THE triumphant scenes in Tripoli which greeted the return of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi's return, with Libyan crowds waving Saltires [Flag of Scotland], were last night condemned as "sickening".
Russell Brown, Labour MP for Dumfries, described the scenes as "stomach churning", adding: "I have never been ashamed to see my country's flag waved before, but to see it misused to celebrate mass murder is outrageous. This man is convicted of murdering 270 people in my part of Scotland and that conviction stands.
"This adds further pressure to the SNP [Scottish National Party] to explain why they have freed a man who showed no remorse for the crimes he committed. The SNP are damaging Scotland's reputation and have put our flag in a position where it can be abused like this."
Tory MP David Mundell, whose constituency includes Lockerbie, said: "This is as we feared and why we said that Mr Megrahi should be kept in Scotland. Alex Salmond's government has made a mistake of international proportions. These reports (of the flag being waved] are sickening."
Lockerbie widow Stephanie Bernstein nails it:
"MacAskill talks about showing compassion and mercy. This is weakness. This is how it will be seen by Gaddafi. This is how it will be played within Libya and this is how it will be seen by every single person that wants to do harm to people all over the world."
The Scotsman has more, here and here.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Kennedy asks for change in succession law
I wonder if Senator Kennedy would make the same request if Mitt Romney was still in the Massachusetts State House?
Originally Massachusetts law called for the Governor to fill Senate vacancies. In a well publicized law change, the State House Democrats, worried that Governor Romney would pick a conservative replacement if John Kerry won the election, enacted the current legislation.
Originally Massachusetts law called for the Governor to fill Senate vacancies. In a well publicized law change, the State House Democrats, worried that Governor Romney would pick a conservative replacement if John Kerry won the election, enacted the current legislation.
It's Supposed to be Public Service, Right?
August 18, 2009
Some N.Y. Lawmakers Take Pensions on Top of Pay
By DANNY HAKIM
ALBANY — When Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg retired last year, there were no sendoffs, no cakes and no serenades.
In fact, no one even knew he had left the Capitol, because he never did. Mr. Weisenberg, 75, a Long Island Democrat, “retired” last year but continued to work as a lawmaker and remained on the payroll. As a result, he earns $101,500 in salary and collects a pension of about $72,000, according to the comptroller’s office.
Similarly, Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs, a 72-year-old Brooklyn Democrat, retired last year after 31 years, but continued to serve her district. She earns $104,500 and draws an annual pension of more than $71,000. And Assemblyman John J. McEneny, a 65-year-old Albany-area Democrat who retired last year but kept his seat in the Assembly chamber, now earns $94,500 and a pension of about $73,000.
All of them are beneficiaries of “double dipping,” a practice in which public servants simultaneously collect government salaries and pensions, sometimes for the same job.
Most people who have a traditional pension put in years or decades of work at a job, then retire, leave the job and begin collecting monthly pension payments. Some companies do allow double dipping, though the practice has most likely declined during the recession and federal rules impose more restrictions on corporate pension funds.
In Albany, veteran lawmakers can “retire” at 65 from their jobs and start collecting pensions, but without actually leaving their jobs, giving up their salaries or even telling their constituents. Four legislators took advantage of the rule last year.
The rest
Some N.Y. Lawmakers Take Pensions on Top of Pay
By DANNY HAKIM
ALBANY — When Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg retired last year, there were no sendoffs, no cakes and no serenades.
In fact, no one even knew he had left the Capitol, because he never did. Mr. Weisenberg, 75, a Long Island Democrat, “retired” last year but continued to work as a lawmaker and remained on the payroll. As a result, he earns $101,500 in salary and collects a pension of about $72,000, according to the comptroller’s office.
Similarly, Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs, a 72-year-old Brooklyn Democrat, retired last year after 31 years, but continued to serve her district. She earns $104,500 and draws an annual pension of more than $71,000. And Assemblyman John J. McEneny, a 65-year-old Albany-area Democrat who retired last year but kept his seat in the Assembly chamber, now earns $94,500 and a pension of about $73,000.
All of them are beneficiaries of “double dipping,” a practice in which public servants simultaneously collect government salaries and pensions, sometimes for the same job.
Most people who have a traditional pension put in years or decades of work at a job, then retire, leave the job and begin collecting monthly pension payments. Some companies do allow double dipping, though the practice has most likely declined during the recession and federal rules impose more restrictions on corporate pension funds.
In Albany, veteran lawmakers can “retire” at 65 from their jobs and start collecting pensions, but without actually leaving their jobs, giving up their salaries or even telling their constituents. Four legislators took advantage of the rule last year.
The rest
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Another Day, Another Indictment
A Bronx Assemblyman believed to have tripped himself up in an election fraud case is expected to be indicted on perjury charges, the Daily News has learned.
The charges against Assemblyman Nelson Castro are expected sometime this or next week, sources told The News.
Castro was accused in last September's primary of electoral shenanigans after nine voters were found to be registered to his one-bedroom flat in the west Bronx.
Ho Hum...
The charges against Assemblyman Nelson Castro are expected sometime this or next week, sources told The News.
Castro was accused in last September's primary of electoral shenanigans after nine voters were found to be registered to his one-bedroom flat in the west Bronx.
Ho Hum...
Quote of the Day
“The only reason for a government service is precisely to provide financial support for an operation that is otherwise unsustainable, or else there would be no point in the government’s involvement at all.”
- Llewellyn Rockwell Jr., Chairman of the Ludwig von Mises Institute
- Llewellyn Rockwell Jr., Chairman of the Ludwig von Mises Institute
Something Fishy This Way Comes
From the Barney Frank town hall meeting:
Dr. Sheila Leavitt, a physician from Newton, said she hoped for changes that would support primary care physicians who aren't paid as much as specialists.
I tried googling Dr. Leavitt. There is no record of her practice or hospital affiliation. Maybe she is a doctor, or maybe she's another Roxana Mayer?
Remember that old car that was seen in the Boston area a few years back? The one decorated with anti-Bush rhetoric? That car was driven by Newton resident Sheila Leavitt. Hmmm...
Dr. Sheila Leavitt, a physician from Newton, said she hoped for changes that would support primary care physicians who aren't paid as much as specialists.
I tried googling Dr. Leavitt. There is no record of her practice or hospital affiliation. Maybe she is a doctor, or maybe she's another Roxana Mayer?
Remember that old car that was seen in the Boston area a few years back? The one decorated with anti-Bush rhetoric? That car was driven by Newton resident Sheila Leavitt. Hmmm...
Better Late Than Never?
Talk about being late to the party...
"Pedro Espada was in it for himself," he [Libous] said.
Welcome aboard Senator Libous. Those of us who possess a modicum of acumen figured out Senator Espada's motivations around about the second week of June.
Is it any wonder that New York State is so dysfunctional?
"Pedro Espada was in it for himself," he [Libous] said.
Welcome aboard Senator Libous. Those of us who possess a modicum of acumen figured out Senator Espada's motivations around about the second week of June.
Is it any wonder that New York State is so dysfunctional?
Boscombe Surf Reef
Surfing in England:
The reef does not create waves, but acts as a ramp which changes the way the waves break. The reef will improve the quality of the surf and produce a long right-hand ride of around 75 metres for surfers, and a shorter left-hand ride of around 35 metres most favourable for body boarders. As a result, the number of good surfing days will increase.
The left-hand break of the reef is designed to roll down the reef and 'clean up' the short period chop that the dominant cross-shore wind creates. This will make the wave-face on the right-hander cleaner for surfing.
The reef construction started July 2008. Already locals are seeing larger dolphin populations in the area. Surfers will have to paddle 250 meters out to reach the Grade 5 waves.
The reef does not create waves, but acts as a ramp which changes the way the waves break. The reef will improve the quality of the surf and produce a long right-hand ride of around 75 metres for surfers, and a shorter left-hand ride of around 35 metres most favourable for body boarders. As a result, the number of good surfing days will increase.
The left-hand break of the reef is designed to roll down the reef and 'clean up' the short period chop that the dominant cross-shore wind creates. This will make the wave-face on the right-hander cleaner for surfing.
The reef construction started July 2008. Already locals are seeing larger dolphin populations in the area. Surfers will have to paddle 250 meters out to reach the Grade 5 waves.
Privatization to Boost Output, Go Figure...
The last two paragraphs in the New York Daily News article about Cuba running out of toilet paper is telling.
[Raul] Castro, who replaced his ailing older brother Fidel Castro as president last year, also has complained that Cuba's productivity is too low.
He has taken various steps to boost output, including putting more state-owned land in private hands and pushing for salaries to be based on productivity.
[Raul] Castro, who replaced his ailing older brother Fidel Castro as president last year, also has complained that Cuba's productivity is too low.
He has taken various steps to boost output, including putting more state-owned land in private hands and pushing for salaries to be based on productivity.
The Disease Called Pedro Espada Lingers
Pedro Espada, New York's ethically challenged Senate Majority Leader, is expanding his staff on the back of New York State taxpayers.
In total, the Senate's Democratic leadership has authorized more than $500,000 in pay raises and new staff for Espada since he returned to the Democratic conference at the end of the chamber's June stalemate, according to payroll records from the state comptroller's office.
Among the new hires is Jerry Love Jr., the son of Sandra Love, a Soundview officer who in 2004 pleaded guilty to steering state funds intended for family care and AIDS treatment to Espada's political campaign. Three other Soundview officials also pleaded guilty in that case.
How far will Espada go before his limp wristed colleagues push back? There are rumblings from some of the underlings and rank and file.
"Leadership is supposed to lead the way, not look the other way, when poor decisions are being made," said one Senate Democratic staffer.
"This makes me more embarrassed and makes the Senate look even worse than it has already -- and that's hard to imagine," said Sen. Neil Breslin (D-Albany).
Of course, don't expect Breslin to do anything other than fall in line when Espada starts issuing vote orders. After all, he's just one of the many in the Conference who speak loudly but carry a small stick. What an embarrassment for a once great state.
No matter, all these asshats will be voted back in next election cycle. Remember, we are the same electorate who voted in landslide fashion for a man who was on the cusp of being indicted for a felony.
More on Espada
In total, the Senate's Democratic leadership has authorized more than $500,000 in pay raises and new staff for Espada since he returned to the Democratic conference at the end of the chamber's June stalemate, according to payroll records from the state comptroller's office.
Among the new hires is Jerry Love Jr., the son of Sandra Love, a Soundview officer who in 2004 pleaded guilty to steering state funds intended for family care and AIDS treatment to Espada's political campaign. Three other Soundview officials also pleaded guilty in that case.
How far will Espada go before his limp wristed colleagues push back? There are rumblings from some of the underlings and rank and file.
"Leadership is supposed to lead the way, not look the other way, when poor decisions are being made," said one Senate Democratic staffer.
"This makes me more embarrassed and makes the Senate look even worse than it has already -- and that's hard to imagine," said Sen. Neil Breslin (D-Albany).
Of course, don't expect Breslin to do anything other than fall in line when Espada starts issuing vote orders. After all, he's just one of the many in the Conference who speak loudly but carry a small stick. What an embarrassment for a once great state.
No matter, all these asshats will be voted back in next election cycle. Remember, we are the same electorate who voted in landslide fashion for a man who was on the cusp of being indicted for a felony.
More on Espada
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
What's in a Name?
City Journal's Daniel J. Flynn by way of John Stossel...
If Congress passes President Obama’s trillion-dollar overhaul of the nation’s health-care industry, political entrepreneurs are sure to seek a cut of the enormous prize, and few have positioned themselves more skillfully than Ted Kennedy, Jr. “For years, Kennedy, Jr. has been boldly exploiting both his name and his intimate relationship with the most influential member of the U.S. Senate when it comes to health care and organized labor: his father, Senator Ted Kennedy,” Dick Morris and Eileen McGann write in their new book, Catastrophe. “And his father has been all too willing to help out in making the family connection into a lucrative business for his son.” Over the course of this decade, medical giants with business interests before the senator have showered money upon his son’s lobbying businesses: Bristol-Myers Squibb has paid $380,000; the Advanced Medical Technology Association, $220,000; Ascension Health, $280,000. Ask not what you can do for your name; ask what your name can do for you.
