How many stupid people run for President?

At least one.

Mitt Romney, in a fit of what can, at best, be described as incredible stupidity, recounts a story about lashing his dog (in a carrier) to the roof of his car for a cross country trip. Apparently, this story is supposed to demonstrate his ability to remain calm under stress.

Now that I think for a minute, I guess this is a good skill to have: the ability to remain calm when you do something stupid and your dog shits all over your car, or say, you invade Iraq and your plan shits all over your car...

Anyway.

There is a response - Dogs Against Romney.

It's healthy to laugh at stupid people.

Congratulations, Mr. Romney, on being the idiot of the day.

Me gusta cervesa

Anther one of those 'my life is great' kind of nights. Went to an open house at a new, really cool project calle Tailros Row. Each of 5 houses has commercial space on the first level, for either a work/live kind of deal, or you can rent it out, or use it as part of your house.

Hooked up there with another Realtor friend, R. We decided to meet his girl T, along with two friends of theirs at Arcos, someplace I've wanted to go for a while.

had a couple of Dos Equis waiting for everyone and waiting for a table. Everyone else had margaritas, all approved. This place is a little North on Broadway, and is on the edge of some rough areas.

The atmosphere at this place is unbelievable. We ate outside, which is all brick, with cool wood deatails. We started out with chips and salsa and guac. The guacamole is some of the best I've had. Dinner was OK, Carne Asada, but nothing special. Atmosphere - 9 out of 10. Food - 5 out of 10. Service was a little too relaxed.

All in all, a great night though.

A Layman's Guide to Anthropogenic (Man-Made) Global Warming

This is fantastic stuff. Read it all when you have time, and dare to challenge the global warming religion.

Apparently, they didn't like the taste

Yet another giant goverment program that's a failure. Shocking.

But an Associated Press review of scientific studies examining 57 such programs found mostly failure. Just four showed any real success in changing the way kids eat - or any promise as weapons against the growing epidemic of childhood obesity.

"Any person looking at the published literature about these programs would have to conclude that they are generally not working," said Dr. Tom Baranowski, a pediatrics professor at Houston's Baylor College of Medicine who studies behavioral nutrition.

The results have been disappointing, to say the least:

_Last year a major federal pilot program offering free fruits and vegetables to school children showed fifth graders became less willing to eat them than they had been at the start. Apparently they didn't like the taste.

_In Pennsylvania, researchers went so far as to give prizes to school children who ate fruits and vegetables. That worked while the prizes were offered, but when the researchers came back seven months later the kids had reverted to their original eating habits: soda and chips.

_In studies where children tell researchers they are eating better or exercising more, there is usually no change in blood pressure, body size or cholesterol measures; they want to eat better, they might even think they are, but they're not.

Unfortunately, doctors don't really seem to get it, either:

The forces that make kids fat "are really strong and hard to fight with just a program in school," said Dr. Philip Zeitler, a pediatric endocrinologist and researcher who sees "a steady stream" of obese children struggling with diabetes and other potentially fatal medical problems at The Children's Hospital in Denver.

What does he tell them?

"Oh God, I haven't figured out anything that I know is going to work," he said. "I'm not aware of any medical model that is very successful in helping these kids. Sure, we try to help them, but I can't take credit for the ones who do manage to change."

Tell them to get off the couch, sell the freaking Nintendo, buy a soccer ball, and get their kids outside. Tell them to quit feeding their kids just peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches on Wonderbread - give them some meat, some veggies, and some fun stuff they like.

Sometimes there is a time and place for a 'when I was a kid' story. Here's one. My mom is a hell of a cook. She's from a Southern family, and there were lots of meals in my house that were fried in Crisco. Every dinner had potatoes. Not a worry about fat content.

But every dinner also had a vegatable. There was always fresh fruit in the house. We drank our milk.

I lived on sweet (with real sugar) tea, sodas, cakes, cookies, and potatochips, too. And when I graduated from high school, I was 5 feet 11 inches, and weighed a whopping 135 pounds.

Why?

Because I went outside and played. Because when I turned 16, I got a job where I was on my feet. Because I was active. Not a star athlete, not necessarily even a good one. But I was out doing stuff.

This isn't difficult to understand, and it isn't difficult to fix. And goodness knows, we don't need another government program to 'help'.

Idiot of the Day

The states of Minnesota, Arizona, and Tennesee

Keeping us safe from the scourge of inexpensive flags not made in the USA. Or, maybe, polititians are protecting someone who gave them some money.

Sandy Van Leiu, chairman of the Flag Manufacturers Association of America, said the imports are cause for concern even though U.S. companies still dominate the flag market.

"That door is going to keep opening," said Van Leiu, a sixth-generation executive at the family-owned Annin & Co., a 160-year-old business that supplies retailers like Wal-Mart. "It starts small, then it gets big. You're just opening Pandora's box."

To help consumers identify the origin of their flags, the association created a certification program two years ago that bestows a seal-of-approval logo to flags made with domestic fibers and labor.

Whether Minnesota's law violates international trade agreements — and whether anything would be done about it — is an open question.

Under World Trade Organization standards, the U.S. government can't treat foreign products less favorably than those produced within its boundaries, said Peter Morici, a business professor at the University of Maryland and the former chief economist for the U.S. International Trade Commission. How the rules apply to states is debatable, he said.

Morici said a foreign business harmed by the law would have to get its government to take action against the U.S. government. Robert Litan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, said while the likelihood of Minnesota's law sparking a dispute is slim the symbolic message is hard to miss.

"It's symptomatic of an anti-foreign bias moving through the country right now. It would not surprise me if other states copied it," Litan said. "It's hard to oppose politically."

When the bill was debated this spring, some legislators argued it sent the wrong message to close Minnesota's borders to foreign-produced flags.

"That flag should be made throughout the world because it is our message to the world that there is hope for freedom and justice," Republican Rep. Dan Severson said at the time.

The law's sponsor, Democratic Rep. Tom Rukavina, said the flag deserves extra protection. To celebrate his legislative victory, he plans to hand out 1,000 miniature flags at Fourth of July parades in his district.

"The biggest honor that you can give the flag is that it be made by American workers in the United States of America," he said. "Nothing is more embarrassing to me than a plastic flag made in China. This replica of freedom we so respect should be made in this country."

The new law doesn't spell out a penalty for violators. In Minnesota, the default punishment for prohibited acts is a misdemeanor offense, carrying up to a $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail.

I blame rock music.

Tipper probably should have done a better job, huh?

Of course, if my father made me drive a Prius, I'd smoke weed, too.

Happy 4th of July!

The 4th is always a day of mixed emotions for me. On the one hand, we get to celebrate with vigor the ideals on which our country was founded - Liberty being first and foremost.

Then, I think about what we are now.

It isn't at all what we were shooting for.

Dave just gets it.

Dave Tate, from Elite Fitness Systems, rants a bit about getting lean in his training log.

Read it a couple of times. It's the truth.

This struck a chord with me today. I've been eating like shit for the better part of two years, and haven't been training regularly. I was smoking again. I drink too much. Not just strength stopped being a priority, my health did.

Over the course of the past month or so, I've had some people close to me get very, very bad health news, and I've been dealing with something that could end up being pretty serious, too. Dave's little rant is one more thing helping me put it back together.

Cheatin'

If you follow NASCAR, you know by now that Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon's (Hendrick) teams were caught working 'in a gray area' before qualifying for the race last weekend. Penalties were handed down today. Each team loses 100 points and $100K, and each crew chief is suspended for 6 weeks.

woo.

