Bring Your Own Barf Bag

Haven't had one in a while. Since it's the football season, I present this gem:

It's freakin' Snowing!

I'm sick of winter already.

You know what else pissed me off today? I forgot they moved Daylight Savings! I thought I had an extra hour this morning.

Halloween Movies

I've stated this before, so I'm repeating myself, but Halloween is my favorite holiday. There are a few good reasons for this.

One, no gifts. Even better, the kids get treats from everyone else.

Like I wouldn't buy whatever my girlie wants.

(sigh)

Two, if you look up last year's entry, I have excuse to wear nail polish. Weird, I know.

Three, many women use it as an excuse to dress up sexy.

Four, horror movies.

I love horror movies. So, I ask . . . what are your favorites?

Here are mine in no particular order:

The Exorcist. Still the greatest of all time.

Hellraiser

The Omen

Dawn of the Dead

Evil Dead

Legend of Hell House

The Blair Witch Project (Awesome)

Night of the Demons

Nightmare on Elm Street

Suspiria

I didn't say it

Last night on Iron Chef, organ meats were the secret ingredient. Cady Huffman was one of the judges. At one point Alton Brown asked her if she had had any organ meats in her mouth lately.

She answered: "A couple of times."

Yeah.

Just sick of everything

I haven't posted in a while. Mostly I've ben a little under the weather and haven't ben inspired to do much of anything. Also, and perhaps it's because of how I feel, I've just ben sick of everything, lately. I can't wait for election day. I don't care much who wins, anymore. More on that later.

And, there was no Sunday Night NFL game! That really sucked.

Plus, the idiocity of the MPS school board and the people who just let things happen. It drives me crazy. I'm certainly doing what I can about things. It's too bad more parents don't take a more active role . . . or understand the issues correctly.

Hey! I watched a Badger game . . . and they won! Woo hoo!

I'm gonna suck with my football picks this week. I took some chances. Things started off alright. But, didn't end up that way.

Last night my wife cooked an asparagus stuffed chicken breast with some home made risotto. She had gone to Kohler over the weekend for their Food and Wine Experience and was itching to try out some things she learned.

She learned good. Real good.

Milwaukee's Go House to House and Expect Candy was this weekend. As our neighborhood will do it at night on Halloween, we don't participate. My daughter went with a friend in her neighborhood. Jamie dressed up as a medieval princess. My wife did her makeup. This is scary.



I've already told her . . . no dating until you're married.

What Sort of Man Reads Ask Men?

With over 200,000 votes cast in AskMen.com's 49 "Most Influential Men" poll, the top 10 and tech-related votes from a very eclectic list that's heavily populated with contemporary athletes are:

• 01 - Barack Obama (Illinois Senator (4 yrs.); U.S Democratic Presidential Nominee)

• 02 - Steve Jobs (Apple CEO): No other CEO in the world is so intimately associated with his company’s products. Does anyone think of Subrah lyar while using a WebEx application? Who thinks of Steve Ballmer as their XBox powers up? But iPod and Jobs, Mac and Steve -- one ceases to be without the other. After all, while in some ways, Steve Jobs may seem like the accidental CEO, an eccentric hippie in the right place and time, when in fact he’s as savvy as they get. Furthermore, his design aesthetic is impeccable: He blends form and function into visionary elegance, making products so hip and so useful, they divide the world into Apple owners and Apple enviers.

So if you have ever wondered which contemporary your grandkids will pester you about, wonder no more: Steve Jobs is posterity’s wet dream. We’re merely lucky enough to have known him when.

• 03 - Michael Phelps (Swimmer)
• 04 - Robert Downey Jr. (Actor)
• 05 - Stephen Colbert (TV personality)
• 06 - Gordon Ramsay (Chef)
• 07 - Christian Bale (Actor)
• 08 - Rob Kay (Rock Band)
• 09 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Soccer)
• 10 - John McCain (Arizona Senator (22 yrs.); Republican U.S. Presidential Nominee)
---
• 13 - Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)

• 23 - Jonathan Ive (Apple SVP Design): As one of the key figures behind the design of such indelible Apple products as the iPhone, iMac and iPod, Jonathan Ive has revolutionized the way that consumers view computers and their various peripherals. He successfully transformed the home computer from a clunky piece of hardware to a sleek piece of art, and his work has garnered him awards and kudos the world over (earlier this year, for example, The Daily Telegraph bestowed upon him the title of Most Influential Briton in America). His penchant for consistently topping himself (as impressive as the iPod is, it’s hard to deny the “wow” factor of the iPhone) has earned him the respect and admiration of his colleagues, yet its his willingness to share credit with his coworkers and his preference for keeping out of the spotlight that’s won Jonathan Ive a well-deserved place on this list.

