07.21.2008 | 12:21 am | Politics
The EPA isn’t satisfied with applying ridiculous, expensive regulation on the sectors they already infest. Now they want to regulate pretty much everything else.
They just released a 564 page document that lays out their plan to get their claws into every sector of everything, all the time. (Note: The link loads a ridiculously large file.)
Coverage of all key vehicle, engine, and equipment sub-sectors in the entire transportation sector so that GHG emission standards are set not only for cars and light trucks, but for heavy-duty vehicles, non-road engines and equipment, including locomotive and marine engines, and aircraft as well.
If it rolls, floats or flies they want to control it. Hell, even if it’s stationary and has any kind of engine, they get to determine how it works. Because they’re such good engineers and all.
Or maybe not. This is one of many passages that highlights their ignorance:
Locomotives, as an example, have significant potential to recover energy otherwise dissipated as heat during braking. An 8,000-ton coal train descending through 5,000 feet of elevation converts 30 MW-hrs of potential energy to frictional and dynamic braking energy. Storing that energy onboard quickly enough to keep up with the energy generation rate presents a challenge, but may provide a major viable GHG emissions reduction strategy even if only partially effective.
Ahem. That’s the way diesel locomotives already work, and have for quite some time. The diesel engines don’t directly power the wheels. Instead, they’re tuned to operate at their peak efficiency and generate electricity for electric motors that run the wheels. When breaking, those motors become generators and the electricity is captured in a battery.
Any first year engineering student could have told them that. Perhaps they should hire one.
Considering how many planes we have in the air at any given moment, the controllers do a damn fine job of keeping them from crashing into each other. They appear to know what they’re doing, and how to do it. But the EPA thinks it knows better:
Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RSVM) allows air traffic controllers and pilots to reduce the standard required vertical separation from 2,000 feet to 1,000 feet for aircraft flying at altitudes between 29,000 and 41,000 feet. This increases the number of flight altitudes at which aircraft maximize fuel and time efficiency. RSVM has led to about a 2 percent decrease in fuel burn. Continuous Descent Approach is a procedure that enables continuous descent of the aircraft on a constant slope toward landing, as opposed to a staggered or staged approach, thus allowing for a more efficient speed requiring less fuel and reducing GHG emissions.
So they want to move planes closer together in mid air to save a miniscule amount of fuel. Brilliant.
They also included a blurb about contrails, which should give the tin-foil-hat crowd more to blather about:
Petitioners contend that aircraft emissions contribute to climate change also by modifying cloud cover patterns. Aircraft engines emit water vapor, which petitioners identify as a GHG that can form condensation trails, or “contrails,” when released at high altitude. Contrails are visible line shaped clouds composed of ice crystals that form in cold, humid atmospheres. Persistent contrails often evolve and spread into extensive cirrus cloud cover that is indistinguishable from naturally occurring cirrus clouds. The petitioners state that over the long term this contributes to climate change.
No proof, of course, they simply “contend” this contributes to climate change.
Two stroke engines are an inexpensive and simple way to provide power for lawnmowers, snow blowers, chain saws and the like. Four stoke engines burn cleaner and more efficent, but they are heavier, more complex and more expensive. Guess what the EPA is recommending. Yep.
I have a big lawn, and my lawnmower has a standard two stroke engine. It’s loud and manly sounding and tells everyone within a block and a half “Hey, I’m Mowing My Lawn.” In the entire course of a summer I go through about a gallon of gasoline. When it finally conks out, will I be forced to spend a couple of hundred dollars extra to replace it with a four stroke? Even if it lasts ten years it’s not a cost effective way to reduce the emissions of ten gallons of gas. But that won’t matter to the EPA. It’s not coming out of their pockets.
They also discuss requiring automatic transmissions for off road equipment.
They provide this example of just how far reaching their tendrils will be:
For example, consider a hypothetical 500 MW electric utility boiler firing a bituminous coal that is well-controlled for traditional pollutants. Such a boiler, operating more than 7000 hours per year (out of a possible 8760), can emit approximately 4 million tons of CO2 per year, or more than 580 tons per hour. Assuming a 100 tpy significance level (rather than the current zero level for GHGs), any change resulting in just 10 additional minutes of utilization over the course of a year at such a source would be enough to result in an increase of 100 tons and potentially subject the change to PSD. By contrast, to be considered a modification for NOx, the same change would require approximately 36 additional hours of operation assuming that the hypothetical source had a low-NOx burner, and 90 additional hours of operation assuming that the source also employed a selective catalytic reduction add-on control device.
They want to control a boiler down to the minute. Amazing.
There are 70 categories and subcategories they want to regulate.
EPA has already promulgated NSPS for more than 70 source categories and subcategories and we could add GHG emission standards, as appropriate, to the standards for existing source
categories.
And just in case they feel like it, they can change what is and isn’t considered a global warming gas on a whim:
EPA can add or delete pollutants from the list consistent with certain criteria described
below.
They want to regulate anything that emits a total of 10 tons of global warming gasses per year. A single Taco Bell generates that much methane just from burrito farts. Expect them to add burrito farts to their list.
It’s interesting to note they’ve nearly abandoned the phrase “global warming” and replaced it with “climate change.” They use “global warming” a mere 27 times in 564 pages. “Climate Change” appears 212 times.
This is yet another example of a government agency run amok. If they get their way expect everything to be more expensive, more complicated, and more of a pain in the ass.
For more examples of EPA incompetence, psudo-science, and downright fraud, check these past articles on The Hittman Chronicle and The Facts:
Bottom Fishing
The EPA Report
Comments (4)
07.16.2008 | 8:31 pm | Political Correctness
Keith John Sampson, a communication-studies senior at Purdue who supplements his income by working there as a janitor, was reading a history book (which is also in the school’s library) during a break. “Notre Dame vs. the Klan” details the story of how Notre Dame students physically attacked the KKK and literally ran them out of town on a rainy night in 1927.
Two cowardly race-baters made an anonymous complaint about his despicable behavior of, um, reading a book and the $106,00 a year affirmative action officer declared him guilty of racial harassment and told him he should be fired.
For reading an anti-Klan book.
They eventually dropped that charge, and are now charging him with, well, something. No one will say what his offense is, as this reporter discovered.
He tells the story in his own words here.
But political corrections and rampant far-left stupidity doesn’t exist in higher education, we’re told. Uh uh. That’s a baseless complaint, and anyone who makes must watch Fox News and listen to Rush. Oh, and they’re racist, too. Definitely racist. That’s the ticket.
Comments (3)
07.16.2008 | 7:05 pm | Amusing
Ask any number of police officers and government officials - a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand - to list what they fear the most.
I guarantee that not a single one of them would list “A man covered in barbecue sauce.“
Comments (0)
07.15.2008 | 9:21 pm | Religion, Ridiculous
Most of us associate religious whack-jobbery with Christian and Muslim fundies. At first glance it may appear that mainstream Christian denominations have grown up a bit, and are not quite as goofy as the fringes.
A mass of wacky catholics have stepped up to correct that misconception.
Webster Cook, a student at University of Central Florida, walked out of mass with the cracker the priest gave him. Some are claiming it was an act of protest. He says he wanted to show it to a friend who was curious about the ritual. Whatever his motives it’s unlikely he expected the resultant shitstorm.
The Diocese wants the cracker back so they can take care of it properly and respectfully. Father Migeul Gonzalez likened it to a kidnapping, and said it was like asking the kidnapper to return a loved one to the family. Susan Fani of the local Catholic diocese said, “If anything were to qualify as a hate crime, to us this seems like this might be it.”
Cook received enough death threats that campus security was called to protect him.
Over a cracker.
P.Z Myers blogged about it with an article titled “It’s a Frackin Cracker!” In the article he asked if someone could send him a consecrated cracker so he could hold it hostage and desecrate it. As a result he and his employer received a torrent of death threats.
Over a cracker.
The Muslims who wanted to behead a woman for letting her students (their kids) name a teddy bear “Mohamed” now have some Christians to compare notes with.
I haven’t received any good threats in a while, so I’ve done something that should incite both Catholics and Muslims in one swoop.
Saturday I went to the store and picked up a box of Teddy Grams. On Sunday I went to a Catholic Mass and slipped two of them into the hands of a drunken priest with thick glasses. He looked a bit confused while he blessed them and returned them to me.
I took them home and named each of them Mohamed. Then I dipped one of them in bacon fat and fed it to my dog. (I don’t have a pig handy.) I’ve got the other one in a safe place, and am waiting for suggestions on the best way to desecrate it.
More Wackyness:
After this post on the Catholic Exchange, which announced that Catholic League president Bill Donohue was going to contact the state legislature to see what could be done, Doris Rodriguez commented: “How utterly sad and tragic that a grown man with so much responsibility and influence among our youth can resort to something so childish and immature!”
Right, because freaking out over a glorified Ritz is the adult, mature thing to do.
From the blog Vive Christus Rex: “…the Eucharist IS our God” Your god is a cracker?
From the same source, a list of all the things he needs to do to be saved, including written aplogies to everyone and six months of sensetivity training. Eveidently he needs to learn how to respect childish stupidity.
From Magic City News (So nice to believe in magic): “Myers needs to be fired and possibly even arrested.”
