Knight of Pan

The Problem With Democracy

2012-01-27T08:20:00.002-06:00

Today the Star Tribune is reporting just another example of our governments' disdain for Democracy and citizens. The City of Minneapolis wants the new Viking's stadium built there, but there's this pesky law that says the City cannot spend more then $10,000,000 on a stadium without voter approval. You would think Mayor Ryback would be scurrying to get a referendum going, but oh no, that's no longer the American way. "... the mayor and council President Barb Johnson would like the Legislature to override it."

That's right the Mayor and City Council president plan to get the Minnesota legislature to override the law!. Unfortunately, there will probably be enough legislators more interested in a football team then Democracy.

Should this surprise us? Politicians decide THEY want something and then proceed to do whatever it takes to get it done, regardless of the will of the people or law. Rather then actually do the referendum and see what the citizens want, they damn the torpedoes and move on.This is why we are damned.

Heavy Metal Cooking

2012-01-13T09:06:00.001-06:00

This is what Democracy looks like?

2011-12-16T09:27:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday December 14, 2011 the Metropolitan Council "voted" to increase Minnesotan's property taxes by 2%. While as a working citizen I am accustomed to tax increases, this tax increase came not from elected representatives, but appointed officials. The Met Council is appointed by the Governor. I believe this is an illegal tax increase.

What is more shocking is to see who some of these appointees are that raised our taxes:

Adam Duininck, Legislative and Political Director, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49

Jennifer Munt, Public Affairs Director, AFSCME Council 5

Edward Reynoso, Political Director and Special Projects Coordinator, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Joint Council 32

That's right, these are big labor people who are supposed to be representing their working class members and instead are raising their taxes at a time that their union members have been experiencing wage freezes and lay offs.

The final hypocrisy is that AFSCME Council 5 and the Teamsters have voiced support for the Occupy Movement. A movement that regularly chants, "This is what Democracy looks like." Then they raise taxes on the 99%!

Am I the only one that sees a problem with big labor being in bed with big government? We all lose.

Sources:Star Tribune,
http://www.metrocouncil.org/about/members.htm,
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/teamsters-vote-official-support-of-occupy-wall-street-133918623.html
http://occupywallst.org/article/occupy-wall-street-and-teamsters-occupy-sothebys-t/
http://afscmemn.org/occupy-minnesota!

Ed Reynoso's Met Council to raise your property tax

2011-12-15T21:12:00.011-06:00

In typical commie fashion the Twin Cities unelected Met Council raised our property taxes.

Citing a need for more money to fund community development, the Metropolitan Council Wednesday approved a 2 percent property tax increase for next year.

The Met Council oversees transit, wastewater treatment and low- and moderate-income housing in much of the seven-county Twin Cities area. (Full Story Star Tribune)

The Met Council is an appointed body by Governor Mark Dayton. It includes Teamsters Joint Council 32 DRIVE Representative Ed Reynoso. He's a Teamsters paid lobbyist who makes $115,000 a year from members dues and an additional $38,000 a year from the Met Council (taxpayer money) who just cost working families another tax increase. Mr. Reynoso sits on the Environment and Transportation Committees. The very ones who gave us the tax increase.

Where was this dedicated Teamster lobbyist when the Minnesota Government shut down last summer? At the Capitol trying to help shut out workers? No, he was in Las Vegas! It was more important for him to help out Hoffa.

No one voted for you, this is the picture of taxation without representation. This is the picture of fat cats once again going after working peoples money. How much will Ed Reynoso and the Met Council cost us in their fight for socialism? And I thought he was all about "taxing the rich."

Greetings from Krampus

2011-12-07T20:18:00.002-06:00

The Fascist States of America

2011-12-01T09:16:00.007-06:00

So how would you like the military to kick in your door and drag you off to unlimited detention without trial?

Your Senators think this is a great idea.

The Huffington Post is reporting:

WASHINGTON- The Senate voted Tuesday to keep a controversial provision to let the military detain terrorism suspects on U,S, soil and hold them indefinately without trial...

The Patriot Act was the slippery slope. Even if signed into law this is unconstitutional and should be fought by every American. It is because of legislation like this we need a strong 2nd Amendment.

Can anyone argue we haven't become just as bad as the British we fought against under King George?

Venezuela and the gold standard

2011-11-26T09:20:00.009-06:00

AS the United States, the premiere capitalist nation, continues to print worthless paper money, one non-capitalist nation seems to really understand the value of a stable currency-Venezuela.

The BBC is reporting:

Venezuela has received its first shipment of gold bars, after President Hugo Chavez ordered the repatriation of 85% of the country's bullion reserves.

While the U.S. continues to fuel inflation by printing money that is increasingly worth less and less and the Euro is teetering on the brink of collapse, Venezuela's currency may end up being the most stable currency in the world.

Watch for some trumped up military action to put an end to this!

The bottom 1% of the 99%

2011-11-15T17:39:00.005-06:00

I think I met the bottom 1% of the 99% of the Occupy Minnesota group today.

As I was walking past the protest to catch my bus (after work), a protester left the group, walked right across the street in the middle of moving traffic, forcing several cars to stop to avoid hitting his selfish ass as he engaged in a leisurely stroll across the street as if he owned it.

He walked straight up to a woman who was standing outside of the Pillsbury Center, clearly an office employee having a cigarette break, and bummed a cigarette off of her.

He then strolled back across the street, once again forcing drivers to stop to avoid hitting his selfish ass and rejoined the other 99%.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with "the banks got bailed out and we got sold out," slogan. I support the right to peaceably assemble, which they are doing in Minnesota. But seriously dude, the only thing I could think of as I watched this selfish display was, get a fucking job, buy your own fucking cigarettes and don't force working people to stop their cars in order to avoid hitting you. People like you don't represent me, the 53% that work and pay taxes.

Coca Cola supports polar bears, not people

2011-11-13T17:58:00.006-06:00

Coca Cola has a long history of questionable practices. There have been allegations of Coca Cola's complicity with trade unionist being murdered in Guatemala and Columbia. Allegations of supporting child labor in third world countries and causing water shortages in India as well as polluting their water.

Now Coca Cola is embarking on it's next "feel good" PR campaign. They are donating money from Coca Cola purchases to support the habitat of Arctic polar bears! This despite evidence that polar bear numbers are actually increasing, not racing to extinction. Why would Coca Cola jump on the save the polar bear campaign?

What could be better for Coke's image them a cute cuddly polar bear to gloss over it's history of labor crackdowns, pollution and child labor. Yep, PR! Forget people, just think cute bear.

Safer Without Seat Belts?

2011-11-10T18:57:00.002-06:00

The Minneapolis Star Tribune is reporting:

State: 44 percent of vehicle occupants killed were unbelted

It would then stand to reason that 56% of fatalities were wearing their seat belts. It would appear the odds are in favor of the unbelted.

Teamsters Local 320 gets booted out

2011-10-31T18:11:00.003-05:00

On October 28th, 2011, Teamsters Local 320 was voted out by the members of four bargaining groups in favor of the Minnesota Public Employees Association.

These groups were the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office Detention Deputies and Telecomunicators, the Washington County Corrections Officers , the City of Albert Lea , and Freeborn County.

This is the Labor Movement in action. If the Union leadership isn't doing the job the members will get someone who will!

What led to this? Here's a couple of posts that will give you an inkling why.

Corrupt Union Leaders Launches Defamation Campaign Against Member Who Voted Wrong

and this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFd44bQP4Mc&feature=player_embedded

Oh, did I mention Teamsters only received 1 vote from my shop?

The Gus Report

2011-10-13T19:02:00.006-05:00

I don't usually use my blog space to go after individuals, but today I make an exception. My union, Teamsters Local 320, has hired an IT guy by the name of Gus Froemke. By all accounts he is well educated, except in life. As part of his job, it appears he is a well paid mercenary for Internet attacks on people he doesn't know and has never met. People who have done great things in the labor movement. Things like, secured corrections officers a 55 retirement, got my bargaining unit paid holidays and passed the Bloodborne Pathogens Bill making my profession safer. These people are your targets, Gus.

Teamsters Local 320 is part of the Change to Win Coalition. This is Gus Froemke's opinion of the Change to Win Coalition from his own blog:

The article touches on many of the same points I argued when I declared that Change to Win has failed its primary mission. I wanted to expand the perspective as to demonstrate that I have no real animosity towards the Change to Win federation, I simply recognized its inability to organize on a massive scale and its questionable priorities.

Gus, you were right, Change to Win (Teamsters) has failed it's primary mission, they not only can't organize on a massive scale they are hemorrhaging members because of their questionable priorities. Questionable priorities you now espouse for money.

Unions form and grow that represent their members, not ones that tell members what is best for them and then that attack those members with differing opinions.

Why am I targeting you? You have attacked my friends and just this last week I had Google remove a fake profile pretending to be me that I believe you created. So Gus, while you write your profound thoughts about the Labor Movement in your blogs, take the time to look in the mirror and realize you sold out the Labor movement for money.

Union support for Occupy Wall Street hypocrisy

2011-10-07T16:34:00.009-05:00

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa just released a Press Release saying, "Teamsters Stand in Solidarity with Occupy Wall Street movement." Really? Do they? The rank and file who have experienced lay offs, wage freezes and reduction in benefits may, but what about the leaders?

