And while we're on the subject...

How come it's supposedly an unConstitutional invasion of privacy to scan for radiation outside Mosques, but not to dust my luggage for explosive residue at the airport?

Hmmm?

How come this is Science...

SETI goes BOINC!

SETI@home was launched in May 1999 to look for regular or strong signals from outer space. But the project, says director David Anderson, has run out of steam and needs to take a new direction.

"The science that SETI@home does is currently a dead end; it was meant to run for two years, it has now run for six. We are just rescanning the sky repeatedly and it's unlikely that we will find anything we haven't found before."

SETI@home may be switching off today, but it is not going away: it is simply joining forces with similar distributed-computing projects on topics from climate models to cures for diseases. The move should boost the number of users,
upping the computing power available to search for messages from alien life - BOINC"

...And Intelligent Design isn't? Spending six years scanning the skies for a peep for alien civilizations...and coming up with nothing...is considered a scientific endeavor, but attempting to determine if life on earth occurred through intelligent intervention is sheer pseudo-science quackery?

Got it.

UPDATE:

Some feller named XYBA has a great post on the subject. Which of course, neatly mirrors my own viewpoint, so naturally I linked him.

More Deaths in Iraqi Prisons....except...

Inmate Kills Eight in Iraq Prison

An inmate in a Baghdad prison grabbed an assault rifle from a guard and opened fire, killing eight people, police said.

Now just what do you suppose are the odds that these eight deaths will somehow make it into the liberal lefties stats on the number of Iraqi's killed in captivity during the US occupation of Iraq?

Is Saddam really so bad?

So, I mean, it's not like the guy was some sort of Slobodan Miloslavic. Ya know, except for the MASS GRAVES!

Counterinsurgency - Helping People Help Themselves

Noble, idealistic souls often lament the wanton waste of money on capitalistic hubris as we spend ourselves into glorious excess during holiday shopping frenzies; money that could be spent feeding the poor in impoverished nations. If we have money to spend on flat-screen TVs we don't really need, then we clearly have money to buy shoes for children in the Congo! Herein lies a fundamental philosophical disconnect between so-called Progressives, and traditionalists/fiscal conservatives.

The liberal mindset sees succor in providing beneficence, social programs to feed, clothe and house those less fortunate. This isn’t even liberalism, per se, but just good, conscionable providence between the haves and the have-nots. The traditionalists, on the other hand, often take a slightly different approach. A conservative believes that the best way to ensure that a society is able to feed, clothe, and house itself it to provide its citizenship with the means to provide such things for themselves. Government largess is meant only as a stop-gap measure to assist in those times of unavoidable want or need, not as a means of continuing sustenance for the economic fringe.

In the view of the fiscal conservative, or western traditionalist, the best way to help a third-world country to rise out of poverty is to provide it with an environment conducive to economic, technological, and social innovation and excellence. Thus the motivation behind interventions in places like Somalia, where it was felt that if we could just provide a period of stability and security from the ravages of tribal feudalism, the local economy would be freed to flourish, and social reform could begin. Alas, in this situation, feudal warlords were too interested in maintaining their tenuous grips on localized power to allow such seeds to take root.

The situation in Iraq and Afghanistan can be viewed through much the same lens. Insurgencies and revolutionary mindsets are born out of destitution and poverty. When a people feel like they have nothing left to lose, they become more open to trying anything. Counter-insurgency, therefore, focuses not only on the elimination of direct military threats, but more importantly, on changing the social environment which feeds and supports revolutionaries. It is a supportable position to say that the only way that the people of Iraq and Afghanistan would ever have self-determinate freedoms was for the ruling dictatorships to be removed. As the people themselves did not have the means to do so, an outside entity was required. This outside entity (the US) was motivated to do so by a desire to remove the sources of a revolutionary insurgency that had come to threaten its social and economic foundations. Mere economic sanctions and political pressure where shown to be ineffective. Other means were required. A definition of war is a furtherance of the political ends by other means. Here the “ends” were the draining of the pool of terrorists by removing their bases of support. Providing the Iraq and Afghani people the means, the hope, and the security to be self-determinant takes the wind out of the Jihadists’ sails. It gets harder and harder to paint the US as the Great Satan when we are directly responsible for enabling the people of these countries to live life free from fear and oppression.

