29 November, 2004

I think Bane, amongst others, will like these.

I bring you:

Busty MousePads!

It may well be, that every man needs a couple- just to lean on...

--WP

28 November, 2004

Crisis towers over the dollar

Mr. Sharkey sent the following in:
Global Economy

SPEAKING FREELY
Crisis towers over the dollar
By W Joseph Stroupe

"When analyzing such matters as the vulnerability of the US economy and the chances of its collapse, it is vital to avoid the two extremes of "calamity howling" on one hand and investing blind faith in the status quo on the other. Unforeseen and unexpected attack-induced collapses of grand proportions can and do occur. The sudden collapse of both towers of New York's World Trade Center, for example, took everyone by surprise - who could have foreseen that the two towers, which survived the massive lateral impact of two huge planes, would, only minutes later, collapse vertically upon themselves, their own massive weight ensuring their demise?"
An alarming, but interesting introduction and Mr. Stroupe further goes on to point out:
"Now that fire is raging, and ferociously eating into the girders. Controversial and ill-advised unilateral US economic and foreign policies since September 11 are only fueling that fire. In the immediate aftermath of the re-election of President George W Bush, international support for the dollar and for related US economic and foreign policies is noticeably weakening, at a time when it is most needed to support an unprecedented and mushrooming mountain load of debt. Recently, voices from within the government of Norway have called for a switch from the dollar toward the euro for international petro-transactions. The governor of the Bank of Japan has recently stated that having the dollar as the sole global currency is a marked disadvantage and danger, and recommended moving toward adopting the euro as a global currency alongside the dollar. The appetite of the big Asian economies to continue buying dollar assets is waning - last month the US barely achieved the $60 billion of foreign cash inflow required each month to keep it afloat. Hence the possibility of a Twin Towers-like vertical collapse of the US economy is becoming greater, not lesser.

The following highlight the extent of the mounting debt and the risk involved:
  • The total US public national debt now exceeds $7 trillion.
  • When Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, military and government pensions are added in, the total national debt exceeds $51 trillion, according to Fortune magazine - that's nearly five times the gross domestic product (GDP) .
  • The current year's deficit alone approaches $1 trillion when you add the off-budget items.
  • Derivatives (highly leveraged and enormously risky instruments such as interest-rate futures, options and swaps) now total $180 trillion, 17 times the GDP. Warren Buffet calls derivatives "instruments of mass destruction". Many financial institutions have become highly invested in derivatives. Government-sponsored enterprises such as Fannie Mae (the Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp) use derivatives heavily. Because of the inherent nature of derivatives, these instruments and those using them are extremely sensitive even to small and moderate interest-rate increases.
  • The total US consumer debt is more than $8 trillion."
Another link in Mr. Sharkey's E-mail is here:
The Next Four Years - borrowed time
Listen to this commentary
(This requires Real Player or an Alternative)

"Today, our special series of commentaries from different political perspectives continues with commentator and economist Paul Krugman. He says for the next four years, we'll be living on borrowed time. And he thinks we might end up singing for our supper."
This is interesting, in so far as that NPR actually has an honest, though short, commentary upon the economy. Of course, I am sure that it has nothing to do with the fact that the Repuglicrats are in solid control, and that their beloved Socialist-Rat Bastards, the Democraps, are not, but of course this is pure speculation upon my part. It has nothing to do with the years of listening to the cheese and wine loving whiners and social engineers that are the normal fare from National Propaganda Radio.

Then again, you should take all of this with a grain of salt, and forget that Gold is now up 71% since August of 1995...

--WP

24 November, 2004

El Cid's Blog

I do not remember seeing this blog before, and I thought I had hit all of Stoney's Links, but the Southern Loyalist Blog is a damn fine read. I particularly enjoyed his post to this article (which I also had missed) at Lew Rockwell's site.

I became aware of this link due to Stoney's most recent posting at Rebel Yell.

Oh, and go and tell him that if he needs a vacation, then he should take one.

By the way, it really does help when you wake up at 03:15 and can spend the next two hours really getting work done...

--WP

21 November, 2004

No-Neck wants to know what it takes to offend someone.

I want to know what is wrong with Emory University:

Residents question rule on acts of intolerance

By Rachel Zelkowitz
Staff Writer
November 16, 2004

"After an individual scribbled the word "gay" on every dry-erase board on the first floor of Hopkins Residential Hall, police arrived on the scene, interviewed residents and snapped Polaroid pictures for about an hour.

