2007 November | MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Archive for November, 2007

The crazy terrorist Leeland Eisenberg at NH Clinton HQ

A friend of the family said that the man thought that there was a government conspiracy and that government officials were “coming after him.”

Shocker.

This nutter also says he was “molested” by a since-disgraced priest–at 21 years of age.

I was all prepared to say “Paultard” after reading about his conspiracy theory madness, but it looks like this guy is just a general wacko. (Of course, it wouldn’t surprise me if he were a Paultard, but it’s kinda irrelevant.)

Leeland Eisenberg

Leeland Eisenberg in 2007, pointing to a warning police left in his car stating the car was unlocked and that police were concerned the owner could become a victim of property crime.

I’m sure there are quite a few interesting stories about Eisenberg that will emerge before he faces a judge. I’m just glad he was arrested before anyone got hurt; hopefully he won’t be on the streets again for a long time.

How would you describe Code Pink

Arutz Sheva gives it a shot…

*snort*

Rant: The Idiocracy Debate (again)

Well, I was going to let it die (as it should), but since everyone’s talking about it and my inbox is filling with people’s thoughts, I can’t get away from it. I’m still aggravated as hell about that abomination, and not just because of the DNCNN debacle. I’ll say one thing that this stupid “debate” did do, though–it put a big spotlight on how well-organized the Democrats are, and how poorly organized Republicans are nowadays. But you know what? No complaining allowed, because the stupid internet activists set that cast a few years ago with the “Not One Dime” and other negatively-focused organizational efforts. This is the logical conclusion of years of whining about not getting *everything* you want. Well, I hope people are happy with President Hillary, because I’ll tell you what–I have never been pessimistic about our chances of winning, not since 1980. I even thought Bob Dole would beat Slick Willie in 1996. I’m not that optimistic about 2008; not yet, anyway.

But about that Idiocracy Debate. EM Zanotti wrote this in a group email discussion:

I think one fundamental problem with those questions was that about 50% of them were irrelevant. Who cares what a future President thinks of Dick Cheney’s “evilness” or whether he is a Bible literalist? Theoretically, the only people who care about those things are “progressives” or Democrats who aren’t looking to vet but rather to destroy the candidates. But those are also some of the biggest names in YouTube-dom, and the ones who knew to be visible, look normal, have a solid question that CNN has been flogging for months prepared and ready to go.

Now, on the other hand, if you’ve seen the rejected questions, which CNN posted some of the night before the debate, what you had last night seems like not only the most relevant, but also the most coherent. Slim pickin’s, peeps.

Link to the “rejected questions” via EM’s post from the other day.

Call me a curmudgeon, but I absolutely despised the format.. I think what EM said (”slim pickins”) is absolutely crucial here. I can think of one and a half questions I thought were well done: Buzz Brockaway’s, and halfway from Grover Norquist (halfway because it simply added nothing, but at least it was aimed at a “no new taxes” question). No, wait–I appreciated the Mars/space program question, but that’s just a personal space-geek interest of mine–hardly one of most voters, and not one of my top issues either.

Almost all of the Joe Schmoes’ questions (other than the one from Buzz) made me cringe at best, insulted and irate at worst. No, wait–nauseated, at worst. “Oh, Mr. Paul, pleeease save the world and run third party.” ::vomiting:: Most of the questions were either made for demagoguery or phony questions from people who obviously have no intention of voting for any of these candidates. I want them to answer questions that actual Republican primary voters like us care about, not crazy-scary crap like that Bible-waving creep had. And what the hell, a Confederate flag question? How can that be mistaken for anything but an attempt to make someone look bad?

