Comment of the Day

In response to this post, Sailorcurt writes:

My wife had trouble getting a LIBRARY card because she didn't have her driver's license on her and couldn't prove residency. She had her military ID but nothing with an address.

So proving residency is of paramount importance when borrowing a book from the government, but not when selecting the people to RUN the government?

Give me a break.

Amen.

Today's Math Lesson

In this post over at Universal Hub, "tblade" lambastes Kerry Healey for her position against using taxpayer dollars to provide an in-state college tution discount to illegal immigrants, who reside in Massachusetts.

And, please, spare me the feel-good, obfuscatory phrase, "The CHILDREN of illegal immigrants". The children of illegal immigrants are already well taken care of in our public schools where they receive a free education, courtesy of the taxpayers of Massachusetts, that likely blows away any education they could get in the countries from which they came.

Apparently, "tblade" is one of those folks who reads the Boston Globe, and when he sees a talking point that suits his agenda, he puts the paper down without reading any further, and shuts his brain off before reality has a chance to blur his Utopian visions.

tblade writes:

Kerry Healey, WTF? It is outrageous that our Lt. Governor makes a mere 400 students a campaign issue while refusing to acknowledge the existence of the commonwealth’s 30,000 students currently attending state higher education institutions. That’s 400 students that would pay $40,000 for a degree at the University of Massachusetts Boston - anything but a free ride.

OK, would it make you feel better if we called it a "Buy one,get one free ride"?

Let's check out that Boston Globe article, from which he gets that figure of 400, shall we?

The Massachusetts tuition measure, which largely mirrors those passed in the other nine states, would allow the children of undocumented immigrants...

Pay no attention, again, to the fact that a vast majority of the people who would be receiving this benefit would actually be adults at this point in their lives, and not the wee little tykes they're portrayed as by the supporters of this legislation.

...to obtain in-state college tuition rates if they attended Bay State high schools for at least three years, graduated from such a school...

So, has the line "...or attained the equivalent thereof..." been dropped from the bill since the last time around? Or is the Boston Globe still intentionally blurring the issue to misinform the voters of the realities contained within this legislation?

That wasn't a rhetorical question, I honestly don't know.

I do have a strong hunch, though.

...and signed an affidavit affirming that they have applied for citizenship.

I'll ask again. Has the line "...or shall file an application at the earliest opportunity the individual is eligible to do so." been stricken from the bill? Any guesses out there?

Because, unless the language of the bill has been, or will be, altered significantly since the last time around (and I'm not finding any new bills on the matter currently pending with the Joint Committee on Higher Education), the editors of the Boston Globe are, once again, serving as the public mouthpiece for the illegal alien lobby. Because this is all the same bullshit they and Attorney General Tom Reilly were feeding the voters back in November of 2005, before reality penetrated the skulls of a significant number of lawmakers and the bill was killed.

Apparently, staying in power was more imporant to our legislators than handing out money to illegal immigrants, in direct conflict with the will of the electorate. Who'd have guessed?

Let's read on.

Immigrant advocates have estimated that about 400 Massachusetts students would take advantage of the lower tuition. The advocates said they knew of no instances in other states in which immigrant students were targeted by immigration authorities after seeking the lower tuition.

But Ali Noorani -- executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, which is spearheading the fight to pass the in-state tuition bill -- concedes that his 400-student estimate was based on projections derived from a 2000 Census data that pegged the Bay State's undocumented immigrant population at about 100,000 to 150,000, well below current estimates.

OK, so essentially that estimate of 400 is as useful in this discussion as male nipples. But, for the sake of argument, let's go with it, and assume that the illegal immigrant population in Massachusetts will not increase in future years, as word spreads throughout the illegal immigrant community that they can all get free healthcare here, as well.

Hey, man, stop laughing! Work with me here.

For 400 students, the cost difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition over four years of education would be about $15 million. Healey has also warned that such a bill could end up costing tens of millions of dollars more because federal immigration law may require Massachusetts to allow all US citizens to get the in-state tuition rate if it allows undocumented immigrants to get it. A 1996 immigration act says that if states offer in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants based on their residency, the state must also offer in-state rates to out-of-state applicants, as well.

Um, Kerry, regardless of what the federal law may or may not dictate, this bill will cost tens of millions of dollars. Let's do the math.

$15 million over four years. That's $3.75 million a year for (let's see divide by pi, carry the 6) oh yeah, forever.

"This is money that would be better spent helping our legal immigrant community acquire the English skills they need to be productive members of our workforce," Healey wrote in a column in the Globe yesterday.

RACIST HATEMONGER!

So, getting back to tblade's post, and its insightful title:

A. 400 Q. How many illegal immigrants would receive in state tuition, Alex?

So, can we assume then, tblade, that after the first 400 students sign up, they're shutting off the taps?

OK, that was a rhetorical question.

We're looking at 400 (yeah, right?) illegal immigrants receiving in-state tuition in just the first year of this taxpayer-funded handout. 400 more then year after that. 400 more the year after that. 400 more...

Math and logic are not some folks' strong suits.

And, if you're keeping score at home, tbalde only "forgot" to put the word "illegal" in front of "immigrant" three times in his post.

An Unlikey Gun Rights Defender

I never would have guessed that such a left-leaning, gun-fearing pacifist, such as Robert Koehler, would come out so strongly in favor of Vermont-style concealed carry laws for those American citizens residing in cities and states where their right to keep and bear arms has been torn to shreds by the draconian gun control laws of the left.

'This Cannot Be'
Firearms licensing would roll back civil rights movement

[snip]

The bill, as critics have vehemently charged, is a de facto, armed citizen tax, requiring people to obtain costly documentation to prove their eligibility to exercise a Constitutionally-protected right. A License to Carry a Firearm in Massachusetts, for instance (which only a ridiculously small percentage of Bay Staters possess), costs $100, not including the cost of the required firearms safety course. The cost of this license is clearly quite onerous. "“This is a mandate on all citizens to actually have to pay to exercise their rights,"” according to Tanya Clay House of People for the American Way. And as such, it is blatantly unconstitutional.

Well, OK, not exactly. Here's what he actually wrote.

'This Cannot Be'
Voter ID bill would roll back civil rights movement

[snip]

The bill, as critics have vehemently charged, is a de facto, latter-day poll tax, requiring people to obtain costly documentation to prove their citizenship. A passport, for instance (which only 25 percent of Americans possess), costs $97. The cost of the photo ID could be even more onerous. "This is a mandate on all citizens to actually have to pay to vote," according to Tanya Clay House of People for the American Way. And as such, it is blatantly unconstitutional.

What are the odds of Mr. Koehler, or any of his readers, ever coming to terms with the correlation between those two paragraphs?

Please round your answer up to the nearest zero.

(link via Jay Caruso at Toys in the Attic)

It's All About Perspective, I Guess

Is it just me, or is this article about a potential "savings" for Massachusetts drivers more of a tacit admission by Attorney General Tom Reilly that we've all be getting hosed to the tune of 18% for the past year on our insurance premiums?

BOSTON, Mass. -- The attorney general and the state Division of Insurance on Wednesday proposed steep cuts in Massachusetts’s auto insurance premiums that could save some drivers between $85 and $180 annually on their bills, depending on the proposal.

Attorney General Tom Reilly proposed an 18.2 percent rate cut that would reduce the average driver's policy by about $180 per year.

And, here's your money quote from the story, concerning our old friend, Tom "Totalitarian" Reilly, and his role in all of this:

Massachusetts in the only state where state regulators set auto insurance rates. The process begins with the industry's recommendation, followed by the attorney general, who represents the interests of drivers.

Yeah...uh-huh.

Notable Quotables From North of the Border

Courtesy of Richard "Yogi" Cote, a 70-year-old store owner in Manchester, New Hampshire.

"We were just standing there, chatting. Next thing I know this fella has my customer by the throat and he has a knife, the pointy part, right to his neck. He says, 'Give me the money or I'll cut him.' So I picked up the bat and swung it," Cote told the Union Leader. "I hit him twice in the head. The only one that got hurt was the bad guy."

A hard-working, law-abiding citizen refusing to be a meek, compliant victim. Good thing he didn't try pulling that subversive crap down here in the People's Progressive Republic of Massachusetts.

Happy Birthday, Sam Adams!

