Trend continues

LAURENS, S.C. - A former fifth-grade teacher accused of having sex with her 11-year-old student was ordered held on $100,000 bond Saturday.

Story .

Dietrich, where are you?

One of the most compelling missing man stories of the year. How can we organize and FIND this mystery man?

Why does all the good stuff happen in Florida?

This was too good to pass up. A fight over toilet paper. I’m sure drugs were NOT involved.

Don’t these Faulknerian man-idiots know the derision their story will bring? Wait, before we judge, here’s a picture:

This is the best pic of the alleged criminal. No photo of his alleged victim is printable since, after several minutes of ‘buddy’ bludgeoning, only his dental records could ID him.

Injuries spike amid Dutch dart craze

This could almost be a headline from The Onion.

Bird Flu Overhype

Allright, I’ve had it. Just tuned in for a late night cable news roundup before I’m off to bed. And guess what was on two of the three news channels I polled? Updates on avian influenza. There was even a bird flu show on FNC hosted by Newt Gingrich. Newt Gingrich!

I will go out on a limb here and say now that there will be no bird flu pandemic! There will not be hundreds of thousands of deaths. Quick comparisons of a potential avian flu outbreak to the 1918 influenza pandemic and other disasters are nonsense, and the alarmist hyperbole describing supposed “super-morphing” viruses is reckless.

What science do I have do bolster my criticisms? None. But remember the Hanta virus? How about Swine Flu? How about the Avian Flu scare of 1997? Yakkety Yakkety Yak.

Brain freeze

All I could think of for the last couple of nights is a nickname for Dick “Headshot” Cheney. That’s as far as I’ve gotten with any posts, although I’ve been trying to keep up with the Olympics, the continuing cartoon protests, and the occasional (stupid) quote from George Clooney saying he’s a lousy director who is just trying to tell it like it is with honest filmaking.

Oh yeah, and the next Lara Croft (meow, meow)

Sweaters?…a thing of the past?

1200 years of climate studies? Nice try, hippies. http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article344513.ece
Who’s gonna believe your analysis of “Tree rings, ice cores and old documents…” I swear, these enviro-nazi’s will use anything to justify their cause that noxious gases are destroying the environment. Why don’t they just give up?! Thank god arbor day is merely once a year.

Programs, not Pogroms

No better summary exists of the lost-in-the-headlights Democratic “leadership” than this NYT piece.

Some excerpts, starting with Senator Barack Obama:

“I think that two-thirds of the American people think the country is going in the wrong direction,” ” said Senator Barack Obama, the first-term Illinois Democrat who is widely viewed as one of the party’s promising stars. “They’re not sure yet whether Democrats can move it in the right direction.”

Mr. Obama said the Democratic Party had not seized the moment, adding: “We have been in a reactive posture for too long. I think we have been very good at saying no, but not good enough at saying yes.”

The problem might be that two-thirds of Americas DON’T believe the country is going in the wrong direction. Nothing like actually believing you own polls, Sen. In addition, Democrats have been nothing but proactive in engaging in constant scandal-mongering. There is a neverending litany of ‘outrageous’ abrogations by the Bush Administration of 1) the Constitution, 2) International decorum, and 3) common decency, all of which, however contrived, contribute to the unstoppable feeding ritual of innumerable media denizens. At least one of these overreaches of power must stick. MUST!

Then there’s the hapless John Kerry, who still believes the message is OK–it just needs to get out louder and to the right people:

“Our megaphone is just not as large as their megaphone, and we have a harder time getting that message out, even when people are on the same page.”

Uh, John, I think the problem might be that the message did get out. Oh yeah, might want to get a new PR hack. Last couple of edicts from the slope weren’t too well received.

Adding slush to mush, Sen. Barbara Boxer (CA) can only submit Student Council boilerplate:

“We have a strategy (for regaining influence). First is to convince the American people that what’s happening in Washington is not working. We have achieved that. Now we have to, at this stage, convince people that we are the ones to bring positive change.”

(yawn–sorry). . OK. . moving along. Some Democrats are wary of putting their heads on the block (again). Take Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, when talking about the timing of launching new initiatives:

Some Democrats argued that the party had time to put up its ideas, and that it would be smarter to wait until later, when voters would be paying attention.

“When you bring it out early, you are going to leave it open for the spinmeisters in Rove’s machine, the Republican side, to tear it to pieces,” said Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois.

Since a good idea can withstand overbearing scrutiny, I can only assume that he’s referring to partisan attacks. “Ya know, the Texas Air National Guard story floated too early, and Rove sank it several months before the election. Let’s try this again on Oct. 30. Somebody call Lockhart!” Dick–What’s wrong with coming up with a solution to a problem that PEOPLE CAN DEBATE? The Social Security debate, although a failure the Bush Administration, was such a debate. We talked about it over chicken wings in bars, living rooms, at Target and at wifi-enabled gas stations. Americans love earnest debate.

Perhaps there WILL be new ideas brought forward. Perhaps the Democrats WILL propose new solutions to old problems. But–duh–they have to be good ‘uns. Nobody needs any more obstruction–we need more constructive debate.

Wal-Mart Opening a Boatload of New Stores

What are we to do? If there are any independent retailers left in America, they are almost certainly doomed now.

Who will stop this onslaught? Who will make sure their worker’s needs are properly cared for and are efficiently unionized?

Holding Fast

The ultimate clash of civilizations escalates. Here’s to the Euros for finally taking a stand on something.

Women Sue Wal-Mart Over Contraception

What are these women supposed to do? Wal-Mart doesn’t stock their pill of choice, so. . . let’s sue!

After all, it is all about a woman’s right to choose. How about choosing somewhere else to shop?

(Euro) Newspapers republish Muhammad caricatures

European newspapers take a stand on political freedom in a genuinely courageous way.