Living in Massachusetts, this is seen first hand. One year the local used bookstore owner was Joe Kennedy's only opponent for his Congressional seat. I only found out because I overheard him talking to another customer about it in his store.
A great quote from Joe Sr. from when Ted was running for Senate as a 30 year old slacker:
“I spent a lot of money for that Senate seat,” patriarch Joe Kennedy said prior to Ted’s initial run. “It belongs in the family.”
If Congress passes President Obama’s trillion-dollar overhaul of the nation’s health-care industry, political entrepreneurs are sure to seek a cut of the enormous prize, and few have positioned themselves more skillfully than Ted Kennedy, Jr. “For years, Kennedy, Jr. has been boldly exploiting both his name and his intimate relationship with the most influential member of the U.S. Senate when it comes to health care and organized labor: his father, Senator Ted Kennedy,” Dick Morris and Eileen McGann write in their new book, Catastrophe. “And his father has been all too willing to help out in making the family connection into a lucrative business for his son.” Over the course of this decade, medical giants with business interests before the senator have showered money upon his son’s lobbying businesses: Bristol-Myers Squibb has paid $380,000; the Advanced Medical Technology Association, $220,000; Ascension Health, $280,000. Ask not what you can do for your name; ask what your name can do for you.
Living in Massachusetts, this is seen first hand. One year the local used bookstore owner was Joe Kennedy's only opponent for his Congressional seat. I only found out because I overheard him talking to another customer about it in his store.
A great quote from Joe Sr. from when Ted was running for Senate as a 30 year old slacker:
“I spent a lot of money for that Senate seat,” patriarch Joe Kennedy said prior to Ted’s initial run. “It belongs in the family.”
Monday, August 17, 2009
The New American Dream
Sponge off the taxpayers, flaunt your ill gotten gains and ignore any semblance of legality...
Don't worry Senator Espada, the knuckleheads in the Bronx will keep returning you to office.
Remember what Alexis de Tocqueville said: we get the government we deserve. Can you imagine what someone like Alexander Hamilton would think of this asshat Espada?
The one-time Democratic turncoat controls the money flow as CEO of Comprehensive Community Development Corp., which he founded in 1978 and which is the umbrella organization for Soundview HealthCare Network.
The corporation's five clinics serve more than 40,000 people each year, but critics say Espada has put to personal and political use some of the $15 million the organization pulls in annually.
"For Pedro Espada, politics is a route to wealth and power," said a Bronx political insider.
Even as the geyser of cash rains on his family and on his political campaigns, Comprehensive Community Development owes some $347,000 in federal and state income tax withheld from employees, as well as unpaid unemployment taxes.
Seriously, what separates someone like Espada from a run of the mill grifter doing 3 to 6 in the state penitentiary?
Don't worry Senator Espada, the knuckleheads in the Bronx will keep returning you to office.
Remember what Alexis de Tocqueville said: we get the government we deserve. Can you imagine what someone like Alexander Hamilton would think of this asshat Espada?
The one-time Democratic turncoat controls the money flow as CEO of Comprehensive Community Development Corp., which he founded in 1978 and which is the umbrella organization for Soundview HealthCare Network.
The corporation's five clinics serve more than 40,000 people each year, but critics say Espada has put to personal and political use some of the $15 million the organization pulls in annually.
"For Pedro Espada, politics is a route to wealth and power," said a Bronx political insider.
Even as the geyser of cash rains on his family and on his political campaigns, Comprehensive Community Development owes some $347,000 in federal and state income tax withheld from employees, as well as unpaid unemployment taxes.
Seriously, what separates someone like Espada from a run of the mill grifter doing 3 to 6 in the state penitentiary?
Poll: Cuomo leads Paterson in possible '10 race
It's hard to believe that Governor Half-Wit has any supporters. Seriously, it's almost like the whole debacle has been scripted.
A new poll of New York Democrats shows Attorney General Andrew Cuomo attracting four voters to every one for incumbent Gov. David Paterson in a potential matchup next year.
The poll shows 61 percent of voters polled favored Cuomo and 15 percent picked Paterson. In June, Cuomo had a lead of 57 percent to 20 percent.
Who are these 15% percent favoring Paterson? Maybe all the goofballs he's put on the state payroll since his swearing in?
A new poll of New York Democrats shows Attorney General Andrew Cuomo attracting four voters to every one for incumbent Gov. David Paterson in a potential matchup next year.
The poll shows 61 percent of voters polled favored Cuomo and 15 percent picked Paterson. In June, Cuomo had a lead of 57 percent to 20 percent.
Who are these 15% percent favoring Paterson? Maybe all the goofballs he's put on the state payroll since his swearing in?
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Move Along...Nothing To See
A book about Jyllands-Posten's Muhammad cartoons that doesn't show the cartoons.
The New York Times broke the story.
Yes, the same New York Times that refused to print the cartoons back in 2006, but of course, saw no problem publishing Chris Ofili's seminal work, The Holy Virgin Mary, which featured the Virgin Mary decorated with porno and elephant dung.
Nuance?
The New York Times broke the story.
Yes, the same New York Times that refused to print the cartoons back in 2006, but of course, saw no problem publishing Chris Ofili's seminal work, The Holy Virgin Mary, which featured the Virgin Mary decorated with porno and elephant dung.
Nuance?
Saturday, August 15, 2009
They May Not Know What's Good For Them...
Typically elitist attitude, and she has no idea why it is offensive:
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Bourne Braves, Cape Cod League Champions
Bourne Braves defeated the Cotuit Kettleers 5-1 yesterday winning the Arnold Mycock Trophy.
The Cape Cod Baseball League provides a getaway for purist baseball fans wishing to avoid discussions about supplements, astericks and PEDS. It showcases the best college baseball players and introduces them to the nuances of hitting a baseball with a wood bat. The games are well attended by locals, vacationers and MLB scouts.
The roster of MLB players, past and present, that have played in the Cape Cod League include:
Ben Sheets, Matt Murton, Jason Bay, Lance Berkman, Jacoby Ellsbury, Nomar Garciaparra, Brandon Inge, Tim Lincecum, Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena, Mark Teixeira, Chase Utley, Jason Varitek, Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell, Carlton Fisk, Kevin Millar, John Tudor, JT Snow, Ron Darling and Brian Roberts
The real "field of dreams" shouldn't have been about a cornfield in Iowa filled with baseball's past. The real "if you build it, they will come" scenario should have been about the annual two-month lovefest with baseball's future known as the Cape Cod Baseball League.
From Chatham to Wareham on this famous stretch of land about an hour south of Boston, nothing is a better central-casting depiction of what baseball should look like and sound like than the 10-team college summer league that attracts the best players and caters to a fan base that ranges from small children to the elderly.
The Cape Cod Baseball League provides a getaway for purist baseball fans wishing to avoid discussions about supplements, astericks and PEDS. It showcases the best college baseball players and introduces them to the nuances of hitting a baseball with a wood bat. The games are well attended by locals, vacationers and MLB scouts.
The roster of MLB players, past and present, that have played in the Cape Cod League include:
Ben Sheets, Matt Murton, Jason Bay, Lance Berkman, Jacoby Ellsbury, Nomar Garciaparra, Brandon Inge, Tim Lincecum, Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena, Mark Teixeira, Chase Utley, Jason Varitek, Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell, Carlton Fisk, Kevin Millar, John Tudor, JT Snow, Ron Darling and Brian Roberts
The real "field of dreams" shouldn't have been about a cornfield in Iowa filled with baseball's past. The real "if you build it, they will come" scenario should have been about the annual two-month lovefest with baseball's future known as the Cape Cod Baseball League.
From Chatham to Wareham on this famous stretch of land about an hour south of Boston, nothing is a better central-casting depiction of what baseball should look like and sound like than the 10-team college summer league that attracts the best players and caters to a fan base that ranges from small children to the elderly.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Hillary in Neverland?
The always insightful Charles Krauthammer:
She [Hillary Clinton] lost it. It was not a real good moment. In part, I'm sure it was because she thought she was being treated as an appendage of her husband.
But I think part of it is also the venue. Here you have Richard Holbrooke running Afghanistan and Pakistan — the heart of our troubles in Asia. You have George Mitchell in the Middle East. You have envoys here and there, and she is the secretary of state, and she's sitting in the Congo, in the Congo?
You've got Petraeus running Afghanistan. You've got Odierno running Iraq. She is totally marginalized, sitting in Kinshasa. I'm sure it is a great city — in fact, it's not — but the Congo? Africa is very low on the scale of important interests of the United States.
She was supposed to be the president of the United States at this point. She was going to be queen of the world. Instead, Obama bestrides the world. He gives speeches in the great capitals, in Cairo — and she is in the Congo! You'd be upset, also.
She [Hillary Clinton] lost it. It was not a real good moment. In part, I'm sure it was because she thought she was being treated as an appendage of her husband.
But I think part of it is also the venue. Here you have Richard Holbrooke running Afghanistan and Pakistan — the heart of our troubles in Asia. You have George Mitchell in the Middle East. You have envoys here and there, and she is the secretary of state, and she's sitting in the Congo, in the Congo?
You've got Petraeus running Afghanistan. You've got Odierno running Iraq. She is totally marginalized, sitting in Kinshasa. I'm sure it is a great city — in fact, it's not — but the Congo? Africa is very low on the scale of important interests of the United States.
She was supposed to be the president of the United States at this point. She was going to be queen of the world. Instead, Obama bestrides the world. He gives speeches in the great capitals, in Cairo — and she is in the Congo! You'd be upset, also.
Eunice Shriver, R.I.P.
For my money, Eunice Shriver's legacy will outlast the aura of her famous family.
"She believed that people with intellectual disabilities could — individually and collectively — achieve more than anyone thought possible," the Shrivers' son, Timothy Shriver, chairman and CEO of Special Olympics, said in a prepared statement yesterday. "This much she knew with unbridled faith and certainty. And this faith in turn gave her hope that their future might be radically different."
I understand that she was born with both a fortune and platform to accomplish great things, but to champion a population that was ignored and hidden away takes great determination. It also should be noted that Eunice acted with the understanding that her work would illuminate the plight of her older sister Rosemary and bring attention to her father Joe's culpability in Rosemary's situation.
Brave lady.. .
From the Cape Cod Times:
Trey Marbella, 36, Hyannis
Marbella loves to watch baseball, but when he suits up for Special Olympics games and practices, it's basketball all the way.
"It's just the joy of playing basketball. I don't know why," said Marbella, who moved south after graduating from the Riverview School in Sandwich. He came back to the Cape last year and lives in supportive housing. He has a job selling Cape Cod Times newspapers.
He played in a Special Olympics basketball tournament at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester in February. He practices once a week at the Boys and Girls Club in Mashpee.
"In some ways, it's sort of like the regular Olympics," Marbella said. There are opening ceremonies and speeches. The athletes have a camaraderie that extends beyond team lines, he said.
"They have more passion than most people you see on TV," Marbella said. "Being in Special Olympics has taught me things about myself I wouldn't have known before. How to enjoy life."
Gail Carroll, 64, Hyannis
When Carroll marches in Special Olympics opening ceremonies, she carries a sign for CapeAbilities, the nonprofit Hyannis organization where she works and socializes.
The rest of the time she's carting around a red-and-black bowling ball that has helped her get scores in the 100s during Special Olympics bowling contests.
"Can you believe it's an eight-pounder?" asked Carroll, who has an apartment with a roommate in Hyannis. "I've been bowling since I was little. It is exciting. I like it."
She has a special shelf for the many medals she's won over the years. She bowls every Thursday with people from CapeAbilities to keep up her skills.
Katie Stubstad, 24, Sagamore
A Special Olympian since she was about 11 years old, Stubstad particularly enjoys the swim meets.
She competes in backstroke, free style and the relay. "Swimming is easy for me," says Stubstad.
The backstroke is her favorite, especially since her coach told her she could get good propulsion by reaching her arms up to the ceiling. She won some gold medals in a June competition in the state games in Boston, Stubstad said.
"Boston is fun to run around," said Stubstad, who lives at home with Kathy and Don Stubstad and her brother Tim. She works at the CapeAbilities Farm in Dennis and in the Hyannis office assembling welcome buckets for Cape visitors and at the Sandwich Post Office.
