Cynthia McKinney, who is a hideously ugly person in mind, spirit, and other ways has taken it upon herself to punch a Capitol police officer. Apparently, he shouted after her 3 times as he did not see her congressional pin (she wasn't wearing it) and when he touched her, whaPOW! Right in the kisser. While this whole situation is on camera, and could be alleviated by Congresswoman McKinney apologizing to the officer, we all know that this will not happen given already inflated egos in Congress. What I make up for in lack of surprise can be found in my unfathomable disappointment that McKinney has decided to play the race card. With an official Hollywood representative by her insane side, McKinney made the following statement: Unfortunately, the Police Officer did not recognize me as a Member of Congress and a confrontation ensued. Fortunately, Nancy Pelosi came to the rescue by assuring us the police officer that stopped McKinney in a misguided attempt to keep members of Congress secure was not at fault. What was the officer not at fault of, Nancy? He was definitely guilty of doing his job, so maybe you are granting him forgiveness for not immediately arresting McKinney as he should have on a charge of assault? I don't know, you crazy libs! You keep me on my toes! Pelosi also issued the following statement: (it was) a mistake, an unfortunate lack of recognition of a member of Congress. So I ask you America, has Congress morphed into an untouchable form of royalty, unseen in this country for 200+ years? Are we to assume if our filthy proletariat bodies come within a certain distance of a Congressperson we'll be forgiven and dismissed? Sad state of affairs here. UPDATE 04/03/06: McKinney has decided to take the "discredit the Capitol Police as ignorant racists" approch, as previously documented here. It shouldn't get her very far in the case, but check this quote: Members of Congress are allowed to bypass the metal detectors and security checkpoint. They are supposed to wear a lapel pin that identifies them as lawmakers. McKinney acknowledges she wasn't wearing one when she was stopped, but concurred with Myart that police should know who she is. "The pin is not the issue," the six-time congresswoman said. "The issue is face recognition." This pretty much sums it up right here. That's right, Capitol Police be on notice, you are now to memorize the 535 faces of Congress, most of whom you see for about 5 seconds on a semi-daily basis (if that), among many other faces of staffers, lobbyists, and tourists. If they don't, Banana Man and Lethal Weapon will lay the smack down.

Sure, we have minor issues in this nation such as the War on Terror and the invasion of the United States by illegal immigrants, but who cares about such trivialities? I mean, a Supreme Court justice has MADE A HAND GESTURE! And it MIGHT BE OBSCENE! MAYBE! DEPENDING ON WHO YOU ASK! He made the super-duper controversial gesture when asked what he thought of his critics no less! *GASP* Yep, apparently some critics felt that since he was a devout Catholic that regularly worships in PUBLIC (OMG), he may not be impartial as a judge! How dare he be dismissive to those that hate him. The Boston Herald has ten... that's right, TEN articles on this. It's a front page story. Newspapers wonder why their subscription rates and clout have diminished. Yeah, I wonder.

A great article that I just discovered through RightWinged.com. For all your 9/11 myth debunking needs. I swear, anyone who truly believes that the WTC attacks were perpetrated by the government of the United States needs to be put in a straightjacket and locked in a padded room for the rest of their natural lives. Check out the article at RightWinged as well, apparently Charlie Sheen is a nutjob (must run in the family).

I've done some redecorating within my link list, and added a couple. Of note, The Cafeteria is Closed is a fantastic site dedicated to Catholicism and the orthodoxy therein. Ironically, I'm thinking of starting a blog with nearly identical goals... or possibly two blogs dealing with liturgical abuse and general Catholic orthodoxy.

There is apparently some pretty strong opposition in Congress to putting a wall along part of the United States - Mexico border. I ask, why? People get angry when the U.S. aggressively defends herself vis-a-vis Afghanistan and Iraq. People get angry when the U.S. decides to passively defend herself with a wall or missle defense. Why the outrage over U.S. self defense? If it were up to the rest of the world, the U.S. would be an open borders nation, free for anyone to pilliage and rape at their leisure. Unfortunately for them, this is simply impossible barring a full Marxist world government or anarchy on the same scale. So I ask again... WHY would some in the U.S. own Congress oppose it? Votes? Cheap labor? Self hatred? I'm at a loss. Update (Same Day): Here's a little taste of what we're dealing with.

Bush = Hitler... no... wait, Pope Benedict XVI = Hitler... hold on a second... this just in... EVERYONE = Hitler. Wow. He truly was a universal leader. I guess.

