OK, more “hit and run” pieces that probably deserve more attention, but I don’t want them getting too stale.
What Do You Get When You Cross A Kenyan Weasel With A Hungarian Frog? I, too, was disgusted with the live-mike interchange between President Obama and President Sarkozy, but then I read Rabbi Kaufman’s take — and she makes a lot of sense. I’m willing to give Obama — no great friend to Israel — a pass on this one; I think he did the right thing. On the other hand, reading about how the mainstream media initially agreed to cover up the story makes me truly disgusted — but not surprised.
What Is Thy Bidding, My Master? When Obama announced he was sending troops to Uganda to help them fight a quasi-Christian terrorist group, I was at first skeptical. Then, after a little self-education, I realized that these guys were really, really, really bad guys, and I could agree with putting them near the top of the list of “people who need to get blowed up real good.” But I still kept a little initial skepticism — and it turns out that, surprise surprise, there’s a George Soros angle in the story where he would financially benefit from said savage bastards getting blowed up.
Massachusetts Screws Over New Hampshire? Quick, Someone Alert The Press! Years ago, New Hampshire and Massachusetts came to an agreement with regards to managing the Merrimack River, which meanders through both states before emptying into the Atlantic. Massachusetts was tired of getting flooded, so they asked New Hampshire to renovate the river’s course. New Hampshire agreed and flooded portions of our state to help minimize uncontrolled flooding downstream, in the Bay State. In return for the loss of taxable property, Massachusetts agreed to make annual payments to those towns. A fair deal — as long as Massachusetts keeps paying. Which they haven’t. My solution? Inform the Massholes that they better settle up, or we rebuild the river again — and drown the bastards. (The fact that I have an ex-girlfriend who lives almost on the banks of the Merrimack in Massachusetts is merely a coincidence.)
2 Blind Crew. A little while ago, I was looking up lists of corrupt Congresscritters, and I was surprised to see that both of New Hampshire’s members of Congress — Charlie Bass and Frank Guinta — made CREW’s infamous list. I looked at the links, and in both cases, they are really pissant and boil down to a single charge. Bass sponsored a bill that promoted renewable energy while his nephew owns a wood pellet company, and Bass owns a piece of it. Meanwhile, Guinta did some gray-area funding of his campaign.
Then I got all Sherlock Holmes on that list. The list is of 13 Representatives and one Senator — and 10 are Republicans. The “Dishonorable Mention” adds two more Republicans and three Democrats, bringing the total to 15 and 6. And there are some very, very, very curious dogs not barking in that night. No mention of Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY) and his “I write the tax laws, I don’t have to follow them” philosophy. No mention of Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) shoveling PAC money into her husband’s pockets. No mention of Senator Dianne Feinstein’s funneling money into her husband’s commercial real estate firm. No mention of Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) shaking down a would-be contributor via voicemail. Hell, you could make this list just out of members of the Congressional Black Caucus, but only three made the cut — and two more were runners-up. But I guess that making 5 of the 6 Democrats is a good start.
Hitting The Bottle. This article doesn’t mention New Hampshire by name, but we are one of the 18 states that monopolizes sales of hard liquor. Hell, some of our most profitable state-owned liquor stores are located at interstate rest areas in Hooksett and Portsmouth. I always thought it was a tad hypocritical to have the state denounce drinking and driving while selling booze right on the frigging highway, but shrugged it off as not that important in the big picture. But the author questions whether or not states would make more money if they gave up their monopoly and instead licensed and taxed it — which strikes me as a bit more “New Hampshirish” than the current system.
“Is This It?” “Nope.” “Is This It?” “Nope.” In Weird Al Yankovic’s vastly-underrated film “UHF,” there’s a brilliant throwaway bit in one scene. Two bums — one blind — are sitting on a park bench. The blind one is… oh, never mind. Here it is:
I was reminded of that when I read this story about the Obama/Holder Justice Department’s “Voting Section’s” policy towards redistricting. It seems that instead of simply reviewing plans to see if they are fair, the busy little (liberal) beavers have gotten a tad pro-active: they’ve drawn up their own redistricting maps that maximize the likelihood of black candidates winning elections, and compare their maps to the ones hammered out at the state level.
And if that isn’t heinous enough, they not only don’t let the states see the standard they are being measured against, they didn’t even tell anyone that such plans existed. To use a sports metaphor, imagine playing a football game where the refs don’t let you know which end zone is yours until after the game has been played.
Phew. That gets me down to just two windows with potential blog-fodder in them. I feel so much better…
