Boston Tea Party 2010 in Pictures

Hello Thinkers!

Yes it has been a while since I posted anything. Chalk that up to the usual business of work, fatherhood and 5-6 hours of sleep. And like many of you, I have been screaming at my TV and radio since, oh say, shortly after January 2009. I did play hooky on April 14th and get to the Boston Common for the Tea Party for a few hours. But like the radical, hating, fringe maniac I am, I needed to skip out in the middle of it to take a conference call with a customer. Anyway, below are some pictures. Enjoy!!

Tuff


Clearly the Boston Tea Party was loaded with racist haters like this guy pictured above.



This guy won my vote for best "I love Sarah" sign. There was stiff competition...


The vitriol and hate was ubiquitous!



So, I'll give this guy credit for a funny sign, but aren't the conservatives supposed to be the racist, sexist, xenophobe haters?


Sarcasm was everywhere.



This jack-booted thug came to kick some serious ass...



More Tea Party racists...



And knuckle-dragging haters!


Just in case Chris Matthews was watching, this guy was prepared.


Now two things hit me when I took this picture. First, are not these polar-bear-hugging liberals being rather sexist? I thought that was my job. Second, the last thing these two need is another sandwich.


Among the flagrant racism, homophobes found a home at the Tea Party.


Racists, haters, homophobes, and now Teamsters. There goes the neighborhood!


Shortly after I took this shot, this young hater screamed "Heil Hitler!"

The longer the lame-stream media writes off the Tea Party advocates (like yours truly), as the scum of America, the worse the spanking will be in November.

Profiling? Who needs it??!!

Hello Thinkers!

Yes it has been a while. But it is Q4 and happily, business has picked up. I won't bore you all with more details than this, but suffice to say, much has been going on both on the home and work fronts so my opinionated prose has been meager at best. In fact, I believe things are going to get busier, rather than easier - which is fine. So I'm going to go with a more succinct format on these rants, which I would rather not do, but the alternative is dropping it completely, and we can't have that now can we?

So has anyone flown thru JFK recently? If so, I'll bet you are just thrilled that we live in a dreamy, diversified society, where all are welcome regardless of their race, religion, or ethnicity - or apparently whether or not they care to obliterate us all:

NEW YORK -- As first reported by NewsChannel4's Jonathan Dienst, three people were arrested and one other was being sought Saturday in connection to a plot to blow up jet-fuel lines at John F. Kennedy International Airport, officials said.

Four people have been charged. Three suspects are in custody: Russell Defreitas, Kareem Ibrihim and Abdul Kadir. Another suspect, Abdul Nur is still at large.

http://www.wnbc.com/news/13431721/detail.html?dl=mainclick

Ahhhh. Isn't diversity swell?? Here's my favorite part of the news story:

In discussing JFK airport as a target, Defreitas exulted over JFK airport’s symbolic importance, according to a U.S. Justice Department complaint:

"Anytime you hit Kennedy, it is the most hurtful thing to the United States. To hit John F. Kennedy, wow .... They love John F. Kennedy like he’s the man .... If you hit that, this whole country will be in mourning. It’s like you can kill the man twice."

Hmmmm. "It's like you can kill [John F Kennedy] twice." You know I wonder what the uber-liberals of our nation think when they hear this? You know, the folks that break out the kneepads and Scope everytime JFK is mentioned? The 'diversity-is-king' crowd which holds the 35th POTUS at the pinnacle of the alter of liberalism, must gasp when someone who is 'just like us' is on the record as wishing to ruin another one of Jackie's designer outfits.

Face it - diversity for it's own sake in one of the stupidest ideas of our time. Well, that and global warming.



Rest in peace Allan Kelly.

"Gun-Free Zones"

From American Heritage Dictionary:

ac·qui·esce (āk'wē-ěs') v. To consent or comply passively or without protest.

I watched the events of the Virginia Tech shooting yesterday horrified for the students and their parents. Between yesterday and today, there has been (and still is) a virtual cornucopia of speculation by the media in the absence of any hard details. No one knew why there was a 2 hour gap between the shootings, who the shooter was, or why he did it. But one thing I did know was that by the time the morning editions of many newspapers came out there would be chorus of editorials chiming in to remove the last chance any of the 32 victims had at self defense.

Like a bedraggled feral cat looking for it's morning milk, the NY Times came in towing the liberal party line like a partially gnawed mouse:

Sympathy was not enough at the time of Columbine, and eight years later it is not enough. What is needed, urgently, is stronger controls over the lethal weapons that cause such wasteful carnage and such unbearable loss.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/17/opinion/17tue1.html?th&emc=th

Not to be outdone by their socialist brethren on this side of the pond, the enlightened of Europe have taken this opportunity to tell us all how stupid we are.

In the strongest editorialized image of the day, German cable news broadcaster NTV flashed an image of the former head of the National Rifle Association, the US gun lobby: In other words, blame rifle-wielding Charlton Heston for the 33 dead.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,477686,00.html

From The Independent (Britain):

There is no sign of attitudes hardening. Despite the opposition of every police force in the land, Congress in 2004 allowed to lapse a 10-year federal ban on semi-automatic assault weapons, a particular favorite of violent criminals.

This is what happens when someone who doesn't know what they are talking about decides to climb on the soap box. The AWB did not ban semi-automatic weapons, only combinations of things like a folding stock, bayonet mount, grenade launcher, etc in conjunction with a removable magazine. If the AWB was not allowed to sunset, yesterdays victims would still be just as dead. Initial reports indicate the shooter used two pistols which in all probability were not covered by the AWB. If you find someone who says we need to reinstate the AWB, ask them specifically what an "assault weapon" is.

Not to be outdone, the Germans are proving themselves even more idiotic:

From Bild (Germany):

Now we will probably begin discussing the overly lax gun laws in the United States. There, buying a machine gun is often easier than getting a driver's license.

Owning a "machine gun" or a fully automatic firearm (not to be confused with semi-automatic) is regulated by the ATF and requires extensive federal licensing. They have been banned from sales to the general public since 1934. It's amazing that a continent like Europe, which allegedly craves diversity, wants us to be just like them when it comes to firearms.

Does anyone wonder why shootings like this happen at schools? Maybe this is a clue:

HB 1572, which would have allowed handguns on college campuses, died in subcommittee.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006

A bill that would have given college students and employees the right to carry handguns on campus died with nary a shot being fired in the General Assembly. House Bill 1572 didn't get through the House Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety. It died Monday in the subcommittee stage, the first of several hurdles bills must overcome before becoming laws.
...
Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was defeated. "I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus."

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/wb/xp-50658

I'm wondering how safe Larry and the university community at Virginia Tech is feeling today? Am I the only person who thinks that a "gun free zone" is little more than an invitation to a shooting gallery? Just because a killer is insane, that doesn't mean he's stupid. Bad people, like the rest of us, will almost always follow the path of least resistance. Until Virginia Tech (Et U of Al) stops acquiescing to their utopian visions of Oz, they should change their nickname from "Hokies" to "Clay Pigeons".

When A Picture Is Worth 1000 Words

Or several pints of blood.

Here's the original pic:

http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070330/480/e42dd752c6364d8eae2c5d6e13c0c8fb

If You Take Al Gore at His Word, You Are Insane

Hello Thinkers,

Yes, I have been busy lately. The usual time-sinks have been augmented lately by a vigorous swath of travel for work. I now consider myself an expert in low-end business expeditions; sort of a Liberace of the Hampton Inn circuit, except with no musical talent, no flamboyant attire and no desire for other men. Last week I traveled through the diabetes belt and this week I was on the far-left coast. While there, the brave city officials from San Francisco banded together to fight the greatest threat to humanity we have ever faced. Somehow the land of Haight-Ashbury dug deep and decided to ban plastic bags:

Shopper after San Francisco shopper had praise Wednesday for the Board of Supervisors' vote banning plastic checkout bags at supermarkets and chain drugstores.

Some were so excited they put down their plastic checkout bags to talk about it.

"We need to get rid of a hell of a lot of this stuff," Ora Gosey, 56, said outside an Albertsons in the Western Addition. As the retiree spoke, she inched away from a case of grape soda she had placed on the ground as if it didn't belong to her. It was double-bagged in plastic.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/29/BAGOGOTSAS1.DTL

Priorities are an incredible thing. You go girls.

And while waiting at my SFO departure gate for my flight to LAX, I was graced by the presence of none other than Paula Abdul. She's much shorter than I imagined, despite the heels (which would make any self respecting stripper jealous). Paula had a bit of a problem standing still though. She looked like she made the trip from Los Angeles in a small sailboat, not an airplane. Must have been the stilettos. So much for my brush with fame. Funny how things aren't quite what they seem on TV.

It's like that with nomenclatures. Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that the scam of the century has undergone a naming shift? It seems that the term 'global warming' is starting by get bumped in favor of the much more fashionable 'climate change'. I wonder why? I suspect it could be that the global warming skeptics (you know, the sane people among us) have started to bubble up to the point where the Al Bore's of the world are getting a little nervous. Lord knows they have staked their political and financial futures on this snake-oil. Even a recent editorial in the NY Times has dared to question the extreme nature of the Gorebot's fire and brimstone claims. (And yes I know, referring to the editorial section of the NY Times is like referring to the cooking section of a Julia Child book):

In talks, articles and blog entries that have appeared since his film and accompanying book came out last year, these scientists argue that some of Mr. Gore’s central points are exaggerated and erroneous. They are alarmed, some say, at what they call his alarmism.

“I don’t want to pick on Al Gore,” Don J. Easterbrook, an emeritus professor of geology at Western Washington University, told hundreds of experts at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America. “But there are a lot of inaccuracies in the statements we are seeing, and we have to temper that with real data.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/13/science/13gore.html?ei=5070&en=f873cd1bf8e2367a&ex=1175486400&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1175390419-ROXQh2l0+39p6I4GLfyrGQ

Uh-oh... Maybe just in case we get a cooler than usual summer, the alarmist crowd can always blame the freak May snow storm, the higher than normal number of tornadoes or the spike in possum carcasses splattered along the interstate on the Karl Rove CO2 factory buried in the foothills of Colorado (right next to where Dick Cheney keeps his secret levy-crushing ray gun).

But let's cut to the chase. Why do I think that if you believe Al Gore, you are insane? Do I spend all my spare time tracking weather patterns? Have I debunked the greenhouse gas theory with a Mister Science kit in my basement? Did an aparition of Shirley Mclain appear in the vapors spewing from the twin tailpipes of my 8 Cylinder Ford giving me near-celestial enlightenment? No, no and no. Do I think our climate is changing? You betcha! Four times a year!

I think people who take Al Gore at his word are insane for one simple reason, he REFUSES to debate anyone who disagrees with him:

"I believe that is one of the principal reasons why political leaders around the world have not yet taken action," Gore said. "There are many reasons, but one of the principal reasons in my view is more than half of the mainstream media have rejected the scientific consensus implicitly — and I say 'rejected,' perhaps it's the wrong word. They have failed to report that it is the consensus and instead have chosen … balance as bias.

"I don't think that any of the editors or reporters responsible for one of these stories saying, 'It may be real, it may not be real,' is unethical. But I think they made the wrong choice, and I think the consequences are severe.