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa makes a cool $362,869 a year, recently retired SEIU President Andy Stern took in $306,388 a year, and AFSCME President Gerald McEntee makes a whopping $479,328 a year! (Sources: Union Facts and Fox News)

Hell, Sue Mauren, head of my Teamsters Local 320 makes over $238,000 a year, up from about $100,000 just five years ago. While us rank and file members have had four years of wage freezes. My own local has voiced solidarity with Occupy MN.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) have assets of $175,000,000 and the SEIU has assets of $187,000,000. My Local 320 has over $4 million. I'm going to bet a LOT of that money is invested in Wall Street. If the big Unions are really standing in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street then they'd pull their money from Wall Street, not just issue press releases and show up for photo ops.

To me it looks like Union CEO's paying lip service for the masses.

Just sayin'.

The new beast!

2011-10-01T17:05:00.004-05:00

This is my new beast, it's a 1989 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. 4 wheel drive, 5.9 liter V-8. Not pretty but if it gets me through a couple Minnesota winters for the few hundred I paid for it I'll be happy.

Kind of like the 1986 Ford F150 I bought for $500 years ago and drove for four years.

I'll keep my fingers crossed.

St. Paul to outsource recess!

2011-09-21T09:31:00.004-05:00

This Star Tribune story says:

St. Paul elementary schools outsource recess

WTF! If the Saint Paul Schools can't even have a couple of teachers stand on a playground to monitor recess, we're all screwed! Saint Paul is going to pay Playworks, $178,000 a year for this. I hope Saint Paul voters remember this when they are asked to increase their property taxes "for education."

911 Remembered

2011-09-11T20:25:00.003-05:00

This act led to 10 years of kicking the asses of Islamic terrorists. Do not forget.

Thank you all who have tracked them down and killed them.

Osama's death was the best "remembrance" of this attack on the U.S.

2 Movie Reviews

2011-09-05T21:05:00.007-05:00

This past Labor Day weekend I saw two movies.

The first was Kevin Smith's, Red State. It's a movie based on the Phelp's family's, Westboro Baptist Church (God Hate's Fags). Basically they lure 3 teenage boys in with promises of adolescent sex in order to kill the sinners. Two of the the boys get loose just as the killing begins and the ATF shows up headed by John Goodman. I have to say it's the only serious role I've ever seen Goodman in and he's fantastic. The movie ends as a botched ATF raid. Lot's of shooting. The movie was entertaining but it was more of a political commentary on extremist religions' and the Government then action. While I agreed wholeheartedly with Kevin Smith's political points, some of the speeches by the characters got long winded. I'd recommend this if you like Kevin Smith's movies. Think Michael Moore meets Tarantino. I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars.

The second movie was, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. This is a film produced by Guillermo del Toro, probably the best horror producer out there. The first film of his I ever saw was Pan's Labyrinth and I've been a fan ever since.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, starts out with an architect, his daughter and his girlfriend working to restore an old mansion in Rhode Island. Of course the mansion contains fairies in the basement. Not your nice Disney fairies, but the traditional evil variety. They want the young girl and her teeth. The movie rocks from start to finish. You will never want to go into your basement at night and you will never want your children to leave a tooth under the pillow again. Do not bring children to this movie unless you want to stay up all night with them for a week. In traditional Guillermo del Toro, there is no happy ending. I highly recommend this to horror movie fans. I'd give give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Labor's biggest threat

2011-07-11T11:03:00.014-05:00

I attended the 2011 Teamsters convention as a delegate. I was one of many representing 11,500 members of Teamsters Local 320 from Minnesota. We were elected by the members to get other candidates on the October ballot other then Hoffa, and we succeeded.

I supported an opposition candidate, Fred Gegare, rather then incumbent General President Jim Hoffa. Gegare made it onto the ballot, along with Sandy Pope for the October elections.

What I saw at the convention was disheartening to any true Unionist. For the first three days our Teamsters Joint Council 32 DRIVE representative came up and told me "Fuck You." He was a Hoffa supporter. What is a DRIVE representative? He's a lobbyist we pay $115,000 a year to, to represent us at the Minnesota State Capitol. Why wasn't he at our State Capitol with a shutdown imminent? You'd have to ask him. Minnesota shut down during the convention and hundreds, if not thousands of our members were laid off, yet our paid lobbyist never left!

Then there was the daily walk through the gauntlet of drum beating, yelling Hoffa supporters to enter the convention hall. Most of Hoffa's delegates had the inability to even listen to an opposing view. Hoffa supporters tried to yell and boo down the nominations of Fred Gegare and Sandy Pope and then WALKED OUT before their acceptance speeches. I caught it on video:

There was much lip service about "solidarity." To be sure there were lots of great trade unionists at the convention. But the overwhelming impression I left with was that big labor is big labor, and those at the top were more interested in maintaining big salaries and fat benefits. They had armies of "supporters" to shout down the successful opposition and no heart to listen to rank and file members. Most of whom have taken wage freezes and pay and benefit cuts over the last few years while the Union "leadership" has taken raises.

If the modern labor movement is to survive we need to get back to basics: Hours, Wages and Working conditions.

Big Union leadership needs to act more like Labor leaders and less like CEO's, that is our biggest threat.

Good Bye Motherfucker!

2011-05-02T07:01:00.003-05:00

WASHINGTON — Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the most devastating attack on American soil in modern times and the most hunted man in the world, was killed in a firefight with United States forces in Pakistan, President Obama announced on Sunday night.

FULL STORY, New York Times

Now that the pig is dead it's time we pulled out of the region and let them return to the primitive life they so enjoy.

We Are One Rally-St. Paul, MN

2011-04-10T04:42:00.002-05:00

The new Doctor Strangelove

2011-03-27T09:41:00.004-05:00

The caption on this cartoon from the China Daily News reads: "Obama, Libya and the Nobel prize"

So let me see if I have this straight. There's a civil war in Libya. Col. Qaddafi starts pushing back the rebels. Col. Qaddafi is a dick, but poses no danger to us. We don't know who the rebels are but it's a common theme that people in the Middle East are tired of their dictators and revolting.

Qaddafi by all measures is a bad man, however this is a civil war contained within the borders of Libya. A country that poses no threat to us or has any National interest to us.

We cross a sovereign border and bomb the shit out of them to support the rebels, whom we don't know.

Sounds like an act of war to me.

The next phase as I see it will be American troops on the ground to "stabilize" the country.

The Soviets lost the cold war because we outspent them militarily. We'll lose the "war on terror" by Hubris, spending ourselves out of existence.

What is our Mideast Policy?

2011-03-21T08:32:00.003-05:00

While the U.S. bombs Libya in the name of protecting a democratic uprising, we believe in freedom you know. We sit idly by while Saudi Arabia sends troops into neighboring Bahrain to crush Bahrain's pro-democracy revolution.

Looks confusing right? We intervene in one country to support 'freedom' but look the other way while another one crushes a democracy movement. Hypocrisy?

No, it's just the old Carter Doctrine of protecting our oil interests. Period. At least one U.S. President had an honest foreign policy.

So if you're a repressive government that sells us oil, repress away. Oil, not democracy is the only export the U.S. will protect anymore.

Democracy has gone the way of U.S. manufacturing, overseas.

No Quarter

2011-03-20T09:10:00.003-05:00

In solidarity with Wisconsin Publc Employees

2011-02-19T07:17:00.002-06:00

I support our Union brothers and sisters in Wisconsin. Two days ago I listened to Rush Limbaugh refer to Wisconsin's Public Union Protesters as 'Pariahs,' and referred to Public Union member benefits as 'Welfare.'

Any adult can see money is tight for government. However, any cuts, increases in member contributions, etc should be made at the bargaining table at contract negotiations, not by executive order. We, at the bargaining table have agreed to wage freezes, increased health care contributions, increased pension contributions, etc. We've done our part.

If you have cable television there are several packages. There's a premium package with all of the movie and sports channels, a mid-range package and then basic cable. These assholes are saying, look we can't afford the premium package price. So we're going to pay basic cable rates but we want the same premium service.

All Union contracts have provisions for lay offs. While no one wants lay offs, if you can only afford 30 snowplow drivers and you have 35 you may have to lay off 5 and take longer to clear roads for the public. Public workers deserve a livable wage. Wisconsin just wants to cut everybody's pay, lay off no one and get the same level of service for cheap.

The bottom line is public employees didn't cause the housing bubble and didn't speculate oil prices through the roof. We are not to blame. When the private sector was getting 10% raises we were getting 2-3%. Most of us are experiencing wage freezes yet again. We don't get rich in public service.

The economy will only pick up when the private sector does. If we have to have less government and less workers in the mean time then so be it. Those provisions are already in our contracts. Public workers deserve honored contracts, and a living wage, and that wage must be negotiated, not ordered.

These politicians fail to realize that government doesn't give us the 'right to strike.' A strike is what happens when people get fed up. It's shutting things down to show our strength and value. The strikes in the 1930's that gave us the National Labor Relation's Act came after workers walked off of jobs, picketed and violently forced replacement workers away. They didn't need permission! History can and does repeat itself. Minnesota is trying to freeze teacher pay and make Minnesota a 'Right to Work' state. They think that because unemployment is high, people will fear for their jobs and do what they're told. The Union organizing and strikes that took place early in the last century happened during the Great Depression! When you take advantage of people they push back.

Imagine if public workers went on strike, governors ordered then back to work and they refused, and then the cops refused to arrest them and the jailers refused to book or hold them?

Solidarity!

What?

