24 breaks cultural barriers! Terrorist "real men of genius"!

Leave it to the intrepid 24 writers to blaze new trails for the rights of typecast terrorists everywhere! They won't typecast those terrorists as, well, terrorists anymore! And leading the charge for terrorists rights to be heroes is the former shirpa turned terrorist turned diplomat himself as he risks life and limb to save President Chapelle who was obviously too high at the time to be paying attention to the suspiscious blinking bomb, planted not-too-subtley by the assistant to the formerly weasel-ly Dr. Janosz who was lurking around the presidential podium. I mean really the last person who wasn't the president who was hiding that close to the presidential podium was Monica Lewinsky. But I digress. The former shirpa turned terrorist turned diplomat has likely saved the day and kept the evil Halliburton conspiracy from taking over the presidency (again) and enslaving wannabee terrorists everywhere. So this Bud's for you mister formerly typecast terrorist who won't be typecast as a terrorist anymore. Are you ready for the hero role yet? Who knows. But at least you can always fall back on the shirpa role. And now, without any further ado, your Jack Bauer Moment of ZenTM: Chuck Norris actually speaks three languages: English, Pain, and Death. He is currently working on a fourth language, Dismemberment, and is doing quite well. When he is alone at night, Chuck Norris likes to wear slippers with bunnies on them. Real bunnies. Chuck Norris doesn't smash beer cans on his forehead, instead he stares them down till they shrink in fear. Heh.

Britain sends a prince to Iraq

Prince Harry will be fighting for his country in the GWOT in Iraq. Forbes - He's the redheaded son of the late Princess Diana, the rowdy royal known more for dancing until dawn than waking for battle. But Britain's party prince, Harry, is getting his wish and is being deployed to Iraq this spring with his Blues and Royals regiment. Royal officials announced Thursday that the 22-year-old prince would fight for his country, confirming feverish tabloid speculation about the future of the best-recognized tank commander in Britain. His regiment is expected to set out in May or June for a six-month tour. Harry, a second lieutenant, has been trained to lead a team of 12 men in four armored reconnaissance vehicles and could become the first British royal to see combat since his uncle, Prince Andrew, flew as a Royal Navy pilot in the Falklands War against Argentina in 1982. This has of course been all over the MSM lately and deservedly so, but for the wrong reasons. You can hear the newscaster's hand-wringing when they say, "Won't Harry be a huge target for the insurgents?" Sure it's easy to have a brain-fart moment and say of course he'll be a big target, but I think that's giving a little too much credit to the insurgents. How are they going to recognize Harry? I don't think he'll be wearing a crown in the field, or have anything else on him that's going to make him stand out as a Prince of England. It's not like Medieval times when the royalty wore royal garbs into battle. He's going to look like every other tank commander Britain has over there. And when I'm sure by the time a terrorist gets close enough to recognize him, I'm sure his men will make short work of the would-be terrorist. That brings up another good point. His men, knowing who Harry is, are going to fight until their last dying breath to protect their commander, which could very well make it even more difficult to get to Harry. You don't think one of them would throw themselves on a grenade to save him? Take a bullet? They'll stop at nothing to protect him. So good luck Harry. Be safe.

A public service announcement from Jack Bauer

Do you have a handgun? Do you know how to use it? Take this lesson from Jack Bauer: Jack: Have you ever used one of these before? Marilyn: No. Jack: Just point and shoot. This concludes our publice service announcement. And now your Jack Bauer Moment of ZenTM: When Chuck Norris Jack Bauer enters a room, he doesn't turn the lights on, he turns the dark off. Chuck Norris Jack Bauer once fought of 767 wild Grizzly bears which is why they are now endangered. Chuck Norris Jack Bauer has defined the word "upchuck" as when Chuck Jack kicks someone so hard in the testicles that they vomit out their entire digestive tract. Heh.

BBC debunks the Loose Change loonies

LGF posted these three video clips of the BBC show meant to expose the "Truthers" (aka "Idiots" or "Weak Minded Fools"). When you've got 20 minutes or so, watch the BBC videos below. Thanks to LGF for the heads up... You never know when you'll run across a conspiracy whack-o and need a fact or too. I like the debunking of the "Jews stayed home that day" myth. Nevermind that the lie was started by a Hezbollah propaganda/news station. I'm sure they were totally objective when they perverted a Jerusalem Post story that simply tried to put a number on how many Israeli citizens were in the NYC and DC area.

