Lord Biden Opens Mouth and Inserts Foot
Since he’s mine own fine Senator in the Senate (a.k.a. The House of Lords), I feel it’s my perfect right to poke fun at this big-mouthed Lord.
The man never answers an email or responds to a phone call from fine citizens such as myself. He’s entirely too busy running for President.
Like that’s going to happen.
Some Biden sound bytes:
"I didn't even like Princeton," he said, to laughter from the gallery. "I mean, I really didn't like Princeton. I was an Irish Catholic kid who thought it had not changed like you concluded it had," referring to Alito's earlier statement that Princeton had changed its traditional ways before he enrolled.
...above at Alito hearings
"It's an honor to be here," he told the audience. "It would have been an even greater honor to have come here."
Biden also said yesterday: "One of my real dilemmas is I have two kids who went to Ivy League schools. I'm not sure my Grandfather Finnegan will ever forgive me for allowing that to happen."
But in his speech at Princeton, he said, "I have three children who have mercifully all finally completed undergraduate and graduate school. And I tried to get all three of them to apply here."
...above biden BEFORE Alito
One More Biden
Because one can never get enough Biden. To that end, Lord Biden is training his son, Beau, to fill his shoes. Indeed Delaware’s Governor, Nanny Minner, tried to appoint Beau Biden-who did stay at a Holiday Inn Express near a court house once-the state’s Attorney General. A generous and loud public uproar put an end to that.
Below, the WAPO’s Richard Cohen, hardly a partisan Republicrat, states his summation of Biden and mouth.
YODEL-AY-HEE-HOO!
"The only thing standing between Joe Biden and the presidency is his mouth. It is a Himalayan barrier, a Sahara of a handicap."
- Columnist Richard Cohen of the Washington Post
You Mean They Had Lobbyists in 1770?
Jack Abramoff notwithstanding, I am surprised at such wisdom from so long ago. Frankly I’m not sure if that parenthetical “corrupt politician” thing is part of the original quote but it is just as applicable.
A democracy . . . can only exist until the voters (or corrupt politicians) discover they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury . . . with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy . . . .”
Alexander Tyler, Cycle of Democracy, 1770
Time for the Coultergeist
Love her or hate her, one has to admit that bit about women having come to “depend” on abortion is really lame. If that’s the abortion proponents’ sound byte du jour they need another PR firm.
Of course’ Annie’s assertion about women wanting to have sex with men that they don’t want to have children with leaves out part of the equation. I’d suggest abortion is a way out for women who want to have sex with men that they don’t want to have children with … now.
Annie’s right, however. The right to an abortion is not guaranteed by the constitution. It’s a cultural issue. It’s subject to public debate. It’s something the legislators should be dealing with, not nine un-elected judges from their judicial perches.
The Roe vs. Wade decision was bad law, period. It removed control over the entire process from any legislative restrictions. Thus we have 8-month-term babies removed from their mother’s womb via knitting needles that pierce their skull in utero.
COULTERGEIST
"According to Dianne Feinstein, Roe v. Wade is critically important because “women all over America have come to depend on it.' At its most majestic, this precious right that women 'have come to depend on' is the right to have sex with men they don't want to have children with. There's a stirring principle! . . . The right to have sex with men you don't want to have children with is not exactly 'Give me liberty, or give me death.' In the history of the nation, there has never been a political party so ridiculous as today's Democrats. It's as if all the brain-damaged people in America got together and formed a voting bloc."
- Columnist Ann Coulter
Speaking of the Supreme Court
If they’re not legislating from the bench on abortion or other issues best handled by the voters and their elected representatives, well darn just use foreign law as basis for rulings.
They are nine un-elected judges who have no right to abscond with the voters’ right to dialogue and choice. For sure they have no right to use foreign law as a basis on decisions that affect Americans.
And they referenced foreign law right in their decision! What Americans voted on this foreign law? What American representatives debated the matter?
Give them time. They shall be kings. They will rule the planet, plucking and choosing from laws across Earth that please them.
Give them time.
USING FOREIGN LAW
"That senator, Tom Coburn, R-Okla., berated the current Supreme Court for using foreign law as a basis for its rulings. The court did that in a 5-4 ruling last March when it noted most of the world bars the execution of juveniles and banned the practice in this country. 'The vast majority of Americans don't think it's proper for the Supreme Court to use foreign law,' Coburn said. Alito agreed that 'the framers would be stunned' at the idea of looking to the laws of other nations to interpret the Bill of Rights."
- Newhouse News Service, 1/12/06
A Moment for the Cats That Own Us
I had been told that the training procedure with cats was difficult. It's not. Mine had me trained in two days.
- Bill Dana (William Szathmary)
Newt Speaks
Now how many times have I pointed out that this is all about incumbency protection, citizens be damned?
Rush Limbaugh would call it an “I told you so”. For myself, without benefit of twenty million listeners, modesty prevents.
THE BIGGER CORRUPTION SCANDAL
"Politicians in a relentless pursuit of incumbency protection and power have used big government spending to perfect a Washington-insider dominated system to maintain control at the expense of good governance. As a system, this is much more dangerous than the Abramoff scandal alone. Although corrupt in nature, this self-perpetuating incumbency protection racket is legal because Congress makes it so. The earmarks for pork, the exploitative nature of the Senate that hogties presidential appointments, the special provisions written into an overly complex tax code, and late-night meetings are all part of this larger problem of political power passing the limits assigned to it."
- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
Wal-Mart and Another Maryland Business
When I lived in Maryland I was employed by a modest sized company of about 150 employees. That company owned many properties in Maryland and acquired more while I was employed there.
All in the name of legitimate capitalism, mind you.
While I enjoyed working for this company, the owners had an annoying tendency to be …, ah, a bit on the liberal side of things.
Now that I am in Delaware I occasionally consult for this same company as they also own property in this fine state. So I chanced to speak to one of the slightly liberal owners from my former full-time employer.
“So what do you think of the Wal-Mart ruling?” I asked.
“What about it?” the response.
I then proceeded to explain, amazed as always that people who own a business don’t keep up on this sort of stuff. No wait. That’s part of the reason they kept me around. I proceeded to explain that Wal-Mart must now contribute money to all of their employees’ health care costs, even the part-timers. I knew, please understand, that this company employs a lot of part-timers. Here on the Delmarva shore they run hotels, campgrounds and marinas that are very seasonal businesses. This is a part-time world down this way.
“Do you think that’s right?” I continued. “Wal-Mart is currently the only Maryland business with the current benchmark of 10,000 employees so right now it’s the only business affected. How many employees does (insert that company’s name here) have now?”
I could hear the gulp across the phone lines. “Right now we’ve got about 200 employees,” he said with a shaky voice. I realized that dawn broke over his marble head somewhere back in Maryland. Such as vacations, health-care insurance, pensions, etc., are almost never awarded to part-time employees. It would probably bankrupt this company of 200 employees to suddenly have to give its part-timers the same benefits as the full-time staff.
“Give it time,” I said, not without a bit of a verbal smirk. “What with how (insert name of company here)’s growing and given a few more years of labor contributions to the current crop of Maryland politicians, they’ll winnow that requirement down to businesses the size of (insert name of company here).
“No,” I heard the shaky voice reply. “No, I don’t think that’s right.”
Well of course it’s not right!
Liberals sometimes change their stripes when they see the train heading directly at them.
SCREWING WAL-MART ROYALLY
"Maryland on Thursday passed a law requiring large, private companies doing business in the state to spend at least eight percent of their payroll on employee health benefits. The Fair Share Health Care law is aimed at Wal-Mart. Although the state's Republican governor vetoed the bill earlier this year, the state House and Senate overrode that veto on Thursday, to the delight of labor unions and Wal-Mart foes."
- CNS News, 1/13/06
More Notable/Quotables HERE
Because I'm a Man
Because I'm a man, when I lock my keys in the car I will fiddle with a wire clothes hanger and ignore your suggestions that we call a road service until long after hypothermia has set in. Because I'm a man, when the car isn't running very well, I will pop the hood and stare at the engine as if I know what I'm looking at. If another man shows up, one of us will say to the other, "I used to be able to fix these things, but now with all these computers and everything, I wouldn't know where to start." We will then drink beer. Because I'm a man, when I catch a cold I need someone to bring me soup and take care of me while I lie in bed and moan. You never get as sick as I do, so for you this isn't an issue.  Because I'm a man, I can be relied upon to purchase basic groceries at the store, like milk or bread. I cannot be expected to find exotic items like "Cumin" or "Tofu". For all I know these are the same thing. And never, under any circumstances, expect me to pick up anything for which "feminine hygiene product" is a euphemism. Because I'm a man, when one of our appliances stops working I will insist on taking it apart, despite evidence that this will just cost me twice as much once the repair person gets here and has to put it back together. Because I'm a man, I must hold the television remote control in my hand while I watch TV. If the thing has been misplaced, I may miss a whole show looking for it (though one time I was able to survive by holding a calculator). Because I'm a man, there is no need to ask me what I'm thinking about. The answer is always either sex, racing, or football, though I have to make up something else when you ask, so don't. Because I'm a man, I do not want to visit your mother, or have your mother come visit us, or talk to her when she calls, or think about her any more than I have to. Whatever you got her for mother's day is okay, I don't need to see it. And don't forget to pick up something for my Mom too!! Because I'm a man, you don't have to ask me if I liked the movie. Chances are, if you're crying at the end of it, I didn't. Because I'm a man, I think what you're wearing is fine. I thought what you were wearing five minutes ago was fine, too. Either pair of shoes is fine. With the belt or without it looks fine. Your hair is fine. You look fine. Can we just go now? Because I'm a man, I will share equally in the housework. You just do the laundry, the cooking, the gardening, the cleaning, and the dishes. I'll do the rest. |
Attorney Advice-No Charge
A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company. 1. The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your checkbook, they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name, but your bank will know how you sign your checks. 2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED." 3. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check-processing channels will not have access to it. 4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks, (DUH!). You can add it if it is necessary. However, if you have it printed, anyone can get it. 5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. Also carry a photocopy of your passport when traveling either here or abroad. We have all heard horror stories about fraud that is committed on us in stealing a name, address, Social Security number, credit cards. 6. When you check out of a hotel that uses cards for! keys (and they all seem to do that now), do not turn the "keys" in. Take them with you and destroy them. Those little cards have on them all of the information you gave the hotel, including address and credit card numbers and expiration dates. Someone with a card reader, or employee of the hotel, can access all that information with no problem whatsoever.  Unfortunately, as an attorney, I have first hand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer and received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online. Here is some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know: 1. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. The key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them. 2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one). However, here is what is perhaps most important of all (I never even thought to do this.) 3. Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit. By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks. Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet and contents being stolen: 1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285 2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742 3.) TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289 4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271 We pass along jokes on the Internet; we pass along just about everything. Nevertheless, if you are willing to pass this information along, it could really help someone. |
More Miscellany posts HERE
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