April 2008

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I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of freedoms of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. (attributed)

-James Madison

April 13, 2008

Pennsylvania Poll on Barack Obama

A new poll has been released on Barack Obama's now-infamous San Francisco speech, where he claimed that small-town Pennsyvanians cling to religions and guns because they are bitter and bigoted.

According to the poll, approximately half of the Pennsyvanians that were questioned about the remark responded that they would pray for Mr. Obama. The other half said that they wanted to shoot him.

(H/T Mrs. Rammage)

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April 29, 2007

Melted Steel

(Click on image for link to slideshow)

Do you really expect me to believe that the I-beams and steel girders of this freeway could be melted by a simple gasoline fire? Hide your ignorance! Conspiracy! Conspiracy!

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January 12, 2007

Gay Adoption

Oh this made me laugh. I had to share. Pardon My Planet

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September 27, 2006

Don't Download This Song

Long before AtlasBlogged, I shared my thoughts on internet piracy via email. My friends on the Atlantico email list were subjected to a little tirade about how the anti-piracy artists like Metallica and Eminem were coming across as pretty ridiculous. Oh, I’m not saying that an artist doesn’t have rights to their intellectual property (at least, I’m not saying that right now)… I’m just saying that if you become a millionaire in the metal or rap industries in particular, I have trouble respecting you when you play The Man and have your lawyers email me for ripping and burning. There is no street cred in these actions, imho.

Well, I’m not alone in this belief. In this video, a very popular artist addresses this very serious issue.

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August 15, 2006

Gym Thoughts II - A Counterpoint

Wulf wrote:

Did I really get stuck today in the parking lot behind a car that was blocking the lane and waiting for a parking spot close to the door? Seriously? At the gym?

This reminded Mrs. Rammage of the time I complained about the number of stairs that I had to climb at Bally’s. She almost posted a comment about it - but thankfully I'm getting to publish my side of the story first.

Hear me out on this. The Bally’s was situated on the top floor of a shopping center, with the entrance on the ground floor. You had to walk up two flights of stairs to get to the main Bally’s work-out area, and then walk to the back of the gym and walk down two flights of stairs to the locker rooms on the ground floor at the back of the shopping center. It was the most screwed up thing I’d ever seen.

So, a typical Bally’s session for me would be to:

Enter [stage left], Ground Floor
Walk up two flights of stairs, and walk to the back of the gym
Walk down two flights of stairs to the locker room to change
Walk up two flights of stairs and work out
Walk down two flights of stairs to change
Walk up two flights of stairs to get back up to gym area
Walk down two flights of stairs to get to the exit

Now, I feel goofy just typing this about a gym, but it was really exhausting. And you members of the Rockville Bally's know what I'm talking about. After hitting the treadmill for 30 minutes and doing leg exercises, nothing was worse than the thought of having to navigate the many flights of stairs just to get out of the gym. At least I crack myself up about all of this.

I ended up cancelling my trial Bally's membership, and I'd like to believe that it had nothing to do with the stairs. I'd like to believe.

On the positive side, since my Titan wouldn’t fit in any of the parking spots at the shopping center, I had to park about 200 yards away at a nearby restaurant. So, Wulf would have never been stuck waiting for me to park.

Update: Boon wrote: "I think at some point you need to just stop paying your Ballys membership and just do the stairs thing. Much cheaper."

Indeed.

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Gym Thoughts

Did I really get stuck today in the parking lot behind a car that was blocking the lane and waiting for a parking spot close to the door?

Seriously? At the gym?

Posted by Wulf | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

July 30, 2006

I Can't Live on this Salary!

I find that most editorial cartoons are really good at communicating a really bad point. Usually, it is that so-and-so is stupid. I am not sure that this one by Etta Hulme is any different in that respect, but I find it very interesting. I hope it can spark some conversation - I'd like to hear some opinions on it. Is there a fair point being made? Talk to me.

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July 26, 2006

I Love You Too Cecilia Lucas

Iowahawk has scored yet another world exclusive, the reply to UC Berkeley grad student Cecilia Lucas' poignant love poem to Hezbollah, penned by a Hezbollah resistance fighter smitten by Ms. Lucas's charms: I Love You Too, Cecilia Lucas.

