Equal Under the Law?

There are those who believe that taking away guns will solve the gun violence problem in the US.  I don't agree with that but if we are going to try prohibition I think we should start with the cops.

Rival campers who opened fire turn out to be sheriff's deputies Feuding L.A. County deputies, both off duty at Prado Regional Park, apparently didn't know they were colleagues.

 

An apparent booze-fueled dispute over loud music between two groups at a Chino campground over the weekend escalated to the point where men from both sides drew guns and opened fire.

No one was hurt, but the two alleged gunmen have plenty to explain.

It turns out that the rival gun-toting campers were both Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies.

Authorities suspect the off-duty cops learned they were colleagues only after their campground showdown.

Chino police officers were called to Prado Regional Park early Sunday morning. They arrested the deputies — Dejay Barber, 44, and Matthew Rincon, 24 — on suspicion of negligent discharge of a firearm.

Chino police Lt. Wes Simmons, when asked if he'd ever come across a similar scene, couldn't stifle a chuckle: "That's not fair for you to ask me that," he said, before acknowledging that he hadn't.

They are claiming that the cops "shot into the air".  I don't know about that.  Both of these clowns are still getting paid.  That's right they commit felonies and are still on the department payroll.   Some people are just more "equal" than others.

No word yet on the race of the shooters.  Hold your breath for that.

Yep

“Honey,” said this husband to his wife, “I invited a friend home for supper.”

“What? Are you crazy? The house is a mess, I didn’t go shopping, all the dishes are dirty, and I don’t feel like cooking a fancy meal!”

“I know all that.”

“Then why did you invite a friend for supper?”

“Because the poor sap’s thinking about getting married.”

Discrimination

I like Walter Williams.  I've been reading him for sometime now.  For an economist he is an enjoyable read.

Re-education at George Mason

Ideas such as equity and equal opportunity, while having high emotional value, are vacuous analytical concepts. For example, I’ve asked students whether they plan to give every employer an equal opportunity to hire them when they graduate. To a person, they always answer no. If they aren’t going to give every employer an equal opportunity to hire them, what’s fair about forcing employers to give them an equal opportunity to be hired?

I’m guilty of gross violation of equality of opportunity, racism and possibly sexism. Back in 1960, when interviewing people to establish a marital contract, every woman wasn’t given an equal opportunity. I discriminated against not only white, Indian, Asian, Mexican and handicapped women but men of any race. My choices were confined to good-looking black women. You say, “Williams, that kind of discrimination doesn’t harm anyone!” Nonsense! When I married Mrs. Williams, other women were harmed by having a reduced opportunity set.

It would be interesting to ask Mrs. Williams how big that lose was for all those other women.   I suspect that there were some days in the last 50 years that it might have been bigger than others.  Wit aside, he makes an excellent point.  We discriminate every day.  Everyone of us does it.  Why do we need classes to teach us about it?  There are a great number of social ills that could be fixed by allowing legal, open,  and highly visible discrimination. 

The drug war would be over tomorrow if we allowed two things to happen simultaneously.  The first would be creating a legal class of recreational drugs and allowing them to be sold to anyone of legal age wishing to buy them through an approved outlet, similar to what we do with alcohol.  The second thing would be to allow anyone to discriminate against those drug users for any product, service, housing or any other reason. 

On one hand the "R" class drugs would be cheap and legal, eliminating the criminal profit incentive.  On the other hand your boss doesn't have to keep you as an employee if you are a user.  Your landlord doesn't have to keep you as a renter, and anyone in society can refuse you service if they so choose.  People would have the freedom to both do as they like and to avoid (or not) those who do things they do not like. 

This would work great in other areas too.  Companies could hire/discipline/fire etc employees who do not live healthy lifestyles thus reducing the cost of health care.  They could also, hire, or not women, minorities or people who don't have adequate English skills.  The best part about this kind of open discrimination is that individuals would bear the cost of enforcement and not the tax payers.  IF you don't like Chick Filets anti homosexual stand, you don't have to eat there.  They can be open about their feelings and you can vote with your dollars.  We wouldn't need vast armies of cops to enforce "stop and frisk" laws hoping that they can catch you breaking a random law.  There would be no reason to fund vast bureaucracies of  professional criminal justice flunkies to prosecute pot heads. 

Open, declared discrimination can fix any number of our societies ills with minimal cost to the public, just by legalizing decision making criteria to include those things that make liberals uncomfortable. 

