Only a club

The Democrat smear campaign has begun. Their cohorts in the mainstream media, when speaking of Governor Sarah Palin, the Vice Presidential candidate, invariably refer to her as a "card-carrying member of the NRA," as though that were a bad thing. They are adopting the pejorative tone that was used in the Soviet era, when it was implied that the ultimate crime was to be a "card-carrying" communist.

All of us have membership cards to various organizations, and if hunters and target shooters wish to join the NRA, that does not mark them as anything but sportsmen, and, in the case of Governor Palin, a woman who also respects the United States Supreme Court's interpretation of the Second Amendment.

Comics

As is so often the case, many of life's mysteries are explained in the funny papers. For instance, take today's "Non Sequitur." Danae, the little girl, and her talking horse, Lucy, make a salient point in the following conversation:

LUCY: "Let me get this straight. . . if anyone says something that proves your preconceived notions are wrong. . . all you have to do is claim you're 'offended' just so you can remain blissfully ignorant?

DANAE: "Yep. . . correctness means never having to admit you're wrong.

LUCY: "I think psychologists have a term for that. . .

DANAE: Constitutional amendment?"


EXTRA: Good grief, I was right. John McCain chose the exact person I described here ("Guess") for Vice President. I didn't know he read Little Iodine. I am almost excited by the McCain-Palin ticket, not because I love politics, but because they represent a real chance to rescue the nation from the false messiah.

EXTRA EXTRA: I'm sorry, but the name "Crackmaster" (as seen on TV) for a windshield repair shop, puts me in mind of something else, and I can't help but(t) laugh. My bad.

Unprecedented

We now have an unprecedented opportunity to do something unique in American history. By electing John McCain, we can get rid of Bill Clinton for at least four years, and, with luck, possibly forever. His carpetbagging wife will still be in the Senate, but maybe after the divorce, she'll shut up more often, so she can attract a new man.


EXTRA: Governor Arnold wants to float a $9.9 BILLION bond for high-speed rail. Here is my response for TV: "We already have high-speed travel. It's called flying, and unless you think you can power the trains with windmills or solar panels, what's the point?"

Wearin' of the orange

I watched Michelle Obama intently when Mrs. Bill Clinton (the Great Pumpkin Pantsuit) spoke at the convention last night. Ma belle seemed very tense and uncomfortable. She almost glared at times, because, I suspect, she hates Mrs. C., and probably most other white people. After all, she sat in the pews with her husband at the church presided over by Rev. Wright for 20 years.

Parenthetically, Slick Willie was seen in the audience grinnin' and enjoying himself, shuckin' 'n jivin', even though his wife ignored mentioning his contribution to her success. Her only reference to him was as "President Clinton" and his administration of supposed prosperity.

Meanwhile, there have been no reports of violence in Denver, mostly due to the doubled police presence, armed to the teeth, looking like Baghdad. Gee, why would anyone protest against Democrats? Aren't they just a basketful of puppies?

Michelle, ma belle

I listened intently to Michelle (the Stepford Wife) Obama as she dutifully spouted the words of Barack's handlers at the convention. After patting herself on the back for having given up a lucrative job in favor of public service, where she commiserated with the indolent and helped them apply for welfare, she talked about "the way things should be." Unfortunately, she and her husband not only think they know, but feel compelled to tell us, how we want things to be.

Another victim of political correctness

I don't remember much about the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's," which I saw 30-40 years ago, but I'm sure it didn't turn me into a racist, then, or in the years since.

The City of Sacramento had scheduled to show that film at its free summer Screen on the Green movie series, but Jerry Chong of CAPITAL (the pretentious Council of Asian Pacific Islanders Together for Advocacy and Leadership) objected, because of Mickey Rooney's caricature of Mr. Yunioshi, the funny neighbor. As a result, the film was withdrawn, and "Ratatouille" substituted.

As Mr. Rooney himself subsequently said, he meant no disrespect, and he just created some zany comic relief for the light-hearted love story. It wasn't memorable, although Mickey says he shows clips of it in his current stage act. . . no racism intended.

