Red Stick Rant

• Lake Jewbegon.

  Garrison Keillor gets in touch with his inner Goebbels and wants Jews to "buzz off" when it comes to Christmas. (Um, wasn't a Jewish family rather central to the Christmas story? -ed.)
  
  This isn't the first time Keillor has espoused brown-shirt notions. Perhaps they should start airing [...]
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  Posted: December 19, 2009, 7:46am EST
  

• Proof: Having Mardi Gras Beats Having The UN.

  Louisiana is the happiest state in the nation. New York, is dead last.
  
  Note also that the more conservative, less densely populated, lower tax states tend to be higher on the "happy" index, while more liberal, urbanized, high-tax states tend to be toward the bottom of the ranking. [...]
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  Posted: December 19, 2009, 11:16pm EST
  

• A War To Watch.

  Did you know there was a shooting war going on the Saudi-Yemeni border? You do now. The Saudi and Yemeni governments are fighting an uber-hardline Islamic group on their border - the Houthi - who appear to be supplied by Iran and who's motto is "God Is the Greatest," [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2009, 12:33pm EST
  

• Doing My Part.

  What with the impending success of the Copenhagen climate change conerence, I really want to get into the spirit and do my part. And I've found the perfect "green" floor insulation - it's all-natural, biodegradable, and made of 100% recycled material.
  
  UPDATE: See - if you do it' [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2009, 11:56am EST
  

• Friday Guest Post.

  The Grey Man, he speaks:
  
  I am about to be called a racist. Why? Because I think that Health Care has become Obama and company's Tar Baby.
  
  First, it was "health care reform". Later it became "health insurance reform". I'm not really sure what it is now,' [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2009, 11:34am EST
  

• Climate Change In Our Time?

  Someone from Greenpeace benevilles himself. Read it all.
  
  And note Warner's term for the permanently indignant, ratty-looking protest crowd: "Smellies". How apropos. [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2009, 10:50am EST
  

• The None.

  Will The Messiah go 0-2 in Copenhagen? It's looking that way. And he can't blame it "on the past eight years".' [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2009, 10:01am EST
  

• 'Hockey Sticks' Through History.

  With The One heading off to Copenhagen to single-handedly save to world from man-made global warming (which seems can only be ended by destroying our economy and giving governments like Zimbabwe billions of dollars), perhaps we should put the famous 'hockey stick' in some perspective:
  
  [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2009, 8:44pm EST
  

• Quick, Bonnie Anderson! Get Me Rewrite!!

  Is the Climate Change Fund the new Millennium Development Goals? Kenneth Anderson wonders. Oy. Another unsuccessful UN program our Presiding Bishop will want us to worship...
  
  Stop the Typing!!
  
  Your humble blogger just went over to The Episcopal Church (tm) website to post a link to [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2009, 7:03pm EST
  

• It'll Be A Cold Day In Hell...

  ...And apparently, it is.
  
  UPDATE: But this new revelation should make it uncomfortably hot for some folks at the conference... [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2009, 1:31pm EST
  

• Reform, Democrat Definition Of.

  Back in 2008, Obama and the Democrats sold the American people on health care "reform" that would be both bipartisan and transparent.
  
  Here it is, almost 2010, and this is what we're about to get:
  ‘And here’s the most outrageous part: at the end of this rush, they want' [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2009, 1:05pm EST
  

• Thursday Morning Distraction.

  Besides being an inconsiderate bore, here's another reason I don't get invited to Christmas parties - I think this kind of stuff is fun:
  
  
  
  Much more scientific weirdness here.
  
  Hattip: Theo Spark.' [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2009, 11:19am EST
  

• TIGER WOODS' GIRLFRIEND NAKED!

  Not really. My stats are down; I need some traffic. [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2009, 10:51am EST
  

• The Little Party That Roared?

  'Tea Party' now polls more favorably than either Democrats or Republicans.
  
  If my little see-into-the-future globe is right, look for both 'established' parties to try and glom onto the Tea Party Movement in 2010.
  
  The GOP establishment machinery has been trying to co-opt the Tea [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2009, 10:08am EST
  

• The Rt. Rev. Tiger Woods?

  Calling Katherine Schori: In the wake of the Tiger Woods scandal, Ann Althouse asks: "Is the need for multiple partners a sexual orientation?"
  
  In this day and age, ask a question like that and it won't be long before The Episcopal Church (tm) will promote it. (We' [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2009, 9:17am EST
  

• "I'm-a Leaving On A Jet Plane..."

  Though sources say it's more like five jet planes, actually. Carbon footprints are for the little people.
  
  And why the hell is Charlie Rangel going?? Like he needs another government-paid vacation. The best way for Charlie Rangel to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere would [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2009, 8:38am EST
  

• Cap-n-Scam.

  Think of all the "green" jobs we'll create if we implement Cap-n-Trade. Just like they're doing in Europe. [...]
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  Posted: December 16, 2009, 9:19pm EST
  

• Road To Hayride.