2011-02-08T06:36:00.001-06:00

BUFFALO, New York — The founder of a Muslim-oriented New York television station was convicted Monday of beheading his wife in 2009 in the studio the couple had opened to counter negative stereotypes of Muslims after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

FULL STORY

Gabrielle Giffords shooting

2011-01-09T09:19:00.011-06:00

The shooting of Congress woman Gabrielle Giffords and Federal Judge John M. Roll, as well as many other people was wrong and tragic. The shooter, Jared Lee Loughner appears to have been mentally unstable, according to a New York Times article.

Of course now the propaganda begins. Can I believe the New York Times article? It may be fact, or propaganda designed to blind the public eyes to something else.

The left is blaming the Tea Party and Sarah Palin, especially because Gabrielle Giffords district was part of her "cross hairs" ads during the elections.

The right also has ammo to blame the left, a former classmate describes him in a New York Times article , “As I knew him he was left wing, quite liberal. & oddly obsessed with the 2012 prophecy.”

Unfortunately the dead and wounded will be buried beneath politicians trying to use the opportunity to get ahead. The left will blame the Tea Party, the right will blame the liberals, and law enforcement will use this as a reason to further take away our rights by strengthening domestic spying.

The reality is, you can never know what is going on in some one's head.

The New York Times also said, "He had posted on his Myspace page at some point a photograph of a United States history textbook, on top of which he had placed a handgun."

Seriously, Myspace? Who uses Myspace? Clearly he was disturbed.

Halford-Made of Metal review

2010-12-31T14:08:00.009-06:00

Any fan of Judas Priest, Defenders of the Faith era metal will not be disappointed! Halford again proves he is the Metal God.

The line-up on this CD is:

Rob Halford-vocals

Roy Z - guitar

Mike Chlasciak - guitar

Mike Davis - Bass

Bobby Jarzombek -Drums

Gotta say I've been a huge Roy Z fan ever since his work with Bruce Dickinson on Accident of Birth.

The songs are pure metal from start to finish. Not a bad one on the CD. The guitars are heavy and driving with solo's that cut right through. Halford stays mid-power range with his voice, like on his Fight CD's until the final cut, The Mower, then it's the screaming voice we all know and love.

I recommend buying this one. You'll play it over and over!

Julian Assange and Dick Cheney

2010-12-09T20:32:00.005-06:00

The news is all abuzz about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange's arrest following an Interpol warrant for alleged "sex crimes" in Sweden. Really? Is that really why he was arrested? Why is it that nations that pride themselves on freedom of speech and a free press are so hard pressed to imprison a man who boldly practiced those pillars of Democracy?

Is anyone else wondering why Mr. Assange is a 'criminal' yet every major newspaper also published these same cables without any consequences? Would not any reporter worth their salt publish real news if it was literally handed to them? Think Watergate.

Back to these sex crimes. According to a Wikipedia article :

Assange and some media accounts say that the dispute arose from incidents of consensual but unprotected sex, which may constitute rape under the Swedish law.[128][129] A lawyer for Assange said "It is highly irregular and unusual for the Swedish authorities to issue a red notice in the teeth of the undisputed fact that Mr Assange has agreed to meet voluntarily to answer the prosecutor's questions" outside Sweden.[130] and said Assange would fight extradition attempts[131] due to the possibility that it could lead to the Swedish handing him over to the United States.[132]

Really a warrant for unprotected sex? I guess I'm a criminal too.

So we are asked to believe that these so called Democratic societies are holding him on a warrant from Interpol in the name of 'the rule of law.' Then why I ask is not former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney being arrested and held on his Interpol warrant for bribery in Nigeria in connection with Haliburton?

After all, the rule of law should apply to everyone.

Bailout more criminal then I thought

2010-12-02T20:02:00.006-06:00

WTF! I was against the bailout of our U.S. banks and companies only to learn that WE, me and you the tax payers of the United States of America, also bailed out foreign banks and companies.

That's right. The Washington Post is reporting that the Fed bailed out: The Korean Development Bank, the French BNP Paribas, the Swiss UBS and the German Deutsche Bank, a major bank in Bavaria and one headquartered in Bahrain.

That all in addition to Goldman Sachs, AIG, Harley Davidson (yup), GE, Citibank and even Toyota!

So while Obama and company are "tightening their belts" by going after Federal Employees, they and the rest of us Americans will be paying for the world bailout for the rest of our lives.

It's even more treasonous then I thought when I first posted against the original bailout scam foisted on the American citizens.

Is there a concerted plan to eliminate the middle class or what? While our homes are in foreclosure the mortgage holders get bailed out. While foreign banks and companies get bailed out with our tax dollars the U.S. government considers eliminating our mortgage tax credit and letting the Bush tax cuts expire. If those two things come to pass more of the middle class will fall over the abyss.

It won't be long before there's only the corporate wealthy and the serfs. Maybe we U.S. citizens should consider doing to our politicians that supported the bailouts what Nigeria is doing to Dick Cheney:

According to the New York Times, Nigeria To File Charges Against Dick Cheney Over Bribery.

Now that's the spirit!

What is government motors (GM) thinking?

2010-11-27T08:56:00.006-06:00

With the US economy in shambles and auto workers in Detroit laid off why would General Motors build cars in China to export to Chile? The China Daily News is reporting: China-made Chevrolet sets sail for Chile.

General Motors is now U.S. government owned, yet it's acting more like a multi-national then a US company. One would think that a US government owned company would be interested in putting US workers back to work. Yes, it will help recoup bailout money, but will also benefit Chinese workers over U.S. workers.

So the question is: Is GM a multi-national that used American taxpayers to further it's aim or is the U.S. government more interested in turning a buck then providing jobs to U.S. workers?

No wonder I like Ford.

New airport security is a joke!

2010-11-22T07:38:00.004-06:00

The AP is reporting that, Security protest could disrupt US travel. The TSA is concerned about passengers refusing the 10 second body scan and requesting the longer pat down instead, slowing holiday travel. Why not avoid the radiation?

In light of the history of our politically correct airport security, I'd say it's a non-issue. I'll bet anyone that the first burka wearing passenger or middle eastern looking man chosen to be screened, if chosen at all, will create such an outcry from the Imams of the very group of people most likely to be carrying a bomb that they'll routinely be skipped once again leaving our grandma's as the most likely target of the searches.

Thank You Veteran's

2010-11-11T04:48:00.004-06:00

Thank you veterans!

Election stupidity

2010-10-30T22:25:00.004-05:00

Elections bring out the worst in people. I am a Teamster and it's election time for the local 320 board. I, gasp, exercised my right as a dues paying member to endorse the competing slate challenging the sitting board. Holy fuckin' shit! You'd think I killed Jesus!

I'm not even running for a spot but the fans of the current board have gone apeshit! They made an expose video of me and created false identities like satanwadelaszlo@gmail.com (feel free to spam). Like this is going to hurt my sensitive feelings! The unfortunate part is they've spammed my other sites to the point that I had to go to moderated comments on those ones. The funny thing is I've got a good idea who these dwellers in my spam filter are.

Why am I posting this? These idiots are what turn people off to getting involved in the labor movement or I suspect any electoral process. Some people just can't stand democracy. They'd rather run elections like Hugo Chavez.

I fully expect these same idiots to post here. Then you can all see what brain trusts they are.

China doesn't believe in free trade, why should we?

2010-09-26T09:10:00.003-05:00

The New York Times is reporting:

"the Chinese Commerce Ministry announced Sunday that it would impose tariffs on U.S. poultry exports of as much as 105.4 percent. The ministry said that the tariffs reflected the result of an anti-dumping investigation, which looked at whether the United States was causing harm to the Chinese poultry industry by exporting chicken parts for less than it cost to produce them."

As the U.S. government seeks to give away all of our jobs and industries in the name of free trade, one emerging superpower gets it. If the U.S. were to slap 105% tariffs on Chinese imports it would revitalize U.S. manufacturing. We could once again become a manufacturing giant rather then the "service industry" based nation with the shaky economy we've become.

Let's face it. NAFTA and all of this free trade B.S. is slowly making us a third world country.

Go ACLU!

2010-09-16T07:11:00.003-05:00

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman has declined to prosecute the Minnesota Gang Strike Task Force.

Fortunately, Civil rights groups urge Strike Force grand jury
Civil rights groups don't buy the explanation for why no charges were filed against police in the unit. (Star Tribune).

This is exactly why I love the ACLU. If the average citizen were accused of theft and a stolen large screen TV were found in their house there'd be plenty of evidence for Hennepiin County Attorney Mike Freeman to use whether the accused spoke or not. If however the accused are cops then there's nothing to see here.

I believe in law enforcement, but those enforcers are not above the law. Mr. Freeman has a duty to the citizens of Hennepin County beyond covering for rogue cops.

Book burnings are stupid!

2010-09-07T15:32:00.005-05:00

The Dove World Outreach Church in Gainesville, Fla. is planning to burn about 200 copies of the Quran on September 11th.

I will go on record as saying that burning books is a bad idea, any book, even if that book is the Quran. While I do not ascribe to the tenets of Islam, this planned action by the Dove World Outreach Church proves nothing. They will not stamp out Islam, they will not erase the knowledge of the Quran from Islam's adherents. They will only show they are as childish and stupid as the Muslims who burned Christian Churches after the cartoons of their Prophet were published a few years ago.

Muslims have the right to publish the Quran and newspapers have the right to publish cartoons. No one has to like either, but freedom of the press and speech is sacred.

