Liberal Vs. Leftist

My ideas on the difference between lefists and liberal can be found here. Obviously, the commentator did not bother to look into my usage too much. To sum up, I use liberal in the classical sense. In that sense those who support free enterprise & liberty are liberals. E.g. most of us in the West are, whether we are Republican voters or Democratic voters. Next time, use Blogger's search feature.

When you start believing THugo Chavez is a beacon of freedom & liberty and George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, etc is not then you have left the ranks of liberals and are a leftist. When you wail and gnash your teeth over the fact the 'xplodey dope did not kill VP Cheney you are not a liberal or a Democrat you are a leftist and so on.

I find it funny, how the group I call leftists keep changing their label from time to time. Shortly that label becomes a political pejorative. They claimed liberal, now its bad to be liberal. So now they are "progressives" and progressive is becoming the same.

To the point it was only one or two leftists lamenting 'Xplodey dopes' failure. A little cruise to Michelle Malkin's site gives you a small dose. Cruise on over and she has a link to a PDF produced by a reader, of the Huffington Post comments section on the story before HuffPo's administrators cleaned out the leftist eruption.

I don't believe they were trying to "hide" it as much as they realized their reader's comments were quite inappropriate and embarrassing. I give them credit for doing so.

Admittedly, blog commentators I am guessing are a minority of blog readers who in turn are a minority of the population at large. But, that minority is noisy and is gaining much influence of among the Democrats. Does the name Amanda Marcotte mean anything to you?

Pakistan & Afghanistan.

'XPLODEY DOPES AND JUST DOPES

Much of today's commentary regarding Afghanistan and Pakistan is centering on the 'xplodey dope that blew up himself and others outside of Bagram Airbase and the left's pitiful reaction to the bombing. Yes, the left is disappointed the 'xplodey dope did not kill VP Cheney.

However, while sad, it is not interesting due to its utter predictability. What is interesting though is the sequence of events here. The VP and intelligence officials visit Pakistan, reports I have read indicate they came loaded with intelligence on what is going on in Waziristan and it is not the production of baby milk. The Taliban and their supporters contrary to the agreement they came to with Pakistan is staging out of Waziristan to attack Afghanistan.

THE CIA IS NOT THE ONLY LEAKY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

Now, President Musharraf is in a very tight spot. His intelligence service the ISI was one of the main agencies responsible for setting the Taliban up (and this article also talks about the role in general of Pakistan in the affair as well as its current status). I think it likely the ISI contains many Taliban supporters and enemies of Musharraf and certainly those people are not going to take kindly to a spanking over Waziristan.

I speculate Musharraf's intelligence officials were briefed on the rest of the VP's trip and word made its way to the Taliban who sent out the 'xplodey dope. I do not take this event in itself to be a causus belli (keep cool) but I hope in their meeting it was made perfectly clear if Pakistan does not control its own territory then they should not howl when others decide to control it. Kinda like adverse possession.

IF YOU WANT IT, TAKE CARE OF IT

Though Pakistan claims Waziristan as its own territory Waziristan is essentially its own nation, but Pakistani forces by agreement do not have authority there. So, if I own a second house but do not oust the squatters who have taken up residence there what right do I have to the house? Of course, adverse possession is different but not all that much.

SOMETIMES A 'XPLODEY DOPE IS JUST A – 'XPLODEY DOPE

Of course, it could also be possible the 'xplodey dope was just sent on a routine mission and when the Taliban heard who was in the Bagram Airbase at the time they try to convince us they were after him.

STOP! You're Hurting Their Self-Esteem!

NEW YORK - Today's college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than their predecessors, according to a comprehensive new study by five psychologists who worry that the trend could be harmful to personal relationships and American society.

Source: The Wisconsin State Journal – Study: College students more narcissistic
The report goes on to note that there are benefits to self-absorption such as more easily meeting new people or getting on American Idol. However, lest you think the only results will be more bountiful recruiting for American Idol the article also notes some negatives. Namely, the inability to establish and maintain close personal relationships:

The study asserts that narcissists "are more likely to have romantic relationships that are short-lived, at risk for infidelity, lack emotional warmth, and to exhibit game-playing, dishonesty, and over-controlling and violent behaviors."