Comments (2)
07.14.2008 | 9:39 pm | Politics, Yeah - That'll Work
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Hillary has told Obama she just won’t have time to campaign for him unless he helps pay off her $10 Million campaign debt. She’ll also need a private jet to get around.
Obama wrote her a personal check for the maximum allowed contribution: $2,300. Now she wants him to send an e-mail blast to his supporters begging for money to pay off her debt. Yeah, that’ll work.
It’s a pity she can’t afford to pay her own bills. After all, she and Bill only have $35 Million dollars.
Comments (1)
07.12.2008 | 11:02 am | Pop Culture
My first reaction when I saw this clip was “Meh.”
Then I saw it was a Joss Whedon Project. Which means I want to catch every moment of it.
Note to the Unsmartenized: Joss is the creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Firefly/Serenity.
Note to those who still don’t know what I’m taking about: Go buy the DVD to Firefly. Don’t rent it, because it’s four disks and you’re going to want to watch them over and over again. It is simply amazing.
Comments (0)
07.11.2008 | 1:12 pm | Political Correctness
A run of the mill county commissioners meeting in Texas became a perfect example of idiots who are yearning to be offended at every opportunity.
Commissioner Keneth Mayfiled, who is white, said “It sounds like Central Collections has become a black hole.” This prompted Wiley Price, who is black, to demand an apology for the “racist” term. He later whined to a reporter about Angel Food Cake being white and Devils food Cake being black. He illustrated his mastery of English by peppering his conversation with the brillant phrase “You know?”
The article suggested using the phrase “singularity,” although if this race-bater isn’t married he’d probably find that offensive as well.
This reminds me of the story a few years ago about PC mouth breathers in Los Angles demanding that equipment manufactures stop using the terms “slave” and “master” for hard drives and other components. It was prompted by a similar idiot filing a discrimination complaint about the terms. The purchasing manager, Joe Sandova, said “We are culturally sensitive and we have 90,000 employees. We have to take these things seriously.” No you don’t. The best way to handle this would have been to tell the complainers “Grow up, shut up and get out of my office, you idiots.”
The Texas situation could be used help clarify definitions in English classes. The teacher could show a representation of a black hole and a photo of Price, then explain, “This is a black hole, and this is an asshole.”
Comments (0)
07.6.2008 | 11:48 am | Pop Culture
Last week Jessica Simpson was chastised by Pamela Anderson for wearing a shirt that said “Real Women Eat Meat.” Pamela was representing the brain trust PeTA.
When two intellects of this caliber have a philosophical disagreement, it should not be battled out in words. It should be battled out physically, with a wrestling match. The uniform should be white halter tops and shorty-shorts, and the arena should be a padded pit containing about three inches of baby oil.
Next week: Charlie Manson and David Berkowitz discuss the merits of the recent 2nd amendment decision.
Comments (1)
06.30.2008 | 10:31 pm | Pop Culture
I literally wore out my first copy of “Where Have I Known You Before” and had to buy another one, so I was thrilled to see that Return to Forever was touring with the original line up, for the first time in a quarter century. Even better, they were the headliners for the Saratoga <brand name of the year> Jazz Festival, which is a short drive from home.
The Saratoga Performi8ng arts center is a large covered amphitheater, with additional lawn seating and lots of room elsewhere for tents, tarps, concessions, etc. I went for a seat inside the amphitheater which not only gave me a good view of the stage, but was good protection from the short but heavy storms that punctuated the day.
There was a gazebo set up in a different part of the park, far enough away that the sound from the amphitheater didn’t interfere with the music there. When it wasn’t raining I’d wander around the place, heading in the general direction of either the amphitheater or the gazebo, and sit and listen when the music grabbed me.
Which it usually did. There were exceptions, of course. The Saxophone Summit, featuring Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman & Ravi Coltrane, turned out to be NJS (Nausating Jazz Stuff - with everyone going in entirely different directions, paying no attention to each other), but no problem - I went to the gazebo and listened to someone else. Saw some incredible musicians and ate some concession food, and finally, at the end of the day, took my seat for RTF.
The place wasn’t sold out, and during the day people came and went for different shows. One couple, who I’d exchanged pleasantries with earlier, asked if I knew anything about the upcoming group. I gave them a brief rundown of their history, how they were all incredible musicians and how much they influenced and lead the fusion movement. I told them they were about to see a once in a lifetime show, and were in for a real treat.
The band came out and opened with Vulcan Worlds, playing fast and tight and filling the place with their music. After their second song I turned to the couple, intending to ask how they were enjoying it. They were getting up to leave. To the uninitiated RTF can sound like NJS.
They spent about a third of the show doing solos. Stanley Clarke is a wild man on the bass. Al Di Meola plays so fast, flawlessly, and melodically he hardly seems human. And Chick and Lenny aren’t too bad either. (Understatement of the year.) And while the solos were a treat, I really came to hear the band, and wish they spent more time playing together.
Because they did their 90 minutes, and that was it. They left the stage, and the house lights came up. Everyone was yelling for an encore. The waited, and waited, and then walked out on stage. And waved to the audience, and bent over and shook hands with a few people at the front of the stage, and left again.
Come on, guys, that was a cheesy and low class. We waited twenty five years to see you play together again. The least you could have done was played an encore.
But what they did play was amazing. If you’ve never heard them before, check out some of their performances here.
Comments (0)
06.27.2008 | 5:34 pm | Big Brother, Politics
The party who wants to tell you how to live every facet of your life (as opposed to the other party who wants to tell you how to live every other facet of your life) has published their guidelines for catering at the national convention.
Fried food is prohibited. No fried anything. They’re promoting healthy eating habits, you see. Not only that, but their food must represent racial harmony. Seriously, the say every meal should include “”at least three of the following colors: red, green, yellow, purple/blue and white.”
What, no demand for brown? Racists!
Comments (4)
06.26.2008 | 9:48 pm | Politics
Today The Supremes announced, by the narrowest possible majority, that the second amendment means exactly what it says. They citied the writings of the founding fathers, and the actual language in the amendment. In short they ruled that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms” means “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.” Scalia wrote the majority opinion, and resisted the urge to end it with “Well, Duh!”
The left is freaking out. Of course. Mayor Daily is saying “That doesn’t apply to Chicago. Nuh uh.” (Paraphrased slightly.) He finds that allowing people to defend themselves against criminals is a very frightening idea. Uber Nanny Michael Bloomburg says “fighting illegal guns has nothing to do with the Second Amendment rights of Americans.” He’s right. Americans have a right to own guns, so they’re not illegal, so Michael, how about you relax and have a cigar. Oh, wait, you’re made that impossible in Fun City. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is upset that this destroys decades of precedent. Decades of lousy, obviously wrong precedent she’s ignorant enough to agree with. Her love of nannyism is apparent in her statement, “I think it opens this nation to a dramatic lack of safety.”
Academics, gun-grabbers, far-lefties and other socialists have been making ridiculous claims about the amendment since approximately forever. They claim that “the people” is a group, but only for that amendment. All the other rights of “the people” are individual rights, but this one, somehow, is magically a group right, because they want it to be. Now when they whine and wring their hands we can just laugh at them, which is usually the correct response anyway.
The case was specifically about Washington D. C. The police chief has said it will take a few month to change their system and allow permits. Expect to see this kind of dancing all over the country. Which brings to mind the way cowboys made each other dance in old westerns. (Dance! Bang! Dance! Bang!). But I digress.
The real far-left hand-wringing will start a year or two from now, when the evidence is in and the crime rates are dropping. Criminals like defenseless victims. A high potential for victims to be armed makes a bad guy’s career choice considerably less attractive.
To anyone who doesn’t believe that will happen, I propose the following wager. Within 18 months of D. C. citizens being able to defend themselves (starting from when the Chief stops dancing) homicides in that area will drop by at least 30%. The wager is one fine cigar, or if you prefer, your choice of a refreshing beverage. (Leave a comment to accept the wager.)
Comments (2)
06.23.2008 | 10:52 pm | Political Correctness
When I was in high school, one Monday the morning announcements told us that one of the students had died over the weekend. She was an underclassman, a special ed kid. No one in my classes knew her, but it was still stunning news. It was wrong, it was creepy, it was scary - kids our age weren’t supposed to die in real life. And even though none of us knew her, there was still a sense of loss.
Last week,. in Oakland CA, police officers visited 20 classrooms in the El Camino High School and informed the students that several of their classmates had been killed in drunk driving accidents over the weekend.
But… it was a hoax. Ha Ha, just kidding. No one had died; the school administrators cooked up the scheme to “teach” the kids about the dangers of drunk driving.
The kids were furious, and shouted at the teachers during the assembly when the truth was announced. Some held up protest signs. But at least a few were accepting. 15-year-old Carolyn Magos said “You feel betrayed by your teachers and administrators, these people you trust. But then I felt selfish for feeling that way, because, I mean, if it saves one life, it’s worth it.” Congratulations, Carolyn, you win two awards with that statement - the Mindless Drone awards and the Nanny cliché award.
When I first heard this story (sent to me by Parrot) I was seething. This is beyond vile, beyond appalling. Every police officer, school official and teacher who participated in it deserves to be horsewhipped in the town square, literally horsewhipped, then fired and banned from ever working in their profession again, for life.
But because they’re government drones, they’ll probably be promoted.
Comments (11)
06.22.2008 | 10:24 am | QH Podcasts, Religion
This is the spot to comment on the latest Quick Hitts Podcast, “A Christian Nation?“
Comments (3)
06.20.2008 | 12:38 pm | Political Correctness, Politics
Recently the video “I’m Voting Republican ” has been getting a lot of attention on the Intertubes. Lefties are celebrating it, righties are berating it, and it has started a lot of pissing contests, which is not only a waste of time, but the trophy is embarrassing.
My reaction isn’t based on my political ideology - I despise both the Democrats and the Republicans, and see very little difference in their core values. They both want to continue growing government, continue reducing our freedoms, and continue making even the most trivial personal decisions for us. My problem with this is that it sucks as satire.
In a world as bizarre as ours, it’s getting harder and harder to write satire, but it’s still not impossible. Good satire is subtle enough that, for at least a few seconds, you don’t realize it’s a put on. It sneaks up behind you, gently tickles you, and then snickers while it waits for you to get the joke. This thing hits you on the head with a 2×4 while screaming, “Get It! Do you Get it? How about now? Get it!” For three and a half minutes, over and over again.
My first response to this talentless, ham handed attempt and humor was to come up with a “I’m Voting Democrat” response (which would, of course, be almost as ham-handed as the original piece.) But a quick Googleing showed quite a few people beat me to it. Here are a few excerpts from articles and comments.
From Ben Shapiro at Town Hall
I’m voting Democrat because I believe that the best strategy in war is defeat. It broadens the mind to learn Japanese, German and Arabic. Talk about multiculturalism!
I’m voting Democrat because I believe that if I don’t have enough money, the solution is for the government to take more of my money. Who needs money when gas is $5 per gallon?
I’m voting Democrat because the real cure for racism includes preferential policies based on race — particularly in presidential voting. If you believe that a black candidate ought to be qualified, as well as black, you’re worse than Bull Conner.
I’m voting Democrat because everyone deserves crappy healthcare. Sure, you’ll have to wait years for that life-saving cancer surgery. But it’s first come, first served at the cemetery!
I’m voting Democrat because I believe in minority rights (except in Muslim countries), free speech (with regard to pornography but not conservative talk radio), environmentalism (unless we’re talking about Al Gore’s house) and diplomacy (but never backed by the threat of military force).
I’m voting Democrat because I like the words “hope” and “change.” Also “kazoo.” That’s a funny word.
Most of all, I’m voting Democrat because I like the ideas they have over in France, but I don’t feel like moving there. I’ll threaten to move, but I really won’t. After all, I have a good job, healthcare, lower taxes, free speech and a social framework that promotes family structure. And all of it is defended by the most effective fighting force on the planet.
And among the better comments to the article:
I am voting Democrat because I believe the government should be able to take my property and give it to some one else that promises to pay more taxes than I do.
I am voting Democrat because we should lock up all of our oil and never drill for any over here because it will ruin the environment and cause even more global warming. Besides we can always get more from our enemies.
I am voting democrat because I prefer to have everything handed to me, rather than actually working for it.
I am voting democrat because no one should make a profit.
I am voting democrat because I hate rich people, well, rich people that aren’t democrats. Well, for that matter, I hate poor that aren’t democrats too.
I am voting Democrat because I do not like the English Language and prefer being forced to Learn broken Spanish, Mexican, Guatemalan, ElSalvadoran, Farsi, and other exotic languages.
I’m voting democrat because I want Michelle Obama to be proud to be an American
I’m voting Democrat because after 17 years in higher education I realize it’s more important to give students an inflated and unjustified sense of self-esteem than teach them to read, write, or critically analyze anything.
I’m voting Democrat because I subscribe to the general notion that everyone - Hollywood, the media, all musicians, and Planned Parenthood care more about children than their parents do.
I’m voting Democrat because I don’t understand human nature OR economics, and I don’t want to.
I’m voting Democrat, because I loathe and mistrust big corporations, which are powerful entities run by people with lots of money, but I worship and trust big governments, which are powerful entities run by people with lots of money, guns, and the capacity to jail or execute you. I believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.
I believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.
I believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides aren’t.
I believe that hunters don’t care about nature, but loony activists who’ve never been outside of Seattle do.
Because one day, I will be a victim too.
Because I want smart people who worked hard all their life to pay for my bad choices and short comings I inflicted upon myself.
.
I want to press #4 for English.
Because I am entitled to everyone else’s success, no matter how much harder they worked or how much more risk they took.
Because I am a victim of every earthly affliction.
Here’s some of the better responses to the Digg entry for this video
http://digg.com/political_opinion/I_m_voting_Republican
I’m voting Democrat because my money doesn’t belong to me, and should be used to provide “services” at the point of a gun.
I’m voting Democrat because I want to end big business, and all of the things in my life that rely on it.
I’m voting Democrat because I believe we can end the problems caused by Big Government by increasing the size of government.
I’m voting democrat because I want to be told which light bulbs I can buy.
I’m voting democrat because I want expanded government programs that create more government workers that will vote to expand government programs even further so that there will be more job security, and more government workers to vote the next time around.
I’m voting democrat because I’m white and insecure as to whether people think I’m a racist or not.
I’m voting democrat because Bush is Satan’s little devil spawn and all the hot hippie chicks hate him, and I don’t want to create thoughtful political dialog when we can Bush-bash instead.
From Argghhh!!
I’m voting Democrat because I believe that we don’t have nearly enough regulation of our commerce, health care and free speech. Especially, free speech. There are way too many people saying way too many things that just don’t jive with my political and personal beliefs. I think we should be able to use the government, the police, the courts and any ad hoc, un-elected, un-trained bureaucrats to point out and persecute people who don’t say or think the right things. We can call it a human rights commission. Wouldn’t that be ironic? But, everyone would take that super serious just because of the name and when they prescribe a thousand mea culpa’s on our knees for daring to note someone has a different color of eyes than all the other people, we’ll be so grateful it wasn’t worse.
It’s better to be poor and living off of welfare than to hurt Giaia’s feelings.
Finally, I am voting Democrat because I am almost absolutely positive that my television has been telling me to vote Democrat. Plus, all those cheering throngs chanting for Obama. I absolutely have to be part of the in crowd. Popularity is way better than hard work. Besides, I might get to see a rock concert by some mock Bolsheviks. Man, how often does that happen in one life time?
Yeah, I’m definitely voting Democrat this year.
And finally, excerpts from an older article along the same lines, from IowaHawk.
I am a Democrat because I believe everyone deserves a chance. And if necessary, a second chance. And if, by the eighth or ninth chance, this guy needs another chance, I mean, come on. This guy is due.
I am a Democrat because I believe in helping those in need. All of us, you and I, have an obligation to those less fortunate. You go first, okay? I’m a little short this week.
I am a Democrat because I believe in the equality of all people, regardless of their race. That is why I think we should give free medical degrees to minorities because, well, duh. Like any of those types are going to make it through medical school.
I am a Democrat because I hold sacred freedom of the press, as well as freedom of the TV and freedom of the movie. Where I draw the line is freedom of the talk radio, and don’t even get me started about that damn Internet business.
I am a Democrat because I believe in the rule of law. Or, at least, lawyers. Because hey, according to my attorney, I could have been on the Number 7 bus when it crashed yesterday. As far as you know.
I am a Democrat because I believe in a strong military. Strong, yes, but caring and thoughtful too, and ready to face new challenges. A military that enjoys long strolls on the beach, cuddling in front of a warm fire, unafraid to show its vulnerable side. Must be NS/DDF.
I am a Democrat because I… hey look! A new episode of Survivor! Geez, I hope they don’t vote off Jenna, she’s my favorite.
Comments (1)
06.19.2008 | 12:47 pm | Atheism, Religion
According to this article by Professor Richard Lynn, emeritus professor of psychology at Ulster University, the smarter a person is, the less likely they are to believe in a god
Lynn makes quite a few assumptions in his paper, which compares belief among academics to the general population. The idea that academics are smarter than the general population isn’t necessarily valid - not only are some academics completely incompetent, some who are brilliant in their field are complete dunces outside a classroom. A proper study would include a large sample size and carefully adjust for counfounders like as age, income level, and religious upbringing.
Then we have to consider if IQ is a valid way to measure intelligence. I like the theory that there are a lot of different kinds of intelligence. There are the obvious ones, like Math IQ and Language IQ, but there is also Music IQ, Social IQ, Physical IQ, and so on. I think there is even a Freedom IQ, which is marked by a disdain for authority and a lack of the all too common human tendency to bend at the knee.
But with all that in mind, I think the premise is sound, based on my own experience: I have never met a stupid atheist. They may have other undesirable personality traits, but stupid? Never.
It takes something special to become an Atheist in the US. Although we’re all born atheists, from the first moments we become aware of the world our culture bombards us with god stuff. God is in our music, our government, our art, on our money and in our pledge. You can’t even sneeze in public without someone automaticaly mentioning god. Theism infests our culture at every level.
It takes a certain kind of intelligence, and lots of it, to really look skeptically at what most of the country takes for granted. And concluding that the Christian god is no more real than the Greek or Roman or Viking gods takes more than just intelligence - it takes guts to deal with the inevitable fallout. Many people who need a sky-daddy to be good can’t even conceive of someone being moral without the threat of eternal torture. The result is Atheists are despised and distrusted by the ignorant, and there are a lot of ignorant sucking up oxygen. Admitting your atheism can cost you friends, it can cost a promotion (or even your job) and it often costs you your family. In the past twenty years I’ve spoken with my father, in total, for about 45 minutes. I left his cult when I was a young man, and so he is forbidden to speak with me. His god, Jehovah, is a nasty prick.
I’m not saying all religious people are stupid - I know some truly brilliant theists. But the number of mouth breathing atheists is approximately none and a substantial percentage of the very religious are blithering idiots, so when you average out the numbers atheists are going to be on the top of the heap.
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06.14.2008 | 10:17 pm | Political Correctness
When I first heard of the racial discrimination lawsuit against NASCAR I did an internal eye-roll and thought “here we go again.” Then I looked at the complaint - page after page of specific incidents that Mauricia Grant says happened to her while she was working. A few of them are silly - like the complaint that people were using profanity at the track. (Mechanics swearing? Oh me oh my.) But if even a fraction of her other allegations are true she was treated horribly, and really did suffer from racial discrimination.
I felt a little guilty that my initial reaction was to brush off the complaint as yet another ridiculous claim. But I forgave myself about five seconds later; there were good reasons for the reaction.
While real racism will aways exist, far too many people have made non-existent racism their favorite tool.
The most obvious, of course, are the professional race baiters. Al Sharpton has made a very nice living at it. Jessie Jackson has turned it into a profitable career. Spike Lee recently used it to get back in the public eye. Some academics teach their students that there’s no need to ask if a white person is racist - they just are, no investigating is necessary.
Limbaugh defines a racist as anyone who wins an argument with a liberal. I’ve found this especially predominant in online forums. Back a lefty into a corner, and sooner or later (usually sooner) they’ll pull out the race card. If you don’t like Affirmative Action, you’re a racist. (Which is ironic, because it is a racist program.) If you don’t like Islam, you’re a racist. (Point out that Islam isn’t a race and they’ll insist your dislike of a barbaric superstition proves you hate Arabs.) Oppose a poorly thought out government plan that is supposed to help the poor and, yep, you guessed, some lefty wanker will make a comment about you hating brown people.
Far too many minorities are wired to look for racism everywhere, and find it whether it exists or not. I’ve run into this a few times myself.
I was driving down the streets of Schenectady on a Sunday afternoon, bringing my daughter to a piano recital. An elderly black man was waiting to cross the street, and I stopped and motioned him across. He waved it off, and motioned for me to continue. I did, parked the car, and when I got out he had corssed the street and was walking nearby. He said, “Thank you, but I don’t walk in front of cars.” I said, “I can understand that, but I don’t run over people.” He got upset, and said “What do you mean, you people. I’m a man just like you!” I sputtered a bit. “I didn’t say you people, I said people!” But he was on a roll. He didn’t hear what I really said, and was sure I had made a racial comment. Frustrated, I took my kid inside to her recital, feeling bad about something I wasn’t the least bit guilty of.
Several years ago I was traveling through Utica and we stopped at a Pizza place. I was in the passenger seat, and when I got out I admired the tricked out Mustang parked next to me, not noticing the man sitting behind the wheel. We started into the place when I said to my wife “Hold on, we forgot to lock the car.” We went back, locked it, and as I shut my door I looked into the eyes of the young back man sitting behind the wheel of the mustang. The anger in his eyes was palpable - he was seething. I could almost feel his thoughts - whitey was locking his car because there was a black man parked next to it. In fact I hadn’t noticed him before, but I’m sure the incident was entered in his mental book of racial slights.
So minorities, when a white person brushes off claims of racism, don’t get upset. If it weren’t for the endless race bating and constant stream of false accusations, most of us would take such claims a lot more seriously.
(As I was posting this I realized that the title of this post could be considered racist, because “boy” used to be used to put down black men. If that was your reaction, you’re part of the problem.)
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06.3.2008 | 10:26 pm | Junk Science, Politics, Religion, Very Old Jokes
You’ve probably seen those commercials where people with vastly different politics are sitting on a couch in front of the ocean preaching about Global Warming. (Pronounced so you can hear the capital letters.) The creepiest/most disgusting of them h is the one that pairs Al Sharpton with Pat Robertson.
Let’s break this down. Al Sharpton came to prominence with the Tawana Brawley case. Tawana had been partying for four days and tried to cover her tracks by smearing feces on herself and crawling into a garbage bag. (Old Joke: Did you hear about the new Tawana Brawley burger? It comes in a plastic bag and you put your own shit on it.) Sharpton showed up and proceeded to fling his own poo all over the place, starting what was to be a life long career of race bating. This wasn’t too far from my neck of the woods, and the racial tensions Al created were palpable. After a grand jury proved that Tawana was literally a lying sack of shit, she fled the state with $300,000 that had been contributed by her supporters. She then converted to Islam and changed her name to Maryam Muhammad.
Al was sued by the cops he smeared, lost the lawsuit, and has never paid a dime of the judgment against him. A master showman, he continues to contribute to the deterioration of race relations in the US.
Pat Robertson is one of the best known evangelical Christians in the US. He lied about his military service, claiming to have seen combat. The men who served with him say he never saw combat, and his primary job was to bring them beer. In 1976 he proclaimed that the apocalypse would come in October of 1982. The most significant thing that happened that month was the introduction of Double Stuff Oreos, which are delicious.
So I’m supposed to believe in Global Warming based on the proclamations of these two holy dirtbags? And since Robertson has claimed, many times, to be able to control the weather with his prayers, why should we be concerned? He can solve the crisis simply by spending a few minutes on his knees.
Comments (2)
05.30.2008 | 1:27 pm | Junk Science, Nanny Nation
Visitors to The Facts send a lot of e-mail. Half of the writers love the site and say thanks, the other half hates it, hates smokers, hates freedom of choice, and especially, hates me.
The fan mail is pretty varied. Some people like the stats pages, some like the study analysis, some like the list of business hurt by smoking bans and some praise the whole site.
The hate mail is all pretty much the same. It’s so predictable and unimaginative I could create a standard generic reply to use for all of them. The grammar is usually atrocious. Scatological references abound. About half of them are full of multiple exclamation points and question marks. Lousy formatting is common. Many are from anonymous accounts. All of them are smug and self righteous.
Here’s a typical one, which arrived last night. I haven’t changed the formatting or edited it in any way.
- - -
From: No Name <fozzy1985@hotmail.com>
To: hittman@davehitt.com
Date: Fri, May 30, 2008 at 1:26 AM
Subject: The Facts
What is funny.
How much ‘proof’ that is necessary to prove Second Hand smoke isn’t harmful.
Well you know what - it probably isn’t. But it stinks VERY bad.
Next time you are at a restaurant imaging a pile of dog crap sitting on your neighbors plate - and the smell is ‘blowing’ in your direction.
Sniff— mmm that would be VERY appetizing.
When I was a kid a Credit Union had a very thought provoking sign.
“So, you like to smoke. The by-product is it pilfers my hair and clothes.
I like to drink beer. The by-product of that is urinating.
So how about I drink and I urinate on your hair & clothing?”
Makes a great point, but two sentences aren’t enough to make a change.
Dave.
- - -
My Reply:
Nice grammar. What school you went?
Most children go through a scatological phase, when they are fascinated with pee and poop. It usually starts around age three and is over by age five.
However, based on the e-mails I regularly receive from your ilk, it’s clear that the majority of nicotine nannies never grow up. They are as obsessed with bodily functions as a three year old. At least half of the e-mail I get from your ilk has references to peeing in a pool, farting in your face, shitting in your salad, etc.
This provides a great insight into your mind set. You’re pathetically immature little children. No wonder you love nanny government. You need it; you’re not grown up enough to take care of yourself.
Retards,
Dave Hitt
- - -
On a related note, I’ve done some significant upgrading to the “Ban Links” page on The Facts. The original pages were far too long, disorganized, difficult to search, and cumbersome for me to maintain. I had five pages, each about twelve screens long. They contained about 200 articles about business that had been harmed (many to the point of closing) by smoking bans.
So I converted them all to a WordPress blog format, and had someone design a WP theme to match the layout of The Facts. Now they articles are easy to search, every post is categorized, and it’s easy for me to keep it updated. The stories from the original pages are in there and I’m working my way through a backlog of newer stories.
Here are the original pages. Here’s the new one. Let me know what you think.
Comments (9)
05.28.2008 | 11:22 pm | Uncategorized
Just a wild guess: This guy is not a liberal.
Click to Enlarge and Enjoy
(Possibly NSFW)
Comments (0)
05.23.2008 | 10:34 pm | QH Podcasts
The latest Quick Hitts Podcast is available for your listening pleasure. “Going Out of Business” is a list of government agencies that need to be shut down. Although this show is twice as long as most QH Podcasts, I only covered a fraction of the agencies we need to get rid of.
Feel free to leave your comments.
Comments (3)
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