Right Of The Star

Saturday, April 23, 2005

What an X-hole

Ace is on a name search. He has narrowed it to four and you can help him select here.

I know Ace gave up on having a name with X in it, but I missed the inital suggestion period. He is so good at ripping people a new one, especially "he who will not be named" I thought I would suggest X-hole anyway.

Doubt it has a chance, but go help him out anyway.
DKK

Clarification - I love Ace and his blog - which is why I didn't call him an Ace hole!
DKK

My Constitution Trumps Your Little Rules!

David Limbaugh has a great analysis of the bottom line in the judicial confirmations war!

The Constitution trumps any little Senate Rule and the Dem's don't get that, and they never will because they don't believe in the people and their ability to make their own decisions! Just like they don't believe that the second amendment lets people bear arms, despite it's language, "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Most everyone has concentrated on the political aspects of the battle, but David Limbaugh hit's it on the head with this one. He points out that the Dem's are politicking:

The reason we're even talking about a so-called " nuclear option" is that Democrat leaders remain in denial about their consistent drubbing at the ballot box. They won't accept that the public has rejected their message.
...
This whole flap is not that complicated. Republicans won the presidential and congressional elections. The Republican president is therefore entitled under the Constitution to appoint judges, with the Senate having the right to pass on the competency and character of the nominees.


But the bottom line is:

The Senate does not have coequal authority with the president on judicial appointments as the advice-and-consent function was not intended to confer veto power on the Senate.
...

Democrats can talk until they're blue in the face about Republicans tinkering with the system by invoking a Senate rule change. But in the first place, it is just that: a Senate rule change, and as I said, the change is only necessary to correct the Democrats' abuses and usurpations of power.

The reason Democrats are filibustering judicial nominees is that they refuse to play by the rules and allow the duly elected president and Congress to exercise their constitutional authority. No one's asking them to lie down or forfeit their minority rights, merely not to break the rules to obstruct the majority.

Under our system, the people elect the president and Congress, and those two branches set policy for the government. The judiciary was never intended to be a policy-making branch. Yet Democrats, for decades have been willfully violating the Constitution by using the courts to make laws and set policy -- often in derogation of the policies already set by the other two political branches.

In an astonishing demonstration of chutzpah, Democrats have been complaining about Republicans threatening the independence of the judiciary when Republicans say they want to take action to force the judiciary to revert to its non-political, independent role. Democrats haven't respected the independence of the judiciary since before the Warren court era of judicial hyper-activism.

It is laughable that they demand an independent judiciary when what they really want is a judiciary they handpick for the express purpose of implementing policy they can't otherwise achieve through the political branches of government. They see the judiciary as both a high-powered vehicle to thwart the democratic will of the people and as a weapon for their side to use in the Culture War. They view the judiciary as a catalyst for social change, an instrument to supplant traditional values with secular relativism, and all the hedonism and licentiousness it entails.

That's why they seek to divert attention from the real issues involved in the judicial nominations debate and demonize the messengers...

Great analysis, read the whole thing.
DKK

Try Try Again!

"If at first you don't succeed.................






Keep on sucking till you do succeed!"
Martha c. 1986
DKK

Entertainment Trek - The Yellow Shirt Love Fest

Wow - people really love the Capital One "Yellow Shirt" commercial that I mentioned here - Screaming Like a Little Girl.

I have gotten more hits from searches for that commercial lately! Unfortunately I still don't have an online version I can link to. I did what everybody else did and googled it but only found one pay site that might have it online.

While I am on the subject of commercials I saw a new Geico commercial that included Speed Racer. It was very clever and well done - one of the best Geico commercials yet! The bridge is out and she (don't know anyone's name in the cartoon because I always hated it) is letting him know that the bridge is out, but good news ..... yea, you know she saved a lot of money on her car insurance! Good commercial, unfortunately, as I said, I have always hated Speed Racer! So much so that I don't remember it even being around before I was a young adult but it had to be because with such poor quality it has to be old, right? I think it was among the first Japanese imports and I was always amazed that the mouths moved like a bad Kung Fu movie, not really matching the words (that and the HUGE eyes us "round eyes" have).

Now those Stay Free pad commercials have to stop - I don't want to ever know that women get uncomfortable when their pads turn wet and sticky! OOOooowww - I eat dinner with the TV on and while not squeamish normally - as a gay man that is just waaaayyyy tooooo much info!

Last one - ever wonder if one of Ice Cube's (real name O'Shea Jackson) old girlfriends gave him his nick name? Perhaps because his dangly bits were small - small as a mouse. On the USA Network commercial for his new movie he introduces himself, "Hey, M'icecube." Yep, mice cubes! (Lets see someone Google that one - "Ice Cube's small cubes!")
DKK

Update: More on the Yellow Shirt ads here!

