Military History Channel's New Documentary on JFK: "Beyond The Magic Bullet"

Nuts, I used to really enjoy debating conspiracy-theorists on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  I have always held that Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy and that he acted alone -- just like the Warren Commission said he did, way back in 1964.  Now it's just getting too easy to win those arguments.  They aren't much of a challenge anymore.

This week the Military History Channel showed a documentary called "Beyond The Magic Bullet."  The magic bullet, if you have been hiding in the woods these past few decades, refers to the Mannlicher-Carcano bullet that was Oswald's second shot from the sixth story window of the Texas School Depository on that early afternoon in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.

That bullet, a copper metal jacketed round, is said to have passed through Kennedy's throat, into Governor Connally's back where it broke a rib, then emerged near Connally's right nipple where it then slammed into his wrist, went through that and embedded itself in his leg.  The spent bullet was found on Connally's stretcher at Parkland Hospital.  The bullet appeared almost pristine, that is, undamaged from its passage through two human bodies.   It had lost some of its lead through the open end of the metal jacket and was slightly flattened on one side.

For years conspiracy-kooks have railed to the heavens about how impossible this is, that one bullet could make such wounds and yet suffer so little deformation in the process.  They contemptuously referred to this bullet, Commission Exhibit (CE) 399, as "the magic bullet."

The researchers in the film, however, showed that identical bullets from the same batch used by Oswald were often pristine, after being fired through the end of a log, where it was embedded several feet in, and by other bullets fired through gelatin blocks designed to mimic the physics of the human body.  Further, the bullets fired through the gelatin blocks began to tumble, head over end, after emerging from the target -- exactly what happened to CE 399 when it exited Kennedy and slammed sideways into Connally's back, leaving a "keyhole" wound.  CE 399 then went through Connally, through his wrist and into his leg, where it was shallowly embedded, later falling out on the stretcher at Parkland Hospital.

The researchers then created body models of both Kennedy and Connally, with simulated organs and bones (made by a company who produces such things for safety testing, forensic studies and other uses).  Both of the torsos were positioned like the original humans targeted by Oswald, e.g., with the Connally torso twisting to the right and the Kennedy torso with its right arm raised as if supported by the side of the car.  Photographs of the actual bodies in the car were superimposed with a photograph of the molded torsos to prove that the models were exactly in the same position as the originals, and the same distance apart.  A block of gelatin containing wrist bones was used to simulate Connally's wrist.

A rifleman then fired one of the same bullets, from a rifle identical to Oswald's, from a height of six stories.  He aimed for a small red mark on the right side of the Kennedy torso's upper back area, the same spot where CE 399 struck Kennedy, traveling downward and through Kennedy's neck.  The shot was very accurate, striking about one inch away from the red mark.  Slow motion cameras show the bullet emerge from the simulated neck of Kennedy and then to immediately begin tumbling, striking the Connally torso in the back and making an almost identical keyhole wound as the original; the bullet, however, did not strike only one rib bone as in the actual assassination, but two.  Still, the bullet traveled through the simulated wrist of Connally and then bounced off the simulated leg.  After hitting two ribs instead of one, the bullet was sufficiently slowed so that it could not penetrate the leg, as it did in the original scenario.  The test bullet, probably as a result of striking two ribs instead of one, was somewhat more deformed than CE 399, but still in one piece, somewhat twisted in its length but not mushroomed.  In other words, less pristine than CE 399, but still in remarkably good shape.

What "Beyond the Magic Bullet" proved, convincingly, was that the path of CE 399 was exactly as described in the Warren Commission report on the assassination and created all seven wounds between Kennedy and Connally.

The bullet wasn't magic and there was no conspiracy.  Conspiracy kooks, you lose again.

The Mahdi Emerges From the Well! Islamic Prophecy Fulfilled! (Photoshop)

The Mahdi has arisen from the well to fulfill Islamic prophecy!  One of his disciples snapped this photo just as the Mahdi emerged.  The Mahdi was wearing a black Pork Pie hat, sunglasses and chomping on a cigar.  When asked for his first statement, the Mahdi only replied:

"Got a match?"

Geert Wilders: "Time to Unmask Mohammed" (as Someone Insane)

There is a great article at Big Peace concerning an article that Dutch politician Geert Wilders wrote about Mohammed.  Wilders describes the Mohammed who is already very familiar to anyone who has read the sacred texts of Islam, the Koran and the Haddith.

Wilders says:

The historical Muhammad was the savage leader of a gang of robbers from Medina. Without scruples they looted, raped and murdered. The sources describe orgies of savagery where hundreds of people’s throats were cut, hands and feet chopped off, eyes cut out, entire tribes massacred. An example is the extinction of the jewish Kurayza tribe in Medina in 627. One of those who chopped off their heads was Muhammad. The women and children were sold as slaves [after a mass rape of the widows and daughters]. Confronted with the lunacy of Islamic terrorists today, it is not hard to find out where the lunacy comes from.

Mohammed was a homicidal psychotic.  That over a billion people could follow such a man as a "spiritual leader" is beyond the pale.  How many of them actually know the real history of their "prophet"?

Read it all here.

Dick "Turbin" Durbin Holds Hearings on Bias Against Muslims

Dick Durbin, US Senator from Illinois, has found the perfect liberal response to the King hearings on Islamic radicalization in America.  Durbin is conducting his own hearings on discrimination against Muslims.

Robert Spencer says Durbin's hearings are a PC charade designed to paint Muslims as victims.  I agree.  Democrats like Durbin can never pass up an opportunity to pose and posture as the champions of tolerance and enlightenment, no matter how fake their act.

Lawrence Auster, of View From the Right, explains the pro-Islam mindset of liberals and some conservatives (like Glenn Beck).  He writes:

Western liberals cannot allow themselves to take in the fact that Islam actually exists, that Islam is an entity defined by certain unchanging characteristics and teachings, because if that were true, if Islam had an essence and this essence commands our subjugation and destruction, then we would simply have to recognize that Muslims are an eternal threat to us and deal with them accordingly. Which would bring to an end the liberal project of constructing a single harmonious world living under a single shared (democratic, American-oriented) belief system. Therefore Western liberals, including “conservatives,” insist that Islam is not an objective category or entity which requires its followers to behave a certain way, but simply a variegated collection of people who happen to share the common name “Muslims,” but beyond the common name, they share nothing essential. As a collection of people, they are just like us; some are good, some bad, some violent, some peaceful, etc. Therefore when a Muslim commits an act of jihad, he is not following the sacred commands of Islam, he is just a misbehaving individual. In short, Islam doesn’t kill people, people kill people.

