It was a cold, clear late spring day, as the last of the early plum blossoms drifted across the kitchen windows under a pale blue sky. We had finally finished the kitchen remodel of our 125 yr old farm house; I was well pleased with the tall mullioned windows over looking the veggie garden. The original window panes had tiny flaws and bubbles that made perspective slightly off-kilter in a pleasing way.
A good day to stay inside I thought as I peeled veggies for a lamb stew, a few strands of hair plopped forward tickling my face. I pushed the hair back and glanced up just as a woman passed from my line of vision. What? I dropped the carrot in the sink and quickly side -stepped to the next window...craning my neck this way and that...peering into the garden. No one was there. I was sure I saw a black and deep violet skirt...with a bustle.
I stepped into my garden clogs in the back hall, pulling on a jacket, the dogs crowding around, eager to go out. It was cold; I pulled the jacket tighter as I rounded the corner onto the gravel pathway.
"Hello! Who's there? Hello?!" I called. The dogs were nonplussed, snuffling and bumping my legs as they horsed around my knees in that good-natured way dogs have of enjoying themselves and a crisp day. I could see the entire side yard and drive. It was empty. The side gate into the alleyway was padlocked.
Well. Guess the light and window panes played a little trick on me I thought. I'll just cut a few springs of thyme and pull a few onions for the stew. Looking down as I pushed open the gate into the kitchen garden I noticed small footprints on the path. I placed my foot next to the closet one and it was much smaller than mine, probably a size 6. Odd. Now I was creeped out.
I went back inside and picked up the 12 gauge near the back door and returned to the garden. Our property was a three acre parcel, the house sat back into very middle of the space, a long drive curved from the street around the house to the old stables which now served as a garage and workshop. I quickly crossed the back garden to a vantage point from where I could see most of the property. Nothing. No one. The dogs were still happily goofing around and the cats joined us, curious but relaxed.
I scouted the entire property that day...it was just my imagination I guess...the footprints may have been those of a friend who stopped by to pick peas earlier in the week.
Silly goose, I went back inside and put on the kettle. The dogs climbed into their baskets in front of the kitchen fireplace and as I sat down at the kitchen table opposite the windows I saw her.
A slight, plain woman with light brown hair, a black silk bonnet neatly tied under her chin, two ringlets of hair on either side of her pale face. A black velvet waistcoat with a small, prim white lace collar tightly cinched over a deep violet taffeta skirt pulled back into a bustle over long black silk under skirt and small grey buttoned shoes. She seemed distressed as if she was late , a small beaded bag swung from her wrist as she smoothed the back of her black kid gloves, she seemed nervous. She turned as if to pace and looked directly at me. She started, her right hand flew to her collar, the beaded bag dangling oddly...she looked right at me and then she turned and was gone. I did not rush outside; I knew the garden was empty.
Over the next few years I saw the woman in black and violet every spring as the plum flowers faded. She was waiting, for whom? I mentioned it to my husband who took it all in stride for we both witnessed events that sound crazy when explained. The house was warm and inviting; I felt nothing evil lurked, so we lived with whatever it was. We never told any of our friends or family about the Woman or other happenings.
Five years after I first saw the woman in black and violet friends came to stay for a few weeks. Their escrow closed but the new house was behind schedule and they had a new baby and a charming five year old, we had a huge house with plenty of privacy and space. It was late spring.
I was in my sewing/laundry room opposite the kitchen mending clothes. My house guest, Jen was fixing us some tea; I could hear her puttering around, talking to the ever present dogs and cats.
Suddenly I heard a crashing sound from the kitchen and Jen rushed across the hall...face flushed
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Well, um, ah, I don't know how to tell you this..um..." she stammered.
"What? Are you okay? I thought she dropped one of my teacups; I collect them, and she thought I would be upset.
"I saw a woman in the garden outside the window." she said quietly.
"A woman in black and violet period dress? I queried
"Yes”.
This is absolutely a true story and never found out exactly who the woman was, we traced the family back three generations to the mid 1850's when the house was built, but records do not describe black and violet dresses.
We sold the house and moved away twenty five years ago, every spring I wonder.
No...it's not a video of Bill jumping bones in the Lincoln Bedroom (eeewww)...but this must be driving the RR nuts
A tip o' the cap to Blogcritics compilation of Halloween links.
A chilling book review from Susanna Cornett....not your mother's Cliff Notes.
Michele is Halloween blogging with her usual verve...go read "I Dream of Kurt Cobain".
Alan at Avocare rocks the haunted house with an all-Halloween page.
Michael Williams has his Second Annual Spherewide Short Story Symposium up....which led me to: Evil Stupid Bastard a man for all seasons and the blogroll.
Andrew Ian Dodge, of Dodgeblogium, answers The Call of Cthulhu and offers this tidbit of true life weirdness.
A label on the kit says: This box contains the items considered necessary for persons who travel into certain little known countries of Eastern Europe where the populace are plagued with a particular manifestation of evil known as Vampires.
You think the annoymous buyer might have the initial Ms A Widdecombe MP?
...more links to be added throughout the day and evening...leave yours in comments or feste at foolsblog dot com and I'll post them.
The Top Ten Scariest Halloween Costumes
10. Gray Davis Disco Fever Costume
9. Jacko-Lantern
8. Monica Handbag and Thong Set
7. Janet Reno Little French Maid Outfit
6. Madeline Albright Female Pattern Baldness
5. Maureen Dowd Poodle Dog Outfit
4. President Hillary Clinton Mask
3. Two-candidate Donkey Suit
2. Donald Rumsfield, Warrior Princess
And the number one Scariest Halloween Costume is...
1.Mighty Metrosexual Power Ranger Dean
It might be a crime if you didn't read Carnival of the Vanities...Blogger Rabbit hosts a noirish selection of the Blogosphere's best.
Then visit this guy and feel totally inept. Of course if you're looking to release your inner caveman then these guys are the ticket.
The drumbeat goes on...the media fixated on death and dying...nothing good can come of Iraq they stress urgently, we must leave reads the subtext of every report. Democrats wallow in defeatism and negativity. Our enemies think all they need to do is up the murder ante and Bush will be defeated, the new American president will pull troops out, and it's back to business as usual.
This is what we are doing in Iraq, the future of the Middle East and our own children's security hinges on these boys and girls and others like them. Iraqi children can change the course of history or return to the fundementalist madrassas and the 5th century.
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Iraqi children at the new Domiz Park playground in Mosul, Iraq, gather together to thank the soldiers and take a picture, Sept. 22, 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Curtis Hargrave
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Orphans from the Monastery of the Virgin Mary, located in the town of Alqush, smile after receiving school supplies from soldiers of the 431st Civil Affairs attached to the 101st Airborne Division, Oct. 26, 2003. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Partricia Lage
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Defend America has a different picture of what is happening on the ground in Iraq.
