Office News

Hi all!

Thought I would give you a short update. The Monster has been here for about an hour. He scanned the last several weeks of the Blog, until he saw something that apparently really upset him. : ( I think he was upset anyway, since he immediately threw the chair he was sitting in out of the window and roared at Make Me a Commentator Management. He went charging into their office and we heard a few crashes. I noticed that the website was scrolled up to this post.

A few minutes ago a message came over the intercom telling us that we were all excused for the day and that the office would be closed over the weekend for "refurbishing." So I don't know what is going on. At any rate, it looks like we won't be having any updates over the weekend - but you never know what will happen.

At any rate, you have a nice weekend and keep smiling! : )

Fill that Mail Bag - Comments Post

Hi all! : ))

Just a reminder to fill the mail bag. If you have any comments on the blog send them to this e-mail address, or simply post them in the comments section of this blog. And our mail handler, Space Lobster, will responde to them on Monday.

Also for those of you who are fans of The Monster, I'll report that he has returned from his trip; he'll be visiting the offices later on today, and may start posting here beginning of next week! So that's exciting!

Round the Horn. An Irwin J. McIckleson Production

Yes, I, Mr. Irwin J. McIckleson, Fictional 1910's Plutocrat, am here to escort you on a trip through the Liberal Coalition. Before getting to the Liberal Coalition I did have a few stories of my own that I thought were interesting and deserved comment.

First of all, I am heartened to see that the tradition of quackery is alive and well in this future age. Quackery is one of the pillars of any strong society; for how can a civilization thrive if it has not mastered all the arts of deception. And Kevin Trudeau certainly seems like a world class quack. Consider these words from his book.

If you read the labels of everything you put in your mouth, you would see the name [sic] of various chemicals. All the chemicals listed are dangerous man-made chemicals. They are poisons. If you were to take any of those chemicals and ingest a large amount at one time, you would probably die. Therefore they are in fact poisons.

What a triumph of illogic! I hope you future men are smart enough to realize the obvious value of medicinal chemicals. Chemicals are necessary and life preserving, and I can only imagine that, 100 years hence, you have developed even more powerful Chemicals. But for those who are foolish enough to doubt the integrity of chemicals or the scientists who create them, it is good to know the quack will still be there to strike.

I also read an article which stated that the National Labor Relations Board is banning employers to fraternize during their off hours. Or as the headline puts it, "Big Brother Nixes Happy Hour." What abject cruelty. Even I have to marvel at the immense lack of concern for workers shown by this policy. In my day, we were known to be cruel to our employees, but forbidding them to enjoy each others company out of the factory? The thought makes me blush (or it would, had not an industrial accident removed the ability to blush from me).

Ultimately though, the purpose of cruelty to your workers has to be to inspire them to produce more. Thus punishing them outside of work is particularly pointless, unless the object is to make their life outside of work so painful they would prefer to work rather than leave the factory. But if that is the goal, it might be more practical to simply lock them in!

But enough of my fripperies. On to the Liberal Coalition.

AND THEN . . . has a fascinating discussion of secret languages, or languages known only to a very few. It is interesting to consider that there are truths that cannot be conveyed in simple English or Latin; but such must be the case. Still it's all a bit mystical for me.

blogAmy has a section on a man I take to be the Current Majority Leader in the Senate and his allegiance to the National Rifle Association. It provides an interesting study in how the interests of the Plutocrats do not always coincide perfectly. Certainly easy availability of firearms for our workers can be seen as a somewhat dangerous state of affairs, yet the Gun Making Plutocrats want to be able to sell their product. Apparently the Gun Making Plutocrats have largely succeeded in whatever struggle occurred. So much that now that Senate Majority Leader is in favor of not holding them responsible even if they should sell the gun to a lunatic or irishman!

According to a piece by Collective Sigh, former President Clinton has been offered a dowry of cows and goats for his daughters hand. Personally I would refuse such an offer, but each father has to make that decision on his own, I suppose.

LeftyBrown's Corner has some thoughts on Movie Films about Superheros. I gather they mean some kind of dime novel characters. I guess those could make interesting movies. Anyway he lists his favorite of those kinds of Movie Films.

Happy Furry Puppy Story Time has some complaints about how the United States Government serves it's most valuable citizens, the plutocrats. Apparently he is upset that a recent government bill benefits energy plutocrats far more than it does anybody else. To that I say Bah. Plutocrats made this country, so naturally they should reap the greater share of its rewards.

Dohiyi Mir has a discussion of how to handle bomb-throwing anarchist prisoners. Apparently it is the better part of wisdom to use such prisoners to implicate their fellow criminals. Also apparently the people President Bush has put in place to accomplish this have not been successful at convincing prisoners to aid them in the such for their enemies.

Respectful of Otters has a picture of an adorable child who is apparently the authors daughter. I have to say the art of photography has advanced considerably since my time.

Rooks Rant has commentary on how the United States need for Oil as a natural resource has led them to invade Iraq. I still strongly suspect that the cost of invading and extracting the oil will not equal the value of the oil produced. I also agree that if Oil is in limited supply it makes sense to take steps to minimize its use.

First Draft has some comments on the fact that the President apparently made rude gesture while in public? I must admit to be shocked that any United States President would have so little decorum as to make a gesture of this time. What has happened to the values of America, if such a thing can be brushed aside so easily?

T. Rex's Guide to life has a quiz one can take to find out what sort of humor one creates. I assume that now, with science having advanced so greatly, human nature can be efficiently and easily mapped through questionnaires of this nature. I'm sure that has positive effects as workers can be placed with people with which they will work the most hard.

And that's it for another week.

Good News for the Cheetah Kingdom

Hi All! :-)

Apparently Cheetahs might be able to make a comeback! This is good news; and it points to how environtmentalism works best. Apparently rather than acting as scolds, they explained to people how preserving the Cheetahs were in their best interest (because of tourism, naturally). So this is a good week for cats!

The Hunt

Molly Ivins, in her latest article, expresses dismay that Roberts may actually have some opinions. Apparently the fact that he belongs to the Federalist society (a conservative organization) is enough to convince her that he doesn't belong on the bench.

My first reaction to Roberts was: "Sounds like that's about as good as we can get. Quick, affirm him before they nominate Bork, Bolton or Pinochet." A conservative with good manners and no known nutball decisions or statements on his record? Hey, take him. At least he's not (whew!) a member of the Federalist Society.

No such luck. Cornyn, who I would have sworn is not this stupid, apparently signed off on having the nominee "forget" he was a member of the Federalist Society, and Roberts obliged, which is strange considering his reputation for brilliance and a spectacular memory.

Turns out the guy is listed in the society's 1997-98 "Leadership Directory" as a member of its steering committee in Washington. How many steering committees have you been on that you've forgotten about?

Well, I certainly agree that it was foolish of Cornyn and Roberts to try and hide his allegiance to the Federalist Society. That said, I can understand why they would, given the DISDAIN the Liberal and the media elite have for conservatism.

Sometimes smart mouth liberals will note that Conservatives control the Congress, the Presidency, and soon the Supreme Court. Usually I just respond by noting that REPUBLICANS are not the same as CONSERVATIVES. There is some overlap, but not as much as you would think.

But to a larger extent the argument misses how completely Liberals control our national discourse and how much they work to delegitamize conservatism and Conservatives. They don't want to hear what we have to say and so constantly mock and ridicule us.

So while I don't agree with hiding Robert's membership in the Federalist Society, I can't really blame him.

Judge Roberts and Friendly Fire

Although really, when you think about it, it's hard to characterize anything Ann Coulter does as "friendly." ;-)

Good morning all! As you have guessed taking on Ann Coulter's latest article. Her latest article is all about how awful John Roberts is. Or how awful she assumes he is, because, just like the rest of us, she doesn't seem to know anything about him.

But naturally, being a cup half empty kind of person, she assumes that President Bush let down her and the Conservative Movement because that's what Republican Presidents do.

Republicans are desperately trying to convince themselves that Roberts will be different because they want to believe Bush wouldn't let us down on the Supreme Court. Somewhere in America a woman is desperately trying to convince herself that her husband won't hit her again because he told her "things are going to be different this time." (And yes, that woman's name is Whitney Houston.)

Reading lines like that last one always make me feel bad for Ann Coulter. Can you imagine how much she must struggle with self-worth if she gets pleasure over writing those kinds of mean spirited attacks? What a sad woman.

But the larger point is this; we don't know what kind of Justice Roberts will be. That makes liberals nervous and distrustful, and it's nice that at least some conservatives are sharing those feelings (even if not for exactly the same reasons).