Twenge, the author of "Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled - and More Miserable Than Ever Before," said narcissists tend to lack empathy, react aggressively to criticism and favor self-promotion over helping others.

The Wisconsin State Journal – Study: College students more narcissistic Great, like we need more self-promotion and aggression in this society.

I do not look forward to the day when those young ones start getting into positions of power. Think Enron was bad?

Global Warming is Worse Than I Thought

Yes it is. In fact, it's so bad it is spreading from our Earth to Mars! Think of it, the damage we humans are doing is so bad & extensive it's spreading throughout the solar system:

According to a September 20 NASA news release, "for three Mars summers in a row, deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near Mars' south pole have shrunk from the previous year's size, suggesting a climate change in progress." Because a Martian year is approximately twice as long as an Earth year, the shrinking of the Martian polar ice cap has been ongoing for at least six Earth years.

The shrinking is substantial. According to Michael Malin, principal investigator for the Mars Orbiter Camera, the polar ice cap is shrinking at "a prodigious rate."

"The images, documenting changes from 1999 to 2005, suggest the climate on Mars is presently warmer, and perhaps getting warmer still, than it was several decades or centuries ago," reported Yahoo News on September 20.

Source: The Heartland Institute – Mars Is Warming, NASA Scientists Report

Please people, ban SUVs and cars so our betters can jet around in their private planes and ride around in their stretch SUV limousines.

Shallow Hals Tonight Act Profound

After all they are just a bunch of actors, right?

Al Gore is undoubtedly going to be the star tonight. The mass of Hollywood stars will swoon, flatter, and preach down to us peons. How dare we drive a big car because of what it does to the planet. After all, the less WE drive the more they can jet around in their private jets.

While Al Gore's crockumentary is being awarded & applauded read the article linked. It says even according to many man-caused global warming theories and predictions, Al G's crockumentary is being considered in the wrong category. It should be considered as fiction not in the documentary categories.

HT: Drudge.

There Goes the Neighborhood

While it is technically no longer my neighborhood since I no longer live there, but I grew up there and my parents still live there. I still have some sense of ownership in the northern regions of Whitelaw WI.

Sometime ago, I found on Flickr a couple from Milwaukee (so it seems) that bought land close to my parent's house and are planning to build a house on the lot. Well, it seems a couple of howling moonbats are moving in, there goes the neighborhood, not that there was much left anyway.

The old hay fields and woodlots in back of the house now are occupied with houses. At night looking out of my old room I see the lights of another house. I used to say hay fields and a fence row connecting two woodlots.

All things change.

A Pilot Program

Last summer I obtained a Palm Pilot Treo 650. I have placed a few third party applications on it. Yes, this is very much like a computer you can pick and choose which applications to place on it.

Then about three-four weeks ago I received an e-mail from PalmGear an online retailer of smart phone applications. The featured product in the e-mail was Diet & Exercise Assistant. It intrigued me as I do carry a goodly sized pot-belly. I downloaded the trial (i.e. crippleware) version and played with it for about a day. I then went back and purchased the full version for change short of $25.00 (US Dollars).

Let me tell you, it was worth every mil. I use this software now to monitor my food intake and my exercise output. I am making progress on the weight. I started off at 240 and today weighed in at 233.8. I suspect the 240 start was a touch high, but I am using the same scale now and this scale has me at about 3 lb.s under my last weigh in.

I don't have a source for the following factoid so take it with a grain of salt. I recall hearing that consuming JUST 10 more calories per day than what you burn will lead to a weight gain of 10 lb.s per year. Ten calories is not a lot, an apple (with skin) is about 81 calories, a package of peanut M&Ms is 250 calories.

The software takes minimal configuration and just needs your age, sex, current weight, height, your target weight, your activity level, and the date on which you want to be at your target weight. Diet & Exercise Assistant (DEA) then calculates the amount of calories you need per day to achieve your weight goal. As you eat & drink you input this into Diet & Exercise assistant which you select from DEA's extensive database of foods: raw, prepared, and restaurant foods. If the food you are eating is not present DEA has a simple scheme for you to add the food item.

