Weekend Pundittag:weekendpundit.org,2008-06-02://12010-03-09T04:30:08ZOpinion, Politics, Mostly True Stories, and Plain Tomfoolery as only New England Yankees can do it, don'cha seeMovable Type Personal 4.1What A Scumbagtag:weekendpundit.org,2010://1.8892010-03-09T04:26:31Z2010-03-09T04:30:08Z People like this deserve to be horsewhipped. [W]hen I see a story like this, I don't want to hear about a "plea bargain." I don't want to hear about "parole." I don't want to hear about "what a good...DCEhttp://weekendpundit.org
like this deserve to be horsewhipped.
[W]hen I see a story like this, I don't want to hear about a "plea bargain." I don't want to hear about "parole." I don't want to hear about "what a good mother she is."
I'd rather hear about to which part of the Gates of Hell she'll be chained.
A heartless Queens woman was arrested for crippling her 11-month-old English bulldog after witnesses caught her on video beating the pooch with a shovel, officials said.
The young bulldog, named Spike, had been abused repeatedly over the past few months.
During his short life, Spike has sustained a hip fracture, a broken leg, three broken teeth and injuries to his ears, according to ASPCA Assistant Director Joseph Pentangelo.
The pup, which is being treated at the ASPCA hospital, is also virtually blind in his right eye.
ASPCA investigators were called to Aguilar's house on Feb. 24 after witnesses reported hearing a dog crying.
One of the witnesses used a camera phone to tape the abuse, also capturing Spike's howls of pain. Aguilar is seen throwing Spike to the ground and then slamming him with a snow shovel.
[The ASPCA] discovered her husband had taken the dog to veterinarians 12 times in the past seven months for treatment.
If you get a pet, and you have no intention of treating it with kindness and getting any self-fulfillment out of it, then, WHY. GET. A. PET?
The story also includes the video of Spike being beaten by his owner.
I could not bring myself to watch it.
The thought of anyone abusing any of the feline members of this household makes me want to reach for the Mossberg 930 12-gauge Autoloader.
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The Great New Hampshire Blogger Weight Loss Challenge - Week 9tag:weekendpundit.org,2010://1.8882010-03-09T02:25:30Z2010-03-09T02:27:43ZHere it is, week 9 of the challenge, and Skip is still ahead, though his lead is back down to 4 pounds. Here's where we are so far: Click on image to actually be able to read it....DCEhttp://weekendpundit.org
Skip is still ahead, though his lead is back down to 4 pounds. Here's where we are so far:
Click on image to actually be able to read it.
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Thoughts On A Sundaytag:weekendpundit.org,2010://1.8872010-03-08T02:33:01Z2010-03-08T02:39:25Z It's hard to believe that only a couple of weeks ago ice fishing bobhouses dotted the lake. On Saturday I saw only one between Alton Bay and Governor's Island. Today it was gone. The ice is looking mushy and...DCEhttp://weekendpundit.org
Yesterday's and today's temps in the mid-50's and temps in the mid to upper 40's over the next few days or so will speed the melting and break up of the ice. If the weather holds I expect Ice Out will be declared early this year, occurring in late March or early April. (Ice Out is defined as when the M/S Mount Washington cruise vessel can make all five ports of call on the lake - Weirs Beach, Alton Bay, Wolfeboro, Center Harbor, and Meridith - which usually occurs in mid April.)
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BeezleBub was back at work at the farm for the first time since vacation, working at the farm's saw mill cutting timbers for a new pavilion at Farmer Andy's farm stand. Construction will start next month, meaning BeezleBub will then use the timbers he cut this weekend to assemble the post and beam frame of the pavilion.
As the saying goes when it comes to scandal or corruption, follow the money. When it comes to AGW skeptics, they receive a small fraction of the funding of the AGW faithful receive, and from the same sources.
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Speaking of following the money, we should look closely at the Tides Foundation, "which is one of the original "philanthropic" donation launderers for donors who don't want to be tied to fringe activist groups."
The list of donors and recipients is illuminating and makes one wonder how some of these organizations and businesses can support organizations that do not have our country's best interests at heart and are working to damage as much of our economy as they can, all in the name of 'fairness' and 'justice'.
