A Wolf is a Wolf and God Owns My Stuff

Want to really be amused? Go visit Shelley The Republican. Learn why the wolf and the Tasmanian wolf should be considered the same species. They both are called wolves, they both have fur, they sorta look like each other...so why aren't they considered the same?

Next, learn about godless liberal judges and how they convicted poor Kent Hovind (Dr. Dino) for tax evasion. Kent explained that all his stuff belongs to God so he shouldn't have to pay taxes.

Then for a really good laugh, read about how Dr. Martin Luther King would have loved the job G.W. Bush is doing.

I like to think of the Republican party as a big old church with wide open doors, and a friendly sign outside inviting anybody who truly loves our Lord and Savour, Jesus Christ to come on in and share his goodness and love. We are the party of moderation and inclusion and we’re the people calling for a re-United States of America where Christians of every color can come together to defeat our common enemies the islamofascists, atheists, illegal immigrants and homosexuals.

You see, Dr. King was really a conservative. And, Jesus would be a member of the NRA. Learn about Barrack Obama. You are aware that:
it’s well known that black men are the most likely segment of the US population to go to jail. They are the most likely to take crack. The most likely to sell crack. The most likely to get involved in ‘drive by’ shootings. They are the most likely to pimp out women of easy virtue. They are the most likely to listen to disgusting hip-hop music and turn decent American children away from God.

Oh yeah, and that Obama is black.

NOTE: There seems to be some question whether STR is a satirical blog or not. Sort of in the vein of Landover Baptist. If it is then it sure is funny....if it's not...it's downright scary.

Stereotypes

Just what are stereotypes? One definition is "undesirable beliefs imposed to justify the acts of discrimination and oppression." Walter Lipman had this to say about stereotypes; "picture in our heads" saying "Whether right or wrong, ...imagination is shaped by the pictures seen... Consequently, they lead to stereotypes that are hard to shake."

The author of the blog post I link to below admits he stereotypes conservatives. He then goes on to explain:

Which is to say, I think conservatives all suck, and they seem to feel much the same towards us.

He immediately goes on to say:

But here's the thing: I have never in my life met or even heard of a single conservative who doesn't believe that it's okay to deny equal protection under the law

... He then proceeds to use the gay marriage debate to prove his quite valid (in my opinion) point.

But let's forget about gay marriage for a minute. How about AG Alberto Gonzales attempting to defend denying the Constitutionally guaranteed right to habeas corpus to certain individuals? The "equal protection" clause of the Constitution has never been a big favorite of conservatives because they don't want people "different" from them being treated equally under the law. I think you can provide many historical precedents that support this viewpoint. So is that stereotyping? In the 50's and 60's it was the blacks. Now it's the followers of Islam (and still the blacks).

Can you not argue that in recent years it has been conservatives that want to deny US citizens their rights and freedoms. Hey, if you haven't done anything wrong, then you have nothing to hide....right? The terrorists hate us for our freedoms. So to save us the conservatives want to take our freedoms away? No habeas corpus...the most basic freedom given to man since the Magna Carta?

Ok yeah, liberal want to use government to redistribute money...social security, medicare, medicaid, welfare and many other government sponsored programs. But conservatives want to use government to tell you how to live specifically. Who can marry who, how to use your body, how to act to best insure that you get to heaven, what constitutes valid anti-government protest, how not to be gay (unless you are a closeted republican). If you don't listen to them...you either aren't patriotic or worse, you are a traitor. At best you are anti-family values...because only conservatives know what is best for the family. A working father, a house wife mother, 2 kids in a nice home with 2 cars. You know, kinda like in the 50's.

One thing both liberals and conservatives can agree upon....since Google took it over, blogger really sucks!

Attorney General Gonzales Interprets the Constitution

I wonder if Alberto took an oath to uphold and defend the US Constitution. Here is his interpretation of Article I, section 9 of the Constitution.

“The Constitution doesn’t say every individual in the United States or citizen is hereby granted or assured the right of habeas corpus. It doesn’t say that. It simply says the right shall not be suspended” except in cases of rebellion or invasion.”