The Vice Mayor of Sacramento, Steve Cohn (I hope he's Jewish), in announcing the change, skewered Chong's pomposity when he said he didn't expect any animal rights activists to protest, since "rats are pretty well-represented in ['Ratatouille']," but the film's depiction of "stuffy French people" might offend someone.

When will it end? This obsession with political correctness. I am part German, part Polish. Should I protest Sgt. Schultz of "Hogan's Heroes" for being portrayed as stupid, and Sgt. Wojohowicz of "Barney Miller" for being naive? Don't we have enough real racism to allow ourselves to be offended by?

Guess

See if you can guess which two of the following three TV submissions were used:

Three of the best candidates for Republican Vice-President -- Fred Thompson, Condi Rice, and Newt Gingrich -- don't want the job, but a strong conservative woman who is pro-life would be a killer choice. Obama can choose anyone he wants, because he can't win unless the voters want to turn the country over to Russia or Al-Qaida.

[I taught drama and directed high school plays for many years, but if I were doing it today, I would probably lose my program, because] I would counsel my students to refuse to be drug tested. The nerve of XXXXXX High School asking students who go that extra step, after a long day at school, on their own time, to represent their school, to further prove their dedication.

The California Supreme Court got it wrong again. First, they subverted the will of the people by legalizing gay marriage, and now, in violation of the First Amendment, they have made it illegal for a Christian doctor to refuse elective reproductive services to lesbians. This is not trauma, emergency, or even routine preventive treatment, which, of course, cannot be denied to anyone, but is a service which any doctor has the right to deny to anyone for any reason.

[Edited portion] A: 1 & 2.

Sin

A big AP article in today's newspaper talks about "sin stocks." Even in this gloomy economy (their words), purveyors of gambling, alcohol, cigarettes and candy are all reporting healthy sales. Are these what are now considered "sin?"

Whatever happened to the sin from the Ten Commandments? What about lying, adultery, and coveting our neighbor's goods and wife? What about failing to honor or fathers and mothers? Aren't they "sin" any more? Apparently not, according to the AP and a growing number of politicians.

The choice

The bullies and terrorists of the world are watching our Presidential election with interest, and to a man, they are pulling for Barack Obama. Some of them have even said so, and if that doesn't tell you something, you haven't been paying attention.

What do they see in Obama? In a word, weakness. When Russia invaded Georgia, President Bush and John McCain said, "Get out!" Obama said, "Wait a minute, let's talk about it." How wussy can you get?

When the Soviets sent boatloads of missiles to Cuba, President Kennedy said, "Turn around or we'll blow you out of the water." They left. All that Russians, terrorists and other bullies respect is force or the threat thereof. The only thing scary about Obama is the size of his ears and the depth of his ignorance.

"The Russian is coming"

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has characterized the Russians as 21st century barbarians, but that's not how Vladimir Putin sees it. Putin, a banty-rooster, similar in stature to Napoleon, has a different plan.

Putin was a proud KGB operative when that "American actor" convinced Gorbachev to break up his country. He bit his lip, and vowed to do something about it. He shucked and jived his way to the presidency, and when his term was up, just like Hitler, he convinced the new powerless president to appoint him as prime minister.

Now, he's in position to become Czar Vladimir II, "czar of all the Russians." He eschews democratic reform, and the soviet configuration, but longs for Imperial Russia, with all its pomp and power. If Obama is elected (and he's good at shucking and jiving himself), Vladimir will establish the House of Putin, and crown himself, just as Napoleon did. Then he'll take back all the territory that has usuable natural resources, and Obama will mumble, "Oh, please don't do that," while the UN sits on its thumbs as usual.

Another difference

RE: My post "The difference," and the criticism thereof.

I spoke of nursing babies in public, and was taken to task by someone who doesn't seem to know the difference between "can" and "should." Nobody would restrict a woman's right to breast-feed. She "can" do so with impunity, but to do so in public, "should" only be in an emergency.

When a woman undertakes to nurse a baby, she has created a whole new set of behaviors. Nursing is a special intimate bond which is best fulfilled in a private setting. Responsibility dictates that every effort "should" be made to honor that privacy, and visiting must be limited to times between feedings. After all, nursing is not a life-long activity, and isn't the baby deserving of that short period of consideration?

School days

Education has taken yet another beating, this time in Coshocton, Ohio. There are probably other places where this abomination also takes place, but Coshocton was featured on P BS. In the media's quest for scandal, they came across this story which some jerk from Stanford convinced them was a good idea. It isn't, and it should join all the other liberal garbage that pollutes the airwaves in the trash can.

I know you're waiting anxiously to learn what I'm talking about, so here it is. The misguided "educators" of Coshocton are paying students cold cash to perform well on those standardized tests that some people think are some kind of magic elixir. They aren't, and they, too, should be disposed of.

Back to the cash aspect. Knowledge, like virtue, is its own reward. When I went to school, it was in anticipation of learning something I hadn't known the night before. All students should be imbued by their parents with this wonderment, and the teachers should nurture it. The payment must be curiosity and the satisfaction thereof. Money can never compete with that.


EXTRA: Today may be Fidel Castro's 82nd birthday.

The difference

I addressed the topic of baby nursing in public on TV yesterday as follows:

"I don't understand why any lady would risk the slightest possible amount of embarrassment by nursing in public; and of all the places to do it, a restaurant seems to be just the worst choice."

The key word, which the viewers probably overlooked, is "lady." A lady is what my mother was, and your mother is or was. "Lady" is one step above "woman."

A woman is a human being with female genetic material, and with proper upbringing and training, she can aspire to be a lady. A lady is genteel, gentle, loving and completely socially appropriate. A lady is never rude, crude or obnoxious. A lady is the woman that every gentleman seeks as a wife. . . someone to respect and honor.

Wake up!

As I predicted earlier, someone poked the sleeping bear. We're just beginning to hear the details, but we do know that the Russian bear has been aroused, and it's attacking Georgia (the former Soviet republic, not the Peach State). What we could have suspected, there's oil involved, and so is the United States, because we have been supporting Georgian democracy.

The country is about half the size of the American Georgia, and if a peace isn't negotiated, Russia will easily overrun the Georgians. They have already almost leveled a city of 30,000, Tskhinvali (a word with at least two extraneous consonants).

President Bush is at the Olympics with Putin, but it appears the real tough talk is coming from John McCain. Because of our friendship with Georgia, their troops comprise the third largest contingent in Iraq, after Great Britain. Let us pray this doesn't end in an armed conflict with Russia, but it would look bad if we abandoned our Georgian friends.

Trouble

Having difficulty posting. Am angry:

"There's a hole in the world
Like a great black pit
And it's filled with people
Who are filled with shit
And the vermin of the world
Inhabit it." -- Sweeney Todd

" Fellow students, teachers, and Principal Rooney:"

Barack Obama looks and sounds like a candidate for president of his high school senior class. You know, the kid who talks about things we know will never happen. There's that longer lunch period, better food, more frequent dances, shorter classes, longer breaks, condom dispensers, soda machines, and no rules governing proper attire and acceptable behavior. He implies that the certificated staff is unfair, and some of them should be reigned in or dismissed, although he knows it's imprudent to say it aloud, so he speaks well only of the ones who are liked, and encourages his constituents to abuse the others in their minds. Should the teachers worry?

Obama, on the other hand, foments hatred in the minds of his constituents for the most industrious and productive Americans. Then, he proposes to punish them through excessive taxes, thus promulgating class envy and creating a socialistic society. The rest of his program is almost as pie-in-the-sky as our high schooler's, except it's tinged with racism. Is your passport up to date?

John McCain is the lesser of this year's two evils. He's too old to be senior class president, but he's been around long enough to know what doesn't work. Yet, he is willing to get together with his Democrat cohorts to try things, hoping he can blame them when the plan fails. Ain't politics fun?

LAST MINUTE ADDITION: (Just sent to TV) The Paris Hilton ad proves that any airhead can look and sound impressive, if he has a good speech writer and is attractively attired. Parenthetically, her "energy plan" is no sillier than anyone else's.

Song of the Mountains

Late last night, I started to watch bluegrass music on P BS. I have forgotten the name of the group, but it was a standard bluegrass band -- banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, string bass, and there was one extra guitar player who stood in back and was probably the uncle who owns the van. Fronting the group was a charming woman, the kind you always encounter when you're too young, too old, too drunk, or too married. She wasn't classically beautiful, or Alison Krauss cute, but more like a young Holly Near.

Girls from the mountains mature early and age late, so she could have been any age. Dressed in a floor-length earth-tone dress, she had sandy hair, straight teeth, freckles, and a smile that could melt a glacier. Her voice was the kind that would echo through the canyons. She also played the banjo and the fiddle, and I was mesmerized. I briefly dreamed of waking up with her every morning, and her teaching me the five guitar chords which would allow us to harmonize all day long. I watched 3-4 songs, and realizing she would never be mine, I went to bed. But I am still thinking about her today.

Bullshit!

Please excuse my use of an agricultural vulgarity, but FoxNews Sunday prompted me to blurt it out at an unhearing television set.

There seems to be an unlimited supply of "spokespersons" for the Presidential candidates. Today's talking heads were Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Tom Daschle (D-SD). What they said made it clear that we are now dealing with two common politicians whose only goal is to be elected. They have no viable plan to solve our nations's problems, and are beginning to emulate each other, so that we will once again be faced with the lesser of two evils.

Why is it that for 20 years we've had to muddle through with mediocrity? Why are some of the best men for the job sitting on the sidelines? Don't they want to serve; weren't they asked? We cannot continue to lead the world unless we find a leader who knows what needs to be done, and has the courage to do it. . . someone who stands out from the farrow.

Agriculturally speaking, the situation puts me in mind of the last line of George Orwell's Animal Farm: "The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but it was impossible to say which was which."

Letter to the editor

Today I sent a letter to the Sacramento Bee, but I had to edit it severely to meet the 200 word limit. Here it is in its original form:

Both Helen Bonner (Letter 8/1) and I are in our 70s, but I look forward to the rest of my life, and she seems so demoralized. She has been force-fed the liberal kool-aid, and the lies have depressed her. I would like to assure her that this will pass, and may we both live to see the day, but I fear this election may not end the lies, which, if the Democrats lose, will accelerate as they did in 2000 and 2004. Of course, the mainstream media and academia will continue to assault conservative values as they always have. They may continue to spread the lies that have dispirited Helen, but she can be confident that no innocent Americans are being spied upon, and every effort is being made to detain only those persons guilty of terrorism.

Helen and I are from a generation when such things as lying and adultery were sins, and not political perks, because we had the Ten Commandments. We received them in a religious context, but they permeate our laws. We must elect people who respect them. However, if the Democrats prevail, expect massive tax increases, and an all-out attack on Christianity and its principles. They may also embark on the appeasement of the terrorists, and there will be many more intrusions into our personal lives. Our votes must go to those who will, in Helen's words, "reverse the loss of freedom." Politicians who treat us like children, and lie about those with whom they disagree must be removed from office.

Holidays

Yesterday was my Chevy truck's 14th birthday. Nobody wanted to join me in singing, because of what some passing person might think. I don't have enough years left to care what people think.

Today is Rush Limbaugh's twentieth anniversary. On his show, he received a phone call from President Bush, Bush 41, and Jeb, who were lunching together. It's obvious you've made it when you merit congratulations from two Presidents. (Slick Willie didn't call because he is still licking his wounds, and who knows who else.)

Finally, today is Giancarlo Giannini's 66th birthday. He was the star of two of my favorite Lina Wertmuller films: [Pasqualino]: Seven Beauties, and Swept Away. . . By an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea.