The Underwear bomber and tornados and stuff

 DETROIT, Michigan (AFP) – A US federal judge urged the alleged underwear bomber Tuesday to use a lawyer rather than defend himself as she set his trial on terror charges to begin on October 4.

snip

Edmunds appointed Anthony Chambers, a prominent Detroit attorney, to act as back-up counsel and on Thursday again urged Abdulmutallab to accept his services.

"Have you discussed this matter with your family?" she asked, receiving an affirmative response from the accused.

"Have you received advice from anyone else?" the judge continued. "Have you considered changing your relationship with Mr Chambers and letting him represent you? You know he is a very capable and experienced lawyer."

As Abdulmutallab repeatedly affirmed that he wished to continue as his own lawyer, the judge reminded him that -- even if he accepted representation -- he could always come to her directly with any concerns or questions.

Now, are you ready?

"I understand you may worry about losing control over what happens to you," she said. "I can understand that is a frightening prospect and I am here to listen."

Aint that just soooooooo special!?

Link

You know, if you put those lines in a movie script the Director would toss them as being totally unbelievable!

April 8, 1998

We had a cold front come through tonight and I was reminded of my last close encounter with nasty weather.

I had flown from Denver to Atlanta for a business meeting. The flight in was just short of terrible and I was convinced we were crashing several times. And that was just on the bus ride to the car rental lot. You should have been on the United 727 flight coming in.

I was staying at the Marriott in Norcross. The drive up was complete with flooded roads, traffic stopped, thunder, lighting and rain like it can only rain in the south mixed with some hail. But I made it, checked in, went to my room on the 12th or so floor, called room service and ordered a club sandwich, with pickle, one bag of chips and a glass of Cabernet.

Nothing like those fancy expense report dinners.

Service was prompt and I had just taken my first bite when a voice came from someplace advising that there was a tornado in the area and that all guests should come to the center of the hotel on the first floor for safety reasons.

I had had enough. A bad flight, no food on the plane, a nasty trip up and now I couldn't even enjoy my super delicious club sandwich with chips and a glass of wonderful house red?

Bull shit!

So I kicked back, munched on my sandwich, listened to the TV announce doom for all mankind and watched the rain drive into the window with a back light of continuous lightning.

It was like looking into a fog bank or cloud with a flashing light source.

Very amusing. And there I was enjoying my meal and wine and the show while the sheep were huddled together on the first floor.

Now, are you familiar with those super big plastic garbage bins that restaurants use? You know, the 15' x 15' footers. Dark green with two folding tops?

Yeah. Those.

Well, as I was enjoying the show and my wine one of those bins floated up outside the window like Dracula hovering waiting for the Wicked Witch of the West to come by and take him to the dance.

Hmmmm, I thought. I bet management is having trouble keeping everyone calm. They must need my help.

There is no known official record of time from room to ground floor. But if there is, I own it.


OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

 "Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

I’ve heard it said that when the Democratic senators went from Wisconsin into Illinois, it raised the average IQ of both states.

And a hat tip to about 5 or 6 people who gave me this one.

OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Biden was right!

Well, the Middle East is in flames, gasoline prices are climbing and the stock market is plunging.

How’s that old hope and changey thingee working out, dear America?

And while Biden was off in the time forecast, he was dead on in the content.

Opening an avenue for the McCain campaign to push its candidate’s strengths, Joe Biden says an Obama administration would face an international challenge in its first six months.

Barack Obama will face an international crisis early in his presidency, Joe Biden warns, fueling Republican charges that the Democratic presidential candidate’s own running mate admits Obama is a blank slate in the face of coming national security threats.

Speaking in Seattle on Sunday, Biden said he could guarantee that the world will want to find out if Obama is up to the job, which he assured voters he is.

“Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking,” Biden said.
“Remember I said it standing here. if you don’t remember anything else I said. Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy. And he’s gonna have to make some really tough — I don’t know what the decision’s gonna be, but I promise you it will occur. As a student of history and having served with seven presidents, I guarantee you it’s gonna happen,” Biden continued.

