A University of Chicago poll claims to show that Americans are more stressed and depressed as 2005 comes to an end, primarily because of the hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast and higher fuel prices. Makes sense. Here's the "duh!" part, though:
The survey... found that troubles were greatest among those with low income, poor education levels and among unmarried mothers.
A DeKalb County, Georgia woman missing for nearly three months has been found... in the county jail. Seems that the county either mishandled her, or lost track of her altogether. Scary...
I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. WIll be out and about for a few days spending time with the people I love. Hope you can do the same. And everyone please remember our men and women in the Armed Forces who are away from home this Christmas defending our rights and freedom.
A liberal poster named Reilly questioned my values and my support for our military in Iraq below. I was going to respond in the comment section, but a full-blown post just seems more appropriate. You can read the post that brought this on if you'd like. It's from December 19th. In his comments, Reilly states
"Let's say I don't support a war waged by my country. Do I hope that my country wins that war? Of course not."I responded...
"I can't see a situation where I would ever, EVER, want the U.S. to lose a war. Regardless of whether I supported how or why we went to war, I would always support our troops who are fighting. And to me, to support the troops, you have to want them to be victorious. Plain and simple. These 109 Representatives who voted against this resolution have made it clear that they do not support our soldiers. Period."His retort...
"Good to know where your values lie. [Reilly mistakenly summarizes my comments] 'I don't care why they're fighting, I just want them to win.' So, you'd rather have troops killed in combat than come home (alive) without winning?"I couldn't let this moronic comment go. I should be more tactful, I know, but I don't understand this degree of flawed liberal crackpot logic. So here we go...
A man with a history of filing frivolous lawsuits claims that flaws in a greeting card caused him "mental, physical and psychological suffering." The man, serving a life sentence in a Washington State prison, has filed more than 500 federal lawsuits, including one against Kelloggs Cereal for supposedly selling stale cereal.
The House of Representatives on Friday passed a resolution "expressing the commitment of the House of Representatives to achieving victory in Iraq." This simple resolution, HR 612, did not pass unanimously. It wasn't even nearly unanimous. The final vote was 279 to 109, with 34 voting Present and 11 not voting or absent. All 109 voting No were Democrats (with one Independent).
More than 100 Democrats, for all intent and purpose, have declared that they are not committed to a U.S. victory in Iraq. Any victory in Iraq is a victory for President Bush, and the liberal Left hates Bush so much that they would prefer to see us defeated and humiliated in Iraq rather than support anything which might be seen as a victory for the President.
For the votes on this resolution, and the names of those who do not want our work in Iraq to be successful, click here. And pass it around, too.
We're learning more about where the Hurricane Katrina death in New Orleans took place, and again the information contradicts what many would like to see. Unlike what was reported early on, deaths were just as likely to have occurred in the middle-class and wealthy neighborhoods as the poorer areas. Aside from the bodies recovered in hospitals and medical facilities, almost half of all victims were found in neighborhoods with average incomes over the New Orleans median income.
As for the idea that the poorest areas were the most damaged, try this on for size...
Many of the city's wealthier neighborhoods sit on Lake Pontchartrain in the lowest-lying sector of town, Campanella said. For example, Lakeview, a predominately white neighborhood that contains mansions valued at more than $1 million in addition to crowded streets studded with modest bungalows, fronts the lake and is adjacent to the 17th Street Canal. When the levee collapsed, the neighborhood was destroyed. The only neighborhood with comparable destruction, the Lower 9th Ward, sits on higher ground but was unluckily flanked by two broken levees.Many people would have you believe otherwise, but the deaths and destruction knew no bounds.
The facts are coming about concerning just who died in New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina, and contrary to the race baiters and liberal lefties, caucasians died at a higher rate than anyone else. The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals indicates that caucasians constitute 36.6 percent of the storm's fatalities in the city, yet make up only 28 percent of the city's population. African-Americans make up 67.25 percent of the population and 59.1 percent of the deceased. Other minorities constitute approximately 5 percent of the population and represented 4.3 percent of the storm's fatalities.
Boosted by the falling price of gasoline, consumer prices fell by 0.6 percent during November, the biggest drop since July 1949. That's just more of the excellent news about the American economy. It's not getting as much news play as it should, but it can't be avoided much longer. The economy is booming.
Along with the drop in the Consumer Price Index, the Federal Reserve said output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities rose a solid 0.7 percent last month following a 1.3 percent rise in October.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports national unemployment remained steady at a relatively low 5%, with 215,000 new nonfarm jobs created across the country.