• 28 - Arnold Schwarzenegger (Governor of California)
• 35 - Sam Houser (Rockstar Games)
• 49 - Kevin Rose (Digg.com)

Stephen Colbert? Are you kidding me? Cristiano Ronaldo? Are you serious? A soccer player?

Of course, most troubling is the number one spot . . . Obama. The only good news is that the readers of Ask Men will likely be too busy jerking off to the girlie pictures to bother going to vote.

Global Foolishness

For nearly 30 years, Professor Christy has been in charge of NASA's eight weather satellites that take more than 300,000 temperature readings daily around the globe. In a paper co-written with Dr. Douglass, he concludes that while manmade emissions may be having a slight impact, "variations in global temperatures since 1978 ... cannot be attributed to carbon dioxide."

That's from up above. Now, let's back up a few months and remember this:

Some 3,000 scientific robots that are plying the ocean have sent home a puzzling message. These diving instruments suggest that the oceans have not warmed up at all over the past four or five years. That could mean global warming has taken a breather. Or it could mean scientists aren't quite understanding what their robots are telling them.

The whole upper article here.

Actually, I find this rather distressing as I like 70 degree October weather.

Oh well. Can we be done with this, yet?

Packers vs Colts

Bottom line, the Packer DB's owned the Colts WR's. Each one caught only two passes the entire game! The Colts are very much a finesse team and up against a team like the Packers, who play very physical with the receivers, have problems. It didn't hurt that the Packers also provided a steady dose of pressure on Manning, though there weren't any sacks. But, between the pressure causing Manning to throw early and the disruption of the timing, Manning was frustrated and it showed.

Rodgers was efficient. Grant started to get some mojo back. The game, though, belongs to Rouse. Not only did he stay "at home" in coverage, he read Manning like a book with large type and moved on the pass beautifully to make the interception. Plus, he ran it all the way back, 99 yards, for a touchdown. I have to say, I was surprised at his speed.

4 and 3 and going in to the bye week. Beautiful.

Benedict Brett?

Cornerback Charles Woodson says that if a media report indicating that Brett Favre shared inside knowledge of the Green Bay Packers' offense with Detroit Lions coaches is true, it's nothing short of sabotage.

The whole article.

I can't imagine this is true. But, if it is . . . what will the Favre fanatics say now?

Milwaukee German Immersion School and MPS

My daughter brought home a newsletter from MGIS PTA today. It reminded us that the fight for the school budget isn't over. For those with kids who attend MGIS, you'll remember we almost lost our PE and music teachers. Many concerned parents banded together to fight this, including myself, went before the board and got our teachers back.

I knew this was a temporary situation, though. While there were things . . . monies . . . that could be had for this year, it didn't guarantee being a permanent solution. Hence, the newsletter.

While my daughter attends MGIS, this affects everyone. Kids or not, as the school budget affects our taxes. The front of the PTA newsletter essentially announced the news of the budget and gave us information as to upcoming board meetings that we should attend . . . again. That's fine.

On the reverse side of the newsletter, however, was a breakdown of budget options with each showing the ramifications of cost to taxpayers and monies to schools. This is where it gets a bit infuriating for me. Heres how the newsletter broke it down:

Option 1
• Adopt the budget as is. No increases in spending or taxes (on school portion only)
• State Aid lost: 7.5 million
• Cuts to MPS: 14.5 million
• Cost to taxpayer: 9% increase or $121 a year.

