Month: January 2005

an audiovisual montage

Adam Keiper has set images of the Iraq election to Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” in two resolutions, one for dialup and one for broadband, here.

Just go download it. Watch it. Again. If you aren’t moved, you have no heart at all. Just check right on in to your local mortuary.

Now, the next time some LLM or MMP starts whining about “disinfranchisement” in an American election because some cheat had their ID checked to eliminate fraud, think on this and try to refrain from bloodying their nose.

Just give them the Iraqi election finger.

A Charitable Explanation for the Words/Deeds of the Loony Left Moonbat Brigade and the Mass Media Podpeople’s Army

OK, here’s the deal. Understanding the LLMB and the MMPA entails twisting your mind around one singloe solitary fact: nothing, absolutely nothing, is true, factual or in any way connected with reality in their minds or words or deeds if it contradicts their preconcieved, deliberately chosen delusions.

It’s why they could field Joh nKerry as a “serious” presidential candidate. Since nothing he said was connected to facts, truth or committment to any course of action save for personal “validation,” his changing positions from one day to the next, from one minute to the next, from one portion of a sentence to the next convoluted portion of the same sentence, he was entirely consistent as viewed through the warped lenses of the LLMB and the MMPA.

Listing other disconnects from reality such as Barbara Boxer’s delusions, Ted Kennedy’s well, existence, would serve little to expand the case for my assertion. Little could expand beyond the example of Jean Fraud sKerry.

But one example from current events might serve to illustrate the model. The LLMB and MMPA statements leading up to and even continuing beyond the Iraq elections are a perfect illustration of this complete disconnect from fact, honesty, or, indeed, any semblance of actual events.

(This is the charitable construction. Any other explanation for the LLMB and MMPA involves a discussion of Scott Peck’s book, People of the Lie, an interesting exploration of the phenomenon of human evil.)

Witness this fair paraphrase of the progression of positions taken by the LLMB and MMPA leading up to and continuing through and beyond the election:

1.) The U.S. is embarking on empire and will not allow self-government by the Iraqis.
(Demonstrably false)
2.) The promised elections are not/will not be possible. (Demonstrably false)
3.) The promised election will not take place on time.(Demonstrably false)
4.) The elections will be a failure, a bloodbath. (Demonstrably false)
5.) The election will be illegitimate (because of non-participation). (Demonstrably false)

Now, the LLMB and MMPA voices still clinging to the hope that the adventure to build a free and democratic Iraq will fail and the Iraqi people will be worse off than ever are arguing that the election (which they have formerly insiste would not happen, could not happen, woulf be an utter failure, etc.) was the easy part, that the dangers still posed by the reactionary mass murderers the LLMB and MMPA still insist are “insurgents” will topple this fragile nascent democracy.

To which the Iraqi people say:

Michael Moore who?

In a move that by now is a big yawn, the Directors Guild averted their eyes from Michael Moore yesterday when handing out pre-Oscar awards. Clint Eastwood garnered a Best Director for “Million Dollar Baby” but Moore was, well, let’s let the irony of *Reuters* reporting the event sweeten the pot:

In the DGA’s other major film award for the evening, the prize for best documentary went to Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni for their tale of nomadic life in Gobi desert, “The Story of the Weeping Camel.” Among the documentaries it beat for the award was Michael Moore’s controversial anti-Iraq (news – web sites) war film “Fahrenheit 9/11,” which has fared poorly this awards season. It received no Oscar nominations.

What was that? Moore-on’s Fake-umentary was spurned in favor of “The Story of the Weeping Camel”? How sweet. Sweeter still that *Reuters*—al-Jazeera west—swallowed the bitter pill of reporting this slap in the face to its partner-in-lies.

