Baltimore And The Empty Ballpark

                What if they held a ballgame and nobody came? Well, that happened for the first time in history yesterday, at least as far as Major League Baseball is concerned. Nobody was allowed to come to the game and enter the park, due to fear of rioting and uncontrollable violence and disorder.

                Disorder. There is a lot of that in the country today.

                An empty baseball park is very symbolic of what has happened- what has been done- to America in recent years, courtesy of Barack Obama and his band of leftist Democrats.

                In days of yore, parks were filled with families eating hot dogs and singing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.” Now, families- and hot dogs- are under assault. And officials are worried about a ‘brawlgame’ breaking out.

                Baseball helped integrate this nation with the likes of the great (player and person) Jackie Robinson. Now, our President, AL Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and a long list of white “liberals” fan the flames of racial hatred and ignorance.

                We are disintegrating, as a people and as a nation.

                 Think of America herself as a great ballpark that has sheltered and brought together hundreds of millions of people, via a vast melting pot, and forged them into one mighty, unprecedented entity with the belief in limited government of, by and for the people… and the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

                Tragically, that “figurative” ballpark truly is almost empty now.

                Families have been devastated by government policies as our inner cities collapse and go financially- and morally- bankrupt. Hot dogs are a no-no to Michelle Obama and her ilk. The melting pot has been turned off. Limited government? Seriously? No one believes in that concept anymore! The right to life? Abortion now and forever. Hell, “post-birth” abortion is supported by many libs now. Liberty? You can’t do this, you must do that, you are watched wherever you go…all for your own good of course. And if you’re a conservative, watch out! The First and Second Amendments are under serious attack, you think others won’t be, too?

                We have lost our collective soul. Many of our rights, including the most precious natural ones, are being eroded daily if not outright taken away. We do, however, apparently have the right to free contraception and gay marriage. (Well, we probably don’t need to take advantage of both of those rights simultaneously!).

                Old notions of faith, hard work, dignity, pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps, and the like, are openly mocked and scorned, called remnants of a patriarchal, non-inclusive, hyper-Christian society.

                It is telling that, as baseball fades in popularity, it is slowly being replaced by the third world sports of soccer and hooliganism.

                Elvis really has left the building.

                And America went with him.

                The great ballpark stands empty.

                

Medical Ethics?

              A college professor wrote an article for the Journal of Medical Ethics whose thesis contained the sentence, “There is nothing magical about passing through the birth canal that transforms it from a fetus into a person.” It, of course, being the baby/fetus. A study published in the Journal argues that babies have no “moral right to life,” and therefore aren’t actually human beings…until the parents decide they are.

               Liberals famously don’t believe that life begins at conception, nor does their pro-choice crowd believe that babies in the womb are actual, viable people.

                If the act of being born is no longer enough for them to consider a baby a real, viable person, we have entered a brave new world, indeed. Ethics aren’t what they used to be. Where does that leave us?

                Mark Harrington, director of Created Equal, stated, “We encounter people who think it is morally acceptable to kill babies after birth on a regular basis at almost every campus we visit. While this viewpoint is still seen as shocking by most people, it is becoming increasingly popular.” A few students, including a man attending the University of Minnesota, went so far as to suggest children up to 4 or 5 years old can be killed, because they are not yet “self aware.”

                Some students have even signed fake petitions to make abortion legal in “the 4^th trimester.” Thank goodness for higher education! No wonder colleges are cranking out so many brilliant, independent, courageous and ethical leaders!

              The head of Voices for Planned Parenthood at Ohio State University explained, “As for post-birth abortion, I would imagine that my colleagues would think the ‘post-birth’ part was largely irrelevant, as we believe very strongly in abortion on demand, without apology, and it’s plain and simple that we should look to the woman’s morals and not shove our opinions where they, frankly, don’t belong.”

                There’s something else you shouldn’t shove where, frankly, it doesn’t belong. At least unless you are man enough to be responsible for the consequences of your own actions.

                For their part, Democrats actually defeated a bill back in 2012 that would have banned abortions based on sex selection. That’s correct, they actually voted to allow a couple that conceived a girl, but wanted a boy, to abort their daughter. The bill was termed the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act. The vote was 246 to 168 against the bill, however it didn’t achieve the two-thirds majority needed to pass. Hell, what could be wrong with abortion based solely on the sex of the child? I mean, like, China and other nations allow it.

