weekend update--Romney drops out, so do I...

this blog has been seriously neglected, and i need to change that, but life's been throwing a bunch of curveballs at me lately, and my eyes aren't near as sharp as they once were.

well, so Romney dropped out the other day, 'for the sake of the party', or whatever. when i listened to the speech the other day, my heart just began to sink. i was originally behind him, then i flirted with Fred for the week or two he was officially in the running, then back to Mitt. i thought he was a real class act, and my heart and mind were moving towards becoming completely invested in his campaign. i never questioned his "conservative credentials", and his "flip-flops" on key issues were not a problem to me. hell, i've followed the same path. people grow. people change. he was moving in the right direction.

last night my band played a gig here in gainesville, FL. after a few beers, i needed some relief, so i strolled into the men's room. what i saw at the urinal made me laugh out loud....



i don't think "this picture sums it up" would be accurate...but, it sure was funny. kind of eerie, too...

How a Ron Paul supporter 'learned to love Big Brother'

Revolusion 2008 has the most amazing sequence of screenshots featuring one of RP's big supporters having an online meltdown over the release of old RP newsletters which have been been raising questions, at the very least, of whether RP is a racist and/or homophobic. examples (oh, and this is one guy over the course of a few hours):

"Need some come back lines real quick. They aren't buying the campaign's story after seeing these."

"My roomates just came in and looked at the solicitation letter, they are screaming. I am going to get some drinks..."

"I think what upsets me most is that the campaign ran with the line that they knew nothing about them when they were written and were denounced, now with the way they were written and the signatures...I feel like i do nothing but make excuses anymore.. DAMN!"

"OK, OK, I think I'm seeing clearly now...look who we are fighting. if these people can manufacture a war...."

"Quit fucking telling me to relax. it seems we are always being told "trust us". I need more right now."

"Let's just stick with the line that the signatures are fake. Anything else just confuses the situation."

"How do we get this out there?"

"...but the point is to repeat it over and over. we can make that thought reality."

just some excerpts, but, essentially, this guy could be told 2+2=5 at this point..

i've always heard that you can judge someone by the friends they keep...and here's Klansman David Duke offering Paul advice on how to cope, probably unsolicited, but online.


thanks to LGF.

hillary--the new "comeback kid"!

the pre-election polls showed her up to 12 points behind Barack...with around 47% of the votes in, she's ahead by 39%-37%...women are voting for her (according to MSNBC exit polls) 47%-30%, and women are making up 55+% of the vote.

this is a HUGE surprise to me. and to everyone else.

on the other side, McCain seems to be cruising...5% points over Romney with about half the votes counted...37%-32%...Rudy floundering, Fred floundering...

UPDATE: left-wingers already blaming Diebold for Hillary's mysterious comeback...

UPDATE #2: at 11 o'clock pm EST, MSNBC is reporting that Fred has 1% of the vote...i will have to find someone else to support...and i'm not so worried about the philosophy...no matter who the president is, i'll still be able to have an abortion no matter who wins, and i'll still pay almost no income tax..........

"Global Warming" ain't all THAT bad...

because, according to writer Dave Lindorff, it "...will save America from the right....eventually"

apparently this stuff passes for intelligence at the Baltimore Chronicle. Lindorff's argument is that if you look at the map of the US, you'll see that the vast amount of the area which is low-lying (and, thus, will end up underwater) tends to be in the southern states, which tend to be the most conservative. anticipating anyone wondering about "liberal" areas that would be lost to the rising ocean, Lindorff simply waves off that silly question:

Sure, Boston, New York and Philadelphia will be threatened, but these are geographically confined areas that could lend themselves to protection by Dutch-style dikes.

whew! THAT problem solved. i guess the people in the south will be too stupid or blinded by their own conservatism to figure out how to build sea walls, canals, or any other way that humans will come up with to adapt to changing environments. they'll just drown like the pharaoh's army, while smug liberals will assume the gene hackman posture from "the Posiedon Adventure" and topple the christmas tree which was the only way out, according to "the believers", leaving the doubters to die, albeit with party favors...

the conservative midwest will also face the wrath of the angry global warming gods. the farmland will be worthless, the reservoirs will dry up. they, too, will apparently be too stupid to see this coming and will just die instead of moving. then, Lindorff theorizes that the stifling heat will spell doom for conservative-leaning retirement communities in the American Southwest! NO conservative will be spared! all will be smitten! "so let it be written, so let it be done"...

There is a poetic justice to this of course. It is conservatives who are giving us the candidates who steadfastly refuse to have the nation take steps that could slow the pace of climate change, so it is appropriate that they should bear the brunt of its impact.

