They All Look Alike Anyway

Over at QCExaminer’s blog she posed a question about how the Obama camp will attack John McCain’s choice as running mate for the Republican Vice Presidents position, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. It is simple really, you let your supporters and bloggers do the real dirty work and keep your hands clean. It didn’t take long for the attacks to begin in the Democratic Underground (DU for Short), which boasts of over 125,000 faithful Democrat Bloggers and over 39 million posts. So how does a group of “caring compassionate liberals” attack a mother that has just been selected to run for one of the most prestigious political positions in the World? Lets see you call her mentally disturbed (that is actually one of the DU favorite insults of people they disagree with), you make claims that the baby is not hers but instead – is her sixteen-year-old daughters, you attack the daughter and you even attack the child. You even question the veracity as to whether the child is a Downs Syndrome baby or whether it is simply an Inuit.

Quotes from the Democratic Underground:

it disgusts me to repeat this but it is rumoured that the baby looks more like an Inuit than a Down Syndrome child. God help us — either we are very twisted , or she is.

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So now you have Palin saying shes going to be a mom, covering for the daughter, she rushes back when the daughter has the baby to “give birth” Uh oh Inuit, how do we explain that. Well Inuit are mongol related anthropologically, and Down syndrome is “a mongoloidesque” look as a side effect.

Bingo Down Syndrome.

Never under estimate the bigotry of the Democrat Party, I did for all too many years when I was first old enough to vote. I have come to expect Republicans and Democrats to get down right dirty when they fight politically – but attacking a Downs Syndrome child and claiming it is probably just an Inuit, is nothing less than a bigoted attack, on the child and the Inuit culture. The statements remind me of the old racist standard line by those looking to slur minorities “they all look alike anyway”.

There is more on subject over on the Publius’ Forum including some different quotes by the Democratic Underground members on the Palin. Warning some of the comments are harsh and full of vulgarities.

Money-Money-Money Re-launch the Speed Cameras

Davenport, Iowa city fathers must be licking their chops right about now! The State of Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that their speed trap cameras are legal. The cameras had already made the city over $1.3 million dollars before they were shut down over a legal challenge. The city coffers will soon be able to hear that old familiar sound of cha-ching once more as the cameras re-launch and start snapping pictures of vehicles rolling down the streets of Davenport. It is not just Davenport, Iowa that is drooling over the money they will make from cameras. Across the nation cities and states have been eyeballing this modern-day moneymaking version of the speed trap. Some state and city governments, like here in Illinois, are also looking to use them for added reasons other than as a speed trap. Illinois is even considering forming an elite tactical team with the extra revenue. Welcome to the World of Modern Camera Technology. I have ranted against speed cameras and their possible abuse before. I can actually see their advantages but I can also see their abuse potential. And I am not against the police nabbing speeders; I actually applaud the police when they take a bite out of traffic crime. However I am not a proponent of cameras replacing the police. First and foremost unless they can identify the driver of the vehicle I feel their photo has no value. It is the driver who is at fault of speeding – not the owner of the vehicle. I have also personally experienced the fallibility of traffic citations. A few years back I received a letter from a city stating that my vehicle had been ticketed in their city committing a traffic offense. This utterly confused me because as I informed their representative by phone, neither my vehicles nor I had been in their city for years. This was not what the representative wanted to hear. We had a few more debates upon my guilt, which finally ended with my telling them where they could stick the traffic citation. I do not know whether it was an honest mistake or if the city was just running a traffic citation scam. I never heard from them again. I have not bothered to visit their city since, nor have I spent any of my money at their many fine tourist traps. Still the camera invasion is encompassing more and more territory. Soon you will not be able to leave your house without being on candid camera. And the States and Cities are drooling with anticipation of the extra money those cameras will bring in to their coffers.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich – A Legend in His Own Mind

Illinois Democrat Governor Rod Blagojevich was recently asked if he was considering a third term run as Governor. According to the QCOnline article Blago did not offer up a definite answer about running for a third term, though Blago evidently did offer up an opinion suggesting that he considered himself a great governor. He must know something the rest of us does not know. It sounds like considerably arrogant talk from a man that is at odds with the legislature, has poor public ratings and is a heartbeat away from sharing a prison cell with former Governor George Ryan. Rod Blagojevich is truly a Legend in His own Mind!