Read Spencer's take on the Durbin hearings here.  Meanwhile, my tactful Photoshop below expresses the subtle nuances of this sociological phenomenon.

Libyan War Utterly Frivolous, Like the American President

Last night Obama gave a speech to the nation explaining (rationalizing) his incursion into the Libyan civil war.  Most analyses on the right indicate the speech was frivolous:  glittering generalities, patriotic slogans, posing and posturing, but no convincing arguments as to why the incursion was necessary.  Proof, a blogger at Left Coast Rebel, does a good job of fisking Obama's excuses for the war at this link.

Rush Limbaugh believes that Obama's incursion is more about the presidential election of 2012 than it is anything else.  Absent some unforeseen events, Obama has lost the independents and is headed for electoral defeat in 2012.  Obama wants to look like a "strong leader," and saw the Libyan civil war as the means to that end.  The Libyan incursion, however, is the frivolous yet dangerous and desperate act of a failed president.

The Coming of the 12th Imam, the Mahdi! (Photoshop)

Nutcase Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran is a Muslim fanatic on steroids.  He strongly believes that "the 12th Imam," a kind of Islamic Messiah, will emerge from a well to usher in "the End Times."  Since this is Islam we're talking about, the great event will involve lots of killing, murder and blood, particularly of Jews.

Soon thereafter we will all be judged and most of us thrown into Hell for not believing in this nonsense in the first place.

You can read about it here.

Of course, I am always looking for an excuse to create a new Photoshop.  Here is my depiction of the emergence of the 12th Imam.

The scary part of all this is that these fanatics actually believe this fairy tale and may use it to start a nuclear conflagration with Israel.  It is, after all, their assignment from Allah.

Let's just hope that some drunk doesn't fall into a well in Iran, climb out and be mistaken for the Mahdi.  If that happens, duck.

Media Matters Founder David Brock: A Man Without Principles

Political Prostitute David Brock

David Brock is the founder of the far-left organization Media Matters.  Recently Brock told Politico that his organization is gearing for an all-out campaign of “guerrilla warfare and sabotage” aimed at the Fox News Channel.

Who is David Brock?  I googled his name and found a 2005 article from Frontpagemag.com that describes Brock's history.  It is a sordid one.  The information below was extracted from this article.

Brock started out as a highly-paid investigative reporter for the conservative magazine, The American Spectator.  Brock did good work in exposing the sexual escapades of Bill Clinton and discrediting the liberal Anita Hill, who had defamed Clarence Thomas in his confirmation hearings to be a Supreme Court justice.  Brock achieved widespread fame and acclaim as a conservative reporter and writer.

Brock then received a million dollar advance from Adam Bellow and the Free Press to write an investigative book about Hillary Clinton.  However, the task proved too much for Brock, as his earlier exposé on Bill shut down potential sources within the Hillary camp.  Instead, he wrote a superficial book exonerating Hillary from the Whitewater scandal and defending her against a number of other charges.

His book "The Seduction of Hillary Clinton" was released in 1996 and was a miserable failure.  The book received widespread criticism, even from the left, for Brock's whitewash of Hillary's role in Whitewater.  The Free Press lost millions and Adam Bellow was fired.  Meanwhile, Brock had invested his million dollar advance in expensive properties he could no longer afford.  He was desperate for some kind of bail-out, but few would now hire a failed author whose miserable performance had lost millions for his publisher.  Brock's reputation as an author was shot and he knew it.

Brock's economic survival needed a shrewd strategy and he came up with one:  he reinvented himself as an innocent who was deceived by conservatives, but who now saw the light of liberalism, and switched sides.  He wrote a book "Blinded by the Right: the Conscience of an Ex-Conservative," and became a hero to the left who could now point to Brock as an example of the duplicity and mendaciousness of the right.  Brock was living proof of Hillary's charge of a "vast right-wing conspiracy."

Brock apologized to Bill Clinton for Brock's American Spectator articles on "Troopergate."  Brock then slimed the Arkansas troopers he had befriended and who had supplied him with information on Clinton's use of troopers as pimps for Clinton's enormous sexual appetite.

My conclusions:  David Brock is an unprincipled actor whose only loyalty is to himself.  Like Arianna Huffington and Charles Johnson, he was willing to betray allies and friends, to sell out for fame and money.  His latest gambit to conduct "guerrilla warfare" against Fox News is only further evidence that Brock is a political prostitute whose main client is George Soros.  He is deserving only of profound contempt.

Read the entire Frontpage article here.

Liberal Media Matters Plans Dirty Tricks to Undermine Fox News

Politico has an interesting post today on the "progressive" organization, the George Soros funded tool called Media Matters.  ("Progressive" meaning far-left and completely nutty.)  Media Matters is a non-profit organization set up to "monitor" and refute conservative news broadcasts.  The organization has a severe bias against Fox News, but has now moved beyond its pretense of "monitoring" and has declared open warfare on Fox News.

Per Politico:

The liberal group Media Matters has quietly transformed itself in preparation for what its founder, David Brock, described in an interview as an all-out campaign of “guerrilla warfare and sabotage” aimed at the Fox News Channel.

According to Politico, Media Matters plans to undermine Fox News with the following tactics:
1.  Distribution of "embarrassing" clips and rebuttals of Fox News items.
2.  Ridicule of Fox guests and commentators to destroy their credibility with the public.
3.  Campaigns to persuade Fox advertisers to quit Fox News.
4.  Providing a legal team and funding to persuade liberals rebutted by Fox to file defamation lawsuits.
5.  Assembling a team in the U.K. to attack Fox's interests there.

In short, the "Progressives" have all but admitted that they cannot fight Fox in ethical ways, or by refuting the tsunami of news and facts that it provides.  Media Matters must instead resort to a form of censorship:  by defunding Fox by chasing away its advertising revenues (good luck with that) and by forcing it to spend millions to defend against frivolous lawsuits.  If the tactics prove effective, Fox would then be forced to dilute their news and opinion so it is less lethal to progressive fantasies.

In a fair fight, the political left cannot win.  We know that and it is obvious that they know it too.  Given the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of the left, dirty tricks is all they have to fight with.

See Politico's article here.

Public Sector Unions: a New Form of Tyranny

I have been arguing with pro-union bloodsuckers at YouTube, over a "Young Turks" video favoring unions and demanding the ouster of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

Most of the commenters there don't want to take me on, because frankly, their arguments are an embarrassment.  Those arguments are well summarized by the cartoon on the left.