Iran: not only a potential nuclear threat, they're late making the nuclear plant mortgage payments as well

It's just so hard finding responsible megalomaniac dictators trying to bring about the return of the 12th Imam who want to buy nuclear technology these days... BBC - Iran has rejected claims by Russian officials that it has failed to meet payments for work on the Bushehr nuclear plant in southern Iran. [...] Under the Bushehr deal, Russia would have started the fuel shipments by March, launched the plant in September and begun to generate electricity by November. Russia's Federal Nuclear Power Agency spokesman Sergey Novikov said the "launch schedule definitely could be affected" by the reported delay in payments. One unnamed Russian official told Associated Press Iran was blaming "technical reasons" for the delay. So they're a nuclear threat and a credit risk for lenders as well. Of course beyond the fact that they haven't paid the Russians for the nuclear technology they've been given, is the scary fact that the Russians are selling them nuclear technology. Does anyone else think that's a bad idea or is it just me.

Rudy Giuliani slams the nonbinding resolution against the war and the government officials who support it

Amen Rudy! GIULIANI: I mean, you can look at the practical and common sense conclusion on that anyway you want. But there's something more important than that. We have a right of free speech in this country and we elect people to make decisions. Here's what I would prefer to see them do, though, if you ask me what's my view on that. The nonbinding resolution thing gets me more than are you for it or against it. I have tremendous respect for the people who feel that we either made a mistake going to war, who voted against the war, who now have come to the conclusion, changed their minds, they have every right to that, that it's wrong, you should, in a dynamic situation, keep questioning. What I don't like is the idea of a nonbinding resolution. KING: Because? GIULIANI: Because there's no decision. KING: But it's a statement. GIULIANI: Yes, but that's what you do. That's what Tim Russert does and that's what Rush Limbaugh does. That's what you guys do, you make comments. We pay them to make decisions, not just to make comments. We pay them to decide. The United States Congress does declarations, the war. We pay them to make decisions. Amen. If they're so opposed to the war, defund it. So put your money where your mouth is Democrats (and White Flag Republicans). Put up a resolution to defund the war, something that would actually be a decision, or are you afraid of the consequences?

I had money that Milo was dead as soon as Buchanan sent him into the field...

But for a computer geek he did pretty well. We are reminded of Chloe's brief foray into the field in season 3 or 4 (or maybe 2? I can't keep them all straight...) where she was weilding a shotgun in front of some apartment building. But Milo's got a big job. He's got precious cargo afterall... Jack's high school sweetheart, stolen by his evil brother, but who gave birth to Jack's love child. So now it's just a matter of time before Mini-Jack kills his grandpa, Captain Dudley, and reveals his true identity to the world. In the mean time, Jack takes the tacteam into the decoy house and is, of course, the only survivor of the explosion that follows. He suffers only minor cuts and abrasions. I still think Milo's a dead man though. Next hour perhaps... And before we move on to the Jack Bauer Moment of ZenTM I might have missed the deadline to submit for the Carnival of Bauer, but that doesn't mean you have to miss out. Head over to Riding with Ricky and check out the mayhem. And now your Jack Bauer Moment of ZenTM: There's only one way to skin a cat because Chuck Norris Jack Bauer has a patent on the other 311. Although the Chinese have a larger army than USA, they are reluctant to attack because they know we have Chuck Norris Jack Bauer. Reruns of Walker, Texas Ranger 24 haven't made their way to the Middle East yet. The hammer was crafted after Chuck Norris' Jack Bauer's fist. Heh.

Several Republicans begin to break ranks and join the Democrats

They're supporting the Democrats' non-binding resolution disapproving of the 20,000 troop surge. WASHINGTON — Breaking ranks, a small band of House Republicans declared their opposition to a troop buildup in Iraq on Wednesday, and President Bush appeared resigned to passage of a nonbinding measure disapproving of his decision. Whoopee. That dumb resolution is about as important as my opinion on who should advance on American Idol and who they should employ as a judge on the show. You know what, I'm going to write a non-binding resolution that says I do not support Simon Cowell's continued employment as a judge on American Idol. H. CON. RES. 63 Disapproving of the decision of the President American Idol producers and Fox Television announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq continue the employment of Simon Cowell as an American Idol judge. Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring) JWookie (the blogosphere concurring), That-- (1) Congress The blogosphere and the American people will continue to support and protect the members citizens of the United States Armed Forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honorably in Iraq pursuing their dream to be the next American Idol; and (2) Congress The blogosphere and JWookie specifically disapproves of the decision of President George W. Bush American Idol producers and Fox Television announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq employ Simon Cowell as a judge for American Idol. I bet it only takes hours for Fox to fire him... ... just you wait and see... ... any day now he's gone... ... fired... ... unemployed... ... don't blink you might miss it... ... there will be thousands of Idol contestants taking to the streets in joyous celebration... ... really... there will...

