MARLINS WIN THE WORLD SERIES
And Mariners fans around the world rejoice. DOWN WITH THE YANKEES!
Time for some more Hot Linky Love!
Yes, it's that time again, where I have too much to share. Been doing the TownHall.com thing, and some other places as well. First of all, we have Mark Steyn on the issue of Conservatism in the UK and Canada. It's an interesting read, giving you a small glimpse into the politics of a different country.
TownHall time. Jonah Goldberg writes on how he was wrong about France. They're even worse than he thought. Walter E. Williams writes on how the Education establishment is failing Black students in general, and all students as a whole. Mike S. Adams has a few thoughts on how to counter the Thought Police. Andrew Grossman comments on the multiple failures of Medicare, which is nothing more than a form of socialized healthcare. It's not an uplifting piece. And last but not least, Debra Saunders writes on the hypocrisy of the Black caucus, NAACP, and various other leftist groups who oppose the nomination of Judge Janice Brown.
I saved this for last because this is a subject that makes me want to tear my hair out and scream. The Left, for all of it's claims of "diversity", refuses to accept the fact that a minority can do well WITHOUT THE LEFT'S HELP! This can be seen by the Left's treatment of any black who left the plantation! When Condi Rice is called a "house nigger"... Condi Rice, who went to college AT THE AGE OF 15, gets called a "house nigger", Colin Powell, the first black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell, who has done more in his life than most of the Black Caucus combined, gets called a slave for Bush, it's infuriating. Julian Bond isn't fit to lick the dirt off of Condi Rice's shoe, and yet he's using every foul name in the book towards her. Watching the leftists go apeshit at successful, strong people like Rice and Powell, and Janice Brown, highlights just how low and how foul the Left has sunk. I truly hope that come election 2004, Bush holds up the filibusters of judges like Estrada, and Brown, and Priscilla Owens, and says "Look who the LEFT didn't want on a bench!" For all the hot air coming from the Left about how the Right is "racist", when Bush tries to nominate two black judges and a hispanic judge to some of the highest benches in the USA, it's the Left who refuses to allow it. And since I don't think I can accurately convey my true feelings on this subject, take a gander at Thomas Sowell's opinion on it as well.
What's the lesson here, folks? That the Left loves the dark skinned people, as long as they keep their asses on the plantation where they belong. The Right doesn't give a damn what your skin color is, as long as you can produce. The right looks at minorities as people. The Left looks at minorities as "Black people" or "Hispanic people" or "Fill-in-the-blank-and-add-a-hyphen-people". Which would you prefer?
Now then, let's see what we have in our grab bag, shall we?
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has a novel plan to jumpstart his states education system, and this time it's one that I like! He wants to pay teachers what they're worth, but force them to give up the union.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (search), a Republican, wants to create a new educational job titled, "super teacher" for educators interested in making $100,000 in salary and bonuses -- but there's a catch. Teachers would have to give up certain union protections like tenure (search) and job security.
"They're willing to waive tenure and seniority rights," said Pawlenty. "So we can hire who we want, fire who we want and assign them when we want and how we want to assign them."
The "super teacher" bonuses would kick in when students improved their scores on standardized tests. Pawlenty is proposing that these "super teachers" replace the entire teaching staff at selected schools where students are under-achieving.
Expect the National Education Association to scream bloody murder over this. Fine. Let the NEA scream. The NEA has been one of the largest impediments to quality education in this country over the past few decades, and I would love nothing more than to see the NEA starved, dismembered, and killed. Have you ever wondered why good teachers weren't paid what they were worth, yet crappy teachers were paid very well? Just look at the NEA. Why should a second year teacher be at the bottom of the pay scale if they can GET KIDS TO LEARN!? Why should some tenure sucking leech get paid at all, if the kids in that class don't learn? Scrapping the NEA would be a huge first step towards improving education in this country.
Ready for more? Good. When can you tell that you're dealing with a brain-dead leftist? When they make statements like this.
"The U.S. government has no right to try and recolonize Iraq," said Peta Lindsay, national youth and student coordinator for International ANSWER (search) (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), which is organizing the protests with another group, United for Peace and Justice.
Wow... there are so many things wrong with this kid that I don't know where to start. First of all, let's just go with the fact that this is yet another Anti-War protest by the mindless drones. Ummm, I hate to wake you guys up to reality, but we're all ready in Baghdad. Happened a few months ago. Saddam's out of power now. Second of all, re-colonise? RE-colonise? When were we there the first time? What was the date of the first colonization? You can't even make a coherent statement, and yet you expect me to listen to you when you spout of your bullshit? Oh, and about us having no "right" to go into Iraq, you might be right on that one. Because we have a RESPONSIBILITY to be in Iraq right now. It was a responsibility we should have carried out in 1991, but we listened to people like you, and it never happened until this year. So screw off, Peta. What kind of a name is Peta, anyways? Peta. Are you like that twit who changed her name to Go-veg?
And since ANSWER is nothing more than a tool of the World Workers Party, the communist asshats, I really don't give a damn about what anyone from that organization has to say. Anyone who advocates a form of government that has killed over 100,000,000 people is a fool and an idiot. Or a dictator in training.
Organizers said most of the protesters will be high school and college students coming from more than 140 cities in the United States and Canada. Becker said Muslim groups, veterans, and families who have loved ones in Iraq or in the military also plan to attend.
There's a shocker, I tell ya! Highschool and college students protesting! Wow, who woulda thunk! Maybe it's because our educational system is nothing but a cesspool of liberal bullshit and indoctrination. Is that harsh? Good, it needs to be. I went through our precious publik skool sistim, and I thought it was full of shit way back then. Once I got out and was hit with reality, that realization sank in even deeper. These twits are airheaded idiots who have been taught to keep their heads firmly planted in their collective asses, no matter what.
I'd love to ship the lot of them off to Iraq, so they can get a dose of reality.
Yes, it's that time again, where I have too much to share. Been doing the TownHall.com thing, and some other places as well. First of all, we have Mark Steyn on the issue of Conservatism in the UK and Canada. It's an interesting read, giving you a small glimpse into the politics of a different country.
TownHall time. Jonah Goldberg writes on how he was wrong about France. They're even worse than he thought. Walter E. Williams writes on how the Education establishment is failing Black students in general, and all students as a whole. Mike S. Adams has a few thoughts on how to counter the Thought Police. Andrew Grossman comments on the multiple failures of Medicare, which is nothing more than a form of socialized healthcare. It's not an uplifting piece. And last but not least, Debra Saunders writes on the hypocrisy of the Black caucus, NAACP, and various other leftist groups who oppose the nomination of Judge Janice Brown.
I saved this for last because this is a subject that makes me want to tear my hair out and scream. The Left, for all of it's claims of "diversity", refuses to accept the fact that a minority can do well WITHOUT THE LEFT'S HELP! This can be seen by the Left's treatment of any black who left the plantation! When Condi Rice is called a "house nigger"... Condi Rice, who went to college AT THE AGE OF 15, gets called a "house nigger", Colin Powell, the first black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell, who has done more in his life than most of the Black Caucus combined, gets called a slave for Bush, it's infuriating. Julian Bond isn't fit to lick the dirt off of Condi Rice's shoe, and yet he's using every foul name in the book towards her. Watching the leftists go apeshit at successful, strong people like Rice and Powell, and Janice Brown, highlights just how low and how foul the Left has sunk. I truly hope that come election 2004, Bush holds up the filibusters of judges like Estrada, and Brown, and Priscilla Owens, and says "Look who the LEFT didn't want on a bench!" For all the hot air coming from the Left about how the Right is "racist", when Bush tries to nominate two black judges and a hispanic judge to some of the highest benches in the USA, it's the Left who refuses to allow it. And since I don't think I can accurately convey my true feelings on this subject, take a gander at Thomas Sowell's opinion on it as well.
What's the lesson here, folks? That the Left loves the dark skinned people, as long as they keep their asses on the plantation where they belong. The Right doesn't give a damn what your skin color is, as long as you can produce. The right looks at minorities as people. The Left looks at minorities as "Black people" or "Hispanic people" or "Fill-in-the-blank-and-add-a-hyphen-people". Which would you prefer?
Now then, let's see what we have in our grab bag, shall we?
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has a novel plan to jumpstart his states education system, and this time it's one that I like! He wants to pay teachers what they're worth, but force them to give up the union.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (search), a Republican, wants to create a new educational job titled, "super teacher" for educators interested in making $100,000 in salary and bonuses -- but there's a catch. Teachers would have to give up certain union protections like tenure (search) and job security.
"They're willing to waive tenure and seniority rights," said Pawlenty. "So we can hire who we want, fire who we want and assign them when we want and how we want to assign them."
The "super teacher" bonuses would kick in when students improved their scores on standardized tests. Pawlenty is proposing that these "super teachers" replace the entire teaching staff at selected schools where students are under-achieving.
Expect the National Education Association to scream bloody murder over this. Fine. Let the NEA scream. The NEA has been one of the largest impediments to quality education in this country over the past few decades, and I would love nothing more than to see the NEA starved, dismembered, and killed. Have you ever wondered why good teachers weren't paid what they were worth, yet crappy teachers were paid very well? Just look at the NEA. Why should a second year teacher be at the bottom of the pay scale if they can GET KIDS TO LEARN!? Why should some tenure sucking leech get paid at all, if the kids in that class don't learn? Scrapping the NEA would be a huge first step towards improving education in this country.
Ready for more? Good. When can you tell that you're dealing with a brain-dead leftist? When they make statements like this.
