IRA Terrorist Arrested at Texas Border

Those who advocate open borders should be aware that terrorists can and do try to enter the USA through our porous border with Mexico. But this time our Border Patrol caught a Sinn Fein/IRA terrorist who had escaped from prison in Northern Ireland over two decades ago. He will soon be headed back to prison in the UK.

A Maze escaper has been arrested at a border patrol in the United States, American officials have said.
Paul Brennan was arrested by officers at a border checkpoint in southern Texas on Monday night.
The US Border Patrol said Brennan was now in custody and was awaiting deportation.
It said he had been serving a 23-year prison sentence in Northern Ireland on charges of possessing a bomb and a firearm.

We should never, ever give sanctuary nor support to foreign terrorists. The IRA are the worst of the worst.

Jungle Jim Pulls a Fast One with Bank of America

I am sending those nice people at Bank of America the following letter:

January 29, 2008

Dear Bank of America:

The following information pertains to your account XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX.

IMPORTANT AMENDMENT TO YOUR CREDIT CARD AGREEMENT

Below is an amendment to your Credit Card Agreement that decreases your Annual Percentage Rates (APRs). Please read it carefully. You do not have to accept this amendment. The steps you must take to reject this amendment are described below. You must act promptly to reject this amendment, so please read it now.

ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE DECREASE

Summary: Your account will have fixed APRs that are lower than your current APRs. You may reject this amendment by following the rejection instructions below. I must receive your written response by March 2, 2008.

Amendment:

Effective on the first day following your statement Closing Date in March, 2008:

• Your fixed APR for all outstanding balances will be a fixed ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE of 3.99% (Daily Periodic Rate of 0.010932%).

Rejection Instructions for Annual Percentage Rate Amendment:
If you do not wish to accept this APR increase, you must meet all of the following requirements:

1. Write to me at XXXX XXXX. Clearly print or type your name and full credit card account number and state that you reject this change. You must give notice in writing. It is not sufficient to telephone me.

2. Write to me immediately. I must receive your letter by March 2, 2008 or your rejection of this change will not be effective.

Since they wanted to raise the interest rate to 23.99%, I thought I would lower it to 3.99%. If and when I get a response from them, I will post it here.

Bank of America Tries to Pull a Fast One

Up to this point, I have always had a good working relationship with Bank of America. I had a Visa card with them, with a reasonable interest rate, and also had another unsecured loan from them, that I used to buy my truck. I have made all required payments on time. And now get a load of how these ungrateful bastards have repaid me. I received a letter from them a few days ago. Here are the highlights:

IMPORTANT AMENDMENT TO YOUR CREDIT CARD AGREEMENT

Below is an amendment to your Credit Card Agreement that increases your Annual Percentage Rates (APRs). Please read it carefully. You do not have to accept this amendment. The steps you must take to describe this amendment are described below. You must act promptly to reject this amendment, so please read it now.

Summary: Your account will have variable APRs which are higher than your current APRs. We calculate variable APRs by adding a margin to an index, as described in the variable rate formula set forth in your Credit Card Agreement as amended. As of November 30, 2007 the index was 8.25 percentage points.

Your margin for new and existing Category C balances will be 15.74 percentage points. This currently results in a variable corresponding ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE of 23.99% (Daily Periodic Rate of 0.065726%). Prior to this amendment, the non-promotional APR for Category C was not a variable APR.

Rejection Instructions for Annual Percentage Rate Amendment:
If you do not wish to accept this APR increase, you must meet all of the following requirements:

1. Write to us at FIA Card Services, N.A,, P.O. Box 15565, Wilmington, DE 19850. Clearly print or type your name and full credit card account number and state that you reject this change. You must give notice in writing; it is not sufficient to telephone us. Send this notice only to the address in this paragraph; do not send it with a payment or any other type of customer service request. This mailbox is ONLY for rejection of the Annual Percentage Rate Amendment.

2. Write to us immediately. We must receive your letter by February 19, 2008, or your rejection of this change will not be effective.

3. You must not use your account after February 19, 2008. If you account is used at any time after this date, the above changes will apply to your account even if you sent us timely notice rejecting the change.