"Daddy didn't get to watch 24 last night..."

I got all caught up watching her trying to figure out the whole sitting up thing. And she's cuter than Jack Bauer anyway...

Iraq cracks down on terrorist imports from Iran and Syria

They closed the borders. Maybe America has something to learn from Iraq... Iraq is closing its borders with Iran and Syria as part of a security crackdown to attempt to rein in violence. The new measures were announced by the Iraqi official in charge of the security plan, Lieutenant-General Abboud Qanbar. "We have decided to close two Syrian and four Iranian border posts for 72 hours," he said. "The Iranian border post of al-Sheeb will reopen partially after one week and fully after 60 days, other border posts will remain closed until further notice." A government official said an announcement would be made when the frontiers had been closed. Iraqis making and executing policies. That's a good sign. There is a lot of border to watch there though. Hopefully they can keep an eye on enough of it to keep Iranian and Syrian influences out of Iraq.

Bernanke to testify before Democratic committees for the first time

And this article makes the point that the Federal Reserve Chairman and the Democrats grilling him might not be on the same wavelength... Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- When Ben S. Bernanke testifies before Congress's new Democratic majorities this week, it may be hard to tell that he and his questioners are talking about the same economy. The Federal Reserve chairman will use his semiannual appearances before House and Senate banking panels to describe a healthy economy and a strong job market. Democrats such as Representative Paul Hodes of New Hampshire will paint a much different picture -- of stagnant incomes and jobs lost to foreign competition. "Part of the reason I was elected and many of my colleagues were elected was because of the deep concerns that folks have about the economy," says Hodes, president of the freshman House Democrats and a member of the Financial Services Committee that will hear from Bernanke Feb. 15. And Rep. Hodes wasn't alone. Joining his "concerns" is the opinion that the economy's "not so good" from Senator Brown and that people are "checking the help-wanted ads" not the latest stock prices according to Rep. Wilson. That's some brilliant economic analysis all around right there. Random, pointless concerns, a general not-so-good by someone who probably doesn't understand how supply and demand works, and anecdotal unemployment stories probably put forth by lobbyist unions, rather than reality. I'll be the first to say unemployment sucks. I was unemployed for a couple months a few years back; I quit a dead end job that cost me more in gas and mileage than I made. How did I re-employ myself again? I went to a temp agency, and yes, my college education paid off. I worked hard at that company and they hired me full time. Even gave me a raise, thanks to a college education. I worked so hard that when I said I was moving and going to have to quit, they found me a job close to my new house. All that was me, my hard work, a grateful and generous employer, and a bit of luck. The government had nothing to do with it. And that's how it should be. While certain sectors of the economy aren't performing as well as those that are carrying the GDP, the government shouldn't be creating jobs for steel workers in Ohio, miners in West Virginia, or computer programmers in California. I mean, really, the government does too much as it is. Honestly, the free market, capitalist system maintains itself pretty well on its own. Government officials just need to stay out of its way. It's a whole lot easier for bureaucrats to muck it up that fix it once they've broken it.

Sure she's cute... that's because never take pictures when she's crying

Baby update!! I'm kidding of course. Our little Wookette is an angel. She is however an angel with colic, and colic for those who don't have kids is a baby that will cry for at least 3 hours straight every day. But seriously, a secret message to all new parents out there with colicky babies... Gripe water. Seriously. The. best. stuff. ever.

North Korea makes a tentative agreement to disarm?!?