I keep remembering two things: 1) the electorate that submitted questions voted for Clinton twice (illustrating their shallowness), and 2) George Allen and “macaca.” “What?” you say? YouTube and the self-centered ambush mentality of YouTubers and the nutroots (left AND right, but mostly left) have completely erased any shred of maturity and dignity in the process that was left after Slick Willie desecrated the office. I don’t want yahoos shouting rude questions at the potential leaders of the greatest and most powerful nation on earth. George Allen was my choice for 2008 since around 2002, and that was destroyed by an off-hand smart-assed crack from him to one of these clowns that was twisted by YouTube/nutroots yahoos into something it wasn’t and isn’t. People are distraught with the current choices, and I blame the idiocracy for it. Who but someone skilled at “debating” yahoos can survive? Is this what we want in the future? Look how our candidates are treated by the media and the nutroots–and you get asinine questions like “do you believe every word of THIS BOOK” and Evil Bad Cheney cartoons. You get obnoxious cranks like Kerr, and phonies like the Obama and Edwards supporters. You get the whole Ron Paul Cult and their obnoxious, insane spittle. You get the (admittedly funny) guy gunning for his fifteen minutes of YouTube fame by catching rifles and saying “you can answer how you want.” (I’m all for humor, but if I wanted to watch funny gun jokes from some schmo I’d expect to find it elsewhere–or at least from the candidates themselves!) There is no respect for the process or the candidates at all any more.

What next, Republican Party Survivor? Dancing With the Candidates? It disgusts me. I was skeptical before the debate and wasn’t on the Save the Debate bandwagon either, but I wasn’t averse to it; I hoped to be pleasantly surprised. Instead, it was worse than even I had imagined.

Bah. Funny, I just now noticed Tom Delay saying virtually the same thing on Hannity and Colmes–and say what you will about Delay, but the man knows how to get things done. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks this circus is a disgrace. Of course, I think the whole “debate” game is stupid, anyway. It’s glorified hazing. It’s the political equivalent of the Miss USA Swimsuit Competition. It’s just plain stupid, and it in no way indicates who is the best person for the job. It simply allows the Joe Schmo public to be lazy, precluding the requirement for actual research into the candidates’ views and voting records. A “debate” (scare quotes intentional) gives the quick sound bites, and the people in the spin room distill it for the lazy public. How about instead of a stupid “debate,” the networks in play set up 90 minutes for speeches, and give each candidate ten minutes to lay out what he or she stands for and why we should vote for them? Let them sell themselves. They know what issues are important to the voters, and if a candidate doesn’t know, he or she won’t deserve our votes and really ought not be running at all.

Now I know my very negative opinion of this Idiocracy Debate format is firmly in the minority on the internets, but that’s nothing new around here. (Then again, even the Save the Debate Coalition didn’t cheer about the result of it.) I’m more tech-oriented than most in the political blogosphere, so it’s definitely not tech-phobia. It’s just my basic belief that we voters and the office of the Presidency deserve better.

You may not agree with my opinion of the format or of debates in general, but if you agree that last night was a travesty because of CNN’s incompetence or malice (take your pick–I never attribute to malice that which is more easily and likely due to stupidity or incompetence, myself), then check out Red State’s battle cry.

Read the rest of this entry »

The girl with an octopus on her head

Amy Winehouse, who sports the most absurd hairstyle of any person evah, had checked into rehab after cancelling her disastrous tour, only to check back out again and go shopping.

For a chair.

She was seen sauntering into a newsagent to pick up some papers and magazines before emerging from a furniture store with a chair, which she dragged along a street with a friend.

Anybody think this chick has problems?

Her ignominious return to the stage at the MTV music awards in Munich before her tour saw her slurring her way through her track Back To Black, mumbling an acceptance speech and being helped off stage.

Last week, Winehouse sparked concern by appearing to snort a mystery substance during a live stage performance.

The troubled singer seemed to take a parcel from her bra and put it up towards her nostril.

She then veiled a silk scarf in front of her face for a few moments before agitatedly rubbing her nose.

I think the slurred MTV performance is totally rock ‘n’ roll, and doing the blow on stage? Wow! But this chick will be dead before she’s 30.

Check out this before and after comparison featuring Amy from 2004 and 2006.

Perhaps marrying a degenerate heroin addict and embarking on a year-long narco-binge weren’t such great ideas after all.

The DNCNN-YouTube-Idiocracy Debate

Summed up nicely from the brilliant Wuzzadem:

Republicans' CNN/YouTube debate

I laughed out loud.

All the dirt from the GOP’s Idiocracy Debate at Michelle Malkin’s (and more by following the trackbacks).

Let this be the nail in the coffin for stupidity like YouTube debates. PLEASE.

Best comment seen so far, from Tim Lamb of Waynesville, Ohio:

This is a stupid format. What is next? Dancing with the Presidential Candidates!! The Great Presidential Race!! Presidential Idol!! Give me a break. How about a serious format?

Amen.

Oh, and yeah, I did watch it after all. If I were a good blogger, I’d have posted my commentary about it here. Instead, everything I had to say during the debate is over in the comments at Ace’s. You know, where people actually comment.

Winners & Losers:

Most Presidential: McCain, as usual. Plus, he got extra bonus points for his Presidential demeanor in contrast to the barking moonbat debate troll standing next to him. You know who that is. I personally would have been happier if McCain had roundhouse-kicked RP, but that’s not gonna happen. Oh well.

Most Charismatic (not in the religious sense): Mike Huckabee, as usual. He comes across really well in these debates, but eventually people are going to look deeper and I suspect not like everything he’s for.

Most Surprising (and Welcome) Line: “I was wrong.” Well played by Romney on the abortion issue.

Funniest Line: The bit at the end with Rudy and the Yankees. Other than that bit, he was off last night.

Most in Danger of Hemorrhaging Support: Fred. Fred, oh Fred…wherefore art thou, Fred?

Candidate with the Most Soft Support and Weakest Campaign: Duncan Hunter. I have yet to see any conservative speak ill of Duncan Hunter, but dude’s got like $86 in his campaign. He was good in the debate as always, but it’s meaningless–especially when he only gets in about three sentences. Then again, Huckabee once was in the same boat. I don’t see it with Hunter, though.

Failure of Imagination: Tom Tancredo, on the Mars program. Also Huckabee (and Mitt?), but Tancredo especially. Just one more reason why I wouldn’t vote for him.

Crazy Troll Who Needs To Take A Xanax Before The Debates: Obviously, Ron Paul. I loved that someone asked him the CFR question, because he showed his crazy conspiracy theorist ass for the whole country. And again, McCain should’ve roundhouse kicked him on that Vietnam crap. As soon as I heard it, I was just waiting for McCain’s response. But no point in continuing on the Troll–I detest everything about him, everything he says. He could say “kittens and babies are adorable” and it would irritate me, because he is apparently incapable of speaking without sounding like a raving lunatic (again, contrast that with McCain).

Winner of the Debate: Hillary Clinton, courtesy of the Clinton News Network. Again.

Loser: Ron Paul, because I despise him and his supporters. Okay, the real loser: CNN. What a disgrace.

Update: Ace says General Kerr was the winner.

The clear winner of the Republican debate was Gen. Keith Kerr, a member of Hillary’s LGBT steering committee, given approximately half as much time to voice his opinions as Tom Tancredo or Duncan Hunter or Fred Thompson.

Exactly. More post-mortem from the disgraceful Idiocracy Debate there, too.

Project Runway

I forgot to mention this a few weeks ago, but I’m blogging Project Runway along with c.a. marks and (hopefully) Holly and Janette–and maybe Jody, too?

It’s on tonight–they’re replaying the first episode right now, but we’ll have something up when this week’s episode is on in an hour. See ya there, maybe?

Oh, and I’m not bothering with the YouTube debate. You can catch some live-blogging and participate over at TechPresident, or get some good analysis at Jim Geraghty’s, or just talk smack in the comments at Ace’s. YouTube jacks up Firefox’s latest build (fix it, dammit!) and I really don’t care what internet activists with video cameras ask, anyway. Call it elitist, but I just don’t care–I fully expect it to be loaded with frivolous questions from Paultards and others who have no intention of voting Republican anyway. (How “elitist” can I be when I prefer to watch Project Runway, though?)

Illegal Voting

On November 28, 1872, a U.S. deputy marshall came to Susan B. Anthony’s door and arrested her. The crime: on November 5, 1872, Susan B. Anthony cast her vote in the Presidential Elections. The charge: Illegal voting.

The Fourteenth Amendment, adopted in 1868, had declared that all people born in the United States were citizens and that no legal privileges could be denied to any citizen. Anthony decided to challenge this amendment. Saying that women were citizens and the amendment did not restrict the privilege of voting to men, she registered to vote in Rochester, New York, on November 1, 1872. Four days later, she and fifteen other women voted in the presidential election. All sixteen women were arrested, but only Anthony was brought before a court.

Her trial, United States v. Susan B. Anthony, began on June 17, 1873. The presiding judge opposed women’s suffrage and wrote his decision before the trial even had started. Refusing to let Anthony testify, he ordered the jury to find her guilty, then sentenced her to pay a $100 fine. She refused to pay “a dollar of your unjust penalty,” and no further action was taken against her.

