An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Archive for 18 August 2008
Most Excellent!
Evidently I missed this earlier today, you know, with all that picture posting, annoying Brat and such. Hey, I even cooked dinner…..AGAIN! Frightening, yes, I know. But THIS is really GOOD news!
Man whose lawsuit scuttled DC gun ban gets permit
The man whose lawsuit overturned Washington’s handgun ban has successfully registered his revolver, ending a more than 30-year wait to keep the weapon in his home.
Dick Heller walked out of D.C. police headquarters Monday, clutching a yellow firearms registration certificate stamped “approved.” He gave the thumbs-up sign, grinned and said, “Victory!”
Heller was among the first people to seek a gun permit under new rules adopted after the Supreme Court struck down the city’s 32-year-old handgun ban in June. Heller was the plaintiff in that case.
He won approval to keep a .22-caliber revolver at home after coming to police headquarters in July to be fingerprinted and take a firearms proficiency test. Police approved the weapon after completing a background check.
Now, while this is really good news, it’s also down right pathetic! Why? He shouldn’t have had to fight in court what the U.S. Constitution granted him in the first place!
H/T: Michelle Malkin
Legal Question
My friend’s son was murdered. After 18 months, they finally made arrests in June. I’m now reading that the grand jury testimony will remain sealed.
My question: Is this normal? Do they always keep them sealed?
This young man was murdered. Taken away from his mom, dad, sister, brother, son, other family and friends.
I’d also like to know if any of the vermin who did this horrible crime were illegal. The police won’t say, cuz believe me, I’ve had folks asking.
New Hilda Pic
Blech! Ok, let’s face it, cell phones aren’t the best way to take pictures of, uh….such creatures.
Well, each to their own I reckon, and this is the Mr’s new friend. Who am I to question? Well, I AM the wife. Should I be jealous he’s spending so much time with Hilda?
Odd!
Ya know, there have been real eye catching headlines now and then, but this one has got to take the cake.
Prince Charles Promotes World Hunger
People promote books, TV shows, all kind of products, but “World Hunger”? Isn’t there enough world hunger without a prince promoting it? Criminy! Does he think it needs some help?
Prince Charles of England has come out again against the genetically modified foods that are a key hope for producing the extra food needed by our richer, more populous world in the decades just ahead. He must know that, thanks to science, world grain production tripled during his lifetime, from about 700 million tons per year to nearly 2,100 million tons. This achievement was certainly not due to his elitist organic farming, which continues to yield about half as much per acre as conventional farming. For fifty years, we’ve even bombarded seeds with radioactive isotopes to force useful new seed mutations!
Well, put in that light, yeah….I guess he IS promoting more hunger.
Charles says biotech crops “haven’t raised crop yields.” Nonsense! For openers, biotechnology’s pest-resistant cotton seeds have raised yields by one-third on the 35 million cotton acres in China and India. That has freed 15 million acres for additional food crops in the very countries which are currently adding the most pressure on world food supplies. Biotech varieties also produce higher corn and soy yields.
Really? They haven’t? Wow. I guess all those companies working so hard to find new ways to increase crop yield to combat hunger have been wasting their time?
In Africa, genetically researched corn produces four times as much corn per acre—and an even bigger gain in food security—because new varieties are naturally tolerant of an herbicide called imazopyr. When these corn seeds are soaked in small amounts of the herbicide, the imazopyr suppresses the endemic witchweed, a parasitic weed that invades grain plants through their roots.
The newest biotech rice, wheat and rapeseed varieties suddenly need only half as much nitrogen fertilizer to produce a full yield. This cuts food costs, and means almost no N left over to leach into nearby streams. Nitrogen-efficient corn is also on its way.
Let’s see. If you can grow crops on less land, and need only half of much fertilizer, this is a problem? Now, I’ll be honest, I’m more of the type who prefers things to grow as naturally as possible, but hey, even I know nature needs a little aid once in a while.
If humans will need twice as much food and feed in 2040 how would we feed ourselves and our increasing number of pets with low organic yields? Organic fields yields are limited primarily because of the global shortage of manure. However, the world would need billions more cattle to get extra manure, and we’d have to clear forests to grow their forage. “Green manure crops” steal land, sunshine, water, and soil nutrients from food and feed crops.
Global shortage of manure? Pfft! They ought shovel some of the crap they’re spewing in D.C. There is PLENTY there!