Link

And Obama made it certain with his totally disgusting signs of weakness. He has truly destroyed our economy, our foreign policy and has set us up to be involved in a bloody war or become slaves to Sharia Law.

And he didn't even bother to try and hide who he is. He didn't have to. Our media did it for him.

OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Arizona wants ID if you use their hospital's ER

I see that AZ is back in the news for wanting people who use their hospitals to provide some ID.

That reminded me of what my old bud Poker Player had to say about his last trip to Phoenix.

Reporter: Before we start let me thank you for doing this interview for the paper’s “Travel Guide” section.

Poker Player: Glad to. And it really ain’t nothing....

Reporter: Well, I personally appreciate it. I mean if I do one more story about the Best Westerns of the red neck Rivera I may just faint.

Poker Player: Uh, guys don’t faint..

Reporter: Yeah. I meant puke.

Poker Player: Gotcha. Now, whatca want to know?

Reporter: Just tell us everything.. Maybe you could start with why you went to Arizona. I mean didn’t the Junction’s town fathers pass a law telling everyone to boycott them?

Poker Player: Nope. They discussed it but then someone said that the US AG hadn’t even read it so they decided to wait for an actual opinion.

Reporter: Oh.

Poker Player: Surprised you didn’t know that.

Reporter: But racial profiling is just so bad. And demanding to see innocent people’s papers…. But back to the trip.

Poker Player: Well, there are a lot of casinos in the Phoenix area....

Reporter: And you went there to play poker?

Poker Player: Well, it’s what I do. And besides I won a free entry into a satellite tournament for the WSOP on the Internet..

Reporter: Huh?

Poker Player: Sorry. I forget you don’t speak the lingo.... WSOP means the World Series of Poker. I won a seat in a satellite tournament that, if I won that, would pay my $10,000 entry fee and some spending money.

Reporter: Tell us about the trip.

Poker Player: Well, I drove down to Presleyville and flew Delta. And that was an experience.....

Reporter: Delta?

Poker Player: Naw, Delta was okay. But when I bought my ticket I used cash. And then when I went through Security I couldn’t find my Driver’s License so they pulled me off to one side and when I finally found it I tripped something in the machine and when they found I had $8,000 dollars on me they took me in a little room and wanted to know if I was a terrorist....

Reporter: Terrorist?

Poker Player: Yeah. They said that terrorists pay for tickets with cash and carry lots of cash. And besides, they were supposed to confiscate everything above $5,000.

Reporter: Huh?

Poker Player: Me too. I mean we talked and talked. I showed my invite to the tournament and pointed out I needed the $8,000 for the side games…....

Reporter: Side games? And they let you go?

Poker Player: Yeah. Finally. They made a bunch of telephone calls and then one said that since my papers were in such good order I could go on.

Reporter: So you weren’t a terrorist suspect?

Poker Player: Nope. But I was so short on time I could only get one Jack and coke before I had to get on the plane. That was tough.

But the flight was okay. Slept most of it, even if I was one drink short.

When I got there I went over and rented me a car. Gave’em a credit card and guess what.

Reporter? The card was no good?

Poker Player: No, no. My credit is pure gold…. They wanted to see my driver’s license. I asked why they cared since if I was stopped without one I’d get the ticket not them. But they said I needed to have all the ID to prove who I was.

Reporter: Did you get a nice car?

Poker Player: Yeah, no problem until I got to the hotel.
Reporter: And?

Poker Player: When I checked in I had my credit card but they wanted some ID. Driver’s license or Passport… Only I couldn’t find my license.. Long about then my cell phone rang. It was the rent a car people telling me I had left it there.

Reporter: Well that was luck. And at least you got to check in and rest a bit before going back to pick up the license.

Poker Player: Nope. They said I had to have proper papers to check in. So I just turned around and went back and got the license and checked in.

