Archive for November, 2010

Dacia Nichol

It’s official. Wikileaks has fallen from the last graces of the benefits of doubt. No, the organization is not comprised of journalists seeking the truth. They are not seeking freedom and liberty for all. Actually, they aren’t seeking anything but causing chaos, disunity and untimely deaths. And the ones responsible for the leak to begin with? We already have pretty grim laws for dealing with their kind, and I don’t think I need to opine on the issue other than stating my support for full prosecution.

Clear and present danger.

Sure, diplomacy is messy, and yes, I’m encouraged to know that other Middle Eastern states stand both with us and Israel on the issue of Iran. Actually, it upsets me that more action is not being taken, but I’m not naive enough to think that something won’t be done in the near future that may or may not have the Uncle Sam seal brandished on the cover (it’ll be on page 192 of the commission report in fine print). But I digress.

The only thing keeping me from considering WikiLeaks to be a propaganda arm of some secular terrorist organization, or a terrorist organization itself, is the fact that I don’t know what their ultimate goal is.  Maybe I should give it more thought, because I’m having an epiphany of sorts.

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In its entirety. Seriously, the more people actually get exposed to this man, the harder it is for people to demonize him or to paint him as some sort of dolt.

Dan Calabrese

I’m the one who’s always telling you there’s no such thing as privacy, so I suppose it should come as no surprise that international diplomats are not immune from this fact. But that doesn’t change the fact that those who reveal information just because they can – people like WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange – are the lowest form of life and are far beneath contempt.

Because he can.

Remember during the campaign just passed, when some dude claimed to have had a one-night stand with a candidate of some national prominence, and a certain web site published his story in full? Never mind the identities of any of the people involved. You could find them if you really wanted to look, but you won’t get any help from me. The point is that there was no news value to the tale, and even many commentators who oozed disdain for the candidate in question condemned the gratuitousness of the story.

Julian Assange’s document dump is basically that incident on a much larger scale. Assange got ahold of as many classified and secret documents as he could, just because he could, and released them to the public without regard to the implications or consequences of doing so, just because he had an outlet for doing so.

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Bob Maistros

“Dia dhuit, it’s Brian Cowen, aim the Irish prime minister, and aim hair to meet with Chancellor Merkel.”

“Ja wohl, Herr Prime Minister.  Ze Chancellor iss vaiting for you.  Right in here.”

“Uh, Chancellor Merkel?  Why ere you dresst in that black robe?  And who are the guys in black masks?”

“Vat do you sink, dahlink?  It’s time for you to answer for your sins..”

“Sins?  You mean awr debt?  The bailout?”

“You did not sink vee vere goink to giff you 85 billion euros for nussing, did you”

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Dan Calabrese

When President Obama “gets the message,” he evidently feels the need to send a message in return, and all the better if the message takes the form of a completely meaningless gesture.

Perhaps you’ve heard that the federal government is running a budget deficit will in excess of $1 trillion, thanks to the fiscal malpractice of Obama and the congressional Democrats who got their clocks cleaned in the November mid-term elections for this very reason (among others).

Not even a little serious.

Since the voters sent Obama a message that $1 trillion deficits as far as the eye can see (as he himself proposes) may not be the best idea, Obama has decided to send back one of those “message received” gestures by freezing the pay of all federal workers for the next two years.

Remember I said the deficit is more than $1 trillion a year? Well, this pay-freezing stunt will save $5 billion a year, so the deficit will now be . . . er, still more than $1 trillion a year. Besides, the entire thing would be obliterated several times over by the Democrats’ latest effort to once again extend unemployment benefits well beyond their established expiration date.

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Brett Noel

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Large version for newspaper publication.

Greyscale version for newspaper publication.

Herman Cain

Here we go with the liberal rhetoric again. You’ve seen the Democrats whine that keeping the “Bush tax cuts” would stuff the pockets of the richest Americans, while doing nothing to help the middle class. But that simply isn’t the truth.

Here’s the truth:

Congress is not voting on tax cuts, but rather, whether or not they should allow tax increases to take effect January 1, 2011.

Shut up, he explained.

The Democrats have tried to convince the American people that the Republicans want to pass “tax cuts for the rich.” But, in reality, conservatives want to provide a bit of economic certainty by maintaining the current tax rates for all. In fact, Speaker-elect John Boehner (R-Ohio) says that keeping these tax rates is the most sensible way to “reduce the uncertainty in America and help small businesses begin to create jobs again.”

This may come as a shocker to liberals: He’s exactly right.

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Jill Ciminillo

My dad says the Mazda MX-5 is a girl’s car. But I’m going to state right up front that I completely disagree. Which, my dad will tell you, is nothing new.

I mean, what could possibly be girly about a 6-speed manual transmission mated to a 2.0-liter, 167-horsepower engine? Or rear-wheel drive for that matter? Sure, it’s a compact vehicle. But so is an MG or Lotus or a (cough, dad) a Mercedes SLK.

So, if you think a real man can’t drive an MX-5, I’ll say: Try again.

Mazda MX-5

However, I do suppose you’d have to be careful with your exterior paint. Depending on what you choose, that combined with the happy front fascia could conceivably make the car a little bit feminine.

Take, for example, the test vehicle. It was a bright “Stormy Blue.” Not quite what I’d select for a manly man’s car. But a nice black with a black canvas top? Now we’re talking.

And the ride and handling? Phe-nomenal. Phenomenal. Because the MX-5 is so compact and so low to the ground, the driver has an amazing connection to the road. You feel every shift, surge with every acceleration and pivot with every turn.

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Bob Maistros

News Item:  November 26, 2010 – President Obama needs 12 stitches on his upper lip after he was inadvertently hit while playing basketball with friends and family at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.

December 11, 2010 – President Obama is seen to be noticeably limping after a session with reporters.  It is later revealed that the President has pulled a hamstring running away from responsibility for continued joblessness and his party’s election losses.

Incident-prone.

January 5, 2011:  The White House disclosed today that President Obama is undergoing physical therapy to recover from a wrenched back incurred as he bent down to kiss the rear end of visiting Chinese president and major U.S. creditor Hu Jintao.

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