Some People Just Live For Public Service...

Like the selfless bugger in this picture, volunteering his time to offer free mammogram screenings. Courtesy of Grouchy Old Cripple.

Give 'til it hurts, man.

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"Mad Max" fans arrested for staging movie scene re-creation...

Newsday has the story. Apparently eleven fans of the film traveling in a theatrical convoy and armed with fake machine guns were arrested as they surrounded a tanker truck along the side of the highway. They were on their way to a movie marathon.

As the group headed to San Antonio on Saturday, police received several calls from drivers who reported a "militia" surrounding a tanker truck.

Police charged nine people with obstruction of a highway and two others with possession of prohibited knives in addition to the obstruction charge.

One of the organizers, Chris Fenner, said the arrests were unfair. He said he didn't know why anyone would have confused the costumed crew recreating a scene from "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior" -- set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland -- with a real threat.

"I honestly don't know how that could be, because 'Road Warrior' was so over the top," he said.

OK, so this fella doesn't understand why a bunch of guys dressed as post-apocalyptic nomads armed with what are probably real-looking firearms surrounding a tractor-trailer would make some of the locals a little nervous?

Hat Tip: NealeNews

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Whose afraid of the big, bad "Hill"?

Jay Cost of Redstate.org has a great op-ed in the Wall Street Journal's Opinionjournal.com today about the "overestimating" of Hillary Clinton as a Presidential hopeful.

"I have never understood this. Where do her political credentials come from? It seems to me that she was a great supporting player to a good (though highly overrated) politician. She played the part of the forgiving, intelligent, driven wife with great effectiveness. When she takes center stage, however, the results are quite mixed. She botched health-care reform so badly that President Clinton got absolutely nothing from a Democratic Congress. She coined the term "vast right-wing conspiracy"--guaranteeing that conservatives everywhere would curse her existence until the end of time. She did win that New York Senate seat, but that, to my mind, was pretty unimpressive. She beat latecomer Rick Lazio, who was not a formidable candidate, to say the least (the word "sophomoric" comes to mind)."

While I'll admit she needs be taken seriously and will very likely end up with the nomination in 2008, I heartily agree with Jay that she is a horrible politician.

"There is nothing subtle about her strategic positioning. Not a thing. Everybody talks about Hillary's political calculations not because they are brilliant but because they are obvious, because everything about Hillary screams "political calculation." There is nothing organic to her politics; it all seems artificial."

Which is exactly why her negatives in almost every poll - including Scott Rasmussen's "Hillary-Meter" - are so high. Even her supporters can see what a phony she is.

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NBC's Chip Reid Speculates on DeLay Story: Some in MSM want to "take this guy down"...

This morning on my commute in to work, I was listening to WFAN, which broadcasts the Don Imus show. Imus' guest was NBC and MSNBC correspondent Chip Reid. They were discussing the DeLay situation and the host made a passing comment about how it seems like the usual suspects always seem to line up on an attack like this.

Reid responded (and I am paraphrasing here) - "I almost hestitate to say this. But I think there are a few members of the Main Stream Media who would very much like to be the one who takes this guy down. And that's a dangerous path for any person in the media to take - trying to 'take someone down'."

Now I'm sure Reid would be the first person to qualify his remark as meaning that the MSM sees DeLay as a target because he is some "big name politico" and not just because he is a Republican, but I aint' buying it.

If anyone could find a transcript from this morning's show (which is simulcast on MSNBC), please add the link to the comments section or email me and I will add it to this post.

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Why They Hate DeLay...

Jeffrey Bell in The Weekly Standard sums it up nicely: because says what he means, means what he says and he's not intimidated by Democrats.

"The truth is that Tom DeLay is a special target because he is the first legislative power broker to be an authentic Red State conservative. He is an unhyphenated Reaganite: militantly pro-life and pro-values on social issues, a pro-growth tax cutter on economic issues, and an unapologetic, spread-American-values interventionist abroad. In the years since the GOP's congressional realignment victory of 1994, no other GOP leader in either the House or Senate fully fits this description."

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Bob Livingston: Defending Delay...

Last week it was reported that former Congressman Bob Livingston was approached by the New York Times to run an op-ed piece commenting on the current attacks on Tom DeLay. Livingston had his own situation where he ended resigning in the face of a personal scandal.

Livingston said he'd write a column supporting DeLay, but the Times then refused. It seems all they wanted was a noted Republican to call for Delay to resign.

Well, Livingston did write his editorial - a strong endorsement of DeLay supporting him in the face of this MSM smear campaign.

