Bikers and Ginger Ale Punch with a Raspberry Ice Ring

I read Please Pass the Cake, a Tech Central article pointed to by the Instapundit,. Unfortunately, the 2005 Dietary Guidelines put out by the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, although lame and silly, aren't quite as bad as Ms. Swarzc makes out. The guidelines are full of disclaimers. Presumably anyone who reads the damn things at all will read the disclaimers as well.

Why unfortunately? Well, I was hoping the feds and 'Central Control' had finally jumped the shark.* Really, really bad food laws and advice might finally get people riled up. Food brings people together in ways that nothing else does. & We need to come together and grab back some of our lost freedoms.

Lefties, for instance, need to come down on the unmitigated bastards at the ACLU and come down on them hard. Righties need to dump a few buckets of cold water on various loud and unpleasant sub-sects of their own. Left & Right need to read and cherish our rapidly vanishing declared rights.

See, I had a nifty story to share with you about small town politics, bikers, and church suppers - all mushy and happy endings and how diverse groups can work together for the good and freedom of all. True story - but why bother? Who cares?

Freedom in America is a pipe dream anyway, anymore. I don't know how people like Kevin and Ravenwood can keep it up. Most US citizens are frightened of freedom, and want to live under a bureacratic dictatorship, and so that is the type of government we are getting. The government can throw you in handcuffs for not wearing a seatbelt; in most states, it can take your house if it wants the higher property taxes generated by a shopping mall that wants to build over your bathroom; it takes your money to care for forests and meadows that it won't let you use; and on, and on, and on.


& We the People refuse to come together enough to fight it. Socialism is ingrained in this country now - it's self-styled 'progressive' because it sounds better, but it's the same old socialism that slaughtered over 100 million people in the 20th century, and it will slaughter more still in this century, and apparently until the same old slaughter under the shiney new name actually occurs, very few people outside the right sector of the blogosphere will care. I don't think we can stop it now - maybe we can just keep the ashes of freedom alive, and in 30 or 50 years, those who haven't been executed For The Good of the People can fan the coals and light the fire one more time.

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and in our travels on that road we've passed all the exits and turn-arounds. Now we'll just have to go through it and hope we can come out the other side.


* I know the term 'jumped the shark' has jumped the shark; does anyone have a substitute?

What is it?

Definitely not a samovar. I've never seen such a thing!

Thursday is Kick-a-fashion-designer Day!

Isn't it? Well, if it's not, it should be!

You may have deduced by now that I went shopping yesterday. What with the Christmas cookies, the holster, and Steve's book, my wardrobe's been a bit snug. So off I go . . .

I hate shopping for clothes. Have you seen the crap they expect women to wear? Stretchy, tight, no pockets, itchy-scratchy man-made material that doesn't breathe ... FAUGH!! Would you wear it? No, of course not. No sane person would. The blouses are as bad - stretchy, clingy, airless and impractical. Jiminy!

Have you eyeballed the few woman who are actually wearing these clothes? Maybe one in 53 can pull it off - maybe. The 1st thing I notice on these poor, misguided souls is their bad posture. Ladies, if you're going to show everything that the Good Lord gave you, at least stand up straight and suck in that gut.

So, okay, I'm no fashion queen. I do things - you can't do things and wear useless, airless, pocketless clothes. & yes, I'm pudgy. There are times when it's more merciful to conceal than to reveal and, well - 'nuff said.

Anyway, I decided cross-dressing was the way to go. I went to the men's department for some sensible apparel. Found some jeans or khakis or whatever they are with lots of pockets!! But even then, they're kind of weird. They're whaddayacallem pants - parachute pants? They have big pockets on the leg. They also have long strings hanging off the pockets and I can't for the life of me figure out what they're supposed to be for. To strap down your six-gun? In case you want to be tied to the bedpost fully clothed?

Well, I tied them into pretty little bows, added that feminine touch doncha know. I suppose I'll just cut them off but I would like to know their purpose.

What drugs are fashion designers on? or are they just passive-aggressive haters of the human race?

Anyway, if you see a fashion designer, spit in their eye and tell 'em Persnickety sent ya.

P.S. Not that this has anything to do with the price of tea in China, but this is why I find male cross-dressers so strange. Why, o why, would anyone voluntarily submit themselves to the torture of heels, itchiness, eye-watering hairspray and the whole nine yards, when society not only doesn't demand it of the male, but actually frowns on it a bit? What else do cross-dressers do for fun? Stick themselves under the toenail with an icepick?

Yet another aspect of life that is completely over my head, I guess.

O well.

Peace.

Madison Avenue Resistance

Some friends got me a set of plastic glasses for Christmas. I guess it comes from reading James Lileks, but I fell in love with the box. It looks like the only change they made to it since 1941 was to add 'dishwasher safe!'

If you've been through the Lilek Gallery, and still want more, check out Tervis Tumblers!

Works like magic!

Too darn lazy to come up with New Year's Resolutions?


I know I am!! Luckily, Acidman finds the modern technology to help us out!

Your New Years Resolution Should Be: Wake up before noon

You've been accused of sleeping your life away And it's a little bit true - you are really into your pillow In fact, it may be years since you've seen a sunrise at the *start* of your day Sleep a little less. Some sunshine would do you good.

What Should Your New Year's Resolution Be?

from the same site:

You Are a Dreaming Soul

Your vivid emotions and imagination takes you awy from this world So much so that you tend to live in your head most of the time You have great dreams and ambitions that could be the envy of all... But for you, following through with your dreams is a bit difficult You are charming, endearing, and people tend to love you. Forgiving and tolerant, you see the world through rose colored glasses. Underneath it all, you have a ton of passion that you hide from others. Always hopeful, you tend to expect positive outcomes in your life. Souls you are most compatible with: Newborn Soul, Prophet Soul, and Traveler Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Well, that's all for now, folks! It's past my bedtime.

Jeb goes to the Indian Ocean

"Bush is sending a a delegation to the region Sunday led by Powell and his brother, Fla. Gov. Bush, to assess aid needs.
from Friday's Wall Street Journal

You go, Jeb!

There is probably no one on the planet better equipped to contribute to relief coordination than Jeb Bush. I don't know what the etiquette is of sending your brother and/or a governor on something like this; I've no doubt that cries of nepotism and dynasty and yada yada blah blah will be just around the corner. Notwithstanding the inevitable yapping of the pocket dog contingent, Jeb is the best man to go.

He's not George. If Jeb were president, Mineta would've been fired probably before Sept. 11, but certainly after. Jeb will actually fire people who do a crappy job. If he doesn't have the authority to fire someone who deserves it, he just steps out of their way and lets them have enough rope to hang themselves.

He'll have a far more difficult time with the tsunami than with the hurricanes; the scale is much greater and the cooperation will be much, much, less. Instead of honest concern from one southern US state to another, he'll be dealing with nasty, petty, puffed-up daughters of a horseleech. With the hurricanes, he had advance warning, real authority and a reasonable knowledge of what tools were available. He'll have none of those things with the tsunami efforts. & of course he won't be running the show; he'll just one of a committee in a sea of egos. So he won't be as useful as he would under other circumstances.

Poor Jeb. I really got the feeling during the hurricanes that 'this is not what I wanted to be when I grew up.' But he stepped up to the plate.

Anyway, time to deal proactively with the pocket dog contingent:

"Why isn't George Bush going himself? 'The people' need the symbolism of the actual President, not some surrogate!"

ACtually, no, you're mistaken. People who are homeless, hungry, and helpless need food, shelter and clothing. People who are physically traumatized need physical help. People who are emotionally traumatized can suck it up. No offense to George, but Jeb will be more useful than his brother. Honestly, between security and yes-men, the presence of a US President would probably just muck things up.

and furthermore,:

"In countries like India or Indonesia, where family ties are more significant to personal success or even survival, the presence of First Family member will be taken seriously, . ." (RTWT)

so quit being so damn ethnocentric.

Dynasty!! Royalty!! Nepotism!!

Give me a list of US officials with comparable experience and expertise, and then we'll talk. Neither George Bush nor Rudy Guliani make that list, by the way. September 11 was physically concentrated in a way that hurricanes and tsunamis are not; the logistics have to be very different.

Of course, the Red Cross and Salvation Army have experience in these areas, but they are already there and are not US officials.

Yeah, well, Florida still hasn't recovered from the 2004 hurricanes. Jeb isn't so great.

Hell, there are parts of Florida that still haven't recovered from Andrew, for pete's sake. Hurricanes are big and devastating. You can't wave a magic wand and undo what's happened. You can, however, minimize the damage and move on.

Godspeed, Governor. We'll keep the homefires burning.