Amy Hastings, 30, Harwich
Hastings lives at home with her parents, Mary and Brian Hastings, and works part time at the Stop & Shop in Dennis and volunteers at Cape Cod Hospital.
Hastings has participated in Special Olympics since she was 10 or 11, said her mother, Mary Hastings. She's been to games in North Carolina, Iowa and Ireland, and has competed in soccer, gymnastics, tennis, skiing and cycling.
"I like a lot of people. I have tons of friends," Hastings said. "In Boston, for the state games, our team the Life Survivors team, we all went out for ice cream almost every night except for Sunday."
"She believed that people with intellectual disabilities could — individually and collectively — achieve more than anyone thought possible," the Shrivers' son, Timothy Shriver, chairman and CEO of Special Olympics, said in a prepared statement yesterday. "This much she knew with unbridled faith and certainty. And this faith in turn gave her hope that their future might be radically different."
I understand that she was born with both a fortune and platform to accomplish great things, but to champion a population that was ignored and hidden away takes great determination. It also should be noted that Eunice acted with the understanding that her work would illuminate the plight of her older sister Rosemary and bring attention to her father Joe's culpability in Rosemary's situation.
Brave lady.. .
From the Cape Cod Times:
Trey Marbella, 36, Hyannis
Marbella loves to watch baseball, but when he suits up for Special Olympics games and practices, it's basketball all the way.
"It's just the joy of playing basketball. I don't know why," said Marbella, who moved south after graduating from the Riverview School in Sandwich. He came back to the Cape last year and lives in supportive housing. He has a job selling Cape Cod Times newspapers.
He played in a Special Olympics basketball tournament at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester in February. He practices once a week at the Boys and Girls Club in Mashpee.
"In some ways, it's sort of like the regular Olympics," Marbella said. There are opening ceremonies and speeches. The athletes have a camaraderie that extends beyond team lines, he said.
"They have more passion than most people you see on TV," Marbella said. "Being in Special Olympics has taught me things about myself I wouldn't have known before. How to enjoy life."
Gail Carroll, 64, Hyannis
When Carroll marches in Special Olympics opening ceremonies, she carries a sign for CapeAbilities, the nonprofit Hyannis organization where she works and socializes.
The rest of the time she's carting around a red-and-black bowling ball that has helped her get scores in the 100s during Special Olympics bowling contests.
"Can you believe it's an eight-pounder?" asked Carroll, who has an apartment with a roommate in Hyannis. "I've been bowling since I was little. It is exciting. I like it."
She has a special shelf for the many medals she's won over the years. She bowls every Thursday with people from CapeAbilities to keep up her skills.
Katie Stubstad, 24, Sagamore
A Special Olympian since she was about 11 years old, Stubstad particularly enjoys the swim meets.
She competes in backstroke, free style and the relay. "Swimming is easy for me," says Stubstad.
The backstroke is her favorite, especially since her coach told her she could get good propulsion by reaching her arms up to the ceiling. She won some gold medals in a June competition in the state games in Boston, Stubstad said.
"Boston is fun to run around," said Stubstad, who lives at home with Kathy and Don Stubstad and her brother Tim. She works at the CapeAbilities Farm in Dennis and in the Hyannis office assembling welcome buckets for Cape visitors and at the Sandwich Post Office.
Amy Hastings, 30, Harwich
Hastings lives at home with her parents, Mary and Brian Hastings, and works part time at the Stop & Shop in Dennis and volunteers at Cape Cod Hospital.
Hastings has participated in Special Olympics since she was 10 or 11, said her mother, Mary Hastings. She's been to games in North Carolina, Iowa and Ireland, and has competed in soccer, gymnastics, tennis, skiing and cycling.
"I like a lot of people. I have tons of friends," Hastings said. "In Boston, for the state games, our team the Life Survivors team, we all went out for ice cream almost every night except for Sunday."
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Nicaragua, the new Costa Rica?
I was in Costa Rica about 10 years ago. It was very primitive and had none of the tourist feel to it. From what I hear, things have changed: all inclusive resorts and vacation packages are now commonplace.
Instead, check out Nicaragua:
Geologically, Nicaragua has similar terrain to its eco-tourism hotshot neighbor Costa Rica. It has stunning volcanos, gorgeous beaches and a rich jungle and cloud forest life. What it lacks is the early start that Costa Rica got in perserving these assets. But it also still lacks the crowds and being a traveller there, feels authentic in a way some other central american destinations do not.
Instead, check out Nicaragua:
Geologically, Nicaragua has similar terrain to its eco-tourism hotshot neighbor Costa Rica. It has stunning volcanos, gorgeous beaches and a rich jungle and cloud forest life. What it lacks is the early start that Costa Rica got in perserving these assets. But it also still lacks the crowds and being a traveller there, feels authentic in a way some other central american destinations do not.
Climb It While You Can
I almost fell off Ayers Rocks a few years ago. The climb certainly wasn't arduous, but it was slippery in places. And, of course, outside of the chain that stretches up the steepest part, there are no guardrails or paths. You are pretty much on your own. The views from the top are amazing: The Olgas and the expanse of the Red Center.
Keeping It In The Family
Just when New York State taxpayers thought that it couldn't get worse....
The NYS Democrats put Pedro Espada Jr.'s son Pedro G. Espada on their (read=taxpayers) payroll by CREATING a $120,000/year position. The elder Espada is the ethically challenged downstate senator from the Bronx. Obviously, this is part of the payoff that enticed the elder Espada to return to the Senate Democratic conference.
"The conference wants to use Pedro's vast experience in the government and private sector to help improve communications and cooperation between the State Senate and various city, state, and federal agencies," he said. So what's that experience? Aside from his stint in elected office, Espada helped start the "Neighborhood Empowerment Center" in the Bronx, organizing "job training programs," says Shafran. He vehemently denies that the hiring was connected to the July negotiations between Democrats and Espada's legally embattled father, whose defection to the Republican side brought Albany to a monthlong standstill.
I love the example of Pedro G.'s private sector experience. A quick web search for "Neighborhood Empowerment Center" finds an article that suggests the younger Espada used the non-profit as a campaign office for his City Council run. Shocker...
...the Espadas have blurred the already thin line between running a service organization and a permanent campaign office. NEC [Neighborhood Empowerment Center], run by Pedro U., is supposed to be a neighborhood nonprofit, but the place looks every bit like a campaign office, with stacks of campaign literature everywhere and a box of Espada-for-Council hair combs. The sign above the door has the organization's name on it, but the words "Pedro G. Espada, Executive Director" are at least twice as big. The front door is still emblazoned with seal of the New York State Senate, a relic from the days when his father served in Albany and compiled one of the worst attendance records of any legislator.
And if Espada employees' money flows freely into the campaign, it doesn't seem to find its way so readily to the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
City Limits has learned that last October the state assessed a lien on the Soundview Health Center [Pedro Espada Jr.'s non-profit], citing $413,000 in back payroll taxes that were supposed to have been deducted from employees' checks each week. Since then, Pedro, Jr. has paid back about $43,000 of the debt.
The Neighborhood Empowerment Center's listed number appears to be disconnected.
Surprise, surprise...
The NYS Democrats put Pedro Espada Jr.'s son Pedro G. Espada on their (read=taxpayers) payroll by CREATING a $120,000/year position. The elder Espada is the ethically challenged downstate senator from the Bronx. Obviously, this is part of the payoff that enticed the elder Espada to return to the Senate Democratic conference.
"The conference wants to use Pedro's vast experience in the government and private sector to help improve communications and cooperation between the State Senate and various city, state, and federal agencies," he said. So what's that experience? Aside from his stint in elected office, Espada helped start the "Neighborhood Empowerment Center" in the Bronx, organizing "job training programs," says Shafran. He vehemently denies that the hiring was connected to the July negotiations between Democrats and Espada's legally embattled father, whose defection to the Republican side brought Albany to a monthlong standstill.
I love the example of Pedro G.'s private sector experience. A quick web search for "Neighborhood Empowerment Center" finds an article that suggests the younger Espada used the non-profit as a campaign office for his City Council run. Shocker...
...the Espadas have blurred the already thin line between running a service organization and a permanent campaign office. NEC [Neighborhood Empowerment Center], run by Pedro U., is supposed to be a neighborhood nonprofit, but the place looks every bit like a campaign office, with stacks of campaign literature everywhere and a box of Espada-for-Council hair combs. The sign above the door has the organization's name on it, but the words "Pedro G. Espada, Executive Director" are at least twice as big. The front door is still emblazoned with seal of the New York State Senate, a relic from the days when his father served in Albany and compiled one of the worst attendance records of any legislator.
And if Espada employees' money flows freely into the campaign, it doesn't seem to find its way so readily to the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
City Limits has learned that last October the state assessed a lien on the Soundview Health Center [Pedro Espada Jr.'s non-profit], citing $413,000 in back payroll taxes that were supposed to have been deducted from employees' checks each week. Since then, Pedro, Jr. has paid back about $43,000 of the debt.
The Neighborhood Empowerment Center's listed number appears to be disconnected.
Surprise, surprise...
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Man's Best Friend
Theodore Dalrymple, the pen name of a retired prison doctor and psychiatrist contrasts the human and veterinary health services of Great Britain and finds that it is much better to be a dog.
As a British dog, you get to choose (through an intermediary, I admit) your veterinarian. If you don’t like him, you can pick up your leash and go elsewhere, that very day if necessary. Any vet will see you straight away, there is no delay in such investigations as you may need, and treatment is immediate. There are no waiting lists for dogs, no operations postponed because something more important has come up, no appalling stories of dogs being made to wait for years because other dogs—or hamsters—come first.
He concludes:
And what I want, at least for that part of my time that I spend in England, is to be a dog. I also want, wherever I am, the Americans to go on paying for the great majority of the world’s progress in medical research and technological innovation by the preposterous expense of their system: for it is a truth universally acknowledged that American clinical research has long reigned supreme, so overall, the American health-care system must have been doing something right. The rest of the world soon adopts the progress, without the pain of having had to pay for it.
As a British dog, you get to choose (through an intermediary, I admit) your veterinarian. If you don’t like him, you can pick up your leash and go elsewhere, that very day if necessary. Any vet will see you straight away, there is no delay in such investigations as you may need, and treatment is immediate. There are no waiting lists for dogs, no operations postponed because something more important has come up, no appalling stories of dogs being made to wait for years because other dogs—or hamsters—come first.
He concludes:
And what I want, at least for that part of my time that I spend in England, is to be a dog. I also want, wherever I am, the Americans to go on paying for the great majority of the world’s progress in medical research and technological innovation by the preposterous expense of their system: for it is a truth universally acknowledged that American clinical research has long reigned supreme, so overall, the American health-care system must have been doing something right. The rest of the world soon adopts the progress, without the pain of having had to pay for it.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Budd Schulberg
Budd Schulberg died a couple of days ago. Schulberg was a legend. I still believe that the best book written about Hollywood is Schulberg's "What Makes Sammy Run?”, a fictionalized look at the movie business.
Schulberg's father ran Paramount Pictures in the 1930's, his mother was Sam Jaffe's sister. He was the prototype Hollywood insider. Schulberg wrote the screenplay to "On the Waterfront" and "A Face in the Crowd." He eventually became Sports Illustrated's boxing correspondent.
Schulberg joined the Communist Party, but became disillusioned when party officials pressured him to incorporate party dogma into his work. He eventually testified in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee and remained unapologetic about it throughout his life.
Schulberg's father ran Paramount Pictures in the 1930's, his mother was Sam Jaffe's sister. He was the prototype Hollywood insider. Schulberg wrote the screenplay to "On the Waterfront" and "A Face in the Crowd." He eventually became Sports Illustrated's boxing correspondent.
Schulberg joined the Communist Party, but became disillusioned when party officials pressured him to incorporate party dogma into his work. He eventually testified in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee and remained unapologetic about it throughout his life.
Tax Dollars for Vacation Trips
10 members for Congress spent time on the Great Barrier Reef under the guise of studying climate change. Who are they fooling? 6 of them brought their spouses, who do not have to pay for travel and accommodations, only food.
