a small dose of reality

keeping it semi real, promoting conservatives, taking potshots at fools, democrats other than Obama, liberals, the left, know it alls, the dnc, etc., reviews of models, pundits and blogs

I won't insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said. 

William F. Buckley, Jr.

2007/8/31

Is a New Approach to Controlling Congress Superior to Campaign Finance Reform?

@ 11:04 PM (69 months, 20 days ago)

 

A military airplane carrying four members of the U.S. Congress came under fire over Iraq on Thursday but the plane was not hit and no one was hurt, a spokesman for one of the lawmakers said on Friday.

Three rocket-propelled grenades were fired at the plane. But a senior U.S. defense official in Washington said small arms fire appeared to have been responsible.

"There was a flash of light, and the plane started banking in different directions."

The whole incident was over in three to five minutes and the aircraft flew on to Amman, Jordan.

A statement from U.S.-led forces in Iraq said the plane "observed surface-to-air fire" upon departure from Baghdad and dispensed flares and conducted "standard evasive maneuvers."

The fire originated several miles from the plane's location, the defense official in Washington said, speaking on condition of anonymity as U.S. forces in Baghdad were officially responsible for commenting on the incident.

"They (the crew) did all the right things, they took all the appropriate precautions, but it appears they were at an altitude that did not put them at any danger from the type of small arms fire that they received," the official said.

The lawmakers had spent the day in Baghdad and were briefed by U.S. Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus.  A number of U.S. lawmakers have been visiting Baghdad ahead of a series of pivotal reports to be delivered to Congress in coming weeks on the security and political situation in Iraq.

 

Copywrite 2007  -  Barry G.

blog seer

 

2007/8/29

Michael Vick Football Cards Chewed By Dogs Sell for $7,400 on eBay

@ 08:42 PM (69 months, 22 days ago)

 

The eBay auction for 22 of the shithead's football cards, chewed up and slobbered on by two Missouri dogs, ended Wednesday as the winning bidder dished out $7,400 — with the money expected to be donated to the Humane Society.

The success of that auction, with 31 different bidders, created a craze of 25 other postings this week offering torn up cards featuring the disgraced murdering jackass.

But so far, the original post from Rochelle Steffen, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., has been the only auction to attract droves of bidders.

Steffen gave Monte, her 6-year-old Weimaraner, and Roxie, her Great Dane puppy, every Vick card she owned to destroy. The result: The cards worth $1-to-$10 were crumpled, crimped, chewed, torn and generally in a sorry state. Some even had corners missing.

"When I started this, I only expected to get $100 for a local shelter," Steffen told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "But it's received so much attention. It's for such a good cause."

The gnawed cards were the most expensive Vick items on eBay, with well-preserved rookie cards, autographed jerseys and other collectibles selling for far less and in a lot of cases buyers being PAID to take them.

 

Copywrite 2007  -  Barry G.

blog seer

2007/8/28

Hillary Clinton: "I have Launched a War on Common Sense"

@ 05:38 PM (69 months, 23 days ago)

 

No surprise here is there?  In Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Monday August 28, 2007, Clinton vowed to "double spending over the next ten years".  She also vowed to continue being the only democrat candidate to accept contributions from lobbyists.  "My record shows I've been very effective in that," the New York senator said. "I believe in working with everybody and being influenced by nobody." 

"SEE, I CAN TELL THE TRUTH WHEN MY LIPS ARE MOVING"

 

Copywrite 2007  -  Barry G.

blog seer

2007/8/24

Hot Air Gore vs. Real Deal President Bush

@ 11:14 PM (69 months, 27 days ago)

You can check this out on Snopes .com   under "The Story of Two  Houses"

 

House #1
 
 
A 20 room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated bynatural gas. Add on a pool ( and a pool house) and a separate guesthouse, all heated by gas.  In one month this residence consumes more energy than the average American household does in a year.  The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400.  In natural gas alone, this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home.  This house is not situated in a Northern or Midwestern "snow belt" area.  It's in the South.
 
 
 
     


House #2
Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university.  This house incorporates every "green" feature current home construction can provide.  The house is 4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled on a high prairie in the American southwest.  A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat-pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground.  The water (usually 67 degrees F.)  heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer.  The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas and it con sumes one-quarter electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system.  Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern.  Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern.  The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house.  Surrounding flowers and shrubs native to the area enable the property to blend into the surrounding rural landscape.     

HOUSE #1 is outside of Nashville, Tennessee; it is the abode of the "environmentalist" Al Gore.   

HOUSE #2 is on  a ranch near Crawford, Texas;  it is the residence the of the President of the United States,
George W. Bush.   

An "inconvenient truth". 
 

Copywrite 2007  -  Barry G.

blog seer

 

2007/8/21

Thinking American Woman Scared by Hillary - Story Found in Pelosi's Locker

@ 10:07 PM (70 months, 1 hour ago)

 

AMERICAN THINKER "HILLARY SCARES ME"

Most especially as a woman, I have become more and more concerned that Hillary Rodham Clinton just might be elected as the first female President of the United States in 2008.  And that possibility curls my hair, dangerously accelerates my heartbeat and sends shivers down my spine. 

I have been following Hillary's "life" since she first made a blip on the national radar during the 1992 election.  Back then, my own perception of her was that she was kind of pert, sort of pretty, and that she might even be slightly smarter than that absolutely charming husband of hers - the candidate.  When I learned that she had her own Yale law degree and that they were being billed as the "two-for-one" presidency, I actually thought to myself that it might be a good deal for the taxpayers.  Pay one President; get two.  I do always try to give a new President - and First Lady - the benefit of the doubt, as due respect for our Republic and the electorate dictates.

But that was 15 years ago.  In that time, I've read six biographies of Hillary (4 admittedly unfavorable, 1 gushingly favorable, and 1 supposedly neutral).  With such a preponderance of damning evidence against her already widely disseminated, it strikes me as more than a little strange that this woman is not in prison or a mental institution.  That she has managed to remain not only free, but center-stage in the Democratic Party and a Senator from an "adopted" state is an indictment of our press and her Party.  If she succeeds in lying and manipulating her way into the White House, it will be an indictment of us all.

Even Carl Bernstein admits (A Woman in Charge; Knopf; 2007; p. 554) that Mrs. Clinton is the human equivalent of a chameleon, changing her colors and her story to suit her audience:

    "As Hillary has continued to speak from the protective shell of her own making, and packaged herself for the widest possible consumption, she has misrepresented not just facts but often her essential self." (emphasis mine)

In real life - as opposed to fairytales - misrepresenting facts is called "lying."  Constantly changing yourself (and your "truth") according to the company you are in is called "a lack of integrity."  A lack of integrity is considered by most normal folks to be a glaring character defect.  Now, if even Carl Bernstein is able to admit that Hillary is a liar and has a substantial lack of integrity, why would we even elect her POTUS?

On the other hand, she is a Democrat, and unfortunately, it looks as though they are about to foist her upon the rest of us.   William Saffire, in his 1/8/96 NYT editorial, "Blizzard of Lies," cut straight to the chase with a great deal of prescience, when he wrote:

    "Americans of all political persuasions are coming to the sad realization that our First Lady (Hillary Rodham Clinton) - a woman of undoubted talents who was a role model for many in her generation - is a congenital liar."  

So, let it be said from my all-female mouth now and on the record:  If Hillary Clinton is elected as President of the United States, it will set the cause of any sort of feminism back for at least 250 years.  Whether we like it or not, she will be the "ruler" by which future female candidates are measured.  And she will be judged for the woman she is - not for the man she isn't.

So, just for a moment try to forget Travelgate (cronyism at its vile lowest), Whitewater (phony S&L scheme that cost taxpayers $4 million), campcon (FBI investigation into illegal Chinese government political contributions to Clintons and DNC), Monica-gate (don't even go there), and Pardongate (the final-hour pardons granted by the Clinton "Co-Presidency," including a host of Clinton & Rodham relatives, friends and big contributors).  Just forget all about those little "problems" with Hillary's integrity, and think about some of the petty stuff.

