The Revrun Jackson says Saddam's Execution a Mistake

Sometimes you don't know until well after the fact that a decision is a good idea or not. But listening to Jesse Jacka$$ criticize the execution of Saddam Hussein leads me to believe even more strongly that it was the correct move. Here is what he told a reporter at newsday.com:

"Killing him intensifies the violence, reduces our moral authority in the world," said Jackson, who has traveled to the Middle East on peace missions. "Today we are not more secure. We're less secure. We've missed a moment to appeal to those in Iraq to break the cycle of violence."

Hey Jesse, did you ever think of saying something like that to the thugs of South Central LA who killed innocent people in racist hate crimes during the Rodney King riots in 1992? And tell me another thing, how many people will Saddam Hussein kill in the future? I can answer that for you: Zero.

But Jesse, I know you are a busy man. I will leave you to get back to shaking down corporations to enrich yourself and your cronies, that they may avoid being branded "racist" by you. Or perhaps you can find another murderer on death row like Tookie Williams, and lobby on his behalf.

Why all the Tears for Saddam, Lefties?

Now that the Butcher of Baghdad is dead, we are being treated with much angst and hand-wringing by the "progressives" of the Left that have the gall to call themselves "liberals". Gateway Pundit has an excellent roundup of various socialist bloggers crying about the death of their hero.

If Ever You Needed Proof of American Leftist Insanity- Look Now!
There is an enemy in America- Powerful -Shrill- Self-Hating - It has never been more obvious, it has never been more open... than it is today- mourning Saddam!

The Toronto Sun has an editorial about the execution:

Who are we to judge the Iraqis on how they chose to deal with their own tyrant?
And why so much concern in the West about Saddam's execution when, for so long, we stood silent while Saddam imposed the death penalty on Iraqis both inside and outside his kangeroo courts?
Focusing on the sentence rather than on the enormity of Saddam's crimes seems a deliberate and cowardly way for countries to appease those within their own borders, who, for whatever vile reasons, opposed Saddam's execution not because they favoured life in prison for him, but because they considered him a hero.
Less and less in the West these days -- thanks to the insidious doctrine of moral equivalence -- do we seem capable of unequivocally condemning evil, even when it is staring us right in the face.
Rest assured, though, that our enemies are watching our timid, politically correct reactions. And learning. And plotting.

The issue of moral equivalence reminds me of something William F. Buckley once said during the cold war. Of course, back then the Left were saying that the USA was just as bad for opposing the Soviet Union as the communists were for installing tyranical dictatorships in many countries throughout the world. Buckley said that imagine there is an elderly lady standing in the street, and a bus is bearing down on her. There are two men in the street near her. One is trying to push her in the way of the bus so she gets run over. The other one is trying to pushg her out of the way of the bus. And the Lefties, in their infinite wisdom, are saying both men are bad for pushing the old lady!

We are constantly hearing the Left tell us how intelligent and nuanced they are. If what they possess is really intelligence, then I don't want it. I would rather be stupid.

Goodbye Saddam, and don't R.I.P.

I know that the departure of our dearly beloved former dictator has saddened many on the left, who admire the unconstrained use of government power he displayed. Well, too bad!

Through the Looking Glass

The Left can usually be found in a fantasy world where the government can solve all the world's problems. The Breck Girl, aka John Edwards, announced his candidacy for the 2008 Democrat nomination today and laid forth a grandiose plan to eliminate poverty in the USA. Unfortunately, most of his ideas will increase poverty, not reduce it. A few of his proposals include:

(1) Higher federal minimum wage - this will increase unemployment among unskilled workers and probably cause more outsourcing and hiring of illegal aliens.

(2) Reduced taxes for low-income workers - this is a good idea. I have always felt that people below a certain income level should not have to pay any taxes

(3) Universal health care - by this he means a federal takeover of the health care system and the result would be a disaster

(4) One million new housing vouchers for working families - this will give people an incentive to keep their earning low

I have a much better idea. Let's give school vouchers to all children enrolled in public schools that would pay for them to attend the private school of their choice. Of course, Edwards won't go for this, because it will alienate the all-powerful teachers' unions who have a hammerlock on the Democrat party.

Our Friend the Jack Rabbit

Rocky flushed and retrieved a gigantic jackrabbit today. I have seen big ones before but this one is the largest I have ever seen. Try walking a half mile in thick, tall weeds wearing heavy rubber boots, and with two pheasants and the king kong of jackrabbits in your vest.

Gerald Ford: 1913 - 2006

Ford was a good man, although not a great president. He brought integrity back to the White House after Nixon resigned. His ability to work effectively with the Democrat-controlled congress was limited, but he did well to veto some of their more ridiculous bills. South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos were taken over by brutal totalitarian regimes during his term, but we can also lay most of the blame on the Democrats.

I can still remember his ludicrous statement: "There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe," during a debate with Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential campaign. That gaffe probably cost him the election.

But he was a much better president than Carter could ever hope to be. And he was a man of sound character, an athlete, and someone who set an example for others to follow, unlike that loser Clinton.

"Human Rights Watch" Objects to the Execution of Saddam Hussein

Some organization called "human rights watch" is calling on the Iraqi government to refrain from executing Saddam Hussein. I wonder if they were doing anything at all back when Hussein was in power and routinely violating the rights of Iraqis? If someone is aware of anything they did or said during that time, please let me know.

