King Fahad

Today, I stood on the tip of Gibraltar, looking across the straits to Africa. It was a windy, blustery day. Chilly. Ships from a hundred countries were transiting the narrow passage, at anchor or putting in to Gib, Algeciras or Cueta.

And near the absolute tip, there was a mosque -- donated by King Fahad (from the spelling on the building itself) of Saudi Arabia. An austere white building, a slim minaret, and a domed main building. The whole complex was surrounded in a tasteful, but secure, white wrought-iron fence, about 15 feet high. The top of the dome was decorated with a gold (solid) crescent.

This spot has been British since the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. A long time, in other words. Before that, it was in the hands of a host of other countries, and peoples. As far as we know, there were Neanderthals living on the Rock. Then the Phoenicians. Then the Romans. Then: Vandals, Goths and Visigoths. It came under Byzantine power from 300-711 ... when Umayyad General Tariq ibn Ziyad took it, crossing Cueta with a Berber army. The first Muslim occupation of the Rock. The name Gibraltar comes from the Arabic "jebl al Tariq," Tariq's mountain.

The muslims held it (although swapping with other Muslim dynasties and tribes) for about 600 years, when a Castillian army led by King Ferdinand IV took it. Almost nothing except a castle was built during the first 400 years of Moorish ownership. Then some small settlements developed. About 30 years later, the Muslims retook it under the Abd al-Malik, the son of the Marinid Sultan. The Moors held it for anothe 100 years during which Alfonso the XI beseiged in several times but died of the Black Death during the seige of 1350. Ultimately, in 1462, the Moors lost Gib for the last time.

In 1492, when the Catholic monarchs expelled the Jews from Spain to Norh Africa, many went by way of Gib. For the next 120 years or so, the Spanish nobility fought over Gib, with another 3 or 4 sieges. In 1606, the Moriscos (Muslim Spanish) were expelled from Spain and many went to North Africa by way of Gib. Don't forget the Barbary Pirates who made slaving raids on Gib during the 1540's.

In 1607, a Dutch fleet sailed down from Holland during the 80 Years War (yes, that is right) and blasted the crap out of the Spanish fleet anchored at Gib. Ballsy move. In 1625, the need for a permanent base in the Med for the English was first noted in government papers, with Gib as the first idea. In 1656, Cromwell made known his first desire to secure Gib for England.

In 1700, the Spainsh King Charles II died without heirs, and his will was contested by just about all of Europe, starting the Spanish Wars of Succession. In 1704, a joint English/Dutch force of marines beseiged the town, and forced the Spanish to surrender it to Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt -- in favour of the Habsburg pretender to the throne, Archduke Charles. When they entered the town, the English troops under Admiral George Rooke raised the Jack claiming it for England and in the name of Queen Anne (who ratified this action) and it has been "British" ever since. Is this the origin of the concept of getting "rooked?"

Needless to say, Philip IV of Spain was seriously pissed off, as was Charles the pretender (Philip of Bourbon, the son of Louis XIV was given all of Spain and possession by Charles II in his will). Although in the name of Charles III, the English really ran the place. The Spanish tried with overwhelming force to recapture the place, but ridiculously small garrisons (at one point but 17 persons) held of French and Spanish armies. Utlimately, Queen Anne declared it a free port in return for support and supply by the Sultan of Morocco.

In the Treaty of Utrech, Spain ceded Great Britain "the full and entire propriety of the town and castle of Gibraltar, together with the port, fortifications, and forts thereunto belonging ... for ever, without any exception or impediment whatsoever." And there it remains.

But what about that mosque? A new mosque on the site of the first Muslim conquest of Europe -- this is more than a mere memorial. When you see it, it seems unbelievable that it is there at all conisdering how many people have died trying to own that little bit of rock. But money speaks. And I cannot help but think that it is more than a "here we first invaded" thing, it has this weird feeling of "we have not forgotten." "We will return." And I don't like that.

Kill Iranians

There now seems to be some big brouhaha about US troops killing Iranian agents in Iraq. And I really get the impression that certain leftists are up in arms about this. Let me tell you something: I am up in arms about this too ... WHY THE HELL DIDN'T WE START KILLING THE IRANIANS THREE YEARS AGO? I mean kill all of them. If you find an Iranian in Iraq, it is rather simple -- he (unlikely it would be "she") shouldn't be there. In fact, it is SO unlikely that Parvis Iranian is there for anything but evil, he should be summarily executed. Bang.