HEALTH: Under Saddam, one in eight Iraqi children died before the age of five and infant mortality was among the highest in the Arab world. Quality healthcare was reserved for Baath party officials and others connected to the regime. During the 1990’s, Saddam cut spending on public health by over 90%. Today, working closely with the Iraqi Health Ministry and other Iraqi medical professionals, the Coalition is restoring and expanding basic health care services.- All of Iraq’s 240 hospitals have been re-opened, and 95% of Iraq’s health clinics are open and accepting patients.
- More than 22 million doses of vaccines have been delivered to support vaccinating 4.2 million children and 700,000 pregnant women. By the end of 2004, more than 90 percent of Iraqi children under age five will have been immunized against preventable diseases such as polio, tuberculosis, and measles. There are no signs of epidemics.
-The Coalition delivered more than 12,000 tons of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies in the last 120 days.-Next year, the goal is to provide backup power systems to every Ministry of Health hospital in Iraq, provide medical-grade oxygen to all hospitals, and establish a healthcare facility replacement program.
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U.S. Army Capt. Lou Giangiulo, with the 10th Mountain Forward Support Battalion, listens with a stethoscope for any irregular breathing from a child, Oct. 2, 2003. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Hugo A. Baray-Vasquez
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U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jamie Houston, a dentist with the 502nd Dental Company, Fort Hood, Texas, shows a class of students at a school near Balad, Iraq, how to brush their teeth, Oct. 26, 2003. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jack Morse
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Do we leave Iraqi children to this fate? or this? It's your choice, your vote.
It's bad enough to watch our military killed and maimed trying to help the Iraqi people...but THIS is beyond the pale.
An item from Zeyad at Healing Iraq. (scroll down to Monday's posts)
Baby bombs
The Mujahedeen are getting very creative day by day. Someone told me yesterday that a woman carrying a baby just a few months old was arrested in front of Al Yarmuk hospital in Baghdad after trying to enter. The IP and FPS found out that the baby was wrapped in explosives between his clothes. After questioning the woman she confessed that the baby was kidnapped and that some Arabs had offered her a considerable amount of money to get the baby inside the crowded emergency hall in the hospital, leave it there and they would do the rest. Pretty amazing isn't it? Hospitals? I can't understand why they didn't hang the woman on the spot. Because obviously the terrorists are craving for some attention. We could have given them all the attention they wanted by doing that.
Thanks to Michele for pointing me to this post...I've been reading Zeyad...now I'll blogroll him as well.
Maybe it's this damned El Diablo wind that has pounded the East Bay Hills for three straight days. We nervously watch the conflagration down south, knowing that it could strike us any minute. Makes a person downright antsy.
So I'm chilling...avoiding the news ...deep denial is always a good civil defense option (ask any Liberal/Democrat)... and working on the Halloween page...I think you'll hate it.
Muwhahahahahahah!
Go to Whizbang and check out the this week's Bonfire of the Vanities...always dreadfully entertaining.
Kevin's got the comment spam blocker link up too...check it out.
My route home in the evening took me past a second-hand yard of outdoor signage, supplies and props...always an interesting mix of tacky and utility...but one evening a pair of huge wooden figures, tightly wrapped in plastic sheeting, appeared in the corner of the yard...Urban American Gothic 2002.
The next day I stopped and took a few photos in the fading sunlight:
Every time I stopped in front of these dour, haunted figures an inner dialogue began about this social issue or that...sometimes I simply smiled at the absurdity of it all. Who made these figures? Where did they stand? Who sold them? WHY???
My employer moved to an adjacent neighborhood the next year and my route changed, I thought no more of the sad images dominating the stark corner of 5th and Castro in West Oakland.
Until last week...I met a friend at Jack London Square for lunch and took my old route to the freeway. The top half of the Farmer was missing. Hmmm...I thought... wonder what happened? What ill befell this weird icon of American Schtick?(as I came to call them).
Today I opened the Bay area section of the Friday Chronicle and there he was, atop a Volvo, newly painted and spiffed up...a plain farmer no more...now he's Frisco Fashion Dude with trendy grey streaks in his 'Do.
This says even more about our culture than Grant Wood's imagery of his time...it absoultely made my week.
Chris Muir gets it...oh boy does he ever...makes me laugh every day.
Gov.-elect going to meet the politicians
Sacramento visit his first since election
Sacramento -- Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger arrives in the Capitol today for the first time since the Oct. 7 recall vote, as he begins his official relationship with the Democratic-controlled Legislature and finally meets the man he ousted, Gov. Gray Davis.
Thursday's private meeting with Davis in the Ronald Reagan Conference Room comes as the outgoing governor's aides packed boxes, removed photographs and began archiving their papers in expectation that Schwarzenegger will take office in mid-November when all the votes finally are certified. Schwarzenegger wants a large-scale swearing-in ceremony for the public, perhaps on Nov. 17, a Monday.
Of course Davis stays true to his weasel ways to the end:
Davis showed Tuesday that although he wants a cordial and professional transfer of power, bitterness from the recall election lingers. He questioned once again whether Schwarzenegger knows the definition of a special interest he claims to want to oust in Sacramento.
"And we'll just see how Gov. Schwarzenegger conducts himself in office,'' Davis said Tuesday on CNN. "He took money from business interests and real estate interests. He says those are not special interests. Anyone who has a stake in what happens in Sacramento is a special interest, as the term is normally defined."
Davis still doesn't get it and never will.
Daily my stomach churns as the Dems cast the Iraqi situation as failure and lies for political purposes, providing our enemies hope that we can be chased from Iraq, that killing Americans will enable a Dem to win the White House and a "cut & run" scenario will quickly follow.
Apart from the sheer evil of obtaining power by sacrificing tens of thousands of cooperating Iraqs to the Ba'athist killing fields, we must not botch an opportunity to reconstruct Iraq into a secular Arabic economic powerhouse that will sweep radical Islam from power throughout the Arabic world.
During our internal political scandals and power stuggles in the 70's, we lost the opportunity in Iran, we must not repeat that legacy. A sea change is beginning in the Middle East, one that hinges on our mission in Iraq.
This article by Charles Leveinson, of the Chronicle Foreign Service, illustrates why we must stay the course in Iraq.
Arab governments adopt reforms
Leaders more agreeable to political shifts
Cairo, Egypt -- In the six months since Arab governments warily watched the fall of Baghdad, Arab leaders have opened the door to unprecedented political reforms.
Though still a far cry from the sweeping democratic transformation activists seek, reforms in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Qatar and other Mideast nations, taken together, mark an extraordinary change for Arab governments, observers say.
The report was particularly critical of high illiteracy rates among women and media restrictions, saying journalists "face the illegal harassment, intimidation and even physical threats."
Nevertheless, change is in the air. Among the most significant reforms to emerge in the past six months is Saudi Arabia's announcement in May of its plan to appoint a national human rights commission. Last week, the conservative Persian Gulf monarchy said it would hold local elections for the first time. In Qatar, voters approved a new constitution in April that established the country's first elected parliament.
"Kassem, of the Egyptian human rights organization, believes the future of the reform in the Middle East hinges largely on U.S. success or failure in Iraq."Once it looks like things are under control in Iraq and the project is going to succeed, you're going to see a much faster pace of reform,'' Kassem suggested. "If there's a failure and a pullout from Iraq, the regimes are going to cross their arms and start cracking down on the reformists.''
I fear that the Ba'athist may have it right. That they read the media focus on failure correctly, that our media desparately wants Bush to fail, partially to vindicate their opposition to the war and to revisit 2000. Should Americans be distracted by our internal idealogical wars and allow reform in the Middle East to slip away, we may lose an opportunity much like that presented to us when we opposed the Soviets at Berlin.
To old-timers in the San Francisco Bay area, every World Series brings back memories of the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. Those of you who lived through it remember the time and date like it was yesterday.
A still warm day, much like today, what we jokingly call "earthquake" weather. I was washing the car...the dogs lounging in the drive...steaks marinating ...in a hurry to finish in time to watch the game.
Suddenly the car began to bounce off the ground like a rubber ball. I couldn't fathom what was happening...then I heard a low rumble and turned to see a two foot high "wave" rolling up the concrete driveway towards me. I just stood there dumbfounded, hose running. I managed to grab the car door handle as it hit and kept my footing... watching 60' stone pines sway from side to side...the garage doors twisted off the tracks with a metal shriek and it was gone. Dogs barking, alarms going off in the neighborhood...people streamed into the street. Stunned...but not panicky.
I dashed into the garage and turned off the gas...the power flickered...no dial tone...flipped on the TV...no cable. I grabbed the dog leashes and quickly walked to the neighborhood emergency meeting point...a small band of us went from house to house...list in hand. Everyone was okay in our sector.
When I returned home the power was back on...still no dial tone. Started the car but the car phone was down too... I was on my own. I hoped my family wasn't freaking out...but no way to contact them.
I grilled a steak...opened a bottle of wine... fetched the small portable TV from the guest room...pulled up the rabbit ears and sat there for hours in the dark watching...dogs and cats glued to me on the sofa (the Spousal Unit was away on business) watching ...shivering with every aftershock...too wired to sleep.
My peninsula neighborhood near Stanford University was lucky, being on bedrock, only a few fallen chimneys, trashed shelves, jammed doors and facade damage. Our house sustained very little damage other than the garage doors and cracked plaster.
This is not the first strong earthquake I've experienced...but it is one I recall viscerally...maybe because the real-time media coverage made it larger than life...even for those of us in the midst of it ...we could see the horrendous damage in Oakland...the Marina fires...the Bay Bridge...the images the world saw from the Goodyear Blimp magnified the impact. Usually disaster victims are cut off from the media coverage...we witnessed the earthquake in a new way. Our local TV coverage was spotty...many without backup generators...but KGO and news anchor Pete Wilson remained on-air for three days non-stop...a calm, steadying voice...balancing the network images with neighborhood reports, instructions and a little reality...99% of us were safe. Collectively, we held our breath and waited as the earth continued to move for days.
On some primal level, we're still waiting.
Postscript: I worked in Emeryville and had a rotating four day on, three day off schedule in '89.... I would have been here any given day at 5:04PM...heading for the Bay Bridge and home...Oct 17, 1989 was not my day to die.
A funny aside: Whenever we leave the dogs on their own overnight we turn on a radio in the garage near their beds...tuning in a talk station as it keeps them company. A year after the quake we went away overnight and forgot about the date. We returned home Sunday evening to a pair of very freaked out dogs...the radio station replayed the tapes from the quake all day. Now the "dog" radio is tuned to classical FM.
Something about this story gives my wallet the puckers.
U.N. OKs U.S. plan for Iraq in 15-0 vote
Bush team wins long-sought council victory
The 15-0 vote came as a surprise because France, Germany and Russia had vehemently opposed the resolution, seeking a firm timetable for the transition to full Iraqi sovereignty. But their opposition melted in last-minute negotiations after American diplomats offered several minor concessions. Even Syria, the only Arab nation on the Security Council at the moment, and a vocal opponent of the American-led invasion in March, went along in the end.
Last-minute negotiations=US taxpayers money...what else is there to negotiate but price?
The "uh-oh" graf:
But Russia began edging toward the U.S. position, and talks between Washington and Moscow produced a last-minute set of changes to the text. The amendments give Annan greater scope to participate in drafting a new Iraqi constitution and the political transition, and they state for the first time that the mandate of U.S.-led troops will expire when an Iraqi government is elected.
Can you spell Foggy Bottom C-A-V-E? Thought you could.
Well that was interesting...taking down many of the most popular and heavily read blogs.
Hosting Matters sez:
"Beginning at or around 1750 Eastern Oct. 16, we experienced a denial of service attack directed at our network. This was confirmed by the security team at the NOC with a peak inbound at 150 Mps, moving to 85 Mps as they continued to block the attack. This attack is on an order that requires our upstream to do the bulk of the work, as it not something that can be easily dealt with at our level. "
UPDATE: Dean Esmay posted:
"Just got an email from Michele Catalano, telling me that the attack was aimed at one site. It appears to be a pro-Israeli site, commenting on and reporting on activities in the middle east
Well. Now what do you know about that?"
UPDATE II: LGF's readers provide commentary on the DOS...The Fiery Celt composed a little ditty to while away the time: "Loggin' onto Nothin'"
Step right up Folks!
Carnival of the Vanities appears for a limited engagement at Tagorda's Priorities & Frivolities featuring delights you don't tell your Momma about.
See Little Egypt(wav file)...she dances....she sings:
I went and bought myself a ticket and I sat down in the very first row
They pulled the curtain but then when they turned the spotlight way down low
Little Egypt came out a-struttin' wearin' nothin' but a button and a bow
Singing, ying-ying, ying-ying, ying-ying, ying-ying
She had a ruby on her tummy and a diamond big as texas on her toe
She let her hair down and she did the hoochie-coochie real slow
When she did her special number on the zebra skin I thought she'd stop the show
Singing, ying-ying, ying-ying, ying-ying, ying-ying
She did her triple somersault and when she hit the ground
She winked at the audience and then she turned around
She had a picture of a cowboy tatooed on her spine
Said, Phoenix, Arizona 1949
Yeh, let me tell you people Little Egypt doesn't dance there anymore
She's too busy mopping and a-takin' care of shopping at the store
'cos we've got seven kids and all day long they crawl around the floor
Singing ying-ying, ying-ying, ying-ying, ying-ying
(words & music by Leiber-Stoller)
For those of you who thought Gray Davis was getting a bum rap...here's how the GovWeasel works.
You no doubt recall Davis signing SB60 in the Latino community and campaigning for more illegal benefits.
The Democrat, Latino and union cross-over vote proved that Californians of all political and ethnic stripes didn't believe his campaign rhetoric from experience with the Governor's waffling and selling out to the highest bidder.
Davis could have redeemed himself with the party base and taken no action on bills he chose to veto. They would have become law before he left office at no political cost to Dems. Davis is a petty vindictive man using his last gasp of power to punish his party and groups he felt betrayed him at the polls.
Dan Walter's writes in the SacBee:
Final vetoes underscore why Davis alienated so many
Davis came to be seen -- with ample reason -- as someone who was interested only in the matter of the moment, viewing it through a purely political prism and lacking any consistency or broader vision.
A particularly blatant bit of Davis pandering happened this year, after the recall had qualified for the ballot. He had twice vetoed legislation to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, saying that the measures lacked background checks and safeguards against licenses being used by terrorists or criminals. But with Latino activists pushing Davis on the issue -- and apparently making their recall election support contingent on it -- the governor reversed course and signed a bill that had even fewer of the safeguards he had previously demanded.
Having moved in that direction for obviously self-serving political reasons, however, one might expect Davis to maintain some consistency by signing other major bills that immigrant-rights advocates had pushed through the Legislature: one to compel public agencies to recognize cards issued by the Mexican government as a form of identification, and another that would have made illegal immigrants eligible for a waiver of community college fees. But he vetoed both just before Monday's deadline for action on leftover bills, thus leaving the impression, whether intended or not, that he was paying back Latinos for not being supportive enough.
The immigrant fee waiver and identification card bills were characteristic of Davis' last-minute vetoes -- reversing course even as he was packing up to leave the governor's office for good.
Davis also backtracked on his promises to unions after they and put forth a huge effort against the recall:
During both his 2002 re-election and the 2003 recall, Davis had often demonstrated an eager willingness to accede to almost any demand from labor unions. But his post-election vetoes included several measures that the unions wanted, including:
* A bill sought by the California Association of Professional Scientists to improve the group's bargaining position in future state contracts.
* A "California Living Wage Act" that would have required any state agency contractor to meet minimum wage standards.
* A measure boosting penalties on employers who drag their feet on paying wages.
* A bill to ban employers from requiring arbitration on disputes with workers.
* Authorization for state and local agencies to offer more service-time credit, dubbed "golden handshakes," to employees to encourage them to retire early
The firefighters unions have been Davis' most consistent political supporter over the years, stretching back from the recall to the days when he was battling against long odds to become the Democratic nominee for governor in 1998, and binding arbitration is a bedrock political goal.
To add still another layer of inconsistency, even hypocrisy, to the situation, he denied the state firefighters unions the same binding arbitration rights that he had granted to local police and firefighters unions in 2000 over the strenuous objections of local government officials
Good riddance.
Cox and Forkum offer an excellent piece on the destruction of Columbus Day with their usual ascerbic wit and insightful commentary and this article from the Ayn Rand Institute by Michael Berliner:
On Columbus Day, Celebrate Western Civilization, Not Multiculturalism
"Columbus Day this year has a special meaning. Christopher Columbus is a carrier of Western civilization and the very values attacked by terrorists two years ago on September 11. To the "politically correct," Columbus Day is an occasion to be mourned. They have mourned, they have attacked, and they have intimidated schools across the country into replacing Columbus Day celebrations with "ethnic diversity" days.The politically correct view is that Columbus did not discover America, because people had lived here for thousands of years. Worse yet, it's claimed, the main legacy of Columbus is death and destruction. Columbus is routinely vilified as a symbol of slavery and genocide, and the celebration of his arrival likened to a celebration of Hitler and the Holocaust. The attacks on Columbus are ominous, because the actual target is Western civilization."
In my view, yet another sound reason for school vouchers.
Underlying the political collectivism of the anti-Columbus crowd is a racist view of human nature. They claim that one's identity is primarily ethnic: if one thinks his ancestors were good, he will supposedly feel good about himself; if he thinks his ancestors were bad, he will supposedly feel self-loathing. But it doesn't work; the achievements or failures of one's ancestors are monumentally irrelevant to one's actual worth as a person. Only the lack of a sense of self leads one to look to others to provide what passes for a sense of identity. Neither the deeds nor misdeeds of others are his own; he can take neither credit nor blame for what someone else chose to do. There are no racial achievements or racial failures, only individual achievements and individual failures. One cannot inherit moral worth or moral vice. "Self-esteem through others" is a self-contradiction.
This is exactly what the proponents of illegal immigration and diversity for the sake of maintaining PC racial or ethnic quotas do not understand. Fortunately some of us do, as Californian voters demonstrated last week.
Our "friends", the Eurofuckweasels, show their true colors once again: yellow.
Commission pressed over airline data exchange
The European Parliament has given the European Commission two months to ban the transfer of sensitive passenger data when EU citizens fly to the US, or it faces the risks of being brought before the Court of Justice.
In a resolution adopted almost unanimously today by MEPs, the Commission has been asked to determine what non-sensitive data can be transferred to the US, and to conclude within two months whether the level of data protection offered by the US is adequate.
"As Guardian of the Treaties the European Commission must ensure that airline companies operating in Europe comply with EU data protection legislation", Dutch Liberal MEP Johanna Boogerd-Quaak, who drafted the resolution said.
"This means ensuring that all transfers of sensitive passenger data to US Customs and Border Protection are stopped within a very short period of time".
After the attacks of 11 September 2001, the US is demanding airlines to provide it with electronic access to 39 information fields from the Passenger Name Record (PNR) data, which includes elements like credit card information, addresses and the passengers' meal choice.
This amount of data is seen as "excessive" by MEPs, and "out of proportion to the aim pursued".
Jeebus..."out of proportion to the aim pursued"?!
