Thank You For Smoking

I'm not a smoker...never have been (OK, unless you count an annual cigar).

So, understand that my topic here doesn't really support smoking so much as our ever-eroding liberties. Some of these, as you will read, are being removed at the simplest stroke of a pen with "feel good" tactics.

Recently, a local radio station (93.3 The Planet) played a commercial announcing a terrific new product available at all North Carolina (we're close to the border) restaurants & businesses: fresh air. This was accomplished by prohibiting smoking at all businesses, public & private.

I don't care so much on the public - if the state determines that will be the policy, the infringement on my rights, while it does exist, is sensible and minimal. This is a reasonable policy as few restaurants are publicly-owned & most public businesses are relevant to essential services (DMV, Registrar, etc.)

However, privately-owned businesses should be allowed to determine if smoking is allowed on their respective properties. If I'm the proprietor of Al Gore's House of Hummus and Holistic Medicine & want it to look/smell like a crowded pool hall on Saturday night, that's my right, not some elected clown riding a desk. If my revenue suffers because my target demographic - non-bathing, organic-loving, damn dirty hippies - wants to stay away from the bikers and union guys who frequent my place because it's OK to smoke, that's the risk I take as the owner.

The simple fact is it's my call as the proprietor of the business. While the state may claim to have an interest in prohibiting smoking to help the innocent non-smoker, the fact is the non-smoker may choose what places to frequent & avoid.

The military protects us. Bureaucrats? Not so much.

Stupid Liberal Math

Problem: Terrorists are contemplating or attempting to attack the United States. You are POTUS and a liberal who is beholden to your far-left constituency. How do you handle this problem overseas and domestically?

Overseas: Send in a double strike of Predator drones to hit a terrorist enclave in Pakistan, ensuring suspected terrorists are swept clean off the map and no longer a persistent threat to the USA.

Domestically: Arrest the underwear bomber & read him his "rights" that are normally reserved to US citizens. Ensure he is given a trial in accordance with the US Constitution because, after all, he is innocent until proven guilty and this is not an act of war, it's a matter for the civilian courts. For others, pull them out of Guantanamo Bay and transport them to the scene of the horrific crime they perpetrated on the citizens of this country where they may also receive a trial under the protections of the US Constitution.

I'm OK with the overseas answer...it gets a B.

As for the domestic policy, it's not worth a letter, just the finger.

New Job

3 weeks in.

3 days of training in the first week. None since

No supervisor. (Not as sweet as you might think)

No organization in the organization.

Suggestion: Get a clue, dummies.

ASPCA Animal Lover Prize

Fresh on the heels of President Barack Hussein Obama (mmm, mmmm, mmmmmm!) winning the Nobel Peace Prize & shocking the world by doing so with under two week's experience AND without any significant accomplishments to further peace in the world, comes another timely choice for an award:

The APSCA World Animal Lover Prize has been awarded to Michael Vick, of the Philadelphia Eagles for his notable accomplishments in expressing his regret for operating Bad Newz Kennels - a now-infamous dogfighting ring.

"Sure, he abused, mistreated and ultimately maimed poor animals", stated the ASPCA spokesperson, "but you have to look at his words since then, which decidedly paints him in the light of a person who regrets what he did because it cost him millions...uh, can we edit that last sentence out?"

Vick, who recently was allowed back into the NFL after being released from prison, obviously was deserving of the prize because, as the ASPCA spokesperson puts it, "While he hasn't actually shown real remorse for his actions, Mr. Vick was overheard saying, 'I'll bet you I never try that sh*t again!' to a fellow Eagles player. This indicates his intention to love animals and thus earned him our coveted award this year".

Other winners of the ASPCA Animal Lover Prize include Britney Spears and rapper DMX.

Congress Shall Make No Law...

But that apparently doesn't apply to the courts. Who can decide what's best for us by judicial fiat.

The main argument against a cross memorializing the sacrifice of WW I veterans is that it "excludes" other veterans from being honored.

Excuse me f***tards but just because a memorial is in honor of a particular group doesn't mean it's specifically intended to give a different group the proverbial finger. Yes, I'll grant that the park agency should have allowed a Buddhist symbol to be placed on the land. However, tearing down the cross doesn't put a Buddhist symbol up there.

