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.

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

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...

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.

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.

Valley of the Dinosaurs

Here's another Saturday morning show we used to watch:



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.

"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.

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.

Jack Kemp, R.I.P.

A post about a great man.

Rest in peace Jack Kemp.

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?

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?

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

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/boxingandmma/5243745/Boxer-Manny-Pacquiao-looks-beyond-the-ring-to-politics-after-Ricky-Hatton-fight.html

http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/king-of-the-ring-but-is-manny-ready-for-the-low-blows-of-politics/2009/05/01/1240982406808.html

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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 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.

Surprise, Surprise...

Martha Stark was one of Eliot Spitzer's choices to replace Alan Hevesi as NYS Comptroller.

Wow, someone with terrible judgement overlooking another person's questionable behavior? And, all of this in New York State. I'm shocked!

A couple of months ago, Stark was in the Post for another reason.

Why Didn't He Think Of This A Few Weeks Ago?

Our empty-headed Governor is at it again.

Clueless Dave is touting fiscal discipline now after supporting a budget with an almost 9% spending increase. I can only imagine that he wants New York State families and private industry to tighten their belts because he couldn't mean his own bloated state government.

Here's a laugher:

“I’m not going to sign any legislation that I think has an undue impact on counties, local governments or taxpayers,” the Democratic governor said.

Let me count the ways...

Business groups complained of the tax hits on energy utilities, health insurance companies, farmers, the food and beverage industry and numerous other sectors that, in the end, will pass along the levies to consumers.

But, mainly, critics said the budget’s additional revenues — as high as $8 billion by GOP estimates— come at an especially bad time, given the economy. With the new taxes and the lack of economic development initiatives, the budget, in the words of one of the business lobbyists, shows a “disdain for the private sector.”

Health insurance taxes have soared $800 million in two years, officials said at a gathering near the Capitol that attracted representatives from small and big companies alike, while the new bottle deposit law will cost the beverage industry $230 million. Higher taxes on energy companies will cost consumers nearly $600 million this year.

How about the bottle bill which is expected to add significant costs to consumers.

Where are the signs for Empty Suit Express and Clueless Circle?

The Real Filene's Basement

The only true Filene's Basement store closed a couple years ago and, with that, the brand lost much of its mystique. The chain stores could not hold a candle to the flagship store. And now they are declaring bankruptcy.

Jahan Habib, 27, of Boston, said he's been shopping at Filene's Basement for about five years, but misses the Downtown Crossing store because he found better deals there. Yesterday, he dropped by the store's Boylston Street location, looking for a suit. "It's kind of tough in this economy for most people so it's great having discounts," Habib said. "But in the end, the price has to be significantly lower."

Read some of the reader's comments to get a feel for the real Filene's Basement.

Here's some background on the Downtown Crossing area in Boston.

Stand By Your Man

Megan McAllister's behavior gives new weight to Tammy Wynette's lyrics. Although, I don't think Tammy would have put up with this.

NBC News reported that Markoff answered the craigslist ad of a man seeking a transsexual hookup. In the January online encounter, Markoff, 22, touted his physique, e-mailed explicit photos of himself and asked, "What are you doing tonight?"

The authorities apparently have a good amount of evidence linking Philip Markoff to the crimes for which he has been accused, including, fingerprints, clothes from the victims found at his home, a gun, a computer trail, etc.

At least the wedding has been called off.

It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's A Photo-Op...?

I wonder if we can somehow blame this on George Bush.



But, really, the "photo op" had to be ridiculously scary to see from below. I was one of those World Trade Center evacuees watching the United Airline's plane crash into the south tower from the base of the building. It's a sight I'll never forget and I can completely understand the panic on the street.

Total incompetence all the way around on this one. Who will be the sacrificial lamb on this one, if any?

Maybe Louis Caldera, director of the White House Military Office?

"Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision. While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, it's clear that the mission created confusion and disruption. I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused."

The mayor says he wasn't told. The NYPD was informed about the exercise but told it was classified and not for public consumption.

Most Teachers are Selfish, Surprised?*

If you are a public school teacher, you basically have to kill another person to be terminated.

John Stossel, in his latest book, provided a flowchart illustrating the process of firing an incompetent teacher.

Stossel has an example:

Once, [Joel] Klein [(Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education)] reports, the school system discovered that a teacher was sending sexual e-mails to a 16-year-old student. "This was the most unbelievable case to me," he says, "because the e-mail was there, he admitted to it. It was so thoroughly offensive." Even with the teacher's confession, it took six years of expensive litigation before the school could fire him. He didn't teach during those six years, but he still got paid—more than $350,000 total.

Is it any wonder that our children are clueless when they graduate from high school?

Take a look at this stat-

But by age fifteen, when students from forty countries are tested, the Americans place twenty-fifth. The longer kids stay in American schools, the worse they do in international competition. They do worse than kids from countries that spend much less money on education.

