February 10, 2006
NC and the 2008 Election
I just read an excellent analysis by Yet another John over at Wizbang. It's a very analytical, mathematical analysis of the electoral college and the 2008 presidential election. I find the reference (just one) to NC as interesting.
North Carolina is listed as one of seven states the Republicans need to win (TX, FL, OH, NC, GA, VA, any one of MO, TN, or IN) to ensure victory in 2008. That's pretty reliable, considering past presidential election results for NC:2004: Bush (R) - 56%; Kerry (D) - 44%
2000: Bush (R) - 56%; Gore (D) - 43%
1996: Dole (R) - 48%; Clinton (D) - 44%; Perot (Looney) - 7%
1992: Bush (R) - 43%; Clinton (D) - 42%; Perot (L) - 14%
1988: Bush (R) - 58%; Dukakis (D) - 42%
1984: Reagan (R) - 62%; Mondale (D) - 38%
1980: Reagan (R) - 49%; Carter (D) - 47%; Anderson (I) - 3%
1976: Carter (D) - 55%; Ford (R) - 44%
1972: Nixon (R) - 69%; McGovern (D) - 29%; Schmitz (American) - 2%
1968: Nixon (R) - 40%; Wallace (A) - 31%; Humphrey (D) - 29%
1964: Johnson (D) - 56%; Goldwater (R) - 43% Now I know today's political parties have very little in common with some of those folks above, but it really does point out that North Carolina is pretty reliable to vote Republican for president -- 9 out of the last 10 times, and the last 7 consecutive times. What's even more interesting is that the Republican Party has NEVER had a majority in the North Carolina Senate. How is it that the Democrats have retained control over so many years, with so many people voting Republican? Gerrymandering. The Democrats get to draw the lines to determine which districts will select which Senators. They draw very large Republican districts, and a larger number of smaller Democrat-majority districts. And unfortunately, that's legal. Sure, it's immoral and wrong, but that doesn't matter when Democrats get to retain power -- at least not to Democrats. So, to Wizbang's suggestion that those in states not competitive in 2008 (NC) "you may want to turn your energies to building the local republican party." That's not going to make much difference here -- unless you can actually convert and convince registered Democrats to vote against their handouts from their party. Well, we're not allowed to shoot them, so that's the only hope for North Carolina -- actually convert Democrats and welcome them to the real world and Republican politics. I wonder -- should I stop calling them idiots to convert them?
Posted by: Ogre at 10:07 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
February 09, 2006
College Paper Publishes Cartoons
Well, finally someone in the U.S. who claims to support free speech is actually supporting freedom of speech. The Daily Illini has printed the "offensive" cartoons. And yes, there's reaction all over the place.
You can follow the news updates on the beehive of activity that this horrid act of offensiveness has generated. They're making national headlines rather quickly -- and I think the other, larger newspaper suddenly have egg on their face. As might be expected, the Chancellor of the school is disappointed. Wah. And you know what? I bet if his letter looked like this one, in response to the newspaper publishing pornographic stories, no one would be surprised (be sure to read his response linked above, this is his letter with some satirical modifications): I was excited to see that the Daily Illini elected to highlight on its editorial page a collection of the perverse cartoons and raw, homosexual acts that have so offended Christians around the world. I do not find the cartoons personally offensive and so would never have taken the position of numerous respected news organizations in America--including The Washington Times--and censored them. I'm not sure that the DI could have engaged its readers in legitimate debate about the issues surrounding the cartoons' publication in Denmark without publishing them, so I applaud their efforts. It just isn't possible, for instance, to editorialize about pornography without publishing pornographic pictures. The right of free speech and a free press are core values in American society, and I believe in them wholeheartedly. That is why the right to publish incendiary material means a publication must publish that incendiary material -- the public has a right to know. Editors and journalists have forever struggled with balancing the good that publishing a story will do for the public versus the harm it might cause. I believe the DI editors could not have found another way to meet their responsibility to inform the public, even by giving readers a web link to cartoons, as one news organization has done. It is the DI's right to publish what its editors believe to be news. The DI is not a University-owned publication, and I would not want it to be. The DI is a real-world institution, and I only hope that its editors always seriously consider the real-world impact their decisions have on their many diverse readers and their community. That said, I believe that the appropriate response to free speech that offends us is more free speech. As British philosopher John Milton said about truth in 1644, "Let her and Falsehood grapple: who ever knew Truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter?" Speech alone is our weapon. Expression is our right. When viewpoints are debated openly and civilly, truth will eventually emerge. I am sure that the DI's decision to publish will stir considerable debate. Although I strongly agree with the DI's decision, I am confident that we as individuals and as a university will always be made wiser and stronger by debate. Sincerely, Not Richard Herman Chancellor Be sure to support those who the muslims are attacking: Buy Danish!Posted by: Ogre at 11:52 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Blog Quiz
I think the blog quizzes have really gone too far this time. It's one thing to have quizzes about your personality, political position, color, animal, etc. -- but this one help you, the blogger, determine what part of the blog you are? What's the next quiz -- which blog quiz are you?
If I Were a Blog Component,
I would be the MAIN BODY ENTRY.
I love living life - and blogging - to the fullest!Which Blog Component Are You?
Take This Blog Quiz at About Web Logs!
Posted by: Ogre at 09:01 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Pork Politics
Everyone knows there's pork in every single government budget. And you might even think that all the OTHER representatives and senators are creating pork, just not YOUR representative and senators. Well, open your eyes, it's damn near all of them. And do you know HOW it gets there? Take a look at this memo.
The memo is sent out by the appropriates committee, just begging each member to send in their pork projects. Of particular note is this line from the memo:Please be realistic regarding your project priority list. You should not have 50 project priorities. Remember, these lists will be held confidential by the committee.
So just ask for pork and the committee will put it in the spending bills, and we won't tell anyone how it got there. This way representatives can claim they didn't request anything, it "just showed up" and heck, who would refuse "free money?" What a pile of crap. And it's tax time, so I get to muddle through the myriad miles of tax forms so I can fund this B.S. Crap like this really makes me want to be an anarchist. Then maybe when it's time to compromise, I can meet these morons in the middle -- with a small, republican, limited form of government.
Posted by: Ogre at 07:06 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
ACLU vs the Constitution
Posted by: Ogre at 05:08 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Riviera Beach, FL
Did you know that the Florida State government has a "House Select Committee to Protect Private Property Rights?" Why? Because of Riviera Beach, FL, where there very clearly are NO property rights.
The House panel really blasted the city of Riviera Beach for their handling of the situation there. In short, the city council has decided that they own every inch of land inside the city limits, and they're going to build whatever they want, and they're going to take whatever land they want and give it to whoever they want. That IS the view of most governments in America today, and it's totally wrong. One of the leading opponents of that land grab recently was shut up -- with cash. Martha Babson agreed to sell her house -- before the city took it from her -- to a developer for three times it's value. Folks, that's how it's supposed to work. If a developer wants land, BUY IT! Don't get the city to condemn it and take it from one person to give to another. One House member actually has proposed a constitutional amendment to the Florida Constitution that would protect property rights. I question why in the heck that's needed? By admitting that's needed, it clearly says that there ARE NO PROPERTY RIGHTS in Florida now. And therefore, there is zero freedom -- without property rights, you cannot have any other rights -- it's impossible. Yet the people involved, like Floyd Johnson, executive director of the Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (super bureaucrat scum), believe they are doing good -- because they're increasing the tax base. The idea that government exists only to increase the tax base is so foreign to me, I doubt I will ever understand it -- and that's what hurts conservatives so much. Conservatives take the attitude of "leave me alone, and I'll leave you alone." But today, that's no longer good enough. If you sit back and leave everyone else alone, they ARE going to take away everything from you. ANY government who takes ANY action to increase income, tax base, jobs, or anything like that is STRONGLY OPPOSED to freedom -- and they're wrong. OH, how I yearn for freedom.Posted by: Ogre at 03:06 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Money in NC Politics
The investigation continues into the finances of Jim Black, king lord sovereign leader speaker of the NC House, and titular head of the Democrat Party in North Carolina. This is a separate investigation by the state board of elections (D) -- not the same as the federal investigation.
A parade of N.C. optometrists testified Wednesday that they gave political donations without knowing who got them -- and acknowledged that some appeared to end up in the personal bank accounts of former Rep. Mike Decker and at least two other lawmakers.
Jim Black doesn't:
Mr. Black just "reached out and asked his supporters to support the new member of his team."
Of course, the idea that this is completely illegal doesn't seem to matter to anyone involved:
N.C. law says it's illegal for anyone to solicit donations "without first clearly advising those solicited ... (t)he name of the candidate(s) for whom the contribution will be used; or the name of the political committee or party for which the funds will be used."
So, on the very first day of hearings, we have absolute, confirmed evidence that Jim Black and his "team" very clearly broke election law. There is absolutely no doubt that the laws were broken here. But, as I mentioned at the start of this post, the board of elections is appointed by the governor and expected to do his bidding. I will be surprised if anyone, especially Jim Black, is actually held accountable. Look for more "integrity rules" to be proposed by Black in the House. Oh, and they might slap Mike Decker (Turncoat Party) with a small fine, just so they have a fall guy -- and he runs on the Republican ticket, so if they fine him, the Democrats can run around saying it's the Republicans who are corrupt. For those who don't know Mike Decker, he won election as a Republican, but once elected changed his affiliation to Democrat in exchange for cash bribes from Black, but then changed back to Republican when election time came around again. Go ahead, try and convince me NC state-level politics aren't the filthiest in the country.
Posted by: Ogre at 01:06 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
NC to solve global warming
Well, they're claiming they are. The North Carolina Legislature appointed a commission that actually met -- and if they're not solving global warming, why would they possibly be meeting? Oh, right, because the meeting, the rooms, the food, and everything else is paid for by the taxpayer.
The commission is preparing to make suggestions that include forcing the state to reduce emissions, forcing companies that do business in the state to reduce emissions, and possibly raising the price of energy substantially by requiring a certain minimum amount of electricity to be generated by a "renewable" source. Folks, I'm addicted to oil. And know what? I'm also addicted to oxygen, water, and other comforts. That's NOT a bad thing. Why is oil evil? Even Bush weighed in last week, declaring that oil is bad. It's NOT. I LIKE my standard of living. If YOU don't like things that oil brings about, feel free not to use them. Oil is good. We have plenty of oil, if we'd just explore placed like Canada. There may be TRILLIONS of barrels of oil there in the shale. To assume that MAN is so powerful as to change the climate of the planet is incredibly self-centered and prideful. We can't even exterminate a damn cockroach, but we can affect the global weather? Damn, aren't you scientists full of yourselves? But hey, in North Carolina, the Legislature might actually decide that they can stop global warming simply by making you pay more for your electricity. See? Money can solve everything -- at least according to the Democrat-controlled NC Legislature.Posted by: Ogre at 10:08 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
February 08, 2006
Tarheel Tavern Coming up!
Last week, Ogre had the honor of hosting the Tarheel Tavern, the weekly blog carnival of NC Bloggers. This coming week it will be at Capitvated by Mandie, and it will be a VISUAL carnival about winter!
So if you are blogging in or about NC, you need to participate this week! I'm talking to you, Teach...Posted by: Ogre at 07:09 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Too Many Posts?
So, I'll ask you folks, my good readers, for input on a question I have.
I know many people blog different ways and for different reasons. I just realized that I've gone over 1,000 posts on this blog, and that's only since moving to mu.nu -- about 7 months. I'm not really sure if that's a lot or a little -- and I'll leave calculating the averages to other math folks. I used to have a schedule of featured items each day -- Homespun bloggers, Christian Views, etc. However, most of those have gone away. So I try to make 4-6 posts a day. I always start out the morning with NC politics and government -- because that's where I am, and I want to give others information about that subject. The rest of the day is a grab bag. But I try to get some varied topics up and always try for at least one silly post a day -- if you can't laugh, what's the point? So the question is -- do you think there's too many posts here each day? I know the real answer is to do whatever I want because it's my blog, but I'm wondering -- are there so many posts that you, the good reader, cannot read them all? I try to post them throughout the day, so each time you visit (as long as it's been a couple hours), there will be new content. Fresh and new, right? But is that too much? Do you come and read everything since the last time you read? Do you look for my "regular" topics? What do you think?Posted by: Ogre at 04:03 PM | Comments (21) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Carnival, carnival!
This week's New Blog Showcase Carnival has been posted at Dave's Not Here. Be sure and stop by and visit all the new blogs -- new blogs ALWAYS appreciate the comments, and you might find a lifelong read.
Next week, the Carnival will be hosted HERE! So, if you've got a new blog, or know any German girls or other new people that have a new blog (less than3 months old), be sure and get them to submit it at the carnival submission page. This week's Carnival of Liberty is up, too -- lots of GREAT liberty-related stuff there. Please read it.Posted by: Ogre at 02:05 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Misleading Headline
You see this headline:
Thousands of Katrina Evacuees Booted From Hotels,
and what do you think? Can you picture the managers physically tossing people out into the street? The "reporter" continues the story:
Hauling everything he owned in a plastic garbage bag, Darryl Travis walked out of the chandeliered lobby of the Crowne Plaza, joining the exodus of Hurricane Katrina refugees evicted from their hotel rooms across the country Tuesday.
Don't you feel sorry for Darryl already? What a pile of you-know-what. A MUCH more accurate and truthful headline might look like this:
Taxpayers no longer have to pay the bills for incurably lazy bums who absolutely refuse to work
Feel free to call me "heartless" and claim I don't understand, but you're just plain wrong. Once again, it is NOT charity to give away someone ELSE'S (taxpayers) money. And I *DO* know of what I speak. At one time in my life I had nothing. I had a bag of clothes and that's it. No job, no education, no help from family, nothing. Know what I did? In less than a week I had a job. I slept outside until I earned enough to rent an apartment. Then I got a better job. So no, I do NOT feel sorry for this money-grubbing, lazy, good-for-nothing leeches that only want me to pay for their life. Screw 'em and the horse they rode in on. Personally, *I* am more than willing to help them -- but the government stealing my money is not help. If they need a job, tell them to come see me -- I'll get them a job. I'll hire them to work in my yard if I have to, but I'll give them dignity -- if they'll take it. I'm betting they won't.
Posted by: Ogre at 12:08 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Charge Foreigners for Landfill
Ok, this one isn't really North Carolina government, but it's close. The folks on the border of North Carolina, in Virginia, want to charge a toll to enter their state. While in the past, most tolls, especially over bridges, have been sold as a way to pay for the bridge, these people are coming right out and saying it isn't. Their toll is to build a landfill.
This shows how far government has gone from where it's supposed to be. Government in this country was not created to raise money -- but so many of those who are career politicians seems to think that is their primary purpose. I remember the Newburg-Beacon bridge over the Hudson River in New York. It was widened in about 1979 or 1980. They put a toll on the bridge, just to pay for that widening. The toll is still in place. Now these politicians admit they are not putting a toll in place to build roads or bridges. They are actually make people who drive through their town pay for the town to build a dump. That's just insanely wrong. Times like this I seriously wonder if a free republic has a chance of surviving.Posted by: Ogre at 10:03 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
February 07, 2006
The Ultimate Mission
Today is the day! The Ultimate Mission, a game where people search for clues around the world to promote the Mission:Impossible III movie begins. It starts tonight at 5pm PST -- and those who find a clue in the first 3 hours get big bonus points! So head on over (linked through the image below) and sign up! You might win something neat!
Posted by: Ogre at 07:04 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
GM Roper
Do you know GM Roper? He is a great blogger, and is actually the current reigning King of the Blogs (for something like a year now). He's got an outstanding blog and is a great writer.
However, GM Roper is in trouble. He's got Cancer. He just had surgery, and is apparently doing well. He would not admit it, but it was apparently a very serious surgery -- he had to have a lung removed. Please head on over and leave your good wishes and prayers for him. He needs them.Posted by: Ogre at 04:02 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Offensiveness is Offensive
Ok, brace yourselves. Be sure you are sitting down before you read this next part. I expect to get A LOT of hate email and mean, nasty comments, so calm down, be sure you're prepared, and be sure your blood pressure is down. I'm about to be offensive:
+ Did you miss it? Here, I'll do it again: + Not enough? You want MORE? + + + + + + + + ++ + + + + + ++ + + ++ + + ++ + + + ++ + There! Take that! If I were at Oaks Primary School in Ipswich, UK, I would apparently be offending the Jehovah Witnesses there. Seriously, the lunacy of being offensive is so far out of this world that these people should be committed to an insane asylum...if the liberals of the world hadn't banned them. To show the complete idiot at the school isn't alone in their utter insanity, the local Jehovah's Witness minister agreed:Hot cross buns are a pagan symbol of fertility no different to bunnies, eggs and Easter
Ok, that's it -- no more bunnies, pigs, hams, soup, eggs, Easter, or crosses are permitted in England. SOMEONE might be offended. Hey Tina Jackson (head teacher of the Oaks Primary School in Ipswich, UK), you can't see this right now, but I'm mooning you with my big old hairy butt. Does that offend you?
Posted by: Ogre at 02:04 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Oil and Sanity
I was over reading Sanity's Bluff, and came upon an absolutely great line I'd like to share with you, my good readers. Now web loafer was looking for a "Muslimobile," and was rather disappointed with his Google searches for such vehicles. And he noticed that it was
Funny how God left trillions of dollars worth of oil under the sands of the Muslim Nations, and they didn't have a clue about it, until American engineers, businessmen and scientist's.....clued them in.
Think about that for a minute. That really is something. These people have been fighting in the desert for thousands of years while sitting on piles of black stuff with no idea of what to do with it. Then the capitalists come in and show them how to get it out of the ground and how to make money from it. And yet they are the ones who hate the rest of the world. Funny, indeed.
Posted by: Ogre at 12:05 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Money NEQ Education
For some reason, the old, WRONG idea that more money means better education just simply will not die. Across North Carolina, all sorts of ideas are being floated with one, single goal: to raise more money for education.
Of course, this is just after $300-$700 MILLION dollars of new money passed the legislature in form of gambling for education, aka North Carolina lottery. But as is always the case with bureaucrats in the education system, it's just not enough. I actually saw a show on ABC news with John Stossel last week where he asked a SC educrat how much money she needed. She said, "more." He asked if there would ever be enough. She actually replied, "No, there will never be enough." So the actual, stated goal of education is "MORE." And of course, they can ONLY get that money by taking it from me and others who actually work for it. They are considering property tax fees, "impact taxes," "transfer taxes," and additional sales taxes. Know what's common about all these? They're all hidden. In other words, they won't actually send you a bill, instead they'll hide the extra costs from you. Most people don't notice property taxes because they're escrowed with their mortgage payments. Don't believe me? Go ahead and ask any homeowner in NC how much they paid in property taxes. I bet less than 1 in 10 can actually answer that question. Impact taxes and transfer taxes are even more hidden -- you agree to buy a house and in that 10-foot tall stack of legal papers, there's extra fees that just get tossed into your mortgage and settlement papers (and yet they're forming a study group to determine why so many people default on their mortgage payments). Get government completely OUT of education -- and it will improve drastically by HUGE leaps and bounds -- as it has done everywhere else in the world where government gets out of the way. Government education is BAD and getting worse.Posted by: Ogre at 10:02 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
February 06, 2006
Ooops. I wet 'em.
Now THAT'S a roller coaster. (Be sure to scroll down and check the last picture).
Wow. All I can say is, "Wow." (Bonus points: can anyone (other than Harvey, because I'm SURE he knows) spot the movie quote I just mentioned?) (Extra bonus points if you can find TWO of them). Hat tip to And Rightly So.Posted by: Ogre at 09:09 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Hot Blog Sauce: The Review
Wow. That was some good stuff. I previously posted about this sauce, developed just for bloggers. I ordered it and received it rather quickly. It was well-packaged and padded for excellent transport. The sauce itself was rather greenish-brown looking.
Ingredients: Habanero & Serrano Peppers, Garlic, Vinegar, Limes, & Salt. Now I know it's hard to judge how something tastes based on someone else's opinion, mainly because you don't have the same tastes as anyone else. So, I'll try and set the stage: I like hot, spicy things. Now, I'm not talking flaming, burning, just hot and with flavor. I don't mind the burning in my mouth, but there IS such a thing as too hot for me. This hot sauce was just awesome. I picked up some BBQ on the way home and poured on the hot sauce. It was of medium consistency, not just watery, like Texas Pete. It appeared to have small chunks of peppers in it as well. It was just great. It added quite a bit of heat, but not without a pile of flavor. The flavor was really good and the heat was just right. I had to take the sweatshirt off while eating, and the person I was eating with face completely flushed red -- but it wasn't overly hot. The garlic and lime flavor REALLY did a good job. I highly recommend this sauce for anyone who like hot sauce with flavor. It's not weak in the heat department, so keep away from the children and pregnant women.
Posted by: Ogre at 07:04 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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