Lance Thomas

For your consideration:

Public School & Religion

My personal education experience as a kid, as an undergrad and in grad school, was a menagerie of  public school, protestant parochial school, private college, and private catholic university. With the exception of military school (I once attempted to get my folks to send me to Howe) I've basically run the gamut of the America educational experience. 

I have a unique perspective on how the topic of religion was treated as an academic subject.  Here is my verdict.  Protestant schools do a good job teaching their particular theology and an above average job teaching how that theological development fits into western civilization.  This is no doubt a reflection of the staffs world view.  The catholic school I was in touched briefly on the subject of "Benedictine Values" and little else.  The one and only survey of religion class I took was interestingly enough, in a public school. 

That class was excellent.  I believe that the reason it was excellent was the teacher.  Mr. Vanderlee was one of those stern faced lanky instructors that set your mind to thinking of Ichabod Crane to look at and Plato when you listened to him lecture.  He was classically educated.  He alone is why the school listed such lofty subjects as Latin I to IV, Sociology, Classical Studies, Classical Lit, Philosophy, and Fencing on its curriculum.  The school board had stopped most all of that educational nonsense years before I made it his Greco-Roman classroom.  Seriously, the classroom was decorated with real marble Corinthian columns and back and white marble floors.   Equally seriously, they didn't let him teach half the stuff he was able to.  They wanted it on the official curriculum because it looked good for the school. 

Mr. Vanderlee was old, which in strictly practical terms in a union controlled state education system, meant he had tenure and couldn't be forced out of his job until he had served at least 40 years.  The union contract also gave him and 3 or 4 other teachers that magical cloak of seniority.   Which meant the school couldn't force him to entertain a roomful of subhuman dullards biding their time before they joined the criminal justice system.  So he got to teach what was euphuistically called "college prep".   One of those classes was World Religions and it was a wonderful learning experience. 

The class was open to all students in the 11th and 12th grades.  It surveyed the commonly held tenants of each religion and some of the major denominational divisions inside of each religious group.  It was basic, non-partisan information.  There was nothing that would lead you to believe that the teacher had any thought of proselytizing you towards or away from, any of the religions or their denominational subdivisions.  The student was presented with factual information about the subject of world religions.  In a word, the student was "educated".

Today this headline caught my eye: Public School Promotes 5 Pillars of Islam.  From the story:

Parents at a Wichita, Kan. elementary school were shocked to discover a giant wall display inside the building promoting the five pillars of Islam.

The large exhibit was erected before the start of the school year as part of a religion component being taught at Minneha Core Knowledge Magnet School, a school district spokesperson told Fox News.

The spokesperson goes on to preform some verbal gymnastics about "context" and how they aren't teaching Islam because they have a picture of the "last supper" in an art display.  Whatever. 

There are some issues that require some deeper thought. 

First, my very good experience with this type of teaching in a public school was age appropriate.  It was done in high school.  The students were between 16 and 18 years old, not little kids in an elementary school.  Any type of religious teaching at this age, by agents of the state is wrong.  This is why Thanksgiving day instruction is limited to talking about the concept of "religious freedom".   When was the last time a public school teacher explained the theology of the pilgrims to a bunch of 2nd graders?

Second, the five pillars of Islam are/is a definitive Islamic Theological proposition.  This is akin to teaching the Jewish understanding of the Ten Commandments.  In the interest of equal time are they going to teach the Catholic Catechism?  How about Luther's 95 points? How much time are they spending on 5 point Calvinism? The Book of Mormon should get some coverage.  What about the Jehovah's Witnesses?  L. Ron Hubbard's talking points should be covered too.  For good measure they can watch all of John Travolta's movies and talk about how Scientology affected his career.  OK that last one isn't a real suggestion, I threw it in to invoke images of eternal suffering.

Third, it is a historical fact that most of the art produced in the enlightenment was religious in nature.  This includes the field of music as well.  That doesn't matter.  One can learn from, and enjoy all the principles of light, texture, shading, etc without one bit of theology by examining the Madonna or Delilah and Sampson.  They are paintings not commentary.  The same holds true for music.  Gloria in Excelsis Deo is a definitive Christian theological statement, however unless your average public school third grader is up on his Latin, he's probably just going to be listening to the movements, beat and tempo of the music.    That's the thing, much of classical music is instrumental, even though the original composer was working with Christian aims in mind, today its just music that some people enjoy.  However, if one wants to eliminate those pieces that are particularly religious from the curriculum, I have no objection.  Especially since elementary schools should be teaching reading, writing and arithmetic BEFORE any of those other subjects.  If the kid can't read "see Spot run" why are we burdening him with comparative religions?