Fox News Watch Trek - on a Roll Today

(But I'm not - oops I forgot part of my posting)

Today's Fox News Watch held three quotes about religion that made this episode a stand out in media punditry.

All are paraphrased as I didn't write them down:

  1. Hey, the liberal media just doesn't understand that the ten commandments aren't a voluntary initiative - Cal describing the media failure to understand that the Pope is in fact Catholic.
  2. Jim made a comment that was the best of the show but Crap - I forgot this one but I will fill it in after I watch the repeat of the show or see the transcript.
  3. Even Hollywood atheists can have their prayers answered! Jim describing the success of the NBC production Revelations.
I know I should have written them down then I wouldn't have forgotten the best one! Sorry, I will fill it in later!
DKK

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Common Sense Trek - An Ongoing Series

Let's face it - I am often amazed how some of the people I have met in my life have survived to adulthood. With these people I can't help but wonder if they grew up without electricity in their home and lived without traffic nearby as these daily challenges clearly are more their mental abilities would seem to allow. Exposure to challenges such as these on a daily basis would have prevented them from reaching maturity - survival of the fittest and all.

I have never been a person to pull punches. I call them as I see them and often not very diplomatic. A good friend says I should get my own, "Common Sense Court" along the lines of the judge shows on TV - only, according to him, I would be beyond brutal.

Anyway I am starting a series of posts, beginning with this one, on things that should be common sense but seem to elude many Americans.

Throughout my life I have had an unwritten list of common sense items, many of which have been forgotten over the years. As such I would like your help rebuilding my list! I will promote those I like from the comments to the front page along with a link to your blog so give me your best!

Common Sense.
  1. If you want to ensure the legality of an election you must know who is voting (require an ID to vote)
  2. A nation must control it's boarder, that is what makes it a nation and why it is called a boarder
  3. Punishment for a crime should be hard, that is why it is called punishment!
  4. A minority party is deluding itself by claiming that the majority party is, "out of the mainstream."
  5. For some strange reason a pro-American bias is now considered rightwing, it's not, it's just American.
  6. Continued comparison of people to Hitler reduces the impact of Hitler's crimes (oh and it makes us ignore those doing the comparisons - the same applies to the terms crooks and liars!)
  7. Every pie thrown at a conservative should be treated as if it contained some type of chemical or acid. It isn't just a harmless prank or an expression of free speech!
  8. If you drink coffee while driving chances are good you will spill! Spilling coffee on your cooter (BTW, is that spelled like hooters or couter?) is going to hurt - coffee is hot, always has been always will be! If it weren't hot you would complain to the manager!
I will be keeping an archive here - Common Sense Archive.
DKK

Common Sense Archive

Common Sense.
  1. If you want to ensure the legality of an election you must know who is voting (require an ID to vote)
  2. A nation must control it's boarder, that is what makes it a nation and why it is called a boarder
  3. Punishment for a crime should be hard, that is why it is called punishment!
  4. A minority party is deluding itself by claiming that the majority party is, "out of the mainstream."
  5. For some strange reason a pro-American bias is now considered rightwing, it's not it is just American.
  6. Continued comparison of people to Hitler reduces the impact of Hitler's crimes (oh and it makes us ignore those doing the comparisons - the same applies to the terms crooks and liars!)
  7. Every pie thrown at a conservative should be treated as if it contained some type of chemical or acid. It isn't just a harmless prank or an expression of free speech!
  8. If you drink coffee while driving chances are good you will spill! Spilling coffee on your couter (BTW, is that spelled couter or like hooter?) is going to hurt - coffee is hot, always has been always will be! If it weren't hot you would complain to the manager!
DKK

The Good Thing About Pain

The good thing about pain is when it goes away, even for a couple of days. Other then that and pain letting you know your alive I can't think of many good things about it (aside from the obvious pain warnings of a hot stove but that isn't the kind of pain I am discussing here).

Spent yesterday puking and napping - not the flu but a reaction to something. Not sure what but I have been extra dizzy lately.

And when I say puking I mean violently throwing up! Luckily it started early enough that I had only had water and a bit of coffee. Kept it from being too bad. 3rd time this year - treatment and management had kept that symptom limited to just once or twice a year.

Strangely enough I learned how Yogi's can control their breathing, after all they can breath through any orifice, even a straw sticking out of their punjana, right Eddy? While I was trying to control the pain and nausea I actively regulate my breathing. As I would begin to doze off I would actually stop breathing and I would wake and have to start myself breathing again. This went on for about an hour or so. Sounds strange but because I was actively controlling this autonomic function it wasn't ready to kick in automatically (as in autonomic) either because of the illness and pain or because of exhaustion - one way or another it wasn't ready to kick in as I fell asleep. It feels really strange and scary to have to remind yourself to breath!

But enough about that....pain and chronic illness do challenge one's positive attitude. Was it Ben Franklin who said that one can only appreciate health, wealth, and sleep when they have been interrupted?
DKK