It's not the money we spend per student. It's all about the monopoly that the teacher's union has in education. Obviously, school choice would force the schools to be more competitive. The teacher's unions care nothing about the kids that they teach, only the pensions and the benefits that they believe their members should receive.

The New York Post has an editorial today about the situation.

*Not all teachers are selfish, just the leadership that represents them. I understand that it's the union's job to look out for their members, but it is all at the expense of our future generation. Unforgivable...

And, of course, I need to give props to my good friend Judy, a principal at a local inner city school. Her long hours often preclude her from meeting me out for an occasional drink.

Germans In The Buff

I've done some hiking in Switzerland. I never thought of this as an issue.

Concerning holidays, it does seem that the big spending Germans are taking over much of Europe. The entire Spanish Riveria is littered with them. And, obviously, no one hiking around and about the pristine Swiss Alps wants to be startled by a naked troup of travelers.

Let's save that stuff for the English Garden. Alles klar?

The Gurkhas Don't Like Gordon Brown Either

...and Ab Fab actress is pissed off.

Read up on Gurkha history.

Prince Harry served with the Gurkhas in Afghanistan.

Is Al Gore the Cause of Global Warming?

Is fatso Al Gore listening?

Each fat person is said to be responsible for emitting a tonne more of climate-warming carbon dioxide per year than a thin one.

"Where did sex occur in their house?"

Does anyone consider Larry King a serious reporter anymore? If so, his sex questions to Levi Johnston have to make you wonder.

Here's an excerpt:

KING: Where — was — did sex occur in their house?

LEVI JOHNSTON, EX-FIANCE OF BRISTOL PALIN, FATHER OF BRISTOL’S SON, TRIPP: You know, Larry, that I’m a gentleman, you know. And I don’t, you know, kiss and tell. So, you know, I don’t think that really — that really matters. I mean…

KING: And how about the part, though, that — well, first you said you practiced safe sex most of the time, right?

L. JOHNSTON: Right.

KING: Most of the time.

76 year old wrinkly, dissipated man talking about sex = Ewww

The Entrepreneurial Spirit Lives

We traded friendship pins...remember?

State Sponsored Ice Cream?

Why are we paying these people again?

Even in Rhode Island there has to be more important business, right?

Earth Day Philadelphia Style

Happy Belated Earth Day.

Today is Earth Day, a holiday created to honor the planet and to raise the consciousness of man’s effect on the environment. Philadelphia has a very strong tie to this day. One of its native sons, Ira Einhorn, was a co-founder of the environmentalist jubilee.

But Mr. Einhorn has another line on his resume. In addition to being a environmental guru, he is the Unicorn Killer.

Einhorn was the Master of Ceremonies at the first globally televised Earth Day in 1970. A few years later he killed his girlfriend Holly Maddux when she told him she was leaving him. When the authorities found her body in a trunk behind his apartment wall, he blamed her death on the CIA.

Kooky wannabee girlfriend Barbara Bronfman paid his bail giving him the opportunity to flee to Europe and spend the next 16 years evading justice. (At his bail hearing, a bunch of his delusional friends testified that he would never have killed Holly because he loved Mother Earth.) As the story goes, Bronfman found out that Einhorn was "cheating" on her with another woman in France and turned him in to authorities.

Eventually Einhorn was extradited after Pennsylvania vacated his previous conviction in absentia. Back in the States, Einhorn was found guilty after the jury deliberated for two hours. Presently he's at Houtzdale prison.

And, guess the name of the defense attorney who secured the low bail amount. It was slimy Arlen Spector, one of the 3 Republican goofballs who voted for the taxpayer funded generational bailout.

Another article about Einhorn...

What a Laugh

Russell Simmons is absolutely delusional. What tough choices has Governor Paterson made? Which food product to tax? How to define millionaire? Which private sector industry to suffer through the latest state cash grab?

He is an embarrassment. Let's just try to get through the next couple of years without driving every productive person from the state.

Can We Get a Decent Public Servant in NYS?

Seriously folks, this is like a choice between a douche and a turd sandwich. Can't we do better? Oh, right, it's New York State. Forget it...

Compared to Spitzer and Paterson, Pataki seems almost Churchillian.

Hey Al, Ya Ever Kick a Bag of Bolts?

John Madden retires.

I know I'm in the minority, but, for me, Madden was the most overrated color commentator in the game.

For anyone who had a passing knowledge of the game, Madden was simply an irritant that had to be tolerated. His obvious "insights", goofy mannerisms and verbiage, and endless rambling on about nonsense won't be missed.

Beyond Ridiculous

The French think that we are weak. The shine is wearing off. We know what we have now: an empty suit with a teleprompter. No respect... Seriously though, these are the people that invest every nickel and dime in their crappy welfare system at the expense of their military. And what they do spend on their defense is mostly on incompetent designs and planning. It is absolutely ridiculous, but to be expected from the French.