WRE Library Edition

Academic excellence is rare.  For whatever reason it just is.  Most kids don't like to read or study over the summer.  School is out so why try?  I get that.  Combating that attitude is probably part of the reason libraries have summer reading programs for kids.  Our library has a program like that and our kids participate. As far as these programs go, I think they are a good thing.

Except when run by Hudson Falls Public Library Director Marie Gandron .

HUDSON FALLS — Tyler Weaver calls himself “the king of the reading club” at Hudson Falls Public Library. But now it seems Hudson Falls Public Library Director Marie Gandron wants to end his reign and have him dethroned.

The 9-year-old boy, who will be starting fifth grade next month, won the six-week-long “Dig into Reading” event by completing 63 books from June 24 to Aug. 3, averaging more than 10 a week.

He has consistently been the top reader since kindergarten, devouring a total of 373 books over the five contests, according to his mother, Katie.

It sounds like the kid is a first class book worm.  Good for him.  He did what they asked and won.  All was fine and dandy until the claws came out:

“I’ve told them God makes all of us different. There are some things that are hard and some that are easy, but they should excel at what they enjoy doing and Tyler just loves to read,” she said. “Everybody he tells, he gets high-fives. Everybody’s so proud of him.”

Everybody, it seems, but Gandron, who was surprised to learn Katie notified a Post-Star reporter about her son being a longtime winner. During a phone call Tuesday to Gandron, the library director said Tyler “hogs” the contest every year and he should “step aside.”

“Other kids quit because they can’t keep up,” Gandron said.

Gandron further told the reporter she planned to change the rules of the contest so that instead of giving prizes to the children who read the most books, she would draw names out of a hat and declare winners that way. She said she can’t now because Katie has come forward to the newspaper.

Awe isn't that horrible.  She can't gyp the winner out of his book worm glory because now everyone knows that she wanted to rig the system. 

I know there are more pressing injustices in the world and more fitting examples of female imparities run amok.   I'm unlikely to be given the opportunity to fix any of those situations, so I'll root for the little victories as I find them.

Hero

File under "We still make men in America".

After a long hot day of work for York County’s road maintenance department, Tim Walling was beat.

He was driving home at about 6:30 p.m., turning on to India Hook Road, when he saw a pair of dogs attacking two people.

Walling, 46, did not do nothing, as all those other drivers did. He made an immediate U-turn, pulled his truck up on the sidewalk, and lunged out to help.

He had no stick or pole, no knife or gun. All he had to protect these two strangers was his body and his guts.

“The dogs were lunging at them, jumping at them,” Walling said. “They were at least pit bull mixes, if not full-breed pit bulls. The lady was hysterical. She was so scared she couldn’t move.”

Jorgensen already had a bite on his arm but was doing all he could to fight off the dogs.

Walling yelled at the dogs and waved his arms. He was able to push them toward and up a stairway, and he stayed between the stairs and the couple.

When the dogs bounded back down the stairs, Walling held his ground between the dogs and the couple.

Walling made sure that these people were helped by police, and he made sure that the animal control people knew where to find the dogs and their owner.

The dogs’ owner was cited by animal control, according to the police report from the incident.

Finally, Walling went home.

God Bless Tim Walling.  He fought a good fight with nothing but himself.  Himself as it so happens was all that was needed.  He had a great explanation for his actions:

“Sometimes you just know what the right thing to do is, and you do it,” he said

I was trying to think of some words of praise to honor his actions.  I think the best line comes from the folks he helped:

“If there were more people like him in the world, it would be a much better place.” . 

High praise indeed.  Well earned too.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/08/18/4245654/hero-stops-pit-bull-attack-on.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/08/18/4245654/hero-stops-pit-bull-attack-on.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/08/18/4245654/hero-stops-pit-bull-attack-on.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/08/18/4245654/hero-stops-pit-bull-attack-on.html#storylink=cpy

No Ted You Can't

I don't have the first clue as to what Ted Cruz's politics are.  I don't care.  He isn't from my state and I have no possibility of influencing him in any way.  Yes I know he is a Republican, but that doesn't tell us a thing about how much of a pinko commie rat bastard he may be.  John McCain is a Republican as is allegedly Benedict Boehner.  The almighty "R" behind the name is meaningless.

