Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) says President Barack Obama, “will borrow the power that is needed to solve the problems of immigration.”Photo of the president borrowing power:
Monday, June 30, 2014
Power is like books
People who “borrow it” frequently don’t return it.
Profiles in cowardice
I’m with Andrew McCarthy on this one: Speaker John Boehner’s decision to file a lawsuit against the Obama administration for its executive overreach represents a timorous attempt by the speaker (and the Republican establishment) to avoid using the power granted to Congress by the Constitution - notably, the power of the purse – out of a fear of media backlash.
The usefulness of Boehner and his ilk has reached a nadir. The establishment fights tooth and nail to prevent its displacement by genuine conservatives -by people who will use their legal power to challenge a lawless administration, using existing constitutional remedies – and then wastes everyone’s time engaging in wholly unbelievable political theater that will accomplish nothing.
If GOP, Inc. has secretly decided that the outlook for a return to smaller, more transparent and less intrusive government is doomed, then it literally has no purpose but to exist as a kind of union for professional time servers.
Now, I’m not saying that their pessimism is necessarily unjustified; the accumulation of bribes extended to an increasingly large number of voting blocs in the U.S. by a series of administrations, in conjunction with a predominantly leftist media and an educational system rotten with “progressive” ideological imperatives (not to mention sheer incompetence), does not exactly inculcate a spirit of vigorous independence in the minds and hearts of the people, so perhaps we have reached, and gone beyond, the tipping point. But we won’t know for sure until we’ve given the people a chance to cast an honest vote – for this or that specific individual who has clearly made a case for cutting government down to size, rather than for old Go-Along-to-Get-Along, handpicked by the establishment, who’s become a mere fixture in the Capitol, like, say, an antique porcelain sink in the washroom, fitted with a charming bronze faucet and crystal handles (although considerably less useful than that).
The usefulness of Boehner and his ilk has reached a nadir. The establishment fights tooth and nail to prevent its displacement by genuine conservatives -by people who will use their legal power to challenge a lawless administration, using existing constitutional remedies – and then wastes everyone’s time engaging in wholly unbelievable political theater that will accomplish nothing.
If GOP, Inc. has secretly decided that the outlook for a return to smaller, more transparent and less intrusive government is doomed, then it literally has no purpose but to exist as a kind of union for professional time servers.
Now, I’m not saying that their pessimism is necessarily unjustified; the accumulation of bribes extended to an increasingly large number of voting blocs in the U.S. by a series of administrations, in conjunction with a predominantly leftist media and an educational system rotten with “progressive” ideological imperatives (not to mention sheer incompetence), does not exactly inculcate a spirit of vigorous independence in the minds and hearts of the people, so perhaps we have reached, and gone beyond, the tipping point. But we won’t know for sure until we’ve given the people a chance to cast an honest vote – for this or that specific individual who has clearly made a case for cutting government down to size, rather than for old Go-Along-to-Get-Along, handpicked by the establishment, who’s become a mere fixture in the Capitol, like, say, an antique porcelain sink in the washroom, fitted with a charming bronze faucet and crystal handles (although considerably less useful than that).
The downside of the illegal alien invasion
Sure, many illegal aliens work hard and are interested primarily in building a good life for themselves and their families. But then there are also people like these, whose actions have left a trail of death and shattered lives among the citizenry.
With respect to immigration, perhaps the greatest crime against our society is in fact being perpetrated by Democrats looking for new voters and Republicans attempting to placate big business interests seeking cheap labor. For such as these, I imagine no body count is going to be large enough to change their views on amnesty. So much for the idea that "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed". The governed, these days, appear to be just so many extras in the dystopian horror story being scripted by the ruling class.
With respect to immigration, perhaps the greatest crime against our society is in fact being perpetrated by Democrats looking for new voters and Republicans attempting to placate big business interests seeking cheap labor. For such as these, I imagine no body count is going to be large enough to change their views on amnesty. So much for the idea that "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed". The governed, these days, appear to be just so many extras in the dystopian horror story being scripted by the ruling class.
Monday movie
The dangerous streets of late 1940s L.A. are depicted in this scene from Gangster Squad.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Sunday funnies
Things get hot down at the laundromat.
Mr. Figlock's interesting stroll.
