Move New Orleans?

Should New Orleans rebuild or move? Interesting question. Read some more at Blogs of the Moderate Left.

Graduation Year Songs

I wasn't specifically asked, but I cannot see that anyone was. So I'm doing this.
First, a review of who has done the "meme". The idea is to go here and enter your graduation year. Then copy/paste it to your blog and bold songs you liked (or like? big difference), strike the ones you did not like and underline your favorite of the bunch.
So far:
Bogus Gold (1987)
Shot In the Dark (1981)
Sheila Variations (1985)
Kool Aid Report (1990--and pretty sour about it)
SCSU Scholars (1975--but he found a different source list)
Blogs of the Moderate Left (1992)
When I find more (or if you add the link to the comments section) I will add them here. I think it is interesting to compile all of the lists.

1989
1. Look Away, Chicago
2. My Prerogative, Bobby Brown
3. Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Poison
4. Straight Up, Paula Abdul
5. Miss You Much, Janet Jackson
6. Cold Hearted, Paula Abdul
7. Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler
8. Girl You Know Its True, Milli Vanilli
9. Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird, Will To Power
10. Giving You The Best That I Got, Anita Baker
11. Right Here Waiting, Richard Marx
12. Waiting For A Star To Fall, Boy Meets Girl
13. Lost In Your Eyes, Debbie Gibson
14. Don't Wanna Lose You, Gloria Estefan
15. Heavan, Warrant
16. Girl I'm Gonna Miss You, Milli Vanilli
17. The Look, Roxette
18. She Drives Me Crazy, Fine Young Cannibals
19. On Our Own, Bobby Brown
20. Two Hearts, Phil Collins
21. Blame It On The Rain, Milli Vanilli
22. Listen To Your Heart, Roxette
23. I'll Be There For You, Bon Jovi
24. If You Don't Know Me By Now, Simply Red
25. Like A Prayer, Madonna
26. I'll Be Loving You (Forever), New Kids On The Block
27. How Can I Fall?, Breathe
28. Baby Don't Forget My Number, Milli Vanilli
29. Toy Solider, Martika
30. Forever Your Girl, Paula Abdul
31. The Living Years, Mike and the Mechanics
32. Eternal Flame, The Bangles
33. Wild Thing, Tone Loc
34. When I See You Smile, Bad English
35. If I Could Turn Back Time, Cher
36. Buffalo Stance, Neneh Cherry
37. When I'm With You, Sheriff
38. Don't Rush Me, Taylor Dayne
39. Born To Be My Baby, Bon Jovi
40. Good Thing, Fine Young Cannibals
41. The Lover In Me, Sheena Easton
42. Bust A Move, Young M.C.
43. Once Bitten, Twice Shy, Great White
44. Batdance, Prince
45. Rock On, Michael Damian
46. Real Lov, Jody Watley
47. Love Shack, B-52's
48. Every Little Step, Bobby Brown
49. Hangin' Tough, New Kids On The Block
50. My Heart Can't Tell You No, Rod Stewart
51. So Alive, Love and Rockets
52. You Got It (The Right Stuff), New Kids On The Block
53. Armageddon It, Def Leppard
54. Satisfied, Richard Marx
55. Express Yourself, Madonna
56. I Like It, Dino
57. Soldier Of Love, Donny Osmond
58. Sowing The Seeds Of Love, Tears For Fears
59. Cherish, Madonna
60. When The Children Cry, White Lion
61. 18 And Life, Skid Row
62. I Don't Want Your Love, Duran Duran
63. Second Chances, .38 Special
64. The Way You Love Me, Karyn White
65. Funky Cold Medina, Tone Loc
66. In Your Room, Bangles
67. Miss You Like Crazy, Natalie Cole
68. Love Song, Cure
69. Secret Rendesvous, Karyn White
70. Angel Eyes, Jeff Healey Band
71. Patience, Guns N' Roses
72. Walk On Water, Eddie Money
73. Cover Girl, New Kids On The Block
74. Welcom To The Jungle, Guns N' Roses
75. Shower Me With Your Love, Surface
76. Stand, R.E.M.
77. Close My Eyes Forever, Lita Ford
78. All This Time, Tiffany
79. After All, Cher and Peter Cetera
80. Roni, Bobby Brown
81. Love In An Elevator, Aerosmith
82. Lay Your Hands On Me, Bon Jovi
83. This Promise, When In Rome
84. What I Am, Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians
85. I Remember Holding You, Boys Club
86. Paradise City, Guns N' Roses
87. Iwanna Have Some Fun, Samantha Fox
88. She Wants To Dance With Me, Rick Astley
89. Dreamin', Vanessa Williams
90. It's No Crime, Babyface
91. Poison, Alice Cooper
92. This Time I Know It's For Real, Donna Summer
93. Smooth Criminal, Michael Jackson
94. Heavan Help Me, Deon Estus
95. Rock Wit'cha, Bobby Brown
96. Thinking Of You, Sa-fire
97. What You Don't Know, Expose
98. Surrender To Me, Ann Wilson and Robin Zander
99. The End Of The Innocence, Don Henley
100. Keep On Movin', Soul II Soul

I sincerely can not decide which of the bold ones are my favorite. Ask me at any different minute and I would say that any of those would qualify.

The left is blaming humans for Katrina

Ever wonder how far the left will go to politicize anything? Ever wonder how low the left will stoop for political points?

Bush is behind the levies failing
The premise: it is fishy that the levies failed so long after Katrina passed.

Kyoto would have prevented Katrina
The premise: Because Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour authored a memo that was against Kyoto somehow God is paying Mississippi back. Uh, Bobby, you mentioned God and you have an opinion and you mentioned death & destruction. Minnesota Blue and other lefties will be calling you a danger to Church & State. Oh, nevermind Bobby. They only say that about non-liberals.

Sheehan (Moron Mommy) blame Katrina on Bush
The premise: (implied) Bush's oil policies are (a) the only reason for Iraq and (b) led to "global warming" and thus Katrina.

Bush is responsible for levees failing
The premise: Bush's funding cuts caused the levees to fail. Unaddressed was the fact that pumps (from what I know) cannot pump without electricity and (I could be wrong) there was no power in New Orleans during and after Katrina. Also unexplained is why officials have known "since the late 1960s" that the levees were an issue yet only magically the past 2 years were the key.

Playing guitar is forbidden
The Premise: Because Bush was playing guitar at any point during the aftermath he does not care. You assholes mean to tell me that since Monday you have cancelled everything you had to do so that you could sit and pray non-stop...you have not had a single laugh, maintained your schedule, etc. You are hypocrites. You politicize even the demolition of an entire city simply to try to gain political points. You don't have your policy solutions or proposals so you engage in mentally looting a disaster for your own disgusting political posturing.

