Saturday, August 04, 2007

MTCW Pic of the Day

Anyone involved in dog fighting should be put in jail!Sorry folks, but I am sick of hearing people say, "It is just a
dog, whats the big deal."

Young America's Foundation gets the MTCW award for backbone.

Yesterday I told you about Robert Spencer and how he was the latest target for the Council of American Islam Relations.

Spencer was invited to speak to the Young America’s Foundation to address their National Conservative Student Conference.

This really put CAIR’s turbans in a knot.

Spencer maintains a blog called jihad watch that depicts the atrocities of Islamic terrorists around the world. He is also the author of several books that are not friendly to Islamic fascism. Some of the titles: “The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World’s Most Intolerant Religion” and “The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam.”

CAIR worked really hard at trying to get YAF to cancel Spencer’s speech. They issued a demand to YAF that he not be allowed to speak. In the event that he does speak they demanded all false and defamatory statements are not to be disseminated at the session.

A false and defamatory statement would be anything that accurately describes the atrocities committed world wild in the name of Allah of course. You know, cause Islam is just so peaceful and accepting.

Now here is the part where YAF earns the MTCW award for backbone.

Jason Mattera, a spokesperson for YAF proclaimed that they would not be intimidated by Islamic thugs and followed with this comment:

“CAIR can go to Hell and they can take their 72 virgins with them.”

Bridge collapses in Minneapolis; it must be the republicans and Bush's fault!

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash) blamed the Bush Administration for the Minneapolis bridge collapse because they have not supported Democrat efforts to increase spending on critical infrastructure.

Of course this is the same Senator that praised Osama Bin Ladin in December of 2004.

Then we have journalist Nick Coleman from the Minneapolis- St. Paul Star Tribune. He says the collapse would have never happened if it wasn’t for Governor Tim Pawlenty’s refusal to raise taxes. Pawlenty is of course one of those evil republicans.

Coleman writes:: "For half a dozen years, the motto of state government and particularly that of Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been No New Taxes. It's been popular with a lot of voters and it has mostly prevailed. So much so that Pawlenty vetoed a 5-cent gas tax increase - the first in 20 years - last spring and millions were lost that might have gone to road repair. And yes, it would have fallen even if the gas tax had gone through, because we are years behind a dangerous curve when it comes to the replacement of infrastructure that everyone but wingnuts in coonskin caps agree is one of the basic duties of government."

Agreed, road construction and infrastructure repairs are the basic duties of government, but let’s take a look and see just how desperately the State of Minnesota needed higher taxes to have the money.

What Coleman fails to report is at the time Gov. Pawlenty vetoed this 5 cent gas tax increase, the State of Minnesota already had 2.1 billion dollars in budget surplus from overtaxation!
Coleman also makes it seem no money was added for road or bridge repairs, but that is just not the case. Around the same time Pawlenty vetoed the gas tax, the state legislature passed an amendment to spend all, rather than half, of the motor vehicle tax revenue on transportation. This added 60 million bucks a year with the anticipation of doubling in 5 years to road, bridge and transit spending.

Coleman and Sen. Murray would like us to believe that higher taxes and more money would have prevented that bridge from collapsing and that it is republican’s and President George W. Bush’s fault for not raising taxes or approving increased spending. That is just not the case; there was enough money in the Minnesota legislature to fix that bridge twice, probably more. The problem was fiscal responsibility, not low taxes.

