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:: MAX BLACK ::

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." --C.S. Lewis

"The Swiss pocket knife of conservative thought on the web..." - Eli Kardrakian

"Bookmark Max and dump your subscription to the newspaper; if you don't have a birdcage you really don't need it anyway..." - Shirley St. James

:: Monday, October 31, 2005 ::

YOUR AD HERE

Jarvis doesn't get the whole Pajamas Media thing and neither do I. Seems like PJM is somehow missing the point of new media which is primarily decentralization. It's understandable, I suppose, that - given their undeniable success - bloggers like Instapundit and Roger Simon would want to capitalize - leverage - the enterprise to make it profitable, but in so doing, it seems they're devolving back into the preblog model of "media" that concentrates news and opinion into a handful of egocentric power-pundits. It's ironic that, with all of professor Glenn Reynolds attention to nano-technology, the concept [and power] of decentralization seems to escape him in this case.

The PJ Pundits are all, almost without exception, compelling observers of the political zietgeist. However, PJMEDIA reeks of the kind of exclusion bloggers are so fond of admonishing of MSM.

Sidebar: It's understandable that the PJM founders, having discovered a likeminded [and fraternal] community, would desire to merge their talents into a more powerful vehicle. I'm just not clear on how doing so moves the process of media decentralization forward. As an art professor, I would always admonish the slackers in a critique by saying "there is no new thinking here" and I suspect that's the ultimate challenge of PJM - new thinking. Where is it?

:: Max 11:27 PM [+] ::
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BOO!

:: Max 9:46 PM [+] ::
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Washington glitterati, including press mega-stars assemble periodically for a little Q&A at Nathans. Scroll down [past Anna Marie Cox, Tina Brown and Kitty Kelly] and you might catch a glimpse of the double-ought spy Valerie Plame with her poor maligned husband Ambassador Joseph Wilson. This is how American Government gets done inside the beltway folks - over a $300.00 bottle of wine [probably expensed on a US Govt. credit card] with the disinterested press at center stage.

:: Max 8:35 PM [+] ::
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Like him or hate him cast your vote in the SCOTUS poll...

:: Max 6:23 PM [+] ::
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Quote of the day: No Pasaran's Joe N. on the state of the French economy where the inmates have assumed full control of the asylum:

"It amounts to a situation where there is a special class of seamen pounding a hole through the bottom of the boat in order to demand better life-rafts from people who are up to their necks in water."

:: Max 5:04 PM [+] ::
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SondraK is on a worthy mission - Say you support our troops? Prove it.

:: Max 12:36 PM [+] ::
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TreeHugger is all over renewable energy - a smart site with interesting pics and news. Check out the clever little Sunball...

:: Max 12:23 PM [+] ::
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Excellent costume decision Mel...

:: Max 10:51 AM [+] ::
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"the left's still panting orgasmically about Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into what Scooter Libby said to Judith Miller about what Valerie Plame knew about what Joseph C. Wilson IV said . . . zzzz . . . fingers growing heavy . . . losing the will to type . . ."

Mark Steyn of course...

:: Max 10:29 AM [+] ::
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"Our judgement of Islam has been grossly distorted by taking the extremes to the norm...For example, people in this country frequently argue that the Sharia law of the Islamic world is cruel, barbaric and unjust. Our newspapers, above all, love to peddle those unthinking prejudices. The truth is, of course, different and always more complex. My own understanding is that extremes, like the cutting off of hands, are rarely practised. The guiding principle and spirit of Islamic law, taken straight from the Qur'an, should be those of equity and compassion."

Prince Charles

The Religious Policeman begs to differ with His Majesty...

Related: "our judgement of Islam has been greatly distorted..." my ass.

:: Max 10:14 AM [+] ::
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Sunday Blog Highlight: Of Arms and the Law

:: Max 8:54 AM [+] ::
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"Clear Channel pays Michael Savage's syndicator at least $1 million per year to run on KNEW, Air America has the opposite arrangement, spending a staggering sum to place its programming on San Francisco's KQKE-AM and KTLK-AM in Los Angeles. That's a result of market forces, an increasingly foreign concept in the Bay Area.

