Miley Cyrus

What is it about our entertainment industry that it insists on peddling porn and debasing humanity at every turn?

No doubt the typical knee-jerk reaction by America's liberals will be that art is art, and we conservatives are too stupid and too uptight to "get it". The word "McCarthyism" will no doubt fly soon, though in fact the only place true McCarthyism is currently practiced on a regular basis is on our uhber-liberal college campuses.

Annie Liebowitz is a pornographer. This time she did it with a 15 year old known for being "squeaky clean"--thus making her a perfect target for this type of exploitation. "Innocence" may be the only dirty word known to "Hollywood".

Ah, peddling sex to children and through children. What a wonderful way to make a living. I hope Dante was right and the circle of hell set aside for America's entertainment executives, directors, producers, etc. is an especially hot one.

For prior examples, see Brittney Spears, virtually every PG-13 movie, teen-targeted music and TV show, and a prior post.

Giving

Now that the candidates have all filed their tax returns, I have to say I am impressed with all of them on one point: all three are generous givers to charity.

I know the more cynical of us might say, hey, giving to a charity is a great way to garner loyalty and support from the people involved in that charity, and to that extent, the donation is merely a politician's business expense.

Still, in a land that is the most generous in the world (Americans give 1.7% of our GDP to charity, the highest ratio of any nation) I think it is important that our leaders join in the effort.

I recall that Al Gore, when Vice-President, was severely, and properly, criticized for only giving $353 to charity on $200,000 in income in 1998. And I know that the Obamas gave a relatively paltry amount (less than 1% of their income) through 2004. Still both Gore and Obama gave larger contributions in later years.

The Clintons and John McCain are also to be applauded for their contributions, which were sizable both in amount and in percentage of their incomes.

That said, in 2006 we Americans gave away over $295 billion dollars to charities. What is needed is some insight into how the charities use these funds. I truly believe the entire industry needs a little sunshine-- there is many a scandal hiding behind the doors of charitable foundations, religious organizations, and other non-profits.

I don't want government interfering with how these organizations operate--I do want to see some transparency in their operations. We give too much, too willingly, as a nation not to know where the money is going, and how it is being spent.

Mets 54 Strikes, Phillies 52 Strikes

Like a baseball announcer who reports the results of a game based on the number of strikes each pitcher threw, instead of the runs scored, the Mainstream Media insist on reporting results of primaries (and general Presidential elections) based on total votes, instead of what really counts--delegates (or, in November, Electoral College votes).

Who cares that Hillary received more votes in Nevada or Texas--Obama received more delegates in each state.

And last night, true to form, the buzz was all about Hillary's 10% victory.

Which is totally irrelevant.

In case you haven't seen it elsewhere, here are the true results of yesterdays' Pennsylvania primary: Hillary received a net gain of 6 delegates.

6.

Obama still is ahead by 162 pledged delegates, meaning Hillary would need to win another 27 Pennsylvania's to tie him.

And there ain't 27 Pennsylvania's left.

By the way, check out Disbarred Bill's latest expletive deleted explosion/lie. If there is a lower life form than Bill Clinton (OK, maybe Howard Wolfson), I've never seen one.

Do They Bowl On Alpha Centauri?

Stephen Hawking, one of the most truly amazing human beings to grace this planet, speculated that there probably is life elsewhere in the Universe.

He noted that there are three options as to why we haven't heard from anybody: the first is we are alone; the second is that they advanced technologically to the point they blew themselves up. Hawking said he prefers the third option, that

"Primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare," he then quickly added: "Some would say it has yet to occur on earth."

In a related story, both the Obama and the Clinton campaigns announced that their candidate was the only one who could relate to truly alien cultures, thus reaching out to intergalactic primary voters, and, of course, listeners of Air America, the "progressive" radio network.

Jimmy Carter Meet Jack Nabors

Jack Nabors was a pitcher for the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics. He set the record for the most consecutive losses in a row-- 19.

And now, with his nonsensical Hamas venture, Jimmy Carter extends his string of being wrong about foreign affairs, threatening Nabors' dubious record.

I don't know if I can name them all, but the biggies for Carter include Iran, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and Korea.