Although Emory's code of conduct requires that police be called when an act of intolerance occurs, some students said the investigation was over the top."

Of course, it is policy at Emory to waste tax payer dollars anytime an act of intolreance occurs, which we all know is truly pressing police business.

Nevertheless, the acts of contrition at one Bowling Green High School beat Emory's stupidities:

Student's anger over Indian skit garners apology

By Courtney Craig, ccraig@bgdailynews.com -- 270-783-3243

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

"A Bowling Green High School student of American Indian heritage has received an apology from school officials after she was offended by a skit performed at a pep rally.

Sarah Berry, 16, a member of the Choctaw Nation, said a Sept. 24 pep rally at the school that included some Bowling Green High football players dressed as American Indians was offensive to her heritage. Sarah described the skit as a mock "violent slaughter" of the American Indians by students dressed as Purples, Bowling Green High's mascots.

The pep rally skit was performed in advance of the school's game against the Adair County Indians.

"It was pathetic," Berry said. "It was discriminatory and horrible."

According to Berry, the students dressed as American Indians were sitting around a fake campfire and passing around what she assumed was a peace pipe.

"Then other people came out screaming and hollering and pretended to beat them up," she said. " ... I was crying and wanted to go straight to the administration right then. I was hurt and angry."

To address her concerns, Sarah met Nov. 10 with Principal Gary Fields, who described the skit as the students dressed as Purples simply "scaring off" the students dressed as Indians. Both said there were no toy guns or other weapons involved in the skit."

Aww, she had her feelings hurt. Another one who thinks that she has a right to heap guilt upon others for her own benefit- cry me a tear darling, cry me a tear...

--WP

Another, in a long line, of thought provoking E-mails in from Mr. Sharkey.

Mr. Sharkey wrote:

"I was at an all day seminar on the Red River Campaign and the term "Dirt General" was brought up and the fact there was not one "decisive" battle in the war. A "Dirt General is one who thinks in terms of defense and occupying places and land but not decisively breaking the enemies will in battle.

The speaker was General Parker Hills, a former War College lecturer on Forrest, and he laid the cause for this thinking (by both North and South, particularly at the executive level) on Lincoln's Chief military advisor, General Henry Hallack. Hallack had translated Jomini's Vie de Napoleon in 1846. Jomini saw the objective of war to hold and occupy territory not defeat the enemy in battle.

This lead to both Lincoln (under Hallack's influence) and Davis, who had studied it and based his western fort plan on it to withhold troops from commands engaged in offensive operations.

Hills claimed the American military reverted to this thinking after WWII and it is reflected in both Korea and Vietnam and the planning for WWIII in central Europe (had the Russians come through the Fulda Gap). He went on the say it took 15 years after Vietnam for it to finally be ended in the first Gulf war. He to went on to say, he thinks "Dirt" thinking maybe coming back to detriment of the military."

This is not an idle undertaking if you plan on following through with the links.

In fact, this will take many books and, many years of thought, if you have not already started...

--WP

20 November, 2004

Edgerton seeks audience with Bush

The following came in from Mr. Sharkey, and he is interested in what type of reply Mr. Edgerton will receive:
Edgerton seeks audience with Bush

Over equal protection for Southerners

BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC - H. K. Edgerton, Black Southern activist and Chairman of the Southern Legal Resource Center's Board of Advisors, has requested a meeting with President George W. Bush "to examine ways of achieving cultural justice" for Southerners who are forbidden to express their heritage.

Edgerton's letter was written and sent November 5, three days after Bush's reelection, and was originally not intended to be made public until a response from the White House had been received; however, at least two Internet news sources learned of the letter's existence and had begun to speculate on its contents.. At that point, according to SLRC Executive Director Roger McCredie, the decision was made to release it. "There's nothing secretive about it, and it's certainly no secret that we would hope for a favorable reply," McCredie said.

The complete text of Edgerton's letter is as follows:


November 5, 2004


The President

The White House

Washington, DC 20500


Dear Mr. President:

Earlier this week the South, voting as a solid bloc for the first time in decades, helped you achieve a second term in office. Now I am writing to request a meeting with you to discuss ways of achieving cultural justice for millions of these same Southerners, who find themselves the victims of the only prejudice and discrimination still allowed in America.