Let's take the matter of her faith.  You know, the faith that she says sustained her during Monica-gate.  Now, I know a lot of Methodists with pretty strong beliefs in Jesus Christ.  Yet, I don't believe I've ever heard any of them espousing the benefits of "channeling" the spirits of dead people for guidance.  It was Bob Woodward (THE CHOICE) who revealed Hillary's desire to commune with Eleanor Roosevelt in this manner, and that new-age person of note, Jean Houston, facilitated the "conversation."  So, when she says that her "faith" got her through "it," is she referring to her faith in God or her faith in Eleanor Roosevelt?  Actually, Eleanor Roosevelt would know a thing or two about philandering husbands, but isn't Hillary, devout Methodist that she claims to be, aware that séances are deemed part of the occult (Satan's province) and strictly off-limits for Christians?  Seems like a no-brainer to me.  So, I'm not too impressed with those "faith" credentials.

Another thing that concerns me - again, this might be construed as petty - is how she has dealt with her husband, Bubba.  According to every single book I have read on Mrs. Clinton, she was fully aware of his predilection for rampant promiscuity all the way through their relationship.  During courtship.  While they were living together out of wedlock.  After they married and became the first couple of Arkansas.  Through the Presidential elections of 1992 and 1996.  Why, according to the volumes that have been written on this one subject alone, there was nary a soul in Arkansas political/business/legal circles that didn't know of the boy Governor's proclivities for "special encounters" with the opposite sex.  Of course, Hillary knew; she's no idiot.  Obviously, she knew and she didn't care.  But she knew that we the public cared about the character - or lack thereof - of our President.  So, she lied about not knowing.

And besides the bald-faced lying, here's what rubs me the wrong way.  Hillary Clinton's thirst for power has been so great that she has knowingly trampled the feelings and rights of all the women she called "Bimbos," enabled an out-of-control man to escape due punishment, and now dares to play the long-suffering, loving wife with no thought to the real-life consequences borne by all the "other" women that litter the roadside of Bill Clinton's life. 

This one issue alone invalidates any claim she ever had to the real Women's vote.  Her cadre of elite feminist loyalists can clamor all they wish for solidarity of the "sisterhood," but I don't know a single woman over the age of 18 who is buying it.  If Hillary Clinton gave one whit for the respectability of women, she would have trounced Billy boy a long, long, long, long time ago.

And why on earth would an educated electorate buy the simpleminded notion that a woman who cannot even stop a philandering husband from, well, philandering, could ever stop terrorists from, well, terrorizing?  Surely, we are too smart to trust this woman with her little manicured finger on the "A-bomb" button.

If not, then we probably deserve what we will get from her.  If you have real questions at this point about what that would be, get yourself a copy of Rules for Radicals, by the infamous Saul Alinsky, the left-wing guru of ethical relativity, an avowed means-justify-the-ends Marxist, who was the topic of Hillary's senior thesis at Wellesley.  Don't bother trying to get a copy of her paper, though; it's sealed up, though a purported bootleg copy made it onto the web. I have been unable to verify if it is genuine.

I would give just about anything to be able - in good conscience - to vote for a woman for President.  Just not this particular woman.  She doesn't even know who she is anymore.  How could she possibly know who we are?  She thinks we are the means to her end.  That's all her idea of "sisterhood" has ever been.

It's all about her.  And only her.
 

Copywrite 2007  -  Barry G.

2007/8/19

Obituary: Mr. Common Sense - Beginning of time to November 2006

@ 10:39 PM (70 months, 2 days ago)

 

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has
been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since
his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be
remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
Why the early bird gets the worm;
Life isn't always fair;
and Maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies:

(don't spend more than you can earn)

and reliable strategies:

(adults, not children, are incharge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but
overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6 -year- old boy
charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended
from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for
reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job
that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly
children. It declined even further when schools were required to get
parental consent to administer Tylenol, sun lotion or a band-aid to a
student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and
wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became
contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better
treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a
burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to
realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her
lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded
in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his
daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 3 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else Is To
Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

 

 

 

"Copywrite 2007"  -  Barry G.

