Category Archives: Uncategorized

Getting rowdy at the Capitol. YEAH!

Legos and Star Wars all in one big ball-o-nerd at Slashdot.

In other Lego news: Biff and Sandy still in space

* Just like the llama, the North Koreans need a constant intake of oxygen to survive; thus, they are susceptible to strangling.

* If a North Korean bites you, you become one.

* In a fight between the North Korean military and the Flash, the Flash would run away really quickly to a tropical resort in Thailand and drink a Mai Tai.

Or, maybe you can. From IMAO.

The problem is not really, as alleged, our sudden “unilateralism” — much less Mr. Rumsfeld’s supposedly impolitic use of terms like “Old Europe” or the shunning of hurt leaders. After all, the real gaffes and trash-talking in the recent crises mostly emanated from abroad — and in a manner not quite seen before.

The Bush administration was right to question why there are over 35,000 American troops on the DMZ targeted by 10,000 heavy guns — especially as we pay blackmail to neighboring butchers to behave. That strange policy too was the abnormality, not our new efforts to relocate our troops southward, apprise the South Koreans of the risks of their triangulating policies, and inform China, Japan, and South Korea that a nuclear creep was loose in their neighborhood — not ours. Such a past untenable condition called for such a restoration of sanity, and thus for a move back to the mean that was not imprudent, but long overdo.

Well, there’s lot’s more, but you can go read the whole thing here.

Okay, just a little more:

Instead, in the upcoming months — given the fact the new liberators are offering the gift of democracy, while the old murderers are offering more of the same death and mayhem — the attacks will taper off, the story about the Husseins’ whereabouts will unfold, the mystery of the missing WMD will be solved, we will navigate through the uncharted waters of Iraqi reconstruction — and, once more, the present peddlers of gloom will be refuted.

Scott’s on a roll. Go now.

Non-profits aren’t so good with accounting.

via Instapundit

Want to check out your favorite charity? charitynavigator.org

You know I wasn’t sure before, but this has convinced me. And the Bishop Knut Andresen is a dope.

Another good one from Best of the Web:

“A New Mexico family is suing its local Catholic church over a funeral Mass at which the priest allegedly said their relative was going straight to hell,” the BBC reports:

The family of Ben Martinez, 80, allege that Reverend Scott Mansfield said he was “living in sin,” “lukewarm in his faith” and that “the Lord vomited people like Ben out of his mouth to hell.” . . .

Nine members of the Martinez family are seeking punitive and compensatory damages for severe emotional and physical suffering.

They say Mr Martinez had been a practising Catholic all his life, but was too ill to attend church in his last year.

Unfortunately, the plaintiffs are in one of those Catch-22s. If Martinez is in heaven, no doubt he’d make a sympathetic witness–but where would he find a lawyer to take his deposition?

Nostalgia for Soviet-era East Germany. Go read Gulag and tell me how much fun they were having. Idiots.

More trouble in Hong Kong.

Apparently those closest to you can make your life miserable if you are forced to spend time with them. I believe it.

This from the NY Observer concerning a speech to his editors and managers by the new guy at the Times.

Looking at the group, according to sources present at the lunch, Mr. Keller said that he knew there were people in the room who had done “extraordinary work under extraordinary duress,” adding: “I admire people who can lead under duress.”

Huh? They were being coerced and threatened? The pay must be really good there. I’d go find another job. One that didn’t resemble a prison camp.

via WorldNetDaily

And the commies will take over. If online song-swapping continues. From this article.

In a series of hearings on Capitol Hill last spring, lawmakers condemned online song swapping and expressed concern the networks could spread computer viruses, create government security risks and allow children access to pornography.

Yeah, if you’re stupid.

The Conyers-Berman bill would operate under the assumption that each copyrighted work made available through a computer network was copied by others at least 10 times for a total retail value of $2,500. That would bump the activity from a misdemeanor to a felony, carrying a sentence of up to five years in jail.

So every song is worth $250? That $17 for a CD is a steal.

A Conyers staffer said the bill had won the backing of many Democrats but Republicans had yet to endorse it.

And which is the party of “Big Business”?

via Drudge Report

So I have learned that having the words “naked paintball” on your site really brings in the hits from search engines. But so apparently does “pasta and rfid” One of my favorite summer dishes. “al sharpton and pepsi” is my favorite though. There’s two things I never put together.

Glenn has a great conspiracy theory going over at Instapundit.

I’ll say it backwards, “Wow.”

Rich Lowry’s article on colonialism by any other name.

The countervailing force necessary to seeing the enterprise through is moral self-confidence, which the British had in buckets.

Just say it aloud a couple times. Rolls off the tongue.

More From Those Freaky Kittens

Spam Banned. Like that’ll help. It’s a nice thought though.

The bill to get the US out of the UN went down in a flaming ball of fire. 350-74. Thank you to the 74, one from Idaho BTW, who were willing to try.

“No one is ever so busy they don’t have enough time to watch a documentary on penguins,” Bush answered.

from IMAO

Very Interesting. The most reasonable (meaning most likely I would agree with) thing I’ve read on this matter.

This from Porphyrogenitus (Greek for “the cattle are dying”).

via Instapundit, likehe needs the inbound link…

Also from BOTW:

What Would Jesus Pay?
“A judge ruled Monday in favor of Deion Sanders in a lawsuit over repairs made to his vintage 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible, saying the former Dallas Cowboy paid the full amount he had authorized for the work,” the Associated Press reports from Dallas. “The owner of the repair shop had sued Sanders, saying the former All-Pro cornerback wanted to pay only $1,500 of the $4,265.57 bill after Jesus had informed him that was all he needed to pay.”

This raises an interesting theological question: How much would God the Father, or for that matter the Holy Spirit, have instructed Deion to pay? We’re guessing it would have been more than $1,500. After all, Jesus saves.

Best Of The Web has this:

“Iraq’s first postwar national political body decided Tuesday to establish a tribunal to try former members of Saddam Hussein’s regime and others accused of crimes against humanity,” MSNBC reports. This is an excellent development; such tribunals should reassure nervous Iraqis that the Saddam’s rule is really over.

“But a Human Rights Watch official challenged the council’s plan saying it would put former victims of Saddam and his regime in the position of judging their tormentors and might not result in justice.” The heart bleeds.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports on the reaction of Arab League chief Amr Moussa to the establishment of the interim governing council: “If the new council had been elected, Moussa said in a statement released Sunday night, ‘it would have gained much power and credibility.’ ”

The Arab League has 21 members aside from Iraq, including such exemplars of democratic rule as Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Syria. Moussa’s own country, Egypt, has been under “emergency rule” since 1981. Hmm, is there an Arabic word for “chutzpah”?

To coin a phrase: Heh.

Can it be true? Even if it is, it won’t pass. It’s a nice thought though.

This latest “Bush and Iraq” thing is as interesting as the other ones: It’s all about oil; they’re stealing 300,000 antiques that no one can live without; Where’s the WMD?. They can’t come up with anything to pin on Bush, but they keep trying. But here’s a good look (well, I like it) at it if you care.

There’s this. If you want to pray against the Supreme Court justices, go for it, but don’t do this wag the dog thing, okay? Who’s in charge of this guys PR?

Whatever happened to survival of the fittest?

Lasagna. Who invented it? Does it matter? I don’t think the nation that invented Marmite should be allowed to discuss food at all.

Naked paintball. On top of the perversion, that’s just stupid. I’ve been hit (fully clothed) with paintballs and it’s no fun.

via Drudge Report

and Politicians don’t mix.

If anything qualifies as incredible, it’s McCain’s understanding of the Constitution. The First Amendment says, “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech.” It does not impose any obligations on radio stations.

Crazy Eastern Europeans. They better hope it doesn’t catch on with Americans. No more “2.9 from the Russian judge” to help them out. But there’s always the French now, isn’t there?

Those wacky French.

In a case where /. mod points are actually working, they have an interesting set of questions to ask the DOJ concerning Intellectual Property theft, sharing, etc. I’m excited to see the answers.

Wow. I had no idea you could get away with stuff like this. I guess it’s because he’s not an elected official.

via Drudge Report.

This article on NRO points out that there are bad people in the world and on the web. And apparently we should be protected from these particular ones. Yeah. Uh, it seems to me that these sites would be helpful to keep track of what’s going on in the Religion of Peace. Just a thought.

Bloggers love blogging about blogs. This article ought to be making the rounds soon. She had me until the last sentence. I haven’t used big media to get my news for more than 5 years now. And I like the fact that I don’t have a big stack of papers always needing to be taken care of.

via The Corner.

Surprise!

UPDATE: And in a related story…

This article from Christianity Today. You know, he’s not really helping here.

Read this.

via Instapundit.

This article examines a recent study showing that speed doesn’t necessarily kill. I’m all for it. If only someone could explain it to whoever sets the idioticly low speed limits around here.

The end of an era. Does this mean parts are going to get more expensive?

Here’s one of the first signs.

From welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com:

Furloughed Iraqi Information Minister Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf (M.S.S.) makes a sudden appearance in Abu Dhabi, saying he might not return to Iraq. “When I leave I always have in my mind that I might not come down this road again, but I’m working and praying to God that I can return to Baghdad one day,” he said on Abu Dhabi Television. The Abu Dhabi Information Minister? Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it…

I can’t think of Abu Dhabi without the song from the Garfield cartoon going through my head.

Here.

It’s Friday!

Any time the Western way of war can be unleashed on an enemy stupid enough to enter its arena, victory is assured. And the antidote? Remember the Highway of Death or the insane evocation of “Dresden” on the first night of the three-week war. The way to combat the West is to appeal to either its generosity of spirit or its guilt in hopes that it will call itself off, and thus hand to terrorists and dictators a stalemate that will soon be seen as a victory of sorts, stolen from the jaws of assured defeat.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Africa.

This guy should head up the RIAA.

How to avoid the howling tin-foil hats, by Auto-ID, makers of RFID tags.

And The Register with their views.

Beijing has sent a team of officials here from security and intelligence agencies, the foreign ministry and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office to ask local leaders and residents why they are so upset and to collect ideas for what to do next, pro-Beijing politicians said today.

Did the NY Times (evil registration required) purposely make the Chinese leaders look stupid or did they do it on their own. We may never know.

This article via Reason’s Hit and Run.

Really, really fast RAM.

From the Washington Times:

At least one member of the all-Democrat Congressional Black Caucus is complaining that President Bush failed to consult them before heading off to Africa.

Even better:

“It makes me wonder how sincere this trip is, if you won’t meet with the leaders of African descent in your own country,” the Democrat said.

Given the snub, “I think we have a lot of reasons to have thin skin,” she added.

Earlier this week, black activist Al Sharpton, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to run against President Bush in the 2004 election, made a similar complaint.

“I think it is interesting that the president is going to meet with African leaders when he has not met with African-American leaders — the head of the NAACP, the head of the Urban League, the head of Rainbow/Push,” Mr. Sharpton said in a TV interview Sunday.

Mr. Sharpton did not mention that the NAACP had sponsored TV ads during the 2000 presidential election that suggested Mr. Bush, by opposing so-called hate crime legislation in Texas, somehow approved of the brutal murder of a black man.

I’m pretty sure these people aren’t from Africa. Have they done in-depth studies of African problems and policies? I don’t complain when the President goes to visit Europe without consulting me. Idiots.

Well, actually, there’s plenty of news, but it’s just not striking me as interesting. Bush is in Africa. Liberia is in trouble. The Iranian protests are interesting but go here (and scroll down) because they’re covered. Iraqis are selling beer freely. Some baseball player swung at the sausages running by (via The Corner). Speaking of which The Corner is bursting with new people, so at least there’s plenty of posting. Blah, blah, blah.

This is hilarious. From Volokh Conspiracy, who all just think too much for me.

Let your mind be as a floating cloud. Let your stillness be as the wooded glen. And sit up straight. You’ll never meet the Buddha with posture like that.