Option 2
• Adopt an amended budget
• State aid lost: 1.9 million
• MPS cuts: 0
• Cost to taxpayers: 14.9% increase or $199 a year

Option 3
• Adopt maximum levy budget
• State aid lost: 0
• Cuts to MPS: 0
• Cost to taxpayers: 17.5% increase or $228 a year

Then:

If we don't increase the school portion, as amended in June 2008, MPS will lose money, this year, and we will lose teachers, this year.

Don't get me wrong. I love MGIS. Anyone with children there or who works there likely knows this. I spend a lot of time this past spring fighting to keep Herr Arndt and Herr Warren. But, MPS cannot continue to reach in to our pockets to fix every problem. It's a reckless trend that has to stop.

First off, we have a State funding formula problem. How MPS gets the money and how it's distributed is greatly flawed. That alone is enough to put the brakes on any tax increase. Fix that problem! Yes, it's at the State level which means contacting Sullivan and Cullen and getting them to push for the changes needed. But, it's also about not letting this school board think that every answer lies in our pockets. The trend needs to stop. Every increase that's approved will never be enough. If we hold the line at 9%, I guarantee it will be another 9% next year. And the year after that. And the year after that. If we allow a 17% increase, it will be 17% next year. And the year after that. And so on.

It's never enough. Unless we say it's enough.

Second. In light of all the improprieties of school board spending, you've got to be kidding me. At what point is the board held responsible for OUR money? We pay them. Yet, they act as though they can do what they want with OUR money. Spend millions on consultants, have vacant schools, bus routes that make no sense, travel (Hardin, anyone?), programs that don't work . . . the list goes on and on. This board has made bad decisions after bad decisions. I'm sorry. This is like bailing out the theif who just robbed your house. I can't do it.

Third. Uh, economy anyone? Doyle just announced that the State budget might be 3 billion in the hole. That's a bunch of bull, mind you, but it sets up the excuse for raising taxes to cover the hole he created. So tack on a whole lot more to that $228 number. It's never about decreasing spending. It's always about increasing taxes. Did anyone read the article from the NY consulting firm concerning MPS benefits? Read it here. Now, tell me again, we should give them more money?

Throwing more money at a system with a broken funding formula is incredibly misguided. Regardless of the ramifications. I don't want to lose any teachers. But, continuing to throw money at a flawed system insures it won't get fixed. We need to concentrate our efforts at the State level. Contact Sullivan and Cullen. Fix the funding formula. Say no to higher taxes.

Representative Cullen: rep.cullen@legis.wisconsin.gov
Senator Sullivan: sen.sullivan@legis.wisconsin.gov

We fought once to keep our teachers without increasing the budget, we can do it again.

ACORN et al

Say what you will about ACORN. That the organization itself isn't shady and is just trying to do good. Or that all of these improprieties won't actually lead to voter fraud. Or that this is just the work of a few misguided souls . . . the fact is, when ever we hear about fraud and cheating it's always by democrats.

What's more, the right gets blamed for disenfranchising voters, but there's never any proof of that. After the last presidential election the claim in one Florida county was "tens of thousands disenfranchised". In a county of about 90,000 voters. That's just ridiculous. Never any proof.

In Ohio, the secretary of state is withholding 200,000 registrations because of discrepancies. About a third of new registrations this year. Registrations that were likely gathered and possibly made fraudulent by ACORN. Now, those 200,000, even if valid, might have to cast provision ballots. Who's doing the disenfranchising?

Let's not forget who started all of this . . . Al Gore. The voting was over. It was official. Bush won. But algore had to challenge it in court thereby forever changing the way we look at elections and the election process.

Thanks, Al. And thank you Democrats. Glad you think cheating is the way to get your guy in office.

Biden: 3 letter word, J O B S . . . huh?

Well, I've got a 3 letter word for Biden . . . N U T S

McCain vs Obama 3

McCain got the holeshot right off. But, at 289mph, he blew a head gasket. But, but, managed to coast to the finish.

I know there was all sorts of pressure on McCain to make a case out of NObama's past relationships. Perhaps what everyone didn't think of is that Nobama is as slippery as Bill Clinton. I didn't think it was going to work as I'm sure NObama was not only ready for it but also it gave him a chance to simply lie, partially or otherwise, stay calm and dismiss the issue.