And, say what you want about George W. Bush, but, I'd rather be respected than liked. No one ever said that George Bush was weak.

Embarrassment...

When will the Spaniards start goofing on us? What's next? The Belgians calling us out?

Christina Hoff Sommers On Point Again

It almost seems like this is something that The Onion would put out. Apparently President Obama wants to apply Title IX to science and engineering. Yes, that's exactly what we need: political correctness in science.

Here's an example of what Title IX has accomplished:

Consider the situation at Washington's Howard University. In 2007, the Women's Sports Foundation, a powerful Title IX advocacy group, gave Howard an "F" grade because of its 24-percentage-point "proportionality gap": Howard's student body was 67 percent female, but women constituted only 43 percent of its athletic program. In 2002, Howard cut men's wrestling and baseball and added women's bowling, but that did little to narrow the gap. Unless it sends almost half of its remaining male athletes to the locker room, Howard will remain blacklisted and legally vulnerable. Former Howard wrestling coach Wade Hughes sums up the problem this way: "The impact of Title IX's proportionality standard has been disastrous because . . . far more males than females are seeking to take part in athletics."

Here's a newsflash, more men like to play sports than women. So, who cares? Why are we taking sports opportunities away from men? If you want to start a sports team in college, you first start as a club, and then, after several years of interest, you can apply to be a recognized collegiate team. Let the teams evolve based on participation. There have been multitudes of examples of popular men's teams being dismantled in the name of Title IX. Now we have to watch this happen with science and engineering?

Read it.

Don't Mess With Texas

Looks like someone's been reading the Constitution.

Gov. Rick Perry today joined state Rep. Brandon Creighton and sponsors of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 50 in support of states’ rights under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state,” Gov. Perry said. “That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states’ rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union.”

I would be even more excited to support this if I didn't live in the Peoples Republic of New York. What's worse, the overreaching federal government asshats or the bumbling greedmongers that are destroying New York State? Your guess is as good as mine.

Phil Spector Guilty

Phil Spector is guilty of 2nd degree murder.

Did this testimony put a nail in his coffin?

Spector was also done in by his chauffeur, Adriano DeSouza, who vividly recalled Spector standing in the mansion doorway, gun in hand, announcing: "I think I killed somebody."

Seriously, this guy is nuts, but an incredible talent. Evil genius?

No matter, he should spend the rest of his life in jail.

Nice Day For a Swim?

"The woman has proved herself to be careless by jumping into the enclosure," a police spokesperson said, according to Sky News. "Logic tells us that polar bears will do this type of thing in this situation."

Careless? How about demented?

Here she is swimming toward the polar bear.



Here's a video-



This happened last year as well.

The guy who jumped in the enclosure said he was lonely.

Environmental agency offices pollute Washington creek

You can't make this stuff up.

Thrill Seekers or Insane Drunks?

Another case of swimming while drunk leading to complications. Usually it's a banal practice unless, of course, you are swimming in the Northern Territory coastal region. The amazing part of the story is that this guy was a local; in March there was another fatal attack in the Darwin area. Shouldn't he have known better?

This sort of behavior is expected from the New South Wales nutters.

About those crazies from the south:

Southern tourists drank beer and swam in the Daly River several hundred metres upstream from where a four-metre crocodile is believed to have taken 20-year-old Keith Parry hours earlier.

The five tourists from New South Wales were on a working holiday to Daly River - camping and working in the local pub.

The group was aware of the suspected attack but still stripped off and entered the croc infested waters holding cans of beers.

"We heard about the attack that happened last night. It's very sad," one of the tourists said.

The tourists said they had seen numerous crocs swimming in the river during their three-week stay in town, but they still felt it was safe to swim during the day.

"They really come out at night. If you come down at night with your headlights, you can see their eyes light up," one tourist said.

The tourists refused to leave the water, even after they were warned off by police and croc expert Tommy Nichols.

Daly River locals said the waters were infested with crocs of different sizes and most refused to go near the water.

These people are insane. And, for the record, saltwater crocodile attacks in Australia are not solely nighttime occurrences.



There will be more calls for a crocodile cull soon.

Here we go.

Bragging Rights: My Taxes Are More Than Yours

New York is the tax capital of the country.

Not that anyone is surprised, but our acting Governor Sheldon Silver has been wanting to soak private sector wage earners for years. He calls it the "millionaires' tax", except that it hits those who make $300,000 per annum. Further, it is called a "temporary tax" because it is supposed to expire after three years. Are we suckers or what? Remember, we elected these hacks.

In the past, only George Pataki and Joe Bruno prevented Shelly from the cash grab. Now Shelly has free reign because the other 2 "men in the room", accidental Governor David Paterson and invisible Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, are ineffectual doofuses.

