Quote of the Day: The Definition of Islamophobia

Islamophobia is the irrational fear of being beheaded.

--Andrew Klavan

Islamophobes

Fighting Back at Brett Kimberlin: Vexatious Litigants and Civil Restraint Orders #BrettKimberlin

There has been much talk about having Brett Kimberlin adjudged a "vexatious litigant" after his last two lawsuits against conservative bloggers.  His recent lawsuits include a meritless lawsuit in the Maryland court system, now ended with a directed verdict against Kimberlin, and an ongoing (even more absurd) RICO lawsuit in the federal court system.

Kimberlin has reportedly filed over 100 lawsuits, suing judges, opposing attorneys, the widow of his bombing victim, and even a U.S. Senator in an orgy of meritless and abusive litigation.  This week W.J.J. Hoge reports that Kimberlin will now appeal the directed verdict in the Maryland case, and is considering a third lawsuit, this one in federal court.

I am not a lawyer, but this is my understanding:  A "vexatious litigant" is anyone who files many meritless lawsuits, abusing the legal system to punish or extort defendants.  Once a court finds someone to be a "vexatious litigant," that person can no longer file lawsuits without the prior review and consent of a judge, and must post bonds to cover the expenses of the defendants in the event the suit fails.

Ken White at Popehat discusses the need and the means to have Kimberlin declared a vexatious litigant.  He wants to compile a list of all lawsuits filed by Kimberlin over the past 35 years.  But is that even necessary?  Why wouldn't the last five, six or ten of his latest lawsuits suffice?  Or the most egregious examples?  Why would we need all of his lawsuits to prove him a vexatious litigant?  How many are necessary?  What have other court cases decided in similar situations?

I found this book on Amazon (see graphic above):  Vexatious Litigants and Civil Restraint Orders.  It is a legal guide to vexatious litigants.  Resources are available.  We should not let this issue drop.  With Kimberlin promising to punish his victims with "endless lawsuits for the rest of their lives," it is imperative that seeking a civil restraint order against Kimberlin's serial litigation go forward as soon as possible.

Postscript:  Here is a federal court case in which the pro se plaintiff was declared to be a vexatious litigant.  This pro se plaintiff's suit and claims have a striking similarity to those filed by Brett Kimberlin in his RICO lawsuit, i.e.:

1. In this case alone, Plaintiff filed almost one hundred motions or other requests for relief, the majority of which are duplicative of relief previously denied by this court or other courts.

2.  The court dismissed the plaintiff's causes of action against the defendants for "1) race discrimination, (2) employment discrimination, (3) retaliation, (4) free speech discrimination or retaliation, (5) defamation, (6) breach of contract, (7) breach of trust, (8) breach of confidence, (9) antitrust violations, (10) unfair competition, (11) copyright violations, (12) conspiracy, (13) civil violations of the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, (14) violations of privacy, (15) misappropriation of intellectual property, and (16) bad-faith dealing."

3. [T]he facts alleged in the Complaint are both fantastic and delusional. For example, one of Plaintiff s allegations involves what he calls a “broad base conspiracy” to steal unidentified “intellectual properties.” Compl. at 3. To this end, he alleges merely that all of the defendants in this action “are inter-connected holding business contracts for joint business purposes.” 

4. Plaintiffs allegations are clearly fanciful and delusional on their face.  The facts and legal claims set forth in the Complaint are virtually identical to those made by Plaintiff in cases that have been repeatedly dismissed by other courts, including the courts of this district. They are frivolous and, in keeping with Plaintiffs typical modus operandi, appear to be made for the purpose of harassing the defendants into entering into a nuisance settlement.

5. “It is evident to this Court that Whitehead is either, at best, a dealer in Mitigation futures,’ or at worst a ‘litigation extortionist.’ Neither approach should be tolerated under the Rules of Civil Procedure.”

Black Marine's YouTube Video Goes Viral

We need more real men like this one.

A Real Cop Explains What Cops Do

Fred Reed

Fred Reed used to be a cop.  In Washington, D.C., if I remember correctly.  He has written an essay on the difficulties of being a cop on the street.  He explains how a cop must sometimes make a split second decision to shoot a suspect, thinking that his own life is in immediate danger.  Sometimes innocent people get killed as a result.

He writes:

With time, your views on police brutality will become ambivalent, or not ambivalent. You will see the pretty blonde rape victim, fifteen, about due for her first prom, screaming and screaming and screaming, sobbing and choking,  while the med tech tries to get a sedative into her arm. And you will hear the cop next to you, hand clenching hard on his night stick, say in cold fury, “I hope the sonofabitch resists arrest.” Yeah, you may find yourself thinking, yeah. Social theories are nice. The streets are not theoretical.

And you will find that the perps are almost always black. If you are a good liberal, you won’t like this, but after three months on the street you will not have the faintest doubt. If you are a suburban conservative out of Reader’s Digest, you will be surprised at the starkness of the racial delineation.

All cops know this. They know better than to say it. This can be tricky for black cops, especially if former military who believe in law and order.

Read it all here.   It is worth your time.

