:: ::

:: 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

:: Friday, June 30, 2006 ::

Hitting the road for the holiday so I thought I would leave you with a little light reading material [this oughtta keep em busy -ed.].

If you've never read them, now might be a good time to acquaint yourself with the Federalist Papers. There's only 85 of them so when Aunt Betty starts moanin' about her bowels, excuse yourself politely and settle in with Madison and Hamilton as they craft the extraordinary political structure of the United States of America out of thin air. When you've finished that off, print out your very own, high-resolution copy of Constitution of The United States and stick it on the fridge with an American flag magnet. Maybe somebody will actually read a few lines of it while sipping on a beer.

Of course, it certainly wouldn't be Independence Day without a Declaration of Independence [boy the founders were smaaaart; they thought of everything!] Dang, this thing's jam-packed with self-evident truths and unalienable rights. Jefferson's quill was smokin' hot!

And finally, after you've blown-off a couple a hundred bucks worth of fireworks and the oohs and aahs have subsided, take a quick peek at the Bill of Rights and thank your God-damned lucky stars that you were blessed with such brilliant founding fathers; it's simply unimaginable to ponder what America would look like if the present group of venal, grasping, lackluster morons in Washington were faced with the same intractible task. Parish the thought.

OK; I'm loadin' the wagon with yard-beer, hot dogs, American flags, fireworks and my rifle [gonna do a little plinkin' on Byron's farm]. Happy Independence Day to everybody who has it.

Sorta related: A little refresher-course on recent American History.

:: Max 10:30 AM [+] ::
...

---

419 scams are those spam emails you receive requesting your assistance in helping transfer funds - usually in large amounts - from a foreign source; there are many versions of this scheme. 419Eater takes the scammer on a wicked ride with slapstick results.

:: Max 9:58 AM [+] ::
...

---

Western Europe Waking Up?

"More than a quarter of respondents said Muslim immigrants were rude, lazy, intolerant and prone to criminal behavior. They said the increase in Muslim immigration has had a negative effect on civic and social life, with almost 80 percent saying relations between Muslims and non-Muslims had become strained."

"Strained"? Ya think? Wait until Hirsi Ali's new movie hits the 'Arab Street'.

Really, this whole terrorist thing is morphing into a black-comedy replete with egocentric, cave-dwelling "masterminds" and potbellied despots threatening the civilized world with nuclear annhilation.

:: Max 12:53 AM [+] ::
...

---

Ann Coulter: "She was wearing a black, belly-revealing tank top, tight jeans and black boots. Sunglasses. We sat down."

:: Max 2:38 PM [+] ::
...

---

Boy, thank God for the New York Times! Otherwise, I'd have never known that our Government was tracking the financing of terrorist operatives around the world. That really was an important piece of information that I needed to know. Thanks New York Times for, you know, looking out for me.

Update: Lou Minatti takes a look at the stock charts for the Tribune Co. and New York Times. Obviously Lou's not reading the charts properly. This is how Pinch'n Jeff see their world:

:: Max 7:31 AM [+] ::
...

---

"Jobs are great things in France - if you can get one."

:: Max 7:17 AM [+] ::
...

---

Damnit.

:: Max 7:18 PM [+] ::
...

---

Saturday Laughs with a public service announcement:

Concerned citizen David Thompson adresses the Charlotte City Council on Homeland Security, the rogue helocopter thingy, no smoking, 30,000 seats and - er - ice in the arena.

An oldy but goody: Welcome to the Monkey Bar.

Crabs! "Lord have mercy"

Public Service Announcement: Always Wear Sunscreen

:: Max 2:18 PM [+] ::
...

---

One of the reasons I loath politicians is because - for whatever reason, - public service attracts morons. And they just keep crawling out of the woodwork.

:: Max 8:19 AM [+] ::
...

---

Michelle Malkin vents about ABC's eco-propaganda; check it out.

:: Max 1:33 PM [+] ::
...

---

Of course, it's all America's fault:

"I recently took part in a panel discussion in London about civil conflict and 'failed states' around the world, centered on the interesting work of the British economist Paul Collier. The panelists included the son of a famous African liberation-leader-turned-dictator, the former leader of a South American guerrilla group, a Pakistani journalist, a U.N. official and the head of a nongovernmental humanitarian organization. Naturally, our reasoned and learned discussion quickly transmogrified into an extended round-robin denunciation of American foreign policy.