                President Obama opposed the bill because he said it “intrudes on women’s right to privacy,” and would be “hazardous” for doctors who perform the procedure. It’s funny that the only time leftists don’t want to intrude on a person’s right to privacy is when they want to abort an innocent child. And it would be hazardous to the “doctors” that are killing these babies? Really? Who the bleeping hell would let these monsters get away with this b.s.?! It’s hazardous alright…to the babies that are being eviscerated.

                A number of abortion activists say women should have the right to an abortion simply because  they shouldn’t be forced to have a child they don’t want. I’ve got an idea. If you don’t want a kid, don’t have sex. Then you won’t be forced to have one…or kill one. There is a mantra among the most radical abortion zealots: “Forced motherhood is female enslavement.” They believe it is “degrading” to women to be expected to go through with their pregnancy. Yet, if the rest of us are forced to pay for abortions, to have the fruits of our labor taken from us so they don’t have to go through labor, are we not, by definition, the real slaves? Perhaps those folks should crack open a dictionary now and again. And, is it not a tad degrading to, say,  your daughter (“potential” person) to think of her as a non-viable tissue mass that has no real worth until you say she does? Or to kill her? There’s a lot of talk about violence against women, but not enough about unconscionable violence committed by women.               

                Melissa Harris-Perry, an MSNBC host, addressed the issue of “post-birth” abortion on the air July 21^st, 2013. She said, “When does life begin? I submit the answer depends an awful lot on the feeling of the parents. A powerful feeling…but not science.” The most radical abortion rights activists are now semi-publicly arguing that it is okay for parents to “abort” their children up to age three.

                Ah, so life begins at age four! Or 3 years and one day?

                Yet other radical  “liberals” are touting the benefits of breastfeeding a child until the age of three or four. Is this, then, to fatten them up for the slaughter or is it just another routine chore like slopping the hogs?

                And now we have a couple who’ve decided to allow their 5-year-old daughter to transgender to a boy. Perhaps a child isn’t legitimately a human until they are done breastfeeding and ready to change sexes?

                Liberals love stupid bumper-stickers. Many plaster them all over the back of their cars, usually at least slightly askew. Perhaps soon there will be a, “Have You Post-Birth Aborted Your Three-Year-Old Today?” sticker next to the obligatory, “Visualize World Peace” one.

                What’s next, after-kindergarten abortions? Post-puberty abortions? Apparently there wouldn’t have been rioting if Trayvon Martin had simply been after-birth aborted.

                We are far past the “slippery slope” here.

                We are in the moral abyss.

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              Don’t think so?  Abortion rights radicals chanted, “Hail, Satan” at an abortion rally in Austin, Texas after that state inexplicably banned third-term abortions. It is on You-Tube if you’d like to view it.

               

(Climate) Change He Can Believe In

                 President Obama, in a speech delivered April 22^nd while he was in Everglades National Park, sounded the alarm about climate change. “Simply refusing to say the words ‘climate change’ doesn’t mean climate change isn’t happening,” said the Anointed One.

                Much like refusing to say the words ‘under God’   (in a Pledge of Allegiance, for example) doesn’t mean we aren’t under God?

               Or like refusing to say the words ‘Islamic terrorists’ doesn’t mean they don’t exist? Hmmm?

   All good leftists will agree, of that I’m sure.

   I know how much they like to be ‘Fair and Balanced.’

IRS Taxes Patience

                “The IRS’ overloaded phone system hung up on more than 8 million taxpayers this filing season as the agency cut millions of dollars from taxpayer services to help pay to enforce President Obama’s health law,” read the first sentence of the recent Associated Press report.

                It went on to state that only 40% of those that weren’t disconnected ever got through to a person. And many of those people waited on hold for over half an hour. This reduction of taxpayer services, of course, came at exactly the same time that taxpayers were being broad-sided by new requirements under the health law, resulting in many questions that went unanswered.

                A new House Ways and Means Committee report claims the IRS diverted $134 million in user fees that had been spent on customer service last year to other areas this year. Predictably, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen blamed budget cuts for the problem. The IRS has already spent over $1.2 billion implementing the health care law, with another $533 million scheduled to be spent this year.

