Sunday, June 06, 2004

The Elusive Emerald Flash

Ronald Reagan, when diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, had this to say, "I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life." The sun has set for Ronald Reagan, and though Alzheimer’s denied him the elusive emerald flash, at least President Reagan did not make a spectacle of himself because of his former position (ya got that Clinton and Carter?).

The follwoing quote by Reagan, posted by Radley Balko, from a Reason interview, is one of the reasons I respected Reagan.

”...I don’t believe in a government that protects us from ourselves. I have illustrated this many times by saying that I would recognize the right of government to say that someone who rode a motorcycle had to protect the public from himself by making certain provisions about his equipment and the motorcycle–the same as we do with an automobile. I disagree completely when government says that because of the number of head injuries from accidents with motorcycles that he should be forced to wear a helmet. I happen to think he’s stupid if he rides a motorcycle without a helmet, but that’s one of our sacred rights–to be stupid."

Posted by John Venlet on 06/06 at 04:15 AM
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Saturday, June 05, 2004

Shaking My Head in Disbelief

"A student who was booted off his degree course for plagiarism is to sue the university. He says tutors at the University of Kent should have spotted what he was doing and stopped him sooner."

“Web-cheat student to sue university."

I just don’t get it, I guess.

Via Marginal Revolution.

Posted by John Venlet on 06/05 at 05:10 AM
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Light Show

“Meteor light and sound sky rare over Puget Sound."

Check out the video clips, they’re pretty cool.

Via PrestoPundit.

Posted by John Venlet on 06/05 at 05:03 AM
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Hear, Hear

"Wilson says two things persuaded him to make his first film. One was “Bowling,” in which Moore tells the story of a Flint, Mich., schoolgirl killed with a handgun, an incident Moore implied occurred because the assailant’s mother was distracted from having to work two jobs as a result of changes in Michigan welfare laws.

“He left out a lot of stuff that was widely reported in the media at the time,” says Wilson, 28, who says death threats have persuaded him not to reveal where in the Twin Cities he lives or works as a marketing writer. “But the real reason that bothered me is my mom worked two jobs when I was a kid, and it was like a personal slap to her to say you can’t work two jobs and raise your children properly. My mom worked really hard, and she taught us right from wrong."

The above quote is from Mike Wilson, a Minnesota film maker, discussing why he made his film “Michael Moore Hates America."

I hope Mr. Wilson makes millions.

Via Google News.

Related Update: “Rep. Kennedy pans Michael Moore film editing." Link via VodkaPundit.

Posted by John Venlet on 06/05 at 04:50 AM
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Treacly Respect

I like the word treacly used in the title to this post.  It sweetly oozes disparagement.  I thought of this while reading a piece by David Gelernter in the Wall Street Journal titled “Too Much, Too Late." Gelernter’s piece expands on this sentence,

"My political credo is simple and many people share it: I am against phonies."

Billy Beck pointed me to the above piece, and Billy’s title to the link, and his few words on the subject, is titled “The Fakest Generation."

Posted by John Venlet on 06/05 at 04:11 AM
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A Safety Note

Bill Cholenski, at Catallarchy, is moved to pen a few words on safety after viewing this photo, also posted at Catallarchy. Bill’s post is titled “Tell Me What To Do!" The intro paragraph from Bill’s post.

"Somewhere out there someone is doing something stupid, that isn’t yet illegal. One approach is to find that person, jail him, make the act illegal, then pat ourselves on the back. Another approach is to refrain from subsidizing stupidity, and let people pay for their mistakes."

Make sure you read the concluding paragraph.

Posted by John Venlet on 06/05 at 03:59 AM
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Etymology on a Saturday Morning

Interesting and informative piece in the Telegraph this morning which is actually an extract from an upcoming book, written by Michael Quinion, titled Port Out, Starboard Home. A blurb which informs about the purpose of the book.

"Launching a new series on myths about our language, Michael Quinion examines the outlandish stories that surround English words and phrases - and explains the truth behind them."

The piece is titled “How the bee got his knees."

Via Arts & Letters Daily.