It's not impossible. It has happened once before. Once. But unless Clair Muscaro stepping down signifies a sea change for the OHSAA board, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Like there's any doubt the Titans will draft Vince Young during the 2006 NFL Draft. At least there had better NOT be any doubt. From what I understand, Steve McNair has been helping with his progression and coaching for some time, so he would be the most logical replacement in Tennessee's system. His performance in the Rose Bowl each of the last 2 years has been nothing short of incredible. I can't wait for draft day... that's for sure.

Looks like the NFL is cracking down on TD celebrations, though it doesn't look as drastic as I had initially feared. Also unbeknownst to me Jeff Fisher, the head coach of my favorite team, is head of the NFL's Competition Committee which handles such things. There's a not-so-fine line between fun celebrations (most of what Chad Johnson does) and taunting (T.O. dancing on the Dallas Star, cell phone after TD), hopefully they will enforce against taunting as exclusively as they can.

Going back to unmoderated comments. If you don't bring anything constructive to the conversation, your comment will be deleted. This includes ludicrous, incendiary, and malevolent comments. If you can't tell if your comment falls into the categories listed above, don't post it, because it does.

Richard Cohen has a brilliant piece regarding the Christian convert in Afghanistan, and how it relates to the Arab world as a whole. This article also speaks to the larger question many of us ask ourselves every day... where is the outcry in the Middle East over a case such as this one? How can an entire region of the world feel it's just "ok" to murder someone because of their religious beliefs? Hat Tip: TKS on NRO

Just another example of why global warming isn't caused by humans, if in fact it is happening. I'd like to take this moment to thank Time magazine for provoking me to do the research required to figure out which angle they were lying from this time. Here's another site that has a lot of good information.

There is a LOT of it, but you wouldn't know that from reading the MSM. These days, I'm having a hard time finding any good news at ALL in the MSM. So consumed by their own hatred of George W. Bush, Republicans, and especially conservatives, they just cannot find anything positive at all about life. Well, here are a few snippets from the avalanche of good news flowing forth from Iraq and covered up by the MSM, compliments of Bill Crawford of NRO: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

America, it is time to stand and defend yourself. Our nation has been invaded, and we now must act to stop it before it is too late. For years, Michael Savage has been broadcasting about the threat we face, and the enemy within. If we do not quell the tsunami of ILLEGAL immigration, our very nation faces a peril similar to that suffered by great nations and civilizations of the past. Update (Same Day): David Frum sums it all up nicely, even going so far as to call out the president for calling everyone who disagrees with him on the right bigots.

I'm not referring to the "alternative" operating system, either. There will be 15 new cardinals in the church soon, as I recently found out while scanning Jimmy Akin's blog. His post also contains several good links, notably this one giving brief baseball-card rundowns on the works of each cardinal and we can expect from them. So far, I've been impressed with B16's leadership in the Church.

I was looking through my older bookmarks and happened across this gem, produced by an IDF soldier. The Israel/Palestine struggle is truly epic, very sad, and probably the most misunderstood conflict of our time. Also on this site is a 2 week photojournal worth checking out.

Most of you are probably aware of the following, but I'll post them anyway for those who are not aware: An alternative to those hippies in Vermont - Star Spangled Ice Cream Great source of conservative gear here - Right Wing Stuff I'll probably tack on some more links a little later.

Cindy, though I know it is a waste of my time, and I'm semi-glad you're no longer in the spotlight as you were quite a boon to the pro-victory crowd, could you not at least purchase a simple headstone for your son? While you're at it, might as well install a small dance floor above his grave, and some permanant "donation hats" so people can toss money and fame in your general direction, which you seem to value above all things. Maybe a disco ball or two? No, because that might be distasteful. Wouldn't want to disrupt your image as the "peace mom." Why no headstone? From the family: Cindy has not taken the time to purchase a headstone for Casey. He remains in an unmarked grave 18 months after his death.

John Murtha has become a rallying point for antiwar Democrats, much in the same mold as John "I was in Vietnam" Kerry. Should we put more weight on a politician's words simply because they fought in war? Maybe, maybe not. Here's a great article on why the Murtha Democrats are full of it.