  My buddy Charlie Buras has announced he is shutting down his Louisiana political blog, The Old River Road, one of the most insightful and mature political sites in the Bayou State. But not to worry, dear readers, Charlie isn't vanishing from the scene - he will now be a' [...]
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  Posted: December 16, 2009, 8:08pm EST
  

• Party Girl.

  Mary Landrieu has decided to represent the interests of her party on health care rather than the interests of, well, the vast majority of her employers (us Louisiana voters).
  
  At least she has some integrity - once she's been bought, she stays bought. [...]
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  Posted: December 16, 2009, 6:55pm EST
  

• The Teacher Must Be Episcopalian.

  A school tosses out a second-grader who drew a "violent image".
  
  Yet another reason we didn't want to raise our children in Massachusetts.' [...]
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  Posted: December 15, 2009, 9:35pm EST
  

• Tea Party Like It's 2006?

  Is the GOP trying to co-opt the Tea Party Movement? If what we see in our area is any indication, then the short answer is, yes.
  
  The GOP needs to remember that if they had held to their values in the first place, and not tried to [...]
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  Posted: December 15, 2009, 1:55pm EST
  

• Tactical News You Can Use.

  Via my buddy Rich McAroy up in the land of 'Live Free or Die!', I'm pleased to introduce to RSR readers ITS Tactical. Full of lots of interesting military/outdoors information, such as 'How to escape from Zip Ties'. Pretty handy thing to know when they arrest you' [...]
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  Posted: December 14, 2009, 10:22pm EST
  

• True Grits.

  Only in Louisiana: Woman attacks man with... grits. Really.
  
  THIS IS A NATIONAL CRISIS!!! YOU CAN BUY GRITS OVER THE COUNTER, WITHOUT ANY KIND OF BACKGROUND CHECK!!! EVEN CHILDREN CAN GET THEIR HANDS ON GRITS!!! WE MUST DO SOMETHING!!!
  
  I think we need an Assault Grit Ban.[...]
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  Posted: December 14, 2009, 2:30pm EST
  

• And Now For Something Completely Similar.

  When you saw this image of Harry Reid at the top of Drudge today:
  
  Was this bit from Monty Python the first thing you thought of:
  
  Yeah, me too.
  
  UPDATE: Y'know, if 'Ol Harry had let us serenade him [...]
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  Posted: December 14, 2009, 11:45am EST
  

• How I Spent My Saturday.

  "So," I hear you ask, "How did that 'Streetcar Named Retire' sing-along turn out?" Considering Reid and Landrieu didn't show up, it was cold, and it rained most of the time... not bad, actually:
  
  
  
  Thanks to Clare at High Noon for Health Care for the' [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2009, 10:57pm EST
  

• This is my rifle, this is my gun...

  Only in New Orleans: An inspector from the U. S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives gets caught damaging a hotel room to, um... inspect shooting devices on his own time.
  
  Perhaps this video clip should be required for all BATFE inspectors.
  
  Hattip: [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2009, 9:27am EST
  

• Arcofailure.

  What with the world's most elite busybodies meeting in Copenhagen to figure out how they want us proles to live, Byron York points out an earlier attempt at a 'green' utopia. An architect plays a central role, I'm sad to say.' [...]
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  Posted: December 11, 2009, 2:11pm EST
  

• Friday Afternoon Global Warming Education.

  Maggie's Farm points out a commenter to this Megan McArdle column on 'Climategate', who takes an AGW scientist to school - by pointing out that most basic scientific precept: A logical conclusion is not the same as empirical verification. Well, duh.
  
  Instead of allowing their claims [...]
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  Posted: December 11, 2009, 1:22pm EST
  

• A Streetcar Named Retire.

  UPDATE 11DEC09: RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! Senator Harry Reid announced that he was getting in touch with his inner Sir Robin and is bravely running away from his pocket-stuffing trip to New Orleans on Saturday. Did his decision have anything to do with our (not so) [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2009, 10:33am EST
  

• Somebody Missed Economics 101.

  Barack Obama actually thinks we can "spend our way out of this recession". And where does the money Barry wants to spend come from? It comes from employers and employees - you and me - the productive members of our society. The very people who are being hurt by [...]
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  Posted: December 09, 2009, 3:07pm EST
  

• The Government Will Keep Us Safe.

  Except when they, y'know, post their classified security proceedures on line for all to see. Even a copy of a CIA ID card. Something to remember as you fly this season.' [...]
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  Posted: December 08, 2009, 5:54pm EST
  

• The Skin Of Our Teeth.

  More "settled science": Climate change back in the 1970's. I loved this bit:
  In 2002 I stood in a room of the Smithsonian. One entire wall charted the cooling of our globe over the last 60 million years. This was no straight line. The curve had two steep dips' [...]
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  Posted: December 08, 2009, 1:14pm EST
  

• A Tiger By The Tale.