Born September 27, 1722:

By 1764-65 he was a leader in Boston's town meetings, drafting protests against the Stamp Act that protested British efforts to tax the colonists and called for a spirited defense of Americans' "invalueable Rights & Libertys." Over the next decade he became an increasingly dominant leader of the town meeting. He repeatedly insisted on the "inherent and unalienable rights" of the people (Writings, vol. 1, pp. 25-26), a theme that became a core element of republicanism.

[snip]

Samuel Adams is perhaps best remembered for helping him to organize, with William Molineux, the Boston Tea Party of December 16, 1773, in response to the Tea Act. As British tea-ships sat in Boston Harbor awaiting payment of the import duties, Adams energized a large crowd that was gathered at the port with his oratory, and sent several men - all were aprentices except for Paul Revere - to dump all of the tea from the three ships into the Boston Harbor (none of the Patriots participated [including Adams] except for Paul Revere), to the delight of the assembled spectators on shore.

It's a shame today's like-minded Bostonians can be counted on but one hand.

And, one of my all-time favorite quotes:

"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen."

- Philadelphia, August 1, 1776.

Also...

Additionally, Adams was a member of the conventions that drafted the first Massachusetts state constitution in 1779, and the second one in 1788.

File this one under "That flushing sound you're hearing..."

CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

Article I. All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.

Defending your life? Not in Sam Adams' birthplace, you heathen! The inalienable rights of muggers, drug dealers, and rapists have been given priority by our courageous, "progressive" leadership. Sorry.

So, anyway, now you know what to drink tonight.

Oh, I also share a birthday with Meatloaf and Avril Lavigne.

Whoop-dee-fuckin'-doo-dah!

UPDATE: I wanted to get this one in before the stroke of midnight.

Happy birthday, John Michael Paveskovich!

Nice...um...Manners You Got There

From the Boston Globe:

Good deeds on the go rewarded

T riders stepped aside and let passengers get on trains before boarding. Others gave up their seats. And some even looked out for fellow riders in trouble.

A teenage boy climbing aboard a bus at Ashmont Station backed up so several senior citizens could get on first. A few passengers lifted others' baby strollers up stairs or onto trains. A crowd parted to make way for a blind woman with a seeing-eye dog.

They were all acts of commuting courtesy, taken for granted in many cities as part of daily life. But in famously brusque Boston yesterday, such random acts of kindness were rewarded with a chit for a cup of coffee or doughnuts.

Just holding a door open brought a $2 Dunkin' Donuts gift card -- much to the surprise of Daniel Collins , 32, of Weymouth, who rides the Red Line to work.

"To be quite honest," he said, "I would rather they put the money towards increasing efficiencies on the T. But it was a nice award."

More than 400 gift cards, donated by the chain, were handed out yesterday during the morning commute on bus, subway, and commuter rail lines . State Transportation Secretary John Cogliano said the Courtesy Counts campaign would continue periodically for the foreseeable future.

And, the cards are excellent for helping middle-aged T employees in dorky orange safety vests meet hot chicks!

(Boston Globe photo)

Another Boston Cop Disgraces the Badge

From the Boston Globe:

A 19-year-old prostitute feared no one would believe her if she said an off-duty Boston police officer repeatedly forced her to perform sex in his car. One night, she fled his car with a key piece of evidence: his badge.

It was a bold move, the woman’s lawyer said Tuesday. And later, the lawyer said, when Officer Michael LoPriore called the woman to get his badge back, the FBI was listening.

LoPriore, 37, of Everett, was charged in federal court Tuesday with depriving the woman of her rights by using his position as a police officer to coerce her to perform sex in September 2004.

In some circles (read: Amongst the peasantry), that also goes by the names of "rape" and "sexual assault", not to mention "solicitation of a prostitution" - albeit with the "donut shop discount" in effect. Normally, this behavior would warrant criminal charges, filed at the state level, as well. No word, yet, on whether the laws that apply to us regular folks will come into play here.

Join me, won't you, in not holding my breath.

Adam at Universal Hub asks, in regard to Officer Blowmebitch:

Aren't Boston officers supposed to live in Boston?

Not exactly.

The Boston Globe had a good article (which I blogged here) a couple years ago on this issue, exposing Mayor Menino's "residency requirements" for what they are - a complete and utter load of crap. Shocking, I know.

Boston Globe (4/19/04) excerpt :

A decade after Mayor Thomas M. Menino declared residency a cornerstone of his administration, more than two-thirds of city employees are still exempt from a law requiring Boston workers to live within city limits.

Just 4,836 of 16,695 city employees are subject to the residency ordinance, and most of those are workers who can least afford Boston’s skyrocketing housing costs - clerks, secretaries, laborers, and others at the bottom of the salary scale.

Meanwhile, higher-paid employees who are members of more powerful unions often have found ways to remain largely unaffected. Teachers secured an exemption through state legislation. Police superior officers refuse to abide by the law because it was never written in their union contract. Other unions have negotiated lenient grandfather clauses that allow the bulk of their members to remain exempt. And ever since unions challenged a rule that requires grandfathered employees to move to the city when they are promoted, it has not been enforced.

Read the whole thing.

Live-Blogging the Big 4-0

Well, it's 10:27 PM on Tuesday - 'bout an hour and a half to go until I turn 40. Think I'll pour me a glass of scotch.

10:46 PM - Tick, tick, tick.

11:00 PM - One hour to go.

Now, if this isn't the most exciting blog post you've read all day, then what is?

11:12 PM - This is pretty decent scotch. Thanks, Zeus.

11:40 PM - In the home stretch now.

11:50 PM - Yeah, what's the big deal? Maybe I'll just go to bed.

11:51 PM - On second thought, another scotch.

11:58 PM - I'd like to thank my producer, my agent, my...

12:00 AM, September 27, 2006 - Well...that was exciting.

Airship Down

CBS4Boston.com is reporting that "the Hood Blimp has crash landed in Manchester-By-The-Sea".

UPDATE: The pilot's OK.

(photo by CBS4)

Is that a blimp in your backyard, or are you just happy to see me?

Caption Contest

From the Boston Metro:


Memo to Deval Patrick: If you're serious about passing yourself off as a political outsider, do not allow yourself to be photographed with these two flunkies.

Based on his facial expression, it looks like he's thinking the same thing.

And, Deval, while we're on the topic of the senior senator from Massachusetts, be sure to have someone on your staff send a nice bottle of scotch over to Christy Mihos' office this morning.

It's For the Children! Fish!

Teddy Bear Kills 2,500 Fish In New Hampshire

A teddy bear dropped into a pool at a New Hampshire fish hatchery killed all 2,500 rainbow trout living in the pool.

Fish and Game Department hatcheries supervisor Robert Fawcett said the teddy bear, dressed in a yellow rain coat and hat, clogged a drain earlier this month at the Milford hatchery, blocking oxygen flow to the pool, and suffocating the fish.

It's nothing a little common-sense Gund control can't fix.

(runs out of the room ducking for cover)

Bumper Sticker Design #2

The second round of stickers in the "Reality in Black & White" bumper stickers collection is being ordered tonight.

(click to enlarge)

Enough said.

Stay tuned for availability information.

Carnival of Cordite #73

The "Best of" edition is up at Spank That Donkey.

A bit of recommended reading there for my left-leaning readers:

Excessive Gun Control is Inconsistent with Liberal Values

I contributed my "Menino's Gun Shop" series of posts, chronicling this summer's feel-good, do-nothing gun buyback program launched by our fearless leader, Mumbles. How's that crime rate doing, Tommy? Shootings on the rise? Arrest rate down? Stabbings becoming more commonplace? Armed robbery up five-percent? The law-abiding citizenry just as defenseless as the day you were sworn in?

Good job there, buddy.

From the "IT'S FOR THE CHILDREN!"TM Files

For the sixth time this year, in just the City of Houston alone, a child was accidentally killed by an unsecured "assault weapon" in his home.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission last week issued a warning about the danger and reported that the number of accidental "assault weapon" deaths during just the first seven months of 2006 had doubled the typical yearly average.

My God! That's simply tragic!

Yeah, and it's also a load of crap. Here's the real story.

A falling television has killed another Houston child, at least the sixth such death in the city this year.