Mr. President, I am a black man, the descendent of slaves. I am a former NAACP officer. Yet I am also Chairman of the Board of Advisors of the Southern Legal Resource Center, an organization that advocates for Southerners' civil rights. And in 2002 I carried a Confederate flag and marched 1,606 miles from Pack Square in Asheville, North Carolina, to the Texas Supreme Court Building in Austin, where I stood to demand the replacement of two Confederate plaques that had been removed. (I believe you may recall the case.) All along my march to Austin I was greeted by an astounding outpouring of love and support from blacks and whites alike, ordinary Southerners who share a common heritage.

These people, my Southern family, hunger and thirst after righteousness. They have been fired from their jobs, had their reputations ruined and their lives disrupted, been ridiculed, libeled, slandered, injured and even killed for trying to express their pride in who they are and for trying to tell the truth in the face of the tyranny known as "political correctness." Most deplorably, my people see their children force-fed politically correct lies in the public schools, where they are bullied and intimidated if they wear clothing depicting a flag that former President Carter called "a legitimate American icon". Dr. Eugene Genovese, a northern-born, Harvard-educated scholar, has said, "We are witnessing a cultural and political atrocity - an increasingly successful campaign by the media and an academic elite to strip young white southerners, and arguably black southerners as well, of their heritage, and, therefore, their identity. They are being taught to forget their forebears or to remember them with shame."

In short, there are a lot of Americans here in the South who are having some very un-American things done to them. This deeply offends the American sense of justice and freedom that was instilled in me from birth. I have carried my flag - the cross of the apostle Andrew - down enough American roads to know that nearly all Americans, as individual children of God, instinctively respect and honor each other's history and heritage. The cultural holocaust that is ruining the American South is driven by self-serving special interest groups, media and politicians. That is why I am appealing to you; you are, after all, the duly elected leader of all Americans.

Mr. President, your second administration can either mark the completion of the destruction of my people's culture or the beginning of its rescue. The implications of this matter reach into the furthest corners of your domestic policy. Will you sit down with me to explore ways to begin righting this pervasive and poisonous wrong?

Thank you for your attention, sir. I hope to have the honor of hearing from you soon.


Yours faithfully,



H. K. Edgerton

I doubt that one will be forthcoming...

--WP

18 November, 2004

In honor of National Ammo Day.

I will be loading up my brand spanking new G18 mags and taking the Glock to the range and unloading several hunderd rounds.

Oh, most will be .45 as I just bought the G18 mags just to say I have a couple.

Happy National Ammo Day, and remember, Bill of Rights Day is December 15th!

And "Boys, Keep Your Powder Dry"...

--WP

17 November, 2004

Still no day off in the past 2½ weeks.

However, I slept eight hours last night- incredible...

--WP

14 November, 2004

THE ARRIVAL OF SECRET LAW

SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2004, Issue No. 100
November 14, 2004

** THE ARRIVAL OF SECRET LAW
** TSA THREATENS TO ARREST LEAKERS
** SUPPORT SECRECY NEWS

THE ARRIVAL OF SECRET LAW

Last month, Helen Chenoweth-Hage attempted to board a United Airlines flight from Boise to Reno when she was pulled aside by airline personnel for additional screening, including a pat-down search for weapons or unauthorized materials.

Chenoweth-Hage, an ultra-conservative former Congresswoman (R-ID), requested a copy of the regulation that authorizes such pat-downs.

"She said she wanted to see the regulation that required the additional procedure for secondary screening and she was told that she couldn't see it," local TSA security director Julian Gonzales told the Idaho Statesman (10/10/04).

"She refused to go through additional screening [without seeing the regulation], and she was not allowed to fly," he said. "It's pretty simple."

Chenoweth-Hage wasn't seeking disclosure of the internal criteria used for screening passengers, only the legal authorization for passenger pat-downs. Why couldn't they at least let her see that? asked Statesman commentator Dan Popkey.

"Because we don't have to," Mr. Gonzales replied crisply.

"That is called 'sensitive security information.' She's not allowed to see it, nor is anyone else," he said.

Thus, in a qualitatively new development in U.S. governance, Americans can now be obligated to comply with legally-binding regulations that are unknown to them, and that indeed they are forbidden to know.

This is not some dismal Eastern European allegory. It is part of a continuing transformation of American government that is leaving it less open, less accountable and less susceptible to rational deliberation as a vehicle for change.