Wow. Somewhere in the world pigs are flying and frost is forming on the rocks in Hell... BEIJING (AP) -- International negotiators reached a tentative agreement on initial steps toward North Korea's nuclear disarmament, the first concrete progress after more than three years of talks, the U.S. envoy said early Tuesday. The draft agreement, worked out at the latest round of six-nation talks on the North's nuclear program, contained commitments on disarmament and energy assistance along with ``initial actions'' to be taken by certain deadlines, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said. He said working groups will be set up, hopefully in a month, laying out a framework for dealing with regional tensions. Hill declined to give further details of the draft. The agreement could herald the first step toward disarmament since the talks began in 2003; the rounds have been marked by repeated delays and deadlock. The process reached its lowest point in October when North Korea conducted its first nuclear test explosion, alarming the world and triggering U.N. sanctions. Hill said the draft agreement still must be reviewed by the home governments of the six countries at the talks, but he was upbeat about it. He said he was in ``constant communication'' with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. ``We feel it's an excellent draft, I don't think we're the problem,'' he said. I'd love to believe that this will actually happen, but they've lied to us before. What's to stop them from lying to us, signing a disarmament treaty, and then only disarming the nukes that we know about, leaving their sooped-sekret stash for a rainy day? Nothing. They'd better put some major inspections and public missiles decommissionings in this thing, so that we can verify they actually get rid of each and every nuclear weapon they have. It'd be great if this actually happened though... Just what would the moonbat lefties do? The evil, baby-killing, warmonger of a president disarming the world's most dangerous nuclear threat with a pen and a handshake. I think their heads might actually explode...

A great discussion piece on what's wrong in Iraq...

GOP and College has a great piece up about what's wrong and why... Have I gone mad? No. My roommate is of Christian-Jordanian descent, and lived there for some time. When it comes to discussions about the Middle East, I'm very open to what he has to say. And when compared to Middle Eastern people, we are too thin skinned. Americans see a man stripped of his clothes in an interrogation room and think that it is a heinous crime. True Arabs see that and think "Wow, he got off lucky. He didn't even lose a finger." Loud, screaming, almost violent arguments are an every day thing in Arab countries. People get into an argument about how much they think an article of food should cost, and other simple things. The mindset there is that civility in an argument is a sign of weakness, and if you want to win the argument, you have to force your view. This goes for fighting as well; You have to have prove to your opponent that you are stronger, and make him beg for your mercy. Only then can you let off, because the battle is won. Go check it out and read the whole thing.

Aussie PM John Howard rips Barack Obama

It's put up or shut up, and John Howard has been a staunch ally and understands what's at stake in the GWOT and in Iraq. So he gets to make comments like this. National Post - In a rare intervention by a foreign leader into U.S. domestic politics, Australian Prime Minister John Howard ridiculed a proposal by Mr. Obama to completely withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq over the next 13 months. Mr. Howard's unexpected criticism of Mr. Obama -- an underdog candidate to win his party's presidential nomination -- stunned Democrats even as U.S. conservatives joined the attack on the Illinois senator's dovish foreign policy views. "If I were running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March, 2008, and pray as many times as possible for a victory, not only for Obama, but also for the Democrats," Mr. Howard told an Australian broadcaster. I wonder if Obama will put that on his campaign bumper sticker? UPDATE @ 11:56am: This story has gone around the world and back again and everyone's got an opinion. Obama responded to Howard's remarks... "I think it's flattering that one of George Bush's allies on the other side of the world started attacking me the day after I announced," Mr Obama told reporters in the mid-western US state of Iowa. I would also note that we have close to 140,000 troops in Iraq, and my understanding is Mr Howard has deployed 1400, so if he is ... to fight the good fight in Iraq, I would suggest that he calls up another 20,000 Australians and sends them to Iraq. Otherwise it's just a bunch of empty rhetoric." As far as I'm concerned those 1400 could simply be cooking meals over there and it's still notable and as a nation we ought to be thankful. Or we can be like Obama and look a gift horse in the mouth. You decide... Howard won't take that lying down and he of course refuses to retract any part of his statement. What I have done is to criticize Sen. Obama's views on a particular issue, and I don't retreat in any way from that criticism," Howard said. "I think if America is defeated in Iraq that will be catastrophic for the West and it will have tremendously adverse consequences for Australia." Howard, who trails the opposition Labor Party in his re-election bid this year, criticized his opponents as being hypocritical. "Apparently it's all right for people in the Labor Party to regularly criticize the Bush administration's policy on Iraq -- and they do that almost on a daily basis," Howard said. "Yet my criticism of the policy position of somebody who is not president -- and is not even the Democratic candidate for the presidency -- that is interfering in American politics and is absolutely to be forbidden." Can't disagree with that. If you disagree and/or hate George Bush, that's fine. Speak your mind, no one will judge you. Of course if you agree with him you're an idiot. Expect to be shunned.