Manar Alkandari, 3, was trying to adjust the television when it fell on her head, officials reported. She was taken to an urgent-care center and then to Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, where she was pronounced dead Thursday night.

The death comes two months after Memorial Hermann and other health officials warned that the problem had become "a public health issue."

Translated: People are too fucking stupid today to exercise even the slightest bit of common sense, when it comes to keeping their children safe around the home. So, once again, it wil be up to the benevolent and all-knowing government to step in, do what's "best for us", and save us from ourselves.

But, the Nanny-Staters Brigade will start, as they always do, by going after the manufacturers of these deadly weapons and "ask" them to unnecessarily, and at their own expense, modify their product, based on the unfortunate and irresponsible actions of a nearly immeasurable portion of that product's user base.

Sound familiar?

The author of one of three academic studies on the subject this year called for a public awareness campaign about the danger and urged manufacturers to include straps or other securing devices with equipment.

Yep, you can see where that train's headed.

"The homeowner was charged with one felony count of failing to secure a high display capacity television."

I need a drink.

1st Annual Blogger Apolitical Roundtable

AKA: Project B.A.R.

Who: Boston area bloggers of all socio-political persuasions

What: Drinking and singing (Discussions of a political nature will be discouraged, hence the title of the event)

Why: Mostly because we're thirsty (and have little shame when it comes to making fools of ourselves in public)

Where: Jacob Wirth's, 31-37 Stuart Street, between Tremont and Washington Streets in Boston's Theater District.

When: Tentatively scheduled for Friday the 13th (October), 2006 - 8:00PM to midnight

RSVP to Bruce at massbackwards[at]comcast[dot]net or in the comments to this post. I'll need to know who's coming, so I can reserve the primo seating next to the piano. Reserved seating will most likely be limited to the first 12 people to respond (2 tables). Of course, you could always squeeze in a chair or two or sit at the bar (closer to the beer taps, eh?).

Mel Stiller of "Sing-Along With Mel" fame

Friday Night is Party Night at Jake Wirth's

There's a party at Jake Wirth's bar lounge every Friday night.

If you're a sing-along fan – as a vocalist, a hummer, or just a listener, you'll have a great time as pianist Mel Stiller does his thing from 8pm until midnight. It's been a Boston tradition since 1988.

Eat, drink and be merry as you sing along to your favorites. No problem if you don't know the words. You'll get a free songbook with lyrics to more than 500 songs.

The emphasis in on rock/oldies from the 50's, 60's, and 70's, with plenty of show tunes and standards, too. Stop by and see why so many people have said that Friday night at Jake's is the most fun they've had in Boston.

Of course, there are also all kinds of domestic and imported beers on draft, and Jake's dinner menu to enjoy.

If you're in a party of six or more, we can even make a reservation for your group in the bar/lounge area. Just give us a call.

Stop by and celebrate the start of the weekend in style – Friday night at Jake Wirth's is always special.

Stay tuned for additional details.

From the Revolving Door Files

Via the Boston Herald:

Hub gangsters are driving the staggering number of shootings on city streets this year - with 70 percent of the victims identified by Boston police as members or associates of street gangs. That astonishing figure has left city cops grappling with a low clearance rate on gunfire cases and prompted officials to add more detectives to neighborhoods hardest hit by bullets.

As opposed to adding more inmates to the state's prisons populations, I'm guessing.

Read on.

[Dunford] also points to the Suffolk County District Attorney'’s Office Gun Court, which began six months ago as a way to streamline firearms cases that would often become stagnant in court and eventually be dismissed.

Cases such as that of Andy Fernandes, 25, of Dorchester. Fernandes was shot earlier this year and refused to cooperate with investigators after he was wounded.

But cops suspect that Fernandes himself has been a triggerman in several unsolved shootings, according to BPD sources. Prosecutors said he has been busted for carrying a loaded firearm five times over the past seven years.

The defense rests.

So, shootings are up, arrests are down, and in those rare instances where an arrest is followed by a conviction and an actual prison sentence, these violent gang members are being sent back to the streets, seemingly before they even have a chance to muss up the sheets on their prison bunks.

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

"Yeah, but, if only we had a "One Gun a Month" restriction on purchases by licensed gun owners in Massachusetts, or a 15-day waiting period to purchase. Now, that would teach these violent, incorrigible felons a lesson they'd never forget."

No matter how many times I type words to this effect, I'm amazed that there are still people in this country who honestly believe, deep within their hearts, that sparing these "misunderstood youth" the "indignity" of real prison time, while at the same time depriving the law-abiding citizenry of the right to legal, effective self-defense, is sound, "progressive" social policy.

Swift Justice (of the Karmic Variety)

If this story doesn't put a smile on your face, five miles wide, I don't want to know you. On account of the write-up I linked to being somewhat disjointed (Who opens a joke with the punchline?), I've cut n' pasted the highlights here in the order in which they shoud be presented to the reader

[The homeowner]Tom Miller, his wife and children were shocked when they walked into their home and found it had been ransacked and their prized possessions had been stolen.

"My wife was shaken up really bad, my youngest daughter was really shaken up about the whole situation," Miller said. "She doesn't want to be in the house anymore."

[snip]

"They just tried to take anything that had a monetary value, and took the weapons too," Miller said.

The burglars broke in through a back bedroom window and stole guns, a knife collection, old currency and even a bottle of wine. Miller said the burglars wrote "This is ours" on this wall, and took their frustration out on his dog.

"They hit her around the right side of her face, and her eye was a little swollen," Miller said.

So they broke into and vadalized family's home, stole their valuables, and beat their dog. Nothing funny about any of that. But, now, for the punchline.

A Flour Bluff teen, 16-year-old Allen Smith, who accidentally shot himself with a 38-caliber gun Thursday, is believed to have gotten the gun from a home he burglarized hours before the accident.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta hit the head before I wet my pants from laughing too hard.

Menino's Gun Buyback Was SO Successful...

...that the city's violent scumbag population is having to step up its armed robbery efforts, in order to scare up the cash for more guns.

From the Boston Globe:

Last month, a waitress at a popular Charlestown restaurant was robbed by a group of teenagers who hit her in the face with a baseball bat. They broke her nose and stole her purse, car keys, and cellphone.

Thanks goodness, armed self-defense is against the law for the people of Boston. It's so much nicer (and more "progressive", I have to assume) to see a waitress get her facial featured rearranged by a bunch of scumbags with a bat, than it is to see criminals and their violent actions thwarted at the hands of an empowered woman.

Don't laugh. This city and state, are governed by people who actually believe that.*

And, because Tom Reilly's third place finish in the primaries is no reason to stop bashing that miserable prick, I gotta say, thank God we have an Attorney General working tirelessly to keep stores in Massachusetts from selling those...oh, wait, did that Globe article say "baseball bats"? My bad. I thought it said "plastic ping-pong ball slingshots".

I get those two mixed up all the time.

While more violent than many robberies, the crime was part of a troubling trend: Robberies and robbery attempts in Boston are up by about 5 percent over this time last year.

I wonder how much higher that would have to climb for Mayor Menino to recant his statement that last summer's Gun Buyback Program was a "major success". Apparently, the armed, violent criminals are still out there, in even greater numbers this year, preying on the weak, defenseless citizens subjects of the Commonwealth.

I'm all, like, stunned and stuff.

What does the top brass at the BPD have to say on this?

In an interview, [Police Superintendent Robert] Dunford said he launched the weekly [BPD crime analysis] meetings in March to increase the department's responsiveness.

Great. You can now expect more cops to come to your aid AFTER you've been beaten and robbed (or worse). Note: this is what cops do. They show up, take your statement, and then begin their "investigation".

It is not the job, nor the obligation, of the police in your neighborhood to keep you free from harm. In a perfect world, that would be your job.

In a a perfect world.

Unfortunately, for the people who have to live in these neighborhoods where violent crime has become a way of life, Mayor Menino finds it unacceptable for mere commoners to actually take responsibility for their safety and well-being. Why, that would have the bone-chilling effect of creating less dependence on the government, a trend that would tear at the very heart of Massachusetts liberalism.

Besides, you might injure or kill a rapist.

And, he and his buddy Ted Kennedy hate when that happens.

*Disagree? Prove me wrong.

The REI Gift Card Chronicles (cont.)

Burned another $12.60 off of that gift card today.

Got me a new bottle opener for the keychain.

