Which Pre-1985 Video Game Character are You?

I am a Pacman Ghost. I like to hang around with friends, chatting, dancing, all that sort of thing. We don't appreciate outsiders, and do our best to discourage others approaching us. I enjoy occasionally wandering around randomly, and often find that when I do so, I get to where I wanted to be. What Video Game Character Are You?

The reason for the Second Amendment...

Not sure when this occurred, but this woman's testimony is nonetheless timeless:

Clinton, Inc., exposed...

This has been around awhile, but it's well worth repeating and remembering:

Fitna

A Dutch film that has been "roundly accused of offending Muslims"



The truth hurts, don't it?

***UPDATE****

Live Leak has pulled the video from their site, because their staff has been receiving--of all the irony--death threats!

If that doesn't underscore the truth of the video, nothing does.

My friend Chicago Ray has More.

****UPDATE****

More proof that the truth hurts.

Twelve Jihadi Scumbags meet their maker...

...only a little sooner than they would have liked:

US forces bust network of suicide bombers

BAGHDAD, March 23: US occupation forces raided a “suicide bombing network” in Iraq’s restive Diyala province on Sunday, killing 12 men, six of whom had shaved their bodies in preparation for becoming human bombs, the US military said.

Major Winfield Danielson,

a US military spokesman, told AFP, without elaborating, that the raid was launched east of the Diyala’s capital Baquba.

When ground forces closed in on the “target building”, they came under small arms fire, Danielson said.

Enjoy your 72 pigs, idiots.

h/t Blame Bush, via Pirate's Cove.

Stop-Loss, stopped dead.

From here:(emphases added)

I'm told #7 Stop-Loss opened to only $1.6 million Friday from just 1,291 plays and should eke out $4+M. Although the drama from MTV Films was the best-reviewed movie opening this weekend, Paramount wasn't expecting much because no Iraq war-themed movie has yet to perform at the box office. "It's not looking good," a studio source told me before the weekend. "No one wants to see Iraq war movies. No matter what we put out there in terms of great cast or trailers, people were completely turned off. It's a function of the marketplace not being ready to address this conflict in a dramatic way because the war itself is something that's unresolved yet. It's a shame because it's a good movie that's just ahead of its time."

As usual, the elites in Hollyweird remain clueless. To reiterate:

"No one wants to see Iraq war movies. No matter what we put out there in terms of great cast or trailers, people were completely turned off.

WTF do you mean "no matter what we put out there," when the only thing that you do put out are bilge-driven baby-killer movies or movies that badmouth the mission.

It's a function of the marketplace not being ready to address this conflict in a dramatic way because the war itself is something that's unresolved yet.

Thank you, Captain Clueless, for that bit of self-absorbed, ill-informed tripe. But it is your constant drumbeat of anti-mission, anti-troop bilge that the marketplace refuses to buy.

If the almighty dollar means anything to you clueless Hollyweird bastards, perhaps you'll be able to reverse your fortunes at the Box office if you take a realistic view of the situation:

1. There are Islamic bastards with whom our soldiers are engaged who would just as soon bomb a marketplace filled with civilians as look at you.
2. Our soldiers are there to protect innocents, and to defeat the above-mentioned bastards.
3. Iraqi forces are taking over an increasing role in protecting their own.
   
4. Our soldiers are making a difference, not only in defending the innocent, but in restoring and improving infrastructure around Iraq.
   
5. A healthy number of soldiers are re-upping.

Give me a movie that portrays our soldiers as they really are-- brave American heroes, and I'll give you a box-office smash.

Here we go again...

Everyone's favorite little troll-kin, who nearly fell off the face of the geopolitical map the past nine months or so, is at it again:

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea threatened South Korea with destruction Sunday after Seoul's top military officer said it would consider attacking the communist nation if it tried to carry out a nuclear attack.

"Our military will not sit idle until warmongers launch a pre-emptive strike," the North's official Korean Central News agency said. "Everything will be in ashes, not just a sea of fire, if our advanced pre-emptive strike once begins."

The statement, issued by an unidentified military commentator, marked the third straight day of bellicose rhetoric from North Korea, which is angry over the harsher line South Korea's new president has taken against Pyongyang since assuming office last month.

On Friday North Korea test-fired a barrage of missiles into the sea and warned that it would "mercilessly wipe out" any South Korean warships that violate its waters near their disputed sea border.

Will someone just go and slap this buffoon?

More on the Road to Hell...

While I celebrated "Earth Hour" last night by turning up my thermostat 5 degrees and turning on every light in the house and in the yard, Google also did its part by increasing their energy output, along with anyone else who was using a computer at the time:

Google today joined in the celebration of Israel's "Earth Hour" campaign by turning its background from white to black. Unfortunately, on LCD monitors sized 22 inches or less, Google's new black actually consumes more energy than its usual white one.

So, living in "The Ice Palace" that is Minnesota, I'm so glad that Google has done its part to increase greenhouse gases!

Admittedly, however, Google and I can only do so much to increase global warming. Therefore, I point my readers to these fine Americans, who will do their darndest to erase any carbon credits that Algore accumulates:

Don’t let the threat of Carbon Credits get you down – take action! Right now you can purchase a Carbon Debit to help offset this insidious danger. With every Carbon Debit purchase we will:

• Kill (Shred) 1 Living Tree (see pictures of this being done)
• Send an email to Al Gore about your civic mindedness in buying Carbon Debits.
• Send an email to you certifying you are doing your part to save the Earth from Carbon Credits.

Carbon Debits are only $5!

Plus, if you're a real friend of global warming, for increasing amounts you can get an "I increased my carbon footprint" T-shirt, a wooden plaque, all the way up to a trip to sunny Arizona so you yourself can participate in the felling of more trees!

So do your part. Visit them today!

Unelected, unaccountable,

And now given more power.

Sounds par for the course, nowadays.

The slope's gettin' awfully slippery, folks.

Proven: Democrats give Aid and Comfort to the Enemy.

From an email I received from the Patriot Post:

More Democrat ‘aid and comfort’ to the enemy
By Mark Alexander

From the “keen sense of the obvious” department at Harvard University, researchers at the Kennedy School of Government reported this week what anyone with a lick of common sense already knew: When Democrats and their Leftmedia instruments of propaganda openly condemn Operation Iraqi Freedom, they embolden our enemy.