The important thing is that we, on the higher ground both actually and figuratively, need to remember that, when they begin their historic migration from their doomed regions, we not give them the keys to the city. They certainly should be offered assistance in their time of need, but we need to keep a firm grip on our political systems, making sure that these guilty throngs who allowed the world to go to hell are gerrymandered into political impotence in their new homes.

hey, Lindorff, does your pea-brain ever consider the possibility that all of these transplants will no doubt just move into your "turf", and possibly change it's political character? without the farm belt, aren't millions going to starve, anyway? what if the conservatives, who, unlike the liberal "blue-staters" don't sit around and wait for the nanny state to come bail them out of any crisis, prove to be more hardy in this tougher world? how exactly do you plan to feed your new liberal majority? food for thought...

no surprise here--Dems accepted, even "encouraged" waterboarding in 2002...

it's come to be known as an example of the "excesses of the Bush Administration", but, as this Washington Post story explains, there was nothing secret about waterboarding, or the rendition program either. the congress' intelligence committees were briefed on them by CIA officials, as per US law.

secrecy concerns, typical of intelligence dealing with national security, kept these briefings from being made public. among those that were present were now speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi, ex-senator Bob Graham (D-FL), Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), Rep. Porter Goss (R-FL, eventually CIA director for awhile). Harman is the only one to have raised objections. Graham insists he never heard of the procedure.

big "free speech" stinkies afloat here at the Univ. of Florida

it all started with some groups on campus wanting to show the movie "Obsession--Radical Islam's War Against the West", back on November 13. Fliers were hung around campus, featuring the slogan "RADICAL ISLAM WANTS YOU DEAD". terror filled the hearts and minds of left-wing pantywaists...that's not very tolerant!

muslim students, and i'm sure some "thoughtful" professors and student activists at UF complained to the administration, so the following email was sent out to the entire student body:

November 26, 2007

To: All University Students
From: Dr. Patricia Telles-Irvin
Vice President for Student Affairs

Re: Official Response to a recent advertisement for the movie "Obsession"

Throughout our country, we have witnessed a rise in offensive behavior and actions taken against others, which has created greater divisiveness and misunderstandings among the various ethnic groups residing in our communities. One of these events occurred on our campus recently with the promotion of an event.

Advertisements for the movie "Obsession" sponsored by several student organizations appeared during the past several weeks on campus bulletin boards and they illustrate the importance of balancing freedom of speech with responsibility.

The ads, which promoted a showing of the movie on Nov. 13 and a panel discussion afterward, entitled "Radical Islam Wants You Dead," offended many Muslim students on campus. Regardless of its original intent, the language reinforced a negative stereotype, created unnecessary divisiveness and contributed to a generalization that only furthers the misunderstanding of the religion of Islam.

We cannot speak of rights without also addressing the responsibility associated with our actions or statements, including understanding the potential consequences. One of our roles as a learning institution is to teach our students to express themselves freely, and also in a fair and conscientious manner. In an academic setting, differences of opinions are strongly encouraged, yet such opinions must be based on accurate information when describing other members of the community.

Unfortunately, in the case of the "Obsession" ads, that did not happen. I believe the groups that posted them owe the campus, and particularly campus members of the Islamic faith, an apology and a clarification.

At the University of Florida we have embraced a set of values, one of which is diversity. Diversity is not just about having representation from various cultures on campus, it also is having each member contribute to an inclusive and safe environment and collectively enhancing our understanding and appreciation of the richness brought by such differences. The University of Florida is committed to being an institution of excellence, where all members are valued and feel safe on our campus. Our role as an institution is to create opportunities for students to learn in an open and accepting environment; one that emphasizes respect for all. Let's remember that part of our mission is to prepare each other to be effective members of a global community. With that in mind, I encourage each member of our campus community as a start to learn more about the religion of Islam and some of its tenets of peace, hard work, charity and compassion.

There is little room for divisiveness in our world if we are to find peace and understanding among us. We all can win if we focus on greater inclusion and understanding as well as the delicate balance between our rights and responsibilities.

in response to this email, UF junior Ashley Emans re-directs:

Now the university administration is demanding an apology from the five hosting student organizations: College Republicans, Law School Republicans, the Jewish Law Students Association, the Jewish Student Union, and Gators For Israel.

in response, UF's College Republicans and Law School Republicans answered publicly in the Alligator (more or less the "official" student paper...to paraphrase--"no apology will be forthcoming". good for them, high fives all around...