Looking for any reason to politicize a national disaster
The Premise: (in a whining nasal granola voice) "I swore I wasn't going to get into the politicization of this crisis, but the "strumming and smirking" photo shocked me into it." What a liar. You were just looking for an excuse. I'm surprised you waited a whole day. I'm surprised the entire left waited a whole day.

In fact, I honestly was shocked that the majority of the left did not politicize 9/11 within a few days. I was shocked that they held out longer than 2 weeks. Let's not give more credit than necessary. Small pockets of the left did politicize 9/11 (e.g. moveon.org, madd) and I'm excluding the politicization that most of the left did with their "it's our fault" garbage.

Bush reacted to slowly
The premise: Bush failed twice. First he failed in not consoling the victims BEFORE the hurricane hit. Then he failed to deny the Governor's authority to organize relief and request it from the federal government. This is how it is always done, more or less. The Bush failed because he did not immediately seize control of the search & rescue. Two days is far too late.

The funny thing here is that they praise Bush's response after 9/11. Uh, Bush spoke after things (damage & threat) were assessed. The damage is still being assessed, the threat is not over yet.

It is amazing how the left rushed in more to politicize the disaster (that is still occurring). Sickening...disgusting...disheartening. Thank God there is not the same politicization locally. At least not yet. I give it 2 more days before the local lefties abjectly politicize Katrina.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your National Democrat Party.

Rowley for Senate?

(H/T: M.D.E--who is me, btw)

It seems that either Coleen Rowley's staff is as out-to-lunch as her ability to come up with a solution to Iraq or she is gearing up for a run for Senate instead.

Here are scans of literature being passed out at the DFL Booth at the State Fair. The header reads "Coleen Will Listen To You! Coleen Rowley for Senate"

As MDE put it,

"I don't know what scares me more: Rowley actually being elected to the U.S. Senate or a campaign (or volunteers) producing literature that shows the wrong office the candidate is actually running for?...I may be scared the most by nobody at the DFL booth noticing the headline before this material was made available to visitors."

In requesting an interview with Rowley (to discuss her trip to Camp Cindy aka Camp Moron Mommy) her campaign staffer that returned the call this morning made light of the fact that the radio show is in the 6th District. I thought it might be because we had interviewed her last December (when she was an objective observer, before becoming a partisan ideologue thirsting for the power of Congress). That is until I read MDE's comment:

Is this why Rowley was campaigning in Rochester which is outside the 2nd Congressional District?

Let's wait and see...what the spin will be. Will it be Spin City like on Hardball?

----------UPDATE----------
MDE reported that the flyers now are showing "Congress" with Senate crossed out. I assume that means it was a typo...a large scale typo for which I guarantee the left would blame Bush for if a Republican did the same.

----------UPDATE 2----------
Trillin (of MN Lefty Liberal) received an e-mail from Rowley's campaign wondering why anyone would care about a typo. The campaign did indeed confirm it was a typo. Let me answer that...You cannot trust a politician any further than one can spit upwind. You even said before to us that "Congress is not for you" and just a few months later you are off and running. You claim that you were a Republican (and people I know who were close to you before you were famous confirm that) but you are running as a Democrat with some far-left positions. You even outflank Bader-Ginsburg on abortion law. How could you be a conservative and then *snap* suddenly an ultra-liberal.

The point is that you, as a politician, cannot be trusted. You say "Congress" and flyers being passed out say "Senate" we all have the responsibility to wonder.

----------UPDATE 3----------
Rowley's campaign, contrary to their promise to call back yesterday to either accept or deny an interview request, has yet to call back. I called and left a message on Monday evening. They called Tuesday morning and said they would check Rowley's calendar to see if she had a mere 15 minutes available on any Sunday in the near future. They said they would call back Tuesday. It is the end of business Wednesday and there was no call.

I think she knows that there will be hard questions and I will not let her get away with the non-answers, avoidance and spin that she has become an expert at as of late. I think she will not because she cannot handle a tough interview. That's my opinion...Coleen, prove me wrong.

----------UPDATE 4----------
Well, you can say I was wrong or you can say Rowley stepped up to the challenge. She will be on Race to the Right on this coming Sunday during the 1:00 hour. Listen to the stream live (available through the show's website) and feel free to call in at 320-215-1990.

Underacheivers 2005

We just finished our Fantasy Football draft (courtesy of Yahoo!).

My team (parenthetical number is overall draft pick):

1. (2) P. Manning (QB-Ind)
2. (19) R. Wayne (WR-Ind)
3. (22) S. Jackson (RB-StL)
4. (39) T. Brady (QB-NE)
5. (42) C. Martin (RB-NYJ)
6. (59) D. Branch (WR-NE)
7. (62) M. Robinson (WR-Min)
8. (79) D. Staley (RB-Pit)
9. (82) E. Kennison (WR-KC)
10. (99) M. Moore (RB-Min)
11. (102) Philadelphia (Def & ST)
12. (119) Detroit (Def & ST)
13. (122) J. Wilkins (K-StL)
14. (139) I. Mili (TE-Sea)
15. (142) J. Brown (K-Sea)

Already had a trade offer...D. Branch (WR-NE) for D. Givens (WR-NE). I have 2 more Vikings on my team than I would like and I am not thrilled with my #3 & #4 WR. There was actually someone who took a Kicker in the first round.

Should be a good year...updates coming.

Silver lining in Katrina

This one I found through my newsfeeds on each state page. This story was on the Louisiana page.

There is always investment opportunity no matter what good or bad has occurred. And these ideas will help the companies that will help rebuild after Katrina.

On Monday, investors focused on higher energy prices and insurance-company payouts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. But as time marches on, attention will shift to rebuilding, the risks that hedge- and pension-fund investors took in buying supposedly low-risk "catastrophe" bonds and the effect of the storm on the fragile U.S. economy.

While the near-term result of natural disasters is naturally negative, they very often lead to infrastructure investments that end up looking like a net positive for their regions. Homes, roads, offices and industrial complexes need to be rebuilt, and the government usually provides tax relief, or outright grants, to pave the way.
...
An example might be Beacon Roofing Supply (BECN, news, msgs), which does not operate branches in the area but may see its revenues and earnings move up anyway. A Morgan Keegan analyst notes that the storm's destructive winds have torn a lot of roofs off structures. Shelter Distribution, a major distributor being acquired by Beacon, operates two branches in the greater New Orleans area. The analyst said he believes Katrina could potentially push 2006 income at Beacon up by 20 cents to 25 cents a share.