I'd be inclined to believe this was a pro 1st Amendment argument if it was constructive (i.e. - let's allow ALL religious symbols to be placed) in nature. Of course, the ACLU, in it's infinite Christian-bashing "wisdom", cannot abide a cross on federal land & supported a former National Park Service employee who quite possibly had honorable intentions for bringing forth the lawsuit.

Deep Thoughts: Teamwork

For those days when there is nothing better to do than to ponder through musings of a twisted mind.

***************************

Is it really called "Bipartisan if it is just a massive orgy of Democrat Liberals and Communists?


Hmmmmmmm.........

How Leftists...

Celebrate free speech...

Sure, you CAN say what you want but if some silver spoon-fed twin brother of a certain moronic blonde hotel heiress doesn't like your answer to a question & uses vulgarity to express an opinion about you - well, you're the bad guy, not him.

Regardless of your position on same-gender marriage, you're entitled to that view. While it doesn't mean everyone must agree, or even respect, that decision, it doesn't entitle a bunch of Hollywood leftist kooks to jump on a Miss USA finalist because her answer wasn't the right one in their eyes.

My belief has always been that when you resort to sarcastic insults & parodies of a person & his/her position on an issue, it means you can't defend your position in honest debate. The Hollywood left obviously has no concept of "honest" so they simply smear anyone with whom they disagree. It's a tactic meant to belittle & hijack debate from potential opposition.

If you can't come up with a productive counter-argument, Perez, shut yer yap with the insults. Some day, you might get learned good by someone who isn't willing to take your crap.

Trigger Squeeze

A new bill, HR 45, would increase the requirements for purchasing a firearm. The bill is named the Blair Holt Firearm Licensing & Record of Sale Act of 2009. So named for a young man who bravely sacrificed himself to save the life of a young lady on a school bus from a gunman.

Using the death of a young man for a political chess move is underhanded, so I won't provide a counter-argument to stricter gun control by invoking his sacrifice.

My issue is requiring fingerprints, mental evaluations & possible home safety checks to ensure children are kept safe from guns. The bill, in typical congressional double speak, says children are not to have access to guns & parents will be prosecuted if children use a firearm EXCEPT in the case of self-defense. So, little Timmy can use the gun to defend his family as long as he isn't educated on how to use the firearm...which, somehow, makes sense to these "representatives".

I took the time to write my Representative - a rank & file democrat - that he should oppose the bill because it does the following:
1) Adds needless redundancy. Registration is already required for firearms.
2) Discourages the purchase of firearms in the case it passes. This will drive prices up & out of the reach of some who want to purchase them for home defense.
3) Does nothing to allow for children to be educated with regards to firearms.

I also took notice that the bill applies to all handguns & any semi-automatic firearm that can accept a detachable ammunition-feeding device. In other words, all shotguns & bolt action rifles are excluded. Basically, they're aiming at any personal carry self-defense firearm as a "feel good" measure for the public.

I guess as long as you're a law-abiding citizen - which most of us are - you'll have to deal with being defenseless in the face of a gun-wielding psycho. After all, everyone knows that because Congress puts it on a piece of paper, the criminals will just fall in line. Asshats!

Red Ink Genocide

Never can it be said that liberals fail to appreciate the power of over-inflating a situation. There is certainly no shortage of strife, malice & tragedy in this world with opportunity to be politically exploited. Still, one has to wonder if those who supposedly "speak truth to power" have more than a tenuous hold on the concept of truth.

For example, take the perspective of Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times. The faded grey lady has fallen from grace in recent decades largely due to an ideological list to port that prevents any chance at righting the swamped vessel. In an actual ship, such a calamitous move would expose the keel & reveal a doomed craft. In a paper that fancies itself a cultural & media icon, the vantage we're offered is an exposed backside of a leftist agenda.

Only in the most ignorant, selfish mind could ANYONE take the collapse of a failed, agenda-driven periodical & make even a tangential comparison to genocide. It's this impervious-to-reason ideology which allows tragedies in the world to continue: Why fight a travesty against humanity, when one may objectify it & frame it to suit a business model?

The left is often & appropriately caricatured with the motto, "The ends justify the means". Apparently, this holds true even with (lack of) respect to the struggles against the most vile examples of inhumanity.

Perhaps the Times would better direct its crimson pens against actual tragedies in the world & refrain from the self-pitying foolishness of comparing running in the red with the horrific red flow of human violence.

Group Think

Well, secretary of State Hillary Clinton says we Americans deserve some of the blame for Mexico's drug problem.

Now, you might think my issue here is with another democrat pulling the "blame America, first" crap but you'd only be partially correct.

The real effing problem is the former-First "Lady's" grouping of law-abiding Americans with the corrupt, devious & shameless. No, I'm not talking about Congress...I mean those losers out there that buy, sell & use illicit drugs.

This is a typical leftist tactic of eliminating individualism by putting us all in groups. There's not you, me & our friend. No, it's a trio of gun-toting, bible clutching red-staters. Dhimmocrats just don't have the time to learn the names of all the people they hate. This way I guess it's easier for them to round us all up & keep us with our "kind" when the last of our rights go bye-bye.

Look, madam secretary: we're not even mostly the helpless, worthless individuals you & your ilk make us out to be. We want your kind to stay out of our lives, let us live free as we deserve & hopefully all of you pols can take a flying leap.

A$$hat #2

Well, we've got another one we can add to the list...

My instructor offered a self-defense class through the local community college & about eight people signed up - including a 6'2", 250lb guy in his upper 40s. Now, anyone can use some knowledge of self-defense, right? Well Too-Tall here doesn't - he knows EVERYTHING!

Yes, this guy, who does his own TKD thing, thinks he wrote the book on self defense. Actually, it's not even a pamphlet. This buster, secure in his size, weight & overly supreme ego, has a philosophy of "might makes right". In other words, he hits with 250lbs of mass behind him, so you should, too.

For those of us lacking that weight, well it's too bad...we just aren't allowed to defend ourselves.

Now, that's bad enough but buster isn't done just yet. He walked a couple of the female students out after class & proceeded to inform them that: 1) he could take them down & there's nothing they could do to stop it; and 2) "don't tell the instructor but none of these techniques will work".

Being an experienced practitioner & one who is well-versed in said useless techniques, I would like to respond, in turn:

1) Really nice, creepfest! Seriously, these women are taking a SELF-DEFENSE CLASS. This means they are there, surprise, to learn. They don't know everything & neither does anyone else. We're all learning, except for you, genius. Threatening women with an attack on their first day of class is the most asinine thing an arrogant moron like you could do.

2) Yeah, because you've done all of the techniques before. I have yet to meet the person who can keep his grip on the simplest of wrist escapes offered in this class. Of the 300+ techniques in my binder, I'd argue 90% are effective (10% are demonstration techniques) & the average student could reasonably employ 75% of them in a self-defense situation (15% or so are either very flashy throws or likely lethal). The self-defense curriculum is a subset of the HKD material & is implemented specifically to provide the opportunity to escape. As such, it is 100% practical self-defense (hence, the course title).

Look, I've met you before, fella. The martial arts world is rife with ego-maniacal jerks who think they know it better than everyone else. First, traditional TKD isn't practical for any self-defense. Second, creeping someone out in an overt attempt to steal students is unethical. Fittingly, your kind is the least useful to the community & knows next to nothing about offering a service besides your lips on your own a$$.

At least your head is up there for easy access.

Sorry...

The title has a dual meaning. I was content to leave political topics in Mr. Engrish's realm, so my apologies for typing this politically-charged post.

Additionally, the "Sorry" refers to MSNBC (or MSNBS, if you will) actually putting out another piece of in-the-tank-for-Obama tripe & passing it as some sort of fact.

The article states that president Obama broke from the "unpopular Bush administration". OK, I'll give you that: 1) president Obama has broken sharply with the Bush administration; and 2) president Bush left office with a low approval rating.

The story continues that [president Obama] has "mostly avoided divisive partisan and ideological stands".

Right...

Closing Gitmo & releasing terrorists, lifting the ban on funding of overseas organizations that support abortion & giving terrorist combatants the same protections in interrogations afforded to enemy combatants fighting under a flag sure sounds partisan & ideologically divisive to me.

1) Closing Gitmo: Where do you think these terrorists are going, Mr. President? President Bush was set to release a number of them but the home countries refused them. For some reason, I don't think representative John "In Cold Blood" Murtha's idea of housing them in his district will fly well with the "rednecks" in that area. Great way to cower to a leftist base but, as with most wingnut ideas, this just won't work.

2) Lifting Bans on Abortion: This is the very political issue that defines our generation. The thought that my taxes will help fund an abomination, an affront to life, disgusts me. You know what, abortion is legal here, thanks to Roe v. Wade...that's bad enough but why do you need to fund this atrocity around the globe?

3) Army Field Manual: Get a clue, Bubba II! Treating terrorists with kid gloves doesn't solve the problem. Treating them to bullets with a caliber of .40 or more does. They didn't play nice in 1986, 1990, 1993 or 2001. Our men & women in the military don't play nice with monsters like terrorists...allow them to do their jobs & watch these a-holes go the way of the dodo.

Then How Do You Define Stupid?

According to (P)MSNBC - Attorney General nominee Eric Holder told the Senate he considers water-boarding to be a form of torture.

Coming from a democrat, this makes perfect sense. Heaven forbid we concern ourselves with the lives of Americans who may be killed by terrorists. No, we have to consider treating these barbaric animals with decency so they won't be too mentally traumatized to fly hijacked airplanes - with Americans in them - into buildings - with Americans in them.

Mr. Holder apparently believes enemy combatants in Gitmo also deserve due process guaranteed to Americans in the Constitution. He would try some of these jihadists in US courts instead of military court martials, where the trials belong.

Mr. Holder, do you get your torture standards from senator Durbin? Do you expect out men & women in uniform to tickle terrorists into submission. This is war, sir! If pouring some water on the face of a restrained terrorist gets us answers that save lives, then - dammit - we need to take action! You liberal punks seem so secure in your world of theory that reality is forgotten.

Here's the question:
You're in an alley with your family. About 50 feet in, a man with a crazed look on his face & a big knife in his hand pops out about 25 feet from you, locks eyes & charges. No, in this case you DON'T have a gun. It's him or your family.

Do you:
a) Try and talk him down? (A: No, you moron, he's charging at you! Too late to talk.)
b) Tuck tail and run? (A: Sure. If you're a stinking coward who would abandon your family.)
c) Stand there and let everyone die?
d) Take action?

Option A, B & C are all going to get everyone killed, except the attacker. The fact is that being nice time is over. You either take action, even if it means you die letting your family get away, or you bear the blood of others on your hands because you did nothing. The answer seems so obvious with family in mind. Why is it that country doesn't carry similar importance for relativist-minded liberals?

Good Call (Not!)

So, there's a new horror movie out there called My Bloody Valentine 3D. The premise, best I can figure, is a guy with a penchant for WW II gas masks & mining equipment gets jealous of Jason Voorhees killing all the sexually active teenagers & wants some of that market share.

Basically, it's a metaphor for Apple/Congress vs. Microsoft.

Anyway, the 3D part of the movie is what caught my attention. Seriously, Hollywood, who comes up with this everything-old-is-new-again crap? Remember how well Jaws 3D was received? Oh, you don't? Maybe that's because it was a bigger stinker than the chum used in the first Jaws movie.

How about a movie based in reality for something original? We have well over 2000 years of history to explore and, contrary to what most of you twits think, it CAN be explored without perverting history a la Valkyrie...

Prop 'em Up!

A Connecticut senator is asking that the government prop up some failing newspapers in his state. Obviously, there are some concerns about the government owning a stake in supposedly free market reporting agencies (You know that whole, "Congress shall make no law..." statement in the First Amendment). Some people think it's a bad idea for the state to own & influence the media.

"Balderdash", I say! There's plenty of advantages to government being able to push the media around. Let's take a look at the benefits...

Government-owned Media Possibilities:
1) Media lapdogs now required to pander to The Obama. (Instead of just wanting to)

2) Bill Clinton would have cleaned up that darn blue dress!

3) Hillary Clinton shown dodging sniper fire just like in "The Matrix".

4) Blagojevich? Ahmadinejad? Heck the only problem we have is spelling their names.

5) The NYT can keep the Red Sox! (worst team in baseball...Go Yankees!)

6) New "no live feeds" policy for Joe Biden spares embarrassment on all those gaffes.

7) Can report election results without being bothered by those pesky votes.

8) Maybe honest reporting will become an actual requirement...

9) ...except in cases of democrat scandals, of course.

10) They speak truth to power...if Congress passes the bill.

Go Home, Commie

Nothing steams me more than seeing a hot-headed, bullying poor sport in martial arts. Add to the mix that it's a person in one of the arts I practice & you have a recipe for full-blown rage.

A Cuban TKD champion kicked a referee in the face after he was disqualified in a Bronze medal match for men's (over 80kg) sparring. The disqualification came because the certified jerk used more time than is allowed by regulation to recover from an injury. International rules allow for 60 seconds.

Look, fella. You were sent to represent not only your crappy, despot-led nation but the sport of TKD as a whole. I'm not saying you can't be upset at the call. I AM saying that kicking the referee in the head for following the rules is a load of crap & you deserve that lifetime ban.

I'm an advocate of pulling TKD out of the Olympics, anyway. It's been made a mockery of its former self by the way you clowns hold your hands down to the side. It's supposed to be mock fighting, guys! There should be at least an implication that a punch might be thrown.

Since I'm not a democrat, I should be expected to offer a reasonable alternative, right? Well, I have one: Traditional Hapkido sparring. Not only does it have the kicks of TKD, it also has takedowns & sweeps. It's not MMA, it's not tag with your feet, it is a more readily enjoyable sport than TKD sparring.

Alternatively, bring back Pankration! It was created by the Greeks (didn't they have something to do with the Olympics), doesn't allow punches to the head, has takedowns, joint locks & is very enjoyable to watch.

Now, the above doesn't eliminate poor sports - they'll always be around in one form or another. It does remove one of the silliest displays in the Olympics, replacing it with a more practical demonstration of human ability, and ensures martial arts will be better represented as a whole.

As for the loser who struck the ref: Hey, pal, have fun in Cuba. I'm sure the Castros won't take it out on you at all...

Made Up Your Mind, Eh?

Seen on a local idiot's person's car...

Bumper sticker #1:
Obama '08

Bumper sticker #2:
"I'm already against the next war."

I'm sure someone once said, "Those who will fight for nothing, deserve it".

I'm willing to bet you can add the above clown to that group. Sure, other than ending Communism, toppling the Berlin Wall, ending WW II, providing us our Independence, ending slavery and freeing the Iraqi people, a righteous use of force has never done anything for anyone.

Get a clue you "anti" kooks out there. It's easy to be against something. Take a stand, get a pair & be for something greater than yourself.

Hap's Back (Saga of the Notebook)

Needless to say, I won't be buying a Dell anytime soon. Of course, my "buddies" at Best Buy (short for "Best buy someplace else, fella") did me the great favor of NOT sending the Dell to the service center after the motherboard died. No, they let the thing sit in the store for 4 weeks while they did nothing...

So, after my brother was kind enough to call them - in place of my ranting anger - they agreed to make good on the warranty & give me a new laptop. Of course, the new one is an HP, not a Dell. Here's hoping that my next foray into the world of portable blogging is met with more reliable service.

Are You Freaking Serious?

Just saw this on Michelle Malkin's site. We're sending $1.1 Billion (with a "B") to Mexico for their effing border security? Hello! How about that huge, gaping hole we have called a border in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona & California? Any one of you clowns in Congress want to think about plugging that sucker up, first?

It's the simplest of rules, people. Even the airlines follow it with oxygen masks: Take care of your emergency situation before you try to bail others out...if for no other reason than you can't help if you're unconscious.

Oh, and in this case, the "person" you're helping with that mask happens to be a habitual drug-dealing, gun-running coyote with a strangulation fetish.

Hey, instead of moving troops down to the border (as we should), why not move all the homes of Congress down there? I'll bet that boundary would be sealed tighter than Ebenezer Scrooge's coin purse in under a month.

Rip Off

For lunch, I went to this BBQ place called Dickey's & ordered a plate with 2 meats, 2 sides & some cornbread.

My bill was $10.06

I wrote in $10.06 for the total, put a line through the "tip" part (I got the order to go) & signed it.

So how, I ask, did I leave a $2.01 tip for them?

I plan on contacting these rip-off artists tomorrow & giving them a piece of my mind.