Unlucky Diner Crunches Cockroach...

Yecch! Some poor bastard goes to a Chinese restaurant, sticks his hand in a bowl of peanuts, shoves them in his mouth and finds one of the peanuts had six legs and two antennae. A jury awarded him 1,000 Euros for his trouble.

"The man told the court he had not been able to eat peanuts since the incident in November 2003."

Yeah, I think I'd have a problem going to a Chinese restaurant again after that adventure.

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Hunting the "feral" cats...

I just read about this proposal to legalize the hunting of wild free-roaming cats in Wisconsin and it piqued my curiosity. I scoured the internet and found three pictures of these so-called "feral" kitties and I was shocked by their appearance. It's no wonder that people are afraid of them.

See the pictures here. Scary stuff, you've been warned!

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Committee Vote On Bolton Delayed...

Dems are using stall tactics - submitting questions to State Department officials in writing - to push a vote on sending John Bolton's name to the full Senate into next week. This gives them more time to work on Sen. Lincoln Chafee and try to pull him over to the dark side on this one.

The Senate GOP leadership better sequester that little butt-munch and threaten to cut him off from access to party funds for his re-election if he doesn't stay in line.

I'm sure the other reason for the delay is to allow Democrats and the thugs from the left-wing special interest groups additional time to ramp up their smear campaign on Bolton. Brace yourselves, kids. This is war.

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The 2005 NFL Schedules have just been released...

You can find your favorite team here. Some teams "schedule" links are not yet updated, so you may have to use the "official site" link to view it.

The Giants have mixed bag, but not too awful (considering their 6 - 10 record last year). The bye is during Week 5. Would have preferred later in the season but I'll take it. Looks like they get the AFC West this year. The San Diego match-up will be one to watch, considering the Eli Manning trade fiasco at last year's draft. Of course it's going to be the national game on ESPN Sunday Night.

My only bitch is that three out of the last four games are on the road and the last three games are on Saturday. Well, you deal with the hand you're dealt. The first full season with Manning at QB. Oooh Boy Howdy, I can't wait.

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Will Corruption Charges Pick The Democrat Lock On New Jersey?

I live in Connecticut but I listen to WABC out of New York, which features advertising for the tri-State area (NY, NJ, CT). And lately I've been hearing political ads for the NJ Governor's race. Now the Dems have a pretty firm hold in this Blue State but, as Eric Fettmann points out in the NY Post, that party has been mired in scandal over the last week due to released tape recordings of Democrat power broker George Norcross.

On the tapes, Norcross is overheard boasting of his control of Democrat officeholders in the State:

This is what Norcross had to say about Corzine, who faces only token opposition in the June 7 primary: "Yesterday morning I'm up in Summit in Jon Corzine's home having breakfast and I talk to the guy once a week."

Referring also to the state's then-governor, Norcross added: "In the end, the McGreeveys, the Corzines — they're all gonna be with me because they have no choice." That's a sound bite you'll certainly be hearing on GOP campaign commercials from now until November.

And in fact, it has already begun. GOP front-runner Doug Forrester has been running the tapes as part of the ads that I've been hearing. And the do sound pretty damning. Corzine looks bad in particular because records show donations to Norcross's Political Action Committee.

Now, Forrester realizes that the good people of NJ are not going to vote for a Republican for Governor - particularly a Conservative like him - based on his stand on the issues. For Forrester or another candidate to succeed, the NJ Democrat machine must become politically radioactive. And that may very well be the effect that this scandal has on any Democrat due to guilt by association.

A race that once seemed like a slam-dunk for Corzine only a few weeks ago has all of a sudden become a potential upset in the making. It will be fascinating to watch events unfold from now to November.

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Thoughts on Physical Appearance and Gender...

From Corie Schweitzer at Insane Troll Logic. She takes a closer look at that Classmates.com banner ad we've all seen. Very thoughtful insight. Check it out.

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Canadian Conservatives Could Clobber "AdScam"-tainted Liberals this spring...

The Toronto Sun is reporting that a recent poll shows eroding support for the Paul Martin-led Liberal party.

"The election unease in Ottawa comes as a new poll shows the Liberal free fall continuing and support moving to the Conservatives. A Leger survey conducted April 8-11 showed the Tories in front with 34% support, the Liberals at 31%, NDP 18% and Bloc 13%."

Speculation is running rampant that Canadians could be heading to the polls for a Parliamentary election as early as June.

I did a little checking on the Tories in Canada and found their website. I didn't realize that the current Canadian Conservative party is the result of a 2003 merger between two former rival parties - the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives. Here's where they "officially" stand on the issues:

• More accountable government/use of public funds
• Control of spending
• Tax relief
• Support for the Armed Forces

So far so good. Ah, but then here's the rub: "Access to Health Care." A noble idea indeed but unless they are for pulling the government's meat hooks out of the system they're going to be stuck with waiting lists and sub-standard care. I guess even Canadian Conservatives have a socialist bent when it comes to this issue. I also fail to see how they would expect to achieve the first three - accountability, spending control and tax relief with this last issue mucking things up.