Excuse me Ms Boogerd-Quaak but just what part of 9/11 didn't you get? The hijacking of aircraft by eighteeen Saudi nationals, the murder of thousands of innocent people going about their lives (a percentage of whom were Europeans) or the destruction of a significant portion of lower Manhattan?
Tell it to a Liberal presidential candidate Ms. Boogerd-Quaak, I am sure they understand your point of view and will be more than happy to accomodate The Guardian of the Treaties and the EU in its pursuit of our ruination.
However, until such time as our native LeftieWeasels gain the White House, stick a Gouda in your gob and STFU.
More agenda driven bullshit in today's Chronicle...above the fold the Baghdad Hotel bombing...below... this typical laundry list of US Military wrongdoing:
U.S. troops struggle to define self-defense, overaggression
The money graf:
'THEY SMILE . . . TRY TO KILL YOU'
"I don't need friends like this," White remarked. "They smile in your face during the daytime and they try to kill you at night."
The Iraqis "seem to have gotten pretty aggravated with us being around," said Private T.J. Knight, the driver of White's humvee. "I asked my interpreter if the Iraqi people are mad at us. He said that 90 percent of Iraqis hate us, and the other 10 percent have left Iraq."
In this jittery atmosphere of contempt and violence, force protection sometimes takes priority over the need to minimize civilian casualties.
All Iraqis hate us? That is such a pile of steaming Liberal donkey shit. We have done more to avoid and minimize civilian casulties in this war than any military force in history. Where was this criticism in 1999 when the Clinton Administration and General Wesley Clark were raining death upon innocent Yugoslavs?
A more accurate statement might be that 90% of journalists hate the US military and any Republican administration.
Guilt lies only with the killers
On 12 October, 2002, radical Islamists set off a massive bomb in the city of Bali, Indonesia. The main purpose was to kill Westerners. The victims were primarily Indonesian and Australian, but were also New Zealeander, English, German, Korean, Danish, French, American, Japanese, Italian, and Dutch. A total of 202 people from 20 countries were murdered, alongside people who were horribly burned, sometimes crippled, but managed to survive. As Jake Ryan, a student who was there remembers it:
"Everyone looks the same when they're on fire. This is something I learned searching for my brother Mitchell in the first minutes after the Sari Club exploded a year ago on Sunday.
I couldn't find him. I couldn't tell if Mitch was one of the dozens of burning people dying outside the club.
A friend and I ran back inside and found a girl sitting in a circle of flame. She was holding someone whose skin was totally blackened. We yelled at her to reach out, so we could lift her from the fire, but she screamed back that she couldn't: 'I have no legs.' I looked down. Both her legs were gone. She died looking me in the eyes.
Further inside, I saw a hand reaching out and I grabbed it. The skin peeled off like a glove. I grabbed it again and pulled the person out . . . dead, and so badly burned it was impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman."
THE nation's leaders and Bali victims are encouraging Victorians to display orange ribbons in honour of those killed in the blasts."Orange is the Balinese colour for peace. By wearing a ribbon we can also acknowledge the suffering of the Balinese, who like Australians, are peace-loving people."
Nothing more needs to be said...now's the time for doing.
I am on an anti-media roll today...an hour or two spent perusing the Sunday editions of the NYT, Chronicle and Mercury News does tend to make one angry and/or nauseous....it's so easy to find this shit. Here is another example of the media pushing an agenda that has nothing whatsoever to do with the story:
Man run over by SUV dies on Peninsula
A Palo Alto man who hoped one day to be a rap star has died after he was run over by a sport utility vehicle following a fight at a party Sunday.
Oh my, pathos builds, a budding star nipped in the bud by an eeevil SUV. Let's read a bit further into the story shall we?
The SUV was involved in a fistfight? Well, now we understand....rowdy party animals those SUV's.
The SUV may have been under the influence? Of what? A hot wax? A Jiffy Lube gone wrong?
WTF does the make of the auto have to do with this story other than reinforcing a negative stereotype created by the media to discredit SUV's?
Would we see this headline?
Man run over by sedan dies on Peninsula
Or how about this one:
Man run over by Prius dies on Peninsula
Even a casual troll through any metro newspaper will find such examples of agenda driven reportage. The truly funny part of this is if one drives by the same newspaper employee parking lot one finds a large percentage of SUV's and expensive imports.
Asshats.
So Newsqueak is shocked that support for Operation Iraqi Freedom is waning...couldn't be the negative news hammered home day after day by the print media and their electronic brethren could it? Last week's TIME cover story is a typical hit piece. The use of the Bush aircraft landing photo is hardly subtle, it sets up the bias from the get-go. Do they really think we are so stupid as not to see through this visual setup?
Where are these pictures? or these stories in the mainstream media?
Have a look at the way poll questions are carefully designed to return a preconceived result. The media should ask hard questions and hold the Administration's feet to the fire, as they failed to do in Kosovo, but they should also deliver the good news. There is a huge difference between watch dog and ideological lap dog.
Apart from punishing Bush for what they see as an illegitimate assumption of the White House and electing a Democrat in 2004, I ask myself what do the media gain from this deliberate distortion of the situation in Iraq? Are they not Americans? Do they not have families? Do they not bleed if attacked by terrorists?
Gotcha journalism has become a zero sum game, eventually even the most politically polarized, obtuse journos will realized that fact when their jobs wither away as Americans ignore and/or turn away from their message.
As Dean Esmay so aptly put it: "I can think of nothing more vile, nothing more flat-out evil, than cutting and running on these people right now."
Sadly, I can; the media coverage and what it could mean to Americans like me living in or near Al-Qaeda target cities, ports, refineries or American architectural icons such as the Golden Gate Bridge.
Wake up people, there is a fifth column operating against our common interests and national security that is every bit as radical in their zeal to overthrow Bush as Al-Qeada. Fortunately they rely on our financial support, in the end they will whore for their jobs and sell out their Leftie ideology, but how many more Americans may die as a result of their skewing and dumbing down of information?
An excellent opinion piece in the Dallas Morning News from Columnist Ruben Navarrette, Jr:
*Californians weren't fooled by political theater
During an election day Mass, the now ex-governor of California felt the urge to say a prayer to St. Jude. He needn't have bothered. Even the patron saint of lost causes can spot political careers that are beyond salvation. And an incumbent governor with a 72 percent disapproval rating qualifies.
OK, gang, the fun's over. California voters aren't to be pitied or mocked. Rather, they should be admired and praised. They deserve enormous credit for ignoring last-minute mudslinging and those ridiculous charges about how the recall was part of some vast right-wing conspiracy to overturn elections. Luckily, they saw it for what it really was: a no-confidence vote on a career politician who built a career out of scaring people away from the alternatives.