I must admit that I was a bit ticked but they said they were just following the rules.

Reporter: How’d the games go?

Poker Player: Not bad. I did win $1100 in the tournament. And guess what?

Reporter: What?

Poker Player: When they went to pay me off they had to have my driver’s license and a credit card and filled out a IRS form that showed that they had withheld income tax.

Reporter: Really?

Poker Player: Really. They even took out state income tax…said I could fill out a form and mail it, and the proper papers, and mail it to the state and ask for a refund as I was a non-resident.

Reporter: Well, that sounds good to me. I mean $1100…

Poker Player: Well, I did feel pretty good. So good I went out and had a big dinner and slept like a baby. Got up the next day and did some sightseeing and then played some more.

Reporter: And?

Poker Player: Got in a $5-$10 No Limit and won about $9000. Man I was hot.

Reporter: And?

Poker Player: Then I started thinking. I mean I got round $17,000 in cash and since I didn’t want to get all involved at the air port again I decided to just open me a bank account.

Reporter: How would that help?

Poker Player: Well, I figured I could use it as a checking account or just write a check on it one time and transfer the money into my account at Junction National…. I’m sure Robbie would let me do that… But she’d probably make me wait until the check cleared…

Anyhow, I went down to one of the local banks and they were all happy to see me until I told them what I wanted to do. They finally called some hoodoo in corporate and then decided they could take the money but I had to fill out all kinds of forms and show them my driver’s license. They said they would notify the government because of the size of the transaction.

Reporter: So that solved the problem?

Poker Player: Well, when I asked them why the feds wanted to know about it they got all huffy and I just said to heck with it and left. They said they’d have to advise Homeland Security of a suspicious event but I had the last word.

Reporter: Last word?

Poker Player: Yeah. Told’em to spell my name right.

Reporter: Well I bet that got’em.

Poker Player: Now don’t be going all snarky on me. I mean I had wore out my driver’s license…

Anyway I drove around a while to cool off. I stopped somewhere to fill up with gas.. Had to pay in advance and when I gave a $100 bill they marked it with a funny looking marker and then said it was okay but they couldn’t change anything higher than a $20.00. So I used my credit card at the pump..

Reporter: Let me guess, it was refused.

Poker Player: No, damnit. I’ve already told you my credit is good…. But what I had to do after I done the card trick was key in my Zip code….. The little lady behind the counter said it was for security…..

Reporter: Sounds good to me.

Poker Player: Me too. After that I went back to the hotel and went to bed. But before that I called Delta and told’em I was gonna be carrying a large amount of cash and could they help with Security…

Reporter: And they could?

Poker Player: Nope. Wasn’t their job. The guy did give a number in DC to call but I figured no one would be up in Disney Land East so I just told him I’d get home another way and get my money back on the return part of the ticket.

Reporter: And?

Poker Player: He said that worked so I decided to just drive back. I could drive up to Vegas for a day or two and then drive up to Denver and play some in the mountain casinos and then over to Kansas City and check them out and down to St Louis and play some…might even take in a Cardinals game or two and then on down to Preseleyville and home.

Reporter: How’d that work out?

Poker Player: Well, outside of having to show my ID every time I turned around it was fine… I did call the rent a car folks and get me a bigger car and find out what the cost would be to drop it in Elvistown… They said just come on by and they’d fix me up, so I got up the next morning and took off.

Reporter: Uneventful departure?

Poker Player: Well, I did drive by this school where the kids were demonstrating,

Reporter: Demonstrating?

Poker Player: Yeah, waving Mexican flags and shouting Yankee go home…

Reporter: And what was their problem?

Player: I asked this policeman who was just standing there that question.

He said they were upset over people the police thought were illegal aliens having to show some ID.

Reporter: Well we wouldn’t want people to be profiled and have their civil rights violated….



OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Democrats play the coward card, we catch'em lying and Other Worlds

If you don't read Day by Day you should.