The next President would do well to take away the man's visa and give him a hammer. At least when he hits the wrong nail then, he only hurts himself.

Texas Polygamy Case

Short question: We are seeing tons of coverage about the children taken from the Texas compound. And now, in a media blitz, the mothers of the children are all over the news.

Putting aside any other comment or query, I have this question:

Where are the fathers of these children? We haven't seen any. We haven't heard from any.

And the media isn't even mentioning them.

Inaction & Insincerity

The Pope has hit U.S. soil, and finally, more than 16 years after the stories of the first pedophile scandals broke, and more than 6 years after the extent of the cover-ups was exposed, we have a sort of apology.

The problem is this Pope, while a Cardinal and now as Pope, has consistently hidden pedophiles and especially their Church-hierarchy protectors, from justice. Exhibit One is the despicable Cardinal Law who, thanks to Pope Benedict, serves in a position of great honor at the Vatican, instead of as an inmate in a U.S. jail.

“Our love must not be a thing of words and fine talk. It must be a thing of action and sincerity" (1 John 3:18).

If this Pope were sincere, he would act, not talk. And all of those involved in secretly shipping predators around from parish to parish to prey on the Church's most devout and innocent would be banned from the Church--not coddled and supported for the rest of their lives.

This scandal has cost the church over $2 billion thus far. Catholics should remember that a portion of their weekly tithe, however small it may be, goes to put food on the plate, and golden robes on the back, of Cardinal Law and his brethren.

The Pope is Coming

Many American Catholics have been waiting for years for a Pope--this one or the prior-- to speak out about the unspeakable acts inflicted by priests on children, and moreso about the reprehensible way the Church hierarchy dealt with its pedophiliac priests.

The stain of that scandal, his refusal to handle it--indeed, his protecting and rewarding of criminals such as Cardinal Law and his assistants-- should follow the memory of Pope John Paul II forever.

As for this Pope, there hasn't been this much excitement about an ex-Nazi coming to New York since Kurt Waldheim became Secretary General of the United Nations.

Friday Quickies

...I wrote yesterday of my distaste for the Olympics. On second thought, maybe if they combined some of the sports I might find them more interesting.

How about combining archery with the pole vault-- see if they can nail the suckers before they clear the high bar?

Taikwando and gymnastics? See who can kick the head right off one of those little anorexic pixies?

Fencing and trampoline?

Wrestling and water polo?

....Bob Barr is considering a third party candidacy against John McCain. Now I'm no huge fan of McCain, but Barr? It's men like Barr, and Trent Lott and Tom DeLay that cost the GOP the Congress and the moral authority in this country.

As they say, not enough bad things can happen to a man like Barr.

....Watching this John Adams HBO series makes me hope they do an in depth story on the life of Alexander Hamilton--especially his virtually lifelong feud/rivalry with Aaron Burr.

....Saw that horrific video of those teenagers beating on that girl. Two thoughts crossed my mind.

I loved how the media kept telling us how despicable it was that the girls were taping the beating for the purpose of uploading it to the Internet, how awful the idea was of the video being distributed--all the while they played it again and again and again in an endless loop.

Hypocrites.

And my second thought was, at least from the clip they kept showing--damn, this girl could take a punch!

....Jimmy Carter.

That's all I can type with clenched fists and gritted teeth.

....I'm generally a government hands-off guy, and I've always been a big proponent of deregulation.

But this airline system of ours' is broken. The companies keep losing money, the safety is suspect, the air traffic system is antiquated, and the customer is treated about as well as an inmate at Abu Ghraib.

Something needs to be done.

I hesitate to think of the government getting more involved, but clearly the industry has been unable to right itself. Passengers are left stranded; departure and arrival times are barely good guesses; too many times passengers are trapped for hours and hours on tarmacs, without water or clean facilities.

The disruption is hurting our economy.

Something needs to be done. I wish someone had an answer.

Years ago a wise friend of mine (OK, not really wise--he's dead wrong on just about everything except the Mets and that his daughter is both beautiful and intelligent) repeatedly said that someone could get elected running against the cable company.

I think today someone could get elected running against the airline industry. I honestly am perplexed by this whole situation, but in the end I refer you to the quote below.