DeLay has been the most effective majority leader of either party in the last half century. Even with the razor-thin margins he has had to work with, when was the last time he lost a vote? His understanding of the intricacies of redistricting is legendary. The only person I know who came close was Rep. John Burton, a liberal Democrat from California whose groundbreaking use of computerized gerrymandering in the 1970s was considered clever and praiseworthy by many of the same voices who condemn DeLay for the same talents. And on a personal note, DeLay is an honorable, compassionate human being who does not deserve the current treatment he gets from much of the media.

The whole piece is here in Human Events online

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Protest Warrior fools the "fools" at Time...

Time Magazine is featuring Ann Coulter on the cover this week. And the Time website has what they identify as a picture of "protesters" against her at the GOP convention last year. But if you look closely at the photo, it is actually of a group of guys from Protest Warrior and another bunch called "Communists For Kerry" who are, in fact, goofing on the real protesters.

Bwaahaahaaaahaaa! Nice one guys. Do your homework next time!

Kudos to Viking Pundit for linking the photo.

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Proposal in Illinois to restrict ultrasounds...

Pro-abortion advocates are pushing a bill that would prohibit ultrasounds without a doctor's orders. Why? A parent (or parent-to-be) that sees a baby in the womb is hard pressed to argue that it is only a "fetus".

Technology has even created 3D ultrasounds that allow a much clearer image much earlier in a pregnancy. This kind of puts a kink in the old "it's only a clump of cells" argument.

Michelle Malkin links the story from the Illinois Leader and quotes Junkyard Blog, who weighs in:

"Why would Planned Parenthood, an industry leader that aborts children and makes millions doing it, care a bit about the safety of children in the womb? Simple. It's hard to see an ultrasound and remain pro-choice. Once you see that your potentially aborted wad of tissues has fingers, toes, eyes and a nose and all the rest it becomes a person in your mind, and that makes you less likely to become one of Margaret Sanger's company's customers."

For Planned Parenthood, and other groups that push abortion, ultrasounds are bad for business. As of now the bill has passed the Illinois House.

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Flaming Shot Goes Horribly Wrong...

Ace of Spades links this post from Alarming News. First of all, I want to know - what moron invented the "flaming shot" and how did this idea catch on?

Kids, this is what happens when you kill one too many brain cells. Warning, the clip isn't sickening or anything but it's a bit disturbing.

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New To The Blogroll...

Under "Right-Thinking Blogs", I've added:
Dagney' Rant
Dummocrats
Evil White Guy's Blog
Insane Troll Logic
Moonbat Central
Sweet Spirits of Ammonia &
The Templar Pundit

Two New "New Englandahs":
Anchor Rising from Rhode Island and another former Democrat "mugged by reality", Neo NeoCon

Ryan S. of Jokers To The Right has another blog: Trimming The Fat, which is now also listed among "The Blue State Conservatives"

Two New "Kids", The Politicker and Fresh Tasty Ideas (the latter isn't exactly a kid, but he is a student...for his Ph.d)

I've created a new section called "New Finds" for blogs I'm keeping an eye on. The first listing is On The Wire.

Also, I have added a couple of links under the "Think Tanks, Political Organizations & Resources" section:

Scott Rasmussen's Polling Site (which features the "Hillary Meter") and Economics In One Easy Lesson. This last one is a link to a .pdf file of a publication of that name by . Other than Thomas Sowell, I've never read such a clear, concrete explanation of good economics versus bad economics. Absolutely worth you time to read the whole thing.

Welcome aboard, gang!

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Time is running out on the judicial nominations...

Captain Ed has a really good rationale for aggressively moving forward on Bush's judicial picks.

Some argue that waiting a few more weeks or even months -- or even until next year's election -- will not make much of a difference and may convince more waverers to support the rule change. I feel this is incorrect. The Senate GOP received a tremendous mandate for the end of Democratic obstructionism in November 2004, and the more time that elapses between then and an eventual rule-change attempt, the less likely the centrists will keep that mandate in mind. The Exempt Media will work over the proposal to make it sound more and more extreme, as it already did this week when Bill Frist discussed it with religious leaders like James Dobson. The more that happens, the more trepidation centrists will feel about ending filibusters and being seen as siding with so-called "extremists".

He also discusses how this whole process may act as a deterrent to getting good folks on the bench in the future.

Given this humiliating process, the motivation for accepting a nomination to the federal bench has dimmed considerably. The Democrats have the knives out for everyone proposed for federal appellate seats, and the GOP won't lift a finger to defend them.

Read the whole post here.

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Promises, Promises...

OK, so Novak has the "inside scoop" that Bill Frist and the GOP Senators can muster the necessary votes to stop this filibuster horse-hockey.