[Actually, I'm testing "Digg's" auto-blogging feature. And I couldn't think of a better test subject than Iowahawk's masterpiece. Here's to hoping that Cecilia Lucas enjoys her fifteen minutes of Frisch-esque fame. -ed.]

[Update: My Digg auto-blogging test has failed miserably, and I cannot find anything yet on the web advising how to get this feature to work correctly with Movable Type 3.31. Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated.]

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July 3, 2006

Is NASA An Industrial Subsidy In Disguise?

With regard to the NASA budget, Kip Esquire of A Stitch in Haste yesterday brought up a post from the archives, noting that "one of the stickier wickets for some libertarians is the issue of government-funded space exploration."

This is an issue which Rammage and I have discussed many times (in person and in email - don't bother searching). I would like to point readers to an excellent point/counterpoint discussion, here. Enjoy!

Posted by Wulf | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

June 14, 2006

Sniglet of the Week

Iteasement (aye-teez’-ment)
n.

a. The act of iteasing.
b. The condition of being iteased.

The act of impatiently nodding your head while standing over the shoulder of an IT professional as he or she runs through the exact same troubleshooting steps that you have already performed on your malfunctioning computer (i.e. rebooting, ipconfig /renew, etc.), knowing that you have already identified the problem and could instantly fix if only you had administrative rights.

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May 5, 2006

"Ronald Chegan"

Mrs. Rammage knows her husband well. In the link below I'm displaying my favorite anniversary gift since my bench grinder: a Communist-red Che Reagan t-shirt complemented by the socialist worker's fist-o-power. I am now ready for the next illegal immigrant march on Washington D.C., where I'll hopefully blend in with the other Che worshippers.

View image

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April 27, 2006

FEMA Unprepared to Manage Collapse of FEMA

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security has recommended that the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) be abolished, and a new federal agency with a new, shinier name be created in its place.

Gregory Kutz, managing director of special investigations for the Government Accountability Office, said he had little confidence that the Federal Emergency Management Agency would be ready by June 1 to safeguard taxpayer dollars should a another major disaster like Hurricane Katrina strike.

(story link)

This proposal would be a disaster for FEMA Acting FEMA Director R. David Paulison admits that the agency is not adequately prepared to deal with its own demise. “There simply is no response plan for a disaster of this magnitude to hit the agency itself. This would be a Category 5 Dismantling of the Agency, a direct hit.”

Paulison has asked President Bush to declare the agency a disaster in order to speed aid to the agency. Trucks of bottled water are being dispatched to regional FEMA headquarters, and governors are being asked to call out the state militias to provide support to FEMA facilities as their management threatens to collapse. Early reports indicate that the Army Corps of Engineers had predicted that FEMA might encounter a topping of congressional support, but the imminent total breach is unexpected.

Said President Bush, “I don't think anybody anticipates the breach of congressional support for FEMA.”

Meanwhile, Louisiana Governor Blanco is questioning the wisdom of rebuilding a federal agency in a field so likely to experience similar flooding of criticism in the future. Blanco:

FEMA is injured. It´s going to take more than surgery and a cast to mend it. To restore the nation´s confidence in times of crisis, the call for help must be answered and it must be answered quickly. I´m pleased that Congress and the White House are tackling this issue.
It´s no secret that I´ve long believed the Stafford Act is inadequate to deal with natural and manmade disasters of the magnitude that hit Louisiana last year. I urge Congress to consider the entirety of the nation´s ability to respond quickly and adequately to catastrophic events like Katrina. Until then, any emergency agency will fail to meet the needs of protecting the people.

But some FEMA residents want to stay and rebuild, no matter what the danger.

“This agency is my home, it is my life,” said a tearful employee who was also a noble member of an oppressed racial minority. “What am I supposed to do? I won’t leave.”

FEMA is planning to issue $2000 debit cards to all FEMA employees, and anybody who claims to be a FEMA employee, possibly excluding blacks.

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