The same shrill voices which condemn US “interference” in the economic and political affairs of third-world countries, are also the quickest to blame the US for not doing enough to combat poverty and deprivation in these same sorts of countries. Of course, by “doing enough” they really mean transferring some of our hard-earned GNP to band-aid the symptoms, not treat the cause. Providing food and medicine for war-torn refugees is noble and noteworthy – and is only a temporary aid which does not address the fundamental problem of what ultimately CAUSED the suffering in the first place.

It goes back to the old maxim, “Feed me a fish, I eat for a day. Teach me to fish, I eat for a lifetime.” Yes, provide me fish in the interim until I get the hang of the whole fishing thing. Thereupon, it only makes sense to stop giving me fish and make me fish for myself. Otherwise, why should I crank it out at the crack of dawn and brave the mosquitoes to catch fish, if I know that all I have to do is wait around for the next shipment of fish from the UN? One is sustenance, the other is self-sufficiency.

• Linked at Basil's Blog & Mudville Gazette

More Headlyin' Newz

From CNN:
Climate study predicts big thaw
Know by many traditionalists as "Spring"

'King Kong' nudges 'Narnia' at box office
Tired of waiting in line, Big ape cuts in front of smaller, punier Narnia.

Fitness industry aims for black audience
Authorities concerned about rise in race-based handgun violence at sports clubs.

From MSNBC:
Bush pardons moonshiners, bank robber
"Just some good ol' boys, never meanin' no harm."

German hostage told she was safe as a Muslim
Shockingly, Jihadists don't harm someone who shares their ideology

Top Taliban leader threatens suicide attacks
Many hope he'll lead by example.

European Union threatens Microsoft with fines
Microsoft's Response: "OOOooooh! Scaaaaaary!" Ptbbbbbbb!"

China making moves to stem the tide of AIDS
Considering legalizing gay marriage

In Iraq, these peacemakers shun guns
Jihadists excited about ready pool of potential hostages

‘Warrior Princess’ answers back
And I quote: "YeeeadeledalalalaaaaYEEEAAGH!" Gabrielle maintains silence.

Once again, links instead of blogging....

• Ace of Spades has a hilarious round-up of the top 35 Deep Thoughts.
• Another one bites the dust: We bid farewell to "What Attitude Problem?" You will be missed.
• BlameBush! has a shocking expose' on the so-caled "War on Christmas."
• Carin continues to savage Leo the liberal wanker over socialized medicine in Canada and Britain.
• Dave at Garfield Ridge breaks "Brokeback Mountain" down shotgun style.
• And no, The Therapist STILL hasn't posted anything new.

Mmmm. Tasty babies! Hmmm!

Bareknucklepolitics has some more photo evidence of atrocities committed by US servicemen and women on Iraqi children. I think it's clear that the following photos undeniably show some US Army types about to eat some Iraqi children. I have included comments overheard by an unnamed source close to the sitution:


"Hmmm. This one looks juicy. It's like picking fruit off a tree. Fire up the barbeque!!"



"Man. What a treat. Some snow peas and "baby" carrots {{snicker}}, a little bouillon, and toss in this chunk of ham for an awesome stew!! I can feed the whole squad!"

-- h/t to The Rottie for the link.

• SondraK has more. Warning: not for the faint liberal of heart!

The fate of children in Iraq

Oh. The. HORROR!!

Hey folks, it ain't "Santa Christ"

Isn't is kinda, I dunno, funny in a darkly humorous way that the same group that a few years ago was so histrionically lamenting how overly-commercialized Christmas is becoming, are now all up in arms about how certain major retailers aren't putting up enough christmas decorations or replacing "Merry Christmas" with "Happy Holidays" in their banners and advertisements?

Well, then, which is it?!

And while I am all about Santa, and snow, and reindeer, and pinetrees and miseltoe, I am still trying to figure out what exactly all this has to do with the birth of the Christian Savior, in the middle of an arid, middle-eastern high desert area.

The truth hurts sometimes.

So anyway, I'm cruising around the blogosphere, ya know, trying to find some hints, suggestions, advice etc. on how best to increase traffic on my blog.

Turns out, one of the most reliable ways is to post regularly, and have quality content.