Follow the Leader

Who says the New York Times is all bad? Not I. In my opinion the New York Times is no more than 98.4% bad.

But in an editorial published at the New York Times today, they take a stance on Homelessness that I approve of.

The [Homeless] advocates argue that some of the shelter residents in question suffer mental illnesses and should not be held accountable for their actions. The city clearly needs to be careful in the eviction process. But the advocates need to read the writing on the wall. From now on, homeless New Yorkers will be pushed to take more responsibility for reclaiming their lives, and that is not at all a bad thing.

See that's a good start. But how about this, instead of asking the Homeless to take MORE responsibility, why not simply ask them to TAKE RESPONSIBILITY For their own lives.

Of course, expecting the Homeless to TAKE RESPONSIBILITY would put a dent in the social welfare industrial complex's bottom line, so I can see why the Times might not want to take the obvious next step.

Look up Look Down Look All Around!!!

Hi all! : )

Just want to point you to a few posts I noticed wanering around the internet this morning.

First of all you should go check out Random Goblin's site today. He's on a bit of a tear about a quiz he got and I think his dissection of it is dead on.

Then you might check out this post over at the Babbling Brook. It's such a nice story about a kitty; reading it made me feel really nice inside.

Finally you ought to consider these words from gavagirl about the Golden Rule, and how you can apply it to yourself as well as others. She gives some very sage advice.

Anyway that's all for now - have a super day! : - ))

Ben Shapiro may be a blockhead

Hi all! :)

I'm not sure about that title now that I think about it. It's kind of mean, isn't it, Mr. Shapiro? I don't know I guess I wouldn't like being called a Blockhead. In fact I know I wouldn't. I just read your latest article, entitled "This is War Blockhead" and I didn't like that title one bit.

I guess there are worse things you could call your readers, but why call them names at all?

Asking Questions?

Sometimes I'm forced to wonder exactly how DUMB do Liberals think that Conservatives are? I get that feeling from a recent article by Sean Gonsalves in which he asks if Conservatives are smart enough to figure to investigate terrorists.

. . . not only are ''liberals'' out to destroy America with their bleeding hearts and soft-headedness, they're also Jean Paul Sarte-reading navel-gazers.

Now, to see how ridiculous this is, imagine if this real-men-don't-introspect logic was applied to, say, police homicide investigations.

Detectives routinely ask why. Why would someone kill this particular person? What was the motive? In doing so, cops aren't ''justifying'' murder. They're not making excuses when they speak of what environmental circumstances provided the opportunity or the encouragement to kill.

You see the subtext I take it. Conservatives aren't BRIGHT enough to do detective work; only Liberals with their more advanced way of looking at things are.

Conservatives would never think of trying to figure out where the terrorists are, say. Or figuring out what the badguys are trying to do. This is doubly funny or annoying when one considers how Liberals have consistently tried to hamstring the FBI and the CIA.

No, I'm sorry, but Gonsalves is dead wrong. What Conservatives find objectionable from these questions is not how they are used to figure out where the terrorists are. Instead we find it offensive that Liberals would use such questions to SCOLD America and force their anti-American views down our throat.

It's one thing to ask where Osama will strike next and another to ask what he thinks of America's foreign policy or tolerance at home. I can see asking the first; asking the second is stupid!

Motorcycles are dangerous

Hi all ;-)

You know motorcycles are dangerous right? No protection in the case of a crash (except may be a helmet). They go super fast and are pretty much invisible.

But did you know a motorcycle could cost you your job? Apparently it can. So be extra careful around motorcycles! ;-}

"I'm a Liberal - and I go to Church!"

E. J. Dionne's latest article is about the Network of Spiritual Progressives. But apparently this conference of Leftist Believers has a number of problems. First of all they were barely able to get 1,200 attendees. Compare that to any Conservative Religious Conference and see what you come up with.

Secondly Dionne suggests that they are a non-inclusive group.

Assuming an authentic commitment to inclusion, spiritual progressives must be willing to leave the door open for those whose world view may differ.

One of my of criticisms of conservative Christianity in particular has been the ease with which they can post a No Vacancy sign for anyone who is not in lockstep with their ideology.

. . . spiritual progressives would do well to learn from history.

It's clear, incidentally, that Dionne doesn't really believe in moral truths that much. I've noticed that when Liberals fail to understand Conservative Christians, this is often the culprit. They can't believe that anybody would be so STUPID as to believe in MORAL ABSOLUTES and STANDARDS.