Silver has the backing of the Working Families Party, a group comprised of community organizers and labor unions which advocates the redistribution of wealth and a bunch of other principles that tend to favor a big centralized government operating at the expense of the private sector. These people really know how to kill economic growth. Two of the state senators that tipped the control of the NYS Senate to Democrats, Craig Johnson in Long Island and Darrel Aubertine in the North Country, were bankrolled by the WFP. With no opposing bulwark in place, Shelly runs roughshod over Smith and Paterson. It's Shelly's world, we're just living in it.

...it isn't just high earners who get smacked. The new budget raises another $2 billion or so on top of the $4 billion in income taxes with some 100 new taxes, fees, fines, surcharges and penalties to be paid by all New York residents. There are new charges for cell phone usage, fishing permits, health insurance (the "sick tax"), electric bills, and on bottled water, cigars, beer and wine. A New York Post analysis found that a typical family of four with an income below $100,000 would pay more than $800 a year in higher taxes and fees.

This is advertised as a plan of "shared sacrifice," but the group that is most responsible for New York's budget woes, the all-powerful public employee unions, somehow walk out of this with a 3% pay increase. The state is receiving an estimated $10 billion in federal stimulus money, and Democrats are spending every cent while raising the state budget by 9%. Then they insist with a straight face that taxes are the only way to close the budget deficit.

Here's the article.

I love the part where Shelly holds New Jersey up as a model. New Jersey!?!?!?!?

The Revamped Robe

Just in time for Easter, Jean Simmons and Richard Burton are restored in the DVD version of The Robe.

The restoration of the film was not easy.

"The original camera negative was badly faded and damaged, and beyond that, it was largely incomplete," Shawn Belston, the studio's [Fox Home Entertainment] vice-president in charge of preservation, said in a phone interview.

Fortunately, the film was restored with minimal inconsistencies. It is amazing that many of these classic films can be restored. Some of them are beyond repair because of years of neglect.

A few films still waiting for a DVD release:

The Blue Dahlia (1946)
Kitty (1945)
Jane Eyre (1944)
The Farmer's Daughter (1947)
Female on the Beach (1955)
Midnight Lace (1960)
Rachel and the Stranger (1948)
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
When Ladies Meet (1941)
The Light in the Piazza (1962)
Idiot's Delight (1939)
North West Mounted Police (1940)

There are many more, including a bunch of Joan Crawford films. Could Christina be behind the snub?

French Wines Sales Dropping

Italy and Spain are exporting more wine than France.

Excuses, excuses...

"France has suffered from a series of unlucky harvests," OIV Director General Federico Castellucci said. "Last year, was the worst harvest since 1991."

As an aside, everyone has been drinking more wine except the cheap Brits.

The Steal of the Century?

Dave Roberts retires and has a radio gig.

I was at this game. Everyone at Fenway Park knew he was running. Amazing...

One of the greatest post-season moments ever. The atmosphere at Fenway was incredible. And, don't forget Kevin Millar who drew the walk, and Bill Mueller who hit the single.

Trouble On The South Fork?

Movin' Out?

Can you imagine waking up next to this hack every morning? Sure, he's a multimillionaire, but could you endure him singing those cheesy songs all the time? He probably has all the alarm clocks in the house programmed with The Entertainer.

Ron Rosenbaum, from January in Slate Magazine, penned a great column about the "awfulness of Billy Joel."

Rosenbaum's main gripe, outside of Joel's incredibly goofy lyrics, is the "unearned contempt" manifested in his songs.

For example:

First let's take "Piano Man." You can hear Joel's contempt, both for the losers at the bar he's left behind in his stellar schlock stardom and for the "entertainer-loser" (the proto-B.J.) who plays for them. Even the self-contempt he imputes to the "piano man" rings false.

"The Entertainer": Entertainers are phonies! Except exquisitely self-aware entertainers like B.J., who let you in on this secret.

"She's Always a Woman": First, has there ever been a more blatant—or blatantly inept—case of attempted artistic theft than "She's Always a Woman"? It's such a lame imitation of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman." (B.J.'s woman "hides like a child" where Dylan's "breaks just like a little girl.") B.J.'s woman also: is prone to "casual lies," "steals like a thief," "takes care of herself," and "carelessly cuts you and laughs ..." Poor B.J., recycling every misogynist cliché in the book.

Read the whole article.

What To Do About Somali Pirates?

Let's follow the Indian example.

This happened last November-

An Indian warship came under attack on Wednesday from a suspected pirate "mother ship," but managed to destroy the pirate ship, sending three speedboats packed with pirates fleeing for safety.

With ransom demands, loss of cargo and increasing insurance costs, sending Somali pirates and their transports to the bottom of the sea is the best plan we've got.

More Goofy Political Correctness

Brown University, one of the most politically correct (read censored) universities in the country, will use the term "Fall Weekend" instead of Columbus Day.