Neo's point is valid but Obama damages us in a more insidious direct fashion. At the end of the day what constrains both foriegn and domestic policy is money. Nothing new, that goes back thousands of years.
Obama is removing future options by burning up our capital actively managing the private sector's participation in the economy and racing through our credit by ramping up the deficit.
If he wants to remove any possibility of America doing anything here or overseas all he needs to do is bankrupt the nation, and that appears where he's leading us.
The Weekly Standard has their own take on the AGW crowd being in denial about ClimateGate and the continuing disintegration of AGW theory. (I particularly like the magazine cover illustration, finding it appropriate.)
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Now I'm off to watch the Oscars.
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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the ice is melting away, the bobhouses are gone, and thoughts of boating now intrude.]]>
Six Utterly Valid Reasons to Shrink the Size and Scope of Governmenttag:weekendpundit.org,2010://1.8852010-03-07T14:32:49Z2010-03-07T14:34:26ZChris Edwards of the Cato Institute has 'em....Brenthttp://weekendpundit.org
has 'em. ]]>
Crestfallen at SCOTUS' Directiontag:weekendpundit.org,2010://1.8842010-03-07T13:25:20Z2010-03-07T13:31:21ZThis morning, after yesterday listening to a podcast with Alan Gura, the lead plaintiff lawyer in McDonald V. Chicago, I checked in how oral arguments went Tuesday. I was guardedly optimistic at the likelihood of the Court ruling in favor...Brenthttp://weekendpundit.org
a podcast with Alan Gura, the lead plaintiff lawyer in McDonald V. Chicago, I checked in how oral arguments went Tuesday. I was guardedly optimistic at the likelihood of the Court ruling in favor of the Second Amendment.
From this and this I'm crestfallen. I don't mind an activist court--in the pursuit of Constitutional guarantees. It sounds as though many of us who were having expectations of victory--like the Patriots in the Super Bowl against the Giants--may face bitter defeat. I hope this won't be the case when the decision comes down in a few months. I've heard June is the time. ]]>
Town Meeting Season Winding Downtag:weekendpundit.org,2010://1.8832010-03-07T03:37:23Z2010-03-07T03:43:05ZMid-March is usually the end of Town Meeting season here in New Hampshire. Here in our small town Tuesday is the second session of our town meeting, where residents will vote on list of warrant articles that cover everything from...DCEhttp://weekendpundit.org
Here in our small town Tuesday is the second session of our town meeting, where residents will vote on list of warrant articles that cover everything from town and school district budgets, capital reserve funds and bond issues, to zoning changes and voter petitions. It's also town elections, where a number of citizens, including yours truly, are seeking offices ranging from cemetery or library trustee, road agent, school board, to selectman.
Many towns have tried to hold the line on spending, keeping both the town and school portions of their budgets under tight control. Some have even managed to cut their budgets, like our town, knowing that with today's economy their residents are struggling to make ends meet. Unfortunately a few towns are acting as if the good times are still here, attempting to expand their spending despite the poor economy.
Regardless, the people will be speaking, letting their town leaders know what they think via the ballot box and whether they really want to spend the extra $20,000 for the chihuahua dog park.
As the saying goes, if you don't attend town meeting or vote, you have no right to complain about your taxes.]]>
The TEA Party Movement - A Brief Primertag:weekendpundit.org,2010://1.8822010-03-05T04:52:11Z2010-03-05T04:55:52Z It's become quite apparent to me that far too many of my more liberal friends and acquaintances have little or no understanding of the TEA party movement, including why many supporters capitalize the word 'TEA', but not the first...DCEhttp://weekendpundit.org
First, TEA. It stands for Taxed Enough Already. It's simple and straightforward.
Second, it is not a political party like the Democrats or Republicans, hence no capital 'p' in the word 'party'. Instead it is a loose coalition of like-minded citizens - Democrats, Republicans, and Independents - tired of over-the-top government deficit spending, the threat of confiscatory tax rates being imposed, and the attempts to expand government beyond the limits imposed by the Constitution. The movement harks back to the original Boston Tea Party, with Rick Santelli's rant on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange seen as the start of the modern TEA party. Unfortunately too many opponents of the movement don't see it that way, making claims of racism, naziism, and 'astroturfing' as part and parcel of the TEA parties. I guess it's better they believe that rather than taking a close look at those supporting the TEA parties and seeing that they are average Americans driven to political activism by the irresponsible actions of the Obama Administration over the past 14 months and the Democrat-controlled Congress over the past 3 years.