What I liked about McCain . . .

He called in to question NObama's integrity about his campaign and spending.

The remark about not running against Bush. Finally.

Joe the plumber and spreading the wealth. Brilliant.

Generally . . .

McCain did a good job of calling out Obama's record on spending and taxes.

I thought John did a good job with energy. He stated that Obama said he would "look at" domestic drilling. I thought that was a great point.

I thought John did a good job with education. Though, some of this is simply what one wants to hear. John is right when he says you can't fund everything. But, that may not play well with many.

The abortion issue, which was actually a judge issue, was a toss up. Where ever you stand on this issue, that's where you went. The one thing John said that made sense to me, let it be a State issue, not a Federal issue.

I thought Obama took the healthcare issue. Not because I agree with him, but because it sounded better and was more specifically laid out. John spent a little too much time tying to debunk Obama's plan than hyping his own. It didn't work well.

The biggest thing is that McCain did a good job of reminding people that democrats are taxers and spenders. That could help him these last couple of weeks. Now that the ground work has been laid, McCain should pound Obama on his spending and tax plan. Forget everything else . . . almost. But, hit taxes hard.

As Brian Fraley said, it's not over.
Who won? Don't care. It didn't change anyone's mind. So, if you believe the polls, Obama still has a narrow lead. However, Dick Morris made a good point. There's the immediate reaction, and what one can build on from this. He pointed out what I stated before, that the ground work of tax and spend has been laid, and that there could be gains to be made.

Road Kill Carpet

From Oooms Studios.

They need to make one with a dog.

The Great Papa's Debate

There are no greater people in this country than those who frequent the corner watering hole. Some come to socialize, some to flirt, and some to unwind after a long day of work. Also amongst those, are those who try and solve the world's problems. They engage in articulate discourse over empty glasses of whiskey and cokes, half eaten orders of pizza, and between runs to "drain the main vein".

It is for those backseat politicians, those polluted pundits, those armchair stategerists that Papa's held a debate between presidential candidates this evening. Representing the people was Fred Dooley of Real Debate Wisconsin fame pitted against some schlub with a dorky hat representing the party party.

Here are some highlights:

When asked about the legalization of pot and the ability to tax it, the mook replied something about the influx of money, blah, blah, blah. Fred tied the issue to illegal immigration and how the indutry would attract new illegals to cross the boarder to steal good jobs away from Americans.

When asked about the rising cost of beer, the lackey said something to the effect that he would promise beer in every household if elected. Fred countered and blamed global warming for the rising costs of beer. Farmers are taking up precious land for corn for ethanol when they should be farming more barley and hops for beer!

When asked who their running mate would be, the party guy completely wussed out and answered his girlfriend. Fred chose Mary Carey. Excellent choice.

When queried about BJ's in the Oval Office, the mook's long and short of it was "why not?". Fred stated that with 131 other rooms in the place, why can't we save a little dignity for the Oval Office . . . fer cryin' out loud.

When asked what day they would turn in to a holiday the goombah declared June 9th to be "69" day. Fred stated he would make every payday "stripper day".

There were other less important issues muddled in the glasses of beer that had been consumed. While the crowd was asked not to cheer, the effects of said beer had an over riding effect on compliance.

In the end, with a concern for beer prices, immigration, the environment, with more holidays, and a whore for a running mate, Fred proved to be "stiff" competition. His opponent fell limp.

Congratulations, Fred. In the eyes of this voter, you crashed the Party Party and sent the mook home to be subservient to his girlfriend. We don't need no pansy-asses for President.

All you need to read:

The JSonline headline says it all:

Voter Fraud: We’ve been here before

Yes we have.

BTW, the article defends ACORN. I'm sure the reporter got all the information he/she needed at the ACORN site as there are no questions posed to anyone from ACORN. Just take it all at face value.

Bush signs tougher anti-piracy law

US President George Bush on Monday signed the PRO-IP Act into law, increasing the federal government's attempts to crack down on copyright violations and other intellectual property infringement in the country. The Act will bring in a cabinet member dedicated to improving copyright protection and also increases punishments for both basic copyright violations as well as physical counterfeits.
The bill was primarily supported by the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America, both of whom have pressed for direct government action on their behalf in the past and who support measures such as Internet provider-level content filtering.