Public Sector unions have a great deal going with the Democratic Party:  you support our exorbitant wages and benefits and we'll support you for election and re-election.  Further, we will use our members to picket, canvas and get out the vote, all in your favor.

Defeat of the public sector unions is an absolute necessity for the average taxpayer, to avoid being taxed to death.

Steve Malanga at City Journal, writing a year ago, describes how public sector unions have destroyed the state of California.  I found the article by researching a charge by one of the ignorant unionists at YouTube.  He argued that public sector unions in California are very weak and that's why the state if falling apart!  That's like saying a man dying of arsenic poisoning needs a bigger dose.

Malanga's article is called The Beholden State.  Do read it if you want to know how the public sector unions have destroyed the Golden State.

Another Black Conservative Returns

Another Black Conservative (ABC) is a well-written blog that links to many interesting black conservatives; however, it is not primarily about black people.  It's about conservatives vs. liberals.

I had linked to ABC for some time until its author dropped out of blogging for awhile, then deleted the link when no new posts were forthcoming.  I generally delete blogs from my blogroll that do not post regularly.  So many blogs begin with enthusiasm, and then suddenly die but are not deleted.  So I make room for active blogs by deleting those who are moribund.

However, ABC is now back in operation and so I am reinstalling it to my blog roll.

Welcome back, ABC!  You were missed.

Al Qaeda Fighting Alongside the Libyan Rebels?

The architects of 911, the fanatical Muslim extremists called Al Qaeda, are now fighting alongside the Libyan rebels.  Some of these vermin are veterans of the Iraq war, where they fought against American troops.

Now, thanks to Barack Obama, Al Qaeda and other Muslim fanatics have a much greater chance of overthrowing the current government of Libya and replacing it with one that is worse, one that is more aggressive and openly at war with the United States.

Like I said in an earlier post, we don't know enough about the Libyan rebels to know if they are friend or foe, and for that reason (and others), our intervention in Libya was naive and reckless.

Those on the right who have enthusiastically supported Obama's ill-advised adventurism should take note.

Anarchist Rioters Trash London to Protest Budget Cuts

I believe it was The Other McCain who noted that the left's sense of entitlement is now so pronounced that it represents a lethal threat.  He was talking about Wisconsin, but now the massive temper tantrum over free money has reached London.  British freeloaders, suddenly cut off from the mother's milk of socialism, are rioting there at half a million strong, smashing office windows, defacing buildings and attacking police.

To paraphrase Margaret Thatcher, "The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money."   Socialism has run out of other people's money and the spending must stop.  When the spending stops, however, the temper tantrums begin.

Governments trying to restore fiscal solvency are like parents with spoiled children.  If the parents don't give in to every whimsical demand of their over aged, selfish brats, they run the risk of violence.  Their spoiled children may smash the house and even beat up the parents.  It is easy to spoil children but not always so easy to regain control and reassert authority.  The Wisconsin protests and the London riots are proof of that.

The left has been making major efforts to install socialism in recent years, and their efforts seem to have increased with the election of Barack Obama.  With "global warming" revealed for the scam it is, the "carbon credits" plan to redistribute wealth is more unlikely, the left understands that their gravy train is coming to an end.  So they must make a major effort in the only way they know how, through loud demonstrations, property damage and violence.

It won't work, though.  Socialism is a major failure and most people know it.  Socialism is passé and the world has moved on.  The day of the dinosaur will not return, in spite of the left's purple Barney fantasies.

Fedora Hats: I'm In Trouble Now!

Uh oh, hope wifey doesn't look at the bank statement too closely in the next few days.  I bought two new hats today, what are known as "Pork Pie" fedora hats.

Now everyone knows that a fedora is a must part of the uniform for citizen journalists (aka bloggers); however, other variations of the fedora can be used for other purposes.  For example, the "Pork Pie" hat is de riguer for jazz musicians, and is now being used by rockers and other musicians as well.

I like the look.  Here are the ones I bought today:

Stacy Adams Pork Pie Hat, Wool

Brown Suede Pork Pie Hat

Care for a Nice Plate of Fried Squid? Weird Food Is Often Delicious!

My wife and I like to visit Phil's Fish Market in Moss Landing, California, only a few miles from our home.  They have delicious, fresh seafood there.  One of my favorite appetizers is fried squid, or calamari, if you prefer.

For years I thought squid was just bait for deep sea fishing.  That's what my dad used it for, back in the 1950's when he took me and bro deep sea fishing off of Monterey or San Francisco or Moss Landing.  I never thought it was people food, but it is.  It is also delicious, though the appearance of a plate of fried and breaded squid might not be too appealing.  The octopus-like tentacles make it resemble fried, giant spiders.  Here's a plate of the stuff before I scarfed it:

Fried Squid at Phil's Fish Market, Moss Landing, California

Of course, you can't eat fried squid all by itself. Here's the way we actually ate it, accompanied by a plate of shell fish (steamed mussels) with garlic bread on the side:

Steamed Mussels and Fried Squid, Phil's Fish Market, Moss Landing, California

With regards to food, be adventurous. There are a lot of foods that seem weird at first glance, but are actually delicious and nutritious.

Sometime we'll have to discuss baked seaweed. VERY TASTY! No, I'm not kidding.  The Hawaiians crumble it up and add it to popcorn, and it adds a very nice taste.  You can buy it in small, dried squares at oriental markets.  It looks like dried pond scum, but don't let its resemblance to liberals dissuade you from this taste treat.

Phil's Fish Market is in the Moss Landing harbor area, and in back of it is the Pacific Ocean.  They have a live webcam on the roof, enabling you to view the sea and the waves hitting the beach.

Drudge: Doubts Mount on Libya War

I supported the war in Afghanistan:  we were attacked from there by Osama Bin Laden and his Taliban hosts.  Our attackers needed to pay for their evil deeds.  I just wanted them dead, I never wanted to turn them into democrats.  Nation-building is too expensive in terms of both money and American blood.

I was puzzled and less than lukewarm by the decision to invade Iraq, as I didn't see any compelling need for it.  (Once in, however, I supported and continue to support our troops and their mission.)