Asked about his wife's participation, Mr. [Frank] Lucas cited a busy congressional schedule that often keeps families separated, even on weekends. If spouses couldn't go along on trips abroad, "then you couldn't travel -- simple as that," he said.
A spokeswoman for Mr. [Charlie] Melancon said the representative's wife of 37 years, Peachy Melancon, added "insight and perspective" that "only amplified the educational benefit he gained as a lawmaker."
Aren't these people supposed to be working for us? Dick Morris's book "Outrage" has a chapter devoted to Congressmen who continually take advantage of taxpayers for the benefit of themselves and their families, with spouses, sons and daughters getting favored treatment as lobbyists and privileged insiders. Be certain to read it on an empty stomach.
According to the WSJ, Congressional travel has increased tenfold since the mid-1990's. When are we as taxpayers planning to say that enough is enough? More and more we see our federal representatives gaining more and more power over our lives whilst enriching themselves at our expense.
The latest grab for power is health care reform. Make no mistake. That is what it is, a grab for power. Keep in mind, that while our federal representatives have no problem directing us to a system that will take away our health care choices, they will not be beholden to it themselves.
And, here's more spending:
Lawmakers' move to upgrade the fleet of government jets -- used for travel by lawmakers and other senior government officials -- is just one of more than 1,000 spending projects lawmakers added to the Pentagon's budget for next year that weren't requested by President Barack Obama.
Asked about his wife's participation, Mr. [Frank] Lucas cited a busy congressional schedule that often keeps families separated, even on weekends. If spouses couldn't go along on trips abroad, "then you couldn't travel -- simple as that," he said.
A spokeswoman for Mr. [Charlie] Melancon said the representative's wife of 37 years, Peachy Melancon, added "insight and perspective" that "only amplified the educational benefit he gained as a lawmaker."
Aren't these people supposed to be working for us? Dick Morris's book "Outrage" has a chapter devoted to Congressmen who continually take advantage of taxpayers for the benefit of themselves and their families, with spouses, sons and daughters getting favored treatment as lobbyists and privileged insiders. Be certain to read it on an empty stomach.
According to the WSJ, Congressional travel has increased tenfold since the mid-1990's. When are we as taxpayers planning to say that enough is enough? More and more we see our federal representatives gaining more and more power over our lives whilst enriching themselves at our expense.
The latest grab for power is health care reform. Make no mistake. That is what it is, a grab for power. Keep in mind, that while our federal representatives have no problem directing us to a system that will take away our health care choices, they will not be beholden to it themselves.
And, here's more spending:
Lawmakers' move to upgrade the fleet of government jets -- used for travel by lawmakers and other senior government officials -- is just one of more than 1,000 spending projects lawmakers added to the Pentagon's budget for next year that weren't requested by President Barack Obama.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Happy Birthday to the Coast Guard
Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman cites Coast Guard's 219th birthdayTreasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton convinced Congress to authorize construction of 10 topsail schooners Aug. 4, 1790, for the U.S. Revenue-Marine to combat widespread smuggling. Our nation proudly celebrates that day 219 years ago when the U.S. Coast Guard was born.
Since then, thousands of men and women have stood watch in our oldest continuous seagoing service on land, sea and in the air: ever vigilant, keeping our homeland safe, and protecting our maritime resources. Last year alone, our nation's maritime guardians saved more than four thousand lives with professionalism and courage.
Their proud service today extends far beyond our own shores. Nearly 400 Coast Guardsmen are now serving on point in locations across the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Coast Guard patrol missions take place wherever America needs: from the waters off Kodiak Island to the Arabian Gulf, across the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Malacca.
Whether conducting drug interdiction, search and rescue operations, confronting our nation's adversaries or training partner nations in maritime security, no one is more skilled or better equipped than our Coast Guard.
The Joint Chiefs and I salute you, all of the hard working men, women and supportive families of our United States Coast Guard. America would not be safe without you.
Happy Birthday and Semper Paratus!
More from National Review:
Thanks for your post on the Coast Guard. It is worth noting that while other federal, state and local agencies utterly screwed up the response to Hurricane Katrina, the Coast Guard (and to a lesser extent both the state and federal Fish and Wildlife Services) rescued tens of thousands of people — at least 33,500 by this count, which I've seen confirmed elsewhere.
The Guardsmen were true heroes, yet never really got the credit due them. I'm glad you gave them some notice.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Besos y abrazos, Magglio
Will Magglio Ordóñez ever learn?Venezuela's Hugo Chavez has been caught arming Colombia's FARC — again. It's more than state sponsorship of terror. The persistence of his acts signals a proxy war against the U.S. It's time to recognize that.
Do you think President Obama has finished the book?
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wow
Midlands ambulance crews strain to help obese patients
Lincoln Fire & Rescue, for example, is considering putting a construction crane and a forklift on call for patients who are too big to get out a door or down steps. Firefighters had to use a tarp to haul an 800-pound patient a few years ago.
Lloyd Rupp, a battalion chief in the Omaha Fire Department, said his crews encounter a 400-pound-plus patient every several days. Five to 10 years ago, crews would run into such patients every couple of weeks.
Did we ever think it would come to this?
Lincoln Fire & Rescue, for example, is considering putting a construction crane and a forklift on call for patients who are too big to get out a door or down steps. Firefighters had to use a tarp to haul an 800-pound patient a few years ago.
Lloyd Rupp, a battalion chief in the Omaha Fire Department, said his crews encounter a 400-pound-plus patient every several days. Five to 10 years ago, crews would run into such patients every couple of weeks.
Did we ever think it would come to this?
Monday, July 27, 2009
You Don't Say...
Argentina's first couple deliver prosperity – for themselves
They were elected on the promise of delivering prosperity to Argentina, but statistics showing a stunning economic turnaround have come with a catch.
New figures show that since Nestor and Cristina Kirchner came to power in 2003, they have presided over a remarkable sixfold increase in their own wealth.
We would expect this from a friend of Hugo Chavez, but we increasingly see this more and more in the United States, where our founding fathers envisioned public service as just that: serving the public.
Why is it that the net worth of most politicians increases exponentially whilst in office? They make less then $200,000 per annum.
Term limits, anyone?
Interesting article...
Another...
They were elected on the promise of delivering prosperity to Argentina, but statistics showing a stunning economic turnaround have come with a catch.
New figures show that since Nestor and Cristina Kirchner came to power in 2003, they have presided over a remarkable sixfold increase in their own wealth.
We would expect this from a friend of Hugo Chavez, but we increasingly see this more and more in the United States, where our founding fathers envisioned public service as just that: serving the public.
Why is it that the net worth of most politicians increases exponentially whilst in office? They make less then $200,000 per annum.
Term limits, anyone?
Interesting article...
Another...
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Hall of Famer Jim Rice
Congratulations Jim Rice-
Remember this?
The date was Aug. 7, 1982. Dave Stapleton was at the plate. The shortstop sent a screaming line drive into the stands.
"I saw the ball hit the bat and heard the crack, and thought it hit the side of the dugout," Tom Keane recently recalled to the Associated Press. "I turned, and there was my son [Jonathan] with blood gushing out of his head."
That's when Rice stepped into the picture.
"The next thing I remembered was Jim Rice picking him up," Keane said. "We ran through the dugout. I was kind of chasing Jim Rice; he was carrying Jonathan. There was an ambulance waiting. When we got to the hospital, they were set up for neurosurgery."
"In times like that, you really see the quality of the character of the people involved," Tom Keane said to the AP. "Jim Rice is a really humble guy. He doesn't want to take credit for doing anything out of the ordinary. He said he did anything anyone would have done.
"I think that's an understatement of what he did that day. He did something that nobody else did. He may very well have saved my son's life."
Remember this?The date was Aug. 7, 1982. Dave Stapleton was at the plate. The shortstop sent a screaming line drive into the stands.
"I saw the ball hit the bat and heard the crack, and thought it hit the side of the dugout," Tom Keane recently recalled to the Associated Press. "I turned, and there was my son [Jonathan] with blood gushing out of his head."
That's when Rice stepped into the picture.
"The next thing I remembered was Jim Rice picking him up," Keane said. "We ran through the dugout. I was kind of chasing Jim Rice; he was carrying Jonathan. There was an ambulance waiting. When we got to the hospital, they were set up for neurosurgery."
"In times like that, you really see the quality of the character of the people involved," Tom Keane said to the AP. "Jim Rice is a really humble guy. He doesn't want to take credit for doing anything out of the ordinary. He said he did anything anyone would have done.
"I think that's an understatement of what he did that day. He did something that nobody else did. He may very well have saved my son's life."
Our Elected Representatives Lying To Us Again?
From CNN Money, the fine print in the Congressional Health Plans--
In promoting his health-care agenda, President Obama has repeatedly reassured Americans that they can keep their existing health plans -- and that the benefits and access they prize will be enhanced through reform.
A close reading of the two main bills, one backed by Democrats in the House and the other issued by Sen. Edward Kennedy's Health committee, contradict the President's assurances. To be sure, it isn't easy to comb through their 2,000 pages of tortured legal language. But page by page, the bills reveal a web of restrictions, fines, and mandates that would radically change your health-care coverage.
Basically, it's fewer choices all the way around and no reward for a healthy lifestyle. And, keep in mind, our Congressional representatives have exempted themselves from these plans.
In promoting his health-care agenda, President Obama has repeatedly reassured Americans that they can keep their existing health plans -- and that the benefits and access they prize will be enhanced through reform.
A close reading of the two main bills, one backed by Democrats in the House and the other issued by Sen. Edward Kennedy's Health committee, contradict the President's assurances. To be sure, it isn't easy to comb through their 2,000 pages of tortured legal language. But page by page, the bills reveal a web of restrictions, fines, and mandates that would radically change your health-care coverage.
Basically, it's fewer choices all the way around and no reward for a healthy lifestyle. And, keep in mind, our Congressional representatives have exempted themselves from these plans.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
John Stossel's Health Care Segment Postponed Again By ABC
Stossel writes:
My piece of British and Canadian healthcare has been postponed once again. Now it’s scheduled to run, not tonight, but next Friday, July 31 at 10pm ET.
His latest column about the arrogance of half-witted politicians:
It's crazy for a group of mere mortals to try to design 15 percent of the U.S. economy. It's even crazier to do it by August.
Yet that is what some members of Congress presume to do. They intend, as the New York Times puts it, "to reinvent the nation's health care system".
Let that sink in. A handful of people who probably never even ran a small business actually think they can reinvent the health care system.
He concludes:
Who will save us from these despots? What Adam Smith said about the economic planner applies here, too: The politician who tries to design the medical marketplace would "assume an authority which could safely be trusted, not only to no single person, but to no council or senate whatever, and which would nowhere be so dangerous as in the hands of a man who had folly and presumption enough to fancy himself fit to exercise it."
Scary...
Medicaid, Medicare, the VA, all government controlled and compromised by inefficiency, fraud and poor service. Now we want them controlling the rest of it?
My piece of British and Canadian healthcare has been postponed once again. Now it’s scheduled to run, not tonight, but next Friday, July 31 at 10pm ET.
His latest column about the arrogance of half-witted politicians:
It's crazy for a group of mere mortals to try to design 15 percent of the U.S. economy. It's even crazier to do it by August.
Yet that is what some members of Congress presume to do. They intend, as the New York Times puts it, "to reinvent the nation's health care system".
Let that sink in. A handful of people who probably never even ran a small business actually think they can reinvent the health care system.
He concludes:
Who will save us from these despots? What Adam Smith said about the economic planner applies here, too: The politician who tries to design the medical marketplace would "assume an authority which could safely be trusted, not only to no single person, but to no council or senate whatever, and which would nowhere be so dangerous as in the hands of a man who had folly and presumption enough to fancy himself fit to exercise it."
Scary...
Medicaid, Medicare, the VA, all government controlled and compromised by inefficiency, fraud and poor service. Now we want them controlling the rest of it?
Harry Patch, the last British army veteran of World War I, has died at 111
Britain's last World War I veteran has died.
Born in southwest England in 1898, Patch was called up for military service in 1916 when he was working as a teenage apprentice plumber. After training he was sent to the trenches as a machine-gunner in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.
