Monthly Archives: March 2010
New Layout
How many of you keep hitting the “edit” button on a post because it is where the read more button and the comment button used to be on the old layout?
Contrasts
Searchlight vs. L.A.: Rival Rallies Reveal Stark Right/Left Divide
Us: Smiling, literate, calm and focused, normal.
Them: Either glaring or hiding their faces, ignorant, all over the map. Freak show.
Not to mention there were ZERO arrests of TEA partiers.
Well, It’s That Time Of Year…
Saturday the Beast took his 14 year old son and 12 year old daughter up to the fly fishing only, catch and release section of a certain river that flows into Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire. Got one really pretty Salmon on a green leech. The Beast let his daughter reel it in and she did a fine job.
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March Madness (Hitler style)
I love when these get posted so here is another one. This is about how I felt upon realization that I didn’t pick a single final four team. NOT ONE!! The last 30 seconds are priceless.
This is a fun little video of a cousin I have (by marriage) that plays pro ball in Taiwan. He’s the black dude making the clown pass about 15 seconds in. I used to coach him so I take credit for his skills. . .
Dave’s Quote of the Day
“Hundreds of people, at least dozens of people - we haven’t gotten a count of how many people turned out there. We heard Sarah Palin talk about everything about the campaign, to unseat Sen. Reid to what she calls ObamaCare, on the heels of that health care vote and even talking about her definition of her love of America.” – CNN on a huge anti-Sen. Reid TEA party rally in Nevada that featured Sarah Palin as a speaker.
This photo was taken at 1:35 p.m. More than an hour and a half after the rally started people were lining the highway trying to get in.
Celebrate Human Achievement Hour
This was made for last year’s “let’s all sit around in the dark like idiots” hour but is worth reposting for tonight’s symbolism over substance demonstration.
Doing my part…
Saturday morning I get to rise a bit early and attend the Republican party District Meeting to help choose the delegates to the 4th congressional and state conventions. Fulfilling my duty as an American to participate in the grassroots mechanics of a political party. I am also the new precinct committeeman for precinct 2212 and will get to run the caucus meeting in a couple years, thank you, thank you very much. I live in a relatively small town (about 15,000) and the tea party types basically dominate the District I found myself having to attempt to “prove” my conservative credentials over the phone to the wife of the one of the local 9-12 leaders tonight. 9-12 members and sympathetic conservatives like myself basically swept the local caucuses. I have the feeling they are basically voting ‘in mass’ for various delegates to state tomorrow and I am not sure if I made the cut. Hopefully, I am on the “nice”, and not the “naughty” list. I was quizzed about the congressional and state races and I’m afraid my hesitation about the Colorado governor’s race may have hurt me. I have made some connections and constructive outreaches to the group. I am now friends with one of the wives of the co-chairman of the local 9-12 group and they both promoted my book and sent my column “The Rise of the TEA Party” to every member on their email list. So all of that may help a bit.
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Watch lists, the Patriot Act, and the government targeting of Right wing groups
Our friends at Canada Free Press have been kind enough to expose the active plan by the white house and Democratic lawmakers to put members of pro-life and TEA party groups on a “watch list” and preparations to use the Patriot Act against them. Lumping the activist conservative right in with Islamic terrorists and fueling the always present conspiracy theories and level of paranoia with secret watch lists is ridiculous in the extreme. It will only serve to reinforce the fears that we indeed do have a far too large and authoritarian government that is completely out of control. These are amazing times we live in.
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Thanks Wes!
I know you still read the blog Wes. I wanted to say thank you for talking up “The Wire”. HBO has been running it from the start on their “on demand service”. I just finished season one and I’m halfway through season two. It is incredible. Omar is one of the best characters ever! Thanks Wes!
Virtual Choir
My sis-in-law sent me this. She must have sensed I needed to take a breath for a moment, and she doesn’t even see my Facebook posts 
I think it’s a beautiful blend of God-given talent and technology.
On peasants and pitchforks. . .