"These radicals have a very selective sense of censorship, where it's okay when Air America calls for presidential executions, or rips off inner-city youth organizations to the tune of $875,000, causing afterschool programs closures.

"When conservatives make comments with which they disagree, however, it's time to pull the station's plug."

The Radio Equalizer

:: Max 8:24 AM [+] ::
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Thinking about a new digital camera? Digital Photography Review is your one-stop source for technical assesments of all the latest gear. Of course, I'm still in love with the 6 megapixel Fuji E550 - what an incredibly cool little camera.

:: Max 10:05 AM [+] ::
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"you can't fire me - I quit!"

:: Max 1:02 AM [+] ::
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"...every place they put us on, we go up and the right-wing stations go down."

-Al [The Truth With Jokes] Franken

Crackhead...

:: Max 12:37 AM [+] ::
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In the name of 'diversity', French move to block the expansion of "American culture" (?!)...I really don't know how to respond to this level of progressive moonbattery except to say it's predictable. OK, here's Eurosoc's report on the "manifesto for alternative globalisation" [yuk yuk]. We link, you wrap your skull in duct-tape to keep your head from exploding.

[Hey-a garsone, I tink I'll have a Coke wit dat foeez d'grass an can ya bring a little salsa fer them fromajoes? Hey, you wit'da mustashio - I'm talkin' to youse...]

Related: Angry in The Great White North shakes down Canadian television media:

"No matter what system you pick, the content is the same, dictated by the government to ensure that there is enough Canadian content. It doesn't matter that no one watches it because CRTC rules demand that these Canadian channels be packaged together, sometimes in obligatory packages that you must pay for as a viewer, sometimes with popular American channels with the expectation that many Canadians will pay for a few Canadian channels they don't watch in order to get an American channel that they do watch.

"We pay for the channels filled with programs we don't watch, and a piece of that money goes back to the artists. Some of them probably think that it means they are successful."

Just consider for a moment that all the broadcast and cable media in the US was filtered by the "progressive" establishment. Well, boring, agendized, predictable, dull and uninteresting TV is one thing - I'm used to not watching it. But God forbid the overbearing, liberal, Nannies start pulling threads out of the world-wide-web.

:: Max 11:31 PM [+] ::
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Tim Blair posts Lisa Huang Fleischman's email to the NYTs public editor, Byron Calame regarding the 2000th American soldier death in Iraq. It's a spot-on outing of an increasingly irrelevant news resource that appears to be heading the way of anchorman-in-denial Dan Rather - into oblivion.

:: Max 5:26 PM [+] ::
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"Is the investigation finished? It's not over,...But - very rarely do you bring a charge in a case that's going to be tried in which you ever end a grand jury investigation. I can tell you that the substantial bulk of the work of this investigation is concluded."

-Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald

:: Max 3:10 PM [+] ::
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Speaking of Football, don't miss The Professional Cheerleader Blog...

[Go team go...]

:: Max 2:52 PM [+] ::
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An informed emailer to Jonah Goldberg at the Corner poses an interesting question:

"Why hasn't Ms. Wilson been investigated? Intelligence analysts are prohibited by their mission (and by law, I think) from making or interfering with policy. By actively pushing her husband for this Niger mission she was clearly and knowingly interfering with policy. Wilson was an acknowledged Bush and administration foe. She had to know that his "fact finding mission" would be perfunctory at best. She should have been thrown out of the Agency long ago."

hmmmm...

:: Max 11:57 AM [+] ::
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USA Today Mangles Condi Photo


Before and after shown above. Michelle Malkin compiles reaction to the story. I've used Photoshop for many years and no way is this a mistake - look for more of this "artful" manipulation of photographs by MSM - it's just too tempting for them. Here's a blast from the past: Katherine Harris before and after the "photo editor" had his way with her [courtesy The OmbudsGod]:


UPDATE: LGF spots a lib-sanitized photo of batty professor Ward Churchill - what would they do without Photoshop?

:: Max 11:34 AM [+] ::
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Here's the website for Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald and of course, check in with Tom Maguire for a clinical disection of the ongoing PlameGate fiasco...

Update: Tom Maguire has posted his predictions on Fitzgerald's actions.

:: Max 9:25 AM [+] ::
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The Psuedo-Spy Who Came in From The Psuedo-Cold...