The Full Monty

Blog visitor Pioneer was speaking his piece in a discussion on another blog about the socioeconomic significance surrounding certain meals. And after I replied, I realized that I had shortchanged Pioneer in my narration. But I did not want to further congest up QCExaminers excellent blog with another lengthy response- yet I also felt Pioneer deserved the Full Monty presentation. So I have instead decided to reprint and revise my reply to his endeavor to explore the implications behind collective food behavior–> here on my blog. You will have to read the first link to the original post if you need to know the prelude leading to this post .

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MMM, Pioneer, collard greens, fried chicken and watermelon now that is fine dining. All you need is some fresh baked cornbread (not that Jiffy Cake style Cornbread either!!!) to go with it. The thing is collard greens are labor intensive to prepare. But they are well worth the effort. Cleaning them is a real chore. You have to look them for bugs and sand. It is best to soak in water and then wash/rinse them off several more times before actually placing them in to the cooking pot. Otherwise it is tough to get all the dirt and sand off the plants. If you want to add some flavor include some mustard or turnip greens mixed in with the collards. They will give the meal some bite. Yummmmy Yum! The cooking process is pretty much an all day job. Now rich city folk also tend to boil chunks of ham in their greens. Cooking greens is faster if you have a gas stove to cook with. If you are relying on an old Cast Iron cooking stove energized by firewood you chopped and carried in to the house, the cooking might take a little longer since the fire can be uneven and you keep having to restock the wood fuel. (But the great thing about them old iron stoves is that they are great to sizzle an apple slice on top of. The cast iron makes the apple a little sooty black but it still tastes good. It might be the only treat you have for awhile. Watch out for those worms though – those critters infest your fruit trees unless you can afford the insect poisons and bird nets.) Now Ham isn’t a bad flavor addition but for the best flavor I prefer to use a smoked shoulder instead of a ham. But most of us frugal country cooks drop in a pound of smoked bacon thick or thin slab depending on your preference. Besides you might need the ham, shoulder and better cuts off your hog to sell off in order to buy the kids some new shoes for school. Now effin ya really want to set that meal off fit for a King: you will fry up some Okra rolled in a corn meal mixture. Okra is also a labor intensive food to harvest and prepare. Okra should be harvested when it is about the size of your little finger. The bigger you let it grow the tougher and more fibrous the pods become. (Most of the stuff you find in the supermarkets has been picked way past a good harvest date to be quality eating.) But Okra will grow back at a tremendous rate during the summer if you stay on top of the harvest. (Now you do have to be careful growing it around city folk as cops can get the wrong idea as to what you are actually growing. The leaves do resemble an illegal plant to the uneducated city folk.) Also when harvesting okra, it is best to wear heavy long-sleeved shirts, even in 90 degree weather, because the plant is very defensive when you harvest the pods. Effin you harvest okra in a lightweight and/or short-sleeved shirt you risk scratching yourself bloody as okra secretes a substance that really itches! Now here’s the trick to making tasty okra, it is also helpful effin you let your pods get too big. Boil the pods for a few minutes and then remove the pods from the water and let cool before you roll them in the cornbread mixture and fry. Now I do not recommend pouring that water you just boiled your okra in, down the drain. The precooking of the okra in the boiling water is gonna leave a thick heavy snotty slime residue in the water. Or you can just skip the boiling process and eat the slime. Once fried inside the Okra it isn’t all that noticeable, especially if you missed a meal and are hungry. I have eaten it both ways. Now if you are some of my relatives you probably have a jug of white-lightening sitting in the cupboard to sip on with your meal. Not my choice but -Hey- each to their own. And it is probably safer to drink than the water from your cistern well, if you have not treated your well with bleach lately. And don’t worry about those little things swimming around inside your dipper of water. Those are just wiggletails, early stage mosquito larvae that are hatching out in the water. My grandmother always pointed out those won’t kill ya. Now if drinking live critters does bother ya, ya could always boil the water on the stove and make a nice batch of ice tea to go with your meal. That is – assuming ya have enough money to buy tea bags and sugar and a running refrigerator to freeze your well water to make the ice. It sure is tastier than straight well water.