Harold C. Relyea once wrote an article entitled "The Coming of Secret Law" (Government Information Quarterly, vol. 5, no. 2, 1988) that electrified readers (or at least one reader) with its warning about increased executive branch reliance on secret presidential directives and related instruments.

Back in the 1980s when that article was written, secret law was still on the way. Now it is here.

A new report from the Congressional Research Service describes with welcome clarity how, by altering a few words in the Homeland Security Act, Congress "significantly broadened" the government's authority to generate "sensitive security information," including an entire system of "security directives" that are beyond public scrutiny, like the one former Rep. Chenoweth-Hage sought to examine.

The CRS report provides one analyst's perspective on how the secret regulations comport or fail to comport with constitutional rights, such as the right to travel and the right to due process. CRS does not make its reports directly available to the public, but a
copy was obtained by Secrecy News.

See "Interstate Travel: Constitutional Challenges to the Identification Requirement and Other Transportation Security Regulations," Congressional Research Service, November 4, 2004:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/RL32664.pdf

Much of the CRS discussion revolves around the case of software designer and philanthropist John Gilmore, who was prevented from boarding an airline flight when he refused to present a photo ID. (A related case involving no-fly lists has been brought by the ACLU.)

"I will not show government-issued identity papers to travel in my own country," Mr. Gilmore said.

Mr. Gilmore's insistence on his right to preserve anonymity while traveling on commercial aircraft is naturally debatable -- but the government will not debate it. Instead, citing the statute on "sensitive security information," the Bush Administration says the
case cannot be argued in open court.

Further information on Gilmore v. Ashcroft, which is pending on appeal, may be found here:

http://papersplease.org/gilmore/

TSA THREATENS TO ARREST LEAKERS

Efforts by the Transportation Security Administration to investigate air marshals for talking to the press or the public "were appropriate under the circumstances," the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General said last week, and did not
constitute a "witch hunt."

However, "air marshals from two locations said that they were threatened with arrest and prosecution if they were found to have released sensitive security information (SSI), even though release of SSI is not a prosecutable offense," the Inspector General said.

In a related overstatement, Federal Air Marshal Service policy says that "employees who release classified information or records in any form without authority from the Classified Documents Custodian are in violation of United States Code and are subject to arrest and prosecution," the DHS Inspector General (IG) noted.

But "We question the legal accuracy of this policy statement, which seems to criminalize all releases of classified information," the IG wrote.

The unauthorized disclosure of classified information is a criminal offense only in certain narrowly defined circumstances.

See "Review of Alleged Actions by TSA to Discipline Federal Air Marshals for Talking to the Press, Congress, or the Public," DHS Inspector General Audit Report, November 2004:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/dhs-ig-ssi.pdf
...
Secrecy News
Federation of American Scientists
1717 K Street NW, Suite 209
Washington, DC 20036

And, this is just to remind you about the monsters we have here and now...

--WP

It has been a very long and busy week.

To much to write about now, but I just wanted to remind everybody that today, Churchill allowed Coventry to be destroyed so the Enigma Secret could stand. He later enacted his revenge with the firebombing of Dresden.

Ask yourself, who was a monster...

--WP

11 November, 2004

To our Veterans,

Thank You.

--WP

08 November, 2004

A bit of History

Today, in 1519, Hernan Cortez arrived in Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan and imprisoned Montezuma.

In 1923, Hitler led the failed Beer Hall Putsch in Munich, was jailed where he wrote Mein Kampf. Nineteen years later, the Allies began Operation Torch- which was a major success.

Then in 1960, John F. Kennedy won the presidential election against Richard Nixon, who was much more gracious than Al Gore in the year 2000.

In addition, speaking of today in 2000, that miserable bastard John C. Danforth continued the whitewash and released the official last cover-up and absolution of what an atrocity the U.S. Government perpetrated at Waco in 1993.

May you bastards rot in hell...

--WP

05 November, 2004

The Mystery Of The Dead Scientists

The Mystery Of The Dead Scientists

"It is a story worthy of a major conspiracy theory, the script for a James Bond movie, or a blueprint for a contrived episode of "The X Files". Except the facts surrounding this story are just that. Facts. The Truth. At least twelve, and perhaps as many as twenty eminent scientists, leaders in their particular field of scientific research, dead in the last few months, and a bizarre connection between one of the scientists and the mystery surrounding the death by Anthrax inhalation of a sixty one year old female hospital worker in New York. Sounds far fetched? Read on.

