Bennett Stands By Comments

BENNETT: Well, I don't think it is either, I don't think it is either, because first of all, there is just too much that you don't know. But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky.

Former Education Secretary William Bennett is catching loads of political poo from Congressional Democrats, the NAACP, the Republicans and even the President, who said the remarks were inappropriate.

Bennett defended his statement and refused to apologize.
"I was putting forward a hypothetical proposition. Put that forward. Examined it. And then said about it that it's morally reprehensible. To recommend abortion of an entire group of people in order to lower your crime rate is morally reprehensible. But this is what happens when you argue that the ends can justify the means," he told CNN.

"I don't think people have the right to be angry, if they look at the whole thing. But if they get a selective part of my comment, I can see why they would be angry. If somebody thought I was advocating that, they ought to be angry. I would be angry."

"But that's not what I advocate."

Asked if he owed people an apology, Bennett replied, "I don't think I do. I think people who misrepresented my view owe me an apology."

Here is the complete transcript:
CALLER: I noticed the national media, you know, they talk a lot about the loss of revenue, or the inability of the government to fund Social Security, and I was curious, and I've read articles in recent months here, that the abortions that have happened since Roe v. Wade, the lost revenue from the people who have been aborted in the last 30-something years, could fund Social Security as we know it today. And the media just doesn't -- never touches this at all.
BENNETT: Assuming they're all productive citizens?

CALLER: Assuming that they are. Even if only a portion of them were, it would be an enormous amount of revenue.

BENNETT: Maybe, maybe, but we don't know what the costs would be, too. I think as -- abortion disproportionately occur among single women? No.

CALLER: I don't know the exact statistics, but quite a bit are, yeah.

BENNETT: All right, well, I mean, I just don't know. I would not argue for the pro-life position based on this, because you don't know. I mean, it cuts both -- you know, one of the arguments in this book Freakonomics that they make is that the declining crime rate, you know, they deal with this hypothesis, that one of the reasons crime is down is that abortion is up. Well --

CALLER: Well, I don't think that statistic is accurate.

BENNETT: Well, I don't think it is either, I don't think it is either, because first of all, there is just too much that you don't know. But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky.

bill bennett; racist; abortion

The Dumbest Thing I've Seen All Day

Some poor kid in Ontario, California has been kicked out of Ontario Christian School because she has two mommies.
They don't plan on fighting the ruling.

(I wonder if it was acceptable twenty years ago to expel a student for having a multi-racial family.)

Here is the article from The Washington Blade:

A 14-year-old student was expelled from a Christian school because her parents are lesbians, the school's superintendent said in a letter.

Shay Clark was expelled from Ontario Christian School on Thursday.

"Your family does not meet the policies of admission," Superintendent Leonard Stob wrote to Tina Clark, the girl's biological mother.

Stob wrote that school policy requires that at least one parent may not engage in practices "immoral or inconsistent with a positive Christian life style, such as cohabitating without marriage or in a homosexual relationship," The Los Angeles Times reported in Friday's edition.

Stob could not be reached for comment by the newspaper. Shay and her parents said they won't fight the ruling.

School administrators learned of the parents' relationship this week after Shay was reprimanded for talking to the crowd during a football game, Tina Clark said.

Clark and her partner have been together 22 years and have two other daughters, ages 9 and 19.

two mommies; expelled; ontario christian school

Fascinating...

You are73% Libra

How much do you match your zodiac sign?

...apparently, I'm only 73% Libra. I wonder what the other 27% of me is.

Stranger Than Fiction

Can you imagine being on an airplane with direct TV, and watching as a made-for-tv style drama plays out involving said airplane?
Will the landing gear come down? Will the pilot be able to make a safe crash-landing? Will the stewardess ever bring my farking peanuts?

Find out on the next installment of our two-part series: You May Be About To Die!

All jokes aside, read the news story here.

jet blue

This cracked me up

I found this joke on the internet, and thought I'd pass it on...
It is a bit sexist, but it's still funny.

Bush vs. Greenhouse Gases

Global warming? What global warming? The hurricanes are because of God's wrath against the homos!

What does NOAA know? It's not like they're a governmentalistic agency or anything. Aren't they just another liberal wack-job mud-slinging organization? I don't care what they say. Americans should be able to drive their SUV's as much and as long as they want to. There should be no restrictions on factory CO2 emissions! It would be plain un-democratic to impose such restrictions...

"The strongest hurricanes in the present climate may be upstaged by even more intense hurricanes over the next century as the earth's climate is warmed by increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere... An implication of these studies is that if the frequency of tropical cyclones remains the same over the coming century, a greenhouse-gas induced warming may lead to a gradually increasing risk in the occurrence of highly destructive category-5 storms."