Maybe you are interested in commodity futures. Here is something to consider:

Everyone immediately worries about the loss of life in a city the size of New Orleans, and economic minds immediately dwell on the loss of Gulf of Mexico oil production. But the area is also home to the Port of South Louisiana -- the fifth-largest port in the world and the largest port in the United States. Yes, it's bigger than New York-New Jersey, bigger than Los Angeles-Long Beach and bigger than Houston. You have to go to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Rotterdam and Singapore to find ports that handle more tonnage.

Something like 15% of all U.S. exports ship through the southern Louisiana port, including much of our Midwestern corn, soybeans, wheat and animal feed. Add crude oil from the Gulf, steel from the Appalachians, iron ore from the northern plains, and fertilizer, gasoline and petrochemicals from area refineries, and you can begin to understand the profound importance of the area to American commerce.

If Katrina causes the port to become unusable, or if it causes the Mississippi to shift significantly at a time when harvests are coming in, we may see an important boost in world agricultural prices. The reaction could be delayed, but watch for moves in soybean giant Bunge.

There is plenty of advice in the article, but I thought I would share how investments are not confined to good times. The investments in bad times are just as good.

Teacher's Union: the drag on education

(H/T: Shot In The Dark)
No matter what is done to the education system to improve it there is always going to be the HUGE drag on productivity in the schools. The teacher's unions continue to stand in the way of having better teachers. They would simply rather have teachers with longevity.

They stand against testing teachers to make certain the teachers know what they are teaching (I would say about 1/2 of the teachers I had throughout the country in k-12 did not understand the topics they were teaching). They stand in the way of competition (which makes the product better by necessity of survival) via vouchers.

They also do things that have nothing to do with education, like protest good companies for no good reason.

The MFT, along with the St. Paul Federation of Teachers, is urging parents and teachers who shop for school supplies to boycott Wal-Mart, the nation's leading discount retailer. The unions claim that Wal-Mart workers' wages and benefits are too low.

How about concentrating instead on teaching the kids. From what I have seen many districts are having issues with their graduation rates. From what I have witnessed of the incoming freshmen in college they do not have much in the way of independent cognitive ability. Too many high school kids in the workforce do not have simple math skills mastered.

I know, the scores on standardized tests are decent, but those tests are written and re-written for the lowest common idiot denominator. It is the real world that becomes the true test and it seems that too many are failing. That is a reflection of the teachers and I have to tell you, I am of the opinion that a complete overhaul of the teacher rosters and destroying the teachers unions would be a huge benefit for the education of this and future generations.

Hurricane Katrina

I was reading some of the overdone coverage of Hurricane Katrina and something in this story struck me.

"I'm not doing too good right now," Chris Robinson said via cellphone from his home east of the city's downtown. "The water's rising pretty fast. I got a hammer and an ax and a crowbar, but I'm holding off on breaking through the roof until the last minute. Tell someone to come get me please. I want to live."

I heard quite a few different stories about different people in the same situation. Each time this thought entered my head: You are a moron for not evacuating.

Natural selection is a good thing.

-----------UPDATE----------
I understand that there are people that are trapped because of the levees failing. I am only this crass about the people who were "not doing well" DURING the hurricane. Though, truth be told, there should have only been people in the Superdome. I feel badly for other people who were trapped but were UNABLE to leave during the evacuation orders. Those who denied leaving deserve to perish in their home or swim to safety. We should not be wasting resources to rescue them.

Yecke dropping from the race

Cheri Yecke has accepted a position to become the top education administrator in Florida, the very position that the Democrat controlled Minnesota Senate said she was not qualified to occupy in this state. Though I know the public's memory is too ADHD-infested, I wish the public would hold the DFL Senate responsible for putting politics above very needed education reform.

Yecke's move was announced in the Gainsville Sun

A Republican candidate for Congress in Minnesota who was removed as her state's education commissioner when the Senate refused to confirm her was hired as Florida's K-12 chancellor.

Cheri Yecke was picked by Education Commissioner John Winn to replace Jim Warford, who resigned last month after supervising the public school system for two years.

Critics in the Democratic controlled Minnesota Senate considered Yecke a divisive ideologue and didn't agree with her approach to education policy.

But her ideas will fit in well with Republican Gov. Jeb Bush.

She's a social conservative who supports the idea of vouchers, aggressive testing and accountability measures for schools. Like the governor, she created a system to grade schools. She also embraces the federal No Child Left Act that was pushed through by Bush's brother, President Bush.

Yecke, 50, has also served as Virginia's education secretary.

A lot of blogs have their comments (check First Ring, SCSU Scholars, Republican MN (the best place to follow for updates), Residual Forces (not a personal fav of this blogger but I have to give him props when deserved), Captain Fishsticks (reports but not opinion/analysis), Kennedy v Machine, and Mitch Berg (though I cannot get the link to work right now).

A couple of blogs are now mentioning that a friend of mine, Dan Nygaard, is looking to announce. I hope so because Nygaard would be the best candidate of the then 5 candidates, but I hope not because it would make it very difficult for me to decide between him and the one candidate that as of yesterday was the frontrunner for my vote.

Another comment on the remaining field is that some of the blogs are falling over themselves to say that Bachmann benefits from Yecke's departure. I think that Krinkie benefits as most of the delegates I have spoken to and most of the bloggers had been reporting that the frontrunners were Krinkie/Yecke or Krinkie/Bachmann or Krinkie/Yecke/Bachmann or some combination always including Krinkie. The reason Krinkie has been listed as a front runner in each combination is because many delegates (at least at the convention and in private conversations) are either solidly Krinkie or torn between Krinkie and Yecke/Bachmann. Yecke's departure helps to answer that question for many of the undecided delegates.

There is one more thing that I want to point out. I was previously critical of Yecke's close association with the College Republicans. Perhaps the writing on the wall should have been how many lightly experienced CRs were in key positions on her campaign staff. Resume building opportunities while she knew the possibility of her leaving for another state? Without that criticism I tried to keep as much of the sharp eye open but the sharp tongue concealed. That is, until I read today's reporting on the reaction from Bachmann. Here is my first public complaint about Bachmann's candidacy: I think it was absolutely classless to call delegate, show elation, etc on the day of Yecke's announcement. To win my vote she will have to work twice as hard to overcome that. But I am just one delegate.

----------UPDATE----------
Article in the Strib tries to dance on her departure (the partisan hackery pros that they are).