Since November last year several world-acclaimed scientific researchers, specialising in infectious diseases and biological agents such as Smallpox and Anthrax, as well as DNA sequencing, environmental research and microbiology have died, many in unusual circumstances."
I read this story this morning, but I did not have time to research and had planned to this weekend, but the thank you for the link goes to Bane and his rants for doing the Google search on this.

I will be doing some more research on this as time allows...

--WP

A Congratulations and a Happy Birthday.

Tis a very joyous day for Nate and Julie. You can read about their new baby boy here. This makes two for them.

And also on a fine note, Army of Mom's birthday is today- I believe it is her 29th...

Happy Birthday AoM!

--WP

04 November, 2004

"He MOST certainly is,"

An oldy from the Babushka:
A young woman in New York was so depressed that she decided to end her life by throwing herself into the ocean. She went down to the docks and was about to leap into the frigid water when a handsome young sailor saw her tottering On the edge of the pier, crying.

He took pity on her and said, "Look, you have so much to live for. I'm Off to Europe in the morning, and if you like, I can stow you away on my ship.

I'll take good care of you and bring you food every day." Moving closer, he slipped his arm around her shoulder and added, "I'll Keep you happy, and you'll keep me happy." The girl nodded yes.

After all, what did she have to lose? Perhaps a fresh start in Europe Would give her life new meaning.

That night, the sailor brought her aboard and hid her in a lifeboat. From then on, every night he brought her three sandwiches and a piece of fruit, and they made mad passionate love until dawn.

Three weeks later, during a routine inspection, she was discovered by The captain.

"What are you doing here?" the captain asked.

"I have an arrangement with one of the sailors," she explained. "I get food and a trip to Europe, and he's screwing me."

"He MOST certainly is," the captain said. "This is the Staten Island Ferry."
The Babushka is an old HS friend, and he actually knows where some of the bodies are buried.

Just remember Babushka, I know where some of your's are as well...

--WP

Time to grab some more of the boys bandwidth.

inhibition:zero

Go and check out the Video section again, particularly the WWII and MaDeuce. I have permanently linked them under the Firearms Links for future reference if you are to lazy to bookmark them.

Again, while you are there, sign up and generate some traffic for them, as these boys have some damn fine videos up- and if you cannot shoot them, at least you can drool...

--Whose Paranoid

Very often, it is good to forget the bullshit.

And, remember the treasures.

--WP

Specter warns Bush on high court nominations

Specter warns Bush on high court nominations

By LARA JAKES JORDAN
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA --

"The Republican expected to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee next year bluntly warned newly re-elected President Bush today against putting forth Supreme Court nominees who would seek to overturn abortion rights or are otherwise too conservative to win confirmation.

Sen. Arlen Specter, fresh from winning a fifth term in Pennsylvania, also said the current Supreme Court now lacks legal "giants" on the bench.

"When you talk about judges who would change the right of a woman to choose, overturn Roe v. Wade, I think that is unlikely," Specter said, referring to the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

"The president is well aware of what happened, when a bunch of his nominees were sent up, with the filibuster," Specter added, referring to Senate Democrats' success over the past four years in blocking the confirmation of many of Bush's conservative judicial picks. "... And I would expect the president to be mindful of the considerations which I am mentioning."

With at least three Supreme Court justices rumored to be eyeing retirement, including ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Specter, 74, would have broad authority to reshape the nation's highest court. He would have wide latitude to schedule hearings, call for votes and make the process as easy or as hard as he wants.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., expressed confidence Wednesday that Bush will have more success his second term in winning the confirmation of his judicial nominees.

"I'm very confident that now we've gone from 51 seats to 55 seats, we will be able to overturn this what has become customary filibuster of judicial nominees," Frist said in Orlando, Fla."

Oh, and his last words in the article:
"A former district attorney, Specter also bemoaned what he called the lack of any current justices comparable to legal heavyweights like Oliver Wendell Holmes, Louis Brandeis, Benjamin Cardozo and Thurgood Marshall, "who were giants of the Supreme Court."

"With all due respect to the (current) U.S. Supreme Court, we don't have one," he said.

Though he refused to describe the political leanings of the high court, Specter said he "would characterize myself as moderate; I'm in the political swim. I would look for justices who would interpret the Constitution, as Cardozo has said, reflecting the values of the people."
Hmm, that certainly is a real "Thank You" to GWB and also the NRA.

