Just how lazy are the French?

And just when my utter disdain for France was beginning to soften because of the French News Hottie below.

BullDogPundit finds a story about how "workers" in France are pissing and moaning about working another 1 minute and 52 seconds per day. Seriously. Go check out this absolutely unbelievable story.

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Okay, maybe France isn't 100% bad...

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Caption This! Alert...

Go check it out. Hilarious!

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"Washington Insiders" handicap the 2008 GOP candidates...

Blue State Conservatives passes along a tip from Hugh Hewitt (scroll down to third item) about an article with a poll from "Washington insiders" picking their favorites for the 2008 GOP Presidential candidate. The poll, courtesty of Boston.com, doesn't give a party breakdown (or any details for that matter) of the respondents. But the results were interesting:

• Sen. George Allen (VA) - #1
• Sen. John McCain (AZ) - #2
• Sen. Bill Frist (TN) - #3
• former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani - #4

Obviously McCain can throw in the towel and Frist is skating on thin ice with the whole judicial nomination issue, but the fact that Allen is number one surprises me. While he is my favorite, I wouldn't think too many inside-the-beltway folks would have picked him. Could be an indication of how well he has networked himself at this point.

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Attaaaaaaack of the Killer Burritos...

Yep, this one should make the rounds this weekend. Glenn Reynolds links the story: School Mistakes Huge Burrito for a Weapon.

Someone called authorities Thursday after seeing a boy carrying something long and wrapped into Marshall Junior High.

The drama ended two hours later when the suspicious item was identified as a 30-inch burrito filled with steak, guacamole, lettuce, salsa and jalapenos and wrapped inside tin foil and a white T-shirt.

"I didn't know whether to laugh or cry," school Principal Diana Russell said.

Well, at least he didn't consume the burrito. Aftershocks from the digestive process could have been classified as a WMD.

UPDATE 12:15pm
I knew it. A Technorati search revealed over 15,000 blogs with a post with the word "burrito". I've scrolled through a good portion of the list and EVERY one of them has to do with this story.

But the best quote comes from Allan "The Skipper" from BMEWS:

"I simply cannot add anything to this asshat activity. I am awestruck at the lunacy of most people anyway. This “incident” only serves as an example. After we secure our borders, run all the illegal Mexicans out, remove all those “dial dos for Espanol” phone menus .... we need to burn down all the Taco Bells and teach our kids to eat more hamburgers again. No one ever istook a Double Whopper for an AK-47, have they? I rest my case."

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Diane Lane Photo of the Week...

Looks like I should have opened the voting earlier. The late-night horn-dogs won out.

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The interactive portion of the show...

Anyone who has read this page more than once knows that Saturday is "Diane Lane Photo of the Week" day. I'm going to let readers decide. Should tomorrow's photo be a) sexy, b) cute or 3) classic beauty.

You can vote either by posting a comment on this thread or send me an email. Majority rules. Voting closes at 7:00am tomorrow morning.

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Quote of the WEEK...

From Neil Boortz, syndicated Conservative Radio Personality, rabid libertarian and funny S.O.B.:

"OK, so Tom Cruise has a new girlfriend. BFD. The very fact that this is such a huge news item is a symbol of the pathetic celebrity culture that infects our nation. By the end of the weekend more people will be able to tell you the name of Cruise's new girlfriend (Katie something-or-other) than the name of both of their U.S. Senators."

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The Darth Side Blog...

Oh, this is just too good not to share: Darth Vader's blog. Thanks to Viking Pundit for the link.

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Australian farmers create human land-fill...

A group of Australian farmers are opening a "feet-first" graveyard as a no-fuss alternative to traditional burials.

The eco-friendly cemetery will bury the deceased vertically to save space and in bio degradable bags in a field to be used later as pasture.

I don't know about you but I think there's something particularly creepy about this idea. Seems too much like a "mass grave". And then, over time, they just kind of forget about you. No thanks.

Bodies will be stored in a morgue in Melbourne and buried in batches of 12 to 15 in three-metre pre-drilled holes.

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Democrats Scorn Frist Offer on Filibusters...

Just as expected, Harry Reid and the gang have turned down Bill Frist's compromise deal on judicial nominations, exposing their strategy - which is simply to prevent certain nominees from ever receiving a floor vote. The deal, which allowed for a maximum of 100 hours of debate for each nominee (about three weeks of actual Senate floor time - 50 hours of which would belong to Democrats to "make their case" against that nominee). But the truth is Democrats really have nothing to say that would convince anyone that these men and women are not well-qualified or don't deserve confirmation.

So the Democrats pathetically try once again to dig in and hunker down.

Democrats have threatened to shut down the Senate for all nonessential business if Republicans employ the option, which is likely to come sometime next month if a deal is not struck before then.

So, now there are no excuses. The Senate is in recess next week - again. It returns May 9th where the first order of business will be the highway bill. At any point between now and Memorial Day, Frist could initiate the filibuster rule change. We're waiting Senator....

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Perfect Birthday Present For Saddam...

Iraq formally established its new democratically-elected government on April 28, which also happens to be Saddam Hussein's 68th birthday. Is that sweet or what? Congratulations to the Iraqi people!

Oh, and happy birthday, scumbag!! Bwaaahaaaahaaaahaaaaa!!!!!!!!

Thanks to Arthur Chrenkoff for the tip.

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Iraqi President sends letter of thanks to Tony Blair, British people...

In a heartfelt letter published in The Sun, newly elected Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, expresses his gratitude to PM Blair and the citizens of Great Britain for their help in ridding his nation of Saddam, allowing the nation to renew its freedom after forty years of war. President Talabani called the Baghdad butcher "in the view of those who opposed him, Iraq's most dangerous WMD".

The letter should be read in full, but here is an excerpt:

"Instead of continually focusing on the negative, the British, who will soon commemorate the 60th anniversary of VE day, should know that in the eyes of the
majority of Iraqis, it was you who brought us our own victory day.

Britain should be proud that the liberation of Iraq has in our eyes been one of your finest hours.

History will judge Prime Minister Blair as a champion against tyranny. Of that I have no doubt.

We are not reticent about expressing our great thanks to the British people and paying homage to tragic British losses."

I sincerely hope that voters in the UK strongly consider these words when they go to the polls next Thursday.

Hat Tip: Winds of Change

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Harry Reid bombshell: Would take a "miracle" to win back the Senate...

I know he's merely stating the obvious, but for Sen. Harry Reid to admit that publicly is telling. The Washington Times reports that on the Senate floor, Reid said "I would think a miracle would have to happen and we would pick up five seats this time." These are the words of a beaten man. Both Democrats and Republicans privately acknowledged that his remark was a stunner.

"After listening to Senator Reid's political spin about judicial nominees for the last several weeks, it is good to hear him come back to reality -- if even for a brief moment," said Brian Nick, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. "Senator Reid can do the math: A Democratic Party, plus no ideas, plus obstruction, plus over-the-top partisan rhetoric equals continued minority."

Don't expect the MSM to report this remark at all. Actually the real miracle will be if the Dems don't lose more seats in 2006.

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Glenn Reynolds on Andrew Sullivan's "hand-wringing"...

Instapundit takes Sullivan to task on his "theocracy obsession".

I do think, though, that Andrew's constant complaints about theocracy aren't helping and indeed make even his valid points less persuasive. Andrew did a wonderful job of convincing undecideds -- and even some decided-againsts -- to think positively of gay rights and gay marriage, but lately his tone has been such that I doubt it's winning many converts. I support gay marriage, though no doubt with less intensity than Andrew, but it's clearly a minority position in the country, and last year's courtroom "victories" seem to have done more harm than good. You go from being a minority position, to a majority position, by convincing people that you're right. It's not clear to me that playing the theocracy card will do that. Because either the American people agree with the "theocrats'" program, in which case there's not much difference between theocracy and democracy, and you'd really better start changing some minds, or they don't agree with it, in which case they'll discipline the Republicans at the next election -- assuming that the opposition doesn't discredit itself to an even greater degree first.

