This is scary!

Filling tanks, funding dictators - Los Angeles Times: "Of the top 14 oil exporters, only one is a well-established liberal democracy, Norway. Two others have recently made a transition to democracy, Mexico and Nigeria. Iraq is trying to follow in their footsteps. That's it. Every other major oil exporter is a dictatorship and the run-up in oil prices has been a tremendous boon to them.

My associate at the Council on Foreign Relations, Ian Cornwall, calculates that if oil averages $71 a barrel this year, 10 autocracies stand to make about $500 billion more than in 2003, when oil was at $27. This windfall helps to squelch liberal forces and entrench noxious dictators in such oil producers as Russia (which stands to make $115 billion more this year than in 2003) and Venezuela ($36 billion). Vladimir Putin and Hugo Chavez can buy off their publics with generous subsidies and ignore Western pressure while sabotaging democratic developments from Central America to Central Asia. "

Prices to die for....

Police seek ID of heart-attack victim stricken in Wal-Mart store: "Police seek ID of heart-attack victim stricken in Wal-Mart store
FRUITPORT TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) He suffered a heart attack and collapsed while inside a Wal-Mart SuperCenter. He was taken to a hospital, where he soon was pronounced dead.
The man collapsed around 9 p.m. April 24 in the store's grocery section, after telling an employee that he was having trouble breathing. More than a week later, police in Muskegon County's Fruitport Township were still trying to find out his name."
Or is Cheney and Walmart secretly using the Patriot Act to kill innocent Americans?

Ain't love grand!

Bride, 104, chooses man of 33 as her 21st husband:
Associated Press in Kuala Lumpur
A 33-year-old man in northern Malaysia has married a 104-year-old woman, saying mutual respect and friendship had turned to love, the Star newspaper said yesterday.
It was Muhammad Noor Che Musa's first marriage and his wife's 21st.

The occassional rant....

Names have been changed to protect the guilty.
In a message dated 5/1/2006 7:06:10 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, xxxxxx.net writes:
Happy third anniversary Mr. Mission Accomplished... since that time there have only been 2,258 US service personnel killed, 17,000 wounded, who knows how many innocent Iraqis, and zip-zero-nada progress toward that new Iraq thing... a record of pride? Help me, I’m confused... Al

Al,
Confused you certainly are.
Seems you forgot to count the thousands of suicide murderers who met their "virgins" compliments of our President Bush's Coalition.
But thanks, anyway, for the well deserved congratulations for our spectacularly well done results in Iraq. Kind of amazing when you review the predictions of the pre-war liberal media and their appeaser cronies in the democrat party.
What the Bush administration has accomplished is truly amazing given the anti-American solidarity of the democrats, the drive-by MSM and the few pandering RINOs.
One quakes to think that their same Quisling mindset might have prevailed in 1776, Gettysburg, Marne, Dunkirk, Midway, Pork Chop Hill or the Cold War.
Or United Flight 93! (oh my gosh! Imagine if United 93 was loaded with a bunch of libs coming back from today's "new immigrant" parades!)
We've all read or lived through Vichy France, Saigon, 1978-79 Tehran, Beruit, "unilateral disarmament".
My gosh, the "peace" years while Clinton's minions gutted our military were an exact copy of Jimmah's cowardly disassembly of our nation's defense. Look to the grand "successes" of Haiti, Rawanda, Palestine, "Oil-For-Food". And let's not forget that "heaven-on-earth", Saddam's Iraq.
Wow, let's get that crowd back in charge again!
Yes, a record of honor, of pride and of unpredicted success in our mission.
And a commitment to finish the job.
No matter how loudly the defeatists bleat.
Thank you, again for your kind thoughts. And your for support for our valiant soldiers and the brave freedom lovers of the new Iraq!
Gordo
PS: Is the "war against poverty" over because it's gone on too dang long? Just wonderin'.

What are they teeching in skoolz?

Poll Shows Many Can't Find La. on Map: _ Six in 10 could not find Iraq on a map of the Middle East.
_ While the outsourcing of jobs to India has been a major U.S. business story, 47 percent could not find the Indian subcontinent on a map of Asia.
_ While Israeli-Palestinian strife has been in the news for the entire lives of the respondents, 75 percent were unable to locate Israel on a map of the Middle East.
_ Six in 10 did not know the border between North and South Korea is the most heavily fortified in the world. Thirty percent thought the most heavily fortified border was between the United States and Mexico. "

Now this is satisfying!

Yup, he's dead. Case closed.
Link

just hangin' on...

We're Here, We're Square, Get Used to It: "I am a 44-year-old woman who grew up in Berkeley who has never once voted for a Republican, or crossed a picket line, or failed to send in a small check when the Doctors Without Borders envelope showed up. I believe that we should not have invaded Iraq, that we should have signed the Kyoto treaty, that the Starr Report was, in part, the result of a vast right-wing conspiracy. I believe that poverty is our most pressing issue and that we should be pouring money and energy into its eradication. I believe that allowing migrant women and children to die of thirst in American deserts is a moral transgression that will stain us forever.
But despite all that, there is apparently no room for me in the Democratic Party. In fact, I have spent much of the past week on a forced march to the G.O.P. And the bayonet at my back isn't in the hands of the Republicans; the Democrats are the bullyboys"
Where's a lib to go?

OxBlog

OxBlog: "Posted 9:05 AM by Patrick Porter

JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU'VE SEEN EVERYTHING! A militant Islamist would have to be theologically nimble to reconcile this with his faith (hat-tip, Erudito):
So how does a pious Islamic extremist and potential terrorist pass the time? He watches hardcore porn. Investigators found that at least one of two Islamic extremist planning an attack on the US from Canada was in possession of hardcore pornography. "

They wouldn't dare!

These amigos are talkin' hardball!
L.A.'S RECONQUISTA REPORTER: "
"You took this country. You killed people in order to take this country for yourselves."
Who is Valdez? A MecHa leader? An ANSWR radical? A La Raza official?
No.
He's a local FOX reporter at KTTV-LA.
Contact KTTV management here."

Back of the pack. Just like Michigan, sadly.

"That's Saul, folks!"
Michigan Republican Party Blog: Stabenow: one of the worst: "Stabenow rated among lowest of all U.S. Senators
Stabenow received a 6% taxpayer rating
Washington, D.C. � Debbie Stabenow is among the worst abusers of taxpayer money, according to the non-partisan National Taxpayers Union (NTU). NTU just released their ratings for the 109th Congress for the first session of 2005. Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow received a rating of 6% from the NTU. Stabenow is rated worse than the most notoriously liberal Senators, Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, and John Kerry. Only 4 U.S. Senators ranked worse than Debbie Stabenow.

The new Democrat leadership?

The Corner on National Review Online: "Moreover, it is enduringly fascinating how deeply invested many liberals are in comedians (and to a lesser extent, movie stars). There's of course Al Franken and Jeneane Garofalo (a recovering somewhat funny person), but even Jon Stewart is increasingly becoming a Big Thinker according to some liberals (at least from conversations I've had with them and bits and pieces on the web). I'm a big fan of Stewart's, too � even though I think he's become a bit too partisan of late. But, it would be interesting to hear a serious liberal explore the reason for why this is so. I think it's an interesting phenomena. What does it say about the 'real' spokespeople of the left � journalists, politicians, activists et al. � that the most appealing figures are ones who get to hide behind clown make-up whenever the kitchen gets too hot? I have my own theories, but an explanation from the left would be more interesting. "

Sophistry 101

Media Blog on National Review Online: "Speaking for the Defense
05/01 11:42 AM - The Markup

As regards the firing of CIA official Mary McCarthy, the Washington Post is in the same untenable position that the New York Times was in during the Judith Miller episode � the editors know something they're not telling, but they go on reporting the story as if they don't know. One undisputed point is that McCarthy had unauthorized contacts with reporters � including, according the CIA, the Washington Post's Dana Priest. But Priest won't confirm or deny that, and she certainly won't talk about what information McCarthy might have given her. The fact that the Post has this information but won't reveal it opens a lot of questions about its reporting on the story � specifically, the tendency of all it's articles about McCarthy to sympathetically portray her as the victim of a CIA witch hunt.

CUTE - 3 BABY PORCUPINES

CUTE - 3 BABY PORCUPINES

Imagine if all illegals stayed home.

News Forum Home Page: "If illegal aliens had stayed home the twin towers would still be standing "
from Lucianne.com

Democrat perfidy!

OpinionJournal - Hot Topic: "Mr. Schumer and most of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate--the very crowd shouting the loudest about 'obscene' gas prices--have voted uniformly for nearly 20 years against allowing most domestic oil production. They have vetoed opening even a tiny portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and gas production. If there is as much oil as the U.S. Geological Survey estimates, this would increase America's proven domestic oil reserves by about 50%."

Ethanol

Ethanol: "David Pimental, a leading Cornell University agricultural expert, has calculated that powering the average U.S. automobile for one year on ethanol (blended with gasoline) derived from corn would require 11 acres of farmland, the same space needed to grow a year's supply of food for seven people. Adding up the energy costs of corn production and its conversion into ethanol, 131,000 BTUs are needed to make one gallon of ethanol. One gallon of ethanol has an energy value of only 77,000 BTUS. Thus, 70 percent more energy is required to produce ethanol than the energy that actually is in it. Every time you make one gallon of ethanol, there is a net energy loss of 54,000 BTUs."

Don't tell anyone!

Six years later, the Dow is back csmonitor.com: "Behind the rebound is a solid economy, emphasized last Friday when the Commerce Department reported that the nation's gross domestic product grew at a swift 4.8 percent, the best growth in 2-1/2 years. Indeed, the healthy economy is pumping up corporate earnings, which have been growing at double-digit rates. Some of the fastest-growing engines of economic growth are at the nation's smallest companies, whose stocks have averaged about a 20 percent gain per year for the past five years.
bush's fault?

"relative unknowns......."

I'm pretty sure no one in the movie is known to most theatregoers. And there is the obligatory "too soon" bull. Mindless...
"Universal Pictures' (GE: news) 'United 93,' featuring a cast of relative unknowns, including several people really involved in the saga of the doomed flight who played themselves, grossed $11.6 million. Though the film has generally received good reviews, there was concern that many would feel it was too soon since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to relive that day in a movie theater. "

Maybe the GOPers shouda tested their levels...

...... before they launched their oil company jihad and $ give-a-way.
Blood Alcohol Estimator Caremark Health Resources: "Blood Alcohol Estimator
Is it safe to drive home if you had a glass of wine with dinner two hours ago? Does a martini really get you more drunk than a beer, or does it just feel that way? Our handy tool can show you how different amounts -- and types -- of alcoholic drinks affect you, so you can stay safe when you're out enjoying yourself. "

Bozo alert!!!!!!!!

Are these guys nuts?
Sharp Reaction to G.O.P. Plan on Gas Rebate - New York Times: "The Senate Republican plan to mail $100 checks to voters to ease the burden of high gasoline prices is eliciting more scorn than gratitude from the very people it was intended to help."