Comedian Jon Lovitz Spars With Me on Twitter RE Rush Limbaugh

Jon Lovitz

Westboro Baptist Church Uses Stogie Graphic in Sign

Westboro Baptist Church is the congregation that likes to picket fallen soldiers' funerals, and carry signs saying "God Hates Fags" and "Fags Die God Laughs."  They are despicable, and I have criticized them and made fun of them with Photoshop.  See here and here.

Now, ironically enough, they are making use of one of my Photoshop graphics in their latest signs.  This time, however, they are protesting Islam.  One of their signs makes use of a graphic I made for Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs, at her request, some years back.  That graphic depicts Uncle Sam putting a gun to his head.  I didn't sign the graphic, but I did put "Atlas Shrugs" as the signature.  See that graphic below.


Other websites have also made use of the graphic, and I don't mind.  I have never put restrictions on the use of my graphics.  Here's the Westboro Baptist Church members protesting Islam.  Note my graphic on the sign that says "U H8 Jesus."  I can't completely dispute their message this time around, except for the "Muslims Die God Laughs" sign. It is highly presumptuous to speak for God.  The "U H8 Jesus" sign may be correct, depending on who "U" is.  As for "God Hates Islam," I would expect that to be true if God hates evil, mass murder and rape.

What Happiness Is! Really.

Happiness is two string basses.  And they are all mine!

Bring It, Jamiliah Naheed

Bring it.  The justice system will not, should not, cannot be influenced by extortion from the black underclass mob.

The HOLE-y Koran (Photoshop)

Showing my sentiments for the ISIS mass murderers and the book that inspires them.

Update:  Flames and smoke added per suggestion of Paul Lemmen.

Larry2 Nails It: Race Mongers Work From a Predictable Script

A commenter at Instapundit nails it. See below. (Hat tip to Smitty)

Larry2

There seems to be a pattern:
1) unarmed young black guy is shot,
2) there is a vast media outcry over the young "honor student's" death,
3) family provides photos of the dead guy taken when he was 11 years old, well before he had opted for the ghetto thug look,
4) it comes out that the "honor student" has been committing felonies,
5) witnesses say the honor student was beating the hell out of the person who shot him,
6) Democrat politicians call for the shooter's conviction, and
7) prosecutors, fearing rioting, black voters, or what have you, prosecute the shooter anyway.
Have I missed anything?

Glad to see Smitty taking up the slack over at The Other McCain.  Stacy McCain is an excellent writer and analyst, and could impart wisdom and insight on current events:  the Michael Brown affair, the lawfare against Governor Rick Perry, the beheading of the journalist, ISIS.  However, Stacy seems to be overly interested in lesbian feminist pedophile perverts, and that's about all he writes about these days.  Stacy, we need you!

Report: Officer Wilson "Beaten Very Severely" Before Shooting Michael Brown

Fox News reports:

Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Mo., police officer whose fatal shooting of Michael Brown touched off more than a week of demonstrations, suffered severe facial injuries, including an orbital (eye socket) fracture, and was nearly beaten unconscious by Brown moments before firing his gun, a source close to the department's top brass told FoxNews.com.

“The Assistant (Police) Chief took him to the hospital, his face all swollen on one side,” said the insider. “He was beaten very severely.”

The poor sweet "Gentle Giant" fairy-tale continues to unravel.

Finally, A Decent Speech By Barack Obama, With One Disagreement

President Obama's speech about ISIS (also called ISIL) was one of his best.  For a change, it wasn't self-serving or pushing the far left agenda.  He told the truth about ISIS, mostly anyway.  Obama said, in part:

Let’s be clear about ISIL. They have rampaged across cities and villages killing innocent, unarmed civilians in cowardly acts of violence. They abduct women and children and subject them to torture and rape and slavery. They have murdered Muslims, both Sunni and Shi’a, by the thousands. They target Christians and religious minorities, driving them from their homes, murdering them when they can, for no other reason than they practice a different religion.

Islam has always murdered people who practice other religions, and Muslims are commanded by their prophet to do so, in an eternal war against the non-Muslim world.  ISIS is largely just following Mu's commandments.

They declared their ambition to commit genocide against an ancient people. So ISIL speaks for no religion. Their victims are overwhelmingly Muslim, and no faith teaches people to massacre innocents. No just god would stand for what they did yesterday and what they do every single day. ISIL has no ideology of any value to human beings. Their ideology is bankrupt. They may claim out of expediency that they are at war with the United States or the West, but the fact is they terrorize their neighbors and offer them nothing but an endless slavery to their empty vision and the collapse of any definition of civilized behavior.

"No faith teaches people to massacre innocents...No just god would stand for what they did yesterday...."
I absolutely agree with the second statement about "no just God," and that's why Allah is not a just god.  His "prophet," in several Koranic verses, does indeed command Muslims to "massacre innocents."  This is where Obama is wrong.  Two of those verses are below.

