"So I Did Some Reading..."

...Run Fred, Run!" - Chris A

Looks like the rest of America is getting the idea too. Those are the results of who is your first choice.

H/T: GOP Bloggers Straw Poll

As a side note, the poll is set up so that you can pick multiple candidates as non-primary votes, as well as people you ABSOLUTELY would not vote for. Out of the 8930 votes cast, Fred recieved 6634 (74.2%) thumbs up, and only 574 (6.4%) thumbs down.

Run Fred, Run!

Draft Fred! Rally

The Guys at Hot Air might want to take note of this. The first Draft Fred Thompson Rally is going to be held in Cookeville, TN's Dogwood Park on Saturday, April 28th at 3:30 PM Central Time.

Guest List includes:
Delnora
Steve Gill
Zach Wamp

Event Details via Facebook can be found here. And apparently Fred!'s grandson will be there in support of his grandfather.

Thank You Jimmy...

For those insightful words of wisdom.

Given the horrific events in Virginia this week, I am coming to grips with this:

The factory I work in is a "gun free zone".
The college where I teach is, likewise, a "gun free zone".

Not getting a whole lot of warm fuzzies about this.

If I get murdered by a psychopath with hurt feelings and a small pecker because my employers guaranteed him a building full of unarmed targets, I'm going to be pissed.

It's funny how gun-ban advocates "forget" to mention that in cities where the gun laws are the most strict, the violent crime rate is unusually high.

A Letter To The Oracle

I wrote this letter to The Oracle, Tennessee Tech's newspaper, after one of their editor's tried to preach about "Bush's double standard on Human Rights."

In the April 13th edition of The Oracle, Mackenzie Nellis describes the “Double standard” of President Bush asking for the release of the British soldiers who were captured by Iran, and the “torture” and the “violations of Human Rights” that occurs at Guantanamo Bay. It seems people like Nellis prefer to take the word of reports on “abuses“ at Gitmo from people who have never been there (like the one the U.N. trumpeted in Feb. 2006), as opposed to reporters who have actually been there. I quote;
“The high-minded critics who complain about torture are wrong. We are far too soft on these guys - and, as a result, aren't getting the valuable intelligence we need to save American lives. The politically correct regulations are unbelievable. Detainees are entitled to a full eight hours sleep and can't be woken up for interrogations. They enjoy three meals and five prayers per day, without interruption. They are entitled to a minimum of two hours of outdoor recreation per day. Interrogations are limited to four hours, usually running two - and (of course) are interrupted for prayers. One interrogator actually bakes cookies for detainees, while another serves them Subway or McDonald's sandwiches. Both are available on base. (Filet o' Fish is an al Qaeda favorite.)” This is just a piece from Richard Miniter’s article entitled “A Deadly Kindness.” Look it up.

The other topic is the so called “torture” that goes on at Gitmo. Nellis says that the treatment is “too atrocious to mention in this publication.” I wonder if they are worse than a taste of the tales from Orson Swindle, a former Vietnam POW.
"They took the cord and cinched it so tightly above my elbows that it literally caused my hands to contract because of the pressure on the ligaments," he said. And that was only the beginning. Next they tied his arms behind his back with three men applying pressure on each side. "(They) pulled against each other until my arms, they folded them up my back and my hands went back to my neck," he said. Next the torturers wrapped cord around his body so it looked like he had no arms. They tied parachute cord around his thumbs, which were at the back of his head, and hoisted his body off the ground by throwing the cord over the rafters. Swindle said the technique pulled his shoulders out of socket.”

Or how about the torture that Saddam committed on his own people?
“Beatings, rape, breaking of limbs, and denial of food and water are commonplace in Iraqi detention centers. Saddam Hussein's regime has also invented unique and horrific methods of torture including electric shocks to a male's genitals, pulling out fingernails, suspending individuals from rotating ceiling fans, dripping acid on a victim's skin, gouging out eyes, and burning victims with a hot iron or blowtorch.”

Those are real methods of torture. Grow some skin and get a perspective of what real torture is, then you can try to preach about “Double Standards.”