A few weeks later, in one of the bloodiest battles of the war at Passchendaele, near the Belgian town of Ypres, he was badly wounded and three of his best friends were killed by a shell explosion.
I have visited the battlefield site referenced above. If you are ever in the area of Bruges, be certain to look up Quasimodo Tours. I always prefer to go on my own, avoiding bus tours whenever possible, but Quasimodo does a great job with World War I sites. The guide was outstanding; he was friendly with several WWI veterans at the time and extremely informative and interesting.
Born in southwest England in 1898, Patch was called up for military service in 1916 when he was working as a teenage apprentice plumber. After training he was sent to the trenches as a machine-gunner in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.
A few weeks later, in one of the bloodiest battles of the war at Passchendaele, near the Belgian town of Ypres, he was badly wounded and three of his best friends were killed by a shell explosion.
I have visited the battlefield site referenced above. If you are ever in the area of Bruges, be certain to look up Quasimodo Tours. I always prefer to go on my own, avoiding bus tours whenever possible, but Quasimodo does a great job with World War I sites. The guide was outstanding; he was friendly with several WWI veterans at the time and extremely informative and interesting.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Pigs At The Trough
Corruption is cultivated at a young age in New Jersey.Usually, it's guys like Sharpe James who are taken down by corruption charges after long years in public service bilking the taxpayers.
Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano learned early on what was neccessary to succeed in New Jersey politics. And, he's refusing to step down.
Of course, this is old hat for the Garden State. Fortunately for the rest of us, the Feds seem to be catching on.
Here's the next question: Why stop at New Jersey?
Sapristi!
The French may have to work on Sunday.
Heaven forbid...
Efforts by President Nicolas Sarkozy to liberalize store hours on Sundays progressed with a narrow victory in the Senate on Thursday. The law would allow Sunday retail openings in about 500 tourist areas and in some large cities like Paris, Lille and Marseille, if the mayor of each city agrees. The opposition Socialist Party said it would challenge the effort.
What next? Optional overtime?
Heaven forbid...
Efforts by President Nicolas Sarkozy to liberalize store hours on Sundays progressed with a narrow victory in the Senate on Thursday. The law would allow Sunday retail openings in about 500 tourist areas and in some large cities like Paris, Lille and Marseille, if the mayor of each city agrees. The opposition Socialist Party said it would challenge the effort.
What next? Optional overtime?
Mt. Washington Mascot Euthanized
Nin the cat is dead.
He lived a full life, from the streets of Vermont to the top of New England’s highest mountain to the colorful pages of a children’s picture book.
But old age and a liver tumor began taking their toll, and last week, Nin, the former mascot of New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Observatory, was laid to rest. He was believed to be 19 or 20 years old.
He lived a full life, from the streets of Vermont to the top of New England’s highest mountain to the colorful pages of a children’s picture book.
But old age and a liver tumor began taking their toll, and last week, Nin, the former mascot of New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Observatory, was laid to rest. He was believed to be 19 or 20 years old.
Tour de France
Scene from Stage 11 - Vatan to Saint-Fargeau
Lance is still looking to be on the podium in Paris. Tomorrow should be a great stage: a mountain top finish on Mont Ventoux then on to Paris.
Lance is still looking to be on the podium in Paris. Tomorrow should be a great stage: a mountain top finish on Mont Ventoux then on to Paris.
Mark Buehrle
It's amazing that such a hittable pitcher can throw a no-hitter and a perfect game. He hovers around 90 MPH at the most. There is something to be said for hitting your spots.
Ramon Castro, a Mets early season cast-off, called the game. It was his first time catching Buehrle.
Congratulations Mark Buehrle.
Watch every out on YouTube.
Ramon Castro, a Mets early season cast-off, called the game. It was his first time catching Buehrle.
Congratulations Mark Buehrle.
Watch every out on YouTube.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Colonel Bogey March
The Bridge On The River Kwai is on TCM tonight. You can watch the complete film on YouTube.
Part 1
William Holden is great as the slacker POW and Alec Guinness plays the regimented collaborator Brit to perfection.
The mostly fiction film won seven Oscars in 1957.
Part 1
William Holden is great as the slacker POW and Alec Guinness plays the regimented collaborator Brit to perfection.
The mostly fiction film won seven Oscars in 1957.
Nice Work If You Can Get It...
Attention New Yorkers, here are more of your tax dollars at work:
We not only have an incompetent, constitutionally ignorant Governor, a dictatorial Speaker of the Assembly and a cabal of nincompoops in the Senate, we also have an entitled workforce.
Anyone packing their bags yet?
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Another Stench from Albany
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is causing a literal stink by promoting eco-friendly waterless urinals.
DEC has been getting complaints by state workers that waterless urinals at their building have created a fetid mess complete with "splash back," "puddles (of urine) on the floor," and "unpleasant odor."
Apparently, the use of waterless urinals are needed when qualifying a building as LEED, a designation by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Typical to most government entities, the NYSDEC is cumbersome and inefficient. This could be an issue for years.
DEC has been getting complaints by state workers that waterless urinals at their building have created a fetid mess complete with "splash back," "puddles (of urine) on the floor," and "unpleasant odor."
Apparently, the use of waterless urinals are needed when qualifying a building as LEED, a designation by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Typical to most government entities, the NYSDEC is cumbersome and inefficient. This could be an issue for years.
Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong attacking today in the Tour de France reminded me of this stage win in 2004.
Absolutely amazing...
Absolutely amazing...
la Mediocre Latina
Richard Cohen writes on Sonia Sotomayor.
This is the sad state of both liberalism and American politics. First-class legal brains are not even nominated lest some senator break into hives at the prospect of encountering a genuinely new idea. The ceiling is further lowered by the need to season the court with diversity, a wonderful idea as long as brilliance is not compromised. The result has been the rout of sexism: The women are as mediocre as the men.
From all we know, Sotomayor is no Scalia. She is no Thurgood Marshall, either, or even a John Roberts, who is leading the court in his own direction. She will be confirmed. But if she is not, liberalism will not have lost much of a champion or a thinker. A million lawyers in America and something Jimmy Carter used to say comes to mind: Why not the best?
The diversity discussion shouldn't end with skin color. How about diversity of ideas and opinion?
The Sotomayor hearings were telling. Was anyone awed by this woman's intellect or legal acumen?
This is the sad state of both liberalism and American politics. First-class legal brains are not even nominated lest some senator break into hives at the prospect of encountering a genuinely new idea. The ceiling is further lowered by the need to season the court with diversity, a wonderful idea as long as brilliance is not compromised. The result has been the rout of sexism: The women are as mediocre as the men.
From all we know, Sotomayor is no Scalia. She is no Thurgood Marshall, either, or even a John Roberts, who is leading the court in his own direction. She will be confirmed. But if she is not, liberalism will not have lost much of a champion or a thinker. A million lawyers in America and something Jimmy Carter used to say comes to mind: Why not the best?
The diversity discussion shouldn't end with skin color. How about diversity of ideas and opinion?
The Sotomayor hearings were telling. Was anyone awed by this woman's intellect or legal acumen?
Barbara Boxer Starring on YouTube
I finally got around to see this. It is absolutely hysterical. Typical elitist attitude.
Why is the statement by the NAACP relevant?
Takeaway line-
"We are referring to the experts regardless of their color."
Disclaimer: I met Senator Boxer when I was an intern on Capitol Hill in the 1990's. As Joan Crawford says in The Women, "There is a name for you... but it isn't used in high society... outside of a kennel."
Truly... what she lacks in humility, she makes up for in condescension and arrogance.
Remember this?
Why is the statement by the NAACP relevant?
Takeaway line-
"We are referring to the experts regardless of their color."
Disclaimer: I met Senator Boxer when I was an intern on Capitol Hill in the 1990's. As Joan Crawford says in The Women, "There is a name for you... but it isn't used in high society... outside of a kennel."
Truly... what she lacks in humility, she makes up for in condescension and arrogance.
Remember this?
Next Up, India
Abe Greenwald via Powerline:
If the Obama administration bossed around our enemies with half the energy it puts into bossing around our friends, perhaps the planet wouldn’t look like a rogue nations’ free-for-all right now.
This time it is long term ally India.
If the Obama administration bossed around our enemies with half the energy it puts into bossing around our friends, perhaps the planet wouldn’t look like a rogue nations’ free-for-all right now.
This time it is long term ally India.
Reject Government Health Care
A Corning , NY psychologist makes a case for rejecting Obamacare.
The most recent attempt at "reform" was Medicare. They said seniors couldn't afford health care, so we needed a government program. At the time, most seniors had private insurance. Now they say this program is $38 trillion in debt.
Pretty much whatever the government seems to get involved in, turns into an inefficient, bloated mess. They tried Medicare, Medicaid and the Veterans Administration Health Care. Look at the results.
What people seem not to understand is that covering an additional 50 million people will lead to rationing. Where will the new doctors come from? And, furthermore, who wants the government in on your health decisions and choices? We will have a government increasingly involved in our lives, telling us what can be treated, how it can be treated and when it can be treated.
Dr. Morrongiello concludes:
If this "reform" passes, bureaucrats will stand between you and your doctor. In fact, the components of rationing and government control of health care are already in law, thanks to Obama's "stimulus" bill. Hidden in the stimulus package was the mandatory computerization of our medical records, to be turned over to the government. The stimulus also created a government health-care rationing board.
A solution: Change the tax code to allow individuals and families to deduct the cost of insurance. Allow the purchase of insurance across state lines. Expand Health Savings Accounts. This will lead to savings and increased competition between the 1,300 insurance companies already vying for our business.
Government health care is the road to rationing and denial of care. Reject it. Instead, embrace expanding markets and, most importantly, patient choice.
The most recent attempt at "reform" was Medicare. They said seniors couldn't afford health care, so we needed a government program. At the time, most seniors had private insurance. Now they say this program is $38 trillion in debt.
Pretty much whatever the government seems to get involved in, turns into an inefficient, bloated mess. They tried Medicare, Medicaid and the Veterans Administration Health Care. Look at the results.
What people seem not to understand is that covering an additional 50 million people will lead to rationing. Where will the new doctors come from? And, furthermore, who wants the government in on your health decisions and choices? We will have a government increasingly involved in our lives, telling us what can be treated, how it can be treated and when it can be treated.
Dr. Morrongiello concludes:
If this "reform" passes, bureaucrats will stand between you and your doctor. In fact, the components of rationing and government control of health care are already in law, thanks to Obama's "stimulus" bill. Hidden in the stimulus package was the mandatory computerization of our medical records, to be turned over to the government. The stimulus also created a government health-care rationing board.
A solution: Change the tax code to allow individuals and families to deduct the cost of insurance. Allow the purchase of insurance across state lines. Expand Health Savings Accounts. This will lead to savings and increased competition between the 1,300 insurance companies already vying for our business.
Government health care is the road to rationing and denial of care. Reject it. Instead, embrace expanding markets and, most importantly, patient choice.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Long Live Lady Day
The incomparable Mark Steyn writes about the more so incomparable Billie Holiday and her collaboration with songster Arthur Herzog Jr. on the song, "Don't Explain."
In 1941, she [Billie Holiday] married Jimmy Monroe, the brother of an old employer of hers, and they settled down, if you can call it that, in Los Angeles. One night, he came home, and she noticed he had lipstick on his collar.
"I saw the lipstick," she said. "He saw I saw it and he started explaining and explaining. I could stand anything but that. Lying to me was worse than anything he could have done with any bitch."
She cut him off in mid-flow. "Take a bath, man," she told him. "Don't explain." So Jimmy took her advice. But the words "Don't explain" somehow lodged in her head and declined to leave. "I had to get it out of my system some way," she recalled later. "The more I thought about it, it changed from an ugly scene to a sad song. Soon I was singing phrases to myself":
Hush now, Don't Explain
Just say you'll remain
I'm glad you're bad
Don't Explain...
A couple of days later, she hooked up with Arthur Herzog Jr round a piano and sang what she had. He played back the tune, made a few changes here and there, "softening it up just a little", as Holiday saw it. But not that much:
My love, Don't Explain
What is there to gain?
Skip that lipstick
Don't Explain...