How would the future king tell the cat and dog owners of Britain that, because of his anti-science elitism, pet food sales must be banned so people could eat?
Banning critter food? That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.
And we wish Queen Elizabeth a very long and healthy life.
Ditto! Doesn’t England have enough problems WITHOUT such a moron on the ‘throne’?
Important Message To ALL Candidates!
Dear Sir/Madam:
While we am so thrilled you would love for us to send you money to aid in your campaign for office, we would be equally thrilled if we knew who the hell you are! Where you are from? Why on earth do you believe, for one minute, that if you don’t include such information in your correspondence, we would send you a dime?
Informing us that you are not a RINO (Republican In Name Only) is a nice touch, however, unnecessary. While we are sure you believe this to be true, we are of the mind that if you are a Republican in today’s Congress, it’s mostly “In Name Only” and you’d have to be extremely good with the gift of gab to convince us otherwise
We wish you all the best in your endeavor, however, we will not be spending our hard earned money on your campaign at this time.
Sincerely,
Mr and Mrs Ol’ Broad
cc: Dan Burton (and various other begs for money)
Git Over It!
C’mon people. John McCain did NOT cheat. How the heck do ya cheat with your OWN flippin’ opinions and positions? Do you REALLY think that McCain would ‘steal’ B. Hussein’s answers? LMAO Paleeeeeze!
B. Hussein does NOT do well off the cuff. I’m fairly sure I’m not the only one who has noticed this. Unless he’s got a script and a teleprompter, he can barely speak the language, and heaven forbid ya expect him to put two words together to create a coherent thought.
Seriously, can people really be so gullible?
She Might Kill Me
Good thing I live about 700 miles away! Heh!
Not THE Messiah….
…..nor, is he THE anti Christ. But ya gotta admit, this is down right funny!
Well, if yer not a lib, that is!
Reckon CNN doesn’t have such a good sense of humor. Wonder why? Hmmmm….
Like I said…he’s not “THE”, either one. Honestly, he’s ‘anti’ a lot of things….life, freedom, etc. Why are people getting their knickers in a such a twist.
Where Is Colorada?
I just looked at a map of the US of A. Nope…..no Colorada!
Rep. Tyrone Ellis (D) gets state travel voucher for Democratic Natl. Conv. for “educational” purpose
State House Member Tyrone Ellis (D-Starkville) received a travel voucher from the Billy McCoy (D-Rienzi) led House of Representatives to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado next week for “educational” purposes. These expenditures are apparently approved by the House Management Committee chaired by Rep. J. P. Compretta (D – Bay St. Louis).
Now, obviously, the issue isn’t the issue of REAL education in Mississippi. The issue is whether or not the good folks of said state should be footing the bill for a STATE rep to attend that ol’ DNC (Democrat NATIONAL Convention) in the first place.
Now, I don’t live in Mississippi. Close, but not in. If I were a resident, I can assure you that I’d be raising ALL kinds of hell about this kind of nonsense, wasting tax payer money. If the state Dems want this fella to go to the convention, why are THEY NOT footing the bill?
The Mr Shares His Lunch
Ok, so maybe a skink isn’t exactly what most folks would have for lunch, but hey….I reckon the Mr thought watching his ‘girlfriend’ Hilda, the Black Widow munch down would be a nice way to share ‘country’ with Short Person.
Either that’s a fairly small lizard thingy, or a rather large spider. Hmmm….
Whatcha think the odds of SP spending time out in Grandpa Ol’ Broad’s man cave are gonna be when she comes to visit? Better question: What are the odds of ME spending time out there any time soon?
Blech!
Missed a Blogger B-Day
Seems the Ick in law forgot his own blog birthday. Well, that’s ok. He’s young, he can be forgiven. It’s not like he has a REAL life or anything, like a job, brat, SP, and BILLS to pay! Heh.
Happy Blog Day?
A Few “Facts” Conveniently Missed
I love Chaim’s blog, Freedom’s Cost! He’s one smart cookie. Obviously, a WHOLE lot smarter than I am. 
He tends to hit on some very serious issues, that should NOT be missed. This is one of ‘em. A simple calculator, bought at any Wal Mart could have done the trick. Shoot, even a pencil and piece of paper would have worked. Evidently, the MSM and pundits are too busy to actually use what little brain power the Good Lord gave them.