Yecke had been education commissioner for more than a year when she was booted out of office by the DFL-controlled Senate in May 2004.

DFLers said that they were dismayed by the amount of criticism they heard about Yecke from constituents, especially teachers, and that the commissioner hurt education by polarizing parents and the education community over a right-wing agenda and support for too much student testing.

But Republicans said that Yecke had a mandate from Gov. Tim Pawlenty to make education more answerable to parents and minority students, and that the governor has a right to appoint commissioners who reflect his views.

Yecke argued that schools had gone off course, that academics were mired in political correctness, and student "self-esteem" had become more important than achievement.

She had to have been doing something right...another state asked her to come and fix their K-12 and higher ed issues.

They also think that this is good for Bachmann...which means "watch out".

Yecke's withdrawal leaves four candidates seeking the Republican endorsement for the congressional seat. Veteran political observers said her departure would probably be a plus for Sen. Michele Bachmann, R-Stillwater, who won't have to compete with Yecke for the votes of social-conservative Republicans.

"It's going to help her in the battle for the Republican endorsement because of the tides of social conservatives and the Republican Party sway under social conservatives," said Lawrence Jacobs, a University of Minnesota political scientist.

and

"I do think she had a claim on the votes of some social conservatives in the primary, and that now disappears and the other candidate with the most similar profile is Michele Bachmann," said Steven Schier, a political science professor at Carleton College in Northfield. "It probably helps her."

If a poli sci prof at the University of Marxism, poli sci prof and Communism College and the Strib are saying something positive for Bachmann then something is amiss. Perhaps they think that Bachmann is the defeatable candidate and are trying to drum up Republican support for her endorsement. Kind of the same way that we want Hatch as the DFL's choice for Governor.

----------UPDATE 2----------
Wind Beneath the Right Wing is predicting a Bachmann victory in the race with Yecke's departure.

China buying more oil companies

Remember the flap a while ago when China tried buying American company Unocal? Well, China is looking to shore up other oil supplies as their own throughout the globe.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer

China's biggest state-owned oil firm has reached an agreement to buy a major oil producer in neighboring Kazakhstan for $4.2 billion - a victory in Beijing's campaign to secure foreign energy supplies for its booming economy.

The acquisition of PetroKazakhstan Inc., a Canada-based company, by a unit of China National Petroleum Corp., comes just three weeks after Hong Kong-based CNOOC Ltd. dropped its bid for Unocal Corp. following opposition from U.S. politicians.

While many think that it is just for their "booming economy" I have learned to never trust the justifications given from a communist nation. China should be treated the same way. They are the next big enemy for the United States (looking beyond the Middle East) and it is obvious that controlling oil supplies controls the West. Keep your eyes on China.

Just a warning, that's all.

Rowley complains about you mean bloggers

This is Rowley's response because her "trip was harshly criticized by right-wing pundits and bloggers."
I will give more analysis on this later, but I wanted to point out the following quote which came from the e-mail version (and for seemingly obvious reasons I cannot find this on her website):

"An important element of any exit strategy is internal negotiations to stop the insurgency."

That, in English (for the cognitive-challenged) means that she wants to negotiate with the terrorists...in secret.

More on this later.

Maybe we can get her for another interview.

Showing ID to vote is bad?

It seems that proving who you are in order to vote is somehow racist.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department on Friday approved a controversial Georgia law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, and opponents immediately vowed to challenge the measure in federal court.
...
The Republican-backed measure sparked racial tension during the state's legislative session last spring. Most of Georgia's black lawmakers walked out at the state Capitol when it was approved.

Democrats had argued the idea was a political move by the GOP to depress voting among minorities, the elderly and the poor - all traditional bases for Democrats.

That is the most insipid thing I have heard since Barbara Streisand opened her mouth last.

The truth is very simple in this story. The Democrats have made it regular practice to engage in voter fraud. The past election was the latest example of how engrained into the left's strategy voter fraud and voter registration fraud is. Any effort to end fraud is fought with the only tactic that makes the weak-spined Republicans back off: charge racism.

This Georgia measure is the right thing to do. They lie when the opposition says that showing ID is somehow going to affect minorities, the elderly and the poor. The reality is that forcing people to show their ID to vote will only depress the ability for the Democrats, MoveOn.org, ACORN, the AFL-CIO and the NAACP to cheat in elections. (Those were the groups cited throughout this report as engaging in election intimidation, fraud and cheating.)

Kudos to the judiciary for approving this law.

Just how out of touch is the left?

"The decision to clear the measure now gives Georgia the most draconian voter identification requirement in the nation," said Daniel Levitas of the American Civil Liberties Union's Voting Rights Project in Atlanta.

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a veteran of the civil rights movement, said, "It is unbelievable, it is unreal the Department of Justice - an agency who is supposed to protect the American public by enforcing the Voting Rights Act of 1965 - is now involved in attempts to weaken the act.

There you go...pretty out of touch. Showing ID in their world is draconian. These people have lost all touch with reasonability. No wonder there is so much rancor in politics nowadays.

Robertson is a Church & State issue?

The new buzz phrase from the left that the mindless are repeating (without understanding why) is that Robertson is proof of the threat to Church & State. I added the phrase "without understanding" because of an exchange with a left-wing drone at Minnesota Blue

First, why do I call him a drone? Because while people give him "props" for being a kid and blogging on current events he has really done very little to show original thought. He repeats the buzz words and catch phrases. There is very little explanation of his reasoning. His liberal buddies think that because he is a "kid" he should be free from criticism.

Well I have to say that if this is the type of thinking process the schools are turning out then we are in trouble. TEACHERS, please teach the kids HOW to think instead of the standard HOW to regurgitate.

OK, back to the logicless.

This week Pat Robertson has dishonored the name ’Christian’ and embarrassed our country by calling for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, saying US Special Forces should “take him out”.

Whenever a radical Muslim uses his power and influence to call for violence, America urges to moderate Muslims to disavow them and their message. Pat Robertson used his influence, power, and public airwaves to call for the assassination of a foreign leader. Christians everywhere should disavow him and his message.

Pat Robertson does not speak for all Christians and he certianly dosen't speak for all Americans.

If anyone is still looking for proof that we need to maintain a seperation of Church and State, this is clearly it.

First he did not necessarily embarrass the country. The world would have been a much better place if we had assassinated Sadaam 10 years ago. The left should be all over such assassinations as they would prevent future military action.

Robertson did use his influence, power and airwaves (the airwaves were privately paid for, unlike NPR or PBS). Why is the left all over Pat but not Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton or Louis FarraKHAN.