Anyone Else Really Thirsty?

Beers at my place (in the garage) tonight. Come on over!

This Sounds Familiar

I can definitely empathize with these folks.

Two of Lisa and Bill Kelleher's six kids have left the nest; two others are soon to follow. So in March the couple decided to downsize from their Tewksbury home, a 10-room Colonial.

Lisa called a broker. He planted a "For Sale" sign in the front yard.

Then they waited. Nothing happened. Not even a nibble.

Now, six months and nearly a dozen open houses later, the couple is calling in reinforcements. At the suggestion of the Kellehers' broker, Paul Healey of Century 21 North Shore in Reading, the couple hired a design expert for advice on what to do to finally catch a buyer's eye.

"We wanted to give our house that extra something to make it stand out," said Lisa Kelleher. "We're looking at it as an investment, money well spent to sell our home."

A lack of off-street parking seems to be the one factor that's really hurting us as we continue trying to sell the downstairs unit of our recently "condo-ized" two-family house in Roslindale. Here's my latest idea for what the article above would call "that extra something".


If [emphasis on "if"] dropping $2,000 at Costco for a 42" LCD HDTV on a swivel mounting bracket in the living room could get someone to buy the unit as fast as dropping the asking price by $5,000 - $10,000 would, we're talking a serious no-brainer here.

From next Sunday's open house (with repeated showings of Faith Rewarded on the new HDTV):

Wife (standing in kitchen): Oooh, honey, look. Granite countertops with an undermount stainless steel sink!

Husband (standing in drool puddle): "Sink, shmink, we'll take it!"

Affording Women the Right to Choose

Here's a story that is sure to shock and horrify Bay State lawmakers. A woman in Texas made the choice to protect her body from being harmed by knife-wielding assailants. Not living in Massachusetts certainly helped.

Fighting back

Woman defends herself from attack with gun

By Courtney Reese/Times Record News
September 21, 2006

A 38-year-old woman staying at the Homewood Suites in Wichita Falls turned the tables Tuesday night on a potential attacker in the parking lot.

The woman's father said she pulled her .380 automatic pistol on the man, who came up behind her as she was getting sinus medicine from her van about 9 p.m.

He gave the following information about the incident:

The man asked her, "Do you have anything good in that van?"

The woman knew she was in trouble. She told him yes and moved to the front passenger-side door.

She pulled out her pistol and heard a knife click open.

When she looked back, she saw the man was holding a knife pointed downward in his hand.

She quickly turned, pointed the gun right at him and asked, "Are you really sure you want to do whatever you're going to do?"

He took off running, the father said.

Jarrett Barrios frickin' hates when that happens.

Massachusetts: We prefer our women defenseless,
docile, and subservient. It's the "progressive" way!

(link via KABA)

A Blind Man Could See This One Coming

From TheBostonChannel.com:

BOSTON -- Two days into the race, the campaign for governor is heating up.

NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported that the head of the Democratic Party in Massachusetts accused Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey of "race baiting" and "hate mongering" in her focus on immigration and crime issues.

Wow, I figured it would take maybe a week or so before the Patrick backers started hurling cries of "RACIST HATEMONGER!" at Kerry Healey. Guess I was off by a few days.

"The negative campaign, the building yourself by tearing the other candidates down, the sound bites, the quick comeback, the gimmick and let me tell you, the Romney-Healey administration have perfected this," Patrick said.

Play-Along at Home Scorecard Update #1: Running ads that point out the differences between your positions and your opponent's positions is now considered "negative campaigning".

How come when Democrats in this state do that it's called highlighting one's "progressive" platform?

Shit, I guess Healey should just run ads saying she agrees with everything Deval Patrick stands for, and that everyone should just vote for him come election day.

"I think the language she's using borders on race baiting and I think that it is fear mongering of the worst sort. I think she ought to stop it, and she should not run a campaign that plays on the worst instincts in people," said Johnston.

Translation: She should not run a campaign that informs the voters of the differences between her and her opponent.

"I think it's a classic Republican tactic to look for and emphasize issues that divide us," Patrick said.

So, what would the Democrats like the Healey camp do? Run ads that only emphasize those issues where she and her opponent see eye-to-eye?

"Hi, I'm Kerry Healey. I'm, like, really against killing kittens with metal rakes, and, so is my opponent, Deval Patrick. So, vote for whoever you want. There's really no difference between us."

Sorry, kids. That's not how the game goes.

If your guy comes out and says he's in favor of giving driver's licenses to illegal aliens, his opponent has every right to state her position on the issue, and highlight the differences between the two.

Trying to prevent her from doing so by throwing the race card out there, when you know that the majority of voters agree with her on this particular issue, is pretty fucking weak. And, no one's gonna buy it, save for the morons who just voted to keep Dianne Wilkerson's disgraceful sham of a political career alive, for the time being.

You Shouldn't Cry Over Spilt Milk

But, if you happen to spill your 30-foot Bayliner Cruiser on Route 128, well, that's a different story altogether.

(photo by CBS4)

Here's a tissue.

If I Had a Nickel...

What's missing from this Deval Patrick quote, concerning the issuing of Massachusetts driver's licenses to illegal aliens?

"It's absolutely right that we have to be serious about security, but we also have to be mindful and respectful of the serious contributions that immigrants make and have made historically[.]"

I'll take "obfuscation" for $600, please, Alex.

Another More MA Gun Control Success Stories

*** POST UPDATED *** SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE ***

And, it's a special Election Day edition.

Police in Webster said a woman who will celebrate her 81st birthday Sunday was robbed at knifepoint about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday on her way to vote.

No word on whether she then went on to cast her vote for Deval Patrick, a man who will see to it that elderly women in this state remain as defenseless and vulnerable as possible, while he enjoys the protection provided to him by a taxpayer-funded security detail.

UPDATE: Reader, Johnny, sends along this latest installment of "Massachusetts Gun Control Success Stories", from the Victim Disarmament Zone of Beverly, Massachusetts.

Five held in violent robbery spree

As one of their alleged victims clung to life in a Boston hospital, six people were in court yesterday to face charges for a string of violent, random robberies in Beverly last week.

New details of the robberies emerged during yesterday's arraignments, where Paul Bernard Cucinelli, Timothy Share, Sean Caldwell, Thomas Gross, Thomas Roys and Jamie DeAlmeida all pleaded not guilty to charges of armed robbery, felony larceny and, in the case of Cucinelli, Share and Gross, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. All but DeAlmeida were ordered held without bail as potential dangers to the public.

Their weapons: a metal club, which police believe Cucinelli or Shares used to strike a Montserrat College of Art student over the head around midnight Tuesday, and a baseball bat that Cucinelli allegedly used twice Friday, first on a man who was able to get up and flee, then on a Lynn man who was attacked from behind as he went to buy cigarettes on a work break near the Cummings Center, prosecutor Kate Hartigan told a Salem District Court judge yesterday.

Pop Quiz: Which of the following "Dangerous Weapons" did Attorney General Tom Reilly order all Bay State Toys 'R' Us stores to pull from their shelves?

A. Baseball bats

B. Plastic slingshots with ping-pong ball ammunition

Hartigan said the victim of the third attack is in "highly, highly critical condition" at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital and may not survive the massive head trauma inflicted by his assailants. If that victim dies from his injuries, the charges against some of the suspects could be upgraded to murder.

Perhaps, these nice, young men were just looking for some of that "economic justice" that Deval Patrick was talking about last night.

UPDATE: This one's a classic - a "Massachusetts Gun Control Success Story" combined with an "As the Revolving Door Turns Story".

Convicted Killer Arrested On Rape Charge

AUBURN, Mass. -- A convicted killer was arrested Wednesday for allegedly attacking a woman in her Auburn home.

[snip]

"At approximately 10 p.m. last evening, Auburn police responded to a 911 call reporting that a female had been stabbed at her residence here in Auburn," Auburn Police Department Chief Andrew Sluckis said.

A convicted killer, an individual with a proven history of complete disrespect for human life, out walking the streets, instead of being locked away where he belonged, brutally raped and stabbed a defenseless woman?

Hey, it's nothing a little "common sense" knife control won't fix.

Grann had been out of prison for three years after serving time for killing his girlfriend when he showed up at the alleged victim's house Tuesday night.