"The U.S. government has no right to try and recolonize Iraq," said Peta Lindsay, national youth and student coordinator for International ANSWER (search) (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), which is organizing the protests with another group, United for Peace and Justice.
Wow... there are so many things wrong with this kid that I don't know where to start. First of all, let's just go with the fact that this is yet another Anti-War protest by the mindless drones. Ummm, I hate to wake you guys up to reality, but we're all ready in Baghdad. Happened a few months ago. Saddam's out of power now. Second of all, re-colonise? RE-colonise? When were we there the first time? What was the date of the first colonization? You can't even make a coherent statement, and yet you expect me to listen to you when you spout of your bullshit? Oh, and about us having no "right" to go into Iraq, you might be right on that one. Because we have a RESPONSIBILITY to be in Iraq right now. It was a responsibility we should have carried out in 1991, but we listened to people like you, and it never happened until this year. So screw off, Peta. What kind of a name is Peta, anyways? Peta. Are you like that twit who changed her name to Go-veg?
And since ANSWER is nothing more than a tool of the World Workers Party, the communist asshats, I really don't give a damn about what anyone from that organization has to say. Anyone who advocates a form of government that has killed over 100,000,000 people is a fool and an idiot. Or a dictator in training.
Organizers said most of the protesters will be high school and college students coming from more than 140 cities in the United States and Canada. Becker said Muslim groups, veterans, and families who have loved ones in Iraq or in the military also plan to attend.
There's a shocker, I tell ya! Highschool and college students protesting! Wow, who woulda thunk! Maybe it's because our educational system is nothing but a cesspool of liberal bullshit and indoctrination. Is that harsh? Good, it needs to be. I went through our precious publik skool sistim, and I thought it was full of shit way back then. Once I got out and was hit with reality, that realization sank in even deeper. These twits are airheaded idiots who have been taught to keep their heads firmly planted in their collective asses, no matter what.
I'd love to ship the lot of them off to Iraq, so they can get a dose of reality.
Your Attention Please!
Sheri from Two Nervous Dogs would like to say something. Take it away, Sheri!
• Time for a new acronym: "Jerms." (Jihadist Extremist Radical Muslims). By the way, if this is offensive to anyone, you either have poor reading comprehension skillls, or you weren't near a TV on September 11, 2001.
BWAAAA HAAAAAA HAAAAAAAA! I love it!
Thanks to Alpha Patriot to for the heads up. By the way, Alpha, what do you think?
That's enough to make a PC-Lefty cringe so violently that his eyes pop right out of the sockets.
Sheri from Two Nervous Dogs would like to say something. Take it away, Sheri!
• Time for a new acronym: "Jerms." (Jihadist Extremist Radical Muslims). By the way, if this is offensive to anyone, you either have poor reading comprehension skillls, or you weren't near a TV on September 11, 2001.
BWAAAA HAAAAAA HAAAAAAAA! I love it!
Thanks to Alpha Patriot to for the heads up. By the way, Alpha, what do you think?
That's enough to make a PC-Lefty cringe so violently that his eyes pop right out of the sockets.
Your 2nd Amendment rights quote for the day:
Remember Gil Hill, aka "Inspector Todd", the irate police chief from Beverly Hills Cop? I found a rather old but amusing and straightforward quote from him today about vigilintiism in this story.
"I'm always glad when assholes and bullets meet."
Remember Gil Hill, aka "Inspector Todd", the irate police chief from Beverly Hills Cop? I found a rather old but amusing and straightforward quote from him today about vigilintiism in this story.
"I'm always glad when assholes and bullets meet."
Pardon me while I laugh my ass off
My ancestry is Irish and Italian. I'd like to visit both countries in the future, but I'm thinking more and more that I should visit Italy first. Why? Because of remarks like this:
Umberto Bossi, Berlusconi's controversial reform minister, ended his boss's day in Strasbourg colorfully enough. According to the Daily Telegraph, Bossi told reporters that the EU elite were "filthy pigs" whose ambition was to "make paedophilia as easy as possible." And the euro? A "total flop." But then he came to his senses and explained that the EU was actually only "transforming vices into virtues" and "advancing the cause of atheism every day." When asked about he European arrest warrant — the latest example of EU laws that aspired to replace national laws — the described it as the next best thing to "dictatorship, deportation, and terror, instilling fear in the people," something that would lead to a Stalinist regime "multiplied by 25."
How can I not love a country who's leadership seems to take great pleasure in poking their fingers in the EU's collective eyes? Seriously, this man is making the speeches that I want to make!
Rome, Naples, Venice.... Oh yeah, I'm feeling it.
Oh, and by the way, remember the bombing of the UN building in Bagdad? Remember how the Barking Moonbats were screeching and hopping around claiming that it was the USA's fault?
Well, and independant panel just said "Nope".
"The main conclusion of the panel is that the current security management system is dysfunctional," said the 40-page report by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, appointed by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to lead the investigation.
"The observance and implementation of security regulations and procedures were sloppy and noncompliance with security rules commonplace," the report said.
The probe also confirmed allegations made by U.S. officials -- that the United Nations in Baghdad had refused protection because it was uncomfortable with U.S. tanks and other security measures, wanting to distance itself from the occupation.
Consequently, U.N. officials asked the U.S. military to withdraw heavy equipment from the compound in the Canal Hotel, dismantle an observation post on the roof and remove obstacles and concertina wire from the access road where an orange flatbed truck approached and exploded, the report said.
You know, I don't want to kill everyone in the UN, I just want them OUT OF A JOB! The UN is nothing more than a cesspool of corruption, thugs, dictators, and two-legged parasites, and I'd love nothing more than to raze the UN building to the ground, piss on the ashes, and then build something that's actually worthwhile. Like, say, a homeless shelter.
Seems like other people feel the same way.
My ancestry is Irish and Italian. I'd like to visit both countries in the future, but I'm thinking more and more that I should visit Italy first. Why? Because of remarks like this:
Umberto Bossi, Berlusconi's controversial reform minister, ended his boss's day in Strasbourg colorfully enough. According to the Daily Telegraph, Bossi told reporters that the EU elite were "filthy pigs" whose ambition was to "make paedophilia as easy as possible." And the euro? A "total flop." But then he came to his senses and explained that the EU was actually only "transforming vices into virtues" and "advancing the cause of atheism every day." When asked about he European arrest warrant — the latest example of EU laws that aspired to replace national laws — the described it as the next best thing to "dictatorship, deportation, and terror, instilling fear in the people," something that would lead to a Stalinist regime "multiplied by 25."
How can I not love a country who's leadership seems to take great pleasure in poking their fingers in the EU's collective eyes? Seriously, this man is making the speeches that I want to make!
Rome, Naples, Venice.... Oh yeah, I'm feeling it.
Oh, and by the way, remember the bombing of the UN building in Bagdad? Remember how the Barking Moonbats were screeching and hopping around claiming that it was the USA's fault?
Well, and independant panel just said "Nope".
"The main conclusion of the panel is that the current security management system is dysfunctional," said the 40-page report by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, appointed by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to lead the investigation.
"The observance and implementation of security regulations and procedures were sloppy and noncompliance with security rules commonplace," the report said.
The probe also confirmed allegations made by U.S. officials -- that the United Nations in Baghdad had refused protection because it was uncomfortable with U.S. tanks and other security measures, wanting to distance itself from the occupation.
Consequently, U.N. officials asked the U.S. military to withdraw heavy equipment from the compound in the Canal Hotel, dismantle an observation post on the roof and remove obstacles and concertina wire from the access road where an orange flatbed truck approached and exploded, the report said.
You know, I don't want to kill everyone in the UN, I just want them OUT OF A JOB! The UN is nothing more than a cesspool of corruption, thugs, dictators, and two-legged parasites, and I'd love nothing more than to raze the UN building to the ground, piss on the ashes, and then build something that's actually worthwhile. Like, say, a homeless shelter.
Seems like other people feel the same way.
Another failure of Socialized Healthcare
As much as the Barking Moonbat Brigades love to bleat about how much cheaper drugs are in Canada, they never seem to figure out just WHY those drugs are cheaper. It's because the Canadian government refuses to honor the patent on drugs that have recently been made. Pharmacutical companies spend MILLIONS of dollars in research and development, and the expect to recoup that cost when they secure a patent and put the drug on the market. Well, if one country refuses to honor those patents, what do you think the company does?
It refuses to release their drug in that market.
Consider what drove New Brunswick's Bill and Mary Cooper (names changed to protect privacy) to head south to the U.S. for treatment of their Type II Diabetes. Bill discovered Glucophage XR was the most-effective drug, but it wasn't available under his provincial health plan. Mary, his wife, was doing well on Avandia. But when she switched from private pay to the provincial health plan, she was forced to start taking older medications even though they posed a risk of hypoglycemia and weight gain of 10 to 15 pounds..
Folks, this is Economics 101, OK? If you, through your government's regulations, refuse to allow a company to make a profit off of the companies product, then they will NOT MAKE THAT PRODUCT ANYMORE. It. Is. That. SIMPLE! Researchers and scientists cost MONEY! Labs and equipment cost MONEY! When you strip away the companies ability to recoup the money that they put into researching a particular drug, THEY WON'T DO ANY MORE RESEARCH!
And among the biggest sticks is the national government's threat to strip a drug company of its patent and allow generic companies, which bear no cost of research and development, the right to produce a drug if the patent-holding company fails to bring its products to market.
All of this means it takes much longer for new drugs to reach the Canadian consumer — and some never do.