So I guess we just let AG Gonzales decide who has the right of habeas corpus and who doesn't.

Conservatives - Right On

Excellent post about conservative beliefs and philosophy here. I especially like the part about the glorious 50's, about halfway down the post.

Conservatives don't care. They hate the present, they fear the future. The past is their only refuge, and for all its uglinesses, at least one thing about it is inarguable: white men were in charge. White men could do anything they wanted. White men ran the world. They could grab the secretary's ass and beat up any faggot they came across with impunity. Niggers and spics kept to their places, by God. And everybody wished everybody else a Merry Christmas and they damned well liked it, too.

Who's in Favor - Who's Opposed to the Surge

Find out here.

While you are surfing, go here to read why Methodist ministers are opposed to the Bush Library being built at Southern Methodist University. Bush will probably end up building his library at his ranch. There is still the question of what exactly he will place in his library.

Have You Sacrificed Your Peace of Mind for the Iraq War?

LEHRER: Let me ask you a bottom-line question, Mr. President. If it is as important as you’ve just said - and you’ve said it many times - as all of this is, particularly the struggle in Iraq, if it’s that important to all of us and to the future of our country, if not the world, why have you not, as president of the United States, asked more Americans and more American interests to sacrifice something? The people who are now sacrificing are, you know, the volunteer military - the Army and the U.S. Marines and their families. They’re the only people who are actually sacrificing anything at this point.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, you know, I think a lot of people are in this fight. I mean, they sacrifice peace of mind when they see the terrible images of violence on TV every night.

Having never had to make a sacrifice in his whole life....this is all our President thinks US citizens need to sacrifice for his Iraq War.

Et Tu Rep. John McHugh?

One of our illustrious area House Reps John McHugh (NY-23), a strong GW Bush supporter, is voicing doubts about Bush's new Iraq War strategy. Even worse. He's doing it in the presence of the most evil person on Earth - Sen. Hillary Clinton.

McHugh has not been as critical of the Bush administration's handling of the war as the two Democrats, but like many Republicans in Congress he sounds increasingly exasperated with conditions in Iraq.

McHugh said he wanted to warn Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of the dwindling patience in Washington.

"It's folly to think that you can stabilize 80 percent of a country while one of the most important sites in the Middle East, Baghdad, is in total chaos. You can't just shove that under the rug," he said.

Like more and more republican reps and sens, Rep. John McHugh was for the war before he was against it. Listen to NCPR audio report here.

Are You Happy Now?

Visits to this blog have doubled in the last week. Is it because of my intellectual comments on parasitic diseases or the hygiene hypothesis? My biting political rants? How about beautiful photos?

Not hardly. Google "german grey rabbit". My blog comes up on top. My increased traffic is because of my post on giant "german grey rabbits"! As Stewie Griffin would say, Are you happy now?

Sunset on Ironwood Way

German Grey Rabbit?

A 9 kilo rabbit or photo with forced perspective?

UPDATE: I just heard an extensive report on NPR about the giant rabbits. It sounds like they really exist. Yea for communism. North Koreans say every part of a rabbit are eatable except the bones. Bones are for the dogs.

Procrastination Formula

Scientific American: Why Do Today What You Can Put Off Until Tomorrow
A 10-year study of procrastination provides insights into--and a formula for--human motivation

U=ExV/IxD

Where:

U is desire to complete the task

E is expectation of success

V is value of completion

I is immediacy of task

D is personal sensitivity to delay

This formula allows you to mathmatically map your procrastination response. I plan on using it daily.

More Hangings in Bagdad

Don't say I didn't warn them about decaptitation during hangings.

Two top aides to Saddam Hussein were hanged before dawn Monday, and the head of one of them - the former Iraqi dictator's half brother Barzan Ibrahim - was severed from his body during the execution, a government official said.

Peace Vigil Saranac Lake NY

Ship floating on nothing! (Hexafluorid) :: Physikshow Bonn

So cool.

Iraq War is a Disaster

No I didn't waste my time listening to President Bush explain his "new war plan". From everything I've read, absolutely nothing "new" was presented. Just more of the same. Absolutely no change in strategy, just minor changes in tactics. The Iraq War is a disaster but it is a disaster brought on by President George W. Bush and he wants to insure the war is ongoing at the time he leaves office. That way, at least, some other president will have a share of the disaster in history.

I understand Mr. Bush acknowledged that some of his tactics had been "failures" in Iraq. I wish I had heard that part of his speech. I can only imagine it was like "the Fonz" trying to say he was wwwrr wwrro wwrrroong.

So now we will have 20,000 more bodies (that's all they are to Bush) in Iraq, another Navy carrier group and batteries of Patriot Missiles. All in an attempt of making Georgie boy look better 30 years from now. We are also now directly threatening Syria and Iran.

Bush is now definitely micromanaging the war. He is ignoring the advice of his military advisors, supposedly for the first time. Make no mistake. This is not a "surge", it is an escalation of this war.

I'm A Liberal

And I'm a liberal too. Just need to get a beret and a baguette.

Troops for the "Surge"

Where will we get the troops for Bush's vaunted Iraq "surge"? Tom Tomorrow has the answer.

Peace Vigil in Saranac Lake

Vaccines, Thimerosal and Autism

The thimerosal preservative in MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine causes autism and other developmental disorders in children. That has been the line for the last 7 or 8 years and the guy who pushed the hypothesis the hardest, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, has some splainin to do.

It turns out that Dr. Wakefield was paid hundreds of thousands of pounds by lawyers who were trying to prove the vaccine was unsafe. You can read about it in the The Sunday Times.

ANDREW WAKEFIELD, the former surgeon whose campaign linking the MMR vaccine with autism caused a collapse in immunisation rates, was paid more than £400,000 by lawyers trying to prove that the vaccine was unsafe.

I can't find the words to describe how I feel about this guy.

Wakefield’s work for the lawyers began two years before he published his now notorious report in The Lancet medical journal in February 1998, proposing a link between the vaccine and autism.

So are his findings correct or not? The Lancet has retracted the article.

Later The Lancet retracted Wakefield’s claim and apologised after a Sunday Times investigation showed that his research had been backed with £55,000 from lawyers, and that the children in the study used as evidence against the vaccine were also claimants in the lawsuit.

I really love this one....

Also among those named as being paid from the legal aid fund was a referee for one of Wakefield’s papers, who was allowed £40,000. A private GP who runs a single vaccines clinic received £6,000, the LSC says.

At least one reviewer of the Lancet paper was also paid off.

You can find a list of Dr. Wakefields autism papers here for what they are now worth.

You can find the Institute of Medicine's report on Vaccines and Autism here.

Moving Snow

Here is the old way. A pusher shovel and snow shovel for lifting heavy snow. If you are still using these, you need to smarten up.



Here is the "Wovel" - a smarter way to move snow quickly and without back pain. It consists of a sturdy metal frame that sits on a three foot high wheel and a large scoop on the front. I got mine last winter and it is one of those purchases that you never, ever regret. This is a well engineered piece of snow moving equipment.



Here is a front view.



The key to lifting and throwing snow is here - the adjustable fulcrum together with the length and shape of the frame.



The large wheel allows you to easily move about in deep snow.



The "plow" on the front is about as big as a larger pusher shovel and is just as efficient. It differs in that it can also lift and throw a large amount of snow. The plow is replaceable and you can add an optional metal strip to the front and/or a chipper plate.

Using the Wovel, I can clear the flat part of my driveway (about the size of half a basketball court) of up to 6 inches of snow in about 15 min. It takes a bit longer to clear deeper snow and less time to clear less deep snow. The rest of my steep driveway (about 200 ft) takes about an hour to clear depending on the amount of snow.

The Wovel saves me $40 every time I use it. It is also good exercise but you don't use your back at all in clearing the snow.

More info at the Wovel website