I wonder if this excuse would work in a tax audit: "Hey, if I don't exist, how can my money?"
You don't have to read War and Peace to experience Tolstoy; why not just try the Tolstoy family macaroni and cheese recipe, instead?
Eat up!
Movie ratings: amusing warnings.
Dubious counseling from dad.
Mr. Figlock's interesting stroll.
I wonder if this excuse would work in a tax audit: "Hey, if I don't exist, how can my money?"
You don't have to read War and Peace to experience Tolstoy; why not just try the Tolstoy family macaroni and cheese recipe, instead?
Eat up!
Movie ratings: amusing warnings.
Dubious counseling from dad.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Friday, June 27, 2014
The list of "phony" scandals just keeps getting longer
Poor president Obama. He was at some pains yesterday, in a speech he gave in Minnesota, to assuage the public's concerns over a host of manufactured scandals and crises (H/T: Gabriel Mailor at Ace of Spades).
Of course, since he himself is the "manufacturer", I find his complaints a tad disingenuous.
Still, nice of him to drop by and reach out to the little people:
President Obama, meditating on the struggles of the middle class
Of course, since he himself is the "manufacturer", I find his complaints a tad disingenuous.
Still, nice of him to drop by and reach out to the little people:
Obama said his main message, the reason he came to Minnesota, was to let middle class people know he understands their struggles.
"You are who I'm thinking about every single day," Obama said.
President Obama, meditating on the struggles of the middle class
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
The day I ceased being a Republican
Mission accomplished, GOP establishment! With your help in pushing Democrats to vote in Mississippi’s open primary, pork-barrel mossback Thad Cochran has once again been assured of a swell DC office in which to entertain lobbyists flush with cash - in between taking long siestas and carrying an occasional bucket of slop for Mitch McConnell.
Jeff Goldstein, as happens so frequently, puts it best: The GOP establishment employed a strategy which “amounted to using liberal Democrats to disenfranchise Republicans in a Republican primary”. Because We the People are such cloth-headed yahoos that we don’t know what’s good for us, you see. Will we never learn that the freemasonry of Washington politics requires a special breed of Republican - the Savvy Survivor, the Silver-Tongued Invertebrate who knows how to Get things Done, the Professional Time Server who's willing to grudgingly express the occasional slight reservation about the president’s boyishly energetic pace in wrecking the Constitution?
Well, no, I guess I never will learn, obtuse constitutionalist that I am. So when the Republican priesthood exhorts me to go and vote for their guy because the Democrat is even worse, I’ll just have to say include me out. Because I no longer consider myself to be a member of the Republican Party. Sure, some database somewhere may indicate that I am, and I’ll still probably wind up voting for Republicans, if and when I see a point in voting. But I see no advantage in aiding and abetting the slow strangulation of liberty by participating in a farce run by the Mensheviks of the ruling class. As far as I am concerned, the “loyal opposition” is loyal only to its own perks and privileges, and such conservatism as it espouses from time to time is little more than a ploy to attract the votes of people who are not paying attention, the mere courtship dancing of a bird of paradise seeking a one-night stand. Going forward, color me “independent”.
In short, the establishment is an impediment to the next revolution, and I am not as patient as I used to be.
Thad Cochran: "I find your lack of collaborationist zeal…disturbing".
Jeff Goldstein, as happens so frequently, puts it best: The GOP establishment employed a strategy which “amounted to using liberal Democrats to disenfranchise Republicans in a Republican primary”. Because We the People are such cloth-headed yahoos that we don’t know what’s good for us, you see. Will we never learn that the freemasonry of Washington politics requires a special breed of Republican - the Savvy Survivor, the Silver-Tongued Invertebrate who knows how to Get things Done, the Professional Time Server who's willing to grudgingly express the occasional slight reservation about the president’s boyishly energetic pace in wrecking the Constitution?
Well, no, I guess I never will learn, obtuse constitutionalist that I am. So when the Republican priesthood exhorts me to go and vote for their guy because the Democrat is even worse, I’ll just have to say include me out. Because I no longer consider myself to be a member of the Republican Party. Sure, some database somewhere may indicate that I am, and I’ll still probably wind up voting for Republicans, if and when I see a point in voting. But I see no advantage in aiding and abetting the slow strangulation of liberty by participating in a farce run by the Mensheviks of the ruling class. As far as I am concerned, the “loyal opposition” is loyal only to its own perks and privileges, and such conservatism as it espouses from time to time is little more than a ploy to attract the votes of people who are not paying attention, the mere courtship dancing of a bird of paradise seeking a one-night stand. Going forward, color me “independent”.
