Uncle Jimbo Reviews "Assassination as Theater"

Over at Blackfive, in a video that nails the 'players' and the 'play' perfectly, Uncle Jimbo reviews the latest Pelosi Production, now showing at the House of Representatives Playhouse in DC .

I'm forwarding this to D3 in the 'Stan so she can pass it around if she'd like.

Tip: Watch can the video until the end to see what's on the smoker. You can tell he ain't in North Texas where it was 106 degrees F today and 108 yesterday.

LCROSS Anecdote

About two years ago, I was completing an Aerospace Project Management Certificate course. The Risk Management module was taught by a gentleman (in the purest and best sense of the term) named Steve Carman. His regular 'day job' was being Northrop Grumman's Program Manager for the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) program.

As part of the course we discussed potential risks (and opportunities!) he was dealing with in delivering the LCROSS to NASA. He described the LCROSS mission to us and the question arose (I'm not saying WHO asked it):

What if the impact indicates there was water at the Lunar pole...until we blew it to smittereens?

The answer was pretty staightforward.: It was a calculated and accepted risk that NASA was willing to take [;-)

Best Take on David Letterman

Victor Davis Hanson has the best take on Letterman's latest steps on his descent into absolute irrelevance:

"The self-serving, creepy apology was as bad as the initial slur. Letterman is emblematic of an aging, baby-boomer culture, that dresses up street vulgarity with a tie and coat."

A boor and a coward indeed.

Dowd Conundrum Indeed

Best subtitle ever!: Why Vulcans and Other Intellectuals Don't Belong in the Big Chair

Bill Whittle absolutely skewers the fawning media coverage of President Obama and the 'Smartest Man' myth in one thrust.

The only point I would take issue with is his use of the term 'intellectuals'. Perhaps it is accurate in the sense the term is currently applied and as they view themselves, but I think of those people as more pseudo-intellectuals...or suckers (take your pick).

(Be sure you watch all the credits at the end)

"Disdain for U.S. Policies"

You call that a defense?

Instapundit, links to another news story concerning the two 'govnoed' (see previous post) who were allegedly (wink wink) selling out our country due to some perceived disillusionment on their part.
Hmmm.
I wonder, what tipped them over the edge? Was it perhaps the disappointment of being able to only save up enough Dinero for a 38' yacht on a State Department salary? I mean, would a bigger one have kept them from selling us out?

But Gee! I thought they were happy with the one they had:

We have the most beautiful boat!
It is 8:00 PM here; we are having a drink and are practically melting in our chairs while repeating to one another, ”we have the most beautiful boat.”

Today the temperature was around 60 degrees and the wind from 4 to 8 knots. We sailed the good ship Helene on the Bay for 4 hours. Kendall sailed then napped for an hour on a pad behind the helm’s seat. I used a finger to occasionally touch the wheel while the boat sailed herself. Clouds were mesmerizing. No other boats around so thoroughly relaxed. Our only comments were how well balanced she is, how smoothly she sails, and how fast she is in any wind.
Two weeks ago we took her on her first sail of the spring and were surprised by a 24 knot gust. She took the blow like a champ, rounding up to wait for us to ”come to!”
We just want you to know our happy we are with our decision to purchase this gem from you!

Cheers,
Gwen and Kendall

Somehow I think the link to the above will disappear soon. Update 06/10/09 1020hrs: The link no longer works. No worries though, as I saved a copy:


We will next begin to hear that what they gave the Cubans wasn't THAT important. That will be even more disgusting.

Cuban Spies In The State Department?

Who'd a Thunk?

If the case is valid (and I'd say we have every reason to believe it is) these people are disgusting. The Soviets used to call them 'govnoed' (Sh**eaters):

Officers of both the GRU and the KGB have very much more respect for their agents than for the sh**-eaters. The motives of agents are clear — an easy life and plenty of money. If you take risks and lose, then no money and no easy life. To the end of his life the agent will not be able to tear himself away from this servitude — as is the case in the criminal world. But the behaviour of the numerous friends of the Soviet Union is utterly incomprehensible to Soviet people. --Victor Suvorov

Or could it just be the Conservative in me that makes me too easily disgusted? Well, that's probably what Psycheboy Pizarro thinks anyway.

~Sigh~ @#^*!%! Freaking Hippies and punk-a** Postmodern Academes.

Mythbusting Busted

Yes! Poetic indeed.

Take that nattering Nabobs of negativity.

A man, and Man, needs some Truths.

Hopeychange n' Stuff #1

Maybe he's just trying to make Biden look smart.

More "Verde" Hybrid Nonsense

Hat tip: WUWT

THE Times (Not one of the American ones) has an excellent article dissecting and dissing Honda's new Insight car model (a hybrid). The author, Mr Clarkson, also looks a little closer into the 'green' aspects of hybrids and electric cars. As cited by a commenter at WUWT, Mr Clarkson I believe gets particularly close the what the hub-bub about these so-called 'green' cars is really all about:

The nickel for the battery has to come from somewhere. Canada, usually. It has to be shipped to Japan, not on a sailing boat, I presume. And then it must be converted, not in a tree house, into a battery, and then that battery must be transported, not on an ox cart, to the Insight production plant in Suzuka. And when the finished car has to be shipped, not by Thor Heyerdahl, to Britain, where it can be transported, not by wind, to the home of a man with a beard who thinks he’s doing the world a favour.

(Emphasis mine).

I don't know if there was a 'beard' in this car or not, but the 'doing the world a favor' part definitely applied.

Post script: just drove the new (used) ride cross country: 27+ MPG @ 75-80 MPH. No hybrid under the hood, just a handbuilt AMG 3.2L supercharged engine driving a 5 speed autostick-- made the trip sooo much more fun. About 1500 miles and I only had two brain-dead 'smug' hybrid polluters pass me at those speeds. Yeah I burn premium, but I know those POSs weren't getting as good MPG highway as I was getting either.

Blogroll Change: Bye Bye LGF

Not that it will make a whit of difference to the world, but I've removed my Little Green Footballs link in the Blogroll.

I still pretty much agree with Charles Johnson on most things and will be visiting his site as always. I just think the site, while suitably ardent on most of Johnson's 'causes', is too overwrought on the Evolution vs. Creationism issue. I don't think I even materially disagree with Johnson on Evolution, but his postings on the subject seem to be taking on an ever-increasing 'religious' fervor on what should be discussed in terms that are serious, scientific, and calm. Today's strained and ill-considered parsing of what is best described as imprecise statements by Rush Limbaugh on Darwinism have pushed things over the top for me.

I think Mr Johnson's views on some things are ill-informed (Anthropogenic Global Warming for example), but honest disagreement isn't off-putting - unlike hyperventilating on one side of an issue about others hyperventilating on the other side of the same issue.

I would recommend to Mr Johnson. Prof. Laurence Principe's lecture series Science & Religion for a more reasoned critique of Creationism as a false science.

Update 05/20/09 @2120 Hrs:
Well gee whiz.... One day after LGF jumps all over El Rushbo for his pointing out that the big 'Fossil Evidence for Human Evolution' story as being basically little more than hype, some scientists reinforce Rush's point . Article at link complete with today's OTT (Over the Top) Google header reference.