The truth hurts libs. You might hate to see Bush on TV, but if you had been "tortured" by the United States, at least you would still have your thumb to change the channel.

Other articles of interest:
Iraq: A Population Silenced
Saddam Hussein: Crimes and Human Rights Abuses
Silent No Longer: Iraqi People Reveal the Past
Saddam's daily horrors make America's Abu Ghraib abuses seem almost trivial

Process Of A Partial Birth Abortion

1) The Baby (6 months into gestation or later) is pulled out legs first from the womb.

2) The doctor pulls the baby's body out, except for the head.

3) The doctor uses scissors to puncture the neck of the baby.

4) A suction tube is inserted in the wound, and remove the contents of the baby's head. The corpse is then pull out the remainder of the way.

" I stood at the doctor's side and watched him perform a partial-birth abortion on a woman who was six months pregnant. The baby's heartbeat was clearly visible on the ultrasound screen. The doctor delivered the baby's body and arms, everything but his little head. The baby's body was moving. His little fingers were clasping together. He was kicking his feet. The doctor took a pair of scissors and inserted them into the back of the baby's head, and the baby's arms jerked out in a flinch, a startle reaction, like a baby does when he thinks that he might fall. Then the doctor opened the scissors up. Then he stuck the high-powered suction tube into the hole and sucked the baby's brains out. Now the baby was completely limp. I never went back to the clinic. But I am still haunted by the face of that little boy. It was the most perfect, angelic face I have ever seen."

Think Progress claims that Partial Births are necessary for the health of the mother, however, doctors have made statements to former president Bill Clinton stating otherwise. They have even made those statements in front of the 104th, 105th, and 107th Congress.

Barrington says that in recent years survival rates for premature babies have increased due to the medical technology now available. At 28 weeks more than 96 percent of babies survive; at 24 weeks the rate is 50 percent; and at 22 weeks, two percent. At the MUHC the majority of parents of 24 week-old babies will opt for intensive care. The baby's condition is then reassessed on a daily basis to see if it is still appropriate to proceed. Barrington says most of the babies who are not going to survive die within the first 24 to 72 hours of being born.

The third trimester starts at week 27, and the baby weighs only about 2 lbs. During the procedure, the doctor almost fully delivers a baby who has almost a 90% survival rate if it were born premature. I'll restate what the doctors have said before; It is NEVER necessary to kill the 27/28 week fetus to preserve the mother's health.

This ruling is a break-through in human rights and ethics for babies who have almost a 100% chance of survival outside the womb.

HWC Baseball Week 2 Recap Is Up!

Head over to Hot Wing Conspiracy Sports to see the recap of Week 2!

Lisa De Pasquale Not Fooled By Wonkette

Cox became a media darling for her raunchy writing and contempt for conservatives, especially conservative women. In 2004, MTV brought her on as a special correspondent during the Democratic National Convention. Her 2006 novel, Dog Days, sold a dismal 5,000 copies according to Nielson’s Bookscan, despite two New York Times reviews, as well as profiles and reviews in The Washington Post, USA Today, People and The Village Voice. Six months after her book bombed, Time magazine then hired her to be their Washington editor. Liberals love to reward failure, be it with our tax dollars or their leaders.

There’s another double standard that’s not being discussed. Cox (and the current Wonkette bloggers) never hesitate to make crude, politically and factually incorrect comments about women. If she (or any woman) would have said “nappy-headed hos” it would be called catty not racist. Or gossipy instead of sexist.

Conservative women like Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Katherine Harris and Michele Bachman have been insulted in the same vein by Wonkette. A picture of Ann Coulter speaking is captioned on Wonkette.com, “Nothin’ but Diet Coke, nicotine, and blow in her system.” A Wonkette “operative” asks if Michelle Malkin will be doing a sexual trick on her videoblog. Katherine Harris’s physical attributes (her “eyes” as Imus calls them) are discussed and she is called a “street whore.”