On another thread, Dave made a comment that struck me as both full of emotion and full of historical ignorance. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not calling Dave ignorant. In fact, I think he is fairly learned about most things historical. But if one is going to use history as a basis for the current political climate, he should understand what he talks about. Here is an excerpt:
You bet the peasants are pissed and storming the castles of the corrupt feudal lords who are holed up in their castle on the hill. Excuse me for not being polite to them or giving them the benefit of the doubt. Do you think I would have felt badly yesterday if every congressional office had been stormed by an angry mob? Probably not. Even Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple. Righteous anger and indignation is a fire that should be stoked, not extinguished. If all I can be and contribute is a keyboard crusader for the cause, then so be it. There is no shame in that but we all must do what we can to defeat the ideological barbarians in our midst.
Ah, the old “storming the castle of the feudal lords” bit. Something akin to Pat Buchanan’s “peasants with pitchforks.” Now this was a fun analogy to use when I was a twenty year old college student. But a funny thing happened on the way to adulthood: I actually learned that when those peasants had some success occupying the feudal castle, the nobles with horses and arms promptly cut them down, took off thier heads and made splendid examples of them at the gates. Hell, even Martin Luther condemned such nearsighted tactics!
As for “feeling bad if every congressional office were stormed by an angry mob” again, you make light of situations that could possibly lead to the death of many of your ideological bretheren. No one “storms” congressional offices at the Capitol or Hart buildings. And if they do in a Congressman’s district, they would be better off using their talents to vote the scoundrel out of office rather than sit in a jail cell.
Finally, when you claim that “righteous indignation is a fire that should be stoked, not extinguished” keep in mind that the workers of industrial Russia, the bourgeousie of revolutionary France, and peasants of 1524 Germany were all full of “righteous indignation.” In each case, tens if not hundreds of thousands lost their lives at the hands of their own countrymen.
UPDATE: If legislation cannot be enacted without a fringe minority always threatening violence then the republic is in trouble. House Democrats Face Violent Threats After Health Care Vote.
In one case, a gas line was cut outside the Virginia home of Rep. Tom Perriello’s brother after a conservative activist posted the address online, mistakenly thinking it was the congressman’s house. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating.
John the Revelator, take one
Posted with only one comment: “Thought provoking.”
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.
Dave’s Quote of the Day
Background:
But opponents of the Health Care bill say that the “commerce clause” does not give the government power to require an individual to buy something — especially insurance for the health of one’s own body.
“Just being alive is not interstate commerce.”
He’s right about that
Biden’s gaffes are awesome! And in this case, this is, in fact, a big f- – - ing deal!
Think about it
Today, one day after the stunning and disgusting trampling of the rule of law and will of the People of the United States…
…is the anniversary of the Stamp Act. The penny tax ‘stamps’ required on every official document (court, business, shipping, etc). A tiny amount but, on the heels of so many other abuses, it created a firestorm and Revolution.
The statists who rule us now would have kissed the feet of King George and embraced his tyranny for the sake of “the common good.” It sickens me…
To the brave founders of this nation “liberty” was not just some obscure concept to give lip service to, but something worth fighting and dying for. It was real. We have lost that as a society and we must be willing to do anything to regain it. Liberty is worth sacrificing everything for. It is at the core of what makes us free men.
No Free Healthcare Lunch.
Sorry Dave, people need to be forced to pay their own way.
In seeking to follow ConClubs unwritten rule of turning comments of over 150 words into its own post I offer this little rant in response to a comment Dave recently made…
Covering tens of millions of illegals would just be silly beyond belief. And anything that requires compulsive participation is obviously and blatantly unconstitutional.
We already pay for their care as it is, Dave. Their visits to emergency rooms and “free” clinics are paid by us. Their admissions to hospitals are covered by us already. We do it in a very inefficient way as it is, Dave. We need a system where they pay their way too through taxes.
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First Salmon Of The Year
The Beast and his 14 year old son are doing a Batchelor’s weekend. We drove up to Lake Winnipesaukee (NH) today and fished the Merrymeeting river for Rainbow Trout. There were also some Salmon in there but mainly trout. The boy got this Salmon on a Sage Launch 6wt fly rod using a leech. Click on the pic for the full size version.