Quran (8:12) - "I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them." [From The Religion of Peace]

Quran 9:5 (the infamous verse of the sword inciting mass murder):  "Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." [From Daniel Pipes]

ISIS Is The True Face of Islam: Pure Evil

ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria,  is absolutely brutal, ruthless, merciless.  This military style force has taken over large parts of both Syria and Iraq.  Their goal is to restore the Islamic Caliphate.  The Caliphate was formed after Muhammad's death, a kind of Islamic Papacy, that rules over all Muslims worldwide.  It existed for many decades, until it was dissolved after World War I.  However, Muslims want it back.

ISIS has been executing Christians, Shiite Muslims, Kurds and Yazidis for some time now.  They behead many, crucify others, and shoot many more.  They are pure evil, but they are the true face of Islam.  They are merely following the example of their "prophet," Muhammad, who was also a ruthless, murdering megalomaniac who committed similar atrocities in the name of his "religion."

Yesterday a YouTube video came to light with the title "A Message To America," showing the beheading murder of American journalist, James Wright Foley.  These sub-humans seem to think that such atrocities will strike fear into our hearts and make us stop all opposition to their evil.  It will have the opposite effect.  In light of such barbaric mass murder, our determination to wipe out ISIS grows stronger daily.  Jihadis must die, all of them, without exception.

I wanted US troops out of Iraq.  Now I want them back in.  Not to make democrats out of the Shiites, but to kill ISIS, wipe them out to the last man.  They say they love death.  Let's give it to them.

Michael Brown's Partner In Crime Recants: Admits Brown Went For Officer's Gun

Dorian Johnson, Michael Brown's partner in crime, started the massive riots in Ferguson by lying to the media.  He claimed that Officer Wilson grabbed Brown by the throat from the open window of his police cruiser, then pulled out his pistol and shot Brown.  As Brown backed away, he raised his arms in surrender and said "Don't shoot!"  Wilson then allegedly felled Brown with a flurry of gunshots.

But Johnson lied about the whole thing.  He now admits that Brown went for the officer's gun.  That Brown attacked Wilson is beyond dispute, now that serious damage to Wilson's orbital eye socket (from Brown's fist) has been revealed.

How much more truth will Johnson reveal?  Methinks he will sing like a canary to avoid jail.

Hat tip to Blazing Hat Fur.

There Are Good Black People Too. Thank God For Them.

In my disgust with the blame-whitey crowd and their rush to judgment to condemn Officer Darren Wilson, their willingness to believe the most absurd scenarios surrounding the death of Michael Brown, I got a little agitated.  I said what needed to be said about a lot of black people, and I think I spoke the truth and was fair.  However, it would not be fair not to note that there are many good black people out there, too.

The good blacks seem to be in short supply, but maybe there are many who just can't speak up.  Peer pressure and social ostracism are strong deterrents to voicing unpopular truths.

When Reginald Denny was getting his head stomped in by a black mob following the Rodney King incident, two black people -- a man and a woman, if I remember correctly -- stepped out of the crowd and rescued Denny.  They put him back in his truck and then drove him to safety.

When some white man was getting stomped by a black mob in the Watts riots, a black preacher stepped out of the crowd and stood over the prone, injured man and began praying.  The mob dispersed.

Now we hear that over a dozen witnesses to the Brown shooting have come forward to corroborate the officer's version of events.  Surely, most of these witnesses were black.  Maybe all of them.

There is a high remnant of black men and women who add much to the world, and we are better off for their presence:  Dr. Ben Carson, Allen West (my choice for president, because his views so closely mirror my own), Herman Cain (whom I supported last time), Clarence Thomas, Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, thousands of black policemen and women across the country.  And many more.

There are real incidences where some white man murdered a black teenager for no reason -- see here, for example.  I lambasted the murdering scum and cheered his conviction for murder.   I hate unfair accusations against white cops or non-black citizens who find themselves in dangerous confrontations with violent black young men.  However, I do not tolerate or excuse the actions of white people who truly abuse black kids, like the old coot linked above.  Find the truth and the justice, wherever it may be.

BREAKING: Black Youth Shot By Cops In St Louis

Another young black man has apparently committed "suicide by cop."  The youth had attempted to rob a convenience store with a knife.  Police were called, but the youth refused to put down the knife, and charged the police.  Some witnesses said the youth told the police to "kill me now."

This appears to be "suicide by cop."  One of the cops shot the young man, killing him.

Read about it here.

My Rant Against Black Racism: Worth Re-Reading

Not long ago, another "white" (actually, a Hispanic) shot and killed a black teenager who was attacking him. The teenager was Trayvon Martin, and his targeted victim was George Zimmerman.  The left attempted to legally lynch Zimmerman for saving his own life from the violent black teenager.  The vitriol from the left, both black and white, was massive.  However, the local police had concluded that Zimmerman acted in self-defense, and refused to charge him with a crime.  Nevertheless, Zimmerman faced a trial for murder, brought by a leftist district attorney, in what was clearly a political trial.  Zimmerman was acquitted.

That was a tipping point for me, and I let both blacks and liberals have it, in one of my best rants of all time.  Rereading it now, it could easily apply to the Michael Brown case.  Here are my salient points:

• In my humble opinion, blacks are the most racially-conscious group in the United States, and in fact, the most racist. Whenever a crime involves a black, the black populace will support him or her, no matter what they did to their non-black victims. Black people, as a whole, have no empathy or sympathy for the non-black victims of black crime. To most black people, the color of their skin is all that matters; it is their one great unifying principle. Every other consideration is secondary.

• Trayvon Martin had it coming, not because he was black, but because he was a violent punk who picked the wrong victim. Many of us non-blacks are reaching a tipping point in our tolerance of black dysfunction and black attitudes. Are we biased against blacks? Hell yes, how could we be otherwise? Though most of us will never admit it, white prejudice is justified by black crime and black attitudes. Our discrimination is rational, because we desire to preserve our physical safety and remain untouched by black violence and crime. That to us is more important than mouthing socially polite inanities about racial equality and the evils of profiling. For those who would survive, profiling is entirely rational and justified.

• So what's the solution?  There are no simple answers, but one of the most necessary and important things we can do is to tell the truth. Blacks are solely responsible for their own bad attitudes, poor life choices, dysfunctional families and criminal acts, as well as the aftermath (like getting shot while attacking someone). As a society, we must stop providing them with cover, with rationalizations, with excuses for their bad behavior. Institutionalized anti-white racism must cease, including that by President Obama, the universities, and the media.

Read it all here.

Update:  A related article is posted at American Thinker:  Black Racism Is Politically Correct.  This article, which I just now read, makes the same point I make above:  much of the solution is to tell the uncomfortable truth.  Kevin Jackson writes:

White Liberals do NOT help the black community, because they won't tell black people the truth. As Thomas Sowell said about truth,

"When you want to help people, you tell the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell people what they want to hear."

America will change when Americans have the guts to tell black people the truth.

"A Dozen Witnesses Corroborate Officer Wilson's Story": Mike Brown Rushed Officer Wilson

A reporter for the Blaze says she talked to the Ferguson Police, who told her that "more than a dozen witnesses" have corroborated Officer Wilson's version of events.  Michael Brown rushed Officer Darren Wilson (and my added comment follows), forcing Wilson to fire for his own safety.

Another black victimhood tale of woe and racism is starting to unravel.

Note to unarmed black teenager druggies:  if you don't want to get shot, don't assault white folks carrying guns.

What The Ferguson Protester Really Meant (Photoshop)

Once again, through the magic of Photoshop, the hidden meaning in an iconic news photo has been made clear.  See the original, untranslated photo here.

A Prayer Answered (Cartoon) #Racism #Bigotry #Ferguson

Ferguson's Hostages (Cartoon)

Found on FaceBook, Author Unknown

Autopsy Report on Michael Brown: Shot Six Times From The Front

A private autopsy on the body of Michael Brown shows that Brown was shot six times.  However, four of those shots hit him in the right arm, and were nonfatal wounds.  This would explain why the officer kept firing as Brown continued to advance.  Brown was finally shot in the head twice before he went down.

All gunshots were to the front of Brown, laying to rest the rumor that he was shot in the back.  This fact also lends credence to the claim that Brown was rushing the officer when he was shot.

Two more autopsies are planned.

Read more at Fox News here.

Black Victimization By Whites Is A Myth, and Other Ferguson Facts

Powerline has weighed in on the Ferguson debacle, and quotes some interesting facts about alleged "black victimization by whites":

Although there is no apparent connection to the Brown case, it is true that African-Americans are disproportionately charged and convicted of crimes. But that is because they disproportionately commit crimes. The black homicide rate is eight times the white rate. We know from victims’ reports that the frequent prosecution and conviction of blacks is due to the fact that they commit so many crimes. Scott has done as much as anyone to report on this fact. The idea that the judicial system discriminates against African-Americans is a myth.

Read the whole thing.

Fred, of Fred on Everything says this about the Ferguson shooting:

What actually happened in Ferguson? God only knows. Of course we are hearing from talking heads with bargain-basement IQs that a policeman, from racial motives, shot an unarmed black kid because he refused to stop walking in the street. Did it happen? Possibly. I wasn’t there. But the story smells.

Reflect: Every white cop short of the orbit of Neptune knows that if he shoots a black, he faces dismemberment in the media, loss of job and pension, probable criminal charges locally by a publicity-seeking prosecutor, a well-funded civil suit that he can’t afford filed by surviving family members, and trumped-up federal civil-rights charges from an attorney general who doesn't like whites.

Read it all here.

Austin DA's Office: A Cauldron of Malicious Prosecution #IStandWithRickPerry

Austin, unlike the rest of Texas, is a college town and a cesspool of far left ideology and activism.  The Office of the District Attorney there  (in Travis County) investigates and prosecutes crimes related to the operation of the Texas state government.  Apparently, one of the crimes the office prosecutes is being a Republican.

Governor Rick Perry of Texas is the latest victim of the hyper-partisan DA's office in Austin, being indicted by an Austin Grand Jury for abuse of power in vetoing an appropriations bill that would continue funding that very same DA Office.  Perry had warned that he would veto the bill unless the current DA there, one Rosemany Lehmberg, resigned.  Lehmberg had been convicted of drunk driving in April 2013, and Perry thought she had disgraced her office and should be replaced; however, Lehmberg refused to resign.