You simply find the correct category, type in the name, and supply nutritional information that comes on the food's package. You can even create entries for complex recipes.

When exercising, again DEA has an extensive database of activities you can select from. If you can not find your activity (e.g. wood splitting) you can look up the activity on the internet and just fill in the user defined exercise category. However, for undefined exercises & activities I have yet to find a way to permanently store the activity.

You are not going to track your calories down to the last calorie (what we refer to calories are 1000 real calories, so to be technically accurate we should say Kilo-Calories). However, what DEA does is forces you to thoughtfully consider your eating and exercise regimens. It has made me think in terms of budget as in dollars. I have so many dollars a day to spend and I have to consider what is important when I spend that money (calories). Losing weight is a lot like saving money. When spending is out of balance with income you either lose savings or gain it. Same with caloric intake. When intake is out of balance with output you either gain or lose weight. DEA helps you keep things in balance to achieve your goals.

DEA also tracks carbohydrate, protein, fat, saturated fat, and fiber intake. So, with DEA you can get a very good picture of how healthy your diet is.

Is DEA perfect? No. I wish its recipe functionality would allow me to go in and view and edit the components of a recipe.

DEA also comes in a desktop version so you can access the same functionality on your desktop and my guess is when you synchronize your device with your computer all the data from your device will be sent to the desktop application. This is another pet-peeve. They have yet to develop a Linux version of the desktop software.

A Ballot Too Farsi

I was going to post a blog on the big ongoing news story, not so much on the story but to provide some commentary on what it means to the society at large.

However, KFI a radio station out of LA I listen too via the Internet (it broadcasts Rush) had a story about how the ballots in Hollywood are printed in English and FARSI Yeah, not Spanish but Farsi.

Residents of Persian descent make up about 30 percent of the city's population, and a 2004 poll of Beverly High School families showed that about 25 percent spoke Farsi at home, the newspaper reported.

Source: Beverly Hills Election Materials In Farsi Prompt Complaints – KNBC TV Los Angeles
Who would have thunk it? Not the fact a city caving in and printing a ballot in another language, but that it appears about 25% of the households in that one school district have Farsi speakers in them.

A Quote & Other Things

In the land of the dark the Ship of the
Sun is driven by the Grateful Dead [emphasis added].
-- Egyptian Book of the Dead

Source: My computer's fortune program.
Yes, that is where the band got its name from.

The idiot drivers were out in droves today. On the beltline (12-18 that runs south of Madison and is usually a quick cross-town route) two bumper-cars reject formed the perfect rolling roadblock. She would not speed up to get by the car in the right nor would she slow down and fall behind. I am patient so I just gritted my teeth, rolled eyes and so on. But of course, I witnessed about four idiocies spawned by the bumper-cars reject. One fellow went around on her left on an overpass shoulder, another performed a quick dart in between her and another car (the one her original roadblock was formed by had gotten off of the road or something), very dangerous I saw it coming and braked so as to avoid what I thought would likely be a smash up. In comparison the other idiocies (and the original) are minor.

Not enough idiot driver stories for you tonight? I am on I94 and am in the right lane maintaining what I consider to be an extremely tight space of about 1/2-3/4 car length gap in between me & the car in front. Behind me must have been about a 30 car gap. Of course, where did the blinking idiot coming onto the I94 from HWY30 want to go? Into the 1/2 car gap or the 30 car gap? RIGHT the 1/2 car gap. I started to close the gap but IDIOT was undeterred and so I gave a quick glance over the left shoulder and yeah a car was there, so I had to slam on the brakes.

No, I did not honk or flip anyone off (blinking idiot was very quickly into the center lane and off) but if I had a CB I would have been on it informing any & all LEOs up the road they had a revenue source on the way.

I saw a goodly number of leisurely left-lane cruisers as well, at least they were just dumb and not dangerous.

Botched B'Ball

Hmmm,

Yeap, my cautionary about looking beyond Michigan State to the OSU showdown was prescient. Now, instead of fighting for #1 the Badgers will be clawing their way back to #3 or #2 (probably #3).

Badgahs ahh Numbahh One!

Grabbed this off of Yahoo Sports on 2/19/2007 at 8:30 pm CDT!