Constitution Death Watch Today
Anywhere from 25,000 to 50,000 people showed up for a final ‘kill the bill’ rally today as we stand on the brink of seeing one of the most blatantly intrusive and unconstitutional bills in the history of the Republic pass the House of Representatives. Tonight, many are in front of the Capitol building holding an all night vigil. Chances are the vote will pass so the next step to ponder is what the reaction needs to be. Multiple state attorney generals have lawsuits in place and ready to file as soon as it becomes law. Many states are readying to pass laws that would make it illegal for any entity to require its citizens to purchase health insurance. Others have notified the federal government that they will not cooperate or implement such a scheme if it becomes law. I hope we see massive civil disobedience and non-compliance by businesses and individuals of all kinds. And, of course, every single person who votes for this bill needs to pay with the loss of their congressional seat this fall.
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Just a few of my concerns about Obama Care.
My friend Andre requested that I address the Democrat Healthcare proposal. Here is my reply.
It is kind of ironic, but I have spent the last week at the hospital for my annual reevaluation. They even quite literally kicked my tires. I hope Andre is still reading the blog, my apologies for not responding sooner. I will try to be brief.
As I write this it appears all but certain that the plan dubbed “Obama Care” will pass through House in some fashion tomorrow morning. I believe we will all regret this. Not all of us for the same reasons mind you, but all of us will have reasons for regret.
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After The Noreaster
A few weeks ago New England was hit by a massive coastal storm. The highest winds gusts peaked at 90 mph, measured by the national weather service at Portsmouth New Hampshire. The day after the storm the Beast and his daughter journeyed out to ground zero along the shore at Portsmouth NH to survey the damage. We hiked out at Odiorne Point, a state park that was originally the site of shore defenses to protect the harbor mouth and the sub pens during world war 2. If you have seen the movie “Das Boot”, the sub in that flick was based on a U-Boat captured in Portsmouth Harbor – it got tangled up in the sub nets and had to surrender.
This spot is a good 45 minute hike out into the puckerbrush – only the locals know it’s even there. It’s something you will only see if you live here – the tourists don’t know it exists.
“I’m just a bill, yes I’m only a bill…”
How a Bill Becomes a Law: Pass It, Find Out Whats In It, Then Fix It – Hit & Run : Reason Magazine.
I also must have missed that follow-up Schoolhouse Rock hit, “The Slaughter Rule.”
This thing is going to pass, and the economic health of the nation will be that much closer to terminal.
Dave’s Quote of the Day
I shall exert every faculty I possess in aiding to prevent the Constitution from being nullified, destroyed, or impaired; and even though I should see it fail, I will still, with a voice feeble, perhaps, but earnest as ever issued from human lips, and with extinguish, call on the people to come to its rescue.
– Daniel Webster
Has Hanks Sunk “The Pacific”?
HBO’s most-expensive-ever miniseries opened Sunday to lackluster ratings: 3.1 million viewers. By comparison, the HBO vampire themed series “True Blood” has scored an average of five million viewers on any given Sunday night, albeit in a later time slot. Worse, a re-broadcast of “Band Of Brothers” (10 million in its debut) on the History channel recently scored 4.6 million viewers, 1.5 million more than “Pacific”, even with a massive publicity barrage and the overall goodwill it inherited from its predecessor.
What torpedoed this series? Well, Tom Hanks’ alienation of his core audience with his remarks about a “racist war” very likely didn’t help, especially since it came days before the big debut. Hanks was probably just parroting the same Howard Zinn stuff he hears every day from his lefty Hollywood buds, so he most likely didn’t realize the rubes in flyover country might take offense. Ten years ago they might not even have heard it, the MSM have worked hard to ignore the story, as usual. Blogs like this made sure that would not happen.
“The Pacific” is still worth watching and it has plenty of time to recover. The Beast plans to continue watching, but he’s going to approach any future Hanks efforts with less enthusiasm, for sure.
