Author: Trish

Appallingly Stupid M.I.T. Student Not Even Tasered

Trish

The prestige of an M.I.T. degree just took a dive.

An MIT student wearing what turned out to be a fake bomb was arrested at gunpoint Friday at Logan International Airport and later claimed it was artwork, officials said.

Star Simpson, 19, had a computer circuit board and wiring in plain view over a black hooded sweat shirt she was wearing, said State Police Maj. Scott Pare, the commanding officer at the airport…

The battery-powered rectangular device had nine flashing lights, Pare said. Simpson also had Play-Doh in her hands, he said.

Man, what an idiot. Logan was the airport where two of the four 9/11 planes took off. I would think they’d be just a tad jumpy about things like this.

The trooper, joined by others with submachine guns, confronted her at a traffic island in front of the terminal.

“She was immediately told to stop, to raise her hands and not to make any movement, so we could observe all her movements to see if she was trying to trip any type of device,” Pare said. “Had she not followed the protocol, we might have used deadly force.”

Of course, had she been trying to ask a question at a John Kerry talk she would at least have been Tasered. So what was up?

“She said that it was a piece of art and she wanted to stand out on career day,” Pare said at a news conference. “She claims that it was just art, and that she was proud of the art and she wanted to display it.”

Simpson was charged with disturbing the peace and possessing a hoax device. A not guilty plea was entered for her at her arraignment Friday and she was released on $750 bail.

She was lucky again. Had she beaten up a fellow high school student in Jena, Louisiana her bail would have $90,000. If she were black, that is.

Friday Funnies: CheatNeutral.Com

Trish

Have you, like me, had problems with the whole concept of carbon offsets? As it’s usually explained, you drive your Lady Hummer, fly when it would be easier to walk, and install an ice rink in the backyard of your Miami home…BUT you also pay someone to clean up enough carbon somewhere else on the planet to make up for it.

Is the problem you have with this somewhat convoluted and contrived brainchild the nagging thought that it would be more effective not to burn all those greenhouse gases to begin with? Well, the British have a parody web site for you.

CheatNeutral.com applies the idea behind carbon offsets to relationships. They sell cheat offsets to those who are being unfaithful to their significant others, while paying monogamous couples to stay that way. Watch them explain the concept to folks on the street, and it really dawns on you how much better it would be to just use less of the planet’s scarce resources. And oh yeah, how much better not to sleep around on your partner!

Umbrage, Hand-Wringing, Britney, Hillary, and MoveOn

Trish

The whole country is beginning to sound like that guy (who knew?) who sobbed over the justified criticism of Britney Spears’ lackluster MTV Video Music Awards performance.

More than anyone else, Hillary Clinton is taking a pounding over allegedly egregious transgressions. An incredibly slanted story on ABC takes the Democratic front-runner to task over supposedly beyond-the-pale references to Rudy Guiliani by Clinton supporter former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack. ABC claims Vilsack made a personal attack on Guiliani by merely acknowledging the former mayor has some “issues.”

The attack came in an interview on NY1, when former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a top Clinton presidential campaign adviser, laughed when an interviewer discussed the prospect of Giuliani as the GOP presidential nominee…

Whatever your interpretation of the ad, all the gasping for air and waving of scented handkerchiefs among the war’s most enthusiastic supporters is pretty comical

“I can’t even get into the number of marriages, and the fact his children — the relationship that he has with his children, and what the kind of circumstance New York was in before September the 11th, and whether or not he could have even been re-elected as mayor prior to September the 11th,” Vilsack said. “There are lots of issues involving Mayor Giuliani and I’m sure if he becomes the nominee we’ll be able to see those.”

Kaaay. I agree — if Rudy gets the Republican seal of approval, we’ll all be knowing way more about the thrice-married-once-to-his- cousin-absentee-dad-extraordinaire-9/11-best-thing-to- ever-happen-to-him-and-fellow-lame-o-George-Bush than we want.

But the veracity of Vilsack’s comments matter not. The important thing is this is a chance to skewer Hillary. Kind of.

On Radio Iowa today, Clinton was asked about an interview Thursday when she said she was focusing on a positive agenda.

“Have you told Gov. Vilsack privately that you don’t appreciate his negative comments that were made in New York on that television station yesterday in regards to Mr. Giuliani?” the station’s news director asked.

But instead of distancing herself from the remarks, Clinton replied that Vilsack “is more than capable of speaking for himself.”

Good damn answer.

All this false outrage at Hillary is best explained by a Time essay from Michael Kinsley, analyzing the “How dare you” stance Republicans are taking, particularly in regard to the MoveOn.org ad about Gen. Petraeus’ testimony before Congress.