Now consuming a fine tasty meal is pretty much like the rest of life: what goes in must come out. And it is good to know that collard greens are usually a summertime meal. (Though you can also preserve them in a canning process for later consumption.) However greens can often travel through the body’s digestive system quickly. And there is nothing worse than needing to to make an emergency bathroom trip in the cold winter and the toilet facilities are a fifty yard dash through the ice and snow. And a wise man will have built a toilet that has a two seater in case more than one person has to make that late night emergency trip to the outhouse, sometimes staring Willie Makeit and Betty Dont. Ya know the really sad thing about modern toileting habits is the lack of really enlightening reading available during the process. Plus the predecessor to toilet paper – the humongous Montgomery Wards and Sears catalogs- just are not available in modern society. Not that you would really want to spend much time in an outhouse reading. In the winter outhouses tend to be icy cold and in the summer the stench is fairly oppressive, making lengthy stays more tribulation than relief. And God forbid if you are the unlucky selected volunteer that has to relocate the outhouse as the chamber underneath is reaching full capacity. It requires a lot of shoveling and the flies that swarm around you are often not to friendly. Many of them usually let you know their displeasure of filling in the outhouse hole by biting you. Amother thing I have noticed about life is that biting flies and the smell of excrement do not really concern themselves with the subject of Democrats or Republicans. It really is true that everyones’ fecal matter stinks! Some more than others.

I sure hope I was able to enlighten you and assuage any self-righteous self-aggrandizing ego-feeding questions that you had been pondering regarding the feasting habits of the socioeconomically oppressed. Gosh I sure hope I managed to give you the Full Monty and answer all your lifestyle contemplations.

Fun Things to Do in the Quad Cities – Grand Prix Cart Racing

If you are looking for something fun to do over the coming labor day weekend –>For your live viewing pleasure, The 2008 Rock Island Grand Prix annual Kart racing will once again be filling the downtown streets with hopeful Kart racers this labor day weekend – looking for racing glory and prizes. Of all the special events I have attended in the Quad City this is one of my favorites. When I was a small kid we lived in the country and we had a small kart, though it was tough to get my dad off of it long enough to ride it myself. Even then I was only allowed on it after a long (probably needed) lecture on safety. The Karts have come a long way in design and capability since the days we had our Kart. Assuming all things fall in place I am hoping to have a chance to watch the races again this year. The sponsors seem to do a great job with the racing event as it attracts racers from all over. I can remember visiting with a few of the racers back when I worked in the district and I was surprised how far some of them had traveled to race their Karts in Rock Island, Illinois. If you are willing to pay a few bucks they will actually let you in the pit areas and visit with the teams. The district also usually has a great supporting including live music (live music is much more entertaining than dead music) and a cast of vendors offering up food and drink to purchase. The trick to enjoying the races is getting there early enough to get a decent parking place and wearing a good pair of walking shoes. It is an end of summer event of competitive racing that can be very enjoyable to attend. More information about the event can be found at the following QCOnline links!

QCOnline Grand Prix link 1.

QcOnline Grand Prix link 2.

Baseball Set to Utilize Instant Replay Cameras on Boundary Calls

According to an article by Ronald Blum, Baseball will unveil its long rumored version of Instant Replay cameras this Thursday. The cameras will be used to confirm fair or foul umpire calls on homeruns and to determine if baseballs did or did not clear the outfield fences. I think I can live with that.

Okay I am hot and cold about Instant Replay, especially in Major league Baseball. Baseball, by nature, is a leisurely sport that can last several hours. One person once put it to me –> as the only sport where they cram fifteen minutes of action into a two to three-hour span. Okay, so it is not the Indy 500, I understand that –> But I still love the sport! It allows me plenty of time to drink Mt. Dew and Munch on Peanuts in the Shell. (None of that dry roasted pre-shelled garbage for me during the game.) I am hoping that the Instant Replay on Homeruns is a positive move by MLB. There have been numerous questionable home run calls over the history of the game. I am holding my overall decision about Instant Replay in Baseball until I see how much it infiltrates the game. Baseball has a lot of close play events during games because it requires snap decisions that are mostly made correct by the Umpires. But if Instant Replay were to infiltrate too many areas of the games the game tempo could go from blinding turtle speed to a snails pace. I think rather than get too hung up on Instant Replay that MLB should use electronic technology to improve the way umpires can actually make a call. Though homeruns are probably the sexiest attraction in MLB. There are other areas where mistakes are more common. The biggest problems are not homerun calls but the strike zone, close calls at first base, stolen base calls and checked swings. After watching replays of questionable calls during televised games, the questionable calls that players/managers think the umpires miss, would probably not be overturned very often. Most of the time the Umpires do a great job. However I also think that ESPN has has displayed that ball-strike calls could use a technology update in some form since their unveiling of K-Zone. That is another place high-tech might actually make a difference without slowing the game down. I personally think the game would be better off with a strategically placed camera focused in on home plate and the batter where a fifth umpire could sit and watch a video monitor of the pitch. They could probably even build in some sort of electronics that would allow the umpire, from inside a booth, to dial in a 3D strike zone for each different batter giving him an image of the pitch like ESPN’s K-Zone. It’s just a thought but with technology advancements a setup similar to K-Zone might actually take some of the contention out the balls vs. strikes calls which is a far bigger problem than homerun call mistakes. Not only would it give a more accurate strike zone it would help the pitchers and hitters get a better command of the strike zone. I think it is something positive that could and should be done to take away some of the guesswork at the plate.

Chicago Cubs play the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight at 6:05 CDT on WGN TV and Radio! Big Z is on the mound. Would Cubs management please hire a burly 300+ lb security agent to rip the baseball bat out of his hands when Big Z strikes out! One of these days Big Z is going to put himself on the disabled list breaking his bats over his thighs after he strikes out. Big Z on the disabled list over a childish event of bat breaking would be far more costly to the team than hiring someone to take his bat out of his hands before his rage gets the best of him.

The Obama – Biden 2008 Traveling Salvation Show

Just when the weekend was over and you thought it was safe to be back on the drunk democrat laden streets of the Quad Cities, the Barack Obama – Joe Biden Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation show makes an appearance in the Quad Cities. Hallelujah – Brothers and Sisters – don’t be late and pass the plate!!! (Biden is sitting this visit out) His holiness Pope Obama is scheduled to bring his Pied Piper routine to town this morning. As the Neil Diamond song goes–> pack up the babies and grab the old ladies. Then get them out of harm’s way because not everyone goes as this is a by invitation only appearance. Evidently the POTUS wannabe is afraid of actually having to answer questions from sober nonbelievers. Not that should be surprising since political con artists like Obama avoid people that can see past their phony mantras. So PLEASE find a safe place as all the mesmerized rats will be stampeding to consume the poison passed out at the Obama snake oil show. All Politicians are phonies but Obama happens to be the current leader of the charlatan pack. His group is like a Jim Jones gathering – everyone anxious to drink his poison kool-aid and attempting to force feed those that see through his empty campaign speeches. His message is a media fabricated game of smoke and mirrors that seems to create an heroin overdosed state of being where his audience is incapable of free thought. I am sure there will be soon be the usual posts across the Internet Universe from his awestruck stoned followers championing his phony messages of hope and change. Not here, for I deal in reality not fantasy rock stars. Nothing good can come from such blind euphoric obedience to hucksters like Obama.

New and Improved Obama – Biden 2008 Campaign Slogans

Well the big news this week was that Barack Obama is Coming Monday to the Quad Cities! Whoo-Hoo! Obama will be holding his ritual ceremony in Davenport, Iowa. It is by invitation only. I do not know if it is true, but I read a posting by someone that the Agent of Shame Disciples will not be allowed to bring their own signs stating support. Oh Yeah -The Obama Elitist Campaign begins, no change – no hope and no room for those with different opinions. So I thought I would help the Obama – Biden effort by posting some suggested campaign slogans for their signs to hand out to supporters tomorrow—>

Vote Obama & Biden in ‘08

A Vote For Increased Taxes & A Nanny State

Vote Obama & Biden

If in Winter – A Moped You Plan on Driving

Vote Obamination for a Zombie Nation

Vote Obama

Because You Know He Hates Hillary Clinton As Much As You Do

Obama ’08

Where Change and Hope are Just Empty Words

Obama ‘08

Because You Have Never Been Proud of Your nation

Vote Obama in ‘08

A Friend Domestic Terrorists Can Relate

Vote Obama – Biden in the Fall

Prove Plagiarists Can Still Stand Tall

Vote Obama For

Over 20 Years of–> See No Evil – Hear No Evil – Know No Evil

Obama Leadership You Can Count On

To Vote Present on Important Legislation

Vote Obama – Because he is Cute! (This ones for the Starry Eyed Obama Girls)

Obama – Biden

An Out of Control Left Turn

Vote Obama

Because You Covet Chicago Style Corruption in Washington!

Vote Obama

Let’s Mug Whitey!

Support Obama – Biden

We Accept Campaign Donations from Any and All Criminals

Vote Obama – Biden

When Rhetoric Counts More than Substance

Vote Obama – Biden

Because You Hate Bush More than You Like Living Free

The thought of Obama’s Huckster campaign coming to the Quad Cities has me feeling almost all warm and fuzzy inside! I feel like Breaking out in song and I just can’t quit singing Neil Diamomd’s hit:

It’s Love, Brother Love, say
Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show
Pack up the babies and grab the old ladies
And everyone goes, cause everyone knows
Brother Love’s show

I would have worked out some more slogans but I got to prepare for the Cubs game this afternoon.

Obama to choose Biden as VP – Bill Clintons Hopes Crushed

If the news wires are right and we are not experiencing another Dewey Defeats Truman event, then Barack Obama will select Joe Biden as his Vice Presidential running mate for his 2008 run. (I wonder how Joe’s hair plugs are handling all the stress? They must be getting pretty old by now. Maybe he will need another round of hair transplants before the National Election.) Gee this is just a short time after Biden claimed he was not the chosen one! Guess you cannot rely on a politicians’ statement if Biden is the chosen ones, his royal holiness Pope Obama, Papal Assistant. Not being part of the holy ones jester court, I will not be getting a text message to confirm the Biden choice. I will instead be waiting for the proto-writing version of the message, for total confirmation. Biden does bring the Washington experience to the ticket Obama lacks. But Biden is also proof of the lack of real change in Obama’s campaign. Biden, who like Obama votes lockstep Democrat party line, is just further proof that an Obama ticket is just more of the same gridlock between Republicans and Democrats we have been experiencing for decades, since neither candidate Obama or Biden has shown an ability or interest of really working across party lines. No surprise there. Types of politicians that display an ability to work across the political aisle are as rare as hens teeth! On a more interesting note, maybe Obama is expecting to be able to earn a masters degree in plagiarism from Master Plagiarist Joe Biden by picking him as his running mate.

On a sadder note I am sure Bill Clinton is crying his eyes out in deep despair at this announcement. After already being the first Black president, I am sure Bill was secretly holding out hope Obama would select Bill to be the first Black Vice President. Plus unless Obama were to win and give Bill a cabinet post, Bill would not have much opportunity for nailing White House Interns. It must be a sad-sad-sad day for Bill Clinton!

theScoundrel Unveils His Newest Weapon in the War On Terrible

theScoundrel has been busy the last couple of days with my free time upgrading my defensive armaments in my personal quest –> The War On Terrible! Last year it became evident that my old Wally World Quality Weaponry was outdated and incapable of successfully assisting theScoundrel Castle in the 2008 Summer Battles. So this spring I shelled out the big bucks ($249.95) and ordered in Excalibur. No not King Arthur’s legendary weapon. Nope I am talking about the ultimate weapon in fighting the War On Terrible Fruits & Vegetables (mostly Tomatoes). The facts are that tomatoes found at the supermarkets taste like cardboard, terrible! So I prefer the tomatoes (and vegetables) I grow in my garden and dry those that survive getting consumed in their fresh forms. And my old Wally World Style dehydrators were undersized for my needs and simply took to long to dry a batch of produce plus they would often allow produce spoilage during the drying process. So this year in an effort to make this summers harvest of garden tomatoes last longer I have invested in Excalibur the Food Dehydrator! It comes equipped with nine removable trays containing 15 sq. feet of drying space. A 600 watt powered drying system that has a good fan, an adjustable thermostat and a convenient 26 hour on/off timer. Ye haw! Too bad the early weather did not cooperate with my garden this year as the battle to dry tomatoes got a late start! But the weapons system is installed and operable! The ripe tomato accumulation has reached the point where Excalibur is extracting the necessary moisture from the produce and readying them for my later consumption. theScoundrel Castle is winning this years battle and fully expects to capture, imprison and torture many tomatoes before the coming Fall Frost! Yes – there already have and will be many more vegetables harmed in theScoundrel’s War On Terrible!