In short, the establishment is an impediment to the next revolution, and I am not as patient as I used to be.
Thad Cochran: "I find your lack of collaborationist zeal…disturbing".
Al Gore does Australia
Ok, mates, I don’t want to hear “I’m too busy” or “I’ve got to wash my hair” or “Let George do it”. One of you blokes (or sheilas, as the case may be) needs to roll up your sleeves, spit on your hands, and find a way to convince this guy to go snorkeling off the Great Barrier Reef (preferably after being rubbed down with seal fat and having the pockets of his swim trunks stuffed with bouillon cubes).
C’mon, let’s see some of that Australian “can do” spirit!
C’mon, let’s see some of that Australian “can do” spirit!
You know, that should be the wording of the indictment
Kevin Williamson on the IRS:
[T]he Internal Revenue Service is engaged in an active and ongoing criminal conspiracy to misappropriate federal resources for political purposes, to use its investigatory powers, including the threat of criminal prosecution, for purposes of political repression, and to actively mislead Congress and the public about the issue.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
On the front lines of the immigrant invasion
Ryan Lovelace interviews a rancher in Brooks County, Texas. This part of Obama’s plan to “transform” America is coming right along.
“When I go to sleep at night, I lay down and I put my pistol there, I measure it where if somebody comes in the house I can pick it up and go,” Osburn says. When mowing the lawn, Osburn says, ranchers in South Texas always need a pistol ready.
“Down here there’s no question, ‘Oh, was it loaded?’” Osburn says. “Well, hell yeah, it’s loaded. Why have a gun if it’s not loaded? And it’s off safety too. That’s the way we live.”
Monday, June 23, 2014
What's that they say about bringing a knife to a gun fight?
Robber gets permanently "neutralized" by business owner.
As Alice Roosevelt Longworth once said...
..."If you don't have anything nice to say, come sit next to me."
Monday movie
Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Zachary Scott star in the fine noir film, The Mask of Dimitrios.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Sunday funnies
Personally, I prefer to use a holster.
Here's a tip: slim down before you shuffle off this mortal coil.
Like the Soviets in WWII, Silvio Berlusconi learned the hard way that you don't mess with the Finns.
This looks pretty useful: how to mesmerize emus.
Steve Burri documents the increasing militarization of our local police forces.
All of Hillary's accomplishments as Secretary of State boiled down to one graphic.
That's a moron (H/T: Captain Heinrichs).
Bet you didn't know that wild man Tim T was a paleolinguist.
Here's a tip: slim down before you shuffle off this mortal coil.
Like the Soviets in WWII, Silvio Berlusconi learned the hard way that you don't mess with the Finns.
This looks pretty useful: how to mesmerize emus.
Steve Burri documents the increasing militarization of our local police forces.
All of Hillary's accomplishments as Secretary of State boiled down to one graphic.
That's a moron (H/T: Captain Heinrichs).
Bet you didn't know that wild man Tim T was a paleolinguist.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Baffling
Isn’t it…strange, how computer glitches always appear to benefit leftists while inconveniencing conservatives?
Friday, June 20, 2014
Happy Feet Friday
In addition to his talents as an R&B pianist, Ray Charles could play a mean boogie woogie.
Sure, only a minority of Muslims are radical
But, in absolute numbers, we're still talking about a hell of a lot of people.
H/T: Captain Heinrichs
H/T: Captain Heinrichs
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Mabel, RIP
Mabel, the official dog of Paco Enterprises, passed away today at the age of 15. She was a beagle/terrier mix that we sprung from the pound, and she possessed a sweet disposition that made everybody seem like family to her (which, of course, greatly diminished her value as a guard dog).
We are grateful that we had such a long time with her: 15 years of companionship, amusement and – that one quality that seems to belong uniquely to dogs – unqualified love.
So long, old girl…
Mabel (1999-2014). Dog. Friend. Scholar.