Hence, payback time:  the Democrats cooked up an indictment of Perry that is so transparent that even prominent liberals and Democrats are expressing dismay.  Perry was indicted for "abuse of office" and "attempting to coerce a public official."  Patterico describes the applicable state laws and why they do not apply to the Perry situation, here.

This latest abuse of the legal system by the Austin DA is nothing new.  The Austin DA Office, under former DA Ronnie Earle, falsely indicted prominent Republicans in the past, on trumped up charges.  A couple of examples are below.

Earle filed charges against Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, then Texas State Treasurer, for allegedly misusing state telephones and allegedly assaulting a staffer. Earle attempted to drop the charges on the first day in court — in fact, at the pre-trial hearing — after the judge in the case questioned the admissibility of his evidence. The judge refused to allow it, instructing the jury to return a "not guilty" verdict so the charge could not be brought against her again.

Tom Delay was prosecuted for "money laundering," for collecting corporate political donations that he turned over to the Republican National Committee, who in turn used the funds to support Texas Republicans.  Here is what I wrote about the prosecution of Tom Delay:

Tom Delay was undoubtedly the pinnacle of this cretin[Ronnie Earle]'s shameful career, in that he was able to obtain an indictment of Tom Delay, after shopping eight different Grand Juries, and then tried Delay in the leftist enclave of Austin, Texas, where Delay was wrongly convicted of "money laundering," for obtaining contributions for Texas Republican candidates. Delay was forced to resign from Congress, and was sentenced to three years in jail for the alleged crime. His attorneys immediately appealed the 2010 conviction, and the case slowly wound through the appeals process.

On September 19, 2013, Delay's nightmare was ended when the Texas Appeals Court reversed the conviction, stating that there was no evidence to convict, and that the indictment should never have been brought in the first place. Delay was therefore formerly acquitted of the charges.  Ronnie Earle's dishonorable and disgraceful abuse of the justice system had its intended effect: Delay's political career was ended, his reputation unfairly tainted by the false charges, and he was forced to spend great sums of money to avoid jail time from the absurd conviction.

Ronnie Earle is the personification of the...Democrat Party, where any behavior is judged merely by its success in defeating Republicans, no matter how ruthless, dishonest, dishonorable or corrupt the tactics. Destroying careers and lives of political opponents is par for the course, as is stealing elections through voter fraud and other schemes.

It is time for Texans to shut down the Austin DA Office as the prosecuting arm of corruption in Texas, and move that function elsewhere, to a saner location.  The hyper-partisan City of Austin is incapable of fairly and evenly applying the law to Republicans.

Ferguson

This past week some black teenager, one Michael Brown, was shot dead in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri by a white cop.  The teenager was unarmed, or so they say.   I did see a picture of Brown laying face down in the street, dead.  I couldn't help but feel sorry for him, he was just a kid.  This was a tragic outcome, whatever the facts are.

Why did the cop shoot Brown?  I do not know.  No reason has been clearly set forth in the media.  Angry black mobs are now looting stores in Ferguson and claiming that Michael Brown was "executed."  I doubt that the officer drew down on Brown and pumped him full of lead for no reason.  Was the officer in fear of his life?  A reasonable fear of his life would be the only acceptable reason for using deadly force; otherwise, the cop should be indicted.  However, I don't know what happened, and it seems few people do.

Meanwhile, a store video cam taped a scene where Michael Brown apparently shoplifted some cheap cigars, and pushed the store clerk away when the latter objected to the theft.  That, of course, is no reason to kill Brown, but no one is claiming that it was.  It does show a young man breaking the law, making it clear that Michael Brown was not an angel.  

Maybe when the black underclass in Ferguson stops rioting, the Police Department will have time to study the event and give us some facts.  Did Brown attempt to grab the officer's gun?  Did Brown charge the officer before he was shot?  Was Brown under the influence of drugs that made him paranoid and aggressive?  We need facts, and I will withhold my judgment on the case until we get some.

UPDATE:   There is growing evidence that Michael Brown was shot while bum-rushing the police officer, running at full speed.  See the Gateway Pundit article (hat tip to Sarah) here.  If so, the officer did have reason to fear for his life.  There is also a cell phone recording where bystanders are discussing the shooting immediately after it happened, and they also indicate Brown rushed the officer.  It appears that the tale of poor Brown raising his arms in surrender, only to be executed, is a fairy-tale.  I suspect Michael Brown was high on some mind-altering drug, and that would explain his irrational and self-destructive behavior.

My Final "Big Band" Music Class

Last night was the sixth and final session for my "Beginning Big Band" class.  After the class, the band went out together for beer and dinner at the Los Gatos Brewery.  We all enjoyed the beer, snacks and conversation.  Several people complimented me on my bass playing, and that was nice.  The lovely lady band leader gave me a big hug.  The guitar player tried to recruit me for another local big band.  I told him I would gladly consider it.