"I think if it is important to look at the pressures that made it more likely than not that mainstream journalists in the United States would convey a wholly inaccurate conclusion about the most important moral, ethical, spiritual and political issue humankind has ever faced."

http://www.dicksonherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070228/NEWS01/702280434/1297/MTCN02

Hmmm. That's some pretty tough language. Until you read this part:

Gore would not answer any questions from the media after the event.

And what is a "scientific consensus" anyway? If a bunch of scientists agree that something is true, does that make it a fact? If it requires a vote, then by definition, it has not been proven. But if politico-climate hacks convince enough people that "climate change" has more dire consequences than oh, say Islamic terrorists, they have an edge in the election cycle. Why? Because when defense against terrorism is the defining election issue, these same liberal hacks lose big. You could almost say there is a scientific consensus building around it.

Well here's a guy who probably agrees with Gore, and I'm sure he considers himself quite sane:

Wed Feb 28, 2:45 PM ET
OTTAWA (AFP) - A former Canadian defense minister is demanding governments worldwide disclose and use secret alien technologies obtained in alleged UFO crashes to stem climate change, a local paper said Wednesday. "I would like to see what (alien) technology there might be that could eliminate the burning of fossil fuels within a generation ... that could be a way to save our planet," Paul Hellyer, 83, told the Ottawa Citizen.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070228/wl_canada_afp/canadaenvironmentkyoto_070228180440

So if this space alien technology is so great, why the hell did they crash on earth? Did Baldar let the Mrs. take the flying saucer to the mall? She never did check the rear view mirror.

The Ducks are to Blame!

So the other day, I came home from the office and was confronted by a curious, yet troubled Mrs. Tuff. No sooner had my winter coat, which had protected me from the ravages of global warming, but put to rest for the evening when I was grilled about the day's events. Apparently our 2 year old had a minor gas attack during the day, at which point he exclaimed "Oh! I stepped on a duck!"

For the record, I will neither confirm nor deny any knowledge of where he obtained this phrase.

Speaking of greenhouse gases, it looks as though Al Gore has won an Oscar for "Best Politically Correct Documentary Based on Hype," during the Academy Awards. (Not that I watched this exercise in Madonna-like self gratification.) You know I'll bet that bronze award is nestled snugly on top of one of his many fireplaces - and I have a feeling he can put it on a different fireplace each day of the week:

Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).

In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.

The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.

Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.

Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.

Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.

http://www.tennesseepolicy.org/main/article.php?article_id=367

Oh well - do as I say, right?

And in more salacious entertainment news, one of the female contestants on American Idol has had some rather, um, compromising photographs of her appear on the internet. Some of them are so bad I won't link them - but if you do a google search on Antonella Barba, I'm sure you will find them. It will be interesting to see if her next (musical) performance will suffer any ill effects as a result of this.

My prediction? She'll suck.

In more entertainment news, director James Cameron claims to have made a discovery which has put the world of Christianity into complete turmoil:

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The burial site of Jesus has been found and suggests he had a wife and son, according to highly sensitive claims in a documentary by "Titanic" director James Cameron and Israel-born Simcha Jacobovici.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070226/ts_alt_afp/usisraelreligionchristianityarchaeologyfilm;_ylt=AnBVb2rZCmPWSJrTbZD0osLMWM0F

World wide, outraged Christians are rioting, demanding the beheading of director Cameron, and burning the regional offices of American movie studios around the globe. To date, over 150 deaths are directly linked to the mayhem caused the perceived insult to Christianity. ...Oh, what's that? Oh, my mistake. I guess only Buddhists do this kind of rioting when their religion is in any way challenged.

Lastly, is there any shock that the former head of an ACLU chapter is a disgusting, pedophilesque, creep? (Allegedly I mean). Well, it would be if you worked for MSNBC, CBS News or CNN. I did a search on these websites for "Charles Tierney" and saw no reference to this story from ABC:

Feb. 23, 2007— Federal agents arrested Charles Rust-Tierney, the former president of the Virginia chapter of the ACLU, Friday in Arlington for allegedly possessing child pornography.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by ABC News, Rust-Tierney allegedly used his e-mail address and credit card to subscribe to and access a child pornography website.

The complaint states that federal investigations into child pornography websites revealed that "Charles Rust-Tierney has subscribed to multiple child pornography website over a period of years."

As recently as last October, the complaint alleges, "Rust-Tierney purchased access to a group of hardcore commercial child pornography websites."

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2900174&page=1

Kudos to ABC News for actually having sprouted a pair and reported this story and not leaving it as a Fox News exclusive - again.

I suspect CBS, MSNBC and CNN were busy covering a story about someone stepping on a duck.

It's Quiz Time!!

So, I know nobody like quizzes, but today I am compelled.

Question 1. When does a senior member of the US Senate get to use their position of power to influence tax payer funded military contracts to the benefit of their spouse?

Question 2. When do the major news organizations (print and network) completely ignore facts available in public records which indicate a tremendous conflict of interest with a member of the US Senate?

Question 3: How can an elected official continually defy the wishes of their constituency with little regard as to if they will be re-elected?

These are tough questions. Are you ready?

Answer 1: When the Senator is a liberal Democrat.
Answer 2: When the Senator is a liberal Democrat.
Answer 3: When the Senator is a liberal Democrat.

As you look over the story below, keep in mind one question. Why is this not reported in the SF Chronicle, LA Times, NY Times or the Boston Inquirer (sorry, I meant Boston Globe)?

And so, the newly appointed chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is now duly in charge of regulating the ethical behavior of her colleagues. But for many years, Feinstein has been beset by her own ethical conflict of interest, say congressional ethics experts.

As chairperson and ranking member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee (MILCON) from 2001 through the end of 2005, Feinstein supervised the appropriation of billions of dollars a year for specific military construction projects. Two defense contractors whose interests were largely controlled by her husband, financier Richard C. Blum, benefited from decisions made by Feinstein as leader of this powerful subcommittee.

http://metroactive.com/feinstein/index.html

Yep! Now I know this must be old news to you since I'm sure EVERYBODY reads metroactive.com - right? Those of you who know my previous rants on Senator Fineswine, remember that she has been a staunch proponent of virtually limitless gun control - but just for peons like you and me. She carries, but what's a little hypocrasy between friends?

From 1997 through the end of 2005, with Feinstein's knowledge, Blum was a majority owner of both URS Corp. and Perini Corp.

Hmm... What do you suppose they talked about at the dinner table? Here's one clue:

She lobbied Pentagon officials in public hearings to support defense projects that she favored, some of which already were or subsequently became URS or Perini contracts. From 2001 to 2005, URS earned $792 million from military construction and environmental cleanup projects approved by MILCON; Perini earned $759 million from such MILCON projects.

And here's another:

The tale thickens with the appearance of Michael R. Klein, a top legal adviser to Feinstein and a long-time business partner of Blum's. The vice-chairman of Perini's board of directors, Klein was a partner in Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, a powerful law firm with close ties to the Democratic Party, for nearly 30 years. Klein and Blum co-own ASTAR Air Cargo, which has military contracts in Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Klein also sits on the board of SRA International, a large defense contractor.
In an interview with this reporter in September, Klein stated that, beginning in 1997, he routinely informed Feinstein about specific federal projects coming before her in which Perini had a stake. The insider information, Klein said, was intended to help the senator avoid conflicts of interest. Although Klein's startling admission was intended to defuse the issue of Feinstein's conflict of interest, it had the effect of exacerbating it.
....
In theory, Feinstein would not know the identity of any of the companies that stood to contractually benefit from her approval of specific items in the military construction budget--until Klein told her.
Klein explained, "They would get from me a notice that Perini was bidding on a contract that would be affected as we understood it by potential legislation that would come before either the full congress or any committee that she was a member of. And she would as a result of that not act, abstain from dealing with those pieces of legislation."
However, the public record shows that contrary to Klein's belief, Feinstein did act on legislation that affected Perini and URS.

Yes sports fans, there will be ethics reform in Congress. Corruption is about to get ALOT worse. Why? Not because one party is more corrupt than another. Because the major media outlets are going to let the Donks skate. The article in Metroactive is long, but worth the read. Here's one more tidbit for you, just in case you aren't convinced already:

Here are a few examples from the Congressional Record of questionable intersections between Feinstein's legislative duties and her financial interests:

- At a MILCON hearing in 2001, Feinstein interrogated defense officials about the details of constructing specific missile defense systems, which included upgrading the early warning radar system at Cobra Dane radar on Shemya Island, Alaska. In 2003, Perini reported that it had completed a contract to upgrade the Cobra Dane radar system. It has done similar work at Beale Air Force Base in California and in the United Kingdom. URS also bids on missile defense work.

- In the 2002 MILCON hearings, Feinstein questioned an official about details of the U.S. Army's chemical demilitarization program. URS is extensively involved in performing chemical demilitarization work at key disposal sites in the United States.

- At that same hearing, Feinstein asked about the possibility of increasing funding for anti-terrorism-force protection at Army bases. The following year, on March 4, 2003, Feinstein asked why the antiterrorism-force protection funds she had advocated for the year before had not yet been spent. On April 21, 2003, URS announced the award of a $600 million contract to provide, among other services, anti-terrorism-force protection for U.S. Army installations.

- Beginning in 2003, both Perini and URS were awarded a series of open-ended contracts for military construction work around the world, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. Under Feinstein's leadership, MILCON regularly approved specific project "task orders" that were issued to Perini and URS under these contracts.

- At a March 30, 2004, MILCON hearing, Feinstein grilled Maj. Gen. Dean Fox about whether or not the Pentagon intended to prioritize funding the construction of "beddown" maintenance facilities for its new airlifter, the C-17 Globemaster. After being reassured by Fox that these funds would soon be flowing, Feinstein said, "Good, that's what I really wanted to hear. Thank you very much. Appreciate it very much, General." Two years later, URS announced a $42 million award to build a beddown maintenance facility for the C-17 at Hickam Air Base in Hawaii as part of a multibillion dollar contract with the Air Force. Under Feinstein's leadership, MILCON approved the Hickam project.

- In mid-2005, MILCON approved a Pentagon proposal to fund "overhead coverage force protection" in Iraq that would reinforce the roofs of U.S. Army barracks to better withstand mortar rounds. On Oct. 13, 2005, Perini announced the award of a $185 million contract to provide overhead coverage force protection to the Army in Iraq.

Ahh well, at least it's not "blood for oil!"

A Bad Hair Day for the Press

For those of you not in the New England area, you may have missed the fact that Boston, the city of 600,000 people and home of some of the worlds most presitious universities and medical centers was held hostage by 38 'Lite-Brites.' Cable news channels on Wednesday shot their entire afternoon programming on video of Boston police directing snarled traffic and metro bomb-squads detonating what ended up being part of a cheesey marketing campaign for the Cartoon Network. It stuns me that the illuminated cartoon characters have been present in 10 other major cities, yet this stunt turns Boston ass over tea kettle.

The perps? Two adolescents in their late twenties, performance artists by trade. Apparently they are quasi-permanent liberal art students who hope to be the next Penn and Teller. Unlike some of the local talk radio dweebs, I consider these guys harmless - in addition to useless.

Now normally I would hold guys (ahem) like Peter Berdovsky and Sean Stevens in a bit of disdain. However, they recently did something I truely admire. They made the swarming local press with their cheesey stock questions like "how do you feel?" look like the idiots they truely are. A very prudent expenditure of their 15 minutes of fame, in my humble opinion. Good job boys - now get a job!

If you haven't seen this pair in action, check it out on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apE4m_JQw_s