Soe each team loses $100k, which is meaningless. 100 points? In the new playoff format, meaningless. Crew chief suspensions, in an era of easy wireless communication, meaningless. They'll both be in a hotel room down the road with a 2 way and a laptop.

If NASCAR wants to show it's serious about cheating, they need to start sending teams home, or suspending teams for races. Knauss (the crew chief for the #48) has been caught a number of times. This time, they should have not allowed that team to race on Sunday.

Then the sponsors will get involved and put a stop to cheating.

Health care crisis

Take a gander at this post. Great stuff - as usual, when someone says it better than I can, just link to it.

Update

Sorry for the gaps in posts, I've been distracted lately with some other stuff.

The good news: I've been inspired to get back to training, via a bit of a challenge. I'll post more about it later.

Hysterical

Although I wouldn't be suprised to see this get a government grant.

Do not cross the state. Obey the state.

Clap at a graduation, you better say you're sorry. Otherwise, the kid you clapped for might not get her diploma.

School officials withheld the diplomas because they said the cheering violated a school policy aimed at restoring graduation decorum. Officials told the five female students and their parents Friday that they would hand over diplomas if they received apologies -- even anonymously.

Following the meeting, Assistant Superintendent Joel Estes declined to comment to reporters.

The students' family members said Peoria attorney Jeffrey Green contacted the group Friday after hearing about the case. He plans to send a letter to school officials this week, seeking an apology and the denied diplomas.

The case may go to court if the diplomas aren't delivered, but the students and their parents say they won't seek punitive damages.

Honors student Caisha Gayles said she just wants to get her diploma and move on.

"It's just dumb. It's petty," Gayles said.

The students denied the diplomas say school officials wanted them to track down the cheering culprits. They say that is impossible, because they don't know who might have cheered in the crowd of about 2,000 people.

It's dumb all right. But it's just one more signal, one more sign that no one will recognize about how far we've gone astray. Statists, you realize this is what you want, yes?

Via Catallarchy

On marriage

Coyote Blog explains home improvment and marriage.

Boy he's refreshing

Lets hope he keeps at it.

But they said they didn't want to do that?!?!

Your current President says he envisions a 'long term U.S. troop presence in Iraq', much like South Korea.

I would swear when they sold the dimwitted American Public on this boondoggle, they said they weren't going to do that.

What's one more lie?

Your next President

Will be Fred Thompson. He's asked out of his Law and Order contract.

Unless there is some serious dirt in his past, I don't think there is anyone out there now who can beat him.

I have no idea what to say

Because I sure can't say anything nice about Miss Roth, here.

I can't believe anyone would take this idiot seriously.





Via The Agitator

There's hope!

Via Newsbusters comes a website debunking much of AlGore's Inconvenient Truth.

From a 15 year old.

Have a look!

Some snippets:

Before I begin, it is important to note that according to NOAA, El Ninos and La Ninas are not affected by increases in CO2 or any global warming that CO2 is claimed to caused.



It was while I was trying to find the cause of the unusual cooling period from 1945 to 1975 that I noticed a possible breakthrough. The cooling period from 1945 should not have occurred according to either of the competing solar or greenhouse theories, nor does it make sense from the standpoint that both theories may have contributed equally to the warming of the last 40 years (Solanki 2007).



The graph below is temperature observations since 1880 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Notice the cooling period between 1945 and 1975. According to the greenhouse theory, this cooling period should never have happened because the atmospheric CO2 was steadily increasing. The same is true for the solar theory, solar activity was on the rise since 1910, the end of the Kristen minimum, and continued until 1960, then leveled out and has slightly fluctuated since. Before that period there was striking correlation between solar activity and temperature

And...

Further research on the cooling effects of nuclear testing in the 1950’s and 1960’s needs to be done.



Solar activity is and has always been what drives the climate system.



Steps need to be taken to create distance between science and political parties, and science and financial motives.

Attagirl!

Democrats, true to their principles

When those principles are spending your money on other stuff. And the Republicans, especially this President, keep on letting them do it.

The Iraq 'war' funding bill will pass and get signed. How so, when the Democrats said they wanted a timetable to get out (a big reason they were elected, mind you), the President says no way to a timeable, no more pork, either.

In fact, Democrats initially offered to strip all of the additional money beyond Bush's $103 billion request in exchange for a timetable to end the war in Iraq. But the White House said no; the timetable was dropped and most of the money stayed.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (news, bio, voting record), D-Wis., a top negotiator, said any unhappiness among Republicans over the additional money pales when compared to disappointment from Democrats forced to drop the Iraq timetable.
"I'm sure they are (unhappy)," Obey said, "but not nearly as unhappy as we are that the administration won't encounter reality on this stupid war."
The $120 billion measure would fund the war through September as Bush requested and would not demand troops leave Iraq by a certain date. Nor does it restrict the deployment of units based on readiness standards. However, the bill does threaten to withhold reconstruction assistance if Baghdad fails to make progress on political and security reforms, although the president could waive that restriction.

Ahhhh. Principles. End the war, or fund me some programs.

Rich vs poor, not a zero sum game.

People on the Left often point out how wonderful life is, certainly in terms of income disparity, in the enlightened lands of Europe.

This post at Coyote Blog shows something a little more meaningful. Isn't it more important how you are doing on an abolute scale, rather than compared to others? I think so.

Of course, I'm a mean old rich guy.

Bad Wine

In showing wine is indeed a matter of individual taste... I bought a bottle of Luzon Verde, an organic red, on the advice of a local wine merchant, who thought my wife, who likes sweeter whites (and not much on the red side) would like it.

Blech. It tasted like grape juice with some sort of rancid citrus juice poured in. Really sickening sweet, with no real reason to drink it. J agreed - so down the drain it went.

I searched for a link to the wine or winemaker, and this is one of the many praises I found.

Either I'm a totally unsophisticated boor (which is entirely possible), or it just shows how fickle wine drinkers can be.

Cripple Fight!

The worst President ever calls George W. Bush the worst President ever.

Former President Carter says President Bush's administration is "the worst in history" in international relations, taking aim at the White House's policy of pre-emptive war and its Middle East diplomacy.

The criticism from Carter, which a biographer says is unprecedented for the 39th president, also took aim at Bush's environmental policies and the administration's "quite disturbing" faith-based initiative funding.

"I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history," Carter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story that appeared in the newspaper's Saturday editions. "The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me."

Carter spokeswoman Deanna Congileo confirmed his comments to The Associated Press on Saturday and declined to elaborate. He spoke while promoting his new audiobook series, "Sunday Mornings in Plains," a collection of weekly Bible lessons from his hometown of Plains, Ga.

"Apparently, Sunday mornings in Plains for former President Carter includes hurling reckless accusations at your fellow man," said Amber Wilkerson, Republican National Committee spokeswoman. She said it was hard to take Carter seriously because he also "challenged Ronald Reagan's strategy for the Cold War."

Carter came down hard on the Iraq war.

"We now have endorsed the concept of pre-emptive war where we go to war with another nation militarily, even though our own security is not directly threatened, if we want to change the regime there or if we fear that some time in the future our security might be endangered," he said. "But that's been a radical departure from all previous administration policies."

He might happen to be right, but his opinion doesn't really carry much weight.

Lucky for you, I have exclusive video of the ensuing battle between President Bush and President Carter. I can't tell which is which.

I'm nice.

And this test proves it.

Are You Hateful or Cold Hearted? Nice You dont hate anybody, and actually respect people. Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

I didn't quite buy it all, either

But arguing against climate change and the required response to it is kind of like arguing religion.

