The Trunk Monkey

This is a group of commercials that you may enjoy.

Here is the first one they came out with:



The rest of the videos can be found here:

AP Bias Again

Many complain about the rather obvious bias in the MSM. Of those organizations the AP has to be one of the worst.

Check out this AP story printed in the Washington Post. Here is the lead sentence. Notice anything?

When President Bush's "grand bargain" on immigration fell apart, Jeff Sessions, the Republican senator from Alabama who is named after a pair of famous Confederates, was very proud.

Full Article Here

That is a straight down the middle news article? That my friends is bias. Apparently the only people against the immigration bill are racists from the Republican party...at least that is what is implied by that lead sentence.

Despite what you typically have read in the MSM a majority of people in the US were against this immigration bill.

A lead sentence like that has no business in a "news" story. If it was an opinion piece that is fine.

This is just bias showing its not so subtle head again.

Global Warming

Call me skeptical regarding all the disaster scenarios regarding a warmer Earth.

I do not discount the fact that temperatures are rising. I find it hard to believe that the warming can only lead to disaster.

In the past the Earth has been both much warmer and much cooler.

Overall I think the science is still not strong...and predictions of what might occur even weaker.

Here is an interesting article:

Many of the assertions Gore makes in his movie, ''An Inconvenient Truth,'' have been refuted by science, both before and after he made them. Gore can show sincerity in his plea for scientific honesty by publicly acknowledging where science has rebutted his claims.

For example, Gore claims that Himalayan glaciers are shrinking and global warming is to blame. Yet the September 2006 issue of the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate reported, "Glaciers are growing in the Himalayan Mountains, confounding global warming alarmists who recently claimed the glaciers were shrinking and that global warming was to blame."

Full Article Here

Mickey Mouse Is Dead

Or at least the perverted Hamas version:

In the final skit, Farfour was beaten to death by an actor posing as an Israeli official trying to buy Farfour's land. At one point, Farfour called the Israeli a "terrorist."

Full Story

This is a sick mindset. When will the left wake up and realize that we are dealing with a medieval mindset here. They worry about Bush...I worry about the radicals that want to stifle everything that the West stands for.

You can't negotiate with these people.

No Amnesty

Nationalized Health Care?

Remember when the debate was raging about the formation of the creation of the new Department of Homeland Security?

One of "compelling" arguments for the creation of it was that it would create new efficiencies by combining bureaucracies and save us money.

So far none of that has come to pass.

Note today's headline from the Washington Post:

Costs Skyrocket As DHS Runs Up No-Bid Contracts

$2 Million Security Project Balloons to $124 Million

Full Story Here:

Those of us against it were very skeptical of any improvement in the bureaucracy and definitely discounted any potential savings. Quite the contrary. It should have been obvious that this would be less efficient and cost more.

Why would I go out on a limb and state this?

Simple really...just go back and look at how government runs things currently. Virtually every program or bureaucracy created costs substantially more now than estimates put forth prior to their creation.

Which brings me to my main thought of the day....

Why the hell would we want government to take over the health care system?

Do we really want a top down approach to our health care? Do we want some official in DC telling us what we can and cannot get medically?

Based on how the government currently works...what gives any proponent of universal health care the idea that government can do it better than private industry?

Examples please?

What can you point to that the government runs that costs less then what private industry can do?

All you have to do is watch the way government runs things like the Department of Homeland Security to get an idea of what will happen if they were to ever take over health care.

And may I remind you that the Department of Homeland Security would be very small in comparison to the bureaucracy needed to run universal health care.

Un-Fairness Doctrine

Another bad idea that infringes upon our rights.

Feinstein says she is “looking at” reviving the Fairness Doctrine to counteract the decidedly conservative bent of talk radio. Former President Reagan and a Democratic Congress repealed the Fairness Doctrine in 1987.

She wants to bring it back because she thinks “one-sided programming” pushes the American people into “extreme views” — such as their current opposition to the Bush/Kennedy/McCain immigration bill. She wants “an opportunity to present the other side” by forcing radio stations to offer more liberal fare.

Full Story Here

The end result of something like this is the end of talk radio. Prior to the termination of the Fairness Doctrine in the late 1980's there was very little talk radio and AM radio was dying. With the end of it, radio stations were allowed to put on people who brought in ratings. In this case it happened (and still is) to be conservative style programming.

If this doctrine was brought into force it would make radio stations have (for instance) one liberal program to offset one conservative program.

For whatever reason there really are not many popular liberal talk radio hosts. As such the end result would be less conservative talk radio which of course is the reason the liberals want to re-enact the Fairness Doctrine.

Some of the excuses given for the dominance of the right on the AM radio is that the corporations who control the radio stations want it that way.

I disagree. Remember these are the greedy capitalists the left complain about...

I am pretty damn sure that if radio listeners wanted and would listen to left leaning talk radio they would put that on in a heartbeat. Remember it is all about the greenbacks baby.

It is not as if there have not been attempts to get liberal leaning programs on the air. The most resent failure is Air America. So it is not like there haven't been attempts.

It is not as if there are already plenty of media outlets are dominated by left leaning types already. I look at this attempt to revive the Fairness Doctrine as an attempt to eliminate or severely reduce right leaning or conservative influence.

In the early 30's or 40's one could make the case that there should be fairness in what is broadcast due to the limited sources where one could get their information.

Today on the other hand that is not a problem.

- We have network news
- We have countless cable news outlets
- We have print version newspapers and countless online newspapers
- You have the internet where you can read and get news from around the country and the world.

As such, outside of political motivations there really is no reason to try to have government get involved in decided the makeup of what is on AM radio.

If we allow this doctrine to get re-instated we are allowing the government to increase its control over us, and to reduce our free speech.

Besides who the hell gives these people the right to regulate what type of opinions are broadcast?

If the roles were reversed...I might not like the fact that AM radio was dominated by the left...but I could NEVER IMAGINE myself trying to get the government to regulate that.

It goes against my very nature.

Let the market decide baby!

Remember this (this is to you guys on the left)...you may think the Fairness Doctrine is a great idea. However if you allow government to control one aspect of what is said (political free speech) it is not inconceivable that at some time in the future the government will want to regulate some aspect of political free speech that is dear to you.

It is much better to keep politicians of either stripe from deciding on what constitutes mine (or yours) free speech.

Latvia & Tourism

Well scratch Latvia off my list of places to visit:

Latvian girls are being urged to steer clear of one-night stands with tourists as part of a campaign to prevent the capital, Riga, turning into the "Bangkok of the Baltic".

Full article

First Aid Myths

I was disappointed to see this one is a myth. Somehow I always feel better after a couple of shots...

3. Drinking Booze to Ease a Toothache

“A shot of whiskey is not going to kill the pain of a toothache,” says Charles Wakefield, D.D.S., director of advanced education in general dentistry at Baylor University medical school. Instead of a whiskey on the rocks, just order the rocks: A Canadian study found that rubbing an ice cube on people’s hands killed tooth pain in 50 percent of them. Wrap the cube and rub it on the V-shaped soft spot of your hand, where the bones of your thumb and index finger meet. The cold, rubbing sensation travels on the same pathway to the brain as tooth pain, and by icing your hand, you override the signals from your mouth. When you’re finished, call a dentist. And pour yourself that whiskey.

Here is the full list of myths

Afghanistan Next?

For years we have heard many on the left say we need to get out of Iraq so we can focus on the terrorists and win in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has always been the "good war". Those who want to retreat in Iraq imply that they want to win in Afghanistan.

I have always been skeptical of this position.

Today you can see the first of what will be more calls for retreat from Afghanistan as well. Early on it was politically stupid to mention this. Now however the left is starting to feel OK about letting us know what they really feel about Afghanistan as well.

A few congressional Democrats go so far as suggesting that the Pentagon should pull out of Afghanistan now, while others say that troop withdrawal will be addressed after the military is out of Iraq.

It is not just obscure Democrats talking about this. Here is a choice quote from Rep. Murtha (D-Pa):

“We should have never gone to Iraq, because we would have been out of Afghanistan [by now],” Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) said in a brief interview.

So if these people have their way we will retreat from Iraq ASAP and then in short order the drumbeat will steadily increase saying that we cannot win in Afghanistan and must retreat from their as well.

The consequences of retreat from Iraq for the USA and for the Middle East are likely to be disastrous. I hate to imagine the fallout from also pulling out of Afghanistan as well.

Cox & Forkum

Check out the Cox & Forkum site for other interesting editorial cartoons.

Damn Interesting

Looking to kill some time at work?

The Damn Interesting website will help you do just that.

If your boss gets on your ass about it...give him the link too.

Creeping Death

The menace of the nanny state continues to grow. First it was smoking, recently they have been setting their sights on food, and now...pets.

California Democrats want to pass a law requiring pets to be spayed or neutered by 4 months of age.

Where the hell do these guys get the idea that they can tell you or I how to take care of our own pets?

Each time a law like this passes, or is proposed the argument is that it is for the common good. When laws such as these are passed we loose a little bit of our freedom.

Individually each law makes little impact on our lives. Over time all these laws in their totality greatly infringes upon our rights and freedoms.

Is this what we want?

What ever happened to the notion of individual responsibility?

Do we want the government to increasingly tell us how to live our lives?

I don't.