Just so everyone understands (as if you hadn't figured this out, but there is, in fact, logic to this).
(a) I'm a crusty old phart, and was when I turned 18.
(b) there are, generally, three types of material here: cooking, personal stuff, and crusty political commentary. And anything else that piques my interest. If you aren't interested in part of that, feel free to ignore.
(c) to reiterate one rule from long ago, if you object to something sufficiently to want to drag me into court, the only acceptable venue is Santa Clara County, California. Don't like that, you're free to go away (thank our Cannuckistan brethren for the need for _that_ one).
(d) I'm generally very accepting, even of people who piss me off. There is, however, a line. Find it at your peril.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/26/BU0O18EMOO.DTL

Yes, it is quite wearing. Forget "truth to power". How 'bout "truth to people."

A friend to dictators everywhere.

So now we have the current administration condemning the lawful removal of a would-be dictator in Honduras, and soft-peddling the rigged vote in Iran.

But I never thought I'd see the day when the Europeans got it right, and we got it so very wrong.

As I said elsewhere, I'd give the man a chance, if he wasn't so busy being active-stupid WRT everything he touches.

State liquor stores. Or, more precisely, state 'sorry we can only fill 65% of orders, and its all crap' liquor stores.

http://www.killingtime.com/Pegu/2009/07/03/washington-state-is-out-of-booze/

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/07/town-hall-take-2-once-again-all-of.html

Dem's pack a "town hall" meeting with supporters. Everyone called for a question is a campaign donor/supporter. Again.

There was a time, not too long ago, when something this obvious would have been on the news, with the commentators in high dudgeon. Now it's not even worth commenting on, apparently.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090702/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_overhaul

Americans who refuse to buy affordable medical coverage could be hit with fines of more than $1,000 under a health care overhaul bill unveiled Thursday by key Senate Democrats looking to fulfill President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the fines will raise around $36 billion over 10 years. Senate aides said the penalties would be modeled on the approach taken by Massachusetts, which now imposes a fine of about $1,000 a year on individuals who refuse to get coverage. Under the federal legislation, families would pay higher penalties than individuals.

Do the math. They're expecting to impose fines on 36 million Americans who won't go along with their vision of standardized health care.

Yes, you did the math right. They're expecting to 12% of the US population to refuse to play along.

Is there any remaining question that this vision of health care "reform" is evil?

Switching to Microsoft Windows 7: The Painless Way to Upgrade from Windows XP or Vista is up at Amazon for pre-order, with an expected ship date of Nov. 23, 2009. Hot diggity! Still need to finish up a few technical chapters, but it's coming together nicely.

And Sell My Home! is still available there as well, and even now has a Kindle edition.

Cool!

Apparently it works using existing stem cells during exercise to create more muscle tissue.

http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/006336.html

Useful for dealing with age-related muscle degeneration. But also useful for a Lot of Other Purposes.

Turns out that Argentine ant colonies in the US, Europe, and Japan are all one big family.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8127000/8127519.stm

Dayumn

So, as originally sold to the American public, TARP was to be a loan program. The funds used would, ultimately, return to the American public. Banks are, in fact, starting to pay back TARP funds, which to my mind is a good thing.

Barney Frank thinks we don't need all that filthy lucre, and wants to divert the incoming TARP money into one of his pet projects.

[N]ow Rep. Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has come up with a proposal to spend any TARP profits before they can be returned to the taxpayers. Last Friday, Frank introduced the "TARP for Main Street Act of 2009," a bill that would take profits from the program and immediately redirect them toward housing proposals favored by Frank and some fellow Democrats. ...

The original TARP legislation required that money made from the program "shall be paid into the general fund of the Treasury for reduction of the public debt."

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2009/07/023942.php

That the last time we had a situation like we do in Washington, FDR tried to pack the Supreme Court. I'm beginning to wonder if we'll see a re-run of that.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090702/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_ap_interview

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1196783/Rigged-Suspicious-Iranian-ballot-papers-Ahmadinejad-scrawled-handwriting.html?ITO=1490

The Iranians seem to have inadvertently provided evidence of election fraud.

http://legalinsurrection.blogspot.com/2009/07/hands-off-honduras.html

Turns out there was, in fact, a legal arrest order issued for the President. Who, just previously, had sacked the head of the armed forces for following an legal order to impound a set of constitutionally illegal ballots.

Sen. Daniel Inouye intervenes to benefit a bank he helped found, and where the bulk of his money is invested...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/30/AR2009063004229_pf.html

From a reader:

Jonah:

I have written you several times over the years. We are "friends" on Facebook and I loved Liberal Fascism.

I was born in Honduras and my maternal relatives (aunts, uncles, cousins) all live there.

The country is bewildered that the world, especially the United States, is not on their side. Zelaya was confident of his plans to convert Honduras into a Venezuelan satellite. The Honduran people are proud of their constitution and are proud to have a functioning democratic system. Zelaya was replaced by a member of his own party who vows to see that this November's presidential election takes place. What happened was not a "coup" but a bipartisan effort to save the nation.

It is heartbreaking for me to see President Obama throw Honduras under the bus. He did not speak out when Zelaya was attempting to stage a sham "constitutional referendum" with ballots printed in Venezuela.

My mother immigrated from Honduras and is a registered Republican because she remembers how the GOP stood up to communists when her countrymen were afraid of Fidel Castro. Now, Hugo Chavez is threatening to invade her beloved homeland and an American president is not standing up for a free and democratic Honduras.


Bewildered NR devotee,


http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NmM5ZGIxMzJmYmZjNmVmZDBkOTBiOTU1ZDQ0ODg4MjQ=

Plus comments from Just Barking Mad.

I'm afraid I must agree. A good family friend is from Honduras. I'll ask her opinion this weekend.

especially when watching NCIS.

http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/silence/archives/2009/06/sscribe_msm_eat.shtml

Just read it. It's appalling.