The thing that makes the girls of the GOP's honey pots moist with love is the "H" behind Cruz's name.  That "H" stands for Hispanic.  Cruz is half Cuban.  A Cuban looks the same as Mexican to old white men.  They can't tell if the pool boy is from Cuba, Mexico, Guatemala or wherever, so maybe the gazillion Mexican illegals that WILL BE VOTING in the next election can't either.  That is the hope and prayer of the GOP, one last election where they might get their guy in the Whitehouse and hold on to the House of Representatives.  Don't be fooled.  If they get that, they won't use their power to restore the republic, end Obama Care, limit government or any other useful or patriotic thing.  What they will do is loot the place, one last time for the benefit of their special interests. 

Back to the Great Brown Hope.

WASHINGTON — Born in Canada to an American mother, Ted Cruz became an instant U.S. citizen. But under Canadian law, he also became a citizen of that country the moment he was born.

Unless the Texas Republican senator formally renounces that citizenship, he will remain a citizen of both countries, legal experts say.

That means he could assert the right to vote in Canada or even run for Parliament. On a lunch break from the U.S. Senate, he could head to the nearby embassy — the one flying a bright red maple leaf flag — pull out his Calgary, Alberta, birth certificate and obtain a passport.

“He’s a Canadian,” said Toronto lawyer Stephen Green, past chairman of the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section.

The circumstances of Cruz’s birth have fueled a simmering debate over his eligibility to run for president. Knowingly or not, dual citizenship is an apparent if inconvenient truth for the tea party firebrand, who shows every sign he’s angling for the White House.

Here is the deal Ted: a "natural born citizen" has two, count them two, parents that are citizens of the United States of America when the child (that's you el cretino) is born.  Not one parent two.  It doesn't matter where the birth takes place.  Teddly, you have one parent that is a US citizen, one that is a Cuban citizen and you were born in Canada.  That gives you 3 possible nationalities to choose from. 

The ability to obtain 3 different legal passports is a wonderful thing.  Ted, do it man.  You can never tell when you may need those passports to save yourself and your family.  I salute you.  Get all 3 three, open up bank accounts in tax havens as a Canadian and a Cuban.  Build wealth and safety for when this country is gone.  You are a US Senator and at the front of the looting line.  Cash, prizes and a safe international exit to a warm non-extradition country await.  I envy you.

You can't be president though.  For that you need two citizen parents.  You don't have them.  Neither does the guy in there now.  I know.  I'm not happy about that.  He has advanced the Gotterdammerung by 100 or more years.  That doesn't mean you get a shot too. 

It Happened Here

The local game warden in a small town had arrested a man for killing and eating an egret.

The man went before a judge to plead his case.

After pleading guilty, the judge asked him why he did it.

“I was just trying to feed my hungry family,” he told the judge. “And I’ve never done anything like that before.”

The judge, being a family man himself, had a soft heart and agreed to let the man go free, since it was his first and only offense.

“Before you go, though, I want to ask you a question,” the judge quipped. “What does Egret taste like?”

“Well, your honor,” the man said, “It’s not as tender as Spotted Owl but it’s better than Bald Eagle!”

School Teaching a Usefull Skill

I couldn't believe it when I saw this story.  Who would have thought that a public school would have the foresight and vision to teach such a high tech skill?  No doubt this class will be infinitely more useful in the next 50 years than the "gender, sexuality and inclusion" class we have in the US.

Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards paramilitary units plan to teach drone-hunting to school students, an Iranian newspaper reported Monday.

The report by pro-reform Etemad daily quoted Gen. Ali Fazli, acting commander of the Guard's Basij militia, as saying the new program will be taught as part of a "Defensive Readiness" lesson in high schools from late September.

He did not elaborate but the plan suggests students would be taught how to track and bring down drone aircraft by hacking their computer systems.

Iranian hardliners have long sought a larger role for the military in the country's education system. Students at both junior and senior high schools currently take courses focusing on "civil defense."

Iran captured a U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel drone in 2011 after it entered Iranian airspace. Since then, Tehran says it has seized more U.S. drones, including a Boeing-designed ScanEagle.

I wonder if they will offer to teach the class in English as well as Farsi. 

In related news: Renegade Drone Crashes Into Groom’s Head Before Wedding. 

Oh Yeah

And if you have to ask why, the answer is “America, that’s why.”

Bulletproof couch on display at Fort Worth hunting show

And you thought stubbing your toe on the corner of the couch hurts bad now. Introducing the CouchBunker, a fire-rated gun safe hidden inside a custom built couch. Oh but does it get better: every CouchBunker comes with a bullet proof cushions fit with carry straps, so that they can be used as shields.