"She made no bones about the fact that she was an agency employee and her husband was a diplomat..."

[...I work for the Agency and my husband - did I mention he drives a convertable Jag-U-ahr - is with the State Department. But don't say anything darling. Of course, we're trying to keep a low-profile - you must know how difficult it is being a double-ought spy in this town - tee hee. Mums the word!]

[OK, I want to see the shoe-phone - I gotta see the shoe phone...and the poison-dart pen too...]

:: Max 10:16 PM [+] ::
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"...an understanding of the White House motive might be enriched if the media admitted that Wilson lacked credibility, and that "discrediting" him amounted to correcting the record."

Still wondering what's going on? Here's a detailed map of PlameWorld.

:: Max 10:03 PM [+] ::
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Who's Yer Daddy?

Ever wonder what happened to bat-wielding, knee-busting, ice-princess Tonya Harding? [not really, but I'm game, ed.] Here's an update that includes the delicious phrase "threw him down and bit his finger".

Meaningless newslette courtesy Sondrak

:: Max 9:34 PM [+] ::
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Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

:: Max 9:07 PM [+] ::
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It's no different than Clinton?!

"... he helped Monica Lewinsky write a false affidavit denying sexual relations with him; he intended the false affidavit to be used during his deposition, and in fact his lawyer (Bob Bennett) did use (unwittingly) the false affidavit to try to convince the judge overseeing the deposition (Susan Webber Wright) to limit questions to Clinton during the deposition; Clinton himself confirmed the accuracy of the false Lewinsky affidavit during his deposition; and Clinton lied repeatedly during the sworn deposition about his relationship with Lewinsky. There were no problems with bad recollections or unintended omissions. As Judge Wright ruled in her contempt holding against Clinton, Clinton made "intentionally false" statements. Clinton also enlisted others to lie for him. And considering the Jones lawsuit was about sexual harassment, and Jones's lawyers were trying to establish a practice and pattern of sexual misconduct to win their civil suit, this was no side issue. And yet, Clinton was not indicted. Robert Ray, the last of the independent counsels in the case, settled the case."

Mark R. Levin

:: Max 1:14 PM [+] ::
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Hearst News Service - Helen Thomas, 82, White House Correspondent : helent@hearstdc.com
Phone: (202) 298-6920
Fax: (202) 298-7862
Address: 1701 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20006

Amazing media contact list courtesy LGF - go for it.

:: Max 9:45 AM [+] ::
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Joseph C. Wilson IV is a Liar

"Well, I think that whoever those people were, what they were involved in here was trying to discredit what they took to be the president's policy...I ... thought American government works the other way. That is to say civil servants, government employees, follow the policy of the elected officials. But this case, clearly there were people at the CIA that were trying to discredit Bush's policy of military action in Iraq. And clearly, Valerie Plame and Joseph Wilson were part of that. And in addition, we also know that Joseph Wilson told numerous lies about this situation. He characterized his report, which was not a written report to the CIA, as disclosing no evidence that there was attempts by Iraq to buy uranium in Niger. But the CIA people that took a look at what he reported, or heard what he reported, concluded that he actually found some evidence that Iraq had made an attempt to obtain uranium in Niger...the analysts said that it increased the likelihood that the story was true. In addition, Joseph Wilson said his wife played no part in picking him for this mission. Well, that was a lie...This is a man who entitled his book The Politics of Truth. And there's something here for a Freudian psychiatrist, perhaps, to address, because it turns out, and this is the conclusion of the Senate Intelligence Committee, bipartisan report in July, 2004, that he lied about this and many other matters."

Michael Barone via Radio Blogger

:: Max 8:07 AM [+] ::
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"The chafing restrictions of civilization, which can at times become irksome to people of any color, may be vicariously thrown off by those white intellectuals who cheer on outlandish and even lawless behavior by black hoodlums or entertainers. Blacks in effect become the mascots of these [progressive, ed.] intellectuals, symbolizing and acting out the latter's resistance to "society" - or, more accurately, civilization."

Thomas Sowell

African Americans are slowly starting to figure this out - thanks to the hard work of intellects like Dr. Thomas Sowell.

