"Because It Is Hard" is only justification for Porn Stars...
Rand Simberg makes an excellent case for changing the mindset we have towards space exploration.

Hear! Hear!
I'm thinking I don't read the VodkaPundit nearly often enough. He quite nicely writes:

What, right now, prevents any nation, other than the US, from doing exactly what they please?

Serbia invaded Croatia and Bosnia. Palestinians blow up Jews. Libya thrusts into Chad (which could be a gay porn title). India and Pakistan wave nukes at each other, while encouraging one another's minorities to commit barbarous acts. Turkey invades Cypress. China and Vietnam have at it. North Korea lobs missiles over the South. Eritrea and Ethiopia go their separate ways, then go after each other's throats. Morocco annexes Western Sahara. Russia bombs Georgia. Iraq invades Kuwait. Iraq invades Iran. Damn near everybody invades Congo. And everybody kills the Jews, to paraphrase Tom Lehrer.

We must be the only nation in the world to ever bother first asking for permission before defending our interests.

Words fail me...
Clayton has posted a letter he wrote to California Governor Gray Davis regarding the plight of the mentally ill in California. All I can add are my sympathies, and my full agreement. This is a national problem that rarely gets any attention unless it ends in tragedy, like the case of Russell E. Weston.

Finally... Just Desserts
Mir Aimal Kasi, the islamic terrorist bastard that murdered two people in a cold-blooded shooting at the front light for the CIA is finally scheduled to be executed. Mark your calendars. On Nov. 7, the murders of Frank Darling and Lansing Bennett will finally be punished.

This does NOT however, detract from what I consider one of the CIA's more devastating security failures. The reason Kasi was able to stand outside the front gates of the CIA with an AK-47 and open fire on the helpless drivers trapped at that light was because the CIA did not install guards at this very vulnerable point. Rumor has it that the ritzy residents of McLean, VA (avg income: $183,381), did not like to be reminded that the nation's chief spy agency was sitting right in the midst of their million dollar homes - so no guards out front. If you drive down 123, past the main entrance now, you can see a cute little white gazebo at that light, a gazebo that was paid for with the lives of two Americans.

The CIA, and other intel agencies are rotten with this "it takes an incident" attitude. People have to die. Secrets have to be lost. Sources have to executed. Terrorists have to slam passenger planes into occupied office buildings... before government agencies will be moved to do anything about it. When government agencies move from a reactive to a proactive stance on security, then perhaps these sorts of failures will occur less often.

Someone at TSA got a Clue!
Bravo to James Loy, who appears to be taking a more logical approach to airport security.
He calls the random gate screenings "hassle checks."... Has Mr. Loy been listening to Israel's airline officials? Sounds like it.

Mixed Feelings...
Attorney General Ashcroft has taken Oregon's assisted suicide law to court. The federal government's position being that under the Controlled Substances Act, doctors are forbidden to prescribe drugs except for 'legitimate medical purposes', and prescribing drugs with the intention of ending someone's life does not fall under 'legitimate' in the eyes of Ashcroft.

I have mixed feelings on this. In general, I'm a states' rights fan, and from that viewpoint, would take Oregon's side. A majority of voters said 'Yes' to this measure, and I believe that it's aim was compassionate, especially when you consider that it has been only in the past few years that hospitals have taken a more proactive approach to pain management. However, and this is a big however, I believe that keeping suicide illegal has a legitimate basis, in this case to avoid nasty eugenics or euthanasia overtones (see Holland).

So I guess I object that Ashcroft is stepping in, and it seems to me that his interference in this case - and in medical marijuana initiatives - reflects his personal beliefs far more than it might be an attempt to address an national problem. But, since the thought of getting rid of our old and undesireables makes me feel queasy, I can't be too angry with Ashcroft in this instance.

News from the Dept of the Obvious
One of the front page articles in the Washington Times this morning carries the headline "Monsignor says gays shouldn't be priests. Now, I was never a catholic, but I was under the impression that homosexuality was considered sinful in the eyes of the church. It would follow, then, wouldn't it, that the church wouldn't want their appointed spiritual leaders to be sinners?

And how is this front page news?

When you put it that way...
If you characterize the marijuana debate as an issue of states' rights vs. the feds, then Clayton's analogy makes perfect sense. I didn't think to characterize it in terms of liberal hypocrisy, though, since I see that so often (see the percentage of congressman who consistently vote against school choice/vouchers, but send their own children to private school; the lefty support for the arabs in palestine, despite arabic attitudes towards womens' rights, homosexuality, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc... ).