There is no escaping karma. In a previous life, you never called, you never wrote, you never visited. And whose fault was that?

The Tao has no expectations. The Tao demands nothing of others. The Tao does not speak. The Tao does not blame. The Tao does not take sides. The Tao is not Jewish.

Drink tea and nourish life. With the first sip, joy. With the second, satisfaction. With the third, Danish.

The Buddha taught that one should practice loving kindness to all sentient beings. Still, would it kill you to find a nice sentient being who happens to be Jewish?

Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkes.

You can tell this guy wasn’t feeling well.

“He started out with ‘Mom’ and surprised her and then it was ‘Pepsi’ and then it was ‘milk.’ And now it’s anything he wants to say,” Stone County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center social director Alesha Badgley said Tuesday.

Only someone deathly ill would ask for Pepsi. Fortunately, he is recovering.

This is hilarious. The last sentence is the kicker.

The CdA Stress has this article on the EPA and field burning.

A lawsuit seeking to stop farmers from burning is on hold pending a decision by the state high court. The suit was filed on behalf of people who say they are harmed by the smoke.

While the smoke management program is intended to maintain field burning as an agricultural tool, the overriding goal should be to protect public health, Iani said.

Why? Why is the “public health” more important than the livelihood of the farmers? They have burned these fields for a long time. It’s like moving near an airport and complaining about the noise. Didn’t you know it was there? Did you not notice the giant columns of smoke every year? Quit your whining.

From the OpinionJournal Best of the Web.

A press release from Sen. Joe Lieberman’s office announces the appointment of his new communications director: the delightfully named Matt Gobush.

RFID’s make a comeback. Actually, Walmart is scaling back their RFID use. Good news for privacy buffs.

via Slashdot.

Samizdata sums up the Cato report on economic freedom.

I got a 44% on the pre-test for my Network+ test. l have no idea what the terms meant or what the questions were asking, so I don’t feel so bad.

This article talks about the ramifications of the recent Hong Kong protests.

Has China ever had a vaguely democratic form of government? What if the current government catastrophically collapses? I have a feeling it won’t improve the life of the average person there. I hope I’m wrong.

Now, I’ve always been a fan of the British. Especially since we kicked their butts back in 17-something. I don’t trust Tony though. Wasn’t he Clinton-lite back before the Iraq War? Now he’s Bush-lite. Doesn’t seem to principled. But here’s an interesting point from Denis Boyles at NRO.

But the lesson for Americans is that at least for the moment we have found our natural European allies — and they aren’t British after all. They’re the happy Italians. They don’t care about European pomposity, they dress better than the Germans, they eat better than the French, they drive better than anybody, and they make stupid jokes about American TV. They’re just like us!

Darn. Although I understand. I’m not convinced I would deliberately walk into harms way.

via Instapundit. Be sure to check out the other links.

It seems Russians are more likely to commit suicide. I could have told you that and saved all that money for the study. Just read their literature. The most depressing stuff on earth.

via Drudge Report

Drudge Report says Hollywood is thinking about a reality show with congressional staffers. I’m pretty sure if the rest of the country saw anything approaching the reality of Washington there would be another Revolutionary War. Or at least stern calls for reform. And possibly pay cuts for everyone.

UPDATE: See. People were shooting bottle rockets at me last week (because it was 4th of July, not that they hate me). Not one of them got in the least bit of trouble. It’s just a water balloon. Lighten up. Hastert must be a lot of fun at picnics.

What can you do with them? Another marketing ploy.

Apparently there’s sharks in the ocean. Who knew?

I feel the urge to compare the Times and the federal government, but passing that by, if you are fearful for your life, don’t tell the NY Times. They’ll post a picture of you on their website (evil registration required).

Zainab Muhammad Mohyialdeen works as a translator for allied forces but does not tell other Iraqis because she is “sure I will be killed.”