Well, just...dammit.

I knew there was a catch.

On a completely unrelated note:

I am issuing a fatwah, nay, dare I say a jihad against people who put those little darwin critters on their cars instead of the IXOYE fish.

It offends me, so clearly, the offenders must be punished or killed. It's all the rage (no pun intended). I hear just everybody is doing it.

Come on! Who's with me?!

And this just IN!!

Apparently, the US government has been monitoring the activites of some of its citizens!! Rumor has it that this has taken the form of wire-taps, monitoring of email using special keyword scanning software, and even direct visual surveillance!

In a special leaked report, it has been reported that police may soon start using undercover agents to pose as criminals in order to catch real criminals.

In an especially nefarious twist, it is stated by an un-named source that special "sting" operations have been used to nab whole groups of criminals at once.


I just shake my head in dismay at the utter unconstitutionality of it all.

Clearly, this man is NOT Black enough.

Black-history month ripped as 'ridiculous'
Morgan Freeman blasts label as divisive to all Americans

"I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man," he says. "I know you as Mike Wallace. You know me as Morgan Freeman. You wouldn't say, 'Well, I know this white guy named Mike Wallace.' You know what I'm saying?"

Yeah, what HE said!

....Standing by for the expected savaging by outraged Democrats.

When I grow up

I wanna be like this blog.

On the Iraqi Elections

Mike the Marine hits center of mass with his breakdown of the overall success of the Iraqi elections, from a first hand perspective. Elections in which, I might add, the percentage of voter turnout was HIGHER THAN IN THE LAST U.S. ELECTION! He also gives a good poke in the eye of the MSM, which is always appreciated.

All across the nation, people are committed to this process. Now, I’m not blind. I can see a couple different reasons for people voting, and not all of them are positive. Some Iraqis want to install a hard-line Islamic theocracy in the model of Iran. Some Iraqis are voting simply because they figure if the process works, then the Americans will leave. But most, I think, are voting because they actually give a damn what happens to their country and want a safe environment for their families and children. They want a say in how things run. And even the folks who are only voting as a means to the end of gettin’ us gone…well, that’s fine by me.

Because, you see, they can hate us or they can love us. But as long as they respect us, and love their kids more than they hate us… hell, I’ll call that a win.

Preach it, Brutha Mike.

Of all the things in the world to worry about....

Real or Fake?

And no, we aren't talking about boobs here.

Although, IMHO, the answer is the same for either.


(Real, of course!)


Folks, I lived in Seattle for 15 years, and I can tell you authoritatively, pine trees grow like weeds. I used to pull pine sprouts out of my backyard by the wheelbarrow-full. A highly renewable resource.

On a side note, trees have very little to do with a Christian observance of the birth of Our Savior. That said, there ain't nothing like the smell of a fresh cut tree in the living room, or the beauty of a tree decorated with loving care by the whole family.

Evergreens are a fond and popular part of traditional christmas celebrations, but are by no means to be considered somehow a fundamental element of Christian observances.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to put on my harp seal fur coat and snuggle on my polar bear skin rug in front of a cheery fire of redwood and south american teak.

Cindy Sheehan's Latest "photo" Op - Where's the shadows?

National Review has a copy of a photo accompanying Cindy Sheehan's nomination for "Best Stand" by Vanity Fair.



Is it just me, or does this look like a poor-to-average Photoshop hack?

Given the length and direction of the shadows in the background, her face should be in shadow, and the flower bunch in front of her head should have a shadow as well, but lo and behold, her face is completely illuminated in a golden glow.

Also, the shadow coming off her feet is significantly lighter than that coming off the other tombstones.

And the flowers in front of the tombstone directly behind her don't seem to be in shadow either.

If they used a fill lighting, it was much more than just a camera flash, thus suggesting that this was a staged photo (if it's a photo at all).

I'll bet cash she was "dropped" into an idyllic cemetery setting with some creative photo editing.

(H/T to Protein Wisdom for the link)

• Linked at Basil's Blog

A question of life and death...

Why are individual States free to determine whether or not to implement the Death Penalty for capital crimes committed within their borders, but it is somehow unconstitutional for them to be able to determine whether or not providing abortions should be legal within their borders?

SAVE TOOKIE! Not.

The fact that there was even one sniffle of dissent, one phlegm hacking moment of opposition, one hazy absinthe-swilling nano-second of support for commuting the death sentence of one "Tookie" Williams is, to me, a sign of some serious moral dry-rot in this country.

I take that back. Not dry-rot. More like a gooey, festering, cankerous, ulcerating, mildewed, spongy, dank and rotting moral gangrene in this country.


IMHO.


** Carin agrees with me. But then, that's a given..

Really, it's for your own good. Everybody is doing it.

Hold off on that chip, says Thompson

According to Procter, only about 60 living persons in the U.S. have agreed to be chipped. In addition to the voluntary recipients, the company's implants were injected into the deceased victims of hurricane Katrina, and there are plans to chip mentally disabled patients at a residential center in Chattanooga. VeriChip has also had talks with the Pentagon about chipping military personnel, though Procter said that "no formal agreements have been reached."

Yearrgh! Yikes! Eeep!

Over my dead body.

This is about more than any religious end-times conspiracy theory. This is about anybody or entity knowing THAT much about where I go and what I do. Privacy becomes a thing of the past.

I have always said that they would start with Alzheimer's patients, then sexual predators, VIPs and kidnapping risks, military, and pretty soon, it will be for everyone, "for their own safety and convenience."

And then one day, it will be required to receive certain types of insurance or social services. Don't believe me?

Try and rent a hotel room and pay with cash, without showing a driver's license. Go ahead.

WHEW!

Well, THAT'S over. No more 18 hour days. Maybe blog a bit now and then. Re-establish my reader base; try and get all seven of you back.

Today's $64 million dollar question:

What exactly IS it that is so offensive about "Merry Christmas?"

To hear some talk, it's something you'd hear on South Park or a Chris Rock comedy skit.

I had the waitress at Chili's wish me a "Happy Holiday" this weekend. I was tempted to ask, "And which holiday would that be?"

On a more positive note, the DOD schools here are just awash with Mary and Joseph and Merry Christmases. So far, they seem to have resisted the sanitization that has befallen many a public school.

"Hallelujah!"

Woops. HATER!

Doesn't it make sense that if you are "offended" that someone believes something different from you, that YOU are the one with the problem?

Headlyin Newz Roundup

From Fox News:
Tests Show N.O. Levee Was Poorly Built
Found to be too susceptible to demolition charges

Conn. Students Get Fines for Cursing
Other voodoo rituals “still OK.”

Judge Bars Indiana Legislature from Christian Prayers
Worried that saying criminals “haven’t got a prayer” not taken literally enough.

Arkansas Scientists Make Fuel From Chicken Fat
KFC to offer free fill up with family-size bucket of Original Recipe^®

From CNN:
Black woman may be appointed to Senate
Democrats plan to filibuster; woman is “not black enough.”

Shooting at Navy reserve base injures 3
Police not sure why they were firing at the Navy base.

Pair Of Teens On Trial For Racing Death
Grim Reaper escapes with pink slips, vows to race again.

From MSNBC:
South Africa's high court approves gay marriage
Latest step in Africa’s effort to halt the spread of AIDS.

From Yahoo:
Landmark Execution Set for Early Friday
Historic site hoping for last minute reprieve

Theologians to ask Pope to suspend limbo?
Popular party game viewed as “just too suggestive.”

• Linked at Basil's Blog

Government indoctrinating military with religious worldview!

I am outraged. OUTRAGED, do you hear?! I just read in an email that there is going to be a Jewish Rabbi and a Protestant Chaplain on base today giving a seminar on “ethics and morality.” Here, on a military base!!

This is clearly an unconstitutional endorsement of religion by the United States military! I am going to contact my Senator, Representatives and, of course, the ACLU. Here I am, supposedly upholding and defending the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and yet right under my nose they are allowing, nay, even encouraging the religious indoctrination of our military service members by Chaplains bought and paid for by the US military. It is suspected that they are even paid a salary and wear military uniforms!

OUTRAGEOUS!!

On a more positive note, there are going to be four showings of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at the base theater. WOO-HOO!!!

• linked at Outside The Beltway

In honor of the approaching "Holiday" season

I've had this for a long time, just finally scanned it in. It'd be funny, if it weren't so true...