Bank of America wants me to switch from a 9.99% fixed rate to a 23.99% variable rate! And this during a time when market interest rates are falling. Needless to say, I immediately wrote the bank and rejected the amendment, and destroyed my Visa card.

But that's not all, folks. If the bank can propose an amendment to our agreement, then so can I.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Anybody Want to Talk Shotguns?

I own three. Each has its pros and cons. Here are my experiences with each.

Pumps:

For many years, my only gun was a Remington 870 Express, 12 gauge pump. It is difficult to beat such a gun in terms of price and reliability. If your budget is limited, one of these may be your best purchase.

My Remington has never jammed or misfired. Cleaning it is easy and it doesn't need much cleaning.

Another advantage is the ability to hold three shells for migratory birds, and five for upland game.

But it does have its disadvantages. This gun is heavy and not well-balanced. Thus, carrying it for a long time can be painful.

And of course, you have to shuck your pump after each round is fired. If you hunt with nothing but a pump, shucking becomes second nature. But I have found that if I switch between my pump and other types, I often forget to shuck it during the excitement of a flushed bird. Also, shucking can be difficult when you are seated or in a confined area such as a duck blind.

Semiautos:

The second gun I purchased was a 20 gauge Browning Gold Hunter. It is a sweet, well-handling gun made with beautiful walnut. This remains my primary hunting gun to this day.

I can get this gun up and swinging through the bird faster than either of my other guns. That's important when you hunt over flushing dogs, as I do. Of course, part of the reason for that is because it is a lighter 20 gauge. More about the 20 vs 12 gauge decision later.

Like my pump, this gun can hold three shells for migratory birds and five for upland game. And best of all, I don't have to shuck it. This is an advantage when hunting in a seated position or in a duck blind. It also makes it easy to switch between this gun and my O/U, since I don't have to remember to shuck.

Another advantage is the recoil. Gas-powered semiautos like the Browning have much lower recoil. It also helps that it is a 20 gauge. I have fired recoil-operated semiautos and have found that they kick just as bad as a double.

Semiautos have big disadvantages. You got to keep them cleaned and lubricated. If not, they will jam and you will miss that pheasant or duck. Disassembling them to clean them is a pain. Last year, I had to replace the piston, after only five years of shooting the gun.

Yet another problem is cold weather. If the temperature drops below 20F, a semiauto will often refuse to cycle, turning it into a single shot. For that reason, I always bring my O/U with me as a backup.

Still, even with all those problem, the Browning is my main hunting gun and I am very pleased with it.

Over and Under Doubles


Last year I bought a Weatherby Orion 12 gauge. It is a very basic O/U. No fancy engraving, but I like it that way. It weighs about the same as my Remington pump, but is much better balanced, so I can carry it longer.

Advantages: Never a problem with jamming. Every time you pull the trigger, it goes BOOM! Very easy to clean. Having two barrels means you can have two different chokes. I usually have improved cylinder and modified chokes. That can be handy when a bird is flying away from you. But often a flushing dog will knock a bird back towards you, which defeats the purpose. My gun does have a barrel selector, but it is on the trigger and I don't feel confident about using it, nor would I usually have the time to do so during the excitement of a flush.

Don't have to shuck it. Don't have to worry about cold weather.

Disadvantage: Only two shots. Kicks like a mule.

Side by Side Doubles:

I don't own one. And I have only limited experience shooting them. But some people definitely love them.

Summary:

Each type of gun has its pros and cons. Dove and duck hunters seem to prefer pumps and semiautos, whereas upland hunters seem to prefer doubles. I like the combination of my Browning semiauto as the main gun with the Weatherby O/U as the backup.

What gauge?

I have very little experience with 10, 16, 28, or .410. I think the big disadvantage of these odd gauges is the small variety of factory-loaded shells available.

For me, 20 gauge does almost everything I need. I do just as well with my 20 gauge on big birds like pheasant and duck as I do with my 12 gauge guns. There are somewhat more variety of factory loaded shells available for 12 gauge, but its not a big advantage. My main beef is I am unable to find target loads in # 7 1/2 for 20 gauge shells.

I think geese and turkey definitely need a 12 gauge. So do deer if you hunt them with a shotgun. But I seldom hunt any of these.

