Nom de plume: Rivrdog

No big deal, the film sucked

I watched the part of the (horrors!) anti-Islamic film when it was available on You Tube. It might be charitably re-titled "Harold and Kumar become Hadeed and Omar", with apologies to the stoners in that film trilogy. It is low comedy at it's worst, and takes several opportunities to show the Prophet Mohammed as a dorky opportunist, and his acolytes, the Harold and Kumar characters, as frat-boy dorks of even lower caliber. The film-maker completely failed to properly use the satire he was obviously trying for, and the ultra-low budget location work, out in the dunes somewhere in SoCal or AZ, didn't even bother to use a leaf blower to erase the ATV tracks in the sand dunes. Losers.

If I'm a muzzie, my reaction is to ask why Westerners are such crappy film-makers, but if Hassan Nasrallah, Mullah of Hizbullah, actually appears in public to denounce it, I guess anyone can be a film critic these days.

The film-maker is not a threat to anyone or anything, but I will award him Maroon of the Month, anyway.

Rep. Akin slept in class...Dummy! Maroon!

When I took the class, it was Psych 201, Human Development. In that class, I learned that many things affect how the female conceives. Fear, general physical stress and something as simple as dehydration can radically affect rates of conception following a fertile insemination. I learned that the fertile woman can affect the chances of conception positively by conscious actions, and the reverse is probably partly true as well.

This means that there is likely a small bit of truth in what Rep. Todd Akin tried to allege: that a woman truly fearing for her life in a violent rape might have less of a chance for conception than one who might have had some acquiescence in the act. I say might, because it's likely never been studied, and to do so would put the researchers in the class of the Nazi physiologist/experimenter Josef Mengele.

I can only conclude that one of two cases is the truth here: Akin deliberately made up this idea and presented it as a tested, proven hypothesis, or he slept through those parts of the class he took.

I'll give him the benefit of my doubt: he slept through the class.

Time to retire, dummy, or choose to wear the Dunce cap forever more. 

What Og said

Og, the Neanderpundit, has a strange way of aproaching this subject, but he proposes a Gentle Revolution. His method isn't guns or even new laws or even "un-do", which I've favored.

No, it's simply one of my mother's old maxims: "let them stew in their own juices". Og suggests learning all about the "git yo free shit here" laws**,  and steering those who want that free shit directly to it, with the intent of overloading the "git yo free shit" society quickly.

I guess we have to ask Og what his plans are if we curmudgeons did manage to crash the system, but something tells me that Og is prepared for that crash, and I know that I am, as well.  

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

** "Git yo' Free shit" is not a racist statement, it is a classist statement. Classism started this Nation, and it is what we must revert to if we are to save it. More on Classism to follow.  

The June Maroon is....

...Bill O'Reilly, of Fox News.

On the O'Reilly show last night, Bill, a self-described devout Catholic, had one Fr. Pfleger of the Chicago Diocese on his show, and the subject of discussion was Chicago's horrible rate of homicide, which has exceeded our troops' rate of KIA in the 'Stan.

On background: Illinois, and Chicago in particular, has some of the most draconian gun control laws in the USA, and IIRC, the SAF is suing them over the State and City denials of Civil Rights as they are stated in the Second Amendment (and affirmed in the recent Heller decision in SCOTUS).

The priest immediately jumped on guns as the reason for the horrible rate, even though O'Reilly tried to initially steer him into a theological answer. Uncharacteristically, O'Reilly then let the priest prattle on about gun control being the answer. This priest even has some sort of (totally disconnected) new plan for gun control, "titles" for guns like cars are titled. He said that (paraphrase) 'we look at individuals who have 200 car titles listed in their names, so if guns were titled, we could look at those with 200 gun titles'. Define "look at", Father Pfleger...

"Apples and oranges" argument never won any debates when I was debating in college....

In the entire bit, which ran a full 5 minutes or so, O'Reilly never once reminded this priest of the Second Amendment, nor did he point out to him that if any kind of gun control worked, there shouldn't be any gun deaths in Chicago with it's level of 2A-denying gun rules.

Therefor, by the authority of the Devil Hisself: (I divorced my Catholic wife, so I am Condemned to Hell, according to Catholic dogma), I accuse Bill O'Reilly:

• For giving the cassocked communist cretin total carte-blanche to trash the Bill of Rights;
• For totally failing to either inject logic or 2A law into the interview;
• For failing to stand up for his own Constitution

Bill O'Reilly, you get the not-so-coveted June Maroon award. It's quite possible you might have to wear that mantle of shame for some time, because more than most righty journalists, and due to your lofty (self-proclaimed) status as King of Righty Talk, you owe more fealty to the Constitution than anyone else, and you completely failed in your duty.

A few words on the NBA...

...very few words: screw them!

With the NBA Commissioner, David Stern, who is supposed to represent ALL of that level of pro basketball now totally in the tank for the owners only, not the fans, the arenas, all those who've pegged their lives to the game, and with the players being rich enough to pass on an entire season, Stern now declares that's it's "Nuclear Winter"

The only problem for Stern is that he hasn't thought this one through.

If the Player's Union dissolves, Stern has no one to try to impose his will on, and the players will then be free (assuming courts go along with their de-cert effort) to form an entirely new league. New teams, new conferences, all that.

Stern has bitten off more than he can chew.

If I'm a player's rep, I don't decertify right away, but threaten to, and have as my bargaining chip the dumping of David Stern.

BTW, the sports world is gearing up to present even more college hoops, which will be all over your TeeVee, both free channels AND subscription channels. There will be plenty of hoops to watch, and some programs will get rich off of the NBA's demise.

BTW, David Stern, you don't go away empty handed. You get the Maroon of the Month for your bungling of this conflict, which was YOUR duty to resolve, not prolong.

"Flea party" - the filth spreads and turns ugly

When you've spent better than a third of your life wearing a badge and protecting public safety as a Patrol Deputy, you learn certain things.

One thing I learned is that "waiving" the rules for certain disadvantaged members of the society means that you will have a very hard time enforcing them against anyone else, and when officialdom "waives" the rules, they are as good as useless, and might as well have not been written in the first place.

So, Hizzoner the Lying Bonehead Mayor of Portland (ok, I'm being nice to him today!) decided to "waive" the No Camping in Parks rules for the "Occupy Portland" (aka, Flea Party) protesters for the first day they protested, week before last. Trouble is, he didn't say, "you may camp tonight, but be gone by tomorrow noon" or some-such. He put no time limit on his "waiver". Legally, his "waiver" is improper, since the law has no such waiver language in it, and it would have taken the entire City Council, with a three-stage Reading agenda, to get an amendment to the law posted granting Hizzoner such Waiver authority. Perhaps Hizzoner is relying on some "the Mayor is God" rule that the rest of us don't know about.

But I digressed, again.

The Waiver happened, and was NOT conditioned in time, so now the protesters have refused to move. It took police action to sweep them off of a busy street they were blocking (the street carried 8 city bus lines), but that's not the worst of it. Now there's a homeless persons' camp downtown in Old Chinatown, and the idiots down there are citing the Flea Party protest as the reason they don't have to leave and can't be made to leave.

The other biggie you learn as a cop about civil disorder is that it naturally escalates. Just ask the Mayor of Rome, Italy about that. Their Flea Party protest turned really ugly, just as I predicted.

Ok, Chief Reese. You and I were in the same Police Academy, back in the day. You know me to have planning skills, so please make use of this tactical plan I'm offering you.

Pick a dark and rainy night late next week (gives you plenty of time to work out the details), call in the Morning shift 4 hours early, and tell the Second Night (graveyard) shift they are Held Over. Call up all your Reserves, and see if the Sheriff will double-staff the Booking Section in the Jail. Maybe the Sheriff will be nice and declare a State of Emergency to back you up.

Issue riot gear, and at about 0330, sweep the camps. Arrest EVERYONE, and blockade the Courthouse Square so that it cannot be re-occupied. Protect City Environmental as they move in and clear out all the detritus from the camps. Have Flying Squads ready to intercept any escapees who try to occupy other Park Blocks further South. Use the Jail Bus Sally-ports in the basement of the Justice Center (across the street from the camps) as holding areas. Use the entire fleet of Sheriff's Transport buses to transport detainees to Inverness Jail, get them right out of downtown. If they are released on Re-cog, release them out there. Have extra patrols on the city transit buses and Max trains. Make your best effort to deter protesters from re-gathering. Easy enough to do, the releasing Magistrate can order "no lawbreaking" and "diminished 4th Amendment Rights" as conditions of release. "Faces" will record it all and make it easy to re-arrest any who get back downtown. Once re-arrested, they can be held without bail, or on high FULL bail, pending trial.

This is going to cost some big bucks, and someone ought to keep a tally of it, and use that figure to recall the sorry-ass Mayor. It really IS all his fault, and he is the Maroon of the Month for it.

One-note Christie, Whatta Maroon!

Let's summarize the Blob's speech last night at the Reagan Library.

The Large Guv'ner's bullet-points:

• I busted the public employee unions
• Ronald Reagan busted the PATCO (Air traffic controllers) union.
• Ronald Reagan was great.
• Therefore, I am great, too.
• We're all great, let's celebrate ourselves.
• In fact, we're so great, we're exceptional.

Let me see, if I had used a busted sylogism like that in my college Speech class, I'd have (quite properly) flunked the course (instead of getting the "B" I did get).

Tubby the Tuba plays a better note than that, and would make a better Presidential candidate.

There WAS one bright note, however: the speech happened right at supper time, so I ate very little, which will help me NOT look like I need Christie's tent-maker to make my suits.

Yep, that's an ad-hominem ad-blobinem attack. Sue me.

Rick Perry trips on his Richard

In today's email stack was a Rick Perry item, so I opened it. It briefly discussed the importance of the UN's upcoming vote on PaleSwine, and PaleSwinian statehood. It invites me to go to a linked website to sign a petition to support Israel, so I click on it...

When the page opens, it's a naked solicitation for campaign funds!

Whatta Maroon! This cheap political trick wouldn't fly if the election was for Deputy Assistant to the Assistant Assessor in Hogg County, GA.

How not to win friends or influence people.

Unless something changes over at Perry's Place, I'm done with that dish! Good guy, great record, but can't pick a team to save his butt.

Speaker Boehner has caved, Obama will be re-elected. Whatta Maroon!

With the Speaker caving, "declaring victory" because no new taxes are in the package (not a victory since there is over TWO TRILLION new debt in the package, which Obama will spend between now and next November to buy the election with), I'm officially disgusted.

The one best, non-violent chance the GOP had to forever end the hegemony of bloated Government is now gone, probably forever. Balanced Budget Amendment? Fuggeddabboudditt. The package only calls for debate and a vote, did not make the debt increase dependent on a balanced budget amendment actually getting out to the States.

Nope, this is a pure win for Obama, because the Speaker turned around on his spine of 87 freshmen who would have held the line forever, and instead, Mister Speaker caved in to Big Government As Usual.

The only way to end the hegemony of Big Government now will be by force of arms.

If we are to return to Constitutional Government the way the Founders imagined it would be, we will also have to return to the way the Founders achieved the freedom to write that Constitution, victory by force of arms.

If that revolt actually starts, and I doubt it will, because we now see how easily the most ardent are swayed by the Washington Schmooze, I'll be ready and waiting to join that cause.

The one, best chance to turn the Nation back to it's original goals, back to the style of Government that made us a Great Nation (once, not now) is gone. Boehner sounded great until about 10 days ago, then he began to waffle. Today he went from waffling to surrender.

Mr. Boehner, you get the Whatta Maroon Award today. With it goes a white flag. Keep it handy. Now that Obama has run you off your position so easily, you're gonna need that white flag soon and often.

Norse horror

Definitely a lone haranguer. He apparently left a long and ranting communique, calling on Norwegians to follow his lead and throw off their government chains and join him in the purity of Norwegian essence, or something similar.

Whack job, no organization behind this chillingly-similar call to Hitler's in 1923 at the beer hall he tried his first start with nazi menace in. This lurch doesn't seem associated with any of the nationalist groups prevalent in Northern Europe, so he definitely had his own pace of getting his Final Solution going.