"But you would agree that Paris is the capitol of France, right?"
"Well, I guess so."
"Good! Then we're back in agreement!"
- Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy

Someone who isn't related to me is actually reading this!
Wow. My heart skipped a beat when I saw that Clayton Cramer had actually responded to one of my posts on his weblog. I don't track traffic to this, so I had no idea anyone but my sisters were ever reading this. I'm honored.

And in response, I'd like to say that I agree with Clayton here. I'm all for abstinence in teens, and discouragement of promiscuity. I'm not so long out of my teens myself that I don't know the damage that sleeping around can do to your health, your sense of self-worth, or your reputation (and yes, reputation still is important). And yes, your chances of contracting an STD does increase with the number of people you sleep with... had I been lucky enough to find the guy I really wanted to stay with forever, I would have stopped right there. Unfortunately, relationships do end, or don't work out. Outside of celibacy until marriage (and even then, there's a risk, since you can't know for sure if the fella you're marrying is an untouched virgin), the best way to protect yourself from STDs is to be choosy, and careful.

How is a Machine Gun like a Joint?
I normally respect Clayton Cramer's arguments, but this time, he's really making a false comparison.

Clayton asks "Imagine the reaction if, say, Salmon, Idaho, started to buy machine guns using its police department exemption from machine gun rules, and selling them to their citizens with some rationalization equivalent Santa Cruz's compassionate help argument. Do you suppose that liberals would be upset about BATF prosecuting this violation of federal law?"

No, Clayton, of course they wouldn't. But there's a really big difference between giving someone with cancer a joint, in defiance of federal law, and giving someone a machine gun, in defiance of federal law. You cannot kill someone with marijuana, but a machine gun can be pretty damned effective. Marijuana is relatively harmless. It's certainly less dangerous to smoke pot than it is to drink alcohol. A machine gun is a useful tool that, in the wrong hands, can kill any number of people. Big difference. I expect better reasoning out of you, Clayton.

Yes, people should obey the law, but when the law is an ass, as it is in the case of the war on some drugs, they should follow the 11th commandment.

Got Brains?
PETA has revived its Got Beer? campaign, aimed at turning college age students off of drinking milk, by claiming that beer is actually healthier. Never mind that any dietician you talk to would laugh in your face at such a claim; facts were never meant to stand in the way of a lunatic fringe organization that hates humans.

There's a movement going around right now, to revoke PETA's tax-exempt status, using as justification is financial support for terrorist groups. I'm all for it. If you want some good reasons, check out PETA's page on ActivistCash.com...

According to a July 26, 2000, Associated Press story, out of the 2,103 animals that PETA “rescued” during 1999, a whopping 1,325 of them were euthanized (put to sleep) anyway. Considering the organization’s budget during that same year (over $17 million), its cash reserves at the time (over $4 million), and its history of rushing to the defense of even the scrawniest laboratory rat when TV cameras are rolling, it’s shocking that the group would sentence all of those cats and dogs to the needle.

While PETA and the other groups condemn scientific research involving animals (90 percent of which are rodents, according to Americans for Medical Progress, a pro-research foundation), they spend a pittance on animal shelters. Eleven million animals are destroyed annually for lack of facilities. Yet PETA spent less than $3,955 of its $12 million in fiscal year 1995 and $6,100 of its $10.9 million in fiscal 1996 for shelter programs, according to its nonprofit tax forms filed with the IRS.

In contrast, PETA sent $70,500 in 1995 to Rodney Coronado, a convicted arsonist and avowed member of the domestic-terrorist group called the Animal Liberation Front. Coronado served a five-year federal prison sentence for a 1992 animal-rights-related firebombing at Michigan State University.

Unapologetic about its ties to domestic terrorism, PETA also made a cash donation in 2001 to the North American Earth Liberation Front, a group that the FBI has called a domestic terrorist organization.

HPV and other STDs people tend to ignore
Clayton Cramer has a very good post on STDs and makes the point that HPV isn't perceived to be the problem that HIV is, in part, because the real victims of HPV are women. He makes good points. But...

there are other reasons why HPV and, say, herpes, don't get the same press attention that HIV does. For one, HPV and herpes are not generally fatal. For another, they're incurable. So is HIV, but incurable in that case means a death sentence. And finally.... the incidence of HPV among the general population is at something like 50% and there's isn't any reliable way to tell is someone has HPV or herpes or not, unless they are showing warts or open sores.