However, the measure has seen opposition from both the Justice Department and initially the Bush cabinet itself. The Department is concerned that PRO-IP effectively sidesteps its decisions on the US government's approach to copyright, while the executive branch has resisted calls to allow the Justice Department to sue violators by itself.

This last move is widely believed to have been prompted by the RIAA, which itself has sued individuals for alleged infringement, but has been rejected under claims that it would put a burden on the federal government to police copyright when the regular, local court system already fulfills that role.

Private critics, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have resisted the measure outright and have often argued that PRO-IP is an attempt to legislate major labels' and studios' views on copyright.

More than anything, though a lot of other things, this is a win for the RIAA who have had their troubles going after those who share and download music on popular internet sharing sites.

Make no mistake, though, others will suffer. Video sharing sites will also come under rule, though they do now, but with stiffer penalties for violators.

I'm sure Bush lacked the votes to uphold a veto. While I'm disappointed he went down without a fight, this is all libtard policy.

It's 77 outside!

Monday, October 13th.10:30 and it's 77 degrees out.

I LOVE global warming!

The standard response

From ACORN:

Anytime ACORN quality control staff has identified a suspicious application, we have separated that application out and flagged it for election officials. We turn any suspicious applications to election officials separately, along with a cover sheet identifying the nature of the problem and an offer to provide election officials with the information they would need to pursue an investigation or prosecution of the individual. (Note that civic organizations are required by law to turn over ANY signed voter registration applications even when they are known to have problems). We immediately dismiss any employees we suspect of submitting fraudulent registrations.

Tis would be all well and good, and is likely true. But, the fraudulent applications that are being caught, are being caught by election commissions, not ACORN. Thus, this is a smoke screen for their obvious intentions.

One of the root problems at MPS

There's a small paragraph in the Jouranl article that talks about the costs of the fringe benefits that MPS offers.

Dennis Oulahan, president of the teachers union, said a big part of the problem is the huge increase in health insurance costs, generally, in recent years. “I don’t think it’s fair for teachers to pay for that,” he said.

It's difficult to counter such blatant, out of touch reasoning. Even as a voter. While I have no faith in Barrett or Doyle, maybe the huge backlash will actually light a fire under their asses and force them to do something.

Calling NObama out . . . and others.

We heard it . . . "8 years of failed policies". Well, Nick, over at The World According to Nick, asks a simple question:

Would someone please be kind enough to mention one specific piece of financial deregulation that took place under the Bush administration that caused the havoc we are currently in? I ask that if you respond, you name the particular regulation that was rolled back, the approximate time this was done, and reasons why this caused part of the current melt down.

McCain needs to ask NObama . . . right to his face . . . the very question.

Lisa Nova - Eternal Flame

I know some people like this.

Perfect Timing

NICOSIA (Reuters) - A slowdown in the world economy may give the planet a breather from the excessively high carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions responsible for climate change, a Nobel Prize winning scientist said on Tuesday.

Atmospheric scientist Paul J Crutzen, who has in the past floated the possibility of blitzing the stratosphere with sulfur particles to cool the earth, said clouds gathering over the world economy could ease the earth's environmental burden.

Slower economic growth worldwide could help slow growth of carbon dioxide emissions and trigger more careful use of energy resources, though the global economic turmoil may also divert focus from efforts to counter climate change, said Crutzen, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on the depletion of the ozone layer.

"It's a cruel thing to say ... but if we are looking at a slowdown in the economy, there will be less fossil fuels burning, so for the climate it could be an advantage," Crutzen told Reuters in an interview.

"We could have a much slower increase of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere ... people will start saving (on energy use) ... but things may get worse if there is less money available for research and that would be serious."

In light of the growing backlash to the alarmists, along comes the perfect out for their ridiculous claims and the fact that the world's climate isn't cooperating with them

Obama's lead shrinks

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has a slim 2-point lead on Republican rival John McCain in a tight White House race, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

Obama led McCain by 47 percent to 45 percent in the national poll, within the margin of error of 2.8 percentage points. Obama led by 3 points in Tuesday's poll.

Four percent of voters said they were still undecided.

Come on, Johnny . . . get busy!

Obama is a rubber stamp

People like to use McCain's voting record as a barometer of his stance on issues. This is a little unfair as bills often contain many other provisions. So much so, that they often don't resemble their original intent. The bailout is a good example of this.

But, it's what we have to go on. After all, what a person does is more telling than what he says.

OK. Lets do that then.

Consider how terrible this congress has been. How disconnected Pelosi has been. What are we at? 9% approval? The worst ever? Even the recent bailout was largely a left and center vote. But, other issues such as global warming, The Patriot Act, immigration, taxes, school choice, universal healthcare, stem cell research, late term abortions, nanny state laws, and national security measures, the left has consistently been on the wrong side of the issue. Taking stances in spite of overwhelming public opinion to the contrary.

Now consider, Obama has voted 97% in line with the left. I know I've made this point before. But, let me take it a step further.

If elected, Obama will become a rubber stamp for Pelosi and her ilk.

Now are you scared?

Presidential Debate

My analysis?

They both sucked. Out loud.

I swear I'd vote for a Palin/Biden ticket right now.

I'll give McCain this . . . issues didn't come up, AT ALL, that allowed him to really go after Obama. Not that he would have succeeded, but the opportunities weren't there for him to even try.

McCain needs to take these issues by the balls and ram them down OUR throats. He needs to lie more. One area that Obama is winning is with lying. His ads are absolutely without merit. But, he's spewing what the lemmings want to hear. McCain needs to understand that a staunch conservative stand is what will win him the election. Govern in the middle once you're there. But campaign as a conservative. Lie, you idiot. His pussy footing around the middle is going to get him no where. Why does he suppose Palin is so well liked? The Maverick thing ain't working! McCain needs to go on the offensive and start painting an Obama world of ruin. Make HIM answer to charges. Make HIM backtrack and expose his flip flops. Make HIM look the younger less experienced one.

I said it. Obama can spew whatever he wants about the bailout no matter how remotely realistic. The lemmings lap it up. All of it.

But, hey! I'm rich!

Celebridiot of the Day 10/6

Madonna has made her dislike for Sarah Palin very clear by banning the politician from attending her world tour.
The singer shared her political views whilst performing a show in New Jersey as part of her Sticky & Sweet tour.
She told the crowd: "Sarah Palin can't come to my party. Sarah Palin can't come to my show. It's nothing personal,"
And this outburst against the Republican party is not the first for Madge.
On her current tour she used John McCain's image in a video clip alongside scences of destruction, global warming, starving children and Adolf Hitler.
A spokesperson for McCain's campaign said Madonna's actions were, “outrageous, unacceptable and crudely divisive all at the same time.”

Difficult for me to understand why it is she has fans. But, there's no accounting for taste or brains when it comes to our society. I wonder if on a world tour Madge could get away with saying something about . . . say, Chavez in Venezuela?

I'd like to see her try.

Sarah 1 Heckler 0

Saracuda shuts down a heckler:

I'm rich!!

PAYMENT VERIFICATION BILL.
This is to officially inform you that it has come to our notice, the Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI), that the sum of $22.7 Million U.S Dollars has been arranged to be delivered to you through ATM card payment from Fedral Republic Of Nigeria in your name and to your country.
That is why we have decided to contact you directly to acquire the proper verifications and proof from you to show that you are the rightful person to receive this fund, because the above mentioned amount is a big amount of money, that is why we want to make sure is a legal money you are about to receive to verified that you are not involved with any money laundry.
Be informed that the fund have hit our investigation file in U.S, but right now we have ask not to release the fund (ATM CARD)to anybody that comes to them, unless we ask them to do so, because we have to carry out our investigations first before releasing it to you.

It goes on with some other gobbledy-goop, but nothing as important as the fact that I'm rich!

Drinks are on me next Tuesday!

3rd quarter Saints and Vikings

20 - 10, Vikings? Are you kidding me? I haven't had a chance to turn on the game tonight. What's with the Saints?