Oh well, good luck to the Tories. The US hasn't had a Canadian PM they could identify with since Brian Mulroney.

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I have updated the FAQs section...

I revised it a little bit and added a "blogroll policy". Here.

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I Don't Think I've Talked Enough About Lincoln Chafee Today...

Yeah, right. But The Hill has an article about the importance of Chafee in the Bolton fight, and the importance of GOP party dollars to Chafee's re-election campaign.

It seems we're approaching one of those rare times when Chafee actually needs the support of his fellow Republicans and knows that he needs to act at least somewhat like them instead of constantly criticizing them and hanging out with the Democrats.

"To win in a state that Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry carried by a greater margin than any state but his home state of Massachusetts, Chafee will have to maintain his independent reputation. But he also needs to remain in the good graces of conservative party leaders to raise the money to run a competitive race.

The Bolton nomination has been a particularly difficult test for Chafee, who expressed his surprise at President Bush’s pick almost as soon as it was announced. The Boston Globe reported last week that Chafee said his constituency was “overwhelmingly” opposed to the nomination."

The Rhode Island Senator has been getting financial support from PACs organized by Majority Leader Bill Frist and Majority Whip Mitch McConnell. Despite efforts by Chafee to appear "independent" to his constituents, it seems he understands where his bread gets buttered.

"Chafee needs the resources of his party more than ever to withstand an escalating barrage of attacks from Democrats, who consider Chafee to be one of their prime targets this election cycle."

Funny how the Democrats, who are normally so buddy-buddy with Chafee become such fair-weathered friends when the rubber meets the road. I'm sure if he is re-elected, he'll once again forget who brought him to the dance and go back to being a thorn in the side of the GOP. But for now, it's up to the Republican leadership to squeeze as much as they can get out of him.

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Massachusetts versus New Hampshire...

This post from Weekend Pundit will both inform and entertain New Englanders and Non-New Englanders alike. It compares life in two very different States: MA and NH. It also illustrates why if I ever moved to another part of New England, it would definitely be to New Hampshire.

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Exclusive "Pro-Assassination" Products from the Left...

Michelle Malkin shows the kind of "hate-filled, liberal knick-knacks and apparel items" being sold by the lovely folks who brought you the T-Shirt calling for Rep. Tom Delay to kill himself (which has since been removed from their site). Nice.

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PG-13 Rating for "Revenge of the Sith"

Ain't It Cool News reports that "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith" has been given a rating PG-13 for "sci-fi violence and some intense images". Breaking with the tradition of the other five Star Wars installments, apparently Lucas just didn't have the heart to cut any of the stuff that would be required to keep it at PG.

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New "Featured Timewaster"...

I call it “eBubble Wrap”. Click the bubbles to make them go pop. If you select “manic mode” you only need to mouse-over.

ItÂ’s not going to waste a lot of your time but it makes a nice filler activity while you wait for your PC to process or download other stuff.

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New Burger King Ad...

John Hawkins at Right-Wing News shares his feelings about the new Burger King TV ad - it gives him the heebie-jeebies. And frankly, I agree.

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Chafee on Bolton: Dems Have Not Made Their Case...

Despite the goading of Sen. John "Gigolo" Kerry, RI Senator Lincoln Chafee is not convinced at this point to oppose John Bolton as UN Ambassador.

Kerry spokeswoman Katharine Lister said this is the first time the senator has gone after an individual colleague in ads. She said Kerry chose to target Chafee because he is considered a key swing vote on the committee.

On Monday, Chafee said he didn't think Democrats had made their case against Bolton, and he indicated he is still leaning toward voting for his nomination.

If there is one weak link for the GOP on the Foreign Relations committee, this is it. Looks like it should hold.

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In Defense of Delay...

Ben Stein's column in The American Spectator takes to task the allegations against the House Majority Leader.

1.) Tom DeLay is morally probably the highest level public servant I have ever met. With virtually no political gain to be had from so doing, he has been the most enthusiastic supporter of Israel in the U.S. Congress. He has stood with Israel against terrorism and international anti-Semitism without reservation or fear. This is a man with more moral decency in his little finger than his detractors have in their whole bodies.

