Awwww...

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Bikers Beware- Sphincter-clenching moment ahead.

Yikes that was close!


If'n that was me I'da had to go change my drawers, then go buy a lottery ticket.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

If You Want Reasoned Discourse...

Just a quick note-
I had lunch today with Mr. WhyDoesAnyoneNeeda and Mr. IfItSavesOnlyOneChild...
(I should get a friggin' Oscar from my performance as "Ogre Not Dismembering Clueless Progressives That Soooo Desperately Deserve It")


I need to write up some ground rules for lunchtime conversation in order to keep my sanity...


1. Do your homework. (a/k/a You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.)
When you use "semi-auto rifle" and "machine gun" or "magazine" and "clip" interchangeably, your level of credibility drops considerably. Also- when you ask if my guns are "registered", you are showing your ignorance in extremis.


2. Using buzzwords will get you filed under M for "Misguided and Misled".
When you start using all the current Obama Administration-approved nomenclature like "Military-Style Assault Rifle", "High Capacity Clips" and "Cop Killer Bullets", well, it just indicates to my that you don't want to have a discussion, you just want to lecture me on your position.


3. Know Your Stats, and their background.
For instance: 40% of gun transactions are unregulated? Really?
That "40%" figure is one of the best examples of cherry-picking statistics. Read some of the facts here.

4. Don't discuss Gun Show Loopholes, and Internet Gun Purchases unless you have first-hand experience.
Because when you tell me about thousands of people people buying guns on the Internet and how it circumvents background checks, I will laugh in your face. And if you tell me you can go down to the gunshow and buy a machine gun, it will be doubly amusing and chortle-worthy.


5. Name Calling (gun nuts, right wing wackos, bitter clingers, Dirty Harry wannabes with a tiny penii) will require me to end the discussion and depart the premises before finishing tiffin. (And I just hate not finishing my tiffin.) It just shows you are unwilling to discuss things rationally and are just one step from going Godwin on me... At that point I will start feeling embarassed that I even know you.

 6. On the "If it only saves one child it will be worth it..." topic...
Why aren't you crusading against drunk drivers, bee stings, child abuse & neglect, swimming pool accidents etc. ad infinitum ...
(Actually I know the answer to that...
Once you have my my icky guns, then you'll come for my booze, swimming pool and my apiary...)


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

More Maddie

I posted a pic of Maddie the Coon Hound awhile back...
I was perusing her website this AM. Her owner Theron Humphrey (assuming he's her owner...) has such a great eye for composition.
That, and a wicked sense of humor...


Yo. 'Sup, dog?




Of course, she's right cute even without props or standing on things...

Humphrey's book "Maddie On Things" is available for pre-order...
at Amazon, or better yet- pre-order at you local indie bookseller...

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Bitch, Prease.

(Edit: Everywhere except Vancouver.)

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Voices In My Head

I just returned from doing a little end-user support...




TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Road Warriors Understand

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Don't Judge Me...

... I, however, will be judging you.


Like- when I come to help you with a problem on your PC, and you have the Ask toolbar installed...

Boy, you are soooo getting put in my "WTF is wrong with this moron?" file...



(It's just revenge for how I get labeled at the range when Fanbois see my Taurus PT92F on the bench...)

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

No One Needs a 30-Round Mag to Hunt?

Really?

I guess you've never gone hunting here in North Florida...



If I go out in the woods here, I'd take my AR with 5 or 6 mags, a flamethrower, and mallet & some stakes, and a gallon of Holy Water.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Welcome to Blue Monday

...Which has as much scientific basis & truth behind it as statements like "less guns=less crime" and "we have to pass the bill to see what's in it"...

So- Blue Monday
Feel like crap today?
Here's why:
Cliff Arnall (the phlogiston scientist that came up with this crap) says the date was calculated by using many factors, including: weather conditions, debt level (the difference between debt accumulated and our ability to pay), time since Christmas, time since failing our new year’s resolutions, low motivational levels and feeling of a need to take action.


This date allegedly falls on the Monday of the last full week of January. The date was first declared to be 24 January in 2005.
In 2011 there was confusion about the correct date; some claimed it to be 17 January 2011 while others stated Blue Monday was on 24 January 2011. In 2012, the most depressing day of the year was said to be 23 January.

Calculation
(in case you want to waste your valuable time thinking about this...)