I just finished Julia Blackburn's book, "With Billie: A New Look at the Unforgettable Lady Day." It is a compilation of interviews with Holiday's contemporaries; not a book to read if you're not familiar with Lady Day, but definitely one to pick up along the way.
Billie's Verve years have always been my favorite. Her voice is a bit stressed and cracks in some areas, but her phrasing and brutal emotion remains.
As Steyn writes:
Sometimes the voice is shot and the tone's unpleasant and the rasp is out of control, but I've never heard a Billie Holiday record where I disagreed with her phrasing. Even when everything else slides, her sense of where to breathe, what to inflect, how to tell the story, is absolutely superb.
Happy 40th Anniversary Buzz Aldrin
Here's what happens when a goofball conspiracy theorist talks smack to Buzz Aldrin-
Chuck Schumer Protecting your Second Amendment Rights
This will never happen.
Senator Schumer has a taxpayer funded detail traveling with and protecting him. As far as his constituents...you're on your own.
Senator Schumer has a taxpayer funded detail traveling with and protecting him. As far as his constituents...you're on your own.
50G PARTY CRASHED
$50,000 on a Sweet Sixteen party paid for by a cop and a transit worker? It brings a sort of clarity to New York City's public sector budget problems.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
No More Smoking on the Front Lines - Too Much Of A Health Risk
Our soldiers have made the decision to risk life and limb for their country and the cause of freedom. So what if they want to have a smoke every once and awhile? No problem, right?
Not so fast.
Not so fast.
States Rights and Human Rights, Where Did They Go?
Walter Williams on the oft-trampled upon ninth and tenth amendments:
Alexander Hamilton expressed his reservation in Federalist Paper No. 84, "(B)ills of rights ... are not only unnecessary in the proposed Constitution, but would even be dangerous." Hamilton asks, "For why declare that things shall not be done (by Congress) which there is no power to do?
Why, for instance, should it be said that the liberty of the press shall not be restrained, when no power is given (to Congress) by which restrictions may be imposed?" Hamilton's argument was that Congress can only do what the Constitution specifically gave it authority to do. Powers not granted belong to the people and the states. Another way of examining Hamilton's concern: Why have an amendment prohibiting Congress from infringing on our right to picnic on our back porch when the Constitution gives Congress no authority to infringe upon that right in the first place?
To mollify Hamilton and James Madison, the ninth and tenth amendments were added. Of course, these are the same amendments that Congress has ignored for decades.
...the Ninth Amendment was added that reads: "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." In essence, the Ninth Amendment says it's impossible to list all of our God-given or natural rights. Just because a right is not listed doesn't mean it can be infringed upon or disparaged by the U.S. Congress. The Tenth Amendment is a reinforcement of the Ninth saying, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." That means if a power is not delegated to Congress, it belongs to the states of the people.
In a very recent action, Congress is attempting to expand the Clean Water Act to give the Army Corps of Engineers even more control over wetlands presently under the jurisdiction of states and local governments. Local governments are not happy. Property owners also... The new expansion of powers could even have the Feds controlling the water in your commode.
Is this the type of government Hamilton and Madison envisioned? An all powerful centralized federal government continually expanding its power at the expense of local governments?
Read the Federalist Papers.
Alexander Hamilton expressed his reservation in Federalist Paper No. 84, "(B)ills of rights ... are not only unnecessary in the proposed Constitution, but would even be dangerous." Hamilton asks, "For why declare that things shall not be done (by Congress) which there is no power to do?
Why, for instance, should it be said that the liberty of the press shall not be restrained, when no power is given (to Congress) by which restrictions may be imposed?" Hamilton's argument was that Congress can only do what the Constitution specifically gave it authority to do. Powers not granted belong to the people and the states. Another way of examining Hamilton's concern: Why have an amendment prohibiting Congress from infringing on our right to picnic on our back porch when the Constitution gives Congress no authority to infringe upon that right in the first place?
To mollify Hamilton and James Madison, the ninth and tenth amendments were added. Of course, these are the same amendments that Congress has ignored for decades.
...the Ninth Amendment was added that reads: "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." In essence, the Ninth Amendment says it's impossible to list all of our God-given or natural rights. Just because a right is not listed doesn't mean it can be infringed upon or disparaged by the U.S. Congress. The Tenth Amendment is a reinforcement of the Ninth saying, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." That means if a power is not delegated to Congress, it belongs to the states of the people.
In a very recent action, Congress is attempting to expand the Clean Water Act to give the Army Corps of Engineers even more control over wetlands presently under the jurisdiction of states and local governments. Local governments are not happy. Property owners also... The new expansion of powers could even have the Feds controlling the water in your commode.
Is this the type of government Hamilton and Madison envisioned? An all powerful centralized federal government continually expanding its power at the expense of local governments?
Read the Federalist Papers.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Oklahoma Here We Come?
Looks like Californians are headed east to Oklahoma to escape high taxes, anti-business practices and unaffordable housing due to highbrow zoning laws.
Ask these Okies-in-reverse why they traded the Golden State for the Sooner State – named for settlers who came there sooner than the Homestead Act allowed – and you'll hear a lot of similar themes: easier to find a job; cheaper to buy or rent a home; better place to make a fresh start. Ask them why they stay in Oklahoma and they'll add to that list a deep optimism that it's a place where things are about to take off.
I hope the transplants understand why Oklahoma is the anti-California. There is no oppressive state government sucking the life out of productive people and small businesses in order to pay for deadbeats and welfare queens. Here's a clue, remember those liberal asshats you voted for in California? Their policies are what you are escaping. Don't make the same mistake in Oklahoma.
Ask these Okies-in-reverse why they traded the Golden State for the Sooner State – named for settlers who came there sooner than the Homestead Act allowed – and you'll hear a lot of similar themes: easier to find a job; cheaper to buy or rent a home; better place to make a fresh start. Ask them why they stay in Oklahoma and they'll add to that list a deep optimism that it's a place where things are about to take off.
I hope the transplants understand why Oklahoma is the anti-California. There is no oppressive state government sucking the life out of productive people and small businesses in order to pay for deadbeats and welfare queens. Here's a clue, remember those liberal asshats you voted for in California? Their policies are what you are escaping. Don't make the same mistake in Oklahoma.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Happy 234th birthday to the US Army
Two hundred and thirty-four years ago, the United States Army was established to defend our Nation. From the Revolutionary War to the Global War on Terror, our Soldiers remain Army Strong with a deep commitment to our core values and beliefs. This 234th birthday commemorates America’s Army – Soldiers, Families and Civilians – who are achieving a level of excellence that is truly Army Strong both here and abroad. Their willingness to sacrifice to build a better future for others and to preserve our way of life is without a doubt, the Strength of our Nation.
http://www.army.mil/-news/2009/06/12/22635-happy-birthday-army/index.html
http://www.army.mil/-news/2009/06/12/22635-happy-birthday-army/index.html
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Long Live the Queen
Happy Birthday Queen Elizabeth!
She's lived through the Blitz, the diminishing power of the British Empire and scorn for her crown. Regardless, she remains the preeminent symbol of royalty and an example of its protocols and stoic traditions.
Hopefully she'll remain in good health and live many more productive years so we won't need to put up with her insufferable, hypocritical son on a grander stage.
Remember this:
Prince Charles was accused of hypocrisy last night for using a private jet on an 'environmental' tour of South America.
The prince will travel to the region next month in a visit costing an estimated £300,000 as part of his crusade against global warming.
He will use a luxury airliner to transport himself, the Duchess of Cornwall and a 14-strong entourage to Chile, Brazil and Ecuador on a 16,400-mile round trip.
He was roundly criticised for flying first class to the U.S. with a 20-strong entourage to collect an environmental award in 2007.
According to The Carbon Managers company, the trip will leave a 322 ton carbon footprint. Prince Charles says he will offset the carbon emissions.
From Labour MP Ian Davidson, "It would be hard to make this up. To hear that the Prince of Wales is flying to South America to save the environment and taking 14 staff on his jet at hideous cost just for this trip is the height of the absurd. At a time when the greed of bankers is causing much adverse comment I would have thought that Prince Charles would have had more sense than to be so financially and ecologically wasteful."
Sorry, Right Honorable Davidson, the Prince doesn't have the sense of a barnyard chicken and is a A-1 goofball to boot. Who could forget the tampon scandal?
For many Britons, the epitome of Prince Charles' on-again, off-again romance with Parker Bowles was the transcript of a racy and sometimes gross telephone conversation they allegedly had years ago.
The transcript of the 1989 phone tryst appeared in Australian and British media in 1993, the year that Charles and Diana separated after more than 11 years of marriage.
In one part of the chat, which exudes sex, the woman identified as Parker Bowles says she needs her partner all the time, to which the male speaker replies: "Oh God, I'll just live inside your trousers or something. It would be much easier." The man also says he'd like to live in the woman's underwear "as a tampon."
The Prince's hypocrisy has routinely drawn the ire of his subjects. Here and here...
She's lived through the Blitz, the diminishing power of the British Empire and scorn for her crown. Regardless, she remains the preeminent symbol of royalty and an example of its protocols and stoic traditions.
Hopefully she'll remain in good health and live many more productive years so we won't need to put up with her insufferable, hypocritical son on a grander stage.
Remember this:
Prince Charles was accused of hypocrisy last night for using a private jet on an 'environmental' tour of South America.
The prince will travel to the region next month in a visit costing an estimated £300,000 as part of his crusade against global warming.
He will use a luxury airliner to transport himself, the Duchess of Cornwall and a 14-strong entourage to Chile, Brazil and Ecuador on a 16,400-mile round trip.
He was roundly criticised for flying first class to the U.S. with a 20-strong entourage to collect an environmental award in 2007.
According to The Carbon Managers company, the trip will leave a 322 ton carbon footprint. Prince Charles says he will offset the carbon emissions.
From Labour MP Ian Davidson, "It would be hard to make this up. To hear that the Prince of Wales is flying to South America to save the environment and taking 14 staff on his jet at hideous cost just for this trip is the height of the absurd. At a time when the greed of bankers is causing much adverse comment I would have thought that Prince Charles would have had more sense than to be so financially and ecologically wasteful."
Sorry, Right Honorable Davidson, the Prince doesn't have the sense of a barnyard chicken and is a A-1 goofball to boot. Who could forget the tampon scandal?
For many Britons, the epitome of Prince Charles' on-again, off-again romance with Parker Bowles was the transcript of a racy and sometimes gross telephone conversation they allegedly had years ago.
The transcript of the 1989 phone tryst appeared in Australian and British media in 1993, the year that Charles and Diana separated after more than 11 years of marriage.
In one part of the chat, which exudes sex, the woman identified as Parker Bowles says she needs her partner all the time, to which the male speaker replies: "Oh God, I'll just live inside your trousers or something. It would be much easier." The man also says he'd like to live in the woman's underwear "as a tampon."
The Prince's hypocrisy has routinely drawn the ire of his subjects. Here and here...
The Digital Switch
Nearly 800,000 calls were received by a federal hot line this week from people confused about the nationwide move on Friday to drop analog TV signals and broadcast only in digital.
Amazing...this has been in the news for years, and when it finally happens after huge amounts of press and a 5 month delay, people are still confused.
And, how is being poor, a minority, or under 35 an excuse? You'd have to be living under rock not to be aware of the switch, the converter box and the coupons available.
Amazing...this has been in the news for years, and when it finally happens after huge amounts of press and a 5 month delay, people are still confused.
And, how is being poor, a minority, or under 35 an excuse? You'd have to be living under rock not to be aware of the switch, the converter box and the coupons available.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Ways to Annoy a Flight Attendant
Here are my favorites:
2. Shove your bag into the first bin you see and then walk to your seat in the back of the plane
4. Drag on an oversize bag that's too heavy for you to lift by yourself
Check out the rest.
2. Shove your bag into the first bin you see and then walk to your seat in the back of the plane
4. Drag on an oversize bag that's too heavy for you to lift by yourself
Check out the rest.
Valley of the Dinosaurs
Here's another Saturday morning show we used to watch:
I love the voice-over.
I love the voice-over.
Land of the Lost
So, what if special effects weren't so great back in the 70's? No matter, I watched this every Saturday morning.