2.) The attack against him in the Texas courts are an outrageous -- but sadly emblematic -- Democrat attempt to use the judicial system to defeat the electoral process. The DA who is tormenting him is the same one who made up an indictment of Kay Bailey Hutchison out of whole cloth to try to reverse the results of a solid electoral victory by the Republican party in Texas.If this kind of deviltry works, we can expect local Democrat district attorneys to routinely indict any Republican who is successfully turning out the electorate for the Republican Party. No elected official, no bureaucrat, is more unaccountable than an out of control, hatchet job prosecutor, and this is just what we are seeing at work against Tom DeLay.

3.) The very fact that the Mainstream Media are so desperately struggling to smear Tom DeLay is proof positive of what a good job he is doing at leveling the electoral playing field.

4.) If we throw him to the wolves, we are betraying a dear friend of the party, and a good man -- and allowing a vicious dirty trick
through the judicial system to subvert the Constitution.

5.) Tom DeLay's comments about a judiciary that sanctioned the torture murder of Terri Schiavo and how it has to be brought to account was a brave and entirely sensible approach to an
issue that dismays and frightens many Americans. His comments are yet another sign of what a fine patriot this man is.

6.) He has been there for us, and we need to be there for him.

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Despite Democrat Opposition, Bolton Confirmation Expected...

Despite all the whining, pissing, moaning and character assassination on the part of Senate Democrats seated on the Foreign Relations Commitee, it looks like the nomination of John Bolton as UN Ambassador will be OK'd for a vote by the full Senate. Of course the committee's vote will go along party lines: 10-8.

Democrats had hoped to sway Rhode Island Republican (ahem) Lincoln Chafee, but the hope is all but dead.

Sen. Lincoln Chafee from Rhode Island, considered a possible swing vote, praised Bolton because he "said all the right things" in his opening statement.

Most Republicans backed Bolton, saying they wanted a strong reformer to make the organization more accountable after revelations of corruption in the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq.

So - barring some kind of bullsh*t bombshell dropping - it looks like it'll be a done deal, despite the best efforts of the opposition. Tough Noogies, guys. Sucks to be in the minority, doesn't it?

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Mets Manage 2nd Win!!!!!

Glavine pitches a beauty, giving up one run. 8-4 final score over the Astros. Whew. Suicide watch has been suspended for the time being. (just kidding folks)

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The Pie-Throwing Goon Squads of Academia...

As of late, I've had my fun with the food-throwing Lefties that have been attacking Conservatives speaking at colleges and universities. Honestly, I find these stories to be pretty indicative of the level of gutlessness and intolerance that some Liberals are capable of. I find it amazing that many of the same people who claim to be champions of free speech seem to desperately want to shut down this right when the speech in question hurts their little ears.

However, there is an underlying dark side to these incidents that has been overlooked by the MSM. An editorial in the Washington Times considers the potential escalation of such attacks. The column gives the example of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn. On the verge of an electoral victory in 2002, Fortuyn was also hit by pies from left-wing protesters. Not long after, he was shot to death.

"This is not to suggest that those who have attacked conservatives here will one day swap their pies for guns. But someone else with less conscience might. That's because once violence, however harmless it at first appears, is accepted as an appropriate means of protest, it tends to escalate.

The media should highlight these cases not as the jokes they are perhaps intended to be, but as unacceptable perversions of the First Amendment. So far, however, the mainstream media has failed to do so. It also gave scant attention to last year's election-oriented violence directed almost solely against Republicans. Perpetrators shot at Bush-Cheney campaign headquarters and attacked volunteers and destroyed campaign offices across the country, to cite a few examples. But news organizations such as the New York Times instead provided a platform to those making dubious charges of voter intimidation committed by the Republicans."

It goes without saying that it would be front page news if the recipient of a pie-throwing attack was someone on the Left, say Ward Churchill for example. Liberals always have a double-standard when it comes to freedom of speech. As the Times observes:

"It is ironic that college campuses -- which typically style themselves as bastions of free speech and tolerance -- are increasingly the scene of intolerant, thuggish behavior. These days it is being directed at folks who don't subscribe to the prevailing liberal orthodoxies."

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Democrats and the "Parent Gap"

A new report from the Progressive Policy Institute, a "centrist" Democrat think tank, takes a look at the problem their party has attracting votes from the "married w/children" demographic. The basic conclusion of the author, Barbara Dafoe Whitehead:

"Democrats will not do better with married parents until they recognize one simple truth: Parents have a beef with popular culture. As they see it, the culture is getting ever more violent, materialistic, and misogynistic, and they are losing their ability to protect their kids from morally corrosive images and messages. To be credible, Democrats must acknowledge the legitimacy of parents' beef and make it unmistakably clear that they are on parents' side."

In other words, the healthy development of their children takes precedent over the premise "if it feels good, do it." The .pdf for the full report is here.

This item was linked by James Taranto of the WSJ, who takes a look at the study in his "Best of the Web" column from Friday. He argues that the problem is likely far worse for Democrats than even this report says.

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