Many of the great figures in our history are flawed. George Washington kept slaves. Will Brown now refer to President's Day (Washington's Birthday) as "Over Halfway Through the Winter Weekend?"

Give me a break.

Science Is Never "Beyond Dispute"

A great article about "settled science."

"Settled science" is an oxymoron, and anyone who characterizes science as "settled" or "indisputable" is ignorant not only of science, but also history and philosophy.

Everyone knew that the science of astronomy had been settled "beyond dispute." When Galileo insisted that the Earth revolved around the sun, he was castigated by the church for advocating an idea that was not only heretical, but also "foolish and absurd in philosophy."

Hall of Famer, Red Sox great Doerr turns 91

Happy Birthday Bobby Doerr.

On April 16, 1918, Babe Ruth pitched the Boston Red Sox to a 7-1 Opening Day victory over the Philadelphia Athletics.

Nine days earlier, another Red Sox great -- Bobby Doerr -- was born. And on Monday, Doerr lived through his 92nd Opening Day, including that first one in 1918.

Doerr turned 91 Tuesday and joined 10 other Hall of Famers who have reached that age -- a group that includes less than 4 percent of the 289 members of the Hall of Fame. Of those inducted as a player, he is the oldest living Hall of Famer.

Leslie Howard Before Gone With the Wind

The Petrified Forest is on TCM. It's one of Bogie early films where he plays the heavy (Duke Mantee) in a supporting role. Bette Davis and Leslie Howard are the leads.

The Petrified Forest is one of the great Warner Brothers' gangster films. Leslie Howard plays the intellectual dud that intrigues Bette Davis.

The studio wanted Edward G. Robinson for Duke Mantee, but Leslie Howard wouldn't sign unless they gave Bogart the role. Bogart later named one of his children after Leslie Howard.

Leslie Howard died in 1943. He was shot down by the Luftwaffe over the Bay of Biscay, north of Spain. It was rumored that he was on a secret mission for Winston Churchill. No matter, Howard was one of Britain's most vociferous critics of Nazi Germany. Conspiracy theories run amok...

Move Over Danielle Steel

How badly does she need the attention? Couldn't this have stayed in her "personal collection?"

Here's an excerpt:

"I will begin, softly at first so that you can sleep a few more minutes, the long, slow, delicious process of licking your ----, and since I must have your honey milk . . . I will struggle to stay quiet . . . Master, I whisper as you surrender to our ecstasy."

Just how embarrassed are you, Anderson Cooper?

He's Making A Move

He really may be coming back. He has a chance in New York. We elect felons and deadbeats all the time. It's old hat.

Here's the latest in the New York elected official felon "free for all."

Which One of These Is Not Like the Other?

Obviously, President Obama has never been to Turkey.

There needs to be many improvements before they are admitted to the EU.

Anyone who has spent a couple hours in the country would come to that realization.

Enough said...

Thanks Sarko.

Full Frontal

The newest in hotel design is the open view shower.

With obesity rates at an all time high, I'm not certain that this is a good idea. We've all shared bathrooms with strangers, but...

Indeed, some travelers appreciate the voyeuristic kick. Bryce Longton, who stayed with her boyfriend at the Tides in Miami late last year, is a fan.

“I thought it was sexy,” Ms. Longton, a 29-year-old freelance writer from Los Angeles, said of the glass shower in their suite. “The steam from the shower obscured a lot, but showed a little. You could watch each other from the other room.”

Transparency allows travelers to multitask in the tub, she [Morgane Rousseau, the designer of the glass-and-steel-framed bathrooms at the Hôtel Particulier Montmartre, a Parisian hotel that opened in 2007] explained: watch television, chat with a companion or simply gaze out the window.

Australian Actor Wants a Crocodile Hunt (for spiritual reasons)

...[David] Gulpilil will on Monday present Environment Minister Peter Garrett with a proposal to relax Australian laws that reflect the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), so big-game hunters can travel to the Northern Territory, shoot large problem animals and take the trophies home.

It seems that whenever sport shooting of game animals is regulated, their population stays healthy.

Apparently, this whole movement has to do with Aboriginal culture.

Farrah's Son In 'Drug Bust'

What a screw up.

Picture this: Your mom is in the hospital and you get busted for drugs while visiting a friend in jail?

As his cancer-stricken mother, Farrah Fawcett, fought for her life in a Los Angeles hospital, wild child Redmond O'Neal was busted today for alleged drug possession in the parking lot of a prison, police said.

I've never been the smartest person in the room, but I wouldn't be carrying drugs while trying to get through a prison checkpoint. Common sense?

Locked Up Abroad

Sometimes I feel badly for these people, but most of the time their stupidity solicits no sympathy.

The season premiere focused on a Brit, Sarah Jackson, who tried to smuggle cocaine out of Peru to pay off her loan shark. She was told to travel with another person to make her less suspicious. The dupe that she found (Simon Burke) was after a piece of ass and easily swayed.