Bucky Badger is Number One! Yes, Bucky has a tough game tomorrow night against Michigan State and must not overlook it. However, the following game will harmonize the two polls one way or another. The next game is against OSU. Still, it feels darned good!

I used to work with a guy from Racine. He, for whatever reason, is a Duke fan. Hehehe, Duke just got back into the polls and is sitting below Marquette!

Drudgies.

Quick thoughts on Drudge Report Items.

Imperial Murtha

Murtha thinks he can stop the surge by legislating terms on troop deployment and readiness levels. That is unconstitutional and if his proposal does somehow make it into law then I hope the President ignores it.

You had better think hard about that. This will hamstring a Democratic president sooner or later.

AlG (say it algae) Initiates Release of warming gasses

No, not algae as in the plant but as in a former vice president. AlG is producing a series of concerts around the globe to promote awareness of global warming. Hmmm, seems to me we will be seeing plenty of stories about the environmentally concerned glitterati jetting about in their private Gulfstreams to produce and attend these concerts. Its not about the environment its about keeping the serfs in their place.

The Model Being Wrong is a Sign of Global Warming

This story notes how many models used to incite global warming hysteria are not accurately predicting the temperatures in Antarctica. How long on till someone claims the fact the models are wrong just proves how the claims are correct?

Who?

any idea who this loser is?

Unsavory Avery

WFRV is blogging the trial of Steven Avery. So far there has been one shock and it concerned testimony regarding a comment made by Steven to an older nephew. Apparently the comment was along the lines of "Do you want to help me dispose of a body". The accounting of the testimony and cross-examination make it appear the comment was spoken in jest. The defense tried to get a mistrial declared on account of inadequate discovery, but failed in that.

The defense is trying to build a story that this is all a setup by Manitowoc County to get back with him over the lawsuit on Avery's wrongful rape conviction. However, the story as its being presented makes a house of cards appear stout.

The story essentially amounts to Ms. Halbach was murdered and Manitowoc County took the body, the car, and everything else and planted it. The defense states its not their belief the County killed Ms. Halbach but still they claim its a setup.

The other tack many of Avery's defenders take is to point out how silly it is for a man like Avery to have murdered a woman at his own residence how, they reason, could any person not know such evidence would be so obvious investigators would suspect him. That is they believe Steven Avery smart enough to know not to kill someone on his property.

That is called being too clever by half. First off, Steven Avery has a long criminal history and this is completely leaving out the crime for which he was wrongly convicted of. Two, looking at that history shows the guy thinks he can get away with things even after not getting away with things. I've seen people of similar attitude. Probably thinks, oh those college boys are all book smart no common sense I can pull the wool over their eyes.

In order to pull this conspiracy defense off, you must convince the jury that all of the combined sheriff's departments of Manitowoc and Calumet Counties are in on it.

BTW, don't worry about the Wisconsin Innocence Project. Their work is good and the recidivism rate of those they spring is WAY below the norm for released prisoners. Steven Avery is not the norm.

Kick Me.

Is what the sign says on the back of the Christian Democrat.

Little Green Footballs passes on this:

In the video, Fleming claims that only the right-wing Catholic League objected to the moonbats’ remarks. She’s lying: lgf: Catholic Democrats: Edwards Should Fire Bloggers.

Little Green Footballs – Young Democrats Defending the Indefensible That is, even when Democratic people of faith are outraged and speak up they are completely ignored by the bulk of the left.

Of course, if Amanda Marcotte & her partner in vulgarity discussed Islam in the same terms they discuss Christianity the Edward's campaign would not have hired them in the first place, and certainly would not have hesitated in firing them.

Bruch's Scottish Fantasy.

Blogging musical now and today.

I just picked up a recording of Max Bruch's Scottish Fantasy & First Violin Concerto. As you know I listen to streaming radio while I work at my workstation at home. One of the stations I listen to is WCPE and they play the Scottish Fantasy on a regular basis, so much so I recognize immediately the piece's fifth & final movement. In fact, that fifth & final movement is what inspired me to go out and purchase the recording of the Israel Philharmonic (Zubin Metha leads & Itzhak Perlman solos) Orchestra.

Searching the internet we see this comment:

Disparagingly, a friend of mine thinks listeners are “only waiting for the finale’s fireworks”. I think any listeners thus blinkered miss much wonderful scenery, because Bruch’s characteristic refinement creates and encapsulates its own magical, mythical Scotland. Enjoy it - all - at your leisure.

Source: Commentary by Paul Serotsky – Max Bruch (1838 - 1920) – Scottish Fantasy, for Violin and Orchestra (1880) Typical attitude by hardcore classical music listeners. However, I would no way play the first four movements of that piece to a person who is not a devoted classical music listener. Why? Because the one thing I had against classical music before I really started to listening to it was that it was full of slow ponderous music heavy on the strings, and the first four movements are just that.

The elitist classical music fan typically rejects catchy music.

My first classical music recording I purchased was a record album of Mozart Violin Concertos and IIRC it was the #2 & #5 (Vienna Philharmonic, James Levine, & Itzhak Perlman). The opening movement of the #2 is a peppy piece and if it were slow & ponderous I would not be surprised to not being a classical music fan.

In fact, with all music usually a popular or catchy tune is what would lure me to purchase the recording. Then after listening to the whole thing I would find other pieces on the album that are better in some way.

See Nancy's Fancy New Jet

Nancy Pelosi is telling us peons to cut our CO₂ emissions. However, for her she wants a nice big jet all to herself and her clan back and forth from San Francisco to the Washington DC.

Now, of course she is a national leader and as such deserves such perks but I do not believe she deserves more than her predecessor? Nor, does she deserve free rides for what would be more people than many businesses employ.

What is real interesting is how this new found power went to their heads so quickly. John Murtha is talking like he is the commander in chief and can order the Pentagon around.

Still there is hilarity to be found. The Washington Times reports the following amendment to an environmental bill is going to be presented:

"The Congress also finds that in order to lessen United States dependence on foreign sources of petroleum, and decrease demand for petroleum in aircraft, such as passenger planes with 42 business-class seats capable of transcontinental flights, the nation must diversify its fuel supply for aircraft to include domestically produced alternative fuels,"

Source: The Washington Times – Pelosi defends request for jet (Rowan Scarborough & Charles Hurt)

The Catholic Democrat

A couple of years ago I looked into the correlation between one's religion & voting patterns. The general rule is those attending religious services on a regular basis tend to vote Republican. The trend is much stronger in evangelical faiths than Catholics where Republican voters appear to be a slight majority (however, it appears to be a margin within the margin of error). Still, in the late 1980s the Democrats enjoyed an advantage of 18% amongst Catholics (see: This PEW RESEARCH CENTER study).

Now, many of those Left Behind Catholics still voting for Democrats point out there is Catholic Social doctrine the GOP falls down on. That is debatable but it is a valid concern. Of course those Catholics who vote GOP point to the GOP's stronger stand with respect to Catholic Doctrine on life and moral issues.

Of course there is a group of Catholics who say Catholicism should follow the Gospel of John the Leftist.

However, the reason the Democrat's are losing Catholic voters is not because of the stands on issues of doctrine, pro-life, morals, social teaching etc. It is because the Democratic party is becoming increasingly hostile to religion in general and Christianity in particular.

John Edwards in a way is doing us conservatives a good service. He is trotting out two burning stars of the lefty blogosphere and the publicity is showing the nation as a whole (not just us geeky bloggers & readers of blogs) of the outright hostility of the left towards religion. That is why the Democrats are bleeding religious voters.

Catholic League Statement

February 8, 2007

JOHN EDWARDS TOLERATES ANTI-CATHOLICISM

Presidential hopeful John Edwards issued a statement today explaining why he is not firing Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan for making obscene and anti-Catholic remarks.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue responds as follows:

“John Edwards has apparently decided that there is more to be gained by aligning himself with the cultural left than by standing on principle and firing the Catholic bashers on his payroll. Had anyone on his staff used the ‘N-word,’ he or she would have been fired immediately. But his goal is to loot the pockets of the Soros/Hollywood gang, and they—like him—aren’t offended by anti-Catholicism. Indeed, they thrive on it.

“When Mel Gibson got drunk and made anti-Semitic remarks, he paid a price for doing so. When Michael Richards got angry and made racist remarks, he paid a price for doing so. When Isaiah Washington got ticked off and made anti-gay remarks, he paid a price for doing so. But John Edwards thinks the same rules don’t apply to him, which is why he has chosen to embrace foul-mouthed anti-Catholic bigots on his payroll.

“Edwards said today that ‘We’re beginning a great debate about the future of our country, and we can’t let it be hijacked.’ I have news for him—the Catholic League—not Edwards—will decide what the debate will be about, and it won’t be about the nation. It will be about the glaring double standard that colors the entire conversation about bigotry.

“We will launch a nationwide public relations blitz that will be conducted on the pages of the New York Times, as well as in Catholic newspapers and periodicals. It will be on-going, breaking like a wave, starting next week and continuing through 2007. It will be an education campaign, informing the public of what he did today. We will also reach out to our allies in the Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist communities. They worked with us before on many issues, and are sure to do so again. What Edwards did today will not be forgotten.”

Source: The Catholic League – JOHN EDWARDS TOLERATES ANTI-CATHOLICISM

The Klux Klan

IIRC, sometime ago on this site I noted how the hard left has much in common with the Ku Klux Klan. Of course, we do not expect them to be out lynching African American's (at least leftist African Americans) anytime soon. But The left's antipathy towards Catholics and its growing antipathy towards Jews gives one cause to think.

John Edwards candidate for the 2008 Democratic nomination for president has hired two bloggers. A little storm erupted when it was pointed out these two bloggers expressed virulent hate directed at Catholics and the Catholic Church. Please read Kathryn Jean Lopez's commentary on the Corner for just a quick & tiny glimpse of what we are talking about. Frankly, even for demonstrative purposes I don't want that vulgarity Ms. Marcotte expresses on this blog.

John Edwards, this was your Sister Souljah moment, instead if you get within 20,000 leagues of the Democratic nomination you will get: Catholic Leagued.

This really should make people question John Edward's judgment. If Israel gets nuked and Ahmednuttyjihad tells you how funny it was and wasn't intended to offend anyone, what are you going to do? Issue a statement assuring us Ahmednuttyjihad's intent wasn't to offend? Yeah, hyperbolic and stretched to the extreme, but it shows us John Edwards is too clueless to lead this nation (of which the largest religious denomination is Catholic) or being dishonest and believes in Ms. Marcotte's lewd spirit.

Compact Flourescents

Am listening to Rush and I am with him on most things. But with a caller he was dismissing compact fluorescent light bulbs.

I agree with him most of the things the religiously environmentalist (i.e. those who worship at the altar of the environment, greeniacs, environmentalist wackos etc) push is crazy, but The Empress and I have mostly compact fluorescent lights in the house. When we switched over our electric bill dropped by about 50%. The cost on those bulbs is paid back.

When alternative energy becomes cheaper people will switch.

Get compact fluorescent lights and watch your bill, don't do it in dribs & drabs do it wholesale.

Amok Time

There is a Star Trek (original series) episode where the highly disciplined, rational,and emotionless Spock goes completely irrational, emotional, and loses all discipline. Why did Spock go amok? I am not a big fan of Rod Stewart (rumor has it Sucrets is going to sponsor his next tour) but he has a song called Passion

Even the president needs passion
Everybody I know needs some passion
Some people die and kill for passion
Nobody admits they need passion
Some people are scared of passion
Yeah passion

Source: LyricsFreak – Rod Stewart 's Passion

Even a space shuttle pilot needs passion. Most of us need passion every bit as much but we have learned to curb the beast in us. What happened to Lisa Marie Nowak? Who knows what caused her beast to break its chains but broke its chains Lisa's beast did.

I lack the eloquence of the Bard my guess is he had something to say about this and all I can muster is to say it is a reminder that no matter how educated, how accomplished we are we all share a common humanity.

No matter how much progress we think humanity makes the basics remain the same.

0° and Trending Downwards

The temperature is currently 0° and has been trending downward. I took the Empress to work at about 5:55 am and the temperature was about +5° and my Firefox weather bar confirmed that when I fired it up shortly after 6:00am. However, the current reading is 0° F.

BRRRRRR!