Before everyone gets their panties in a wad about Iraq pre-war intelligence...

... I'd go read the correction the Washinton Post put up. It's not a small correction either. The original story said the big report questioning the pre-war intelligence was put out by the Pentagon. Oops. It was really put out by Democratic Seantor Carl Levin. That changes things a bit wouldn't you say? Thanks to Allah at Hot Air.

Denying global warming is now equivalent to denying the holocaust

It's so unbelievable, what can you say? By every measure, the U N 's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change raises the level of alarm. The fact of global warming is "unequivocal." The certainty of the human role is now somewhere over 90 percent. Which is about as certain as scientists ever get. I would like to say we're at a point where global warming is impossible to deny. Let's just say that global warming deniers are now on a par with Holocaust deniers, though one denies the past and the other denies the present and future. So denying global warming is the moral equivalent of denying the holocaust. Since holocaust denial is illegal in much of Europe, will global warming follow suit? Talk about crazed fanatics... For a more skeptical perspective let's take a look at another Boston Globe article. Perhaps the Chicken Littles are right and the sky really is falling, but that opinion is hardly unanimous. There are quite a few skeptical scientists, including eminent climatologists, who doubt the end-of-the-world scenario. Why don't journalists spend more time covering all sides of the debate instead of just parroting the scaremongers? Only rarely do other views pierce the media's filter of environmental correctness. A recent series by Lawrence Solomon in Canada's National Post looked at some of the leading global-warming dissenters, none of whom fits the easy-to-dismiss stereotype of a flat-Earth yahoo. There is, for example, Richard S.J. Tol -- IPCC author, editor of Energy Economics, and board member of the Centre for Marine and Climate Research at Hamburg University. Tol agrees that global warming is real, but he emphasizes its benefits as well as its harms -- and points out that in the short term, the benefits are especially pronounced. Another dissident is Duncan Wingham, professor of climate physics at University College London and principal scientist of the European Space Agency's CryoSat Mission, which is designed to measure changes in the Earth's ice masses. The collapse of ice shelves off the northern Antarctic Peninsula is often highlighted as Exhibit A of global warming and its dangers, but Wingham's satellite data shows that the thinning of some Antarctic ice has been matched by thickening ice elsewhere on the continent. The evidence to date, Wingham says, is not "favorable to the notion we are seeing the results of global warming." Still other scientists profiled by Solomon contend that the sun, not man, plays the dominant role in planetary climate change. Henrik Svensmark of the Danish National Space Center, for instance,believes that changes in the sun's magnetic field, and the corresponding impact on cosmic rays, may be the key to global warming. Nigel Weiss, a past presidentof the Royal Astronomical Society and a mathematical aerophysicist at the University of Cambridge, correlates sunspot activity with changes in the Earth's climate. Habibullo Abdussamatov, who heads the space research laboratory at Pulkovo Astronomical Observatoryin Russia, points out that Mars is also undergoing global warming -- despite having no greenhouse conditions and no activity by Martians. In his view, it is solar irradiance, not carbon dioxide, that accounts for the recent rise in temperature. If only Al Gore would make a horrible movie that no one would go to see, we could finally put this issue to rest. Oh... wait a sec... he already did that. Oops.