The research team determined that the more strident the political dissention of OIF reflected in U.S. media stories or polls (read: “Pollaganda”), the more frequent were attacks against civilians and U.S. military forces in Iraq. Notably, in areas with greater access to international news media, the quantifiable increases were greater.

The report, “Is There an ‘Emboldenment’ Effect? Evidence from the Insurgency in Iraq,”, concludes that attacks increased between seven and ten percent following “high-mention weeks,” like the two before the November 2006 midterm elections, when Leftist political rhetoric was at full steam.

Since the onset of hostilities with Jihadistan, and particularly in the wake of 9/11 and our military response (OEF and OIF), I have written a few pointed essays about how Democrats and their Leftmedia minions lend support to our enemy with political fodder designed to appeal to their Leftist constituency.

Of course, there is a distinction between constructive criticism and traitorous rhetoric, but in time of war one must choose words to express dissent very carefully. In this respect, some notable Democrats have been reckless to the point of treason.

Until the current presidential campaign, the benchmark for spewing anti-American rhetoric against OIF was established by John Kerry, whose ‘04 campaign modus operandi went well beyond thoughtful dissent about OIF. He even poked fun at the competence of our warriors, claiming they were “stuck in Iraq.”

Of course, Kerry had plenty of experience providing aid and comfort to the enemy, beginning with his infamous anti-American activities during the Vietnam War, with his comrade “Hanoi” Jane Fonda.

Who better than General Vo Nguyen Giap, supreme leader of the North Vietnamese Army, to outline how Kerry and the Leftmedia embolden the enemy. In a 1989 interview with CBS, Giap recalled: “We paid a high price [during the Tet offensive] but so did you [Americans]... not only in lives and materiel. Do not forget the war was brought into the living rooms of the American people... The most important result of the Tet offensive was it made you de-escalate the bombing, and it brought you to the negotiation table. It was, therefore, a victory... The war was fought on many fronts. At that time the most important one was American public opinion.” (emphasis added)

In ‘04, Kerry was joined in his efforts to embolden Iraqi insurgents by a cadre of congressional Demo-gogues who continued to spew traitorous rhetoric.

A year ago, I participated in high-level security briefings with CENTCOM and SOCOM commanders, one of whom discussed the topic “Media as Terrain” —how our adversaries use the media as a battleground.

Shortly after that briefing, I penned an essay that pointedly condemned Democrats for aiding and abetting the enemy. In “Memo to the American Media from Sheikh Muhammad al-Zawahiri,” I focused on a most revealing quote: “I say to you: that we are in a battle, and that more than half of this battle is taking place in the battlefield of the media.” That quote was part of an intercepted and authenticated communiqué from Osama bin Laden’s chief lieutenant to the now-departed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Read that quote again, and let it sink in.

Yet Democrats and their media organs continue to crank out cover stories like “We’re losing” from Newsweek.

Indeed, Islamist leaders must be thrilled by the support they receive from America’s “useful idiots,” those card-carrying apologists for a socialist political and economic agenda—essentially, advocates for Marxist-Leninist-Maoist collectivism.

Article III, Section 3 of the United States Constitution notes: “Treason against the United States, shall consist in... adhering to [our] enemies, giving them aid and comfort.”

When I raised my hand in preparation to serve my country, the oath I took was to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic... So help me God.”

According to General Giap, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and now researchers at Harvard, there is plenty of evidence that Demo-gogues and their Leftmedia talking heads have provided ample “aid and comfort” to the enemy.

There is already a petition to prosecute John Kerry for treason. Perhaps it is time to add a few more Demos to th list, starting with Kerry’s lapdog, Barack Obama.

Main Page.

Saturday Evening Barbershop...

Max Q:

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Minnesota #1 in health care...

When it comes to health, Minnesota is No. 1, but the Gopher state has slipped a bit when it comes to livability. That's according to CQ Press, which is out with its list of the most healthy and livable states for 2008.

Minnesota supplanted Vermont as the nation's most healthy state, marking the first time since 1999 that Minnesota has come out on top in the annual survey. In its "Health Care State Rankings 2008: Health Care Across America" survey released Wednesday, the publisher examined 21 factors such as access to health care providers, affordability of health care and the general health of the population to come up with this year's list.

After 20 years?

From here:

Obama Would Have Left if Wright Stayed

WASHINGTON (AP) - White House hopeful Barack Obama suggests he would have left his Chicago church had his longtime pastor, whose fiery anti-American comments about U.S. foreign policy and race relations threatened Obama's campaign, not stepped down.

``Had the reverend not retired, and had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country, for all its flaws, then I wouldn't have felt comfortable staying at the church,'' Obama said Thursday during a taping of the ABC talk show, ``The View.'' The interview will be broadcast Friday.

Let's see now-- at first Obama didn't have a clue, then he admitted he did have a clue, and denounced Wright, but then he said that he couldn't disown Wright any more than his now famously-racist (thanks to Obama) grandmother, but now he says he'd have left the church that he had attended for 20 years if Wright had not retired.

Everybody got that straight?

I didn't think so.

Pretty hard to tell the difference between left and Wright.

CATFIGHT!!!!

.
.
.
.

San-Fran Nan Pelosi and "Sniper Fire" Hillary vie for title of Queen Bee of the Moonbats.

Story here.

Sharia, Dhimmitude come to St. Cloud...

St. Cloud area banks now making special "interest free" loans for Muslims:

Specialty loan programs give Muslim buyers opportunities
By Britt Johnsen, bljohnsen@stcloudtimes.com

Published: March 26. 2008 12:30AM

It took more than two years, but Hassan Shire finally got a loan to start his business.

He hopes to get a permit soon to build his cafe — Kushite Gourmet Coffee — on West St. Germain Street.

"It was a happy ending," he said through interpreter Mohamoud Mohamed, founder and director of the St. Cloud Area Somali Salvation Organization.

But those two years weren't easy. Shire, a Muslim, had difficulty obtaining a loan that would accommodate his faith. Islamic laws forbid Muslims from earning or paying interest.

SASSO is working with some area banks to help more Somali Muslims find success through home ownership or entrepreneurship.

Banks are creating loan programs that allow Muslims such as Shire to obtain financing for homes, businesses or cars. The programs meet American banking standards and regulations while complying with Islamic beliefs.

Now isn't that special? They have their own taxpayer-funded prayer rooms in public schools, their own taxpayer-footed footbaths at airports, now their own "interest free" loans.

Where the hell do I sign up?

Wednesday Hero Blogburst, 3-26-08

This Weeks Hero Was Suggested by Kathi

Soldiers' Angels Living Legends Team
May No Soldier Go Unloved

Living Legends began in May 2005 with a very small team of seven dedicated angels. The team's mission was to let the families and friends of fallen heroes know that we were here to support them and to honor their loved one. At the same time, they had to make sure that they were sensitive to what the family was going through. While this team has grown tremendously, they have worked very hard to maintain that same level of dedication and sensitivity. This team is staffed with trained volunteers who carry out a very difficult mission for Soldiers' Angels. Due to their dedication, Soldiers' Angels is able to honor those heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation and to pay their respects and offer their deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones grieving the painful loss of their son or daughter; husband or wife; brother or sister; mom or dad; aunt or uncle; their friend.

For more information on the Soldiers' Angels Living Legends Team, you can visit their site.

TSometimes a hero is one who sacrifices everything in their life to help others. And sometimes a hero is one who sacrifices nothing more than their time.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Charter Scam, Parte Deux...***UPDATED***

I received the following communication today from Charter Communications:

Dear Leo

The Charter High-Speed for Life auction is ending in 48 hours! (Wed. 3/26, 12pm CDT)

The current high bid is only $37,429.36. There is still time to bid to win Charter High-Speed
for Life – but time is running out.

Go to the auction to submit your bid!

Complete auction and sweepstakes rules

Good luck!
Charter Communications®



©2008 Charter Communications.

This email was sent by Charter Communications
12405 Powerscourt Drive
St. Louis, MO 63131

My response was thus:

Dear people at Charter Communications:
Why, in all that is sacred, would I choose to spend $37,429.36 on "high speed internet" for life?

Let's break it down here, shall we?

At $54.99 per month, the current price for your highest internet speed, your currently-stated high bid of $37429.36 would buy nearly 681 months, or nearly 57 years of service.

Given that, note that I am:

1. Currently 48 years old. Which means that I'll be at the young age of 105 before I even reach the "break even" point. Even if the high bidder was a wealthy 20-year old, that would mean that the bidder would need to reach the ripe old age of 77 years old before he or she started getting "free" internet.
   
2. That is, of course, given that the price of internet will remain constant or go higher in the coming years. Moore's Law suggests otherwise. The cost of long-distance telephony over time is a good analogy.
   
3. That is, of course, also given that high speed internet remains in the same form and infrastructure 57 years from today as it is today. This I highly doubt.

These considerations lead to a number of conclusions:

1. I will not bid on this auction, given the fact that "my momma didn't raise no fool."
2. I'm quite taken aback that a supposedly above-board organization like Charter Communications would actually pull a scam like this. If I could see through this ruse, then certainly anyone with half a brain, taking more than a minute to look at it, can figure it out as well. This cannot bode well, IMO, for public relations. There may have been a redeeming value if the proceeds of said auction were to go to charity; but since they are not, it is my assessment that there are truly nefarious, shady, con-man like intentions at play.
   
3. Given your highly restrictive rules, specifically that heirs aren't able to take advantage of the spoils of "victory" should the high bidder meet an untimely demise, (not to mention that after three years, if you move out of range of Charter, you lose your $37k) stands as proof to me that you have less-than-honorable intentions in this matter.
   
4. Given the above, as a current Charter customer, I wouldn't feel bad at all about discontinuing my long-standing relationship with Charter Cable, and Charter Cable High Speed Internet, specifically. I don't make it a practice to do business with con-men.
   

Sincerely,

Leo Pusateri

****UPDATE****

I just got off the phone with a representative from Charter Communications, who agreed that the auction was getting out of hand, but stated that they couldn't call it off. After speaking with the marketing department, the representative told me that Charter Communications will issue a press release later today that they have decided to donate all the proceeds from this auction to Habitat for Humanity.

***UPDATE 3-26-08, 10:34pm******

The bloodletting has ended. Some poor schmuck from Lawrenceville, Georgia got left holding the bag for $71,540.... at that rate, he'll need to live for over 108 more years just to break even.

At any rate, yours truly was instrumental in convincing Charter that it would be good P.R. move to donate the proceeds of the auction... therefore, I'm responsible for $71,540 going to Habitat for Humanity.

Who says blogs don't make a difference? :-)

But that aside, my only remaining question is, how did someone that dumb come into so much money?

MN Mon...(updated)

Kinda like an empty school.

No Class.

Mitch brought it to my attention:

So anyway, here’s my question: When you copy and paste a line that 5,000 other leftybloggers write:

If bloggers are saying one thing about John McCain this week it’s that the 71-year-old has some serious grit. Of course, that grit comes in the form of McCain Mouth, a deformity that apparently causes teeth to look like a mess of yellowed and contorted Chiclets. Today, BuzzFeed.com has picked up on the mouth meme, turning McCain’s piano-key chompers into an official phenomenon.

The consensus? “They’re old.”

Well, not nearly as old as the Senator is.

Because - you do realize this, don’t you, Ms. Priesmeyer? - Senator McCain had a bunch of his teeth broken off at the gumline while he was being held as a POW. Which, of course, can set a guy up for a whole lifetime o’ dental hurt.

But you didn’t know that - right? If you’d known that, you’d never, ever have written such a deeply, disturbingly dumb piece. Right?

I was there this morning. Still no apology nor retraction. Surprising. Not.

****UPDATE****

MN Mon has issued an apology...

UPDATE: McCain's teeth -- an apology

To answer the question from GOP blogger Michael Brodkorb that kicked off the controversy about this post yesterday: No, neither Molly Priesmeyer nor I was aware that McCain had had his teeth broken as a North Vietnamese prisoner of war. No, we would not have piled on with further aspersions on the appearance of his teeth if we had known.

The item was not intended to make a serious point of any sort, as we thought the headline suggested right off the bat ("The dental gap: Does McCain have presidential teeth?"). It was a bit of web ephemera that we found funny mainly for its absurdity--sort of like the videos we've posted from Obama Girl, the McCain Girls, and La Pequena, and items we've written about phenomena such as social media sites obsessed with Barack Obama. The POW backstory turns a joke noted in passing into a lousy joke. And we're sorry for that.

We're also sorry that this dust-up has inadvertently provided yet another sideshow in which genuinely important questions about the candidate and his campaign are circumvented. There's far too much of that going around.

--Steve Perry

...that, in fact, was a good, apparently sincere apology. The only question that remains in my mind, is why was the apology issued by Steve Perry, when the offending article was written by Molly Priesmier?

In such a hateful country...

Michelle Obama made out pretty well...

Mrs. Obama went to "work for the community" at the University of Chicago Hospitals in 2002 as the executive director of community affairs, a liaison between the institution and its surrounding community of rich and poor.

Two months after her husband was sworn in as U.S. senator in January 2005, she was promoted to vice president of external affairs and community relations.

In 2004, according to the Chicago Tribune, her salary was $121,910. In Zanesville that year, the median household income was $37,192. For the people of Zanesville, paying off student loans from Princeton and Harvard Law School is a problem they'd like to have.

[SNIP]

One of the corporate boards she sat on, according to Crain's Chicago Business, was that of TreeHouse Foods, to which she was elected in June 2005. That year she was paid $45,000 for being on the TreeHouse board. 2005 was a very good year for the Obamas.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Michelle was on the board of TreeHouse Foods in November 2005, when one of its divisions announced plans to close its pickle and relish plant in La Junta, Colo., displacing 150 mainly Hispanic workers.

The following year her husband, Barack, chastised Wal-Mart for its treatment of workers. The TreeHouse workers could have used a helping hand from Michelle.

Paying for summer camp got a lot easier when her salary at the University of Chicago Hospitals nearly tripled to $316,962 in 2005, just after her husband became the junior senator from Illinois. A sheer coincidence, of course, that has nothing to do with her husband casting votes on the future of health care in the U.S. Senate, or that her name might be a donation magnet.

Yep, only in old mean, hateful, awful, "G-ddm America!"

Q: How do you know when Hillary Clinton is lying?

A: She opens her mouth:



Looks like yet another "Sir Edmund" moment, eh?

Grandma Got Run Over by Obama...(bumped from Mar 21)

CHORUS:
Grandma got run over by Obama
On his way to Denver the other eve.
You might say Obama's not a racist,
But as for me an' Grandpa, we believe.

He'd been taking so much flak now,
From being buds with Pastor Wright.
Who spread his hate-speech 'bout our nation,
Even though Obama's mom was white.

When we found her the next morning,
At the scene of the attack
She had "racist" tattooed on her forehead,
And Obama's footprints 'cross her back.

CHORUS

Now we're so proud of ol' Obama,
He'd explained it oh so well.
There's race problems in this country
But even Grandma's racist
so what the hell! (Refrain)

It's not a campaign without Grandma,
All the family's dressed in black.
And we just can't help but wonder
Who's the next family member he'll attack! (HE'LL ATTACK!)

CHORUS

I've warned all my friends and
neighbors,
Better watch out for yourselves.
They should never vote for POTUS,
A guy who won't wear flags on his lapel.

Sing it, Grandpa!

CHORUS

Update: I got the idea for and immediately wrote this after I saw the title of Matt Abe's post on True North. As the body of the message was hidden, I hadn't seen that he had already done a fine parody. My apologies to Matt Abe.

Click here for main page and latest posts!

Must. Remember. Milk.

A public service message for men with wives in their 40s:

And if that doesn't work, may I suggest domestic camouflage?

That is all.

Hey moonbats--happy with yourselves now?

Seeing as how you have these bozos on your side?

CHICAGO — Six Iraq war protesters disrupted an Easter Mass on Sunday, shouting and squirting fake blood on themselves and parishioners in a packed auditorium.

Three men and three women startled the crowd during Cardinal Francis George's homily, yelling "Even the Pope calls for peace" as they were removed from the Mass by security guards and ushers.

One Mass attendee, Mike Wainscott of Chicago, yelled at the anti-war protesters.

"Are you happy with yourselves?" he said. "There were kids in there. You scared little kids with your selfish act. Are you happy now?"

The group, which calls itself Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War, said in a statement after the arrests that they targeted the Holy Name Cathedral on Easter to reach a large audience, including Chicago's most prominent Catholic citizens and the press, which usually covers the services.

Moronic. Self-centered. Self-aggrandizing. Imbecilic. Bastards.

Looks like Obama's church picked yet another winner...

(emphases mine) CHICAGO — The new pastor of Barack Obama’s church delivered a defiant defense of its retiring reverend Sunday, comparing media coverage of Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. to a modern-day lynching that resembles Jesus’ death at the hands of the Romans.

In a sunrise Easter sermon, Rev. Otis Moss III never mentioned Wright by name, but implied that his mentor, who has delivered sermons in which he likened the U.S. to the Ku Klux Klan and declared it damned for its “state-sponsored terrorism,” is facing the same challenges Jesus did.”No one should start a ministry with lynching, no one should end their ministry with lynching,” Moss said.

Comparing Jeremiah Wright to the fate of Jesus Christ?

Last time I checked, Jesus Christ didn't advocate for the annihilation of the Jews. Jesus forgave the Jews.

If Rev. Jeremiah Wright was the victim of a modern day "lynching," the "lynching" was done by his own hand, and by his own rope.

'Nuff said.

A Happy Easter!

I don't know who to give credit for this...

But it's brilliant:

Darth Hillary, Sith Lord

Larry Pogemiller: Elitist.

As is such the case with liberal democrats... From a source of mine

On Saturday March 8, 2008 State Senator Larry Pogemiller and State Representative Phyllis Kahn held a town a meeting at the Brian Coyle Center in South Minneapolis. The advertised purpose of the meeting was to get feedback from constitutents on topics like the state budget, the gas tax and transportation funding. In reality, it was a way for these two long-time DFL incumbents to tell you what they think of your ability (or lack thereof) to think and act for yourself. Direct from Senator Pogemiller:

"I think it's simplistic and naive to say people can spend their money better than the government."and he went on to include... "The notion that everybody can individually spend their money better than government I, I just think is trite, wrongheaded and anti-democratic."

Oh, good and gracious Mr.Pogemiller... forgive we, the plebiscite masses, for not being as intellectually gifted as the likes of you and your elite liberal comrades! To you, oh wise and powerful Pogemiller, do we pledge our lives and our fortunes, and our unwavering trust in you to do what is best for us. How dare we, the "little people" even have the audacity to think that we know better what to do with our own money than you and your enlightened liberal democrat brethren. I do so bow to your superior wisdom. Forgive our misunderstanding of what is and isn't democratic. A thousand pardons, Sahib.

NOT.

Well, on second thought, it may indeed be "anti-democratic" to believe that people who earn the money should have a larger say in how it is or isn't spent, or can decide as well as the government ways in which to spend the money they earn. Well, anti-Democrat (DFL) party, at any rate.

His royal benificent Lord Potentate, The "Grand and Glorious" Lawrence Pogemiller has given us proof that that is indeed the case.

***UPDATE****

Barry Hickethier also wrote about this at True North, and has Emperor Pogemiller's soundbite here.

How much would you pay for internet for life? (updated and bumped)

That's the interesting question Charter Cable is asking, and acting upon.

Right now, Charter Cable/Internet is having an auction; with the highest bidder to receive high-speed internet service for life (at Charter's highest speed available).

Mind you that the highest speed available from Charter (10mps) is now 54.99 per month.

As of the time of this writing, (12:01am, CDT, 3-13-08) the high bid was $12,200; (and this amount is continuing to climb at a rapid rate--and the auction doesn't end til March 26th, 2008--another 13 days) That means that even if there are no more bids, given that the winning bidder had instead spent a like amount of money over time for premium high speed cable internet, such a price would command nearly 221 months of service. That means that the winning bidder at the current high bid as of this writing would have to wait over 18 1/2 years before the investment started paying off. This doesn't even take into account the amount of interest that could have been made on the same amount of money over time, which would be staggering, at the least.

Note also, that even if the high bidder dies the day after the auction ends, his or her heirs won't get a day of high speed internet. Charter will pocket the dough.

Also, bear in mind, that if the high bidder would happen to need to move to another location where Charter internet is not available, they may get a small portion of their bidded amount back if the move happens within a three-year time period of winning the auction. Otherwise, tough shit pal, you lose.

And yet more importantly, internet and even home computers 18 years from now will look very different, and "high speed cable" will by then have probably gone the way of the buggy whip.

Now if the proceeds were going toward a worthwhile charity, I may see a point in bidding $12,200+ for high speed internet for life. But there is no mention of any charity nor is there any mention of the direction of the proceeds from the auction. I contacted Charter via email and haven't yet received a response. At this point, it looks like a marketing gimmick that's going to result in a windfall for Charter and a financial raping of some poor dupe who didn't know when to quit bidding.

No doubt P.T. Barnum is alive and well, with a new place of employment at the headquarters of Charter.com.

*****UPDATE*****

As of 4:30pm CDT on March 13, 2008, the high bid is $13,351.00. Using the above formula, that amount, given that rates did not change (which, as JRoosh has noted in the comments, would be highly unlikely, as rates will most likely decrease) would buy a customer nearly 243 months, or 20 1/4 years of service before the "free service" would start.

Charter has yet to respond whether any proceeds will go to charity, and there is still nothing on Charter's site that suggests that any of it will.

Now I have no problem with Charter getting rich off the deal, I guess, but in the end there's bound to be one pissed-off bidder who's only response will be "Doh!" and a slap to the forehead when he/she realizes that they have been taken to the proverbial cleaners.

***UPDATE AND BUMP***

I was able to get in touch with a representative from the corporate offices of Charter Cable via phone, who confirmed that at this point none of the proceeds of the auction are going to charity; however, upon conferring with a marketing official, he stated that the marketing official thought it would be "a good idea."

As it sits now, 4:05pm CDT, March 14, the high bid for "internet for life" sits at $16,150.

At this point, all else being equal, and not figuring potential interest earned, the "break even" day if that were the winning bid, would come in 293 months, or nearly 24.5 years.

Geesh... this would be comical if it wasn't so tragic.

I should have re-titled this post, "Fools and their money."

****UPDATE Number 3******

As of 7:22 pm CDT, March 15th, the bidding is now $19,000. That works out to 345 months, or nearly 28-years, 10-months before the break-even point!!!

To put it in illegal immigrant lingo: Ay CARUMBA~~~

****UPDATE Number 4****

As of Saturday, 3-22-08, at 1:05pm, the high bid stands at $34,365.00 (with 4 days left). Using our heretofore formula, the current high bid as it stands would take 624 months, or 52 years, just to break even. Even if the high bidder happens to be a wealthy, albeit idiotic 20-year old, the person would be 72 years old before he or she started getting "free" high-speed internet!

Will we even have "internet" as we know it in another 52 years???

The Obama Man Can!

Pretty much sums up the depth of his message:

The Company one Keeps.

The Church that Barack Obama has attended for the past twenty years has endorsed and published an article that calls for the destruction of Israel, that according to World Net Daily.

JERUSALEM – Sen. Barack Obama’s Chicago church reprinted a manifesto by Hamas that defended terrorism as legitimate resistance, refused to recognize the right of Israel to exist and compared the terror group’s official charter – which calls for the murder of Jews – to America’s Declaration of Independence.

The Hamas piece was published on the “Pastor’s Page” of the Trinity United Church of Christ newsletter reserved for Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., whose anti-American, anti-Israel remarks landed Obama in hot water, prompting the presidential candidate to deliver a major race speech earlier this week.

Hamas, responsible for scores of shootings, suicide bombings and rocket launchings against civilian population centers, is listed as a terrorist group by the U.S. State Department.

The revelation follows a recent WND article quoting Israeli security officials who expressed “concern” about Robert Malley, an adviser to Obama who has advocated negotiations with Hamas and providing international assistance to the terrorist group.

So, not only has Barack’s pastor damned America; he saw it fit to endorse an organization whose main purpose is to oversee the destruction of Israel.

The Rev. Wright saga continues.

(click on thumbnail below to view document)

Dems: err... your slip is showing...

That about sums up this story at Fox News about democrats vowing once again to end the race debate in the 2008 campaign:

National Public Radio national correspondent Juan Williams, a FOX News analyst, said a potential complication following Obama’s speech is the attention that it continues to draw to the issue of race. It poses a problem in a campaign where the candidates are trying to focus on the economy, national security and health care.

“He doesn’t want to be the black candidate in the race, because he wants to be the candidate who transcends race … suddenly he’s back in the box as just a black candidate,” Williams said.

The race issue appears to have had an effect on voters.

A CBS poll showed that 25 percent of those surveyed had heard “a lot” about Wright’s comments, while 33 percent had heard some. Of those aware of the story, 15 percent of Democrats, 36 percent of Independents and 47 percent of Republicans said it made them see Obama less favorably.

A Rasmussen survey taken from March 14-16 of 1,200 likely voters showed 56 percent of those interviewed were less likely to vote for Obama because of the Wright’s sermons.

And for the second day in a row, Clinton took the lead in the Gallup daily tracking poll. The poll from March 15-17 showed Clinton with 47 percent support among Democrats and Obama with 44 percent. The two candidates have been neck-and neck throughout the month of March.

Obama’s speech Tuesday was widely praised as a heartfelt, candid assessment of racial divisions that put bitterness between whites and blacks in historical context.

“With this speech Barack Obama showed he’s ready to be president of the United States,” said Democratic strategist Dan Gerstein. “The question now is, is America ready for Barack Obama?”

But it was also widely noted that Obama will probably not be done with the race issue if he becomes the Democratic candidate.

The Democratic candidates are finally starting to realize that when it comes to tackling race, they run the risk doing nothing other than airing their own dirty laundry.

The dirty little secret is that, despite their best efforts, race will always be an issue in a democrat campaign for any office in the land, because for the past five decades, democrats have set up their policies and rhetoric in such a manner that race matters.

Whether it's regarding affirmative action or any of a myriad of class-warfare inspired talking points, the white limousine liberal establishment have set up the plantation in such a manner as to convince a whole race of people that they are victims; and as such, are powerless in matters of self-determination, and impotent with regard to their affairs without the "benevolent, paternal assistance" of the white limousine liberal establishment; who promise to be there to distribute meager morsels of sustenance as token rewards for their continuing allegiance.

And woe be to those who stray off of that plantation.

I have said it often, and I'll say it again. If the KKK, the Nazis and the Aryan Nation suddenly came to power, they could do no more damage to Black Americans than that wrought by the limousine liberal establishment over the past five decades.

One cannot extract race from democrat politics. They are forever and inextricably intertwined; that is, as long as there continue to be people of differing shades of melatonin who are willing to buy into their empty promises and scaremongering tactics.

A tale of two grandmothers?

Here, and here.

We're from the government and we're here to help....NOT.

Craig Westover has a must-read article in the Pi-Press that calls proposed socialized healthcare in Minnesota what it is: A train in search of a wreck. Be sure to read the whole thing. Regarding this article, Steve Gottwalt, who voted against the measure in committee and plans to vote "no" when the measure comes to the floor, stated,

This is EXACTLY the truth (and my deep concern) about the health care reform legislation charging through the Legislature at this time (HF3391 Huntley)! Anyone who cares at all about health care MUST READ THIS!!

Unfortunately, I have it on good word that our wayward governor has signaled that he would sign this bill into law should it reach his desk. It's time to storm the Governor's office with phone calls, faxes, and emails and have him veto this measure!

If the government can't even get a simple thing like light bulbs right, how can you even begin to trust them with your health care?

Now isn't that typical?

Ralph returns from the doctor and tells his wife that the doctor has told him he has only 24 hours to live.

Given this prognosis, Ralph asks his wife for sex. Naturally, she agrees, and they make love.

About six hours later, the husband goes to his wife and says, 'Honey, you know I now have only 18 hours to live. Could we please do it one more time?'

Of course, the wife agrees and they do it again.

Later, as the man gets into bed, he looks at his watch and realizes he now has only 8 hours left. He touches his wife's shoulder and asks, 'Honey, please ... just one more time before I die?'

She says, 'Of course, dear.' And they make love for the third time. After this session, the wife rolls over and falls asleep.

Ralph, however, worried about his impending death, tosses and turns until he's down to 4 more hours.

He taps his wife, who rouses. 'Honey, I have only 4 more hours. Do you think we could maybe ......?'

At this point the wife sits up and says, 'Listen Ralph, I have to get up in the morning ... you don't.'

A new Olympic event?

Very impressive, to say the least:

glumbert - Korean Freestyle Slalom Rollerblading

Man-Bear-Pig Digest..

Welcome to an inaugural edition in what I hope will become a semi-regular feature at the Ice Palace, where we don't fear global warming. Hell, living in the frozen tundra, the staff here at the Ice Palace would gladly trade a tropical hut for our current digs.

In our first story, a coalition of businesses are campaigning against legislation that would supposedly halt global warming in its tracks.

Gee, could it be because

1. It's legislation to address something that doesn't even exist..
2. It would cost millions of jobs, or
3. Suck thousands of dollars from household incomes...

What is it about the genetic makeup of liberal members of congress that predispose them to want to send our economy, not to mention our techological progress, back into the stone age?

Next, we find that Elsie the Cow is public enemy #1.

Britain's finest scientific minds have turned their attention to a problem that they claim is threatening the future of the entire planet - farm animal flatulence.

Finest scientific minds? If that's all the Brits have to offer in terms of brainpower, then they're in sorrier shape than I thought.

Moving on, I believe the Aussies have the best idea yet to sell the global warming scam to the masses: Tax cuts! Yeah, I know it'll never fly here. A tax-cut to a democrat is like a crucifix to a vampire.

No, liberals know that the only way that they can create a dependency class and simultaneously cram socialist policies veiled as climate change down the collective's throat is by browbeating us that if you don't subscribe to their fairy tale, you're against the children.

And finally, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, in true apologetic liberal form, engages in a lip-lock with communist China, and dons his sackcloth and ashes, apologizing for the rest of the world:

"Countries like China and India should industrialize rapidly without repeating the mistakes we made," he said, urging developed countries to give more financial support on transferring clean technology to developing countries [the answer--in a nutshell, for the continued non-stop efforts to perpetuate the MMGW myth--ED].

"We have got to accept the responsibility of the problems we created and help China, India and other countries to develop in a more sustainable way," Blair said.

On the upcoming Olympics in Beijing, Blair said he believed that China would put on a great Games with fantastic facilities and it would be very exciting to see a success in the Beijing Olympics.

Having confirmed he himself would come back for the event in August, Blair praised Beijing's efforts on trying to make sure the Olympics are an "environmental responsible" one.

Yep. Forget the fact that the Chi-coms are ready to lay waste to thousands of people in Tibet, and have denied thousands their human rights to worship as they please.

But as long as they give a hoot and don't pollute, they're okay in Blair's book.

Meanwhile, acknowledging which side their bread is buttered, these bozos continue to whistle past the graveyard and ignore the mounting evidence that the gig is up, and that their gravy-train of pork and socialism will soon be devoid of steam.

SO, I went into the hospital for a leg operation...

...and all I got was this new anus.

A German retiree is taking a hospital to court after she went in for a leg operation and got a new anus instead, the Daily Telegraph is reporting.

The woman woke up to find she had been mixed up with another patient suffering from incontinence who was to have surgery on her sphincter.

The clinic in Hochfranken, Bavaria, has since suspended the surgical team.

Now the woman is planning to sue the hospital. She still needs the leg operation and is searching for another hospital to do it.

I kinda figgered we had enough A-holes in the world.

Perhaps I was wrong.

Dingell-Berry,....

Will someone slap this moron already?

A Michigan congressman wants to put a 50-cent tax on every gallon of gasoline to try to cut back on Americans' consumption.

Polls show that a majority of Americans support policies that would reduce greenhouse gases. But when it comes to paying for it, it's a different story.

Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., wants to help cut consumption with a gas tax but some don't agree with the idea, according to a new poll by the National Center for Public Policy Research.

The poll, scheduled to be released on Thursday, shows 48 percent don't support paying even a penny more, 28 percent would pay up to 50 cents more, 10 percent would pay more than 50 cents and 8 percent would pay more than a dollar.

And while you're at it, slap them too.

Morons.

Wednesday Hero Blogburst, 3-19-08

Spc. Monica Lin Brown
19 years old from Lake Jackson, Texas
4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team


Army Spc. Monica Lin Brown has done something only a very few female soldiers in American history have ever done. She's been awarded the Silver Star.

Brown saved the lives of fellow soldiers after a roadside bomb tore through a convoy of Humvees in the eastern Paktia province of Afghanistan in April 2007. "I did not really think about anything except for getting the guys to a safer location and getting them taken care of and getting them out of there."

"We stopped the convoy. I opened up my door and grabbed my aid bag," Brown said.

She started running toward the burning vehicle as insurgents opened fire. All five wounded soldiers had scrambled out.

"I assessed the patients to see how bad they were. We tried to move them to a safer location because we were still receiving incoming fire," Brown said. "So we dragged them for 100 or 200 meters, got them away from the Humvee a little bit," she said. "I was in a kind of a robot-mode, did not think about much but getting the guys taken care of."

For Brown, who knew all five wounded soldiers, it became a race to get them all to a safer location. Eventually, they moved the wounded some 500 yards away and treated them on site before putting them on a helicopter for evacuation.

"I did not really have time to be scared," Brown said. "Running back to the vehicle, I was nervous (since) I did not know how badly the guys were injured. That was scary."

The military said Brown's "bravery, unselfish actions and medical aid rendered under fire saved the lives of her comrades and represents the finest traditions of heroism in combat."

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

On dodging a bullet...

Literally.

The US Supreme Court appears ready to rule that Americans have a constitutional right to keep a gun in their home for self-defence, a ruling that could help Republicans in the upcoming presidential election.

Hearing the most important gun rights case in nearly 70 years, the justices on Tuesday spent 98 minutes engrossed in a lively debate about British and American legal traditions relating to the right to bear arms, especially in self-defence.

The absolute saddest thing about this whole affair is that it went to SCOTUS in the first place.

The Constitution and the Bill of Rights were put in place to protect people from the government. Period.

Why is that so difficult for liberals to understand?

More here.

Always on the pulse of Minnesota's electorate...

The Minnesota DFL shot itself in the foot, again.

Just a few tidbits:

1. Do you approve or disapprove of the job being done by the Minnesota Legislature?

• 29 % approve
• 58% disapprove
• 13% not sure

2. Last month the Minnesota Legislature passed a transportation funding bill that will raise the state gas tax, raise license registration fees and allow counties in the metro area to raise the sales tax in order to pay for highway and transit project. Do you support or oppose that legislation?

• 35% support
• 63% oppose
• 2% not sure.

(oh, and I love this one:)
3. Would you be more likely to vote for a legislator who voted for the transportation tax increases? Less Likely? Or would it not make a difference?

• 19% more likely
• 50% less likely
• 28% no difference
• 3% not sure

4. Governor Pawlenty's proposed plan to balance the State's 935 million dollar budget deficit without raising taxes calls for a mix of spending cuts, using budget reserves, closing a corporate tax loophole, and slightly reducing the state sales tax. Do you support or oppose this plan?

• 58% support
• 29% oppose
• 3% not sure

See the rest of the poll, broken down into demographics, here.

Leave it to the MN DFL to overplay its hand, every time.

November's gonna be fun, kids.

King Obama?

This man has absolutely no knowledge of the Constitution:

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) -- Democrat Barack Obama on Monday promised Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans help with their grievances - save one. "I know it drives you nuts. But I'm not going to lower the drinking age," the presidential candidate said.

Army veteran Ernest Johnson, 23, of Connecticut, said one of the things that peeved him before he turned 21 was that he couldn't come home and drink a beer - even though he was old enough to serve in the armed services and die for his country.

Obama told Johnson he sympathized, but that setting the legal drinking age at 21 had helped reduce drunken driving incidents and should remain.

Do I really have to remind the Senator of the Tenth Amendment?

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Just where in the Constitution is the power for the President of the United States to severally and/or otherwise dictate to states their respective legal drinking age?

Obama, just like every other liberal, looks at public office not as a public service, but as a seat of power over others. Forever placing themselves above their constituencies with their self-perceived superiority, not to mention their willingness to wield their will over the "little people" while giving themselves a pass is part and parcel of their genetic makeup.

Which is why every freedom-loving American must never be lulled by their empty-suited promises, and should ever be on-guard when and if these intellectually-challenged bozos gain power.

To Obama and other libs, the Constitution is merely a quaint piece of paper scribbled on by some dead white guys.

They didn't really mean that.

President Barack Obama? Worth another look...

If the prospect of a "President Barack Obama" doesn't scare you now, maybe this will change your mind.

Obama's Plan for National Defense:

"I will slow our development of future combat systems."

More like a suicide pact, if you ask me.

Folks, Obama and Hillary are living proof that it still ain't safe to vote democrat.

Just when you thought you'd seen everything...

Add yet another to the "stupid victims list."

NEW YORK (AP) — A businessman claims in a lawsuit that he was injured when a stripper giving him a lap dance swiveled and smacked him in the face with the heel of her shoe.

Stephen Chang, a securities trader, said in court papers filed Friday that he was at the Hot Lap Dance Club near Madison Square Garden and was getting a paid lap dance when the accident occurred early Nov. 2, 2007.

According to the lawsuit, as the dancer swung around, the heel of her shoe hit him in the eye, causing him “serious injuries.”

A man who identified himself as the manager of the Hot Lap Dance Club said he was unaware of the accident or the state Supreme Court lawsuit. The club’s lawyer, Stephen Ateshoglou, did not immediately return a call.

I weep for our nation.

Stephen Chang, you're a moron.

Commander in Chief? I think not.

Commander in Chief? I think not.

Unless she wants to head a kamikaze patrol.

Wanting to burnish her anti-American victory credentials, and taking a move out of Harry Reid’s (D-Morticians Union) playbook, Commander-In-Chief wannabe Hillary Clinton joined in the ranting of the rabid anti-war left and, with extreme prejudice, threw our soldiers and their mission under the proverbial bus:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Hillary Clinton charged on Monday the Iraq war may end up costing Americans $1 trillion and further strain the economy, as she made her case for a prompt U.S. troop pullout from a war “we cannot win.”

This week marks the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, but voters now say the economy is their top issue in the campaign for the November presidential election.

Clinton, the former first lady who is trying to convince voters she has foreign policy gravitas, hurled criticism both at her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, and the Republicans’ choice, Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Foreign policy gravitas? Declaring the Iraq war lost, in spite of the successes of this past year?

Commander in chief, my hairy backside.

The more and more I see these two demo-bozos slip into their real character, or lack thereof, the better and better John McCain is looking.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are not fit to run a one-car funeral, much less the world’s most potent (and benevolent) military.

An Ice Palace Exclusive: John Kerry's Singing and Acting Debut!

Long before John Kerry's "Christmas in Cambodia" was seared, seared, I tell you--in his microbrain, John Kerry tried his hand at acting in Hollywood. The crack staff (or is it the staff on crack?) at The Ice Palace have uncovered a long-lost audition tape made in the early 1960s.

Let's take a look at it now!



Now one may argue that Mr. Kerry had a more successful career in his chosen path as politician and golddigger, but given the bungles and snafus everpresent in his political career, perhaps he should have stuck to acting.

A quick public service announcement, as St. Patty's day approaches...

From a friend:

If you had purchased $1000.00 of Nortel stock one year ago, it would now be worth $49.00.

With Enron, you would have had $16.50 left of the original $1000.00.

With WorldCom, you would have had less than $5.00 left.

If you had purchased $1000 of Delta Air Lines stock you would have $49.00 left.

But, if you had purchased $1,000.00 worth of beer/wine one year ago, drank all the beer/wine,

then turned in the cans/bottles for the aluminium recycling REFUND, you would have had $214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle.

Let people you care about know...
and tell them to Start Now!!!

What hath the Democrat Majority Wrought?

Representative Jeb Hensarling gave this speech against earmarks:



There's a reason why the democrat-controlled congress has an approval rating that hovers at or under 20 %.

(h/t Teapot Tantrums)

President Barack Obama...

Are you scared yet?

You damned well better be.

"I will slow our development of future combat systems."

Why are liberals trying to kill us?

That aside, thank God; literally, for Jeremiah Wright.

Speaking of Jeremiah Wright, Obama had stated that he hadn't heard any incendiary rhetoric from the mouth of his pastor prior to the videos that were widely distributed last week, and Obama made off like he didn't even know about Wright's rhetoric until he heard the videos.

Yet, even before this whole flak started to gain momentum, the NYT reported on March 7 of this year,

CHICAGO, March 5 — The Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., senior pastor of the popular Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago and spiritual mentor to Senator Barack Obama, thought he knew what he would be doing on Feb. 10, the day of Senator Obama’s presidential announcement.

After all, back in January, Mr. Obama had asked Mr. Wright if he would begin the event by delivering a public invocation.

But Mr. Wright said Mr. Obama called him the night before the Feb. 10 announcement and rescinded the invitation to give the invocation.

“Fifteen minutes before Shabbos I get a call from Barack,” Mr. Wright said in an interview on Monday, recalling that he was at an interfaith conference at the time. “One of his members had talked him into uninviting me,” Mr. Wright said, referring to Mr. Obama’s campaign advisers.

Some black leaders are questioning Mr. Obama’s decision to distance his campaign from Mr. Wright because of the campaign’s apparent fear of criticism over Mr. Wright’s teachings, which some say are overly Afrocentric to the point of excluding whites. [Now there's an understatement if I've ever heard one--ED]

“Senator Obama is proud of his pastor and his church, but because of the type of attention it was receiving on blogs and conservative talk shows, he decided to avoid having statements and beliefs being used out of context and forcing the entire church to defend itself,” Mr. Burton said.

Instead, Mr. Obama asked Mr. Wright’s successor as pastor at Trinity, the Rev. Otis Moss III, to speak. Mr. Moss declined.

In recent weeks, word of Mr. Obama’s treatment of Mr. Wright has reached black leaders like the Rev. Al Sharpton and given them pause.

“I have not discussed this with Senator Obama in detail, but I can see why callers of mine and other clergymen would be concerned, because the issue is standing by your own pastor,” Mr. Sharpton said.

So the Rev. Al was less-than-pleased. But my friends, Obama's understanding of the possible need to distance himself from Rev. Wright was noted nearly a year ago, in April 2007:

From an April 2007 New York Times article:

“If Barack gets past the primary, he might have to publicly distance himself from me,” Mr. Wright said with a shrug. “I said it to Barack personally, and he said yeah, that might have to happen.”

Somehow that quote seems relevant today, with the news that Barack Obama has distanced himself from Jeremiah Wright.

Even if the heretofore thought-of- clean-as-the-wind-driven snow Barack Obama survives this flap (and I don't think he will); he will no doubt be damaged goods as the good Senator John McCain hands him his backside in November.

Obama and "the Rev."

Obama appeared on Hannity and Colmes just an hour ago, and stated,

“Let me say at the outset that I vehemently disagree and strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy,” he said in the statement. “I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it’s on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue.”

Hmmm... I wonder if Michelle Obama has gotten the memo:


My guess is "no."

Obama has also stated,

The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation. When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning of my presidential campaign. I made it clear at the time that I strongly condemned his comments. But because Rev. Wright was on the verge of retirement, and because of my strong links to the Trinity faith community, where I married my wife and where my daughters were baptized, I did not think it appropriate to leave the church.

So, Barack Obama had been going to the church for 20 years now, and all of Wright's sermons have been pure as the wind-driven snow, save for these few, eh?

Tell me another story, Barack.