That was always Gray Davis' MO. It's what led Mr. Davis to cross the line last year and buy TV ads that influenced the outcome of the Republican primary, essentially choosing his opponent. The recall was a creature of Mr. Davis' making. Put simply: People who spend their lives trying to manipulate the system run the risk of someday having the system turn against them.
Seems the Latino community isn't quite as captive or stupid as Bob Mulholland
and Terry McAuliff believe, Navarrette continues:
In doling out credit, let's not forget Latino voters who showed their independence by not toeing the line dictated by their leaders. From former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa to members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the shepherds pleaded with the flock to vote "no" on the recall. But the majority of Latino voters were smart enough to do otherwise, perhaps realizing that keeping Mr. Davis in office would only extend the political life of someone who knew only two ways to interact with them – ignore or pander.
According to an ABC News exit poll, 53 percent of California Latino voters supported the recall. Only 47 percent voted to retain Mr. Davis.
...How on earth did Mr. Davis get the idea that Mexican-American voters, who make up the majority of Latino voters in the state, make their decisions based on what giveaways are handed out to Mexican immigrants?
They don't. Sure, in the 1990s, California Gov. Pete Wilson learned that one sure way to lose Mexican-American support was to pick on Mexican immigrants. But no one ever claimed the opposite was true – that one could gain that support by pandering to immigrants.
*registration required
This little semantic gem from Berlin via Rueters:
Germans Criticize Leaders, Admire 'Arnold Effect'
The straight-talking Hollywood action star's election win in California has had an electrifying impact on Germany, leading to calls Friday for top politicians to voice clear ideas in simple language or be swept away at the polls.
"The more confused we are by what they say, the greater our longing for a man or woman with simple words," wrote Bild newspaper columnist Franz Josef Wagner. "The only problem is that it's the wrong ones who usually master simple language."
Schwarzenegger's victory in the California race for governor has led to editorials calling for German politicians to abandon their barely comprehensible speaking style in favor of "Klartext" (straight talk).
But Wagner and others also warn of the dangers of falling for simple remedies from loud Austrians who enthrall the masses. Austrian-born Adolf Hitler still casts a long shadow in Germany.
Celebrities, columnists, ordinary citizens and even some politicians have joined the chorus of calls for less talk and more action to get Germany moving again after years of economic stagnation and political standstill.
"My first thought was 'Oh my God, not another Austrian emigrant -- the first one caused enough damage"' wrote Peter Boenisch, a former government spokesman and newspaper editor, in an analysis on Schwarzenegger for the tabloid Bild.
"But Germany urgently needs something Schwarzenegger-like: a can-do spirit, unconventional thinking, courage, strength and vision. We're facing the worst crisis since the war," he wrote.
Great Galloping Goebbels Batman, this esel eines schweins speaks from both sides of his mealy-mouth and neither has anything coherent or worthwhile to offer on the subject.
This convenient lapse of memory as to who followed whom is why we best keep a standing army in Germany and continue to thwart the EU's military plans.
But wait! There's more! SF celebrates White Oppressor Day!
Nation's Oldest Italian Heritage Parade Takes to the Streets of San Francisco on October 12th
"More than 400,000 revelers are expected at San Francisco's 135th ANNUAL ITALIAN HERITAGE PARADE on Sunday, October 12, 2003, as the City's oldest civic event and the nation's oldest Italian-American parade and community celebration winds its way from Fisherman's Wharf to North Beach. A San Francisco institution since it was established in 1868, the 2003 Parade is promising to be bigger, better and more colorful than ever."
Of course this event was previously known as Columbus Day...repleat with a costumed re-enactment of the landing ...but alas, too un-PC for the Bay Area hair shirts...so Columbus was purged along with the US Navy. [Yes, Virginia, there is a touch of irony given that SF is surrounded on three sides by the sea and gained prominence as a naval stronghold, port-of-call and prosperity from her Italian-American fishing fleet]
Asshats...not at the Feste manse where Sunday ragu will be meaty, the robusto wine grown locally, opera played loudly and both national flags will be flown.
Fleet Week ramps up in the Bay Area as the US Navy celebrates 228 years of service to the country and the Blue Angels are in town to taunt the Berzerkely Birkenstock Brigades and put on a boffo air show...a two-fer. More than a million visitors are expected in the City to tour moored ships and watch the air show. In spite of the lefty Pols and peacenik's best efforts to drive them from the Bay, the Navy is still hugely popular and in a post 9/11 world the Alameda NAS is sorely missed.
More Blue Angel Photos and a suprisingly positive story.
Are you reading Weintraub's California Insider? You should. Censored by his editors at the Sacramento Bee for breaking news in his blog without editorial review (a controversy well covered by Mark Glaser, and Uber-blogger Mickey Kaus), Weintraub, with 16 years experience covering the California State Capitol's Byzantine inner workings, presses on with excellent coverage of the transition:
Don't bet on Arnold Schwarzenegger to fail now
Culling the Chron for the usual suspects turned up more bad news for The Nein Dwarves™ and good news for the Governorator and Californians:
In the world of Bay Area commercial real estate, Ken Rosen is known as a prophet of doom. The UC Berkeley economist correctly predicted the dot- com crash and the resulting commercial real estate collapse in 2001.
So jaws dropped all over a San Francisco ballroom Thursday when Rosen said that "the real estate recovery is finally happening."
California took in at least $450 million more in taxes than expected during the three months ended in September, state officials said Thursday, a gain which, if continued, could make incoming Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's job of balancing the state budget significantly easier.
The remedy the state wants is a $9 billion refund to customers for alleged price gouging during the 2000-01 energy crisis, when California was hit by rolling blackouts and soaring prices and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. filed for bankruptcy.
U.S. wholesalers' inventories fell unexpectedly in August while sales of goods posted a solid rise, the government said on Wednesday, in a sign companies may need to build up depleted supplies to keep up with demand.
One can only hope the CA Dems create a stink that sticks to their presidential campaign. The bads news schtick so successfully exploited by Clinton-Gore in 1992 will not work in 2004 unless the media again falsely portray the economy as a negative. Cracks are already appearing in the media facade as circulation/ad sales/revenue plummet. While the media pretend they are above the fray, they are captives of the market as much as the business community they detest.
The Dem asshats really don't get it...they can't possibly believe that we, the voters, were fed UP with their poorly conceived job-killing, minority-pandering, dumb-ass policies and hand in our wallets to pay for it all. Noooo, it has to be trickery or stupidity.
As I read the smug threats from well-known Solons about forcing Arnold to raise taxes for pure political gain without any regard for me or my family I get very, very angry again. Their concept of governance is deliberate failure? Inflicting more financial pain on those least able to absorb it as they did with tripling the car tax? Jesus Christ on a bicycle.
