hassan's hands trembled so severely that he could not light a cigarette without help from a comrade. He said he was tortured routinely -- forced to squat for hours, beaten with lengths of cable and rope, shocked by car batteries and had what he thinks was dirty water injected with a syringe into his penis."

Wasn't George W. Bush Too Callow for Succssful Diplomacy?

While the news was largely focused upon the war on terror, a story that would otherwise have dominated the front page is rearing a peaceful, diplomatic closure. Under Clinton, India and Pakistan traded nuclear tests and nuclear threats. At on point last year, many thought nuclear war was unavoidable. Now the two parties are talking, have reestablished diplomatic relations and are seriously considering nuclear disarmament. All with the encouragement, cajoling and diplomacy of the Bush Administratration.
No wonder Bush and Blair have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. They've certain done more to preserve safety security and to preserve the peace than Jimmy Carter ever did or ever will.

The Politics of Br'er Rabbit

All the president's men a just salivating at the thought that more Democrats will follow the lead of Robert Byrd and Bill Waxman and will crticized the president's carrier landing and speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln.
"'Do it again do it again do it again,' is our message to Senator Byrd." The Democrats are "doing things that make their base happy, but alienate the center."

John Kerry Schmoozes with the Rubes

John Kerry is making a campaign speech at Bob Jones University. Does anybody remember the firestorm Democrats raised when candidate George W. Bush did the same thing in 2000? I certainly do. Why is he doing it?
"I just think it's time for Democrats to come across as Christian." explained one campaign adviser.
Wait a minute. Didn't Kerry suddenly discover that he was Jewish a couple of months ago? Oh well, why not? When it served him politically, he was an Irish Catholic. So why not become a Southern Baptist today?
And by the way, if you want the Christian vote, you don't do it by, "coming across as Christian." You doing by living your life as a Christian.

Edwards Filling HIs Campaign Coffers With Dirty Money?

Evidence contiues to accumulate that this champion of campaign finance reform floats his own campaign on illegal contributions. What would you expect from a lawyer?

Is the UN the World's Largest Organized Crime Syndicate

Now we have more evidence of the UN's complicity with Saddam Hussein. Clearly the Oil for Food Program was designed to fatten everyone except Iraqis.

Ramsey Clark, Call Your Office

They've been held prisoner in Iran for 20 years. They've been beaten and starved. And yet, I've not heard one human rights activist condemn Iran for its treatment of Iraqi prisoners of war.

Pounding the Pud for the Poor

I wish I could say, "only in San Francisco," but sadly, that is not true. But it did begin there. San Francisco held a "masturbate-a-thon" to raise money for some undesignated charity. I wonder. How do donors verify that they got what they paid for? When we do a Crop Walk, we verify that people walked their 10 kilometers. While there is a way to prove that men finished the job, we have to take the women's word for it.

The Environmentalist Chic Enriches Itself

How about this? The Nature Conservancy is using donor money to buy very expensive tracts of land, and is then turning around and selling it to big wigs within the Nature Conservancy at a fraction of its original purchase price. Bet you won't hear this on NPR.

The Crazy Old Aunt in the Senate

One of these days, guys in white coats are going to scoop up Robert Byrd with their butterfly nets and take him to a padded room. What better way to show respect for the men and women who put their lives on the line for boobs like Byrd than to land on their aircraft carrier? But, to Robert Byrd, who frankly is becoming one of the more rational /Democratic voices in the Congress, it's a cynical campaign ploy.

Woman loses teeth during foot surgery.

I've heard of people going in for surgery on their left knee and having doctors accidentally operate on the right, but this is ridiculous.

Al Quaida on The Ropes

So, we can chew gum and walk at the same time. After all that ignorant carping from Democrats, it appears that we are indeed winning the war on terrorism. First, we learn that terrorist attacks world-wide are down dramatically. Now we learn that Al Quaida is just about finished as a coherent force.

Butt Naked Airways

Were'nt there a couple of pilots fired recently for flying nude? Here's a job for them.

France Helped Iraqi Scum Escape?

Does anybody really doubt now that France has a lot to hide in its dealings with Iraq? I don't doubt for a minute that these guys had the goods on France and Chirac did not want them in United States' hands and answering our questions.

War by Other Means

With apologies to Otto Von Bismark, we might the next couple of wars diplomatically. We are on Syria's border and Syrian dictator Bashar Assad got a close-up look at what happens to regimes that cross us. So, I expect that Syria will soon evolve into a much more docile nation without us having to fire a shot. The same goes for Iran. We just about have them surrounded now, in Iraq and Afghanistan. I'm sure they're doing a little introspection right now and many are concluding that Allah will not protect them from JDAM's and MOAB's.
I'm sure that even North Korea's leaders are jumping out of their seats every time a car backfires too.

I Told You So!

McCain-Feingold has been ruled unconstitutional. No Shit! If burning a flag is constitutionally protected free speech, if pornograph is constitutionally protected free speech, then certainly political debate is free speech.

Left's Black Helicopter Crowd is Scared

Jill Nelson is afraid of the boogie men in her closet. No doubt, she will be surprised to wake up a free woman this morning. In fevered mind, people who dare dissent from the Bush Doctrine risk swift retribution.
"Yet to question this war and its aftermath is characterized as at worst treason and at best anti-American cynicism."
For most leftists, the world is evolving into something they don't understand. They too can be criticized and they find this frightening and uncomfortable. Those of us on the other side of the spectrum have experienced this all our lives. Any dissent from leftist doctrine and we are labelled as racists, sexists, bigots and homophobes. Leftists, on the other hand, were free to say anything they want without criticism.
Now that they have lost monopolistic control of the debate, thanks to cable news, talk radio and the internet, when they say something stupid, they get called on it. They get criticized. And they find that intimidating. They call it a "chill wind."
Well, get over it. Conservatives have had to fight through the chill wind of criticism for decades. It made us stronger. One reason that we're winning the debate, is because we have had to debate. Liberals have enjoyed a one sided conservation and don't much like it when they are talked back to.

Evergreen Bolshevism

Once again, we are being promised a workers' paradise. The Utopians are proposing that a state that can't afford to fill its potholes will be able to double its budget and give everybody "free" health care. The "Committee for Universal Health Care in Washington State" is hoping that Washingtonians are more easily humbugged than Oregonians. In fact, the committee is hoping that Washingtonians have gotten dumber than they were in 2000 or 2002, when they withheld from its proponents enough signatures to place socialized medicine on the ballot.
The Committee for Universal Health Care was making its case for socialized medicine in Whitman County this last week. The group hopes to gather 250,000 signatures for its Initiative 842 by June 27, so that the measure can appear on the November ballot. And if it passes, it will only cost about 20 billion dollars or so.
It is ironic that even as the statues of communist dictators are being pulled down around the world, the metastases of their ideology continue to seek foundations upon which they might find purchase. One of their favorite malignancies is socialized medicine. Of course, its advocates are not honest enough to actually call it that. Socialism has a richly deserved bad reputation. The veil most preferred by modern comrades is universal health care.
And of course, once we have universal health care, everything will be just wonderful. Proponent Steve Megehee of Palouse pronounces that with the preventative care I-842 promises, health care costs might go down. Yes, and pigs might someday evolve feathers. What Megehee fails to consider is that people will always overuse a product that they don't have to pay for. If we offered universal vacuum cleaner insurance, people would march down to the government vacuum cleaner office and pick up a new vacuum cleaner every time the bag in the old one filled.
And according to Harry Abbott, the committee's treasurer, health care costs should not increase with this initiative because the state would be empowered to essentially dictate costs to providers. What he doesn't note is that when commodity prices are driven down artificially, then the supply of that commodity dries up. However one wishes to dress it up, health care is a commodity, just like hog bellies. If Harry Abbott were empowered to control hog belly futures, there would be no bacon.
The net effect of these two forces will be that we will have more and more people demanding more and more services from a shrinking supply. If these guys can insulate Washington from immutable economic principles, then we should use their power to propose I-843, and exempt Washingtonians from gaining weight after eating too much and exercising too little.
Has anything like this ever happened before? Why yes, it has. After he seized control of Russia, Vladimir Lenin declared that he would allow the Russian people to starve before he would permit a private market for food. And so he did.
Most of those who are uninsured are healthy young people for whom health insurance is a bad gamble. Such people not likely to use as much medical care as they would be forced to pay in taxes. Many others are small business owners who would rather be self-insured.
Much of this debate is driven by the notion that health care is so fundamental that nobody should have to do without it or even pay directly for it. But, if health care is so fundamental that it becomes a right, then shouldn't we get more basic and have universal food insurance, where the government is responsible for feeding everyone? Why not universal housing, where the government guarantees a roof over everyone's head? Maybe we should have universal clothing insurance.
Our left wing neighbors to the south had their chance to give themselves "free" health care and wisely turned it down by an overwhelming margin. As an oversized Berkeley or Greenwich Village, Oregon exhibited remarkable good sense last November. Outside of Seattle, Washington is a fairly sensible place too. And while part of me would like to see this horror on the ballot so that we can drive a stake through its heart once and for all, should the petition pass under my nose, I don't think I'll risk having it on the ballot and will decline to sign.

I Sense a Big But Coming

I've always been wary of the "big but." I'm not talking about anatomy of course. That's spelled differently. No, I'm talking about those big buts in the middle of a compound sentence that lay waste to everything said before the big but. An example might be: " I normally agree with you, BUT I think you're wrong about this."
After savaging George Bush at every opportunity, Tom Daschle has taken notice of the wind's direction, and poll number that show his seat is in jeopardy next year, and has commended the President's war time leadership. He mangaged to stifle his BUT for now, BUT, we all know it's coming.

Blair Say Bush is no Intellectual Lightweight

Oh no! Blair let the cat out of the bag. Hopefully, the Democrats won't notice this and will continue to formulate their strategy believing that he is a dummy.

A Very Unlawyerly Gift

Maybe he thought it was Shinola.

Romanian Prostitutes Offering Sex on Easy Payment Plan

Maybe Alabama Coach Mike Price should have tried this.

British Schools Face Budget Shortfall

I wonder how Democrats will blame Bush's tax cuts on this?

At Last, Something Approaching an Honest Count on Civilian Casualties

150. That's right, 150 Iraqi civilians lost their lives during the entire war on Iraq. My source is the Red Crescent, the Arab version of the Red Cross.
And who knows how many of those were inflicted by Iraqi soldiers. We know that the blast in the Baghdad market was caused by Iraqi ordnance. We know that Iraqis shot fleeing Iraqi civilians as they tried to leave Basra.
As Boris Johnson phrases it: "It was, therefore, a piece of utilitarian arithmetic. You had to weigh the disasters of war against the nightmare of life under Saddam. You had to set the misery of old Iraq against the uncertainties of a free country. That is the calculation; and it would be quite easy to construct a powerful case for believing that the exercise has been a disaster. You don’t need to be Robert Fisk. You just shut one eye in Iraq, and look around you."
In any event, during the war, civilians died at about 1/20 of the rate that they died during peace under Saddam's reign of terror.

A Chill Wind is Blowing

The Hollywood Left has successfully intimidated Boycott Hollywood out of operation. I wonder if Tim Robbins finds this crushing of dissent offensive.

Iraq is Turning into a Quagmire After All

Anne Coulter points out that Iraq has become a quagmire - for liberals. Good news is breaking out everywhere and there seems no escape for the Democratic Party or their liberal allies in the press. After swinging and missing on one prediction after another, the liberal press is reduced to whining about looting.

"Now the biggest mishap liberals can seize on is that some figurines from an Iraqi museum were broken – a relief to college students everywhere who have ever been forced to gaze upon Mesopotamian pottery."

Read it all. Anne is always a fun read.

Jobs Fair for Kindergardners?

It's true. Thomas Sowell gives us another example of how schools waste class time. I know this happens because I was asked to participate in a jobs fair for second graders recently. My partners and I modified our part of into a science demonstration, so the kids' time wasn't entirely wasted.