Jackson is still in a minimum security Peruvian prison (Santa Monica Women's Prison) whilst Simon is living in Peru waiting for his charges to be dropped.

Simon did spend 10 months in Sarita Colonia, a hard core prison by the Lima Airport.

Here's the facebook group to get Simon home.

The next episode is titled, "Ecuador." Here's the summary:

Down, out and broke in Miami, Daniel Van De Zande decided to make a run for a drug smuggler that had cash-infused his pockets in the past. Daniel's task to smuggle cocaine from Ecuador to Europe. But he and his partners are busted and Daniel is eventually sent to one of Ecuador's most notorious maximum security prisons. Depressed by his life and the choices that had led him to jail, Daniel turned to drugs. He was released from prison after serving three years, and is currently in rehab, trying to rebuild his life.

Parents to see detained US journalist in Iran

The Iranian mullahs are imprisoning the journalist for working in the country with expired press credentials.

These crazies were the recipients of President Obama's weirdo Nowruz holiday greetings.

As an aside, Shimon Peres sent a much more appropriate greeting, specifically drawing attention to the mullahs' call for the destruction of Israel.

Here's an update from another nutter regime.

RSF [Reporters Sans Frontieres] in a statement said that if convicted the pair [Euna Lee and Laura Ling] could be sentenced to between five and 10 years of forced labour. A South Korean expert has given a similar assessment.

Rain Out?

It doesn't look good for Opening Day at Fenway.

The rain aside, I've always wondered why MLB doesn't schedule most games at the start of the season in warmer locales.

Remember this?

One week after their home opener at Jacobs Field was postponed by blizzard-like snow squalls and a weekend-long storm that wiped out an entire series, the Indians were buried by the Chicago White Sox 6-4.

Sycophant, Thy Name is Alan Chartock

This guy won't stop carrying water for Eliot Spitzer. Regardless of Spitzer's intelligence and "guts", the @#$%^&%$ steamroller ex-Governor does not have the temperament, or moral clarity to be serving the public in any capacity. (Obviously, the current asshat triumvirate is not worthy either. But, why pile on?)

Alan Chartock, what don't you understand about how the serious character shortcomings of this unbalanced nut limit his options?

Some examples:

From Charles Gasparino:

As a reporter covering him - and then becoming the target of one his office's no-holds-barred intimidation games - I saw Spitzer's shortcomings first hand: his zealotry, his wild temperament and his penchant for sleazy tactics.

... Spitzer became governor largely thanks to his many hyper-publicized cases against Wall Street titans like Dick Grasso and Hank Greenberg- cases that he pursued by going after everything and everyone connected with his targets, no matter how personal, by leaking constantly to the press and by making his own nasty, off-hand public comments.

Keep in mind, Spitzer was charging Dick Grasso with making too much money. Yet, as chronicled in my book on Grasso, "King of the Club," when Grasso refused to settle, Spitzer's "investigation" wound up probing whether Grasso had had sex with his secretary and fathered a child out of wedlock. The apparent effort to beat Grasso into submission included threats of tawdry press leaks about alleged personal indiscretions - allegations Grasso denies, and for which little evidence ever materialized.

The press downplayed Spitzer's early brush with scandal - his lying about how his father helped finance his campaign, a possible violation of campaign-finance laws. Reporters largely ignored the implications of this prosecutor threatening to put a "spike" through the heart of one of his targets - as he bullied Ken Langone, because Langone had decided to fight Spitzer rather than cave.

Kimberley Strassel:

Consider the report in the wake of a 2005 op-ed in this newspaper by John Whitehead. A respected Wall Street figure, Mr. Whitehead dared to criticize Mr. Spitzer for his unscrupulously zealous pursuit of Mr. [Hank] Greenberg. Mr. Spitzer later threatened Mr. Whitehead, telling him in a phone call that "You will pay the price. This is only the beginning and you will pay dearly for what you have done." Some months later, after more Spitzer excesses, Mr. Whitehead had the temerity to write another op-ed describing what Mr. Spitzer had said.

Within a few days, the press was reporting (unsourced, of course) that Mr. Whitehead had defended Mr. Greenberg a few weeks after a Greenberg charity had given $25 million to the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation -- a group Mr. Whitehead chaired. So Mr. Whitehead's on-the-record views were met with an unsourced smear implying bad faith. The press ran with it anyway.

In 2005, Mr. Spitzer went on national television to suggest that Mr. Greenberg had engaged in criminal activity. It was front-page news. About six months later, on the eve of a Thanksgiving weekend, Mr. Spitzer quietly disclosed that he lacked the evidence to press criminal charges. That news was buried inside the papers.