:: Max 10:23 PM [+] ::
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"I never claimed to have 'debunked' the allegation that Iraq was seeking uranium from Africa."

Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV

Slimy prick...

:: Max 10:09 PM [+] ::
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"Usufruct"; an arcane legal concept. Basically it means "I'm from the Government and I'm here to take your house"

:: Max 3:37 PM [+] ::
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Good God Almighty, this is HUGE; Huge I tell ya...

:: Max 1:10 PM [+] ::
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Letterman pitches softballs to Al [Im a political pundit and possible Senatorial candidate in your dreams] Franken. The Political teen nabs the cringe-packed spectacle for your viewing pleasure...

Sleep with dogs, Al...

:: Max 12:22 AM [+] ::
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The very definition of tyranny - [No?]

:: Max 11:31 PM [+] ::
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Roger Simon neatly frames the Plame fiasco:

"To think that a few individuals may be indicted for this is grossly unfair. The whole bunch on all sides, especially and including the lawyers and the media, should be indicted for boring us all to death with this trivial episode about the semi-outing of a non-secret agent."

That's it, really, in a nutshell.

:: Max 11:27 AM [+] ::
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I oppose the Miers nomination

:: Max 9:17 AM [+] ::
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Aussie journalist, Stephen Dupont, who shot the "controversial" video of burning Taliban corpses says media got it all wrong:

"I actually believe that the guys who were involved in the burning did it with honorable, you know, reasons. They did it through their orders, or they did if for hygiene. I had no doubt in my mind that they were telling me the truth. If they were doing something that was problematic or controversial, there's no way they would have shown me this. There's no way they would have let me go up there and film this."

Curiously, NPR aired the interview with Dupont that contradicts MSMs predictable, over-reaction to the story. Here's NewsBuster's report.

:: Max 9:26 PM [+] ::
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Al Franken: "Now it's much better...now we have 70 affiliates, about 63 percent of the country."

Washinton Post: "Air America, the liberal talk network carried on WWRC-AM (1260), went from bad to nonexistent. After WWRC recorded a mere fraction of a rating point in the spring with syndicated shows from the likes of lefty talkers Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo and Stephanie Miller, Arbitron couldn't detect a measurable listenership for the station this time around."

wow...

:: Max 10:41 AM [+] ::
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"...with over 200,000 Iraqi security forces, various local policemen, and American and Coalition troops, there are perhaps nearly 400,000 actively opposed to the terrorists. The number is growing rather than shrinking. We are seeing more enlistments than defections. The result is that, incrementally and insidiously, Americans are less and less in the position of being the cop, swat-team, or battalion that Iraqis see daily as the providers of their order and security. As in the case of fewer visible diplomats, so too fewer observable soldiers shift the onus onto the Iraqis to solidify - or lose - their gift of democracy."

V.D. Hanson

V.D. Hanson will probably remain - always - at the top of my blogroll. Liberals? They're hopelessesly outclassed.

:: Max 11:28 PM [+] ::
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"the more you blog, the better you feel -- so post your blog at every meal."

Indeed...

:: Max 11:14 PM [+] ::
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DOWDFEST AT STARBUCKS AT NOON!!!!

:: Max 11:56 PM [+] ::
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Thought for the day:

"Constitutions are not designed for metaphysical or logical subtleties...They are instruments of a practical nature, founded on the common business of human life, adapted to common wants, designed for common use, and fitted for common understandings. The people make them; the people adopt them; the people must be supposed to read them, with the help of common sense."

-Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story

Story was an amazing justice, appointed to the Supreme Court by President James Madison [ummm, the "father" of the Constitution] also happened to be an anti slavery advocate - and, of all things, a Republican.

:: Max 9:31 PM [+] ::
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Joan Rivers, what a piece of work - here's the audio: "HOW DARE YOU?! HOW DARE YOU call me a racist?!!!

:: Max 7:14 PM [+] ::
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Just added a quick link to everything Wilma located on blogroll under "Max Recommends" on the blogroll.

:: Max 6:46 PM [+] ::
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Does FedEx NEED Europe? Hmmmm...