What I find interesting is how the left is calling all Christians to disavow one person's message, but they cannot bring themselves to call for Muslims to condemn Muslim terrorists. And odd double standard.

By the way, Christians who think that Robertson is doing harm to their religion SHOULD say something or accept the perception that they embrace Robertson's comments.

By the way, Muslims who think that the many terrorists are doing harm to the religion SHOULD say something or accept the perception that they embrace the terrorists actions.

It is the final thing that MN Blue said that is telling...the whole idea that Robertson is a danger to the concept of Church & State. When he was asked about the rationale behind this claim the response was:

This has everything to do with church and state. Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and James Dobson use their base of supporters to rally against indivdual freedoms and religious rights. Pat Robertson would like to do everything in his power to turn America into a theocracy.

You forgot Jesse Jackson!

I do understand that Pat Robertson is in the minority here, but these theocrats are very well funded and are very powerful. The extreme right wing has the tools and the resources to be very dangerous.

You mean like the Howard Dean/MoveOn.org factions? Or the Michael Moore freaks?

This product of the present day school system also linked the number of people Robertson can influence as evidence of Robertson's danger to the country. In other words in MN Blue's perfect world if you are religious you must not be allowed to exercise your freedom of speech to influence people. And seriously, what is the true point of free speech?

It does not matter if Robertson influcnes 5 people or 500 million people...he is not the government. Here is the logic that MN Blue is using.

1) Robertson is religious
2) Robertson gives opinions on international events
3) Robertson is a threat to church & state.

Sorry, Robertson is entitled to his opinion. If he can influence people then more power to him, that is the entire point of Free Speech. Simply because he (like Martin Luther King, Jr) is a religious leader with positions on political/national/international matters does not make it a church & state issue.

What MN Blue's school obviously failed in teaching him is what church & state really is. Church & state did not come from the Constitution...it came from a letter by Thomas Jefferson. Before you lefties embrace that as proof that such a doctrine was embraced by the founders I suggest you read it (without teacher assistance...they failed already in getting the kid this far on the topic, they will fail on this letter).

Back to C&S. It was 100% about federal government endorsing one specific religion. Nothing more. In fact, Jefferson's aforementioned letter acknowledged the state's endorsing a religion. It was not until the Court of the 1950s (FDR's Court) started creating a concept of Freedom FROM Religion.

However, if you STILL stand by the logic that Robertson represents a church & state issue, I expect to see you condemn Rev. Jesse Jackson as well...or at least realize the hypocrite that you would be by not doing so.

People of the Right, the enemy has a new catch phrase and talking point. All things now threaten Church & State. Challenge them on this point. Make them defend it (don't provide the attack, only challenge their claims). They will not be able to HONESTLY defend it...there is no intellectually honest defense of this Church & State talking point.

AFSCME intentionally lies to new employees about political monies and dues

At a New Employee Orientation today at the University that I was invited by a friend to sit in I witnessed AFSCME union representatives blatantly lying to the new employees. The treasurer of Local 3800 (Brad Sigal, 612-625-4329, sigal003@umn.edu) descirbed to the newbies that there is this useless thing called "fair share" which does not allow them to vote. This is true. The only way to vote on a strike is to become a full member. This is true. The difference is about $1 per paycheck. This is partially true...this depends on the person's wage. The honest answer would have been to say fair share pays 85% of the dues and that full voting members pay that plus the additional 15%.

Here is where the load of intentional lies begins. Sigal was asked what that other 15% is for. "About $1." He was asked why 15%? "That is what the law says." The law says 15%? "It just says that fair share only pays 85%."

Now, you may be asking yourself what DOES the law say? It says that unions can only charge their members for actual union advocacy. Contract negotiations, lobbying (though I disagree with this), etc are considered union advocacy. Political actions may not be part of the mandatory dues. AFSCME figures this out and they determine that their political activity (stumping for Democrat and Green candidates) is about 15% of their total expenses. Now, unions know they would have very little support if they only asked people to pay the extra so they tie voting rights to the full membership. Basically you must support Democrats to vote in your union. This is (intentionally?) disenfranchising Republicans either in the union (by them staying fair share) or in the American process (by having full member Republicans fund their political opponents).

Now, everyone on the AFSCME staff knows this story. I know because I have spoken to most of them personally about this. Brad even called me on this topic a few years ago.

Back to the intentional lies.

What is that extra 15% used for? "I don't know. I guess I should know better exactly what it is for since I fill out the paperwork, but I'm not sure."

How is that money spent? "On extra things like barbeques and cook outs. That kind of thing."

That's it? "Yes." Shouldn't the Attorney General be looking into this kind of thing?

Lying to their members to trick them into becoming full members is unspeakable. The least democratic union, AFSCME, is a union that needs to be destroyed. I hope they go on strike and fail miserably...I advocate the breaking of this union.

Rowley destroyed on Hardball

Democrat uber-liberal Coleen Rowley was on Hardball debating radio talk show host Mark Williams. The transcript of the debate is here.

What this shows is how Rowley, who is not "throw[ing] [her]self in with any political agenda" is actually deep within the anti-war extremist camp. She had nothing but talking points and buzz words and never really answer any questions. Partisan hack...we cannot ever believe another word from her mouth that as being anything but partisan fodder from the Michael Moore faction of the Counter-American left.

O'DONNELL: You're a Democrat running for Congress. It was reported that Republican leaders in your state were just thrilled that you had decided to align yourself with anti-war extremists. Do you think that this could affect your race for Congress?

ROWLEY: Well, I will quickly correct the record, that they are not anti-war extremists. The majority of the people I saw down in Crawford were actually veterans groups. ...

O'DONNELL: But, Coleen, they do oppose the war in Iraq, do they not?

ROWLEY: Yes, they do. But that does not make I guess the term extremists. They're really I think reflective of mainstream America in many ways.

Uh, No they are not reflective of the mainstream in America. They are reflective of ONLY the Counter-Americans and the Hate-America crowd.

O'DONNELL: The president also said today, Coleen, that the war in Iraq must be won and that a policy of retreat and isolation will not bring us safety from terrorism. Do you disagree with that?

ROWLEY: Well, I disagree with even the point about winning the war, because I don't think we have had an honest debate what winning will even look like.

President Bush seems to use a very vague and ambiguous reference to these types of things, really to stifle people from asking the hard questions. How are we getting there? And what actually will "winning" look like?