According to a press release by a mental health charity, the formula is:

where W=weather
d=debt,
T=time since Christmas,
Q=time since failing our new year’s resolutions,
M=low motivational levels
and N_a = the feeling of a need to take action
'D' is not defined in the release, nor are units.
(Personally I think D=the current level of Dumbassery in the current administration, contributing to the overall malaise in the country - TBG)

Writing about the calculation, Ben Goldacre stated: ... the fact is that Cliff Arnall's equations ... fail even to make mathematical sense on their own terms.

Really Ben, y'think?

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Again With The "Want" vs. "Need" Argument?

Got into it (again) today...
I've gotta quit arguing with these idiots.


Ok..Let's start at the top...
It's called the Bill of Rights, not the 'Bill of Needs' or 'Bill of Wants'.

Ok, Mr. Progressive Moron, what do you drive? What part of town do you live in?
And dig out your cell phone...

Why could anyone possibly want...



When all you need is:



I mean really- I can even get you a sporty one...

 

Why would you possibly want one of these:


All you really need is one of these, right?

It just stupid to have one of these:

When all your really need is one like this:


Really? You need this?

All you really need is this:


Don't be stupid- this is overkill:


This should be more than adequate:


You people are going to have to learn to quit f@$%ing with me about this...
I'll beat you over the head with your own arguments.

Morons.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

ToDo List

"Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing about."
- Ben Franklin

Seems like a good idea...

TBG

And The Hits Keep Coming...

And my Houston / Jax flight is delayed...
Motherf-ers...

How To Piss Off the TSA

Travel hour 19, 10:01am PST
LAX Airport.

Going through security after clearing customs... I get turned down to go through TSA PreCheck, so I'm back with the idiots that don't know you have to empty your pockets and take off your shoes. Morons.

But I'm more pissed at the TSA...
Sooo... In for a dime, in for a dollar.

I put my bag and skateboard on the XRay belt, along with the bin with shoes, belt and pocket goodies.
I announce (loudly):
"My iPad is in the back pocket of my bag... Just so you TSA iPad thieves know where it is...save you some time."
The three TSOs working that lane shot me some dirty looks, and after I pass the metal detector, a supervisor waddled over...
"Sir, there is no need for that kind of talk. Why would you want to do that?"

"Ma'am, how many terrorists have been caught by the TSA? And how many TSA agents have been arrested for stealing passenger's items?"

"But sir, that is just a tiny number of bad agents...most of us are honest hard-working people. Why do you want to treat us all...like...criminals..?"
My point was sinking in, but I wanted to make sure...

"Exactly. You treat us like everyone is a terrorist, I'll treat you all like thieves. I think the odds of me being correct is much higher than yours."

She opened her mouth to refute me, but thought better of it.

8 more hours to go... Next stop Houston.

TBG

Living My Life Like a Song - Sydney Edition

Oscar Wilde died in bed
Several floors above my head
Living well beyond his means
In that crazy Paris scene
Rain falls down in sheets so clear
And no one ever calls me here
Travelin' by myself these days
I'm into jazz and felt berets
Far from that old Eastern shore
Searchin' for strange metaphors
         - Quietly Making Noise - Jimmy Buffett

Jimmy was talking about Paris...
I'm about as far from the Eastern Shore as one can get.

This has been my first extended trip to Sydney, and my second to Australia in general. And I've learned a few things...

People drive on the wrong side of the road over here.
On purpose.

People are waaaay too friendly.

The species of crow that live here have the most disconcerting and unsettling calls.

The subway system here sucks out loud.

It's against the law to kill possums, even if they try to pee on your server.
(Seriously - you can't even trap them... you have to call Peter the Possum Man)

If you get in a taxi here, it will cost you $30 to get out, no matter how short the trip.

Macdonald's Australia (Maccas) has a regional item- the Lamb Burger, and it is downright awful.

It takes an act of Ghod to get a root beer around here.
(You can get a good sarsaparilla though...)

"Convenience Stores" should be called "300% Markup over MSRP Stores".

Kangaroo steak... Not as good as I thought it was going to be.

No sign of Kylie or Olivia...or Naomi, or Nicole. Damn.

From the "I don't think that means what you think it means" file:
In the "International" Food Court at Sydney Tennis Center you will find the following-
Burger Hut (Horrible Burgers & Fries)
Sausage Stand (Truly disgusting Sausage and Fries)
Fish Grease and Chips Grease (Guess what they have.)
Pizza (cardboard with red sauce and mystery nuggets)
Mexican (Really awful burritos)
Thai Food Place (Pad Thai. And only Pad Thai. But the most tasty item on site )
Gozleme (Tasty- but don't ask too many questions about the filling.)

