Reviewed!

In an act of shameless self-promotion, I must direct your attention to Tiger’s review of our entry to the New Blog Showcase.  Go Vote for us!

God’s Speed

The U.S. Navy on Saturday commissioned the USS Ronald Reagan, the United States’ newest nuclear aircraft carrier, and the first to ever be named after a living president…

The ship stands at the water line 20 stories tall, constructed of 45,000 tons of steel. The length of the flight deck is massive, 4.5 acres from end to end, just about as long at the Empire State is tall…

Former first lady Nancy Reagan directed the order to bring the ship to life, at which point it did very much come to life, with hundreds of sailors racing up on to the flight deck.

The former first lady got tour of the ship yesterday, at which point she said that she was overwhelmed by the beauty of the ship and believed that President Reagan, who planned to watch the ceremony on television today, would certainly be very proud and very pleased.

My uncle is a retired Admiral.  I remember when he got command of his first carrier battle group.  My family and I went to the ceremony under the shadow of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.  I don’t think you can fully appreciate the scope of these ships and the sheer feat of human engineering that they are until you have been on one. 

May God bless this ship and all who sail on her.

This Day In History

The Battle of Aughrim, in which William III defeated James II, was fought in 1691.

The Congressional Medal of Honor was created by Congress in 1862.  It became a reality two days later when President Lincoln signed it into existence.

The 16th Amendment to the Constitution was approved in 1909.  It is always good to reflect on the fact that income taxes were considered immoral by the Founding Fathers and it didn’t come into being until 1909.

Duck… Duck…  Duck?

A consignment of thousands of rubber ducks is expected to wash up any day on the coast of New England - after more than a decade at sea.

The ducks - along with other bathtub toys like beavers, turtles and frogs - fell overboard from a container ship en route from China to Seattle during a storm in 1992.

During the ducks’ long voyage through three oceans, scientists have tracked their progress - and say it has taught them valuable lessons about surface currents.

Heh

Another Doyle Veto

In Wisconsin’s governor’s never-ending quest to keep our taxes high - Jim Doyle has vetoed another chunk of the budget.

Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle on Friday said he will veto a proposal to raise the state licensing fee paid by teachers from $100 to $150, calling the move part of Republican legislators’ “war on teachers.”

I’m beginning to think more and more that Jim Doyle is like chair made of yellow play-doh, he always looks like the ass of the last interest group that spoke to him - in this case it was the teacher’s union.

Blog

Here’s an accurately named blog.

Rice in 2008

I completely agree with this post.

Rice is already building herself a pretty solid reputation. If she stays on this track, I think she would have a much better chance than Clinton of becoming our first female president.

I think that Rice is not only the better candidate than the Hildebeast, I think that she’s one of the best candidates for President - period.  I’d vote for her in a heartbeat.  She’s smart, tough, and conservative.  At the moment, I can’t think of anyone else who’d top her for 2008.  Of course, 2008 is a long way away.

New Entry

I added another new blog to the blogroll.  Check out Feces Flinging Monkey.

Time Out

Hey!  The Million Mom March put John Ashcroft in Time Out twice!

Some Good Entries

After entering our blog in the “New Blog Showcase”, I’ve been reading through some of the other new blogs.  Here’s a few of my favorite entries:

There’s a sweet entry about the blogger’s wife over at Bad Money.

Here’s a blog called Mythic Flow where the blogger ponders the meaning of life and such. 

And Writing in Orange is a blog for writers in Orange County.  Good stuff!

UPDATE:  BTW - I screwed up and entered our blog on a Friday when the contest ends on Sunday.  Oh well, go vote for us anyway and maybe we’ll pull it out!

Here are the entries submitted for the blogs I mentioned above: here, here, and here.

Jim Doyle - Liar or Dunce

Jim Doyle, Governor of Wisconsin, vetoed the Republicans shared revenue plan this week.  When doing so, he promised that no municipality would take more than a 15% one-year cut.

Here’s the truth:

The bureau’s report said 1,199 municipalities will lose more than 15% of their shared revenue aid between 2003 and 2004, and 651 will lose less than that.

That’s right - 65% of the communities in Wisconsin will lose more that 15%. 

In the name of full disclosure; I think the whole shared revenue system is a horrible idea and should be done away with completely.  It’s a program where the State doles out dollars to local communities.  But this isn’t a story about the merits of shared revenue.

There are only two possibilities with the discrepancy between reality and Doyle’s assertions. 