African American Christians apparently do believe in Moral Absolutes, which explains why only 15 chose to attend this meeting. 15 out of 1,200. The organizing committee must have been overjoyed.

At any rate, I think Liberal Christians will have to eventually consider Matthew 6:24, and decide where they really need to be.

Market Driven Solutions

Hi all! ;-)

A lot of Conservatives like to pretend that liberals believe that the first, last, and only solution to any problem is more government involvement. The truth is that it's much better when problems are solved without any government involvement. Some government regulation is occasionally necessary, but it's always better if citizens can solve problems themselves.

That's why I was both pleased and upset by John Tierny's latest article. In it, he relates how some environmentalists are taking a new approach to conservation in Utah; they are purchasing the land they wish to preserve. Or to be more precise, they are purchasing the grazing permits for said land.

Mr. Hedden's group doesn't use lobbyists or lawsuits (or guns) to drive out ranchers. These environmentalists get land the old-fashioned way. They buy it.

To reclaim the Escalante River canyon, Mr. Hedden bought the permits that entitle Mr. LeFevre's cows to graze on the federal land near the river. He figures it was a good deal for the environment because native shrubs and grasses are reappearing, now that cows aren't eating and trampling the vegetation.

Mr. LeFevre likes the deal because it enabled him to buy grazing permits for higher ground that's easier for him and his cows to reach than the canyon.

So that is a nice way to preserve our land.

That said, there is some trouble coming for this deal. Apparently some of the ranching interests in Utah want to see federal intervention to put a stop to these kinds of deals. They believe that their way of life will be endangered if some of these lands are allowed to revert to nature; and they are pressuring the Bureau of Land Management to put cows back on these lands. Hopefully they won't.

Anyway it is a nice idea, at any rate.

Trust

Does the United States Commander in Chief deserve a certain degree of trust? Hasn't he earned it? If anything, this is a President who stymies his opponents by doing what he says he will do.

So what do you make of this little snippit in an editorial at the New York Times by Frank Rich?

When the president decided not to replace Sandra Day O'Connor with a woman, why did he pick a white guy and not nominate the first Hispanic justice, his friend Alberto Gonzales? Mr. Bush was surely not scared off by Gonzales critics on the right (who find him soft on abortion) or left (who find him soft on the Geneva Conventions). It's Mr. Gonzales's proximity to this scandal that inspires real fear.

As White House counsel, he was the one first notified that the Justice Department, at the request of the C.I.A., had opened an investigation into the outing of Joseph Wilson's wife. That notification came at 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 29, 2003, but it took Mr. Gonzales 12 more hours to inform the White House staff that it must "preserve all materials" relevant to the investigation. This 12-hour delay, he has said, was sanctioned by the Justice Department, but since the department was then run by John Ashcroft, a Bush loyalist who refused to recuse himself from the Plame case, inquiring Senate Democrats would examine this 12-hour delay as closely as an 18½-minute tape gap.

So apparently there was a delay between the time the White House was informed of an impending investigation and the time that investigation actuallyoccurredd.

What Rich doesn't say, and presumably doesn't know, is whether or not the Bush administratoin used that time to cover up evidence. Rich, being a liberal and a reporter (somewhat redundent there), assumes that the hated President Bush must have. I'm not sure the American people share the "get Bush" mindset of Rich.

It's all my Fault

Good Morning all! : ) I'm somewhat chipper, despite Dennis Prager's efforts to bring me down.

You see Dennis Prager holds me partially responsible for the recent terror in London and the ongoing terror in Iraq. Apparently seeing the Palestinian Conflict in anything but Black (Palestinians) and White (Israelis) leads people to justify terrorism. He also seems to imply that a leftist Israeli government agreed to give up 97% of Israel to the Palestinians - I'm pretty sure that's not right. I think a correct formulation would be 97% of the lands Palestinians requested.

To be fair to Mr. Prager's argument, there are a few leftists who have indicated solidarity with Terrorist Groups. But the vast majority of American Liberals are sickened by the use of terror as a political tactic.

I think that, from Mr. Prager's point of view, the use of terrorism invalidates any position the terrorist might take. If a terrorist claimed that "Dogs make good companions," we'd all have to become Cat people. Obviously this doesn't apply to terrorists who blow up abortion clinics or who kill doctors. So the fact that leftists believe that Palestinian Terrorists are worthless murderers and also believe that the Palestinian people have legitimate grievances against Israel, well that just blows their minds. : )) So they have to lash out at us.

Looked at in that light, I guess Mr. Prager's anger is a bit understandable. But I don't think that excuses blaming us for international terrorism.

Monday Mail Bag

Hello Spacesters. It's Space Lobster again. "I will crush Captain Starfaller with my mighty pincers!"

This weeks mail-bag is a little sparse, which I find surprising. After all what other website gives you the chance to have your letter read and responded to by a mutant space lobster? And if that is too time consuming, simply leave a comment in one of the posts, and check back on Monday. Odds are good I will respond!

At any rate, let's get to today's letters. The first is from a Ahmed Bello in Sierra Leone.

I KNOW THIS PROPOSAL LETTER MIGHT BE A PLEASANT SUPRISE TO YOU AS WE DO NOT KNOW OUR SELVES BEFORE. I AM MR.AHMAD BELLO,A SIERRA-LEONIAN BORN 30 YEARS AGO,NOW SEEKING ASYLUM IN DAKAR-SENEGAL UNDER (UNHCR). I CONTACTED YOU AS A CAUSE OF MY SERIOUS SEARCH FOR A RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY PERSON THAT CAN HANDLE SUCH A CONFIDENTIAL TRANSACTION OF THIS NATURE.

First of all, I had hoped that by this stage in human evolution you would have devoloped the lower case letter. I see other's of your time and species have; maybe you should learn from them Mr. Bello.

Secondly, If you think I am A RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY PERSON you must be using the terms in a way I am unfamiliar with. I'm a lobster, not a person. I'm a space villain, so I'm not really trustworthy. And need I reference #1A31 when Emperor Reptilion trusted me to guard Captain Starfaller and he talked me into letting him go, and giving him the keys to the Emperors private space limo? That's doesn't sound very trustworthy to me. So I think that maybe you should return to the drawing board.

It was a pleasant surprise to get your letter though, I do have to give you that. It had been several days since someone had asked to use my (non-existent) bank account.

The other letters this week seem to have been in Chinese which I do not read or speak. I do read Space Candadian and Lunar Valley Girl, so it's not that I'm not good at languages.

So please send me some real letters so I can respond to them. This is Space Lobster, saying, "I will crush Captain Starfaller with my mighty pincers!"

Who do you Trust?

One of Liberals biggest complaints about the Iraq War (along with their OUTRAGE that America would actually defend itself from TERRORISTS) is that the President has failed to sufficiently provide for the war. Liberals decry President Bush's fighting the war on the cheap.

Of course President Bush's reply has always been that he would give the Generals what they needed to successfully prosecute the war. Anything America's fighting men need to win this war, they will have. Kind of shuts up that argument, doesn't it?

But Joseph L. Galloway has come up with an answer to that, in an article reprinted at Commondreams. Apparently America's Generals and Military Leaders are all cowards. Who says Liberals don't love the American fighting man?

Apparently America's Military leaders are so overwhelmed with President Bush and Donald Rumsfeld, they are afraid to ask for the men and tools they need. Maybe President Bush should try smiling more.

Really, if this is the best Democrats can do, it's no wonder they are where they are electorally speaking.

Remembering Sacrifices

Good Morning ! :)

Just read a very touching article over at the New York Times, comparing the sacrifices of previous generations of soldiers with the sacrifices of today's soldiers. While the sacrifice is generally the same, the respect shown that sacrifices is considerably less, it seems like.

Only 135,000 men and women in American uniform are fighting - volunteers, members of the National Guard, reservists. There is no draft. No threat of a uniform hangs over the citizens of a nation of nearly 300 million who, in polls, support the invasion of a remote country upon whom our government would pin guilt of 9/11 ... and then attack. An invasion that was ordered by an expertly trained but combat-innocent fighter pilot and a draft-deferred character with "other priorities" during the Vietnam War.

Anyway I thought it was a good article.

Remember we will be doing our Monday Mailbag after lunch, so if you have any comments about the weblog, post them in the comments section, or send them here!

New Format

Hi all!

Hope you are having a nice weekend - just a note to let you know we updated the blog again - Grumbly got to pick out the quote this week.

Also remember, if you have any comments on how we might improve the website, send them to politicalcombryant@gmail.com or post them in one of the messages and our mailbag correspondent will respond to them tomorrow.