Toxic Waste Trivia:
The Sydney Olympic Grounds were once stockyards and a huge abattoir.
All the runoff from the stockyards, the offal and processing chemicals and generally a ton of other bad shit flowed down the hill and wound up in the creek that is the boundary of the Tennis Grounds.
The three guys that waded the creek to sneak into the site were thrown out and it was strongly suggested that they go directly to a emergency room...


As much fun as this has been, this gig has drawn to a close... Hitting the big silver bird tomorrow.

The fact that I'm heading home will make the 24 hours in a coach class seat somewhat bearable...

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Canine Neurosis

I wonder if the Dark Menace would act like this...
Time for research!

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Civil Servant? Child, Please. Civil Master.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Raaaaaacist!

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Uh... I Have Mixed Emotion On This...

On one hand, I'm really impressed with the response.
Well done Mr. Shawcross.

Official White House Response to Secure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016:

This Isn't the Petition Response You're Looking For
The Administration shares your desire for job creation and a strong national defense, but a Death Star isn't on the horizon. Here are a few reasons:

• The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $850,000,000,000,000,000. We're working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it.
• The Administration does not support blowing up planets.
• Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?

Great googly moogly... There's even better stuff in the body of the response...

The Space Station has six astronauts -- American, Russian, and Canadian -- living in it right now, conducting research, learning how to live and work in space over long periods of time, routinely welcoming visiting spacecraft and repairing onboard garbage mashers, etc.
...
Keep in mind, space is no longer just government-only. Private American companies, through NASA's Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office (C3PO), are ferrying cargo -- and soon, crew -- to space for NASA, and are pursuing human missions to the Moon this decade.

Really? C3PO?

Wow.
And the last line-

If you do pursue a career in a science, technology, engineering or math-related field, the Force will be with us! Remember, the Death Star's power to destroy a planet, or even a whole star system, is insignificant next to the power of the Force.

I wonder if Lucas/Disney will tag them for copyright violations?

On the other hand...
Why don't y'all work on a witty response to coming up with a budget or doing something about runaway entitlement programs...




TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

This is why I only drink Rum.

One 'benefit' of working this tournament is the family environment the pervades the tournament operations staff...
This feeling is engendered by a sit-down meal every night of the tournament...
One of the Ops Staff will be appointed Grillmaster and will light up the BBQ and have a go at burning some snausages and chook (Not sure what 'chook' is... Possibly the brushtailed possum that pissed in the server room as far as I know.). A sixpack or two will materialize from nowhere and a feeling of ease and general good-nature fills the dining tent at Event Ops.

They always press me to have a 'beeah', which I always decline. I'm not a beeah guy.
"Rum is my poison of choice." I tell them, preferring a lemon beverage called Solo as my dinner quaff.

Not last night though... They weren't letting me off so easy.

The Tournament mannger produced a Jeroboam covered with spiderwebs and the dust of half a century.
"You're havin' some wine tonite, mate." He said- fixing me with a withering gaze from his good eye.

A huge unlabeled bottle... That always means trouble...
It was an unusual broken-glass-and-fishhooks kind of wine that had the distinctive bouquet of horseshit and old abattoir sweepings. They said it was best drunk with clenched teeth to prevent the ingestion of any foreign (or domestic) bodies.

I listened as one of the Old Hands waxed rhapsodic about the vintage...

"Connoisseurs will savor the slight tannin taste of old tea leaves and burnt ibis feathers...Possessors of a cultivated palate will admire the initial assault on the taste buds which comes from the careful and loving blending animal manure and shredded automobile tires, strained through a rugby player's soiled jock strap. The wine is matured in pigs bladders to give it a definite and distinctive nose."

I'm given to understand it will be marketed under the 'King of the Jews' brand, as people who drink it for the first time exclaim "Jeeesus Chroist!"

I suggest consumers avoid bringing this wine in contact with eyes and open cuts.
Keep it away from naked flames (both old and new).

Word has it that the first pressings of this wine were awarded the Bronze at the "Kings Cross Transvestites Convention" of 1959...