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The American Flag League...

Pirate's Cove has a great blog alliance for all blogs that feature some form of American flag. I've been added to the blogroll!

If you want to join, go here.

Side note: In addition to an original photo of Old Glory by yours truly and the South Park photo, I've also added a quote to the right sidebar from Zell Miller which sums up my personal feelings quite nicely.

Oh, and I've also added the scurvy sumbitch to the blogroll.

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The Bush "Presser"...

I tried "semi-live" blogging the press conference. Watched the tape. Hey, I have three young kids ya know!

But after making the rounds it's clear that TigerHawk has the best all around thread. Hell, it's practically a transcript...with good analysis stuck in for good measure. Go read it here.

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Bush Press Conference Moved Up to 8:00pm...

per CNSNews. Guess too many people called in bitching that "Will & Grace" would've been bumped had it stayed at 8:30.

Bush to give 10-12 minute statement preceeding questions.

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One last try...

Sen. Bill Frist is publicly putting forth a compromise on judicial nominations. Personally, I'm tired hearing about compromises but this one is at least reasonable and with it, the GOP stands to lose nothing. Byron York at The Corner gives the details (all emphasis mine):

a) Guaranteed up-or-down votes on nominations for Circuit Courts of Appeals and Supreme Court nominees.

b) Guaranteed debate time of up to 100 hours for those nominees.

c) Guaranteed reporting of nominees from the Senate Judiciary committee to the Senate floor.

d) Guaranteed protection of the legislative filibuster.

Republicans say the deal would address the grievances of both parties in the last decade, that is, that nominees of both parties were not allowed up-or-down votes on the Senate floor. But Democrats are sure to reject the offer unless it were accompanied by a GOP offer to withdraw some or all of the president's currently filibustered nominees, and Republican sources tell National Review that Frist will not give any ground on any of those current nominees.

If the Democrats happen to accept, the Republican majority in the Senate will have the opportunity it wants - a straight up or down vote on nominees. If they refuse - which I'm sure they will - then they have nakedly revealed their true intention which is not the ability to debate but merely the power to obstruct and shoot down any nominees that the Liberal special interest groups find objectionable.

This seems coordinated to segue into Bush's press conference tonight. It'll give the President the opportunity to reiterate the offer, spell out how reasonable it is to the American people and make the Democrats look petty. Also, it seems pretty Rove-like to tee this one up heading into the weekend news cycle as the dominant story. Excellent. I think we could probably expect a move on the filibuster rule on Monday or Tuesday.

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Ann Coulter: Drag Liberals Into The Light...

In her column at WorldNetDaily:

"Republicans have got to learn to stop getting into technicalities with the Democrats. They win in the dark; we win in the light. And it doesn't get much darker than a discussion of the Senate filibuster."

Democrats use generalities and ad hominem attacks to generate sound bites and deflect attention away from the details of a debate. If you explain something to the American people in common sense terms and focus on the heart of the matter, it's not all that hard for Republicans to make their case. They just always seem to have such a hard time doing it. Can we get Ann to head the RNC?

"If the details helped liberals, I promise you we'd be hearing the details. Most important, if liberals could win in the court of public opinion, they wouldn't need the federal courts to hand them their victories in the first place. The reason liberals refuse to elaborate on "extremist right-wing ideologue" is that they need liberal courts to give them gay marriage, a godless Pledge of Allegiance, abortion on demand, nude dancing, rights for pederasts, and everything else they could never win in America if it were put to a vote.

Republicans are letting them get away with it by allowing the debate on judges to consist of mind-numbing arguments about the history of the filibuster. Note to Republicans: Of your six minutes on television, use 30 seconds to point out the Democrats are abusing the filibuster and the other 5 1/2 minutes to ask liberals to explain why they think Bush's judicial nominees are 'extreme.'"

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