We are grateful that we had such a long time with her: 15 years of companionship, amusement and – that one quality that seems to belong uniquely to dogs – unqualified love.
So long, old girl…
Mabel (1999-2014). Dog. Friend. Scholar.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Assortment
Terrorists and imperialists on the march everywhere, and what is Secretary of State John Kerry prattling on about? Global warming, of course.
If you’re a lefty opinion writer whose latest smear of conservatives is so transparently false that even other leftists call you on it, then you’re definitely doing it wrong.
If voters heave her into the White House, we’ll all pay dearly.
Who’s organizing (and paying for) the invasion at our southern border by thousands of undocumented children?
Dick and Liz Cheney marvel at Obama’s insouciance while the Middle East explodes.
Image gratefully lifted from the Jawa Report.
Hillary Clinton dons the Cloak of Banality preparatory to her run for the Democratic presidential nomination.
If you’re a lefty opinion writer whose latest smear of conservatives is so transparently false that even other leftists call you on it, then you’re definitely doing it wrong.
If voters heave her into the White House, we’ll all pay dearly.
Who’s organizing (and paying for) the invasion at our southern border by thousands of undocumented children?
Dick and Liz Cheney marvel at Obama’s insouciance while the Middle East explodes.
Image gratefully lifted from the Jawa Report.
Hillary Clinton dons the Cloak of Banality preparatory to her run for the Democratic presidential nomination.
“That sound you hear…is your government laughing at you”
Mark Steyn contrasts Rose Mary Woods’ transmutation into a figure of stand-up comedy fodder with Lois Lerner’s relative media-sponsored obscurity.
Low-information voter: “Lois Lerner…Lois Lerner…Isn’t she one of Superman’s girlfriends?”
BTW, I’m reading the first volume in Dumas Malone’s magisterial biography of Thomas Jefferson, and this morning I came across a memorable passage quoted from Jefferson’s Notes on Virginia, written in the final years of the American Revolution:
The touchstones of a free people are liberty and the rule of law. Without these, politics is dross, idle spectacle and, in the worst of cases, the matériel of tyranny.
Low-information voter: “Lois Lerner…Lois Lerner…Isn’t she one of Superman’s girlfriends?”
BTW, I’m reading the first volume in Dumas Malone’s magisterial biography of Thomas Jefferson, and this morning I came across a memorable passage quoted from Jefferson’s Notes on Virginia, written in the final years of the American Revolution:
It can never be too often repeated, that the time for fixing every essential right on a legal basis is while our rulers are honest and ourselves united. From the conclusion of this war we shall be going downhill. It will not then be necessary to resort every moment to the people for support. They will be forgotten therefore, and their rights disregarded. They will forget themselves, but in the sole faculty of making money, and will never think of uniting to effect a due respect for their rights. The shackles, therefore, which shall not be knocked off at the conclusion of this war, will remain on us long, will be made heavier and heavier, till our rights shall revive or expire in convulsion.The question at this point with respect to our rights is obvious: revival or expiration? The use by this administration, and its allies in the Democratic Party, of the IRS as a weapon against conservatives is just about the most lawless thing, among a constantly growing number of lawless things, the White House has done. Will a sense of the ominous import of this crime trigger an alarm in the minds of the American people, or will the story simply disappear in a kaleidoscopic flurry of sequential news cycles?
The touchstones of a free people are liberty and the rule of law. Without these, politics is dross, idle spectacle and, in the worst of cases, the matériel of tyranny.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Monday, June 16, 2014
No offense, mates
But I'd really rather not see Australian-style gun control implemented in the United States.
President Obama seems to like it, though.
President Obama seems to like it, though.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Sunday funnies
Man, I'm sick of all the World Cup coverage. Soccer? C'mon. Why don't they devote some time to a real sport - like cheese rolling.
Haircut, mister?
The perfect gift for dad this Father's Day: a vampire hunting kit.
Obama makes another deal.
And it's that time again.
Mmmmmm boy! Who's up for some boneless pork rectums? (H/T: culinary explorer, Captain Heinrichs).
What to do with all of those Father's Day neckties.
Speaking of which, happy Father's Day to all you dads out there.
Haircut, mister?
The perfect gift for dad this Father's Day: a vampire hunting kit.
Obama makes another deal.
And it's that time again.