Sorry, we have been having nothing but debate about the war since 9/11. Remember that the MoveOn.org freaks of nature were against us even going into Afghanistan. Even before your spotlight-seeking 2nd memo we were having a debate. The only group that has been trying to prevent any debate on any issue has been the left. But since you obviously have been closing your mind to opposition let me try through writing. "Winning" will look like a "free Iraq" with elections and a democracy...uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but Bush has been very specific on that.

If we fall into this other speaker's [Williams] mode, we simply will not have a country that is acting judiciously, because we will all simply have to be quiet. We won't have our freedom of speech either and none of us will be able to challenge incorrect and actually very dangerous policies.

Where the hell have you been the last few years? Obviously you are not paying attention to this country. We have our freedom of speech. We have been pretty judicious about Iraq. In fact, if we were doing right we would have bombed the snot out of Fallujah when those animals were burning bodies. But we were judicious and slow and fairly unable to respond because of the dead weight (like you) dragging us down in our defense.

Williams reminded her of what the left's panacea would result in.

It's our obligation as a society to stand up and support those men and women and make sure that the 1,800-plus who are now dead didn't die in vain. And I'm not quite sure what your alternative is, but perhaps we should open the doors to Saddam Hussein's prison cell, reinsert him as the leader of that country, allow him to start feeding people into wood chippers again feet first, give him back the chemical weapons and nerve gas weapons that the United States and that the United Nations was in there destroying, rescind the war authorization of 1991, and just go along our merry way, with our apologies to all of his future victims.

And he got in a very important point.

What about the 300,000 in mass graves that he engaged in acts of genocide? If this was anything but an American action, the American left would be all over the White House to get involved in this country.

Now Rowley was asked a number of times what is the Democrat strategy. Her answer? Talking points to deflect the question, no solution, no plan and no answer (because she does not have a solution).
Attempt One

O'DONNELL: Coleen...what is the alternative? The president saying again a policy of retreat and isolationism will not bring us safety. What is the policy of the Democratic Party?

ROWLEY: Well, I'm just going to back up. The last speaker, of course, kind of exhibits this mentality that has not allowed us to have a fair debate. [Author's note:Not allowed to have a fair debate. Answer the question and participate in the debate!] When he said that we debated this and voted on it, he is ignoring what most Americans now know, that the weapons of mass destruction arguments that were used were very misleading, false and deceptive.

Did you catch that? Avoid the question, make false and deceptive claims about stifled debate and then attack with lies and deceit.
Attempt Two

WILLIAMS: And how do we do that? By cutting and running and leaving them to their fate?

ROWLEY: Yes. I think the other speaker is pointing to some of the problem with the deaths that have already occurred. And I will agree to a limited extent that the nature of a quagmire is simply that it is very difficult at this point to resolve and still, you know, justify those earlier deaths.

What? What is that 'problem with the deaths that have already occurred' specifically? Oh, talking point #2: always throw in the word 'quagmire' even if it makes no sense. What is difficult, Coleen, about answering, "What is your plan?"
Attempt Three

O'DONNELL: But, Coleen, what are you specifically suggesting is done? What is the position of the Democratic Party about how to do a better job than what the president is doing in Iraq?

ROWLEY: Well, this is the tough part, ... I keep quoting Albert Einstein. You can't solve a problem with the same level of mentality that created it. And the Bush administration ... stay the course is their motto. And I don't think, frankly, that's going to work.

Three attempts to find out what Rowley's solution is. Just like every other liberal in this discussion she has no solutions, only buzz words; she has no answers, only false accussations; she has nothing positive, only negativity--pure abject negativity and personal attacks. She attacks Bush's intellect, but for someone as stupid as the left portrays he sure is smart enough to get a majority of the people to elect him, be a dictator, fool most of Europe's leaders...and still dupe you into thinking he is dumb.

I take that back. She has a plan...stabalize Iraq. How? Not by staying the course. In other words she wants to stabalize Iraq by pulling out. That worked so well in South Vietnam, right. And pulling out of Beirut ended the terrorism in the region, right?

Let's see, what did staying the course in Iraq provide so far?

WILLIAMS: Well, you know, staying the course, staying the course has brought us free elections. It's got a constitutional convention under way, more free elections coming up, an Iraqi stock market that didn't exist before, no more innocents being slaughtered by weapons of mass destruction, no more people, no more soccer teams being executed because they lose a game. Stay the course? ... That's exactly what we're doing. And that's why we're doing it.

Now remember, Coleen is in the party of Howard Dean, and Dean thinks that we made Iraq worse. Coleen is towing that same dogged mentality. What then is their panacea? Williams described it for us.

I'm not quite sure what your alternative is, but perhaps we should open the doors to Saddam Hussein's prison cell, reinsert him as the leader of that country, allow him to start feeding people into wood chippers again feet first, give him back the chemical weapons and nerve gas weapons that the United States and that the United Nations was in there destroying, rescind the war authorization of 1991, and just go along our merry way, with our apologies to all of his future victims.

And she thinks her anti-war movement is not extremist? Then give us a non-extremist alternative. Hell, give us an alternative to debate. You want a debate? We've been waiting, provide something to debate. Or shut the pie hole and stop the whining.

In debate we used to have to give debaters scores from 20 (meaning 'please do not speak ever again') to 30 (meaning 'the best thing ever spoken'). The average new person would score around a 23. Rowley, I would score with a 21 (giving her the extra point because she is a friend of my wife). Williams gets a 27. The couple of disrespectful comments were unnecessary.

Taxpayer's League 2005 Scorecard

(H/T: Kennedy v Machine)
Taxpayer's League Legislative Scorecard for the 2005 session is available here.

Some of the notables are the 3 candidates for the 6th Congressional District that are in the Minnesota Legislature.

Sen. Bachmann: scored a 77% for 2005; lowered her 1997-2005 score to 92%; broke the Taxpayer Pledge
Rep. Knoblach: scored a 57% for 2005; lowered his 1997-2005 score to 73%; broke the Taxpayer Pledge
Rep. Krinkie: scored a 100% for 2005; raised his 1997-2005 score to 96%; held to his Taxpayer Pledge.

Of the 3 only Rep. Knoblach voted for the North Star boondoggle (MN Rail Waste part 2).

The tally on Attorney General candidate Rep. Jeff Johnson: scored a 100% (bonus aided); raised his 1997-2005 score to 97%; held to his Taxpayer Pledge.

Seminoles can keep their name

First, this article was given to me by a friend. I do not read the New York Times regularly.

The NCAA gave Florida State an exemption to their ridiculous rule about Indian mascots.

