My NFL Draft Projections

1. Texans: DE Mario Williams. I feel pretty good about this prediction, since they have already signed him.

2. Saints: RB Reggie Bush. Don't be surprised if the Saints trade down. They still have Deuce McAlister, even with injury questions surrounding him. However, if they don't trade down, taking Bush is a no-brainer.

3. Titans: QB Matt Leinart. Leinart is the best QB prospect in the draft bar none, and the Titans desperately need a QB. I have heard a lot of rumors of Vince Young going here, but I am calling this as if I were the GM of the Titans.

4. Jets: OT D'Brickashaw Ferguson. The Jets have a lot of needs, but Ferguson may be the best player available at this point. I can hear the Jets fans booing already, but this is really not a bad pick.

5. Packers: LB A.J. Hawk. I predict the Packers take a defensive player at this position because there is no way their GM is going to give Favre ANY offensive help this season. He is tired of Favre and wishes Favre had retired.

6. 49ers: TE Vernon Davis. Alex Smith will be very happy with management after this pick, and for years to come.

7. Raiders: QB Vince Young. I will be a happy Raider fan if this happens.

8. Bills: QB Jay Cutler. Marv Levy would like another Jim Kelly, but he'll settle for Jay Cutler. Bills may also trade down to let someone else draft Cutler. Don't be surprised if another team gets nervous after the Raiders take Young and offers the Bills too much for the pick.

9. Lions: DB Michael Huff. Matt Millen has drafted offensive players for how many years? I figure he will learn his lesson by now and go defense. Then again, I may be overestimating Millen.

10. Cardinals: DT Brodrick Bunkley. The Cards need defense.

11. Rams: DE Kamerion Wimbley. The Rams could be the team to trade up with the Bills for the Cutler pick. The Bills could take Wimbley here also.

12. Browns: DT Haloti Ngata. I personally think this is too high for Ngata, but the Browns have a long tradition of bad first round picks. Personally, I would take Chad Greenway if I were them.

13. Ravens: WR Chad Jackson. The Ravens are another team that could trade up for Jay Cutler, although I think GM Ozzie Newsome is smarter than that. Jackson would give the Ravens a sorely needed speed burner. Don't be surprised if they draft an RB either.

14. Eagles: WR Santonio Holmes. They need someone to replace TO. While Holmes is no TO, he may be more than just a warm body at the position.

15. Broncos: LB Chad Greenway. Shanahan always impresses me with his picks. This would be no exception. I would not be surprised to see TE Leonard Pope here either.

16. Dolphins: OT Winston Justice. New QB Culpepper will need some protection.

17. Vikings: RB DeAngelo Williams. I think "The Whizzinator"'s release this week tells me something about the Vikings' plans. They could also take Laurence Maroney of Williams is gone.

18. Cowboys: CB Tye Hill. Owner Jerry Jones is going to have visions of Deion Sanders with Tye Hill. I don't think he's Deion, but he is mighty fast. It would also keep Hill away from the Giants. (Jerry Jones make a pick out of spite? Never.)

19. Chargers: LB Ernie Sims. Too good to pass up here.

20. Chiefs: DB Antonio Cromartie. This team needs an injection of talent at DB. They could also take Donte Whitner if they are concerned about Cromartie's injury history.

21. Patriots: DB Donte Whitner. The Pats could also go with a DL.

22. 49ers: CB Jimmy Williams. This would be the smart pick here. For some reason, I suspect I am wrong. Call it a lack of faith in 49ers management.

23. Buccaneers: CB Johnathan Joseph. The Bucs would normally look for offensive help, but even they can't pass up this bargain.

24. Bengals: DB Jason Allen. The Bengals could take TE Leonard Pope here too.

25. Giants: LB DeMeco Ryans. For some reason, I can see Ryans playing for Tom Coughlin. It is a bit of a reach, but it would be a good match.

26. Bears: TE Leonard Pope. This is a guess, but it makes sense.

27. Panthers: RB Laurence Maroney. Maroney is the logical pick at this point, but don't be surprised to see the Panthers take a different RB.

28. Jaguars: CB Ashton Youboty. Secondary, secondary, secondary.

29. Jets: DE Manny Lawson. The Jets will need a replacement for Abraham. They might also go with RB LenDale White. If DeAngelo Williams or Laurence Maroney drop this far, the Jets will bite.

30. Colts: RB LenDale White. The Colts would prefer Williams or Maroney, but they will settle for White to replace Edgerrin James.

31. Seahawks: CB Kelly Jennings. The Hawks need a good shutdown corner. It is questionable if Jennings is a shutdown, but he is undoubtedly fast.

32. Steelers: WR Sinorice Moss. The Steelers would prefer LenDale White, but Moss gives them a speed receiver to replace Randle El.

Quote of the day

“You must keep your mind on the objective, not on the obstacle.” - William Randolph Hearst

Editorial of the day

Not much out there today. Thankfully, Thomas Sowell always comes through. Check out "Oily politicians: Part II".

Quote of the day

"This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer." - Will Rogers

Editorial of the day

I was watching a replay of Neil Cavuto's interview with Senator Dick Durbin this morning. The subject of the interview was alleged price gouging by the oil companies. Frankly, I wanted to strangle Durbin for his smug avoidance of all of Cavuto's points. However, Durbin is just a symptom of the real problem: politicians "politicizing" an issue as they try to dodge their own role in causing the problems.

Enter Thomas Sowell's editorial "Oily politicians". Sowell correctly refers to the cause of the high gas price problem: supply and demand.

The supply part:

"Ironically, the people who are making the most noise about the high price of gasoline are the very people who have for years blocked every attempt to increase our own oil supply. They have opposed drilling for oil off the Atlantic coast, off the Pacific coast, or in Alaska. They have prevented the building of any new oil refineries anywhere for decades.

They have fought against the building of hydroelectric dams or nuclear power plants to generate electricity without the use of oil. They love to talk about their own pet "alternative energy sources," without the slightest attention to what these would cost in terms of money, jobs, or our national standard of living."

The demand part:

"Is it rocket science that, when huge countries like India and China have rapidly growing economies, their demand for oil goes up by leaps and bounds? Is it rocket science that, when demand shoots up but supply doesn't go up as much, prices rise?"

Sowell's coup de grace:

"Is it rocket science that, when oil prices hit new highs, gasoline prices also hit new highs? Do you think the price of wheat could double without the price of bread going up? Would we have politicians running around spouting off about "gouging" by Big Wheat?"

Take that and shove it in your hat, Dick Durbin.

Quote of the day

After that great editorial, I was tempted to give John Stossel this one too. Instead, I thought Walter Williams deserved something for the fine quotes he gave to Stossel. Here is another gem from Williams:

“History is not going to be kind to liberals. With their mindless programs, they've managed to do to Black Americans what slavery, Reconstruction, and rank racism found impossible: destroy their family and work ethic.” - Walter Williams

Liberalism/socialism should be viewed with the same contempt we normally reserve for communism and fascism.

Editorial of the day

Every now and then I read an editorial that makes me think, "This one should be enshrined in an Editorial Hall of Fame."

John Stossel gets the honor today with "Greed--Not Kindness--Gets Things Done".

Stossel does use quite a few quotes from economist Walter Williams, including the following:

"If pursuing profit is greed, economist Walter Williams told me, then greed is good, because it drives us to do many good things. "Those areas where people are motivated the most by greed are the areas that we're the most satisfied with: supermarkets, computers, FedEx." By contrast, areas "where people say we're motivated by 'caring'" -- public education, public housing etc. -- "are the areas of disaster in our country. . . . How much would get done," Williams wondered, "if it all depended on human love and kindness?""

Stossel ends the editorial with a quote for the ages:

"Kindness can only give away the goods self-love provides."

Quote of the day

"Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar." - Edward R. Murrow

I have met people in bars who were three sheets to the wind, yet still wiser than some of the talking heads out there today.

Editorial(s) of the day

The misuses of the legal processes, both before and after a law is made, is a sin which effects us all and cheapens the value of the society in which we live.

After a law is made, we expect those who enforce it to use the best judgement possible in bringing cases to trial. We expect prosecutors to ask themselves if the accused is guilty, based on the evidence present. If they don't think the accused is guilty, they should not prosecute.

Thomas Sowell, in his editorial "Law or Lynch Law?", makes a compelling case for the Duke lacrosse players rape trial being more about politics than guilt or innocence.

That whole trial seems like a sham. I have yet to hear any good evidence for the guilt of these players.

Of course, the District Attorney is up for re-election this fall. Coincidence? I think not.

By contrast, our legislators are probably worse about using circumstances to justify actions. Whether circumstances justify the actions our legislators recommend is another problem.

As Neil Cavuto points out in "Congress Blowing Hot Air at Energy Crunch", Congress is ready to sock it to big oil companies over their big profits in the wake of high gas prices.

Instead, Cavuto socks it to Congress:

"I see Chuck Schumer wants to investigate the oil companies for price gouging. Why doesn't he ask his fellow politicians to do the same about tax gouging?

After all, oil companies' profit works out to nine cents a gallon. Taxes total more like 40 cents a gallon."

Politics, like people, sees what it wants to see. A great politician, like great people, will step back from the fray and look at the implications of their actions. Knee-jerk politicians plow ahead, without regard to the lives of the people they are adversely affecting.

A prosecutor blinded by politics will only ruin the lives of the people he unjustly prosecutes. A legislator blinded by politics will ruin all of us.

Quote of the day

“All the problems we face in the United States today can be traced to an unenlightened immigration policy on the part of the American Indian.” - Pat Paulsen

Paulsen was clearly a man ahead of his time.

Editorial of the day

The one issue where President Bush has been right on the money has been in his fight to spread democracy around the world.

Where Bill Clinton took the "let's downsize the military" approach after the Cold War, Bush has built up the military and used it to fix one of the great leftover issues of the Cold War: The U.S. coddled too many dictators in order to keep them from going over to the Soviet side. At the time, it was necessary.

Now, the Saddam Husseins of the world need to be overthrown and replaced with democratically elected governments. As long as people live in poverty while their leaders live the good life, no one on this planet will be safe. Terrorism is just one symptom of this problem.

I know it is not realistic to expect the U.S. to continue this policy. That is why the world needs to get behind the U.S., or even lead the way if they prefer, in confronting this issue.

In the U.S., we need to recognize what a great thing Bush has done. In a Wall Street Journal editorial, "Dissident President:
George W. Bush has the courage to speak out for freedom.", Natan Sharansky gives Bush the credit he is due:

"Today, we are in the midst of a great struggle between the forces of terror and the forces of freedom. The greatest weapon that the free world possesses in this struggle is the awesome power of its ideas.

The Bush Doctrine, based on a recognition of the dangers posed by non-democratic regimes and on committing the United States to support the advance of democracy, offers hope to many dissident voices struggling to bring democracy to their own countries. The democratic earthquake it has helped unleash, even with all the dangers its tremors entail, offers the promise of a more peaceful world."

Quote of the day

Peggy Noonan's editorial today ("Don't Wait, Calibrate:
Learn to bend, Mr. Bush. You won't break.") was ok, although I liked Robert Novak's better.

However, Noonan had a quote for the ages:

"Message to all biography-reading presidents, past present and future: Just because they call you a jackass doesn't mean you're Lincoln." - Peggy Noonan

Editorial of the day

One thing I enjoy about Robert Novak is how he always seems to get the insider's view of Washington politics. In his editorial from late yesterday, "The GOP's Budget Problem", Novak paints an interesting portrait of what is going to happen with the federal budget after the Easter recess.

The real holdup with the federal budget seems to be House Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA). It seems the House leadership wants to cut the pork and earmarks, and Lewis will not hear of it.

This is why I think the Republican leadership should hold a vote among it's members regarding whether Lewis should keep his chairmanship. When a committee chairman goes against the wishes of the party, that chairman should have his feet held to the fire, with his chairmanship at stake.

Maybe it is just me, but I believe a political party should represent something (with the exception of the Democrats, who represent everything).

Quote of the day

"What good fortune for governments that the people do not think." - Adolf Hitler

How fortunate for the U.S. Congress.

(Hat tip to brainyquote.com)

Editorial of the day

Thomas Sowell kills two birds with one paragraph in his column today, "Why not everybody?".

Sowell's zinger takes out the anti-Walmarters and the pro-illegal immigrationists:

"Even people who have been railing at Wal-Mart for not paying their workers "enough," claiming that the taxpayers are subsidizing Wal-Mart employees' health care and other benefits, never seem to apply the same reasoning to illegal immigrants."

Quote of the day

"An optimist is the human personification of spring." - Susan J. Bissonette

While I do not necessarily prescribe to the philosophy of optimism, it can be useful in hard times.

Personally, I prefer contrarianism. Everything in life seems to come in cycles, and the contrarians are always one step ahead of everyone else.

Editorial of the day

As usual, John Stossel gives us some important reminders of our sneaky government's taxing ways in "The Sneaky Government & Your Tax Burden". If you think you know how much your tax burden was, think again.

Ironically, Stossel does not even touch on the fact that businesses pass their tax burden along to you, the consumer. This is why taxing businesses is such a silly thing to do. Now if businesses were the ONLY ones being taxed (i.e. the FairTax), that would make sense.

A Land of Kings

One thing that everyone seems to forget is who rules this country. The President? No. The Congress? No. The Supreme Court? No.

It is the American voter. We The People rule this country. Too often I hear people saying things like "...political reality dictates..." or "voting for third parties is a wasted vote because they can't win". When enough people think like this, then the American people have given up their power. It is then that the politicians of the two major parties rule, and YOU, the American voter, have no control.

So don't even bother giving me the excuse "political reality dictates". I, the American voter, dictate political realities.

Don't waste your breath telling me about wasted votes. If the major parties want my vote, they will respect my wishes.

For those of you who still doubt my message, I refer you to the 9th and 10th Amendments to the Constitution:

9th Amendment: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

10th 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.

I know We The People have had many of our rights and powers delegated to, as well as stolen by, the powers that be. We The People need to end this trend NOW.

Maybe some of you will continue to accept the political class as the ruling elite of this nation. Maybe some of you will be perfectly content being absentee rulers.

I will not. The political class governs by virtue of my proxy. If they refuse to recognize this, they will NOT receive my support.

In a land where every man is a king, I am only one. But I am a demanding king nonetheless.

Quote of the day

"You can protect your liberties in this world only by protecting the other man's freedom. You can be free only if I am free." - Clarence Darrow

I can only be free if you are free.

That is why people who argue against the war in Iraq miss the point. Whether Saddam Hussein presented an immediate threat to us is irrelevant. Saddam or any of his successors could have been a threat to us down the road. If Saddam was a threat to his own people, and I know of no one who would argue against that, then how big a stretch is it to imagine him threatening others?

That is the inherent problem with dictatorships. Maybe today's dictator is not a threat to his neighbors, but what about his successors? Eventually, any dictator can be succeeded by someone who will have delusions of world conquest.

Dictatorships are, by nature, breeding grounds for leaders with oversized egos: Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, and Hitler are all good examples. Can you imagine any of these men with nukes or WMD's?

We need to stop people like this BEFORE they get to that point. The greatest indicator for this kind of leader is the freedom of the country's people.

This is why I believe ALL the free nations of the world (not just the U.S.) need to force freedom on the rest of the world. The free nations need to get together and form a military force to accomplish this. The mere threat of military action will be enough to free most countries. The rest will fall easily to the combined military might of the free nations.

Iraq was a good war. But there is so much more that needs to be done in the rest of the world.

Editorial of the day

I was reluctant to put another illegal immigration editorial up here, but Thomas Sowell wrote another good one with "An ugly reality".

Sowell's finest point:

"Today's immigrant activists and the politicians who kowtow to them [are trying] to keep foreigners foreign and to make other Americans accept and adjust to that."

I take exception to the point that politicians are thinking along those lines, although that will be the end result of their intentions. Actually, the politicians are just looking for more hispanic votes.

It is time to remind the politicians who the American voters are: citizens.

Quote of the day

"We can't expect the American People to jump from capitalism to communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of socialism, until they awaken one day to find that they have Communism." - Nikita Khrushchev

Is there anyone out there who does NOT see this already happening?

Editorial(s) of the day

Let us start off the week on a light-hearted note. Over at Entertainment Weekly's website, David Zucker ("Airplane!") reveals his comedy glossary, followed by his 15 rules of comedy. Zucker is one of the great comic geniuses of our time, so his knowledge in this area is beyond reproach.

For those of you who want something a little more serious to start the week, Amir Taheri tells us "The frightening truth of why Iran wants a bomb". I cannot think of a more sober way to start the week.

Quote of the day

“I've had great success being a total idiot.” - Jerry Lewis

I think that was said by Jerry Lewis the comedian, although Jerry Lewis the representative from California could have said it.

Editorial of the day

I just read a really good one over at the Wall Street Journal's website from yesterday. It is called "The Minority Maker: The clever GOP strategy for defeat in November."

The article points to House Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis as one of the primary Republican roadblocks to spending restraint:

"For weeks, the Republican Study Committee, a group of fiscally conservative Members, had been negotiating a spending outline with the House leadership. But when they finally struck a deal last week, Mr. Lewis refused to go along and threatened to defeat the budget on the House floor if Speaker Denny Hastert brought it up. With Democrats opposing the budget as a matter of party unity, GOP leaders gave up and left town for Easter recess without a vote on their budget blueprint for 2007."

On the line-item veto:

"When President Bush recently asked Congress to pass a modified line-item veto, among the first to complain was Mr. Lewis. The spending baron told the Rules Committee last month that the line-item veto "could be a very serious error" that threatens the separation of powers. "We are the legislative branch of government."

Translation: Mr. Lewis is opposed to any budget reform that would give the President more leverage to limit his ability to spend tax dollars like there's no tomorrow. On the item veto, this puts him to the fiscal left of John Kerry, Al Gore, and, well, it's hard to get any further left than that."

The Republicans should disown Lewis. What good is having a majority in Congress when people like Lewis are in charge?

The story ends with this classic observation:

"At the current pace, a Democratic majority in Congress would be preferable, if only for reasons of truth in advertising."

Quote of the day

"Did you ever notice that when you put the words "The" and "IRS" together, it spells "THEIRS?"" - Unknown

This got me to thinking about a Fox News poll from yesterday. The most fascinating result from the poll:

"By eight-to-one Americans say Congress thinks of federal taxpayer money as “their money to spend as they wish” rather than as “taxpayer money to spend carefully,” including large majorities of Republicans (78 percent), Democrats (80 percent) and independents (84 percent)."

Why do we keep these shysters in office?

Editorial of the day

Thomas Sowell has a good understanding of Washington in today's editorial, "On Immigration, Politicians Rise Above Principles".

Sowell accurately points out that "...the Democrats are united for legalizing illegality" while the "Republican majority in Congress is split between supporters of President Bush's "guest worker" proposal and those who are serious about controlling our borders and upholding our laws."

At this time, I would vote for anyone who supports closing down the borders. Unfortunately, I don't see anyone like that.

The wisdom of George Carlin

Sometimes you hear something that makes you think, "Wow! That's profound!"

I heard the following George Carlin routine many years ago. Now, thanks to the internet, I managed to find a copy on a website (http://my.erinet.com/~orb/gcarlin.htm).

Environmentalists may not want to read this, as it may offend them with the truth they lack:

"We're so self-important. So self-important. Everybody's going to save something now. "Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails." And the greatest arrogance of all: save the planet. What? Are these fucking people kidding me? Save the planet, we don't even know how to take care of ourselves yet. We haven't learned how to care for one another, we're gonna save the fucking planet? I'm getting tired of that shit. Tired of that shit. I'm tired of fucking Earth Day, I'm tired of these self-righteous environmentalists, these white, bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is there aren't enough bicycle paths. People trying to make the world safe for their Volvos. Besides, environmentalists don't give a shit about the planet. They don't care about the planet. Not in the abstract they don't. Not in the abstract they don't. You know what they're interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. They're worried that some day in the future, they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesn't impress me.

Besides, there is nothing wrong with the planet. Nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine. The PEOPLE are fucked. Difference. Difference. The planet is fine. Compared to the people, the planet is doing great. Been here four and a half billion years. Did you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years. We've been here, what, a hundred thousand? Maybe two hundred thousand? And we've only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over two hundred years. Two hundred years versus four and a half billion. And we have the CONCEIT to think that somehow we're a threat? That somehow we're gonna put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that's just a-floatin' around the sun?

The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles...hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worldwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages...And we think some plastic bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet...the planet...the planet isn't going anywhere. WE ARE!

We're going away. Pack your shit, folks. We're going away. And we won't leave much of a trace, either. Thank God for that. Maybe a little styrofoam. Maybe. A little styrofoam. The planet'll be here and we'll be long gone. Just another failed mutation. Just another closed-end biological mistake. An evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet'll shake us off like a bad case of fleas. A surface nuisance.

You wanna know how the planet's doing? Ask those people at Pompeii, who are frozen into position from volcanic ash, how the planet's doing. You wanna know if the planet's all right, ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or a hundred other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake rubble, if they feel like a threat to the planet this week. Or how about those people in Kilowaia, Hawaii, who built their homes right next to an active volcano, and then wonder why they have lava in the living room.

The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after we're gone, and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself, 'cause that's what it does. It's a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover, the earth will be renewed, and if it's true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new pardigm: the earth plus plastic. The earth doesn't share our prejudice towards plastic. Plastic came out of the earth. The earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place. It wanted plastic for itself. Didn't know how to make it. Needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old egocentric philosophical question, "Why are we here?" Plastic...asshole.

So, the plastic is here, our job is done, we can be phased out now. And I think that's begun. Don't you think that's already started? I think, to be fair, the planet sees us as a mild threat. Something to be dealt with. And the planet can defend itself in an organized, collective way, the way a beehive or an ant colony can. A collective defense mechanism. The planet will think of something. What would you do if you were the planet? How would you defend yourself against this troublesome, pesky species? Let's see... Viruses. Viruses might be good. They seem vulnerable to viruses. And, uh...viruses are tricky, always mutating and forming new strains whenever a vaccine is developed. Perhaps, this first virus could be one that compromises the immune system of these creatures. Perhaps a human immunodeficiency virus, making them vulnerable to all sorts of other diseases and infections that might come along. And maybe it could be spread sexually, making them a little reluctant to engage in the act of reproduction.

Well, that's a poetic note. And it's a start. And I can dream, can't I? See I don't worry about the little things: bees, trees, whales, snails. I think we're part of a greater wisdom than we will ever understand. A higher order. Call it what you want. Know what I call it? The Big Electron. The Big Electron...whoooa. Whoooa. Whoooa. It doesn't punish, it doesn't reward, it doesn't judge at all. It just is. And so are we. For a little while."

The Dark Side of World War II

Every now and then, I run across something on the internet which is a must-read for everyone. Jacob G. Hornberger's "Repatriation — The Dark Side of World War II" is one of those must-read items.

I am currently working to verify some of the horrific claims of this article, including the executions of 2 million Russian POWs returned to Stalin, as well as the continued detention in gulags by Stalin of 50,000 Allied POWs.

With friends like Stalin, we didn't need enemies.

UPDATE: Silly me. I did a Google search on repatriation +"World War II" +stalin and got over 37,000 hits. After I checked a few of the websites, this looks VERY legitimate.

I think Patton was right. We should have attacked the Soviet Union immediately after World War II.

Quote of the day

"The IRS spends God knows how much of your tax money on these toll-free information hot lines staffed by IRS employees, whose idea of a dynamite tax tip is that you should print neatly. If you ask them a real tax question, such as how you can cheat, they're useless. So, for guidance, you want to look to big business. Big business never pays a nickel in taxes, according to Ralph Nader, who represents a big consumer organization that never pays a nickel in taxes..." - Dave Barry

Editorial of the day

I am glad to see John Stossel is off the education kick. Don't get me wrong: Stossel was right to go after the education establishment. But education is not the only problem in the world.

In his editorial today, "Exaggerating Dire 'Scientific' Warnings", Stossel goes after junk scientists, and how they politicize their causes in order to get government funding.

Give 'em hell, John!

Quote of the day

In honor of federal income taxes being due next Monday, here is something for all of us taxpayers:

"The politicians don't just want your money. They want your soul. They want you to be worn down by taxes until you are dependent and helpless. When you subsidize poverty and failure, you get more of both." - James Dale Davidson

Is it any wonder that Republicans seem so much more liberal nowadays?

Editorial of the day

Dennis Prager makes some good observations today in "Why the low jobless rate challenges Left and Right".

Specifically, he notes how the low unemployment rate works against the Left's arguments for a socialist state and higher taxes, especially when you consider how poorly socialist Europe is doing now.

On the other hand, the low unemployment rate also works against the Right's argument that illegal immigrants are stealing American jobs.

But Prager's final observation is a classic:

"And those on the left need to cheer the unemployment data. But they can't do that until they love the low unemployment figures even more than they hate George Bush and his tax cuts."

Quote of the day

"Our species needs, and deserves, a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works." - Carl Sagan

Editorial of the day

It's a slow news day today. All the editorials seem to be reruns of existing opinions.

Nothing to see here folks. Move along.

The Gospel of Judas

With the release of "The Gospel of Judas", I decided it was time to discuss my religious views.

I believe Jesus was a great philosopher. Whether he was any more divine than you or I is debatable. I believe what he had to say was more important than whether he performed miracles or rose from the dead. If one requires magic tricks in order to accept wisdom, then one is looking in the wrong places for wisdom.

That being said, I have always considered the story of Christ to be incomplete. For example, Judas never made sense to me. How could you drop your life in order to follow a man whom you believed to be the son of God, only to betray him later? This would only make sense if Judas had a change of heart about Jesus. But if that was the case, why would Judas commit suicide later? Another change of heart?

It might be explainable if Jesus had done something to anger Judas, but nothing like that is mentioned in the Gospels. So we are left with a crime, but no motivation.

Which brings us to "The Gospel of Judas". In it, Jesus asks Judas to betray him, so that Jesus can fulfill prophecy. THAT makes sense. In "The Last Temptation of Christ", Judas is presented the same way. In that film, Judas is shown as Jesus' best friend, which is WHY he betrays him (because Christ did not trust the others as much as he did Judas). Again, that makes sense.

Perhaps Judas' motivation was left out of the Bible strictly as an oversight. Or perhaps "The Gospel of Judas" provides the real motivation. I lean towards the latter answer.

Quote of the day

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle

Editorial of the day

While I don't agree with Tony Snow, his editorial today ("Immigration Is An Overrated Issue") does show the other side of the immigration issue.

Where I agree with Snow most is that immigration does provide a legitimate economic benefit. That is why I support expanding the number of legal immigrants into the U.S.

I draw the line at illegal immigration. We need to secure the borders.

Quote of the day

"...in the lexicon of the political class, the word "sacrifice" means that the citizens are supposed to mail even more of their income to Washington so that the political class will not have to sacrifice the pleasure of spending it." - George Will

Editorial of the day: The Pig Book is out!

Citizens Against Government Waste has released it's 2006 Congressional Pig Book, which is a must-read for taxpayers of this country. They even provide a nice little searchable database of almost 10,000 pork projects which your tax dollars are funding this year.

If you are still angry after recently finishing your taxes this year, you may want to avoid this book for awhile. Finding out you are spending $500,000 for the Sparta Teapot Museum may not be good for your blood pressure. (Did I mention the Sparta Teapot Museum is NOT in Iraq? It is in Sparta, North Carolina.)

Here is CAGW's summary of the pork situation:

"For fiscal 2006, appropriators stuffed 9,963 projects into the 11 appropriations bills, a 29 percent decrease over last year’s total of 13,997. Despite the reduction in the number of earmarks, Congress porked out at record dollar levels with $29 billion in pork for 2006, or 6.2 percent more than last year’s total of $27.3 billion. In fact, the total cost of pork has increased by 29 percent since fiscal 2003. Total pork identified by CAGW since 1991 adds up to $241 billion."

In all fairness, I do take exception to some of the items listed as pork. There are many items they list which involve energy research, which I think the government should help to fund. Even though the research may be located in specific parts of the country, I do not object. It is important, and it needs to be done. A good example:

"$79,745,000 for projects in the state of Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Harry Reid (D-Nev.), including: $14,300,000 for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas ($5,000,000 to study the deep burn-up of nuclear fuel and other fuel cycle research, $3,400,000 for the study of hydrogen fuel cell and storage, $3,400,000 to research the solar-powered thermo-chemical production of hydrogen, and $2,500,000 for photonics research and the evaluation of advanced fiber optics for hybrid solar lighting); $3,400,000 for the National Center on Energy Management and Building Technology..."

Kudos to Harry Reid on those worthwhile projects. However, then he has to go and screw it up:

"...$3,500,000 for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s virtual- site office; $2,500,000 for Altair Nanotech; $1,000,000 for materials reliability at the University of Nevada- Reno Center; and $250,000 for the Mojave Bird Study. Due to previous concerns regarding the safety of birds in the area, an environmental impact report, released in July of 2004, revealed that the death toll on red-tailed hawks and other bird species in the area would be minimal following the construction of a wind farm. According to an article published by Judith Lewis in LA Weekly, the local Audubon groups that led the attack on the Pine Tree Wind Farm offered to pay for a meticulous study that would focus specifically on the songbirds. However, the government insisted on conducting their own study using taxpayer dollars to fund the project."

So we could have had the private sector fund a study, but instead "Dirty Harry" would rather spend my money? Harry, get your damned hands out of my wallet!

In all fairness, I shall also pick on the Republicans, since they are in majority of Congress, as well as pork. One senator who spends way too much time in Washington and not enough time in his home state of Alaska is Ted Stevens:

"$47,326,000 for projects in the state of Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee member Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $12,733,000 for Western Arctic Parklands; $7,000,000 for Alaska conveyance; $4,000,000 for a visitors center at the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge; $1,100,000 for the Matunuska-Susitna Borough; $750,000 for the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park; $450,000 for the Bering Sea Fisherman’s Association; $400,000 for the Ketchikan Wood Technology Center; $150,000 for the Alaska Whaling Commission; and $98,000 for the Alaska Sea Otter Commission."

Let's save the whales and send Ted Stevens home!

Quote of the day

"Character, not circumstances, makes the man." - Booker T. Washington

Something for Cynthia McKinney to remember. The fact she is a member of Congress does NOT make her any better than the police officer she decided to strike. What she showed was a lack of character.

Come to think of it, this might be wise for ALL members of Congress to remember.

Editorial of the day

Ruben Navarrette makes some good points in his editorial "Undeniable Realities on Immigration".

The one point he makes that got me to thinking:

"Undeniable Reality No. 4: There will always be jobs for illegal immigrants because many Americans want to enjoy upper-class luxuries on middle-class salaries. Like the man who called in to a radio show I was on and volunteered that -- as a single parent -- he had hired an illegal immigrant to baby-sit his kids while he worked. The caller said he paid the nanny about $6 per hour, but that hiring a U.S. citizen might cost him twice as much. Multiply this guy by millions and you start to get the picture."

Do you realize what we have here? Economic slave labor. As Navarrette points out later:

"Undeniable Reality No. 6: Mexican workers are going to continue to come to the United States -- legally if possible, illegally if necessary -- as long as they can earn 15 to 20 times more in this country than they can back home. In many villages in Mexico, workers might earn just $3 to $6 per day. In the United States, they might earn $60 per day for farm work or $90 per day for construction work. Ask yourself: What would you be willing to do to make 20 times what you make now?"

Welcome to slavery, 21st century style.

That brings us to the question of which is worse: being a slave and living better, or being free and suffering? 11 million illegal immigrants have answered with the first choice. I cannot say I blame them.

This is why I don't have a problem with these people staying here IF we can document them AND if we secure the borders.

Quote of the day

"Three groups spend other people's money: children, thieves, politicians. All three need supervision." - Dick Armey

Parents, police, and voters. At least the first two are doing their jobs.

Voting is called a civic duty. That does NOT mean show up at the polling place every 2-4 years and pull some levers blindly. If your boss showed up at work once a year to give you your annual review, how accurate do you think your review would be?

The voters rule this country. Too often, they take that responsibility lightly. My rule of thumb is this: If you don't know who you're voting for, or why you are voting for them, then don't vote.

Don't vote just because MTV tells you to go and vote.

If you don't have the time to learn about the issues and the candidates, then you have no business being at a polling place. Leave the voting to people who know what is happening.

By the way, if someone gets elected who makes your life miserable, don't complain. You are the one who decided to ignore politics.

Editorial of the day

One of the most important lessons anyone can learn is distinguishing facts from theories. Facts are true, whereas theories only MAY be true. When facts don't support theories, we need to either eliminate or change the theories.

Unfortunately, people often treat theories as facts. This is why we still have things like affirmative action and gun control today.

Thomas Sowell covers this in depth today in his editorial "Are Facts Obsolete?".

If I may be so bold as to answer Dr. Sowell's question, the answer is "no". However, if humanity doesn't realize this, humanity may become obsolete.

Quote of the day

“Great minds have purposes; little minds have wishes. Little minds are subdued by misfortunes; great minds rise above them.” - Washington Irving

Editorial of the day

That Mark Steyn is a pretty smart guy. He nails down a lot of truths in "Don't deny that some Muslims are hot for jihad".

Among them:

"...you couldn't help noticing it was followers the anti-war crowd seemed to be short of on the third anniversary [of the Iraq War]. The next weekend half a million illegal immigrants -- whoops, sorry, half a million fine upstanding members of the Undocumented-American community-- took to the streets, and you suddenly realized what a big-time demonstration is supposed to look like. These guys aren't even meant to be in the country and they can organize a better public protest movement than an anti-war crowd that's promoted 24/7 by the media and Hollywood."

Another:

"But there are two kinds of persons objecting to the war: There's a shriveled Sheehan-Sheen left that's in effect urging on American failure in Iraq, and there's a potentially far larger group to their right that's increasingly wary of the official conception of the war. The latter don't want America to lose, they want to win -- decisively."

That is enough to whet your appetite.

The wisdom of my wife

Sometimes, my wife will say something incredibly wise. Yesterday was one of those times:

ME: Why are people so stupid?
HER: Because they can be.

Think about it: In the past, evolution would gladly show stupid people the door out of this existance. Now, homo sapiens have evolved to the point where stupidity no longer affects their survival ability.

I don't think this is a good sign for humanity.

Fortunately, there is hope. When they get too stupid (like being deaf, walking along train tracks, and text messaging on your cell phone, all at the same time), evolution is still there to intervene.

To my daughter Kestra

"Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

To my daughter Kestra, I say: Bear with me.

To everyone else, Kestra is a wise old soul trapped in the body of an 8 year old. When she was born, I saw in her eyes a wisdom that you normally only see in a senior citizen. It was almost as if she was thinking, "Back in this world again."