Florida's attorney general, Bill McCollum, jumped into the fray, with this letter to UF president Bernie Machen:

Dear Dr. Machen:

It has come to my attention that Dr. Patricia Telles-Irvin, the University of Florida Vice President for Student Affairs, sent a letter November 26 to all university students entitled “official response” highly critical of an ad for the showing of the movie “Obsession” which was posted around the campus. A copy of this letter is attached for your reference.

Dr. Telles-Irvin’s letter may have violated the free speech rights of the students and organizations who posted this ad and sponsored the movie. At the very least it has created a chilling effect on the free speech rights of students enrolled at the University of Florida. As the Attorney General of Florida, it is my duty to protect the constitutional rights of all Floridians including civil rights and free speech rights. Consequently, I have asked attorneys in my office to review this matter and advise me what if any action this office should pursue. I am writing to request that you review this matter with your staff, legal counsel and the University of Florida Board of Trustees and, if they concur with my concerns, formulate and take some appropriate remedial action.

No doubt Dr. Telles-Irvin was responding in her letter to the sensitivities of the Muslim students on campus. While the Muslin faith should be honored and respected and most practicing Muslims are not radical and not terrorists, the United States has been at war with radical Islamic terrorists since September 11, 2001. The movie “Obsession,” which I have seen, describes the nature of our enemy and this war. The headline on the ad for the movie reading “RADICAL ISLAM WANTS YOU DEAD” is one of the messages in this movie and is a true statement of the intent of these radical Islamic terrorists. In her letter Dr. Telles-Irvin says, “regardless of its original intent, the language reinforced a negative stereotype, created unnecessary divisiveness and contributed to a generalization that only furthers the misunderstanding of the religion of Islam.” This may be the view of Dr. Telles-Irvin, but a great many Americans would disagree and argue that it is essential to the discussion and understanding of this war that the terrorists be properly and correctly labeled as radical Islamists who by their very actions clearly want us dead. Students and student organizations who hold this latter view should not be stifled in their free expression of it.

By not only criticizing the ad, but also calling on the groups that posted the ad to apologize, Dr. Telles-Irvin, intentionally or not, has chilled free speech on the UF campus. It may be that her intent with this letter was simply to encourage students when speaking of radical Islamists to put them in context by also making a statement that most practitioners of the Islamic faith are not terrorists and not radical Islamists. But that is not the effect of her letter. And I would submit that when one posts an ad for a movie it isn’t practical to expect a “clarification,” as perhaps Dr. Telles-Irvin thinks is needed when speaking of radical Islamists.

It has also come to my attention that students and/or faculty tore down most of the posted flyers advertising this movie and that some of those doing so wore hoods. It seems to me that the university should investigate this behavior and prosecute or discipline those who engaged in such conduct. To permit this kind of conduct without an appropriate response has an even more chilling effect on free speech on the campus than Dr. Telles-Irvin’s letter.

Your early attention to this matter is most appreciated.

Sincerely,
Bill McCollum

Dr. Telles-Irvin must've realized she was in WAY over her head, because she sent out this email, "clarifying" the first one:

To: All UF students

From: Patricia Telles-Irvin, Vice President for Student Affairs
Subject: My e-mail last week

There has been much discussion about an e-mail I sent Nov. 26 regarding the posters advertising the movie "Obsession."

Since that time, some important dialogue has been exchanged between members of the student groups involved. But over the last week, there has been some misunderstanding on the university's position on certain points.

Please allow me to clarify.

* The university supports the rights of students to freely express themselves on any issue.

* The university condemns terrorists acts and those who perpetrate them, regardless of who they are. And we clearly recognize there are people who use Islam to support violence.

* The university has no intention of taking disciplinary action against anyone involved in creating or distributing the posters. That was never a consideration.

* The university has heard allegations that the posters were removed by people who opposed their message. Efforts by the University Police Department and Student Affairs to confirm this or identify offenders were unsuccessful. Removal of posters from proper venues is prohibited by the university's policies and will not be tolerated.

The original intent of my e-mail was to foster greater understanding and communication among groups. As we all surely know, free speech is a cherished right not only in this country but also on this campus. We
should always feel comfortable expressing our diverse opinions.

to sum up, i can't really express it better than Ashley Emams:

UF does so much hand-wringing over racial/ethnic/class/gender/religious diversity, yet it shuns the most important type of diversity a college could ever give: diversity of thought. Conservative impulses are swiftly suppressed, in and out of class, just as the Obsession kerfluffle has proved. Dr. Telles-Irvin and the rest of the administration apparently believe students who feel threatened by radical Islam have forfeited their rights of expression by not falling in line with what is the acceptable opinion according to them, namely that you are not allowed to fear radical Islam.

more from UF student's perspective at collegeotr.com. go gators!