Jimmah Carter

My first opportunity to vote in the presidential elections was in 1980. Back then, you didn't have to be a rocket scientist to know that the peanut farmer was a complete bumbling incompetent. Most people agreed and sent him back to Georgia in favor of Ronald Reagan. Reagan, who even won in such true-blue states as Massachusetts and New York, went on to be one of our greatest presidents. Meanwhile, Jimmah can't accept the fact that the American people rejected him and refuses to shut up and go into retirement.

Shmuley Boteach at the Jerusalem Post has an excellent Op-Ed about Jimmah and his ridiculous book comparing Israel policy with South African apartheid.

I grew up in the US during the 1970s, the one decade universally acknowledged to have truly sucked. In 1970s America we danced to disco music, wore leisure suits and watched the Brady Bunch. But if that wasn't torture enough, we had Jimmy Carter as our president.
I can still recall how depressing it was to watch his taciturn face on TV announcing one catastrophe after another, from the skyrocketing misery index, to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, to the capture of our hostages in Iran, to the tragically-botched rescue attempt to free them.

Having spent my formative years in the 1970s, I quite agree that the decade was very depressing. I sometimes wondered if there was going to be a USA by the time I became an adult.

Regarding Jimmah's ridiculous book, Boteach defends him against charges of anti-semitism by reasoning that the man is simply stupid:

Jimmy Carter is not so much anti-Semite as anti-intellectual, not so much a Jew-hater as a boor. The real explanation behind his limitless hostility to Israel is a total lack of any moral understanding.
Carter wants to do what's just. His heart's in the right place. He just can't figure out what the right is. He is, and always has been, a man of good intentions bereft of good judgment. He invariably finds himself defending tyrants and dictators at the expense of their oppressed peoples. Not because he is a bad man, but because he is a confused man.

The problem is that a former president, even one who was rejected so overwhelmingly by the voters, can still do a lot of damage. Carter has done just that by giving moral support to dictators like Castro, Ceaucescu, and Kim Il Sung.

Another minor tidbit. President Bush is often criticized by the left for pronouncing the word nuclear something like "nukylar". Jimmah, who was a nuclear engineer in the navy, pronounces it the same way but I have never heard anyone criticize him for it.

Taxpayers Forced to Pay for Illegal Aliens' Babies

It is bad enough that the USA is being invaded by millions of illegal aliens every year. They take jobs away from US citizens and often commit crimes while here. But the idiots on the Left, in their infinite arrogance, have forced the taxpayers to pay for the expenses of prenatal care, delivery, and postpartum care for over 100,000 illegals every year in California.

More than 100,000 undocumented women each year bear children in California with expenses paid by Medi-Cal, according to state reports.
Such births and related expenses account for more than $400 million of the nearly $1 billion that the program spends annually on health care for illegal immigrants in California, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing state reports.
California long has been one of the more generous states in offering such benefits to illegal immigrants, covering everything from pregnancy tests to postpartum checkups.

The article fails to state the primary motivation for all of these births by illegals. It's not just that they get free healthcare. All of these babies born in the USA are now US citizens. And now their mothers, fathers, siblings, etc. have an "anchor baby". They are related to a US citizen and that gives them an advantage in becoming legal residents themselves. It is clear that we need to change the interpretation of the US consitution, and perhaps amend it if need be, in order to remove the possibility of a child born of an illegal mother becoming a US citizen.

Donald Sues Palm Beach Island for Old Glory

Donald Trump is suing the city of Palm Beach Island for refusing to allow him to fly a large American flag.

Donald Trump is suing this oceanside town for $10 million after being cited for flying an oversized American flag over his Mar-a-Lago Club.
Attorneys for the club filed a complaint Thursday, saying that flying the flag is a constitutionally protected expression of free speech _ and that the large flag is a proper match for the size of the real- estate mogul's patriotism.

Having lived in the area myself, I'm not surprised that those stuffed shirts on Palm Beach Island would try to suppress free speech. Almost all of them are Democrats and their typical attitude is "free speech for me but not for thee".

Should the UK Adopt the Euro as Their Currency?

Twelve countries in western Europe adopted the euro as their currency in 2002. Several countries in eastern europe would like to join. The first will be Slovenia in January, 2007.

But there are other countries in western Europe that have declined to join the euro. The United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark decided to keep their own currencies. Norway and Switzerland are even further removed from the euro. They are not even members of the European Union.

There is an ongoing debate in Britain as to whether they should keep their Pound Sterling or dump it and adopt the euro. There are some obvious advantages to switching to the euro. When doing business with the rest of europe, they would not need to exchange currencies and avoid the obvious transaction costs. They would avoid foreign exchange risk when doing business in the continent.

But many Brits do not want the euro. A recent article in the Sun Online crows that they are better off without it. Britain's economy has certainly done better than the anemic economies of the continent but not because they kept the pound. The monetary policies of both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England have both been excellent. I think that both of them have done quite better than the US Federal Reserve, which has overreacted to the changes in the economy with excessive increases and decreases in its target interest rates.

The reason why Britain's economy has done so much better than those of most of the countries in the eurozone is because of its labor policies. In Germany, France, Italy, and many of the other countries in the eurozone it is very difficult if not impossible for a company to lay off an employee if they are no longer needed. Although this is a very good thing for the employees, it has the unfortunate consequence of forcing a company to think twice before they hire someone in the first place. The result has been that the unemployment rates in most of the continental economies have been much higher than in the UK. It has been particularly bad for people in their 20s and 30s, many of who have never worked.