Fig. 1. Comparison of simulated hurricane intensities for present-day (thin line) and future (thick line) climate conditions assuming an 80-year build-up of atmospheric CO2 at 1%/yr compounded. The results are aggregated from sets of experiments using nine different global climate model projections and four different versions of a high-resolution hurricane prediction model.

Spam

I got some great spam today. Here are some of the subject lines:

From Gunzberg: No more penis enlarge ripoffs!

From Fisch: All love enhancers on one portal!

From Glucksman: Penis Growth Extreme!

From Emmanuel: Don't let your dream mate pass you by!

From Gottlieb: She wants a better sex? All you need's here!

...somedays, I really wish I had a penis.

Red States vs. Blue States

Because I'm feeling particularly chrulish today, and the approval rating of our Dear Leader has sunk to an embarrassing 40%, I thought it appropriate to get my "nanny-nanny-boo-boo" on.

"With the Blue States in hand, the Democrats have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, over 90% of our pineapple and lettuce, 92% of all fresh fruit production, 93% of the artichoke production, 95% of America's export quality wines, 90% of all cheese production, 90% of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools, plus Amherst, Stanford, Berkeley, CalTech and MIT.

We can live simply but well.

The Red States, on the other hand, now have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans (and their projected health care cost spike), 92% of all US mosquitoes, 100% of all tornadoes, 90% of all hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, 100% of all Televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.

A high price to pay for controlling the presidency.

Additionally, 38% of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually eaten by a whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44% believe that evolution is just a theory, 53% that Saddam Hussein was involved in 9/11 and, most difficult of all to grasp, 61% believe that Bush is a person of moral conviction!"

Original article here.

The other day

I was minding my own buisiness, multi-tasking, when Grendel the cat came into my room begging loudly for attention. I had just put two lovely slices of shrimp and jalepeno pesto pizza into the oven to reheat.


Grendel meowed loudly until I pet him, then he cuddled up next to my bear, Eddie, and went to sleep. (Yes, I still have a teddy bear. It's a long story.)



I got so distracted by Grendel (and everything else I was doing), my lunch caught on fire.


(I ate it anyway.)
The End.

In an attempt to combat declining popularity, the Catholic church has ripped off adopted a new advertising campaign. I doubt that it will increase the number of seminary applicants by blockbuster proportions, but I admit, it does make the whole fire and damnation thing a bit more palatable.

Read what the Catholics think here.

I'm Shocked!

...and I thought I had not a conservative bone in my body.
The questions on this little quiz are pretty funny. I'm not sure that the results are 100% accurate, but they are pretty close.

My Political Profile:

Overall: 10% Conservative, 90% Liberal
Social Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal
Personal Responsibility: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal
Fiscal Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal
Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal
Defense and Crime: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

How Liberal / Conservative Are You?

Yes, I work at Starbucks.

...and yes I have another blog

(I'll probably post this there too.)

Anyway, this is why it is a bad idea to take a Shitzu (or any dog for that matter) into any food service establishment.



The owner in question didn't bother to clean up the shit(zu). (sorry... couldn't resist)

Somedays, I really hate my customers.

This Man Is Running Our Country

Conversation With FEMA

God Outdoes Terrorists Yet Again

Louisiana National Guard Offers Help By Phone From Iraq

Read more here.

Owen And The Turtle

This baby hippo befriended a giant, century-old, male turtle when he was stranded by his herd shortly after last year's Tsunami.

Read about it here.

Mischief Steals Kisses (video)

(press the triangle button to play)

Grendel Has a Drink

...and a bath

Super Trooper

Trooper is high in the running for cutest dog ever. He's a great cuddler and an excellent frisbee catcher. (He's not so good at sharing the frisbee once he's got it though). Troop likes going bye-bye, long walks in the park, and sticks.

No Comment. Seriously.

24/08/2005 22:52 - (SA)


Borrie la Grange


Johannesburg - A 30-year-old man was off to play pool when three women asked him to direct them to a hotel and he claims they raped him in turn after they had had drinks.

The man, from Roodepoort on the West Rand, was walking from his flat to an entertainment centre shortly after 17:00 on Sunday night when three women in a maroon BMW stopped him.

Captain Paula Nothnagel of the police said the women, aged between 20 and 30, asked him how to get to the Savoy Hotel.

"He explained, but they apparently insisted he should go with them to show them the way.

"He got into the car with them," she said.

On arriving at the hotel the women invited him for a drink.

After drinks and a chat, they asked him to show them where the Station Hotel was.

"On the way to the hotel, the driver suddenly changed direction and drove to an open piece of veld near the Durban Roodepoort Deep mine.

Kept gun on him all the time

"One of the women pulled out a gun and held up the man while the other two undressed.

"Then all three of them raped him in turn, with one of them keeping the gun pointed at him," said Nothnagel.

When they had finished, they forced the man back into the car and dropped him off in Main Ridge Road shortly before 02:00. He walked home and contacted the police on Monday.

Nothnagel said detectives from the police unit for family violence, child protection and sexual offences were still trying to trace the women.

From News24.com

Meet Harold

Harold is the gnarliest thing I have ever seen in my life.

I think he could probably kick my ass if he wanted to. But that's ok. We're friends now. He's my new body guard.

To Dennis the Publican

First, this is my blog and I will explain what I want.

Yes, they were sent over there for oil, among other reasons.
Not to seize oil, or any of the other ridiculous things you suggested, but to make it easier for the US and UK to access mid east oil. This is an over simplification, and I don't care to elaborate, but here are a few articles illustrating my point:

http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/oil/irqindx.htm

"Iraq has the world'’s second largest proven oil reserves. According to oil industry experts, new exploration will probably raise Iraq's reserves to 2-300 billion barrels of high-grade crude, extraordinarily cheap to produce, leading to a gold-rush of profits for international oil firms in the post-Saddam era. The four giant firms located in the US and the UK have been keen to get back into Iraq, from which they were excluded with the nationalization of 1972. They face companies from France, Russia, China, Japan and elsewhere, who already have major concessions. But in the post-war setting, with Washington running the show, the US-UK companies expect eventually to overcome their rivals and gain the most lucrative oil deals that will be worth hundreds of billions, even trillions of dollars in profits in the coming decades."

http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/oil/2003/2003companiesiniraq.htm

There are hundreds more, if you need more convincing.

So please refrain from making condescending, opinionateded, close-minded, un-educated and overtly right-wing-biased comments on my blog. Use your own space for that.

Other points:

1. In the history of the United States, every war-time president has been re-elected.
2. THERE WERE NO WEAPONS OF MASS DISTRUCTION. If you don't remember, that was the justification for invading Iraq in the first place.
3. When they shifted focus to the "human rights atrocities", many organizations, government and NGO called bullshit. What about the thousands of other nations in the world suffering equal or greater government afflicted atrocities? Why aren't we using our military muscle to intervene there?

I call bullshit too.

Genius My Ass

The official title for the friendly tech folks at Apple is "Genius". I think they should opt for a title which doesn't lead to shattered expectations. How about "Genius in Training", or "Apple Automaton"?

I have been so flippin frustrated for the past few days with my internet connectivity situation and the way Apple handled it I've eaten two pints of BnJ's Karamel Sutra.

First point of annoyance:
They push the "Apple Care Protection Plan" on you, selling peace of mind. I'm getting ready to donate a piece of my own, and it won't be pretty.

Second point of annoyance:
Apple's paranoid proprietary information issues. I guess I would be paranoid too with the Microsoft Monolith looming over every technoligical breakthrough and progressive business practice adopted. I don't want Microsoft to rip off their ideas either, but sweet Jesus Christ!, if I need to get into my system files, I should be able to. (This particular annoyance stems from not being able to transfer music from my ipod to my computer. Eventually, I figured it out. More on this later.)

Anyway, I get home and boot up my new Mac Powerbook G4 with Airport Extreme Card. The thing shows the home network, shows great signal strength, but won't connect to the internet. At this point, I barely know how to turn the Mac on (being so used to tinkering with PC's and all) so I call the "Geniuses at Mac". They very helpfully advise me to powercycle all devices involved. (I had already done this, but I followed directions anyway). Still no connection.

The "Genius" tells me that since I have connected to other wireless networks flawlessly, the Linksys Wireless-B router we use must be defective. I tell him that it's working fine for the desktop (hardwired) and the laptop (wireless), oh and by the way, both of those machines are Windows.

He walked me through the network settings on the Mac. They were all correct. (Now I know how to tinker with Mac network settings... getting a little more comfortable).

He again determines that the issue is with the router.

Anyway, three long, painful and unproductive conversations later, the geniuses were stumped and I was left to fend for myself.

I noticed the Airport was pulling a 169.XX IP from the router. Weird. I set it to manual and entered the 192.XX. I was connected for a hot second. Weird. The settings reverted to 169.XX. I banged my head on the desk.
Anyway, with the help of my best friend Google, I found out that the 169.XX is the default DHCP server setting for Windows. I hate Windows. I'm beginning to hate Macs too.

This is driving me crazy. It works for a minute and then reverts. I've cleared all network locations, created new ones, manually entered IP, Subnet Mask, and DNS info, I've tried the "DHCP with manual address"... nothing is working.

I've reset the router and modem multiple times, I've upgraded firmware, I've changed and re-changed the settings on the stupid router. I'm at my wits end, and Apple can't help.

*pout