....And finally, a quote from the great Theodore Roosevelt:

The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent, experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it, if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.

Olympic Flame and Idiots

The protests surrounding the Olympic flame have given rise to the usual nonsense about the purity of the Olympics, how they are uplifting, how they bring the world together, yadda yadda.

Nonsense.

First, let's remember that the Olympic torch procession is nothing more than a brilliant marketing device to promote this useless, and in many ways harmful, commercial affair.

The Olympic Games seem to make even usually rational people into misty-eyed idiots.

The latest evidence: David Broder in the Washington Post this morning cast a weary eye on the state of sports in general-- but then had to add the obligatory Olympics nonsense:

What was once a competition of individual athletes of sublime quality has become a race for medals among the superpowers and a stage for fighting out the issues that statesmen and politicians cannot resolve.

"Was once...". When?

The Olympics have always been dominated by politics, starting with Game One of the modern day Olympics, through Hitler, through the Cold War games, til today.

The Olympics have always been filled with hypocritical administrators and judges; with cheating athletes; with money; with drug use; with corruption; with an ability to bring out the worst in people.

As an athletic event it is pitiful. The television coverage the last two decades or so has been skewed to give emphasis to stories of athletes overcoming personal obstacles--some truly admirable, but more and more made up and grossly exagerrated. It makes for bad sports and worse soap opera.

And it all surrounds a bunch of sports most people won't watch for free, or even at gunpoint, the other 3 1/2 years.

Iraqi Oil

I have to agree with the Democrats on this issue: Iraqi oil should be paying for this entire operation.

I bought into the argument at the beginning that the Iraqis were going to need the oil revenue to rebuild their nation, and that if we "seized" the oil fields it would just play into the conspiratorial fantasies of the "Arab street", and American liberals, that this was merely a power grab.

That said, the Iraqis have had too long to get their act together.

So I would immediately crank open that spigot to the max, pump oil as fast as I could, sell it, and use it to pay us for the ongoing security force and to repay us for the cost of this endeavor.

Increasing supply should help stabilize, or decrease, the price of oil.

As for the revenue we would receive, I'd start slapping solar panels all over America; tax credits for hybrid cars; tax credits for building nuclear facilities; tax credits for use of alternate fuels and pay down some of this horrendous debt that has us increasingly beholden to China.

I'd use the Iraqi oil money to help lessen our dependence on all oil. So that maybe in the future 4,000 brave Americans wouldn't have to die because the Middle East is so vital to our way of life.

Next?

Sometimes as I'm banging around on the World Wide Web, I remember my first Texas Instrument calculator--what a wonder of technology!-- and think, what will be next?

This story caught my eye--

The Internet could soon be made obsolete. The scientists who pioneered it have now built a lightning-fast replacement capable of downloading entire feature films within seconds.

At speeds about 10,000 times faster than a typical broadband connection, “the grid” will be able to send the entire Rolling Stones back catalogue from Britain to Japan in less than two seconds.

The latest spin-off from Cern, the particle physics centre that created the web, the grid could also provide the kind of power needed to transmit holographic images; allow instant online gaming with hundreds of thousands of players; and offer high-definition video telephony for the price of a local call. (rest of the story)

Friday Quickies

...So Bill Clinton, the disbarred lawyer, blew up speaking to California Superdelegates the other day, insisting that Gov. Bill Richardson had told him 5 times that Richardson wasn't going to endorse Obama.

Richardson says he never told Bill anything of the kind.

Two comments:

First, Clinton apparently got all red-faced with the delegates, and wagged his finger--so we know he was lying.

Second, if Clinton was telling the truth, I can see why he was so upset. After all, didn't Richardson learn in Bill's Cabinet that the only time you are allowed to lie is when you are under oath?!?

...I saw Al Gore on "60 Minutes" last Sunday. He was unveiling a series of commercials he's running urging movement on the fight against global warming. One features Rev. Al Sharpton and Pat Robertson; another features Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich.

Here's my take: I would run commercials featuring the families of fallen soldiers. Show shots of mullahs and sheiks, terrorists and petty dictators and rich Arabs lavishly spending money.