The CouchBunker is the finest in lounge-centric security from the BedBunker company, which makes — surprise — safes that you can sleep on.

“If you break it down and remove the cushions, you notice it looks like a normal sofa. But open up the lid, and you have a concealed gun safe,” explained the company’s Brian Poitevent to KHOU.

“[The] CouchBunker … is available in a wide range of styles, leather and fabric coverings creating choices from game room casual to living room formal,” according to the product page. “Charles Alan Inc., a Ft. Worth contract furniture house, makes the couches, to order.”

I don't "need" it.  You don't "need" it either.  Man wouldn't if be cool to have a couple of them in the man cave? 

Dog Days

It's mid August.  This summer has been unusual for us weather wise.  We have had good amounts of rain and it has been reasonably warm with no lingering hot spells.  It's been great.  The grass is still green even.  The garden has done great and we have put up a good quantity of veggies.

We haven't done as many fun trips as we would like this year, but the kids are enjoying themselves.  The dog is growing up and has started some of his training.  I had forgotten how much work a pup can be.  I don't have a source for live birds for training or as it turns out ready access to a good area for field work.  This has been a set back.  I don't think I'll be able to hunt him this year, but who knows.

Yesterday marks my 3 year anniversary with my employer.  It's hard to believe that its been that long.  I keep looking for a "real" job.  It's been 5 years since I had one of those. They are few and far between.  Underemployment is far, far better than unemployment but its still a hard pill to swallow.  The endless job search and endless rejection and in some ways worse, employer non-response wears on the nerves. 

I keep reminding myself of three things: 1. I have a job, a lot of guys, who are just as good as me don't.  2. I get to see and play with my kids every day.  3. Being a pay check away from poverty isn't the same thing as living on the street.  God is still good even when I don't get what I want.  In this case, what I want is to make enough to have my wife stay home and have what was once called a "middle class" lifestyle.

I have two jobs I applied for last week that I have to follow up on, so I should quit whining about things and get on it.

I hope your summer is going great my friends.  My your sweat corn be plentiful, the zucchini overflowing and the green beans tender and tasty.  I lift my glass to each of you and the smoke rising off your BBQ.  Enjoy the time spent on your patio, deck or back porch. Warm days, pleasant breezes and golden sunsets turning gray to black when the lighting bugs come out and twinkle are the stuff of many a fond memory.  May your days be filled with them.

What to Do?

What do atheist's do when stuck behind cars stopped at green lights with bumper stickers that say, “Honk if you love Jesus.”

D'oh!

LANCASTER, Ohio (AP) -- Police say an instructor at a central Ohio gun safety class has accidentally shot a student.

The Columbus Dispatch (http://bit.ly/19ZLcIt) reports 73-year-old Terry J. Dunlap Sr. was demonstrating a handgun at a training facility on Saturday when he fired a bullet that ricocheted off a desk and into the right arm of 26-year-old Michael Piemonte.

The student says the .38-caliber bullet hit him between his elbow and armpit. He says many of the students in the class were nurses who helped stabilize him before he was transported to a Columbus hospital.

The good news is that there is a new opening in the class.

Gotterdammerung: The Armed Forces

Army colonel: Physical strength not the end-all, be-all of combat service

On the surface that sounds like a reasonable statement, but is it?

An Army officer writing in a prestigious journal says the services should not overemphasize physical strength when deciding whether a woman qualifies for direct ground combat.

Col. Ellen Haring, on the staff of the U.S. Army War College, says commanders need to downplay obstacle courses and judge a service member’s ability to stay calm and think quickly.

Downplay physical strength and fitness when evaluating the combat worthiness of the troops.  Um, OK.  I'm over 40.  I'm fat.  I've got a bad knee and an occasional touch of gout.  I've lost 80% of my hearing in one ear and 25% in the other.  I also happen to be a reasonably good shooter.  By reasonably good I mean better than most.  I think at this point in my life, I'd like to lead a team of USMC RECON Snipers.  Let me put on my ruby slippers and click my heals together 3 times and wait... It's the door bell...Nope it's the ups guy...not a spec ops recruiter.  Gee I wonder why.  I mean how could they have forgotten to call me?   

Oh Yeah they've got standards.  Wanting to do something isn't enough, you actually have to be able to get the job done!  Old fat guys, even ones who are great shooters don't get to go to scout sniper school.  We don't even get to go to boot camp, unless its to watch our kid graduate.  If old guys aren't good enough, why would some little girl, who couldn't kick my butt if I bent over and stood still, encouraged to get killed or volunteer vaginal access to the enemy? 