Socialized Healthcare will do nothing but destroy the quality of medical care in this country. I read in an article that the reason Toronto got hit so hard with SARS is because they had an infectious patient lying on a gurney in the hospital's hallway for 12 hours! I see Canadians come down into the USA for healthcare on a daily basis! If government-controled healthcare is so great, why do you NEVER hear about an American going up to Canada for knee surgery? Heart surgery?
AIDS medication Reyataz, available in the U.S., hasn't even begun the approval process in Canada. Pegasus, a drug that treats Hepatitis C, has been approved in the U.S. for three years, where it's already available in a new and improved version. Canadians, however, still don't have access to the original version.
THIS is the system that Hillary Clinton wanted to put in place in America? No thank you.
Actually, let me restate that. No. Hell no. Not a CHANCE in hell NO! Let me add NO. Let me further state NO. Let me remind you, NO! Let me conclude with NO! And let's talk about the time I said NO!
As much as the Barking Moonbat Brigades love to bleat about how much cheaper drugs are in Canada, they never seem to figure out just WHY those drugs are cheaper. It's because the Canadian government refuses to honor the patent on drugs that have recently been made. Pharmacutical companies spend MILLIONS of dollars in research and development, and the expect to recoup that cost when they secure a patent and put the drug on the market. Well, if one country refuses to honor those patents, what do you think the company does?
It refuses to release their drug in that market.
Consider what drove New Brunswick's Bill and Mary Cooper (names changed to protect privacy) to head south to the U.S. for treatment of their Type II Diabetes. Bill discovered Glucophage XR was the most-effective drug, but it wasn't available under his provincial health plan. Mary, his wife, was doing well on Avandia. But when she switched from private pay to the provincial health plan, she was forced to start taking older medications even though they posed a risk of hypoglycemia and weight gain of 10 to 15 pounds..
Folks, this is Economics 101, OK? If you, through your government's regulations, refuse to allow a company to make a profit off of the companies product, then they will NOT MAKE THAT PRODUCT ANYMORE. It. Is. That. SIMPLE! Researchers and scientists cost MONEY! Labs and equipment cost MONEY! When you strip away the companies ability to recoup the money that they put into researching a particular drug, THEY WON'T DO ANY MORE RESEARCH!
And among the biggest sticks is the national government's threat to strip a drug company of its patent and allow generic companies, which bear no cost of research and development, the right to produce a drug if the patent-holding company fails to bring its products to market.
All of this means it takes much longer for new drugs to reach the Canadian consumer — and some never do.
Socialized Healthcare will do nothing but destroy the quality of medical care in this country. I read in an article that the reason Toronto got hit so hard with SARS is because they had an infectious patient lying on a gurney in the hospital's hallway for 12 hours! I see Canadians come down into the USA for healthcare on a daily basis! If government-controled healthcare is so great, why do you NEVER hear about an American going up to Canada for knee surgery? Heart surgery?
AIDS medication Reyataz, available in the U.S., hasn't even begun the approval process in Canada. Pegasus, a drug that treats Hepatitis C, has been approved in the U.S. for three years, where it's already available in a new and improved version. Canadians, however, still don't have access to the original version.
THIS is the system that Hillary Clinton wanted to put in place in America? No thank you.
Actually, let me restate that. No. Hell no. Not a CHANCE in hell NO! Let me add NO. Let me further state NO. Let me remind you, NO! Let me conclude with NO! And let's talk about the time I said NO!
Democrats claw each other
AEI has a neat little piece about how Democrat presidential hopefuls are scratching and clawing at each other. It's a good thing, I think.
AEI has a neat little piece about how Democrat presidential hopefuls are scratching and clawing at each other. It's a good thing, I think.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and retired Gen. Wesley Clark are outsiders. Just as Bill Clinton was in 1992, Dean is the former governor of a small, out-of-the-way state who has never worked in Washington. Clark, meanwhile, made his career in the military and has never been an elected politician. He can claim ties to Clinton, too. Clark is from Little Rock and has opened his campaign headquarters in the Arkansas capital. More important, several former Clinton administration officials are working for Clark.Read it all here, if you are so inclined.
Dean never tires of reminding Democrats that his leading competitors are Washington insiders. "Here are the differences between me and the other folks, from Washington," he said during the October 9 debate in Phoenix. Dean is equally tireless in arguing that he represents the true Democratic faith, which he claims the Washington insiders have sold out. "Let me tell you . . . why the Democrats aren't winning," he said in the debate. "It is because we don't stand up for what we believe in."
Beyond the headlines
The Strategy Page digs just a little deeper than Jennings and Brokaw:
The Strategy Page digs just a little deeper than Jennings and Brokaw:
Looming strategic success in Iraq runs counter to "if it bleeds it leads" headline coverage and commentary from Axis of Neville (Chamberlain) pundits. The headlines aren't false. Parts of Iraq are war zones, where fighting and dying continue. "Disarming" may take years. Saddam's filched billions and hidden weapons caches prop a flickering resistance. "Rearming" Iraq police is going too slowly.The whole thing is here: StrategyPage.com
Headlines, however, aren't the full story. Building goes on behind and around the bleeding, and that's the truly big news. Brick by brick creation isn't as sensational as bomb by bomb destruction, but brick by brick amounts to more. It's why in three years, give or take, Iraqis will have their own make-or-break chance to do something truly revolutionary -- run an Arab democracy.
Heads Up!
A strong geomagnetic storm was expected to hit Earth on Friday with the potential to affect electrical grids and satellite communications.Read more at CNEWS World.
Council News
The winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are American Sleepers Awaken by Spiced Sass, and A Brief History of the Imminent Threat Canard by Shark Blog. Full results are here.
The winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are American Sleepers Awaken by Spiced Sass, and A Brief History of the Imminent Threat Canard by Shark Blog. Full results are here.
Thursday, October 23, 2003
Linkz
Is this what Dave call "Linky Love"?
Ah well, The Happy Homeschooler beckons you.
Once in a while you may want to peep the Left Coast Conservative. My guess is that it gets lonely out there.
Some fella named Mark sent this to us: Shop the Right for Republican & Conservative gifts. Just in time for Christmas.
Is this what Dave call "Linky Love"?
Ah well, The Happy Homeschooler beckons you.
Once in a while you may want to peep the Left Coast Conservative. My guess is that it gets lonely out there.
Some fella named Mark sent this to us: Shop the Right for Republican & Conservative gifts. Just in time for Christmas.
What Liberal Media?
Emmett Tyrrell gives a brief preview of the upcoming CBS special: "The Reagans".
Emmett Tyrrell gives a brief preview of the upcoming CBS special: "The Reagans".
Just gotta love those union thugs
If someone is willing to work your job and you aren't, what do you do? Beat the shit out of him with a bat.
If someone is willing to work your job and you aren't, what do you do? Beat the shit out of him with a bat.
More racism in the NFL
Check this out:
It all gets so confusing when you start to try to delve into the minds of the White and Guilty.
Chicago Sun-Times
Check this out:
Dolphins linebacker Junior Seau says he meant no harm when he suggested the way to stop former teammate LaDainian Tomlinson is to feed him fried chicken and watermelon.Of course, it's black-on-black stereotyping so if you search you'll find little mention of this in cyberspace. Then again, Rush Limbaugh criticized white reporters, largely, but for him, it was racism, because I guess in the end it was a black quarterback who was his target.
Asked Wednesday how to limit Tomlinson, San Diego's star running back, Seau told reporters: ''You give him watermelon and load him up with fried chicken and tell him to keep eating.''
It all gets so confusing when you start to try to delve into the minds of the White and Guilty.
Chicago Sun-Times
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
I think I'm going to be sick
From the Wall Street Journal article that I found at Dean's World.
The report presents the grim individual stories of 30 defectors interviewed by Mr. Hawk in-depth, and culled from these, to further clarify the customs of the camps, is a long list of the tortures described. "Worst of all," as the report puts it, is a roster of stories detailing the routine murder of babies born to prisoners, as told by eight separate eyewitnesses. One common denominator is that when pregnant women are forcibly repatriated after fleeing to China, it is policy to murder their newborns, because they might have been fathered by Chinese men. One account describes babies tossed on the ground to die, with their mothers forced to watch. In another interview, a former prisoner, a 66-year-old grandmother, identified as "Detainee #24" to protect relatives still perhaps alive in North Korea, describes being assigned to help in the delivery of babies who were thrown immediately into a plastic-lined box to die in bulk lots. The report notes: "The interviewer had difficulty finding words to describe the sadness in this grandmother's eyes and the anguish on her face as she recounted her experience as a midwife at the detention center in South Sinuiju"--one of the sites shown in detail in the accompanying satellite photos.
Oh, but ask the Dimmy Donk Nine what they think of the "Axis of Evil" speech, and see what you get. Kim Jong Ill is a sub-human monster, and there should be no doubt that he will kill as many people as necessary in order to get his bomb. And from there, the murder rate just goes up.
From the Wall Street Journal article that I found at Dean's World.
The report presents the grim individual stories of 30 defectors interviewed by Mr. Hawk in-depth, and culled from these, to further clarify the customs of the camps, is a long list of the tortures described. "Worst of all," as the report puts it, is a roster of stories detailing the routine murder of babies born to prisoners, as told by eight separate eyewitnesses. One common denominator is that when pregnant women are forcibly repatriated after fleeing to China, it is policy to murder their newborns, because they might have been fathered by Chinese men. One account describes babies tossed on the ground to die, with their mothers forced to watch. In another interview, a former prisoner, a 66-year-old grandmother, identified as "Detainee #24" to protect relatives still perhaps alive in North Korea, describes being assigned to help in the delivery of babies who were thrown immediately into a plastic-lined box to die in bulk lots. The report notes: "The interviewer had difficulty finding words to describe the sadness in this grandmother's eyes and the anguish on her face as she recounted her experience as a midwife at the detention center in South Sinuiju"--one of the sites shown in detail in the accompanying satellite photos.