What's a citizen to do?

2010-07-29T08:52:00.003-05:00

PHOENIX - States that had been watching Arizona's immigration law in hopes of copying it received a rude awakening when a judge put most of the measure on hold and agreed with the Obama administration's core argument that immigration enforcement is the role of the federal government. AP

So with the Arizona law on hold because the judge thinks that immigration enforcement is the role of the federal government, but the federal government is doing nothing while Arizona and other states are over run with illegals, what is a citizen to do?

We can refuse to do business with companies that hire illegals. For example, when your roof gets storm damage ask the contractor if he uses Americans or documented workers or if he hires illegals.

Contractors, don't pick up 'day laborers' hanging out at corners for work.

State Attorney Generals, sue the Federal Government for costs incurred to states because of illegals. After all, the Feds are claiming sole responsibility and they are failing to do their job.

Citizens, next election elect only politicians that will secure our border.

If the feds don't do something they will see a rise in vigilantism as frustrated citizens take matters into their own hands. What do they want?

Mexican Embassy supports illegals

2010-07-23T09:05:00.003-05:00

Fox 9 News ran a story: Cost of Illegal Immigration Crackdown. Watch the video.

Did you notice the Mexican Consul immediately ignores "illegal" and jumps to "there are 4,000 Latino owned businesses in Minnesota." Great, we're not talking legal American businesses, but illegals.

America is a country of immigrants. We are a hodge podge of every nationality, but once you become a citizen you are an American. So those 4,000 'Latino' owned businesses are American businesses owned by Americans of Latino descent. Not illegal immigrants providing jobs for us.

The video documents that illegal immigrants cost Minnesota taxpayers $744,000,000 a year! The Mexican Consul goes on to say that if all of the illegal Mexicans left Minnesota we would lose 25,000 jobs! Hell yeah! That would be 25,000 jobs for Americans.

The Mexican Consul does a nice bait and switch by making it seem that illegals somehow contribute to our economy. The fact is they are working 25,000 jobs unemployed Americans should have and cost us $744 million a year in Minnesota alone. I can't imagine Arizona or California's costs.

But let's not forget, these illegals wouldn't be here if employers didn't hire them. Anyone who knowingly hires an illegal is a criminal and should be held accountable.

One spy doesn't want to go to Russia!

2010-07-10T18:55:00.003-05:00

"He said, `No, I'm not going. What am I going to do in Russia?'" the lawyer recalled. Vasenkov, 66, went by the name Juan Lazaro, falsely claimed he was South American and lived in a Yonkers, N.Y., home paid for by Russian intelligence.

"It became clear that the choices were limited," Krakow went on, and his client agreed to go — promised support for himself and his family in their new life. (Full Story)

Maybe he should have considered how nice he had it here before betraying us. Enjoy that frigid restrictive country A-hole!

I still don't understand why Obama didn't have them rot in prison for 20 years before sending them to Russia. They certainly let our spies sit. Maybe Obama didn't want to know how deep they penetrated the U.S. ? And what's with Russia gets 10 spies back and we get 4? Apparently this is being handled as well as the oil spill.

The Declaration of Independence!

2010-07-04T17:03:00.004-05:00

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states.

To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:For imposing taxes on us without our consent:For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Happy Independence Day!
For personal liberty read Liber OZ

U.S. immigration debate tame compared to Germany

2010-07-01T19:09:00.001-05:00

German politicians suggest immigrant 'intelligence test' - Telegraph.co.uk

German politicians are campaigning for immigrants to undergo intelligence tests before they are granted residency or citizenship rights in the country.

Allan Hall, in Berlin Published: 8:56PM BST 29 Jun 2010

Peter Trapp, a domestic policy expert with the ruling conservative CDU party in Berlin, said; "We have to establish criteria for immigration that really benefit our country.
"In addition to adequate education and job qualifications, one benchmark should be intelligence. I am in favour of intelligence tests for immigrants. We cannot continue to make this issue taboo."

FULL STORY

Speak English or ?

2010-06-28T08:24:00.003-05:00

Not quite as dire as the SOD song, Speak English or Die!

ANN is reporting that,

“The English language has unmistakably achieved status as the world’s lingua franca through globalisation. English is now the official or dominant language for two billion people in at least 75 countries. According to the British Council, speakers of English as a second language probably outnumber those who speak it as a first language, and around 750 million people are believed to speak English as a foreign language,” said Raja Zarith.

What I'm pointing out is that while it's frustrating to get your fast food order wrong because the employee at the drive through doesn't speak English and while I agree that all U.S. citizens should speak the language because it is our national tongue. Globally it's becoming more important for people to speak what is arguably the language of commerce, the World Cup and more.

While it may be knee jerk to pass English as the official language laws at City councils it is very short sighted not to learn English both to get ahead locally and internationally.

So the proper phrase may very well be, Speak English or get left behind.

Obama tied to Blagojevich, no surprise

2010-06-24T17:33:00.002-05:00

The Chicago Sun Times is reporting:

Harris: Obama knew of Blagojevich plot

As someone who grew up in Chicago this is just politics as usual and should surprise no one. Obama and Blago are just birds of a feather.

Jesus struck by lightning. Act of God?

2010-06-20T11:10:00.003-05:00

6-story Jesus statue in Ohio struck by lightning, burns to ground

MONROE, Ohio — A six-story statue of Jesus Christ was struck by lightning and burned to the ground, leaving only a blackened steel skeleton and pieces of foam that were scooped up by curious onlookers Tuesday.

Full Story

Kate Bush in "NIGHT OF THE DEMON" (Hounds Of Love)

2010-06-12T22:53:00.000-05:00

A Strike in the Workers Paradise?

2010-05-28T18:38:00.001-05:00

Strike hits Honda plants

By Lan Lan and Zheng Caixiong (China Daily)Updated: 2010-05-28 07:54

1,900 workers at parts factory walk out for higher pay

GUANGZHOU - Honda's four auto assembly plants in China have ground to a halt after workers at the company's parts maker went on strike demanding better wages.

The strike, the largest industrial action ever reported in China, was continuing on Thursday after negotiations broke down between the management of Honda's supplier factory in China and its 1,900 workers, according to an executive in Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing Co in Fo- shan, Guangdong province.

As a result, the entire China operations of Honda Motor, Japan's second-largest automaker, have been at a standstill this week.

Full Story

What crime did Marc Emery commit?

2010-05-17T07:20:00.005-05:00

Marc Emery is a business man. A Canadian business man who sells seeds. It just happens to be his seeds are marijuana seeds. His Canadian business has been selling marijuana seeds since 1994. Canada apparently had no problem with his vocation but the U.S. does. He is now being extradited from Canada to the U.S. to begin a 5 year sentence.

There's an excellent article covering this in the Huffington Post.

This leads me, a non-pot smoking American to ask:

Why is the US extraditing him? He doesn't run a drug cartel. Growing pot from seeds cuts out gangs, murder, etc. If anything the cartels should be pissed.

Do we have so much available prison space that we can import Canadians who have pissed off our drug czar?

If Canada didn't care why should we?

The U.S. has companies that manufacture and sell alcohol. Would we allow an Islamic country to extradite and imprison those business men because their products violate Islamic law?

Just a little food for thought.

Again; What crime did Marc Emery commit?

LA Boycots Arizona...and shows their ignorance!

2010-05-12T21:03:00.002-05:00

I believe in democracy. I support LA's right as a city to do business or not do business with anyone they want. The LA city council voted to boycott doing business with Arizona and the mayor says he'll sign it.

Their reasoning is lost on me though, Councilman Ed Reyes said, “As an American, I cannot go to Arizona today without a passport. If I come across an officer who’s having a bad day and feels that the picture on my ID is not me, I can be … deported, no questions asked. That is not American.’’ (MSNBC)

Again, Arizona's law only replicates the federal statute. The propaganda is endless.

I just wonder what would happen if Arizona followed suit and didn't let Arizona power plants sell electricity to California because of laws they didn't like? Hmmm? Payback could be a bitch for power starved California.

No Justice, No Tacos!

2010-05-05T19:19:00.004-05:00

"No justice, no tacos, no justice, no tacos." I heard the yelling and loud pounding and clapping to witness about 18 Hispanics and 2 whites marching out of a downtown Minneapolis Mexican restaurant inside of a large downtown building this afternoon. Building security was moving them towards the exit.

This brought to mind several questions:

Did these Hispanics think this was Arizona?
If so, their coyotes really steered them wrong. Arizona is about 1,500 miles Southwest of here.

Do these Hispanics think that somehow a Mexican restaurant is oppressive to Mexicans?

If not tacos can we order burritos? Are burritos less oppressive?

If this was about the Arizona illegal alien law that simply mirrors the Federal law I have a few more questions:

If I choose to enter Mexico will I need a passport?
A. Yes

Will I need a passport to re-enter the U.S. from Mexico?
A. Yes (Then why do some Mexicans think they shouldn't need one?)

Can Mexican officials stop me and ask for my Visa or Passport?
A. Yes

Can I emigrate and work in Mexico as an unskilled laborer?
A. No

If I enter Mexico without permission will I get deported without a hearing?
A. Yes

Can I protest their immigration laws?
A. No. That will get me deported.

OK, so these immigration rights protesters are demanding of us what their own government won't even do. The word that comes to mind is hypocrisy. I believe by their definition this makes Mexicans racist.

