Resistance is futile!

What's in a bill?

READ THIS!

I was there with HMIL when the folks at PlanTek made their presentation.  My first impression is "we all need to utilize these services!"

We also need to spread the word about so-called "civil unions" and what the "alternate lifestyle" movement is really about: legalized pedophilia.  Had SB1000 become law, Oregon would have become the first state in the Union to have legalized the homosexual rape of minors.

Keep that in mind next time you hear about the "evil" Karen Minnis and how she stopped the child raping perverts fought against the gay rights lobby by blocking SB1000.

As many readers know, I am in the process of finding a full-time job, preferably one that involves legislation or administrative rules.  I will definitely be keeping in touch with PlanTek, as their services could prove invaluable in whatever new position I end up.

What the?

I caught parts of some Portland radio show the other day where they apparently interviewed all the candidates for Governor.  I only caught parts, so I don't know how the overall thing went.  But I did catch the bits where they were asking questions of Ben Westlund and Ron Saxton.  And as far as I know, this was REAL and not some joke.  But after hearing these bits, I have doubts...

What I learned about Ben Westlund:

I know all about his stand on issues because I have READ all about them.  This was the first I actually HEARD him speak.

Wow.  Just.  Wow.  Ben Westlund, on radio, sounds like the biggest GEEK in the entire world.  I thought I was listening to "Comic Book Guy" from the Simpsons.  In D&D terms, we are talking Charisma in the low single digits.  Yikes.  And then he comes off as the least technically capable person when, during the part about some personal, non-political stuff, he says he doesn't know anything about i-Pods and isn't able to feed himself out of his own refrigerator.  Oh, and he doesn't like beer.

Argh.  So much for the "Westlund alternative" if the GOP nominates a loser... Speaking of which...

Then, after being away from the radio for a bit, I heard some of Ron Saxton and learned during his session with the personal questions the following:

Ron Saxton also does not like beer.

Ron Saxton has all jazz in his i-Pod.

Ron Saxton likes milk and Graham crackers for a snack.

Worst: Ron Saxton prefers Katie Couric to The Daily Show.

Not exactly useful information, just fluff.  But come on, what's with both these guys not liking beer?  Does Oregon need a leader who doesn't appreciate our fine microbrewed ales?

If anyone heard the rest of this show with the other candidates, please help fill in the gaps.  And have some beer.

Today's ICK

One of the nastiest child pornography rings has just been busted.  While catching these subhuman filth is a good thing, the fact that catching them was necessary is too disgusting to fully contemplate:

"These are the worst imaginable forms of child pornography," said U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, adding that one case involved the abuse of a toddler less than 18 month old.

That's right: these creatures were having sex with an 18 month old, live, over the internet.

Meanwhile, here in Oregon, we continue to be labeled as "going the wrong direction" by Bill O'Reilly when it comes to passing legislation to protect children against dangerous pedophile sex offenders.  Is it any wonder, when our own state Supreme Court thinks that live sex acts for cash constitute the type of free speech our founders envisioned when drafting the Bill of Rights?

Help spread the word: Oregon needs Jessica's Law to protect our children from these monsters;  Oregon needs Jason Atkinson, a Governor who would support Jessica's Law; and Oregon needs Jack Roberts, a Supreme Court Justice who would overrule the live sex acts case.

Dorchester Issue #2

Continuing on the issue theme, we moved on to issue number two, domestic wiretapping.  Should Congress authorize the President to wiretap without warrants in the War on Terror?

What's interesting about the debate on this one is that a fair number of those speaking against were doing so on the grounds that the President already has this power, and having Congress "authorize" it diminishes the power of the Executive as Commander-in-Chief in time of war.  But I would honestly say that more of the dissenters were concerned with civil liberties (a lot of the Dorchester crowd are libertarian-leaning Republicans).

I was so passionate about this that I wrote down what I was going to say so I could post it verbatim on my blog:

This issue isn't about gathering evidence for criminal trials; it's about war.  We are at war, and I want the United States to win this war.  I spent six years in military intelligence, so I know a thing or two about winning wars.  Do you want to know how you win wars?  Let me tell you:

You win wars by finding your enemies and killing your enemies.  You do not win wars by granting your enemies special rights and liberties!

I hold in my hand a copy of the Constitution of the United States of America.  I have read this great document front to back and back to front and do you know what?  Nowhere in this document can I find a single clause that says "terrorists at war with the United States have a special fundamental right to use our own national communications infrastructure to facilitate their war and help them kill Americans."

The Fourth Amendment is about evidence for criminal prosecutions, not the defense of our Nation in time of war.  Support our President and recognize the need for gathering intelligence against our terrorist enemies!

As I was at the microphone with my Constitution in hand, I noticed Jim Feldkamp in the audience looking at me and nodding approvingly...

One argument made against wiretaps came from those who fear the government abusing this power under the rule of a future democRat President like Hillary Clinton.  My argument against this shibboleth is that the only real solution is not to give our President power, but to make sure you don't elect anyone like Hillary Clinton!  After all, wasn't the Clinton administration in charge when over 80 innocent people, mostly women and children, were burned beyond recognition in their Waco church?  Do you really think that silly things like laws will protect you when people like this are in power?

In the end, the vote was 164-110 in favor.  Considering that a chunk of the no-votes were on the principle that the President already has this power inherently, I'd say an even stronger majority of those present supported the President with their vote.

Whoops!

Imagine the lawsuits if this e-mail came from Ed McMahon telling you that you were a winner...

Accidental e-mail congratulates 7,000 on admission to UC Berkeley law school

Edward Tom, director of admissions at the University of California, Berkeley, law school, was training a new office worker last week when it happened.

Tom was demonstrating the e-mail software used by the school and was highlighting several features, including how the user can filter mail and set it to send messages to one recipient or many at the same time.

That’s when he chose what happened to be a standard congratulatory message on being admitted to the university’s prestigious law school and accidentally sent it to all 7,000 students who have applied for admission to the law school. The problem, which the school quickly admitted, is that all of the applicants won’t be admitted. In fact, there’s only room for 800 to 850 of them. The e-mail congratulated the applicants on their recent “admission” to the school and invited them to an annual reception co-hosted by alumni and several student organizations.

***

After realizing what had happened, Tom sent out an apology e-mail to the applicant pool within 20 minutes. He sent another letter of apology the next day.

“I deeply regret any confusion or disappointment this error may have caused,” Tom said. “I know that many law school applicants are particularly anxious while awaiting the arrival of decision letters, and I regret that this incident may have added to that tension”

***

Tom said that about 10 applicants who received the errant e-mail informed him that were very distraught after learning that it was a mistake...

I wonder if any of these "distraught" students are distraught because they quickly notified their "back up" law schools that they are going to Berkeley instead?  Oh well, it's not like we need more lawyers anyway, is it?

Why we will win!

Today I was checking referrals, and noticed that I had one visitor from IRAN!

I was concerned that maybe some terror group is researching me, perhaps to issue a Fatwah!  But when I clicked on the referring URL, I found out that the mysterious Iranian was actually researching...

Naked pictures of Veronica Zeminova!

He found this on my website... so I guess I'll post it again!

Well... if this is what the people in Iran are doing on the Internet, I think it is safe to say that we are winning the war...

This makes me sad...

A few days ago, Western Union stopped sending telegrams.

I am 35 years old, and in my lifetime I have never sent or received a telegram.  By the time I was old enough to need to communicate with people over a long distance, AT&T had already given way to competing long distance services, fax machines were getting popular, overnight mail was a growing industry, and geeks like me were discovering the joys of computer modems.  So it never dawned on me that telegrams were still even a part of modern life.

But, growing up on old movies and classic cartoons, I always knew what telegrams were and always thought it would be cool to get one.  Or send one.  Now, that time has gone for good.  I wish I had known about this a week ago.

I think that if Western Union had made a big deal about this, a lot of people like me would have rushed out for our one last chance to do something special.  I would have sent a telegram to the Gullybabe.  It would have said something simple like "let's have lunch stop call me stop."  That would have been a fun, goofy thing to do.  It would have made us both smile.

Now I'll never have a chance to send a telegram, nor will I ever receive one.

Poo.

Bugs

We are experiencing technical difficulties with the blog... please stand by...

The Carnival of Cordite may be delayed, but will be up as soon as possible!

Thank you for your patience.

we are experiencing technical difficulties; please stand by...

If you have been having problems reading or commenting on this blog in the last 24 hours, it isn't just you.  TypePad has been exploding in growth.  Now come the growing pains. 

TypePad has been a great host.  I am sure this will just be a temporary blip.

Just be patient.  Come back soon and all should be well.

Remembering 9/11

Four years ago today, America was attacked by terrorists.  Over 3,000 people killed in one morning.  I wanted to make a post honoring the victims, honoring the sacrifices, honoring the heroes, honoring the President, and honoring the military effort that has prevented a subsequent attack on American soil.

I'm not going to do that.

Not because any of what I mentioned isn't worthy.  On the contrary.  Everyone from President Bush, to the members of the NYC fire and police departments, to the military men and women, to the millions of Americans who have given their time, their money, and even their loved ones, deserve our respect and admiration.

That is why I am writing about something different.

When I set out to write something, the first thing I wanted to do was find some good resources on the internet.  I wanted to find pictures of the Twin Towers.  I wanted to find pictures of Ground Zero.  I wanted to find interviews with victims.  I wanted to find information about the President and his response.

So I went to Google and typed in 9/11.

What was the number one search result?

http://www.michaelmoore.com

I wanted to vomit.  How dare that vile disgusting subhuman filth usurp top billing on the largest database for 9/11 searches?

A nation attacked, 3,000 dead, the Pentagon in flames, the center of international commerce destroyed, the President rising to the challenge, Afghanistan liberated from the Taliban, Iraq liberated from Saddam Hussein, 50 million people freed and living in democracies and voting for the first time, and the terror battlefield moved away from New York and Washington, back to the far away deserts that spawn such hatred... and Michael Moore is the first search result you find when you type 9/11 into Google.

What kind of a nation do we live in when such a hate-filled charlatan can steal the limelight?

Michael Moore is the enemy.  Michael Moore is part of the problem we face.  Michael Moore has done more to damage America than Osama Bin Laden could ever hope.

Michael Moore made over $100 million from his asinine "documentary" about 9/11.  What good has he done with it?

Has Michael Moore rebuilt any of the damage?

Has Michael Moore brought back any of the dead?

Has Michael Moore made America safer?

Has Michael Moore helped our troops?

Did Michael Moore help the families of the lost firemen in New York?

Did Michael Moore give blood?

Did Michael Moore donate to the Red Cross or the Salvation Army?

What the hell has that arrogant bastard done to deserve his number-one status on the search engine?

I hope that years from now, when our children's children are doing their history reports on 9/11, their searches for information take them anywhere but Michael Moore.  Unless they are searching for "America's terrorist enemies within."  In that case, let Michael Moore be the number one hit.