And finally, its not quantity that increases your risk of contracting an STD, despite what folks would like you to think. It's the quality of your lovers. The best way to avoid contracting an STD is to be very very picky about who you're willing to sleep with. Who's at more risk of contracting an STD, the teenage virgin who's going to give it up to the most popular jock in school? Or the twenty-something woman who's had a number of boyfriends, all in committed relationships?

It's Nice To See Someone Gets It
Rep. Tom Tancredo has been making waves lately, primarily for taking an anti-idiotarian stance on illegal immigration. I don't care if an illegal immigrant is an honor student. He shouldn't be here. Follow the rules when you try to come to this country, because Rep. Tancredo is right when he says "These people are telling everyone else who's doing it right that they're suckers." He is also quite right when he says "How can the Mexican consul be so brazen about telling people to take our laws and shove them? ... If my son showed up illegally at the University of Mexico and asked them for in-state tuition, not only would they refuse, they'd throw him in a detention center. They take illegal immigration seriously there."

And we should, too.

Stupid Teenagers...
Katie Sierra apparently doesn't see the humor in her attempts to start an 'anarchy club'. Especially when you consider the following statement: On the morning of Oct. 23, 2001, Katie asked Mann if she could start an anarchy club, so that like-minded or curious students could gather, have reading and discussion groups and do community service. She'd spent all weekend working on a Constitution and Manifesto for the club. "This anarchist club will not tolerate hate or violence," says her Manifesto. "It is our final goal to dispel myths about anarchism, especially the belief that anarchy is chaos and destruction." (Italic emphasis mine)

Katie, I'm sure someone has asked you to already, but could you please read the definition of an anarchist? You can say all you like that anarchy isn't about chaos and destruction, but if you do so, you are no longer talking about anarchy. It's hard enough to get concepts across in a language like English, its even harder when today's kids (and a lot of leftists... see the lefty definition of handgun control) refuse to actually pair the words they use with their accepted definitions.

I can say that I'm a pedophile, and that I support pedophilia, but that pedophilia isn't about the sexual exploitation of young children... but then I'd sound dumb. Think about it, Katie.

Stupid Women...
Ira Einhorn, an environmentalist activist who brutally murdered his girlfriend over 20 years ago, is finally set to stand trial for his evil deeds. This man beat nearly to death, and then locked in a steamer trunk and left for dead, his girlfriend, who was trying to end their five year relationship at the time.

This is all old news, obviously... but I saw an article in the Washington Post titled Judge: No Immunity for Einhorn Wife that gave me pause.

This monster has a wife? Some stupid woman, knowing that he was a violent, convicted murderer - whose victim was a woman he was in a love relationship with - married him?!? The article doesn't say, but I hope to god that they never bred. Such a combination of violent evil, with willfull stupidity would only pollute the gene pool further.

Stupid Parenting Ideas 101
Richard and Jennete Killpack are victims of the weird ideology that rejects anything traditional, instead substituting unproven, unconventional methods to achieve results. So, when their adopted daughter was apparently having trouble 'bonding' with them, they adopted a policy of forcing her to request everything, even food and water. As if that policy weren't loony enough, they also would force an excess of anything she 'snuck' from them without requesting it... like water. Key passage in the article:

"She had a very severe problem of sneaking and lying ... to the point of even damage to herself," he said Wednesday on CBS' "The Early Show." "They made the suggestion that whatever she sneaked or wanted, that you would do that in excess."
After she took water in June, he said they asked her to drink three 8 ounces glasses of water. After about 12 ounces, he said, she threw temper tantrums, and then followed their request to do exercises and take a time out.
"She started to complain her head was dizzy. I asked her to come over to me, and she basically passed out in our arms," he said on NBC's "Today" show.
"Her death was a tragic, tragic accident," Jennete Killpack said.
But prosecutors said evidence shows Cassandra was forced to drink so much water it lowered the concentration of sodium in her blood, causing fatal brain swelling. The Killpacks' lawyer, Philip Danielson, said unbeknownst to her parents, Cassandra's sodium level was depleted before she drank the water.

So they forced her to drink so much water that it killed her, because she didn't ask for a glass of water first. The real tragedy in this story is that Cassandra was four years old. That's right, they were doing this to a four year old girl. Who cares if a child at the age of four lies? They don't even make much sense, that young! Just as sad is that there are people out there who are ignorant enough to try a whackjob theory like this on their children. And because bad things work in threes... its truly sad that someone decided they were fit to adopt children in the first place, when they treat their children as less than humans, to be experimented on.

These people obviously aren't fit to be responsible for any living creatures. The other two children in their care (one adopted, one biological) are in foster care now, and even as messed up as the foster care system tends to be, I'm thinking they're better off than with these morons.