Because that is about all the decency being shown to US troops by Shia militias who are financed and armed by Iran. Stoop/Drop to their level? Do not mistake this as "stooping" to their level, it can't be done. It is rather like finally deciding to delouse yourself.

But ANY asshole in the State Department / US Armed Forces or other branch of Federal Government that has let any frikkin Iranians walk the streets of Baghdad unmolested for ANY period of time since we invaded should be imprisoned, subject to a court martial, fired, or simply shot. Why? Because US servicemen have DIED for your vanity. Died for your unwillingness to face reality and instead live in a political never-never land. It has been clear since 1979 that NOTHING that comes out of Iran has in any way been for the benefit of civilized society. Nothing.

SEGOLENE update:

Now some French comedian who specialized in impersonations called up Sego's campaign office, put on a Quebec accent and managed to convince staffers to get through to Sego. Then he "chatted with her" for about 11 minutes bringing up the question of Corsican independence, etc. before it went wrong. “The French people wouldn’t be opposed to the idea, by the way,” Ms Royal was heard to say on an extract of the conversation broadcast on French radio. Still laughing, she added: “Don’t repeat that, though — it would cause another incident in France. It’s a secret.” (Times of London).

And that is priceless.

Royal screw up

Sego Royal, the socialist candidate for the French presidency managed to put her foot in her mouth again. Right up to her knee.

So the head of the Parti Quebecoiswas in Paris doing the rounds with his French mentors and he met with Sego, the darling of the liberal left. During this meeting, Sego spoke of “common values, namely the freedom and sovereignty of Quebec”. Parse that, if you will. I get " Quebec needs its freedom from anglophone Canada and France backs that position.

So once again, Sego has let slip the true agenda of the French left and her own imperial aspirations. Or royal ones....

In case you forgot, she is not only a super europhile, advocating a French-led core group of assimilation nations. She is also rabidly anti-American: "thank you for being so frank. I agree with a lot of the things you have said, notably your analysis of the US” (in reply to a Hezbollah MP who had denounced “unlimited American insanity” and compared Israel to Nazi Germany).

Not even the French deserve that. Though if they vote for her, I will rank that miscue above even the adventures of Dubbya Bush. Imagine if you are one of her supporters -- a daily dose of humiliation.

Update on Hussein Obama

Let us say, for the sake of argument, that Barack Obama WAS at one time Muslim. Then converted to whatever brand of Christianity that he currently claims. In Islam, when you are born to a Muslim father, you ARE Muslim.

In Islam, the conversion AWAY from the true faith is a crime of tremendous proportion -- essentially, you sign your death warrant in the most strict countries. So, even as it stands, no matter what the outcome of this madrassa thing, it is awkward to say the least, to contemplate that a potential president is a criminal to 1.1 billion people.

The Koran quotes Allah as saying in chapter (sura) 2, verse 256 that there should be ‘no compulsion in religion.' BUT the hadith which form the basis of Islamic Sharia law quote Mohammed as saying ‘If a Moslem discards his religion, kill him.' Hmmm. Not a lot of wriggle room there. The two sources are NOT incompatible, one can be interpreted as being tolerant of other religions (uh huh, right) and the other a command to Muslims. And it is this command that makes things interesting: President Obama ... kill him if you are a good Muslim. I'd not want to be on Air Force One!!

Barack HUSSEIN Obama

Latest news out is the the Clinton campaign has done some "interesting" due diligence on Mr. Obama. You see, Barack spent a considerable protion of his youth abroad in Indonesia -- from ages 6 through 10. Not a big deal, his first book told us that. But did you know that he was educated at a Mulsim madrassa? For those that do not know, a madrassa is a RELIGIOUS school, not very different from a parochial school, you know with Penguins walking around, etc.

So what, you may ask? Isn't Barack a Christian? Doesn't he go to church every now and then? Yes, he does. But he has not exactly been very honest with us, has he? He did not exactly highlight the fact that his father and step father were both practicing Muslims and that he was a practicing Muslim for at least the first 10 years of his life too.