Turns out, though, there are some people with actual credentials (unlike Al Gore and me), who don't quite buy man made global warming.

Via CoyoteBlog

Idiot of the Day

South Carolina has passed a bill 'allowing' law abiding citizens with concealed weapon permits to carry those weapons on school grounds. The logic clearly being that:

Schools aren't different, really, than anywhere else and,
More law biding citizens with firearms helps keep kids safe from not law abiding citizens with guns.

In showing his remarkable brilliance, the law enforcement Director at the University of South Carolina, Ernest Ellis, was quoted in this passage:

College police chiefs across South Carolina said such a law would make it difficult to pinpoint a criminal. "Today, if we respond, we know the person with the weapon is the bad guy," said Ernest Ellis, the law enforcement director at the University of South Carolina.

Because knowing who to shoot in a room full of dead students is much better than getting to a shooting where the only dead guy is the bad guy.

Idiot.

For the runner up slot, we get Rep. Doug Jennings, who is concerned about mixing firearms with alcohol in schools:

I'm concerned about more guns around younger people combined with emotions and sometimes alcohol," said Rep. Doug Jennings, a Democrat. "I don't think it's a proper reaction to the Virginia Tech tragedy."

Yeah.

Diving Practice

This is funny!

Unimpressed, and a little scared.

The GOP candidates 'debated' for the second time last night. I was out on my roof having a glass of wine after having driven home from New York, and skipped actually watching it. Lucky for me, I have the Internet, and can just read about it today.

Quite the unimpressive lot, don't you think. Even Ron Paul can't seem to get off Iraq and get on to other Libertarian points - maybe even talk about Liberty on a conceptual level, then tie it to illegal and unconstitutional attacks on nations that pose no threat to the US whatsoever...

Anyway.

This paragraph scared me:

Mr. McCain, who was tortured for years as a Vietnam prisoner of war, reiterated the anti-torture position he prominently took in Senate debate over a detainee-treatment law -- and which, he noted, was supported by senior military officials. By torture, the nation would "never gain as much as we'd lose in world opinion," he said, and "the more physical pain you inflict…the more they're going to tell you what they think you want to hear."

But Mr. McCain was alone, as the other candidates took hardline positions that pleased the conservative crowd. Mr. Giuliani said he would tell interrogators "they should use every method they could think of." Mr. Romney said "we should double Guantanamo" to hold more detainees -- far away from access to U.S. lawyers. Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback retorted, "Is it about U.S. lives, or how you're going to be perceived in the world?" Mr. Tancredo quipped that faced with suspects who might have information about an attack, "I'm looking for Jack Bauer at that time" -- a reference to the star character in the hit Fox TV drama "24" who often tortures suspects for information.

Scared me a lot.

Well, then

I'm not sure I can accurately describe the last month or so. I'm sure I'm not the only person on the planet who's had a time like this, where somehow work just consumes everything for a period of time, and the time I'm not consumed by work, I'm trying to get stuff done at my house (it's spring, and it's time to plant pretty things and get things in order to enjoy our urban outdoor space), and maintain something resembling a relationship with my wife.

So, the seven of you who read this regularly got put at the bottom of the list, right above 'Training'.

Some things of note:

I got to order my new company car. We are going green, and had been told we were all getting a Prius. This created an uproar of epic proportions, and they expanded the list, so I'm getting a Ford Escape Hybrid. Not what I was hoping for, but not a Prius.

J and I went to see 'Doubt'. Very good play.

I'm developing a taste for cigars. Had a Don Diego (very good) and an Ashton (excellent). I prefer a milder smoke. I'm open to suggestions.

Things should be settling down a bit now, and I'll be back to blogging and lifting soon.

May Day

Please go to Catallarchy and read all of the posts dated May 1, 2007.

They do a fantastic job every year pointing out how much damage socialism (what's celebrated on May Day) has done.

It's pretty horrifying, yet we keep inching closer, anyway.

Work = Lunacy

It's been one of the most trying 2 work weeks in quite some time. One more to go, then things should settle down.

Training has been on the back burner (more like still wrapped up in the refrigerator), but I have been trying to eat better, and not smoking is going well.

I should be back on track this weekend or early next week, and hopefully things will settle down enough that I can stay on track and actually make some progress.

Posting will resume as soon as I can.

Quick Update

Blogging has been sparce, been on the road, and work is nuts. Hopefully it will calm down.

I am going to train today, so that's good.

Air Travel Public Service Announcement

If you can't control your kid, don't get mad at me when little precious trips over my bag while running and yelling at the gate seating area, and I laugh out loud at him when he cries.

If you are unable to meet this simple suggestion, don't fly with him until you have figured out how to make him sit still.

Enjoy your flight

Root Cause

Over the last day, I've seen and heard a number of supid things with respect to the horrific shooting at Virginia Tech. 32 kids killed for what appears to be no reason, by a freaking lunatic with a couple of guns.

Why is it everyone has to harp on security on campus, or that he could legally buy guns. And how Virginia isn't good when it comes to gun control...

Under Virginia law, state residents can only buy one handgun in any 30-day period, suggesting Cho had bought his second weapon after April 13, or sometime over the weekend.

It is not clear yet whether the gun connected to the receipt was used in the shooting.


However, gun control advocates generally give Virginia poor marks for its gun laws. The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence gives Virginia's legislation a C-minus.


Among the deficiencies the campaign cites:


No requirement for gun safety training


No child safety lock requirement.


No background checks for gun shows and other secondary market sales.


No pre-sale ballistic fingerprinting requirement.

None of which would have stopped this.

On the other side, however, could we maybe stop trumpeting the 'if students could carry guns someone could have stopped him'? Maybe?

The root cause of this tragedy isn't guns, it isn't a lack of gun rights, it isn't campus security.

It's one insane student.

Workout B, the second.

Had to back it down a little today - squatting 3 times a week is going to take some getting used to.. plus, I think I probably should have started my squat poundage lower, anyway.

Warmup: Dynamic stuff

Squat
45x10,10
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x1
275x3
3x5 @ 225

The 275 just felt heavy today. Backed it down to 225; each rep was perfect.

OH press
45x10,5
95x5
3x5 @ 120

Bent Row
45x10
135x5
185x5
3x5 @ 230

Hammer strength shrug, seated
2pps x 8
2plates + 25 per side, 2x8

Lots of streching.

Training on Saturday afternoon/evening is fantastic.

No kidding.

Kids in abstinance only education programs are just as likely to have sex than those who did not take part in the programs.

Wow. Would have never seen that one coming.

They were also just as likely to use contraception, which isn't suprising, either.

I wonder if it's because they're kids, and they're horny. And sex is fun! And it doesn't take a genius to know that babies at 16, not so much fun.

What I did find a bit troubling is the median age kids are having sex - 14 years and 9 months (that's the midpoint, not the average...) Seems a little young to me.

Something else that's funny: the Administration's response.

Bush administration officials cautioned against drawing sweeping conclusions from the study. They said the four programs reviewed—among several hundred across the nation—were some of the first established after Congress overhauled the nation’s welfare laws in 1996.

Officials said one lesson they learned from the study is that the abstinence message should be reinforced in subsequent years to truly affect behavior.

“This report confirms that these interventions are not like vaccines. You can’t expect one dose in middle school, or a small dose, to be protective all throughout the youth’s high school career,” Harry Wilson, the commissioner of the Family and Youth Services Bureau at the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in an interview with the Associated Press.