My biggest challenge in playing upright bass is the arthritis in my right shoulder and shoulder blade.  I must continue exercising with weights to overcome it.  My desire to be a serious bassist is also my greatest incentive to get and stay in shape.

Now that I don't have my weekly class meeting as a practice incentive, I must find new incentives, e.g. a new class, a new band.  I will think on it.

What I take away from this classroom experience:  (1) a much greater ability to read notes (2) an improving knowledge of the bass neck, and better intonation; (3) practical experience in the maintenance and transporting of my large double bass.

Rush Limbaugh's Comments on the Robin Williams Suicide

A couple of days ago, Rush Limbaugh discussed how politics have affected the media's reporting of Robin Williams's suicide.  Rush stated that the media theme was that Williams killed himself because, in this society of ours, nothing can ever be enough, that all is darkness and despair.

A lot of leftist media outlets, especially Media Matters, deliberately distorted Limbaugh's comments about Robin Williams's suicide. They claimed Rush said Williams killed himself because he was a liberal and had a leftist worldview.   However, Rush was speaking about the worldview of the media, not that of Robin Williams.

Media Matters originated the smear and sent it out to other media, who simply repeated the distortion as if it were fact.  Even the Washington Times got in on the act, with their headline "Rush Limbaugh:  Robin Williams Killed Himself Due to Leftist Worldview."

The usual mouth-foaming outrage immediately poured forth from the left, damning to hell Rush for saying such insensitive, awful things.  Except that he didn't say what they claimed.  I know, I heard the show live.

I listened to the original live broadcast, and I understood what Rush was saying, and I never took it as a criticism of Robin Williams or his politics.  Rush was criticizing the media's reporting of the suicide, not the suicide itself.  Rush was talking about how leftist thought affects their media reporting, he was NOT implying that Williams shared their worldview or that Williams killed himself because of that worldview.  Rush's motivations were clear:  he felt the leftist spin on the suicide might encourage others to emulate the deed and take their own lives.

Some media are reporting Rush's rebuttal today, but the execrable Huffington Post states that Rush is "walking back" his statements about Robin Williams, implying that the original distortion was fact and that Rush is now retreating from his original words.  Despicable.

I will criticize Rush myself, though.  When discussing the recent death of a much-loved public figure, a commenter is walking into a minefield.  Great care must be taken in any comments, as people are bound to react emotionally.  Rush did not voice any empathy for Williams or express any regret at his passing.  Such niceties are the oil that lubricates the machinery of social commentary.  It's called tact. It's called diplomacy.

Further,  he ought to have known the left would distort and misstate his remarks.  He should have emphasized that he was talking about the dark worldview of the leftist media, and not Williams's reasons for suicide.  He should have been clearer in his remarks, and he should have emphasized what he meant and didn't mean.  This was very careless of Rush.  After all of these years on the radio, he should know better than to leave himself open to such a predictable distortion.

Here are the pertinent links:

Transcript of Rush's Original Remarks

Transcript of Rush's Rebuttal to Leftist Charges

Brett Kimberlin Loses Lawsuit Against Conservative Bloggers

After months of sturm and drang, motions filed and pleadings written, Brett Kimberlin's state civil suit against four bloggers -- John Hoge, R.S. McCain, Ali Akbar and Aaron Walker -- went to trial today.  After Brett Kimberlin presented his case and rested, the judge ordered a directed verdict in favor of the defendants.  The judge stated that Kimberlin had not presented any evidence of defamation in the case, and rather than allowing the jury to deliberate the case, threw the whole thing out.  The defendants didn't need to rebut or put on a case, since there was nothing to rebut.

It has been apparent from Kimberlin's first filed brief that there was nothing to the lawsuit.  It was vague ramblings of terrible wrongs that didn't really seem terrible, and that didn't really seem wrong.  The bloggers wrote about Kimberlin's criminal past, and he wanted to shut them up, punish them, make them suffer, using the courts as a club.

The directed verdict had to be humiliating to Kimberlin and his followers.  It's a good day when Kimberlin makes a fool of himself in a court of law.  However, the suit should have been dismissed before trial, and it is a puzzle as to why it was not.

Read more about it here:

Hogewash

Legal Insurrection

Popehat

Stacy McCain and Aaron Walker are yet to weigh in at their blogs.  No doubt they will have some interesting details of Kimberlin's Waterloo.

Kimberlin had filed two lawsuits against conservative bloggers and pundits, the state lawsuit in Maryland described above, and an even more absurd RICO lawsuit in federal court.  The RICO suit is still viable, but motions to dismiss have been made, and there is little doubt Kimberlin will lose there too.

Brett Kimberlin and Julia Scyphers (Photoshop)

Brett Kimberlin goes to trial tomorrow, serving as his own plaintiff attorney, in what clearly appears to be a vexatious lawsuit to intimidate bloggers from writing about his criminal past and his current, unsavory undertakings, i.e. repression of the First Amendment through lawfare.

Kimberlin was, and still is, a chief suspect in the 1978 murder of a 65 year old grandmother, Julia Scyphers.  The story of this is detailed throughout the web.  Simply google "Julia Scyphers."  Here, for example.