For me, a 20 gauge has some big advantages. Lighter and easier to carry. Easier to get up and swinging through the bird when you have a flush. Easier on the shoulder and easier on the ears.

All these choices to make. If only life were so simple as picking the right gun.

Carthago Delenda Est

Bill Clinton: "Hillary and McCain are Very Close"

As if I needed another reason not to vote for McCain, Bill gives me yet another one

(CNN) — If Hillary Clinton and John McCain become their party's presidential nominees, the general election race is likely to be a love-fest.
At least according to Bill Clinton.
Campaigning in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Friday, the former president brushed aside suggestions his wife would prove to be a divisive nominee for the Democratic Party, pointing out how she has successfully worked with Republicans in the Senate — including one of the current GOP presidential candidates.
"She and John McCain are very close," Clinton said. "They always laugh that if they wound up being the nominees of their party, it would be the most civilized election in American history, and they're afraid they'd put the voters to sleep because they like and respect each other."

Bill, there's no need to keep trying to convince me. I don't want McCain to be president. Nor do I want Hillary. And no, I don't want you to be president again either.

German Physicists: "Atmospheric Greenhouse Effect is a Fictitious Mechanism"

Gerhard Gerlich and Ralf Tscheuschner have written a paper that completely kicks the legs out from under the global warming hoax. Here are some interesting excerpts:

The atmospheric greenhouse effect, an idea that authors trace back to the works of Fourier 1824, Tyndall 1861 and Arrhenius 1896 and is still supported in global warming climatology essentially decribes a fictitious mechanism in which a planetary atmosphere acts as a heat pump driven by an environment that is radiatively interacting with but radiatively equilibrated to the atmospheric system. According to the second law of thermodynamics such a planetary machine can never exist.

What will be the effect of an increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?

It is obvious that a doubling of the concentration of the trace gas CO2, whose thermal conductivity is approximately one half that of nitrogen and oxygen, does change the thermal conductivity [of the atmosphere] at the most by 0.03% and the isochoric thermal diffusivity at the most by 0.07%. These numbers lie within the range of the meauring inaccuracy and other uncertainties such as rounding errors and therefore have no significance at all.

Does atmospheric CO2 cause any warming whatsoever?

Global climatologists claim that the earth's natural greenhouse effect keeps the earth 33 degrees C warmer than it would be without the trace gases in the atmosphere. 80 percent of this warming is attributed to water vapor and 20 percent to the 0.03 volume percent CO2. If such an extreme effect existed, it would show up even in a laboratory experiment involving concentrated CO2 as a heat conductive anomaly. It would manifest itself as a new kind of 'superinsulation' violating the conventional heat conduction equation. However, for CO2 such anomalous heat transport properties have never been observed.

Some more conclusions of the authors

There are no common physical laws between the warming phenomenon in glass houses and the fictitious atmospheric greenhouse effect, which explains the relevant physical phenomena. The terms "greenhouse effect" and "greenhouse gases" are deliberate misnomers.

The temperature rises in the climate model computations are made possible bu a perpetuum mobile [perpetual motion] of the second kind. This is possible by setting the heat conductivity in the atmospheric models to zero, an unphysical assumption.

You heard it correctly. The models developed by the perpetrators of the global warming hoax rely on an assumption of perpetual motion.

Existing Single-Family Home Sales Drop

Not surprisingly, sales of homes have plummeted in many markets:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of existing single-family homes plunged in 2007 by the largest amount in 25 years, closing out an awful year that saw median prices fall for the first time in at least four decades.

The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that sales of single-family homes fell by 13 percent last year, the biggest decline since a 17.7 percent drop in 1982. The median price of a single-family home fell to $217,800 in 2007, down 1.8 percent from 2006.
It marked the first annual price decline on records that the Realtors have going back to 1968. Lawrence Yun, the Realtor's chief economist, said it was likely the country has not experienced a decline in home prices for an entire year since the Great Depression.
Private economists said the size of the sales plunge and the decline in prices underscored the severity of the housing slump. Last week, the government reported that construction of new homes fell by 24.8 percent in 2007, the second biggest decline on record, exceeded only by a 26 percent plunge in 1980.