However, I have been against the intervention in Libya from the start, and for these reasons:
1.  It isn't our fight.  I don't see that there is anything to gain for American interests.
2.  We don't know who the players are or what they represent.  We don't know if they rebels are better, the same or worse than the dictator they seek to overthrow.  Talk about "democracy" is likely to just be propaganda and not a firm basis for our intervention.
3.  We have no clear-cut role or mission.  What exactly are we trying to accomplish there?  How do we know when we're finished?
4.  If the rebels cannot defeat Gaddafi by themselves, we will be pressured to commit troops.  If we don't commit the troops and the rebels lose, Gaddafi will be out for revenge and a large massacre of the rebels will follow (like what happened following the first Iraq war when we abandoned those who had relied on us).
5.  If the rebels cannot win on their own and we do not commit troops, the rebels will be defeated and it will be a major propaganda coup for Gaddafi and militant Islam.  They can brag that they defeated a western-backed force.
6.  If we do commit troops, there will be more American deaths and billions more spent on war.  Libya isn't worth the price.

In short, we have very little to gain and a lot to lose.  I am all for a long-term plan for disempowering militant Islam (pardon the redundancy), for isolating Muslim nations from the west and taking away their economic power (through energy independence), and for separating the civilized world from the barbaric, so the latter cannot harm us further.  This plan would probably include military action in certain circumstances, but we should choose our fights carefully.  The Libyan intervention is not one of these.

See report linked from Drudge here.

Temecula, California and the War in Libya

I'm in Temecula, California, about 70 miles north of San Diego, near Riverside.  My son and his family are thinking of moving here from Northern California and are house hunting.  So this morning it is breakfast, church and real estate.

I see on the news that the new war in Libya is going full blast.  I figure it is only a matter of time before the allies have boots on the ground.  As long as they are there, I hope they (1) kill Gaddafi Duck and (2) steal as much free oil as possible.  (We paid $4.29 a gallon for regular yesterday.)

Of course, I am not serious about stealing Libya's oil.  At 2% of the world's resources, it isn't worth the trouble.  Now Saudi Arabia, that's another question.  Not only could we take their oil, we could make Mecca into a giant filling station, with a crescent moon and star as the new gasoline company's logo.  Now for a rousing rendition of "Ahab the Arab":

Heading for Los Angeles

I am driving to Los Angeles this afternoon, in spite of the blustery weather.  I'd rather stay home but I am obligated to go.  I will take my laptop with me and blog from the hotel if it has WiFi.

Blogging may be light due to my trip.

Jim Shankman is a Liar and a Coward

A couple of days ago Ann Althouse, a law professor and blogger in Madison, Wisconsin, received a threatening message from one of the pro-union leftists there.  Now the leftist has been identified as one Jim Shankman, who maintains a blog at this link.  Shankman had threatened to harrass Althouse until she leaves Wisconsin, promising that "We will fuck you up."

Now this leftist pussy has written a rationalization for his thuggish behavior.  He writes:

Ann Althouse and Meade advocate torture, attack against nonviolent protesters, police-state crackdowns on citizens exercising their constitutional rights, class privilege, race privilege, and basically the full spectrum of assaults against American democracy advocated by the radical, revolutionary wing of the republican party. They are unkind, unChristian and anti-American.

There is absolutely no truth in Shankman's screed; he just makes up outrageous claims to support his profound ignorance and immaturity.  He sounds like an ex-college student who was thoroughly marinated in crazy, moonbat, leftist ideology before he flunked out. Now he spends his time on a righteous crusade to slay the evil demons that exist only in his tiny little mind.

Anyone can make things up and then attribute the lies to his enemies.  Let's try it:

Jim Shankman advocates Marxist communism, the enslavement of all productive working people who will then be forced to supply the lazy, pot-smoking left with a high standard of living while the latter lounge about all day, sucking their thumbs and playing video games and producing nothing of value.  He represents everything that is decadent, backward, despotic, ignorant and false in the Democratic Party.

Whoops!  I meant to write something obviously false, ridiculous and exaggerated to prove my point.  However, it appears I have written a fair semblance of the truth about Jim Shankman.  My bad.

One thing I will say to Shankman is this:  don't threaten one of us, you pimply little punk.  Are you naive enough to believe that your threatened aggression will be passively accepted?   Guess again, punk.

Related post at the Other McCain

UN Approves No-Fly Zone Over Libya

The United Nations has approved a no-fly zone over Libya and British and French planes may begin attacking Gaddafi's forces tonight or tomorrow.  Have at it, French and Brits.

Meanwhile, Egypt continues sending weapons and ammunition to the Libyan rebels.  Are the rebels our friends?  Probably not, but no one knows for sure.  I can see no benefit in intervention except on humanitarian grounds, i.e. to prevent the slaughter of innocents; however, what is a limited operation today may very well grow into another full-fledged war.  Color me unenthusiastic.

Read more about it here.

Raymond Clark Pleads Guilty to Murder and Attempted Rape of Annie Le

Annie Le

Raymond Clark, the Yale lab technician suspected of killing Yale grad student Annie Le, pleaded guilty to both murder and attempted rape of Le.  He is to receive a sentence of 44 years in prison, per a plea deal with prosecutors.

Clark strangled Le to death in the lab, then hid her body in the wall space of a utility closet.  Her body was discovered by police on the day that would have been her wedding day.

I had earlier written in a blog post that rape may have been the motive of Clark's assault.  It appears that my sources were right.

Read more here.

Should the US Intervene in Libya?

I had a long discussion with another reader over at The Other McCain about the wisdom of intervening in the civil war in Libya.  I am against intervention.  After years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, I see no compelling reason to intervene -- absolutely not with boots on the ground, and not even with military or humanitarian aid to the rebels.  Why should we help people who hate our guts?  The enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend.

Michael J. Totten makes the case for non-intervention in yesterday's New York Post.  He writes:

Last time Americans led a coalition to topple a mass-murdering dictatorship in the Middle East, the Arab League and the Arabic press hysterically denounced us as imperialist crusaders fighting a war for oil and Israel. Egged on by al-Jazeera, they cheerleaded the "resistance" that killed thousands of our soldiers with roadside bombs in the years that followed.

Of course, that operation was a full-scale invasion, not merely the offering of military supplies and advice.  I am against even the latter, for fear that it would come back to bite us.  We offer aid to the rebels, who are weak and disorganized, and who will be beaten -- and then give Kaddafi a great propaganda coup that he defeated an American-backed military force.  No thanks.