The Republic of Ireland adopted the euro in 2002, and their economy has been the best of any of the countries in the euro. This shows that the monetary policy of the European Central Bank has not held them back at all.

The Brits do have some important reason for keeping the pound. Their economy's business cycle has historically not been in sync with those of the continent. If they joined the euro, the European Central Bank would find it difficult to adopt a monetary policy that would be suitable for all. Above all is the issue of national pride. If the Brits were to adopt the euro, they would be giving up their sovereignty to some extent. They have always considered themselves to be something apart from the rest of europe. An island off the continent that is close but not a member of the immediate family.

Yet Another Clinton Administration Official Faces Ethical Charges

Franklin Raines, who was Clinton's Director of the federal Office of Management and Budget has been sued by the federal government for his part in looting the Federal National Mortgage Association (aka Fannie Mae) of more than $91 million that was improperly earned while running the company.

The civil charges filed yesterday by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight against the former Clinton budget director, Franklin Raines, and other executives of the Federal National Mortgage Association, say they operated Fannie Mae "in an unsafe and unsound manner," and showered themselves with "unjustified bonuses."
The charges, which allege the misapplication of almost two dozen accepted principles of accounting, come two years after the executives were forced out of Fannie Mae amid disclosures of a multibillion dollar accounting scandal that roiled Capitol Hill and the mortgage industry.

This is par for the course for the members of the ethically challenged Clinton Administration. Not only Bill and Hillary, but also Webster Hubbell, Henry Cisneros, Alexis Herman, Mike Espy, Ron Brown, Andrew Cuomo, and many, many other high-ranking officials were guilty of ethical misconduct.

Some more of the ugly facts coming out of the Fannie Mae investigation:

" Mr. Raines, Mr. Howard and Ms. Spencer knowingly and … recklessly engaged in misconduct and safety and soundness violations that caused substantial and … material harm and loss," the oversight office said in a statement. "Such harm was the result of a pattern of misconduct, encompassing both the individual and collective action of these individuals."
The regulators' report last spring accuses the executives of manipulating quarterly earning targets in order to reap large multimillion-dollar bonuses they didn't deserve.

What amazes me is that some people are seriously thinking of Hillary as a credible presidential candidate. She was part of the most corrupt administration in history, and was involved in the corruption up to her neck, especially with regards to the pardons that Bill gave out at the end of his term.

Why are the Democrats so willing to look the other way at such malfeasance? Surely they can find politicians who support the same issues that they do, yet are not so corrupt as the Clintons and their cadre. The mind boggles.

More on the Myth that Humans are Causing Global Warming

In Viscount Monckton's letter he references an aritcle by L.F. Khilyuk and G.V. Chilingar in Environmental Geology entitled "On Global Forces of Nature Driving the Earth's Climate: Are Humans Involved?". One interesting quote from the article:

The human-induced climatic changes are negligible... The global warming observed during the last 150 years is just a short episode in geologic history. The current global warming is most likely a combined effect of increased solar and tectonic activities and cannot be attributed to the increased anthropogenic impact on the atmosphere. ...Humans may be reponsible for less than 0.01 [degrees celsius] of approximately 0.56 [degrees celsius] (1 [degree Fahrenheit]) total average atmospheric heating during the last century.

Will we read about this in the Lamestream Media? Don't hold your breath.

Viscount Monckton to Senators Snowe and Rockefeller: "Uphold Free Speech about Climate Change or Resign"

The ridiculous letter that Senators Olympia Snowe and Jay Rockefeller sent to the Chairman of ExxonMobil has drawn a blistering response from Viscount Monckton, who was formerly an advisor to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

You defy every tenet of Democracy when you invite ExxonMobil to deny itself the right to provide information to "senior elected and appointed government officials" who disagree with your opinion.

Monckton gives a lot of interesting information about the evidence that CO2 emissions do NOT cause global warming and the efforts of the alarmists to suppress this evidence:

The UN's second assessment report, in 1996, had had a 1,000 year graph showing that temperature in the Middle Ages was warmer than today's. But the 2001 report contained a new graph showing no medieaval warm period.

Monckton pulls no punches in his justifiable criticism of the Senators:

I challenge you to withdraw or resign because your letter is the latest in what appears to be an internationally-coordinated series of maladroit and malevolent attempts to silence the voices of scientists and others...

What we need are more courageous men like Monckton to stand up and make their voices heard. Unfortunately, the Lamestream media on both sides of the Atlantic are only reporting what they want to hear.

Tank Johnson's Second Amendment Rights Violated

Chicago Bears football player Tank Johnson was charged with six counts of possession of a firearm without a "gun owner identification card" yesterday. Each charge carries a potential penalty of up to one year in jail. According to the article:

Unless specifically exempted by statute, all Illinois residents who buy or possess firearms are required by law to have a valid Firearm Owner's Identification card. They are issued by the Illinois State Police.

Such a law is clearly unconstitutional. No one should be required to get permission from the state police in order to exercise their second amendment rights. I urge Mr. Johnson to fight these ridiculous charges in court.

Holocaust Denier to be Prosecuted in France

The French foreign minister said today that holocaust denier Robert Faurisson will likely be prosecuted for comments he made during the recent conference of Jew-haters in Teheran.

To deny that the mass murder of Jews occured during WWII is stupid and despicable. There are many eyewitnesses still alive today, including concentration camp survivors, nazi guards, and allied troops who overran the camps during the defeat of Germany. That being said, to prosecute someone for denying the proven facts is not a good idea. It only adds fuel to their fire.

There are certainly valid limitations to freedom of speech and the press. Slander and libel should not be protected. Yelling "fire" in a crowded theater that results in bodily injury should not be protected. A government employee or journalist who leaks classified information should not be protected. But there is no justifiable reason to prosecute someone just because he hurts someone else's feelings.

I hope that the USA never does what the French are doing in limiting free speech. People have a right to their opinion even if it is completely stupid. Think about the idiots who claim that the US government was behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Or think about Bill Clinton and other Democrats who claimed that the Republicans in Congress were trying to cut spending on Medicare even though they were actually increasing it. It is very tempting to try to put a muzzle on such stupidity, but free speech is too important to restrict.

DeLay: 'Hillary Will Be the Next President'

*Insert violent barfing sound here*

The thought of having the Oinkubus in the White House makes me quite ill. Tom Delay predicts she will be elected in 2008. I hope he is wrong.

There does not exist a more corrupt politician in this country. Remember Her Thighness and her husband selling pardons to the likes of fugitive Marc Rich in exchange for campaign contributions? That's just the tip of the iceberg. Her cattle futures trading profits were an elaborate scheme to accept bribes from Tyson Chicken back when Bill was governor of Arkansas. I could go on and on.

Her political ideas are equally abominable. In 1993 she tried to get the federal government to nationalize the US health care system in a bizarre system of agencies, mandates, and taxes that only Rube Goldberg would enjoy. Her proposal was so ridiculous that the Democrats never even brought it to a vote, even though they controlled both houses of Congress at that time.

And of course, whenever a male Republican criticizes the Pig in a Pant Suit, her sycophants immediately accuse him of sexism. How many times did we hear "They are afraid of having a woman in power"? What utter nonsense. If Margaret Thatcher could run for president of the USA, I would vote for her in one second. I would love to see Condoleeza Rice get the job. Or, if you must have a leftwing Democrat, give me Dianne Feinstein. I could trust her further than I would ever trust Hilary.

Wounded Soldiers Need Your Help

From military.com:

Stars and Stripes reports that donations are needed for wounded troops who are patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The hospital's Family Assistance Center is seeking shoes, gloves and winter jackets, postage stamps, prepaid phone cards, weightlifting gloves (for wheelchair patients), trousers with snaps or zips along the legs, razors, and prepaid gas or grocery cards. The Center requests that no cash or used items be donated. Donations can be sent to: Walter Reed Army Medical Center; Medical Family Assistance Center; Bldg. 2, 3rd Floor, Room 3E01; 6900 Georgia Ave, N.W.; Washington, D.C. 20307-5001.

These guys and gals have done so much for us. The least we can do is try to make their lives a bit easier.

Don't You Just Love Celebrities?



When they think that their opinions on subjects of politics or economics are of any consequence whatsoever? We are always hearing about how Alec Baldwin or Whoopi Goldberg, or the Dixie Chicks think that President Bush is a lizard who couldn't spell cat if you spotted him the c and the t. What amazes me is that these beautiful people actually believe that anyone is swayed by their opinions. Here we get to read from the Immaculate Alec Baldwin about Jeane Kirkpatrick and how we can defeat terrorism if we simply get rid of the CIA.



The simpleton celebrities seem to think that just because someone likes their acting or singing, that they will vote the way they tell them to. It doesn't occur to them that they don't know any more about these issues than the average Joe on the street.



For the most part, I simply ignore most of what artists have to say about politics, unless it is the ravings of an outright traitor like Hanoi Jane. I actually do like the Dixie Chicks' music and their political rants go in one ear and out the other. But sometimes I listen to their political posturing for pure entertainment value. And if they want to pose nude on another magazine cover, that's fine with me.

Aging Moonbat Gore Vidal Slams Bush, Praises Cuba

You can always count on moonbat octegenarian author Gore Vidal to heap praise on those who would take our freedom away and criticize those who would defend us. Now we hear, courtesy of the "unbiased" Associated Press, that Vidal has traveled to Cuba and slammed American foreign policy. Notice how the AP writer refers to the dork as a "Celebrated American writer".

Vidal has lived the plush life of a limousine liberal for decades here in the USA. He can thank good old Yankee capitalism for his wealth and celebrity. Yet he approves of the slavery and poverty that the people of Cuba have had to endure for the last 47 years. He is willing to visit Cuba and meet with their Culture Minister and Foreign Minister, and be led around like a sheep on tours of museums and a ballet school. But he is not willing to give up his opulent lifestyle in the USA and live like an ordinary Cuban.

Gore, have you ever stopped to think of what it would be like to live in fear every day of your life, not knowing whether the next knock on the door would bring men to your home to take you away, never to see anyone you loved again? Have you ever thought of what it would be like to resort to catching stray cats and killing them to avoid starvation? Have you ever thought of what it would be like to see someone you love die for lack of health care, because you are not a member of the Cuban nomenklatura and not eligible for such luxuries?

I am sure that he hasn't. This leftwing piece of human excrement does not give a damn about anyone except himself.

Is the Presidential Primary System Fair?

We just finished the midterm elections and already we're hearing about the 2008 races for the presidential nomination. I wonder why I should even bother to follow them at all? I have never been able to vote in a presidential primary where the outcome of the eventual nominee was in doubt. It was already decided by the time they got to my state.