Oh, but ask the Dimmy Donk Nine what they think of the "Axis of Evil" speech, and see what you get. Kim Jong Ill is a sub-human monster, and there should be no doubt that he will kill as many people as necessary in order to get his bomb. And from there, the murder rate just goes up.
When did the concept of personal and parental responsibility disappear from our lives?
Ladies, gentlemen, and fellow Right Wing Wackos, after "Big Fast Food", we are now seeing the next iteration of "Big Tobacco" - and it is "Big Video Game". Blame video games for violence committed by stupid and reckless teenagers. I keep thinking that one day there is finally going to be a huge backlash against bullshit lawsuits like this. I just can't believe that it hasn't happened yet.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - A $246 million lawsuit was filed against the designer, marketer and a retailer of the video game series "Grand Theft Auto" by the families of two people shot by teenagers apparently inspired by the game.
The suit claims marketer Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., designers Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games, and Wal-Mart, are liable for $46 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages.
Aaron Hamel, 45, a registered nurse, was killed and Kimberly Bede, 19, of Moneta, Va., was seriously wounded when their cars were hit June 25 by .22-caliber bullets as they passed through the Great Smoky Mountains.
Stepbrothers William Buckner, 16, and Joshua Buckner, 14, of Newport, were sentenced in August to an indefinite term in state custody after pleading guilty in juvenile court to reckless homicide, endangerment and assault.
The boys told investigators they got the rifles from a locked room in their home and decided to randomly shoot at tractor-trailer rigs, just like in the video game "Grand Theft Auto III..."
There's more to it, but I think that you get the picture. We've also got a lady suing Sony because her Everquest-addicted son killed himself. Responsibility is no longer about being responsible for your own actions, and those of your children. It's about blaming a big evil corporation and shaking down whomever has the deepest pockets. Years of anti-individualism and class warfare indoctrination by our public school system and our mainstream media are definitely bearing fruit.
Ladies, gentlemen, and fellow Right Wing Wackos, after "Big Fast Food", we are now seeing the next iteration of "Big Tobacco" - and it is "Big Video Game". Blame video games for violence committed by stupid and reckless teenagers. I keep thinking that one day there is finally going to be a huge backlash against bullshit lawsuits like this. I just can't believe that it hasn't happened yet.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - A $246 million lawsuit was filed against the designer, marketer and a retailer of the video game series "Grand Theft Auto" by the families of two people shot by teenagers apparently inspired by the game.
The suit claims marketer Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., designers Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games, and Wal-Mart, are liable for $46 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages.
Aaron Hamel, 45, a registered nurse, was killed and Kimberly Bede, 19, of Moneta, Va., was seriously wounded when their cars were hit June 25 by .22-caliber bullets as they passed through the Great Smoky Mountains.
Stepbrothers William Buckner, 16, and Joshua Buckner, 14, of Newport, were sentenced in August to an indefinite term in state custody after pleading guilty in juvenile court to reckless homicide, endangerment and assault.
The boys told investigators they got the rifles from a locked room in their home and decided to randomly shoot at tractor-trailer rigs, just like in the video game "Grand Theft Auto III..."
There's more to it, but I think that you get the picture. We've also got a lady suing Sony because her Everquest-addicted son killed himself. Responsibility is no longer about being responsible for your own actions, and those of your children. It's about blaming a big evil corporation and shaking down whomever has the deepest pockets. Years of anti-individualism and class warfare indoctrination by our public school system and our mainstream media are definitely bearing fruit.
Give me a frigging break!
Do you want to know why more and more people view cries of "RACISM" with a jaundiced eye?
Because of crap like this.
The first "hiring report card" will be posted in October 2004 and grades will be based on:
• contact with the BCA during the hiring process;
• efforts to interview candidates of color;
• number of minorities involved in the hiring process;
• the time frame for each search;
• adherence to institutional affirmative-action policies for hiring.
While no official grades were awarded for the last year, numbers compiled by Michigan professor Keith Harrison indicated there are two schools — Washington and Washington State — that would have received an F.
Would anyone like to take a guess why those two schools would be getting an "F"?
Washington hired Keith Gilbertson, who is white, one day after the fired Rick Neuheisel's appeal process ended in July. Bill Doba, also white, succeeded Mike Price a day after Price left WSU in December.
Gilbertson was the line coach and offensive coordinator at UW, and Doba was the defensive coordinator at WSU. Both of them had coached for years that their respective schools, and both were hired because IT WAS THE BEST THING FOR THE TEAM! Color PLAYED NO PART IN IT! Dear G-d in heaven, how stupid are these people? Did they really expect WSU to go to the team and say "Hey, I know that you just lost your coach, and your QB as well as the Outland Trophy winning linebacker and your top cornerback were all drafted, and you might like some sort of continuity, but Doba's a white boy, so fuck him. We're getting a black coach who you don't know anything about who will change the entire system and quite possibly sink this program until everything gets sorted out. Enjoy!"
I mean gee, UW couldn't have hired Gilbertson because he'd been coaching there for years, knew the players, knew the team as a whole, knew the plays, and could provide some stability after a nasty firing of the previous coach, could they? Nah, they hired him because they wanted to keep the black man down! Yeah, that's gotta be the ticket!
The NAACP and the Black Coaches Association need to get a grip, and get a clue. A good portion of America has the "Boy who cried wolf" syndrome when it comes to charges of racism these days, and asshatted crap like this is exactly the reason why. I mean, what do you say when a coaches group demands job interviews BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN??? "Give us job interviews because we're black! Give us jobs because we're black! And if you don't, you're RACIST!"
MLK is rolling in his grave right now, I tell you.
Do you want to know why more and more people view cries of "RACISM" with a jaundiced eye?
Because of crap like this.
The first "hiring report card" will be posted in October 2004 and grades will be based on:
• contact with the BCA during the hiring process;
• efforts to interview candidates of color;
• number of minorities involved in the hiring process;
• the time frame for each search;
• adherence to institutional affirmative-action policies for hiring.
While no official grades were awarded for the last year, numbers compiled by Michigan professor Keith Harrison indicated there are two schools — Washington and Washington State — that would have received an F.
Would anyone like to take a guess why those two schools would be getting an "F"?
Washington hired Keith Gilbertson, who is white, one day after the fired Rick Neuheisel's appeal process ended in July. Bill Doba, also white, succeeded Mike Price a day after Price left WSU in December.
Gilbertson was the line coach and offensive coordinator at UW, and Doba was the defensive coordinator at WSU. Both of them had coached for years that their respective schools, and both were hired because IT WAS THE BEST THING FOR THE TEAM! Color PLAYED NO PART IN IT! Dear G-d in heaven, how stupid are these people? Did they really expect WSU to go to the team and say "Hey, I know that you just lost your coach, and your QB as well as the Outland Trophy winning linebacker and your top cornerback were all drafted, and you might like some sort of continuity, but Doba's a white boy, so fuck him. We're getting a black coach who you don't know anything about who will change the entire system and quite possibly sink this program until everything gets sorted out. Enjoy!"
I mean gee, UW couldn't have hired Gilbertson because he'd been coaching there for years, knew the players, knew the team as a whole, knew the plays, and could provide some stability after a nasty firing of the previous coach, could they? Nah, they hired him because they wanted to keep the black man down! Yeah, that's gotta be the ticket!
The NAACP and the Black Coaches Association need to get a grip, and get a clue. A good portion of America has the "Boy who cried wolf" syndrome when it comes to charges of racism these days, and asshatted crap like this is exactly the reason why. I mean, what do you say when a coaches group demands job interviews BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN??? "Give us job interviews because we're black! Give us jobs because we're black! And if you don't, you're RACIST!"
MLK is rolling in his grave right now, I tell you.
David Gest says that Liza Minnelli beat the shit out of him regularly during their 16 year marriage.
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
When the countries on either side of you get new management
Iran claims a desire to cooperate.
Sounds like The EUnionists are setting up an opportunity in the future, when it becomes clear to all rational individuals (rather than these gullible appeasers) that Iran is enough of a threat to act, for them to claim that we should stick with their successful (blatant lie) negotiations (with tyrants) rather than doing what is necessary. Always working against the cause of freedom, those assholes are! Time to start keeping a very thorough record of what transpires between the international community and Iran.
Iran claims a desire to cooperate.
Sounds like The EUnionists are setting up an opportunity in the future, when it becomes clear to all rational individuals (rather than these gullible appeasers) that Iran is enough of a threat to act, for them to claim that we should stick with their successful (blatant lie) negotiations (with tyrants) rather than doing what is necessary. Always working against the cause of freedom, those assholes are! Time to start keeping a very thorough record of what transpires between the international community and Iran.
I believe the phrase is: "Oh s**t!
The body finds new ways to tell me "GO TO HELL, YOU MORON! You're not a kid anymore!"
So here I am... driving home from work.... when I see two guys pushing a car (up a gentle slope) in my lane. So Dave, who isn't a complete asshole all the time, pulls up behind them, puts the hazard lights on, and checks to see if he can help.
Now then, what would a smart man do?
A) Tell the people to roll the car back into the truck's brushguard, and then push the car with his truck, or
B) Get out, and manually push a god-damned 1960's land yacht up a god-damned hill and wreck his god-damned back in the process?
To every one who said "Dave, you're a dumbass!" get the hell out. I'm in pain and don't need your BS. I guess I'll find out if I can walk tomorrow. In the meantime, much liquid muscle relaxers, by the name of Bombay Sapphire. Crap crap crap crap crap!