So the NY Times posts her picture. Genius. And you can enlarge for detail. Freaking BRILLIANT! You would think that if you gave an interview describing the fearing for your life you wouldn’t have to say something like, “Don’t put my picture on the internet where anyone with a modem can see it.” Apparently common sense is a rare commodity at the NY Times. Maybe it’s the atmosphere there, sucks the brains right out of them. Or possibly there’s something in the water. Hard to say.

hat tip:Kelsey

McDonald’s expands wifi coverage.

Starbucks is doing a similar thing. I would be more excited about this, and might actually get a wifi card, if they did this sort of thing in Idaho. But they never do. It’s hard being 5 years behind everyone else.

UPDATE: Here’s the Register’s view of things.

So says Bono.

“I’m glad to say I was wrong. Particularly evangelicals, who had seemed very judgmental to me over the years, turned out to be incredibly generous in their time and their support of this effort,” Bono said.

Foul-mouthed losers taking over the world.

According to Collins, the use of asterisks to soften the effects of industrial Anglo-Saxon may soon become a historical nicety as modern discourse sinks ever deeper into the mire.

And call me a prude if you want, but it bothers me when 7 and 8 year olds are using foul language as they run around on the playground. Don’t these kids have parents? Don’t their parents know the proper use for Ivory soap?

It’s all about Arnold and Savage. Wow. You realize of course, those aren’t actual news stories. Dinner conversation, maybe, but not news.

Patchy blogging this morning, increasing in the afternoon.

It’s 2003 where’s my rocket pack? Finally someone has invented what scifi has taken for granted forever.

Hard to believe it’s the French.

UPDATE: Eehww. What if we have to call it the “Trottoir” for the rest of history.

The latest Cocktail Report is up.

The difference between men and women (in case you were confused):

For example, Koppel’s group found that the single biggest difference is that women are far more likely than men to use personal pronouns-”I”, ”you”, ”she”, ”myself”, or ”yourself” and the like. Men, in contrast, are more likely to use determiners-”a,” ”the,” ”that,” and ”these”-as well as cardinal numbers and quantifiers like ”more” or ”some.”

Simple, isn’t it?

via The Corner

Andrew Stuttaford, who does not like Dr. Pepper, has this article on NRO concerning “Nutrition”.

So, as we saw in the cigarette wars, notions of personal responsibility are either watered down — “dealing with overweight and obesity…is also a community responsibility,” explained (now former) Surgeon General Satcher — or denied altogether. It’s now claimed that Big Mac mavens may, like smokers, have been tricked into their unhealthy habit — all those munching and, we can be sure, litigious morons had absolutely no idea that mountains of burgers, fries, nuggets and shakes might lead them to put on a pound or two. Better still, fast food may even be, wait for it, “addictive.”

And then there’s this keen insight into youth today:

Across the fruited plain, tubby tykes (most of them, presumably, orphans: in this discussion we never seem to hear very much about parental responsibility for their kids’ diet) are waddling their way through an “obesity epidemic” all their own. The need to save them from this peril will inevitably be used to justify both litigation and, almost certainly, intrusive and patronizing legislation — the not so thin end of a very bulky wedge.

But it has a happy ending:

McDonald’s has no need to apologize for what it does best — delivering cheap, sinful, and surprisingly succulent slop to those who don’t have the time, inclination, or talent to make other arrangements. And, if, despite what the sad saga of the McLean Deluxe might suggest, there really is a demand for “healthier” food under the golden arches, the logic of the marketplace will lead McDonald’s to salad bar, tofu and side orders of carrots. For now, the company is stressing the healthiness of its salads, Fruit ‘n Yogurt parfaits (280 calories without granola!) and Chicken McGrill (300 calories without the mayo!), but, don’t worry, it has not abandoned those who prefer a fattier feast. The new bacon, egg, and cheese McGriddles (450 calories! 80 percent of your daily cholesterol, ahem, “value”!) show obvious promise and, in another exciting development, McDonalds is looking at adding more sugar to its buns (to make them toast more easily).

You just can’t beat Scott.

The lack of scandal in the Bush White House.

This site hopes to keep track of the government. Good luck, you crazy kids.

