Gyroscope

So, there is a bar in Sturgis S.D called the "Buffalo Chip." They have contests for feminine beauty of a certain earthy style that feature such side aspects as banana eating and pickle licking.
See this video for details, should you need them, or just enjoy watching train wrecks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVQHJd_3J7g

So, McCain goes to Sturgis and ---- offers up his wife as a contender for this contest. See this video for proof. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4RTlfRYLxA

Needless to say, the mainstream media has totally ignored this. Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo is about the only place running this.

Several questions come to mind.

1. Can you IMAGINE the media feeding frenzy should Sen. Obama have offered up his wife for this?

2. Why are there still Hillary supporters planning to vote for McCain?

3. If Paris Hilton mocked McCain - and had a better energy pla n - can we expect the other contestants of this contest to do their own anti-McCain ad now?

Oh well, at least he didn't confuse North and South Dakota ...

"Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Prize." -- Tom Lehrer

Posted by John Nordin at 09:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Some diminish the concern about the erosion of civil liberties by claiming that it is only non-citizens who are subject to detention in immigration centers. However, as reported in the Minneapolis Star Tribune of Jan 27, 2008 (p.A12), a study has found that 125 American citizens have been shipped off to immigration detention centers.

The story detailed one case, that of Thomas Warziniack who was held for a year despite ample evidence that he was a U. S. Citizen. It only took a reporter a few minutes to retrieve a birth certificate. Despite being repeated alerted by relatives that Warziniack was a citizen, ICE (the agency that runs the detention centers) basically refused to release him. It took a U. S. Senator to pry open the door.

But here is the kicker. A spokesidiot for ICE, a Ms. Kice, opined as follows: “The burden of proof is on the individual to show they’re legally entitled to be in the United States.” NO! The burden of proof is always and forever on the government to show it has cause to detain you and deprive you of liberty. She should be fired, but she was probably promoted.

In the meantime, of course, actual illegal immigrants with DUI convictions are still not deported.

Posted by John Nordin at 07:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The New York Times reports (April 27, 2008, p. 11) the strange case of V.A. nurse Laura Berg. She wrote a letter critiquing government policy. And the next thing she knew, her office computer had been seized and she was accused of “sedition.” According to Reason Magazine she got a response from some nit in the V.A. named Mel Hooker who wrote her that “You have insulted the very government that employs you, and the agency has a responsibility to investigate you for possible sedition."

After the ACLU and a senator got involved, the VA climbed down and apologized to her.

But, let’s pause for a moment at this claim that she “insulted” the government. That does take one’s breath away, doesn’t it? Has the cult of personality around right-wing leaders now spread out to the government itself as an entity that must be worshipped and its majesty not ‘insulted’ by pointing out that (the case Berg was making) that Katrina response was a big failure?

And has Mr. Hooker been fired? Disciplined? Apparently not. The VA says they’ve “moved on.” It should come as no surprise to anyone who’s ever worked in a large company that Hooker is in that totally misnamed “human resources” department.

And Berg’s characterization of the current junta in Washington as having “misplaced priorities” and suffering from “criminal negligence” is still true, isn’t it?

Posted by John Nordin at 08:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)