I was very eager for Phil Gramm, then a senator from Texas, to be the Republican nominee in 1996. But I never got to vote for him, because he dropped out of the race before my state held its primary. If a candidate does not do well in Iowa and New Hampshire, their chances of securing the nomination are slim.

Why do we allow the people of those two states to decide who our nominees will be? Let's change it to a single, nationwide primary. Or perhaps do it a few states at a time, but rotate the order that they vote every four years, so that the people in every state get a chance to decide.

This is an issue that voters in both parties might agree on. This bizarre system where the voters of two small states get to pick the nominees often results in nominees for whom very few voters are enthusiastic. Bob Dole was given the Republican nomination back in 1996 because it was "his turn", if that makes any sense. Never mind whether or not he would campaign effectively for the presidency. Never mind whether or not he would make an effective president.

The worst product of the current primary system came when the nation elected Jimmy Carter president in 1976. Carter had very little experience (only one term as governor of Georgia) but came from out of nowhere to win the Democrat nomination by focussing his efforts on Iowa and New Hampshire. Most people in the USA had never heard of him before 1976. He beat Gerald Ford in the general election because the Republicans were still reeling from the Watergate scandal. And the result was Carter was probably the worst president in the history of the country. Even though the Democrats had huge majorities in both houses of congress, he was unable to get almost any legislation of any significance passed, good or bad. And his record on foreign policy was sheer disaster. We are still dealing with the repercussions of his foolish decision to appease islamic terrorists and negotiate with the Khomeini regime in Iran, after they seized our embassy and kidnapped 52 American diplomats for 444 days. Henry Jackson, who was defeated by Carter for the Democrat nomination in 1976, would have made a much more effective president.

Jeane Kirkpatrick: An Ambassador of Distinction

Jeane Kirkpatrick has left us and she will be sorely missed. She served as ambassador to the UN during the Reagan administration.

She was a very brave and outspoken woman. She had no qualms about facing down the communist thugs of the Soviet Union in the narrow corridors of the UN and did so without batting an eye. It is quite easy to imagine that the Reagan administration's victory over totalitarianism was due in no small part to her skillful and eloquent diplomacy. Here is one of her better speeches.

She was one of a handful of truly great ambassadors that the USA has sent to the UN. The others who come to mind include Patrick Moynihan and John Bolton. Unfortunately, the Democrats squashed the appointment of Bolton to the UN and we are worse off without him.

Rest in Peace, Jeane. You will always be remembered as an American hero.

Remember Pearl Harbor

Sixty-five years ago this day, thousands of servicemen gave their lives for our country. We should never forget them, especially those who perished on the battleships USS Arizona and USS Oklahoma.

This poster comes from the National Archives, via Little Green Footballs. I can just imagine if someone were to make a similar poster today concerning our war with the islamofascists, the lefties would be calling them "racist, sexist, and homophobic" and probably calling for them to be prosecuted for a "hate crime".

It is sad but true. Most of the left do not believe that we should defend ourselves against those who wish to do us harm. Such people do not belong in a Free society.

Thomas Sowell: A Man of Brilliance

Thomas Sowell, an economist at the Hoover Institute, has been writing insightful and thought-provoking commentary on political and economic issues for decades. His columns can be read at Townhall.com and he has another good one today entitled Hollywood economics. He takes to task the critics of Walmart who feel they are underpaying their employees:

Apparently Wal-Mart does not pay its employees as much as third-party observers would like to see them paid. But obviously it is not paying them less than their work is worth to other employers or they probably would not be working at Wal-Mart. Moreover, third parties who wax indignant are paying them nothing.

I have written before about limousine liberals like Greg Mankiw, Robert Rubin, and John D. Rockefeller IV who don't practice what they preach. And what about all those people who want Walmart employees to be paid more? Have any of them offered any Walmart employee a higher-paying job? I doubt it. The only thing they want to do is get the government to stick a gun in Walmart's face and force them to pay their employees more.

An Open Letter to Senators Rockefeller and Snowe

December 5, 2006

Senator John D. Rockefeller
531 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Senator Olympia Snowe
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510


Dear Senators Rockefeller and Snowe:

I am writing to you to formally protest the abuse of your position as United States Senators that you showed in your letter to ExxonMobil Chairman Rex Tillerson dated October 27, 2006. It is not appropriate for two such politically powerful people to use their authority in order to attempt to stifle research and dissent on the very important issue of global climate change.

The climate of the earth has indeed been warming very slowly over the past 100 years. There are some like you who believe that the source of the warming has been carbon dioxide emissions. There are others who believe that the warming is caused by other factors, possibly including variations in the amount of radiation that the earth receives from the sun, which is the source of all of our heat. Clearly what is needed is more research and debate on the issue, not less. ExxonMobil’s sponsorship of groups who want to look at alternative explanations can only be a positive contribution.

In your letter, you claim that ExxonMobil’s strategy has “damaged the stature of our nation internationally”. Nothing could be further from the truth. One of the greatest sources of the strength and stature of the United States is the fact that we allow and encourage dissent in our country. In many other countries, dissent is frowned upon or even proscribed by their governments. For two government officials to use their authority and privilege in an attempt to stifle dissent constitutes an abuse of power that is not consistent with the proud tradition of the United States.