The body finds new ways to tell me "GO TO HELL, YOU MORON! You're not a kid anymore!"
So here I am... driving home from work.... when I see two guys pushing a car (up a gentle slope) in my lane. So Dave, who isn't a complete asshole all the time, pulls up behind them, puts the hazard lights on, and checks to see if he can help.
Now then, what would a smart man do?
A) Tell the people to roll the car back into the truck's brushguard, and then push the car with his truck, or
B) Get out, and manually push a god-damned 1960's land yacht up a god-damned hill and wreck his god-damned back in the process?
To every one who said "Dave, you're a dumbass!" get the hell out. I'm in pain and don't need your BS. I guess I'll find out if I can walk tomorrow. In the meantime, much liquid muscle relaxers, by the name of Bombay Sapphire. Crap crap crap crap crap!
Two-faced Maddie
Madeleine Albright, regarding the conflict in Kosovo:
Madeleine Albright, regarding the conflict in Kosovo:
"This is playing with fire. In the Balkans, signs of impatience can be misinterpreted as symptoms of weakness. We cannot afford that in a region where weakness attracts vultures.The Volokh Conspiracy
"We will not achieve our goals in Southeast Europe if our eyes are always on the clock and our focus is solely on what others do. We are more than bookkeepers and spectators. We are leaders, and our fundamental objective in Southeast Europe is not to leave. It's to win."
Pardon me whilst I wet myself
Been reading Cold Fury again. I just like that name. Cold Fury. Anyways, I don't read the site because of the name, I read the site for gems like this:
[Hiking up her peasant skirt and squatting in the corner, Jones relieved herself of a high-velocity jet of reeking piss directly onto the floor of the room while saying, “Bush and his cronies are simply incapable of understanding the niceties of civilized behavior, and no amount of Daddy’s Money can make of them anything but what they are: dimestore dictators and boorish, déclassé brigands of the first water.” Daintily lifting her clodhopper boots away from the spreading, steaming puddle, she continued: “They’re despicable, and I wish them all dead! DEAD, I tell you!!”]
Okay, so I made that part up. Onwards:
Oh yeah, he's pissed. And rightly so, thanks to an interview with a dope-addled dope who seems to think that her years of doing any drug available now makes her qualified for political analysis.
And lets not forget this post, calling attention to a piece on NRO specificly designed to make any right-thinking person's head explode. Enjoy!
Been reading Cold Fury again. I just like that name. Cold Fury. Anyways, I don't read the site because of the name, I read the site for gems like this:
[Hiking up her peasant skirt and squatting in the corner, Jones relieved herself of a high-velocity jet of reeking piss directly onto the floor of the room while saying, “Bush and his cronies are simply incapable of understanding the niceties of civilized behavior, and no amount of Daddy’s Money can make of them anything but what they are: dimestore dictators and boorish, déclassé brigands of the first water.” Daintily lifting her clodhopper boots away from the spreading, steaming puddle, she continued: “They’re despicable, and I wish them all dead! DEAD, I tell you!!”]
Okay, so I made that part up. Onwards:
Oh yeah, he's pissed. And rightly so, thanks to an interview with a dope-addled dope who seems to think that her years of doing any drug available now makes her qualified for political analysis.
And lets not forget this post, calling attention to a piece on NRO specificly designed to make any right-thinking person's head explode. Enjoy!
Jobs on the rise
People are gonna find jobs. How sad that must make Dem Dopey Dems.
Tech job postings on two popular online employment sites have increased sharply, a sign that the long moribund job market may finally be turning around.Wired News: Not So Quiet on Tech Job Front
Craigslist tech job postings in the San Francisco Bay Area have doubled from a year ago and are up 50 percent from six months ago, said CEO Jim Buckmaster. Activity has particularly picked up in the past four weeks, he said.
A similar picture has emerged at Monster.com, one of the Web's biggest job sites. Overall listings are up 19 percent in the past six months, said founder Jeff Taylor. The increases are centered in such tech job categories as software development (39 percent), call center jobs (36 percent) and engineering (21 percent).
Noting that activity in the San Francisco area often presages shifts in the broader tech marketplace, Taylor said, 'I've spoken to a couple of people in San Francisco in the past 48 or 72 hours, and San Francisco is popping right now. We're being anecdotal here, but in the past four or five weeks, San Francisco has come back to life.' "
People are gonna find jobs. How sad that must make Dem Dopey Dems.
These 19th Century French alphabet etchings aren't safe for work.
Makes you wanna click the link, don't it?
Who Say Boosheet?
Saxby Chambliss has a slam for the "No WMD!" arzehattz.
ajc.com
Found on Right-Thinking
Saxby Chambliss has a slam for the "No WMD!" arzehattz.
Pundits and partisan politicos savaged the Bush administration in ways that made me wonder whether they were ignorant not only of the report's contents, but also of the fact Saddam gassed 5,000 Kurdish civilians at Halabja in 1988 and fired missiles at Saudi Arabia and Israel in the first Gulf War. It was as though Saddam didn't have WMD, never had them and never sought to acquire them, which couldn't be further from the truth. This willful ignorance of facts reminded me not of professional journalists investigating a story, but of those members of the Flat Earth Society who still ignore all evidence the Earth is round.Boo!
ajc.com
Found on Right-Thinking
Feeling Good About Iraq
You don't have to feel bad. You can feel good. You just have to hunt down the good stuff.
You don't have to feel bad. You can feel good. You just have to hunt down the good stuff.
Not only was the war itself vastly less bloody and difficult than some predicted, but its aftermath has also been quieter. We were told by prewar prognosticators to expect a refugee flood, a food crisis, destruction of the oil fields, and public-health disasters. We were warned that Iraq's multifarious ethnic and religious groups would be at one another's throats. Environmental catastrophes, chemical poisonings, and dam breaks were predicted. It was said Turkey might occupy the north, that Israel could strike from the south, that the Arab "street" was likely to resist.Progress exceeds prognostication in Iraq
None of these things happened. Nor have other predicted troubles materialized. When 300,000 mourners gathered for the funeral of assassinated Shiite spiritual leader Bakr al Hakim, they didn't rampage, or call for vengeance against Sunnis, or lash out against the US authorities. They and their leaders showed the political maturity to let the official investigation into the leader's murder proceed.
Whatever the setbacks, we must remember that much of this war has been a case of the dog that didn't bark.
"Al Qaeda's Sugar Daddy"
Maybe this is getting old, I dunno. Here goes anyway:
Maybe this is getting old, I dunno. Here goes anyway:
On Jan. 5, 2000, Ahmad Hikmat Shakir an Iraqi airport greeter reportedly dispatched from Baghdads Malaysian embassy escorted Khalid al Midhar and Nawaz al Hamzi to a Kuala Lampur hotel where these two Sept. 11 hijackers met with 9/11 conspirators Ramzi bin al Shibh and Tawfiz al Atash. Five days later, Shakir disappeared. Qatari officials arrested him on Sept. 17, 2001. They discovered papers tying him to the 1993 WTC plot and Operation Bojinka, al-Qaidas 1995 plan to atomize 12 jets over the Pacific.Red Bluff Daily News Online
Finally, Clinton-appointed Manhattan federal judge Harold Baer ordered Hussein to pay $104 million to the families of two 9/11 casualties.
I conclude that plaintiffs have shown, albeit barely...that Iraq provided material support to bin Laden and al Qaeda. An airtight case? No, but sufficient evidence tied Hussein to 9/11 and won a May 7 federal judgment against him.
Dammit, just FIRE THEM!
The teachers in Marysville are finally going back to work thanks to a court injunction, but not without much bitching and moaning.
"Marysville teachers will return to the classrooms and our students," said Elaine Hanson, president of the Marysville Education Association, "but our fight doesn't end tonight." Hanson said the school board membership "has got to go." She said teachers would support opponents for all three school board members, out of five, who are up for re-election Nov. 4.
Now, Ms. Hanson, a pudgy, pasty-faced asexual-looking woman has been just about as nasty as you can be and still get on TV. Just looking at the woman makes me side with the school district.
Teachers will continue to seek "a fair and reasonable contract" through negotiations, Hanson said. No talks have been scheduled right now, she said Monday night.
Fair and reasonable? Let's see here, Ms. Hanson. Right now you have the 9th highest average teacher salary in the state of Washington, at least 10% above the state average. You have a small, rural school district. You've badmouthed the school district and the parents, demanded more money from people who can't afford it, yeah, we've got "fair and resonable" for ya.
Marysville schools also have other problems. The school district's financial controls have been faulted by the state auditor, test scores are underwhelming and voters earlier this year rejected a tax levy to build a new high school.
So these people can't even teach the kids very well, but they want more money? They should be on their knees thanking g-d that they don't get paid by their actuall performance, because then they wouldn't get SQUAT! They would be OWING the school district!
I can't begin to express my disgust at these socialist pricks. They get paid in the top percentile in Washington, yet their kids aren't learning at that rate. They demand more money in the middle of a period of high unemployement, from a school district that is mostly rural, and then go on the longest teacher's strike in history when they're told "We don't have the money". That's the bottom line! The school district is stretched to the breaking point, but these idiotic twits don't care, they want more! These over-paid pampered beurocrats should have been fired long ago, but they're state employees. They don't deserve a pay raise, they deserve to lose their jobs! Maybe if they spent as much time trying to teach kids properly as they do grabbing for their piece of the pie, we wouldn't be facing a generation of graduates who CAN'T FRIGGING READ!!!!!!