My former boss John Faso fought an uphill battle against Spitzer in the 2006 New York Gubernatorial race. Every media outlet was bowled over by the "Sheriff of Wall Street" and no one thought to ask the important questions about his duplicitous budget plan and obvious temperament issues. Throughout the campaign, John always remained steadfast in his characterization of his opponent and proved to be prescient in the end.

When asked for his reaction after Spitzer's fall from grace, Faso opinied, "I really don't feel vindicated. But I do feel when you look at the things I tried to raise in the campaign, one of the many things I said was that Eliot Spitzer had one set of rules for himself and one set for everyone else. I never would have imagined it could be so glaring."

John wrote a New York Post editorial shortly after Spitzer's resignation.

Some highlights:

Spitzer didn't seem to care who or what he ran over, so long as it advanced his political career. Yet many New Yorkers thought that was just fine, so long as he was going after "rich guys" or "big business."

What I didn't count on was the credulousness of the media in simply buying - hook, line and sinker - the claims made by Spitzer's campaign. The spin, buttressed by millions in TV advertising, created the absurd notion of one man able to change everything on "Day One."

There was little critical analysis of his record, including the fact that Spitzer had lied about the source of the questionable millions poured into his earlier campaigns. Apparently, lying about political money wasn't relevant, since he was standing up for truth and righteousness.

Newspapers endorsed him (even ones that knew better, like The Post), paying little attention to Spitzer's tactics as AG or the fiscal house of cards created by his proposals. News "analysis" was often no more than reporting the latest polls or which candidate had raised the most money.

The media treated the race as a foregone conclusion. One prominent New York journalist even addressed an open letter to the new governor the day before the election.

And, we should be cheering for this guy to make a comeback as a public servant?

I Want My Non-Red Meat Meal and Fruit Only Dessert, and I Want It Now!

Via Debbie Schlussel

Another entitled government blowhard acting true to form. This time it's Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Mr Rudd, who had attended the Pacific Islands Forum, was told by the 23-year-old flight attendant that his request for a "special" meal - he is on a meat-free diet - could not be met.

Sources said the PM reacted "strongly" and a heated exchange followed. The attendant burst into tears and reported the matter to the senior cabin attendant.

Apparently, it's happened before:

During a flight between Sydney and Canberra last June he became "extremely irritated" when the only food on offer was gourmet sandwiches, rather than a hot meal, a source said.

These trips are costing the Australian taxpayers $28,000 an hour.

Where's the humility? Kevin Rudd works for the taxpayer, not the other way around.

Tragedy in Binghamton

Without a doubt, one of the reactions to the spree killings in Upstate New York will be the advocacy for stricter gun laws.

As always, John Lott, brings clarity to the situation.

Excerpts:

You would think that it would be an important part of the news stories for a simple reason: Gun-free zones are a magnet for these attacks. Extensive discussions of these attacks can be found here and here. We want to keep people safe, but the problem is that it is the law-abiding good citizens, not the criminals, who obey these laws. We end up disarming the potential victims and not the criminals. Rather than making places safe for victims, we unintentionally make them safe for the criminal.

At some point, you would think the media would notice that something is going on here, that these murderers aren’t just picking their targets at random. And this pattern isn’t really too surprising. Most people understand that guns deter criminals.

If a killer were stalking your family, would you feel safer putting a sign out front announcing, “This home is a gun-free zone”? But that is what all these places did.

Read the whole article.

From an earlier article:

...attacks... at the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Neb., or Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City or the recent attack at the Tinley Park Mall in Illinois or all the public schools attacks, all these cases had one thing in common: They took place in “gun free zones,” where private citizens were not allowed to carry their guns with them.

The malls in Omaha and Salt Lake City were in states that let people carry concealed handguns, but private property owners are allowed to post signs banning guns and those malls were among the few places in their states that chose to post such signs. In the Trolley Square attack an off-duty police officer fortunately violated the ban and stopped the attack. The attacks at Virginia Tech or the other public schools occured in some of the few areas within their states that people are not allowed to carry concealed handguns.

Most people understand that guns deter criminals. The problem is that instead of gun-free zones making it safe for potential victims, they make it safe for criminals.

Letting civilians have permitted concealed handguns limits the damage from attacks. A major factor in determining how many people are harmed by these killers is the amount of time that elapses between when the attack starts and when someone with a gun is able to arrive on the scene.

In cases from the church shooting in Colorado Springs, Colo., last December, where a parishioner who was given permission by the minister to carry her concealed gun into the church quickly stopped the murderer, to an attack last year in downtown Memphis, to the Appalachian Law School, to high schools in such places as Pearl, Miss., concealed handgun permit holders have stopped attacks well before uniformed police could possibly have arrived.

Twice this year armed Israeli citizens have stopped terrorist attacks at schools (once by an armed teacher and another by an armed student). Indeed, despite the fears being discussed about the risks of concealed handgun permit holders, I haven’t found one multiple-victim public shooting where a permit holder has accidentally shot a bystander.