Anthony spent the next fifty-plus years of her life fighting for the right to vote. She would work tirelessly: giving speeches, petitioning Congress and state legislatures, publishing a feminist newspaper–all for a cause that would not succeed until the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment fourteen years after her death in 1906.

—–

The right to vote.

On November 7, 2006, I voted a straight Republican ticket, despite my misgivings about the direction the Republican party has taken, despite the fact that it has abandoned every one of the conservative values that are the core of my political agenda. I cast my vote based on one issue, the War on Terrorism, despite the fact that I have seen this administration make concessions to and negotiate with terrorists. I did this because anything is better than the cut and run appeasement policy that the democrats stand for. I cast my vote for people who want to do things I am dead set against, such as pro-amnesty Charlie Crist, who, thanks to my vote, is now Governor of my state.

I was not alone in this and although I shared their feelings, I was horrified at the number of conservatives, and the number of republicans, who stayed home. None of the democrat wins were really big wins, races were decided by a few thousand votes, but in the end, it was a big win, and they won, because we stayed home. If you think your one vote doesn’t matter, look at the numbers on the Webb/Steele race.

And now, I watch President George Bush fawn over the leader of the most active terrorist group in the world, all a flutter on the chance to reward them for their constant and continuous terror attacks with a state of their own, mapping out an appeasement strategy, even while their minions were busy killing innocents in Israel.

Either the entire world has gone crazy, or I have.

And now I’m supposed to believe that a stark raving liberal who believes that Americans have the wholesale right to kill babies and that they should be able to do so at the taxpayers’ expense, a man who believes that I should pay for healthcare for criminals who sneak across the border, a man who believes in taking away my right to bear arms, is the great white hope for this Country and for the conservative movement. Sorry, but I don’t believe it and I am already so damm sick of having Rudy shoved down my throat, what will next few months be like?

I owe something to people like Susan B. Anthony, who tirelessly and endlessly sacrificed for my right to vote, and I realize that the perfect candidate is not going to ride out of the sunrise on a white horse anytime soon. I know there will never, ever be a perfect candidate.

But how much compromising on my personal beliefs am I supposed to do?

I considered it last November, but now, for the first time ever, staying home truly seems like a viable option.

and I hate that!

The Other Terrorists

Riley Ann Sawyers, age two. Murdered by her mother and stepfather.

In a statement to police included in the affidavit, Trenor, 19, said she and Zeigler, 24, killed Riley July 24.

The girl was beaten with leather belts, had her head held underwater in a bathtub and then was thrown across a room, her head slamming into a tile floor, Trenor said in the document. She said they kept the body in a storage shed for one to two months before they put it in a plastic bin and dumped it into Galveston Bay.

Why isn’t there a Gitmo for these types of people?

Stories like this are why leftist squeals about waterboarding fall on my deaf ears. Just watch, these two oxygen wasters will probably get light sentences for involuntary manslaughter. They surely won’t get the death penalties that they both richly deserve.

If their burned bodies were hanging from a Fallujah bridge, I would rightfully declare “Screw ‘em.”

Pardon any wonkiness

Upgraded to Wordpress 2.3–things might be a little screwy for a bit. Bear with me!

UPDATE: God, I hate IE6. Sorry about this hideous POS Wordpress default theme; I’ll get something up that isn’t an eyesore and doesn’t fall apart in IE this weekend. Thanks a lot to the free theme authors for not testing your stuff in other browsers. Jerks.

Tree falls in forest

I think Condi Rice is my biggest ever political disappointment. I used to believe she was a true believer. Now I believe she believes in nothing.

Annapolis?

The project depends, as ever, on whether America is willing at last to demand something in return for the more than $100 billion it has lavished on Israel over the years. However, it also depends on the Israelis and the Palestinians accepting a simple truth: Either they compromise, or the conflict continues. Unless they can do that, no amount of US arm-twisting will succeed. Annapolis will live up to its advance billing as a flop, both Palestinians and Israelis will keep suffering, and the region will remain a cauldron of volatility.

My money is on failure. The Seventh Century Savages™ will see to it.

Interesting thought

I’ve been largely ignoring the puerile back and forth between Obama and Clinton on the ‘experience’ question. They’re both incredibly underqualified for the role of President by any objective measure, so it’s a battle of Lilliputians and not worth much attention.

However, an interesting question arises:

At one point will a Clinton candidacy prompt the following question of Laura Bush “Do you feel qualified to run for President, after eight years as First Lady”?

What would be the reaction if she said “being First Lady doesn’t qualify you to be President”?

Clinton’s attack dogs would be forced to rubbish Laura, which would be a bad move indeed. Roughing up Bush is one thing, but the lovely Laura is somebody quite different. I find it an interesting prospect.

Maureen Dowd piles on in a column linked at CQ.

Wednesday Hero - SPC Roger G. Ling

Spc. Roger G. Ling

Spc. Roger G. Ling
20 years old from Douglaston, New York
Company C, 1st Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team
February 19, 2004

When Spc. Roger G. Ling’s Humvee was struck by a homemade bomb in October of 2003, he survived the attack and he worked to keep his superior officer, Lt. Matt Homa, alive. Spc. Ling was riding in the backseat of the Humvee when it was hit. It destroyed Lt. Homa’s door.

“It almost killed me. From what I’ve been told, Roger helped keep me awake until my medic arrived.” said Lt. Homa. “Ling was a good kid. You could count on him to do anything.”

Spc. Ling was killed, along with Second Lieutenant Jeffrey C. Graham of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, when their unit came under fire from insurgents in Khalidiyah, Iraq. Only two miles from where he’d survived the attack just four months earlier.

Leona Ling said she was grateful her brother came home in August of 2003 just before leaving for Iraq.

“He had to have his tonsils taken out,” she said. “It was a blessing in disguise because we got to see him again.”

In phone calls home, the soldier spoke wistfully of returning to New York and going to college. “He wanted to hear about what was going on at home and all the latest family gossip,” Leona Ling recalled.

Survivors include his father, Wai Ling, a U.S. Army veteran.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

[This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.]

Even if we win, we still lose!

Only a WaPo journalist could make the absurd argument, with a straight face, that even if we are successful and prevail in Iraq we will still have lost.

What’s worse is the fact that — however it all comes out in the end, however successful Iraqi democracy is a decade from now — our conduct of the war has disillusioned our natural friends and supporters and thrown a lasting shadow over our military and political competence. However it all comes out, the price we’ve paid is too high.

Pity the disillusioned Europeans! We made some French people dislike us! Oh wait….they already did. Never mind.

What the hell is up with these people? The price we’ve paid is too high?

links for 2007-11-20

Best Of October 2007

Round-up of the best web design related articles on the web in October

(tags: webdesign design lists resources)
35 Footer Designs

35 website footer designs, trends and styles.

(tags: webdesign design gallery css inspiration)
Pagination Styles (for download)

“previous, 1, 2, 3, …, next” in different styles - Download stylesheets

(tags: design navigation webdesign css pagination)
Mashable: Google Won’t Censor Anti-Semitism

They will, however, continue to censor anti-terrorism. Had enough yet?

(tags: google anti-Semitism media bias censorship internet)
Iranian Official: Gays Should Be Hanged Or Tortured - Or Both

This shouldn’t be a problem, since they don’t have homosexuals in Iran…right?

(tags: Iran politics islamofascism discrimination islamotards)
20 Ugliest Celebrities

Hmmm. They forgot Seal.

(tags: funny celebrities gossip)
Google Hack Made Easy - Rip from the Net

NetRipper Searches the internet for song mp3’s via google. You will be able to find mp3’s and even full albums from your favorite artist without having to run p2p software.

(tags: google p2p filesharing mp3 downloads)
How Well Do You Know Your World?

See how much you know about world cities and capitals. It gets pretty tough at the end–I thought I knew world geography well, but there were a couple places I’d never even heard of. Got stumped at level 11.

(tags: flash games maps geography)
David Freddoso on Social Conservatives & GOP on National Review Online

What ails the GOP? There are as many answers as there are pundits. But there’s always one narrative that news reporters and certain establishment GOP consultants love to give, again and again.

(tags: conservatives GOP 2008 election)
You Asked. Now the Candidates Answer.

“Today, the second round (of 10 Questions) officially begins, with users’ top 10 questions posted and candidate responses beginning to come in.”

(tags: politics debate epolitics candidates 2008 election)