The irrelevant U.N. has set its sights on Lego (presumably because Lego is located in Denmark, who has the gall to screen for intolerance in their immigration policies). What a worthy cause, to attack Lego. The U.N. sure is brave to stand up to a toy making company, and a small European nation rather than the practically nonexistant problem of Iran getting nukes and blowing up the world. Yeah, way to go guys. Just when you think they couldn't become less relevant, they pull off something like this and totally redeem themselves. Hat Tip: NRO

Actually the list is much longer than that. If you visit Zombie's Photo Archive of many anti-war, anti-Israel, and anti-American rallies (with a few pro-anarchy rallies thrown in for good measure), you'll see the whole spectrum of people I model my life around NOT being like. WARNING: UNCENSORED. Back in the olden days at WSU, I'd periodically wear my College Republicans t-shirt to various liberal events. I'd get some pretty cold, stern stares when I did this. All-inclusive, unless you disagree with them. UPDATE (Same Day): Well... turns out GHWB was responsible for the JFK assassination! Color me surprised! Also, GW planned 9/11, and is using the WoT to further his goals of a National Socialist style gov't circa 1930's-1940's. Dang! Get this, the Secret Service has the same initials as the famous Nazi enforcers! Don't take my word for it, you can read all about it here!

Pope Benedict XVI is turning the substantial rudders of the Vatican in a new direction regarding the historical purpose/meaning of the Crusades. I hope this trend continues, and Pope Benedict XVI continues to stand up for the Church. I loved Pope John Paul II, but he was pretty big on apologies that for the most part were unecessary. To err is human, the Church does not and cannot err. Hat Tip: Little Green Footballs

Dave has a great article on St. Patrick's day here. Happy Feast of St. Patrick! I'm 25% Irish, but of my ancestry, it is the Irish I am the most proud of. They have kept the faith (though western influences and liberal politicians are threatening to change that) and are a solid people. If I were to travel outside the United States currently, Ireland is where I would go. Now if only England would give up the last tiny fragment of their empire... c'mahhhhhn guys, you know you want to. It's OK, you're already in the history books, now give it up! As my grandma (whose mother was from Ireland) says: Go n-éirí an bóthar leat Go raibh an ghaoth go brách ag do chúl Go lonraí an ghrian go te ar d'aghaidh Go dtite an bháisteach go mín ar do pháirceanna Agus go mbuailimid le chéile arís, Go gcoinní Dia i mbos A láimhe thú. May the road rise to meet you May the wind be always at your back May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields And until we meet again May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

I've only recently been made aware that George Clooney attended my gradeschool. Actually, I may have known this at some point in the past, but pushed it out of my mind as the thought of attending the same school as someone so devoid of intelligence was too painful. I apologize, world. I suppose this was inevitable, as the priest at St. Susanna is a reformist liberal theologian. Fr. Harry is a genuinely good guy, always positive, smiling, and happy to see you. Also, he is very dedicated to the Lord. Unfortunately he feels it is his right, nay his duty to take as many liberties with the sacred liturgy as possible. The parish as a whole is very liberal, to the point of alienating individuals such as myself who would choose to worship in a more classic, traditional manner. While I'm on a St. Susanna tangent, bear with me while I elaborate on my theological slant. I'm a traditional orthodox Catholic. This doesn't mean that I'm schismatic, in the mold of the Lefebvrists, but rather that I feel "toeing the line" during liturgy and all things officially Catholic is an absolute must. This is Church law, however many priests (and a particularly high amount in the Cincinnati Archdiocese) feel taking liberties with the process of the Mass is a-ok. This position has been rebuked by the Vatican time and time again. You know, I'm all about working to help the youth embrace the Church and Her doctrines, but if you're going to have a DRUM SET during Mass, please warn the people who actually want to spend the time praying and reflecting on life and their relationship with God. I also feel that "meeting your neighbor" before, during, or after Mass is disruptive to the meditative state I wish to be in during liturgy. The opening song in a Mass I attended in Florida? Well, I don't remember the details (likely because I could only see red I was so angry), but it had something to do with Jesus putting on the Ritz, to the song of the same name. I do not hate Protestants, but there is a reason I do not attend their services. While I lived briefly in Northern Kentucky (about 10 miles outside of Cincy), the Masses were consistently much closer to the orthodoxy, leading me to believe this is an Archdiocesan problem. What's a lay person to do? Well, visit Jimmy Akin's site for starters.

I recently bought a Yakima bike rack at our local cyclery. It's a solid product, a hitch rack that's much better than other bike-hauling options. After putting it together (a very simple process, despite the semi-ambiguous instructions) I noticed that a small piece was broken. I mentally prepared myself for the impending battle with customer service that seems to be so prevalant these days, but was stunned soon after the call. First, I was greeted by an American. I have nothing against those of other nationalities, but being able to hear the voice of an American first thing after going through the prompts was pleasantly stunning. Second, the American on the line was extremely friendly and casual, as if we had been friends for some time. Third, when I started to describe the issue he immediately recognized the problem and advised that a new part would be at my door as soon as possible. I'm amazed that there seems to be an American company that is still oriented toward customer service. Yakima products are pricey, but they are worth it for many reasons. Buy Yakima. DO IT. DO IT NOW.

My goodness. Just when you think the MSM is about to completely bury George W. Bush, the Democrats swoop up from below (if that's possible) to steal defeat from the jaws of victory. I jumped over to Drudge last night, and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but Debbie Stabenow brandishing a giant "Dangerously Incompetent" sign on an easel. Not only this, but good ole' Russ Feingold, 15th place presidential hopeful for the Democrats in 2008 calling for a censure on the President. Ahhhh... for all the votes Moveon and Kos have lost the Democrats over the years, they sure must be able to raise a WHOLE LOTTA money. For Republicans and conservatives, they're money in the bank. As Howard Dean might say, YEAAAAAAAAAARRRRGH!! UPDATE (Same Day): Oh, THIS is rich. My goodness. The Democrats have opted to change strategies (temporarily I'm sure) from "Bush is the Incompetent Devil" to "Operation: Broadband." I'm sure they'll nail down the gigantic "free broadband, high taxes" vote. Clearly low-cost broadband internet access is a much more pressing issue than say... the War on Terror, education, or the economy.

Chef has left the show. Why? His official reason: "There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins," the 63-year-old soul singer said in a statement. Hmmmm... but hasn't South Park been poking fun at religion (sometimes VERY hard fun) for its entire existence? Trey Parker, as usual, is spot-on: He said he and co-creator Trey Parker "never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin." Indeed. I'm a devout Catholic, and over the years my faith has consistently been a target of South Park. Most of the time however, the criticism was offered in a... ahem... fair humorous manner, and in the COMPLETELY over the top style of Parker and Stone. I'm not sure what this says about Scientology, but as for Isaac Hayes he's either a bigot or a hypocrite. UPDATE 03/17/06: Comedy Central has upped the ante, pulling a repeat of the episode due to air last night. Never a friend of Christianity or other established world religions, apparently Scientology is the network's officially endorsed religion. In response to the episode not airing, Matt and Trey issued the following statement: "So, Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for earth has just begun! Temporarily anozinizing our episode will NOT stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies. Curses and drat! You have obstructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail! Hail Xenu!!!" The duo signed the statement "Trey Parker and Matt Stone, servants of the dark lord Xenu."

My brother and sis'n'law have been working VERY hard over the past year to help their daughter get in to Mother Theresa Catholic Elementary. The hours they have worked, time they have put in, and changes they have made to their lives to accomodate the schedule of St. Max Church and the school have been massive. They were told this would affect positively the likelyhood that my wonderful niece would be able to attend their institution in the Fall. Also, a lengthy essay about their lives in relation to the Church, and personal references were to be weighed for this purpose. What we found out a couple of days ago is that the parents that run the school decided it was too hard to decide, so they drew names from a hat. That's right, names randomly drawn from a HAT. This is what happens when parents and parishoners run a school as opposed to the Archdiocese and Religious.

There was a time when John Zogby was considered the preeminent best pollster in the nation, with no peers to rival him. In fact, during the 2000 election cycle, I was more inclined to believe the Portrat of America poll with it's obscenely low <2% margin of error. You see having taken many polisci classes at WSU, and a particularly good one of which a part was focused on polling practices (thanks Dr. Adams!), I know that any poll with a >3% MOE is pretty much completely invalid. Even a 3% MOE isn't THAT accurate. Turns out that Zogby had the numbers right that year, and POA was WAY off. I'm still not sure how they got that low MOE figured out. Anyway, for 2004 I focused on Zogby's numbers, which fortunately turned out to be wrong. Now, he's releasing a ridiculously slanted poll. How the mighty have fallen. Speaking of the mighty falling, I had CNN on in the background yesterday (not sure how it wound up on, but it was) and the steady rattling off of TERRIBLE news here, TERRIBLE news there, BUSH BAD BUSH BAD BUSH BAD was almost too much to take. I'm beginning to think if the MSM doesn't start getting their way, they will try to incite a national riot/revolution. UPDATE 03/13/2006: Here's a GREAT article by Jim Geraghty on this very topic.