With about 5 million Americans currently with concealed handgun permits in the U.S. and states starting having right-to-carry laws for as long as 80 years, we have a lot of experience with these laws, and one thing is very clear: Concealed handgun permit holders are extremely law-abiding and lose their permits for any gun-related violation at hundredths or thousandths of one percentage point. We also have a lot of experience with permitted concealed handguns in schools.

Prior to the 1995 Safe School Zone Act, states with right-to-carry laws let teachers or others carry concealed handguns at school, and several states still allow this today. And there is not a single instance that I or others have found where this produced a single problem. There are today even some universities, including large public universities such as Colorado State University and the University of Utah, that let students carry concealed handguns on school property.

With all the news media coverage of the types of guns used and how the criminal obtained the gun, at some point the news media might begin to mention the one common feature of these attacks: they keep occurring in gun-free zones.

Remember this tragedy at Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, TX in 1991?

Dr. Suzanna Hupp talks about the Virginia Tech massacre: another "gun free zone" tragedy.

Additionner des Carottes et des Navets*

Can the Baseball Tonight crew please stop referring to Jason Giambi as "The Giambino?"

The real Bambino was a baseball icon, who despite being a drinker, a philanderer and gambler, still managed to hit an amazing amount of home runs and rank in the top 5 in 7 different batting categories.

On the other hand, Jason Giambi, while being everyone's favorite teammate, is a juice-ridden has been whose claim to fame is his "non-apology" apology and incredible shrinking head.

The before/after:

* In support of the Francophonie and their plight.

The Globe Gone?

As reported by its competitor, the Boston Globe is under fire from its parent company.

The New York Times [NYT] Company has threatened to shut down the Boston Globe if the paper doesn’t come up with $20 million in cuts within 30 days in a dramatic act of brinksmanship at the beleaguered broadsheet.

Like many other newspapers, the Globe has been in decline for years.

The sports section, once the most respected in the business, featured, at different times: Peter Gammons, Will McDonough, Bob Ryan, Bud Collins, Leigh Montville, Jackie MacMullan, Ron Borges, Gordon Edes, Lesley Visser and Peter May.

The editorial page is hard left: conservative Herald columnist Michael Graham refers to the newspaper as the Boston Globe-Democrat.

Boston Globe editor, Martin Baron, recently spoke of the current crisis at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication.

Sacrebleu!

Like their amis across the pond, our French speaking neighbors to the north are desperately trying to retain their language. They have recently instituted French language rules for video games.

French language rules on video games come into force today prohibiting the sale of new English-only video games in Quebec if a French version is available.

Of course, the business world is concerned that the new law will lead to lost profits and bankruptcy.

Ronnie Rondeau, co-owner of the eight Game Buzz stores around Montreal, said he even fears bankruptcy.

"I'm afraid it's going to cost me my business," Rondeau said. "If it really was going to make a difference, I'd be for it, but only a small number of people want to play in French. The rest don't care.

Raffy Boudjikanian, who writes a gaming column for the West Island Chronicle, agrees. "Why am I going to wait for five more months when the next big game is right there in Plattsburg?"

This is typical French behavior. Who cares about crippling someone's business, as long as they're speaking French in the unemployment lines.

France has been battling the encroachment of the English language for years.

French was the lingua franca in diplomatic circles from the 17th Century until the post-World War I period when it was usurped by English. Up until very recently, French and English were the only two languages on passports. Presently, the UN Secretariat uses two working languages, English and French, and French is still the official language of the Universal Postal Union.

Regardless, native French speakers are fighting an uphill battle. In 2005, French was the 18th most practiced language when taking into account native speakers. Considering France's incredibly low birth rate, la langue française is certain to drop even further down the importance scale.

The Texas Con Man Strikes Back (Weakly) - UPDATED

This couldn't have happened to a more deserving person. Clemens has always been a first rate ass. The whole "family man who outworks everyone" image was shattered when we found out he was two-timing Debbie with a 15 year old and doing all those high octane workouts whilst juiced to the hilt.

Of course, Clemens only played because he loved the game; it had nothing to do with money. Remember when he left Boston because he wanted to be closer to Texas and then signed with the Toronto Blue Jays? And, of course, his ridiculous spectacle in the Yankee Stadium owner's box:

"Well, they came and got me out of Texas, and I can tell you it's a privilege to be back," he said. "I'll be talking to y'all soon."

They came and got him out of Texas for a mere 4.5 million a month and 6 wins. Great bargain...

Listen to the Ethel Merman wannabee Suzyn Waldman make a fool out of herself.

Does John Sterling still think that the Texas Con Man will be a Hall of Famer?

Kudos to Will McDonough for calling him out to his face. And, of course, a shout out to Dan Duquette for being right all along.

The final indignity: snubbed by the Yankees.

Is he the Antichrist or just a over hyped choke artist?

UPDATED: More bad news for the Rocket.