The DNC brain trust is out of touch with the country and out of control, pulling their party to the left into the lunatic fringe where even their most loyal voters are reluctant to follow. Should the DNC continue down the negative, puke campaign path on which they lead Davis, the Dems will be handed the mother-of-all defeats in 2004.
The country gets it, the California Recall proves just how much the Dems don't
Misha fisks the loony ravings of the moonbat left at DU...very funny stuff...delusional ranting about armed rebellion from the gun control crowd? The DU loons exemplify all that is wrong with the Left and why they're going down hard in 2004.
Seems Californians are not as stupid as the Dems supposed...we managed to use various forms of ballots to express our displeasure with Davis and his party.
BTW- For those of you in other states, the Dems as majority party, control the polling places and provisions for voting in the majority of the state...which rendered Jesse Jackson's shameless hand wringing over the "many" disenfrancised voters silly at best and opportunistic at worst.
SCHWARZENEGGER LEADS VOTER REVOLT
Davis recalled; turnout is huge
Victory margin provides mandate
By the time all the votes are counted, it appeared that more than 60 percent of the state's registered voters will have cast ballots, 10 percentage points higher than the 2002 vote in which Davis was re-elected governor. That would be the highest vote total in state history, and the highest turnout as a percentage of the state's population in a governor's race in more than two decades.
OUTPACED DAVIS IN 2002
However, the size of Schwarzenegger's victory rendered those concerns moot. The actor appeared not only to be keeping pace with the "no on recall" votes, but to be receiving more votes than Davis received during the 2002 regular election.
Feste's Foolish Election Predictions:
Recalling Davis Yes - 57%
Arnold elected by - 45%
Prop 53 - no
Prop 54 - too close to call (but the gut sez no)
Dem whining, faux outrage and litigation begins at 8:01PM PDT.
Catch the Mad Macedonian's colorful, first-person report on Arnold's Huntington Beach rally yesterday.
With 99.5 % ( 15154 of 15235 ) precincts reporting as of Oct 8, 2003 at 11:24 am;
Recall Davis:
Yes 4,310,219 --- 55.1 %
No 3,521,809 --- 44.9 %
Governor:
Arnold Schwarzenegger 3,655,074 --- 48.4%
Prop 53: Mandated expenditures on infrastructure
Yes 2,628,462 --- 36.0
No 4,659,963 --- 64.0
Prop 54: Ban mandated collection of data by Race, ... Color or Origin.
Yes 2,732,451 --- 36.0
No 4,852,205 --- 64.0
Interesting that both propositions failed by the same percentages. This election sent a very clear message that even the most boneheaded Pols can't miss in 2004:
Voters are mad as hell and aren't going to take puke campaigns and groping our wallets anymore.
Okay...I am so over the Recall election, I already voted and if your mind isn't made up at this point then perhaps you might not be smart enough to get through the "complicated" ballot of 4 items anyhoo.
So no more, basta, finito, done...Stick a fork in it.
As we head into the final stretch of the Recall election let's remember the titular head of the Democrat party and the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee at their finest shall we?
These are the people lecturing us about morality? A man who turned $100K into $18 Mil at the expense of Global Crossing's investors and the serial Bonker-in-Chief?
Not to mention Rev. Jesse "Love Child" Jackson, Presidential candidate Al "Tawana" Sharpton, Senators Ted "Swimmer" Kennedy or Robert "Grand Kegal" Byrd. Until the Dems purge the moral miscreants in their party they might do better to STFU.
A quick Googling brought an example of the hectoring and lecturing we received when Clinton's dalliances and mistreatment of women were the topic of the day:
“... we can remember that we are electing not clergy but political leaders — who need to be principled and devious, compassionate and brutal, visionary and, sometimes, utterly egotistical. If we try to do much better, we will end up doing worse.” 9 — Suzanne Garment, San Diego Union-Tribune. 1992
[Speaking on behalf of New York University media scholar Jay Rosen], “there is an important distinction between public and private character. What candidates do in private is largely irrelevant, says Rosen. What matters is their public conduct.” 10 — Jeremy Iggers in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. 1992
“He [Clinton] will shave, wheedle, compromise and cajole until he finds — or creates — common ground. He is notorious for his ability to impress strangers and disarm opponents. He is notorious for leading people to believe that he agrees with them entirely...without ever committing himself to their position. This is a gift given only to the best politicians. It is how difficult things get done.” 11 — Joe Klein, Newsweek magazine. 1994
“Whether character is a factor or not is relevant only as it relates to what the people want in terms of a President. They’re looking for someone with the character to get the economy back on track and answer the more serious questions facing this country.” 12 — Max Parker, a Clinton spokeswoman during the 1992 Presidential campaign.
“Voters re-elected Clinton despite widespread doubts about his character. In CNN’s election day exit poll, most voters continued to say Clinton is not honest and trustworthy. They’ve re-elected him because of his job performance — and crossed their fingers that character would not prove to be a major problem.” 13 — Bill Schneider, CNN. 1996
"He has vacillated on issues large and small, and at times he has conducted himself like a man with something to hide. Nevertheless, we think he is still a better choice ...” 14 — St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1996
“... Clinton was able to defuse the ‘character’ issue by focusing on voters’ own wants and needs. They put their own interests above that issue, and thus relegated all the stories about Clinton’s character to the back burner, or to the trash can. ...it means that women and families have decided that it’s more important to have their own issues addressed rather than worry about the character issue.” 15 — Robert A. Jordan of The Boston Globe. 1996.
“... he [Clinton] has been accused of adultery, sexual harassment, and ducking the draft — allegations that send some people into a frenzy of Clinton-hating. The President’s ultimate sin, it seems to some people, is that he appears to have broken the rules — and gotten away with it. That is unforgivable. But to the rest of us, the character issue just hasn’t taken. If we have learned anything over the last four years, it is that strictly personal behavior — in other words, sex — might be interesting, might be titillating, and might be even downright riveting.... One can argue that in both his triumphs and his failures there is a connection between the private and public Bill Clinton. But once the public man is known, the private one just doesn’t seem to matter anymore.... In his own way, Clinton taught us all a lesson about personal character that we should all remember the next time around: It’s sometimes more interesting than important.” 16 -- Richard Cohen of The Washington Post. 1996
Another positive story of a citizen soldier in Iraq from the Sept. 29 issue of *Fortune Magazine:
Responsibility for resurrecting the [Baghdad Stock ] exchange has fallen largely to Tom Wirges, 37, a colorful Army reservist from Virginia. Wirges is just a specialist, a rank barely above private. But because of his background—he's a Navy veteran who became a stockbroker, a bank security expert at Brink's, then joined the Army after Sept. 11—he's been performing duties normally reserved for more senior officers. Wirges's unit, the 354th Civil Affairs Brigade, arrived in Baghdad shortly after the city fell to U.S. troops, and he was soon assigned to assess the physical condition of Iraq's private banks. He organized the first Iraqi bankers' association and is now helping stockbrokers form the Iraqi Association of Securities Dealers.