Let’s take a look into the state legislatures spending habits and look at the Citizens for Government Waste's "The Pig Booklet" for the state of Minnesota for the year 2006. Take a look at all of the "pork" projects. Here are my favorite worthless projects:

The state bailout of the Minneapolis Teacher's Retirement Fund, which puts state taxpayers on the hook for $972 million in unfunded liabilities

A new $776 million Twins Stadium to be paid for with a Hennepin County sales tax increase -- (approved by state legislators with no voter referendum)

$97.5 million for the Northstar Commuter Rail line

$34 million in subsidies to ethanol producers that have seen a 300 percent increase in profits in the last year

$30 million for bear exhibits at the Minnesota and Como Zoos

$12 million to renovate the Shubert Theater in downtown Minneapolis

$1 million for a replica Vikings ship in Moorhead

$500,000 for a skating rink in Roseville

$310,000 for a Shakespeare festival in Winona

$129,000 for state art grants for North Dakota museums and theaters

Now that adds up to a whopping $1,923,439,000 and that is not even the whole list. This tax money was spent on vote buying projects while that bridge remained un-repaired, but we are told the problem is taxes were not high enough. Give me a break, the problem was the lack of government responsibility and fiscal responsibility.

If the politicians in Minnesota had been more concerned with actually doing their duties of a government and ensuring roads and bridges were safe instead of spending money on a baseball stadium to buy votes for re-election we wouldn’t have these problems.

My Two Cents on Michael Vick

It seems everyone else has put their two cents worth on this case; I might as well put in mine. Unless you have been living in a cave, isolated from any kind of social contact you no doubt have heard about NFL Atlanta Quarter Back Michael Vicks’ legal problems.

Vick was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to dog fighting, and he may face felony charges in the State of Virginia for owning the property in which dog fighting took place. A felony would mean the end to Vick’s football career in the NFL.

Now from what I have read, and from the evidence available; I have little doubt that Vick knew what was going on and was a willing participant in this disturbing “sport” of dog fighting. I happen to like dogs, actually that is not completely true. I like my dog, I don’t particularly care too much about yours, but I wouldn’t want to see your dog or any dog mangled to death by other dogs for entertainment purposes. I believe a lot can be judged by how a person treats an animal. If what they have charged Michael Vick with is true then he is a poor creature lacking any sense of human decency. I would have no problem seeing some one convicted of such a crime spend some time in jail.

What do I think the Falcons should do with Vick? Well, that is totally up to them. The Falcon’s have a contract with Vick that would allow them to fire him on the spot. However, that is completely up to owner Arthur Blank and his organization.

I can say that in the past teams have been known to release or fire players before a conviction. In 2000 the Green Bay Packers released one of the best tight ends, Mark Chmura, who was charged with inappropriate sexual contact with the family babysitter. It later turned out the allegation was false, and he was found not guilty. Chmura never returned to the NFL.

As I said, the Falcons can do what ever they want with Vick until he is found guilty. If he is found guilty of a felony then the NFL should enforce the rules and clear out his locker. We will see if that happens.

My guess is that Vick will end up plea bargaining in some way that will avoid a felony conviction and he will continue to play in the NFL.

On a final note, I as a huge NFL fan also have a choice to make. If the NFL continues to allow this kind of behavior, then they will get the NBA treatment from me.

I haven’t missed the NBA one bit since I quit watching it.

The Michael Vick case has nothing to do with race!

Oh here we go. Everyone is out to get Michael Vick because he is black! The whole investigation is racially biased. This is just some of the things I have been reading on some sports blogs and now the NAACP is stepping forward and getting involved.

This is not about race; there is no race card to be played in this case. It is about culture, a culture that strives in urban areas across the country.

The Humane Society of the United States estimates that organized dog fighting has increased more than 300% since 1992. In many cases the dog fighting takes place in conjunction with drug dealing. The director of the Capital Area Humane Society in Ohio told the Cincinnati Inquirer, “Dog fighting is a family event, often held in large warehouses. Children watch and there can be concession stands at one end, gambling somewhere else, and over in the corner they’ll be selling cocaine and crack.”

New Orleans journalist Eileen Loh-Harris wrote an article in 2001 about the dog fighting phenomenon titled “Fight Club.” Loh Harris wrote: "In recent years, pit bull terriers have become a macho accessory in urban culture, where kids are attracted to the animals' reputation as inherently mean dogs. Add the hard-edged glamour of the dogfight—the gambling, drugs and weapons; the illegality; the 'fight 'til you die' credo—and dog fighting flourishes in places where cultivating a tough reputation is often paramount to survival."

The Michael Vick case is about his actions and the culture of dog fighting, a culture that promotes violence and disrespect for common decency and the law.
So all you people trying to play the race card in this case, it just isn’t so. It doesn’t matter that Vick is black. What matters is dog fighting is against the law. It is against the law in all 50 states and considered a felony in 48 states.

NASCAR driver raises RPMs on Paris Hilton!

NASCAR Driver Kasey Kahne has proven his whole life he can handle fast cars around curves, but can he handle curves around fast women?

It seems Kahne was in a club in Hollywood Wednesday when he had the un-expected pleasure of Paris Hilton’s company, or should I say the pleasure was hers?

According to reports Hilton and Kahne “chatted for a while, and before they parted ways for the night, she leaned in and whispered 'God, you're cute' and kissed him!"

Who knew that NASCAR revs up Paris Hilton’s engine?

Paris Hilton has enjoyed life in the fast lane perhaps she wants to try life on the fast track.

Country Boy's suggested reading and viewing from around the web.

In light of NASCAR fining Tony Stewart for saying too much and Greg Biffle for not saying anything Darrell Waltrip says NASCAR is trying to sanitize and control every aspect of the sport, and sanitizing it will hurt the sport. I have been saying that since the death of the man in black! It’s about time D.W. start living up to his nickname when he was a driver. JAWS.
Here is Obama's plan to solve poverty. Just so you know where your tax dollars will be going, if he becomes president.
Last week, a US District Court ruled that a small town in Pennsylvania had no authority to limit illegal immigration. So the illegal invasion continues. Barack Obama called this ruling "a victory for all Americans." Yeppers, the imperial federal government takes more power away from local government, huge “victory for Americans.” Obama continues to live up to the party logo!
Congress' approval rating is at 14%. No surprise, but the real question is who are these people who actually think that Congress is doing a good job?
French intellectuals are upset because their president is urging citizens to stop "thinking" so much and actually get up and work hard ... earn some money! What a hell of a concept.
Here is an excellent article for all of you liberals, to include French intellectuals, who believe that equality will make everyone happy. When it comes to income equality, liberals will be 20% less likely than conservatives to say that hard work leads to success for the disadvantaged. Perhaps they will get it right one day.
More bad news for democrats from Iraq, the death toll in Iraq is at its lowest in 8 months.
Independent Democrat Joe Lieberman continues to voice his opinion on Iraq ... and Democrats aren't happy. Joe continues to be my favorite democrat.
Looks like the socialist republic of Illinois has banned smoking in public places to include bars and restaurants. Isn’t that great, never mind the owner’s freedom to run his business the way he likes, or the customers freedom to not go to an establishment that allows smoking if they do not want. Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he is saving lives!
There are speeding tickets and then there are speeding tickets in Virginia! Virginia may be for lovers, but it is definitely not for speeders! Speeding in Virginia could now cost you $3,550

Country Boy's Kewl Beans

A U.S. company has invented an umbrella that tells you when it is going to rain. If it is going to rain within the next 12 hours, the handle lights up to warn you! I wonder how many lawsuits this will bring when the umbrella is wrong?
Check this out in Austria you can sign up to get text messages from the Pope.
Here are 23 Fearsome Defense Ministry Logos From Around The World. You can vote for your favorite.
A judge in Saginaw, Mich. sentenced a 73-year-old man to clean a veteran’s memorial with a toothbrush for his involvement in an Iraq War Memorial scam. The man will also have a placard that says he stole from vets.

Friday, August 03, 2007

MTCW Pic of the Day.

Earning their jump wings at Fort Benning, Ga. When these Soldiers hit the ground they will earn the right to be called U.S. Paratroopers. AIRBORNE.....ALL THE WAY.
Some folks spend their whole lives wondering if they made a difference in the world, the U.S. Paratrooper doesn't have that problem.

