Adventure is worthwhile - Aesop

Friday, December 10, 2004

See, stuff like this is why I like Arnie as my governor.

Governor Schwarzenegger lit the state Christmas tree and ended a secular practice of calling it a “holiday tree.”

The governor made no mention of the name change that was in honor of the late Senator William “Pete” Knight. Schwarzenegger said at Knight’s funeral in May that he would change the name back to Christmas tree.

Knight had lobbied unsuccessfully to change the name after Governor Davis decided to call it a holiday tree.

During the 73rd annual lighting, Schwarzenegger took on the role of “Triminator” as he helped a disabled girl trim the tree with the final ornament.

The governor and first lady Maria Shriver then flipped a switch to light five thousand multicolored bulbs before a crowd of about one thousand onlookers.

As I read somewhere yesterday, if a Christmas Tree needs to be referred to as a Holiday Tree in order to avoid offending anyone, shouldn’t a Menorah be referred to as a Holiday Candelabra?  (I’d like to include a Kwanzaa reference here, but I know exactly dick about that holiday.  The fact that it’s a totally made-up holiday, and has about as much social validity as Festivus, might have something to do with it.)

Do you think, for a second, that the PC-intellectual crowd would stand for something like this about Islam?  Of course not, that would be offensive to Muslims.

A group of Christian protesters in Scotland has called on police to prosecute a theatre company for blasphemy because it is putting on a play about a gay Jesus.

“If there is a blasphemy like this, Christians have to stand up,” said Stephen Green of Christian Voice who protested outside a theatre showing Terence McNally’s controversial play “Corpus Christi” at St Andrews University.

“Jesus Christ is being portrayed here as a foul-mouthed, drunken, promiscuous homosexual and that is an insult to my faith,” Green told BBC Radio.

But the play’s director, Zsuzsi Lyndsay, defended the production: “He is not portrayed as a drunken foulmouth. He doesn’t say one bad word throughout the play.”

Christian Voice was not placated. It has formally lodged a complaint with police, arguing that the American playwright’s work was blasphemous. No decision has been taken yet.

Now, I think that trying to get the play shut down on the grounds that it is blasphemous is pretty weak, and I have no problem with this group putting on their play.  But it’s quite an interesting example, however, of the proclivity of the left to go out of their way to avoid saying or doing anything that is offensive to, say, a minority, but they will spare no expense when engaging in activities that are aimed specifically at tweaking the Christian religious.  Also, note how the UK intelligentsia has total contempt for anything American, unless it’s something like this.

It’s Christmas, and everyone needs to send a card to their friends and loved ones.  Or others.

On the apparent theory that nothing says Christmas like hate mail, a conservative social club in Washington, D.C., will send a nasty holiday card to Michael Moore for you for barely the cost of a Happy Meal.

Moore, of the Charlevoix and Manhattan Moores, spent much of 2004 promoting his “Fahrenheit 9/11” and trying to use a movie to uproot an administration. The administration stayed put, as it turned out, and the Jefferson Ale Club is celebrating by selling and mailing personalized snarky greetings.

The Jefferson Ale Club first convened in the late-ish 1980s. Its members were generally young, single and male, and all was well in their realm until Bill Clinton won in 1992.

On inauguration night a few months later, the JAC co-hosted a black-tie countercelebration called “Mourning in America: A Thousand Pints of Lite.” The next time around, the disappointed Republicans called their bash “Mourning in America II: Feel our Pain.”

Now they’re feeling salty, and they’ve designed a greeting card featuring a red, white and blue elephant, named Noel, dancing gaily in front of a U.S. map broken down into red and blue states.

“This election year, Hollywood director Michael Moore beat America over the head with his guile,” says the sales pitch at merrychristmasmichaelmoore.com. “Again and again. Movies and speeches and interviews and Internet. Over and over.”

“Since Moore was kind enough to share his opinion,” it continues, “why not send him your personal message?” The fee is $4.95, stamp included, and each card can include a cheery note of up to 100 characters. ("Your movies are claptrap,” begins the sample on the Web site. “Your speeches are flatulent ...")

The Jefferson Ale Club will also sell you a 10-pack of Noel the Elephant cards for $19.95, plus $3.13 postage and handling. The greeting on the front is a simple “Happy Holidays,” and let those simpering Democrats wish people peace on Earth. The message inside this one says, “Best wishes for a prosperous New Year!”

Click on the link to see the image.  I’m all over this.

Thursday, December 09, 2004

Here’s another victory for the forces of lunacy.

In a victory for rebellious teenagers, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a mother violated Washington’s privacy law by eavesdropping on her daughter’s phone conversation.