Welcome home, boys...
On Friday, we added the newest members to our family, Sweeney Todd and Bullseye, a pair of maine coon kittens. Sweeney has an orange and brown mustache and a white throat with a dark brown slash on it, and Bullseye is grey and white with a dark grey 'RCA Victor' ring around his left eye. Both are settling in nicely, but they're distracting me from other things... like being on time for work.

The clearinghouse of Bad Ideas...
Rep. Mark Foley, a republican from Florida, is incapable of distinguishing between making actions, vice thoughts, illegal. His latest offering from the clearinghouse of Bad Ideas is a bill that would make it a crime - punishable by up to 10 years in prison - to make available photos of fully dressed attractive children. Mr. Foley is apparently so concerned that a pedophile might be feeding his perverted interests by looking at pictures of these children...and he's right, they probably are, that he's willing to make it illegal to take pictures of your kids. That pedophiles find children attractive is not sufficient reason to make it illegal to take such photos... I, for one, would not like to face prison time for posting pictures of my children's day at the beach on my website for my friends to see.

They just don't get it
For once, I have to take exception to Best of the Web's editorial content. For Friday, the 13th of September, the top piece on the page is titled "Spies Like Us -- II" and uses this incident as an example of why we were all being silly hysterics for objecting to Operation TIPS. They say that "Presumably these same folks are now outraged at the actions of Eunice Stone." Well, no, actually, we aren't at all. In fact, the actions of Eunice Stone are exactly why we don't want TIPS in place. Any citizen who witnesses suspicious activity is free to call the Police, the FBI, the CIA or whomever they please to report it. It is not necessary for us to employ a citizen corp of spies. That sort of expansion of the federal government... to where we'd employ citizens as paid informants on other citizens is what we object to.

Lileks is always worth reading...
... but today's piece is particularly good.

My favorite quote:

I've been reading reactions to the President's UN speech, and I'm amused at how people don't seem to get it. Oh, now he's being a multilateralist? Now he believes in the UN? No. That speech was the equivalent of that fabled kung-fu move that removes your opponent's heart and shows it to you, just before you crumple. It's of a piece with the administration's behavior since 9/11: Let all the carpers and obstructionists gather on the tip of the thinnest branch, then show up with a saw and announce they have five minutes to come hug the trunk, which incidentally is covered with sap and stinging ants. It was sheer malicious brilliance to cast the entire case in terms of UN resolutions, because now the UN has to chose: either those resolutions mean something, or the UN means nothing. Why, it's almost as if the UN painted itself into a corner - and woke up to find this rude simple cowboy holding the brush. How the hell did he do that?

One less tourist...
Humph. Remind me never to go to Virginia Beach again. No, I'm not a criminal, and I resent having the police essentially put me in a criminal lineup every time I walk down the street.

Conspiracy, anyone?
Instapundit, and Jane Galt linked to this story about apparent foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks that I haven't seen before. I know I'm paranoid, but I'd also like to see the media give this a thorough investigation/debunking.

The article has all the elements of an urban legend, but then again, there were all those liars claiming that pictures of so-called 'Palestinians' (really squatting Arabs) celebrating the 9/11 attacks were really old clips of them celebrating the invasion of Iraq... could it be another whitewash to try and keep the enraged American public from getting pissed off enough to burn down the local mosque? (Yes, friends, that's right. The splodeydopes really were celebrating when we got attacked. They only started lying about it when they realized that wasn't good for their 'victim' image.)

Don't we still have terrorists to catch?
Further resistance to the US government's silly stance on marijuana.

The state says it's okay, the town says it's okay, the measure passed by an overwhelming margin. So the residents of Santa Cruz obviously don't care if someone in their town is growing or using pot. Shouldn't the government concentrate its drug enforcement efforts in a town that wants it then?

I'd forgotten how powerful it is...
Clayton Cramer was kind enough to link to the lyrics for the Battle Hymn of the Republic. I used to know every verse (it was a favorite of mine in Sunday school), but had long since forgotten more than the first and last verses. Thanks to Clayton for linking to it; I'd forgotten how truly a powerful song it is.

In your heart, you know its flat.
Kudos to Rand Simberg for exposing a shocking hoax attempting to tarnish the image of one of our nations heroes.

It all makes so much sense. Rand is absolutely correct. How could I be expected to believe that a 72 year old man would attack a 37 year old? Especially when the alternative... that a 37 year old film producer with an insatiable desire for attention doctored up a video to make it look like Buzz was punching him is so much more logical. To turn things back on that twit Sibrel, it was all obviously as doctored as the film of the lunar landing. Nice try though.