Read another way, this says "Maybe since this didn't work, we need more of it."

Been hearing that for years from the Left, haven't we?

Chip, chip, chipping away

That pesky Constitution.

The Administration, lead by that small government champion of Conservatism George W. Bush, wants to expand the ability of the Federal government to listen to conversations of non-citizens.

The proposed revisions to FISA would also allow the government to keep information obtained "unintentionally," unrelated to the purpose of the surveillance, if it "contains significant foreign intelligence." Currently such information is destroyed unless it indicates threat of death or serious bodily harm.

And they provide for compelling telecommunications companies and e-mail providers to cooperate with investigations while protecting them from being sued by their subscribers. The legal protection would be applied retroactively to those companies that cooperated with the government after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

I have just one, very simple question:

Where in the Constitution does it say that the rules by which the government must play do not apply when non-citizens are involved?

If you want to wiretap someone, get a warrant. PERIOD.

Workout 'A'

It's harder than it looks. Boy am I out of shape and weak - but I'm pretty sure if I stick with this, in 6 months I'll be stronger than ever.

Warmup: Singing and dancing

Squat
45x10
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x1
275x5,5,4

Bench Press
45x10
95x5
135x5
3x5 @ 185

Deadlift
135x5
185x5
225x1
275x5

Pulldown
3x8 @ 150

Lying leg raises
2x12

Lots of streching.

I hit the weights right to start on the bench, but squat and dead I think I started too high. Oh well. Post workout meal: Spinach salad, 2 hamburgers, and a Smithwicks.

Mission Accomplished (?)

According to the Leftist group The International Red Cross, the situation in Iraq for civilians is dire, and worsening.

Across a range of services, the government's ability to provide for its citizens is declining, it says.

Healthcare is "stretched to the limit" because of the daily violence, and food shortages have led to an increase in malnutrition.

Power shortages are increasing and vital repairs to the country's infrastructure are hampered by security constraints, the report adds.

It says that around one third of the population lives in poverty, while more than 5% live in extreme poverty.

"The conflict in Iraq is inflicting immense suffering on the entire population," the report says.

"Civilians bear the brunt of the relentless violence and the extremely poor security conditions that are disrupting the lives and livelihoods of millions.

"Unemployment and poverty levels are rising and many families continue to rely on government food distributions to cover their immediate needs.

"Much of Iraq's vital infrastructure is in a poor state of repair, owing to lack of maintenance and because security constraints have impeded repair work on electrical power grids, water and sanitation systems, medical facilities and other essential facilities."

Four years in. Hundreds of thousands dead. This is, by far, the largest blunder in the history of the United States Government.

Oh, by the way, catch Osama yet?

Maryland: On the leading edge of destroying freedom. Again.

This time, they have voted to drop out of the Electoral College by giving all electors to the Presidential candididate with the most votes Nationwide.

By not understanding why there is an Electoral College, O'Malley and his minions continue to do everything they can to destroy what's left of the Classical Liberal foundation of this Union.

But the new rules would also disconnect a state's voters from its electors. Maryland voters could vote 100 percent Democratic, but if the Republican won the national vote, Maryland's electoral vote would go to the Republican. "It's based on the proposition that, say, those of us who live in Maryland care more about the national outcome of the popular vote for the president across the country than we do for our own particular state," Mann said.

Die, Federalism. Die.

Of course, in typical Maryland fasion, they don't actually have the stones to do anything... the bill just says if other states do this, we'll do it.

Connections

Friday night, we did the Fells Point Art Loop with a group of friends, and came back to La Casa de Stagg for a dinner of lasagna and shrimp scampi (depending on your diety affiliation, as it was Good Friday).

What was cool about it? That all of the people there, we met through J's business. That says a lot, not only about how she runs her business, but how cool it is to live in an urban area like this.

Where else but in Baltimore, would you have:

A realtor
A fat guy with a goatee and an MBA
An undercover vice cop
A salon owner
A teacher/do-gooder/runner of non profit
A printing company owner
A sex toy marketer
A commercial real estate expert

All in one place for dinner, all connected via someone who sells houses.

Dissapointing

J and I have season tickets to the Hippodrome, where Broadway Across America runs a 6 show season.

This season, we've really enjoyed the tickets and the shows.

Unfortunately, next season just doesn't look very good. Not a very good mix of shows, there.

Altering your diet DOES work!

In spite of this report coming out of the University of California.

This is one of the gems in the story:

Dr Mann said: "We decided to dig up and analyse every study that followed people on diets for two to five years. We concluded most of them would have been better off not going on the diet at all.

"Their weight would have been pretty much the same, and their bodies would not suffer the wear and tear from losing weight and gaining it all back.

"The benefits of dieting are simply too small and the potential harms of dieting are too large for it to be recommended as a safe and effective treatment for obesity."

So a safe and effective means of fighting obesity is What? Invasive surgery that removes 80% of an internal organ?!?! Maybe some drugs?? How about we quit giving those folks credit for having such an incredible lack of willpower that they had to have a doctor make it physically impossible for them to overeat instead of actually eating less. (And they still never get svelte!)

How about we wake up and realise that anyone telling you this stuff is probably trying to sell you something (like surgery or drugs). Your doctor doesn't make any money if you figure out how to eat well.

This kind of thing really does drive me a bit nuts. Let me give you a couple of bits of clarification, brought to you by the Groovy Uncle Pauly School of Common Freaking Sense (tm).

1) Diets do not fail. People fail at diets
2) Long term health is directly related to the development of long term habits.

So if you go on a diet for 3 months, drop 20 pounds, and then 3 months later you are heavier than you were when you started, you screwed up. Not the diet.

Buried in the story is this:

Last night, British experts said that fad diets do not work and that the key to maintaining a healthy weight is making gradual, long-term changes.

Dr Beckie Lang, of the Association for the Study of Obesity, said: "Maintaining a healthy weight isn't about going on a diet and coming off a diet when you reach your target weight. It is about adopting skills that change your eating habits for life."

This really isn't that tough to understand. Eat less food, move a little more. Go to Precision Nutrition, buy the package, read it, and implement it. Get on a bike, go for a walk, join a gym.

And if you are physically unable to do those things, figure out a way to change that. Quit coming up with excuses, and find what you can do that works.

Workout B

Trying something I should have done years ago - getting back to the very basics. Today would have been workout 'A', but I'm a contrarian.

Plus, it's National Bench Press Day (Monday), and there were no benches. Plenty of squat racks though.

Warmup: Stuff

Squat
45x10
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x1
275x5, 4, 3

Standing OH Press
45x10
95x5
3x5 @ 115

Bent Row
45x10
135x5
185x5
5x5 @ 225

Hammer Strength Shrug (Seated)
115 per side 2x6

45 degree hypers
2x10

Lots of stretching.

Man Laws

I've always thought that people who drink Miller Lite shouldn't get to make man laws, because it's not really a manly beer. Maybe Bud or Miller Highlife, but honestly, it takes a man's man to put down some Spaten Optimator

Dan the Bar Man makes an even more salient point about people with facelifts and wigs developing man laws, along with a very effective photo comparison.

Pushin and tuggin

Yes, it's another training post. Look out, y'all.

Warmup - lots of stuff

Bench
2x12 @ 45
95x5
135x5
185x5
225x5

Oh Press
45x10
95x5
115x5
135x3

Bent Row
45x10
135x5
185x5
225x5

Pressdown
4 sets of 12

face pull
4 sets of 12

Slow and steady is the route.

This is Tyrrany.

