Category: Current Events

They say you learn something new every day. What I learned through Lady Bird Johnson’s recent death was that she was still alive. Every once in a while, some celebrity or political figure dies, and I’m left thinking “Wow, I figured they died years ago.” LBJ checked out a year before I was born. I guess when you think about it, JFK might still be alive today if Oswald had missed. But it seems so long ago.

It’s also amazing to me that we have World War I vets who are still alive.  Talk about longevity.   Then there are the people who I think really did die years ago, but they just haven’t realized it yet.

For some reason I find this amusing, even though I shouldn’t because people were injured:

 

I would have to caption that photo “Gulliver Gets a Strike”.  But seriously folks, there’s nothing funny about wrecking balls gone awry.  Meadville is in the Northwestern part of Pennsylvania, between Pittsburgh and Erie.

It’s an extremely unwise idea to fuck with people the Romans couldn’t conqueror.

Via Glenn

John Adams:

It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

What? No beer?  Bah… Puritans!

No… not because of terrorists, but because of a tornado warning.   Apparently funnel clouds were spotted as the storm was approaching DC, so the park service decided to clear the mall.   I like thunderstorms, but Bitter, being from Oklahoma, does not.  There are also reports of golf ball sized hail.  Here things don’t look too terribly bad.

Oh well, there’s no reason for this to interrupt my drinking, which is, after all, the best way to celebrate our independence.

Happy 4th of July to everyone.   Don’t blow your fingers off!

I’ve thought up a way to celebrate the failure of our jihadist friends, thanks to their own incompetence, combined with quick effort on the part of Glasgow firefighters.   Sure, we can fight the terrorists, but it’s good to make fun of them too.  And what better way to do that this July fourth, than with a stiff drink.  This one is named in their honor:

“Flaming Jihadist”

1. Take one British style pub glass.  Substitute any wide mouth glass if you don’t have one.
2. Fill glass part way up with some McEwans Scotch Ale, such that when a shot glass is dropped in the glass, it almost but doesn’t quite come over the top of it.
3. Fill a shot glass with Johnny Walker, or other blended scotch.  Using a single malt for this makes you an infidel.
4. Light the shot glass on fire and drop it in the pint glass
5. Say in the best GroundsKeeper Willie voice you can muster “May ye burn in hell”
6. Drink the beverage such that you don’t burn yourself.   The ale should extinguish the flames.

I won’t be held responsible for any mishaps.   Drinking flaming beverages, of course, is dangerous, and probably stupid.   If you are a jihadist yourself, you should remember that you are forbidden from drinking alcohol, and instead I should suggest pouring the bottle of Johnny Walker on yourself, and having a smoke.   It’s the only Allah approved method for enjoying the drink.

No, it’s not a drink (but maybe it should be!). It seems to me that we’re seeing the c-list Al-Quada types carrying out these operations. The cars were loaded with gasoline, which is not an explosive. I think these guys watched a few too many movies. If you want to set something on fire, gasoline is good at that, but you’re not going to do much damage to anyone other than yourself, especially at an airport, where firefighting equipment isn’t exactly in short supply.

The police officer trying to put the guy out was following the instincts any civilized person would. Had they had suicide vests on, that could have been a fatal response. I’m not in agreement with the bystanders who shouted “let him burn”, but I wouldn’t have blamed the officer for dispatching him with a shot to the head, in fear that he might be a suicide bomber.

I’m a little skeptical that Ford’s troubles have more to do with their stance on homosexuality than the fact that they aren’t making products that people want to buy.   While I don’t have any issues with Ford’s supporting of homosexual groups myself, I will say I don’t know how much it makes sense for Ford to court gay buyers.   Gays typically are in demographic brackets are that are less likely to be attracted to Ford products.

I think it’s wise for corporations to stay out of controversial political issues as much as they can, otherwise they shouldn’t act surprised when they create PR problems for themselves.   I have no problem with Ford supporting groups that are promoting gay marriage, but people who have no issues with the idea of gay marriage are very much in the minority right now.   Any company that wades into that issue, one way or another, does so at their own peril.

I’m a little busy today with some other things, but everyone ought to read this article by Michael Yon about the major offensive against Al-Qaeda in Iraq.

It’s always puzzled me that, given we are fighting Al-Qaeda in Iraq, that some people think walking away sounds like a great idea.  Walking away when things got tough is what got us a reputation for cowardice that made Al-Qaeda think they could attack us with impunity.    There is no walking away from Iraq.   We must finish what we have started.