Titles, he has! Charisma, he has! As a speaker none, anywhere, in the American political spectrum can match his prowess. But what about his accomplishments? Accomplishments?!?!? The good Senator claims 20 years of Public Service, yet he either lacks basic ‘rithmetic skills or thinks we – the prospective voters – lack them. He’s been in the US Senate for three years (the last two his time was taken up with running for the Presidency). At best, his attendance during theses last 2 years has been rather sporadic even if he even bothered showing up at all. But, let’s give him the full three years credit. He served for seven year as a State Senator in Illinois (a part time position!) during which time he was a Lecturer at at the University of Chicago Law School. But, let’s be kind and give him another seven years credit. My remembrance of rudimentary ‘rithmetic adds both of these up up to 10 years… Let’s also give him the other three years he claims so proudly to have been a community organizer (whatever that is!) and all in all allowing every possibility and being as creative in my math as I can I only come up with 13 years… Now… let’s see, it seems we are 7 years short of the 20 the good Senator claims… hmnnn… Well, let’s examine nevertheless what he did accomplished in the US Senate… during his three years of occasionally appearing in the hollowed chambers of the US Capitol.
Ok, so what was he actually doing the missing seven years? Inquiring minds want to know!
Obamarama
Morning Coffee 08/18/08
France wields clout on Tennessee, U.S. nukes
Electricity ratepayers’ dollars in Tennessee as well as federal tax money are increasingly going to a company owned largely by the French government: the nuclear power conglomerate AREVA.
The company holds U.S. Department of Energy contracts for nuclear-related projects at major facilities such as Hanford, Wash., and Yucca Mountain, Nev., and others, including in Erwin, Tenn., and Aiken, S.C.
Tennessee Valley Authority officials last week confirmed that over the last few years the agency has awarded at least $239.2 million in contracts to AREVA for services that include furnishing radioactive fuel to its nuclear plants and for plant repairs. Of the more than 65,000 AREVA jobs worldwide, about 5,300 are in this country. The French concern has spent $7.9 million on lobbying since 1998.
Critics say the U.S. should be leery of the French sales pitch.
Gee. Y’think? We don’t have any AMERICANS who could do this job? Why are we now paying the French to do a job that should be done by an American company? If we don’t have someone who knows, then why not? Have we become so lazy we can’t even LEARN how to deal with this issue?
Calif. GOP lawmakers kill Dem’s $6.6B tax package
California’s Republican lawmakers on Sunday rejected a Democratic proposal for $6.6 billion in tax increases on the wealthy and corporations despite an offer to boost the state’s rainy day fund. The failed vote now pushes California’s budget impasse into its eighth week with no compromise in sight.
The 45-30 vote in the state Assembly was the first since the state began its new fiscal year July 1 without a budget. It came after four hours of debate during which 49 of the Assembly’s 80 members spoke.
Democrats offered a revised tax plan that’s smaller than the $8.2 billion package they initially proposed last month. Under the new proposal, Democrats called for imposing top income tax brackets of 10 percent on joint filers making more than $321,000 per year, and 11 percent on the portion above $642,000. The highest tax bracket is currently 9.3 percent.
Wait a minute! Was this a flagrant act of “common sense” coming out of California? Is there actual HOPE? Hmm….. Naw….they’ll get over it.
Bush camp battles critics on Georgia response
As the conflict in Georgia unfolded over the past week and a half, the Bush administration has found itself battling a familiar charge — that its response to a major crisis was slow and uncertain.
The president’s hesitance to roundly and immediately condemn Russia’s Aug. 8 invasion stood in contrast to the response of the two major presidential candidates. Some observers said Mr. Bush was unassertive when he needed to be bold.
White House aides have dismissed criticisms publicly and privately, arguing that Mr. Bush and his top national security officials have been dealing with events from the start and that a president must speak carefully during international crises until reports can be verified. They noted that the president sharpened his words last week as the invasion continued.
Well, let’s see. If he had been QUICK to respond, the criticism would have been he didn’t take his time to thin it through, right? Honestly, I’m not great Bush fan these days, but for the love of pete, if the man blew his nose and wiped it with his left hand, there would be folks bitching his should have use his right.
Obama Facing Attacks From All Sides Over Abortion Record
First, Senator Clinton accused him of lacking political backbone in voting “present” on a bill that, according to abortion rights advocates, undermined the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade. Now abortion foes are targeting him from the right over the same question: They say his opposition to legislation aimed at protecting infants born alive after a botched abortion demonstrates his extremism on the flash point social issue.
The conservative attacks have intensified in recent days, with opponents of legalized abortion sending out missives against Mr. Obama and a YouTube video circulating that casts his position on abortion as more extreme than even the most stalwart supporters of a woman’s right to choose, including Mrs. Clinton and Senator Kennedy of Massachusetts.
The presumptive Democratic nominee responded sharply in an interview Saturday night with the Christian Broadcast Network, saying anti-abortion groups were “lying” about his record.
Uh…..how can you LIE about something that is public record? Everything I’ve seen says he’s ok with letting babies die, and abortion is murder. So, who is lying? We’ve seen his speeches, we’ve seen his voting record in Illinois. Does he really believe we are so ignorant? Reckon so.
Canadian Group Presses for Freeze in PA Funding
Canada has provided the Palestinian Authority (PA) with $300 million in aid on condition that the money serves “to build security, governance and prosperity.”
However, according to the Canadian Legal Forum for Israel (CLFI), the PA has plainly violated its commitment to assist Israel in counter-terrorism; it has even actively sought out and executed those PA residents who have assisted Israel in fighting terrorism. The CLFI has asked the Canadian government to immediately freeze all aid dollars Ottawa is slated to send to the PA.
The group is asking people to pressure Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson and local MPs to freeze PA funding, until there is confirmation that the PA has freed family members jailed for assisting Israel in its counter-terrorism operations.
Uh….my first question would be: Why the hell is ANYONE providing funding for the Palestinians? It’s not like their using that money to actually BUILD anything, like businesses, or infrastructure and such. And is it so bad that a person would WANT to help stop terrorism? I guess it if is you are a Pally. Jeeez!
Arkansas chemical weapon depot looks to weaponless future
The Pine Bluff Arsenal had the task of building grenades and bombs for the growing U.S. military. Over time, the arsenal began manufacturing chemical and biological weapons, storing them in earthen igloos that also housed German rockets studied after World War II.
In 1997, the U.S. signed an international treaty pledging to eliminate its chemical weapons stockpiles. The Army and private contractors face a 2017 deadline set by Congress to eliminate the weapons.
The Army has destroyed two stockpiles — the Johnston Atoll depot 800 miles southwest of Hawaii and the weapons once stored at Maryland’s Aberdeen Proving Ground. Depots holding the weapons in Colorado, Indiana, Oregon and Utah will “go away” when destruction operations end, said Greg Mahall, a spokesman for the Army’s Chemical Materials Agency.
Why yes. Of course, let’s do what we say we’re going to do while the rest of the world builds such stockpiles. Gutting the military response was SUCH a good idea back there in the 90′s….during CLINTON’S reign of terror on the American people. No, I’m not advocating for war, I’m advocating for freakin’ defense! We’re going to NEED it!
Obama reaps big bucks at S.F. fundraisers
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama used his own name and heritage to make a point about change at a fundraiser that raised a record $7.8 million for his campaign in San Francisco Sunday.
The Illinois senator said it is “a testament to the American spirit that I’m even standing here before you” as the Democratic Party’s presumed nominee, because some Americans are “still getting past” his name, which he said some consider funny.
“Change is always tough, and electing me is change … and it means that people are going to hesitate a little bit,” Obama told a crowd of about 200 deep-pocketed supporters at a VIP reception for South Asian and Pacific Islander supporters at the Fairmont Hotel.
He sure pulls out his “roots” when it’s convenient, doesn’t he. I don’t find his name amusing at all. I find HIM dangerous!
Cartels, Mexican army blamed for interference
“The increased interference that resulted in dead zones or dead spots coincided with the arrival of the Mexican army in Juárez,” said Gary Gordier, the city’s information technology director. “They were affecting police and other emergency communications.”
Dead zones occur when radio messages cannot be sent or received due to radio frequency interference.
The police, Sheriff’s Office, Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services operate on frequencies in the 800 megahertz spectrum, but apparently, other radio operators in Juárez also were using the same spectrum.
“The drug cartel is probably the other source causing interference on the 800 spectrum, which is used in the United States for public safety communications,” Gordier said.