Gee, I say we thank them too...

--WP

03 November, 2004

02 November, 2004

"Hold me closer, tiny dancer."

This morning, while in the bigger Paranoid Mobile, one of the local radio stations had on Elton John's tune "Tiny Dancer".

I like this song, and always have, but every time I hear it, I think of a try for freedom. The reason I do this is that when I was a kid, there was a television show on CBS called WKRP in Cincinnati.

In one very memorable episode, a Soviet (Russian for you kids today) named Ivan (as they all were) was hoping to defect. Andy and Bailey tried to help him, but to no avail. At the end of the episode, when Ivan knew he was cornered and had no hope of escaping, he told Les Nessman:

"Hold me closer, tiny dancer."

Nearly immediately after this, he had to leave with the Commie Bastard Hog Committee. However, for me, that one scene showed that Man, no matter his current circumstances, will always strive for freedom, even if he has to hide it from others...

--WP

"Respect My Authority" Part 2

Or Cartman kills a 20 Year Old: Part Two
(Oh, and No-Neck, read it very carefully.)
Montgomery Police Charge U.S. Marshal With Murder
Last Updated: 11/2/2004 11:19:00 AM

"Montgomery County police have charged an off-duty deputy U.S. marshal with murder in the shooting death of a motorist last week on Rockville Pike.

Detectives arrested 53-year-old Arthur Lloyd this morning at his home in the county.

According to police, Lloyd was engaged in a traffic altercation with 20-year-old Ryan Stowers on Thursday, when both motorists pulled into the parking lot of the Mid-Pike Plaza in Rockville and got out of their cars.

At some point during an argument, Lloyd pulled out a handgun and began firing at Stowers.

Authorities say they have spent the past several days interviewing more than 40 witnesses to determine whether Lloyd fired the shots while acting as a law enforcement officer and in self-defense."

Now, what we will probably see, is a major delay in Arthur Lloyd going to trail. Nevertheless, it is currently reported that he is being held without bond. Curiously, the Washington Post article says he has been charged with First Degree Murder, but every other article I have read says Second Degree...

--WP

The 'One Vote' Myth

A thank you goes to Mr. Sharkey for the heads-up on this:
'One Vote' Fallacies

"Claim: To impress upon readers the importance of casting their votes, lists circulate that perpetuate a variety of "one vote" canards; e.g.;
  • In 1645, one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England.
  • In 1649, one vote caused Charles I of England to be executed.
  • In 1776, one vote gave America the English language instead of German.
  • In 1845, one vote brought Texas into the Union.
  • In 1875, one vote changed France from a monarchy to a republic.
  • In 1923, one vote gave Adolf Hitler leadership of the Nazi Party.
  • In 1941, one vote saved Selective Service - just weeks before Pearl Harbor was attacked.
Status: All the above claims are false.

Origins: Regardless of the value of casting a ballot, the fervor to incite others to vote doesn't abrogate the need to be factual in the claims used as prods. The falsities listed above routinely find their way into the media, most likely because they have so often been circulated as part of larger lists detailing incidents where one vote made an important difference that this year's inciter doesn't think to question them.

Worse, not only are these lists published as gospel both in the traditional print media and on the Internet, they often survive attempts to debunk the various erroneous claims made in them. Election year after election year, screwball "one vote" lists have life breathed back into them through impassioned readers' letters on the editorial page, in the body of news articles by paid journalists, and in the offerings of advice and opinion columnists.

Misinformation of this nature is a Weeble -- you can hit it, you can knock it down, but as surely as God made little green apples, it will pop back up. And sure enough, Jesse Jackson's speech before the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles on 15 August 2000 included this bit of wisdom about the importance of voting:"

Just remember boys and girls, participation in your own demise is not mandatory- yet...

--WP

01 November, 2004

While I was laid up, I watched a bit of TV.

One of the shows that I watched regularly, when I was awake, was Angel.

A friend of mine, years ago told me that I would enjoy it, but I did not have WB so I never watched it- that, and having the time. Nevertheless, it is on TNT now twice a day and I must say I did enjoy the show, and one of the most charming reasons to watch it is Charisma Carpenter!

What a knock out.

You can find more on here and there.

My friend was kind enough to loan me his DVD collection of the first three seasons while I was laid up, and if you get the opportunity to watch them, I think you just might enjoy it.

Oh, and Charisma was not the only down-right attractive woman on that show, there are many more...

--WP