2007/8/17

democrats No Longer Guaranteed 55 California Electoral College Votes in 2008 Presidential Election

@ 09:17 PM (70 months, 4 days ago)

 

Republicans outsmart and out think democrats yet again.
 LOS ANGELES -- Leading Democrats are uniting with Hollywood producer Steven Bing and hedge fund manager Tom Steyer to oppose
a California ballot proposal they fear could hand the 2008 presidential election to the Republican nominee.  A lawyer with ties to the
Republican Party wants California voters to change the way the nation's most populous state awards its electoral votes -- a proposal
Democrats call a power grab but that supporters describe as a blueprint for fairness  in presidential contests.
  California now allots all of its 55 electoral votes to the statewide winner in presidential elections, a practice followed in most states.
The proposal calls for awarding two electoral votes to the statewide winner, with the rest allocated according to results in each
congressional district.  California has voted Democratic in the last four presidential elections. The change -- if it qualifies for the 
June primary ballot and is approved by voters -- could mean a Republican could be positioned the following November to win 20 or
 more electoral votes in GOP-leaning districts.  Nineteen of the state's 53 congressional districts are represented by Republicans. 
President Bush carried 22 districts in 2004, while losing the statewide vote by double digits.  
 
It takes 270 of 538 electoral votes to win the White House. Only Maine and Nebraska currently allocate their electoral votes
by congressional district.
  In what is shaping up as an important subplot to the 2008 race, a political committee is being formed by Steyer that will raise
money _ possibly tens of millions of dollars -- to defeat the GOP-backed idea.  The committee is being supported by Sens. 
Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Democratic 
leaders in the Legislature.  The proposal is a "power grab orchestrated by the Republicans," Feinstein and Boxer said in a joint 
statement. It's "another cynical move to keep the presidency in Republican control."
  Democrats were scheduled to announce formation of the committee, Californians for Fair Election Reform, on Thursday.  It will be headed by Steyer, 
who is raising money for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign. A longtime Democratic donor, Steyer also raised funds for John Kerry's 
2004 campaign and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  "Democrats would lose 20 electoral votes and very likely the presidency if California abandons the 
winner-take-all system while large Republican states like Florida and Texas do not," Steyer said in a statement.  The Presidential Election Reform Act,
as it's dubbed, is being pushed by Thomas Hiltachk, a lawyer in a Sacramento firm that represents the California Republican Party and has worked with 
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
  "In a state as large and diverse as California, what can be fairer than using congressional districts to apportion electoral votes," said Kevin
Eckery, a spokesman for Californians for Equal Representation, a committee backing the proposal.
 
It looks like Hillary is going to be hammered.
 

"Copywrite 2007"  -  Barry G.

 

 

2007/8/12

Galactic Suite - Outer Space Solution to One Nighters

@ 10:34 AM (70 months, 9 days ago)

 

"Galactic Suite", the first hotel planned in space, expects to open for business in 2012 and would allow guests to travel around the world in 80 minutes.  Its Barcelona-based architects say the space hotel will be the most expensive in the galaxy, costing $4 million for a three-day stay.  During that time guests would see the sun rise 15 times a day and use Velcro suits to crawl around their pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls like Spiderman.

Company director Xavier Claramunt says the three-bedroom boutique hotel's joined up pod structure, which makes it look like a model of molecules, was dictated by the fact that each pod room had to fit inside a rocket to be taken into space.

"It's the bathrooms in zero gravity that are the biggest challenge," says Claramunt. "How to accommodate the more intimate activities of the guests is not easy.  Not that I would mind Bill Clinton pissing on himself, but no way would that happen to any Conservative guest.'

 

"Copywrite 2007  -  Barry G.

 

2007/8/8

Less than a Million Americans Give a Rat's Ass About democrat AFL-CIO Debate

@ 10:34 PM (70 months, 13 days ago)

 

The AFL-CIO Democratic forum last night on MSNBC, was the lowest rated-yet of the eight primary debates/forums held this election season. Based on live +same day data, Nielsen found the debate had 960,000 total viewers and 340,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo.

Even democrats don't want to listen to democrat bullshit.  Major media outlets are not even bothering to analyze the results.  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

Copywrite 2007  -  Barry G.