:: Max 1:05 AM [+] ::
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The Trial of The Century

Arabs are weighing in on Saddam's trial. Although MSM has little or no interest in their thoughts on the matter, I thought you might. By all means, keep your eye on the Middle Eastern bloggers [on the blogroll to your left] for their pithy and heartfelt commentary on the end-game - it's as compelling reading as anything you'll ever see chronicled in the blogosphere. Start here or here.

MSM hasn't a clue - they're shameless. Actually, I can't imagine a time before weblogs - they're the tool that Arab people needed to finally turn the whole political process in the middle-east around. I still find it astonishing that - although they would certainly disagree on the details - GWB and OBL are essentially trying to achieve the same goal - depose the Mandarin class of ME dictators once and for all. This is the story history will ultimately record - if a) the Iraqi's are successfull in their transformation and b) history is truthfully told. Don't underestimate this pivotal moment in human experience - it's unparalleled in it's global significance.

:: Max 11:47 PM [+] ::
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Highlight: Autoblog. It's good.

:: Max 11:27 PM [+] ::
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"The essence of bigotry is denying others the same rights you claim for yourself. Green bigots are a classic example..."

Thomas Sowell

:: Max 7:05 PM [+] ::
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Sandmonkey, offers a perscription for depressed Egyptians: Vodka. Really, I hadn't given it much thought but people do seem to be wound a bit tightly over there. C'mon guys, live a little!

Update: Just what the doctor ordered...

:: Max 11:21 PM [+] ::
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Now playing: Fun With Sonic Booms! [amazing] Update: I just realized the link sucks and I can't get it to work via Blogger - Instead, just copy and paste this url into your search engine for the vid: http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/Demos/doppler/mach1.mpg. Should work.

:: Max 10:40 PM [+] ::
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"I think the Americans do it just to wind us up. First they send some black woman piano-player to lecture us, now they send a blond Jewess to ask you impertinent questions. If she were one of my wives, I'd slap her round the mouth."

The Religious Policeman is having some fun at Baba Wawa's expense - don't miss it.

:: Max 2:48 PM [+] ::
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"Why is George W. Bush's utterly unremarkable evangelical Christianity so self-evidently risible but complaints from British Muslims hung up over the 11th century are perfectly reasonable and something we should seek to accommodate? Where is the secular Left's "insensitivity" when you need it? No doubt the bien pensants will still be hooting at born-again Texans on the day the House of Lords gives a second reading to the Sharia Bill."

Mark Steyn [who else?] via Eurosoc

:: Max 11:26 AM [+] ::
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"...black men in America are the only group ever to march in protest of themselves..."

:: Max 9:56 AM [+] ::
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Now Playing: Kwaaaaa! [via SondraK]

:: Max 12:09 AM [+] ::
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"I'm by no means a fan of the Miers nomination, but I seriously doubt the Judiciary Committee is going to embarrass her. To do that, the senators would have to have some grasp of constitutional law themselves..."

:: Max 4:56 PM [+] ::
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"I'm a gyno-American and I strenuously object..." Coulter's on a roll - go see for yourself...

:: Max 4:21 PM [+] ::
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I can stop anytime I want to...really:

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:: Max 11:04 PM [+] ::
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Well, maybe just one more post [liar!]:

On the French via Horsefeathers:

Le plus on leur baise le cul, le plus ils nous chient sur la tete.
The more you kiss their ass, the more they shit on your head.

Update: Hey, it's not MY fault this stuff just keeps on coming...manna from heaven!

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:: Max 10:31 PM [+] ::
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Welcome to Prairie Fire, my little news aggregator. I've decided to take a break from posting largely due to the fact the wonderful bloggers in my blogroll (to your left) are doing such an amazing job - frankly, I don't really NEED to blog. In any case, I will continue to keep the blogroll fresh because nowadays, it's my sole source of news. This page is the first thing I see in the morning, and usually the last thing I see before I go to bed; because of it, I no longer have any need whatever for the newspaper or nightly news. So although you won't find alot of pithy commentary from ole Max, you will find a clean, up-to-date, easy to navigate, uncluttered blogroll for your enjoyment. One more post? OK, put down your coffee and get a load of this...

Thought for the day:

"Considering some of the turkeys that Republicans have put on the Supreme Court in the past, [Harriet Miers] could be a big improvement."

Thomas Sowell

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:: Max 4:48 PM [+] ::
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