Friday, July 28, 2006

The Religion of Peace Strikes Again

"I'm a Muslim American; I'm angry at Israel"

What are the odds?

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Need Help from a KOS Kid

Decided the other day to visit my 93 year old Grandma who lives an hour north of Seattle in the Sedro Woolley area. I had not been up there in months and felt it was time to make the trip. Then this morning around 8am, I get a call from a client, who is based in Puyallup, about an hour south of Seattle. Seems they had a fire in a remote warehouse and they need my help getting things working again. The warehouse is located up in... wait for it... SEDRO WOOLLEY. I did not even know they had a location there.

So I am hoping a Kossack could help me unravel this mystery. I. Question. The. Timing.

Layers.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Change the 14th amendment?

Listening to Dan Sytman on KTTH this AM on the drive into work and he was talking about the 14th amendment, specifically if we should consider changing the constitution so that you are not automatically a citizen if born in the United States. Now the 14th amendment reads as follows:
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such state.

Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.


First off, I would be in favor of a change that states "All persons born to citizens or those who are legally in the country or naturalized..."

He did not feel this is something the Republicans should pursue, specifically because it would hurt them in the polls with the Hispanic community. Now I can understand that point of view but hearing it did make me cringe somewhat for a couple of reasons. First, I would prefer that politicians did what was right and not what is going to help them most at the polls. FYI... I would also like to play golf for free anywhere and anytime. Second, I am not so sure it would hurt all that much with the Hispanic community and any negative impact would be offset by gains in the overwhelming percentage of citizens that are fed up with illegal immigration.

Let me expand on the second point. First lets assume that only citizens are voting and I realize that is a huge assumption from someone who lives in King County. Now the people that are not going to like this change are primarily illegals and the fringe activists that think this is stolen land whose vote I am not sure I would want anyway. I firmly believe the average Hispanic citizen who went through the citizenship process or are 2nd generation or later resent much of what the illegals and activists do. I also believe that outside the Hispanic community, the change I would propose would be wildly popular because it just seems fair. If you want Jr. to be a citizen, then the parents must be citizens themselves or at least legally in the country. I am not sure how anyone could disagree with that.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Jim McDermott at his finest

Jim McDermott D - Seattle voted against the following:
BILL TITLE: Condemning the recent attacks against the State of Israel, holding terrorists and their state-sponsors accountable for such attacks, supporting Israel's right to defend itself, and for other purposes

Official statement from Congressman McDermott's office is now listed below.

Well here is an audio file of the Congressman on the Bryan Suits radio show a couple of years ago, just before the start of Iraq War ver.2.0

This audio recording, about 24 minutes shows Congressman McDermott razor sharp mind in action as he refers to the United States of America as "they", 21:35 in. Almost as shocking is the fact that the Congressman would go on a major Seattle radio station, one of only two in the city that is seen as having a conservative tilt, walking into enemy territory, and clearly he has no idea who the radio host is when he asks 38 year old Lt. Suits if he was in Vietnam, 12:45 in. The first time I listened, I literally said, "I think he was drunk". It really starts heating up around 9 minutes in when Bryan Suits asks if the Congressmen is a "Vietnam War Veteran".

UPDATE:
Here is the official statement from Congressman McDermott's office:
Rep. Jim McDermott (Wa-D)

Statement

House Resolution 921

July 20, 2006

Mr. Speaker,

It was with unwavering support for Israel, its safety, security and right to exist, that I cast a vote today against House Resolution 921. Hezbollah, not Israel, started this conflict with an ambush, and Israel has every right to defend itself. There is no doubt about that. Nor is there any doubt anywhere about America’s deep and abiding commitment to Israel.

A resolution in the House of Representatives will not change what the world already knows, but it might encourage what the world already fears: a wider war with greater casualties, undermining fragile but crucial support for Israel among Arab nations, and further endangering Israel and other innocent civilians across the region.

I am especially troubled by the fact that H.Res 921 goes far beyond reaffirming our unwavering commitment to Israel by declaring unlimited support for potential military action anywhere in the region. The resolution says we: “support Israel’s right to take appropriate action to defend itself, including to conduct operations both in Israel and in the territory of nations which pose a threat to it.” (emphasis added)

This raises the ominous prospect that the House has given the Administration a pre-recorded vote to support any action, at any time. Could that include a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities? The resolution is a blank check, and we know that policy has failed in Iraq, and has only incubated further violence and terrorism.

No one can for one moment accept rockets in Haifa, Nazareth, or anywhere in Israel. But demanding that the Lebanese government rein in Hezbollah while bombs rain down on a variety of targets, some civilian is not the answer.

Widening the war will inflame tensions, increase casualties and decrease any prospect for a permanent peace. The United States can best support Israel and the Arab world by vigorously pursuing an end to the violence, the resumption of a peace process and a commitment to unite the region to isolate terrorist groups and all who oppose a just and lasting peace for all people.

Thank you.
Jim McDermott, D-Seattle votes NO

BILL TITLE: Condemning the recent attacks against the State of Israel, holding terrorists and their state-sponsors accountable for such attacks, supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and for other purposes

I will call my Congressman's office and see if I can get a reason for the No vote.

Update:
Congressman McDermott's office says there will be a posting on the website later today with an explanation.

I am willing to bet that if you exchange "Israel" with "Cuba" or "Syria" or "North Korea", Congressman McDermott votes Yea.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Newsweek explains the real reason why there are not more "women" in science... because all the really good female scientists deep down are really dudes.

So I get the mail this evening and there is the current edition of Newsweek magazine, (it was a gift subscription). In the "science" section is... I am not even sure how to even describe this mess of a story... Newsweek decides to do a story about discrimination in the fields of science... and the spoksperson to explain discrimination in science is a neuroscientist and tenured professor at Stanford, Ben Barres, who use to be "Barbara". Yes I am fairly sure this is Newsweek and not The Onion.

This all goes back to the Larry Summers gender gap in science debate.
In January 2005, Summers suggested at an economic conference that one reason there are fewer women than men in science and engineering professorships might be that fewer women than men had the very high levels of "intrinsic aptitude" that such jobs required. An attendee made his remarks public, and a firestorm followed in the national news media and on Harvard's campus.

The attendee was MIT biologist Nancy Hopkins who said "I felt I was going to be sick. My heart was pounding and my breath was shallow" she said. "I just couldn't breathe because this kind of bias makes me physically ill." If she had not bolted from the room, she "would've either blacked out or thrown up."

Nope... no intrinsic differences there. I am sure all the male MIT biologists get physically ill when someone say MAYBE there are differences between the sexes. Dr. Nancy should be exhibit 1 for Larry Summer's defense team.


Now possibly the best line in the Newsweek article is:
Barres slept on the floor in his office. Romance never held much appeal. OK, Barres has always loved Tom Cruise ("He's cute"). But he's never been strongly attracted to either sex.
So let me get this "straight", chick who deep inside is really a guy, in in love with Tom Cruise... Now that right there aspires to be a big fat softball just waiting to get hit out of the park. No sir, I am not even going to take a swing at that, way too easy.

So this is the proof the MSM came up with that women are discriminated against in science, a "female-to-male transgendered person".

Your honor, the defense would like to make this exhibit 2.
Question for the Muslims

Here is something I have always wondered and was prompted to post something after I read this post over at Ace 'O Spades HQ.
BTW, if Allah will do all these magical things for you, why don't you relocate back to your backwards hellholes and ask him to provide functioning plumbing, water distribution, and electricity?

Now if I am a devout Muslim and I am praying 5 times a day and doing all I can to kill the Infidels and maybe sent off a child with a backpack full of explosives to blow up some Jews on a bus, would it not be unreasonable to expect Allah, not to be confused with this Allah, to at least provide indoor plumbing?

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Mayor Nickels needs to "Man Up"

I heard on the radio, KTTH, yesterday morning, that Mayor Nickels made a statement about how strip club are linked to organized crime. He also said they do not make their money on Pepsi. No sh!t Sherlock? Nothing gets by the Mayor of Seattle. This mornings Seattle Times said he did not backtrack from that comment.

If the City of Seattle has businesses that are linked to organized crime and the Mayor knows this... shouldn't the Mayor being doing something about it like shutting down the business or arresting the criminals? Isn't that part of his job? Does he not have the phone number to the Chief of Police?

I really do not care if strip clubs are banned or not. I do not go to them, I do not know anyone who admits going to them, I do not know anyone who works for them. They do not affect me or my life. As long as they are not in my neighborhood or by my kids school, I really do not care. What I do care about is government officials who make reckless statements they can not back up. I care about government shutting down a legal business through regulations because they do not like it. If you do not want strip clubs around, outlaw them. Be man enough to step up to the plate and get a law passed outlawing strip clubs. Businesses that are legal should be permitted to operate within reason and the proposed strip club regulations do not allow that.

We have a saying in our family, although I think it originally came from my brother in law, "man up". It means to show your cards, do something, make a decision, you are in or out. Mayor Nickels needs to man up and show the evidence that strip clubs have ties to organized crime and then do something about it or else he needs to retract his statement. Mayor Nickels needs to decide if strip clubs should be allowed to operate as strip clubs in Seattle and then either let them do so or ban them.
Valerie Plame Wilson Sues... Joe Wilson?

I know this is not Seattle Politics related but for someone like myself who is somewhat of a political junkie... all I can say is Thank You. I now know what it must be like for a crack addict to find a large bag of crack. I now know what it must be like for the Seattle City Council members to hear there is extra cash they can use for social welfare programs that will do nothing. I now know what it would feel like to go to the driving range and hear over the loudspeaker that buckets of balls are free all day.


Captain's Quarters has a nice recap of The Plame - Wilson "issues".


Treacher has created Exhibit A for the defense.

If I am a lawyer for the defense, I would immediately start rehearsing the following line, "Mr. Wilson, before I ask the next question, let me remind you that you are under oath".

So the question is why did they decide to sue? All I can do is quote Jonah Goldberg when asked why was Dan Rather making himself look like a fool with the National Guard "memo"... "There is only one plausible answer: Ours is a just and decent God".

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Seattle Times Letters from the Lunatics, Part 2

Here is nutjob letter to the editor #2 from today's Seattle Times web page.

Where's the outrage over rape, murder allegations in Iraq?

Editor, The Times:

The media silence has been deafening since the latest allegations of atrocities by U.S. forces in Iraq surfaced a couple weeks ago ["Four more U.S. soldiers charged with rape, murder in Iraq attack," page one, July 10]. I have not seen a single column, editorial or letter to the editor in The Times condemning this almost unimaginably horrific crime. So I guess I'm a bit shocked by the apparent lack of outrage.

Now, of course we're all innocent until proved guilty. And I realize that in war "stuff happens," in the immortal words of Donald Rumsfeld. Like the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. Like the murder in Hamdania. Like the Haditha killings. And now like this an incident in which several soldiers in Mahmoudiya allegedly carried out the premeditated, cold-blooded rape and murder of a young Iraqi woman, also murdering three members of her family and burning her body to destroy evidence.

Aside from the irreversible, unspeakable violence suffered by innocent civilians, whether any of these incidents turns out to be true is beside the point. What is most damaging to America's efforts in Iraq, in Afghanistan and anywhere else we try to "spread democracy" is that the people there believe them to be true.

All foreign occupations must someday end. And when this one does, no matter how many U.S. soldiers conduct themselves with the utmost propriety and humanity, history may ultimately paint the Americans in Iraq as immoral, vicious and evil, hardly better than the regime they ousted. Not only do these terrible events reflect poorly on all of us as Americans, but they make the work of the rest of our troops infinitely more difficult and dangerous.

This is the incalculable damage done by a few "bad apples," and we should all be outraged.

Daniel P. Draheim, Seattle


Lets break this down shall we?

"The media silence has been deafening since the latest allegations of atrocities by U.S. forces in Iraq surfaced a couple weeks ago ["Four more U.S. soldiers charged with rape, murder in Iraq attack," page one, July 10]." Seattle Times Page 1. The Times article ends with "Information from the Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press is included in this report." So I guess by "media silence", Daniel means media people no longer bother to read.

"condemning this almost unimaginably horrific crime." Shouldn't that say "horrific allegation" instead of "horrific crime"?

"So I guess I'm a bit shocked by the apparent lack of outrage." Unlike say the outrage over the Duke Lacrosse Rape "allegations" that is turning out to be just that, an allegation and not a crime. Take a look at the Political Pit Bull website and watch the video to see premature outrage at its finest.

"Now, of course we're all innocent until proved guilty." REALLY?!? It is almost as if this guy is some sort of legal assistant or something.

"And I realize that in war "stuff happens," in the immortal words of Donald Rumsfeld. Like the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. Like the murder in Hamdania." I guess those soldiers are not innocent until proven guilty.

"Aside from the irreversible, unspeakable violence suffered by innocent civilians," most of which has been at the hands of Al Qaeda in Iraq or the insurgents.

"whether any of these incidents turns out to be true is beside the point." So what matters is that we are ACCUSED of committing outrageous acts. It is not what you do, it is what others say you did that matters.

"What is most damaging to America's efforts in Iraq, in Afghanistan and anywhere else we try to "spread democracy" is that the people there believe them to be true." No, what is important is that when one of our own is CONVICTED of a crime, we deal with it appropriately, they are punished for the act, unlike, oh I don't know certain cultures who for instance punish rape victims.

"All foreign occupations must someday end. And when this one does, no matter how many U.S. soldiers conduct themselves with the utmost propriety and humanity, history may ultimately paint the Americans in Iraq as immoral, vicious and evil, hardly better than the regime they ousted." History will show that the United States brought freedom and democracy to a part of the world that once was a leading sponsor of terrorism and had an official government rapist on duty to torture its citizens.

"Not only do these terrible events reflect poorly on all of us as Americans, but they make the work of the rest of our troops infinitely more difficult and dangerous." What makes the job harder are those US Citizens who demand we are outraged before the facts are know in an effort to publicize the fraction of a percent of "bad apples" at the expense of the overwhelming majority of upstanding U.S. soldiers making the world a better, safer place.

"This is the incalculable damage done by a few "bad apples," and we should all be outraged." Yes, there are a few bad apples, they tend to write letters to the Seattle Times Editor and yes, we should all be outraged.
Playin' Possum... Middle of the Roader.

Playin' Possum from the Roadkill Journal which is described as "The view from the middle of the road, dodging the looney left and the rabid right... Dedicated to the most endangered species of all, the unaligned skeptical pragmatist." and is currently featuring the following posts amongst others:

WHY WE NEED THE ACLU

TREASON FOR REAL
Today, as a service to the neoconservative pinheads who salivate as they listen to Hannity or Coulter spew their poisonous idiocy about “treason” at the New York Times or similar institutions they just don’t like…


NOVAK TWOFER
Everybody’s favorite sonofabitch, Robert Novak, brings us four items in today’s dirtbag, two of which I find to be of particular interest:


Left the following comment on my Seattle Times Letters from the Lunatics post.

Her comments are completely reasonable... Unless you are the kind of fanatic that wants a King instead of a President... Or the kind of fanatic that cannot tolerate any criticism of Israel...

Are you that kind of fanatic? It's time for everyone to show their cards, I fear. The situation may blow over, but it's possible the greatest mistake of the 20th century - the re-establishment of the long-destroyed Jewish State - is about to become the greatest mistake in all of the monkey man's sorry history.

I for one say no help or support for Israel at all. We should recall our ambassadors and walk away. We have given them too much already.

It seems to have got other commentators worked up so I wanted to share it. In Seattle, this is what passes for the "middle of the road". But then again, in Seattle, This
is what passes for a "peace activist".
Seattle Times Letters from the Lunatics

I read this nutjob letter to the editor on the Seattle Times web page.
More background, please

Jonah Goldberg and Charles Krauthammer frequently write as though they are the Voice of Israel. They are rarely, if ever, critical of any decision or action taken by Israel. For these writers to venture opinions [July 10] about the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that curtails Bush's grand ploy of absolute monarchy-dictatorship is beyond chutzpah.

Please enlighten your readers about the background of these two writers. Do they, along with Secretary Michael Chertoff, hold dual citizenship? Since Krauthammer advances the cause of military tribunals with suspects detained and locked away without legal counsel or their day in court, it is clear that he favors dictatorial powers for the unitary executive. Since Goldberg feels that SuperBush's cloak has been shortened by the Supremes, perhaps he would like to have a trial visit to Gitmo with all legal rights removed so he can write with authenticity about that grim prison that is likened to the Black Hole of Calcutta.

I am curious. Do they, along with Ann Coulter, advocate assassination for justices who curtail Bush's power to commit war crimes? They come just short of making such a recommendation.

— Sara DeHart, Lynnwood

and decided Jonah Goldberg might enjoy it so I sent him an email. He then posted the letter on NRO's The Corner and an update which has a link to the letter writers website, Bush Watch.
Sara Dehart, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Emeritus, University of Minnesota, MN is a freelance writer
and democracy activist, living in the Seattle, Washington area. She may be reached at dehart.ss@verizon.net
She is a University Prof, why does this not surprise me? She also seems to be a member in good standing of the "Bush is Hitler" crowd, such as The Indiscreet Charm of the Bush-Nazi Web Conspiranoids. Maybe the Times should "enlighten your readers about the background of this writer"

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Occasional Golf Content

Lots of golf news of late... Mickelson's implosion at the US Open, Sorenstam back on tracking winning her 10th major at the Women's US Open, and becoming a naturalized US citizen, congrats on that. The Pub Links coming to the Seattle area. But the biggest golf news of all... I broke 80 for the first time. Finished par, par at Elk Run to shoot 79. Could this be the sports story of the year? I think so.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Seattle Times Shows its Bias

On page A2 of the July 8th Seattle times was the story Coulter columns subject of plagiarism investigation. The story starts:
The syndicator of Ann Coulter's newspaper column is looking into allegations that the right-wing pundit has lifted material from other sources.

It then goes on to state:
The New York Post and the Web sites Raw Story and the Rude Pundit have raised numerous questions about Coulter's columns

Now if you Google "Raw Story", the first result comes back:

"The Raw Story is a liberal alternative to the Drudge report, culling news, arts and business reporting from around the world."

If you go to Rude Pundit, you will find a birthday wish for the President that states "The Rude Pundit thinks we should all chip in and get George W. Bush a corpse for the start of his seventh decade despoiling the Earth." In addition there is this post:
Why Ann Coulter Is a C***, Part 1856 - The Plagiarism Edition:
Sometimes beating up on Ann Coulter is about as easy as making a nervous little dog piss itself. One tiny "boo" in the right direction and that b*** is swimming in her own fluids. For surely, in her latest "column" (if by "column," you mean, "a stomach-churning, cringe-inducing, bowel-releasing journey into the dark, dank, garbage-stinking recesses of a deranged demi-brain"), Coulter sets herself upon a Tower of Babble teetering so badly that a flea flick would send her screaming, such sweet screaming, plunging onto the rocky ground below.

Now I am not a Ann Coulter defender, I usually read her columns but have never purchased a book. What bothers me is the Seattle Times uses "right wing" to describe Ann Coulter but does not mention "left wing" or "liberal" in describing these web sites. Why one and not the other? They seem to not miss a chance to throw in political philosophy on the right such as later in the article when they mention:
Coulter was fired by the conservative National Review Online


Update:
According to NRO, Ann Coulter was not fired from National Review since she did not work there.

Update 2:
A funny examination of some of the plagarism charges over at Ace 'O Spades.