Fire them all. They're nothing but a bunch of whiny, over-paid, snot-nosed, worthless, socialists. Those kids could get a better education from the school janitor than from the teachers. At least the janitors showed up last month ready to work.
The teachers in Marysville are finally going back to work thanks to a court injunction, but not without much bitching and moaning.
"Marysville teachers will return to the classrooms and our students," said Elaine Hanson, president of the Marysville Education Association, "but our fight doesn't end tonight." Hanson said the school board membership "has got to go." She said teachers would support opponents for all three school board members, out of five, who are up for re-election Nov. 4.
Now, Ms. Hanson, a pudgy, pasty-faced asexual-looking woman has been just about as nasty as you can be and still get on TV. Just looking at the woman makes me side with the school district.
Teachers will continue to seek "a fair and reasonable contract" through negotiations, Hanson said. No talks have been scheduled right now, she said Monday night.
Fair and reasonable? Let's see here, Ms. Hanson. Right now you have the 9th highest average teacher salary in the state of Washington, at least 10% above the state average. You have a small, rural school district. You've badmouthed the school district and the parents, demanded more money from people who can't afford it, yeah, we've got "fair and resonable" for ya.
Marysville schools also have other problems. The school district's financial controls have been faulted by the state auditor, test scores are underwhelming and voters earlier this year rejected a tax levy to build a new high school.
So these people can't even teach the kids very well, but they want more money? They should be on their knees thanking g-d that they don't get paid by their actuall performance, because then they wouldn't get SQUAT! They would be OWING the school district!
I can't begin to express my disgust at these socialist pricks. They get paid in the top percentile in Washington, yet their kids aren't learning at that rate. They demand more money in the middle of a period of high unemployement, from a school district that is mostly rural, and then go on the longest teacher's strike in history when they're told "We don't have the money". That's the bottom line! The school district is stretched to the breaking point, but these idiotic twits don't care, they want more! These over-paid pampered beurocrats should have been fired long ago, but they're state employees. They don't deserve a pay raise, they deserve to lose their jobs! Maybe if they spent as much time trying to teach kids properly as they do grabbing for their piece of the pie, we wouldn't be facing a generation of graduates who CAN'T FRIGGING READ!!!!!!
Fire them all. They're nothing but a bunch of whiny, over-paid, snot-nosed, worthless, socialists. Those kids could get a better education from the school janitor than from the teachers. At least the janitors showed up last month ready to work.
I feel so dirty.....
I was watching the game last night. Raiders vs. Chiefs. I really don't give a hoot about those two teams, since the Seahawks are out of that division and into the NFC. But, it's standard practice to root against the Raiders, and I am. So I'm drinking a beer and watching the game, just relaxing.
Then Gannon goes down. Hit hard. He's injured. I perk up.
Tui is warming up, and he's coming into the game.
Marques Tuiasasopo was a QB from the University of Washington. A pretty decent guy by all accounts, he was the reason why UW won the Rose Bowl his senior year. Got drafted by the Raiders and spent the past two and a half years riding the bench. Until now.
Suddenly the Raiders are completing passes. Tui's scrambling away from a sack. And I.... I......
I rooted for the Raiders to win.
I feel so dirty.
I was watching the game last night. Raiders vs. Chiefs. I really don't give a hoot about those two teams, since the Seahawks are out of that division and into the NFC. But, it's standard practice to root against the Raiders, and I am. So I'm drinking a beer and watching the game, just relaxing.
Then Gannon goes down. Hit hard. He's injured. I perk up.
Tui is warming up, and he's coming into the game.
Marques Tuiasasopo was a QB from the University of Washington. A pretty decent guy by all accounts, he was the reason why UW won the Rose Bowl his senior year. Got drafted by the Raiders and spent the past two and a half years riding the bench. Until now.
Suddenly the Raiders are completing passes. Tui's scrambling away from a sack. And I.... I......
I rooted for the Raiders to win.
I feel so dirty.
Monday, October 20, 2003
Damn damn damn damn DAMN!
Kim du Toit is dropping his Daily Rant. He'll still be doing a weekly rant, but the man has a lot on his plate, including working from home and home-schooling his kids, all while writing a novel (or two). Go wish him good luck.
On a happier note, our pals over at Random Nuclear Strikes have been working on a project site called The Bellicose Women's Brigade.
Following the events of September 11th, 2001, University of Tennessee Law Professor Glenn Reynolds coined the phrase "Bellicose Women's Brigade" in an attempt to describe the shift in attitude towards self defense that many of his female readers were experiencing. We have attempted to embrace that change in attitude here at BWB, and strive to provide information on self defense to women who are interested in learning how to protect themselves
Oh yeah. If you're a woman who wants to learn how to shoot a gun and protect yourself, it's well worth the time to go read through the site.
Also from RNS, Analog Kid has the lowdown on the homeless people sob stories. Just to warn you, do NOT go there if you don't want your pre-concieved notions shattered. I deal with homeless people on a daily basis, and I found myself nodding my head and going "Yep, that's it in a nutshell".
Whew... looks like Tim and I are on a roll here today!
Kim du Toit is dropping his Daily Rant. He'll still be doing a weekly rant, but the man has a lot on his plate, including working from home and home-schooling his kids, all while writing a novel (or two). Go wish him good luck.
On a happier note, our pals over at Random Nuclear Strikes have been working on a project site called The Bellicose Women's Brigade.
Following the events of September 11th, 2001, University of Tennessee Law Professor Glenn Reynolds coined the phrase "Bellicose Women's Brigade" in an attempt to describe the shift in attitude towards self defense that many of his female readers were experiencing. We have attempted to embrace that change in attitude here at BWB, and strive to provide information on self defense to women who are interested in learning how to protect themselves
Oh yeah. If you're a woman who wants to learn how to shoot a gun and protect yourself, it's well worth the time to go read through the site.
Also from RNS, Analog Kid has the lowdown on the homeless people sob stories. Just to warn you, do NOT go there if you don't want your pre-concieved notions shattered. I deal with homeless people on a daily basis, and I found myself nodding my head and going "Yep, that's it in a nutshell".
Whew... looks like Tim and I are on a roll here today!
the best we have to the world instead of the worst."
This is simply amazing and the product of some truly excellent research. It demonstrates pretty clearly that the world revolves more than it evolves. Peep this quote:
We have swept away Hitlerism, but a great many Europeans feel that the cure has been worse than the disease.Read more here, if you wish, and I highly suggest that you do so: Jessica's Well - A Midland, Texas Blog on Media and Government.
Looks like all hearsay so there ain't much to add to this but it's more fodder for the notion of a Saddam / Al-Qa'ida connection.
BITE ME, you snot-nosed ecoFREAKS!
I was watching the news this morning when a blurb came on that had me screaming.
Remember the Spotted Owl? That sacred bird that shut down 22,000 logging jobs for good? Savior of the old growth forests?
It's becoming extinct. Oops. And it's due to the Barred Owl, not humans.
There is a spin on this story that you wouldn't believe. Of course the eco-freaks are screaming that it's all us evil humans that are killing them off. Heaven forbid that these brainless idiotic fucking walking piles of shit actually take responsibility for their actions and admit they were wrong. I wonder if any of these IQ draining fucktards have actually been to an old growth forest. I will admit, they're beautiful. Big trees. Lots of shade. Lots and LOTS of shade, and pine needles littering the ground. Nothing but trees and their needles.
No undergrowth. Which means no little animals. Which means NO FRIGGING FOOD FOR THE DAMN OWLS!
Maybe if these soul-sucking slack-jawed halfwits had ACTUALLY LISTENED TO PEOPLE WHO KNEW THE FOREST, we wouldn't be dealing with this problem. Maybe if these moronicly incompetant anal-warts had ACTUALLY LISTENED TO THE FORESTERS WHO STUDY THE DAMN FOREST we wouldn't have lost 22,000 frigging jobs as well as the owls themselves. But no, these self-righteous bloviating asshats had to DO SOMETHING to validate their pathetic worthless existance, so they latched on to the damn owls and didn't let go, never ONCE thinking about the cycle of life and death in the forest. Ever heard of a field mouse? Yes? Everyone has. Ever hear about the forest mouse? No? Do you know why? BECAUSE THERE ISN'T ANY DAMN FOOD FOR THE DAMN MICE IN THE DAMN FOREST, THAT'S WHY! THERE ARE NO FOREST MICE! Mice and rabbits and groundhogs and gophers and all the other animals that an owl eats DON'T LIVE IN THE DAMN FOREST! They live in FIELDS and MEADOWS and OPEN AREAS, which have now VANISHED because nobody is allowed to LOG THE DAMN FOREST!
So we've lost jobs, and now we're losing the owls. Gee, thanks you asstastic ECOFREAKS! The owl is dying and it's YOUR DAMN FAULT! But do you accept that? Nooooooooo, we have to keep going down the road which has caused all the damn problems to begin with! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
I was watching the news this morning when a blurb came on that had me screaming.
Remember the Spotted Owl? That sacred bird that shut down 22,000 logging jobs for good? Savior of the old growth forests?
It's becoming extinct. Oops. And it's due to the Barred Owl, not humans.
There is a spin on this story that you wouldn't believe. Of course the eco-freaks are screaming that it's all us evil humans that are killing them off. Heaven forbid that these brainless idiotic fucking walking piles of shit actually take responsibility for their actions and admit they were wrong. I wonder if any of these IQ draining fucktards have actually been to an old growth forest. I will admit, they're beautiful. Big trees. Lots of shade. Lots and LOTS of shade, and pine needles littering the ground. Nothing but trees and their needles.
No undergrowth. Which means no little animals. Which means NO FRIGGING FOOD FOR THE DAMN OWLS!
Maybe if these soul-sucking slack-jawed halfwits had ACTUALLY LISTENED TO PEOPLE WHO KNEW THE FOREST, we wouldn't be dealing with this problem. Maybe if these moronicly incompetant anal-warts had ACTUALLY LISTENED TO THE FORESTERS WHO STUDY THE DAMN FOREST we wouldn't have lost 22,000 frigging jobs as well as the owls themselves. But no, these self-righteous bloviating asshats had to DO SOMETHING to validate their pathetic worthless existance, so they latched on to the damn owls and didn't let go, never ONCE thinking about the cycle of life and death in the forest. Ever heard of a field mouse? Yes? Everyone has. Ever hear about the forest mouse? No? Do you know why? BECAUSE THERE ISN'T ANY DAMN FOOD FOR THE DAMN MICE IN THE DAMN FOREST, THAT'S WHY! THERE ARE NO FOREST MICE! Mice and rabbits and groundhogs and gophers and all the other animals that an owl eats DON'T LIVE IN THE DAMN FOREST! They live in FIELDS and MEADOWS and OPEN AREAS, which have now VANISHED because nobody is allowed to LOG THE DAMN FOREST!
So we've lost jobs, and now we're losing the owls. Gee, thanks you asstastic ECOFREAKS! The owl is dying and it's YOUR DAMN FAULT! But do you accept that? Nooooooooo, we have to keep going down the road which has caused all the damn problems to begin with! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
The Council Spake Again
The winning entries from last week were The Angry Left by Free Will, and Face to Face With Evil by The Conspiracy to Keep You Poor and Stupid.
The total results are here).
The winning entries from last week were The Angry Left by Free Will, and Face to Face With Evil by The Conspiracy to Keep You Poor and Stupid.
The total results are here).
"The (Finally) Emerging Republican Majority"
Fred Barnes reports that the country has titlted to the right.
Fred Barnes reports that the country has titlted to the right.
These voting patterns fit Walter Dean Burnham's definition of realignment: "a sudden transformation that turns out to be permanent." Burnham is a University of Texas political scientist, just retired but still the chief theorist of realignment. He is neither a Republican nor a conservative.The (Finally) Emerging Republican Majority
The same Republican trend is true for state elections. In 1992, Democrats captured 59 percent of state legislative seats (4,344 to 3,031 for Republicans). Ten years later, Republicans won their first majority (3,684 to 3,626) of state legislators since 1952. In 1992, Democrats controlled the legislatures of 25 states to 8 for Republicans, while the others had split control. Today, Republicans rule 21 legislatures to 16 for Democrats. Governors? Republicans had 18 in 1992, Democrats 30. Today, Republicans hold 27 governorships, Democrats 23.
"Men, women, and brains"
A dangerous topic, indeed. Nonetheless:
A dangerous topic, indeed. Nonetheless:
See, based on radioactive imaging and magnetic imaging, science is able to show that the male and female brain work very differently.Read more at PittsburghLIVE.com.
Take listening. One study shows that men listen with only one side of their brain, whereas women use both. With all that interconnectedness going on, it's no wonder women remember everything we said from the moment they met us, whereas we can't remember what were we supposed to pick up at the store.
Another study shows that women can listen to two separate conversations at the same time, whereas men can barely follow one, particularly when it involves feelings or the spring sale at Bed Bath & Beyond.
Sunday, October 19, 2003
Code Hard And Well For The People
The Chinese have several thousand cyberwarriors developing weapons and tactics for a future war fought via the Internet.Code Hard And Well For The People
Madeleine Albright Finally Discovers Her True Heritage
Military Jokes Military Humor Military Satire Military Witticisms
Military Jokes Military Humor Military Satire Military Witticisms
Gimme gimme gimme gimme traffic traffic traffic traffic
How the eff does one get Instalanched? I sent Glenn Reynolds this on Dean and Guns about two weeks ago:
Dean and Guns
He ignored it.
Then today up pops this:
Instapundit
What the bleep is that???
Sheehit.
How the eff does one get Instalanched? I sent Glenn Reynolds this on Dean and Guns about two weeks ago:
Dean and Guns
He ignored it.
Then today up pops this:
Instapundit
What the bleep is that???
Sheehit.
Smog Happens
USA Today reports that air quality improved during the greed-and-avarice-uber-alles Reagan years, but air quality worsened during the Kyoto-and-caring-uber-alles Clinton years.
USATODAY.com - Smoggy skies persist despite decade of work
USA Today reports that air quality improved during the greed-and-avarice-uber-alles Reagan years, but air quality worsened during the Kyoto-and-caring-uber-alles Clinton years.
The amount of smog over the USA failed to decline during the past decade despite a nationwide effort to improve air quality, statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency show.Go fugging figure.
Smog levels dropped during the 1980s. But the latest edition of the EPA's annual report on air quality shows that smog levels didn't get better from 1993 through 2002. Independent scientists have drawn similar conclusions.
"It's a bit of a black eye for EPA," says Daniel Jacob, a Harvard University chemist who studies smog. "We were making progress in the '80s, and the progress has halted."
USATODAY.com - Smoggy skies persist despite decade of work
So it shall be!
I recieved an email from someone who had read my rant on the ABC sweatshop blurb. (I won't mention any names) He suggested a term to be used for when shock causes me to snort scotch out my nose, which happens more frequently than I like to admit. Therefore, the act of a shock-induced stream of scotch into my nasal passeges shall now be known as "snotching it".
So it is written, so it shall be!
I recieved an email from someone who had read my rant on the ABC sweatshop blurb. (I won't mention any names) He suggested a term to be used for when shock causes me to snort scotch out my nose, which happens more frequently than I like to admit. Therefore, the act of a shock-induced stream of scotch into my nasal passeges shall now be known as "snotching it".
So it is written, so it shall be!
From the files of "WHAT THE F**K?
You've heard people whining and sniffling about all those people without health insurance, right?
Did you know that almost half of them aren't even American citizens?
One of the primary arguments put forth for socialized medicine in the US is the large numbers of uninsured. However, considering that nearly half of these uninsured aren't even citizens -- as the above graph proves -- I believe that these statistics are misleading. After all, discussions of the uninsured usually imply that they're Americans, not persons here illegally. Most Americans would probably agree that a public healthcare system should cover citizens, not simply anyone who can hop the border.
Check out the graph. It's mindblowing to me that the Socialists want to give healthcare insurance to people who aren't even citizens. Hospitals in Arizona and Texas have already closed due to un-compensated medical care given to illegal immigrants. The Donks need to get several facts through their heads, one of which is SOCIALIZED HEALTH CARE FAILS, just like EVERY OTHER SOCIALIST ENDEAVOR!
Hat tip to Ravenwood for the link.
You've heard people whining and sniffling about all those people without health insurance, right?
Did you know that almost half of them aren't even American citizens?
One of the primary arguments put forth for socialized medicine in the US is the large numbers of uninsured. However, considering that nearly half of these uninsured aren't even citizens -- as the above graph proves -- I believe that these statistics are misleading. After all, discussions of the uninsured usually imply that they're Americans, not persons here illegally. Most Americans would probably agree that a public healthcare system should cover citizens, not simply anyone who can hop the border.
Check out the graph. It's mindblowing to me that the Socialists want to give healthcare insurance to people who aren't even citizens. Hospitals in Arizona and Texas have already closed due to un-compensated medical care given to illegal immigrants. The Donks need to get several facts through their heads, one of which is SOCIALIZED HEALTH CARE FAILS, just like EVERY OTHER SOCIALIST ENDEAVOR!
Hat tip to Ravenwood for the link.
RCOB - Red Curtain Of Blood
RCOB. It's Kim-speak. From his website:
(acronym) Red Curtain Of Blood; that horrible thing which falls over my eyes when I read or see something horrible, like a Bill Bastard Clinton interview on TV, or a Molly Ivins column in the newspaper. It strips me of manners and restraint, and fills me with bile so that I spew hatred, break coffee mugs and refer to the 42nd President as an evil fuckface, or similar.
Everyone has their RCOB moments and triggers. Some of us have more of them, (whatcho lookin' at me like that for?) and I had another one today after reading this trash.
I believe the right to keep and bear arms is a fiction. Legal experts I respect have all held that the Second Amendment confers no right of individual gun ownership.
Too bad the Supreme Court of the United States disagress with you, asshole! I can normally read Leonard Pitts without much vitrol. In fact, even though I normally disagree with him, he usually presents logical arguments that make you think and/or re-consider your position in a different light. But that one statement... how the hell can an educated man in America make a statement like that? The Second Amendment does not leave room for interpretation!
"A well-regulated Militia, being necessary for the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
And for those who argue that the "People" are not a militia, let's look at what the Founding Fathers thought, shall we?
Patrick Henry: "I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
Alexander Hamilton: "If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is no recourse left but in the exertion of the original right of self-defense which is paramount to all forms of positive government."
Thomas Jefferson: "No man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
John Adams: "Arms in the hands of the citizens may be used at individual discretion for the defense of the country, the overthrow of tyranny or private self-defense."
And last but not least, the government has the very definition of what a militia is!
~~Title 10, Section 311 of the U.S. Code: "The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age..."
So tell me Mr. Pitts, just what the hell is fiction here? Perhaps I've misjudged you, since you seem to think that the Second Amendment is a "fiction". Try to take away my guns and I'll show you some full metal jacketed "facts", in 30-06 size.
The best quote I've found from a modern politician also came from a Kim du Toit essay.
Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp of Texas: "How a politician stands on the Second Amendment tells you how he or she views you as an individual... as a trustworthy and productive citizen, or as part of an unruly crowd that needs to be lorded over, controlled, supervised, and taken care of."
Yep.
Side note: I could write a book on why I own guns, and how I feel about gun ownership. But Kim du Toit has done that before I even thought about it. He as fourteen different essays regarding gun ownership, and they sum up my feelings quite nicely.
UPDATE: Found a great quote from a piece at DANEgerous:
"...when law-abiding citizens are forbidden by their government from protecting themselves, they become easy prey for those to whom a gun ban is just one more law to break."
RCOB. It's Kim-speak. From his website:
(acronym) Red Curtain Of Blood; that horrible thing which falls over my eyes when I read or see something horrible, like a Bill Bastard Clinton interview on TV, or a Molly Ivins column in the newspaper. It strips me of manners and restraint, and fills me with bile so that I spew hatred, break coffee mugs and refer to the 42nd President as an evil fuckface, or similar.
Everyone has their RCOB moments and triggers. Some of us have more of them, (whatcho lookin' at me like that for?) and I had another one today after reading this trash.
I believe the right to keep and bear arms is a fiction. Legal experts I respect have all held that the Second Amendment confers no right of individual gun ownership.
Too bad the Supreme Court of the United States disagress with you, asshole! I can normally read Leonard Pitts without much vitrol. In fact, even though I normally disagree with him, he usually presents logical arguments that make you think and/or re-consider your position in a different light. But that one statement... how the hell can an educated man in America make a statement like that? The Second Amendment does not leave room for interpretation!
"A well-regulated Militia, being necessary for the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
And for those who argue that the "People" are not a militia, let's look at what the Founding Fathers thought, shall we?
Patrick Henry: "I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
Alexander Hamilton: "If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is no recourse left but in the exertion of the original right of self-defense which is paramount to all forms of positive government."
Thomas Jefferson: "No man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
John Adams: "Arms in the hands of the citizens may be used at individual discretion for the defense of the country, the overthrow of tyranny or private self-defense."
And last but not least, the government has the very definition of what a militia is!
~~Title 10, Section 311 of the U.S. Code: "The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age..."
So tell me Mr. Pitts, just what the hell is fiction here? Perhaps I've misjudged you, since you seem to think that the Second Amendment is a "fiction". Try to take away my guns and I'll show you some full metal jacketed "facts", in 30-06 size.
The best quote I've found from a modern politician also came from a Kim du Toit essay.
Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp of Texas: "How a politician stands on the Second Amendment tells you how he or she views you as an individual... as a trustworthy and productive citizen, or as part of an unruly crowd that needs to be lorded over, controlled, supervised, and taken care of."
Yep.
Side note: I could write a book on why I own guns, and how I feel about gun ownership. But Kim du Toit has done that before I even thought about it. He as fourteen different essays regarding gun ownership, and they sum up my feelings quite nicely.
UPDATE: Found a great quote from a piece at DANEgerous:
"...when law-abiding citizens are forbidden by their government from protecting themselves, they become easy prey for those to whom a gun ban is just one more law to break."
Simplicity
When everything is boiled down, I like to keep things simple. Especially with my firearms. The less parts that a gun has, the fewer parts that can break or malfunction. I'll take a revolver over a semi-auto any day, and I'll take a bolt action over a semi-auto as well.
I spent Thursday and Friday looking for my birthday gun. There were plenty that were newer, or in a bit better condition, but they were semi-autos. Nope. I've spent enough time tearing apart semi-autos or full autos (the latter when I was in the Army) that I know I don't want to deal with that hassle. When it comes to cleaning my guns, I joke that I have OCD. My girlfriend says it's not a joke. I'll spend half an hour with a pipe cleaner digging into some small crevice because everytime I stick the cleaner in, it comes out dirty. Drives me nuts. I'm not a clean-freak by any means, as anyone who's visited my house can tell you. But putting a gun away dirty? You might as well ask me to stop breathing, because it ain't happening. I'll be scraping away with a dental pick because I'm still pulling enough dirt out of the chamber to grow a garden. I can hear my old drill seargent's voice: "What the f**k is this, private? You planning on growing flowers in that damn thing?"
Which brings me back to one reason why I like a good bolt-action rifle. A bolt-action is beautiful in it's simplicity. I can take it apart in seconds flat. You have four main areas to clean: bore, chamber, bolt, and magazine. The magazine is a quick inspection and wipe-down. I'll take it apart a few times a year for a closer inspection and cleaning, but it's not my main focus. The bolt takes more time, because I refuse to break it down, so I spend a lot of time with pipe cleaners digging and pulling out carbon and crud. Once it's clean, it gets lubed and set aside. The bore gets two passes with the bore brush to break up the crud, and then lots of patches and solvent until they come out clean. The chamber takes more time, because there are more areas that catch and hold the carbon. Lots of pipe cleaners and patches, and of course, solvent. Once everything is clean, it gets lubed and re-assembled. Last I check out the stock and barrel surface, wipe it clean, and then rub it down with a silicone cloth to prevent corrosion.
All in all, it's about a half-hour to an hour, depending on how dirty the gun is. Most people see me cleaning and say "Geez man, get a grip!" I have a grip, people, and it's very nice and clean. I've heard people say "Well, a .22 shoots better when it's a little dirty." Yep, and they corrode very nicely that way too. I can show you the corrosion that can occur when you don't clean them properly. I expect to leave my guns in my will when I die at a ripe old age. The person who gets them will find them clean, workable, and ready to fire.
There are several aspects of a semi-auto that beat out a bolt action, of course, I haven't seen to many bolt-action rifles with high capacity magazines. And let's face it, if the fit hits the shan, a fifteen round clip and a fast rate of fire is preferable to "shoot, work the bolt, shoot, work the bolt", ect. I have a pump-action 12 guage for home defense and bird hunting. I plan on having several semi-autos in my armory when I can afford them. But in terms of shooting enjoyment, just give me a good old bolt action rifle. Simple as that.
I'll post a range report as soon as I can get my target on the scanner. Let me just say this for now: It's an older gun, with all the quirks that go with age, but it's still as accurate as the day it came off the line. Any problems the gun had was from the ammo, or Operator Headspace and Timing.
UPDATE: Here ya go, as promised. This was standing, unsupported, at 45 feet.
Not bad for an old guy with an old gun, eh? I guess all those years in the Army taught me something.
When everything is boiled down, I like to keep things simple. Especially with my firearms. The less parts that a gun has, the fewer parts that can break or malfunction. I'll take a revolver over a semi-auto any day, and I'll take a bolt action over a semi-auto as well.
I spent Thursday and Friday looking for my birthday gun. There were plenty that were newer, or in a bit better condition, but they were semi-autos. Nope. I've spent enough time tearing apart semi-autos or full autos (the latter when I was in the Army) that I know I don't want to deal with that hassle. When it comes to cleaning my guns, I joke that I have OCD. My girlfriend says it's not a joke. I'll spend half an hour with a pipe cleaner digging into some small crevice because everytime I stick the cleaner in, it comes out dirty. Drives me nuts. I'm not a clean-freak by any means, as anyone who's visited my house can tell you. But putting a gun away dirty? You might as well ask me to stop breathing, because it ain't happening. I'll be scraping away with a dental pick because I'm still pulling enough dirt out of the chamber to grow a garden. I can hear my old drill seargent's voice: "What the f**k is this, private? You planning on growing flowers in that damn thing?"
Which brings me back to one reason why I like a good bolt-action rifle. A bolt-action is beautiful in it's simplicity. I can take it apart in seconds flat. You have four main areas to clean: bore, chamber, bolt, and magazine. The magazine is a quick inspection and wipe-down. I'll take it apart a few times a year for a closer inspection and cleaning, but it's not my main focus. The bolt takes more time, because I refuse to break it down, so I spend a lot of time with pipe cleaners digging and pulling out carbon and crud. Once it's clean, it gets lubed and set aside. The bore gets two passes with the bore brush to break up the crud, and then lots of patches and solvent until they come out clean. The chamber takes more time, because there are more areas that catch and hold the carbon. Lots of pipe cleaners and patches, and of course, solvent. Once everything is clean, it gets lubed and re-assembled. Last I check out the stock and barrel surface, wipe it clean, and then rub it down with a silicone cloth to prevent corrosion.
All in all, it's about a half-hour to an hour, depending on how dirty the gun is. Most people see me cleaning and say "Geez man, get a grip!" I have a grip, people, and it's very nice and clean. I've heard people say "Well, a .22 shoots better when it's a little dirty." Yep, and they corrode very nicely that way too. I can show you the corrosion that can occur when you don't clean them properly. I expect to leave my guns in my will when I die at a ripe old age. The person who gets them will find them clean, workable, and ready to fire.
There are several aspects of a semi-auto that beat out a bolt action, of course, I haven't seen to many bolt-action rifles with high capacity magazines. And let's face it, if the fit hits the shan, a fifteen round clip and a fast rate of fire is preferable to "shoot, work the bolt, shoot, work the bolt", ect. I have a pump-action 12 guage for home defense and bird hunting. I plan on having several semi-autos in my armory when I can afford them. But in terms of shooting enjoyment, just give me a good old bolt action rifle. Simple as that.
I'll post a range report as soon as I can get my target on the scanner. Let me just say this for now: It's an older gun, with all the quirks that go with age, but it's still as accurate as the day it came off the line. Any problems the gun had was from the ammo, or Operator Headspace and Timing.
UPDATE: Here ya go, as promised. This was standing, unsupported, at 45 feet.
Not bad for an old guy with an old gun, eh? I guess all those years in the Army taught me something.