“Perhaps it is time to take a hard look at what really makes a competent combat soldier and not rely on traditional notions of masculine brawn that celebrate strength over other qualities,” Col. Haring says in the current issue of Armed Forces Journal.

She cites World War II hero Audie Murphy and North Vietnamese insurgents as examples of small people who came up big on the battlefield.

“If the going-in assumption is that physical standards are the only thing that needs to be examined, then we are also assuming that we have everything else just right,” she wrote. “This is belied by our less-than-optimal performances in many instances during the past 12 years. Fixating on physical standards is a tactical-level approach that misses a strategic-level opportunity.”

Col. Haring, who had sued the Pentagon over its old exclusion policy, said that Murphy perhaps could not have passed the Marine Corps’ infantry officer qualification course.

I guess it was a good thing that Audie Murphy was in the army, since according to Haring he couldn't cut it as a marine.  "North Vietnamese insurgents" are a good military example? No really?  Seriously?  Those insurgents were what we call today terrorists or non-conventional combatants. The whole reason they were used in a nontraditional fighting role was because they couldn't be used in a traditional one.  Now that's an example of thinking outside the box.

To date, all six female Marine officers who have tried the course have flunked or withdrawn due to injury.

Ok they had a shot and failed.  Fair enough.  I bet a lot of guys have tried that course and failed too.  If you can only find six women who wanted to try and none of them could do it, why would you keep wasting time and tax payer money on the subject?

 

Audie Murphy was short, not weak.  When he won the medal he loaded a ma duce (50 cal ammo is heavy) retracted the bolt (stiff as hell) and fought like a mad man.  For an hour, Murphy stood a burning tank returning German fire from foot soldiers and advancing tanks, during which he sustained a leg wound. He stopped only after he ran out of ammunition.  Then he walked back to his men and lead them to safety before he allowed them to care for his wound.

 

Here's a thought: I'm a little short on burning tanks at the moment so we'll improvise.  Lets see if Col Benedict Haring can hump a 50 BMG and enough ammo to shoot targets for an hour to the top of an elevated platform, spend said hour shooting targets, then I'll hit her in the knee with a baseball bat to simulated a leg wound and we'll see if she can hike 3 miles to the rear in snow.  We'll give her 10 min to move the gun and ammo, and hour to shoot it all and an hour for the hike.  If she can do it all, then we don't try her for treason.  If she can't, then forget about Snowden, this women is a threat to the safety of this country and her visions of life in the land of purple unicorns will get American fighting men killed, and we should deal with her accordingly: a short hop from a tall gallows.

 

Show Me State Fair

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A clown wearing a President Barack Obama mask appeared at a Missouri State Fair rodeo this weekend and the announcer asked the enthusiastic spectators if they wanted to see "Obama run down by a bull."

The antics led the state's second highest-ranking official, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, to denounce the performance in a tweet Sunday. He said it was "disrespectful" to the president.

Hey Kinder, SHUT UP all ready.  Nobody complains when someone dons a Nixon mask and does something undignified. 

State Fair officials said the show in Sedalia was "inappropriate" and "does not reflect the opinions or standards" of the fair. "We strive to be a family friendly event and regret that Saturday's rodeo badly missed that mark," they said in a statement Sunday.

Why would officials give 2 cents?  How was this not "family friendly".   It's not like this is an "exhibit" of a crucifix placed in a jar of urine.  What about artistic license?

Perry Beam, who was among the spectators, said "everybody screamed" and "just went wild" as the announcer talked about having the bull run down the clown with the Obama mask.

"It was at that point I began to feel a sense of fear. It was that level of enthusiasm," Beam, a 48-year-old musician from Higginsville, said Sunday, referring to the reaction from the crowd that filled the fair's grandstand.

Wait. Now I see the problem, some dumbass Obummer supporter was in attendance.  The crowd apparently loved the idea of a bull stomping on a huge pile of BS.  This made Beam scared that not everyone in America lovers Obummer as much as he does.  That makes them bad, very bad and something should be done about it.

He said another clown ran up to the one wearing the Obama mask, pretended to tickle him and played with the lips on the mask. About 15 minutes into the performance, the masked clown had to leave after a bull got too close, Beam said. 

Oh, poor Beam is scared of clowns too, or is it black men whose lips are so big and scary.  I wonder if Beam is really a liberal closet racist.  This happened in a southern state so it might be generational racism entrenched in a social-economic structure designed to keep the black man down.  It's all so confusing.