If there is someone, anyone out there who knows who ordered the hit on Julia Scyphers, you are an accomplice to murder unless you go to the police.  Don't die with that on your soul.  God is waiting for you....and so is Julia Scyphers.  The most important trial you may face is the one that comes after this life.

Julia Scyphers Reaches Out From The Grave

"Free Palestine" is Code for "Kill the Jews"

American Power has a slew of disturbing photos this morning.  It seems that tens of thousands in London are once again protesting Israel's self defense in Gaza, carrying signs that say "Free Palestine," "Stop the American-Israeli War on the Palestinian People," and even "Support the Intifada" (the indiscriminate murder of Jews by by bombs).

Europe is a very sick puppy right now.  England, France and Italy have run up the white flag and thrown open the gates to barbarians.  Their leaders have carelessly and casually pissed away Western Civilization, by allowing millions of Muslim immigrants into their countries, and to replace the standards of higher civilization with hatred, ignorance and intolerance.  "Free Palestine" is a transparent code for "Kill the Jews."  Somewhere in Hell, Hitler is smiling.

ISIS Must Die

I have never been a bit reticent in proclaiming my everlasting hatred for Islam, its religion and its culture.  It is barbaric, dedicated to mass murder and totalitarian rule.

ISIS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, is the most retrograde and brutal yet, of all the Islamic terrorist groups that have come before it.   They are murdering Christians and other religious groups in mass numbers, executing other Muslims (the Shiites) by firing squad.   Some Christians have been crucified.  ISIS vermin are beheading many and putting the severed heads on pikes as a warning to others.  Even small children of Christian parents are being beheaded.  This is a true genocide, unlike the leftist fairy tale of IDF genocide in Gaza.

ISIS is the epitome of evil, one large, unfolding atrocity, a massive crime against humanity.

Obama has finally ordered a few limited air strikes against the ISIS invaders, which is too little and too late for my tastes.

I would hate to have to resort to more American "boots on the ground," exposing our troops to the murderous madness of Islam.  However, non-Muslims are the most at risk, the Christians, Kurds and the Yazidis.  I would like to see boots on the ground, American troops committed to wiping out ISIS to the last man.  Not capturing them, not reforming them, not rehabilitating them -- but killing them.  This would serve as a warning to the rest of the Islamic world that we are fed up with their murderous ways.

Once the ISIS thugs are all dead, then we dictate terms to the government of Iraq:  no more Jew hatred, no more unequal treatment of women, no more intolerance of all other (peaceful) religions.  [Update:  And no more Sharia law.]

The Biggest Phallic Symbol In Music: Stogie's Bass

I have now completed five of the six classes assigned in my "Beginning Big Band" adult education course.  It
has been great for me, giving me an incentive to really learn my double bass (also called string bass, upright bass, bass fiddle and dog house).  Yes, I have the biggest fiddle in the room.  Well, the only fiddle, actually. Why did I choose to play the double bass?  Because it was the biggest phallic symbol I could find.   Thank you for asking.

Ever hear the old saying, "He couldn't hit a bull in the butt with a bass fiddle"?  Well my bass fiddle is taller than I am, wider than I am, but only weighs 22 pounds.  So it is possible, though I am yet to find a bull on which to test the theory.  This piece of irrelevant trivia is presented as a public service.

Our latest song to play is "In The Mood."  Scroll down to hear Glenn Miller's version, which is somewhat better than ours.

After five weeks in the class, my note reading ability is the best it has ever been.  That alone was worth the $72 registration fee.  The strength of my fingers has increased considerably, as well as my knowledge of the bass neck.  However, I still have much to learn.  I will continue practicing scales intently, until I can find any note anywhere on the neck, accurately and instantly.  Then I will continue practicing scales to be sure I don't lose the skill.  The songs we are practicing now include the following:  In The Mood, Sing Sing Sing, Pennsylvania 6-5000, A String of Pearls, and Greensleeves.  These are all big band songs from the 1940s, which is why you haven't heard of them.

My friend and attorney, the alto sax player, is very enthusiastic about forming a small jazz trio or quartet and playing some gigs.  That man is a wailing fool!

The bad news:  our band leader, a lovely lady Brit, is returning to the U.K. at the end of the month, and we will have to find another.


This is how they rocked out in '41

The shenanigans of the band are a bit corny by today's standards, but the music is great.  This song is still a popular jazz piece today.  The little blonde sitting at the table is Sonja Henie.  She was a Norwegian figure skater and film star, a three-time Olympic Champion in Ladies' Singles, a ten-time World Champion and a six-time European Champion.  She died of leukemia in 1969, at age 57.

Brett Kimberlin's Lawsuit Against Conservative Bloggers Goes To Trial on Monday

Unfortunately, the latest victims of Brett Kimberlin's lawfare lawsuit go to trial on Monday.  Today the Maryland Court denied various motions to dismiss the suit.

Lawsuits are always a gamble -- even though one may have a strong case (as the defendants do), a judge or a jury can give an incorrect or unjust verdict.  Nevertheless, I would still rather have the defendants' chances for success than that of Brett Kimberlin.

