BoldlyRide

This is the best line: I've seen on the internet today -- first paragraph, sentence ending with the word "asset." Annika hashes an NPR piece.

David Limbaugh in the Washington Times: illuminates somthing that should be brought up at the Roberts confirmation hearings: "In a nutshell, that's what's so sinister and insidious about this 'progressive' notion that the Constitution is an evolving document. When judges can make the Constitution say whatever they want regardless of the original understanding of those who signed and ratified it, the fixed basis upon which all our rights depend degenerates from concrete to sand. Our constitutional rights are no more secure than the whims of the unaccountable majority of the Supreme Court. "

McSweeney's Internet Tendency: Comments Overheard at a Brainstorming Meeting Between Ted Nugent and the Editors of Gourmet Magazine Where They Were Discussing the Upcoming Book Gourmet Magazine's Vegan Cooking With Ted Nugent.: "Fair enough, sweetheart, but I also don't remember where in the Constitution it says I have to play nice with delusional hippies. "

Actually, words to live by no matter what your taste in meats. The site is hilarious -- many lists guaranteed to split your sides like a cheap pinata (that would be your sides likened unto the pinata, not the lists. I mean, I've never had my sides split by a cheap pinata. Maybe you have. Yes, I've rambled enough -- but reading Lileks will do that to you).

Counseling Kevin: Deep Thoughts: "'Most people don't realize that large pieces of coral, which have been painted brown and attached to the skull by common wood screws, can make a child look like a deer.'
--Martha Stewart, as told to Jack Handy. "

Over the past few days I have heard it asserted and repeated, without explanation or argument, that a particular individual whose son in the armed forces was killed in Iraq has unquestionable "moral authority" to speak out about the war in Iraq and to demand to meet (again) with President Bush. On a popular radio program yesterday, a male and female argued about the the particular individual and her advocacy. The male participant asked the female participant if she had lost a son in Iraq and made the statement that Cindy Sheehan had lost a son and therefore had unquestionable moral authority to speak on the issue. The male participant inferred that the female participant's position was therefore less worthy or illegitimate because she had not lost a son in Iraq. This is the common tactic of the left, to poison the well of debate with labels and assertions that are unfounded yet put forward as self-evident truths.

There is no "moral authority" on the part of Cindy Sheehan or anyone else when it comes to speaking out on the war in Iraq. The word "moral" has reference to being good, virtuous, or ethical and is based on personal conduct; one does not become moral based simply upon the death of a family member. Likewise, a soldier who had been wounded or who had lost a limb in the war would not magically be endowed with the moral label. The word "authority" means having a power to execute or direct within a particular realm or possessing expertise in a field. Ms. Sheehan has yet to produce any certificate of authority or degree proclaiming expertise on the war in Iraq or the myriad other foreign policy matters upon which she gratuitously pontificates; the death certificate of a family member certifies only death and confers no special authority to the bearer. There is no basis for the claim that anyone who has lost a family member in the war has a more legitimate right or voice on the subject than someone who has not.

Do we even care about the opinions of veterans, or those who have lost loved-ones in Iraq? We certainly do. These people have been touched more personally by the war than many of us so we do have an interest in what they have to say. Although our interest in their opinions may be heightened, the weight to be given to their opinions is no greater than the opinions of others not so touched. Personal tragedy does not confer expertise. Should the opinion a father who has lost two or more sons in Iraq have twice the weight of a mother who has lost one son? Should the opinion of a soldier who has lost both legs to an IED be considered ten times more valuable than the opinion of an unwounded soldier? The questions themselves demonstrate the absurdity of authority through misfortune reasoning.

So why does the left keep shouting about Sheehan's moral authority? Because such an assertion is tantamount to the bestowal of that sainthood of the liberals -- victim status. Canonize the speaker and then all of her assertions must be taken as truth; victims are never wrong and all of their utterances stand as irrefutable holy writ not subject to the critical examination of mere mortals. The label is a substitute for reasoning.