I manged to pour most of mine into a potted plant near the table, which immediately shriveled to a withered husk then spontaneously combusted.
Shane, one of the Aussies from Accreditations saw me casting about to dispose of my second un-asked-for glass and indicated with a nod and wink that I pour my glass into his...
He did this with several other individuals who were trying to avoid a trip to the local hospital for a stomach pump and dose of antibiotics later in the evening. Most everyone took him up on his effort to "take one for the team", to avoid hurting the feelings of the Octogenarian woman who gave us the bottle...
The last time I saw him he was boarding the subway in Olympic Park headed for Lidcombe, wearing only a pair of pistachio-colored Uggs, Agnieszka Radwanska‘s tennis skirt, and a dog collar.

One tournament day to go, then break down.
I can see that light at the end of the tunnel...

Doubtful Logistics

Hm.
So I'd have to wonder.
On the off chance the Gummint decides to register all the firearms,
Let me check a second... there is on the order of 300 million firearms out there.


Do they really have a chance of makeing sense and order out of a database that big?

After all, they think that it is an impossible task to register and deal with (only) 15 million illegal aliens...

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Connecting The Dots Dipshits

Want to exercise the "That's what I thought..." portion of your Sense 'O Humor?
Mike V over at SSI links to a very interesting Fed.Gov site...



The Federal Election Commission - Individual Search Page.
People like George Clooney have some interesting figures following their names...

Now...If you were to go to that Gawker site with the list of all NYC gun owners and plug in a few names then cross-reference it to the FEC list... Well...
Start with Robert Deniro... Then Howard Stern... Interesting

Entertainment will ensue.


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Putting the 'Strange' in Estrangement

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Executive Order?

Regardless of all the EO noise, I doubt The Lightbringer will use an EO to ban firearms...
I hope he's smarter than that... It would be the tipping point.

An EO on 10+ round mags? that's another story...

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Overheard on the Radio - KR Arena Edition

Over the tournament operations channel...

Unrecognized voice: "Tom... come in Tom. Big problems in KRA." (Ken Rosewall Arena)
Tom (Operations Manager): "Go ahead for Tom. What's the problem."
UV: "We're in a changeover and they are playing Nickleback on the PA. Everyone is leaving!"

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

20 Degrees (celsius) Cooler Today In Sydney

Elsewhere, no so much...

So damned hot they had to put a new color on the heat map.



I think they are exemplifying the concept of "hotter than blue blazes".


(Edit) ...And I've been informed that my colorblindness is showing again...
It's magenta?

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

This Will Not End Well

Gawker just published a list... 
(I'm not linking to it... Screw them...no clicks from me...)

Here Is a List of All the Assholes Who Own Guns in New York City
by John Cook   

Last month, the Journal News sparked a firestorm of protest when it published a mappable database of every licensed gun owner in Westchester and Rockland counties, north of New York City. The paper obtained the data—which New York state law explicitly and unambiguously demands be made public—through open records requests. The reaction was swift and furious—gun rights and privacy advocates published the names and addresses of the paper's editors in retaliation, and the paper (ironically) hired armed guards to protect against threats....

446 Pages of trouble...

This is the EXACT problem with a national gun registry.


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Getting a Jump On Christmas This Year

Dear Santa:


Here...


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Welcome to...

Fuckitshot, Australia. Population, me.



It's every bit of 110° here at the tennis center at the Sydney Olympic Park. And it seems like every thing I need to do is on the opposite side of the site from where I am at any given time.
And that little line under the temp up there- 'feels like 101°'?
So much bullshit.
Maybe more like 201°.

I'm going to go look for a 55 gallon drum...

... 'Cause this looks soooo comfortable.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Clueless. Absolutely Clueless.

One thing about Twitter- it really points out how painfully stupid some people are.
Let me fix that for you-
Thank you President Obama, for making other people pay for my birth control pills.

How about a thank you all the hard-working, tax paying suckers for providing you with your "Free" birth control...

I guess you don't understand "Free".

I'm not sure I understand the logic of Moocher-class women- they scream and shout about Women's Rights, abortion, free choice, and "keep your laws off my body", then expect special treatment...

To sum up - Your reproductive system is 0% of my business but 100% my financial responsibility?
Nice.

I quoted Robert Heinlein in a recent post and I think it needs to be repeated here:

‘Bread and Circuses’ is the cancer of democracy, the fatal disease for which there is no cure. Democracy often works beautifully at first. But once a state extends the franchise to every warm body, be he producer or parasite, that day marks the beginning of the end of the state. For when the plebs discover that they can vote themselves bread and circuses without limit and that the productive members of the body politic cannot stop them, they will do so, until the state bleeds to death, or in its weakened condition the state succumbs to an invader—the barbarians enter Rome.”

Damn it. We are soooo screwed.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Pants On Fire

From the:" Never let a crisis go to waste" file...


