Another bang-on post from Lorie at PoliPundit.

He won't liberal-bait, except perhaps in the most oblique of terms. Lorie's Point 7 gets at that.

Posted by: Ace at 08:34 AM | Comments (4)
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They say never bring a knife to a gunfight. I don't know what the rule is regarding pot paraphrenalia.

Never smoke a white bong after Labor Day? Nah, that's not it.

Anyway:

A 22-year-old man was wrestled to the ground in the Germantown Police Department Friday afternoon after threatening a dispatcher with a glass bong and a shotgun, police said.

The man walked into the department and handed a threatening note to the dispatcher at a her window around 5 p.m., police said.

As she read the note, he threw a glass bong at the bulletproof glass, police said.

The bong shattered, but the window did not.

He then pulled out a shotgun, but three officers using a taser and pepper spray were able to subdue him, police said.

Going into a police station with a shotgun, delivering a threatening note, throwing a glass bong at a bulletproof window, and then putting your finger on a shotgun's trigger when surrounded by heavily-armed cops?

Funny. This guy doesn't seem like a heavy pot smoker or anything.

Thanks to NickS.

Posted by: Ace at 08:31 AM | Comments (8)
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I just hope they don't go all Pet Semetary on their owners:

SCIENTISTS have created eerie zombie dogs, reanimating the canines after several hours of clinical death in attempts to develop suspended animation for humans.

US scientists have succeeded in reviving the dogs after three hours of clinical death, paving the way for trials on humans within years.

Pittsburgh's Safar Centre for Resuscitation Research has developed a technique in which subject's veins are drained of blood and filled with an ice-cold salt solution.

The animals are considered scientifically dead, as they stop breathing and have no heartbeat or brain activity.

But three hours later, their blood is replaced and the zombie dogs are brought back to life with an electric shock.

And there's a military application:

Plans to test the technique on humans should be realised within a year, according to the Safar Centre.

...

[A short period of suspended animation] should be enough to save lives such as battlefield casualties and victims of stabbings or gunshot wounds, who have suffered huge blood loss.

Okay, but what about Pet Semetary Syndrome?

Tests show they are perfectly normal, with no brain damage.

"The results are stunning. I think in 10 years we will be able to prevent death in a certain segment of those using this technology," said one US battlefield doctor.

Cool stuff.

Thanks to LauraW.

Posted by: Ace at 08:19 AM | Comments (10)
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So he alleges, anyway.

He claims New Line didn't allow competitive bidding for some ancillary (merchandising) rights for the films but instead gave the rights to other companies in the Time Warner family in a bit of self-dealing.

Time Warner denies, saying that "most" rights went to outside companies.

"Most."

Sort of a problem.

I'd like to see Republicans screw Hollywood and do a general public service. Hollywood's accounting practices are notoriously shady. They should hold hearings on that and maybe pass legislation to clean up Hollywood's business practices.

For example, the original two guys who pitched the original Batman movie were given "net points" in the profits when the project was taken away from them. Everyone knows "net points" are a polite way of saying "fuck you," because Hollywood always claims that no film ever makes a net profit and thus net points are worthless.

But... Batman went on to gross over a billion dollars. You'd have to think in this one instance Hollywood would be compelled to admit that yes, they'd made a profit, and therefore they owe someone some cash, right?

Wrong. At least as of a few years ago, Warner Bros. was still claiming that the original Batman had not turned a profit. They have some system where they charge the costs of failed films against the costs of profitable films and thereby claim the profitable films really weren't profitable at all.

Which doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, and anyway, it's almost certainly total bullshit.

Hollywood is the Enron of the left. Why not force these people into more transparent and sensible accounting? It's only fair... and the studios would hate it.

Then again, the producers and stars and writers and directors might appreciate it, so who knows, there might be some influential people better inclined towards the Republican Party.

Posted by: Ace at 07:02 AM | Comments (22)
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Unbelievable. Bury that lede, boys. Bury that lede.

Thanks to NickS.

Posted by: Ace at 06:37 AM | Comments (6)
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Goofy but kinda true:

British men are being told to be alert to a condition that could "put them on the fast track to extinction".

Symptoms of the "illness" that has been dubbed "mantropy" include a penchant for pedicures, fruit smoothies and small dogs.

American Maxim, one of the biggest-selling men's magazines in the world, has defined mantropy as "a silent killer which strikes men in the prime of life".

The magazine has been urging American men to be macho rather than manicured and to indulge their passion for cars rather than clothes.

The campaign coincides with research that shows that men and women are being increasingly turned off by media images of well-groomed, feminine-looking men.

...

This research reinforces the findings of a poll published in April which found that 90 per cent of women preferred a man who was "low-maintenance and easy-going."

...

The magazine's website says: "If you are male, you're at risk. Mantropy knows no social or economic boundaries, attacking men of all races and tax brackets without warning."

Well, if Maxim says it, it must be true!