I'd say we must move away from an oil based economy so we don't have to send our money to these criminals (or worse) and so we don't have to send our brave men and women into areas like the Middle East to protect our oil interests. If a side benefit is less CO2 emissions, so be it.

By the way, the fun starts on the global warming front when liberals finally acknowledge that there is no way we can seriously reduce carbon emissions without extensively increasing our use of nuclear power.

Then the fur will really start to fly--so to speak.

....Speaking of global warming, carbon emissions, etc. PERC, the free-market based environmental research group just released its Spring issue. One of the articles, by a Clemson professor, discusses the various free market options available:

By applying FME principles to climate change policy, it is possible to build a no-regrets outcome that reduces carbon emissions and yields important long run economic benefits to America and the world. Incentives, property rights, and decentralized experimentation can form a foundation for effective environmental policy.

.....David Paterson has been Governor of New York 18 days without an indictment.

Whoo-hoo!!

....There is a great series of very short "parables" poking fun at Hillary and some of her more ridiculous positions (though nothing on the sniper attack yet).

Here's an example parodying her take on the Michigan and Florida delegates:

....This FAA mess is simply disgusting. My wife hit it right on the head the other morning--is anyone in the government actually doing their job? People who seem to have fallen asleep at the switch? Just about everyone working at the FAA, the Fed, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the FDA, customs, immigration, FEMA -- the list goes on and on and on.

As I've stated earlier, somebody should be campaigning on the issue of governing with competence.

....And finally, a quote from the great Theodore Roosevelt:

''I believe in men who take the next step, not those who theorize about the 200th step.''

Sen. Obama- Meet Kyesha Bennett

I watched most of the Obama love-in on Hardball yesterday. Absolutely entertaining-- he was personable, the students at West Chester University were beyond enthusiastic. It was a sit-down rock concert.

But...

For all of his talk about a new politics, his solutions are the same-old, same-old.

When asked by a student about our failing educational system, he rattled on about the need for more dollars for pre-natal care, for pre-pre-K programs, for pre-K programs, for more money for lunch programs and teacher's salaries, etc. etc.

Yesterday the NY Daily News ran an essay by a young mother from Harlem entitled "N.Y. Parents Must Unite to Demand Better School Choices."

In the article she outlined her mother's battle to get her and her brother into a school other than their local one--and her battle for her own child.

I have written before how I felt that school choice (the current name for vouchers) is and should be a civil rights cause. And so I was pleased to read Kyesha Bennett (who is not, to my knowledge, a reader of this blog) state:

My experience made me realize that all parents should have good school choices. That's why I've joined with other mothers and fathers to found a group called Harlem Parents United. I consider this a civil rights movement - because civil rights is about freedom, and freedom is about making choice.

It certainly is.

Give every kid in America a voucher, a ticket, whatever you want to call it, and let their parents decide where that money will be spent--you will see the blossoming of thousands of different schools, designed to meet the needs of the students--not the educational bureaucracy.

Too bad Obama can't break from the tired old liberal dogma to embrace an idea that truly will provide hope to millions of kids.

Perhaps it is too audacious of an idea.

T-Shirt Lunacy

A teenager in Texas is fighting his school district because they booted him off campus for wearing a "John Edwards for President " T-shirt.

Apparently the District refuses to allow political T-Shirts to be worn on school grounds.

Forget the First Amendment issues--how stupid is this? We have young people who are turned off and tuned out to politics, who are too busy playing X-box to worry about the ballot box, and "educators" are trying to stifle an interested kid?

Why?

It simply makes no sense. We should be encouraging participation, thought, the free exchange of ideas-- the District should be less worried about keeping decorum in its hallways and more worried about firing the synapses in the heads of kids whose brains have been worn dull by countless of hours of reality TV and Internet porn.

This is particularly outrageous since the T-shirt wasn't obscene.

I mean, it was a shirt supporting Edwards, not Hillary!

I Hereby Endorse H....

I had this elaborate post in mind-- I was going to confess I was wrong and endorse Hillary.

Trouble was, every time I tried to input the post, my hard drive locked up and the keyboard glowed red.

Even as an April Fool's Day prank, my computer rejects the concept of supporting a Clinton.