Senator Rockefeller, I am dismayed by the sheer hypocrisy shown when you suggest that ExxonMobil devote “at least some of the money it has invested in climate change denial pseudo-science to global remediation efforts.” You are a very wealthy and privileged man. The source of your wealth is money inherited from your family, passed down from your great-grandfather and namesake: John D. Rockefeller I. Your great-grandfather was the founder of Standard Oil which was subsequently split up into several companies, one of which was Standard Oil of New Jersey, which is now known as ExxonMobil. Instead of asking the current stockholders and employees of the company to pay the bill for research into your personal theories concerning climate change, why don’t you use some of your own immense wealth and pay for it yourself?


Sincerely,




James Ross McCown
Professor of Economics

Cc: Mr. Rex Tillerson

Once Again, the Left Tries to Stifle Dissent

Is the planet earth warming? The answer is yes. But there is no consensus as to the reason why the warming is occuring. Some claim it is caused by emissions of carbon dioxide, and others cite different reasons, including variations in the radiation received from the sun, which is the source of all our heat.

But whatever the reason, it is clear that we must consider the many different points of view. The Left have almost unanimously adopted the CO2 emission theory, because it gives them another reason to regulate both industry and people's personal lives and activities. And since they are a group of narrow-minded people who can't stand it when someone expresses an opinion that disagrees with their view of the world, this attitude has manifest itself again in a letter sent by Senators Jay Rockefeller (D - West Virginia) and Olympia Snowe (R - Maine) to the Chairman and the Board of Directors of ExxonMobil. In the letter, they criticize the company's support of some of the groups who are skeptical of the CO2 emission theory.

However, we are persuaded that the climate change denial strategy carried out by and for ExxonMobil has helped foster the perception that the United States is insensitive to a matter of great urgency for all of mankind, and has thus damaged the stature of our nation internationally. It is our hope that under your leadership, ExxonMobil would end its dangerous support of the "deniers."

Are you afraid of something, Jay and Olympia? Perhaps you are afraid that the "deniers" may be correct?

...we share the goal of the Royal Society that ExxonMobil "come clean" about its past denial activities, and that the corporation take positive steps by a date certain toward a new and more responsible corporate citizenship.

In other words, you esteemed Senators believe that sponsoring dissent is irresponsible, and that ExxonMobil should "come clean" about their nefarious activities.

A study to be released in November by an American scientific group will expose ExxonMobil as the primary funder of no fewer than 29 climate change denial front groups in 2004 alone. Besides a shared goal, these groups often featured common staffs and board members. The study will estimate that ExxonMobil has spent more than $19 million since the late 1990s on a strategy of "information laundering," or enabling a small number of professional skeptics working through scientific-sounding organizations to funnel their viewpoints through non-peer-reviewed websites such as Tech Central Station.

Isn't that awful! ExxonMobil is enabling dissent on the internet! I'm sure that Senators Rockefeller and Snowe will do something about that. We can't have anyone expressing an opinion on the internet that does not agree with the geniuses of the left. Now notice the implied threat:

We would recommend that ExxonMobil publicly acknowledge both the reality of climate change and the role of humans in causing or exacerbating it. Second, ExxonMobil should repudiate its climate change denial campaign and make public its funding history.

And we save the best for last:

Finally, we believe that there would be a benefit to the United States if one of the world's largest carbon emitters headquartered here devoted at least some of the money it has invested in climate change denial pseudo-science to global remediation efforts.

Hmmmmmmm..... I wonder where Jay Rockefeller got his great wealth? His full name is John D. Rockefeller IV, the great-grandson of John D. Rockefeller I, Founder of Standard Oil, which was subsequently busted up into several pieces, one of which was Standard Oil of New Jersey, which eventually changed it's name to...... ExxonMobil!

The hypocrisy of the limousine liberals knows no limits.

The Story of One Victim of Terrorism in Northern Ireland

Our "mainstream media", with their usual bias, have always painted the war in Northern Ireland (Ulster) as a war of liberation fought between irish catholics and the British army. Nothing could be further from the truth. The irish have been fighting a war against the Ulster Scots, most of whom came to Northern Ireland over 400 years ago.

The IRA are one of the bloodiest, most inhuman groups of terrorists in the world. They have often allied themselves with other terrorists worldwide, including the PLO, al Qaeda, and Baader-Meinhof. Many of them celebrated the atrocities of 9/11 and 7/7.

Unfortunately, many Americans do not understand what has been happening in Ulster and have unwittingly provided financial and moral aid to the terrorists. In order to try to fight against the ignorance, I have asked my friend "Alice", who is a fellow Ulster Scot from Belfast, to tell me her story.

I got to know Alice a few years ago over the internet when she graciously offered to help me with the research of my Ulster Scot ancestors. She was born in Belfast and was forced to flee to England in 1981 when she was targeted for assassination by the IRA.