But shouldn't we try to "win the hearts and minds" of the Arabic world?  What, do you live in Fantasy Land?  Nothing we can do will change the minds of Islamists whose religion commands them to hate us and to kill us. Totten says, instead of us trying to "win the hearts and minds" of the Arabs, they can damn well try to win our hearts and minds for a change.   He writes:

Americans fret constantly about whether or not we're doing the right thing to win the hearts and minds of the Arabs. That's one reason Obama was elected (though I can't help but wonder how many Libyans wish John McCain were in the White House right now). This may be a good time for Arab leaders and opinion makers to ask themselves what they can do to win over the hearts and minds of Americans.

They might find that if they treated us more like the Kurds do, more of us will be willing to help them in the future -- rather than shun them as hostiles who deserve to be left to their fate.

Read it all here.  Hat tip View From the Right.

A World in Turmoil, A Fool for a Leader

Let's see what the good news is today:

1.  Food prices see highest jump since 1974
2.  Japan is in ruins with possible nuclear disaster in the making
3.  Gas prices are over $4 a gallon (with higher prices on the way)
4.  Palestinian scum murders infant and toddler in Israel
5.  Liberals and Muslims highly agitated over King hearings, fear someone may hold them accountable for terrorism, mass murder and treason

Meanwhile, we have a fool in the White House who hasn't a clue how to fix any of these problems.  His latest behavior suggests passive aggression -- he deals with stress by ignoring the problems, while playing golf and studying the college basketball playoffs.

If you read nothing else today, do read the following:

Drill Baby Drill (Again) -- Jim Lacey of National Review Online describes the fantastic reserves we have of coal, natural gas and oil, and how we can't touch them because "progressives" won't let us.  Energy costs are rising and will rise even further; American families will suffer like never before.  If there is one great cause to which we should give priority, it is that of energy independence, something that will never be achieved while the Democrat party exists.  Lacey writes:

Unless we start drilling immediately, in a few years we will look back at $100-a-barrel oil as a fond memory. Surging demand in emerging nations, a ravenous China, and the needs of hopefully growing U.S. and European economies will soon outstrip supplies. Once that happens for a prolonged period, the price of oil will not stop south of $200. Present estimates place spare oil-production capacity at approximately 4 million barrels a day (MBD), most of which is in Saudi Arabia. As demand grew at an annualized rate of 3.3 MBD last quarter, it is clear that we are almost at the end of our tether.

Why They Celebrate Murdering Children -- Andrew McCarthy of National Review Online is one pundit who "gets it" with regard to Islam.  He writes:

Muslims, in fact, are more often exhorted by their scriptures to brutalize non-Muslims than Christians are urged by the gospels to love their enemies and turn the other cheek. Yet, though we assume the latter are meant to take the message to heart, we are somehow sure Islam doesn’t really mean what it says — that when Muslims strike terror into the hearts of the unbelievers, it must be Israel’s fault, or America’s, or something, anything, other than Islam, the only common denominator in these attacks.

Robert Ringer: The Glenn Beck Saga Continues

The Glenn Beck Saga Continues

By Robert Ringer

When Chris Wallace interviewed Glenn Beck on Fox News Sunday the day after his stunningly successful Restoring Honor event at the Lincoln Memorial, he told Beck that in all his years as a journalist in Washington, he had never seen anything quite like him.

I could relate his statement, because in my article Glenn Beck's Departure from Fox News (May 28, 2010), I said that Beck was "the biggest, fastest, most controversial star in the political commentary business in my lifetime" and pointed out that the White House purportedly referred to him as "the Beck problem."

But jealousy and the establishment have a way of Palinizing those who have the courage to take the road less traveled. So it's not surprising that rumors are now flying about Glenn Beck's ratings decline, his loss of major advertisers, and his possible end-of-year departure from Fox News. The word is that the powers that be at Fox supposedly want Beck to put a more positive spin on his commentaries.

Not long ago, neocon Bill Kristol took a shot at Beck when he said, "When Glenn Beck rants about the caliphate taking over the Middle East from Morocco to the Philippines, and lists the connections between caliphate-promoters and the American left, he's marginalizing himself." Kristol seems like a nice enough chap, but he's your classic establishment Republican who doesn't like newcomers saying things that go beyond the normal, meaningless beltway chatter.

Likewise, supercilious Bernard Goldberg, the one-trick-pony who, but for the grace of Bill O'Reilly, would long ago have faded into obscurity, recently made a snide comment that "Beck brings a lot of it on himself."

Really, Bernie? How? By showing actual videos of Van Jones preaching revolution? Of Anita Dunn saying she draws her inspiration from Mao Zedong? Of Mark Lloyd saying that he wants to go beyond the fairness doctrine? Of Frances Fox Piven advocating violence? Of George Soros bragging about how much he enjoys playing God?

This is the kind of stuff Beck has been showing every day for two years now, always encouraging his audience to check out the facts for themselves.

Though Beck is a multi-faceted individual, his greatest talent is that he's a master teacher. His Fox News shows are like going to college, but learning things they don't teach at the most expensive campuses in the country.

And therein, I believe, lies the crux of the problem. Beck is too good of a teacher, something Will Durant warned about when he said, "Woe to him who teaches men faster than they can learn." Most Americans are not yet ready to accept the truths Beck teaches, so they find it easier to dismiss him as a doomsayer or conspiracy nut.

As to the supposed decline in Beck's audience, if true, there could be many reasons for it. One that comes to mind is that, at some point along the way, Beck seemed to start priding himself on having relatively unknown guests on his show, sort of a way to confirm his purity by not having the same old faces that everyone else offers up.

Another is that, as time passed, Beck started having fewer and fewer guests of any kind on his show - known or unknown. Personally, I find his solos to be both educational and enjoyable. But many people have short attention spans and probably prefer to hear other voices engaged in a two- or three-way dialogue.

The bottom line for me is that Glenn Beck is still the most remarkable person on television, and I'm hoping he stays with Fox. But if the powers that be ever did insist that he put a more positive spin on his show (i.e., that he lie to his viewers), I believe his sense of honor would compel him to leave Fox. Beck is on a mission, and I think purity in thought, speech, and action are nonnegotiable with him.

As I said in an earlier article, I believe Beck when he says he will never give up. I believe him when he says if he is forced off television, he will find another platform that is even bigger. I believe him when he says he is willing to die if that's what it takes to speak the truth.

The big unknown remains his health - particularly his eyesight. It's going to be interesting to see if people look back on Glenn Beck as a shooting star or if his best years are yet to come. My guess is that it's the latter.

If so, you can expect the attempt to marginalize him - especially by neocons - to continue and intensify. Folks like Beck, Sarah Palin, and Michelle Bachmann - who don't follow the establishment's code of conduct or content - scare the hell out of both the left and the right.

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Copyright© 2011 Robert Ringer

ROBERT RINGER is the author of three #1 bestsellers and host of the highly acclaimed Liberty Education Interview Series, which features interviews with top political, economic, and social leaders. Ringer has appeared on numerous national talk shows and has been the subject of feature articles in such major publications as Time, People, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Barron's, and The New York Times.

The Palestinians are Scum

Palestinian passes out sweets to celebrate
murder of small children (hat tip Sultan Knish)

Fogel Family Murdered in Israel
(Hat tip Moonbattery via Hyscience)

Last Friday some Palestinian thugs broke through a fence and entered an Israeli town.  There, they picked a house at random, broke in and proceeded to stab to death an Israeli family in their sleep.  The murders included the mother, the father, an 11 year old child, a four month old toddler and a 3 month old baby.   Palestinians in Gaza passed out sweets to celebrate the murders and Iran publicly approved.

This incident reminds me of an ancient atrocity committed by the False Prophet of Islam, one hairy maniac by the name of Muhammad.  Mu told three of his henchman to go kill a Jew in the middle of the night as he slept in his bed.  What had the Jew done to deserve this?  Nothing.  He was just a Jew, a group of people who denied the prophethood of the hairy moron.  So the three animals broke into the Jew's house and stabbed him with swords as he slept.  After the murder, they returned to Mu and asked who got credit for the kill.  Mu examined the sword blades of all three, and detected food on one of them, no doubt the Jew's last dinner.  Mu then awarded the honor of Top Cretin to the man who owned that sword.  Today cows remember this incident by calling out the name of the "Holy Prophet" of Islam:  they cry Moo!  Moo!  Moo!  Then they defecate in his honor.  The big round cow pies are said to contain all the humanity, spirituality and good looks of the Islamic prophet himself.  They smell the same, too.

Just another story (most of it true) in the wonderful history of Islam.  If it offends anyone, good!  Personally, I find mass murder rather offensive, but that's just me.

The Palestinians are scum.  Israel should build settlements throughout the West Bank, retake Gaza and push the Palestinians completely out of Israel.  I'd pass out sweets in celebration of that.

Muslim Democrat Congressman Keith Ellison Cries Over King Hearings

Well no one ever said that jihad would be easy.....

Sultan Knish says it all, read it here.

Tsunami Waves Hit Stogie Country: Santa Cruz, California

Some high waves caused by Japan's earthquake and tsunami have hit coastal towns in my area. Santa Cruz is an easy drive from my house. Here's a video of some of the damage.

Funny British Talking Animals (Video)

And now for a laugh break...

Japan in Ruins

This is a scene from Kesennuma city, Japan.  From the UK Guardian.

Union Protester Ousted by Police from Wisconsin Capitol

I found this photo at Serr8d's Cutting Edge and added a talking balloon for the ousted protester.

Free Loader Unloaded in Wisconsin

The Big Picture: Stogie Explains the Peter King Hearings

Welcome to our Islamic future

Being the deeply wise savant that we all know I am, I have consulted the tea leaves and now come forth to explain the Peter King hearings on Islamic radicalization.  Here it is.

Peter King's hearings on Islamic radicalization.  King wants to hold hearings and elicit testimony on how and why Muslim youth in America become radicalized, and why domestic Muslims do not generally cooperate with law enforcement to stop the threat of domestic terrorism.

Explanation:  King need not hold hearings because the answers are already known.  Here they are:

Islamic terrorism is a product of Islam itself.  The Koran and the Haddiths are the holy scriptures of Islam, and they command continuing violence against those who do not convert to Islam.  The Haddiths provide the example of the "prophet" Muhammad, who was a ruthless and murderous warlord.  Muslims are encouraged to emulate this man, and to do that they must become ruthless and violent and/or support those who are.

Terrorism is a key component of the Islamic faith.  Where you have large numbers of Muslims mixing with non-Muslims, some of the former will always attack the latter.  Many Muslims believe that they must murder a Jew as a condition for entering paradise; others believe that dying for the faith is a sure ticket to Heaven.  Why?  Because Islamic texts clearly teach this.

Solution:  Without a significant change in the beliefs of Muslims, separation is the only feasible solution.  This can be achieved as follows:

• Cease all Muslim immigration into the United States.  
• Encourage those already here to leave, with public assistance to do so.  
• Profile Muslims seeking to buy airline tickets.  
• Remove the non-profit status of mosques and prohibit the building of new ones.
• If terrorism continues, move to the next stage which should include interment camps and forced removal.

Complications:

• Muslims in America will have loud snit-fits over the hearings in an effort to stop them and reveal what the stealth-jihadis don't want widely known, i.e. the irredeemably violent nature of Islam.
• The majority of Americans do not understand the beliefs, practices and history of Islam.  Many believe the fiction that the violent ones are untypical fanatics who have "hijacked" the religion.  They will therefore not be sympathetic to their own survival.
• Many believe that the U.S. Constitution is indeed a suicide pact that will prevent any legal moves to remove Islam from our midst.
• Muslims will continue to portray themselves as victims of a new "McCarthyism," and assert that they are being "singled out" just because they are different.  (They're right -- they are the only major religion that advocates murdering members of other faiths.)
• Democrats will support the Muslims and do everything possible to prevent an effective strategy to deal with the terrorist threat.  They will be supported in this effort by Democrat propaganda outlets, i.e. those in academia and the mass media.  Republicans and anti-jihadi groups will be effectively painted as bigoted, racist and utterly backward.

Probable Outcome:
Nothing will be done to stop the threat.  Americans would rather die as politically correct than survive.  In fifty years the United States will join Europe in becoming part of the new caliphate, i.e. as a Muslim nation.

Huge Earthquake in Japan: Caused by "Climate Change"?

A huge earthquake has hit Japan, causing a Tsunami that has flooded parts of the island nation.  Around 300 people were killed.

William Teach is reporting that the "global warming" crowd is trying to blame the earthquake on "climate change."  Yeah, sure.

The earthquake and damage to Japan won't help the economic recovery.  We will no doubt pay millions or billions to help Japan recover.  Obama has sent the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan to Japan to assist recovery and rescue efforts.

A Cure for Depression: Gov Walker Signs Bill Ending Public Employee Collective Bargaining Rights

My depression has been rather severe for months now.  My mental depression is strongly linked to the Democrats' economic depression.  However, this morning I read on the news that Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin has signed into law the new bill ending the collective bargaining rights of most public sector employees.  Good!  That made me feel better.  No doubt Walker's move will help alleviate both forms of depression (economic as well as mental).

State employee unions have pushed wages and benefits into the stratosphere, bankrupting several states, the worst of which is California.  Unfortunately for California, the Dems are in complete control of the state and won't do anything about it.  In Wisconsin, the Republicans have the governor's chair and the majority.

Cubachi has the story here.  Hat tip to Riehl World View.

Gas Back to $4.00+ per Gallon

The Mideastern turmoil has helped gasoline prices to again soar past $4.00 per gallon.  In some places it is already up to $5.00 per gallon (per news reports).

American families will continue being pushed economically by soaring energy prices.  However, the Democrats will do nothing to alleviate the situation with increased domestic drilling, additional oil refineries, coal plants and nuclear power plants.  Do Democrats want the average American family to suffer?  Apparently so.  What other explanation is there?

See the left side panel on facts about Democrat voting records on energy compared to those of Republicans.

The World Has Gone Mad, Part 3,456: Wisconsin Union Thugs Make Death Threats to Republicans

The union fanatics in Wisconsin are determined to keep their free lunch (getting paid more than they're worth through the blackmail of collective bargaining).  They have been besieging the state capitol building and behaving as an unruly, uncivilized mob.  In short, like Democrats.

Senate Republicans in Wisconsin received the following emailed death threat last night:

Please put your things in order because you will be killed and your familes
will also be killed due to your actions in the last 8 weeks. Please explain
to them that this is because if we get rid of you and your families then it
will save the rights of 300,000 people and also be able to close the deficit
that you have created. I hope you have a good time in hell. Read below for
more information on possible scenarios in which you will die.

WE want to make this perfectly clear. Because of your actions today and in
the past couple of weeks I and the group of people that are working with me
have decided that we've had enough. We feel that you and the people that
support the dictator have to die. We have tried many other ways of dealing
with your corruption but you have taken things too far and we will not stand
for it any longer. So, this is how it's going to happen: I as well as many
others know where you and your family live, it's a matter of public records.
We have all planned to assult you by arriving at your house and putting a
nice little bullet in your head. However, we decided that we wouldn't leave
it there. We also have decided that this may not be enough to send the
message to you since you are so "high" on Koch and have decided that you are
now going to single handedly make this a dictatorship instead of a
demorcratic process. So we have also built several bombs that we have placed
in various locations around the areas in which we know that you frequent.
This includes, your house, your car, the state capitol, and well I won't
tell you all of them because that's just no fun. Since we know that you are
not smart enough to figure out why this is happening to you we have decided
to make it perfectly clear to you. If you and your goonies feel that it's
necessary to strip the rights of 300,000 people and ruin their lives, making
them unable to feed, clothe, and provide the necessities to their families
and themselves then We Will "get rid of" (in which I mean kill) you. Please
understand that this does not include the heroic Rep. Senator that risked
everything to go aganist what you and your goonies wanted him to do. We feel
that it's worth our lives to do this, because we would be saving the lives
of 300,000 people. Please make your peace with God as soon as possible and
say goodbye to your loved ones we will not wait any longer. YOU WILL DIE!!!!

Read more about it here.

No Joke: Charlie Sheen is Seriously Disturbed

Charlie Sheen's Descent Into Madness

I just watched Charlie Sheen's latest "Sheen Korner" episode.  It last only about 15 minutes.  Sheen was unshaven, unkempt and even more rambling and incoherent than in his first episode.

All attempts to shame Charlie into seeking help have failed and his descent into madness continues unabated.

This man is in serious trouble and needs a major intervention in his life NOW.

Islamophobia is a GOOD Thing: Support Radicalization Hearings

Peter King, a representative from New York, is holding hearings to determine the extent of radicalization among domestic Muslim youth.  He is being denounced as conducting a "witch hunt."  Oh yez, it's not as if any Muslims were going to open fire on soldiers at Fort Hood or plant bombs in Times Square, for goodness sake.  Or shoot people in airports, cultural centers or army recruiting stations, or run over them in cars.  Or plan dozens of other missions that have failed.  To fear Islam is called "Islamophobia" and there are now organizations formed to combat this menace, lest any terrorist be stopped before he can detonate his bomb or pull a trigger.

Islamophobia is, I suppose, the left's description of an "irrational" fear of Islam.  Just as in the 1950s - 1980's there was an "irrational" fear of communism.  Fearing murderous, totalitarian ideologies whose followers are bent on your death or enslavement -- oh yez, that's truly "irrational" all right.  Especially when you consider that much of the world has already fallen prey to these movements and have suffered the very things that you "irrationally" fear.

Any irrationality is in those who do not fear aggressive, violent ideologies -- in effect, those who are in denial about the reality of the threat.  

We have millions of Muslims in our midst and they aren't anxious to help law enforcement ferret out the fanatics who will attempt bombings and other acts of terror.  Why is that?  Possible, even probably, it is because the non-cooperating Muslims know full well that the fanatics are merely practicing Islam as it was designed to be practiced, by making enemies of all non-Muslims and working for their subjugation through treachery, force and violence.

Islamophobia is a GOOD thing.  Islamophobia may result in our physical and spiritual survival.

You go Peter King.

Read more about it here.

Charlie Sheen's New Line of Men's Fragrances (Video, Photoshop, Satire)

Jimmy Fallon did a brilliant impersonation of Charlie Sheen, announcing a new brand of men's cologne called "Winning." Fallon's skit inspired my own Photoshop (hey, it was a slow news day, awright?):

And if you can't get enough of Sheen's narcissism, watch the video of his first internet broadcast of  "Sheen's Korner" here.  In it Charlie spends most of an hour blathering on about nothing in particular while his resident groupies sit behind him smiling and laughing at all of Sheen's bad jokes and witticisms.  They had better pretend support or be cut off the gravy train.  Pathetic.

Announcing CHARLIE SHEEN TEQUILA! (Photoshop, Satire)

Now you too can immerse yourself in drunken debauchery!  Buy a case today.  Or Two.





































Didn't like that one?  How about this one, where Charlie is poignantly, tragically immersed in a bottle of gin, drowning in his own drunken decadence.  You are supposed to look at it and see the tragedy of alcohol abuse, then imagine how deep and sensitive I am to point it out to you.  It's not as if poor Charlie were responsible for himself, for godsake.  He is merely a victim of society.  Boo hoo!