*subscriber content ~ full article below
Stocks & Bombs
Behind the struggle to open the Baghdad Stock Exchange.
FORTUNE
Monday, September 15, 2003
By Jeremy Kahn
In the run-up to war, business at the Baghdad Stock Exchange was brisk. Three mornings a week traders gathered at a dingy, concrete building to buy and sell shares in 120 publicly traded Iraqi companies, from the Palestine Hotel to the Bank of Baghdad. It wasn't modern: Cordoned off behind an iron gate, traders squinted through opera glasses to make out prices posted manually on a white board, and price fluctuations were limited by law to no more than 5% per session. But between $120,000 and $140,000 changed hands on the exchange each trading day, and over its 12-year history, total capitalization grew from $20 million to $137 million.
Since the arrival of U.S. troops in Baghdad, however, the market has been closed. The family that founded and ran the exchange fled the city. The building that housed it was looted and occupied by squatters. U.S. advisors in Iraq have been more focused on paying government salaries and rebuilding the country's banking system than on reopening the stock exchange. Meanwhile, Iraqi shareholders, desperate for cash, are becoming agitated. A black market in some company shares has sprung up, and the U.S. has had to shut down an unauthorized attempt to create a new stock exchange.
Since the arrival of U.S. troops in Baghdad, however, the market has been closed. The family that founded and ran the exchange fled the city. The building that housed it was looted and occupied by squatters. U.S. advisors in Iraq have been more focused on paying government salaries and rebuilding the country's banking system than on reopening the stock exchange. Meanwhile, Iraqi shareholders, desperate for cash, are becoming agitated. A black market in some company shares has sprung up, and the U.S. has had to shut down an unauthorized attempt to create a new stock exchange.
U.S. officials don't want the Baghdad Stock Exchange to reopen until they can be sure it will serve as a showcase for Iraq's new economy; they want to see a thoroughly transparent computerized market that will encourage investors not just from Iraq, but from around the world, to buy into the country's future. Beyond finding the exchange new digs, that means revamping Iraq's securities laws, creating a government body to regulate trading, and auditing the books of Iraq's public companies and brokerage firms.
Responsibility for resurrecting the exchange has fallen largely to Tom Wirges, 37, a colorful Army reservist from Virginia. Wirges is just a specialist, a rank barely above private. But because of his background—he's a Navy veteran who became a stockbroker, a bank security expert at Brink's, then joined the Army after Sept. 11—he's been performing duties normally reserved for more senior officers. Wirges's unit, the 354th Civil Affairs Brigade, arrived in Baghdad shortly after the city fell to U.S. troops, and he was soon assigned to assess the physical condition of Iraq's private banks. He organized the first Iraqi bankers' association and is now helping stockbrokers form the Iraqi Association of Securities Dealers.
Wirges says he thinks he has found a new building for the exchange in central Baghdad. Now he's waiting for Iraq's public companies and brokerage firms to be audited. Publicly traded companies, which used to publish only annual reports, have been asked to submit quarterly financial statements, while brokers who want to maintain their seats on the exchange must undergo training and take new qualifying examinations. Meanwhile, Wirges is working on the mechanics of the exchange's new trading system and trying to form an Iraqi Securities Commission. "We will have the BSE up and running by the first of the year, if not before," Wirges says. He pauses, then adds the word "Inshala"—Arabic for "God willing."
A three part story without a conclusion...but then what would be the point in that?
Huh? I hear you ask? Nevermind.
Go. Laugh. Identify.
With a new poll showing the recall passing handily and Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign surging, Arianna Huffington withdrew from the race Tuesday.
Davis, in a statement, made a play for her support. "Her voice could be a big help between now and next Tuesday,'' he said.
Buwhahahahaha!
It's hard to tell who's whoring whom.
On a serious note. Regulars may notice that I no longer support Senator Tom McClintock. I don't believe he can win. McClintock will not draw the moderate Democrat swing vote necessary to oust Davis and thwart Bustamante. Both Democrats alienated their moderate base when they endorsed the driver's license for illegal aliens. Schwarznegger can win this constituency. It's time for pragmatism and for McClintock to withdraw. A promise kept that continues the status quo or elects Bustamante is a futile gesture.
For those outside California, our Governor and Lt. Governor are independently elected offices, the candidates are not required to be of the same party and have often been from opposing parties in the past. In fact, Gray Davis was Pete Wilson's Lt. Gov. in his second term.
1979 - Mike Curb (R) served with Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown, Jr. (D)
1983 - 1987 Leo T. McCarthy (D) served with Gov George Deukmejian (R)
1991 - Leo T. McCarthy (D) served with Gov. Pete Wilson (R)
1995 - Gray Davis (D) served with Gov. Pete Wilson (R)
Bustamante remains Lt. Governor until 2006. One more reason we need a convincing majority or the Dems will attempt to govern through the Lt Governor's office by media and legal fiat.
I am sure you are way ahead of me, Blackfive, The Paratrooper of Love, is a must read. Readers not familiar with Matt 's blog might wish to start here...then read todays moving post. Check out his cool photo album...really look at the faces. Their humor and devotion to their avocation and country leap off the pages of this and other blogs by our military active and in-active. Just as his grandfather before him, Matt is the citizen soldier envisioned by our Founders... he's funny as all get out as well.
When the nightly network news appeasement, hand wringing and pissing on the military begins remember such men. Who do you trust more?
No fucking contest.
UPDATE: post edited as per suggestion.
This weeks COTV has sooo much to read, enjoy and consider. Where does one start? Being a Californian the recall election and peripheral issues seems a natural jumping off point.
Bryon Scott, of Slings and Arrows, asks: are the Democrats promoting a new form of slavery in California?
Read it all and ask yourself is this really the right thing to do?
I believe we are economically enslaving illegals workers and even worse allowing the Mexican Government and Euro-Hispanic ruling elites to continue a policy of colonialism and racism against the predominately Indian peoples in the poverty ridden countryside.
Ask yourself, would we be allowing this sort of exploitation if the illegals were Irish?
Andrew Ian Dodge, of Dogdeblogium, hosts this week's Carnival of the Vanities, a cult that would never die until the stars came right again.