                Last year, 39.9 million people called the IRS with questions about their tax returns. According to the article, when too many people call at the same time, the IRS phone system hangs up on callers at the beginning of their calls, rather than making them wait on hold for an hour or more. That’s the IRS for you, so polite and service oriented!

                In keeping with leftist’s love of calling things exactly what they aren’t, the agency actually refers to these hang-ups as “courtesy disconnects.”

                And remember folks, “Arbeit Machs Du Frei!!”

                Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., said Congress did not cut funding for taxpayer services. He claimed that decision was made by the agency.

                “The amount of money Congress appropriated to the IRS for taxpayer assistance was the same this year as last year, but the level of service has decreased drastically,” he said. “So, what happened? The IRS made the decision to move money away from taxpayer assistance.”

                Roskam and other Republicans complained that the agency spent $60 million on employee bonuses last year while it was cutting customer service. The IRS also allows employees to spend almost 500,000 hours a year “working” on union activities while getting paid by the agency.

                Commissioner Koskinen defended the bonuses and claimed federal law requires the IRS to allow workers to engage in union activities while being paid.

                Those selfless civil servants! When they’re not doing agency work targeting grass roots Conservative organizations they disagree with, they are working for their union…to advance their cause at the expense of taxpayers.

                Welcome to the new America, where the citizens are forced to pay their “public servants” to actively work against their interests.

DEA Capers

                Michele Leonhart, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, recently told Attorney General Eric Holder that she intended to retire next month, ending a 35-year tenure at the agency. This couldn’t have come as a big surprise to officials, as she has recently faced numerous accusations of mismanagement. Her looming departure, after an eight year reign at the DEA, comes on the heels of a hearing last week in which lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee expressed outrage at her handling of reports that DEA agents stationed in Columbia had participated in sex parties with prostitutes paid for by drug cartels.

                I mean, when in Columbia, do as the Columbians do, right?

                Oh. Perhaps the lawmakers think that drug enforcement agents getting free hookers from drug cartels might be a conflict of interest. Maybe they are worried that said agents will be bought off, or at the very least much less zealous in their drug enforcement activities. Do you think?

                The seven agents who admitted to the accusations were given suspensions of two to ten days. Under stern questioning from the House panel, Leonhart stated that she had been powerless to take more aggressive action such as firing the agents or revoking their security clearances.

                In a statement, Holder called Leonhart a “trailblazer for equality” and a “good friend.”

Utah Mom Is Baby Killer

                Megan Huntsman, a Utah woman who has admitted to murdering six of her newborn babies, was sentenced to six terms of up to life in prison, the maximum possible sentence. Huntsman told police she had strangled or suffocated the infants and had lost count of how many, according to court documents. Well, any of us could lose track of minutia like that.

                She told police she believed there were 8 or 9 infant bodies in her garage. But Pleasant Grove (you can’t make this crap up) Police Captain Mike Roberts told the Associated Press that they believe there were “only the seven (you can’t make this crap up) found in the garage.”

                “She couldn’t remember the exact figure so she threw a ballpark figure out there,” he said. “That was her guess.”

                 I mean, let’s not be judgmental here. Who among us can remember exactly how many of our own kids we’ve strangled or suffocated??!

                Police found Xanax, marijuana and bongs inside the trailer home where she was living with her boyfriend in a Salt Lake City suburb. There’s a shock.

                Roberts said that during her interview she appeared “perfectly normal.” Investigators say they know Huntsman’s motive but declined to discuss it publicly. What the hell? Let me guess, she did it for world peace or to advance the cause of science? To help alleviate global warming? Perhaps as a protest of the one-percent or the sequestration? Performance art?

               Or just maybe it was because she’s a scumbag serial-killer who didn’t want the hassle of dealing with babies.

                Oh well. What’s the big deal?

                She’s really just a freelance after-birth abortionist. She shouldn’t have been given these life sentences. She should be celebrated as a pioneer. She should be up for the Katha Pollit/Melissa Harris-Perry Lifetime Achievement Award!

Dehydrated Driving

                Not drinking enough water has the same effect as drunk driving.

                These are the findings of a study led by the Emeritus Professor of Sport and Exercise Nutrition at the prestigious Loughborough University in London, according to a Telegraph Online post of April 18^th. A driver drinking as few as five sips of water an hour could be experiencing the equivalent of being over the legal alcohol limit in England and in most states in the U.S. Drivers make more than twice as many mistakes when they are just mildly dehydrated (up to 25ml of water an hour) as compared to those who are properly hydrated. The Professor stated, “To put our results into perspective, the levels of driver errors we found are of a similar magnitude to those found in people with blood alcohol content of 0.08%, the current UK legal driving limit. In other words, drivers who are not properly hydrated make the same number of errors as people who are over the drink drive limit.”

                Additionally, dehydration can cause impaired mental functioning, mood swings, lack of concentration and alertness and also result in short-term memory loss say the researchers who conducted the first study of dehydration, driving errors and accident risk.

                During the study, published in the journal Physiology and Behavior, the researchers performed a range of tests over two days on male drivers using a laboratory-based driving simulator. Each study volunteer visited the laboratory on separate occasions and used the simulator on one day while normally hydrated and on another when they were deliberately under-hydrated. The simulated driving test took the form of a two hour continuous, “monotonous” drive on a two-lane highway with curves, auditory “rumble strips,” and slow moving vehicles that were to be overtaken by the volunteer driver. On one day, the men were given 200ml of water an hour and on the “dry” day only 25ml an hour. Driver errors  such as lane drifting, late braking, and touching or crossing the “rumble strips” or lane lines were calculated for each condition and compared.

                During the normal hydration tests there were 47 driving “incidents,” as opposed to 101 when the men were mildly dehydrated. Moreover, the error rate increased during the two hour period, peaking in the last 30 minutes.

                “The level of dehydration induced in the present study was mild and could easily be reproduced by individuals with limited access to fluid over the course of a busy working day,” stated the researchers. They also noted that driving in a hot car could lead to significant water loss over the course of a long journey, and that the effects may be exacerbated by drivers who deliberately restrict drinking to avoid toilet stops.

                Loughborough University recently won its 7^th Queen’s Anniversary Prize, awarded for relevant research.

                It is easy to see the new laws coming after the results of this study are fully disseminated. We’ve already seen an explosion of recommendations-cum-legislation regarding cell-phone use, specifically texting while driving.

                Driving Under-Hydrated, or D.U.H., laws will start cropping up around the U.S. eventually, too. At  least MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers)  won’t have to change their acronym much. They could simply become MADDD (Mothers Against Drunk and Dehydrated Drivers) or perhaps MADADD, but that sounds like it’s giving the credit to dads and not moms, and as such probably won’t fly.

                Will there be roadblocks and officers checking for dehydrated driving? If you are lucky enough to pass will you get an “I’m properly hydrated!” sticker? Will insurance companies offer special “good hydration” discounts? Surely repeat offenders will have a feature in their cars that tests them for hydration and prevents the vehicle from starting unless they chug down a bottle of Aqua-Fina.

                “Officer, I can honestly tell you that I’ve had literally nothing to drink tonight!”

                “Come with me, sir. You have the right to remain silent…”

                But not dehydrated.

                     Remember, don’t drink and drive, but don’t drive and not drink!

Dark Matter

                The journal Science recently published a new study on “dark matter.” The study suggests that dark matter might have the unique ability to go careening through the universe without slowing down or dragging because particles of it don’t interact with other matter or even each other.

                Scientists claim that, based on all observable evidence, galaxies “should be” ripping themselves apart. Dark matter is simply the term for the as-of-yet unobserved matter that experts believe must be bulking up the cosmos and thereby giving galaxies the gravity they need to spin at the rates they do without falling to pieces.

Dark matter does not absorb or reflect light like all other known matter does, though it does bend it. Scientists assert that, even though it can’t be seen, we can learn about it based on the effects it has on observable matter. In the study, researchers focused on galaxy clusters, where, apparently, galaxies routinely collide with each other. Gas in one galaxy slows down when it hits gas from another galaxy, but scientists wanted to study how dark matter “behaved” during these colossal collisions. The lead author of the study stated, “We know how gas and stars react to these cosmic crashes and where they emerge from the wreckage. Comparing how dark matter behaves can help us to narrow down what it actually is.”

The fact that dark matter didn’t slow down in these crashes was unexpected, as scientists think that dark matter is abundant throughout the universe, making up as much as 90% of total matter. That means that dark matter had to be hitting other dark matter in these collisions, yet these unseen particles were exhibiting no evidence of the confrontation. The scientists conclusion: dark matter is even less like “regular” matter than originally thought.

Another author of the study exclaimed, “If you bang your head against the wall, the electrostatic force between the molecules in your head and the ones in the wall cause a collision. This is what dark matter doesn’t seem to feel.”

Interesting that the experts are talking about the “behavior” of something that can’t be seen and that this unobserved matter doesn’t “feel” a collision. Even though it’s never been seen, we can learn about it based on the effects it has on observable forms of matter? (Yes, I am well aware of gravity, for example, and fully believe in “its” power).

 Maybe it’s the observable forms of matter- or something in them or their nature that we don’t yet understand- that is having the effect on these observable forms of matter.

 Or maybe it’s some other power that we can’t see.

It is incredible to me that so many scientists, scholars, “experts” and the like refuse to believe in a God that they can’t see, yet know that unseen matter “must” make up 90% of the universe.

Dark matter? Maybe it’s what comprises these expert’s brains. Despite no visible evidence, they must exist, right?

True to form they may not absorb or reflect the light.

But they do bend…credulity.

The only faith these experts have is in themselves…and unseen particles that they believe comprise most of the universe. Yes, the unseen particles must exist. But they couldn’t have come from an unseen source.

That’s crazy.

                

How Dumb Is We?

                Recently, the Pew Research Center published a report titled, “What Do Americans Know?” The report was based on the results of a survey of over 1,000 adult Americans. Those surveyed were asked 12 “easy” multiple-choice questions about prominent matters in the news.

                It  will come as no surprise to conservatives that the results were not encouraging.

                The average score among these voting-age citizens was 5. Five. F-I-V-E. This is only slightly better than the result of pure guesswork.

                Less than half of these American adults knew that it was oil- not tourism, soybeans or auto manufacturing- that fueled the recent economic boom in North Dakota.

                Only one in five knew that Social Security costs the federal government more than transportation, foreign aid or interest on the debt.

                Many, if not most Americans, don’t know what the country’s founding principles are/were. Most couldn’t tell you much about the first ten Amendments…the Bill of Rights. Most have no idea that it was the Democratic Party that was pro slavery and segregation for many decades surrounding the Civil War and the Republican Party that drove anti-slavery and anti-segregation legislation.

                Tragically, whether it’s knowledge of current events or key concepts of history, most Americans are clueless.  Of course, much (most) of the blame lies with the clueless, but it isn’t coincidence that the majority of the big government types in power like them that way. And have actively promoted policies that have aided and abetted the dumbing-down of America’s citizenry. Democrats are always nervous when a low voter turnout is expected. If it’s only those with detailed knowledge of the issues voting, they know they are likely in trouble.

                Speaking at the City Club of Cleveland recently, President Obama strongly suggested that all Americans eligible to vote should be compelled to vote. That is taking away a right. No pro-choice blather there. Why do you think he said this?

                Because he knows how ignorant we are.

                We’ve proved it.

                Twice.

California Water-Use Restrictions

                California residents will likely soon be fined up to $500 per day for…taking long showers. That is significantly more than the average household earns in a day. Due to the drought and subsequent water shortage in the state, strict rules are forthcoming regulating water usage. Any usage of water over a daily household limit will bring the fines down on the offending party. Governor Jerry Brown specifically acknowledged that taking long showers would be one offense that could result in the fines.

                Brown signed an order recently demanding a 25% drop in urban water use as compared to 2013. The Governor says that voluntary water cutbacks haven’t been nearly enough to compensate for the extended drought. California’s water board has established some state-wide regulations, restricting lawn watering and prohibiting restaurants from serving water unless customers specifically request it.

                That could be a win-win! Maybe some folks will become dehydrated and not have to flush their toilets as often! Perhaps the next step will be to ban the usage of flush toilets. The water board could decree that citizens must go to the bathroom outdoors or in an outhouse or Satellite. Another win-win! These places  typically don’t have faucets for washing one’s hands! More water savings!

                The Land of Milk and Honey is no more.

                All that glitters may no longer be gold.

                Stock up on Purell.

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                “Who’s that guy, honey?”

                “Oh, he’s just our shower monitor, dear.”               ”