  I've noticed - as have many of you, I suppose - how the Left/Mainstream Media has grabbed onto the recent stories of Tiger Woods and his marital problems. On some networks it's the only leade - all Tiger, all the time. I find this curious coming from a group of' [...]
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  Posted: December 08, 2009, 11:35am EST
  

• Tea Party Caroling.

  OK, we CAN'T sing. We know it, but we wanted to get the Tea Parties into the season:
  
  'Jingle Cash'
  
  
  'Tea Parties Are Coming To Town'
  
  
  'The Twelve Days of Senate'
  
  
  And yes, your humble blogger was the wordsmith (and in the videos).' [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 10:55pm EST
  

• More Geek Cool.

  From the UK's Daily Telegraph:
  
  Calling Nena: The Pentagon launches 10 giant red balloons in the US, and challenged groups to be the first to locate all 10 using Facebook and Twitter networking. The possibilities of such distributed social networks are just beginning to be grasped.
  
  I [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 10:30pm EST
  

• Hope And Kampf.

  Was Team Hopenchange's playbook written by a convicted felon while in jail? Well, it worked for another jailed socialist...
  
  Hattip: Libertarian Republican. [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 10:11pm EST
  

• Bowing To History.

  Obama's recent bow to the Japanese Emperor, explained:
  
  
  
  From: Creative Minority Report.
  
  It reminds me of this, but it was a joke. The above, sadly, isn't.' [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 9:57pm EST
  

• Every Breath You Take...

  Every Move You Make... Now violates the Federal Clean Air Act.
  
  Team Hopenchange know their cap-n-tax scheme is dead in Congress, so they're going around the legislative process and imposing large portions of it on us by regulatory fiat. The end justifies the means and all that.[...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 9:18pm EST
  

• More Is Less.

  Only a government mind thinks adding 111 new programs, committees, cooperatives, and projects will make your health care more efficient, more accessible, and more affordable.
  
  In a few years, when you pay 30 percent of your income to the government for health care and have to wait in [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 8:52pm EST
  

• Harry Reid Is Watching You.

  So now, America, freedom is slavery. Where have I heard that before? Oh, yeah...
  
  Can 'Ignorance is Strength' be far behind? [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 5:57pm EST
  

• And Another Reason Why This Day May Well Live In Infamy.

  The UN's Copenhagen conference on capitalist-caused global warming "climate change" opened this week, which giving us yet another opportunity to play...
  
  Spot The Hypocrite!
  
  It seems our ruling-class betters and their "settled science" experts have a plan to deal with the "global crisis", which can be [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 4:37pm EST
  

• Monday Afternoon Wicked Cool.

  Concrete cloth, and some other new materials will peg your geek-o-meter.
  
  Hattip: Soldier Systems. [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 2:58pm EST
  

• A Date Which Will Live In Infamy.

  68 years ago today:
  
  
  Image from here
  
  Please remember in your prayers today Lt. (jg.) Ralph Hollis, USS Arizona. [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 2:48pm EST
  

• We Have A New Pointy Hat!

  The Very Reverend Morris Thompson has been elected the 11th Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana. He appears to be one of the "moderates", which gives me pause - especially since the lefties seemed to desert their man for him during the balloting. But on the other hand, Thompson was a [...]
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  Posted: December 05, 2009, 2:40pm EST
  

• Your Troubles Are Over; I'm Here. Again.

  Oh, the ego:
  By switching his visit from Dec. 9 to Dec. 18, Obama appears to be betting that his presence can - as he has expressed hope for several times in the past - push the negotiations "over the top" toward an agreement. Take hope dear readers [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2009, 7:15pm EST
  

• Skiing The Decline.

  It's early December. It's South Louisiana. And, for the second year in a row, we're expecting snow. Yes, snow. Not a few flakes in the air, but measurable stuff on the ground. (And yes, if it sticks your humble blogger be out X-country skiing again.)
  
  Dear' [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2009, 8:46am EST
  

• Respect The Dignity Of Every Living Dolphin...

  The things I find at lunch. If The Episcopal Church (tm) doesn't have a blessing for this already, I'm sure they will soon...
  
  
  From here.
  
  But this image collection, about CIA tricks in the Cold War, is pretty cool. [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 12:59pm EST
  

• A Simple Question.

  If you can't buy health insurance across state lines, it isn't 'interstate commerce', now is it? So how can Congress claim to mandate it and regulate it?
  
  Wondering... [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 12:04pm EST
  

• Family Sees Vitality In Grandma Amisdst Challenges.

  You know that awkward moment at a funeral when folks view the body? Everyone there knows the reality, yet they still say, "Doesn't she look nice."
  
  Here's a classic example of the same thing:
  Committee sees vitality in Episcopal Church amidst challenges.' [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 9:30am EST
  

• The Mainstream Media Protection Amendment.

  Seems Senator Feinstien thinks freedom of speech and freedom of the press are best left to "professional" journalists. You know, the same ones soon to be dependent on government bailouts for their paychecks.
  
  I guess people like you and me, well... we should be seen and not [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 8:42am EST