Grann was a friend of the victim's ex-husband, so the woman let her inside her home. Once inside, he allegedly stabbed her, held her hostage for five hours and raped her.

"He did state to the victim that if he was going to be going back to prison, he was going to be satisfied before he returned to prison," Sluckis said.

This is the part in the story when all the subservient subjects of the Commonwealth, who find themselves in a similar situation, should spin the "Self-Defense for Liberals Wheel" and see what recommended course of action comes up.

Ready? Here we go!

Whirrrrrrrrrrrrclickclickclick, click, click...click...click.

Congratulations! You got "Run away!".

The woman was able to escape, police said.

"She was able to flee the residence to a neighbor's, and he again attacked her and stabbed her," Auburn Police Department Detective Jeffrey Lourie said.

Yeah, that worked out well for her.

Now, had that sentence above read, "The woman was able to retrieve a .38-caliber revolver from her bedside table and fire three shots, killing her assailant.", Dianne Feinistein would be utterly revulsed over the idea of one of the proletariate pretending she was some kind of high-ranking government offical. The nerve!

Then, once she recovered from her injuries, she'd face charges of "unsafe storage of a firearm" for not having a trigger lock on her handgun, and not storing the ammunition in a separate container.

"He grabbed the victim and held her and told the neighbor that she was intoxicated and was trying to hold her up. But, in reality he was still continuing to stab her at that time.

And, in reality (unfortunately) she lives in Massachusetts, where armed self-defense is discouraged, restricted, or entirely outlawed, depending on which "progressive" paradise of a municipality you live in.

The neighbor saw the knife in his hand and blood coming from her and realized that he was lying," Sluckis said.

Yeah, ya think?

Grann has been sentenced to prison twice for manslaughter.

Well, maybe he just needs seven more go-rounds, or so, through the system before his rehabilitation is complete.

The alleged victim was treated at a local hospital and released. She received 25 stitches.

Grann is scheduled to face aggravated rape charges on Thursday.

And, he'd better shape up, too. Another 74 strikes to his name, and it's possible he'll do some serious prison time.

Fisking "The Speech"

From Deval Patrick's acceptance speech:

You know it's time for us all to get serious about expanding our economy, about building successful businesses large and small, and making good jobs more plentiful across the whole state and that it is just as critical to get serious about economic justice.

Hey, kids! Let's play "Spot the Socialist Buzzwords". I'll go first.

Got one!

You know that it's time to get serious about delivering both quality health care and universal health care...

And, that is exactly what we'll have under a Patrick administration. Quality health care for the rich who can afford it, and third-rate [read: rationed] universal healthcare for the poor, and all the illegal aliens who will be streaming across the border in droves to suck on that teat for the rest of their lives.

...and dealing once and for all with escalating costs.

And, you have a plan for this that doesn't mirror the medical malpractice liability reform proposals put forth by the evil republicans? Let me guess, Tom Reilly's going to advise you on how to establish state-regulated health care costs. It's done wonder for his financial backers sugardaddies in the auto insurance business. Free market be damned! Man the torpedoes!

You know that education transforms lives and that it's time to get serious about the need for ensuring consistent excellence in every public school in the Commonwealth, not just success on a test, as important as that is, but teaching the whole child.

"Teaching the whole child?" OK, whatever. I'm guessing there's a "village" involved wth that somehow.

And you know that we've got to get serious about providing a decent place in a public college and university, worthy of the preparation we demand of kids in public schools. And you know that to get serious about any of that and more we have to stop dwelling on the difference between the right and left and start focusing on the difference between right and wrong.

OK, how's this? It's wrong to give illegal aliens college tuition discounts, allowing them to take these "decent places" ahead of the American citizens who are funding that handout.

This victory belongs to the tens and hundreds of thousands [? - ed.] of Democrats and Republicans and independents who believe that we can do so much better and hope for so much more in Massachusetts. Who believe we don't have to agree on everything before we can work together on anything.

Tell that to the Democrat-controlled legislature, which has been obstructing progress in the Commonwealth for years, solely for the purpose of depriving the Romney/Healey administration of as many "victories" as possible, as he kicks off his run to the White House, and she, the corner office.

That is what the voters said today. Voters said 'no' to the Big Dig politics as usual and 'yes' to the politics of hope and possibility.

The voters who are saying "yes" to "hope and possibility", actually, are the ones who have already moved out of state and the ones who are planning on doing so as soon as humanly possible.

Voters said 'no' to the inside deals and mediocre performance of our current administration and 'yes' to accountability, candor, and leadership. Voters said 'no' to division and exclusion, 'no' to government by gimmick, and slogan and sound bite and photo-op, and 'yes' to lasting and meaningful reform.

Actually, voters pretty much stayed home, as is often the case in these mid-term, primary elections. Seems to me, everyone who wants to see Deval Patrick become the next governor (i.e. the energized leftist base) was out voting yesterday.

Someone do the math for me. What percentage of the total number of registered voters in the Commonwealth cast their vote for him? I'm only asking because people are already talking as if he's got some kind of mandate, by which to govern now.

Then again, we're talking lemmings here, so I woudln't sweat it too much - the same folks who denied the existence of any "mandate" for the president who received more votes than any other president in history.

blah, blah, blah...

[snip]

A contest of ideas and not insults, of discussion, and not distortion...

Needless to say, after uttering those words, he immediately begins to distort reality. Shocking, no?

...of meaning and not just money...

Unless, we're talking tax dollars flowing into the state's coffers to pay for the illegal aliens' healthcare. Then money suddenly becomes quite an attractive factor in this contest.

...because you deserve and Massachusetts badly needs to best we have. And let's make it a candid debate, too. We should talk about business growth...

Like they're experiencing in New Hampshire?

...and how this administration has thrown up obstacles to growth in stem cell research...

Actually, the issue here is whether tax dollars should be used to pay for it. I'd propose substantial tax incentives to stem cell research firms to attract them to Massachusetts, and use that tax savings to help them pay for (insert trumpet fanfare here) jobs for Massachusetts residents.

Got that? Lower taxes = growth incentive = jobs.

Wow..that is complicated.

...and Cape Wind...

Ted Kennedy's our governor?

...and stood by while 148,000 jobs and 60,000 people left the Commonwealth.

Yes, those were all the people upset with Mitt Romney for trying to lower their taxes, prevent the state from being overrun by freeloading illegal aliens, and lock up dangerous sex offenders, and put the state's worst repeat drunk drivers behind bars. Who can blame them? Who'd want to live in such a place?

We should take about education and how this administration has starved public schools of the funding they need...

From the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (after all of 14, OK, 12 seconds of Googling):

In FY 1993, state and local spending on primary and secondary education in Massachusetts totaled 3.35 percent of state personal income; by FY 2003, that figure was 4.16 percent of state personal income. This change amounts to the largest increase of its kind among the fifty states; as a result, Massachusetts’ national ranking improved from 49th to 34th by this measure.

Overall spending grew between FY 1993 and FY 2003 when measured on a costadjusted, per-pupil basis as well. In FY 1993, total per pupil spending for primary and secondary education was $6,666, once interstate cost-of-living differences are taken into account. That figure grew to $9,431 by FY 2003. Consequently, Massachusetts’ national ranking for total cost-adjusted per-pupil spending (among the 48 states for which such data are available) climbed from 33rd to 19th.

Between FY 1993 and FY 2003, the share of primary and secondary education funded from the state’s coffers grew from 31.5 percent to 41.4 percent. This nearly one-third increase was the seventh largest increase of its kind among the 50 states.

But, I digress.

...left teachers to spend thousands of dollars of their own money for required materials in the classroom, left kids without books that they can take home and do their homework and study at home, and let our colleges and universities slide to 47th in the nation.

And, remember, the Democrat-dominated legislature, which can, and does with near-flawless regularity, override Mitt Romney's vetoes with a blink of an eye, has abso-fucking-lutely nothing to do with any of it.

How stupid does this guy think we are?

Don't answer that. I don't wanna know.

We should talk about crime and how this administration has done little or nothing while gun and gang violence soared on urban streets...

Yeah, and while we're at it, let's not forget that evil, uncaring, right-wing, Republican fascist, Boston Mayor Tom Menino, who told Romney to go screw when Romney offered to send in the state police to assist the Boston Police Department in the tracking and apprehension of the most dangerous and violent criminals in the city.