Bloggers on staff with Sen. Edwards are giving him a bit of a headache

Two bloggers Sen. Edwards staffed put him in a bit of a sticky spot the other day... WaPo - Former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) condemned comments made by two bloggers on his presidential campaign staff but chose not to fire the women, an incident that exposed the fault lines between the largely unfiltered world of new media and the highly regulated universe of national politics. At the center of the brouhaha are Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwen, both of whom were hired last month by Edwards to oversee his "Net roots" outreach. A loose conglomeration of liberal-minded bloggers have grown increasingly influential in Democratic politics. Before joining the Edwards campaign, Marcotte and McEwen each maintained personal Web logs on which they posted highly critical and profane thoughts about topics including the Roman Catholic Church. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, called on Edwards to fire the duo, whom he described as "vulgar, trash-talking bigots." Wow... second chances abound for liberals who trash WASPs. Of course we were talking about Mitt Romney and some off his staffers popping off, we'd have a national outcry and the oh-so-tolerant left would demand he withdraw from the race, no matter how many apologies he and the staffers issued. And since the MSM isn't paying attention, this isn't the only issue Edwards has made for himself at the moment. He's getting himself in enough trouble talking out of both sides of his face (after all, he did learn from from the best in the business, John Kerry, who flipped flopped more than a fish out of water). 2 weeks ago, speaking at the Herzliya Conference in Israel Edwards addressed the issue of Iran and their pursuit of nukes quite firmly. "Let me be clear: Under no circumstances can Iran be allowed to have nuclear weapons . . . The vast majority of people are concerned about what is going on in Iraq. This will make the American people reticent toward going for Iran. But I think the American people are smart if they are told the truth, and if they trust their president. So Americans can be educated to come along with what needs to be done with Iran." He then took a page from John Kerry's playbook and proceeded to change his position. Q. Can we live with a nuclear Iran? A. "I'm not ready to cross that bridge yet... When [Bush] uses this kind of language 'options are on the table,' he does it in a very threatening kind of way - with a country that he's not engaging with or making any serious diplomatic proposals to. I mean I think that he's just dead wrong about that." How else should a military threat be made? What option does Edwards mean to leave on the table - a bouquet of flowers? On the February 4 edition of Meet the Press, Edwards was asked, "Would President Edwards allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons?" His response: "There's no answer to that question at this moment... We ought to negotiate directly with the Iranians, which has not been done...." Q. But they may get one. A. "I think we don't know, and you have to make a judgment as you go along." So he's gone from staunch position to a policy of jibberish flexible it's spineless. So Edward has become the protege of John Kerry. Only Edwards has charisma and better hair

It's always fun mixing it up with dissenting, anonymous commenters...

This person wasn't exactly a troll, but did their best to cover their tracks... So I thought I'd post their original comment as well as my repsonse. It's so much easier to read when you don't have to scroll through those tiny Haloscan comments windows... I stumbled across you blog. it's so fascinating to read a conservative perspective on war. The problem I have with Iraq war is the number of Iraqi deaths. The fucked up situation in Iraq wasn't created by Americans...it happened way before all of that with the division of the Ottoman empire...the formation of a multi-tribed nation state later living under a dictator... the problems are complex but why are American troops in there trying to liberate a country and killing so many people in the process? THere's this paternalistic attitude that only Americans can save these people because they are too uncivilised to govern themselves. They support unpopular governments that promote the American agenda. While the idea of saving a country from an evil dictator is noble (and Hollywood) the reality is the dictator is dead, there are more people dying. What is being gained from this war? Meanwhile North Korea has nukes, and after seeing what happened in Iraq I'm sure more countries will be nuking up to protect themselves. The only country that has ever dropped a nuke on a civillian population is us. More people will die for nothing. So many in Iraq already have. An American life is not worth more than an Iraqi life. All life is equal. You people amaze me with your over simplification of issues. I guess it makes the world an easier place to live in. Have a nice life. - Interest A fabulous comment, no? So here's my reply... Hey, thanks for stopping by. Other perspectives are always welcome here. I can appreciate your concern for the Iraqi civilian casualties, and I agree that the problem in Iraq (and the Middle East in general) is based on issues and hatreds centuries old. We are coming into this fight a bit late... And that's about where my agreement with you ends. 99% of civilians killed in Iraq were murdered by the insurgents in an effort to break the spirit of not just Americans, but Iraqis as well. They're certainly not being killed by US troops. All you have to do is read any newspaper or tune to any news program to see the latest car bomb at a market, mosque, or recruitment center. And since you appear to by confused by who's who over there, our guys are the ones wearing uniforms, in jeeps, holding guns. You know... normal soldiers. The bad guys are hiding among the innocent, using them as shields, blowing them up in an effort to blackmail us. What I love about the liberal perspective is how they make the terrorists moral equivalents to our troops. They kill civilians, we kill terrorists. Apparently that's a distinction only those not blinded by their liberal hate can recognize. As far as the popularity contest, you'd prefer be the main priority of the US government, the Iraqi government is only unpopular with the insurgents. The average Iraqi was thrilled at the chance to vote on their leadership. Just see the poll turnouts. And they're damn thankful we ignored the rest of the world and helped free them from the oppressive, genocidal, murderer that had been ruling their country. As far as North Korea and their nukes, you've got a great example of what happens when you ignore the rest of the world and rely 100% on diplomatic efforts. Kim Jong Il flat out lied to Clinton, signed the nuclear proliferation treaty, and then went ahead with his nuclear programs anyway. We didn't attack NK, or anywhere nearby that made him fear for the safety of his nation. Evil dictators don't need an excuse for their nuclear agendas, and saying they'd only pursue nukes because we are in the region is a gross, childish oversimplification. Sure we've got nukes and yes we've used them and we did so to force the hand of an adversary unwilling to surrender. How long should we have let that war drag on? That of course brings us to your million dollar question, why are we there? How's national security, global war on terror, and freeing an oppressed people strike you? And wouldn't you know it, that also shows that we value Iraqi life just as much as we value American life. We value it so much that we're sending our own sons and daughters there, risking their lives for the lives of Iraqis. Some might even argue we're valuing the lives of the Iraqis more than our own. Regardless, it certainly doesn't prove we don't value Iraqi lives. So when you're done oversimplifying things with your pacifist hopes and dreams that we ought to be trying to make a world were all problems are solved with hugs and puppy dogs, I'll be having a nice life. In reality. Anyone want to add something? Feel free to leave a comment! And hopefully, in the next couple days, I'll get a chance to repsond to a global warming email I got. This guy didn't like the little Al Gore image over on the left... So check back soon for that!

It's only the world's most intricate and flawlessly executed conspiracy ever, ever

OK so Romano the one-armed wonder doc and his dad, Captain Dudley conceived the most intricate and flawlessly executed plan ever. Ever. First Jack has to learn his family's involved. Easy, CTU working at their best, even if Edgar is still dead. Second, Jack has to go question his brother about the family company's involvement. OK, fair enough... Throw in a little love triangle with Romano's wife and sibling rivaly (which leads to torture) and it makes for nice backstory. Third, Jack has to take Romano to the office looking for the British 007 and his Astin Martin, so that Captain Dudley can have his henchmen sneak up on Jack and capture him. This of course is the signal for wonder doc to take back control of what are really his henchmen and take both his Dad and Jack into custody. Four, Romano gives the "you know what to you know who" order and heads back to the Romano compound. This of course means Jack will escape... Five: But who knew the escape was staged and in the process Captain Dudley kills the last henchman before Jack can question him. Suspicious? Hell yeah, but for the conspiracy's sake we'll say the old man's Parkinson's acted up and Blam! Another notch for the season's body count. Six: So now Jack and his Dad are a team (Bicardi and... seltzer? Soda? old wrinkly cranberries?) and track down the one-armed wonder doc at the most obvious place he could go... home. Casa de Romano. Seven: Not making the same mistake twice, Jack goes in with 20 agents to capture one little wonder doc. What's this mean? Torture time! Eight: Romano gives in and let's himself be tortured. Again. Jack starts him on some bad ass neurotoxin. Jack of course ups the dose to the magical 8cc mark, a point so toxic, the torture assistant refused to give it for fear of killing the good doctor. Jack politely asks him to proceed, and then threatens him at gunpoint. And to throw Jack off he gives up the ghost from last season's plot, that he was behind Palmer's assassination and all of President Weasel's shenanigans. Jack goes for the death blow, but stops because he doesn't want to kill his brother in front of his dad. That's always something you do when the parents aren't looking. Nine: Captain Dudley does a little improvising and after discussing how well their sooper sekret plan has gone, and how much pain Romano can take, he kills his own flesh and blood. Then threratens to sue CTU. Nice touch. Seriously, the weirdest, most complicated plan ever, ever. I guess it'd have to be to fool the one and only Jack Bauer. And now, without any further ado, your Jack Bauer Moment of ZenTM: It's no coincidence that the tattoo on Mike Tyson's face and the sole of Chuck Norris' Jack Bauer's boot share the same pattern. Michael Jackson's face is a result of a Chuck Norris Jack Bauer ass kicking. Chuck Norris' Jack Bauer has won placing bets on the Super Bowl every year for the last 40 years. Not because he successfully picked the winning team each year, but because the bookies are too scared to tell him he was wrong. Heh. UPDATE @ 12:24pm 2/8/07: Thanks to New World Order for hosting this week's Carnival of Bauer! Check out the other submissions...

Big game this weekend... What do the pros do to prepare?

A small insight into the mind of a professional athlete (warning... completely inappropriate and hysterically funny language). Thanks to Rex Grossman for being our guinea pig. Is that Berrian? I think he's triple-covered. You know what? Fuck it. I'm throwing it downfield. Yeah, I see Jones open on the flank. But fuck that. Dumpoff passes are for faggots. I'm fucking Sexy Rexy Grossman. I can get that ball in there. And, even if I can't, I bet I'll be able to pull it off the next go round. I like throwing the ball long. It makes my dick hard. What's that? I should throw a quick slant? Fuck that. That's gay. Button hook? Gay. Flare out? Gay. Screen pass? Kevin Spacey gay. This is fucking football. You can't just expect wins to come to you. You can't massage that shit. You gotta grab that game by the throat and rape the ever-loving shit out of it. You think a 5-yard out is gonna win you a game? You're a pussy. This ain't John Shoop running this offense. Sexy Rexy's got the arm. The dragon. You gotta unleash the dragon. Go read the rest... I wonder what Peyton's thinking....

Doctor debunks the anti-smoking data and other legislative nonsense...

I heard Dennis mention this article yesterday and interview the doctor who wrote it today. Dr. Gio Batta Gori is a renown epidemiologist and toxicologist and for whatever reason, the WaPo decided to publish his piece. Here's a snippet... Lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases develop at advancing ages. Estimating the risk of those diseases posed by secondhand smoke requires knowing the sum of momentary secondhand smoke doses that nonsmokers have internalized over their lifetimes. Such lifetime summations of instant doses are obviously impossible, because concentrations of secondhand smoke in the air, individual rates of inhalation, and metabolic transformations vary from moment to moment, year after year, location to location. In an effort to circumvent this capital obstacle, all secondhand smoke studies have estimated risk using a misleading marker of "lifetime exposure." Yet, instant exposures also vary uncontrollably over time, so lifetime summations of exposure could not be, and were not, measured. Typically, the studies asked 60--70 year-old self-declared nonsmokers to recall how many cigarettes, cigars or pipes might have been smoked in their presence during their lifetimes, how thick the smoke might have been in the rooms, whether the windows were open, and similar vagaries. Obtained mostly during brief phone interviews, answers were then recorded as precise measures of lifetime individual exposures. In reality, it is impossible to summarize accurately from momentary and vague recalls, and with an absurd expectation of precision, the total exposure to secondhand smoke over more than a half-century of a person's lifetime. No measure of cumulative lifetime secondhand smoke exposure was ever possible, so the epidemiologic studies estimated risk based not only on an improper marker of exposure, but also on exposure data that are illusory. So we're basing scientific studies and are forming public policy on nothing more than anecdotal assumptions? Great. One thing to note here is that no one is saying second hand smoke isn't unhealthy, all we're questioning is how unhealthy. Is it worth the panic that the prohibitionist anti-smoking zealots have caused? The answer there is an emphatic no. The risk of cancer due to second hand smoke is largely exaggerated. There's no reason to ban smoking outdoors as several SoCal cities have done. There's no reason to force privately owned businesses to prohibit smoking. It kind of makes you wonder what else are scientists with agendas lying about... Global warming perhaps? Is global warming really humanity's fault? They talk all about CO2 emissions, but fail to note that over the last century as temperatures have increased, during that same period CO2 emissions have dropped. Maybe those scientists are using the same computer models that back in the 70's were predicting a global freeze or reports that had us running out of landfill space by 2000 due to the overwhelming amount of garbage we produce. That's the best part about liberal agendas... you can talk and talk and talk, throwing out opinions as if they were facts and never be held accountable to them by the MSM. It must be nice. And then in the name of energy conservation, California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine has introduced a bill that would ban incandescent light bulbs... You know up until now, I'd thought the banning trans fats in restaurants was the dumbest piece of legislation going. Levine's bill is completely f*cking retarded. If you want people to buy florescent bulbs because they're more energy effficient, you don't start by banning he competition, you make the alternative more attractive. Pass tax breaks for the manufacturers and tax incentives for the consumer. You don't make light bulbs illegal. It's like California (and the rest of the country for that matter now that the Dems are in charge) is being manhandled and driven right off a cliff by a bunch of 2 year olds in the Democratic party. And dumb 2 year olds at that! "We don't like this... ban it! This makes us feel bad... ban it! Personal responsibility and a free market system? Rubbish! We know what's best for everybody!" What a bunch of crap.