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Gingrich Backs Specter

Posted by Arik on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 10:04:51 PM
No, not really, but would anyone be surprised at this point?
 
Gingrich has gone from the master stroke of the Contract With America and being the architect of a Conservative revolution that kept the Clinton years from being a total debacle, to being a guy who apparently doesn't even remember which side he's on.
 
There have been more than a few examples over the past few years, but the biggest case in point, at the moment, is his endorsement of Dede Scozzofava in New York's 23rd Congressional District over Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman.
 
Scozzofava is in favor of many things that you would think Newt would be against: Higher taxes, Tarp, Porkulus, Abortion, Obamacare. So, you wonder why he would back such a liberal. Well, apparently, the Republican 'R' by her name means that all the other stuff is irrelevant.  Yes, you read that right, she calls herself a Republican.
 
Why she calls herself a Republican, when she pretty much stands for everything the party is supposed to be against is me.  She is the absolute epitome of a RINO. 
 
How did the Republicans come to choose HER over Hoffman? She clearly was NOT the best conservative candidate interested in the position.  Hoffman was apparently forced to run under the banner of the Conservative Party, just to get on the ballot.
 
HAVE THESE PEOPLE LEARNED NOTHING????
 
Given the choice between a real democRat and a democRat calling themself a Republican, the people will go with the real democRat. You'd think Newt would have figured this out by now.
 
Many Conservatives from the Republican party are backing her opponent, including Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty and Steve Forbes. If he wins, he will likely run under the Republican banner next year, as an incumbent. 
 
Why would New York Republicans back a losing candidate as Scozzofava? Why would Gingrich?  Since her stated positions are all against the stated positions of the party, do they suspect she is magically going to vote along Republican party lines when she gets to Congress? Yeah, right.
 
Here's what will happen if she gets elected: She gets sworn in, votes with the democRats on pretty much every issue important to Republicans, then a few years down the road, switches her affiliation to democRat, saying she's "not leaving the party, the party left her." They didn't learn with Jeffords, they didn't learn with Specter and they're looking to repeat the same damn mistake with Scozzofava. 
 
They won't get a dime from me until they wise up.
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Right-Wing, Extremist, Conservative, Radical Blues

Posted by Arik on Monday, October 26, 2009 6:28:02 PM
(To the tune of pretty much any generic blues tune you can think of, especially 'Generic Blues' by 'Weird Al' Yankovic):
 
I'm a right wing exteremist,
Don't like the direction this country's goin'.
Said I'm a right wing extremist, bay-bee,
Don't like the WAY-EE this country's goin'.
 
We got our worstest ever president.
Send him back to his Kenya home.
 
Don't watch the news no more, bay-bee.
All I ever watch is Fox.
Said, can't stand the news no more, hon-ay,
All that I can stand is Fox.
 
Got too many stupid liberals
spouting out of my TV box.
 
I'm just a Right-Wing, Extremist, Conservative, Radical, Lim-BAUGH listenin' Fool.
I'm not a Communist, Liberal, Socialist, Idiot, Hopenchange Believin' Fool.
Got too much common Seh-ehnse, to belieeeeeve that Obama tool.
 
Ain't got a thing to do with color:
I don't care that he is black.
Tell ya, ain't got squat to do with his color:
Don't give a damn that he is black
 
It's his white half that I can't stand:
Think it must be smokin' crack.
 
Says he wants to reform Healthcare.
That means hurry up and die.
Yeah, he's tryin' to reform healthcare,
So, republicans, hurry up and die.
 
Does Granny need resusitatin'?
Do-wo-wo-n't even baw-awther to try.
 
I'm just a Right-wing, Conservative, Radical, Ann Coulter-lovin' fool. (Seriously, Ann, Call Me!)
Yeah, I'm a Fox-watchin', lib-hatin', Michelle Malkin-lovin' fool. (That goes for you, too, Michelle)
And all you infobabes on FNC, feeeeeel free to call me, too.
 
Well, Obama says he pro-choice;
He thinks killin' kids is cool.
Yeah, he's so pro-choice bay-bee,
Thinks lettin' newborns die is cool.
 
The only choice that he ain't for.
Is lettin' you choose where your kids go to school.
 
Well, Obama don't like Israel.
He kinda, sorta hates the Jews.
Don't care for Christians, either,
Except for his crazy preacher dude.
 
He says he isn't Muslim...
and wants to sell you a bridge in Brooklyn, too.
 
He's just a radical, liberal, thugocrat piece of Chicago slime.
Stays really squeaky clean while his henchmen do his crime.
If there were any justice, his administration would all be doin' time.
 
Yeah, just listening to the weasel, makes me feel like I'm covered in grime.
 
Note: I could go on forever with this, but what would be the point? Tomorrow would bring two hundred new topics I could add on. I would run out of rhymes before Obama runs out of stupidity.
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I Drink Alone

Posted by Arik on Friday, October 16, 2009 10:02:06 PM
Actulally, I don't drink at all, anymore.
 
Just a note to toot my own horn.
 
Today marks four years sober. Woo-hoo!
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A Simple Plan for Peace

Posted by Arik on Friday, October 09, 2009 10:44:24 PM
Hot on the heels of the Chosen One's Nobel Prize win, I have a plan that should make the rest of the world really happy, cut the defense budget and cement his reputation as one of the great figures in world peace for centuries.
 
It's a simple strategy, really. Since America is a big, imperialistic juggernaut that can't be trusted with power, I suggest that we pull our military out of every country that doesn't want us there. 
 
We are already leaving Iraq, if not on the time scale the Mess-I-uh and his friends want, and it appears that the Nobel Committe decided to pressure him to withdraw from Afghanistan, as well.  Ok, let's get out of there.
 
Next, places where we are obviously not welcome, like Germany, which, as we all know is a nation noted for its pacifism, will be left behind.  Also Italy and the rest of Europe.  Let's get out of Turkey, too, while we're at it.
 
Then, having left Europe to their peace, we can pull out of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, etc., giving the Muslims no reason to hate us for being on sacred Muslim soil. This would, obviously, end all terrorism and hatred of the U.S. Right?
 
Finally, we can get out of Japan, South Korea, Okinawa and the Western Pacific in general, as there are no problems there, you know.  We can let all those people live in the peace that they've known for centuries.
 
When the United States pulls its military back, fully within its own borders, we can just sit back and watch peace spread all over the world, from Russia, from Iran, from North Korea, from all corners. With the United States out of the way, the rest of the world can finally be free to find peace.
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And the Winner Is...

Posted by Arik on Friday, October 09, 2009 9:55:02 PM
I hear mumblings that the BaseBall Writers of America are going to give this year's Cy Young Awards, for both leagues, to Barack Obama, for his masterful pitching at the All-Star Game. Though the Opening-Day-Starter-in-Chief appeared to not quite make the plate, bouncing the pitch in to Albert Pujols, his performance was enough to inspire every pitcher, from the Major League all the way down to Little League, to practice harder, to become better, as one day they, too, might be able to bounce a ceremonial first pitch to a first baseman playing catcher.
 
Beyond that, I hear the City of Pittsburgh is going to dedicate both their Lomabardi Trophy and Stanley Cup wins to Obama, for bringing so much publicity and notice to the city via the G20 Summit, even if most of it was coverage of the Socialists rioting in the streets.  (Off-topic: Why DID the Anti-Capitalists riot in the streets at this summit? They were protesting a bunch of leaders from highly socialized nations, and one who wants to socialize his own.)
 
There's a possibilty, I hear, that the Heisman Trophy is going to be renamed the Obama Trophy, and be awarded each year to Obama by the best college football player in the nation. I know Obama doesn't play football, but isn't it obvious that, if he did, he would easily be the best player ever to play the game?  That's why he's the AP NFL offensive and Defensive Player of the Week this week, and every week.
 
He's certainly a shoo-in for the Nextel Cup, having turned all of those Bitter and Clinging Rednecks into civilized, sophisticated little socialists.  Surely that makes up for the fact that he's never actually entered a NASCAR race, much less won one.
 
And, wow, next year's Triple Crown looks like it will be completed, for the first time since Secretariat.  It may seem a bit absurd, Obama being the Triple Crown wimmer when he isn't even a horse, but hey, is that really any more absurd than him winning this year's Nobel Peace Prize, when his only real accomplishments on the Peace front have been watching North Korea test missles, letting Iran edge closer to membership in the Nuclear Club, setting up terrorists in time shares in the Carribean, and yammering on and on about how great it is that a people as backward and ignorant as the Citizens of the United States could elect a man so obviously higher than themselves on the evolutionary timescale?
 
In fact, he is eminently more qualified for the Pulitzer than I am, as I have actually written all of the words I am taking credit for.  No Ted Kaczynski ghostwriting for me. Alas.
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My Dad

Posted by Arik on Monday, October 05, 2009 11:22:36 PM
Late last week, we buried my Dad.
 
He'd been going downhill for a long time, and though I'm sad that he's gone and will miss him, it was kind of a relief to see his suffering end.  It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but then, I'd had a long time to prepare myself emotionally, and I had family there for mutual support.
 
More importantly, I believe my Dad lives on, not just in the spiritual sense, but in the memory and actions of those of us who knew him. I'm not going to go all sappy and sentimental here, like my Dad was a saint or something. I know that I have picked up bad qualities and habits, as well as good.  I just know that, when I have to make a value judgement, I always try to imagine what my dad would do.  Usually I  get some pretty good advice, though sometimes what I do is the opposite of what I think he would have done.
 
I really want to share a story, one that I didn't even fully understand until years later. At the time, I thought my Dad was just having a little trouble at work, nothing serious. But I found out later that it was anything but minor.
 
My Dad worked for years as a drafter/designer at Goodyear. If you drove on Goodyear tires in the eighties or early nineties, there's a pretty good chance you drove on tires he put in ten or twelve hour days designing. But all that is beside the point.
 
In the mid-eighties, he started having some trouble at work.  It was a source of some tension in our house, and no doubt caused some sleepless nights.  You see, like many other businesses, Goodyear had a pledge drive for charity, with a portion specified by the employee automatically coming out of the employees' paychecks.
 
Well, I'm not completely sure of the details, whether Goodyear changed to a new charity, or whether the news about what that charity was doing came out, but it turned out that year, they were supporting the United Way, which in our county, at least at the time, was also supporting Planned Parenthood. As I say, I don't know for sure, but that may have been a new thing at the time.
 
Anyway, my Dad always gave generously to charities, most notably the Salvation Army, and I'm sure he debated the matter with himself for quite some time.  In the end, I believe he let the application date pass without making a change, essentially letting the donation continue unchanged. This resulted in a call to the boss's office.
 
His boss was concerned, because he got a bonus if every employee increased their donation amount.  He asked my Dad if it was an "Oversight." Well, my Dad explained his moral objections to his boss, and said that, even though he was uncomfortable with the charity, he would continue at his previous level.  Well, his boss said, "Come on, just a little change, even a couple of dollars..." and shoved the form in front of my Dad.
 
My Dad said, "If you want change, I'll change it," took a pen and wrote a big, fat "ZERO" in the donation line. 
 
Needless to say, there were threats, and possible recriminations, but my Dad stuck to his guns and didn't change it. I suspect his remaining years at the company were all shadowed by this incident, in one way or another.
 
While I'd heard most of this story from my Dad, it wasn't until years later that I found out how much pressure he was under, and how much trouble he was given for making the decision they made. My Mom told me that part, and said it was one of the most difficult times in their lives (and that's saying a lot), and that it was one of the things she most respected about my Dad.
 
And in the end, the point of the whole story is, to me, that while doing the right thing may not be easy, or popular, in the end it's still the right thing to do.  I think that's the most important thing I learned from my Dad, and I try to live by it with every decision I make. (With, of course, varying degrees of success.)
 
By the way, a side note about that boss:  When James Goldsmith tried to buy and dismantle Goodyear in the late eighties, there was a lot of pressure not to sell company stock, calling on loyalty to the company, as the Board was trying to hold the company together. Though the price of the stock was very high, my Dad held onto his, feeling it was the right thing to do. The boss, however, cashed out and retired to Florida. The result of the takeover bid was a weaker, smaller Goodyear, and a weaker America. How can I say that?  Goodyear spun off Goodyear Aerospace, selling it to Loral Air Systems. Loral Air Systems, in the mid-nineties, under the blessings of B.J. Clinton, and against the advise of the National Security Council, as well as the DoD, sold missle targeting systems to China. For that alone, I believe Clinton should have been impeached and tried for treason. Call me crazy or naive, but I can't imagine Goodyear would have sold that technology to the Chinese.
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