...and has closed detox facilities while heroin and Oxycontin addiction grew in the suburbs.

OK, I don't have the numbers on this. Anyone?

We should talk about the Big Dig and how it took a human tragedy to get the attention and focus of this administration on cost overruns and structural defects the rest of us have known about for years. And we should also talk candidly and honestly about taxes and how this administration's fiscal shell game is responsible for an explosion in the property tax and hundreds of new and increased fees for everything from parking in the school parking lot to playing on a high school team.

Why, Governor Patrick will FUND EVERYTHING! Sure, your tax rate will be in the mid-40's, but come on, people! It's such a small price to pay to finally achieve our Utopian "progressive" paradise. Now then, just keep your eyes focused on the Magic Hypnodisc, and Governor Deval will take care of everything for you.

Boy, if one thing is certain after last night, this race is Kerry Healey's to lose.

The Morning After

I'll have up a more detailed fisking of Deval Patrick's speech later on, but wanted to get this one out, before I forget.

Remember this delusional soul, and his "logic" behind casting his vote for Deval Patrick in yesterday's primary?

I wasn't planning to vote in the primary two weeks ago. Now I am, for Deval Patrick.

It's this simple: Patrick's campaign is running advertisements in which Patrick touts progressive Democratic concerns. On the other hand, Gabrieli has been running ads that argue, "It shouldn't matter whether an idea is Democratic or Republican, as long as it works."

That clears things up well enough for me!

Well, it looks like his hero betrayed his trust last night.

And I invite everyone in this state to join on this journey. We need the best ideas and the best people from all comers, Democrats, independents, and Republicans, to help turn our state around.

Lemmings are funny like that.

Murderous Rage!

Read the comments.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

It's a done deal, kids!

The fat lady is singing her tits off over at Reilly campaign headquarters this evening. All together now,"AWWWWWWW!"

Now, if I had an ego the size of this guy's, I'd be taking a large chunk of the credit for his demise. But, alas, I find I have no choice but to chalk it up to his sheer arrogance, his utter incompetence, his raging dislikeability, and thoroughly disingenuous nature.

Just the qualities the voters are looking for in a governor...not.

(Channel 7 screengrab, sent to me by an anonymous source, is from a newscast a while back, reporting on one of the earlier gubernatorial debates.)

UPDATE: Thus the countdown begins.

Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley advanced in her bid to replace Thomas F. Reilly as the state's attorney general. She ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, and will now face Republican Lawrence Frisoli, a Cambridge lawyer and one-term city councilor.

Needless to say, this blog and its editorial staff...um, that's me...wholeheartedly endorse the candidacy of Larry Frisoli for Attorney General of Massachusetts.

Man, talk about an improvement on the current model.

Tom Reilly for Governor?

Just say NFW! (click link for details)

This post will remain at the top of the page until Attorney General Tom Reilly is officially out of the running for Governor of Massachusetts (or until I get sick of looking at it, whichever comes first).

Early Election Returns

From the NECN ticker, with 9% of the precincts reporting:

Deval Patrick - 49%
Chris Gabrieli - 29%
Tom Reilly - 22%

Looks like the lemmings came out in strong numbers today.

I'm this close (holding up two fingers quantifying the size of Tom Reilly's credibility) to knocking my "Just say NFW!" post from the top of the page.

'Bout fucking time, huh?

UPDATE: 12% of the precincts reporting:

Deval Patrick - 48%
Chris Gabrieli - 30%
Tom Reilly - 22%

UPDATE: 22% of the precincts reporting:

Deval Patrick - 48%
Chris Gabrieli - 29%
Tom Reilly - 23%

Channel 38 News has called the race for Deval Patrick. And, I will do likewise, just as soon as I open a(nother) celebratory beverage.

Hmmmm...decisions, decisions.

I've Got a Problem

But, it's a good kind of problem.

I got a $100 REI gift card for my birthday, and can't make up my mind on how best to use it. I stopped by the Fenway store this weekend, for starters, and picked up one of these, a nice little knife.

Gerber Truss 2.0 Serrated Edge Locking Knife

But, there's still $83.25 left on the card. What to do?

A new LED headlamp to replace the big, clunky, pre-LED headlamp I got some 15 years back?

A little AM/FM radio with earphones for the train ride to and from work? Now that we've relocated to our downtown offices, I no longer have free parking. Bummah, I know.

An over-priced Leatherman?

A pair of Motorola Talkabouts?

11 Bungle Bungle Boomerangs?

That is, if Tom Reilly hasn't ordered REI to pull these "dangerous weapons" off the shelves yet.

So many choices. Can you help a brother out?

Day of Reckoning

Well, the primary elections are upon us, at last. And, while nearly every poll as of late has Tom Reilly trailing his competition by significant margins, I know better than to call this election a done deal. I had my thumbs on the edge of the cork in October of '86.

Anything.

Can.

Happen.

That said, I will be voting in the Democratic primary this evening for Chris Gabrieli. I'll take the chance that his stance on gun control isn't any worse than Deval Patrick's, which is nothing to write home about - banning private transfers of firearms, limiting licensed gun owners to one-gun-a-month purchases and transfers, etc.

Yes, that trembling sound you hear is the gang member population of Boston, Lynn, Revere, Chelsea, Worcester, Springfield, etc. shaking in their shoes.

And, we all know where our would-be kaiser, Tom Reilly stands.

So, my sincere, heartfelt apologies go out to my coffee table this morning. I hate to abandon your campaign this late in the game, buddy, but I need to switch my vote to something more substantially anti-Reilly. Surely, you understand.

As the Revolving Door Turns

The Martha's Vineyard Times - July 13, 2006:

Boston murder suspect arrested on drug charges in Oak Bluffs

Following a month-long investigation by members of the Martha's Vineyard drug task force, Oak Bluffs police Monday arrested Winston McGhee, 22, on drug charges. Mr. McGhee, police believe, came to the Vineyard to sell crack cocaine. He had 31 packets of crack cocaine and approximately $1,200 in his possession, according to Oak Bluffs Police Lieutenant Tim Williamson.

[snip]

Mr. McGhee was arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, possession of marijuana, and distribution of crack cocaine within 100 feet of a park.

So, who is Winston McGhee? Well...

According to a story published Oct. 5, 2002, in the Boston Globe, a Suffolk County grand jury found enough evidence to indict Mr. McGhee, then 18, on a charge of first-degree murder for allegedly chasing Antwon Leslie, 18, down a street and shooting him in the back. At the time, Mr. McGhee was on probation for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. [I. Am. Stunned. - ed.]

Not to worry, Winston, my lad. It's nothing a little juror intimidation can't remedy.

Last month, prosecutors ended the prosecution of Mr. McGhee on the 2002 murder charge after key witnesses recanted statements made to police, according to the Globe.

So, anyway, back to last June...

He was arraigned in Edgartown District Court Tuesday morning and is currently being held in the Dukes County Jail on $25,000 cash bail. Police anticipate prosecutors will seek an indictment in Superior Court, a move that would allow for stiffer penalties and could preclude a stay in the Dukes County House of Correction.

Stiffer penalties for violent repeat offenders? Well, that sounds promising, right? They really must be cracking down these days.

Yeah...um...not so much.

BPDNews.com, September 18, 2006:

Shots Fired Ends in Arrest

Early this morning around 2:20am, while on a fixed a post at 683 Morton street officers in District 3 heard one shot fired at the Mobil Gas Station at Morton Street and Blue Hill Avenue. On arrival officers observed a very large group gathering in the gas station and heard four to five more shots fired and observed a motor vehicle leave the scene at a high rate of speed. Officers stopped the vehicle an arrested Winston McGhee, 22, of Boston charging him with Unlawful Possession of Firearm, Unlawful Possession of Ammunition and Discharging Firearm within 500FT of Dwelling.

But it's all New Hampshire's fault! Mumbles says so!

So, you see, There's simply nothing that can be done to lock up these pieces of shit, so we'd better pass more gun control laws. You just need to follow this simple rule of thumb - when in doubt, use the actions of a miniscule portion of society to justify the abrogation of the rights of the overwhelming majority.

Makes perfectly good sense to, um, well, Bay State legislators.

Good ol' Winnie McGhee here looks like just the type of person who would most likely be driven to a life of law-abiding goodness and charity with the passage of, say, a new One-Gun-a-Month law (a favorite of our "tough on crime" would-be governor, Deval Patrick), or a few more restrictions on the issuance of gun permits.

Morons.

Memo to Senator McCain

Go fuck yourself.

Anti-abortion group fights campaign law

Barring corporations and unions from buying political advertisements during peak election season amounts to government censorship, a Wisconsin anti-abortion group argued Monday.

Hmmm...let's review:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Gee, I dunno. That's awfully murky.

Wisconsin Right to Life is challenging a ban on corporate ads that mention candidates two months before a general election. The Wisconsin nonprofit group wants to run advertisements telling voters to contact their senators about political issues. The Federal Election Commission says the ads would influence the election.

[snip]

If the group prevails, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and other lawmakers fear it will open a loophole.

So, according to these insufferable little weasels masquerading as duly-elected representatives of The People, the First Amendment (and by extension, I assume, the entire Bill of Rights?) is now but a "loophole".

I beg to differ.

And, by "differ", I mean, "kick McCain in the balls".

And, it should go without saying the political affiliation of the plaintiffs has nothing, zip, nada, jackshit to do with it. This case could just as easily been brought by NOW, NARAL, Handgun Control, Inc., MoveOn.org, The Coalition to Save the Idaho Giant Salamander, or _________ (insert "progressive" special interest group of your own choosing here).

To those of you on the opposite side of the ideological fence as Wisconsin Right to Life, who might be rooting against them and their legal challenge to this steaming pile of unconstitutional dogshit, solely to score a political "gotcha", be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.

And, yes, the offer still stands.

Did You Know?

Tom Reilly has a blog.

Not too many comments there. I suspect (nominee #247 for Understaement of the Year honors) they're highly (nominee #248) moderated.

And, yeah, I'll probably go to hell for this one.

Oh, well.

"Here, kid. Hold this."

Dude, That's Not Even Close

So, not only are they a bunch of 12th-century-dwelling, goat-humping, bloodthirsty, baby-killing, church-bombing, elderly nun-murdering, Islamofuckwad barbarians, but they also totally suck at making effigies.

Looks more like Woody Allen, if you ask me.

It Just Upped and Robbed Him

From BPDNews.com comes this classic headline:

Food Delivery man robbed by handgun

It must've needed the money for a new trigger job.

Why Kerry Healey Will Win in November

AKA: Massachusetts Liberalism In a Nutshell

This post, written by a member of the so-called "reality-based" community over at The Daily Kos (and linked at Blue Mass. Group), pretty much nails it.

I wasn't planning to vote in the primary two weeks ago. Now I am, for Deval Patrick.

It's this simple: Patrick's campaign is running advertisements in which Patrick touts progressive Democratic concerns. On the other hand, Gabrieli has been running ads that argue, "It shouldn't matter whether an idea is Democratic or Republican, as long as it works."

That clears things up well enough for me!

In other words, it doesn't matter if a candidate has anything worthwhile to say, or anything resembling a feasible strategy for implementing sound policy. Results be damned, as long as there's a "D" next to his name and he moves in lockstep with the Ding-Dong wing of the party, he's my guy! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to flip over my Donovan record and get back to weaving my free-range hemp underpants.

This warped sense of logic might play well on the Loony Left websites, and in the hallowed halls of academia, where such thinking is encouraged and revered, but fortunately, for the rest of us living on planet Earth, that train runs out of track pretty damn quick once it weaves its way past the concertina wire perimeter and sees the light of day.

If that Gabrieli ad cleared up anything it was Kerry Healey's campaign strategy. She knows full well that Chris Gabrieli is the candidate with the best chance of beating her in November, hence, the negative ads from the Healey camp attacking Gabrieli's ties to companies that could stand to benefit financially from taxpayer-funded stem cell research here in the Bay State - a bit of a pre-emptive "just in case" strike, if you will.

Some folks have been postulating that she's running these ads, because she's afraid to take on Deval Patrick in the general election and she actually wants the Democrats to nominate Gabrieli, who some think would be easier prey for her to devour in the fall.

That argument holds as much water as a marble.

Now, if a majority of the voters in Massachusetts actually shared that Kos Kiddie's outlook on this matter, then you could probably make that argument stick. But, what I see happening is that once again, the moderate (relatively speaking) candidate [read: electable], will be given the cold shoulder by the party hardliners, in favor of the more left-leaning candidate who will serve only to lead the lemmings over the cliff.

Again.

Think 2004. If the Democrats pulling the party strings back then had half a brain amongst the lot of 'em, they would have nominated Joe Lieberman to run against George Bush, instead of selling out to the MoveOn.commies, and there would be a Democrat eating breakfast in the White House this morning.

All that said, with only a few days to go until primary day, it will be quite a task for Gabrieli to overcome Patrick's lead in the polls - though not an impossible one.

Assuming for a moment, that Patrick goes on to win the nomination on Tuesday (but, again, anything can happen in Massachusetts politics), the one thing it would definitely "clear up" would be Kerry Healey's calendar, giving her plenty of time to concentrate on writing her victory speech.

What He Said

Loyal reader and friend, Jay G., blogging at Toys in the Attic, just saved me a good amount of typing.

Go.

Read.

"Bullet Hoser" Update

We'll start this post off with Big Shocker #3:

Police ID Killer In Montreal College Rampage

The gunman who opened fire at Dawson College on Wednesday was Kimveer Gill, 25, of Laval, near Montreal, a police official said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity because authorities were not ready to announce it publicly yet. He also said police had searched Gill's home.

[snip]

A woman who answered the phone at the Gill's home and said he was her son described him as "a good man."

"Just ask anybody. Ask the neighbors. He was a good son," the woman told The Associated Press. She refused to give her name.

Ask "anybody"? Well, I'd say asking Anastacia DeSousa, the 22-year-old woman he gunned down in cold blood, is kinda off the table. Tell you what, Mom. When the other six victims, currently in critical condition, come to, we can see how they feel about your murderous, scumbag spawn.

Also, from that same article, more "info" on the gun he used.

The gunman had a rapid-fire rifle and two other weapons, police said, without elaborating.

From the deceased piece of shit's website:

(click to enlarge)

Assuming that was the weapon he carried with him that day (confirmed, somewhat, in subsequent news accounts), we learn that the Beretta CX4 Storm, a semiautomatic pistol-caliber carbine, is now a "huge", "automatic", "rapid-fire", "sniper's", "assault weapon".

From the Montreal Gazette:

Gill's image gallery, which contains more than 50 photos, depicts the young man in various poses holding a Baretta CX4 Storm semi-automatic rifle and donning a long black trenchcoat and combat boots.

Spelling error aside, kudos to the writer who actually took the time to look up what type of gun he was writing about.

More pics here, from CTV News.

Expect these pictures to be seen by millions, now, transforming this piece of crap, now expired, into some kind of folk hero of the Perpetual Loser Class - pretty much just what he wanted from the get-go, I'd wager. Is it any wonder these deranged little shits do what they do?

And this gem from The London Free Press:

The shooter then entered the building, recalled Abdel-Malek Kettas, a 19-year-old student.

"I recognized the sound of a gun. It was an automatic weapon," Kettas said. "I saw the guy enter the school. Two people who were wounded were lying on the ground."

Meanwhile ZeeNews.com opens their article with the predictability of the sunrise:

Toronto, Sept 14: An Indian-origin man who "hated humanity" allegedly opened fire with an AK-47 rifle on a college in Canada`s Montreal city, killing a young woman and injuring 20 others before police shot him dead.

What are the chances that the gun in question was not, nor even looked remotely like, an AK-47? Please, round your answer up to the nearest 100%.

But the winner of the award for most overly-dramatic and seriously questionable reporting on this story goes to the Toronto Star:

The crack of gunfire from an assault weapon, a stalker in a long black trench coat, students fleeing in terror, blood splatter on the sidewalk and cafeteria floor.

We've been here before. And couldn't stop it from happening again.

Mayhem and murder on a Canadian campus. A lone gunman, random rat-a-tat blasting, scores of potential victims in the shooter's crosshairs.

The gunman stormed into the school over the lunch hour, with a scowl on his face and an automatic weapon in his hands.

Whoa! I bet the writer had to have a sip of water and cool down for a spell after getting all of that out.