Privacy advocates hailed the ruling, but the mother was unrepentant.

“It’s ridiculous! Kids have more rights than parents these days,” said mom Carmen Dixon, 47. “My daughter was out of control, and that was the only way I could get information and keep track of her. I did it all the time.”

The Supreme Court ruled that Dixon’s testimony against a friend of her daughter should not have been admitted in court because it was based on the intercepted conversation. The justices unanimously ordered a new trial for Oliver Christensen, who had been convicted of second-degree robbery in part due to the mother’s testimony. ...

Federal wiretap law has been interpreted to allow parents to record their child’s conversations. But Washington privacy law is stricter. Washington is one of 11 states that requires consent from all parties involved before a conversation may be intercepted or recorded.

If you live in Washington, and you happen to pick up the phone one night and hear your 14 year old daughter having a dirty conversation with her 42 year old boyfriend, that isn’t admissable as evidence in court.  If you happen to hear your son talking to one of his friends, and that friend is discussing the details of the Columbine-style shooting he has planned for the following morning, OOPS!  That’s not admissable.  If you get a crossed line and hear your neighbor arranging a purchase of ten kilos of pure heroin, that’s just too damn bad.

Ludicrous.  I understand the fundamental privacy issue involved, but this is just beyond the pale of stupidity.  This is Ninth Circuit Court-level asshattery.

HARTMAN: Do any of you people know who Charles Whitman was?

(No response.)

HARTMAN: None of you dumbasses knows?

(COWBOY raises his hand.)

HARTMAN: Private Cowboy?

COWBOY: Sir, he was that guy who shot all those people from that tower in Austin, Texas, sir!

HARTMAN: That’s affirmative. Charles Whitman killed twenty people from a twenty-eight-storey observation tower at the University of Texas from distances up to four hundred yards.  Anybody know who Lee Harvey Oswald was?

(Almost everybody raises his hand.)

HARTMAN: Private Snowball?

SNOWBALL: Sir, he shot Kennedy, sir!

HARTMAN: That’s right, and do you know how far away he was?

SNOWBALL: Sir, it was pretty far! From that book suppository building, sir!

(The recruits laugh at “suppository.")

HARTMAN: All right, knock it off! Two hundred and fifty feet! He was two hundred and fifty feet away and shooting at a moving target. Oswald got off three rounds with an old Italian bolt action rifle in only six seconds and scored two hits, including a head shot! Okay, do any of you dumbasses know who Nathan Gale was?

(Silence.)

HARTMAN:  Nathan Gale killed Damageplan guitar player Dimebag Darrell and three other long haired hippie maggots, after which he himself was shot and killed by a police officer.  Now, do any of you people know where these individuals learned to shoot?

(JOKER raises his hand.)

HARTMAN: Private Joker?

JOKER:  Sir, in the Marines, sir!

Here’s an audio file of some of the 9-1-1 phone calls from last night’s shooting at the Damageplan concert.

Remember this guy?

A Marine who was reported abducted in Iraq and later turned up in his native Jordan was charged Thursday with desertion.

Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun was charged following a five-month investigation into his June disappearance from a U.S. military camp near Fallujah, Iraq, according a statement from the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade .

Hassoun, of West Jordan, Utah, is accused of taking unauthorized leave from the unit where he served as an Arabic interpreter.

Hassoun also is charged with loss of government property and theft of a military firearm for allegedly leaving the Marine camp while still in possession of his 9 mm service pistol, as well as theft and wrongful appropriation of a government vehicle.

No date has been set for an Article 32 hearing, one of the first steps toward a possible court-martial in the military justice system, said Maj. Matt Morgan, the brigade spokesman.

I tel you what, if he ends up in Leavenworth, he’ll sure as hell wish he was beheaded.  An Arab deserter?  I almost feel sorry for the poor bastard.

Note to Rummy:  you might want to get some American bodyguards for the flag rankers.

The U.S. defense representative in Turkey was shot and lightly injured Thursday by an accidental discharge from the gun of a Turkish soldier assigned to guard him, U.S. and Turkish officials said.

U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Peter U. Sutton was getting into his car at Ankara’s Esenboga airport when the gun of the soldier accompanying him accidentally fired, hitting him above the ankle, said U.S. and Turkish officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Sutton suffered only light injuries from the shot, and was treated at an Ankara hospital before heading to his home in Turkey, a U.S. diplomat said.

Sutton, as the U.S. defense representative to Turkey, is the main U.S. military liaison in the country and responsible for a U.S. security assistance program to Turkey. He also advises the U.S. ambassador on defense and military matters.

You gotta love those NATO allies of ours.

"The election has not altered or made irrelevant, unfortunately, a single one of these issues. That they (and the film that dealt with these issues) are still at the forefront of the majority of the public’s minds should give serious pause to Mr. Bush as he brags about a nonexistent ‘mandate’ and begins to spend his ‘political capital.’”

-- Michael Moore, 12/8/04

“The margin is narrow, but the responsibility is clear.  There may be difficulties with the Congress, but a margin of only one vote would still be a mandate.”

-- President John F. Kennedy, 11/10/63

See what happens when hockey goes on strike?

In a landmark opinion, Canada’s Supreme Court said Thursday the government can redefine marriage to include same-sex couples.

However, the court added that religious officials cannot be forced to perform unions against their beliefs, and the legislation to allow gay marriage must still pass with a majority of the House of Commons.

Prime Minister Paul Martin said after the court’s ruling that since judges in six Canadian provinces and one of its territories are already allowing gay marriages, it should be approved throughout the country. He said his government would introduce a bill shortly after the Christmas holidays.

He noted that members of Parliament would be free to vote their conscience, but his Cabinet ministers would have to support the government’s bill.

We’ve heard of red and blue states, here you have the rainbow states.  Or, should I say, provinces.

Posting will be light this morning, I’ve got a dental appointment.  Gulp.

Update: I am now the proud owner of a temporary crown on one of my top molars.  Lovely.  The left side of my face looks like I had a stroke.

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

If you were a fan of the band Pantera, like I was, this is tragic news.

At least three people died and four others were wounded after a shooting at a Columbus nightclub on Wednesday night, NBC 4 reported.

The shooting took place shortly after 10 p.m. at Alrosa Villa, located at 5055 Sinclair Road.

Two members of the heavy metal band Damageplan were reportedly shot and killed, including Dimebag Darrell, formerly with the band Pantera, NBC 4’s David Wayne reported. The alleged gunman also died at the scene, Wayne reported.

Shortly after the band began playing its first song, a man reportedly ran onto the stage and began shooting, according to a witness who identified himself as Sean. Some members of the audience reportedly thought the man running onto the stage with a gun was part of the band’s act, NBC 4’s Erin Tate reported.

Witnesses said that several shots were fired at the band. Witnesses said that a bouncer at the club tackled the alleged gunman before that person was shot and killed. It was unclear as to whom shot the alleged gunman.

Well, at least the scumbag who did it is dead.

Left under this post by a reader named Jarhead.

I have no problem with gays in the military as long as they are in the Air Force where they belong.

It’s funny because it’s true.  (Oh, come on Air Force guys, it’s just a joke.)

What liberal media?  It seems that there has been a major military court ruling concerning the rights of soldiers to engage in consensual gay sex.

Sodomy conviction in military reversed: Gays praise ruling as key legal victory

A military appeals court has overturned the conviction of a soldier for consensual sodomy in a decision that gay rights activists are hailing as an important legal victory removing some of the barriers to homosexual activity in the armed forces.

The previously unreported decision, handed down last week by the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals, builds on a landmark Supreme Court ruling last year that struck down a Texas sodomy statute. It is believed to be the first time that a military court has upheld the right of consenting adults to engage in oral sex in private.

“It undercuts the premise of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ “ said Washington lawyer David Sheldon, who represents several soldiers fighting their dismissal from the armed forces because of homosexual activity. He was referring to a Pentagon policy that has led to the discharge of more than 9,000 openly gay service members over the past decade.

Last week’s court decision involved a male Army specialist who was convicted of engaging in oral sex with a female civilian in a military barracks. Kenneth Bullock was charged under Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which prohibits “unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal.”

Although the case involved a man and a woman, legal experts said the principles invoked by the three military judges were equally applicable to homosexual activity. The constitutionality of Article 125 has come under assault as a result of last year’s Supreme Court decision in Lawrence vs. Texas, which upheld the notion of a “zone of privacy” for sexual relationships involving consenting adults.

Note that you have to go four paragraphs down before you find out that the case itself had absolutely nothing to do with gay sex at all.  Oh, that liberal media.

In the latest sign of corporate PC run amok, here are the first couple of lines of a company email I just received about the company Christmas tree.

To all employees:

In keeping with the tradition of recent years, [company name] will hold it’s annual Non-Denominational- Holiday-Tree-Trimming Reception [redacted] next Wednesday, December 15th, from 5 pm - 7 pm.

Yes, my friends, we don’t have a Christmas Tree any more, it’s a “Non-denominational Holiday Tree.”