I've heard this so many times before I want to puke. But I put a lot of stock in Robert Novak. Apparently Olympia Snowe of Maine and Lincoln (I'm famous 'cuz of my daddy) Chafee of RI will not vote for the "constitutional option". Nor, as we know by now, will John McCain.

That still leaves 52 Republican Senators on the reservation. They only need 50 (Cheney presiding over the Senate could cast the tie-breaking vote). And according to Novak, NE Senator Ben Nelson, a Democrat, may be persuadable to vote with us. So what's the deal, McFly? Are you in or are you out?

Is this actually going to happen? Stay tuned.

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Blair, Labour Pull Ahead In Recent Polling...

The spread between Britain's Labour party and the Tories is anywhere from one to ten points, depending on the poll you look at. If this trend continues, or even holds, Tony Blair is headed to a third term as Prime Minister.

Personally, I have little use for Labour which stands for nothing more than an increase of the power of the UK's "nanny-State" but I am on record as endorsing Blair for PM for another term. This post explains why.

The BBC tracking polls has Labour at 38%, Conservatives at 33%, and the Liberal Democrats at 22% as of April 15. With just under three weeks to go until the May 5th Parliamentary elections, Tony Blair looks to be in good shape to stay put.

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If it's Saturday it must be time for the Diane Lane Photo of the Week...

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Canadian Blog Site SHUT DOWN By Court Order...

Yes, you read that right. Calgary's Chief of Police, Jack Beaton siezed a computer from a private home that belonged to a blogger who was critical of him and his staff. A sweeping gag order was also issued to all those involved in the case.

NealeNews links the story from CBC News. Russ Brown, a Canadian legal expert at the University of Alberta says:

[T]he method Beaton used "is the most extraordinary civil remedy that can be issued pretrial."

But the fact remains that this remedy is legal in Canada because its citizens have no guaranty of their freedom of speech. And apparently even local government officials have this authority.

Here is the content of the website in question: Angry In The Great White North. Scary stuff.

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New Study: Drinking increases pleasure of smoking...

OK, anyone who's ever smoked would put this under the category of "DUH!". As reported in the U.K. Telegraph, scientists have recently completed a study on drinking and smoking and have come to an obvious conclusion:

Contrary to a previous theory that nicotine offsets the sedative effects of drinking, they believe that alcohol increases the amount of the chemical messenger dopamine released in "reward" areas of the brain and therefore increases the enjoyment gained from smoking.

Now I admit - freely - that at one time I was (gasp) a "social" smoker. In my early Twenties, I used to hang out with the people I worked with at the local watering hole. And after a beer or two, I would "bum" a smoke off of someone.

Well, if you believe this report, something must have clicked in my brain on those occasions because before I knew it I was buying my own cigarettes. For about two years I would smoke about a pack or so a day. Damn that alcohol!!

Look, alcohol and nicotine are both drugs. They both throw your system for a loop. So it stands to reason that - combined - they add up to a good time. Luckily for me, at about the time I met my wife, I decided to quit - cold turkey. And now I am one of the biggest anti-smoking bastards there is.

Unluckily for me, Gandalf still likes his beer. But hey, ditching one out of two bad habits is - as Bill Murray said in the movie "Kingpin" - "still, very good."

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METS WIN!!

The NY Mutts have hit the .500 mark! Yes, Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus!

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Join me, little one...

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Damn! Wal-Mart doesn't take Republic Credits?!?

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Iraqis dig up the remains of 5,000 more of Saddam's countrymen...

Okay, so Iraq wasn't riddled with WMD's (they're all in Syria right now). But here's another reason why that country - and the region - is better off without that SOB sitting comfortably in his Presidential palace. Since the Baathists have scattered, mass graves have been unearthed to show the remains of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis that the Butcher of Baghdad had murdered.

The graves, discovered over the past three months, have not yet been dug up because of the risks posed by the continuing insurgency and the lack of qualified forensic workers, said Bakhtiar Amin, Iraq's interim human rights sinister. But initial excavations have substantiated the accounts of witnesses to a number of massacres. If the estimated body counts prove correct, the new graves would be among the largest in the grim tally of mass killings that have gradually come to light since the fall of Mr. Hussein's government two years ago. At least 290 grave sites containing the remains of some 300,000 people have been found since the American invasion two years ago, Iraqi officials say.

When his trial is over, I hope he gets hanging by piano wire. Or better yet, he should be locked in a room with over a hundred family members of people he has had liquidated until he stops breathing.

Isn't it wonderful that these atrocities don't make the evening news? Maybe the MSM thinks that if they bury these stories that they can make Saddam a sympathetic figure during the trials.

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