My Grandfather owned a block of five houses in Belfast, one was my family home and Grandfather lived next door. The other three houses he eventually sold off. The house next door to me {they had adjoining walls} was sold to a catholic family and their son-in law put a bomb in it that brought down our house. My Mum, my two sisters and me were out that night but my step-dad was at home with my 9month old baby brother when the bomb went off. My step-dad lifted my brother from his pram and ran outside when he heard a low rumble and a crack ran up the wall, seconds later there was nothing left of our home but rubble.
The Military police brought me home in an army landrover to find I had no home and for a while I didn't know if my family had been killed. We were left with nothing but the clothes we were wearing that night in March 1972.
We were declared homeless and were given emergency public housing. We had to live there for years until we could get financially back on our feet. The only reason that bastard bombed our house was because that catholic family couldn't get it sold quick enough. My Mum was always a good neighbour to them and often had them in for tea! He didn't care if we had been all killed.
From 1969 when the present round of IRA rising broke out, my life was a constant stream of avoiding car bombs and sniper fire going about daily life. One day coming home from school IRA snipers started firing on the Army and a soldier grabbed me by the neck over the barbed wire barricades to safety. The barbed wire ripped open my leg {I still have the scar} but I didn't even feel it or know the blood was poring from the wound through fear.
I eventually married a British soldier and in February 1981 I kept getting phone calls asking what time he would be home. At 5pm the police arrived to give me a gun guard as they had caught an IRA gunman on his way to murder us. On police advice we had to leave Ulster for England within 72 hours as that was how long they could hold the gunman in custody. I never even got time to see goodbye to any of my family and ended up as a refugee in England.
I have a cousin in the police and the IRA found out where he lived, he moved 14 times and they always found out. He was shot and injured one Sunday morning coming out of Church. He eventually blew his head off as they drove him mad.
I could tell you loads more things about things that have happened and people I know who were murdered or injured by the IRA. Never mention my surname as once on a death list your life is always under threat. The IRA don't close their execution book. It always hurt that so many Americans did and still do finance IRA/SinnFein but they have got what they wanted as the Labour Party are also with them all the way and we the Ulster people are the true victims. SinnFein seem to have won the propaganda war against us. Please be careful what you say about them.

This is what this "liberation movement" is up to. They want to murder a young woman in cold blood just because she has the wrong religion and wrong ethnic background.

UN Ambassador John Bolton Resigns

John Bolton has been an excellent ambassador for the USA to the UN. He has stood up to the islamofascists and their servants in europe who want to blame Israel for every bad thing that has ever happened in the world. He has stood up against corruption in the UN. He has been an eloquent spokesman for the USA.

But the Democrats, in their desire to appease the islamofascists, have refused to allow his nomination for UN Ambassador to come to a vote. He would easily be approved by a majority of the senators, but the clowns in the senate foreign relations committee have refused to allow his nomination vote to go to the senate floor. We can also thank Lincoln Chafee, the RINO senator from Rhode Island for conspiring with the Democrats. I am glad he was voted out last month. He might as well be a Democrat.

The tactic that the Democrats are using is the same one they used to prevent many of Bush's judicial appointments. Filibuster the nomination in committee and don't let it go to the floor. And of course, their allies in the media have done little or no reporting on this underhanded tactic.

The Penny Black

The Brits graced us with the first postage stamp in 1840. It was black, cost one penny, and bore the portrait of the young Queen Victoria. The stamp in this pic is the first one added to my collection. It is from plate 10, position I-I. There are a total of twelve plates that the blacks were printed from and each had 240 plate positions. Thus, a complete collection of penny blacks would comprise 2,880 stamps.

Since decent examples from plate 11 cost about $1,000 each, and those from the other plates start at about $100 each, I only need about half a million dollars to complete my collection! Anyone who wants to help me would be most welcome.

The Terrorists of Northern Ireland

The IRA and Sinn Fein are every bit as bad as any islamofascist group, and they are active supporters of the murderers of 9/11 and 7/7. These cowards and baby killers have been taking their problems out on the Ulster Scots of Northern Ireland for the past 400 years. Some useful idiots here in the USA have been supplying the irish catholic terrorists with money and moral support. His Lardness Michael Moore is one of the most prominent supporters of the terrorists.

From IsraCast, we learn that Hamas is adopting the tactics of the IRA. For more information about the continuing atrocities of the IRA, see http://www.victims.org.uk/ and also http://www.upmj.co.uk/ and http://www.iraatrocities.fsnet.co.uk/ .

Ulster Scots Wha Hae!

Brrrr....It's Cold

Winter has descended upon us. My employer is closed today and the roads are too icy to go anywhere. There's nothing to do but blog and laugh at the lunacy of the socialists.

Hey stupids, this cold weather must have been caused by global warming, right? And what about the mild hurricane season. Can we also blame that on CO2 emissions?

At any rate, this weather must be Bush's fault. If only he hadn't stolen the 2000 election, we would be basking in warmth right about now.

More Psychobabble from the Left

Ana Nicolaci da Costa of Reuters has blessed us with a socialist brainfart: Gifts from rich highlight plight of world's poor . Here are just a few of the gems she lays on us:

Analysts say the huge numbers of workers coming into the market through globalization in China and India have driven down wages in rich countries by making their workforce compete with much cheaper labor elsewhere.
At the same time, the upside for wages in poor countries is capped by an infinite pool of labor to choose from.
This helps explain the numbers in the 2005 U.N. Human Development Report, which show the richest 50 individuals in the world have a combined income greater than that of the poorest 416 million and that the unequal distribution of income worsened within many countries in the last 20 years.

First of all Ana, how does driving down wages in rich countries while simultaneously hiring "huge number of workers" in China and India cause the distribution of income to be more unequal? And second of all, where do you get the idea that there is some "cap" on wages in poor countries? Have a look at the Deloitte research report referenced in this article: Rising wages likely to blunt India's BPO edge: Deloitte .

And Ana, in her socialist brilliance, says that economic growth is to blame for the poverty:

Analysts have also said an overriding concern with raw economic growth measures, at the heart of widely accepted business-friendly economic policies, risked widening wealth gaps.