2007/8/5

Al Sharpton Dumps Michael Vicks and Jumps on William Jefferson Indictment

@ 06:50 PM (70 months, 16 days ago)

 

INDICTED - U.S. REP WILLIAM JEFFERSON (D-LA)

 

"The racist authorities are picking on a black man.  Evidence?  Guilt?  Who cares.

TV Face time...that's what I care about !!!

 

 

Copywrite 2007  -  Barry G.

 

2007/8/1

democrats Try to Sneak Ripoff Universal Health Care in Wisconsin

@ 04:58 PM (70 months, 20 days ago)

 

Cheese Headcases

Wisconsin reveals the cost of "universal" health care.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT

When Louis Brandeis praised the 50 states as "laboratories of democracy," he didn't claim that every policy experiment would work. So we hope the eyes of America will turn to Wisconsin, and the effort by Madison Democrats to make that "progressive" state a Petri dish for government-run health care.

This exercise is especially instructive, because it reveals where the "single-payer," universal coverage folks end up. Democrats who run the Wisconsin Senate have dropped the Washington pretense of incremental health-care reform and moved directly to passing a plan to insure every resident under the age of 65 in the state. And, wow, is "free" health care expensive. The plan would cost an estimated $15.2 billion, or $3 billion more than the state currently collects in all income, sales and corporate income taxes. It represents an average of $510 a month in higher taxes for every Wisconsin worker.

Employees and businesses would pay for the plan by sharing the cost of a new 14.5% employment tax on wages. Wisconsin businesses would have to compete with out-of-state businesses and foreign rivals while shouldering a 29.8% combined federal-state payroll tax, nearly double the 15.3% payroll tax paid by non-Wisconsin firms for Social Security and Medicare combined.

This employment tax is on top of the $1 billion grab bag of other levies that Democratic Governor Jim Doyle proposed and the tax-happy Senate has also approved, including a $1.25 a pack increase in the cigarette tax, a 10% hike in the corporate tax, and new fees on cars, trucks, hospitals, real estate transactions, oil companies and dry cleaners. In all, the tax burden in the Badger State could rise to 20% of family income, which is slightly more than the average federal tax burden. "At least federal taxes pay for an Army and Navy," quips R.J. Pirlot of the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce business lobby.

As if that's not enough, the health plan includes a tax escalator clause allowing an additional 1.5 percentage point payroll tax to finance higher outlays in the future. This could bring the payroll tax to 16%. One reason to expect costs to soar is that the state may become a mecca for the unemployed, uninsured and sick from all over North America. The legislation doesn't require that you have a job in Wisconsin to qualify, merely that you live in the state for at least 12 months. Cheesehead nation could expect to attract health-care free-riders while losing productive workers who leave for less-taxing climes.

Proponents use the familiar argument for national health care that this will save money (about $1.8 billion a year) through efficiency gains by eliminating the administrative costs of private insurance. And unions and some big businesses with rich union health plans are only too happy to dump these liabilities onto the government.

But those costs won't vanish; they'll merely shift to all taxpayers and businesses. Small employers that can't afford to provide insurance would see their employment costs rise by thousands of dollars per worker, while those that now provide a basic health insurance plan would have to pay $400 to $500 a year more per employee.

The plan is also openly hostile to market incentives that contain costs. Private companies are making modest progress in sweating out health-care inflation by making patients more cost-conscious through increased copayments, health savings accounts, and incentives for wellness. The Wisconsin program moves in the opposite direction: It reduces out-of-pocket copayments, bars money-saving HSA plans, and increases the number of mandated medical services covered under the plan.

So where will savings come from? Where they always do in any government plan: Rationing via price controls and, as costs rise, waiting periods and coverage restrictions. This is Michael Moore's medical dream state.

The last line of defense against this plan are the Republicans who run the Wisconsin House. So far they've been unified and they recently voted the Senate plan down. Democrats are now planning to take their ideas to the voters in legislative races next year, and that's a debate Wisconsinites should look forward to. At least Wisconsin Democrats are admitting how much it will cost Americans to pay for government-run health care. Would that Washington Democrats were as forthright.

 

Copywrite 2007  -  Barry G.