Cyber Murderer Going To Tiral

The criminal case against Lori Drew, accused of helping to cyber-bully a St. Louis area teen who then killed herself, appears to be headed for a November trial date, court documents filed Monday suggest.

Drew's trial, originally scheduled for Oct. 7, was postponed Sept. 23 after U.S. District Judge George Wu raised new questions about the legal underpinnings of the case.

Drew's lawyer had challenged the law being used by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles – the first time that the law has been used to address cyber-bullying.

Prosecutors said Drew and others broke the law and violated MySpace's terms of service when they schemed in 2006 to humiliate Megan Meier, 13, a neighbor in Dardenne Prairie, using a fake teenage boy's identity on the social networking site.

Wu asked additional questions about the case at the Sept. 23 hearing.

In documents filed Monday to address Wu's concerns, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles indicated that both sides would soon file documents suggesting a new trial date of Nov. 18.

Drew's lawyer, H. Dean Steward, will also have an opportunity to weigh in before Wu makes his decision.

It's not for sure for sure . . . but it's looking good.

There's been all sorts of opinion on this case. Many believe the case is unfounded. That many of us are in violation of the law and that this could open a can of worms.

I don't believe that.

This case was specifically brought forth because there was no way to charge Drew with murder. Yet, her involvement and intentions were obvious. It was incredulous to many that Drew could get away with something as vile as what she did. Fact is, the prosecutors are going after her specifically because she's a low-life dirtbag. I doubt that if she's found guilty there'll be a glut of false identity cases brought forward. What may happen is that it will set a precedent for anyone else doing something similar. I couldn't find the article but a father of a kid was caught doing something similar. That's just pathetic.

Anyway, there are laws regarding income reporting yet people have rummage sales all the time. The relationship is not rummage sales and murder. It's rummage sales and filling out a myspace account using anonymous information. I don't feel we have anything to fear from this. Hopefully, Lori Drew does.

Tony who?

Where did Tory Humphrey come from? He looked good! I like Donald Lee, but Tony seems to have more "beef". Kind of like Witten. I hope we see more of this guy.

Do we need a stock market?

I've talked to two doctors (a friend and a cousin) who both answered me the same way when I asked about health care costs and insurance. They both agreed that because companies were publicly held, there would always be a concern for the market from the shareholder point of view instead of a competitive point of view. It adds to the complexity of profits when a company has to worry about the stock market and not just their own position in the market in terms of sales and the cost of doing business.

Some people think we could do without a stock market . . . and that we'd be better off. AFter all, for many, stocks are just promissory notes that have no value until they're sold. Other than capital, which could be obtained through loans, what would we be losing?

Do we need a stock market?

Packers vs Falcons

It's like a broken record . . . they played well, but lost.

3 TD's for Aaron. 313 yards. All with a sprained shoulder. I thought the one interception was a bad decision.

Grant's cataracts must have been corrected some. 87 yards. Not enough.

Who to blame? The refs. I know they can't see everything, but come on, when a lineman takes Kampman down by the arm it should be pretty obvious. Plus, the interference call was bogus. There were stupid penalties that came at bad times. That not any of them are good.

Also, kicking. The missed field goal hurt, and the punting was terrible.

Mostly, though, the defense didn't do enough to stop the Falcons. I thought the Falcons called a great game.

No surprise that Chicago won. That puts them on top of the division.

Next up, Seattle.

Happy birthday to meeee . . . .

Yep. 51 today. Jealous? You should be.

Anyway, my girlie gave me a birthday card. Actually, she gave me 3 birthday cards, but this one is the "special" one.
Here's the front of the card:



She's bringing me a doughnut to eat in bed. The blue thingy next to me is my MacBook
Here's what she wrote:

"Dear Daddy,
Happy birthday! I love you very much. I am sorry if I will miss a lot if your birthday. I could stay up till midnight just for you. We could party all night long. Or we could play lots of games. That would be great. You are the very best. You do so much for me, like kiss me good bye and you . . . ARE JUST THE BEST! Love, Jamie. P.S. I love you the whole world."

(She had a friend's birthday party to go to today. That's the "missing" part.)

Now are you jealous? You should be. This kid is going to get anything she wants.