On the President, Wonkette writes, “We didn't accuse George Bush of being gay because he holds his hand in a ‘nelly way.’ We accused him of being gay because he likes ****.” And I’m supposed to believe this woman blushed when a couple old guys complimented her looks? Even Cox’s personal blog, anamariecox.com is peppered with the same sort of language. I don’t pretend to be offended by Wonkette because it’s convenient for this article. Cox shouldn’t pretend to be offended by the same language and “locker-room misogyny” that brought her into the elite media’s inner circle.

Don Imus’s critics complained that his supporters, including CBS and MSNBC up until a week ago, enabled his foulmouthed behavior because he brought in listeners and commercial dollars. The foulmouthed Ana Marie Cox doesn’t sell books and probably hasn’t sold any additional Time subscriptions. What does that say about her enablers?

Ouch. (Emphasis mine)

Cross Posted at The Right Place

Which Is Worse?

"Nappy Headed Ho's?" or "Political Prostitute?" Well?

Shabazz: Would you apologize for being a political prostitute for Bill O’Reilly? A white male chauvinist, racist, as a woman of color.

Michelle: You’re going to call me a whore on national TV?

Shabazz: A Political- Yes a political–

Michelle: There’s only one whore on this split screen, and it’s you Mr. Shabazz.

Don Imus gets fired for calling Rutgers players Nappy Headed Ho's, but will any such actions come down upon Malik Shabazz for calling Michelle Malking a "Political prostitute?"

Do I smell a double standard?

And you know he's in the wrong when even Olby defends Michelle Malkin.

Amen, Brother

I just added Cory as a friend on Myspace, and I only wish I could have the razor sharp quick wit that he does when backed into a corner. Read this;

The "Bush lied, people died" yahoos lurk everywhere. Few can escape them.

Standing at the check-in window at my doctor's office, awaiting my annual prostate exam, I heard a staff member yell out with a smile, "Hi, Mr. Elder. How does it feel to be one of the last guys who supports the war?"

The 20-something-year-old receptionist, who was signing me in, then narrowed her eyes, and the volcano erupted. She tore into an emotional, convoluted, fact-challenged barrage against the president. He lied us into the war, and too many of our soldiers are dying. He's incompetent. He sent young men and women to die for oil and for Halliburton. While he plays commander in chief, the middle class shrinks. He cares only about the rich. His racism showed in his handling of Katrina. Blah, blah, blah.

I tried to remain calm while considering the source. In general, depending upon the setting, I try to conserve my mood and my energy. But, then there are other times -- and this was one of them.

"You talked about the number of our military personnel who have died in Iraq," I said, "3,500 and counting." "Do you happen to know how many died in World War I?"

"No."

"What about Korea and Vietnam?"

"No."

"What about the Civil War – both sides?"

"No."

"What about World War II?"

"No."

"We lost over 100,000 in the First World War, with a much smaller population than today. During the Civil War, 600,000 died on both sides, and the population was about 10 percent of today's 300 million. So, adjusted for the population, 6 million people died during the Civil War."

Soon the other staff members behind the receptionist began to listen, as did the patients sitting in the waiting room.

"By the end of World War II," I continued, "400,000 Americans died. Again, adjusting for today's population, that means nearly 800,000 people – or less than one half of 1 percent of those killed so far in Iraq. Of course, every life is precious, but I suggest that before you talk about the 'huge' amount of deaths, you gain some perspective."

"But, what about the lies?" she said.

"Why bother," I said, "maybe my prostate could wait another year. I'll just go down and grab a hamburger."

But I said, "Are you familiar with the Robb-Silberman Commission, which concluded the president did not lie about the intelligence on Iraq?"

"No."

"What about the Senate bipartisan panel that concluded the same thing – that Bush didn't lie?"

"No."

"What about David Kaye?" I said.

"Who?"

"He's the guy Bush sent to Iraq to find stockpiles of WMD. While he didn't find stockpiles of WMD, he spoke of the possibility (which the Defense Intelligence Agency believes to this day) that Saddam transferred WMD out of the country during the runup of the war. Perhaps more important, he said that no intelligence analyst – all of whom, by the way, thought Saddam had stockpiles of WMD – felt pressured to lie simply to provide a motive for Bush to go to war."