Coffee Party Group Therapy Session
To be truly fair though, most political meetings are fairly lame and boring. But this is fairly humorous.
When perception becomes reality
This last year seems to have been the year of the independent political group in the American political scene. Thousands of political and ideological groups have sprung up nearly everywhere across the fruited plain. Many are closely associated with the TEA party or 9-12 groups and many others are not.
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Dave’s Quote of the Day
“To the extent the State of the Union has degenerated into a political pep rally, I’m not sure why we’re there…
..So I have no problems with that. On the other hand, there is the issue of the setting, the circumstances and the decorum. The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court — according the requirements of protocol — has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling.”
-Chief Justice John Roberts
He couldn’t be more right. I hope they all stay home next year…
Thanks, Dave
I guess this is in your honor. After reading ConClub all day, for some reason, I just couldn’t get this damned song out of my head…
As a proud athiest, I hate to say it, that song still gives me goosebumps!
Friday Night Punk- Bad Religion
I’m Easily Confused Edition
21st Century (Digital Boy)
As someone who freely admits that I am not that bright when it comes to details, and that I also get most of my news from partisan sources, I’m actually very curious about PG’s take on what is wrong with the current HCR bill. The politics behind it are pretty simple. I obviously don’t want the Dems to get slaughtered this year if they fail to pass it, which, as Zod looks at the polls, ain’t gonna happen anyway (if I had to guess I’d think -23/-5 from the current majority… on election night watch IN-02. As it goes, so goes the House, but I digress). From a policy standpoint, I don’t see the real problem.The bill seems to offer obvious fixes such as increasing Medicaid/S-CHIP access, better competition through pooling of individual-based policies, and very needed reform of the insurance industry, without much downside. It does contain an individual mandate, but also provides subsidies for those who can’t afford it, and it requires insurance companies to allow parents to insure their kids until the age of 26, so that seems to be a wash. On top of that, the CBO says it will, in fact, reduce the deficit and many more people will be insured, so I’d call that a win-win.
I’ll admit that it isn’t my first choice (single payer with optional private insurance), and I’d rather they pay for it through either a payroll or income tax, but once you peel away the scary, nonsensical socialized medicine crap that seems to be most of the basis for opposition, it seems like it’s just a package of pretty basic and necessary reforms. What am I missing?
Tom Hanks’ Comments on “The Pacific”
I have long adored Tom Hanks for bucking the trend in Hollywood to be anti-American and leftist in attitudes about American history. His From the Earth to the Moon series was profoundly influential on me, and I revered Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. Which is why his recent comments about American racism towards the Japanese in World War II have had me scratching my head–they seem so different from what he would normally say about such a subject. Given his past performance, though, I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
In any case, here’s a masterful deconstruction of the attitudes behind the Pacific war by historian Victor Davis Hanson.
Is Tom Hanks Unhinged?
Much has been written of the recent Tom Hanks remarks to Douglas Brinkley in a Time Magazine interview about his upcoming HBO series on World War II in the Pacific. Here is the explosive excerpt that is making the rounds today.“Back in World War II, we viewed the Japanese as ‘yellow, slant-eyed dogs’ that believed in different gods. They were out to kill us because our way of living was different. We, in turn, wanted to annihilate them because they were different. Does that sound familiar, by any chance, to what’s going on today?”
Hanks may not have been quoted correctly; and his remarks may have been impromptu and poorly expressed; and we should give due consideration to the tremendous support Hanks has given in the past both to veterans and to commemoration of World War II; and his new HBO series could well be a fine bookend to Band of Brothers. All that said, Hanks’ comments were sadly infantile pop philosophizing offered by, well, an ignoramus.