And, the kicker:

He had, La Presse reports, parked his car close to the college, opened the trunk and removed: a 9-mm semi-automatic rifle [ayuh, that would be the Beretta - ed.], a .45 pistol and a bag containing a 12-calibre gun that can shoot four bullets per shot.

A what?

On a related side note, CBS News, that stalwart pillar of journalistic credibility, is reporting that not only was he a violent individual, but his blog was too.

Montreal Gunman Had Violent Blog

Bad blog! Sit!

When You Combine Idiots and Inerita

You're pretty much guaranteed a bad outcome.

BOURNE, Mass. -- Police on Cape Cod say a 17-year-old boy fell to his death while riding on the trunk of a moving car.

It happened yesterday afternoon in a housing area on the Otis Air National Guard Base. The boy's name has not been released. A spokeswoman for Otis says he was a dependent of a base resident.

State police say two teen-agers were riding on the trunk of a car being driven by another 17-year-old on Kelly Street. When the car turned, one of the boys fell off.

The teen suffered severe head injuries and was later pronounced dead at Falmouth Hospital.

I blame ___________.

(A) General Motors
(B) Sir Isaac Newton
(C) The asphalt manufacturer
(D) George W. Bush

Quite the Worthy Cause, Indeed

And, best of all, this one really is FOR THE CHILDREN!

Via the Mad Ogre (via KdT):

Let's help Tina get her rifle! A local girl here, age 10, wants a new rifle. Dad, an avid shooter, wants to help her get the gun, but also wants to teach her about Capitalism. She came up with her design for a sandbag rest and Dad helps make them. She's wanting an Encore in .204. Guys, she's the cutest girl and is an avid shooter in her own right. The rest is great. I was given an example and I am impressed. It's better than the regular commercial made rests that I wont name. They are using a walnut shell medium as fill... similar to what reloaders use to polish brass, but it actually comes from the oil field industry for use of absorbing industrial fluids etc. The bags have a good heft to them, but are not heavy. They have a good height to them... when I'm shooting off a rest, this is what I'm using now. Pricing is about 10 bucks plus shipping. These are great rests, you'll like them. Get one and help Tina get her new rifle. If you have a Blog, please, copy the picture and put a link up and help spread the word. When she's made enough money and gets her new rifle, I will post a picture of her with her new gun and with the biggest grin you've ever seen.The rest is essentially a pair of sand bags, filled with a walnut shell medium. The rest works fantastically well with a variety of weapons. Its easy to manage, not too heavy, and very stable. But let's allow the photos to tell the story:

(click to enlarge)

More pics over at the Ogre's place. Pass the word.

I'm getting several, what with the holidays Christmas just a few months away, and all.

Someone's Calendar Must Be Defective

I just caught this little pearl of wisdom from Tom Reilly on the 11:00 news (WCVB - Channel 5), from one of his post-debate interviews.

"We're electing a governor next Tuesday."

~ Attorney General Tom Reilly

Um...

It's Another Gun Control Success Story

This one comes from the land of our gun-free, crime-free, happy-go-lucky neighbors to the north.

MONTREAL(Reuters) - Up to three gunman dressed in black army fatigues opened fire in a downtown Montreal college Wednesday, and early, unconfirmed reports said four people had been killed.

RDI Television quoted unofficial sources as saying that 16 people may also been injured in the shootout. The network said one gunman had turned his weapon on himself and committed suicide, while a second had been shot and killed by police. This could not yet be confirmed.

Good thing Canadian citizens are barred from carrying firearms. Someone might have been hurt there. Oh, wait...

The shooting took place in the cafeteria of Dawson College, in the heart of Montreal, Canada's second biggest city. The college has around 10,000 students aged from 16 to 19.

Given such a high concentration of defenseless victims, all trapped like cattle in a relatively confined space, these assailants could have inflicted just as much harm, if not more, had they been armed only with bats, machetes, box cutters, etc.

So, explain to me, again, the benefit of having all your citizens subjects rendered weak and defenseless. How can that possible be portrayed as a good thing? I mean, to non-criminals, that is.

[Robert Soroka, a professor at the college] said the shooting began at 12:45 (1645 GMT) and shots continued to be fired for about 30 minutes. He said he heard at least 20 shots being fired.

30 minutes.

The assailants had free reign of that building, after having unilaterally declared it open season on their helpless victims, for 30 minutes.

That's an assload of time to be subjected to the whims of homicidal madmen.

So much for "Just call 9-1-1."

We're talking more like "9-1-BANG!-thud".

The truly sad part of this story is that even if the Province of Quebec had enacted Vermont-style CCW laws, it's likely (as in 99.9999% likely), given the environment where this incident took place, that an overwhelming number of people there would have followed the advice spelled out in the Self Defense for Liberals Handbook to the letter, and CHOSEN to remain unarmed...FOR THE CHILDREN^TM.

But, hey, at least they would have had the opportunity, as a free people, to make that personal choice on their own terms. Imagine that, a world where the government has no say in how you choose to use AND PROTECT your body! Now, THAT would be "progressive". What say you, Senator Barrios? Mayor Menino?

Surely, we can get the National Organization for Women behind us as we try to loosen the restrictions on women's ability to protect their uteruses from being perforated by psychotic gunmen. Right?

Yeah...didn't think so.

Hypocritical, leftist hags.

[A student who witnessed the assault] said the gunman was dressed in black army fatigues and had been armed with what looked to be a sniper's rifle. "I heard at least 20 shots."

Hmmm...that's strange. An eyewitness on the news tonight (NECN) described it as an "automatic weapon". Yet, the gunmen only got of 20 shots in 30 minutes? Not likely. They could have been shooting frickin' muzzleloaders to the same effect.

Shocking that a bunch of Canadian college students wouldn't have any clue, whatsoever, as to what kind of firearm was used.

Eh?

"I saw the whole thing! It was an Uzi-Mac-47! One of those guns that fly north out of New Hampshire every summer, in V-formation, to flood our tranquil streets with death!"

UPDATE: And, here's a real shocker.

Today's shootings have renewed the call by gun control advocates to maintain the federal registry for long-barreled firearms.

Yeah, it's been such a smashing success up there, so far. And, real affordable too. Nice to see there's nowhere else in their budget where that billion dollars or so could have been put to better use.

"Every time there's a tragedy you have to ask 'How did this happen, where did the gun come from, was there something that could have been done?'

See above commentary.

It's evidence that we can do better," Wendy Cukier, head of the Coalition for Gun Control, told The Canadian Press.

Of course, if a plan fails, do more of it the next time.

Golly, it hurts when I put a belt sander to my nose. I must be doing something wrong, but I can't quite figure out what. Let me switch to an 80-grit belt and try again.

Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay said officials should explore every available option to prevent such mass shootings.

"As mayor of this city, I feel for (the victims), I care for them, as all Montrealers do," he told CTV News. "It's our responsibility to make sure that we'll do everything to prevent these incidents from happening."

"Every" available option, huh?

Sorry, but I gotta hoist le drapeau de bullshit on that little bit of Mumblespeak by the esteemed mayor there. Was there a clearance sale on really oblivious mayors recently?

Not all hope is lost, though, for our Canadian brethren.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said in June that the effort to track down rifles and shotguns in Canada has been "ineffective, costly and wasteful and has not led to a reduction in crime with guns."

"Duck-hunters, farmers and law-abiding gun owners do not pose a threat to Canadians, criminals do," Day said.

You don't say.

According to Day, the legislation would "repeal the requirement to register non-restricted long-guns" while requiring "firearms retailers to record all sales transactions of non-restricted firearms."

The program was supposed to cost a net of $2 million to set up when the Liberals introduced it, but ended up with a price tag of nearly $1 billion over its first 10 years of operation.

Yeah, but that's only, what, $750 American?

UPDATE: Big shocker #2

It must have been the video game's fault!

A man with a black trench coat whose shooting rampage in a Montreal college killed one person and wounded 19 others before he was slain by police said on a Web site in his name that his favorite Internet game was about the Columbine shootings.

[snip]

He said on the site that he liked to play "Super Columbine Massacre," an Internet-based computer game that simulated the April 20, 1999, shootings at the Colorado high school by two of its students that left 12 classmates and one teacher dead.

I'm guessing "Not Enough Hugs as a Child" is coming up next.