"The panelists focused instead on a long list of grievances against the United States stretching back over six decades. There was much discussion of the 'colonial legacy' and 'neo-colonialism,' especially in the Middle East and Africa. And even though the colonies in question had been ruled by Europeans...

"As for 'failed states' and civil conflict, several panelists agreed that they were always and everywhere the fault of the United States. The African insisted that Bosnia and Kosovo were destroyed by American military interventions, not by Slobodan Milosevic, and that Somalia was a failed state because of American policy. The Pakistani insisted the United States was to blame for Afghanistan's descent into anarchy in the 1990s. The former guerrilla leader insisted that most if not all problems in the Western Hemisphere were the product of over a century of American imperialism.

"When someone pointed out that the young boys fighting in African tribal and ethnic wars could hardly be fighting against American 'imperialism,' the African dictator's son insisted they were indeed. When the head of the NGO paused from gnashing his teeth at American policy to suggest that perhaps the United States was not to blame for the genocide in Rwanda, the African dictator's son argued that it was, because it had failed to intervene. The United States was to blame both for the suffering it caused and the suffering it did not alleviate.

"If we refrained from action out of fear that others around the world would be angry with us, then we would never act. And count on it: They'd blame us for that, too."

Rober Kagan writing for the Washington Post (?!) via No Pasaran!

UPDATE: Lou Minatti treads where MSM fears to go: Darfur in a nutshell.

:: Max 3:58 PM [+] ::
...

---

The Subtleties of World Cup Football: "take your eye off the ball..."

Powerline has excerpted a primer on watching World Cup football by none other than Dr. Henry Kissenger; a worthwhile and surprisingly good read for "soccer" neophytes such as myself.

:: Max 10:44 AM [+] ::
...

---

Ya get the Government you deserve. Unfortunately, so do the troops...

[I'm still having a hard time believing main-stream dems - working class, old school Democrats - can posssibly agree with Murtha's position on the war on Iraq. I simply cannot fathom this level of ignorance; nobody's this stupid.]

:: Max 11:15 PM [+] ::
...

---

"Every Muslim who is honest would say, I would like to see America become a Muslim country."

Honest Muslims? Right.

:: Max 10:54 PM [+] ::
...

---

The truth will stand up as TruthOut.org stands down [or something like that].

:: Max 1:22 PM [+] ::
...

---

Modern Art, I can't explain it but I know it when I see it...

UPDATE: Excrement, blood, urine? It's sooo been done...

:: Max 4:21 PM [+] ::
...

---

"Ever wondered what our schools are teaching children about terrorism?" No surprise here really.

:: Max 11:19 AM [+] ::
...

---

If you're a Lesbian, it's maybe OK [heh, heh]; On the other hand, if you're a male homosexual...

[Actually, I found this video to be somewhat enlightening. The Muslim Clergy very much remind me of how narrow-minded American power-brokers - priests [er, heh], politicians and business elites - in the late fifties - considered homosexualality [SINNER! - INFIDEL!]. Really though, in terms of social evolution, "orthodox" Muslims are only about fifty-years out of phase, not an insurmountable evolutionary correction in my view. And no, I do not consider homosexuality to be haram a sin. God gifted us ALL our "special" issues and I'm greatly relieved to place mine in "his" hands. And besides, it's nice to see Muslims discussing these difficult [for some] moral questions publicly - it's a start.]

:: Max 9:46 PM [+] ::
...

---

T-Shirt Sales Update

Exposing the cult of Che; Powerline Blog posts a little history refresher on the martyred darling of the left - Che Guevara. [Oh, "he was incredibly beautiful"].

:: Max 9:20 PM [+] ::
...

---

Do not miss Political Correctness - The Revenge of Marxism a terrific Fjordman Report via Gates of Vienna.

:: Max 9:11 PM [+] ::
...

---

Good God Almighty. This is a perfect example of why I despise "liberal" "progressivism". If this story doesn't convince you that the UN should be defunded, dismantled, and defanged nothing will.

:: Max 8:06 AM [+] ::
...

---

A really inconvenient truth:

"Gore's circumstantial arguments are so weak that they are pathetic. It is simply incredible that they, and his film, are commanding public attention."

But wait, there's more:

"The man is an embarrassment to US science and its many fine practitioners, a lot of whom know (but feel unable to state publicly) that his propaganda crusade is mostly based on junk science."

Yep; the poor dumb jerks lend more credence to the rantings of Algore and the Hollywood loons than frikin' paleoclimatologists with PHDs. It's good to see real scientists bringing intelligence to the discussion cause you ain't gonna get it from the whacky doomsdayers and the eco-lobby. Oh well, go ahead and plop down your twenty-bucks for a ticket and bag of popcorn. It's twenty-bucks you won't have to give to MoveOn.org.

:: Max 7:15 PM [+] ::
...

---

Joseph Wilson to file a civil suit against Karl Rove?

Or maybe not:

"Wilson would have to be really dumb to expose himself and his wife to the rigors of discovery in a civil action. I have always wondered how two civil servants were able to afford an expensive home in one of Washington’s finest neighborhoods, for example. Wilson has gotten kid glove treatment from the press. He may just be stupid enough to expose himself to an adversary equipped with subpoena power.

Another dark Rovian plot I tell ya. The man's a genius.

:: Max 6:57 PM [+] ::
...

---

Finally; proof of the existence of God!

:: Max 10:27 PM [+] ::
...

---

Lou Minatti always has an oblique post or two and that's why I keep going back to his blog. Today's curiosity is an update on Cheers favorite dim-bulb Woody Harrelson.

Yep; "Woody, a young bartender who took slow-wittedness to new heights..."

:: Max 5:28 PM [+] ::
...

---

I had known for some time this was coming to Kansas City, I just had no idea how massive and, well, radical the concept is.

"Quietly but systematically, the Bush Administration is advancing the plan to build a huge NAFTA Super Highway, four football-fields-wide, through the heart of the U.S. along Interstate 35, from the Mexican border at Laredo, Tex., to the Canadian border north of Duluth, Minn."

Wow. No wonder the Administration has been dodging the "immigration" thing. He's turning the Mexican Border into a "speedbump" and I'm beginning to get it. Interesting that this massive project has been "hidden in plain view" for such a long time but such is the state of MSM. You have to stop and think for a minute how brilliant this idea really is.

NOTE TO TOM: [er, no Tom, sorry to leave you with that impression; I really do think this is an amazing project and unlike alot of conservatives, I'm not at all concerned about the immigration problem - it's not their fault the Goverment has left the door wide open and put out the welcome mat. I mean, I'd do the same thing were I in their position. More importantly we currently have a 4.6% unemployment rate (?!) and high fuel prices; without "undocumented workers" we'd have an exhorbitant inflation problem. Oh, and I was an undocumented worker once, so I kind of empathize.]

H/T SDA [>]

:: Max 5:05 PM [+] ::
...

---

Islam: A religion of peace? Here's a good little primer on the Koranic verses that reference violence - basically, a religious license to kill via LGF.

Update: This oldy but goodie was in the comments section of Charles' post:

"The Jews have come from the tragedy (of the Holocaust), and forced the world to respect them, with their knowledge, not with their terror, with their work, not their crying and yelling. Humanity owes most of the discoveries and science of the 19th and 20th centuries to Jewish scientists. 15 million people, scattered throughout the world, united and won their rights through work and knowledge. We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest by killing people. The Muslims have turned three Buddha statues into rubble. We have not seen a single Buddhist burn down a Mosque, kill a Muslim, or burn down an embassy. Only the Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing people, and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect them."

Arab Psychiatrist Wafa Sultan on Al-Jazeera

:: Max 4:33 PM [+] ::
...

---

Anybody out there think it a bit odd that we haven't seen any polls on Bush's approval numbers lately? There's only one plausible explanation; MSM is burying the results.

:: Max 11:46 PM [+] ::
...

---

"We are here. We are at the gates. We will no longer remain passive and meek in order to court favor. We, the people, are coming to power slowly and indefatigably, here in Vegas and here on the blog. We have arrived."

Tim Blair provides a little reality-based perspective on the YearlyKos convention.

:: Max 3:46 PM [+] ::
...

---

"[W]e found a lot of material in that place. We found the diaries. We found telephone numbers. We found computers, and we found -- there was a database in that computer. And there was a lot of information carrying -- Zarqawi used to carry with him. So it was very, very useful, not only to capture Zarqawi and get him out of the way of the Iraqi people, because he's the number one enemy of the Iraqi people, it was the value of the information we got with him."

Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie via Powerline

:: Max 10:05 PM [+] ::
...

---

"Welcome to the only thing sleazier than overbilling lawyers, overprescribing doctors shilling for pharamaceutical companies, greedy coporate executives, and used car salesmen: the American Journalist. Flawed and crooked and self-centered as the rest of us, but riding around on a high horse, pointing out everyone else's sins, but ignoring their own. This is the last great industry-wide scandal left uncovered in America. Because of course, they'd have to cover it themselves. And none of them have the bravery to take their own inventory, to list their own pathologically self-centered faults. They'd rather just go after yours. mine and those who disagree with them politically."

Pat Dollard via The Belmont Club

:: Max 3:57 PM [+] ::
...

---

No, this isn't the remains of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi meat by the pound. It's a single BBQ briskit "sandwich" from Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City. I had this for lunch today and the meat in the picture is what was LEFTOVER after I had eaten! Note the shards of spongy white "Wonder Bread". I don't know why they even bother with the bread [maybe you're supposed to use it like an edible napkin?].

I'll try to post a pic of the best ribs in KC later in the week - after I recover from the Bryant's. Seriously, this "sandwich" must have weighed 2 lbs. I'm not kidding.

Arthur Bryants Beef Sandwich: $7.65

:: Max 12:38 AM [+] ::
...

---

Dismantle the EU Now; Fjordman pens the manifesto:

"Vladimir Bukovksy, too, warns that it looks like we are living in a period of rapid, systematic and very consistent dismantlement of democracy. "Look at this Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill. It makes ministers into legislators who can introduce new laws without bothering to tell Parliament or anyone." "Today's situation is really grim. Major political parties have been completely taken in by the new EU project. None of them really opposes it. They have become very corrupt. Who is going to defend our freedoms?" He doesn't have much faith in institutions such as the elected, but largely powerless European Parliament, to curtail these developments. "The European Parliament is elected on the basis of proportional representation, which is not true representation. And what does it vote on? The percentage of fat in yoghurt, that kind of thing. It is ridiculous." "It is no accident that the European Parliament, for example, reminds me of the Supreme Soviet. It looks like the Supreme Soviet because it was designed like it. Similary, when you look at the European Commission it looks like the Politburo," which was the real centre of power in the USSR, unaccountable to anyone, not directly elected by anyone at all."

Really a terrific piece of writing. Read the whole thing via Gates of Vienna.

:: Max 12:06 AM [+] ::
...

---

Good News Bad News

The bad news is that the Religious Policeman is no longer blogging. The good news is that he's writing a novel. I'll miss him.

:: Max 4:40 PM [+] ::
...

---

June 4th was the 17th anniversery of the Tiananmen Square massacre and one of the single bravest acts of political courage the world has ever seen. Although Che-loving commies will be loath to revisit it [there were no giant puppet heads] here is a little video-wittness to one of history's most brutal communist regimes via Barcepundit.

:: Max 4:02 PM [+] ::
...

---

More RFK Jr

I'm beginning to think the Kennedy family really is cursed. Here is RFK Jr. making an ass out of himself on Wolf Blitzer's Situation Room; here is DEMOCRATIC POLLSTER Mark Blumenthal deconstructing the wild rantings of a paranoid, schizophrenic moron. [I'm guessing Xanax; way too much Xanax]

Update: Much more here.

:: Max 4:03 PM [+] ::
...

---

Seems like Che's apparition is everywhere these days. Here's a nice pic of the handsome revolutionary you've probably never seen before.

:: Max 3:39 PM [+] ::
...

---

No Pasaran's Eric Svane takes a walk down Women's Liberation Lane [the Eric, he looks super-fantastic in red - no?].

:: Max 3:27 PM [+] ::
...

---

Interesting double slam; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is boxed about the ears in Salon while Gore takes it on the chin in the Denver Post. I love it when the moon is in the Seventh House and Jupiter aligns with Mars...

:: Max 3:18 PM [+] ::
...

---

"So in one breath, he has managed to equate America with Communist China and Nazi Germany. Oh, I'm sure some flack will say he was taken out of context. The best way to fight that is to take yourself out of the context of trying to justify supporting dictators."

An incredulous Jeff Jarvis slams Yahoo Chairman and Chief Executive Terry Semel for being, well, a useful idiot.

:: Max 9:03 PM [+] ::
...

---

Holiday Inn; Logansport, Indiana; Memorial Day, 2006

:: Max 1:48 PM [+] ::
...

---