How about this proposition? We make our immigration laws as strict as Mexico's. That by definition would be justice. Then we can eat tacos again.

I support Arizona's illegal alien crackdown

2010-05-01T15:17:00.004-05:00

Let's face it. The US unemployment rate is at least 17%, including those who are past collecting unemployment. Arizona is over run with illegal aliens. An estimated 456,000! Arizona's new law is not racist. The fact is Arizona's illegals came from across the southern border, so most of Arizona's illegals are of Hispanic descent. Should they pretend they have a problem with Swedish immigrants so as not to be accused of being racist?

This is some of the text of Arizona's 'new' law:

A. No official or agency of this state or a county, city, town or other political subdivision of this state may limit or restrict the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law.

What? They will force all state and local governments to have standards EQUAL to the federal law? So what the fuck is the problem?

I believe in immigration. Legal immigration. I believe Mexicans, Central and South Americans should be allowed in the United States to work, but they must register at the border and employers should be required to ensure their workforce is legal. This allows our friends to the South to enjoy a good legal income and prevents criminal employers from exploiting them while avoiding taxes and denying US citizens jobs because there is an underground workforce willing to work below prevailing wage.

Before you go around yelling that anyone who believes secure borders are racist read Mexico's immigration laws first. Then ask who the xenophobes are.

Furthermore read some news articles from Arizona and see why Arizona citizens are pissed off:

5 attackers are hunted after ambush of deputy

Fatal Arizona Home Invasion Sparks Fears of Mexican Military Involvement

Mexican Drug Cartel Violence Spills Over, Alarming U.S.

Survivor of S. Arizona home invasion shot back at intruders

Iranian cleric 'blames quakes on promiscuous women'

2010-04-20T09:17:00.002-05:00

The BBC is reporting: that Iranian cleric Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi 'blames quakes on promiscuous women'

This well educated cleric says, "Many women who do not dress modestly lead young men astray and spread adultery in society which increases earthquakes,"

Well of course they do. I can't help but wonder what immodest things the women in Iceland are doing to provoke a volcano? I might have to investigate!

Mortgage Failure, designed by Wall Street for Wall Street

2010-04-18T08:12:00.005-05:00

The New York Times is reporting the worst criminal behavior of any business I've seen. According to articles in the New York Times, Goldman Sachs created an investment vehicle called Abacus 2007-AC1, was one of 25 such vehicles that Goldman created so the bank and some of its clients could bet against the housing market. While there's nothing wrong with betting which way the market will go, Goldman Sachs did more then bet. They bundled together bad loans, sold them as good loans to other banks and investors then waited for the loans to go bad and made huge profits.

All of this was aided and abetted by our non-income tax paying Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner. This was why all of those billions of our tax dollars had to be paid to AIG, the insurance carrier of many of the defrauded banks.

So to sum it up in a tidy box it goes something like this:

The banks (at government insistence) create risky mortgage loans.

Goldman Sachs bundles the risky loans together as 'good investments' and sells them to domestic and foreign banks.

While telling the domestic and foreign banks the investment will profit, Goldman Sachs knows they will fail and bets against them.

The loans go bad, the US and world economy tank.

Goldman Sachs makes billions of dollars.

The US tax payers get stuck holding the bag bailing out AIG insurance, GM and Wall Street investment houses. All while losing our houses with no help from anyone.

Then the government and Wall Street hold hands, sing Kumbaya and 'rescue' the economy by taking our tax money as well as our homes.

Have I missed something here?

Qatari 'diplomat' was meeting a terrorist

2010-04-08T17:49:00.002-05:00

According to MSNBC our Qatari diplomat was on his way to meet Ali Al-Marri in prison, according to a State Department official and another person close to the matter. Al-Marri, a citizen of Qatar, is serving eight years in prison after pleading guilty last year to conspiring to support terrorism.

Al-Marri was arrested after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, accused of being a sleeper agent researching poisonous gasses and plotting a cyberattack.

If I were President I'd be seriously considering some black ops in Qatar.

Humor Qatari Style

2010-04-08T13:01:00.006-05:00

Mohammed al-Madadi is a Qatari diplomat, therefore he has diplomatic immunity. On a flight from Washington to Denver he thought it a good idea to sneak a cigarette in the on board lavatory. When smoke was smelled, passengers became concerned and he was asked what he was doing. He remarked, "lighting a bomb in my shoe."

These are the same fucks who get upset about cartoons of their prophet.

Here's what I wrote to the Qatar Embassy on their website:

Great humor on the plane Mohammed al-Madadi. Ha, ha very funny!

I see just how concerned you are about terror. Apparently to your diplomatic complement smoking in flight and terrorizing passengers is good fun. If You didn't have diplomatic immunity you pussy, you'd be locked up.

You can let these idiots know how you feel also.

Click here for Qatar Embassy. Then click on their 'feedback' link.

Or call them at: Brown LLoyd James (212) 486-7070

Global Warming Confused!

2010-03-23T11:32:00.003-05:00

Somebody help me. Al Gore says that carbon emissions, green house gasses, smog, &c cause global warming. Yet a volcanic eruption in Iceland has everyone scared about global cooling!

According to MSNBC: When Iceland's Laki volcano erupted in 1783, freeing gases that turned into smog. The smog floated across the Jet Stream, changing weather patterns. Many died from gas poisoning in the British Isles. Crop production fell in western Europe. Famine spread...The winter of 1784 was also one of the longest and coldest on record in North America. New England reported a record stretch of below-zero temperatures and New Jersey reported record snow accumulation. The Mississippi River also reportedly froze in New Orleans.

So which is it? On the one hand Al & company claim small man made amounts of smog are warming the Earth to catastrophic proportions, yet on the other hand science and history show us that one volcanic eruption spewing smog in the air cools it to deadly proportions?

Anyone?

Possibly the current volcanic eruption in Iceland will answer the question for us.

Third Reich of Amerika passes mandatory healthcare bill

2010-03-22T08:31:00.010-05:00

The new fascists will require all Amerikans to purchase health care. Those of us with health care will see a reduction in benefits and will pay taxes on the portion the employer pays as if it's income, not an earned benefit.

Why? So that an estimated 16 million more people can have health insurance?

It is unAmerican to force all of us to pay for a few have nots. This is something the likes of Hitler and Stalin would have approved us. Not the descendants of Franklin and Jefferson.

The first American Revolution was sparked by taxes far lower then what we will have to pay for this.

NOTHING in the Constitution gives the Federal Government the authority to mandate health insurance!

I'll be sure to remember who the fascists are this November.

Seriously?

2010-03-19T08:08:00.002-05:00

A fight occurred at Rosedale Mall on February 20th between "teens" that resulted in a stabbing. The news is now putting the ultimate spin on it:

A "beef" between St. Paul teenagers belonging to rival dance groups triggered a brawl at Rosedale last month, and though it led to a lock down of the mall, it was an anomaly, police and civic leaders reassured residents Wednesday evening at a meeting in Roseville. (Star Tribune)

Seriously, dance groups? Don't say 'gangs' and scare the customers. Oh no, tell them something innocuous like dancers.

How to treat terrorist

2010-03-18T08:20:00.009-05:00

The Washington Post is reporting that, Pakistan charges 5 Northern Virginia men in alleged terrorism plot.

It outlines the exploits of 5 would be terrorists from the US who travelled to Pakistan and Prosecutors say they were in the planning stages of attacks against a Pakistani nuclear plant and an air base and other targets in Afghanistan and "territories of the United States."

Now these bastards find themselves being held and tried Pakistan style. The 5 terrorists claim they were headed to Afghanistan to aid Muslims displaced by the war there. Of course all Muslims coming to aid displaced Muslims carry maps... of Sargodha Air Base and the Chashma nuclear power plant. Those coming to aid the fighting that is!

But fear not young terrorists the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has come to your aid and released a letter saying the men were beaten, deprived of sleep, food and water, and threatened with electrocution. Come on CAIR, and you guys complained about Gitmo where men are fed well and enjoy air conditioned rooms. I don't think there's a terrorist that CAIR doesn't support.

There's a lesson here for the U.S., first CAIR is no friend and to U.S. citizens, don't travel to Islamic countries to commit acts of terror, they're not pussies like we are when it comes to how you will be treated.

End the seizure laws!

2010-03-15T07:16:00.003-05:00

Randy Furst has an excellent article in the Star Tribune about a seizure reform bill that failed in committee in Minnesota. It contains everything all citizens need to know about this 4th Amendment trampling practice.

Gang Strike Task Force Abuse. Investigations found the Strike Force sometimes seized property and sought its forfeiture even when no one was charged with a crime.

Law enforcement is for it. Law enforcement officials and representatives of state prosecutors lobbied against Liebling's bill. Current law requires 70 percent of cash and proceeds go to the police agency that seized it, 20 percent to the prosecuting agency and 10 percent to the state general fund.

Minnesota County Attorney's Association, Dennis Flaherty of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association and Jim Franklin of the Minnesota Sheriff's Association are against reform.

Leibling's bill would allow for law enforcement to seize cash and property for investigative purposes but would require prosecutors to make a case in court before seized property could be forfeited.

Why would any legitimate law enforcement agency have a problem with this? The unconstitutional seizure laws have become the cash cows of law enforcement. They need money, they take your property. Change the law.

Japan arrests anti-whaling terrorist!

2010-03-13T09:58:00.004-06:00

Go Japan. In a previous post, Does Bob Barker Support Terror, I discussed the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society which harasses whaling vessels. Well a moron Sea Shepherd member boarded a Japanese boat to perform a citizens' arrest of the Japanese Captain and instead got his ass arrested!