It would not be PC of me to go to religion per se, instead it would be better to focus on the dishonesty factor. OK. Hmmm. Ahhhh. So I did that. Now back to the religious factor. This is very probably not relevant at all to Obama, but friends, it IS true that there is about 1.1 billion Muslims in this world. And it is also true that not all Muslims are bent on the annihilation of us Western Christians and Jews, etc.... But in the last 20 years, 99% of all terrorist actions against us have been committed by Muslims. By "us" I mean primarily the US -- although the UK has had a VERY few IRA incidents, and ETA has been pretty quiet until last week against Spain.

That is, as far as "we" are concerned, not all Muslims are terrorists, but all the terrorists have been Muslim. Consider, if but 10% of those 1.1 billion Muslims are radicalized, that means there are 110 million people walking about this planet that would like to kill you and me because we exist. And they are out-breeding us by many multiples, creating yet more that want to kill us. Worse, the ones that are the most fecund are those that are the most fundamental, that is, radicalized.

And Saudi Arabia continues to fund the radical Wahabi version of Sunni Islam, which the primary generator of terrorists with regards to the West. Billions of dollars per year in funding a particularly virulent brand of Islam. Some of it right to CAIR the Council on American-Islamic Relations. By virtue of the very fact that it is funded by Wahabi Saudis, we can be SURE that they mean us no good and they are the spokespeople for Islamic concerns in the US -- or at least they try to be. CAIR has long term goals of Islam as the dominant religion in the US ... a US ruled by Shari'a. Not too great a goal for women's rights, I'd say. But we'd empty the prisons fast!!

Notice that I am not including within the great global terrorism stakes the assholes prancing around in the bush in South America ... sorry to say, but they still believe in Mao and stuff like that -- sort of the tooth fairy sydrome. Though the notion that they have oil and can use the money to screw with us is very real: look at Chavez in Venezuela.

Where was I? Oh, yes ... Obama. Is he nuts? Does he think that when this gets out that he stands a snowball's hope in hell of getting elected? Hillary must be perplexed at how to use this information. Too much pushing and she looks shrill and a dirt digger (exactly), but she can afford to call him on it -- using the honesty ploy, because she would NEVER bring up religion ... would she?

AND WHAT IF THIS IS ALL JUST A DIRTY TRICK??? A trick to smear Obama from inside the Clinton campaign? Or a down-and-dirty ploy by Obama's campaign to smear Hillary's campaign? An invention of blogsphere?

Dude, its about IQ.

No child shall be left behind. Hmmmm.... What the hell does that mean, anyway? Left behind what standard? Does it mean that we need to move the standards back so that every child fits under the predetermined goal posts?

Let us consider for a moment the notion of IQ: 100 means that you are average. That does not mean that you are like everyone else (that is the fundamental mistake about "no child left behind"), it means that about 50% of the people that you will meet are smarter than you and about 50% are not as smart. Or should I say that people approaching the lower ends of the intelligence scale are ... stupid / dumb / gormless / thick, etc.

Put another way, about half of the children attending the typical public school in the United States are of below average intelligence. There, I have said it. No matter how hard you try, you cannot beat, coach, or force above average scores in the relevant tests from children who simply can't comprehend or process the required information. You cannot raise intelligence permanently in an individual: extensive testing has shown that short term boosts can be achieved through intensive coaching, only to see a slide back normality within a couple of years.

So what are we trying to achieve in our schools anyway? We do not look good in standardized tests as compared to various European and Asian countries, but is this a reflection of greater intelligence there, or perhaps better teaching? Or is it that teaching is oriented to achieve good test results, without any notion as to understanding? Probably the latter. Being a product of the UK system, I can say that rote memorization was the standard and ability to regurgitate vast tracts of worthless knowledge highly prized. That is, the system values how to think "inside" the box and it looks good in testing scores. But, even within that sort of system, the students with higher IQ advance ahead of those without. Its about raw processing power -- think about a PC with a old pentium processor and one with a Core2 Duo. 'Nuff said.

What also seems conveniently forgotten when comparing the US with Europe is another aspect between the systems: in Europe, if you are considered to be "thick" by your teachers, you are shunted from an early age into "technical high schools" and possibly apprenticeship situations for the "trades." You don't really attend "high school" as we know it at all. So to get the comparison correct, we'd have to test the untested in Europe and throw them into the mix to get a balanced view. Since this is impossible, we are stuck with comparison -- and we don't look good.

A correspondent of mine points out that the movement in Europe is now for teaching "understanding" and not to scores and tests ... except in France and Germany. Too bad for them (who do I mean, you may wonder?).

But back to the main point: who are we teaching to in the US of A? IF we teach to the all-inclusive standard, we risk under-teaching the smarter kids so that the dumber kids don't feel bad. This is destructive: experience has shown that when a child is not challenged in class, performance suffers -- you create a "C" student from an "A" student because that intelligent child is simply bored out of his or her mind. In Dedham, MA, the education department have ceased to publish the honor list of the high school in the local paper because of the pressure on the kids that don't make it. Have we taken leave of our senses? Where is the the goal? Where is the drive to excel? Where is the carrot?

We know that in many (I do mean virtually all) American schools, smart kids are picked on, bullied and made to feel bad simply because they are smart and get good grades, fostering a culture where it is cool to be dumb. In the inner city schools, it is far worse; it is dangerous to be seen to conform in any way to the goals of higher education. Better to be a "gangsta" than a boy or girl headed to medical school. Which poses the question: how on earth can the inhabitants of those inner cities EVER pull themselves up? You can only extend the guilt for the sins of our great, great, great grandfathers for so long as an excuse for a handout. You "gotta wanna" succeed. Dr. King exhorted people to make something of themselves ... he would turn in his grave if he could see the mess today. Bill Cosby was labeled an "Oreo" for voicing that opinion. So, if we make sure that no child is left behind in that sort of environment ... how far do we have to move the goal posts to ensure that happens?

What about the smart black, hispanic and other minority kids? How do we reach out and cultivate their intelligence to enable them to succeed? To break the cycle of under performance? Certainly not with "affirmative action" ... that is like saying "we will let you in anyway, even though you are not really qualified." That is bullshit. IQ is IQ is ability (though not to say that all high IQ people have common sense: they don't) and it is there for the taking and nurturing in EVER population and racial/ethnic group. But it is not politically correct to single out those with potential and move them ahead. Talk about irony: the PC notion prevents the creation of a culture and class needed to blow affirmative action out of the water.

But it is not very different from the predominantly white Medford, Malden, or Melrose, either. To get rich by being a jock is cool. To get rich by being the nerd that invents the latest and greatest scientific breakthrough is not. Until the nerd buys a Bentley. And why does this country sit in awe of morons in Hollywood that are definitely in the lower 50% of intelligence? Or lower 35%? Who are the heros for high school students? Paris Hilton, George Clooney, Alec Baldwin, Brad Pitt (and Manny Ramirez)? What?

Let's test the children and move to take the brightest and force feed them education. Because it is NECESSARY for the long-term vitality of the United States. Economically and socially necessary. Don't forget, as a rocket scientist in some government lab, you are not and will not be rich, but you may be fulfilled -- happy. Similarly, on the other end of the IQ scale (but not necessarily, just as a generality), the plumber who has built a small fleet of plumbing trucks, has a boat, season tickets to the Pats may just be exceedingly happy. A lot happier than some poor schmuck (of the lower half of the IQ scale) trying to outwit his intellectual superior in some corporate headquarters somewhere, only to be kicked out on his ass at 50 with no prospects of a meaningful well-paying job in the future. Why did he even bother with college? Probably, spent 30 years in a job he hated when he'd have rather done something else all along, something that he might have been intellectually and emotionally suited for?

Because in the United States the general ideas is (in the Asian and White communities ) we all have to go to college, similar to no child left behind notion. No matter that many of the students are inherently too low in the raw IQ department (dumb) to benefit significantly from it in a way that will positively affect their future lives. As a college grad I can't be an electrician, plumber, baker, carpenter or something requiring manual labor ... could I? I am too good for that. Right. Some of the "smartest" guys I have met in the last few years are small business owners who started as apprentices in the trades 20 years ago. They are "set" financially, and most of my law school or business school classmates ... still wondering how to pay off the mortgage, buy a bigger BMW, and how to bill those hours.

Expectations are unreasonable and so is the notion that no child shall be left behind. Better to assess the individual and see what we can do as a society to maximize the potential for that individual for a HAPPY life.

The Vampire

Nancy Pelosi .... May she get caught time and again.

So liberals and Dems across the country applauded when Vampirella succeeded in getting the minimum wage boosted to $7.25. And high time too. But business leaders complained that this only served to force them search abroad for more hospitable places (cheaper) to make widgets. Probably true, but legislation could prevent that --- oooohh dear, I am sounding anti-trade, and anti-competitive!!!!

Vampirella knows this and that is why she worked her magic to suck blood out of everyone else ... except two businesses headquartered in her home district in California. Yes, dear readers, there is an exemption to the minimum wage laws just passed and the beneficiaries are Vampirella's constituents. How? The bill expressly exempts American Samoa from the laws -- all other US territories and states are whacked, but not American Samoa.

You see, American Samoa is where Starkist and Chicken of the Sea have their major tuna canning operations: some 40% of the island is in one way or the other beholden to those jobs. And if the wage rate went through the roof, then the companies that control the canneries -- and which are headquartered in Vampirella's district -- would be forced to look elsewhere for cheaper labor. Just like the business leaders against the minimum wage hike claimed for all the other menial labor in the US.

It pays to pay off Vampirella. And this is the quality and cut of our new Speaker of the House. This is what we should expect from the party that invented the pork barrel.

What?

Its been a few days so I decided that I needed to spew some venom. The trouble is ... where? Bella Pelosi? Devoid Patrick? Booooosh?

Anyway, some thoughts:

1. Surge, my ass. I seriously doubt that there is any point. But interestingly, all the Dems who were pro-surge prior to the election (many of them) are now strangely silent? Why could that be? Afraid of the assault led by the vampire Bella Pelosi? Remember when Kerry was running for election in 2004? He said in his last month on the campaign trail that he thought that, if elected, he could get the troops home by ... 2008. Thus, that was the official Democrat party line, right? Vetted by the DNC as the policy. Now that Boooosh has stated that he wants to do that, it is all of a sudden wrong?

2. The Vampire threatens the surge with Murtha by holding the purse strings. The Vampire also states that the Iraq problem cannot be solved militarily .... Folks, that is the biggest crock of shit ever. What, she thinks that this can be solved POLITICALLY? Through diplomacy? Has she had her plasticized head up her ass for the last 5 years? These people want to KILL each other, not talk out their differences. And kill us too. What in the name of all that is good and holy do liberals not understand about this situation ... that talking is a weakness in the enemy's eyes, or a good stalling tactic to confuse European governments into thinking that they might "see the light." IDIOTS. Not that Boosh and his team are not idiots, 'cause they are, and so are most of the GOP members of the House and Senate. But everyone calls them that -- nobody is willing (in the press) to call the Dems the same sort of morons. Equal time for equal idiocy, I always say.

And the Vampire has the balls (she must have some in order to be that stupid) to claim that the Republicans have no plan. WHAT THE HELL HAVE THE DEMOCRATS EVER COME UP WITH THAT EVEN REMOTELY RESEMBLES A PLAN???? EVER????

3. Devoid Watch: his new cabinet of movers and shakers seems pretty light to me, but ... it pains me to confess this ... they seem to, on the whole, be decent choices. A few craven party and campaign hacks, but some decent appointees too. Bravo, Devoid.

4. The weather. How about some snow?

5. Apple Computers. You know, I would really like to buy and Apple Mac Pro, but when I add up the software costs, coupled with the initial price differential, I come to the conclusion that I can buy a totally pimped out Dell XPS, 2.4 gig Core 2 Duo, twin 250gb raid 1, 512 MB video ATI 1900, twin X48 DVD writers, 2GB RAM, 20" HD monitor, TV tuner ... for about $1500 less. For that price, I can buy a pimped out notebook into the bargain.