"They mentioned the president's name, I don't know, 100 times. It was sickening," Beam said. "It was feeling like some kind of Klan rally you'd see on TV."  

Yep racism raises its nasty head. Thank god it wasn't a mob of black youths beating a white man into a coma.  Oh wait, that's never racial.  Besides making fun of Obummer is much, much worse.  "It was like a Klan rally", Wow! I've never been to one so I'll have to take your word for it.  It's kinda surprising how many democrats know so much about the Klan.  It's almost like they started the KKK, or something.

"This isn't the Republican Missouri State Fair," Beam said. "It was cruel. It was disturbing. I'm still sick to my stomach over it. ... I'm standing here with a mixed-race family. My wife's from Taiwan, and so was the student (his family was hosting). I've never seen anything so blatantly racist in my life.

"If an old country boy picks up on something like that, imagine what a person of color would think."

I for one have never seen a brother at a bull riding, but I suppose its possible.  Does your Asian wife really give a flip about a rodeo clown?  Does she really?  I have a fix for that.  Buy her a liquor/convenience store or a gas station in a metro area with a high number of people of color.  Advertise that she cashes checks. Let her run it personally and cover the night shift.  She will get to develop her own opinions on blacks from her experience interacting with them that way. 

People are always gonna make fun of the president.  Always.  Jay Leno has made a great living at it for decades.  Jonny Carson did it for decades before him.  Saturday Night Live has been the young cutting edge mockers of the president for over 40 years now.  Liberals don't care when the culture jokes about the right, but man its just like a Klan rally when someone mocks the left. 

I remember rodeo clowns wearing masks of Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II and now Obummer.  If Beam has gone to as many rodeos as he claims, I bet he has too.  Why wasn't if awful to see that poor old man Reagan as a rodeo clown?  Does he like the idea of geriatrics getting stomped on by half wild bovines?    A joke is a joke.  For the last 50 years that I know of, this has been going on. 

Whats in a Name?

 PORT TOWNSEND — Ulysses Corwin Nevermissashot, who is charged with robbing the Quilcene branch of U.S. Bank in November, is scheduled to be arraigned at 8:30 a.m. today in Jefferson County Superior Court.

The 26-year-old Quilcene man was arrested at his residence Tuesday and charged Wednesday with one count of first-degree bank robbery.

He remained Thursday in the Jefferson County jail on $50,000 bond.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said Nevermissashot robbed a bank teller at gunpoint and fled on foot with an undisclosed sum of money Nov. 15.

No shots were fired, and no one was hurt.

Thank goodness no shots were fired, because you know, he never misses.

Punography

I tried to catch some fog. I mist.

When chemists die, they barium.

Jokes about German sausage are the wurst.

A soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

I know a guy who's addicted to brake fluid. He says he can stop any time.

How does Moses make tea? Hebrews it.

I stayed up all night to see where the sun went. Then it dawned on me.

The girl said she recognized me from the vegetarian club, but I never met herbivore.

I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I can't put it down.

I did a theatrical performance about puns. It was a play on words.

They told me I had type A blood, but it was a Type O.

A dyslexic man walks into a bra.

Why were the Indians here first? They had reservations.

Class trip to the Coca-Cola factory. I hope there's no pop quiz.

Energizer Bunny arrested: Charged with battery.

I didn't like my beard at first. Then it grew on me.

What do you call a dinosaur with an extensive vocabulary? A thesaurus.

When you get a bladder infection, urine trouble.

What does a clock do when it's hungry? It goes back four seconds.

I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me!

Broken pencils are pointless.

Is this a Crime?

I'm all for holding cops to a higher standard of behavior.  I think that they should never be allowed a free pass for bad decisions or when they handle a encounter poorly.  However, I do believe a "crime" is something that requires a degree of "innocence" at least on the part of the victims.

Sheriff's deputy arrested for pistol-whipping his father when he caught him having sex with his wife in their son's bedroom

A betrayed husband has been charged after beating his father and hitting his wife in an alcohol-fueled rage after allegedly catching them having sex in his son's bedroom last month.

Caught in a bizarre family love triangle, Timothy John 'TJ' Brewer, 33, allegedly found his wife Logan Rae Brewer 'on top of his dad', respected Moab fire chief Wesley 'Corky' Brewer, after they had dinner at TJ's Utah home on July 11.  Furious at their love tryst, TJ 'backhanded' his wife and pointed a gun at her, before 'pistol whipping' his father, who later stabbed himself.

Say what you want, Larry Flint's never came up with something more kinky then the true stories of hillbilly Mormons. 

The deputy doesn't deserve to be in jail.  Any man would be pissed off under those circumstances.  The fact that he didn't shoot everyone dead is a testament to his self control and restraint.  Those two deserve whatever he would have done to them.

I Want a Pick a nic Basket

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - One bear must have been craving German food -- it pushed away an entire Dumpster from the Edelweiss Restaurant in Colorado Springs Wednesday night.

The restaurant posted security camera video on Facebook that shows the bear sniffing around in the alley behind the restaurant. Then you see the bear stand up on its hind legs and push the trash bin out of view.

I would like to know how far this bear had to go into town to get some German food.

Boxers or Briefs?

Some how I just know this story is going to make it into their family Christmas letter.

Suicidal husband saved after his wife grabs onto his BOXER SHORTS as he leaps out of bedroom window

A suicidal husband was saved after trying to leap from his bedroom window - when his wife grabbed him by his boxer shorts.

Witnesses say Ling Su clung on single handed for 20 minutes before police and firefighters arrived.

He was dangling from a six-storey apartment in Changchun, Jilin province, northern China.

'We tried to get in to help her but the apartment was locked and we couldn't break down the door,' they added.

Neighbours peered through windows to get a better look at the spectacle.

 Rescuers managed to pull 45-year-old Wang Li to safety, who is understood to have been depressed about lack of work.

Well now he has something else to be depressed over.  Can you imagine?  The wife is complaining about how you don't have a job and you try to take a header out the window, but she isn't done talking so she just grabs your butt and you hang there getting chewed out while the neighbors watch.  I bet next time he takes a lesson form the Japanese and falls on his sword.

Where is Jesse Jackson Now?

Chad Pollard is a hero.  Chad Pollard stood his ground.  Chad pollard name and story isn't being plastard across CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC or even Fox News.  Read the story, look at the pictures and see if you can tell me why?

Would-be Waffle House robber shot by armed citizen

A man attempting to rob a Waffle House in Union City, near Atlanta, early Monday morning had his plans foiled when an armed patron shot him.

Chad Pollard was at the restaurant with his childhood friend, Jonathan Sutton, along with about a dozen other customers when the attempted robbery occurred. Pollard is a security guard and Sutton is an Atlanta police officer. Both men were off-duty at the time, but both men were also packing pistols.

Good on Chad and good on Jonathan.  They did the right thing at the right time and everyone is better off for their personal preparations and their willingness to "get involved".  Not to dis Jonathan, he had a gun pointed at his head at the time:  I note it was the armed citizen that shot the bad guy.  Even when you have a cop on hand and he has a gun, sometimes it pays to cover your own butt.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found McAfee lying on the floor, bleeding profusely from the gunshot wounds and saying, “Man, I’m just trying to get some money for my baby.”

McAfee was transported to a local hospital where his condition is not currently known, but he remains under police custody.

Other than McAfee, no one was injured during the incident and no charges are expected to be filed against Pollard, who acted in self-defense and is now being hailed a hero.

The shooting is being called "self defense" and the shooter "a hero", no charges are expected.  Why isn't Jesse and B.O. all over this?  Call Eric Holder this brother who was only trying to get money for his baby had his civil rights taken away.

Leave the Man Alone

File this under give it a rest already.

The moment George Zimmerman was pulled over by cops in Texas for speeding on Sunday: He told officers he had a GUN and was 'going nowhere in particular'

George Zimmerman pulled over driving cross-country in Forney, Texas for speeding on Sunday

Told the officer that he was carrying a gun and was advised to place it in his glove compartment

The officer reportedly did not recognize Zimmerman - even after the 29-year-old checked

Was issued with a warning and sent on his way - telling the officer he 'was going nowhere in particular' 

Second traffic related incidence in the space of two weeks involving Zimmerman

For the record:

1. Hundreds of people get pulled over in Texas for speeding every day, and get off with a warning.
2. Why would a Texas cop give 2cents about Zimmerman or his 15 min of fame?
3. Some states require CCW holder's in possession of a firearm to inform the officer of the gun during a traffic stop.  I don't know if Texas has such a law, but that would account for his statement.
4. What Zimmerman was doing and where he was going are absolutely none of the cops business.  Maybe he just wanted to go for a drive.  Maybe he figures moving to Texas would be a safer place to live than out east.  It doesn't matter, what he does is HIS BUSINESS.
5. This is a non-story designed to stir up interest in something that is over and done with.  An innocent man did a good dead.  Let it go already.