Also, I would not have taken a different course than the defendants have taken, had I been in their place.  Brett Kimberlin is just plain evil, and evil must be confronted and fought.

My advice to the defendants is to face the trial with courage and a determination to win the case.  Do not be terrified of the trial -- easier said than done, as I have been a defendant in a civil case that would have ruined me had I ultimately lost.  I was terrified, but losing was not an option, and I would rather have died than settle with the plaintiff.  I would not give in to lies, perjury and greed.

Courts seem to have a prejudice for plaintiffs, those who feed and fuel the imperfect court system, ultimately paying the judges' and the attorneys' salaries.  Although the theory is that the burden of proof is on the plaintiff, in reality it is often the opposite:  you are guilty until proven innocent.

Nevertheless, defendants -- fight like hell to win.  Good luck, and may God be with you.

Update:  W.J.J. Hoge discusses the coming trial here  R.S. McCain discusses it here.

JFK Assassination: A Window Into The Leftist Mind (and the Kooky Right)

I have always wondered why some people believe so passionately in a massive conspiracy to assassinate John F. Kennedy.  The documented facts prove, indisputably, to the fact that Communist Lee Harvey Oswald did it, and that he acted alone.  A pathetic loser and loner, separated from his wife and living alone in a rented room, Oswald craved the attention his evil deed would bring.

Many people, mostly on the left but some on the wacky side of the right, could not accept the results of a thorough and massive investigation by the Warren Commission, which concluded that Oswald did it alone.  Benny Huang sheds some light on why the conspiracy advocates believe what they do.  In his article The JFK Assassination As A Window Into The Leftist Mind, he writes:

For a number of reasons, Oswald’s political orientation has always been very difficult for people on the Left to accept. They have convinced themselves that the so-called communist threat was largely imaginary, that actual communists were mostly do-gooders if only a little zealous, and that anti-communism was a far greater threat to all that is good and right. Consequently, people on the Left engage in a form of group therapy in which they jointly exercise their preferred coping mechanism—denial—by seeking out alternative explanations for what happened that day. The result is the cottage industry of conspiracist books and movies that surround the assassination.

Huang's analysis is spot on. However, reading through the comments to the article, it is obvious that there are many on the Wacky Right (think Alex Jones) that believe in the conspiracy too, but with a variety of named culprits: LBJ, George Bush the elder, the bankers, etc etc. Read it all at the link above.

With thanks to No Pasaran! for first bringing this article to light.

Hypocrisy Over Gaza (Video)

Pat Condell gives it to Hamas and their progressive enablers.

REPOST: Why Israel is Right and the Palestinians are WRONG

This is a repost of an article I ran in May 2006. It links to an important article that describes the history and reasons for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
   
With all the Leftist crap about Israel and the history of the Middle East, it is no wonder that Israel is so often portrayed as the "occupiers" and oppressors of the poor, pathetic and pitiable Palestinians, who only want to live in peace, have their own homeland, have jobs, and murder as many Jews as possible.

One of the best articles on the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was written by David Horowitz in 2002. It clears up a lot of the absurd fairy tales that pass for truth these days, and if you don't really understand the conflict's history, you owe it to yourself to read it. The article is entitled Why Israel Is The Victim And The Arabs Are The Indefensible Aggressors In the Middle East, by David Horowitz, FrontPageMagazine.com, January 11, 2002.

I stand with Israel and frankly, don't give a damn about the so-called Palestinians, a violent and depraved culture of of murder and mayhem who have resisted enormous efforts to find a just peace in the area and have continued to murder Israelis instead. It's time we stopped wasting our time on pursuing "peace" when these Muslims are religiously committed to murder.

That Nasty Voice Inside Your Head

I've been reading a book by Sandra Champlain titled "We Don't Die."  The title is a little misleading, as it implies the book is an argument for life after death.  The author does indeed believe in life after death, and I strongly lean in that direction myself.  However, the book is more of a self-help book with spiritual overtones.  I was expecting a book about electronic voice phenomena (EVP), and almost stopped reading when it became apparent that the book was more about personal success in life.

However, I didn't stop, and am glad that I did not, because the book had a lot more value than one solely about EVP.  The biggest benefit the book has had for me, so far, is to quiet the negative voice in my head, the omnipresent critic, the one who keeps telling me that I am an idiot, a fool, a failure, a clod, a moron, and that I couldn't play bass because that's for other people, not me.  Nobody loves me and I am a poor miserable victim, WAAAAAAH!  You probably have the same voice in your head -- we all do.  I named mine Melvin.

The problem with "the Voice" is that it is a negative kind of mantra, an evil prayer and self-fulfilling prophecy.  If you listen to the nasty little bugger, you may just give up on life, your goals, your dreams.  You may quit your job, become a hermit, or worse, vote Democrat.  However, you can quiet the voice.  Lately I have just been telling it SHUT THE HELL UP!

Whenever you hear the voice, be aware of its message, and consciously reject it.  When Melvin (my Voice) tells me "you are a fool," I reply:  I have been a fool many times, but that's the price of being human; I am a work in progress, and am improving all the time. Now piss off!