WaPo: White House weighs broad gun-control agenda in wake of Newtown shootings

The White House is weighing a far broader and more comprehensive approach to curbing the nation’s gun violence than simply reinstating an expired ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition, according to multiple people involved in the administration’s discussions.

A working group led by Vice President Biden is seriously considering measures backed by key law enforcement leaders that would require universal background checks for firearm buyers, track the movement and sale of weapons through a national database, strengthen mental health checks, and stiffen penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors, the sources said. (emphasis mine- TBG)

Key law enforcement leaders? Who's that... Holder? Bloomberg?

It will be interesting to see how this all spins up...

But first- a blast from the past...

"When you all go home and you're talking to your buddies and you say, ah 'He wants to take my gun away.'  You've heard it here,  I'm on television so everybody knows it.  I believe in the Second Amendment. I believe in people's lawful right to bear arms. I will not take your shotgun away. I will not take your rifle away. I won't take your handgun away."

No, we won't take your stuff... We'll just make you a felon for things you already own.

I guess it might be time to trot out this old chestnut and post it:

Last night Air Force One crashed during that crazy thunder storm outside of Chicago into a small farm. The FBI quickly went to investigate, but looking at the crash site they knew there were no survivors.
They looked frantically through the wreckage trying to find President Obama's body, but it was nowhere to be found. There were only a few scattered bodies of Secret Service agents, so maybe Obama didn't died they thought. Maybe he had gotten out and went to get some help.
In the next field over, there was a farmer plowing his field like nothing ever happened. They quickly ran over to him.
FBI Agent: "Excuse me sir, did you see that plane crash over there?"
Farmer: "Yessiree I certainly did".
FBI Agent: "Did you see anyone get up and walk away?"
Farmer: "Nope. I buried them all this morning. Didn't want 'em stinkin' up the place".
FBI Agent: "Did you realize president Barack Obama was on that plane?"
Farmer: "Yep, buried him too".
FBI Agent: "You buried the president?"
Farmer: "Well, he kept saying he was still alive, but you know what a liar he is!"

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Cow! Democrat

Jeebus. It's getting so bad that a video of a cow speaking like a democrat politician makes me laugh like a madman.

How much longer is this gig gonna last?

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

A World Without Guns - Really?

I picked this up from Tam's site...

Basically it is a treatment of Human Nature and firearms-

Tam said:

Remember that 'world without guns' post I wrote the other day? Well, Tim at Gun Nuts Media took the ball and ran with that sucker. Expect to find this essay in your email inbox within the next six months, credited to a "Maj. Caudill, USMC".

With that kind of lead-in I had to go RTWT...
(Besides, it was either that or go clean up the pool of possum piss behind the server rack...but that's another story entirely.)

The whole thing is awesome, but the money quote for me was:

Lots of people like to mindlessly chant that violence is never the answer, but when the chanters dial 911 they aren’t hoping that a philosopher or ethicist shows up to try and convince the bad man to cease being bad. They want a dude with a gun.

OMFG....
It kinda reminds me of when the reporter for Ebony magazine asked Richard Pryor if he believed in God... He said something like 'When you're running down the street with your head on fire, you don't call on the Bank of America.'

(Go...now. Read the whole thing. Tell your friends to read it.)

Alright.
Gotta go clean up possum piss now...

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Ruminations On A Common Argument

One thing I hear quite often when discussing the 2nd Amendment, aside form the laughable "Muskets Only" and "They'll let you keep your hunting guns." BS...

When I discuss that the main reason is not about hunting or target shooting- they idea was to fight tyranny - to keep the Government from getting oppressive AGAIN and the populace being unable to implement a draconian solution, people love to argue about capability.
"You're going to take on the US Army/National Guard/Obama's Brownshirts/Police?"
The obvious answer is 'Yes.'

There are 2 aspects of this- one is, will the US Army/National Guard/Police actually enforce a disarmament/confiscation order? If Katerina is any indication, the answer is yes...
If THAT happens, then a whole new kettle of fish starts to boil- to wit: Insurgencies.

I was watching a series here in Sydney that follows a EOD team in Afghanistan on their daily routine.
It's some pretty hairy stuff... Some pretty primitive IEDs and the weapon of choice for the enemy being a AK 47...
But it got me thinking-
If the situation was turned around- if Threepers in the US, with the access to chemicals and some much better long-distance weaponry, comms hardware- etc, wanted to make life miserable for the forces that are tasked to do the collecting... Well... The Brownshirts will encounter situations / conditions that will make Afghanistan look like taking candy from a baby.
(Maybe a better analogy is needed... Have you ever TRIED taking candy from a baby?)

Regardless- the Left seems to think most US gun owner are just gap-toothed slack-jawed droolers who wear camo and can only shout "SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED!"...or are they just 'projecting'?
Perhaps they are the victims of a exceptionally biased media that only wants to show the fringe elements that advance their agenda, and are incapable of understanding the breadth and depth of the intelligence and capabilities of law-abiding gun owners...
I think, should push come to shove, things will be quite different than they imagine.
I can just see my man McThag as a latter-day Francis Marion, sabotaging the Brownshirts from a base deep in the swamps of Free Florida Territories...

Keep your powder dry...


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Boy, That's A Shocker

Massachusetts can't find thousands of missing welfare recipients

Boston- Governor Deval Patrick is downplaying the Department of Transitional Assistance admission that it could not locate 19,000 people who have either been receiving welfare benefits.
...
The Department of Transitional Assistance says 19,000 letters came back, marked "Return to Sender."

I can help you with this...

Cancel their friggin' EBT cards, Dumbass.

They'll be coming out of the woodwork, man.

And the real Captain Obvious moment:

The group filed suit against Massachusetts because the DTA was not giving welfare recipients the opportunity to register to vote. That suit was filed on behalf of a Lowell woman who said she was never offered an opportunity to register to vote.

As part of the settlement, the state agreed to mail out 478,000 letters to welfare recipients, at a cost of $276,000. The daughter of Senator Elizabeth Warren, Amelia Tyagi, is chairwoman of the Board of the advocacy group. During the senate campaign, then Senator Scott Brown criticized the state, arguing the mass mailing was a plan to push more democratic voters to the polls.

Really, Mr. Brown... Ya think?

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Are You Out Of Your Mind?

Rasmussen: 55% Consider Obama Good or Excellent Leader

Over half of voters now give President Obama positive marks for leadership, his highest ratings since the early months of his presidency.

Gah.

Wake. Up. You. Idiots.

From Doug Ross @ Journal - (All links to sources at the original site.)
• First President to Violate the War Powers Act (Unilaterally Executing American Military Operations in Libya Without Informing Congress In the Required Time Period - Source: Huffington Post)
• First President to Triple the Number of Warrantless Wiretaps of U.S. Citizens (Source: ACLU)
• First President to Sign into Law a Bill That Permits the Government to "Hold Anyone Suspected of Being Associated With Terrorism Indefinitely, Without Any Form of Due Process. No Indictment. No Judge or Jury. No Evidence. No Trial. Just an Indefinite Jail Sentence" (NDAA Bill - Source: Business Insider)
• First President to Have His Attorney General Held in Criminal Contempt of Congress For His Efforts to Cover Up Operation Fast and Furious, That Killed Over 300 Individuals (Source: Politico)
• First President to claim Executive Privilege to shield a sitting Attorney General from a Contempt of Congress finding for perjury and withholding evidence from lawful subpoenas (Source: Business Insider)
• First President to Issue Unlawful "Recess-Appointments" Over a Long Weekend -- While the U.S. Senate Remained in Session (against the advice of his own Justice Department - Source: Heritage Foundation)
• First President to Fire an Inspector General of Americorps for Catching One of His Friends in a Corruption Case (Source: Gawker)
• First President to "Order a Secret Amnesty Program that Stopped the Deportations of Illegal Immigrants Across the U.S., Including Those With Criminal Convictions" (Source: DHS documents uncovered by Judicial Watch)
• First President to Sue States for Enforcing Voter ID Requirements, Which Were Previously Ruled Legal by the U.S. Supreme Court (Source: CNN)
• First President to Encourage Racial Discrimination and Intimidation at Polling Places (the New Black Panthers voter intimidation case, Source: Investors Business Daily)
• First President to Refuse to Comply With a House Oversight Committee Subpoena (Source: Heritage Foundation)
• First President to Arbitrarily Declare an Existing Law Unconstitutional and Refuse to Enforce It (Defense of Marriage Act - Source: ABC News)
• First President to Demand a Company Hand Over $20 Billion to One of His Political Appointees (BP Oil Spill Relief Fund - Source: Fox News)
• First President to Have a Law Signed By an 'Auto-pen' Without Being "Present" (Source: The New York Times)
• First President to Have His Administration Fund an Organization Tied to the Cop-Killing Terrorist Group, the Weather Underground (Source: National Review)

Scandals
• First President to publicly announce an enemies list (consisting of his opponents campaign contributors; and to use the instrumentalities of government to punish those on the list - Source: Heritage Foundation)
• First President to Attempt to Block Legally-Required 60-Day Layoff Notices by Government Contractors Due to His Own Cuts to Defense Spending -- Because The Notices Would Occur Before the Election. (Source: National Journal)
• First President to Intentionally Disable Credit Card Security Measures (in order to allow over-the-limit donations, foreign contributions and other illegal fundraising measures - Source: Power Line)
• First President to send 80 percent of a $16 billion program (green energy) to his campaign bundlers and contributors, leaving only 20% to those who did not contribute. (Source: Washington Examiner)
• First President to Propose an Executive Order Demanding Companies Disclose Their Political Contributions to Bid on Government Contracts (Source: Wall Street Journal)
• First President to issue an Executive Order implementing a "Racial Justice System", a system that tries to achieve "racially equivalent outcomes" for crimes (Source: Daily Caller)
• First President to Send Millions in Taxpayer Dollars to His Wife's Former Employer (Source: White House Dossier)

Economy
• First President to Preside Over a Cut to the Credit Rating of the United States Government (Source: Reuters)
• First President to Bypass Congress and Implement the DREAM Act Through Executive Fiat (Source: Christian Science Monitor)
• First President to Move America Past the Dependency Tipping Point, In Which 51% of Households Now Pay No Income Taxes (Source: Center for Individual Freedom)
• First President to Increase Food Stamp Spending By More Than 100% in Less Than Four Years (Source: Sen. Jeff Sessions)
• First President to Spend a Trillion Dollars on 'Shovel-Ready' Jobs -- and Later Admit There Was No Such Thing as Shovel-Ready Jobs (Source: President Obama during an early meeting of his 'Jobs Council')
• First President to Threaten Insurance Companies After They Publicly Spoke out on How Obamacare Helped Cause their Rate Increases (Source: The Hill)
• First President to Abrogate Bankruptcy Law to Turn Over Control of Companies to His Union Supporters (Source: Wall Street Journal)
• First President to Propose Budgets So Unreasonable That Not a Single Representative From Either Party Would Cast a Vote in Favor (Sources: The Hill, Open Market)
• First President Whose Economic Policies Have the Number of Americans on Disability Exceed the Population of New York (Source: CNS News)
• First President to Sign a Law Requiring All Americans to Purchase a Product From a Third Party (Source: Wall Street Journal)
• First President to Sue States For Enforcing Immigration Laws Passed by Congress (Source: The Arizona Republic newspaper)
• First President to See America Lose Its Status as the World's Largest Economy (Source: Peterson Institute)
• First President to redistribute $26.5 billion of the taxpayers' funds to his union supporters in the UAW (Source: Heritage Foundation)
• First President to Threaten an Auto Company (Ford) After It Publicly Mocked Bailouts of GM and Chrysler (Source: Detroit News)
• First President to Attempt to Bully a Major Manufacturing Company Into Not Opening a Factory in a Right-to-Work State (Boeing's facility in South Carolina - Source: Wall Street Journal)

Energy Policy
• First President to Endanger the Stability of the Electric Grid by Shutting Down Hundreds of Coal-Fired Plants Without Adequate Replacement Technologies (Source: National Electric Reliability Corporation - PDF)
• First President to Have His EPA Repudiated by a Federal Judge for "Overstepping Its Powers" When They Attempted to Shut Down Coal Operations in Appalachia (Source: Huffington Post)
• First President to be Held in Contempt of Court for Illegally Obstructing Oil Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico (Source: Politico)

National Security and World Affairs
• First President to Lie Repeatedly to the American People About the Murder of a U.S. Ambassador and Three Other Diplomatic Personnel for Purely Political Reasons (Source: Roger Simon)
• First President to Openly Defy a Congressional Order Not To Share Sensitive Nuclear Defense Secrets With the Russian Government (Sources: ABC News, Rep. Michael Turner)
• First President to Leak Highly Classified Military and Intelligence Secrets to Hollywood In Order to Promote a Movie That Could Help His Reelection Campaign (Source: Judicial Watch)
• First President to Terminate America's Ability to Put a Man into Space (Sources: USA Today, ABC News)
• First President to press for a "treaty giving a U.N. body veto power over the use of our territorial waters and rights to half of all offshore oil revenue" (The Law Of The Sea Treaty, Source: Investors Business Daily)
• First President to send $200 million to a terrorist organization (Hamas) after Congress had explicitly frozen the money for fear it would fund attacks against civilians (Sources: American Thinker, The Independent [UK])

Miscellania
• First President to Insert Himself into White House Biographies of Past Presidents (Source: The New York Times).
• First President to Golf 105 or More Times in His First Three-and-a-half Years in Office

And this is just from his first term of office.
Wait until mid 2015...



TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Let Me Do The Maths For You...

Celsius        Fahrenheit
     45                113
     44                111
     42                107
     40                104
     38                100
     36                97
     34                93
     30                86
     28                82
     24                75
     20                68
    
So when I tell you that the headline reads:
"Sydney Bracing for 40+ by Midweek"
I'm not trying to make people in the US jealous by singing Summertime Blues.

I'm just sayin' working down here ain't all Victoria Bitters and shrimps prawns on the barbie.

Yeah- that dark red part means "Burnt to a crisp if you go outside".

WEATHER forecasters are predicting the nation will experience its hottest ever day early in the week, the average national temperature set to climb above 40C.

Within reach is the current record of 40.17 degrees, set on December 21, 1972. Heat records have tumbled across the country, including yesterday's highest ever recorded temperature in Hobart (41.3C) and Thursday's 48.2C scorcher in the Nullarbor border town of Eucla.

Although Sydney has so far been spared by cooling sea breezes, that is going to chnage with 40s by Tuesday, and inland NSW has cooked with peak temperatures of 45.1C in Wilcannia and 45C in Bourke, and 43.6C at the Riverina town of Hay.

 In Victoria, the mercury climbed past 44C in the northwest of the state, while the Mornington Peninsula was left without power. Hopetoun recorded the highest temperature in the state, hitting 44.4C at 5.30pm Dartmoor, in the states west, was the first to reach 40C, and by 5.30pm it had rocketed to 42.1C, with Mildura jutting ahead at 43.5C and Nhill 43.1C.

Melbourne reached 40.2C at 3.20pm.

In Queensland, the temperature at Birdsville topped out at 47.3C. Across the border, South Australian towns were in meltdown.

Adelaide reached a near-record 45C, while the granite town of Wudinna, population 513, earned the unenviable title of Australia's hottest town yesterday with 48.2C, closely followed by the coastal town of Port Augusta at 47.6C - its hottest ever day.

I'm feeling sorry for SpongeMark Squarehands- He's down in Hobart Taz, where it was 37 degrees inside their server room... The servers at his site have had their heat alarms tripping continuously since Wednesday... Holy crap on a cracker!

I'm just miserable as I roam the Sydney Olympic Tennis Park helping folks with their WiFi and fixing IT issues... I really feel for the players- the courts are a rubber composite that absorbs and radiates heat - It's probably 5 to 10 degrees (F) hotter on the court...
Damn.

Ok... Enough bitching...
Coffee break's over.. I have to get get back on my head.


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

There But For the Grace Of God, Go I...

I kinda like how they let him keep his glasses on...

This is some poor stupid bastard on a flight from Iceland, but could just as well be Yours Truly after a session of ball juggling by the TSA and having some slack-jawed drooler recline his seat onto my knees...
What shouldn't be surprising to a Constant Reader is that I know exactly where they keep the PRKs on the United 757-300 and the 737-700.
Sad really.


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Out-F$#@ing-Standing Plan...

What an amazing idea...


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Damn That Hurt

OK, Everyone get your "When Will TBG Bust His Ass (or other body part) On That Damned Skateboard" scorecards out...

Whoever had 17 days, you're the winner.

I'll spare you the pics of raw hamburger my knees where they impacted the oh-so-abrasive sidewalk, leaving behind a square meter or so of skin...
Fortunately I only lost a little skin- it could have been much worse- hyperextension, torn ACL, or an even more debilitating injury could have been in the offing.
(Even more fortunate - Sydney Municipal Works doesn't have a clue where that crater at the bottom of Olympic Boulevard came from... And we aren't going to tell them, are we?)

Where I landed...

Walking into the site with both knees bleeding was quite a show stopper.
Everyone who knows I ride a skateboard to the site every morning just laughed and shook their heads. "We all knew it was going to happen." they said.
I took it in stride...
After all, unless you have some road rash you're not riding correctly.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Permission To Come Aboard?

Holy crap!

I get the heebie-jeebies watching this...

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE