That's a funny way of defining "Peace Activist"

Earlier today, one of those infamous "international incidents" occurred when violence broke out between members of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and several boats that were attempting to break through the Gaza blockade. 

The UN, international community, and most pathetically of all, President Obama, immediately condemned the IDF for being so darn mean to those poor, unfortunate peace activists on the boats.  

"Peace activists?"  Are you FREAKING KIDDING ME?

Only in the wild, wacky, WTF-are-you-thinking world of the liberal media can a group of well-armed pro-Hamas thugs on a boat be called any name with the word "peace" in it.

My Congressman Is Nuts

If you're not already aware of this great website, you really need to check it out.  My friend Angie Langley created a website earlier this year called MyCongressmanIsNuts.  You can also join the Facebook fan page.

Of course, Alan Grayson responded in a totally insane way and tried to have Angie thrown in jail.  I wonder if I'm next?

Hey Congressman, ever heard of the First Amendment? You spent all that money to mail us copies of the Constitution, and made a such a big flipping deal out of your "Teach the Constitution Week" bill, that I would have kinda hoped you had taken the time to actually read the darn thing.

More thoughts on Memorial Day

Frank Torres, a fellow local Republican and political blogger, has posted some beautiful and poignant thoughts about the Memorial Day and the Orange County War Memorial Rededication ceremony held at the courthouse today.

...I start to reflect on my time in the military. The great leaders I followed and my time in uniform that I’ll never forget and always consider returning to. The bond that the men and women in uniform share is one that lasts a lifetime and the bravery of our service members is one of the finest examples of why the United States is the greatest country in the world.

Downtown on Memorial Day | Frank Torres' Blog

Take some time and check out some of Frank's other posts.  He's got some great and humorous comments about a lot of local political issues.

Share|

Bob Hope is Awesome

If you haven't yet seen this clip from the 1940 classic movie, The Ghost Breakers, then you've missed out. File this one under "greatest movie lines ever."

Memorial Day

It's Memorial Day, and for those of us involved in politics, that means our inboxes are filled with generic patriotic statements from every single political candidate who has managed to find our email address. OK, we get it, you support the troops, you love America, yadda yadda yadda. How about next time you disable the "Contribute to My Campaign" link when you're talking about those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country?

Seriously though, it drives me absolutely bonkers that President Obama couldn't be bothered to attend the ceremonies at the Arlington National Cemetery today.  It's not like he had to travel very far...all he had to do was stay in town.  Pathetic.  Google Maps shows that it's only 2.2 miles from the White House to Arlington.  He could have walked.


View Larger Map

Matt Falconer Fiction

One of the biggest reasons I am unable to support Falconer's campaign for Orange County Mayor is his vicious and blatantly misleading attacks on other Republicans.  

I find it very ironic absolutely hypocritical for Falconer to think he has the right to define what a "good Republican" or "true conservative" is, when he only changed his registration to Republican less than a year ago, and I am unaware of him doing anything to help out any other Republican candidate or organization, unless related to his own hyperactive campaign.

Didn't He Get Impeached for Lying?

I'll have some more thoughts on the whole Sestak matter later, but what really cracked me up this week was the revelation that none other than former President Bill Clinton was the one who allegedly made the maybe-a-job-maybe-an-advisory-position offer to Joe Sestak if he agreed not to run against Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary.  

I find it very odd that Sestak's original story that "the White House" offered him a "high level" "federal job" has now changed quite a bit in the past few days, so now the message is that Slick Willy wasn't really offering him a job, but just an unpaid advisory position and really not a big deal at all, which is why the White House finally released this information on a Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend.  Regardless, the White House counsel has assured us that no laws were broken, and nothing wrong was done, so we should all just move along now, nothing to see here... 
 


...anyone else reminded of this?
 

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

Ann Coulter made a great point on Friday's Red Eye show, which if you're not watching, you should be.  (Seriously, it's the Daily Show with less liberals and more rock musicians.  Good times.  It's on FoxNews weekday nights at 3 a.m.  Set your DVR.)  

I think the issue is whether this actually was what was offered...if this is the way Bill Clinton says it happened, I'm sure it did, because he hasn't perjured himself under oath for at least a decade.

Matthew Falconer Spy Force

Love this. Matt Falconer can scream "Taxpayers First!" until he's blue in the face, but the truth is that slogans don't mean a dang thing when it comes to the hard work of actually governing (especially an area as large and diverse as Orange County), and the actual details of his plans and proposals are often impractical, illegal, unconstitutional, or just plain goofy. There is no way this guy should be allowed anywhere near any sort of elected power.

Not sure who this "AustinW90" guy is, but I have to respect any one who's clever, sarcastic, and takes the time to investigate B.S. from a political candidate.

Here's a follow up video, where he illustrates a common Falconer response to criticism: deny, deny, deny.

He Who Shall Not Be Elected

Rick Scott has been busy spending piles of the money he earned from that hospital that committed record-setting Medicare fraud.  I can't help but think that maybe he should have spent a little bit more on an image consultant.  From the first time I saw his ads, there was just something really creepy about him that I couldn't quite figure out (I mean besides the obscene Medicare fraud).  Then it came to me (like a bolt of lightning, ha)...

Compare for yourself: Separated at birth?  Rick Scott...

 

...and Lord Voldemort...

Matthew Falconer for Monorail

Ideas from a candidate as goofy as Matthew Falconer require cartoon characters to adequately explain them.

People are People

Great article by Alex Leary of the St. Pete Times about Charlie Crist's obsession with being a people person.

This is surprising to absolutely no one

From the official @charliecristfl twitter account today:

Just signed over $4 mil to Gulf Coast Tourist Development Councils to promote FL Gulf  #oilspill #fb http://twitpic.com/1sj7ot

Wow.  Amazing.  Anyone want to take any guesses on what the polling results say about helping out our beleaguered tourism industry during this oil spill fiasco? 

Never mind the brutal and unexpected last-minute veto of other budget items (like almost $10 million from Shands Hospital).

And what precisely is this $4 million going to do?  The oil spill is an unprecedented fiasco, and a few chipper TV ads aren't enough to overcome the hysterical media coverage.  

Maybe they can partner with the Dawn Soap Saves Wildlife program, and do some joint marketing:

Come to Florida.  Bring Your Own Dawn Soap.  Save a Cute Critter and then Visit Mickey Mouse!

Seriously.  How freaking cute is this little guy?  He's even SMILING.

What's the deal with the tan?

Every time Charlie Crist has been asked about his day-glo tan, he has insisted that he is not fake-baking, but rather that his hue derives from his Greek heritage.

Hmmmm.

I did some thinking about this awhile ago, and the thing is, a lot of Greeks may be tan (or at least tanner than my German-Irish background leaves me!) but Greek people are not orange.

There are only three kinds of people who are orange:

1. Tanning bed addicts.  George Hamilton is curiously almost exactly the same shade as Charlie (a fact noticed by one of my favorite humorists on Twitter, Charlie Crist's Fan).  I'll give Charlie the benefit of the doubt and just assume he's not lying...at least until a new governor gets elected and finds the upgraded power outlets in the Governor's Mansion.

2. People who eat way too many carrots.  It's not an urban legend: if you eat an insane amount of carrots, you'll turn orange in about a month from "carotenosis."  Now I don't have any insider knowledge about what the Governor's kitchen crew are serving for dinner every night, but carrot overdoses just don't seem likely.

...so that leaves only one option left...

3. Oompa Loompas.  Willy Wonka's favorite slave labor (one of the few valid justifications for unionization that I've ever seen) are well known for their citrus-hued skin, as pictured here from the original (and far superior) 1971 version of the film:

OK, now compare the above picture to Charlie:

Freakishly, suspiciously similar, aren't they?  Now, fans of Roald Dahl's work will remember that native Oompa Loompas are fairly short...usually described as knee-high.  Well, most Chinese people are, on average, shorter than most Americans, but that Yao Ming guy is the tallest current player in the NBA (at 7'6").  The obvious explanation is that Charlie is the Yao Ming of the Oompa Loompa world.  

I'm not the only one to notice this Charlie-Oompa Loompa connection.  A blogger named Ulysses posted this great comment after Charlie announced he was going independent:

Awesome. It’s about time we said goodbye to politicians who feign loyalty to party, statements made three weeks ago, or natural skin colors. It’s all about you, Charlie.

If Florida elects you, do we all get free Everlasting Gobstoppers to go along with our free health care?

Charlie Crist, Founding Father?

I'm proud to be a long-term supporter of Marco Rubio.  I endorsed him and hosted a fundraiser almost a year ago...back in those wild and crazy days when the polls "proved" that Marco didn't have a chance.  Besides believing in Marco's conservative message, I had long been disillusioned with Charlie Crist's seeming inability to do a darn thing without first seeking reassurance that it had at least 90% approval.

Chan Lowe, editorial cartoonist at the Sun-Sentinel, has a very funny view of what it might have been like if Charlie Crist had been a founding father.

Some thoughts on the First Amendment

The inspiration for this blog:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

There's a reason the Founding Fathers listed this one first: it is vitally important for the protection and preservation of all other rights we enjoy as Americans.

Now, that being said, it's unfortunate to note how often people try to hide behind the banner of Free Speech when they're doing something unsavory or illicit.  The First Amendment does not grant free license to lie, defame, libel, or slander anyone.

I have a pretty strong sarcastic streak, an occasionally nutty sense of humor, and some very strong opinions about politics and politicians.  It's possible, if not probable, that from time to time I'm going to ruffle some feathers here.  If you see something on this site that is inaccurate, incorrectly attributed, or otherwise misleading, please let me know so I can address it.

If you just plain don't like what I said, then start your own blog.  All comments here are moderated, and will not appear until I approve them, so posting abusive junk is only wasting your time.  I'm pretty stubborn and you're not going to change my mind.  Your anger issues are not my problem, so why don't you step away from the internets and find a nice quiet hobby, such as stamp collecting?