Beer in the Headlights

Make that nearly one percent

High fuel prices are prompting many Americans to reconsider their Memorial Day travel plans, AAA says.

The automobile club released a survey Thursday projecting that the number of Americans traveling more than 50 miles from home over the long holiday weekend will fall nearly 1 percent from last year.

< 1 % = many

Gas prices have risen about 22% since this time last year. Granted that's a pretty steep hike. But a 22% increase in gas prices translating to less than 1% decrease in travel over 50 is hardly noticeable. So minuscule it's not even worth reporting.

Waitaminute...

Instead of spinning matters to be a negative, why not look at the situation from a "glass is half full" perspective?

If our economy can absorb such a significant inflation in a necessary commodity and pretty much shrug it off then I think we're doing pretty darn well - particularly in the context of the real estate bubble and inflation of food prices.

Matthis Chiroux is the kind of young American US military recruiters love.

"I was from a poor, white family from the south, and I did badly in school," the now 24-year-old told AFP.

"I was 'filet mignon' for recruiters. They started phoning me when I was in 10th grade," or around 16 years old, he added.

Chiroux joined the US army straight out of high school nearly six years ago, and worked his way up from private to sergeant.

He served in Afghanistan, Germany, Japan, and the Philippines and was due to be deployed next month in Iraq.

On Thursday, he refused to go, saying he considers Iraq an illegal war.

"I stand before you today with the strength and clarity and resolve to declare to the military, my government and the world that this soldier will not be deploying to Iraq," Chiroux said in the sun-filled rotunda of a congressional building in Washington.

"My decision is based on my desire to no longer continue violating my core values to support an illegal and unconstitutional occupation... I refuse to participate in the Iraq occupation," he said, as a dozen veterans of the five-year-old Iraq war looked on.

Minutes earlier, Chiroux had cried openly as he listened to former comrades-in-arms testify before members of Congress about the failings of the Iraq war.

The testimonies were the first before Congress by Iraq veterans who have turned against the five-year-old war.

A group of veterans sitting in the hearing room gazed blankly as their comrades' testimonies shattered the official version that the US effort in Iraq is succeeding.

Almost to a man, the soldiers who testified denounced serious flaws in the chain of command in Iraq.

So these veterans represent a fair cross section of those who have served in OIF, right?

Nope.

What the AFP reporter who penned the story neglects to mention is that SGT Chiroux is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Odd, isn't it?

Right there on the front page of the IVAW page is a photo of SGT Chiroux. The page even mentions that the soldiers testifying are all members of IVAW:

Sgt. Chiroux made made his announcement in the Cannon House Office Building Rotunda after members of Iraq Veterans Against the War testified before the Congressional Progressive Caucus during Winter Soldier on the Hill.

Congressional Progressive Caucus? You mean the group chaired by Rep. Barbara Lee of Berkeley, CA? Yep, Berkeley. Ground zero for militant moonbattery.

Rep. Lee and her far-left associates don't have any form agenda when they bring in a bunch of lying cowards to perjure themselves in front of their committee, do they?

Why not subpoena Jesse Macbeth? He can tell them all about the war crimes he was directed to commit while serving in Iraq.

All of this is so familiar...

They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan.

Word.

The general election is too easy. A slam dunk.

All McCain has to do is just air this video over and over in swing states.

I've come to the realization that Obama's fervent supporters are his biggest liability. Think about it. McCain doesn't have to attack Barack Obama. He can stick to that. All his campaign has to do is air images and footage of Obama supporters.

Look at these cult-like freaks:

"I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry."

Sorry for what? Being duped by some smooth talking huckster? Sorry for being long overdue for a hair cut? Sorry for ignoring your orthodontist's advice back in 6th grade?

I'm eternally thankful that I reside in a very conservative part of a conservative state. Obama bumper stickers are a rarity. When I spot one on someone's car I feel a strong urge to see just who it could be inside the vehicle that has an unmitigated lack of rational thought and the wanton stupidity to broadcast it to the world.

I don't understand how some of us on the right can cross their arms, state their staunch opposition to the candidacy of John McCain and punctuate it with a surly harrumph. If those folks can't look at Barack Obama, his wife, their pastor, Bill Ayers, Obama's myrmidons and the galactically stupid mess the whole charade is and not head back to the McCain camp ala the Prodigal Son then there really isn't much reasoning with them either.

Might as well have Nafiza Ziyad as an official Obama campaign blogger. Here's her infamous rant on a MARTA train with subtitles. So full of hope and change. Not quite sure what that poor old woman did, but apparently Nafiza thinks she's an agent of George Bush.

To Beth for the "Pimps & Hos for B. Hussein" video.

Thank you, Sonny.

Georgians with carry licenses will be able to tote their concealed guns on public transportation, in restaurants that serve alcohol and in state parks under legislation signed by Gov. Sonny Perdue on Wednesday.

Thugs like Nafiza Ziyad will now have to think twice before they "get all up in someone's face" on Atlanta's MARTA trains. Law abiding MARTA riders are no longer sitting ducks.

Introducing MeatWater

Shame it ain't real. I could go for a nice warm bottle of Stroganoff.

Ghetto is as ghetto does

A video clip appeared on YouTube about a week ago that showed a young black woman exhibiting extreme belligerence toward an elderly woman as well as another passenger on a MARTA train somewhere in Atlanta.

You can view the clip here. (NSFW for very coarse language and loud, abhorrent behavior.)

That video made my blood boil. Here was some ill-behaved trash harassing an elderly woman, and only one person bothered to speak up. Nobody made any attempt to contact the Marta Police. Nothing. They just let it happen.

Upon looking through the AJC just moments ago I read a story that made me feel better about things. MARTA police arrested the young woman, Nafiza Ziyad. She’s being charged with simple assault, two counts of “certain acts in transit,” and disorderly conduct.

You can read the article here.

Why is it that nobody on the train called the police? Why didn’t anyone press the emergency call button? Aside from one individual, why did they all just passively observe the situation without offering any help to the old woman?

I hope Miss Ziyad enjoys her stay in the DeKalb County Jail. It’s where she belongs. And unless she learns from her mistakes she’ll likely spend a good chunk of her adult life there or in similar facilities.

A string of polls conducted by the Suffolk University Political Research Center over the past month--in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and, now, West Virginia--show that roughly 20 percent of Democratic primary voters are ready to vote for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in November if their choice candidate isn't the nominee.

It's not at all difficult to see why McCain appeals to such a large portion of registered Democrats. His oft-touted "maverick" status gives McCain the air of being a GOP outsider. Where McCain typically breaks stance with the Republicans is where many socially conservative blue collar voters can relate; money.

McCain-Feingold has been, and will continue to be, a political liability with conservative voters but can be attractive to more moderate voters.

On the other hand, McCain's fervent and consistent "no pork" stance is popular with many conservatives and also appeals to many rural blue collar Democrats - the ones whom B. Hussein labeled as "bitter."

Despite some sour grapes rumbling from the political right, the numbers bode well for McCain in the general election. While it looks as though Obama is near a lock for the Democrat nomination, John McCain will pull a considerable amount of votes from those that currently support Mrs. Bill Clinton.

Yeah, those votes... The Democrats who, according to Paul Begala, aren't "African Americans or egg heads."

Current poll numbers show a near statistical dead heat between McCain vs. Obama and Mccain vs. Clinton in the general election. Those numbers will change drastically once the Democrat nomination is settled.

A few key things will lock up the election for John McCain. First, he needs a young, vibrant and staunchly conservative running mate. That will assuage both the disaffected conservatives and those skeptical of McCain's age. Second, McCain needs to eloquently point out the obvious flaws and shortcomings of his eventual opponent - both of whom have plenty. And third, John McCain needs to remain positive about his vision and keep putting forth solutions instead of rhetoric.

John McCain wasn't my first choice out of the pool of Republican contenders. That being said, he's strong on the four issues most important to me; the GWOT, SCOTUS appointments, taxes and government spending. Those are four key issues that will appeal to nearly all conservatives and McCain's campaign must focus on those with conservative voters.

A similar campaign worked for Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984. It can work again for John McCain this year.

Not only is Gordon Ramsay a hot tempered and verbally abusive SOB, but he also wants to dictate what you can eat and when you can eat it.

Celebrity British chef Gordon Ramsay said restaurants should be fined if they serve out-of-season fruit and vegetables.

"I don't want to see asparagus in the middle of December. I don't want to see strawberries from Kenya in the middle of March. I want to see it home-grown," he said after raising his concerns with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

"Fruit and veg should be seasonal. Chefs should be fined if they don't have ingredients in season on their menu," he told the BBC on Friday.

Ramsay, whose London restaurants include Petrus and The Savoy Grill, said Britain had become a nation of lazy eaters who followed trends and fads rather than substance.

"There should be stringent laws, licensing laws, to make sure produce is only used in season and season only," he added.

The sad thing... The British government will likely fall for this bit of dietary totalitarianism.

Just wait until the ecotards here in the US catch wind of this idea. It's just another angle from which they can attack the free market and have more sway over the lives of others.

I'm fed up with the whole "local food" thing. I live in Georgia. Think I like my citrus? Darn straight I do. If idiots like Ramsay have their way I'll only get to eat citrus fruit in citrus growing regions, and only when it's in season.

One more aspect of this asinine idea? Think of what it will do the the farmers of developing countries where most "out of season" produce is grown. It will put them out of business.

Just another example of how elitist liberals just hurt the little guys.