Yesterday, the National Collegiate Athletic Association agreed with the 3,100-member tribe and the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, which had also endorsed the nickname. The N.C.A.A. removed Florida State from the list of universities banned from using what it called "hostile and abusive" mascots and nicknames during postseason play.

"It's not about an effort to be politically correct," Myles Brand, the president of the N.C.A.A., said in a statement when the ban was announced. "It is about doing the right thing."

Uh, no, it is about political correctness and your white guilt.

So, while the NCAA thought it was "protecting" Indians, what were the "offended" tribes reactions?

There was never any doubt where the Seminole Tribe of Florida stood on Florida State University's nickname. The tribe helped university boosters create the costume for the Chief Osceola mascot, approving the face paint, flaming spear and Appaloosa horse that have no connection to Seminole history.

The important thing is that the names are not to insult. The names are to recognize the tribes.

What other schools will be affected?
*Alcorn State University Braves
*Bradley University Braves
*Arkansas State University Indians
*Chowan College Braves
*University of Illinois Illini
*University of Louisiana-Monroe Indians
*McMurry University Indians
*Mississippi College Choctaws
*Newberry College Indians
*University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux
*Southeastern Oklahoma State University Savages
*Central Michigan University Chippewas
*Catawba College Indians
*Midwestern State University Indians
*University of Utah Utes
*Indiana University-Pennsylvania Indians
*Carthage College Redmen (OK, this one I understand the offense, but it should still be the decision of the school)

Shut up about the names already. If you do not like the name root against them; contribute to the school on the condition they change the name; convince the school to change the name; do not watch any event with the school...you get the idea. Keep it between you and the school. Keep the NCAA and everyone else out of it.

Other schools are filing appeals as well including the Univ of North Dakota, Univ of Utah and Central Michigan.

Officials at Utah, which is working with the Utes; North Dakota, working with the Sioux, and Central Michigan, working with the Chippewas, said Wednesday they are hopeful of having their names removed from an original list of 18 schools the NCAA deemed as having "hostile or abusive" nicknames or mascots.

And what about the twelve of the 18 schools originally cited by the NCAA that have generic nicknames: Indians, Redmen, Braves or Savages? Leave them alone. They are generic. You cannot tell me that "Indians" is offensive; that "Braves" is an insult; that "Savages" is not representative of some tribes in the 1800's. SHUT UP.

Milton Bradley a bit confused

It seems that you have to be black in order to "know how to deal with all types of people".

Here Milton Bradley (OF-Dodgers) complains of Jeff Kent's of a lack of leadership and an inability to deal with black players"

"The problem is, he doesn't know how to deal with African-American people," Bradley said. "I think that's what's causing everything. It's a pattern of things that have been said - things said off the cuff that I don't interpret as funny. It may be funny to him, but it's not funny to Milton Bradley. But I don't take offense to that because we all joke about race in here. Race is an issue with everything we do in here.

"Me being an African-American is the most important thing to me - more important than baseball," said the 27-year-old center fielder, whose voice never went beyond his normal speaking level. "White people never want to see race - with anything. But there's race involved in baseball. That's why there's less than 9 percent African-American representation in the game. I'm one of the few African-Americans that starts here."

First thing to comment about is the reality of Bradley's statement. If it is not funny then it is offensive. A foolish yet common logic. Either the statements are offensive when anyone says them or they are not. Frankly, I am of the opinion that close to nothing is offensive. Poor taste, maybe, but offensive...no.

Second thing to notice is Bradley's desire for affirmative action in baseball. Baseball teams select people based on how they can help the team the most, not on their race. The simple fact is that a lot of baseball's greater influences are from Central America, Asia and California.

Think about this sociologically. Why would there be a lower number of blacks in baseball AFTER accounting for the growing numbers of Central Americans and Asians? Picture this: An early summer day in Chicago and the black kids are out in the schoolyard playing sports. What sport are most of those kids playing? It is not hockey. It is not baseball. It is basketball.

Bradley, if you want higher representation in baseball then you better go persuade the boys from the "hood" why they should stop shooting hoops and start working on the diamond.

Bradley did not like what Kent said to him after he failed to score from first base on a double in Saturday's victory over the Florida Marlins. Bradley initiated a 25-minute closed-door meeting with Tracy after that game.

Ah, so now we understand the true basis for Bradley's issues. Kent was after Bradley for his lack of hustle.

"At no time am I going to let somebody question my hustle, my injury or question my motivation for playing," Bradley said. "I watch him on the field, and I follow in his footsteps and the things he does on the field. As far as off the field, he has no clue about leadership.

"If you're going to be the leader of the team, then you need to mingle with the team and associate with the team. I mean, you can't have your locker in the corner, put your headphones on and sit in the corner reading a motocross magazine. He's in his own world. Everybody else is in this world."

So when the criticism comes and you don't like it start throwing race issues around. But do not be fooled. There is another issue here.

"I was told in spring training I was the team leader - by Paul DePodesta. By Jim Tracy. By (team owner) Frank McCourt," Bradley said. "Growing up in L.A., I know how to deal with all types of people, and I do it on an everyday basis. But some people don't deal with all different types of people every day, and therefore don't know how to handle situations when they arise."

That's right, the other issue is that Bradley is not the team leader, at least not officially. Sour grapes and highly defensive about his hustle or lack thereof. So Bradley throws out "race". Disgusting.

Kent has had some issues in the past with teammates.

Kent, a former NL MVP who feuded with Barry Bonds in San Francisco, defended himself following Bradley's accusations.

From what I understand Bonds is a complete a**, so we can't blame Kent for having issues with Bonds.

How about Kent and race relations?

"If you think that I've got a problem with African-Americans, then go talk to Dusty Baker. Go talk to Dave Winfield, who took me under his wing. Go talk to Joe Carter - all the guys that I idolized in this game and all the veteran players who taught me how to play this game."

Milton Bradley...shut up and play.

Jon's MENSA Question of the Day

This is today's question...

The name of a country is hidden in each of the following sentences. Find the country.
1. If you are adventurous, you want a fast boat, but if you just want to be out on the water, a sloop or tug alike will do.
2. He lost the rally because he got lost on the way, not seeing a semihidden marker.
3. He opened the window, and, with a loud buzz, air entered the room along with a wasp!

And this is yesterday's:

All the vowels have been removed from the following statement, and the remaining letters have been broken into groups of three letters each. Replace the vowels and reconstruct the words to read the sentence.
THN LYT HNG WRS THN HSB
NDW HNV RNT CSW HTY CKR
WHT YWR SHS BND WHL WYS
NTC SWH TYC KND WHT YWR.