For the most part social issues are not at the forefront of the TEA parties. They aren't interested in dealing with abortion, drugs, religion, education, or a host of other issues. They are seen as minor as compared to the impending train wreck that is the government's insatiable quest for revenue, control, and profligate spending. Social issues are merely a sidebar as quite often the deficits are deepened by spending on the myriad of issues that really aren't that important, or as some claim, unconstitutional.
If one can understand that about the TEA parties, then one might look at the movement with a more open mind.]]>
Feminist Disillusionmenttag:weekendpundit.org,2010://1.8802010-03-04T16:05:22Z2010-03-03T16:22:42ZBrenthttp://weekendpundit.org Well, evolutionary biology is providing much corroboration to the traditional views of the sexes. This started for me way back in 1991 by hearing an interview with Anne Moirs, the author of Brain Sex, which made much hay of reporting on studies showing that brain wiring and endocrinology make the sexes different, giving legitimacy to traditional views of sex differences. She was apologetic about it then. The years have only given added strength to her thesis. One of the UK reviewers, where Ms. Moirs hails, wrote, "Women talk, and men drive." Hm-um.
This is not to say I excuse lack of opportunities for women or sex discrimination. I refuse to use "gender" incorrectly. I don't. My wife works outside the home, for instance. More power to her.
But she's also the mother of four children. God bless her. And she leads me to believe that I'm the father of all of them.
Well, some feminists who drank the Kool-aid are not happy campers. Not happy at all. Their biological clocks have stuck the dooming chime on the last of their fertility and they are wondering what it's all for. The good job, the vacations, the nice clothes...
I am childless and I am angry. Angry that I was so foolish to take the
word of my feminist mothers as gospel. Angry that I was daft enough to
believe female fulfilment [sic] came with a leather briefcase.
It was wrong. It was crap.
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Jobs Won Or Lost - Democrat vs Republican Congressestag:weekendpundit.org,2010://1.8812010-03-04T01:44:30Z2010-03-04T01:51:37ZThe Democrats talk a pretty good game about jobs and how they're so supportive of labor. Unfortunately what they don't tell is that their 'support' usually ends up causing labor to lose jobs. And while the Democrats blast the Republicans...DCEhttp://weekendpundit.org
provide jobs for labor, something often overlooked or purposely ignored by them.
Here's an interesting graphic that shows an interesting correlation between which party was the majority in Congress and job growth, courtesy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Skip at Granite Grok.
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Heller II?tag:weekendpundit.org,2010://1.8792010-03-03T15:28:41Z2010-03-03T16:03:48ZImage source.The Cato Daily Report, run by Caleb Brown, who happens to have a very mellifluous voice, has an interesting discussion by Tom G. Palmer about a new case wending its way through the courts. It's about whether DC resident...Brenthttp://weekendpundit.org
The Cato Daily Report, run by Caleb Brown, who happens to have a very mellifluous voice, has an interesting discussion by Tom G. Palmer about a new case wending its way through the courts. It's about whether DC resident can do more than keep arms, but bear them as well.
The same attorney is handling the case who handled Heller, Alan Gura.
Mr. Palmer, as a gay man who apparently was engaged in a public display of affection with his boyfriend, was set upon by a pack of thugs who were trying to kill him. I think this happened in California. Running away, he eventually had to turn around and brandish the weapon he was carrying to thwart violence.
This is often how it goes down. Mr. Palmer, who has no doubt the threat of physical violence was real, says that thanks to that firearm he's lived for another twenty-eight years.
He was also one of the original plaintiffs for Heller.
Reading the historian Esther Forbes and her account of Paul Revere's ride, I learned that the colonials were forbidden from having large caches of weapons and gunpowder. Which they ignored. So our War for Independence could not have happened if we had not been violators of unreasonable gun laws.
This gives me solace. The last time I was in D.C., for example, I went a little overboard by packing...something full service. And doncha know I nearly had to pull it on a young thug who began physically confronting my friend and me from out of nowhere. He crashed into us as if we were bowling pins and he was the bowling ball. The hand was on it in its concealed position, when luckily the threat receded. But like any former Eagle Boy Scout I was prepared.