Let's All Sing: "Look For the UNION LABEL!" (Photoshops)

There are a number of great graphics on the web that illustrate the "Union Label."  Unfortunately, I didn't create any of them.  However, I gathered them here for your enlightenment and enjoyment.

Charlie Sheen: a REAL WINNER! (Photoshop)

Michael Moore Declares USA to be Communist

Don't Know Shinola
About Economics

Michael Moore has declared that cash is a national resource that collectively belongs to everyone in the United States.  It is a national resource, he asserts.  He also believes that people own their jobs and that it should be illegal to transfer jobs out of the USA.

Well now, Mr. Moore, when can I become a check signer on your bank account?  Since your money belongs to me too, I find it quite piggish that you haven't already added me to your bank signature card.

Moore is an ignoramus on economics, which explains why he is such an uber-liberal.  However, his dumb assertions of non-facts illustrates well the mind-set of liberals:  that all wealth in the United States is collectively owned, and what you are allowed to keep after paying taxes is really government's gift to you.

But let's think about this; why should only cash be a collectively-owned asset?  Cash is only a medium of exchange, it has no intrinsic value of its own.  Real estate, precious metals, commodities, stocks and bonds, and hmmm, even film rights must belong to all of us under Moore's brilliant logic.  That means I can start showing "Bowling for Columbine," "Fahrenheit 911" and "Capitalism:  A Love Story" on the wall of my barn and charge public admission.

But don't worry, Michael, I will allow you to do the same.  Consider it a gift.

Turmoil in the Middle East: A Good Thing or Not?

The turmoil in the Middle East is interesting, even entertaining.  From one Muslim country to another, from Tunisia to Egypt to Libya to Bahrain to Iran, people are taking to the streets to denounce their dictators and demand new leadership.

The existing regimes have fought back and killed some of the demonstrators.  It's nasty over there.  However, the question remains:  what do the demonstrators really want?  Do they want more sharia law?  More mullahs micromanaging their personal lives to conform them more closely to Islam?  Or do they want "democracy," free elections and greater personal liberty?  It's really hard to say.

My personal gut feeling is that the people are greatly annoyed by the poor economy, the lack of jobs and the price of housing, food and other living essentials.  No doubt, it is annoying to see gold-plated dictators enjoying fantastic wealth while common citizens go without basic essentials.

These countries do not enjoy a liberal (liberal in the good sense) tradition, but a very illiberal one; so the people do not have a mental model of the society they seek.  They want change, but are not clear on what that change will entail.  It is likely that fanatical Muslim organizations will take advantage of the turmoil to fill the vacuum left by the fleeing dictators.  The end result will likely be less freedom, not more.  But we can always hope.

Democrat to Republican: "You Are F***king Dead!"

John at Powerline wrote about the increase in liberal hate-speech and threats of violence these days. Specifically, he referred to an incident in the Wisconsin Assembly. Immediately after the Republicans had passed their budget in Wisconsin's Assembly, Rep. Gordon Hintz (D Oshkosh) turned to Rep. Michelle Litjens (R-Winneconne) and yelled, "You are f****** dead!"

John explains:

There is a great deal of violent talk going on these days, substantially all of it by liberals. You could try to explain it by saying it is because they are losing, but conservatives didn't go postal when they were losing just a few years ago. I think there is a close correlation between anger and liberalism. Many liberals--not all, but a great many--are liberal precisely because they seethe with resentment against the world. It doesn't take much for that anger to break through, as we are seeing very often these days.

John is right.  When you pull the pacifier out of a spoiled baby's mouth, he is likely to scream and bawl quite loudly.  That leads to another psychological phenomenon so terribly obvious from the left, that of psychological projection.   People often see in others the very same attributes that they so hate or fear in themselves; the liberal left continually decries conservatives as boiling with anger, hatred and racism, when these attributes are so much more obvious in themselves.

"Atlas Shrugged" Movie Starts April 15: Who Is John Galt?

Pamela Geller as Dagny Taggart, VP of Taggart
Transcontinental Railroad Lines (of "Atlas Shrugged")

The Other McCain is reporting that the "Atlas Shrugged" movie begins showing in theaters on April 15.  I'd love to see that, and I hope it is true to the book.  Ayn Rand's famous novel about the capitalist good guys fighting the socialist morons is, without a doubt, the greatest pro-capitalism story of all time.  It has inspired the contempt and hatred of leftists since the book debuted in 1957.

The story is about key capitalists bowing out of the economy as governmental interference increases.  The capitalists start their own colony and economy in a hidden valley in Colorado, and let the larger economy crash on the shoals of governmental overreach.  The term "Who is John Galt?" refers to an early leader of the capitalist movement, who walks off the job one day after a pro-socialist meeting of the workers.  "Who is John Galt?" then becomes a popular saying like "What's the price of tea in China?" or "Does a bear sh*t in the woods?" or simply "Who knows?"

Today, more than fifty years later, politicians have learned nothing about economics, and governmental overreach is on steroids.  When major companies go out of business or move their operations overseas (to escape high taxation and onerous regulation), don't ask "Why?"  Ask "Who is John Galt?"

The term "Atlas Shrugged" refers to the great Atlas of capitalism who, instead of continuing to hoist the world on his shoulders, shrugs off the burden.  Now when companies shut down and entrepreneurs drop out of the economy or leave our tax world to find freer havens, people say that "Atlas is shrugging."  Pamela Geller named her blog after this phenomenon, i.e. "Atlas Shrugs."

This phenomenon is not new.  I remember years ago when European politicians complained of the "brain drain" to the United States, as talented European engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs fled to the greener pastures of North America.  Today we may be experiencing a "reverse brain drain" as the technically talented follow their ambition to China and India.  Socialism and its weaker sister liberalism do not strengthen an economy, they slowly choke the life out of it, resulting in lower productivity as the talented seek greater opportunity elsewhere.

Wow, Excuse My Absence: Distracted by Photoshop Compulsion

Wow, I have posted nothing since last Friday due to my passion for Photoshop.  I love applying my mind to nitty-gritty detailed projects, and when I feel I am learning something new, I become involved with a hyper-focused passion.  My latest attempt to reconstruct the terrible original photo of a fallen sailor taught me a lot, namely about the smudge tool and the liquify filter functions.  I finally got to a version of the latest sailor Photoshop that pleases me most, so I posted it and now will rest my mind by pointing it in a different direction.