Ron Paul picks up endorsement from the owner of the Moonlight Bunny Ranch

brothel owner Dennis Hof of Nevada has decided to endorse Ron Paul for president, after being pointed in his direction by friend and MSNBC host Tucker Carlson.

one of the elements of Hof's support is a vow to put up a collection box outside the door of the Bunny Ranch~

"I'll do it today," he said. "I'll get all the Bunnies together and we can raise him some money. I'll put up a collection box outside the door. They can drop in $1 dollar, $5 dollar contributions. What a great way for the working girls to support Ron Paul. It's just the right thing to do."

awesome.

...Hof said Paul's anti-establishment, libertarian platform of "live and let live" resonates in a state that permits legalized prostitution.

While Paul professes a limited-government philosophy, he's also hews to a deep Christian faith, is pro-life and reportedly is so traditional that he doesn't travel alone with women.

Campaign spokesman Jeff Greenspan said he doesn't think Paul will have any problem accepting the brothel's money.

"On a personal basis, he doesn't condone those things," Greenspan said. "At the same time, from his campaign perspective, it's not the role of federal government and it's not in the constitution for federal government to regulate these thing. The Nevada voters and Legislature have decided it is a legal activity in this state."

high fives all around!

hat tip to the huffington post.

finally...a political ad worth watching....

uber-anti-illegal alien crusader and republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo has just released a WHOPPER of an ad (probably the best since Goldwater's "daisy" ad in the '64 campaign), and the only way you'll probably ever see it is to click here, because they've yanked it off of YouTube for content...the same YouTube who routinely lets jihadi videos remain on their site no matter how much people complain.

his campaign will never make enough money to actually put this thing on TV anywhere.

i've heard comments to the effect of "it looks like he's claiming the Mexicans are terrorists", but i don't see it.

if you don't believe the islamo-fascists are infiltrating this country, due to our porous borders and weak enforcement, how about a story from YESTERDAY about how an illegal alien woman who worked for the CIA and the FBI pled guilty to conspiracy, unauthorized computer access, and naturalization fraud in a US district court. she had links to hezbollah. she's not allowed to leave the country now, due to the sensitivity of the information she accessed. and, of course, we can't forget the 9/11 hijackers, who all overstayed their visas.

Conservative student with goofy hair hounds liberal professor who's running for congress

story here, with links to youtube video.

basically, this guy Dennis Lennox, a student at Central Michigan University, thinks there's something wrong with a college professor, in this case, Gary Peters, running for congress. it's probably the ideological thing. no...make that DEFINITELY.

my thoughts:

a) the professor is within his rights. anybody can run for congress, and nobody has to step down from their current job to do so.

b) Lennox's tactics are bullshit, but in this new world of "macaca" what partisan can complain of videotapers trying to catch missteps or goading candidates into embarrassing statements?

c) it's just the way it is. Peters needs to deal with it.

this whole new direction is one that i feel we're eventually going to regret. we want our candidates for office to be forthright and spontaneous, but technology is going to force them into becoming hyper-managed and robotic.

technology-1
democracy-0

Brian Doherty on Ayn Rand, "Atlas Shrugged"

this past week marked the 50th anniversary of the release of "Atlas Shrugged", which is still widely popular, if book sales are any indication (the other day it was #107 on amazon), and the planned movie version of the book featuring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, which i blogged about a while ago here on NGNG...

my old buddy and fellow musician Brian Doherty, ex-gainesville punk rocker (The Jeffersons) and , currently the senior editor of Reason magazine, has written an interesting editorial for today's Wall Street Journal--"Rand and the Right". he explores the long-standing contentious relationship between Rand/her supporters and the conservartive movement/Republican party, and makes a case for the political popularity of her philosophy (at least among book readers, a.k.a. voters). read the column...

speaking of Brian Doherty, a few years back he wrote a cool book review for Reason about "A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead", where one of his conclusions was "the Dead is best understood as an amazing, traveling capitalist commune".

the manchurian candidate -- Sen. Mel Martinez

remember: Sen. Martinez is the "CHAIRMAN" of the Republican National Committee.

who is this guy working for? does he have any CLUE about poll results regarding the "comprehensive immigration bill? well, maybe, if you believe MSM press 'reports on the "results" of these polls. interestingly, in this bloomberg account i've linked above, sen. john mccain has been sinking in the polls, even though he is a STRONG supporter of the bill in question. do the people who write these stories think we're stupid? ignorant? we can't READ?

the american people by and large DO NOT want this legislation passed.

elite democrats and elite republicans are trying to sell us out. call your congressman TODAY.

this whole thing REEKS of NAFTA. these people want to DISINTEGRATE our borders.