California To Change Name?

January 29, 2015

News Syndicate-

The California legislature announced yesterday plans to permanently change the state’s name to “C-Forn.” The proposal will go before the state’s voters in a special election this November where the referendum on changing the state’s long-held name is expected to pass easily.

Sponsors of the bill say that the new name will be “cooler and hipper” and “more progressive.”

Nancy Pelosi stated that, “the new name is shorter, I think, and therefore easier to say. Also, nobody could spell California- or whatever- before, so that’s a plus too. And guess what? A lot of constituents couldn’t pick out our state on a map before, but since the proposed new name will be  shorter, that means each letter spelling out our state can now be much bigger on any atlas or map and therefore easier to see and read!”

Many C-Forn lawmakers brought up the fact that this proposal is in keeping with the “linguistic and nomenclatural changes that have been ongoing for years now.”

Pelosi stated, “look at Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees, for example. Nobody calls him that anymore…it’s always ‘A-Rod’. Jennifer Lopez? I think not. It’s J-Lo. I mean, the television show ‘How I Met Your Mother’ is now referred to as simply ‘HIMYM’, right? And it’s not ‘American Oil Company’ now, it’s Amoco.”

Other states have recently considered  shortening their  names, as well. Massachusetts is one state rumored to be considering the action. Moreover, there was a bill proposed in the Arkansas state legislature last session that would’ve shortened that states name to ‘Kansas’. It was tabled only after one member pointed out that there was already a state with that name, and that the change might invite  much confusion.

Sony Hacked, North Korea Whacked?

                 Apparently the “Hermit Kingdom” wasn’t kidding. Late last June North Korea threatened to consider the upcoming release of a major Hollywood motion picture “an act of war.” (See my post- titled same-  of June 27^th, 2014). The film, “The Interview,” is a comedy that stars Seth Rogen and James Franco as television journalists involved in a CIA plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

                Now, the Sony Company has been the victim of computer hackers believed to be controlled by North Korea. Recently a “shadowy group calling themselves ‘Guardians of Peace’  escalated their attack beyond corporate espionage and threatened moviegoers with violence reminiscent of the 9/11 terrorist attacks” according to an article by the Associated Press.

                The Department of Homeland Security, stated the article, said there was “no credible intelligence to indicate an active plot against movie theaters,” but noted it was still analyzing messages from the group, dubbed the “GOP.” Of course.

                Security fears spurred Sony to allow theater chains to cancel showings of the film, the focus of the hacker’s mission to bring down Sony. Carmike Cinemas, which operates 247 theaters across the country, was the first to cancel its planned showings of the film.

                ‘GOP’ also released 32,000 e-mails to and from Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton and other data files in what it called the beginning of a “Christmas gift.” The film was expected to hit theaters nationwide on Christmas Day. What a coincidence.

                The  rational response to this attack on Sony and the subsequent threats to American movie theaters nationwide would be to have every single movie theater in the country  offer showings of the film 24 hours a day.

                Or we could tell the North Korean government and its chubby little leader that the film will be considered a ‘documentary’ in the very near future.

All The News That Fits, I Print (Miscellany)

*From an A.P. report-

                President Obama on Friday urged the Senate to ratify a $1.1 trillion dollar, House-passed spending bill that has roiled his Democratic Party, judging it an imperfect bill that he says stems from “the divided government that the American people voted for.”

                Sniff.

Of course, if it contained everything he wanted, it would have been a perfect bill.

*From a report in the New York Times-

                The median net worth of white households was about 10 times that of black households in 2007. In 2013 it was about 13 times greater. In absolute terms black household net worth  was $19,200 in 2007. It was $11,000 in 2013, a reduction of 43%.  The median income of minority households fell 9 percent from 2010 to 2013, compared to 1 percent for whites.

                While all U.S. households have lower assets, the decrease has been more significant among minority households.

                How is that hope and change working for you minorities?

*Jonathan Gruber, the MIT economist who told groups in 2012 and 2013 that “the stupidity of the American voter” and a “lack of transparency”  were vital to passing the Affordable Health Care Act, commonly known as ‘Obamacare’, testified before congress this past Tuesday. He now claims his earlier remarks were glib and “inexcusably arrogant.”

                So that’s what we have to call the truth now, “inexcusably arrogant?” It seems to me that phrase better describes the political-correctness pushers and the President himself.

*From an article in the Minneapolis Star & Tribune-

                Washington County (Minnesota) has turned down several requests from atheists to preside over civil marriage ceremonies, predictably irritating some atheists.

                “If you don’t want to believe in a higher power, that’s great, no problem,” County Attorney Pete Orput said Friday. “But (the atheists) argument is that being an atheist is a creed. I argue that a creed is a belief in something and their view is somewhat of a nihilist’s. You can’t call that a religion. Belief in nothing is not a religion.”

                On June 19, Nicolas W. Meurett of Hudson, Wisconsin, registered (in an attempt to be granted permission) to  preside over civil ceremonies in Washington County with a “certificate of ordination” from “the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.” He considers the Spaghetti Monster church group to be “intelligent satire” and said that he and his son joined it last year in reaction to U.S. school districts that teach creationism.

                The man considers “the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster” intelligent satire…of intelligent design.

                Look around you. Look at the human body. The design is intelligent, even if not all of us are.

                

The Rule of Law?

                 A reporter for the Washington Post, who has been jailed since July, has finally been charged with something by  Iranian authorities in a 10-hour court session. However, he has not been told what the charges are. The court appearance of the reporter, Jason Rezaian, was also confirmed by his lawyer, who has not been allowed to defend his client.

                Be thankful for the rule of law and concepts such as  “innocent until proven guilty”, “a jury of your peers” and individual rights granted by the creator. As incredible as it seems, most of the world has historically been ruled by anything other than those precious tenets. That is still true today.

                Worse, we here in America are sliding in that direction. State your considered opinion clearly, honestly and unreservedly in an unapproved manner on matters of politically-correct dogma and you may well be shunned, silenced, browbeaten…or worse. Think I’m overstating it? Ask any conservative who’s been asked to speak at a college or university and subsequently been told that they cannot. Or one of those that were flatly refused a forum in the first place. Research the “Fairness Act” that was proposed a few years ago. Or look into the incredible case/plight of Mark Steyn, the remarkably talented writer/commentator,  who got into legal trouble for expressing his opinion on global warming and a certain professor’s ‘hockey stick’ graph purporting to illustrate the affects thereof.

                Consider the IRS scandal, the President’s own verbal ‘war’ with Fox News, the way conservatives in Hollywood are shunned and in many cases fearful of getting work if they should speak their mind. Contrast that with the constant inane leftist babble that comes out of the mouths of so many ignorant Hollywood stars or starlets. Those who toe the shallow, politically-correct line are front and center. They have no trouble procuring gainful employment, even if they could not pick out California on a map of the United States.

                One cannot logically pick and choose which aspects of the rule of law one likes and which aspects one does not, or which aspects benefit your group and which don’t. The aforementioned concepts underpinning the unbiased application of said law are mostly absolute and must be applied universally or not at all, or arbitrary yet extreme prejudice will result.

                You believe in “individual rights granted by the creator” or you don’t. It is impossible, by definition, for a sane person to believe in “individual rights granted by the creator to me- or my group- only.”  Yet some liberals apparently do believe this. The only other alternatives are that we have no rights or that they believe that rights are granted by other men, i.e.  government.

                Do your rights stem from Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid?

Kim Jong Un Demands the U.N. Change Name

January 6, 2015

News Syndicate-             

Kim Jong Un, Supreme Leader of North Korea, has now demanded that the ‘U.N.’ change its name. Recently he banned anyone else in his own country from having the name Jong Un, forcing thousands to change their names- or be nameless- with no prior notice.

In a speech delivered yesterday he stated, “I, Kim Jong Un, demand the United Nations drop the designation ‘U.N.’, as I am the only ‘UN’! They can either use the full name, United Nations, without every reducing it to ‘U.N.’ or, I suggest, change their name to  ‘Other Nations of the Earth that wish they were led by the Dear Leader (Kim Jong Un)!’  This could be shortened via acronym to ‘O.N.E. Dear Leader (Kim Jong Un)’ and even if it was referred to as the Un, at least it would be proper tribute to me.”

At the time of this reporting the United Nations was ‘considering’ what a United Nations spokesman referred to as the North Korean dictator’s ‘request’.

               

                

Dead Babies

                 Dead babies. Approximately one million abortions  are performed in the United States each year. Roughly one-third of American women have an abortion by age 45. Yet Katha Pollitt, a left-wing columnist has authored a new book “Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights” in which she avers that momentum is on the side of abortion opponents. Most in the mainstream media who’ve reviewed the book are lavishing it with effusive praise, touting its “intellectual vigor” and “moral clarity”, etc. Many take the opportunity to expound on their own abortions. The author is actually upset that even many “pro-choicers” speak of abortion as regrettable or even tragic and that anyone should believe that it should only be chosen after serious consideration.

                Yet it is the virulent “pro-choice” minority that somehow convinced the Supreme Court to rule that every state in the country must adhere to something at least similar to their desired policy.

                 Pollitt and her fellow  Kool-Aid drinkers actually claim that a living human organism lacks any moral standing because it is “the size of a lima bean.” Well, I guess size does matter. A matter of life and death, apparently. So much for the weak, the defenseless, the little guy or gal. (Especially the gal in many parts of the world. Female babies have been famously aborted in China, and in large swaths of the world young females have their clitorises cut out to deny them sexual pleasure. But, come to think of it, they’re about the size of a lima bean too, so no big deal). Yes, trivial matters concerning conception and the soul are moot depending on your size! Well, even that doesn’t matter as she goes on to state that abortions should be a viable alternative to contraception and should be legal thru the full term. And she seems to be impatient with the continued existence of pro-lifers. Well, that actually is consistent, as she is impatient with the existence of millions of “fetuses” as well. Intellectual rigor and moral clarity, you know.

                In reviewing this book, Slate’s Hanna Rosin writes that, “frankly, in 2014, it should be no big deal that in a movie a young woman has an abortion…and it’s no big deal.”

                That is simply not true. “Ladies,” your mother could have taken away your “right to choose” by exercising her own. Is that not a “big deal?”

                Instead of blasting those they disagree with and thanking the Supreme Court, perhaps they should be thanking….their mothers.

                

This New Stadium Is For The Birds!

The Minnesota Vikings, the state of Minnesota (taxpayers) and the city of Minneapolis (taxpayers) are building a beautiful new football stadium scheduled to open in 2016. The Vikings will contribute $527 million to the project, the state $348 million and the city $150 million. Add it up and you have a preliminary cost of over a billion dollars. Its design will make it the near polar opposite of the reviled Metrodome it is replacing. That venue was a dim, dark concrete mausoleum in comparison. The new stadium will be cheerfully light, bright and airy, due to the extensive use of clear glass. Elegant and attractive, but functional. Fans are excited.

Bird lovers are not. The Audubon Society and other avian advocates are upset that the Vikings and the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFA) planned to use clear glass on the new edifice. Some have attended the monthly MSFA meetings to protest the use of this glass they say will potentially lead to thousands of migrating birds unwittingly flying into the building and dying. They are further upset that the team’s owners made the decision to spend hundreds of thousands of additional dollars to enhance stadium features like seating, concessions and elevators, all for the sole benefit of their fans (customers). The unmitigated gall!

To my knowledge there have been no candle-lit,  prayer-vigils for the birds yet. Bird-lovers wanted the team to spend an estimated $1.1 million to install ‘bird-safe’ glass instead of the clear stuff. The team and the MSFA declined, in part because the plain glass was already ordered and set for delivery. Now, however,  Minnesota-based 3M company is working with the team by testing an invisible film that could be used on the glass that would allow light to penetrate into the stadium and yet protect the birds. Fans would still be able to see the sky.

A co-founder of the Minnesota Citizens for the Protection of Migratory Birds stated, “The fact that they’re considering an alternative tells us it’s not too late.”

Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, is skeptical. She says it would be better to embrace a long-term fix, such as using fritted glass, now rather than later. The Vikings and the MSFA both say that fritted glass, with its dotted texture and appearance, would obscure the much-desired sunlight.

After the stadium bill was approved, publicly subsidized construction was required to be “bird-friendly.” Testing of the 3M film is slated to begin with this coming spring’s migratory season.

The MSFA had already agreed to a “lights-out” policy to help divert the birds away from the glass during migration periods. Does that mean the team couldn’t play night games during the fall migration season?! Or worse?

“Sorry, fellows, but we had to schedule you for six consecutive road games. Migration season, you know.”

U.N. Demands C.I.A. Torture Trials

                In an unprecedented act of humor hubris, top U.N. ‘human rights officials’ (say that out loud with a straight face) demanded that all senior U.S. officials and CIA agents who authorized and carried out torture as part of former President George W. Bush’s national security policy must be prosecuted.

                The U.N. ‘High Commissioner’ for human rights, Zeid Raad al-Hussein stated, “In all countries, if someone commits murder, they are prosecuted and jailed. If they commit rape or armed robbery, they are prosecuted and jailed.” Thanks for the lecture, Zeid, but that is simply not the case. We do have the rule of law in the U.S., however. We don’t stone people for adultery here.

                Ben Emmerson, the U.N.’s ‘special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights’ (what’s with the titles?), said international law prohibits granting immunity to public officials who allow the use of torture, and this applies not just to the actual perpetrators but also to those who plan and authorize it.

                It is not clear how these prosecutions would occur. The United States is not part of the International Criminal Court and a referral of a torture case would require approval by the U.N. Security Council, where the United States holds veto power.

                There are few more historically scandal-ridden organizations on the face of the earth then the United Nations. There was the Iraq oil-for-food scandal. There was the illegal business ties involving the son of then Secretary General Kofi Annan, outright larceny in Geneva offices and many instances of wide-scale bribery and corruption for starters.

                Then there are the really ugly ones. In 2006 the U.N. ‘peacekeepers’ in war-torn Liberia exchanged food for sex from girls as young as eight. Over half of the girls 8 to 18 in many areas were thought to have been exploited. The U.N. knew about these allegations for over a year before doing anything about them. They eventually let a handful of the peacekeepers go, although some were  at least temporarily reinstated. There was a similar incident involving a boy in Haiti in 2012.

                In many cases the U.N. peacekeepers have had agreements with the U.N. that they could only be subject to discipline or legal action from their country of origin!  Hypocrisy?

                                                                      ***************

                The Russian government said the report provided “confirmation of gross, systemic human rights violations by the American authorities.” That statement was issued by Konstantin Dolgov, the ministry’s ‘commissioner for human rights, democracy and the rule of law’ who called the report’s disclosures “shocking.” This is akin to the Third Reich having a ‘commissioner for human rights, democracy and the rule of law’ or perhaps a ‘ministry for the humane treatment of those of Jewish descent.’

                The Russian Federation’s ‘ministry of justice’ is located in Lefortovo prison. There’s some dark humor in that fact.  Konstantin, is the ministry for human rights, democracy and the rule of law located perhaps in Lubyanka Prison, home of the infamous KGB, now FSB? Or is it in some other gulag somewhere? Is there a Crimean or Ukrainian branch?

                Finally, there was the  remark from German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier who opined, “What was deemed right and done back then in the fight against Islamic terrorism was unacceptable and a serious mistake. Such a crass violation of free and democratic values must not be repeated.”

                It wasn’t exactly the Holocaust, Mr. Steinmeier, was it?

"Furfest" Disrupted In Chicago

According to an Associated Press report from Monday, December 8^th, “Chlorine gas sickened several people and forced the evacuation of thousands of guests from a suburban Chicago hotel early Sunday, including many dressed in cartoonish animal costumes for an annual furries convention who were ushered across the street to a convention center hosting a dog show.”

So, one convention center was hosting a ‘furries’ convention and another across the street was simultaneously hosting a dog show. Then the ‘furries’ were put in the same convention center as the ‘doggies’. What are the odds? What are the odds that there may have been some confusion there? Reactions likely were priceless. Film at 11.

According to reports the source of the gas was likely chlorine powder deliberately left in a ninth-floor stairwell at the hotel. Investigators are therefore treating it as a criminal matter- as well they should.

Within hours, emergency workers decontaminated the Hyatt Regency O’Hare and allowed people- and furries- back inside. (I bet they were furrious!). “Six-foot-tall rabbits, foxes and dragons poured into the lobby,” according to the article. “’I think we’ll recover from this’, said Kit McCreedy, of Madison, Wis., his foxtail swinging behind him as he headed back inside for the last day of the Midwest FurFest.”  ‘Kit?’. Really? A fox?

Several thousand people attended Furfest, also called 'Anthrocon,' in which attendees celebrate animals that are anthropomorphic- meaning they’ve been given human characteristics- through art, literature and performance. (There is another dimension to the Furries which we won't delve into here). It is indeed a wild and woolly- okay ‘furrie’- world in which we live.

The poor hotel staff. I bet the place was a zoo.

CIA Misleads The Nation

                               “CIA MISLED THE NATION ABOUT FUTILE CRUELTY”

                Thus screamed the headline on the front page of today’s Star & Tribune newspaper- above the fold- in ‘Pearl Harbor Attacked!’ fashion. Notice the absence of any qualifier, modifier or caution. This is absolutism. No gray area here. No journalistic skepticism. No allegedly misled, allegedly futile, or alleged cruelty. Things aren’t usually so black and white at the esteemed bastion of journalistic integrity.

                We know the newspapers are always utterly transparent with their readers, just by a careful, skeptical reading of this vey headline, in fact. Surely nothing misleading ever appears in newsprint. (And even if it did, what are the consequences? Congressional hearings and dismissals?).

                This alleged ‘mother of all scandals’ kind of falls a bit flat to me. Torture is not something that should be countenanced lightly, if at all. On that we can all agree. We can certainly debate the issues raised by the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report. We do not want to be known as a nation that conducts or condones real torture.

                That said, we can’t strip away or banish or completely neuter a vital piece of our nation’s security apparatus. We have the aftermath of the Church Committee hearings of the 1970’s to remind us of that. The simple, hard truth is, all nations need some sort of clandestine service. The more nations know about each other and potential adversaries intentions the less likely one is to make a tragic miscalculation.

                This report was commissioned and led by Democrats. The CIA contested most of the report’s  findings, as one would expect. Former CIA officials who were actually involved in the program wrote that the Senate report, “represents the single worst example of congressional oversight in our many years of government service.” Todd Ebitz, a CIA spokesman, issued a statement late Tuesday saying the report was, “like doing a crossword puzzle on Tuesday with Wednesday’s answer key” and did not reflect “how counterterrorism operations work in the real world.” I don't know, I wasn't there.

                We have to define what is ‘cruel’ and ‘futile’ against thousands of dead men, women and children in attacks such as 9/11. And also at our embassies and in malls, on trains, etc., around the world.

                Remember that in the days and weeks after 9/11 we didn’t know what was coming. It is easy to criticize now that we think we are relatively safe. We literally thought there could be a dirty- or suitcase- bomb. Nuclear material was unaccounted for. Then there was the anthrax scare and the hideous thought of biological or chemical weapons being used against us.

                If solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, water-boarding and/or forcing a terrorist mastermind to listen to Barbara Streisand songs 24-hours a day were honestly thought necessary to protect thousands of innocent lives,  I’m okay with that.

                Moreover, the report states that a total of three detainees were water-boarded! There has been so much talk about the controversial procedure for years and so many demonstrations and portrayals on television that I was given the impression (misleading?) that we were randomly water-boarding anyone with an olive-complexion  and a beard.