Just brandishing a gun at a criminal thug is usually all one need do to cause a prompt cessation of hostile activity directed at one. It happens much more than people realize.
My friend, the very high-ranking gubmit lawyer who occasionally had after-lunch walks with former Supreme Court Justice David Souter, was momentarily freaked out. Needless to say, he's very hostile to the Second Amendment as properly understood, and thought I was insane for exercising my Second Amendment right. We're former West Point buddies and our bond is deep. But he did gratefully acknowledge he felt relieved I was as prepared as I was. ]]>
Trotskyite Indoctrination at Zoo Masstag:weekendpundit.org,2010://1.8782010-03-03T15:23:44Z2010-03-03T15:26:03ZHere it is. The invaluable David Horowitz finds out how bad it is. Any guess that the smaller zoo in Durham is following in goose-step with the Trotskyite party line?Don't forget we pay for this....Brenthttp://weekendpundit.org
Here it is. The invaluable David Horowitz finds out how bad it is. Any guess that the smaller zoo in Durham is following in goose-step with the Trotskyite party line?
Don't forget we pay for this. ]]>
Off Tonighttag:weekendpundit.org,2010://1.8772010-03-03T03:21:01Z2010-03-03T03:21:59ZLots to do and miles to go before I sleep.Regular blogging resumes tomorrow....DCEhttp://weekendpundit.org Regular blogging resumes tomorrow. ]]>
The Great New Hampshire Blogger Weight Loss Challenge - Week 8tag:weekendpundit.org,2010://1.8762010-03-02T04:07:23Z2010-03-03T03:19:50ZI'm not sure what's happened, but I created the weekly graphic Skip and I use to show our progress, and then e-mail to him as well as home (I use a program at work to create the graphic). But when...DCEhttp://weekendpundit.org So here are the results sans graphics:
Skip: 223.4 pounds
Me: 229.8 pounds
Our common goal is 195 pounds. Skip had something of a head start, being 4 pounds lighter than me when we started, and that gap has both widened and narrowed over time.
UPDATE: I finally got the graphic where it was supposed to be!
Click on image to embiggen
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Thoughts On A Sundaytag:weekendpundit.org,2010://1.8752010-03-01T02:29:57Z2010-03-01T02:31:42Z BeezleBub returned from the WP In-Laws today, his last day of February vacation. To say he wasn't pleased to be home would be an understatement. It wasn't that he dislikes us or home rather than it meant he couldn't...DCEhttp://weekendpundit.org
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One American import British citizens appear to be embracing? Tea Parties.
It never ceases to amaze me how many unwritten 'rights' our Democrat leaders have found in the Constitution over the years, even those that fly in the face of the actual enumerated Rights found there.
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David Starr reminds us that second hand stuff can be pretty good, particularly if the price is right, and that sometimes second hand stuff is better than new stuff.
Call it Yankee frugality.
During my return trip from picking up BeezleBub from the WP In-Laws I noticed quite a few trucks towing bobhouses away from the lake. (A bobhouse is a small shack set up on the ice to provide shelter while ice fishing.) With the weird weather we've been experiencing - snow, rain, high winds, and warm daytime temps - the ice on the lakes has been melting, making it necessary to remove bobhouses before the ice gets too thin to venture out to get them. Such a thing usually occurs in mid to late March.
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And that's the (abbreviated) news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the weather is schizophrenic, the ice is getting thinner, and the woodpiles are getting smaller. ]]>
How's This for Police Work?tag:weekendpundit.org,2010://1.8732010-02-28T21:23:36Z2010-02-27T21:28:35ZA car in Washington, DC, abandoned in a traffic lane near a busy intersection close to an embassy remains there a week until public notice prompts the police to act. Harumph! And people pay taxes for this?HT: Outside the Beltway...Brenthttp://weekendpundit.org
traffic lane near a busy intersection close to an embassy remains there a week until public notice prompts the police to act. Harumph! And people pay taxes for this?
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The Cato Daily Report, run by Caleb Brown, who happens to have a very mellifluous voice, has an interesting discussion by Tom G. Palmer about a new case wending its way through the courts. It's about whether DC resident can do more than keep arms, but bear them as well.