Well, I thought I'd hop on out to Laura Ingraham's page and mistyped it as http://www.lauraingram.com. While not a page I'll visit regularly, it's worth the trip. I bet she gets a lot of hits from people looking for the "other" Laura! Thanks John Ingram for brightening my day with your adorable daughter and her super-cute puppy!

So I went phone shopping the other day and found out that corded, outlet powered (backlit) speakerphones simply do not exist anymore. Undoubtedly, the phone companies make more money from cordless battery powered models, both in the initial sale and post-sale batteries, however this is not the main point of this post. I have a terrific VTech phone (vt2498) with all the afforementioned features. This phone, since being stored in a climate controlled environment for over a year due to my move, has periodically briefly rung (every 30 mins on the dot, no other phones do it) and the wireless handset will not reconnect to the base. Having relayed this detailed info to VTech support, here is the response I received: Dear Charles, Thank you for your recent inquiry to our Consumer Sales and Service Center. Keep the original email attached to our response in case further assistance is needed. We apologize for any difficulty you are experiencing with your VTech telephone product. To evaluate the problem you are experiencing, please see the product information located in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section that appears on our www.vtechphones.com web site. Note: Depending on the age of your unit, a User's Manual may also be available for download via the above web site (located under Customer Support). We find that many operational questions can be answered by reviewing the User's Manual. If after reviewing the FAQs and/or User's Manual and your product does not work, please click on the link below to obtain replacement information for your product: http://www.vtechphones.com/vtechui/support/replacement.cfm VTech Communications Consumer Sales and Service Center ----------------------------------------------------------------- * Click the following link to visit our online store for all of your telephone and accessory needs! http://www.vtechphones.com/vtechui/shop * Your product may qualify for the VTech Product Protection Plan. Click the link below for more information. http://www.vtechphones.com/vtechui/warranty/warranty.cfm To paraphrase: Sorry customer, we have no idea what the problem is! Here, go the the FAQ site which does not have the answer and you've obviously checked already, or download the already checked manual! If these don't have the answer, and we've already covered that, then you're free to buy a brand new VTech phone! You can also buy accessories! If you still have any money left, you can buy our warranty plan as well! Aren't you lucky? Huh? You want some more? Let me put on my brass customer service knuckles! Whew. I feel better now.

Fr. Chris Rohmiller passed away on February 25, 2006. I considered him my favorite priest, and counted him as a truly great friend. This is one of those situations, I suppose, where you do some soul searching and wish you had a chance to say goodbye. I have a feeling that Fr. Chris is doing fine, and knows that he will be greatly missed not only by me, but by many others as well. He changed my life, and was a truly great man. UPDATE 03/06/06: My good friend David Oatney has a great writeup on Fr. Chris. He was much loved.

I've added links to my favorite talk shows in the left column. Generally these will be in the order of my preference, however I'm keeping Rush at the top to show respect for the guy that almost single handedly saved the AM format and spawned an entirely new genre of media. Of course, Hugh Hewitt also has a talk show (and a decent one at that), but I'm keeping him under the Blogs heading as he has taken up the flag of that genre and waves it furiously helping to validate the format. Neither Rush nor Hugh were the "first" in their class, but they have done more to further their respective media formats than anyone else.

...even if he is from Cleveland. The second hour of his show today (missed the first, not sure what he covered) involved playing a tape recorded high school teacher arguing that while Bush and Hitler were not the same person (given his comments following this, I presume he meant physically) their "tone" was similar. Glenn then proceeded to imitate Bushes tone, and followed with Hitlers. FUNNY stuff, and his show is always entertaining. If you don't get him in your local area (which we here in Cincinnati no longer do), you can sign up here.

Testing comments, moving back to Blogger moderation.

Ken Blackwell continues his roll to the GOP nomination. "I expect this kind of negative campaigning from the Democrats, but Ken Blackwell should have a better strategy for winning this primary than simply burning down the house," Bennett added. But Bob, the house is rotten and full of RATS! It's insalvageable, would you keep a condemned blighted house around when someone is offering a brand new one? WAKE UP OHIO GOP, IT'S TIME TO RECLAIM THE STATE PARTY!