Good luck.

What the confirmations should be

So, Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is going to press Roberts on his views on abortion. What does it really matter? The bottom line on any Supreme Court nominee is the confirmations hearings should be about their personal record. Are they a crook, are they competent, have they been an upstanding citizen. That is all that should matter.

Feinstein, a moderate Democrat, has emerged as a pivotal figure. Judiciary Committee Republicans have enough votes to send Roberts' nomination to the full Senate for consideration, but Feinstein's committee vote could influence other Democrats.

As the only woman on the 17-member committee, Feinstein said she has a "special role and a special obligation" in grilling Roberts - particularly on his views about the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion.

"I happen to feel that it would be very difficult for me to vote yes on a nominee I thought would overturn Roe vs. Wade," she said.

Uh, you did confirm Ruth Bader Ginsburg, didn't you? She is a critic of Roe v Wade ("she has criticized the court's ruling in Roe v. Wade as being decided on unnecessarily broad grounds and halting legislative reforms").

Feinstein is setting up the premise the any Supreme Court nominee is an extraordinary circumstance, even if the filibuster is not used for Roberts.

She called the impending debate over Roberts' nomination a "big, big deal."

"I don't think in the last couple of decades there has been a Supreme Court appointment that could more tip the balance of the court," Feinstein said in a speech to several hundred Silicon Valley business executives. "That's how mega this vote is."

But all the while the Democrats are doing 2 things here that Americans should be upset about.

1) They are trying to make the Confirmation process a political campaing. "What's your view on [insert topic of the day]?" This is not the proper role of the process. By answering such questions the nominee would be required to recuse himself from any future cases on those topics. Additionally, the Advice & Consent is to prevent corrupted or incompetent appointees from gaining the appointed jobs. It is not to prevent political opponents from being approved. The corruption is the way that an Executive Branch would be able to coopt the various arms of the Government (like what FDR did with the Supreme Court in order to get decisions favorable to his programs).

2) They are holding different standards. Anti-Roe v Wade beliefs were given a pass with Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This is because the Democrats were about party not their own beliefs when confirming her. They now are concerned about anti-Roe v Wade beliefs from Republican appointees, though most honest complaints about the RvW decision are regarding the improper role the Court took in actually creating laws and being overbroad.

There is nothing that should rightfully prevent Roberts from being given an affirmative vote for confirmation. Don't make the Court about a campaign. We make them life long appointments so they do NOT have to campaign. This, in theory at the very least, helps them to maintain their objectivity.

Democrats of the Senate, stop bastardizing this nation's process.

Biggest Choke

Last night I was watching a program with a very intriguing question. I bring it to you.

What is the biggest "choke" in sports history...and why?

Jon's MENSA Answers For Last Week

Last week's answers:

08/16/05: The knight will arrive at 12:45. (75%)

08/17/05: IT IS MUCH TOO HOT TO DO THESE THINGS RIGHT NOW! The key is one to the left on a Qwerty typewriter. (95%)

08/18/05: MANE, MEAN AMEN, and NAME (95%)

08/19/05: You can form the word COLD in twelve ways. (55%)

08/20/05: 20 (85%)

The percentage is the number of people who got the correct answer.

Jon's MENSA Question of the Day

Today's question:

"See," said the richest man in the world to his secretary as he bought up another country, "money talks." The secretary sighed. "He's right," she said. (The rest is cryptic--a simple substitution.)
"13 15 14 5 25 20 1 12 11 19, 2 21 20 20 15 13 5 9 20 19 1 25 19 7 15 15 4 2 25 5."

And Sunday's question:

The two youngsters were playing with pennies. Neither of them had many. They did figure out that if you squared the number of Abe's pennies and added Lizzy's pennies, you'd have 62; but if you squared Lizzy's pennies and then added Abe's, you'd have 176 pennies. Since they didn't have either amount, they gave up, but how many pennies did eahc one actually have?

Last week's answers are coming shortly. Good luck.

This Week's Interview

This Sunday is an interview with Rep. Phil Krinkie. He is one of the numerous candidates for the Republican nomination for 6th Congressional District. Based on the blogosphere Rep. Krinkie is universally considered one of the leaders in the race. He has been given and wears proudly the title "Dr. No" because of his positions on taxes: NO taxes.

If anyone has any questions that they would like to ask feel free to call in and ask. The show can be heard via the web. (For the link go to Race to the Right's website.)

Jon's MENSA Question of the Day

It may look like playing with blocks (not really though cause I couldn't make the picture they have in the book into something that I'd be able to include in this e-mail), but this is a visual puzzle. How many different ways can you form the word COLD? You can use each letter more than once, but you can't use the same combination of letters in a different order. (Letters need not be adjacent.)

C	C	L	D
L	O	D	D

Good luck...and read the question carefully.

Here is Saturday's question.

What number is two-thirds of one-half of one-fourth of 240?

The thought process of liberals

For those who do not know who lloydletta is I will tell you. She is the blogosphere's version of the National Enquirer (pre-lost lawsuits). All of her blogs have the most horrible method of fact confirmation ever.

If you want fact based news you would be best to consult Dan Rather, the New York Times or the Onion. There is more fact with the Onion than with lloydletta's "nooz".

She calls herself a Republican. Based on what I have heard about and read from her I can only think that she does so because she is a contrarian or antagonist. I have yet to see her answer the question posed by many: What do you agree with the Republicans on?

I have long thought of her as not worth the time to really forward people to nor to mention at all. She is respectful of people while on their blogs (something to be commended) though highly disrespectful on her own of those same people. So I engage her comments around the blogosphere. Though I have long suspected that the brain does not fire well in her head.

As she was trying to get people to call our show to give Sen. Michele Bachmann trouble she kept reporting that Bachmann dropped out of the race. Her basis? Bachmann was not listed on the radio show's website. Talk about making up her own story. Her source? The Race to the Right website.

This is what she claimed proved to her that Bachmann was (1) not going to be interviewed and (2) dropping out of the race.

Once she realized she was wrong (such a realization is rare, though her being wrong is nearly constant) she blamed it on the fact that the website has "a usuability issue". (If the picture is too small there is a frame on the right hand side that lists 'people' with a scroll bar.)

Can anyone please tell me what you would do if you came to this site and wanted to see who is being interviewed when? What if you heard someone specific was going to be interviewed and the picture above only shows 1 1/2 people...what would you do?

I would use the scroll bar. Such a simple answer to a non-issue. I guess lloydletta's treatment of the whole thing just exemplifies the liberal approach to everything.