So why is anyone surprised? How much does a 3 bedroom, 2 bath suburban house on a 1/4 acre lot cost in Boca Raton, San Diego, or Scarsdale? Answer: $500,000 to $1 million, if not more. And how many families make the $200,000 or more per year needed to properly afford such a house? Answer: Very few.

Some people in some parts of the country paid too much for houses. Some businesses made mortgage loans to people who overpaid for such houses. Both groups should have to eat their losses. It is ridiculous for the government to force taxpayers who did not make such poor decisions to bail them out.

What Appears to be Happening?

We started with five mostly-credible candidates for the Republican nomination, plus Ron Paul.

McCain, Giuliani, Huckabee, and Thompson have sort of canceled each other out. Thompson is gone and Huckabee and Giuliani will probably go soon. I think by the time we get to the massive February 5 primaries, it will be Romney versus McCain. And Mitt will be the nominee.

McCain will bitch, moan, and whine, just like he did when he lost the nomination to W in 2000. The old man just can't understand why Republican voters can't appreciate his efforts to muzzle free speech and give amnesty to millions of illegal aliens.

Fred Bails

Fred Thompson has announced he is dropping out of the race for the Republican nomination.

Fred was my first choice for the Republican nominee. Once again, since I don't live in one of the early primary states, my vote has no weight.

Barack and Bill Lock Horns

Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama criticized Bill Clinton today, saying (*gasp*.... better be sitting down when you hear this) that Clinton 'make[s] statements that are not supported by the facts':

Earlier, in an exclusive interview with ABC News' Robin Roberts "Good Morning America" the Illinois senator directly engaged the former Democratic president, calling his advocacy on behalf of his wife's presidential campaign, "troubling."
"You know the former president, who I think all of us have a lot of regard for, has taken his advocacy on behalf of his wife to a level that I think is pretty troubling," Obama said during his first morning television interview since coming in second in Nevada. "He continues to make statements that are not supported by the facts -- whether it's about my record of opposition to the war in Iraq or our approach to organizing in Las Vegas.
"This has become a habit, and one of the things that we're going to have to do is to directly confront Bill Clinton when he's making statements that are not factually accurate," Obama added.

Yes, Barack. Bill and Hillary Clinton lying almost every time they open their mouths has become a habit. But it is a very old habit. And we have the people in the Democrat party and their lackeys in the media to thank for that.

Bill Clinton lied his ass off while he was president. He claimed that the Republicans were 'cutting' Medicare spending when they were actually increasing it. He claimed that interest rates fell during his administration when they actually increased.

And whenever Republicans have complained about the repeated falsehoods, the Clintons and their useful idiots have usually resorted to their red herring defense: Monica Lewinsky. They will say something like 'yes, Bill lied about Monica but everyone lies about sex', or something like that, in order to dismiss the complaints about lies concerning more substantial issues like Medicare.

As a result of the pass you have given him, the Clintons feel confident about lying about anything and everything. You Democrats created this monster, and now you will have to deal with it.

Blair accused of 'stabbing Hillary Clinton in the back' after supporting Republicans

Those poor Democrats are getting snippy about Tony Blair

Tony Blair was accused of betrayal last night as he waded into the American Presidential campaign to support George Bush's Republican world view.
As the former PM recommended Mr Bush's policies to 400 millionaire bankers in Las Vegas, former ally Bill Clinton was campaigning in Nevada for his wife Hillary, who hopes to be the Democratic candidate for the White House and is an arch Bush critic.
In a move liable to be interpreted as a stab in the back for Hillary's campaign, Mr Blair – who was paid £125,000 for his 35-minute speech – said: "George Bush is an amazingly strong and steady President...which is what America and the world needs."
Last night Labour backbencher Jeremy Corbyn said: "A week ago Mr Blair travelled to France to praise the Right-wing President of France and this week he travels to the USA to support the Republicans.
"Is there no end to the extremes he will go to?"
Mr Blair's office denied that his comments were an attack on Mrs Clinton.

So why isn't Tony out there campaigning for Hillary, like a good socialist? Perhaps because he has worked with the Clintons as well as with Bush, and he knows who can and who cannot be trusted.

Fly-by of Mercury

NASA unmanned spacecraft Messenger is beginning its first fly-by of Mercury this week. Photos can be seen at Popular Mechanics.

Suzanne Pleshette: 1937 - 2008

A stunningly beautiful woman has left us. Rest in peace.

Dems Can't Ignore White Working Class

So says E. J. Dionne. But they probably will, as they have for decades.

Dionne laments the drop in real wages for high school graduates:

"Working class" seems an antique term, but it still exists, more now in the service industries than in manufacturing. Demographers often use education levels as a surrogate for class position, and the last three decades have not been kind to Americans who are not college graduates.
For white male high school grads, average wages stood at $18.44 an hour in 1979. They dropped to $16.06 an hour in 1995. There was then a brief upturn -- wages for such men hit $17.49 in 2002 -- but by 2006, their earnings had fallen to $17.31 an hour. (These numbers are in constant 2006 dollars.)
White female high school graduates have gained ground, but their wages have recently stagnated too. In 1979, such women earned $11.75 an hour. Their wages peaked at $13.42 in 2003, but dropped to $13.08 in 2006. Similar patterns, at somewhat higher wage levels, are visible over the years for men and women who attended college but didn't graduate.

So have either Clinton or Obama made any serious efforts to put a stop to illegal immigration, which threatens to drive wages for unskilled labor down to third world levels? Not that I have heard.

And of course, both Clinton and Obama favor racial discrimination against white working class people for college admissions, hring and promotion, and government contracts. Even more interesting is the fact that often a member of a minority group who comes from a privileged background will be given preference over working class whites. Examples include all four of Congressman William Jefferson's daughters, who were all admitted to Harvard Law School, likely over much more highly qualified whites.

I always chuckle to myself when hearing lefties lament the fact that many working class whites have voted for Reagan or Bush. They can't understand why someone doesn't want to vote for a politician who promises to discriminate against them because of their skin color or gender!

More Racist Crap from the Duke Rape Hoax Case

The three gentlemen of the Duke lacrosse team who were falsely accused and indicted for rape in 2006 are suing Nifong, the City of Durham, and several other people including some of the police officers who participated in the frame-up. One of the defendants they are suing is David Addison, the police spokesman who made numerous false and inflammatory statements against the three lacrosse players.

Addison has filed a motion to dimiss and in his memorandum, his attorney has the following to say:

[Plaintiffs accuse David Addison of] 2) engaging in a consipracy constituting an obstruction of justice to deny the Plaintiffs equal protection and/or their equal privileges and immunities based upon alleged racial animus in violation of the 4th and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution and 42 U.S.C 1985(2)(3)

That's exactly what happened. The lacrosse players were falsely accused because they are white and the liar Crystal Mangum is black. Had the players been black, or the liar white, most of us would never have heard of this case. The attorney for Addison goes on to say that the cause of action is not valud because

In addition to the specificity requirements of section 1985 claims, it is required that the Plaintiffs be members of a protected class and subject to animus as a result of being members of that class. In this case, such a requirement applies to both the equal protection and equal privileges and immunities claims asserted by the Plaintiffs. Griffin v. Breckinridge (1971); Bey v. Celebration Station (2006). White male students at Duke University do not fall within any recognized protected class. As noted by the Fourth Circuit, the only protected class for section 1985(3) claims are those who are African American.

I am not an attorney, so I don't know if Addison's attorney is correct. But if he is, then the law should be changed. It is patently racist and unfair to give special protections to members of one race while denying them to another race, especially with regards to the false and malicious prosecution of innocent people.

And why hasn't Crystal Mangum been prosecuted for making false statements to police investigators? If Martha Stewart can do prison time for supposedly lying about her insider trading, why can't Crystal be prosecuted for lying about a much more egregious matter? This is yet another example of a racial double-standard.

How Not to Become President

Ever notice how the vice-presidential candidate of the losing ticket often assumes he is the nation's Anointed One, and tries to assert his entitlement to the oval office four years later? Unfortunately for him, the voters deny him his birthright:

1968 Loser: Edmund Muskie. Ran in 1972 and lost the Democrat nomination to George McGovern

1972 Loser: R. Sargent Shriver. Ran in 1976 and lost the Democrat nomination to Jimmy Carter

1976 Loser: Bob Dole. Ran in 1980 and lost the Republican nomination to Ronald Reagan

1980 Loser: Walter Mondale. Ran in 1984. Received the Democrat nomination and lost the general election to Ronald Reagan.