Was the Democratic Governor lying then or are the Democrats posturing on TV lying now?????

The following was published 11/10/10.

Madison — Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle's administration on Friday told Republican Governor-elect Scott Walker that he would have to cope with a $2.2 billion deficit in the state's upcoming two-year budget, but this brighter-than-expected forecast contained more than $1 billion in hidden pain.

To arrive at the favorable estimate, the Doyle administration's estimate assumed that Walker and lawmakers would make spending cuts that have yet to actually happen - two more years of state employee furloughs, no pay raises, a virtual hiring freeze and belt tightening in state health programs. Without that $1.1 billion in savings, the state's projected shortfall rises to $3.3 billion - a significant increase over previous estimates that put the gap at between $2.7 billion and $3.1 billion.
The shortfall and the efforts to close it could affect everything from schools and health care to local governments and taxpayers.

The "revenue projections released Friday underscore what Governor-elect Walker has said for months - the state of Wisconsin is facing very serious budget challenges," Walker transition director John Hiller said in a statement. "Further, we believe that the true budget shortfall is much higher than indicated by the projections released today

Link

Now we have the President's people, Organizing for America, coordinating and attacking a sovereign state. That hasn't happened since the Civil war. But we shouldn't be surprised.

After all, he explained what he was going to do in this video.

When I was a lad, dreaming of Other Worlds, I would have never thought that our President would make such a naked declaration of his ambition to introduce national Palace Guards and Brown Shirts.

I would have been wrong

April 1953

Other Worlds was started by Raymond A. Palmer in 1950.

Palmer was a scifi fan in the 30's and achieved the dream of dreams when he was made editor of Amazing Stories in, I think, 1940. (Yes, I'm too lazy to dig through my collection to find the exact date.) He saved Amazing by introducing more action and color but his decision to play up Richard Shaver's claim that evil beasts lived in caves within the earth boosted circulation to new highs but eventually collapsed and severely damaged Ralmer's reputation within the field.

Never the less, his formula of pretty girls, despicable villians and true heros made space opera enjoyable for years and years.

OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Wisconsin teachers, Democrats, Poerty and why I oppose government unions

What the Democrats are accomplishing in WI.

They're proving that you should never argue with an idiot.

On to other things.

This is either:

a) The teachers of WI being attacked by the evileeeee Republicans.
b) The taxpayers of WI being attacked by the evileeee teachers.
c) The cover of Fantastic magazine Nov-Dec 1952.
d) None of the above.

What the damsel in distress needed was for Buffy the Vampire Killer to show up.

And of course it is the Nov-Dec 1952 issue of Fantastic, a popular fantasy magazine with a smidgen of science fiction. It is just one of the over 4000 magazines in my collection.

Heaven is a place where:

The lovers are Italian
The cooks are French
The mechanics are German
The police are English
The government is run by the Swiss

Hell is a place where:

The lovers are Swiss
The cooks are English
The mechanics are French
The police are German
The government is run by the Italians

Hat tip to Zorba at Talk Left

WI redux?

Democrats may soon be loading up those buses in Madison and heading their mobs toward Nashville. The Tennessee state senate Education Committee voted Wednesday to abolish collective bargaining with teachers.

American Thinker

More poetry?? A bit of doggerel.

Those Mountaineers they have no fears,
With them you should not trifle.
They'll hang your balls on mountain walls,
And shoot them off with rifles.

Time to make something clear.

I don't have a problem with unions organized to represent workers to/within a private company.

In fact, I watched my Dad help organize a location of a company. I can well remember the slurs and taunts. I can still hear a merchant, who depended on us for his welfare, declare that no man was worth more than $5.00 a day. From that day forward we never spent a dime with him.

My Father and my Father-In-Law were Teamsters. At one time I was an IBEW member.

It is beyond obvious that government unions should never have happened and that they are totally out of control with a result that they are making more money than the tax payer can afford and are bankrupting the system.

This must be fixed or the whole system will collapse.