So you think that if we put a brake on economic growth, that will help the poor, right Ana?

The main thing that is holding back the poor of the world are stupid raving moonbats like you, Ana.

Winter Looms on the Horizon

The forecast calls for cold, wintry weather, later this week. It's about time that the season changed and we had a visit from old man winter. Such occasion gives us more time to reflect on the stupidity of the left and those who would take our freedoms away from us.

Don't think for one minute that the USA will always be a free country just because it has been so for 230 years. Freedom requires continuous vigilance and the recognition of the necessity to fight for our liberty.

Those who prefer security over liberty can get themselves and their stupid ideas out of here. They will end up with neither.

Rustic Chic

I found a really cool antique store in Cunningham, Kansas. Bought the old wagonwheel and a copper milk can. It would be really neat to decorate my entire house and grounds with this kind of stuff.

My house sits on 11 acres about halfway between Edmond and Guthrie. My Ulster Scot friend Amy suggested that I call the place Rossdhu of Guthrie.

Let's Take the Word Liberal Back

The word "Liberal" used to mean someone who favored individual liberty and a minimum of government intrusion into people's lives. Now it means someone who favors government control of the economy, restrictions on freedom of speech and religion, government-mandated racial and gender discrimination, and eminent domain expropriation of private property.

Hillary Clinton, Michael Moore, Al Gore, and other moonbats consider themselves "liberals" even though they are about as liberal as the National Socialist German Workers Party. Their use of the word is similar to their use of other Orwellian phrases like "affirmative action".

It's time that those of us who truly believe in liberty take our word back.

PETA: The Ultimate Moonbat Society

The name of the group "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals" sounds really nice, but like many names it is misleading. PETA are a group of terrorists with ties to even more radical groups including the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). The raving moonbats made another appearance in the news today by threatening a church in Alaska.

Here are just a few of the things that PETA want to do:

(1) Outlaw all medical experimentation and testing of lifesaving drugs on animals
(2) Outlaw keeping animals as pets
(3) Outlaw all fur and leather clothing
(4) Outlaw all hunting and fishing
(5) Outlaw all animal husbandry and consumption of meat

And their ultimate in lunacy came when their president Ingrid Newkirk said she wanted a foot and mouth epidemic here in the USA.

I wonder how many member of PETA are Republicans?

Democrats to Pick Crooked Former Judge to Head Intelligence Committee

U.S. Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-Florida) will soon be appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to chair the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Hastings was a U.S. District Court judge, nominated by Jimmy Carter. He solicited bribes from mafia hoods in exchange for light sentences. He was impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate in 1988 by near unanimous votes.

For the Democrats to put Hastings in such a sensitive, important position would be perfectly in character for them. The jackass will probably sell intelligence information to the highest bidder, even if it meant the death of U.S. servicemen or civilians.

The Democrats have been claiming that they will fight corruption in Washington, but their track record on the subject is dismal. Remember Whitewater, Hillary's cattle futures trading, the numerous violations of the campaign finance laws, and the sale of pardons? Democrats are only interested in fighting corruption if it concerns Republicans. It's ok if they do it.

Isn't This Rich?

Marc Chandler, who claims to be global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman and associate professor at NYU, advocates appeasement of the islamofascists in his article An Islamic bond would be a golden opportunity for the US, in yesterday's Financial Times:

The US Treasury should consider issuing a dollar-denominated Islamic bond or sukuk - an act that would signal respect for Islamic law and people and implicitly acknowledge the limitations of military and political strategies.

And here is some of this weasel's rationale behind this ludicrous proposal:

Fund managers in the growing socially responsible investment arena may also be attracted to the high ethical standards that sharia requires.

High ethical standards of sharia? You mean like when they throw a woman in prison or stone her to death because she has been raped? Or when they cut off a baby girl's clitoris with scissors? Or when they ban the practice all other religions, as they do in Saudi Arabia? I would hate to see what this loser Chandler thinks constitute LOW ethical standards.

And by the way, Mark, what about the highest law of the land here in the USA?

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Wouldn't this suckup,....er, sukuk be in violation of the First Amendment? Or is sharia more important to you?

Please excuse me, I need to run to the restroom before I vomit all over my keyboard.

Got a Problem? Get the Government to Fix It!

Now that the socialists are back in power, we hear that one of the first things they want to do is raise the minimum wage. If some people don't earn enough, all we have to do is have the government force their employers to raise their wages, and voila, no more poverty, right?

The beautiful country of Denmark has one of the highest minimum wages in the world at close to $12 per hour. One of their most popular exports are the Legos toys, which many of us had great fun with in our early years. And now Legos is moving all of their manufacturing to the Czech Republic and Mexico.

So, go ahead Democrats. Raise the minimum wage here in the USA. Raise it high enough, and more American jobs will be outsourced to the third world. Or, more illegal aliens will be hired here in the USA. People who are often willing to work off the books for cash, at wages below the minimum.

But why stop at $12 per hour? Why not make it $100?

The Mighty Mite

My niece Amber is the shrunken one on the right. She is only 5' 2" tall but packs a wallop.

Amber recently completed her DDS in San Antonio and is now doing her residency in New York. I am glad that someone is willing to be a dentist, because I would not care to do it.

Like her sister, Amber has had to deal with the tragedies that struck her family in recent years. She handled them with courage and grace.

Their mother and father left this world, way before their time. But they left us with two very talented, intelligent, and determined daughters.

Check out Amber's new blog: Dental Jam.