1984 Loser: Geraldine Ferraro. Did not run in 1988.

1988 Loser: Lloyd Bentsen. Did not run in 1992.

1992 Loser: Dan Quayle. Did not run in 1996.

1996 Loser: Jack Kemp. Did not run in 2000.

2000 Loser: Joe Lieberman. Ran in 2004 and lost the Democrat nomination to John Kerry.

2004 Loser: John Edwards. Running for 2008 Democrat nomination. Looks like he will learn the hard way.

It looks like Geraldine, Lloyd, Dan, and Jack recognized the futility but then Joe and John forgot. Will whoever loses in 2008 try to be president in 2012? Probably.

I didn't know they had Hula Hoops back in 1890?

knife-Honk Files for Bankruptcy

Former Durham County DA Mike Nifong has filed for bankruptcy

Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Nifong, the former North Carolina district attorney who unsuccessfully prosecuted Duke University lacrosse players for rape, sought bankruptcy protection from creditors including the athletes.
Nifong, listed debt of $180.3 million and assets of $243,898 in documents filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Durham, North Carolina. The prosecutor stepped down last year. North Carolina officials stripped him of his law license for unethical conduct in the 2006 investigation of the allegations against the players.
The three former players who had rape charges against them dropped sued Nifong in federal court in Durham in October. Collin Finnerty, David F. Evans and Reade Seligmann were listed as unsecured creditors each owed $30 million.
``This looks like a smart move for Mr. Nifong,'' said Charles ``Chuck'' Tatelbaum, a Florida bankruptcy lawyer who has represented doctors who have used Chapter 11 to protect themselves from the fallout of lawsuits.
If a bankruptcy judge decides that the prosecution was willful and malicious, the debt to the players would not be erased under federal bankruptcy law.

Mikey's got assets of $243 thousand and debts of $180 million? He's a financial wizard!

OMG This is Soooooooooo Nice!

Sometimes good things do happen:

KOKOMO, Ind. — A man accidentally shot himself in the groin as he was robbing a convenience store, police said.
A clerk told police a man carrying a semiautomatic handgun entered the Village Pantry Tuesday morning demanding cash and a pack of cigarettes. The clerk put the cash in a bag and as she turned to get the cigarettes, she heard the gun discharge.
Surveillance video shows the man shooting himself as he placed the gun in the waistband of his pants, police said. The clerk wasn't injured.
A short time later, police found 25-year-old Derrick Kosch at a home with a gunshot wound to his right testicle and lower left leg. He was expected to have surgery at a hospital.
Police plan to charge him with armed robbery.

Got some pain in your pants, Derrick? Serves you right.

Say it Ain't So!

Could it be that enforcing the immigration laws is a good idea? Some say it is idiotic. Here are the results of the efforts by the Tulsa County Sheriff's office

Some people think it's a federal issue, but so is robbing a bank. You just don't ignore it when you see it happening, if you are law enforcement,” said Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz, who has 30 officers dually trained in enforcing federal immigration law. Since July, when training was completed, his department has been delivering an average of 85 illegal immigrants per month to the Department of Homeland Security for deportation.
Arrests made by Tulsa County Sheriff's deputies have resulted in a decline in the jail population of about seven percent, or 100 inmates. Glanz says federal immigration law gives him an additional tool to get undesirables off the street.
"We are identifying and removing what we call frequent flyers, people we consider major criminals,” Glanz said, adding that he has been surprised by hesitation from other law enforcement agencies.
"I don't think they understand the implications on the community of having a strong underbelly of illegal aliens. They end up working a lot of domestic violence cases, a lot of drug cases and shootings they wouldn't have to if they would just enforce immigration laws,” Glanz said. "When you have a bunch of illegals in a community, it spawns other types of criminal activity; it helps create an environment where that criminality can exist.”
One recent driving under the influence stop got Enrique Martinez-Mejia, a convicted sex offender from California, off the street. Mejia was originally booked under the name Salvador Sanchez-Espinoza, because he presented deputies with fraudulent documents to that effect. Mejia had tattooed dates for 10 of the last 14 years of his life, spent in prison in Chino, Calif. He has been deported from the United States, Glanz said.

Not surprising. Illegal aliens are, by definition, lawbreakers. Some of them might obey the other laws, but many will not.

Sourpuss

Why is that Hillary always looks like she just swallowed a lemon?

Bilious Brits Blowing Beets

The latest UK fad: Projectile vomiting.

Hillary: No Woman is Illegal

Translation: Only men can be illegal.

How about Some Renoir?

I have such fondness for the impressionist painters that I decided to go with Renoir for the Provocateur Galleries this time.

But one subject you won't see much of are Renoir's nudes. Not that I have anything against his portrayals of the bare female form. It is more his choice of models. I am not such a big fan of the Rubenesque look as he was.

Gold Hits Record Highs

The spot price of gold bullion recently broke the record price of $850 per troy ounce set back in January, 1980.

But that's just the nominal price record that has been broken. After adjusting for inflation, gold would have to go to about $2,300 per ounce to reach a record real price.

Hillary Claims to be the Savior of Ireland

Not content to be the future Queen of the USA, Hillary is now claiming to be the broker of the peace settlement in Northern Ireland

"And for the first time they actually saw each other not as caricatures or stereotypes, but as human beings who actually had common experiences as mothers and wives and people," Clinton said. "One of the reasons why I'm running for president is to be constantly reaching out to try to bring people together to resolve conflicts and not let them fester and get worse."
In her book, Clinton describes hearing very similar sentiments from Protestant and Catholic women in Belfast in 1995. The difference: The women were already peace activists, not enemies who didn't recognize their shared humanity. "Because they were willing to work across the religious divide, they had found common ground," she wrote.
The story she told Saturday took place at Belfast's city hall, while the story in her book took place in a fish restaurant.
Her book does describe an event at Belfast City Hall on the same trip, a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony with President Clinton. Afterward, she said, leaders of the various factions stayed on separate sides of the room.
John O'Farrell, a former journalist from Northern Ireland who covered Clinton's visits there, said in a telephone interview that she promoted the involvement of women in politics and in the peace process, but he doubted that she had met with enemies who otherwise would not have spoken to each other. Rather, he said, she was working with people who were already promoting peace.
"Her heart was always in the right place, no one doubted that," said O'Farrell, who edited a magazine and did some freelance reporting for the Globe. "But the idea of her bringing together fiercely opposed combatants is a considerable exaggeration."

Here are the recollections of an Irish Protestant of the Clinton's 1995 visit:

I decided to go home for a visit. It happened to coincide with the Clinton visit in November 1995. I don't think I would have bothered going into Belfast to see the " IRA loving" Clintons but we had never seen an American President before.
It felt exciting with the Tv showing live coverage of his arrival and the Christmas Tree at Belfast City Hall had been donated from America.
Not many people on the Unionist Protestant side cared much for the Clintons or the Democrats as we knew they were Irish Catholic biased and never seemed to listen to our side.
Belfast was pretty crowded when we got there and the American security stood out a mile as they were all wearing long coats and were so tall and lots of them were Black which is a pretty rare sight in Northern Ireland!
Most of the crowds would have been Irish Catholic. Lots of street traders were selling two finger signs that lit up in red,white and blue, I bought one! {This is for the two-fingered salute many Irish Protestants gave the Clintons. A symbol of contempt similar to the more common middle finger}.
After waiting for ages Bill Clinton lit the Christmas Tree and gave a speech.
There was the usual Protestant child and catholic child brought out to read poems but at his reception in the City Hall the Unionist MPs and Sinn Fein/SDLP MPs wouldn't stand near each other or speak.
At other venues the Clintons were only met with Irish Catholics waving Irish Tricolours. Our Mps complained about their biased behaviour many times. They also attended other staged events.
In one of the towns was an effigy of Bill Clinton in a cage-to keep him away from Ulster women as he is a well known womaniser.
The comments in the Boston paper are correct she did not do anything to bring people together as the people she met were not enemies of each other.
The people of Northern Ireland are still "not together". There might not be any more car bombs but that is down to Tony Blair and his total appeasement of Sinn Fein. They don't need to kill to get what they want anymore,they can do what they like.
Banks still get robbed,people still get beaten and murdered but Sinn Fein are now above the law. Can't upset "the Peace process" by arresting any sinn fein/ira member.
Giving in to terrorism has collapsed the rule of law in Nothern Ireland, now there is no law for the {ex}terrorist but lots of law for everyone else.
It makes me cry that SinnFein are now ruling the country. Always remember, leopards never change their spots!
Keep another Clinton out of the White House.

If anything, the Clintons exacerbated the problems between Protestants and Catholics. Reminds me of when the PIAPS gave Suha Arafat a big kiss, right after the terrorist gave a speech denouncing the Israelis as baby killers.

In the Big Easy

Sorry about the hiatus. I am spending a few days in Nawlins. And having a gas. Regular posting will resume tomorrow.

Socialist Venezuela Still Sucking Air

Even though Venezuela is sitting on top of some of the world's largest oil reserves. And even though oil prices are record highs, their oil revenue has actually decreased over the last two years:

Vittorio Hernandez - AHN News Writer
Caracas, Venezuela (AHN) - Venezuela's oil industry shrank by 5.3 percent in 2007, according to the nation's Central Bank. In 2007 it contributed only $3.14 billion to the country's gross domestic product.
That was in sharp contrast to previous years when the oil industry yielded $3.3 billion (7.10 trillion bolivares) in 2006 and $3.38 billion (7.25 trillion bolivares) in 2005.
But despite the declining share of the oil industry Venezuela's economy still grew by 8.4 percent in 2007. The dip in oil contribution was made up by the non-oil sector which had a 9.7 percent growth.
The downtrend in oil revenues took place despite a 16 percent hike in the average basket price for Venezuelan crude oil. The price of crude climbed to $65.13 per barrel in 2007 from $56.35 per barrel in 2006.
Venezuela's oil industry is wracked by corruption and internal dissent. According to Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez, who serves concurrently as president of state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela, the company cannot hire enough rigs and that has resulted in a decline in oil production.

Is anyone surprised they can't hire enough rigs? What is surprising is that any foreign companies are doing business there at all, knowing that Thugo Chavez will likely steal their assets.

And now we learn that Thugo's central bank has devised a plan to reduce the high inflation rate: lop three zeros off the bolivar!

Venezuela is launching a new currency with the new year, lopping off three zeros from denominations in a bid to simplify finances and boost confidence in a money that has been losing value due to high inflation.
President Hugo Chavez's government says the new currency - dubbed the "strong bolivar" - will make daily transactions easier and cure some accounting headaches.
Officials also say it is part of a broader effort to contain rising prices and strengthen the economy.
"We're ending a historical cycle of ... instability in prices," Finance Minister Rodrigo Cabezas said, adding that the change aims to "recover a bolivar that has significant buying capacity."
Prices have risen as Chavez has pumped increased amounts of the country's oil income into social programmes, reinforcing his support among the poor and helping to drive 8.4% economic growth in 2007.
The Central Bank is promoting the new monetary unit with an ad campaign and the slogan: "A strong economy, a strong bolivar, a strong country."
Officials, however, have yet to clearly spell out their anti-inflationary measures.
Some Venezuelan critics, meanwhile, have dubbed the new currency the "weak bolivar", noting its predecessor, the bolivar, has seen its purchasing power suffer in an economy where inflation ran roughly 20% in 2007 - the highest in Latin America.
Venezuelan economist and pollster Luis Vicente Leon said that while the new currency may provide "the perception of stability" for some, it is largely a "cosmetic change".
Government officials say the change is overdue to bring Venezuelan denominations into line with those of other countries in the region. Instead of denominations in the thousands, the largest new Venezuelan note will be 100 strong bolivars.

Yeah, that's gonna work real well, Thugo. Just like your nationalization of foreign oil company assets managed to decrease your oil revenue during a period when oil prices have skyrocketed.

And there are many leftwing idiots, of the Michael Moore/Cindy Sheehan/Dennis Kucinich/Ralph Nader variety, who believe that Thugo's policies are good ideas.

2008 !!!