Democrats truly are invested in our defeat in Iraq.

It seems House democrats are starting to worry that the troop surge in Iraq is not providing them with the results they have been hoping for, which is absolute complete failure. Hey, don’t take my word for it.

Democrat House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) makes that point perfectly clear in an interview with the Washington Post.
Clyburn said a good report from Army Gen. Petraeus about Iraq would likely split Democrats and ruin his party’s efforts to press for a timetable to end the war.

Many Democrats have anticipated that, at best, Petraeus and U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker would present a mixed analysis of the success of the current troop surge strategy, given continued violence in Baghdad. But of late there have been signs that the commander of U.S. forces might be preparing something more generally positive. Clyburn said that would be "a real big problem for us."

There you have it, straight from the horses' mouth, or would that be jack asses' mouth! Progress and good news from Iraq is real big problems for democrats!

How long have I been telling you that the Democrat Party has invested in failure in Iraq? How many times have I said good news from Iraq is bad news for democrats? I have actually been ridiculed for saying such things.

“Oh come on, why would they want failure in Iraq. No one wants failure in Iraq.” people would say.

Do you see it now? The democrats are not even hiding the fact anymore. Here we have Clyburn admitting it. Last week we had Rep. Nancy Boyda walk out in a tantrum because the news was just to good.

There has never in the history of our country been a time when one major political party virtually prays for our defeat in a war so they could demonize the president and turn their countries defeat into a political victory at the polls. Never, until now!

Would it be asking too much to actually put the welfare of our country first, especially during a time of war, and the party second?

The article does say there are 47 “Blue Dog” Democrats in the House that tend to be more “moderate” or “conservative” and will probably not support a timetable for withdrawal if Petraeus delivers a positive report.

So as long as the going goes well... Perhaps the members in Congress need a reminder from history and the quote on the top of this blog site.

"Still, if you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case; you may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." ~ Winston Churchill

Retreat from this fight and we will be living in those times in the very near future, just as Great Britian was in June of 1942.

There is a column in todays suggested reading by Tony Blankely that will explain just exactly what June 1942 ment for Great Britian. You can read it here.

What will these actions get you in America? One will land you in jail for a hate crime. Can you guess which one?

Exhibit A. Submerging the Crucifix of Christ in a glass of Urine and taking a picture.
Exhibit B. Burning the Flag of the United States of America.


Exhibit C. Throwing a Koran in the toilet.

Although all three of these acts are sure to be offensive to a certain group of society only one is a hate crime in the eyes of the law.

Exhibit A., actually won an award for American photographer Andres Serrano in 1989. It depicts a small plastic crucifix supporting the body of Jesus Christ submerged in a glass of the artist's urine.
The piece was a winner of the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art’s "Awards in the Visual Arts" competition, which is sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a United States Government agency that offers support and funding for artistic projects. In fact the NEA gave Serrano a 15,000 dollar grant. In other words 15,000 of your tax dollars went to Serrano for this piece of garbage! But I digress.

Exhibit B., probably will not win you any awards. It may win you praise from your anti-America hippy friends, and it has been known to stir controversy within the halls of Congress leading Republicans to go as far as trying to limit the freedom of expression and speech with legislation to outlaw flag burning.

Exhibit C., is the only one reconized as a hate crime, and 23-year-old student at Pace University in Brooklyn, Stanislav Shmulevich, faces jail time for this action. He was arrested on Friday on hate-crime charges after he threw a Koran in the toilet on two separate occasions, according to the New York City Police Department.

Shmulevich has been charged with two felonies, criminal mischief and aggravated harrasment.

If Schmulevich had thrown a bible in the toilet, coated it with urine, burned a flag and chanted “Death to America and Israel,” he wouldn’t be facing jail time right now, nor should he be. Instead, he offended the religion of Islam, and that is a felony.

This is a direct attack on the constitutional right of free speech. There is no constitutional right to not be offended. There is a constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression.