Goodness gracious. Oh, my paws and whiskers. Some of the meanest, most ornery hombres around are suddenly feeling faint. Notorious tough guys are swooning with the vapors. The biggest beasts in the barnyard are all aflutter over something they read in the New York Times…

Welcome to the wonderful world of umbrage, the new language of American politics. You would not have thought that the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly would be so sensitive. Sticks and stones and so on. Yet they all seem to have taken one look at that ad and fainted dead away.

[…]

Fred Thompson Caught Smoking the Illegal Stuff

Trish

Fred Thompson talks tough about continuing Cold War era prohibitions against Cuba, as long as they’re the ones that prevent people’s families from visiting, circumvent humanitarian efforts, and keep Michael Moore out.

Fred Thompson: “You know, if it’s good, I smoke it”

Courting Miami Cuban-Americans on Radio Mambi on Friday in Little Havana, Fred Thompson was adamant about his approach to Fidel Castro’s Cuba: “We definitely would maintain sanctions, would maintain the embargo.”

But when it comes to how such measures affect Fred it’s a whole different story, according to the St. Petersburg Times’ Adam Smith.

So we were curious about a Weekly Standard article noting “box upon box” of cigars from Havana in Thompson’s office.

…Thompson brushed off the apparent contradiction between the embargo and his fondness for Cuban stogies. “If I have a friend that occasionally passes me a cigar, I don’t check its heritage,” he said. “You know, if it’s good, I smoke it.”

The “if it’s good, I smoke it” argument has failed many a stoner and I can’t say it works for Fred. I mean, come on. Like Fred doesn’t lust after Cuban see-gars anymore than he lusts after his usually scantily-clad young wife.

We’re supposed to believe that for Fred, it’s not about about the status and mystique of those 2003 Cohiba Double Coronas or those 2000 Romeo y Julieta Exhibiction No.2s. They’s just good smokes, ya’ll.

At least one other listener was unconvinced.

Miami-Dade Democratic chairman Joe Garcia questioned whether law-and-order voters will embrace a candidate “who smokes something illegal.”

Romney Blunders With Obama Jab

Trish

Unaltered image from the Mitt Romney campaign web site page, “Defeating the Jihadists”

New entry to the Mitt Romney is Possibly Even Less Intelligent than the Current Occupant file: Romney, in his mindless rhetoric, again misused a word that arouses strong emotion among followers of Islam.

DOD experts: American leaders misuse language to such a degree that they unintentionally wind up promoting the ideology of the groups the United States is fighting

“In my view, the most crucial objective we have in Iraq is to make sure it does not become a safe haven for al-Qaida and other Jihad terrorists,” Romney said.

“Of course, if Barack Obama had had his way and pulled our troops out months ago, that’s exactly what would have happened.”

Let’s ignore for the moment Romney’s idiotic mischaracterization of Obama’s position and focus on his equally dillheaded use of “Jihad.”

As Buck pointed out, even the Department of Defense goes, “Doh!” when American opinion leaders misuse that term.

The two [Dr. Douglas E. Streusand and Army Lt. Col. Harry D. Tunnell IV of the National Defense University in Washington] believe the right words can help fight the global war on terror. “American leaders misuse language to such a degree that they unintentionally wind up promoting the ideology of the groups the United States is fighting,” the men wrote in an article titled “Choosing Words Carefully: Language to Help Fight Islamic Terrorism.”

Buck went on address usage for “jihad” specifically.

An example is jihadist. Most of us take jihadist or jihadi to mean an Islamic extremist who is fighting a holy war. But Steusand and Tunnell maintain that in Arabic jihad “literally means striving and generally occurs as part of the expression, Jihad fi sabil illah, striving in the path of God.” Which is considered a good thing for Muslims to do.

A person commenting on Buck’s post, who signed in as Nazim Haqqani, further clarified.

As the two DOD officials correctly state, by falling into the lexicon trap and referring to the those terrorist as jihadis; you are giving them undue legitimacy.

Jihad is akin to the Just war concept in medival Christianity (with its minor differences in normative traditions) and by lumping random acts of violence as jihad; you anger more Muslims, such as myself, and risk radicalizing those who feel their religion is under attack.

Romney has proven repeatedly he is not so sharp. The infamous dog on the car roof episode, the varmint hunting shenanigans, and all the flip-flops on whatever it is the Mormon thinks he thinks all lead to one conclusion: Romney’s a dumbass.

But as Jon once pointed out:

Romney is indeed a dumbass. Fortunately for him, being as stupid as a bag of hammers is no longer a disqualifier for the presidency.

Selective Enforcement: Dean Seems O.K. with Rich, White New Hampshire Changing Primary Date

Trish

Another state is vowing to move its primary forward so it can be at the head of the line in determining the next presidential candidates. You know what that means: lots of blustering from DNC Chair Howard Dean about taking away their delegates and refusing to count their votes at the national nominating convention.