The stock market is riding a very high wave, with the Dow flirting with the magic 11,000 mark.
Despite the devestating Gulf Coast hurricanes, the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose by a robust 4.3 percent during the July-to-September period. The GDP is the best measure of economic standing, measuring the value of all goods and services produced within the U.S.
Sales of new homes jumped to an all-time record in October, up 13 percent from the previous month, the largest increase in 12 years.
A Wichita, Kansas high school freshman faces suspension for removing a hidden spy cam from the ceiling of a boys bathroom. The kid thought the camera was inappropriate, placed by some "perverted janitor". What else would one think about a tiny hidden camera in a boys room? Turns out the school placed that camera, and another, in the bathrooms without the school district's knowledge. A school district spokesperson acknowledges that the cameras should have never been placed, but the student still faces suspension.
His senior year in high school was 1926, but thanks to a failed Latin class and a cancelled summer school class, Thurman Barnes never graduated from high school. Now, after seventy-nine years, he's apparently the oldest person ever to earn their GED.
American soldiers are risking their lives all over the globe defending America's interests and defending the freedoms that many of us take for granted. During Thank a Soldier Week (December 19-25), Townhall.com is encouraging Americans to stop for a moment and give thanks to the men and women risking everything for us.
I haven't disappeared for good, just for a few days thanks to a work trip. The last six days have been completely consumed with work, so everything else had to go on the backburner. I'm catching up on all that's been going on since last Thursday, and will post again later today or tomorrow. Also gotta Christmas shop.... urgh!
North Carolina death row inmate Kenneth Lee Boyd is scheduled to be executed in about 15 hours for two murders he committed in 1988. He would become the 1,000th prisoner executed since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. The AP story by reporter Estes Thompson contains the following quote from Boyd, about being the thousandth execution:
"I'd hate to be remembered as that," Boyd told The Associated Press in a prison interview Wednesday. "I don't like the idea of being picked as a number."He's worried about being remembered in such an infamous way. Apparently he isn't worried about being a killer, just being a noted execution number. He shouldn't be remembered at all. Still, the article, and the killer himself, focus on the sad notoriety of his time of execution.
"Unless they intervene, 57-year-old Kenneth Lee Boyd will be put to death by injection at 2 a.m. Friday, earning a man who shot and killed his estranged wife and her father an infamous place in American history."That's it, the only reference to the man's evil. Here is what Estes Thompson felt wasn't germane to the story, courtesy ProDeathPenalty.com...
On March 4, 1988 Boyd entered the home of his estranged wife's father, Thomas Dillard Curry, where his wife and children were then living, and shot and killed both his wife, Julie Curry Boyd, and her father with a .357 Magnum pistol. The shootings were committed in the presence of his own children--13, 12 and 10.In Boyd's own words, he described what happened:
"I walked to the back door and opened it. It was unlocked. As I walked in, I saw a silhouette that I believe was Dillard... I pulled the gun out and started shooting. I think I shot Dillard one time and he fell. Then I walked past him and into the kitchen and living room area. The whole time I was pointing and shooting. Then I saw another silhouette that I believe was Julie come out of the bedroom. I shot again, probably several times. Then I reloaded my gun. I dropped the empty shell casings onto the floor. As I reloaded, I heard someone groan, Julie I guess. I turned and aimed, shooting again... I kept pointing and shooting at anything that moved."AP writer Thompson might not see fit to mention the victims, but they are the ones who should be remembered. Their story should be told, not their killer's.
Ted Turner delivered a guest lecture at Kansas State University yesterday as part of a prestigeous lecture series the school hosts. He pushed the same liberal talking-point that Iraq is "no better off" following the U.S. led liberation. We know that argument is bunk. Just check out any of the blogs written by servicemen and women in Iraq, or speak with a soldier who's been there. Here's where Teddy lost me:
He said the U.S. and Russia still have thousands of nuclear weapons pointed at each other on a "hair trigger." He said if he were in charge - making it clear he was not and never would be - "we'd be rid of them."Let's take that last bit. Superpowers of the future will gain their authority from education, health care, science and technology. I'm thinking the U.S. is pretty high on the list for each of those. Do we not have the highest standard of living in the world? Aren't we one of the world's leaders in scientific and technological discovery and innovation? Where else in the world would you want to be admitted to a hospital for treatment of deadly disease or injury? I'm betting the good old USA is near the top of everyone's list.