But... I don't know. I don't read the, uh, "lad-mags." Isn't Maxim just Details with pictures of models and stuff, so you can pretend you're not, well, "that way"?

(Ducks head; I have a feeling I'm about to be told off.)

Via Best of the Web Today.

Yannow, I had those Sullivan quotes and the King of the Hill poll-group story before you posted, Chief.

Hey, at least give a link to the Sullivan Freak-Out Advisory.

Posted by: Ace at 04:20 PM | Comments (26)
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Just click. Click, or click not. There is no try.

I've got to comment -- briefly for once -- but I don't want to give away the joke. So I'll tuck my comment into the extended entry. Click, and then come back. I'll wait. more...

Posted by: Ace at 03:14 PM | Comments (34)
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Bullying is bad, and I don't want to just knee-jerkedly take a position opposite to liberals by suggesting it's character-building or anything. It sucks. Losing a leg might be "character building," but most would prefer to keep their current complement of limbs rather than gain some character, and most kids would rather live their lives without ridicule and beatings than "learn to toughen up."

But... this is just dumb. You probably won't be suprised that Peter Yarrow (who?) is behind it all:

“Don’t Laugh at Me” (or dlam) was born when Yarrow—a veteran of the civil-rights, gender-equality, nucleardisarmament, peace, and Amtrak-subsidization movements—heard a country ballad of that name at the Kerrville Folk Festival, in the summer of 1999. Moved to tears by its swelling harmonies and first-person testaments to the effects of ridicule—“I’m a little boy with glasses, the one they call a geek / A little girl who never smiles ’cause I’ve got braces on my teeth”—he decided to incorporate the tune into Peter, Paul & Mary’s repertoire. At a gig with the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the group played the song. “The principals gave a tremendous response to it, and said, ‘We need this in our schools,’ ” Chic Dambach, Operation Respect’s president and C.E.O., said the other day. “And Peter, being the activist and the organizer that he is, said, ‘You won’t just have a song but a whole program.’ ” dlam is now used in at least twelve thousand American schools and camps.

...

Next up [in the "dlam" performance piece set] was “The Big Betrayal Conflict Script,” a skit about two friends, Terry and Sasha, who get into a fight at a basketball game. The exercise emphasized using “I messages,” as opposed to those that begin with “you” and, therefore, can put their targets on the defensive. (dlam also recommends having students simulate the sound of a rainstorm and discuss a story called “The Maligned Wolf.”)

“Just make sure they’re sticking to the formula,” Hurdle-Price advised. “I often get students who say, ‘I feel that you are stupid.’ ”

"Teachable moments"? For crying out loud, you have children figuring out the way around your dumb "I messages" rule.

I believe that you, Peter Yarrow, are a fucking moron.

Pssst-- and remember, this is the "reality-based community" that's all into "complex thinking" and such.

Thanks to JackW.

Multimedia Bonus! Guy points out you can listen to "Don't Laugh At Me" here.

Yeah.

A kid who's gotten picked on before. Maybe a little dorky, a little gangly, or a little fat.

And now imagine this bullied kid playing this fucking pussy-shit song on his iPod. And having someone overhearing this saccharine sap.

I believe you, Peter Yarrow, are a goddamned sadist trying to get these poor kids murdered.

Son of a Bitch...! Update: I was going to make some nasty joke about never trusting these guys. I don't trust "adults" who are so into child-culture. I think there's usually an agenda there.

A sexual one.

"Puff the Magic Dragon"? Ummm... sounds an awful lot like a come on to a child.

I avoided making the joke because, well, lawsuit, yannow?

So, an unnamed commenter makes the remark that he would have guessed Peter Yarrow was a child molestor. I cautioned him that that was close to slander.

Damnit if it wasn't true. Convicted of taking "sexual liberties" with a 14 year old girl in 1970; pardoned by (who else?) Jimmy Carter in 1981:

Pleaded guilty to taking "immoral and improper liberties" with a 14-year-old girl back in 1970.

As reported at the time, the girl and her 17-year-old sister went to Yarrow's hotel room seeking an autograph. Yarrow answered the door naked and made sexual advances that stopped short of intercourse. The 14-year-old resisted his advances but did not call for help. Yarrow served three months of a one- to three-year prison sentence and was pardoned by Carter in 1981.Peter Yarrow was married to the niece of Democratic Senator Eugene J. McCarthy at the time of the pardon.

The singer has acknowledged the incident as "the most terrible mistake I have ever made."

I had no idea. I know this is "old," as Dave says, but it's very new to me.

What the hell is this pedophile doing anywhere near schoolkids?

And why the f' does PBS inflict this no-talent douche-band's horrific music on us in "very special" concerts three f'n' times a year?

Posted by: Ace at 02:56 PM | Comments (61)
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Several days old, never got around to posting it. But cool:

A 73-year-old Kenyan grandfather reached into the mouth of an attacking leopard and tore out its tongue to kill it, authorities said Wednesday.