The full story is on the BBC complete with a video.

Oh, I should mention that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's boat was built to look like a Stealth Bomber and they accused the Japanese vessel of unprovoked aggression when it got sliced in half. I swear these guys exist to entertain me.

You can get rich in Mexico!

2010-03-11T07:18:00.002-06:00

Mexico's Carlos Slim beat Bill Gates and Warren Buffett for the top spot on Forbes magazine's annual list of the world's billionaires, becoming the first person from outside the United States to lead the rankings in 16 years.

The net worth of Slim, 70, who built a telecommunications empire after buying Mexico's state-run phone monopoly two decades ago, rose $18.5 billion to $53.5 billion. (Star Tribune)

This should be no surprise. Mexico's GNP is $578 billion a year! The reason most people are poor in that oil producing country is corruption.

The biggest threat to homeland security

2010-02-23T12:47:00.004-06:00

An Ohio man says he bulldozed his $350,000 home to keep a bank from foreclosing on it.

A man in Dallas flies his plane into an IRS office building after burning down his house.

In a New York Times interview, "former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Tuesday the U.S. economic recovery was "extremely unbalanced," driven largely by high earners benefiting from recovering stock markets and large corporations."

What about the rest of us? Mr. Greenspan goes on, "Small businesses and the jobless are still suffering from the aftermath of a credit crunch that was "by far the greatest financial crisis, globally, ever" -- including the 1930s Great Depression."

Desperate people do desperate things. Remember the farm crisis of the '80's? Farmers overextended on credit shooting bankers and putting up roadblocks to stop foreclosure sales?

Our biggest threat to 'Homeland Security' isn't Muslim terrorist, it's the lack of basic security of our citizens. Citizens who feel they are losing their homes, jobs and are under constant surveillance from an ever increasing Big Brother government are going to lash out.

The solution? Forget all of these NAFTA treaties, bring the jobs home. Good union jobs with benefits. A service economy might work for Wall Street but real people need real jobs that provide enough money to make ends meet. Spend less money spying on the citizens to prevent 'terror plots' and spend more on rebuilding the economy. Happy citizens defend their own homeland.

This is the text of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Are we in 2010 secure in our persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures? We are at the mercy of bankers and Big Brother Government. This lack of security breeds unrest.

No More inbreds for Maryland!

2010-02-19T15:15:00.003-06:00

The AP is reporting that Maryland wants to ban marriages between first cousins.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - A Maryland state legislator says it's time to ban marriages between first cousins and stop playing what he calls "genetic roulette" with their offspring....

but fear not, the proposed bill has some exceptions:

The bill would make an exception for people who are over age 65 or infertile. Heller says he has "no problem" with those couples if they want the companionship.

When Police Cover-Up

2010-02-14T08:44:00.003-06:00

The news is now reporting that the Huntsville, Alabama professor that shot 3 other faculty members fatally shot her brother 20 years ago in Braintree, Massachusetts. Why was she loose?

After her arrest for shot gunning her brother in Braintree, Massachusetts, the booking officer at the time, who recalled getting a call from either then Braintree Police Chief John Polio or "possibly from a captain on Chief Polio's behalf" to release Bishop (Star Tribune). What?

Police have a history of getting involved and screwing up cases for a variety of reasons. For instance the Chris Jenkins case in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The last person the missing college student was seen with was a Minneapolis police officer working off duty who then took Jenkins' date home after Jenkins disappeared. Hmmm. The MPD then did everything they could to block the investigation telling the family it was a suicide with no evidence, ignored all evidence pointing to a homicide. MPD captain Richard Stanek, now Hennepin County Sheriff, was more interested in being called by his title then helping a grieving family. "Stanek kept insisting that Steve (the father) address him using his proper title of Inspector." (Footprints of Courage, the Chris Jenkins story, pg. 21). When the family wanted Chris Jenkins date interviewed after his body was found "Captain Stanek told us it was not necessary"(page 64)." The off duty officer last seen with Jenkins and who took his date home was never interviewed! You can never go too far to protect your own right?

I don't know if the Braintree, Massachusetts case/Huntsville Alabama case is the same as the Jenkins case but the result is the same . Killers are free to kill again.

Does Bob Barker support terror?

2010-02-07T08:20:00.006-06:00

Former game show host Bob Barker, donates millions of dollars to a group that regularly interferes with the legal maritime expeditions of another country(Star Tribune). The group is the U.S.-based activist group Sea Shepherd.

According to an article in the Star Tribune : Sea Shepherd activists try to block the whalers from firing harpoons, and they dangle ropes in the water to try to snarl the Japanese ships' propellers. They also hurl packets of stinking rancid butter at their rivals. The whalers have responded by firing water cannons and sonar devices meant to disorient the activists. Collisions have occurred occasionally. This behavior also resulted in a collision between the Bob Barker and a Japanese ship.

These guys are not much better then Somali pirates and I wouldn't lose any sleep if the Japanese just blew their butts out of the water.

If they ever read Moby Dick they'd realize that whales are evil geniuses that stalk and kill sailors.

Bob, go back to chasing your beauties and quit sponsoring terror.

How is this a crime?

2010-02-05T17:27:00.002-06:00

Spiegel Online is reporting that cyber thieves are fraudulently obtaining European greenhouse gas emissions allowances and reselling them.

Ok, let me see if I have this straight. A European company that pollutes a lot can buy 'allowances' from a less polluting company and then pretend they now have lower greenhouse gas emission's.

Now some enterprising individuals have allegedly sold these pretend clean air credits using an online scheme and THIS is a crime?

Hey I got news for ya, you're still polluting just as much. Buying pretend credits doesn't make cleaner air and these so called cyber thieves have stolen nothing but your imaginary clean air. Hey, I've got imaginary clean air for sale too if you want some.

Christian kidnappers?

2010-02-04T17:16:00.004-06:00

So what makes someone think they can load 33 kids on a bus and take them out of a country without documentation? Jesus? NBC is reporting: Haiti charges U.S. church members with kidnapping.

In the aftermath of Haiti's earthquake ten U.S. baptists loaded 33 kids on a bus and attempted to take them across the border to the Dominican Republic. A country that routinely enslaves Haitians to work in sugar cane fields.

When stopped on the border last Friday, they said they were taking the children to a Dominican Republic orphanage.

But it has emerged some of the youngsters had parents who were alive.
Haiti's Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive has labelled the Americans "kidnappers". (BBC)

I don't know what else to call it. They're looking at 3-9 years if convicted. I see an interesting episode of Locked Up Abroad in a few years. I love that show. Thanks guys.

Health Partners drives us to Obama care

2010-01-31T08:47:00.005-06:00

Is this the best Health Partners can do? I have money taken out of every paycheck to go into a health care savings account with my insurance company Health Partners. I get a credit card from them with my deferred health savings on it to use for co-pays, prescriptions, etc.

This past week my wife got into a car accident and we went to Walgreens to fill a prescription. The card was 'declined.' Odd, because I have $625 on it. OK, I pay the co-pay and go home. Earlier in the week one of the kids had a doctor appointment and that co-pay was also declined.

I call Health Partners and tell them my health savings card keeps getting declined. I am informed that my card has been suspended!

They ask me if I made a $284 purchase LAST January 14th, that's right 2009! Yes, my son had dental work done. They tell me that my card is suspended until I provide the documentation for the $284 purchase. I inform them it was for dental work done at their Health Partners Dental office! The man insisits I must prove what the purchase was for. I ask him what else would I buy at a dentists' office? Their dentists' office. He then asks me if I have anyother health insurance that could have covered this. WTF! I paid for this with my money taken from my check, put into my health care savings account and no I don't have anyother insurance.

It doesn't matter. My card is still suspended until I get the Health Partners Dental Office to verify that 1 year ago my son had dental work done that I wanted to use MY health care savings account money for.

Maybe Obama has a point.

The Y Chromosone, Cutting Edge!

2010-01-17T19:59:00.002-06:00

The New York Times is reporting that: Male Chromosome May Evolve Fastest.

"A new look at the human Y chromosome has overturned longstanding ideas about its evolutionary history. Far from being in a state of decay, the Y chromosome is the fastest-changing part of the human genome and is constantly renewing itself."

For years we've been taught the Y chromosome was breaking down. There were even stories of how eventually only women, carriers of 2 X chromosomes, would be needed to reproduce because the Y chromosome would eventually be too defective. This article discusses a different, more evolutionarily logical point of view.

Sorry, we men aren't going anywhere.

Ronnie James Dio is fighting cancer

2009-12-27T08:20:00.002-06:00

Blabbermouth is reporting:

Wendy Dio, the wife and manager of legendary heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio (DIO, HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW), has released the following statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET:

"Ronnie has been diagnosed with the early stages of stomach cancer. We are starting treatment immediately at the Mayo Clinic. After he kills this dragon, Ronnie will be back on stage, where he belongs, doing what he loves best, performing for his fans."

There's a site where you can send photos of yourself and a get well message at:
http://www.dio.net/pictures_gallery/2009_get_well/index.html

I wish you a speedy recovery and a long life!
Long Live Rock n' Roll!

What's Up With Islam?

2009-12-26T17:28:00.003-06:00

So the papers are reporting that, A 23-year-old Nigerian man who claimed to have ties to al-Qaida was charged Saturday with trying to destroy a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day.