The first possibility is that Doyle lied.  He willfully lied and hoped that no one would call him on it.  Given the fact that there is a Republican legislature and Doyle is vetoing their budget, I can’t fathom Doyle thinking that he could get away with a lie like this.

Which leads to the second possibility, that Doyle and his budget staff are incompetent.  It is a stunning error to say that “no community” will suffer anything greater than a 15% cut when, in fact, nearly two-thirds of them will. 

Doyle is now spinning wildly to explain away the lie/error.  Considering the number and magnitude of government scandals that we’ve had in Wisconsin over the last couple of years which has undermined any credibility that government officials ever had, I don’t think that the public will buy Doyle’s spin.

This Day In History

The Battle of Courtrai, or the Battle of the Golden Spurs was fought in 1302.  The Flemish foot soldiers routed the French knights.

Henry VIII of England was excommunicated from the Catholic church in 1533.

In 1989, President Ronald Reagan served as a sportscaster for the All Star Game.  I wish I could find the audio for that.

Sausage

So here’s the story.  A stupid baseball player whacks a gal in a sausage costume at a Brewer’s baseball game.  It’s been all over the news, but if you haven’t heard - go read the story.

I know it’s low hanging fruit, but here is PETA’s response:

Wendy Selig-Prieb, President
Milwaukee Brewers
Miller Park, 1 Brewers Way
Milwaukee, WI 53214

Dear Ms. Selig-Prieb:

I am writing with regard to the unfortunate events of July 9, when Pittsburgh Pirate Randall Simon viciously attacked the “Italian Sausage” participant in Miller Park?s famous “Sausage Race.” We at PETA feel that now would be a perfect time for you to take us up on our suggestion from last year: You should include a vegan “soysage” in the big race.

Violence seems to be everywhere in baseball these days: Fans are attacking players and umpires in the field, Pedro Martinez “beaned” two Yankees in a row, the Reds are fighting everyone in sight, and now this. Something must be done. What better way is there to set a good example for the rest of the baseball community than by allowing a nonviolent “soysage” to participate in the Sausage Race? By rejecting the castration, dehorning, debeaking, wing-breaking, and throat-slitting that are part and parcel of the meat industry, you can send a powerful message that violence will not be tolerated in baseball?on the field or in the slaughterhouse.

Miller Park already offers veggie hot dogs in the stands?in fact, PETA named Miller Park one of the Top 10 Veg-Friendly Ballparks in our annual list this year. Why allow veggie dogs into the ballpark but then exclude them from the race? Perhaps Randall Simon was simply expressing his frustration at the fact that the vegetarian hot dog was not allowed to compete. By allowing the peaceful “soysage” in the race, you could possibly avoid future player-meat confrontations.

I hope to hear that you will be adding a vegan participant to the Sausage Race in the near future. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Dan Shannon
Campaign Coordinator

(Emphasis mine, and Wendy Selig-Prieb is no longer the president of the Brewers)

I know this is too easy, but does PETA expect anyone to take them seriously when they belch such idiocy?  Do they really think that Randall Simon gives a rip about whether there is a “soysage” in the race?  Or that some drunk fan in the stands in Cincinnati will rise from his seat to charge the Umpire, but pause and think to himself, ?gee, Milwaukee has a soysage in their race and that brings me a sense of peace? and then return to his seat to reflect of his close brush with violence.  Sheesh!

Crap like this is why PETA will never regain enough credibility for anyone to take them seriously except for the intellectually-challenged.

Amputee

Does this describe you?

Wannabes desperately wish to have their healthy limbs removed, and some have succeeded in having it done. Kevin, a university lecturer and one of several wannabes featured in the film, had his leg amputated by Robert Smith, a surgeon in Scotland who has amputated the legs of two otherwise healthy people. George Boyer shot his own leg off with a shotgun. Others have used chain saws and homemade guillotines. Why? Nobody really knows, including the wannabes themselves, who often say they have had the desire since they were children. ?It?s obviously peculiar,? admits Kevin. ?But knowing it is peculiar and saying it is weird does not do away with the problem.?

I don’t really have anything to say about this.  It’s a strange, strange world.

Wha??

Not only was this in very poor taste, it’s a bunch of crap.

Mayor John Robert Smith was speaking during the community service when Shirley Price stood and spoke: “Excuse me. Don’t criticize this man. He was human too ... don’t exclude him. He was a victim, too. ... He was a kind and loving human being.”

Excuse me!?!?  A victim?  Tell that to the families of those who are dead and the folks still in the hospital. 

This is the problem with the victim society that we’re becoming.  The word “victim” is losing its meaning.