Mmmmmm boy! Who's up for some boneless pork rectums? (H/T: culinary explorer, Captain Heinrichs).
What to do with all of those Father's Day neckties.
Speaking of which, happy Father's Day to all you dads out there.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Come and get 'em, Barry
The current excuse for a president thinks semi-automatic weapons ought to be banned.
An earlier president (in his pre-presidential days) suggested the appropriate attitude toward such tyranny: "Our attachment to no nation on earth should supplant our attachment to liberty" - Thomas Jefferson.
An earlier president (in his pre-presidential days) suggested the appropriate attitude toward such tyranny: "Our attachment to no nation on earth should supplant our attachment to liberty" - Thomas Jefferson.
Oh, sure, that's plausible
Lois Lerner's emails, from a key period when she was targeting conservative organizations, have supposedly vanished due to a computer "crash".
Update: Offered free of charge, as a public service.
Update: Offered free of charge, as a public service.
If we couldn’t save a U.S. ambassador…
…I fear that these guys are hosed: “200 U.S. contractors surrounded by jihadists in Iraq”.
God help them.
God help them.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
More words of wisdom from the world’s merriest pessimist
Mark Steyn comments on the disastrous turn of events in the Middle East and reminds us of an uncomfortable truth:
Only a fundamentally unserious people would think the answer to the Obama Presidency is to follow it with the Rodham Presidency.Who, indeed? It’s difficult to escape the (hopefully tentative) conclusion that perhaps we, as a nation, have been weighed by history and found wanting, and that we will ultimately succumb to the vast tissue of lies and ignorance that constitutes the leftist contagion. As tragic as our decline is, though, I am even more dismayed by the fact that it is occurring under a regime run, not by diabolically clever geniuses, but by amoral idiots, aided and abetted by an utterly cloth-headed “opposition”. I fear the time is coming when those who value liberty will be so completely outnumbered by fanatics, parasites, poltroons and ignoramuses that the ballot box will no longer serve as a reliable defense against the machinations of the neo-fascists who speak of tolerance and dream of gulags and who - once insidiously, now openly - insinuate themselves and their ideas into all levels of society and into all of its institutions. And that is when democracy will have exhausted its usefulness, as far as I’m concerned. For me, the benchmark will always be personal freedom, not “majority rules”. Once the majority trades its birthright for a mess of pottage, it can go to the devil, with my compliments.
And yet 67 per cent of Americans regard Hillary as "a strong leader" - presumably for her success in "ending the war in Iraq" and "destroying al-Qaeda". Who needs Pravda when a free people are happy to live at this level of delusion?
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
More ominous news from Iraq
The Jihadis who just conquered Mosul looted the central bank of the equivalent of $429 million. I’m thinking that the terrorists aren’t going to be spending that dough on hospitals and after-school care:
On a more savage note, Isis isn’t wasting any time putting people to the sword.
I bet Obama is so worried about the unfolding disaster in Iraq that he only plays 9 holes of golf this weekend, and only does two policy pivots all next week.
The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams (Isis) has become the richest terror group ever after looting 500 billion Iraqi dinars - the equivalent of $429m (£256m) - from Mosul's central bank, according to the regional governor.Nobody thought of getting the money out of town before the Jihadis took over? Nobody? Or was the fall of Mosul so quick that no one – not even the bankers – had a chance to safeguard the loot? Or was the bank one of the main targets all the time?
Nineveh governor Atheel al-Nujaifi confirmed Kurdish televison reports that Isis militants had stolen millions from numerous banks across Mosul. A large quantity of gold bullion is also believed to have been stolen.
Following the siege of the country's second city, the bounty collected by the group has left it richer than al-Qaeda itself and as wealthy as small nations such as Tonga, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and the Falkland Islands.
On a more savage note, Isis isn’t wasting any time putting people to the sword.
I bet Obama is so worried about the unfolding disaster in Iraq that he only plays 9 holes of golf this weekend, and only does two policy pivots all next week.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Reports of the Tea Party's death apparently have been greatly exaggerated
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor - recently spotted whooping up amnesty again - has been defeated by Tea Party candidate David Brat in Virginia-7's Republican primary.
Update: Ace gives this story two flaming skulls.