Hanks thinks he is trying to explain the multifaceted Pacific theater in terms of a war brought on by and fought through racial animosity. That is ludicrous. Consider:
1) In earlier times, we had good relations with Japan (an ally during World War I, that played an important naval role in defeating imperial Germany at sea) and had stayed neutral in its disputes with Russia (Teddy Roosevelt won a 1906 Nobel peace Prize for his intermediary role). The crisis that led to Pearl Harbor was not innately with the Japanese people per se (tens of thousands of whom had emigrated to the United States on word of mouth reports of opportunity for Japanese immigrants), but with Japanese militarism and its creed of Bushido that had hijacked, violently so in many cases, the government and put an entire society on a fascistic footing. We no more wished to annihilate Japanese because of racial hatred than we wished to ally with their Chinese enemies because of racial affinity. In terms of geo-strategy, race was not the real catalyst for war other than its role among Japanese militarists in energizing expansive Japanese militarism.
Confirmed: Wolves killed a teacher in Alaska
![wolf_76_big[1]](http://constitutionclub.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/wolf_76_big1.jpg "wolf_76_big[1]")
Yeah, it is the first “recorded” of wolves actually killing a human. Though, I am sure there have been others when no food is around, but this is MPO.
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Iditarod 2010
I went out with the man and thought I should post some pictures of who I took pictures of at the start. The man and I went out 15 miles or so and found a quiet spot to watch them go by. Here are some of them. Jeff King (who gave me the peace sigh), Dee Dee (in pink for breast cancer as she is a survivor) and the Jamaican. He kept saying Yea’h Man… and was funny as he road by. Hope you enjoy them.
Everyone should have one of these
Bought one of these little fellas from Petsmart tonight for $5.00. They are known as ‘long tailed lizards’ and are from Southeast Asia. Rather unusual. He is now roommates with my four brown anoles in a terrarium. My next acquisition should be a Tiger Salamander. I’ve got a good lead on where I can capture some wild ones this spring. We’ll see.
They said it!
White House advisers are considering recommending alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed be tried in a military court instead of a civilian one in New York City, a senior administration official told CNN on Friday.
Progressive activists blasted the potential administration switch.
“If this stunning reversal comes to pass, President Obama will deal a death blow to his own Justice Department, not to mention American values,” said Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union.
“If the president flip-flops and retreats to the Bush military commissions, he will betray his campaign promise to restore the rule of law, demonstrate that his principles are up for grabs and lose all credibility with Americans who care about justice and the rule of law.”
The more things change. . .
I have always heard that history repeats itself because no one listened the first time around, and today I have found additional evidence to support that claim. Scroll through some of the Time magazine covers, specifically from 1976-1980 and take a look at the headlines, the people, the concerns of the day. From socialism to the war on terror – it’s all there in vivid color. I recommend starting here and moving forward for a really interesting look at, well… Time.
Well, This Is Cool…
The Beast visited a story on Breitbart’s “Big Journalism” site and discovered he’s already logged in as a commenter, even though he never signed up. Maybe WordPress bloggers are automatically registered – the rest of you should check it out.
Try this link: Astroturf Roots At The New York Times!
Ok, the Beast just checked “Big Hollywood” and he’s a logged-in registered commenter there too. Very odd.
Mystery solved! Check out “Intense Debate” – odds are an account has been set up for you too!
When Love Hits The Rocks
Suddenly the Beast’s Liberal friends (in real life) don’t want to talk politics anymore. The Beast is curious – have you noticed that too?
The same cadre that sought him out to gloat now avoid him and even look away when he walks past them. One of them, a woman, stares at the ground and mumbles when he says “hi. She won’t even return a greeting.
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The Rise of the Tea Party
In less than a year well over a thousand independent groups have sprung up around the nation to organize and demonstrate against the attempted government takeover of entire industries, high taxes, crippling debt, and the agenda of President Barack Obama. While many have ridiculed and guffawed about the “teabaggers” these motivated and angry voters have very quickly shown the ability to raise millions of dollars, target specific political races, grab headlines and media exposure, stage large rallies, and mobilize volunteers.
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The Sage
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hairybeast
Mo K.
Sting the Away
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Voice of Reason
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Vérité
Isaiah's Cry
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Hal Jordan
The Rat
Aquinas Shrugged
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a west texas view
pino
Cultural Limits
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AWOL Civilization
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rogueoperator
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Daniella Nicole