And I find that the idea that a union will get non biased treatment in negotiations from the same people they support and give money to is ridiculous.

That is a pure and demonstrable conflict of interest. In fact, some would call it bribery.





OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper
“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt
"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Sarahwhore, Gannett Forum, WI, Memphis schools and Fantastic Summer '52

Somebody didn’t get the civility memo.


Gannet’s Jackson paper, “The Jackson Sun,” has a host of posts in its Pluck Forum using the name “Sarahwhore.”

Is Sarahwhore going to run for president?  -(by) residentfan

Sarahwhore impersonator creates stir at CPAC. - (by) residentfan

Sarahwhore hires chief of staff - (by) residentfan

Sarahwhore loses in poll -  (by) residentfan

Sarahwhore strong in NM primary - (by) residentfan

Sarahwhore gets facts wrong. - (by) residentfan

Link to Jackson Sun Pluck Forum

I would say that residentfan isn’t a fan.

Fair or foul?

In a few weeks the good citizens of Memphis will vote to decide if they want to give up their school charter to Shelby County.

You remember Memphis City Schools, don’t ya?? Yeah. They’re the one that has a 26% pregnancy rate at Frayser High School. They also have failed miserably in managing the school system.

Now they want someone else to come in, clean up their mess.

And if they decide to do it, the citizens of Shelby County will be required to do just that. By state law they can’t say no.

Folks, that is just wrong. Memphis has had a crime problem for years. It has a long record of murder records second only to Detroit. It has also had a city government that was rumored to be corrupt and a tax rate that is staggering. Business has fled and population has declined along with the average income level. Its infrastructure is crumbling… and those are just the good things.

Now the people who proved they couldn’t manage a can of beans want someone else to pick up the tab.

Did I mention that the city’s political base is almost pure Democrat?

Does that surprise you?

Does what’s happening in WI surprise you?

It shouldn’t. The schools of this country have had money showered on them like manna from heaven. Yet the product of the schools has steadily declined.

And the people of WI are saying, via the people they elected.

Enough!

Now the teachers will tell you that the parents have failed to prepare the kids for school. And I agree. So let’s revisit Frayser.

We lived in Frayser in the early 60’s. It was a thoroughly middle class suburb with no crime and lots of perfectly kept lawns. Most of us who lived there expected to have a better car, a better home and a better life for ourselves and our children as time went on. Oh, we knew that nothing was carved in stone and we knew that we had to work and succeed in our chosen professions, but we expected things would improve as we improved.

What happened? Well, a funny thing happened on our way to total personal freedom and personal rights. As a society we forgot about responsibility. And we forgot that parents, some more than others, need help in raising their children. While it is the parents who must pound it into the head of their female children that they must not get pregnant, it is society who must demonstrate to the child that getting pregnant out of wedlock leads to bad outcomes.

Society didn’t. Look at Hollywood. Look at adulation over actresses who have children out of wedlock by the Lame Stream Media. Look at advertising that portrays over and over that you must drink alcoholic beverages to have fun. And when Dad steps in Sister and Junior merely have to look at TV to see how stupid Dad is and how out of date Dad’s standards are.

The result? 26% pregnancy and a Frayser that looks, to a larger degree than anyone will admit, like a Third World country.

But none of this let’s the teachers off the hook in Memphis, or WI. For whatever reason the system is broke and the pay and benefits have gotten out of control and the employers are saying, “Enough!”

Fantastic Volume  1 No. 1

Summer 1952

By 1952 Ziff-Davis decided that Fantastic Adventures, which was a companion to Amazing Stories, should be retired and replaced with a pocket book sized magazine selling for (gasp!) 35 cents featuring fantasy slanted towards the horror side which Weird Tales had sold for years.

It was an attempt to produce a class magazine. Unfortunately the market didn't exist to support it so over time it went back to space opera adventure.

But strangely, some of the predictions have proven more accurate than those in pure science fiction.

OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

 "Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson