A Trapdoor In The Sun

I'll be taking the next week off of blogging as my son is out here from California for the week. Merry Christmas! Be back in the New Year!

Meet Bill. I did, a week or so ago. We were attending a Walmart Christmas party with Kate's mom (who's been with Wally-World for over 8 years). I had gone to the gathering with much skepticism. To explain that, I have to get one thing out of the way. As a semi-urban liberal, I sometimes have preconceived stereotypes about certain demographic groups. As Bill and his wife sat down across the cafeteria table from us, all of those stupid stereotypes began to roll around in my head. I sized Bill up in two seconds based on his Tony Stewart Home Depot hat, the half unbuttoned dress shirt that was revealing a little too much of his grey chest hair, and most of all, his thick down-home Texas drawl that danced off his tongue when he began talking to us. Bill was a semi-recent transplant to Central Ohio. He began to comment about how different people are in the Midwest, in comparison to Southeast Texas. "Back in Texas, there was a real sense of community." he said, "You cou...

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/5580743/detail [snip]...The Ohio Patriot Act has made it to the Taft's desk, and with the stroke of a pen, it would most likely become the toughest terrorism bill in the country. The lengthy piece of legislation would let police arrest people in public places who will not give their names, address and birth dates, even if they are not doing anything wrong. WEWS reported it would also pave the way for everyone entering critical transportation sites such as, train stations, airports and bus stations to show ID. "It brings us frighteningly close to a show me your papers society," said Carrie Davis of the ACLU, which opposes the Ohio Patriot Act. There are many others who oppose the bill as well. " The variety of people who opposed to this is not just a group of the usual suspects. We have people far right to the left opposing the bill who think it is a bad idea," said Al McGinty, NewsChannel5Â’s terrorism expert.[/snip] Well, you know m...

Thanks goes out to my buddy Klown for emailing me this! Absolutely hi-larious! http://www.4q.cc/chuck/index.php?topthirty 1. Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried. 2. Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits. 3. To prove it isn't that big of a deal to beat cancer. Chuck Norris smoked 15 cartons of cigarettes a day for 2 years and aquired 7 different kinds of cancer only to rid them from his body by flexing for 30 minutes. Beat that, Lance Armstrong. 4. Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs. 5. The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain. 6. Chuck Norris does not hunt because the word hunting infers the probability of failure. Chuck Norris goes killing. 7. If you can see Chuck Norris, he can see you. If you can't see Chuck Norris you may be only seconds away from death. 8. Chuck Norris built a time machine and went back in time to stop the JFK assassination. As Oswald shot, Chuck met all ...

State of Alaska files suit against BP, Exxon Mobil for restricting supplies of Natural Gas and inflating prices. [snip]The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Fairbanks, says the two companies acted together to eliminate competition for the exploration, development and marketing of natural gas from Alaska's North Slope to U.S. markets. "The only reason for them to collusively not to sell is to try to continue the scarcity that has driven natural gas prices to historic highs," said David Boies, the attorney for the Alaska Gasline Port Authority, which filed the lawsuit.[/snip] I think the thing that makes me sick about this is all of the commercials BP has been putting out in the last few years, painting themselves as a tree-hugger, evironmentally friendly energy supplier whose very concerned about global warming and the state of the environment. The commercials suggest that BP is at the forefront in the exploration of alternative sources of energy, and that slowly ...

Senate pressed to investigate NSA wiretaps... Democrats call for investigation of NSA wiretaps WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democratic House leaders called Sunday for an independent panel to investigate the legality of a program President Bush authorized that allows warrantless wiretaps on U.S. citizens, according to a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert. "We believe that the President must have the best possible intelligence to protect the American people, but that intelligence must be produced in a manner consistent with our Constitution and our laws, and in a manner that reflects our values as a nation," the letter says. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi; Minority Whip Steny Hoyer; Rep. John Conyers, the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee; and Rep. Henry Waxman, the ranking member on the House Committee on Government Reform, signed the letter. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended Bush's actions, telling "Fox News Sunday" the president had ...

McCain, White House at impasse over detainee treatment WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. John McCain and President Bush's national security adviser remained at an impasse Wednesday over the senator's proposed ban on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of foreign terrorism suspects. "At this point, discussions are ongoing," national security adviser Stephen Hadley told The Associated Press as he left McCain's Capitol Hill office after a meeting that lasted just over an hour. "We continue to chat," McCain, R-Arizona, said just before meeting with Hadley. The senator spent five years as a prisoner while serving in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. The ban on mistreatment of prisoners, and another provision standardizing the interrogation techniques used by U.S. troops, have stalled two defense bills in Congress, including a must-pass wartime spending measure.House and Senate negotiators want to complete the bills before adjourning for the year. But GOP leaders...

This Photoshop Contest over at Fark.com had me in stitches. Inspiration: Awkward Moments in Video Games. Funny stuff...

(Syphoned from Blognonymous , thanks Kvatch!) Starting your first conservative blog? Well good for you! We need all the conservatives we can get here in the blogsphere because, let's face it, you can't drown out the liberals unless you make a BIG NOISE! So to help you out, we here at Blognonymous have compiled some helpful hints to make your blogging as pleasant (not to mention useful to the cause) as possible: Never comment on "lefty" blogs - It just legitimizes their sad and useless lives, in addition to driving up their traffic stats. Never praise a Democrat, progressive, or liberal on your blog - Remember that there is only one right way to think in our blogsphere. Always find something nice to say Ann Coulter or Michelle Malkin - And if you're male, try to work in the notion that Ann is your ideal mate. Always remember that liberals are idiots and tell them so every chance you get - Try ending each post with "Oh, and by the way, liberals are idiots...

I'm a frequent reader of right wing propaganda. I'll admit that. I think there are quite a few decent, straight forward Republicans out there who run excellent commentary on their blogs. They are typically warm and open to respectful debate. Mike M. 's blog is a good example. However, I am convinced that there are some real nut jobs out in the blogosphere, who's primary goal is to berate and destroy any opposition to their polar ideology. So, with all due respect, I've opted to create a weekly award to highlight randomly selected right wing nutjobs' hate filled contribution to our online community as well as the political landscape. This section will appropriately be labeled "The Right Wing Cheerleader of the Week Award", in honor of everyone's favorite Yale cheerleader! Without any further ado, this week's Right Wing Cheerleader of the Week Award is given to Ottman, over at The Creative Conservative . Otto is a fearless general of mis-informa...

Robot or Human? Here's Actroid! Do you suppose a male model is in the works? Would it look anything like this?

I caught most of Bush's speach yesterday streaming on NPR. While he sounded well rehearsed, it seemed to be full of the same old rhetoric that he's been rehashing for the last two years. What did shock me though, is how quickly he worked 9/11 into his speech! A mere 27 seconds in... It's the first year that every class of midshipmen at this academy arrived after the attacks of September the 11th, 2001. Each of you have volunteered to wear our nation's uniform in a time of war, knowing all the risks and dangers that accompany military service. Our citizens are grateful for your devotion of duty. And America's proud of the men and women at the U.S. Naval Academy. I sat there and tried to remember all the Iraqi's that were on those four planes that attacked our country. Funny. I couldn't remember one of them being from Iraq. Maybe Saudi Arabia or Egypt. Apparently, they still want to trod out the ol' guilty by association horse and pony show. Still, 80% of ...