New Englander Howard Dean has no righteous indignation over New Hampshire moving up its primary date in violation of DNC rules

Except the state in question is New Hampshire and New Englander Howard Dean is strangely silent on the matter. The lack of righteous indignation has drawn its own attention from Democratic Senators Bill Nelson (Fla.), Carl Levin (Mich.) and Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), who have lodged a protest.

New Hampshire is talking about moving its Jan. 22 primary to stay ahead of Michigan’s Jan. 15 primary and South Carolina Republicans’ January 19 primary and the DNC is saying nothing, the letter said…

Democratic Party rules say states cannot hold their 2008 primary contests before Feb. 5, except for Iowa on Jan. 14, Nevada on Jan. 19, New Hampshire on Jan. 22 and South Carolina on Jan. 29.

Why is New Hampshire, the 41st most populous of the 50 states, so important to the primary process? It’s certainly not because of the diversity of its residents, nor their reflection of the country as a whole, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

New Hampshire Florida America
Population 1,314,895 18,089,888 299,398,484
Whites 96.1% 80.4% 80.2%
Blacks 1.0% 15.7% 12.8%
Hispanic/Latino* 2.2% 19.5% 14.4%
Asians 1.7% 2.1% 4.3%
Median HH Income $53,377 $40,900 $44,334

* Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categories.

It makes me wonder if all that sputtering about respecting the process is really about protecting somebody’s idea about rich white folks needing to go first. How very undemocratic of the DNC.

New Site Helps Brides Figure Out How to Vote

Trish

You know how most young women who are planning a wedding are totally consumed by candidates’ positions on Iraq, health care, and global warming? And how their fondest wish is to be able to compare and contrast platforms and then examine their findings in online discussion groups?

According to a new web site the last thing on today’s bride’s mind is seating charts or engraved matchbooks. She’s not looking for the perfect photographer, just the perfect presidential candidate.

BridesDecide.com is helping brides “get engaged in the 2008 election.” The site is surprisingly good, though the bizarreness is hard to ignore.

Where else could you find out that Bill and Hillary met in the library, and only had 15 guests at their 1975 wedding? And also that Hillary supports a guest worker program allowing illegal immigrants to participate in Social Security while tightening borders, cracking down on employers who hire undocumented workers, and allowing illegal immigrants a chance to pay fines and back taxes, learn English, and wait in line for legal status?

Oddly, only one wedding date is cited for Rudy Giuliani — May 24, 2003 — although listed are children Andrew, 21 and Caroline, 18.

This site makes me want to propose a toast to the new couple of voters: May they have many years of nonpartisan happiness!

Should Florida Democrats Change Parties?

Trish

If the Democrats don’t want my Florida votes, they can’t have my Florida money.

That’s what I’m telling everyone who calls or emails me for support — and I’m on a lot of calling and email lists — until the party makes up its mind whether to count Florida’s votes in the coming primary.

Maxwell: I figure if your party won’t count your vote, join one that will

The presidential preference election was moved by the Florida legislature to Jan. 29,* putting it ahead of four other states and causing the DNC to turn all red in the face like your dad did when you came home late and woke him up. They threatened to ground us until the general election by denying us delegates at the national convention. They also forced Democratic candidates to agree not to campaign in Florida, although that hasn’t stopped them from coming here for fundraisers.

Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell is putting forth an even bolder solution than my purse strings strategy: change parties. Maxwell points out that the RNC, while also upset about the primary move, is only threatening to take away half of Florida’s GOP delegates.

I figure: If your party won’t count your vote, join one that will.

Seriously, Democrats. March down to your elections office and become a Republican.

That way, come January, you can vote — for the Republican you like best, the one you dislike the least or, if you wanna be sneaky about it, you can even vote for the Republican that you think would be the easiest for a Democrat to beat in November.

Whatever way you do it, your vote will count — at least more than it would as a Democrat if the national folks follow through with their threat.

What’s more, after you vote Republican, you can switch back — and vote in the regular Democratic primaries in September…

Admittedly, the Florida Democratic Party wasn’t too keen on my idea.

Said party spokesman Mark Bubriski: “I don’t know how any Democrat, no matter how understandably angry they may be, could justify switching to the party of Katherine Harris, Larry Craig, David Vitter, Bob Allen, Jack Abramoff, Scooter Libby, Tom Feeney, et cetera based on an internal party dispute over a primary election.”

That’s not a bad sound bite. Too bad hardly anyone’s going to hear it.

That’s because the Democrats seem too busy doing what they often do so well: becoming their own worst enemy.

I have news for Mark. This is more than an internal party dispute since it affects whether my vote will count. And in many ways, the primary is more important than the general election. That’s the very reason it was moved up. But that attitude by our party leaders is why most of us rank and file Democrats are as fired up as my dad used to get when he caught me coming in after midnight.

Update: Thanks to my new BFF, Anonymous, for noting the correct date of the presidential preference primary. The post has been edited accordingly.