Providing that this was his personal Koran, I fail to see any law broken. If it was not his own personal Koran then he may be guilty of destruction to personal property, but that is about it.

All three of these acts are tasteless in their own way, but none of them are a crime. It is called Freedom, but then again most Americans just do not understand the concept anymore.

Last chance to vote on the name of my new blog.

Last chance to vote on the name of my new blog.

You have one day left to vote for the name of my new blog. Last week, you the fans, voted for your favorite three out of seven names and there was a tie for first place. So now you have to determine what the name is going to be from those two names in a run off vote. Here are your choices:

Thoughts of a Country Boy

Country Boy Logic

Vote for your favorite by e-mailing your choice to: tonyjspain@yahoo.com Polls close on August 4 at 11:59 EST. Any e-mails received after that time will not be counted.

I will post the winner Sunday.

Country Boy's suggested reading and viewing from around the web.

Here is a must read from columnist Tony Blankley, he does an excellent job of putting the Iraq was in a historical perspective. He compares the situation in Iraq to June of 1942. England was about to lose the war and the House of Commons had lost all confidence Winston Churchill and wanted him out. Of course, Churchill replaced some generals and the war turned for the better by October of 1942. Blankley says the only difference between the House of Commons and the current U.S. Congress; The Brits understood it was a win or die situation. The U.S. Congress is under the delusion that America can simply surrender to al Qaeda without any mortal consequence. Great read.
Karl Rove told President Bush last week that corruption in Congress caused them the 2006 election, rather than Iraq. Perhaps, I tend to think it is because republicans lost the base of the party when they abandoned the party platform. Rove is right about one thing; it had nothing to do with Iraq. Of course democrats will be quick to point out, Rove is just a freshmen college dropout from Utah State, what could he possibly know? Apparently a lot, he got the so-called “bumbling idiot” from Texas elected twice!
The Council of America Islamic Relation’s latest target is on Robert Spencer. Spencer has written a couple books on Islam and is the director of Jihad Watch. They tried to have his speech yesterday at the Young America's Foundation cancelled. Of course, YAF did not cave to the group and the speech went as planned. I will have something to say about this tomorrow.
A House committee questioned former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld for fours hours ; he denied that he covered-up the specifics of the death of Pat Tillman. The Army lied and messed this up big time, I doubt Rumsfeld knew anything about it. I am still baffled why the Army lied or would want to cover this up. What did the Army have to gain? Pat Tillman was killed serving his country in Afghanistan. Whether he was killed by friendly fire or not does not make his service or sacrifice any less.
It would seem Georgia's tough new illegal immigration laws seem to be working, imagine that! Oh but, 3 out of every 5 illegal immigrants are upset, cry me a river and ask me if I care. I am disappointed that they are not all upset.
If you plan on voting in Georgia you will have to show your ID before entering the polls. The motion to reconsider the lawsuit -- saying that showing an ID "burdens the voters" – was denied. Maybe that is why 3 out of 5 illegal immigrants are upset. It just got harder for them to vote illegally.

Country Boy's Kewl Beans

New study shows on average Americans waist 1.7 hours or about 20% of the workday on non-work activities, like surfing the web and socializing. I wonder how many of you spend part of your 1.7 hours reading my blog? Of course, I wouldn’t call that a complete waist, consider it a lunch break for your mind.
Do you remember those School House Rock animations that used to run with children's cartoons on Saturday mornings? Well, MadTV is using them to nail public schools in a series of parodies. The only thing that would have made this better is if they had replaced “public" with “government.” Check them out! Dysfunction Junction Nouns Substoot Teecher
Iraq won the Asian Cup and celebrated by opening fire. Sounds about right. They do the same thing in Iraq when people get married, or for any big celebration. When I was in Iraq, the day the news came out that Saddam Huessein had been captured; we thought we were under attack from small arms fire.
Want a dog but don't have the time or space to keep one? A company in California will let you rent pets! I heard Michael Vick is on his way!