LLMB and MMPA get their knickers in a twist

From AP reports–

The Good:

The polls closed on a surprisingly peaceful election in Iraq, today. Esimates of participation of eligible voters range upwards of 70%. This compares favorably with our own most recent election, of course. In November, 2004, a turnout in the low 60% range was cause for celebration among those who tout democracy as a Good Thing (of course, that excludes most elites among the Democratic Party). Here, charges of “voter intimidation” were leveled by “Democrats” against people who had an eagle eye out to defend against vote fraud. In Iraq, women carried children to vote. Men carried the elderly to vote. Despite threats (and actual attacks), people stood in line for hours to exercise their franchise.

The polls closed at 5:00 Iraq time, but anyone still in line was allowed to vote.

Even Reuters (Also known as “Al-Jazeera West”) had to admit the good news, as these comments from Reuters’ Luke Baker demonstrate:

Even in Falluja, the Sunni city west of Baghdad that was a militant stronghold until a U.S. assault in November, a steady stream of people turned out, confounding expectations. Lines of veiled women clutching their papers waited to vote.

“We want to be like other Iraqis, we don’t want to always be in opposition,” said Ahmed Jassim, smiling after he voted.

In Baquba, a rebellious city northeast of Baghdad, spirited crowds clapped and cheered at one voting station. In Mosul, scene of some of the worst insurgent attacks in recent months, U.S. and local officials said turnout was surprisingly high.

The Bad:

36 people were killed by mass murderers who feared the elections. That’s a bad day in “the hood” in the U.S. It’s also (proportionally) about three times the number of deaths from auto accidents in one day that we would expect in a similar population number here in the U.S. (Roughly 125 die on our roads from auto accidents, daily. Since U.S. population is roughly 10 times that of Iraq, you do the math.)

The Ugly:

All-in-all, though there were some vicous attacks by thugs who fear the People, Iraq has taken a major step toward a level freedom unknown—ever!—in that country before now. The courage and determination of the Iraqi people really put the whining by our own Democrats about “vote suppression” into perspective. The comparison is hardly flattering to the Loony Left Moonbat Brigade and their co-conspirators in the Mass Media Podpeople’s Army who are apparently running the Democratic Party. Both wings of the Stupid Envious and Evil Party (SEEP) have spent a lot of time denegrating the Iraqi election, today. No surprise. Over and over again they trumpeted that it would be a failure, illegitimate, yadayada, in the lead-up to the election. Now, with the obvious success of this election, they have to exaggerate the negatives, eliminate the possitive, hold on to the injurous and not mess with Mr. in between… (With apologies to Johnny Mercer .)

Yeh, the LLMB and the MMPA are the Ugly, all right.

This is only a test (but if you get your info from the Mass Media Podpeople’s Army, you’ll likely fail it).

Enviro-weenies blame US for global warming, but I’d bet they’d all (well, 99%) fail this test found on Jerry Pournelle’s “Current Mail”.

1. What gas is responsible for approximately 95% of the “greenhouse effect” on planet Earth?

2. Are the United States a net A) Emitter, or B) Absorber of carbon dioxide?

3. Is the global climate now A) Warmer, or B) Cooler than it was approximately 1,000 to 1,100 years ago?

Answers:

…
…
…

1. Water vapor is responsible for about 95% of the Earth’s greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide is less than 2% of the total effect, with methane taking up most of the balance, and other gasses responsible for the remainder. But all we EVER hear about is CO2.

2. The U.S., with it’s vast forests (more now than in pre-Columbian times) and farmlands is a net ABSORBER of CO2…as opposed to Europe and Japan, which are net emitters.

3. Let’s see…they were raising crops of oats in Greenland, and the Icelandic/Viking explorers were calling what is now the chilly area of Newfoundland “Vinland” because of the grapes which grew there. It’s an era referred to as the “Medieval Climate Optimum” in old climate textbooks, and was followed by the spread of Black Plague (the fleas of the rats taking advantage of the warmer climate to spread to northern Europe). That period was followed by what used to be referred to as the “Little Ice Age”, in which England saw snow in areas never before seen, and the River Thames froze quite solidly on a regular basis. That period ended in the early/middle 1700’s, and we’ve been in a warming trend ever since.

There’s much more at the link.

It wouldn’t be so bad, I guess, if they did their legitimate work competently

The problem is, apart from armed forces personnel on the ground, most arms of the federal government are a waste of good, otherwise breathable (until it passes through the various orifices of the fedgov) air.

Case in point: Michelle Malkin’s blogpost yesterday.

EXCLUSIVE: DHS AWARDS GREEN CARD TO DEAD SEPTEMBER 11 VICTIM
By Michelle Malkin · January 26, 2005 07:16 AM

[her latest column] exposes how our behemoth, $34 billion Department of Homeland Security sent a green card approval notice on Jan. 15, 2005 to Mr. Eugueni Kniazev (pronounced Yev-GEN-nee Kuh-NEH-zev), who was murdered at the World Trade Center on that unforgettable day the towers collapsed.

Oh, those wacky guys n gals at DHS! What a jape! Not only do they send out an approval for a Green Card to a family who lost a loved on at the WTC on 9/11, but they are apparently doing absolutely nothing to correct the procedures that led to this gaff:

A Department of Homeland Security spokesman told me [Malkin] it’s up to family members to notify the government when an applicant dies. “It’s unfortunate,” he said, but there is no mechanism in place to prevent this from happening again.

What’s that? Just don’t give a flip that they’re sending out approvals for green cards to dead people? So what if someone gets one of these approval letters and usues it to become “legal”. Surely that’s not a security hole the Department of Homeland Security (Department of hack Socialists? Department of Ham-handed Sucker-bait? What?) ought to plug. Of course not!

Your tax dollars at work? DHS doesn’t seem to be working, if this is any example.

And it is.

Carnival of the Recipes—LAST week!

The latest Carnival of the Recipes was up in fine (Alphabetical!) order last Friday… Caltechgirl did a great job organizing all the recipes. I’m gonna need another trip to the grovery store, I see. I mean, “Wake the Dead Applesauce“?!?!? Much more at the Carnival #23 link.

This week, the Carnival of the Recipes will be at Kin’s Kouch. Check your waistline at the door. Send your own recipes to recipe.carnival at gmail dot com

A few of my favorite recipes—all easy, all the time

All easy recipes, all the time…

Quick Salsa

Chopped RIPE tomatoes (not the flavorless rocks you normally buy in the produce section)
Finely minced onion
Finely minced garlic
Chopped peppers: serano, jalapeño, habañero. Whatever suits your taste.
If you can stand the soapy taste, chop a little cilantro and add it.

Mix all that, set it aside for a few hours in the fridge and you have a decent tomato salsa.

A little quicker/easier: substitute a can of Rotel tomatoes and chilis for the tomatoes ONLY. You’ll still need some real peppers to add a little flavor, unless you’re a total wuss.

Basic Beans

Wash and sort 2-3 cups of pinto beans (more or less, depending on folks to be fed, how much you want left over for chili, etc. NOTE: I don’t guarantee the method below for red beans)

In a heavy stock pot, cover the beans with water-about 2″-3″ more water than beans.

Bring to a boil, remove from heat and let sit for an hour or so.
After an hour or so off heat, you have a decision tree branch:

1.) Do beans often give you gas? If so, and if it bothers you or others around you, toss the water and cover the beans with fresh water before proceding.

2.) If beans don’t seem to give you gas or passing gas doesn’t bother you or those around you (in my family, we call passing bean gas “love farts”—well, at least I do), then go ahead and cook the beans in the water they’re in.

Add a ham hock. No, don’t get fancy or make some sort of substitution. Add a ham hock.

Bring the mess to boil again, then cover, back the heat off to a simmer and leave it.

After about an hour cooking time, you can add salt or other seasonings to your taste. With the ham hock in, all I usually add is a little salt.

When are the beans done? Take a bean or two out and blow on ’em. If the skin curls away from your breathe either the beans are done or you have some knarly breath, dude.

What to eat with such ambrosia? Cornbread, of course.

My Fav Cornbread

(One of a very few “measured” recipes in my repertoire)

Make it in a well-seasoned cast iron skillet.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit (Yeh, I know I could just type “F” but “fahrenheit” is a fun word… even after its recent Moore-onic usage.)

2 cups corn meal (white or yellow)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (wheat or white)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar (I know, it’s not “Southren”—so sue me)
1 egg, lightly beaten (or not. sometimes I just dump it in and let nature take its course as I mix other things in later. Seems to work as well)
2 cups buttermilk (NOTE: no buttermilk handy? put UP TO—no more!—1/4 cup of vinegar in your measuring cup before adding milk to the 2C amount)
2 tablespoon melted shortening or vegetable oil. (But bacon grease, just melted, is MUCH better-tasting. Combine with olive oil if you’re concerned about the trans fat stuff)

Dry ingredients mixed together.

Combine wet ingredients, then add them to dry & stir until it’s all just wetted.

Pour the mess into the skillet and pop it into the 400 degrees fahrenheit oven for about 25 minutes—more or less depending on your oven, etc. When you think it’s done, stick a toothpick into the middle. If it comes out clean, it’s done.

Beans, cornbread, freshly-sliced onion—heaven. Milk or buttermilk with this ambrosia.

Kickin’ grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup.

Kickin’ Tomato Soup

Easy. Just take any old condensed tomato soup. Add your fav salsa. heat. Done.

Kickin’ Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Chop your fav HOT pepper
Mince a slice or two of onion
Combine in small microwavable container with Easy Enchilada Sauce and some olive oil.
Nuke the mess for about a minute, more or less (depending mostly on your microwave oven)
Spread on bread
Add fav grated cheses
Grill. I like butter & olive oil in a cast iron pan, but one of those electric sandwich makers is OK, too.

Pining for rural life

Yeh, I made a big deal when I started this blog about explaining the “Third World County” title. When we moved here 9.5 years ago, there wasn’t a single solitary traffic light in the county. Nowhere was there a four-laned road, let alone a divided highway. And chain stores were unheard of. Sure, people knew there were such things as computers, even computers networked and connected to the internet, even. But the only ISPs were not only out of town, they were out of the county. My first ISP when we moved here was back in OK via an 800 number. Later, local number dialups were made available… by a company two counties away.

Today, even though the infrastructure is primitive by most city folks’ reckoning, we have, IIRC, eleven traffic lights in the county. Eleven! And three of those traffic lights are in lil old Jane, MO, population of just a couple of hundred souls, if that (Jane hasn’t even had a post office for more than 30 years).

Chain stores? Dogone it of Dollar General didn’t make a move on the county four years ago. And today, Walmart opened a brand new supercenter… in Jane, Missouri (now you know why there are three traffic lights in Jane, eh?)

And computers and related technologies? Well, we have a lot of shade tree “computer techs” who put together $300 trash boxes and sell them for $1,000. And a few years ago (along about the year before the millennium turned, you know, the year before 2001) the local telephone company decided to get into “that interned net thingy” in a bigish sort of way offering a local dialup service. Of course, since it was over their phone lines and their servers seemed at times to have been put together with chewing gum and baling wire, that was a lot of fun. So, when they offered “broadband” ASDL, I ran as fast as I could for the cable company’s nearly simultaneous offer of cable internet service.

So here I sit at my computer, connected (in America’s Third World County, no less) at about 2 megabits upload speeds and considerably faster download speeds than the local telco’s fastest “broadband” download speeds, griping about how the county’s going to hell in a handbasket, because… well, because Walmart has opened a superstore in America’s Third World County. (I laugh at irony!)

If ever there were a “last straw” that would be it.

A Viking we will go,
A Viking we will go,
Heigh-ho the merry-o,
A Viking we will go!”

From “Language Log”

Gee. If Microsoft has it right, this may finally explain the Vikings. If, in order to get from Haugesund, Norway to Trondheim, Norway, one still has to follow the traditional pathway the Vikings took on their Northern European raids, then maybe it was the only way then, as well…