Posted by John Venlet on 06/05 at 03:52 AM
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Friday, June 04, 2004

Pitiful, Just Pitiful

"Frequent classmate parties once had students consuming numerous unplanned cupcakes each school year.

“It would be 23 times during the year that other families would not be anticipating that their kids are going to be eating something sweet,’’ Chandler Principal Deborah Zetterberg said."

“Numerous unplanned cupcakes,” how terrible.

“Duxbury schools banish birthday cupcakes."

Via Drudge.

Posted by John Venlet on 06/04 at 10:30 AM
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Headline of the Day

“Porn more important than knowledge."

"HUMANITY SEEMS TO think that searching for porn is more important than searching for knowledge, according to recent research.

According to a report prepared by Hitwise, a company which watches the watchers, online porn sites get about three times more visits than the top Web search engines, including market leader Google."

Well, a picture is, supposedly, worth a thousand words.

Via Google Technology News.

Posted by John Venlet on 06/04 at 04:50 AM
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Abortion Thoughts

Keith Burgess-Jackson, the Anal Philosopher, post a few thoughts on abortion under the title “A Puzzle About Abortion." What puzzles me about abortion, is, with all the methods to prevent pregnancy that are available, why don’t individuals use the methods, rather than aborting the consequences of their lackadaisical approach to a romp in the hay.

Posted by John Venlet on 06/04 at 04:19 AM
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Goatsuckers

Goatsuckers are a family of birds which includes the Whip-poor-will, the Chuck-will’s-widow, and the Common Nighthawk. I enjoy that name goatsuckers for those birds.  Anyway, the Nighthawks showed once again in Grand Rapids in mid-May, but with all the recent rain, I hadn’t had a twilight period to sit in the backyard and enjoy their calls and flight while they chase down insects.  Last night, being a beautiful, mostly clear evening, the Nighthawks were in the air and quite active.  They provided an enjoyable evening of entertainment while enjoying a beer and a cigar in the backyard.

Posted by John Venlet on 06/04 at 02:20 AM
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Thursday, June 03, 2004

Religiously Voting

Interesting article in USA Today regarding voting patterns of regular church attendees titled “Churchgoing closely tied to voting patterns GOP capitalizes on religion gap; Dems debate what to do."

"Voters who say they go to church every week usually vote for Republicans. Those who go to church less often or not at all tend to vote Democratic."

Sheeple, whether governmental or religious, both want to place individuals under their thumb.

Just another reason, I think, why both government and organized religion need to be marginalized or eliminated.

Posted by John Venlet on 06/03 at 08:19 AM
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Another Slice of Pizza

Yesterday, I noted in a post the recent firing of a Pizza Hut employee for brandishing a gun at a robber wannabe.  The article linked hinted at boycotting of Pizza Hut for this event, something you, as an individual, can participate in, or not.  I will not eat Pizza Hut pizza because I prefer mom and pop providers of pies.  Be that as it may, Rainbough Phillips left a couple of comments to the post of yesterday, and then expanded on those comments in a post at her blog Somewhere Over the Rainbough.

Rainbough notes, from experience and discussions with other individuals, the insurance industry’s hand in the policy of acquiescence to would be robbers, rather than fight or flight.  My main point in linking to the firing article, was to note the continued push for individuals to acquiesce in all circumstances of their life to others, rather than personal responsibility and self protection.

Posted by John Venlet on 06/03 at 04:58 AM
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Now That's A Big Axe

“32-Foot Electric Guitar Created for Discovery Channel Series."

”...The only way to describe the sound is BIG!"

Sweet.

Via Gary Cruse at The Owner’s Manual.

Posted by John Venlet on 06/03 at 04:45 AM
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There's A Lesson in this Excerpt Applicable to Today

“To demand of strength that it should not express itself as strength, that it should not be a desire to overcome, a desire to throw down, a desire to become master, a thirst for enemies and resistances and triumphs, is just as absurd as to demand of weakness that it should express itself as strength.”

Friedrich Nietzsche, Basic Writings of Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morals, First Essay, Section 13, pg. 481, Translated and Edited by Walter Kaufmann

Posted by John Venlet on 06/03 at 03:05 AM
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