Will Ferrell is in the remake and Kathy Coleman has a cameo.
The Sci-Fi Channel is playing some old eppys today.
Friday, May 8, 2009
"Little Professor", R.I.P.
Red Sox great Dom DiMaggio died earlier today.
Concerning Dom and his brother Joe, the similarities ended off the baseball field. Dom was a happily married family man without the many eccentricities that plagued his older brother. Dom was also a 7 time All Star that many feel was the superior DiMaggio defender. I still believe that if Dom wasn't forced to play in his brother's shadow, he would be in the Hall of Fame. Yes, he was that good.
The David Halberstam book, "The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship" chronicles the friendship between Dom, Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr and Johnny Pesky during their playing days and into retirement. It culminates in a last road trip to see Ted in his failing health.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Are The Celtics Done?
Charles Barkley thinks that the Celtics are done.
Of course, Barkley predicted a Lakers win in last year's final.
Three reasons why the Lakers will beat the Celtics:
• No. 1: Kobe Bryant.
• No. 2: Phil Jackson.
• No. 3: A superior bench.
We know what happened with that series. The Lakers were outplayed, outhustled and outclassed in every facet of the game.
I had no illusions about them returning to the finals, but I do think that they will get by Orlando.
Of course, Barkley predicted a Lakers win in last year's final.
Three reasons why the Lakers will beat the Celtics:
• No. 1: Kobe Bryant.
• No. 2: Phil Jackson.
• No. 3: A superior bench.
We know what happened with that series. The Lakers were outplayed, outhustled and outclassed in every facet of the game.
I had no illusions about them returning to the finals, but I do think that they will get by Orlando.
D-Day In California?
More bad news from the Golden State.
If, since 1990, state spending increases had been held to the inflation rate plus population growth, the state would have a $15 billion surplus instead of a $42 billion budget deficit, which is larger than the budgets of all but 10 states. Since 1990, the number of state employees has increased by more than a third. In Schwarzenegger's less than six years as governor, per capita government spending, adjusted for inflation, has increased nearly 20 percent.
Liberal orthodoxy has made the state dependent on a volatile source of revenue — high income tax rates on the wealthy. In 2006, the top 1 percent of earners paid 48 percent of the income taxes. California's income and sales taxes are among the nation's highest, its business conditions among the worst. Unemployment, the nation's fourth highest, is 11.2 percent.
Required by law to balance the budget, the Legislature has "solved" the problem by, among other things, increasing the income, sales, gas and vehicle taxes.
Again, with California, as with other welfare states, it is the public sector strangling the private sector. California teachers are paid well above the national average and retire with lucrative pensions and benefits. And, like New York State, the public sector in California gets larger all while population is shrinking.
Imagine this, you own an operation where business is down, sales are off and profit margins are non-existent. Your solution might be to cut costs or shrink the payroll, but you certainly wouldn't be hiring more people or spending more money. Don't tell this to the asshat triumvirate in New York or California's legislative leaders. Their reaction to the situation is to return to the beleaguered taxpayers with their hands out.
Term limits, please?
If, since 1990, state spending increases had been held to the inflation rate plus population growth, the state would have a $15 billion surplus instead of a $42 billion budget deficit, which is larger than the budgets of all but 10 states. Since 1990, the number of state employees has increased by more than a third. In Schwarzenegger's less than six years as governor, per capita government spending, adjusted for inflation, has increased nearly 20 percent.
Liberal orthodoxy has made the state dependent on a volatile source of revenue — high income tax rates on the wealthy. In 2006, the top 1 percent of earners paid 48 percent of the income taxes. California's income and sales taxes are among the nation's highest, its business conditions among the worst. Unemployment, the nation's fourth highest, is 11.2 percent.
Required by law to balance the budget, the Legislature has "solved" the problem by, among other things, increasing the income, sales, gas and vehicle taxes.
Again, with California, as with other welfare states, it is the public sector strangling the private sector. California teachers are paid well above the national average and retire with lucrative pensions and benefits. And, like New York State, the public sector in California gets larger all while population is shrinking.
Imagine this, you own an operation where business is down, sales are off and profit margins are non-existent. Your solution might be to cut costs or shrink the payroll, but you certainly wouldn't be hiring more people or spending more money. Don't tell this to the asshat triumvirate in New York or California's legislative leaders. Their reaction to the situation is to return to the beleaguered taxpayers with their hands out.
Term limits, please?
Bombshell
Bombshell is on TCM this morning. It is one of Jean Harlow's best roles and thought to be based on Clara Bow's life.
What it really does is give us a glimpse at one of the great talents in film who died well before her time. The film has great dialogue and acting. Franchot Tone, Una Merkel, Louise Beavers, C. Aubrey Smith, Frank Morgan and Lee Tracy have supporting roles. No matter, it is really Harlow's film.
It's not on DVD yet. Why the delay?
What it really does is give us a glimpse at one of the great talents in film who died well before her time. The film has great dialogue and acting. Franchot Tone, Una Merkel, Louise Beavers, C. Aubrey Smith, Frank Morgan and Lee Tracy have supporting roles. No matter, it is really Harlow's film.
It's not on DVD yet. Why the delay?
The Filipino National Hero?
Manny Pacquiao made short work of Ricky Hatton last night in Las Vegas, knocking him out with a left cross. I thought Hatton would last longer, but Pacquiao is unstoppable now. There was no letdown after the beating he gave Oscar De La Hoya. Even when fighting in a weight class above, it seems that Pacquiao has no competition. When will we see Floyd Mayweather Jr. get his ass knocked around by Pac-Man?
Pacquiao has an interesting back story, namely, his youth as a Filipino street urchin.
Here's a few links:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/boxingandmma/4940399/Manny-Pacquiao-became-street-urchin-after-his-father-ate-his-dog.html
Pacquiao has an interesting back story, namely, his youth as a Filipino street urchin.
Here's a few links:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/boxingandmma/4940399/Manny-Pacquiao-became-street-urchin-after-his-father-ate-his-dog.html
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Backtracking Again, Mr. President?
The Obama administration is moving toward reviving the military commission system for prosecuting Guantánamo detainees, which was a target of critics during the Bush administration, including Mr. Obama himself.
Hold on, wait a minute. Wasn't this one of Barack Obama's criticisms against the Bush Administration? We also saw the President reverting to Bush's oft-criticized Iraq timetable.
Where's the outrage from all of Obama's supporters? I guess when Mr. Hope and Change is implementing George Bush's policies, we all need to shut up and keep nodding our heads up and down because he knows what's best.
Hold on, wait a minute. Wasn't this one of Barack Obama's criticisms against the Bush Administration? We also saw the President reverting to Bush's oft-criticized Iraq timetable.
Where's the outrage from all of Obama's supporters? I guess when Mr. Hope and Change is implementing George Bush's policies, we all need to shut up and keep nodding our heads up and down because he knows what's best.
"I don't kiss people I don't know"
More people should take this sort of advice from Joan Collins.
Lily Allen swallowed a large dose of humble pie when Joan Collins refused to kiss her.
The Dynasty legend rejected the singer's friendly advances when she greeted her with a peck on the cheek.
Joan Collins has always been hysterically and brutally honest. How refreshing...
Remember her commentary about the self-destruction of England a few years ago?
A particular incident demonstrated the lack of respect and manners that is but a small example of the horrible, encroaching decay of the country that I love dearly.
My husband Percy and I were at a ball at the Grosvenor House Hotel -- a black-tie event attended by the socalled 'elite' of the city.
As Percy held the door open to let me through, a 6ft tall, middle-aged, horse-faced male pushed past me, trod on the hem of my dress and rushed outside to climb into the taxi that the doorman had waiting for us.
This was a person who should, or at least looked like he should, have known better. The cause of his behaviour? The awful pervasive disregard that we have for civility today.
Bump accidentally into someone in the street these days and you are soundly cursed. Look at a poor derelict collapsed in a doorway for more than a second and they'll spit at you. Surely everyone has experienced the barely suppressed rage lurking behind the faces of a vast number of car drivers.
We've become the 'Whatcha lookin' at?' culture. Why do young people consider it cool to be arrogant, swaggering and rude? Why do so many people in England seem so cynical and self-centred?
I witnessed young, drunken yobs roaming the streets kicking cars, screaming insults, pushing people and even pushchairs out of their way, attacking each other viciously and then turning on the police when they tried to maintain order.
THE WHOLE scene evoked the image of hordes of inebriated Vikings sacking devastated towns. Even during the day, feral mobs roamed the cities with absolute disregard for anyone else's property or well-being. Traditional virtues of male chivalry and female propriety were very far from view.
After all, a lack of manners and politeness in a society can only be a reflection of what the society thinks of itself.
Lily Allen swallowed a large dose of humble pie when Joan Collins refused to kiss her.
The Dynasty legend rejected the singer's friendly advances when she greeted her with a peck on the cheek.
Joan Collins has always been hysterically and brutally honest. How refreshing...
Remember her commentary about the self-destruction of England a few years ago?
A particular incident demonstrated the lack of respect and manners that is but a small example of the horrible, encroaching decay of the country that I love dearly.
My husband Percy and I were at a ball at the Grosvenor House Hotel -- a black-tie event attended by the socalled 'elite' of the city.
As Percy held the door open to let me through, a 6ft tall, middle-aged, horse-faced male pushed past me, trod on the hem of my dress and rushed outside to climb into the taxi that the doorman had waiting for us.
This was a person who should, or at least looked like he should, have known better. The cause of his behaviour? The awful pervasive disregard that we have for civility today.
Bump accidentally into someone in the street these days and you are soundly cursed. Look at a poor derelict collapsed in a doorway for more than a second and they'll spit at you. Surely everyone has experienced the barely suppressed rage lurking behind the faces of a vast number of car drivers.
We've become the 'Whatcha lookin' at?' culture. Why do young people consider it cool to be arrogant, swaggering and rude? Why do so many people in England seem so cynical and self-centred?
I witnessed young, drunken yobs roaming the streets kicking cars, screaming insults, pushing people and even pushchairs out of their way, attacking each other viciously and then turning on the police when they tried to maintain order.
THE WHOLE scene evoked the image of hordes of inebriated Vikings sacking devastated towns. Even during the day, feral mobs roamed the cities with absolute disregard for anyone else's property or well-being. Traditional virtues of male chivalry and female propriety were very far from view.
After all, a lack of manners and politeness in a society can only be a reflection of what the society thinks of itself.
Are You On Deval Patrick's Gravy Train Yet?
Is there anyone else left among Deval Patrick's family and friends who has not received a plum state job? Patrick campaigned on a platform touting lower taxes, including property tax relief, reform and transparency. So far the whole lower property tax idea has been scrapped, he is talking about raising the gas tax to among the highest in the nation and implementing a whole battery of fee increases.
And, of course, there's this:
Gov. Deval Patrick, pushing new taxes and preaching reform - continues to practice old-style patronage politics, handing his campaign manager’s sister a plum six-figure gig and hiring her close pal to an $83,000-a-year post.
Patrick, whose job approval rating has plummeted in the wake of a string of hiring controversies, gave his former campaign manager - and current state Democratic Party chairman - John Walsh’s sister Patty Vantine a $105,000-a-year position at the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Vantine, a former bean counter for the state Democratic Party, had been making $85,000 working in the human resources division.
The Herald also has learned that Patrick hired Martina Jackson, a longtime campaign supporter and member of the Democratic State Committee, as the $65,000-a-year communications director for the Department of Elder Affairs.
...The governor has come under fire for hiring a Milton neighbor to a $120,000 state job, four administration officials to six-figure posts at quasi-public agencies, and two staffers to high-paying jobs at the cash-strapped Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.
Patrick also took a major political hit after tapping Sen. Marian Walsh for a $175,000 quasi-public-agency gig, which she later rejected.
The governor suffered yet another blow when it was revealed that the sister of his transportation czar, Jim Aloisi, had a $60,000-a-year do-nothing State House post.
Jim Aloisi, of course, was involved in the whole Big Dig fiasco and actually one of the corruptocrats singled out by a former state inspector for covering up over 1 billion dollars in overruns. He later worked as an outside council involved with the bonding of the project, amassing 3 million dollars in fees. Aloisi was eventually fired by the Turnpike Board for over billing $800,000 in fees. (Thanks to Blue Mass Group for the information- www.bluemassgroup.com)
Excellent, Deval, definitely keep this guy on the state gravy train.
And, of course, there's this:
Gov. Deval Patrick, pushing new taxes and preaching reform - continues to practice old-style patronage politics, handing his campaign manager’s sister a plum six-figure gig and hiring her close pal to an $83,000-a-year post.
Patrick, whose job approval rating has plummeted in the wake of a string of hiring controversies, gave his former campaign manager - and current state Democratic Party chairman - John Walsh’s sister Patty Vantine a $105,000-a-year position at the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Vantine, a former bean counter for the state Democratic Party, had been making $85,000 working in the human resources division.
The Herald also has learned that Patrick hired Martina Jackson, a longtime campaign supporter and member of the Democratic State Committee, as the $65,000-a-year communications director for the Department of Elder Affairs.
...The governor has come under fire for hiring a Milton neighbor to a $120,000 state job, four administration officials to six-figure posts at quasi-public agencies, and two staffers to high-paying jobs at the cash-strapped Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.
Patrick also took a major political hit after tapping Sen. Marian Walsh for a $175,000 quasi-public-agency gig, which she later rejected.
The governor suffered yet another blow when it was revealed that the sister of his transportation czar, Jim Aloisi, had a $60,000-a-year do-nothing State House post.
Jim Aloisi, of course, was involved in the whole Big Dig fiasco and actually one of the corruptocrats singled out by a former state inspector for covering up over 1 billion dollars in overruns. He later worked as an outside council involved with the bonding of the project, amassing 3 million dollars in fees. Aloisi was eventually fired by the Turnpike Board for over billing $800,000 in fees. (Thanks to Blue Mass Group for the information- www.bluemassgroup.com)
Excellent, Deval, definitely keep this guy on the state gravy train.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Prince Charles Pissing Around Again
Check out this excellent post on Planet Gore.
Goofy, worthless Prince Charles wants to lecture all of us peasants about the dangers of global warming all whilst cruising around the world in a private jet equipped with a master suite and private bathroom. The jet apparently will emit 53 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. How can anyone take this fool seriously?
The thought of being lectured about living more meekly by a taxpayer-subsidized prince who has never done a proper day’s work in his life — and who is currently flying around Europe on a private jet with a master suite and plush bathroom that will spew a whopping 53 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere over the course of his five-day, $116,000 charter — is of course eye-swivellingly irritating. But this is something we’re getting used to in Britain — because here, environmentalism looks very much like the Revenge of the Aristocrats. The British green lobby is stuffed with the sons and daughters of privilege, for whom environmentalism provides a perfect, scientifically tinged gloss for expressing in a new way their old foul prejudices against mass, modern society.
The group of snotty Brits and other aristocrats include people with names that you'd expect from the privileged class. Lord Porritt, the 11th Governor General of New Zealand, Sir Crispin Tickell, Lady Kulukundis, Fourth Baron Melchett and David de Rothschild are among the elite who would want us to live like primates in order to save the planet. Hey, someone has to counter balance all their private jet travel.
The whole posting is a must read, but here's another excerpt:
British aristocrats’ historic disdain for teeming cities — with their distasteful record of providing upward mobility to the lower orders — can now be respectably recast as a desire to protect the green countryside from polluting urban life. Their long-standing suspicion of working-class communities, who apparently have too many children and are too obsessed with material things, is rehabilitated in the language of “population reduction” to protect “Gaia.” And their preference for the quiet local life, as lived in well-off villages where they are lord of the manor, is given a new lease on life in the discussion of the dangers of “cheap tourism” and of flying foreign food — planted and grown by Africans: yuck! — into the UK.
Goofy, worthless Prince Charles wants to lecture all of us peasants about the dangers of global warming all whilst cruising around the world in a private jet equipped with a master suite and private bathroom. The jet apparently will emit 53 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. How can anyone take this fool seriously?
The thought of being lectured about living more meekly by a taxpayer-subsidized prince who has never done a proper day’s work in his life — and who is currently flying around Europe on a private jet with a master suite and plush bathroom that will spew a whopping 53 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere over the course of his five-day, $116,000 charter — is of course eye-swivellingly irritating. But this is something we’re getting used to in Britain — because here, environmentalism looks very much like the Revenge of the Aristocrats. The British green lobby is stuffed with the sons and daughters of privilege, for whom environmentalism provides a perfect, scientifically tinged gloss for expressing in a new way their old foul prejudices against mass, modern society.
The group of snotty Brits and other aristocrats include people with names that you'd expect from the privileged class. Lord Porritt, the 11th Governor General of New Zealand, Sir Crispin Tickell, Lady Kulukundis, Fourth Baron Melchett and David de Rothschild are among the elite who would want us to live like primates in order to save the planet. Hey, someone has to counter balance all their private jet travel.
The whole posting is a must read, but here's another excerpt:
British aristocrats’ historic disdain for teeming cities — with their distasteful record of providing upward mobility to the lower orders — can now be respectably recast as a desire to protect the green countryside from polluting urban life. Their long-standing suspicion of working-class communities, who apparently have too many children and are too obsessed with material things, is rehabilitated in the language of “population reduction” to protect “Gaia.” And their preference for the quiet local life, as lived in well-off villages where they are lord of the manor, is given a new lease on life in the discussion of the dangers of “cheap tourism” and of flying foreign food — planted and grown by Africans: yuck! — into the UK.
Empty-Headed Dave Strikes Again
More dysfunction from empty-headed Dave. Back in 2003, the then Senator Paterson fired his white photographer to hire a black photographer.
The state has secretly settled an embarrassing federal racial-discrimination lawsuit, The Post has learned. The suit accused Paterson, back when he was Senate minority leader in 2003, of firing a white Senate photographer in order to replace him with an African-American.
Reportedly, it wouldn't have looked good for our half-wit Governor if the case went to trial. The Senate was represented by the Attorney General and in this instance, normally out spoken Andrew Cuomo had no comment.
Just more of the same from our very own Dysfunctional Dave.
In the lawsuit, Maioriello [the photog] claimed he was told by John McPadden, then Paterson's chief of staff, that he was being fired because a number of minority senators wanted to replace him with "a minority photographer, a black photographer."
He said he was also told, "You got to remember who Sen. Paterson is. Sen. Paterson is black."
Governor Paterson later claimed in a deposition that, "he didn't see well enough to have fired Maioriello because of his race."
Ha Ha Dave, you're funny, a regular Henny Youngman.
UPDATE: Apparently Dysfunction Dave has been caught in a lie. Andrew Cuomo never told him to settle, and idiot Malcolm Smith is backing him up. That's 1.5 brain cells vs. .5 brain cell. Dave's on the losing side again.
The state has secretly settled an embarrassing federal racial-discrimination lawsuit, The Post has learned. The suit accused Paterson, back when he was Senate minority leader in 2003, of firing a white Senate photographer in order to replace him with an African-American.
Reportedly, it wouldn't have looked good for our half-wit Governor if the case went to trial. The Senate was represented by the Attorney General and in this instance, normally out spoken Andrew Cuomo had no comment.
Just more of the same from our very own Dysfunctional Dave.
In the lawsuit, Maioriello [the photog] claimed he was told by John McPadden, then Paterson's chief of staff, that he was being fired because a number of minority senators wanted to replace him with "a minority photographer, a black photographer."
He said he was also told, "You got to remember who Sen. Paterson is. Sen. Paterson is black."
Governor Paterson later claimed in a deposition that, "he didn't see well enough to have fired Maioriello because of his race."
Ha Ha Dave, you're funny, a regular Henny Youngman.
UPDATE: Apparently Dysfunction Dave has been caught in a lie. Andrew Cuomo never told him to settle, and idiot Malcolm Smith is backing him up. That's 1.5 brain cells vs. .5 brain cell. Dave's on the losing side again.
The Food Police Strike Again
Why are we all punished because others don't know the meaning of the word moderation?
Bakers in Albany County have started their cry against the trans fat ban, which will take effect in just two months.
They fear their desserts and baked goods will lose favor, consistency and attractiveness without the use of shortening that contain artificial ingredient that has been linked to cardiovascular disease.
The baking industry is not anxious to join restaurants and other Albany County food service establishments which, under the county regulation, converted Jan. 1 to cooking only in oils free of trans fat.
The resolution [Christine] Benedict [Republican minority leader of the County Legislature] is co-sponsoring with Republicans Lee Carman of Guilderland and Patty Lockart of Colonie states: "It is not the government's role to micromanage the lives of people by controlling types of ingredients in their cupcakes."
Rachel Cocca Dott, who is in her second year of operating Coccadotts Cake Shop on Central Avenue in Colonie, sought Benedict's help.
"I'm known for my butter cream," Dott said. Trans-fat free shortening is more difficult to come by and more expensive, she said. By experimenting with the new product, she found that her butter cream frosting on cakes and cupcakes was "breaking down" and getting "watery."
I love butter cream. Why would I buy baked goods in Albany County with inferior ingredients, when I can buy superior products in neighboring counties or supermarkets not policed by the food Nazis?
Being overweight and having high cholesterol are causes of cardiovascular disease. Excess trans fat can exacerbate both conditions. That's the connection. So, those of us who enjoy butter cream occasionally whilst successfully managing our food intake can look forward to more of these food banning policies. Again, the government is the nanny state, taking care of us from cradle to grave. No thanks...
Of course, this goes without saying that every bakery affected by this nonsense will suffer financially.
I wish people like Majority Leader Frank Commisso would mind their own business and stay out of people's lives and food choices. It is increasingly apparent why the average folks continue to be disgusted with government.
Solidly behind the ban was Majority Leader Frank Commisso, who has been in the food business most of his life, and five years ago went on a health kick, dropping 90 pounds, from 253 to 160, all by sticking to a healthy diet.
I'm happy you're not fat anymore Legislator Commisso, but for the rest of us who practice moderation when we eat and, consequently, have never put ourselves in a position to need to "drop 90 pounds", leave our food choices alone.
Bakers in Albany County have started their cry against the trans fat ban, which will take effect in just two months.
They fear their desserts and baked goods will lose favor, consistency and attractiveness without the use of shortening that contain artificial ingredient that has been linked to cardiovascular disease.
The baking industry is not anxious to join restaurants and other Albany County food service establishments which, under the county regulation, converted Jan. 1 to cooking only in oils free of trans fat.
The resolution [Christine] Benedict [Republican minority leader of the County Legislature] is co-sponsoring with Republicans Lee Carman of Guilderland and Patty Lockart of Colonie states: "It is not the government's role to micromanage the lives of people by controlling types of ingredients in their cupcakes."
Rachel Cocca Dott, who is in her second year of operating Coccadotts Cake Shop on Central Avenue in Colonie, sought Benedict's help.
"I'm known for my butter cream," Dott said. Trans-fat free shortening is more difficult to come by and more expensive, she said. By experimenting with the new product, she found that her butter cream frosting on cakes and cupcakes was "breaking down" and getting "watery."
I love butter cream. Why would I buy baked goods in Albany County with inferior ingredients, when I can buy superior products in neighboring counties or supermarkets not policed by the food Nazis?
Being overweight and having high cholesterol are causes of cardiovascular disease. Excess trans fat can exacerbate both conditions. That's the connection. So, those of us who enjoy butter cream occasionally whilst successfully managing our food intake can look forward to more of these food banning policies. Again, the government is the nanny state, taking care of us from cradle to grave. No thanks...
Of course, this goes without saying that every bakery affected by this nonsense will suffer financially.
I wish people like Majority Leader Frank Commisso would mind their own business and stay out of people's lives and food choices. It is increasingly apparent why the average folks continue to be disgusted with government.
Solidly behind the ban was Majority Leader Frank Commisso, who has been in the food business most of his life, and five years ago went on a health kick, dropping 90 pounds, from 253 to 160, all by sticking to a healthy diet.
I'm happy you're not fat anymore Legislator Commisso, but for the rest of us who practice moderation when we eat and, consequently, have never put ourselves in a position to need to "drop 90 pounds", leave our food choices alone.
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