I'm astounded stories like this one don't get more attention. This is exactly why the government can't regulate speech or the press, yet the only place you see it is Reason.

"They love green technology - as long as we buy it from them, and pay too much."

Typical government environmentalism.

Traditional incandescent light bulbs use up more electricity than energy-efficient bulbs, yet many consumers still just buy the incandescent ones because the up-front cost is less. And why are the energy-efficient ones more expensive initially? Because in 2002, the European Commission, after lobbying by candlemakers, er, I mean the EU's energy-efficient lightbulb makers, imposed a 66% tariff on Chinese-made energy efficient bulbs. The justification was the claim that China engages in "dumping", by which they mean China can produce bulbs more cheaply.

According to the Financial Times, "Ending the duty would cut prices to the level of conventional bulbs." The tariff is due to expire in October but European manufacturer Osram wants to have it extended. As the Swedish commentator Johan Norberg puts it: "They love green technology - as long as we buy it from them, and pay too much."

The first real day.

Today was the first real training day of what will be many, strung in a row, towards a meet or something. Not happy at all with where I am, and I still have some nagging back pain, although I'm pretty sure I figured out it's from some tight muscles.

Warmup: 5 mins elliptical, some dynamic stretching.

Squat
45x8
95x5
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x4
Strength was there, but broke form on rep 5.

Good Morning
45x8
135x5
185x1
This was really uncomfortable. I may take these out and try SLDL. I need to get my back healthy.

45 Degree Hypers
3x12

Bench situps
2x15

Neutral grip pulldowns
2x15 @ 100

Shrugs
2x8 @ 3pps

HS leg curl
2x7 @ 90

Lots of stretching.

Trained from 3:30 to 4:30. Wiseblood never gets old.

A fantastic post on income inequality.

At Coyote Blog, Warren Mayer has an outstanding post on the Zero Sum Fallacy.

We are all richer than the richest people from 100 years ago.

Asking the right questions

Radley Balko asks one of them.

Aren't those transgressions quite a bit more worthy of congressional oversight than whether or not GSA showed a partisan PowerPoint during somebody's lunch hour?

3/29/07 Benchin"

Rap, Bon Jovi, and Briney. Makes me yearn for a 40x40 garage.

Warmup: Front and side raises, face pulls, hypers, situps, and pushups.

Bench Press
2x10 @ 45
2x5 @ 95
135 x5
3x5 @ 185

OH Press
2x10@45
3x5 @ 95

BB Bentover Row
45x10
135x5
2x5 @ 185

Lying db ext ss w/ seated hammer curl
2x8 @ 30

Face Pull
3x12 @ 100

I didn't feel good benching, but I think I'll feel better after a coupld of sessions.

Watch this one

Just to see the difference in how you and I would be treated, and how the ruling class is treated.

As I'm sure you heard, Senator Webb's aid was caught with an unregistered firearm in the Capitol.

How much would you like to bet they even get the gun back.

Of course, this also goes into the DC gun ban, and that it is illegal for Senator Webb to have that gun in DC, which he certainly did. This is the same Congress, by the way, that wouldn't vote on overturning that ban.

Oh, and isn't it neat that Federal Law says members of Congress, or 'their agents', can transport weapons to Capitol grounds.

You and I, notsomuch.

3/26/07 Squat

Monday afternoon training session. Thank FSM for a flexible job.

Warmup: 5 mins elliptical, dynamic stretching

Squat
45x8,8
95x5
135x5
185x5
225x5
245x5

Good morning
2x8 @ 135

45 degree hypers
4x10

Bench situps
20, 10

Pullups
2x4

Lots of stretching

All in all, not to shabby. My SI joint is still flared up, but it feels OK when I'm training. All poundages felt pretty light.

30 Second Bunnies Theater

From Angry Alien Productions.

Now that's freaking funny.

Via Johnny.

We need government run healthcare!

Look at how well they manage underage drinking violations!

When Adam Fried was 14 he got busted at a keg party.


"There were about 30 kids there and the police came and someone must have called for noise violation or something and everyone that was there got a citation for being underage at party with beer," Fried said.

Fried faced the music and thought he did the right thing.

"I paid it and believed in all honesty that that was the end of it," Fried said.

Now, 32, and old enough to drive, the married father of one just got a blast from the past, or more accurately the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

A letter came referring to his 1988 drinking citation, saying his driver's license is suspended for 90 days. PennDOT demanded his license.

Fried called PennDOT.

"They can only tell you that they don't make the law they enforce the law, but the law was from 19 years ago," Fried said.

So he contacted the NBC 10 investigators, who contacted PennDOT.

They said state law demands underage drinkers lose their license for at least 90 days.

"I was 14. There was no driving involved in it whatsoever," Fried said.

But the state said that doesn't matter, and if you're too young to drive when busted, they'll suspend your licenses when you get one.

PennDOT told NBC 10 they should have suspended Fried's license when he got it in 1990 when Fried was 16 and acknowledged the error was on their part.

PennDOT also said "once in a while, this happens."

But state Rep. Micheal Gerber, who represents Fried's district, said once in a while is too much.

Gerber said his office is working to get Fried's license reinstated by the end of the week.

Fried is an interior designer who said he needs to drive about 150 miles a day.

"It has been devastating just in the few days that I have not been able to drive," Fried said.

Gerber said Fried only needs to pay a $25 restoration fee. That should put the brakes on this nightmare.

Just $25, to rectify their problem. Ignoring that the law is stupid to begin with.

Educational Sex.

In Rhode Island, a woman gets probation for letting a 9 year old (her daughter) watch her and her boyfriend boink.

Rhode Island woman who routinely had sex with her boyfriend in front of her 9-year-old daughter to teach her about sex was sentenced to three years' probation, authorities said Tuesday.

Rebecca Arnold, 37, and David Prata, 33, who received the same sentence this week, told investigators they thought the practice would help the child to learn, prosecutors said.

"Basically, and I'm tempted to say idiotically, they believed it was helpful to the girl, Ms. Arnold's daughter; they believed it was helpful to her development to see them engaging in various sex acts in front of her," said Mike Healey, spokesman for state attorney general Patrick Lynch.

The pair told investigators that they allowed the girl to watch their sexual romps but did not compel her to.

Now, I'm not sure if this is or is not healthy for the 9 year old, but I have to ask - why is this the government's business? If they showed the 9 year old a porn, would that be illegal? How about talking about sex? Photos in a book?

We can talk at length about how intelligent or appropriate it is for a parent to expose her 9 year old to live sex, but do we want the government to decide for us?

And what, then, is the acceptable age?

Preparation Phase, Cycle 1, Day 1 Lower Body

Yes. It's a training post.

Warmup - 5 mins elliptical, bodyweight squats, dynamic stretching

Squats
45x10,10
95x5
2x5 @ 135

Good Morning
45x5
135 x 5

45 degree hyper
4x8

Inverted situps
2x5

Flat bench situps
2x8

Pullup
2x3

Lots of static stretching.

Everything felt good. Weights are pathetic, but I don't want to overdo it and hurt my back again or get too terriby sore, so we'll take several weeks to ease into it.

More, um, security. Or something

Becky Aikers on the futility of the TSA.

At the very least, we might expect them to divert the flight for an emergency landing. Perhaps they’d even notify the White House so it could authorize fighter jets to shoot down – sorry, protect the flight. The TSA did neither. Instead, it ordered "authorities" in San Juan to search not just Tom but everyone aboard once the flight landed.

Whoa! Obviously, the TSA knew that terrorists weren’t threatening the plane. So why was the agency involved? Because, like all Federal enforcers, the TSA seeks to control us, not terrorists. Witness the warrantless, anti-Constitutional search it requested from San Juan’s cops: we can’t have passengers getting hold of contraband, now, can we?

Meanwhile, we’ve got a plane mid-flight with a "criminal" and contraband aboard. It’s also carrying two air marshals, who, when they aren’t shooting passengers, theoretically protect them. But the TSA never told them anything was amiss. That heartens those of us who understand the real purpose of air marshals. But it should infuriate everyone who swallows the Feds’ propaganda. There reclined two of the Homeland’s sworn defenders, blissfully ignorant of potential catastrophe. Just as well: that ignorance allowed the flight to land without casualties. The passengers were groped, their bags rifled, and poor Tom arrested.

So is the TSA completely irrelevant or what? Despite the elaborate checkpoint charade, contraband made it aboard this flight – and who knows how many others. (Spokesguy Christopher White blustered that "... no weapons were brought through the security checkpoints..." Duh. No, just around them.) And not any old contraband, either, but guns, which, from the way the TSA carries on, cause planes to self-destruct. Isn’t that why its minions search us as though we’re felons entering a maximum-security prison? Yet these incredibly lethal objects, these bêtes noires so dangerous that "violations" of the TSA’s ban on them "can result in criminal prosecution and civil penalties of up to $10,000," sailed harmlessly through the air for 1200 miles.

The TSA did, however, keep you safe from my toothpaste.

An Instructional Video

How to open a beer with a piece of paper.


Via Emily.

Achievement

Dan the Bar Man, who in 2005 had a drink in 1000 bars has an article in Forbes!

How cool is that?!?!

Funny how the market works.

NASCAR has a 'Drive for Diversity' program, designed to bring more not white male people into the sport as drivers, owners, and crew members. Thus far, the program has pretty much been a failure, with only one non-white driver in any of the three major series (Bill Lester).

Leave it to a team owner, one Rusty Wallace, to add a non white driver to his development program. Why?

Austin will join Steve Wallace, the youngest son of NASCAR legend Rusty Wallace, as one of the two drivers currently competing under the RWI banner. Wallace and Austin will pilot identically painted No. 66 HomeLife Communities Dodge Chargers prepared at the state-of-the-art RWI complex, located just north of Charlotte, NC. Though he is only 17 years old, Austin has won more than 100 feature races in go-karts, stock cars and sprint cars.

How about that. He can win! We go on to learn...

Much like Rusty Wallace, Austin competed and won, in the Midwest-based American Speed Association before deciding to make the jump to NASCAR. With that in mind, Wallace, one of NASCAR’s top-ten all-time winningest drivers and ABC / ESPN’s Lead Auto Racing Analyst, is eager to help Austin become a pioneering and successful African American driver in one of NASCAR’s touring series and beyond.

The NASCAR Busch East Series features 13 races, plus the NASCAR All-Star Showdown event, at 12 tracks, using cars similar to those in the NASCAR Busch Series.

Noted Wallace, “When we started looking at ways to grow our team, NASCAR brought Chase Austin to our attention. We ended up inviting him to a test at Greenville-Pickens Speedway and we were all very pleasantly surprised at how well he did,” Wallace continued, “I believe that Chase has a real future in this sport. Not only is he fast, but he understands the sponsorship and public relations side of things, which is definitely unique for someone his age.”

He can win, and he's able to deal with sponsors, and be a positive spokesman.

Yet...

“While Chase is not a part of the Drive for Diversity program, we all definitely support it and fully believe in the cause,” Wallace said, “Right now though, Chase just wants to focus on driving for Rusty Wallace, Inc. and learning what it takes to win races at a higher level. We’re going to give Chase everything he needs to do just that. I really believe that he’s going to have a great year; if it goes as well as we hope, we could potentially be looking at Steve (Wallace) having a Busch Series teammate in 2008.”

Be good at what you do, find success. Regardless of what you look like. Without a special program. How about that.

Always pay attention.

Otherwise, the keeper will score.

Congratulations.

Today, the occupation of Iraq is 4 years old.

Boy, that's working out well. And the President, well, he's got a plan. Or something.

“If American forces were to step back from Baghdad before it is more secure, a contagion of violence could spill out across the entire country.

“In time, this violence could engulf the region. The terrorists could emerge from the chaos with a safe haven in Iraq to replace the one they had in Afghanistan, which they used to plan the attacks of September the 11th, 2001. For the safety of the American people, we cannot allow this to happen.”

Because the invasion and occupation, well that didn't cause the problem.

A travesty.

As Ed Norris says, "If you aren't pissed off, you aren't paying attention."

Another Raich ruling, another blow to your rights. The Liberty Papers has a nice writeup. I won't add much to it, other than to mention that I've talked about this before. The application of the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution to, well, everything is going to become a very, very big problem.

This marijuana never crossed a state line. It was never bought or sold. Yet somehow, the interstate commerce clause trumps a law approved by the people of California.

Respondents Diane Monson and Angel Raich use marijuana that has never been bought or sold, that has never crossed state lines, and that has had no demonstrable effect on the national market for marijuana. If Congress can regulate this under the Commerce Clause, then it can regulate virtually anything-and the Federal Government is no longer one of limited and enumerated powers.

Justice Thomas' dissent. And he's right. We keep allowing the Federal government rights it was never allowed, rights that can and will affect all of us.

It's got to stop.

Glamorous

I spent the night in Islandia, NY Wednesday night. I had an afternoon meeting in Smithtown, NY, and trying to get back to Baltimore after driving the 5 hours up there is just a bit too much.

Just in case you think business travel is glamorous:

I had dinner sitting by myself at the bar at a TGI Fridays.
I watched Return of the Jedi

Exciting, huh?

By the way, I don't understand how New Yorkers do it. I guess it's no wonder they all seem angry all the time. If I had to do that commute every day I'd be angry too. It took two hours to get from Islandia to the NJ Turnpike. It's like 40 miles. Most of that time was spent travelling a 3 mile stretch of the Cross Bronx "Expressway".

I know traffic in and around Baltimore sucks, but we know it sucks, and know exactly when and where it will suck every day. NY traffic is totally unpredictable. I've gone over the GW bridge in 5 minutes, and it's taken me 90 minutes, at pretty much the same time of day. You never know until you get there.

Blogging about Blogging

I was thinking today about how few people read my blog, and what that means.

It's not that it's important to me, I'd blog if no one read it. It gives me an opportunity to clear some thing out of my head, to make a point or two, and track my training, when I'm actually training.

I spent some time reading some blogs that are well read, and wondered the difference.

This is one difference.

What fantastic writing.

It won't be long before there is no satire.

Global warming causes cancellation of Arctic trip.

Because it was colder than expected.

You can't make this stuff up. Hopefully more people will get more skeptical.

From the groundbreaking research news department...

Human longevity is genetic.

Wow.

Who woulda thunk it?

Consent or Coersion?

Excellent read by Christian Sandstrom at Lew Rockwell.

As noted by Rothbard among others, the fundamental difference between the state and the market is spelled coercion. Human interaction on a market is based upon mutual consent: goods and services won’t be exchanged unless both parties think they benefit from it. The state, on the other hand, thrives upon coercion: taxes are collected under the threat of violence and if laws are not followed your only option is jail. Thus, state action is not based upon mutual consent, rather it is based upon the most primitive and uncivilized of human actions: violence. The Chinese mass murderer and dictator, Mao Tse-Tung, once said that all political power comes through the barrel of a gun. Another illustrative example is a poster that the Swedish libertarian association "The freedom front" produced. It contained a picture of a man pointing a rifle at you, followed by the text "I am from the government, I am here to help you."