Anniversary
Tonight, I'll light one candle for the innocents who were murdered on September 11th, and a second candle for the rough men who are visiting violence on those who have so greviously harmed us, and on those who would do us harm. No TV. No News (unless the unspeakable happens). Just my family, and reverence, on a day I will never be able to forget.

Yowsa!
Clayton Cramer has a weblog.

For those unfamiliar with his work, Mr. Cramer is probably best known for his remarkably thorough debunking of Michael Bellesilles' made up sources, figures, and facts in his best-selling 'history' Arming America. Cramer is definitely worth reading.

Way to go, Buzz!
Buzz Aldrin was simply giving the only answer a snoopy or rude question deserves. Note also, that the twit, Sibrel, is 37. Buzz Aldrin is 72 years old.

One less customer...
I live and work in Loudoun county. I have approximately a 30 mile drive from my rural home to my office, and using the Dulles Greenway, it normally takes me about 30 minutes each way, and costs me 858 dollars a year (at a rate of 1.65 each way, 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year) for the convenience. I used to think it was worth it, since any of the 'free' routes I use to drive to work, normally add up to 15 minutes to my commute time.

But they just raised the rates from 1.65 to 1.90 on my toll. That means instead of the gagging 858 dollars I have deducted from my pay check each year for transportation has increased to a confiscatory 988 dollars each year, just to save 15 minutes travel time. To hell with that. I'll take the 15 extra minutes, quit using the toll road, and save myself nearly 1000 dollars a year.

Someone didn't get spanked enough as a child...
The ELF, a terrorist organization with a pyromaniacal bent, has taken responsibility for a firebombing attack against a forest service laboratory that was researching ways to maintain a healthy ecosystem on the Allegheny plateau.

Because, you know, growing trees is like, bad man, and against nature's way.

I have to agree with JR when he said "I'm trying to understand these folks point of view, but I just can't seem to fit my head up my ass."

Liberal Nimby Hypocrisy
Best of the Web also links to this letter to the editor in the Washington Post where some liberal tried to explain - without sounding like a total hypocrite - why she was sending her daughter to private school.

The choice quote, of course, is this: For a card-carrying liberal, I was surprisingly unapologetic about our decision. Why should I sacrifice our daughter's future to an abstract principle? I wasn't up to battling the school system about class size, curriculum and extracurricular activities. And by the time any changes could be made, our daughter would have already missed out on a vibrant education.

She continues on to whine about how she feels uncomfortable about her decision, since she can't talk about her daughter's exclusive private schooling with her neighbors, because she feels they'd resent her since they can't afford it. No where in the letter does she mention if, as a result of her inner battle, she has come out in favor of public schooling alternatives such as vouchers. My bet is that Opinion Journal gets it right though, when they say: Here in a nutshell is the definition of an American liberal: one who is willing to sacrifice the future of other people's children to an abstract principle.

Yeah, That'll Show Her
Both LGF and Best Of The Web have taken the time to comment on this man, who beheaded his seven year old daughter, because he thought she had been raped by her uncle. Yeah, that'll learn her never to do that again.

To turn the story from evil to blackest comedy, the autopsy determined she hadn't been raped in the first place.

Things like this are why we need regime change in islamic ruled countries like Iraq and Iran, and why I get so damned mad when lefty loonies spout nonsense about us being the bad guys. Try telling that little girl that islam is a religion of peace.

Further Proof that the Only Good Marxist was Groucho
Noel Ignatiev, a marxist professor from Harvard, is arguing for the abolishment of the white race. Cute. However, he, like just about every other self-hating loony on the market seems to have forgotten that there is no such thing as a white race. There are Homo Sapiens, the only race of humans on the planet. Its not like we have homo euroweenius, homo priviledged whitius and homo oppressed darkius... we all fit under the same umbrella, and the only people who are interested in making distinctions between the groups based on the color of our skin are closeted bigots who insist on pointing out our surface differences at every opportunity. They 'feel' for the poor and oppressed, using a basic underlying assumption that just because someone is black, they're automatically unable to compete in the real world, or succeed without special help. If only everyone else in the priviledged 'white' world (never mind that there are plenty of poor white folks out there too) could simply understand blacks' basic inferiority, and adjust to it, instead of holding equal expectations for them, then racisim would end.

Mr. Ignatiev publishes a journal called "Race Traitor". He's incorrect in his title. It should be "Race Baiter" instead.