I know what you’re thinking, “Where on earth is Kristin?” See, uncanny, isn’t it. Well, I’m stuck behind my headphones. Vacation Bible School is tomorrow and I have to get the music ready, so they can make copies for the little rugrats, uh, kids. I may post you a song if I get really bored. There’s lots of news stuff to talk about, Lightning strikes at Dave Matthews Concert, c’mon, that great stuff. So more soon.

WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.

WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness — That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security. Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The History of the present King of Great- Britain is a History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World.

HE has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public Good.

HE has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing Importance, unless suspended in their Operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

HE has refused to pass other Laws for the Accommodation of large Districts of People, unless those People would relinquish the Right of Representation in the Legislature, a Right inestimable to them, and formidable to Tyrants only.

HE has called together Legislative Bodies at Places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the Depository of their public Records, for the sole Purpose of fatiguing them into Compliance with his Measures.

HE has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly Firmness his Invasions on the Rights of the People.

HE has refused for a long Time, after such Dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of the Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the Dangers of Invasion from without, and the Convulsions within.

HE has endeavoured to prevent the Population of these States; for that Purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their Migrations hither, and raising the Conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

HE has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

HE has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the Tenure of their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries.

HE has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their Substance.

HE has kept among us, in Times of Peace, Standing Armies, without the consent of our Legislatures.

HE has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

HE has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

FOR quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us;

FOR protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

FOR cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World:

FOR imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

FOR depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of Trial by Jury:

FOR transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended Offences:

FOR abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an arbitrary Government, and enlarging its Boundaries, so as to render it at once an Example and fit Instrument for introducing the same absolute Rules into these Colonies:

FOR taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

FOR suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with Power to legislate for us in all Cases whatsoever.

HE has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

HE has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our Towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People.

HE is, at this Time, transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the Works of Death, Desolation, and Tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous Ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized Nation.

HE has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the Executioners of their Friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

HE has excited domestic Insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes and Conditions.

IN every stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated Injury. A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People.

NOR have we been wanting in Attentions to our British Brethren. We have warned them from Time to Time of Attempts by their Legislature to extend an unwarrantable Jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the Circumstances of our Emigration and Settlement here. We have appealed to their native Justice and Magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the Ties of our common Kindred to disavow these Usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our Connections and Correspondence. They too have been deaf to the Voice of Justice and of Consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the Necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of Mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace, Friends.

WE, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in GENERAL CONGRESS, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connection between them and the State of Great-Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT STATES may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

John Hancock.
GEORGIA, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, Geo. Walton.
NORTH-CAROLINA, Wm. Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn.
SOUTH-CAROLINA, Edward Rutledge, Thos Heyward, junr., Thomas Lynch, junr., Arthur Middleton.
MARYLAND, Samuel Chase, Wm. Paca, Thos. Stone, Charles Carroll, of Carrollton.
VIRGINIA, George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Ths. Jefferson, Benja. Harrison, Thos. Nelson, jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton.
PENNSYLVANIA, Robt. Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benja. Franklin, John Morton, Geo. Clymer, Jas. Smith, Geo. Taylor, James Wilson, Geo. Ross.
DELAWARE, Caesar Rodney, Geo. Read.
NEW-YORK, Wm. Floyd, Phil. Livingston, Frank Lewis, Lewis Morris.
NEW-JERSEY, Richd. Stockton, Jno. Witherspoon, Fras. Hopkinson, John Hart, Abra. Clark.
NEW-HAMPSHIRE, Josiah Bartlett, Wm. Whipple, Matthew Thornton.
MASSACHUSETTS-BAY, Saml. Adams, John Adams, Robt. Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry.
RHODE-ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE, C. Step. Hopkins, William Ellery.
CONNECTICUT, Roger Sherman, Saml. Huntington, Wm. Williams, Oliver Wolcott.

So far:

Uncle Sam – Madness
America the Beautiful – Ray Charles (the best ever)
No More Kings – Pavement (cover of Schoolhouse Rock)
I’m Just a Bill – Schoolhouse Rock and Deluxxe Folk Implosion cover
Surfing USA – Jesus and Mary Chain
God Bless the USA – Lee Greenwood
Redcoats – Johnny Horton
What I Want Is A Proper Cup of Coffee – Trout Fishing in America
Peaches/Lump – The Presidents of the United States of America
Fireworks – Moby

More as they occur to me.