So a follower of the religion of peace attempts to murder a couple of hundred innocent civilians on the day followers of Christ celebrate Jesus birthday.

These are the same folks who burn Churches when someone draws a cartoon of their prophet with a bomb in his turban. I can't imagine where they'd get that idea.

In Honor of Pearl Harbor Day: Flight of the Enola Gay

2009-12-07T08:57:00.002-06:00

Happy Veteran's Day

2009-11-11T17:05:00.002-06:00

Thank You!

Hoffa Opposes Tax on our Healthcare

2009-11-08T20:25:00.002-06:00

Teamsters President James Hoffa estimates that the tax would affect the health care plans of "hundreds of thousands" of his 1.4 million members.

"We oppose the excise tax because it will be passed on to our people," Hoffa told POLITICO. "We will oppose it in the Senate. We will oppose it in the House. We will oppose it in conference."

Go Hoffa!

Read more: http://www.pittsburghpost-gazette.com/pg/09280/1003592-473.stm#ixzz0WKEo5RIs

Health Care Bill Mistake!

2009-11-08T08:19:00.002-06:00

Narrow Vote of 220-215 Provides Victory for Obama

Handing President Obama a hard-fought victory, the House voted to approve a $1.1 trillion, 10-year plan that Democrats said could be their defining social policy achievement. (New York Times)

The House made a huge mistake by passing this health care bill. First of all, I firmly believe it is unconstitutional to require all Americans to buy health care.

Second, look at the price tag, a whopping $1.1 trillion, 10-year plan! Who will pay for this? The democrats were trying to say those making more then $1 million a year. Guess what? There ain't enough of them! That leaves us working stiffs. They want to tax us, the employees, for the portion of our insurance the employer pays as if it's our income! I promise you I don't make $1 million a year. Hell, I make under the $250,000 threshold Obama promised would not see a tax increase under his administration.

A better, more constitutional way to reign in run away health care costs would be:

Allowing interstate competition among health insurance companies.

Government regulation of the industry. A CEO of a "non-profit" health care company shouldn't pull down a salary over $1 billion!

Tort reform.

This is one citizens opinion. I hope the Senate kills the bill!

When you really know you're good in bed!

2009-11-07T16:15:00.001-06:00

If she cums so hard she forgets her name and then some...you're damn good!

Mind-blowing sex: American woman suffers amnesia after intercourse

Bush Visits Fort Hood

2009-11-07T16:06:00.002-06:00

FORT HOOD, Texas - Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, have visited wounded soldiers and their families after the mass shooting at Fort Hood.

So where is our current commander and chief? Obama has yet to show up at Fort Hood, a military base on U.S. soil!

Jobless "Recovery," Huh?

2009-11-06T08:27:00.002-06:00

Unemployment rose to 10.2%.

It's the 22nd straight month the U.S. economy has shed jobs, the longest on records dating back 70 years.

The Star Tribune article goes on to say, "What we're seeing is a validation of the idea that a jobless recovery is perfectly on track."

So am I to conclude the fat cats are making money, recouping their losses, but the working stiffs are still going broke?

Mr. Ed Buggered?

2009-11-04T13:23:00.002-06:00

SC man is sentenced to 3 years in prison after pleading guilty to having sex with horse

The Unholy: Flight of the Enola Gay

2009-11-02T15:31:00.000-06:00

Minnesota State Senator passes the buck

2009-11-01T18:35:00.006-06:00

The Star Tribune has an article which has Minnesota law makers trying to figure out what went wrong with the Metro Gang Strike Task Force's illegal search and seizure practices and how to fix them.

The article documents the blatant disregard for citizens 4th amendment rights with personal testimony from citizens. Then has lawmakers discussing how to fix the problem. One law maker quoted is Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen. The Star Tribune reports, Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen, pressed Auditor Rebecca Otto on why her office didn't disclose that the Gang Strike Force and other units failed to comply with the reporting requirement.

Senator Ortman, you are the Senior Administrative Manager for the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office had members on that task force! Wasn't it YOUR job to disclose this to the State not the other way around?

Can anyone else see the conflict of interest?

Louisville Slugger sued for not having warning on bat!

2009-10-30T19:55:00.003-05:00

HELENA, Mont. - A jury on Wednesday found that the maker of Louisville Slugger baseball bats failed to adequately warn about the dangers the product can pose, awarding a family $850,000 for the 2003 death of their son in a baseball game. (Star Tribune)

What happened? An 18 year baseball player died after being struck by a ball hit by a batter using an aluminum Louisville Slugger bat. Unfortunate, yes. Actionable? Only in this insane nation! Let me see if I remember baseball correctly. Someone pitches a baseball to a batter who swings a bat at the ball. If he's good the ball is hit and several other players try to catch it. Sometimes players get hit with a ball. Part of the game. So why the lawsuit?

The Louisville Slugger company argues,"We made a bat in accordance with the rules," Rick Redman said. "That bat was approved for play by baseball's organizing and governing organizations." I agree with Mr. Redman.

What warning could the jury possibly want on the bat? The bat did exactly what its' manufacturer, the players and even the league want it to do.

Apparently in this country even if you play by all of the rules you can still be screwed in court. No one seems to be able to accept that sometimes accidents happen and no one is to blame. Everyone wants a payout.

In my book this goes right down with the woman who sued McDonalds because her coffee was hot and she got burned.

Sheriff Stanek wrong on marijuana

2009-10-25T16:21:00.006-05:00

The Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek has a long "opinion piece" in the Star Tribune on the evils of legalizing marijuana. Some of Sheriff Stanek's statements in the article are:

Marijuana use contributes to assaults, homicides, suicide, child abuse, domestic abuse, motor-vehicle crashes and drowning.

and

Violence is part of the trade. By legalizing marijuana-growing operations and drug traffic, we would invite violence into our communities.

These are not the results of marijuana, but prohibition. Remember all of the violence during alcohol's prohibition in this country? I'm not going to say marijuana is healthy, but it's no more harmful then the legal drugs alcohol or tobacco. If alcohol were again to become illegal you'd see the exact violence associated with banning a popular substance a large percentage of the population is going to use anyways.

Sheriff Stanek also says, In 2006 and 2007, drug and gang task forces in Hennepin County linked marijuana to assaults and homicides.

Those task forces have been disbanded and are under investigation for misconduct within the defunct Minnesota Gang Task Force, including officers who took televisions and jewelry for their own use or interrogated people with no gang ties.

Keeping marijuana illegal allows rogue cops to violate our 4th Amemendment rights and wrongfully seize citizens assets for either themselves or the government's profit.

So one could conclude that by keeping marijuana illegal both criminals and cops will be tempted to assault and rob you!

C'mon, marijuana not only has recreational value but very real documented medical uses. It's time to legalize. Not everyone in Law Enforcement is against legalized pot, check out LEAP.

Why the Peoples Republic of Hennepin County is Going Broke

2009-10-25T07:30:00.004-05:00

Jobs are disappearing, homeowners are losing homes, the tax base is shrinking. No problemo in Hennepin County. These engineers of what's best for the people (read socialists) are hoping for federal money to stem the tide of burger joints and to subsidize bike helmets and sneakers for commuters. (Star Tribune)

Since when is it the government's job to determine how much fast food we eat, or to buy people helmets and sneakers?

But the county also is pledging to work "on ordinances to increase density of grocery stores and community gardens, and decrease access to fast food. (Star Tribune)

Decrease access to fast food? Let the market, the people decide that. Don't they realize fast food creates jobs and stems hunger? Jobs for teenagers, young adults and layed off people? Yeah, let's get rid of them in the city during a depression.

I want the government to leave us the hell alone. We don't need your social engineering.

Government Prosecutors Angry They Can't Monopolize Publicity

2009-10-20T07:16:00.002-05:00

CHICAGO - Prosecutors said Monday they are worried about what ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich might say on Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice" TV show that could taint the jury pool for his federal corruption trial. (Star Tribune)

For years I've watched the government parade their "evidence" before salivating reporters who willingly convict someone in the press long before opening arguments in court. I've seen it nationally and even locally stories have been given to the KQRS Morning Show by prosecutors (yes I have first hand knowledge). The government begins tainting the jury pool from day one.

Prosecutors play dirty then expect a cowering public to shut up except in court. I don't know if Gov. Rod Blagojevich is guilty or not, but I do know he has been convicted of nothing and has a right to free speech whether a government prosecutor likes it or not. Too bad more defendants don't have this kind of media access.

Donald Shawn Decker: Metal God Dead at 41

2009-10-18T23:44:00.004-05:00

Donald Shawn Decker was one of the biggest metal promoters in the Twin Cities and the country. He gave many bands like mine, The Unholy, CD distribution and bookings on national stages. He was an outrageous singer in Anal Blast and I have more memories and stories of him then I could possibly print here. RIP Shawn. Here's a couple of links discussing him:

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/progpower-usa/534509-r-i-p-don-decker.html

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=1605925&blogId=513924780

Bunnies as biofuel?

2009-10-18T18:40:00.004-05:00

The BBC is reporting that,

"The bodies of thousands of rabbits are fuelling a heating plant in central Sweden...The rabbits, not native to Sweden, are mainly the offspring of pets released by owners, and are said to be destroying parks in the capital."

These guys are so metal!

When Xians kill in the name of God

2009-10-17T17:39:00.005-05:00

A mother tries to saw the top of her 15 year old daughter's head off. A father tries to pour acid down his 9 year old son's throat, the boy moves and instead gets his eyes and face burned off only to die later.