"But, we have been in Iraq longer than we fought the whole World War II. This is crazy," the receptionist replied.

"Crazy?" I said, "I know of no stopwatch for war. During the Civil War, both sides expected it to last just a few weeks, no more than a few months. During the Revolutionary War, Gen. George Washington lost battle after battle such that some wanted him replaced by a more competent general. The early years of World War II seemed particularly gloomy, but President Franklin Delano Roosevelt didn't say, 'Well, we've been at this for a bit. Let's call it a day and go home.'"

That was too much for a guy sitting in the waiting room, who chimed in, "But the war has made things worse."

So now, I am getting it from all sides.

Turning to the gentleman, I said, "I guess you assume that everything was going swimmingly until Bush stuck a stick into the hornet's nest. Do you remember the 1979 seizure of American hostages, who were held for over 400 days? Do you remember the bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia? Do you remember the attack on the Marine barracks during the Reagan administration, or the attacks on our embassies in Tanzania and Kenya? What about the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993? Not to mention the attack on 9/11 that killed over 3,000 on U.S. soil. Yeah, if only Bush hadn't ticked off so many people, the Disney Co., by now, would've built a theme park in Pakistan."

And so it went. To paraphrase Osama bin Laden, if we lose the war in Iraq, it will not be lost on the battlefield, but in places like my doctor's office.

"Mr. Elder," said the nurse's assistant, "the doctor will see you now." And not a moment too soon – for them.

Taking back victory from the (D)efeatists, one person at a time.

So Now It Wasn't Jesus' Tomb?

Oh really? It would have been nice to know before the movie assumed it was.

Furthermore, Pfann also says that a specialist in ancient apocryphal text, Professor Francois Bovon, who is quoted in the film as saying the enigmatic ossuary inscription "Mariamne" is the same woman known as Mary Magdalene - one of the filmmakers' critical arguments - issued a disclaimer stating that he did not believe that "Mariamne" stood for Mary of Magdalene at all.

Pfann has already argued that the controversial inscription does not read "Mariamne" at all.

H/T: Drudge

He Didn't Miss By Much

OTB chastises Rudi for this article where he "wrongly stated the prices."

But when asked about more mundane matters — like the price of some basic staples — Giuliani had trouble with a reporter’s question. “A gallon of milk is probably about a $1.50, a loaf of bread about a $1.25, $1.30,” he said.
A check of the Web site for D’Agostino supermarket on Manhattan’s Upper East Side showed a gallon of milk priced at $4.19 and a loaf of white bread at $2.99 to $3.39. In Montgomery, Ala., a gallon of milk goes for about $3.39 and bread is about $2.

A note that the article down-plays, Rudy was in Montgomery, AL speaking to people FROM Montgomery, AL, and yet they took the prices of the highest they could find, the Upper East Side.

Rudi's figures weren't a bad guess. Here in Cookeville Kroger brand bread is a mere $0.88 with other known brands being about $1.80, and milk, is a $2.58. That's a savings of $3.72 from the Upper east side, $1.93 from the prices in Montgomery, AL, and on top of that, Rudy's figures are only $0.66 short of the ACTUAL price of bread and milk in Cookeville, TN.

So from where I'm at...he's right on the money.

"Rabid, rabid republican" Strikes Back

Elizabeth Edwards called her neighbor, Monty Johnson that this past week because he brandished a gun when imminent domain officials came onto his land. She then accused him of keeping a slummy "lawn" and said, "I wouldn't be nice to him, anyway. I don't want my kids anywhere near some guy who, when he doesn't like somebody, the first thing he does is pull a gun out. It scares the business out of me."

But Johnson had a few words himself.
"I have to budget. I have to live within my means. I don't have millions of dollars to fix the place.
...I thought he was supposed to be for the poor people. But does he ever socialize with any poor people? He doesn't speak to me."

I agree. Edwards claims to "understand" the under privileged. Yeah right.

HWC Baseball Week 1 Recap

The recap is posted over at The HWC Sports Blog! Go check it out!

Excuse My French, But...

F#%^ING A!!!!!