Peasant farmer Daniel M'Mburugu was tending to his potato and bean crops in a rural area near Mount Kenya when the leopard charged out of the long grass and leapt on him.

M'Mburugu had a machete in one hand but dropped that to thrust his fist down the leopard's mouth. He gradually managed to pull out the animal's tongue, leaving it in its death-throes.

...

The leopard sank its teeth into the farmer's wrist and mauled him with its claws. "A voice, which must have come from God, whispered to me to drop the panga (machete) and thrust my hand in its wide open mouth. I obeyed," M'Mburugu said.

Ummmm... well, I guess it worked, but why didn't the "Voice from God" tell him to try whacking it on the head with the machette first to stun it or something?

Thank Goodness the Voice didn't say "reach up its ass and try tearing out its duodenem." I've tried that with gators, and trust me, if it doesn't work, you've got one pissed off gator.

Although about one in ten don't seem to mind so much.

But Reuters won't rest on its laurels reporting just that. It's ace reporter nails the story, buttoning it up with elan and punch, with this terrific quote:

"This guy is very lucky to be alive," Kenya Wildlife Service official Connie Maina told Reuters, confirming details of the incident.

In related news, Reuters can now confirm that Michael Jackson is "very lucky to be a free man."

Thanks to JH.

Posted by: Ace at 02:33 PM | Comments (12)
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Alex notes--

If Soros wants a 'Why do they Hate Us' retread of everything every school child has already learned in high school about his country's checkered past--his monument will simply have no visitors--it will mean nothing.

Great point. How fucking condescending is it that these douchebags think that Americans don't know about Jim Crow?

I really wish the left would give up its constant didacticism.

America is not a classroom, you are not professors, and we are not students seeking your wisdom.

Okay, I'm on a liberal-baitin' jag lately. But here I go again.

Liberals have far too much of their self-worth deriving from the fact that they are liberal. Otherwise marginal intellects get to think themselves near-genii just because they think all the right things, read all the right books (or, let's be honest, read the New York Times reviews of all the right books, but claim later they actually read the books).

And, just as the sort of "Jeebus-lovin'" Kristian Konservative Kooks they deride, they gain a sense of moral superiority from their Belief in a Higher Power.

In this case, that Higher Power is Bill Moyers. Which is pretty sad. At least the higher power in Scientology wrote some halfway decent pulp sci-fi.

And the fact that they derive a such a potent sense of intellectual and moral superiority from These Things That They Believe means they really can never, ever

Just. Shut up. About it. Already.

What good is moral and intellectual superiority if you never get to share it with your friends? Or, for that matter, perfect strangers?

Liberals speak of "teachable moments." Conservatives don't. We view politics as politics, as rhetoric, persuasion, and, yes, even a little demagoguery sometimes.

Liberals view it as something more annoying. Not demagoguery. Pedagogy. It's the eternal, boundless classroom, where they are forever the wise instructing the young, dumb, and/or morally unformed.

Sort of like Robin Williams in Dead Poets' Society but with fewer references to Lord Byron and more mentions of Supersize Me.

Even food is now politicized. And liberals have to tell us, constantly, how much healthier we'd all be if we stopped with the meat and grease and fries and all.

Here's my usual political discussion with a liberal:

LIBERAL: But how can you believe that?

ME: I'd rather not discuss it. Let's keep this light. Say, I just saw The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. I've got to say I've had it with that guy's fey and hyper-mannered directorial style.

LIBERAL: I don't want to talk about that. I want to hear how you can believe such a thing. I want to understand you.

ME: There's nothing to understand. We disagree, and we're probably better off leaving it at that. Hey-- you know what would be good right about now? Popcorn shrimp, that's what. I tell you what feller, nothing hits the spot like popcorn shrimp.

LIBERAL: I cannot discuss such trivialities as popcorn shrimp with you abnegating--

ME: Abnegating?

LIBERAL: --abnegating my very sense of self-worth. Let me explain to you what you should think, and why I'm wonderful for thinking these things already.

ME: Oh, God. Here we go.

LIBERAL: It's interesting you mention "God." I suppose you're one of those religious loonies. Ah, well. We'll get to that soon enough. Now, we begin with Willie Horton...

I'm quite serious about this. Conservatives don't usually want to discuss politics with those who disagree, because, well, it's disagreeable and there's little point.

But dang-- when a liberal finds out you're not a liberal... most really, really want to talk their way through this massive problem in the relationship.

Even if you barely know the person.

It's a political movement made up entirely of Overweening Jewish Grandmothers, always nagging, always kvetching, always offering advice you're just never gonna take, and then always wondering why "Mr. Big-Shot" has no time to call back anymore.

Well, Grammy, look, we know you mean well and all, but stop with the unending lecture. Boring as it is, we'd rather hear about your gardening than the latest tirade about how we should really be more like Cousin Efram.

Posted by: Ace at 02:10 PM | Comments (29)
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