Although President Bush did meet with Cindy Sheehan and she stated how good and caring he was, her opinion has changed. Deathsploitation is the reason. She demands another interview. Apparently she thinks that she can change foreign policy by stake out and repeated assertions to the press of phrases harvested from anti-bush T-shirts. Elevated to liberal sainthood, she has been empowered in her own mind to speak upon all subjects with infallibility. She has exploited the death of her son. She has taken the revered flag from his coffin, painted the liberal littanies upon it and waved it over her head to draw attention to herself and those who have canonized her. Such conduct is neither moral nor possessed of legitimate authority.

will not be discussed on this site -- except for these few words: It's a movie about penguins. The penguins walk and walk the weather is cold, some die, some get eaten by seals. Eggs are destroyed and young are killed and eaten. I haven't seen the movie and don't intend to -- at least not until it comes to television (that's network, not cable)-- and yet, I think I have captured the essence of the film. I'll save my eight-fifty. But my wife tells me Revenge of the Sith is playing at the dollar theater now, so there may be a movie in my future.

KOBTV.com - Pete Who? Officials take pistol away from NMSU mascot: "New Mexico State University?s mascot, Pistol Pete, is being disarmed.
University officials also are stripping the word Pistol from Pete?s name.
The changes are part of a marketing plan to remake the university's image on the national stage."

The new mascot will have a lasso --- Lasso Pete? Seems more like the mascot for a new grocery store, "Come on in and lasso some good bargains."

Why is disarming the mascot is perceived as making the university image more palatable on the national stage? (The answer is that the "national stage," as defined by the blue metrosexual parenthesis of the nation, i.e., the coasts, is a place ruled by political correctness and the gunban crowd). Besides throwing away a great local tradition, the move ignores the personal right to bear arms recognized by the Constitution. NMSU had one of the few mascots who actually portrayed a constitutional right -- now he will just twirl a rope -- perhaps making him able to rope and tie, thus violating other's constitutional rights against search and seizure (of course that's only if Pete is deemed to be a state actor).

There was much talk about a legacy of a former occupant of the oval office -- I thought the legacy was stain on a blue dress -- but I had forgotten these gems, which are also part of the legacy: Ravenquotes: "'We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans.' -- President Bill Clinton
'The purpose of government is to rein in the rights of the people' -- President Bill Clinton
'If the personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution inhibit the government's ability to govern the people, we should look to limit those guarantees.' -- President Bill Clinton"

Ravenwood's Universe - Imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever: "It's our love affair with freedom. Just because Canada is passing tyrannical controls on civil rights, don't expect Americans to go along."

Yes, I have found a replacement for the stagnant link.

Ravenwood's Universe - Think in newspeak: "Now knowledge of the procedure has apparently even reached Canada, where medical procedures are normally only allowed to be performed by the government."

A story of daring young canadian girls saving lives without government sanction.

We Win, They Lose: Makes steps toward redemption with a post of quotes from nominee John Roberts: "'It is certainly appropriate to protect judges from popular pressure if their task is limited to discerning and applying the intent of the framers or legislators,' he wrote. 'The federal judiciary today benefits from an insulation from political pressure even as it usurps the roles of the political branches.'"

Filling in for my colleague twice in the last couple weeks. Both city and county cases. For the 1:30 time slot, not one of the clients showed up. One, in jail elsewhere and no order to transport, the others just seemed to have better things to do. On the 2:30 time slot everyone showed except a gentleman being sentenced for DUI. I mentioned to the officer that I was looking for this gentleman and he said, yeah, we arrested him last week for selling meth. -- He's moving up (or down) the criminal food chain. When I brought up the case before the judge, he said, "yes, we have talked about this gentleman everyday this week. He is in jail" -- then the prosecutor and the judge mentioned other charges and cases that I had no information about.

The most painful case involved a kid who is ruining his life every chance he gets. On house arrest probation for a theft, he cut off the electronic monitoring bracelet and ran off for three weeks before he came back and was arrested. He also had a bunch of probation violations (not paying fines and costs and failing or not showing for drug tests) -- he really wanted the judge to give him another chance (and he just found out his girlfriend is pregnant) -- the judge is somewhat skeptical of the youth's ability to keep a promise that he has already broken. Broken family as well, no stable environment -- stays locked up for another two weeks until the new sentencing.

Overlawyered: "Fart science": "expensive regulation of cow flatulence?even though the scientist on whose data they rely, Frank Mitloehner of UC Davis, says that closing every single dairy in the valley would have no effect "

Typical regulatory mentality -- part of the global warming sky is falling nutjob vision.

The Creative Conservative: renders a brief sketch of senator chuck-a-luck: "Schumer is as evil as one gets"

I think I've found a replacement link for WeWin.