Update II: Bryan Preston - "A bottom line, if there is one: Money did not win the VA-07 race. Name recognition did not win it. Status and power did not win it. The people just decided that they had had enough, and they went out and won it themselves."
Update: Ace gives this story two flaming skulls.
Update II: Bryan Preston - "A bottom line, if there is one: Money did not win the VA-07 race. Name recognition did not win it. Status and power did not win it. The people just decided that they had had enough, and they went out and won it themselves."
Wait, don’t tell me
I bet President Obama is “madder than hell” to have read in the newspapers that Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel ok’d the prisoner swap.
I guess that appearance with Bergdahl’s parents in the Rose Garden was just the preshizzle keeping a stiff upper lip and trying to put a good face on a decision made by somebody else that he secretly - very secretly – hated.
BTW, the Obama administration’s foreign policy successes just keep piling up. The city of Mosul in Iraq has been captured by Al-Qaeda forces.
I guess that appearance with Bergdahl’s parents in the Rose Garden was just the preshizzle keeping a stiff upper lip and trying to put a good face on a decision made by somebody else that he secretly - very secretly – hated.
BTW, the Obama administration’s foreign policy successes just keep piling up. The city of Mosul in Iraq has been captured by Al-Qaeda forces.
Yes, but your retirement from the Senate could create millions!
Harry Reid claims that the sale of his house will create 60 jobs (most of those will probably be temporary, and involve carting records of his questionable real estate deals to the landfill).
Monday, June 9, 2014
Assortment
Obama's dictatorial tendencies are even too much for Noam Chomsky.
Dear Mr. President: If you want to empty Gitmo simply because you want to empty Gitmo, then just do it. But please stop offering idiotic pretexts.
I guess this must be Dumbass Pride Month.
So, what's the deal with Cicada 3301?
If I were a superhero, like Batman, this would be my car.
A cavalcade of hitmen.
Gun control fanatic Shannon Watts should strive to avoid saying things that are so easily refutable - unless she really believes everybody is that stupid.
Inside Gwyneth Paltrow's, for want of a better word, "mind"
Miss Nevada (a/k/a/ Nia Sanchez) has been crowned as Miss USA. No argument from me. She's a beautiful girl who can kick your ass.
Dear Mr. President: If you want to empty Gitmo simply because you want to empty Gitmo, then just do it. But please stop offering idiotic pretexts.
I guess this must be Dumbass Pride Month.
So, what's the deal with Cicada 3301?
If I were a superhero, like Batman, this would be my car.
A cavalcade of hitmen.
Gun control fanatic Shannon Watts should strive to avoid saying things that are so easily refutable - unless she really believes everybody is that stupid.
Inside Gwyneth Paltrow's, for want of a better word, "mind"
Miss Nevada (a/k/a/ Nia Sanchez) has been crowned as Miss USA. No argument from me. She's a beautiful girl who can kick your ass.
Not buying it
To hear Hillary tell it, her and Bill’s life after the White House was almost like something out of The Grapes of Wrath.
"Gosh, Bill. How’re we gonna get by on nuthin' but six-figure speaking fees?”
"Gosh, Bill. How’re we gonna get by on nuthin' but six-figure speaking fees?”
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Sunday funnies
Dennis Miller on Nancy Pelosi's physiognomy: “How would you like to go through life looking like you’re perpetually witnessing the docking of the Hindenburg?”
The My Little Pony craze takes another step, er, forward.
Florida judge exhibits curious take on courtroom decorum.
What your Facebook friends are really trying to tell you.
If tombstones were subject to truth in labeling.
Important travel tip: if you're visiting another country with your young child in tow, don't leave your passport lying around.
A "colorful" home security option (see an unusual collection of other anti-theft devices here ).
The My Little Pony craze takes another step, er, forward.
Florida judge exhibits curious take on courtroom decorum.
What your Facebook friends are really trying to tell you.
If tombstones were subject to truth in labeling.
Important travel tip: if you're visiting another country with your young child in tow, don't leave your passport lying around.
A "colorful" home security option (see an unusual collection of other anti-theft devices here ).
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Down by the river
I was in Richmond for a few days recently and spent an hour or so ambling about on the James River. Belle Isle and Brown Island are a couple of popular parks in the area.
Here's a shot of the river, with some tiny islands click to enlarge).
This is a foot bridge that runs from the North Richmond side to Belle Isle. Belle Isle, incidentally, was the location of some iron works and a prisoner-of-war camp during the, er, late unpleasantness.
I don't know what this used to be, but it looked kind of neat: the rusty old frame of an abandoned building nestled among encroaching greenery.
Here's a shot of the river, with some tiny islands click to enlarge).
This is a foot bridge that runs from the North Richmond side to Belle Isle. Belle Isle, incidentally, was the location of some iron works and a prisoner-of-war camp during the, er, late unpleasantness.
I don't know what this used to be, but it looked kind of neat: the rusty old frame of an abandoned building nestled among encroaching greenery.
Friday, June 6, 2014
Those formative childhood years!
Substitute "waffles" for "pancakes" and I think it explains about 90% of everything Obama does.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Here's a swap I can get behind
The good folks at Tactical Firearms in Katy, Texas have introduced another in their series of trenchant comments on the Obama administration.
"The President That Richard Nixon Always Wanted To Be"
Jonathan Turley, in an interview with Sean Hannity, on the imperial presidency of Barack Obama. This line particularly caught my attention: "Well, unfortunately our system is changing, and it's changing without a debate [emphasis mine - Paco]. Or even a discussion about what we're going to do in the future when we have a three branch system, a tripartite system but one branch is so dominant."
Without a debate. Just why is that, Senator McConnell, Congressman Boehner?
Update: More from George Will, with specific reference to the recent prisoner exchange.
Without a debate. Just why is that, Senator McConnell, Congressman Boehner?
Update: More from George Will, with specific reference to the recent prisoner exchange.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
As close to black flowers as you can get
I don't think there are any flowers that are truly black, but these hollyhocks come close.
Looks like the kind of thing Dracula might wear in the buttonhole of his tux when he's feeling sporty.
Looks like the kind of thing Dracula might wear in the buttonhole of his tux when he's feeling sporty.
Junius: Letter to Mitch McConnell
To the Honorable Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senate
Sir:
I note that the news is filled with predictions of material gains by the Republican Party this fall, with the capture of a Senate majority not beyond the realm of the possible. I observe, as well, that these prognostications are typically delivered in a spirit of consternation by members of our fourth estate, which is hardly surprising given the domination of that profession by leftists. Yet I find myself baffled by their despondent mood. Why should a Republican majority make them tremble?
The Democratic Party, aided and abetted by its Mamluks in the press, has managed to construct a mighty political and cultural fortress even under what passes for leadership by the most feckless and ignorant president of modern times. From this fortress has issued a constant series of sorties by regulators, auditors and policemen against the liberties and even the persons of the American people. With mounting desperation, we of the constitutionalist party have scanned the skyline and the folds of the hills, eagerly awaiting the debouchment of our presumptive army of legislative liberators, and to what are we treated, sir? To the spectacle of you and your bumbling band of wizened, short-winded establishmentarians, occasionally shambling out from amongst the trees to unleash a useless volley of mixed projectiles from your rusty old musketoons at the formidable walls of tyranny, only to scurry back to cover with the most shameful alacrity. It is a performance of Homeric futility.
But stay – let us wring the truth from this sopping dish rag of a strategy. Are such acts of resistance as you and your partizani manage to essay intended to truly strike a blow for the right, or are they merely theatrical productions designed to cloak your underlying indolence and paucity of fighting spirit? The most forlorn hope can occasionally carry the day when backed by energy, sincerity of belief and unstinting commitment to the enterprise. Your desultory plinking at the might of Leviathan, on the other hand, does not suggest futility so much as fraud. Why should we believe otherwise when you no sooner conclude an “attack” on this administration than you quickly whip out a white handkerchief in order to signal for a parlez on some matter- typically, and revealingly, dearer to your heart than the upholding of the constitution - concerning which you and the administration are in general agreement (as often as not in a conspiracy against your own constituents, as in the instance of amnesty)?
Nay, sir, your paltry opposition to the growth and consolidation of federal tyranny may be a sufficiently efficacious means of ensconcing yourself in a comfortable office, surrounded by the gaudy trappings of power and prestige, but it will not serve as a realistic campaign for the recovery of our personal liberty. We look for leaders, Senator, leaders and fighters, not for the useless mummery of professional time servers.
Junius
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)