This not only illustrates the true nature of the state, but also how preposterous the idea that someone who is threatening you would want to cause you anything but harm. If someone wanted to do you good, why then would they have to force you into doing this? The American hard-rock group Guns n’ Roses put this in the following way in their song "Civil war": "you can’t trust freedom when it’s not in your hands." Wouldn't it be strange if someone robbed you and then spent the money on you, in a way you find preferable? Why then, would the criminal have to steal the money in the first place?

To be more precise, the definition of freedom is that your life is in the hands of you, not anyone else. Though the fundamental difference between the state and the market is that one is based upon coercion and the other one on consent, there are everyday examples of coercion (related to state) that can help to illustrate this distinction. By looking at these examples and by drawing parallels to state action, the truly absurd nature of government is revealed.

Read the rest, it's good stuff.

When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

Recently, in the comments section of another blog, I was informed I have a 'limited point of view' when it comes to understanding the Constitution and its relevance to solving social ills.

What's interesting is that while suggesting I am not nearly sophisicated enough to understand why the Constituion implies things it doesn't say, my argument is never actually refuted. (I made the argument that the labor market is the same as the baseball market, and there is no reason to have a regulation forcing purchasers of labor to purchase labor from specific groups any more than there should be regulation on the purchasers of baseballs.) That's pretty common. You'll find the use of a simple logical question will pretty much stop intelligent debate, and instead have a discussion revert back to the crazy mean spirited Libertarian being too obtuse to recognize the nuances in an argument based solely on emotion and prior (often incorrect) legal rulings.

And the solution proposed by the Left Liberals? Why, the government.

The solution to workplace discrimination: Government
The solution to the 'healthcare crisis': Government
The solution to 'global warming': Government
The solution to income disparity: Government
The solution to obesity: Government.

Me? The guy who says there might be another more effective solution that doesn't involve increasing the power of the government and might eliminate unintended results? The guy who suggests there might be a solution that is actually better than government regulation; a solution that would make *insert minority group here* even better off, all without violating the property right of others (and, oh by the way, making sure the government doesn't have more power to violate the rights of whatever minority group in favor of some other group in the future)? I'm the one with a limited point of view.

[Edit: Just in case it isn't clear, I happen to consider Stash a good guy and a friend. He's smart, has a great sense of humor, and he's a heck of a chef, if photos are any indication. We just don't agree all the time when it comes to politics. That doesn't make him a bad person, just like it doesn't make me a bad person. The posts on his blog happened to coincide with another conversation, all together resulting in this particular post.]

Paul for President!

No, not me.

Ron Paul. He's announced he's running.

Paul, a nine-term congressman who represents a district just south of Houston that includes Galveston and stretches along the Gulf Coast nearly to Corpus Christi, describes himself as a lifelong Libertarian running as a Republican.

Paul has spent most of his career outside the GOPs traditional circles. He limits his view of the role of the federal government to those specifically laid out in the U.S. Constitution. As a result, he sometimes casts votes that appear at odds with his constituents and other Republicans.

Paul, for example, was the only Republican congressman to vote against Department of Defense appropriations for fiscal year 2007, which he opposed because of the war in Iraq — a war he says is "not necessary for our actual security."

He once described President Bush as "not a constitutional president" and voted against a resolution declaring that the United States would win the war on terror.

He acknowledges that the national Republican Party has largely shunned him despite his nine terms in office under its banner. He gets little money from the GOP's large traditional donors, but benefits from individual conservative and Libertarian donors outside Texas.

Will he win? Of course not. With rampant Statism the order of the day in both parties, certainly a Classical Liberal has no chance. What his candidancy will do, however, is bring to light the differences between people who say they are for smaller government, and people who really are for smaller government.

Of course, this wasn't covered anywhere by the national media... it's an AP story that I found on a couple of Libertarian type sites, and local Texas newspapers. Meanwhile, Chuck Hagel's lack of an announcement got national press. Go figure.

Oh, and to John McCain: Please don't have me arrested. This is not a campaign contribution.

Wiretapping you is secret. So you can't prove we are wiretapping you illegally.

Unless, of course, we accidentally send you a copy of the report. And you are representing a group we think are terrorists.

This is the case that has the best chance against the government, as it's the only one where the plaintiff can prove the wiretapping happened.

For those keeping score: The government tracked these calls between a lawyer and a group they think are terrorists. Then they sent them a report telling them so.

Because that's how you win against terrorists.

Spamalot

Quick review:

Not as good as the movie. Not as good as everyone seemed to think.

However, it's funny, and worth going to see.

Good gun news

A Federal court ruled that the DC ban on having a gun in your home is a clear violation of the Constitution.

It took a while, but they got to the right place. I heard briefly on the news last night that Maryland is considering loosening the very restrictive carry laws.

The most impressive argument was from a grandmother who didn't think it right that rich white guys who carry a lot of money can carry, but a poor black grandmother raising her 3 grandkids in a questionable neighborhood can't protect herself.

Sweet. Everyone has a little Libertarian in them.

Divine Presidency.

Radley Balko on God in the White House.

I had a similar conversation with a coworker over some cocktails one night last week. Rights and morality can indeed come from your humanity. I know plenty of atheists who I hold in much higher regard from a moral standpoint than believers.

The 10 Commandments pretty much sum up property rights, don't they?

The New Scientific Method

From JunkScience: The IPCC Report.

Please note:

Changes (other than grammatical or minor editorial changes) made after acceptance by the Working Group or the Panel shall be those necessary to ensure consistency with the Summary for Policymakers or the Overview Chapter.

So, the science must be approved by the politicians prior to publication.

Yeah, I'm running right out to get my Prius.

Meet the Press, For Idiots

Now this is funny.

Airport Security: Still indeed a joke.

On Monday, I flew out of BWI Airport. (I was unfortunately not delayed heading to 4 days of meetings in Atlanta). I performed the government required completely unconstitutional security procedure, including showing my ID, taking off my shoes, and putting my laptop in a plastic container, because that's clearly better than leaving it in a briefcase. Or something.

Not a problem.

Leaving Atlanta on Thursday (after having rushed to the airport to get on an earlier flight to avoid the tornadoes), I encounter an issue. My bag is stopped in the x-ray machine.

Perhaps the pins in the new shirt set it off.

No.

Crack TSA Employee: Sir, is there anything in here that might stick me?

Me, trying to put on my highly dangerous and subversive shoes: Just some pins in a new shirt

Crack TSA Employee: That's no problem. Please do not touch the bag while I am going through it... what's this? Hmmmm... toiletries. Sir, do you have a clear plastic quart bag?

Me, realising this man is about to take my highly dangerous hair gel, toothpaste, and shaving cream: No, I thought that clear zipper bag would be acceptable.

Crack TSA Employee, sternly: Sir, these must be in a clear plastic ziplock bag. I'll have to take them, unless you go get a bag.

Me, looking forward to blogging about this: I think I'll pass going back out and getting a bag. Does it have to be Ziplock, or will any brand do? And just so we are clear, the only reason you are taking those is that they are not in a clear Ziplock bag - if they were, there would be no issue at all, right?

Crack TSA Employee: Yes.

Me, gathering my stuff: Do you guys realize just how stupid that is?

What bothers me the most, beside the stupidity and the violation of basic rights, is that they still are not consistent! The same bag, with the same stuff, went right through at BWI.

Been a while

I was out of town last week, and took the weekend off from the internet (mostly to keep myself from working.)

I was out in the field today, just got home and online. I have a few posts bouncing around in my little head, including my experience with crack airline security and an update on my planning/goals post from the beginning of the year.

You'll see training posts start back up on Wednesday.

Taking on the important issues

Via Boing Boing, we find a Maryland Legislator who wants to ban truck nuts.

If this is what Republicans in Maryland bring up, it's no wonder they have so few people in the legislature.

Government healthcare sucks, so lets make sure we have government run healthcare

In the news this week is the startling revelation that care in military/veteran hospitals is sub par. At ThinkProgress, they opine about how awful the establisment is.

Why then are you trying to increase government involvement in health care?

Is it just me? Or is this just really, really stupid?

Great stuff!

George Takei has a message for Tim Hardaway.

I love seeing people not take themselves so seriously, and have fun with otherwise ugly stuff.

Process design

So I've done a little process (re)design in my career. So I thought this was funny.

Frighteningly true, too.

But then, in the business world, I've seen similar flow charts.

Heavy

Sleep. Dragonaut.

How many more people have to die?

Radley Balko wonders.

I'm scared, too, buddy.

"You are there, with air conditioning, entertaining yourself, while we are here in hell."

I just sat down this eveing with a dry vodka martini to read my Weekend Journal (the weekend edition of the WSJ.) After reading the article about high paid executives having higher brickbreaker scores than I do, I read an article by an Iraqi reporter, living in the United States.

It's called, "Missing in Baghdad: My Father". Find it and read it. If you still think what the US did was a good idea, you deserve every bit of tyrrany our government can impose on you.

I'm trying to find links online now, but I had to post this. Nothing. NOTHING has moved me more than this article, and I was against the invasion from the git go.

Edit: You have to be a subscriber, if you are and missed it, here's the link. I'm going to see if I can find text online. If not, I'll see if I can get permission to type it in myself.

I saw this coming

It was just a matter of time before insurance companies started getting out of states where the companies were forced to cover losses for which they did not collect premiums.

State Farm announced today that they are done in Mississippi.

"It is no longer prudent for us to take on additional risk in a legal and business environment that is becoming more unpredictable," Bob Trippel, senior vice president of the largest home insurer in the United States, said in a statement.

...

"Current legal and business environments ... are becoming untenable," said Trippel in a letter to Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale

Insurance companies said the same things as they were getting out of California after the state decided that all homes were to be insured at replacement cost, even though they were not paying for it (and were grossly underinsured).

I know what I would do.

The governor of Wisconsin has floated the hairbrained idea of an additional tax on oil profits, which somehow they want to make sure isn't 'passed along' to consumers.

If I were big oil, I would do simply this: Call the governor of Wisconsin, and tell him if they want to tax my profits, I will not sell my product in their state. The residents of Wisconsin can go get gas in another state.

Simple, I think.

If you have some time today

Give this a listen.

It's quite something.

Via Rich, the Canadian math teacher

Edit/Update: Here's his blog

He's not the only one..

But no one has done this with Hilliary yet.

Person I just met: "So, do you have kids?"

Me, looking for the bar: "No. Do you?"

Person I just met, who has immediately judged me as pathetic or selfish: "Yes. 2. Would you like to see photographs?

"Soooo... why don't you have kids.?"

Me, wanting to smack that look off his face: "Don't want them. Why do you?"

Person I just met, confused, because they don't know the answer: "Isn't this shrimp wrapped in bacon excellent?"

This happens pretty regularly with my wife an I when we meet new people. Via Ron Smith, here's a good article on women deciding just not to have kids.

My wife and I make the choice together. We love our lives. We travel at will. We read. We go out on a whim. We also love all of the children around us.

So stop thinking we're pitiful and we're selfish, and turn the question on yourself.

Where there's smoke...

The AMA, as well as a recent poll of US adults, wants to slap an 'R' rating on any film showing smoking.

I mentioned we weren't far away from this a year and a half ago.

We keep on sliding towards emulating those we wish to not emulate.

Well, some of us wish to not emulate.

Quick training update

My back (SI joint) is getting better. I think I have identified the problem: sitting on a stool in my kitchen hunched over and general inflexibility. I'm taking one more lower body day off (today), then getting back on schedule Wednesday. I'm going to take the next few weeks to do some GPP stuff, not really structured, to get back into it, then at the beginning of March I'll restart the program in ernest.

Do you really want these people taking care of your health care?

When they can't even keep track of parking regulations.

Deja Vu

Amadinejad says he doesn't fear a US invasion. Hussien didn't, either.

A couple of things of note in that article. Not only are the Iranian leaders insane if they think the US won't invade, and won't wipe them out, because, of course, they will. However, they are wise to note that due to being mislead about Iraq, Congress and the public won't let this (or any other) administration attack another country without a metric assload of proof.

Which is yet one more little bit of damage done by this Administration by attacking Iraq. Not only are resources tied up that could be used to attack/defend against a legitimate enemy (and Iran very well may be), but when they try it, no one is going to believe them.

Pelosi's Plane

The noise on this one is just fantastic. I get to listen to Glenn Beck on the drive up to Philly, and he was going nuts about this story yesterday, and it was incredibly entertaining.

Frankly, I'm not suprised at all, and was encourged to see some consistency from the White House. Goodness knows they don't want to keep anyone in Congress from spending more money.

What I think is more important is the assumption that she needs to be safer than I do. I'm also concerned, what with all the money and violation of basic rights involved in the current security for commercial aircraft, that is still isn't secure enough for the Speaker of the House.

Also, how is it that stopping for fuel in a military plane is a security risk. They do still stop at Air Force bases, right? Isn't that where they keep the fighter planes and stuff?

Education vs. Schooling

There's a difference. This is a nice read on the subject.

The only way I can see after spending 35 years in and around the institution (53 if I count my own time as inmate) is to put full choice squarely back into the hands of parents, let the marketplace redefine schooling - a job the special interests are incapable of - and encourage the development of as many styles of schooling as there are human dreams. Let people, not bureaucrats, work out their own destinies. That's what made us a great country in the first place.

That sure seems like a good idea to me.

Superbowl

For the first time that I can remember, I did not watch the Superbowl. We have season tickets to the Hippodrome Theater, and we had tickets for Wicked last night.

I'm not really into musical theater. Ok. I'm not at all into musical theater.

But the show was really cool. For those of you who don't know, it's the back story of the witches from the Wizard of Oz. Funny in places, touching in others. If you get a chance, go ahead. It won't hurt you. (During intermission, my Blackberry and I were very popular with the other menfolk).

No dinner out beforehand, as it's restaurant week. (Bicycle on Wednesday, Oceanaire on Friday). We did go to Vaccaro's at the Canton Square after. Chocolate cannoli cake and coffee.

Stand up States

Maine, Georgia, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Vermont and Washington. All appear to be standing up to the Federal Government against the Real ID act. You remember that, the one that couldn't pass on it's own, so the Bush Administration and Republican Leadership got it tacked on to a military funding bill.

The issue may be moot for states if Congress takes action.

Republican Sen. John Sununu of New Hampshire, along with Democratic Sen. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, filed a bill last year to repeal the law. Sununu expects similar legislation will be introduced soon.

"The federal government should not be in charge of defining and issuing drivers' licenses," Sununu said in a statement.

You'd think they would have thought of that when they voted for it.