Why? Because they are accused of witchcraft. Apparently the rise of evangelical churches in Africa has parishioners taking "literally the Biblical exhortation, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." MSNBC

From both the Muslims and Christians there seems to be a resurgence in brutality against both infidels and non-believers.

Remember the dark ages anyone?

Let's not return to fundamentalist hell.

Does history have to repeat itself?

Iraq Takes Cultural Step Backwards!

2009-10-11T07:55:00.002-05:00

The Washington Post is reporting, BAGHDAD -- Local Iraqi authorities have outlawed alcohol in the province of Najaf, home to the holiest Shiite city, saying it contradicts the principles of Islam.

Such a sad state of affairs for a nation that is often credited with brewing beer as long as 6,000 years ago.

The Mesopotamians (Iraq) had a Goddess of brewing named Ninkasi to whom a prayer, The Hymn to Ninkasi, was dedicated. The prayer was also used to help them remember the steps involved in brewing the beer. (How to brew beer.org)

This Ninkasi sounds like a much better goddess then this angry Allah fellow. Imagine if the middle east were known for exporting beer rather then terror? I guess you really can tell a lot about a nation by the company or gods they keep.

Saudi Arabia wants foreign aid?

2009-10-09T09:21:00.003-05:00

The AP is reporting that, Saudis want aid if world cuts oil dependence.

I can only chuckle. The Saudis are whining that they'll lose $19 billion a year if the new climate pacts pass.

"This is very serious for us," he continued. "We are in the process of diversifying our economy but this will take a long time. We don't have too many resources."

Yeah, once the west cuts back on oil Saudi Arabia will be just another Afghanistan. I'm sure they'll continue their other big export, terror.

Just a thought, maybe if they cut the price of a barrel of oil back to the $20 mark we'd all do well economically and we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Why arrest Polanski?

2009-09-28T13:09:00.006-05:00

Polanski's fans will argue the crime is 3 decades old. He's directed such great films as Rosemary's Baby and The Ninth Gate (both great films). So what's the deal?

The director was originally indicted on six charges, including rape. He has insisted the sex was consensual but pleaded guilty to a single count of having sex with a minor and received a sentence of time served after spending 42 days in prison undergoing psychiatric tests.

Polanski fled on the eve of his 1978 sentencing because he believed a judge might jail him for 50 years. Full story Reuters

But wait, Jack Lang, a former French culture minister, said that for Europeans the development showed that the American system of justice had run amok.
While Mr. Polanski had committed “a grave crime,” Mr. Lang said, “he is a great creator and artist, and there’s a sentiment here that pursuing someone for a crime committed 30 years ago, in which the victim has decided to drop the case, is unreasonable, a kind of judicial lynching. New York Times

Judicial Lynching? Run amok? He plead GUILTY then fled before sentencing!

Mr. Lang goes on to say,
In Europe, it would be unimaginable to punish someone in a situation like this.

Really? Aren't they still hunting Nazi's from 60 years ago? What about Serbs?

Oh, so the big deal really is you can get away with drugging and fucking a 13 year old if you're "a great creator and artist" and rich enough to leave the country afterwards!

For more details of the rape: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/polanskicover1.html

Happy 250th Guinness!

2009-09-25T10:06:00.000-05:00

Obama Change I like!

2009-09-14T10:10:00.002-05:00

The United States has added an import duty on Chinese made tires.

The new duty of 35 percent adds to an existing 4 percent duty. The extra duty would fall to 30 percent in the second year and 25 percent in the third year.

The United Steelworkers union filed the tire protection petition earlier this year. It said a tripling of Chinese tire imports from 2004 to 2008 had cost more than 5,000 U.S. jobs. Reuters

Nice to see the President looking out for our jobs!

Where healthcare reform gets scary?

2009-09-08T19:43:00.002-05:00

WASHINGTON - Americans would be fined up to $3,800 for failing to buy health insurance under a plan that circulated in Congress on Tuesday as divisions among Democrats undercut President Barack Obama's effort to regain traction on his health care overhaul. MSNBC

Have they suspended the Constitution? How can the government fine you for not buying health insurance? It's not like having to have car insurance where you can hurt someone else. This is like fining you for existing. Will they fine illegals and their employers or only the usual middle class American's trying to make ends meet?

Happy Labor Day

2009-09-06T21:32:00.000-05:00

The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City.[1] In the aftermath of the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the US military and US Marshals during the 1894 Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with Labor as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike.[2] Cleveland was also concerned that aligning a US labor holiday with existing international May Day celebrations would stir up negative emotions linked to the Haymarket Affair.[3] All 50 U.S. states have made Labor Day a state holiday.

Full Wikipedia Story

Happy Labor Day!

Not even Islam should get a free ride from taxpayers!

2009-08-30T09:03:00.003-05:00

Minnesota is examining whether public money has been improperly used to pay for Islamic mosques on charter school campuses in Blaine and Inver Grove Heights (Star Tribune). Nice to see Minnesota making sure my tax dollars aren't paying for mosques. Of course the Islamic TiZA charter school is threatening to sue. C'mon, you Muslim's wouldn't want your tax dollars going to "kaffir" schools would you? Don't feel singled out, I don't want my tax money going to Catholic Schools either.

This is a breath of fresh air especially after the English have decided that everyone must wear Islamic "modest" swimwear at the pool. (h/t to Repeated Expletives)

I like my tax dollars going to public schools and women scantily clad at the beach!

Why isn't this National news?

2009-08-26T15:26:00.007-05:00

Local station WCCO is reporting that: A special review panel said Thursday that it found "appalling and outrageous" misconduct within the defunct Minnesota Gang Task Force, including officers who took televisions and jewelry for their own use or interrogated people with no gang ties.

Well here's the real story. Imagine rogue cops assigned to a special multi departmental unit created to monitor gang activity with no one to answer to that then become the worse kind of criminals around.

These "cops" would stop people, even innocent people not engaged in gang activity and seize money and property often without even charging people with a crime. I'd call this robbery.

They'd send narcotics to the lab to be tested on cases the drugs didn't belong with. I'd call this a set up.

They would conduct a search with a legal warrant and then take items not connected to the warrant, jewelry, large screen TV's, ATV's, etc and then keep those items or give them as gifts to family members. They felt justified in stealing peoples property they felt they didn't deserve to have. Talk about raping the 4th Amendment!

Thousands of seized dollars are unaccounted for. I'd call this theft.

The report is quick to point out that not all of the cops in the Minnesota Gang Strike Task Force engaged in this activity. I however wonder why after at least 6 years of this illegal activity going on the "good guys" didn't blow the whistle?

This information is according to a report filed with the State of Minnesota by former federal prosecutor Andy Luger and retired FBI agent John Engelhof. I only printed small excerpts from a very long document.

You can read the entire report here and be appalled: http://www.dps.state.mn.us/Docs/FINALReport_MGSFReviewPanel.PDF

In light of the recent shit storm over the cop that arrested a black Harvard professor, a one time incident and probably justified at that, you'd think 6 years of cops setting up and robbing people would make a bigger splash. But, what do I know? I actually believe these "cops" belong in Federal Prison. I also think any case people were charged with by the task force should be thrown out.

Another reason I have no desire to visit Africa

2009-08-06T17:26:00.003-05:00

The New York Times is reporting:

GOMA, Congo — It was around 11 p.m. when armed men burst into Kazungu Ziwa’s hut, put a machete to his throat and yanked down his pants. Mr. Ziwa is a tiny man, about four feet, six inches tall. He tried to fight back, but said he was quickly beaten down.

“Then they raped me,” he said. “It was horrible, physically. I was dizzy. My thoughts just left me.”

That's right, male rape! WTF? The article describes Congo as the rape capital of the world and that more than 10 percent of its cases in June were men.

How understanding is the populace that also holds the world's record for women raped? The deflowered men are driven from their homes and called "bush wives." (I don't think this is a reference to George Bush.)

Who's committing these atrocities? Rebels and even the U.N. Peace keepers. Maybe when they signed on they thought it was to be a "piece" keeper. This may actually be a literacy problem.

No matter. Just another reason I have no desire to see that place. From Somalia to the Congo it's just one slice of hell on Earth.

A pint of Guinness a day good for the heart!

2009-07-28T22:32:00.002-05:00

Researchers now believe, that "antioxidant compounds" in the Guinness, similar to those found in certain fruits and vegetables, are responsible for the health benefits because they slow down the deposit of harmful cholesterol on the artery walls.

Oh holy researchers, how much should I drink for my health?

The researchers told a meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Florida, that the most benefit they saw was from 24 fluid ounces of Guinness - just over a pint - taken at mealtimes.

Full story BBC

Well I'd better go and tend to my health. Cheers!

Message to the Taliban

2009-07-22T09:17:00.003-05:00

So the Taliban sent a message to us. They want us to see the video of a captured U.S. soldier and "Let them make serious and productive efforts toward ending his detention." (Reuters)

My response is this: You are the ones who planned the attack on the World Trade Centers on 9/11 and brought this rain of fire upon your heads. The only reason we are in your shithole of a country is to get the perpetrators. You backwards fucks (the Taliban) kill people who educate girls and even ban music. We don't need your stone age culture. Give up Osama and we'll go home.

While my heart goes out to the soldier and his family, the blood of 3,000 innocent people murdered by you in New York cries out for revenge.