What and when will Apple ever get to the point that they are price competitive. Sure, they "work better" and have a slicker interface, etc. But when it is your own hard earned cash, it is not THAT much slicker! The Dell comparo is not a stripped out but an over the top Windows based jammin' fool machine. The Mac Pro does not even come with TV tuner, or a monitor!! SAAB buyers probably see sense in the Mac -- a premium for difference's sake -- even though SAABs are now largely Opels and Vauxhalls (GMs Euro subs) ... but it gives you counter-culture cred. And someone else is most likely paying for it. That being said, the Mac notebooks really are enough superior to warrant it. I am typing on a 5 year old IBM notebook....

6. Bangor, Maine has decided to make it a crime to smoke a cigarette in a car with children in it. My parents would be at San Quentin by now as incorrigible recidivists. I TOTALLY agree with the law. And we should subject idiots with cell phones plastered to their ears while driving to anal taser treatment.

7. Some liberals are whining about civilian casualties inflicted by our incursion in Somalia. Shut up.

8. Beckham goes to Hollywood. Posh must just be wetting herself. Finally, she gets to go and live where she belongs: Neverland. Of course, she might find that she is too fat there. But seriously Becks, we know it is because of your dismissal from the England squad that you decided to move, if there had been even a small chance, you'd have stayed in Madrid or gone back to the UK. So here is a thought: become a US citizen and play for us.

9. Back injuries really suck. People who have not had one cannot really fathom what it means for every small motion to be rewarded by the feeling of being stabbed. Ugh.

Maybe tomorrow I will get motivated to really rip a new one for some beneficiary. But then again, maybe not.

Bznezz as usual

OK, Dooval, time to back your campaign pledges to change the way business is done at the State House, to change the culture of Beacon Hill: Tom Finneran, just pled out on felony obstruction of justice charges and perjury in Federal Court. The man is now a felon. The former speaker of the House is currently employed -- at $416,000 per year -- as the President of the Massachusetts Biotech Council, and represents Massachusetts in swinging big deals across the country the way of the Commonwealth. It is a State job.

All weekend senior politicians at the State House lauded Finneran and spoke of their man being the best man for the job. That man is a convicted liar. A man of incredible hubris, a man that thought he was above the law. What is wrong with this state that allows people to continue to vote these morons into office (of course, they always manage to re-elect Ted The Blowbag, so we shouldn't be surprised)?

But Dooval now has the chance to prove that is what he says he is -- condemn Finneran's representation of the Commonwealth and officially come out and denounce Finneran. Will he? I doubt it. If he does, it might give me some hope (although what Dooval will be able to do against the cabal of Democratic crooks in the State House, I do not know). The State House crooks? Well, they are probably thinking about the time when they retire and need to move onto a patronage job, so they don't want to be the first to point out someone else's skeletons.

Mumbles Menino has distinguished himself again in suggesting that it would be a good way to fight gun crime by ... revoking the licenses and registrations of criminals and their cars. What? Does he think that Joe Shotgun gives a crap about his license? That he cares if his car is legally registered -- assuming that it is his car in the first place? And if we consider the probable 30-40% of violent crime that is committed by illegals (far higher in Claifornia where it is above 70%), they would only have driver's licenses in the first place because Dooval wants them to have them.

And people of the Commonwealth wonder why the rest of the country has such scorn for them....

An adapted tale

The tale of the Squirrel and the Grasshopper


REST OF THE WORLD VERSION:
The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building and improving his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the squirrel is warm and well fed. The shivering grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the
cold.
____________________THE END____________________

THE MASSACHUSETTS VERSION:

The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the squirrel is warm and well fed.
A social worker finds the shivering grasshopper, calls a press conference and demands to know why the squirrel should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others less fortunate, like the grasshopper, are cold and starving.

CBS shows up to provide live coverage of the shivering grasshopper; with cuts to a video of the squirrel in his comfortable warm home with a table laden with food.
The Boston Globe informs people that they should be ashamed that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer while others have plenty. The DooDoo Party, Greenpeace, Animal Rights and The Grasshopper Council of Massachusetts demonstrate in front of the squirrel's house. CBS, interrupting a cultural festival special from Southie with breaking news, broadcasts a multi-species choir singing "We Shall Overcome". Dooval rants in an interview with Jim Braude that the squirrel has gotten rich off the backs of grasshoppers, and calls for an immediate tax hike on the squirrel to make him pay his "fair share" and increases the charge for squirrels to use the Masspike.

In response to pressure from the media, the State House drafts the Economic Equity and Grasshopper Anti Discrimination Act, retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The squirrel's taxes are reassessed. He is taken to court and fined for failing to hire grasshoppers as builders for the work he was doing on his home and an additional fine for contempt when he told the court the grasshopper did not want to work. The grasshopper is provided with assisted housing in a project, financial aid to furnish it and an account with a local taxi firm to ensure he can be socially mobile.

The squirrel's food is seized and re distributed to the more needy members of society, in this case the grasshopper. Without enough money to buy more food, to pay the fine and his newly imposed retroactive taxes, the squirrel has to downsize and start building a new home. The local authority takes over his old home and utilises
it as a temporary home for asylum seeking cats who had hijacked a plane to get to Boston as they had to share their country of origin with mice.

On arrival they tried to blow up the airport because of the Commonwealth's apparent love of dogs. The cats had been arrested for the international offence of hijacking and attempt bombing but were immediately released because the police fed them
pilchards instead of salmon whilst in custody. Initial moves to then return them to their own country were abandoned because it was feared they would face death by the mice. The cats devise and start a scam to obtain money from peoples' credit cards.


A 60 Minutes special shows the grasshopper finishing up the last of the squirrel's food, though spring is still months away, while the housing project he is in, crumbles around him because he hasn't bothered to maintain it. He is shown to be taking drugs. Inadequate government funding is blamed for the grasshopper's drug 'illness'.

The cats seek compensation in Federal Court for their treatment since arrival in Boston. The grasshopper gets arrested for stabbing an old dog during a burglary to
get money for his drug habit. He is imprisoned but released immediately because he has been in custody for a few weeks. He is placed in the care of the probation service to monitor and supervise him. Within a few weeks he has killed a guinea pig in a botched robbery. A board of inquiry, that will eventually cost $10,000,000 and state the obvious, is set up.

Additional money is put into funding a drug rehabilitation scheme for grasshoppers and legal aid for lawyers representing asylum seekers is increased. The asylum seeking cats are praised by the government for enriching Boston's multicultural diversity and dogs are criticised by the government for failing to befriend the cats.
The grasshopper dies of a drug overdose. The usual sections of the press blame it on the obvious failure of government to address the root causes of despair arising from social inequity and his traumatic experience of prison. They call for the resignation of the Speaker of the House.

The cats are paid a million dollars each because their rights were infringed when the government failed to inform them there were mice in the Commonwealth. The squirrel, the dogs and the victims of the hijacking, the bombing, the burglaries and robberies have to pay an additional percentage on their credit cards to cover losses, their taxes are increased to pay for law and order and they are told that they will have to work beyond 65 because of a shortfall in government funds.

_____________THE END_______________

Do you think that this is strange? Watch this page for reality.

His Royal Majesty

The coronation is today. "Let them pay taxes!!"

Dooval is going to make his inaugural speech from the Statehouse steps today and encourage the people of the Commonwealth to join together for the greater good. The greater good, that is, of crazed leftists, tax and spend freaks, the broad alternative alliance and all who would not follow the rule and letter of the law.

You see, Dooval encouraged the legislature to fail in their duties to express the electorate's will. The will that will put the issue of whether "marriage" can be extended beyond "a man and a woman" to same sex couples and possibly beyond on the ballot for referendum. To possibly roll back the judicial legislation created by the SJC (Mass high court) allowing "gay marriage." In respect of this, Dooval stated that he supports the right of people to express their love however they see fit. That does not limit the concept to merely same-sex union, though. Not by the strict interpretation of Dooval's words.

Irrespective of Dooval's words, a few things bother me about this: (1) he urged the legislature to violate the Constitution of the Commonwealth (and possibly the US one as well) by depriving the ability of the electorate to make itself heard; (2) he will be sworn to uphold the laws of the Commonwealth; (3) it is a taste of what is to come; and (4) the electorate should be able to choose what the MAJORITY wants -- THAT is a democracy, not the tyranny of the few, the politically correct -- what is the difference of the PC being able to dictate, or the Rockefellers being able to do so ... THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE, only a political distinction.

Personally, I would vote for same-sex marriage ... they are welcome to it. The word "marriage" is not talismanic of anything. Yup, let's have some gay marriage, and I need to brush up on my divorce law, 'cause there is going to be more of it. And if two adults are in love (note that I said two, not more, not man and dog, not man or woman and child, not a harem), then let them form a family and prosper. Hopefully. And pay taxes, take the marital deduction, benefit (if that is the word) of the inheritance laws, go through counselling, receive immunity to testify, etc. I am not threatened.

BUT the electorate -- that is you and me -- MUST be allowed to decide the fate of the Commonwealth. NOT Dooval and his left-wing, liberal cronies. If the voting population (wrongly) decides to do away with gay marriage, so be it. It is up to the proponents to convince the broad swathe of people that it should be allowed. And if it cannot pass a popular vote in Massachusetts, then perhaps its time has not yet come -- but this is NOT a matter in which a self-appointed intelligencia can unilaterally dictate the course. That is not why the United State of America was founded.

Dooval, you have not yet even taken the oath and already you dismay and disgust me.

Armada, Indeed!

Happy New Year. There. I've done it. I made my feeble attempt to be nice.

And now, back to the usual.

So there is this woman who lives across the street from my son's school in Cambridge (Land of Love, Ground Zero for Peace, the People's Republic, etc.), right across from the drop-off line in the morning and pick-up line in the afternoon. She has had some issues with the fact that if people park close to her driveway exit (by virtue of the fact that they can legally park there, they are local "citizens") she has trouble with making a left hand turn upon leaving her driveway. This turn is harder when people are pulled up alongside the curb opposite her driveway, waiting to drop kids off at school.

So in the true peace-loving way of Cantabrigians, she tends to get out of her car and SCREAM at people who are in the drop off line. No matter that they are perfectly within their rights on the other side of the street. No matter that the school and drop off line have been there long before she bought the house (within the last three years). No matter that more skillful drivers would be able to "make" the turn. No matter that she could turn right instead of left (there is a junction to another road on the right which allows space). Now, she leaves every morning between 7:40 and 7:45 with one child in her vehicle to make HER school run to wherever HER child goes to school. I happened to follow her once as far as a parochial school just over a mile away, but did not see a drop-off.






Up until recently, she owned a station wagon ("estate" to you Brits) which was largish, but still manageable. However, she has made a new purchase: a Nissan Armada. For those of you who are not familiar with it, or have not heard of one, the Nissan Armada wsa the Nissan corporation's solution for the "full-sized SUV market." Full-sized as in equal to a Ford Excursion, Chevy Tahoe, and similar vehicles. That is, an SUV built on the chassis of a truck -- in this case the Nissan Titan. To get a feeling for the sheer size of the thing -- and it road holding qualities -- think of what the word "armada" brings to mind.... A fleet of huge, sow-bellied Spanish treasure and war galleons, wallowing sickly in the Atlantic swell while the lithe and nimble British warships blow them to hell and gone. "Titan" also brings to mind the notion of size. So does "Titanic." Yeah, that sort of thing. Don't let the picture fool you (nowhere in Nissan's literature is there a picture of someone standing near it) -- a 10 year old might not be able to reach the rear door handle, and I (about 5'11") come just over shoulder high to the bottom of the windows. This thing is MASSIVE.

For someone who already has problems making the turn out of her driveway, I'd have thought that perhaps a VW Golf might make sense. After all, nobody I have spoken with (and that is quite a few parents that have been shouted/screamed at) has ever seen more than the Loonie and her son in the car? And does she NEED a Street-galleon for her trips about town in Cambridge? And but for having a longish driveway where she can hide her excess, she would have to park that thing on the streets of Cambridge -- green and mean Cambridge -- where the natives might emphatically signal their disapproval of her vehicular choice.

In fact, no matter where you stand on the real/fake issue of global warming, that thing is still nothing short of a rolling ecological disaster area.

It does make the drop off interesting, though. Today she got stuck, started honking, and continued to do so all the way down the street and around the bend -- 150 yards or so. If I was her cardiologist, I'd tell her to lay off of the caffeine in the morning, at least until she clears the driveway....