Guilty pleasures gone by

I used to watch this show all the time

Lefty Lies

So, in spite of my present disgust of Bush, McCain, and the rest of the party, this in no way lets Obama or the lefties off the hook.

Where is the McCain truth squad with regard to the radio spot on stem cell research and Roe vs Wade?

Blatant lies.

More awesomer

WHile others have posted the classic, I present Gretchen Wilson - Barracuda - Live:

Lose - Lose on the bail out

Lies and bribes. That's essentially what the new new version of the bailout is. Lies and bribes.

We've got politicians telling us that leading economists are urging government to take action. Not true.

What's more, there's still a good amount of public opposition to the bailout plan though the numbers have cooled. Opinions are split evenly 33-33-33 approximately.

Worse, though, are the bribes. Over 100 billion in pork spending used as bribes to get an already ill conceived plan passed through. It's disgusting.

This is the first time I've really been disappointed with Bush. As a conservative, he should oppose this and come up with a better plan. It's not really up to him, though. The bribery going on in the Senate is, to me, borderline treason. Certainly moronic, and, at least, irresponsible. How they can CHEER their "bipartisan victory" is beyond me.

The absolute worst thing, though . . . where's Mr. No Earmarks? Huuuuuh? How did Mr. No Earmarks For Me vote? For the bailout. Incredible. Incredulous. I'm beyond perplexed.

Once again, the liberal view is one of lies, double talk, hypocrisy, and non-reality. Obama can say whatever he wants and the lemmings will lap it up like dogs to food spilled from a dinner table.

I need to see what happens next. In light of Sarah's spectacular debate performance, I find myself in a tough spot. I'll never vote for Obama, and I'll likely vote for McCain. But, he's just made that a more difficult arrow to fill in with his vote.

McCain may lose the election as a result of his vote. I don't see how he can talk his way out of this.

Palin vs Biden

Uma . . . Oprah.

Considering that expectations were low for Sarah, that she had had a bad week of interviews, and that Biden was considered Mr.Debatathon 8000, I thought Sarah did extremely well. So did Joe, actually. He didn't gaffe or go on, as was expected of him. In fact, I'll give him the foreign policy portion of the debate. He was much more versed on the issues than was Palin. Funny though that I disagree with some of his stances and what to do about its. McCain had the same mastery over Obama.

On virtually everything else, including poise and connection, I thought Sarah did real well. Of the two, she did the more forward talking while still getting some barbs in on Obama. Biden constantly railed on Bush to a point where I wonder if he knew George wasn't running. The point was, of course, to tie McCain to Bush . . . which some say he did.

Still, Sarah exhibited the same sort of "spunk" she did when first offered the job. She was refreshing. While I have to admit that Joe did very well, I thought Sarah did more "rising to the occasion" than did Joe. Thus I give the edge to her.

BTW, Gwen did an excellent job of moderating. Any fear she would show bias was completely unfounded.

Excellent Ad

Perfect.

Hasselbeck unable to go deep

Elisabeth, that is. I feel sorry for her. She's really in a hostile environment on The View with both the other women on the show and most of the audience. Plus, she is just unable to articulate her point of view in a coherent and pointed fashion. She is not, by any measure, a mouthpiece for conservatives. She's in way over her head on the show. And, she's too nice. She really can't hold her own against the moronic statement Whoopi makes. Can you imagine what Ann Coulter would have said to Whoopi after she made the "Do I have to be afraid of slavery?" remark?

The View would be rather shallow without Elisabeth even with her shortcomings. Still, I'd love to see Coulter on the show. Even if she just guested every now and then. I don't watch it, except for clips from time to time, but I'd watch it if Ann were on.

Could you imagine?

Along came a spider, and sat down beside her . . .

This puppy was on a chair that my wife was sitting on. Not huge. But, pretty big.

Our State Animal . . . that no one ever sees

On a recent trip to the zoo, I FINALLY saw the badger!

Katy Perry

Hot N Cold


A little too mainstream dance pop for me. Chorus lyrics are rather lame. Still, I like the video.

And I like Katy.

Jane's Addiction

Turn it up . . . loud.

• Jane's Addiction
• New Music

One of my favorite songs of all time.