He warned that a nuclear war could "kill everything on the planet" and said it could take place in an afternoon. Turner said he was afraid someone in power could make the mistake to launch a nuclear war, including President Bush.
"You have to question... the president on a lot of decisions he's made," Turner said. "He might just think launching those weapons would be a good thing to do..."
Turner said war is an outdated form of diplomacy that has stopped working.
Turner also said the authority of superpowers of tomorrow will be derived from education, health care, and science and technology. He encouraged the United States to focus on those areas.
I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe I gave them too much credit. From Drudge:
CNN OPERATOR FIRED AFTER SUGGESTING 'X' OVER CHENEY WAS 'FREE SPEECH'
A CNN switchboard operator was fired over the holiday -- after the operator claimed the 'X' placed over Vice President's Dick Cheney's face was "free speech!"
"We did it just to make a point. Tell them to stop lying, Bush and Cheney," the CNN operator said to a caller. "Bring our soldiers home."
The caller initially phoned the network to complain about the all-news channel flashing an "X' over Cheney as he gave an address live from Washington.
"Was it not freedom of speech? Yes or No?" the CNN operator explained. "If you don't like it, don't watch."
Laurie Goldberg, Senior Vice President for Public Relations with CNN, said in a release:
"A Turner switchboard operator was fired today after we were alerted to a conversation the operator had with a caller in which the operator lost his temper and expressed his personal views -- behavior that was totally inappropriate. His comments did not reflect the views of CNN. We are reaching out to the caller and expressing our deep regret to her and apologizing that she did not get the courtesy entitled to her. "
A couple of months ago I discussed the pork that Congress inserted into the massive Transportation Bill. Well, now I'm proud to see many members of the blogosphere working together to fight this pork and bring an end to Washington's outrageous spending habits. This project is called Porkbusters.
The "Fiscal Watch Team", U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) and six senate colleagues, have authored a proposal to offset government spending on relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This proposal would eliminate, tweak, or delay proposed spending in so-called "pork" areas, to help offset the costs of hurricane relief. This package of offsets could save taxpayers $130 billion just over the next two years.
I support the Fiscal Watch Team Offset Package. I hope you'll take a look at it, and join in. You can find out whether your senators have chosen to support this package, or (like Ted kennedy, John Kerry and John Warner) not to support it. Check it out, then write to your senators and tell them you want their support for fiscal responsibility.
Not much activity on the blog between now and Monday. Just turkey, dressing, football and family. Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and, if possible, get to spend time with the people you love.
After hearing CNN's explaination of how the "X" appeared, and after seeing another image of the graphic, I'm inclined to give some credence to their story that it was a "glitch". The Drudge Report posted another screen shot of the graphic, with the X appearing white this time instead of black.
In this graphic, below the X, you can somewhat make out the following text: "Transition begins after 5 frames of black". It's tough to make out, because it's white letters over other white letters in the Cheney graphic. This fits with the CNN explanation...
"At the end of the speech the plan was to do, to have a CNN logo up on the screen and use that as the way of getting back from the speech back to you on camera and one of the many graphics we use here at CNN.I've used similar slates to denote where effects, transitions or video b-roll should be cued prior to usage on-air. There are many ways that a graphic could make air unintentionally. If it preceeds a keyer graphic or effect, and the keyer is taken live too early, it could happen. Most switchers (my experience is primarily with Grass Valley machines) will give you a transition preview, which keys the graphic on a preview monitor. An incorrect keystroke during preview would bring it up live. There are other ways it could happen by operator error, and probably as many by equipment "glitch". Remember, here's what a typical broadcast switcher might look like...
A majority of graphics we use on the air, we use as a big x to identify at what point should the tape be cued up.
This is the x you see in the control room but it is never meant to be seen on the air. "
Subliminal Message? Editorializing? Dick Cheney gave a stirring speech live from the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC on Monday and it was carried by all the cable networks. But in an odd incident TVs tuned to CNN saw a large black 'X' repeatedly flashed over the vice president's face.
CNN responded, only after being called out by the FoxNews program "Hannity and Colmes", with this explanation:
"Upon seeing this unfortunate but very brief graphic, CNN senior management immediately investigated. We concluded this was a technological malfunction not an issue of operator error. A portion of the switcher experienced a momentary glitch. We obviously regret that it happened and are working on the equipment to ensure it is not repeated."The story says the graphic appeared repeatedly, but only during the speech. Curious...