Change the channel, and don’t tell anyone outside the department? Sounds like our ‘buddies’ from the south are doing a little aiding and abetting. Although, I might be wrong. 
Blood protects against long-gone killer 1918 flu
Nearly a century after history’s most lethal flu faded away, survivors’ bloodstreams still carry super-potent protection against the 1918 virus, demonstrating the remarkable durability of the human immune system.
Scientists tested the blood of 32 people aged 92 to 102 who were exposed to the 1918 pandemic flu and found antibodies that still roam the body looking to strangle the old flu strain. Researchers manipulated those antibodies into a vaccine and found that it kept alive all the mice they had injected with the killer flu, according to a study published online Sunday in the journal Nature.
There’s no pressing need for a 1918 flu vaccine because the virus has long since mutated out of its deadly form and is extremely unlikely to be a threat anymore, experts said. What’s more important in this research, they said, is that it confirms theories that our immune system has a steel-trap memory.
We have a real serious problem with folks going all ‘anti-bacterial’ these days. Wanna know why so many kids are sick? Look in their mom’s cabinets and see what kind of cleaners they are using. No built up resistance means sickly young’uns. Seriously, get over this obsession with germs. We need them! And fer the love of pete…stop babying ‘em! Let be kids, and get scrapes, bumps and bruises, and yes! Even broken bones! Sheesh!
Philippine rebels in new attacks
Guerrillas raided several towns in Lanao del Norte province, burning shops and houses. Casualties were reported, but exact numbers are unclear.
Troops were sent to fight the rebels and, in a national address, President Gloria Arroyo vowed to defeat them.
The violence came after the Supreme Court blocked a territorial deal.
The government had agreed to expand an existing Muslim autonomous zone on Mindanao island, in a bid to end years of separatist fighting.
But the court suspended the deal earlier this month after Christian communities argued it would increase sectarian divisions.
Two weeks ago rebels occupied villages in North Cotabato province. The military used air strikes and artillery assaults to force them back and casualties were reported on both sides.
I’d really like to know when the media, world wide is going to start laying it on the line? These are just ‘separatists’. Not just ‘rebels’. These are MUSLIM extremists who have, and will kill people, if for no other reason that they are NOT Muslim, or they are the wrong KIND of Muslim. Reality snap!
Scant sign of Russian withdrawal
Russia has pledged to start pulling out combat troops from Georgia on Monday at noon, but its troops have continued to dig in at positions less than half an hour’s drive from the capital, Tbilisi.
With a ceasefire holding, Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, assured Nicolas Sarkozy, his French counterpart, that Russian regular forces “from tomorrow… will begin withdrawing”, the Kremlin said on Sunday.
However, new tensions were gathering over Russia’s longer-term military plans in the small but strategically located former Soviet republic.
Maybe they’re waiting for the nukes to get to arrive on their ships?
Musharraf Steps Down
Pakistani President Musharraf Resigns Amid Impeachment Threats
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced his resignation Monday, ending an eight-year tenure that opponents said was hampering the country’s labored return to democracy.
An emotional Musharraf said he wanted to spare the nation from a perilous impeachment battle and that he was satisfied that all he had done “was for the people and for the country.”
“I hope the nation and the people will forgive my mistakes,” Musharraf said in a televised address, much of which was devoted to defending his record and refuting criticisms.
Musharraf said he will turn in his resignation to the National Assembly speaker on Monday but it was not immediately clear whether it would become effective the same day. The chairman of Pakistan’s Senate, Mohammedmian Soomro, will take over as acting president when Musharraf steps down, Law Minister Farooq Naek said.
It also was not clear whether Musharraf, a stalwart U.S. ally, would stay in Pakistan.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said leaders of the ruling coalition would discuss later Monday whether to prosecute Musharraf in court on charges that that were being planned for the impeachment process.
Musharraf’s political foes celebrated.
“It is a victory of democratic forces,” Information Minister Sherry Rehman said. “Today the shadow of dictatorship, that has prevailed for long over this country, that chapter has been closed.”
Well, this should get interesting. I’m fairly sure we knew this was coming. Personally, I have never seen Pakistan as an ally. All you have to do is look at the violence that continues, with some Pakistani help. I see a possible escalation now. Maybe we SHOULD be concentrating more troops where the real war is right now? Iraq is starting to take care of itself. Let’s look for the bigger evil, bin Laden, and his pigs.