Dung beetles use moonlight to navigate.

via Dave Barry Blog, which almost goes without saying, I think.

If I were Scott Ott, I could do something funny with this, but you’re on your own here.

Astronomers searching for signs of a Solar System like our own said on Thursday they had found a planet very similar to Jupiter orbiting a star resembling the Sun, 90 light years away.

This from WorldNetDaily. If only I, and others, would be so diligent in stopping the evil telemarketers.

Bin Laden hiding in Iran? Oh boy.

China wants to go to Mars. Good luck to them. Biff and Sandy are already on their way. via Slashdot.

I stole the title from aaronlev (685856) on /.

Good article on the history of American Imperialism by Paul Johnson. The guy has so much faith in America and Americans I can’t help but like him.

We’re gonna take over the WORLD!!!

Also from Jane’s Security News Brief:

US OFFICIALS have called Hizbullah ‘the A-team’ of terrorist organisations. Before Al-Qaeda’s 11 September attacks, Hizbullah had killed more US citizens than any terrorist group.

Those wacky US officials.

From Jane’s Security News Brief:

A POLITICAL storm, potentially violent, is gathering in Ecuador. Estimated time of arrival: some time in July. Target: President Lucio Gutierrez. The storm will come in the form of an Indian uprising, backed by oil and power workers and far-left groups — the same groups that helped propel Gutierrez to power six months ago. But their support has not translated into political power. Government policy, meanwhile, has moved in a decidedly pro-market, pro-foreign investment direction and bears little resemblance to the radical rhetoric used by Gutierrez during the election.

Not that I particularly care abou Equadoren politics, I just want to see if Jane’s is accurate.

Bush commits to some troops in Libera. AP reports dancing in the streets as rumor of America’s coming spreads.

While I’m all for kicking Taylor out, where will this end? America can do a lot of good in this world, but we can’t do it all. It’s nice to be wanted, but c’mon. Let someone else do the heavy lifting for a while. The French can get off their high horse and go do something, if the military’s not on strike of course. We’re busy trying to keep them off our backs in Iraq.

Yeah, that didn’t go well. I don’t think this will either.

The resulting embryo was part male, part female and could potentially have developed into an apparently healthy foetus.

So, they just killed that person off. You know, the experiments over, down the drain you go. That is wrong, bad, evil.

The American fertility doctor behind the experiment claimed the creation of chimeras could eventually be used to treat genetic diseases.

How? By growing them up, harvesting them, and then what? Eh? Sick, evil, twisted.

Perhaps someone should put a stop to this? Just because we can do something doesn’t make it right.

Water-free swimming pools. Okay, that’s an exageration, but remember when people could be trusted to go outside without killing themselves or suing someone?

via Inoperable Terran

A Ten Commandments display in the rotunda of the Alabama Supreme Court building must be removed because it violates the First Amendment’s ban on establishment of religion, a federal appeals court ruled today.

via WorldNetDaily.

Don’t tell anyone that there’s stone monument with the 10 commandments outside the county building in Coeur d’Alene. I can’t begin to fathom the mental anguish it’s causing the workers and other people forced to visit that building. Oh, I’m sorry. Do absolute values make you uncomfortable? Why? If it’s not a sin, why would it bother you? Why should you care if you don’t believe in that sort of stuff? Does everyone have to think like you in order to be “fair”?

More from the “Religion of Peace”. Where’s Janet Reno when you need her? She’d bust that sort of thing up with tanks. via WorldNetDaily

Doesn’t this defeat the whole purpose of a laptop?

If you thought of a bar and holosuites, you’re a Trekkie.

Behold The Quark

The discovery of the pentaquark, also known as a new exotic baryon state, should have far-reaching consequences for our theory of particle interactions that attempt to explain the structure of matter.

But no one knows what those consequences may be yet. Probably the end of life as we know it.

P.J. O’Rourke on Living History.

But George Washington and William F. Buckley Jr. put together could not have foreseen, in their gloomiest moments, the rise of Clinton-style über-mediocrity–with its soaring commonplaces, its pumped trifling, its platinum-grade triviality.

Our internet connection’s back. I knew you were worried.

Must…find…..better…connec..tion. No more posting unless something good happens. I know you’re crushed, but it’ll be okay.

I love it that the President talks like this.

I hate it when jerks go around ruining things for the rest of us. via DrudgeReport.

Quick, there’s a special Wednesday edition of VDH over at NRO. Woohoo!

Great Bleat today. I feel the opposite of him on the office issue though. I am getting something done, doing something with my life when I’m at work. At home I’m wasting time, frittering away precious moments. Of course, I feel like I’m doing more when I have a better internet connection.

I can’t take much more of this. Bwana, I need 5 barrels of gunpowder, a keyboard, a machete and a guide that speaks Hutu. Or possibly a internet connection that is faster than the USPS.

From IMAO.

* Hurricanes used to always be given female names because hurricanes are destructive, random, and capricious, just like women. That custom was stopped, though, when women got all whiny and moody about it.

* No one is sure what causes a hurricane, but it comes from the sea so the most likely candidates are Poseidon, sea monkeys, or France. We should do a preemptive strike against all of them.

* A hurricane, unlike the platypus, does not lay eggs.

And it gets better. Or worse, depending on how you look at it.

I’ve seen this link floating around but haven’t checked it out until now. And now that I have I am highly irritated at the French. They were mildly annoying before, now they are w******.

How smart are you? Try this. I got a 124. No cheating and taking it 3 times, and no scratch paper.

It’s Canada Day. O, happy day. O, joy of joys.

I’m not convinced we should trust them though. See here and here.

Rick Brookhiser on the Catholic Church.

More “peace” from that open, tolerant religion.

Israeli police have begun to allow non-Muslims, under police escort, to enter the Temple Mount grounds in the Old City of Jerusalem, despite threats of violence by Muslim leaders.

I dunno, I think that speaks for itself.

via WorldNetDaily.

From WorldNetDaily. As always the CIA is on the cutting edge of espionage.

“Details of the memo were only recently revealed after historians compared the censored and uncensored versions of the document and realized the CIA considered a decades-old joke about Santa Claus as a matter of the utmost national security,” the report said.

Yeah, that would be the flu. This is more frightening because everything from a cold to ebola apparently has flu-like symptoms. You’d never know you’d been hit.

Alright! This is some great stuff. I love the thought of an independent America kicking butt without the hassles of France and Germany and Saudi Arabia and Turkey and China and South Korea and who ever else is whining all the time. You guys just shut up and we’ll take care of it. via DrudgeReport

UPDATE: I forgot Canada in the list of whiners. But then, Canada is so exceedingly forgetable, I don’t feel bad.

That one day small children will be able to run about freely knowing their always-on connection is ALWAYS ON. I have a dream that one day we will not be judged on the color of our skin, but on the quality of our high-speed internet access. I have a dream that dial-up connections on really lousy phone lines will be a thing of the past. I have a dream.

This just sounds wrong. via Drudge Report.

Dinesh D’Souza has this to say on America. This is my favorite part:

America, the freest nation on Earth, is also the most virtuous nation on Earth. This point seems counterintuitive, given the amount of conspicuous vulgarity, vice and immorality in America. Some Islamic fundamentalists argue that their regimes are morally superior to the United States because they seek to foster virtue among the citizens. Virtue, these fundamentalists argue, is a higher principle than liberty.

Indeed it is. And let us admit that in a free society, freedom will frequently be used badly. Freedom, by definition, includes the freedom to do good or evil, to act nobly or basely. But if freedom brings out the worst in people, it also brings out the best. The millions of Americans who live decent,

praiseworthy lives desire our highest admiration because they have opted for the good when the good is not the only available option. Even amid the temptations of a rich and free society, they have remained on the straight path. Their virtue has special luster because it is freely chosen.

Ooh. Take that!