Small "Potatoe" Or Real Issue? Ben Quayle, Dan's Son, Gets Lambasted by GOP Rivals for Writing for "Raunchy" Website Containing Racey Nightlife Photos

Republican Ben, the son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, is running for Congress in Arizona and has recently been embroiled in controversy surrounding his past writings for "gawdy, sex-themed" website TheDirty.com. And his GOP rivals are having a field day! (Link to full story at bottom).

It seems that other republicans in the field, in advance of next Tuesday's GOP primary, have been bombarding the airwaves with TV ads attacking Quayle for his connection to the website, which reportedly devotes itself to wild nightlife photos from across the country. Quayle has admitted to previously writing and contributing material to the website under the pseudonym "Brock Landers" (the name of a fictional porn star from the film Boogie Nights). He now says he just wants to move on.

So what's the big deal here? So the dude used to write material for some over-the-top website with a lot of racey photos. (That sounds vaguely familiar.) I think it's cool that he used to do that. Only in the land of the deranged right-wingers known as the republican party could such a matter be turned into some big campaign issue. What's the next big bombshell these freaks are going to try to drop? That Quayle once looked at a Playboy? That he actually once watched Boogie Nights? Please.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41305.html

Episode 3 Recap of the Real Housewives of DC!Strange Bedfellows, Old Rifts!

Episode Synopsis: The episode's entitled “Foreign Relations": Strange bedfellows emerge, as Michaele & Stacie appear to strike up quite the start of a friendship on holiday in France, only to have it threatened by the sentiments of Lynda and Mary. Plus Cat, in rather ugly fashion, continues having problems fully connecting with the American culture.

Segment 1: At Cat’s house, Linda Culman (Cat’s book editor) is talking to Cat about her upcoming book, entitled “Inbox Full,” which details Cat’s wild times as a single woman in London (for example, it’s been previously reported that Cat once made out with the much younger Prince Harry of England!). Cat is up against a book deadline a few weeks away and is worried about that deadline.

Stacie and her family arrive at Sugarleaf Vineyards to meet Jerry and Lauren Bias, who are good friends and the owners of the only African-American owned vineyard on the east coast (Sugarleaf). [Lauren is gorgeous, BTW.] Stacie says that “Obama [her term for him] served them [the Bias’] wine at the governors’ ball,” whatever that means. They start in on some red wine from the vineyard.

Then Michaele and Tareq Salahi (who always like to make a big entrance) show up at the vineyard in their typical stretch limo (like dorks). Comments Lauren: “I think we need to expand the parking lot.” The Salahis are dressed fairly formally (“fabbed out”) while Stacie and her family and friends are dressed informally in jeans. The Salahis also own a vineyard and winery, and Tareq presents Jerry with a bottle of the Salahis’ wine as a present. How nice.

The group heads indoors to meet Daniel Neumeister, a winemaker at Sugarleaf. Stacie, husband Jason and the Salahis then engage in a little wine tasting. Tareq immediately starts in with blathering comments about the wine he’s tasting, trying to act like he’s the real wine expert here. Jason does not appear impressed.

The foursome then heads out for a walk in the vineyard. They start talking about Obama. Tareq says he’s excited about Obama’s positions on a possible "two-state solution" regarding Israel and Palestine. Michaele says that Obama is about bringing us all together, but then she starts rambling into a bunch of largely incoherent drivel about “changing mindsets” and mixing “red and blue” into “red, white and blue” and such. Off-camera, Jason spouts: “WHAT!?” My question too, exactly, Jason!

Stacie changes the subject and says that Jason’s brother (a hip hop artist) has the #1 single in Paris. Stacie says there is to be a big album release party in Paris and that she and Jason are flying over for it. She says the Salahis should come over for it too. “Be careful what you wish for,” remarks Tareq ominously. It’s clear the Salahis are interested in going. Stacie says off camera that she will be very impressed with the Salahis (who will be “big ballers”) if they show up in Paris with only 3 days’ notice.

Next we’re with Lynda at Saks Fifth Avenue in DC. She’s with Kelly, Saks’ retail coordinator. They are talking about Saks’ annual VIP shopping night and modeling event to benefit breast cancer awareness and research. Lynda says that her modeling agency (T.H.E. Artist Agency) donates its models for the event (which is cool). Next we see Lynda with her very hot assistant, Robin, and with Heather, the head of marketing and PR for T.H.E. Then Mary Amons shows up looking quite right in a very tight sweater. [BTW, Mary seems to be about a foot taller than Lynda, and I previously commented that Lynda’s 6’5” BF Ebong looks like he’s 2 feet taller than her. Gal must top out at around 4’5”, as I commented last week, but I digress]. The T.H.E. models then head to the runway, which goes great.

Then Mary asks Lynda about the blow-up on last week's episode between Lynda and Michaele at Paul Wharton’s birthday party. The argument related to Lynda talking to Paul about Lynda’s alleged belief that Michaele has an eating disorder. Lynda tells Mary that Lynda’s genuinely concerned about Michaele’s health, but frankly I don’t buy it for a second. I could be wrong, but I think Lynda’s motivations here are grounded in her dislike of Michaele and her desire to break Michaele’s balls about something or another. This is only reinforced by Lynda then complaining to Mary about how the Sahalis are starved for attention. Lynda definitely does not like Tareq, and she blames him for “changing” Michaele and “suffocating her soul.”

Segment 2: Readying for Paris: At Stacie’s house, she and Jason are in the process of getting packed for Paris. Meantime at the Salahis’ house, they have decided to go to Paris too and are also getting packed as well. Michaele is taking three huge suitcases, while Tareq is taking only a little duffle bag. [I admire folks who travel light, which I’ve always been bad at – but THREE suitcases!]. When Stacie and Jason learn the Salahis are going too on such short notice, they are most impressed.

Cat and Lynda meet up at Lynda’s modeling agency. Lynda implores hot assistant Robin to fetch them some wine. The purpose of the meeting is for them to talk about Cat’s book cover, which is to feature (what else) a picture of Cat. Cat tells Lynda that the book is about her (apparently largely sexual) escapades in London, including her many self-described “inappropriate lovers.” Cat says her husband Charles hasn’t wanted to read the draft version of the book (for obvious reasons). This portion of the segment ends with Lynda getting drunk and spouting about how much she loves “happy endings.”

Next Mary and husband Rich are at Equinox. They talk about how friend Ted Gibson (who owns a hair salon in the Big Apple) will be back in DC the following week, and that they will be hosting a dinner for him. The occasion is a private dinner that Ted is having with others and with top clients. Mary says one purpose of the dinner is to help Ted get introduced to important people in DC. BTW, Rich’s whole way of speaking and carrying himself once again reminds me this week of Gary Cole’s “Bill Lumbergh” boss character from the cult classic comedy Office Space, except that Rich is a nice guy as opposed to an a$$hole, but again I digress.

Rich also has a propensity for getting off some funny blasts. In reference to Tareq Salahi last week pointing his champagne bottle and shooting the cork at Lynda, Rich quips that the whole experience was like “hunting with Dick Cheney.” Mary then criticizes Michaele for her role in the spat with Lynda, clearly believing that Michaele started the whole thing (which is very much up to debate). Obviously foreshadowing bad things to come, Mary comments that she is devoted to the upcoming Ted Gibson dinner having “no drama.”

In the Village of North Chevy Chase (how about that name?), established 1924, we return to Cat’s house, where hubbie Charles is there with Cat and the two girls. Cat off camera comments that she and Charles tend not to see a lot of each other lately because of their schedules (he’s a White House photographer and does other photographer work as well). For example, Charles is about to head off for five days to do a shoot at Goldman Sachs in New York City.

Conflict: Charles' 5-day assignment in New York will prevent Charles from shooting Cat’s book cover! Oh No! Cat starts complaining to him about how hard she has to work around the house when he’s gone. Their two girls are hilarious, BTW, as they second and repeat all of Cat’s complaints as soon as they come out of her mouth! Charles is not happy with this frontal assault, and it’s clear that his away-from-home schedule is putting a real strain on the marriage.

Segment 3: Deadbeat Salahis? At Paul Wharton’s apartment, he’s meeting with Charlotte, his publicist. She tells Paul that before Paul’s recent birthday party, she received a call from the Salahis attorney, who told her, “I want you to put in writing that my clients the Salahis are not going to have to pay for this party” or else the Salahis would not attend the party. I must say that I don’t fully understand the situation here, but as best I can tell: Paul thought the Salahis had agreed to host and pay for this party, and he thinks they tried to welch on that by showing up late and acting as if they were only guests by bringing a single bottle of champagne (i.e. the one that Tareq used to shoot Lynda in her tiny little ass). This whole angle was not exposed on last week’s episode, but it’s the best I can piece together from the stray comments of Paul and Charlotte. [See below, as Mary provides better context later in the episode].

TO PARIS! Stacie and Jason are on the ground near the Eiffel Tower. They walk into their hotel, and it’s revealed that Stacie speaks no French, but that Jason speaks a little (which is about 10000 times more than I do!). Fortunately for them, most folks in Western Europe, regardless of country, speak English, as does the hotel front desk attendant. [Another digression: One of the saddest aspects of the American educational system, among myriad problems, is the lack of emphasis upon our people learning more than one language. Becoming fluent in multiple languages is a key to enlightenment, intelligence and a full understanding of other cultures. My failure to ever fully follow through and become fluent in Spanish -- a language I studied for 3 years in high school and for 15 hours in college -- is perhaps the biggest regret of my life.]

The Salahis next show up in Paris and meet the Turners (Stacie and Jason) at their hotel. Up on an outside balcony, someone has ordered a $1000 bottle of Dom Perignon. As Tareq grabs the bottle, Jason brings up the fact that the last time Tareq had a champagne bottle in his hand, he shot off the cork at Lynda's ass. They all have a big laugh over it. [BTW: It is HILARIOUS how every person on this show has a different pronunciation of Michaele’s name. Just having heard Jason’s, that was about the 10th or 12th different one that I’ve heard!]

It’s clear from the off camera comments of Stacie and Jason that while they can tend to be off-put by a lot of the Salahis' behavior, there is also just something about the Salahis that they like. [And I can generally agree with that – I think the Salahis are full of themselves and totally shallow, but they also seem fairly harmless and very much in love with each other. However, the whole alleged deadbeat angle is a different matter. That's very not cool, for lack of a better phrase.]

Back in DC, Mary is on the phone with Paul Wharton, and we get some additional new information on the threat that Paul’s publicist (Charlotte) says she received from the Salahis’ attorney last week. Paul tells Mary about that threat, and Mary reveals that DC “etiquette” and practice dictates that if one agrees to “host” a party (which apparently the Salahis did here), then it’s also an agreement to completely pay for the party. This has been a recurring theme on the show, i.e. the Salahis not paying for things. I have no inside information, but the best read of the entire situation is that the Salahis are likely over-extended financially as a result of the lifestyles they try to maintain. Indeed, Mary next claims that the Salahis paid for NOTHING at the party, and Mary really gets irritated when she compares that with the fact that they have just flown off to Paris on a whim.

BACK in Paris: We’re at the Elysee Montmartre, a famous music and boxing venue in Paris. Stacie and Jason meet up backstage with Jason’s brother, Adam – AKA Beat Assailant, an extremely popular hip hop artist overseas. Stacie tells Adam’s story, which is truly inspiring: He's a completely self-made man, who went to college in the ATL and then picked up and headed off to Paris, not knowing a word of French. Now he’s one of the biggest pop culture icons in that country. Great story! BTW, you’d never know BA (I started calling him BA even before I heard the people on the show calling him that) and Jason were brothers just to look at them. Jason is much taller and bigger, while BA is just a little fart. But as Jason says, BA was always the little younger brother, whose diapers Jason used to have to change.

BA’s concert starts! He raps in the English language, and he is GOOD. Great sound. Meantime, Stacie and Jason are impressed with how much fun Michaele and Tareq are having at this concert (and who wouldn’t have fun at this concert?!).

Segment 4: "Sexting": We’re at Mary’s house, where she talks to daughter Meghan (age 14) about “Sexting.” Meghan used the word in front of mama, but claims she doesn’t engage in "sexting" herself. Mary says she’s not ready for Meghan to even be talking about this. Meghan says, “You put me in public school!” WOW. I would have thought that all of Mary’s kids were in private school. Perhaps another couple on this show is just a bit cash-strapped as well? Just speculating. [Man, what a short segment. Fine with me though. The more commercials the better – these hour-long reality shows are SO time-consuming to recap!, and I’ve stated way too many times on this blog.]

Segment 5: Cat’s Photo Shoot for Her Book Cover! She meets photographer Anton Papich. She again comments how husband Charles can’t be here to shoot her himself since he’s off in New York on assignment. Cat poses in shades and a very hot black dress with numerous shopping bags draped on her bent elbows. She doesn’t look quite as good as she did in last week's episode on the horse riding segment, but she’s looking as good as she has otherwise. And Cat doesn’t seem too enamored with the shots that the photographer is taking and expresses her mixed emotions.

THEN HUGE-ASS SURPRISE TIME! HUSBAND CHARLES SHOWS UP AT THE SHOOT! At least it seemed like a huge surprise. But Cat doesn’t seem that surprised! “Hello, Darling,” she spouts dryly. Something tells me he must have told her previously that he might just show up out of the blue. But the show certainly made it appear as a huge surprise, at least until we saw Cat's vanilla reaction. BTW: Charles wears New Balance tennis shoes! As do I (nothing else). Very cool. Anyway, Charles doesn’t take over the photo shoot or anything, but it’s strongly insinuated that he has a shoot in mind for his lovely bride!

Again, Back to Paris: Stacie and Michaele are wrapping up a day of shopping, and both seem happy about the day's results. Stacie shares with Michaele that she (Stacie) was adopted at a young age, and that Stacie has been trying to find her birth parents. Stacie reveals that she’s made contact with her birth mom, but that communication has broken down based upon Stacie’s insistence to learn more about her birth father. Michaele seems genuinely supportive of Stacie’s quest.

Now to Ted Gibson’s Party, Hosted by Mary! At the Dupont Hotel in DC, Ted Gibson arrives to meet Mary, to settle into his hotel, and to talk about the party that Mary is hosting for him. Ted has a very close friend called Jason Backe, and it’s strongly insinuated that they are a gay couple (not that there’s anything wrong with that – who gives a rat’s ass – but since I know such things are of general interest to the reading audience, I just mention it in passing).

Mary, BTW, has the biggest gamut of looks of any of the ladies on this series. At times she looks so positively HOT, and at other times, not so good at all (with this segment being an example). Then Mary sits down for a hair and makeup job from Ted and Jason, and Jason reveals that he was at the Paul Wharton party and that Tareq Salahi told him that he (Tareq) was spending a whole lot of money on that party! Oh, The Scandal! [Since Mary says the Salahis paid for nothing]. Mary is very taken aback, as you might expect. Meantime, Ted is giving Mary a new do -- long straight reddish-blonde hair (quite unlike any look for her hair that I’ve seen before), and frankly I like it!

Party On! Ted's party begins, with Stacie arriving first. Then Cat shows up, and it’s an awkward meeting between her and Stacie since Cat has rubbed Stacie the wrong way the last couple of times they’ve been together. Then Lynda shows up too. Part of the party’s goal is to give all of the Real Housewives of DC a hair and makeup job from Ted and Jason, and so Lynda, Stacie and Cat sit down for theirs. All of them now in close quarters, Lynda breaks out some of the anti-Michaele talk with Stacie's hubbie Jason. Stacie hears this and (just having struck up a pretty decent friendship with Michaele in Paris) is a bit perplexed (especially since Stacie had not heard any of the Paul Wharton party talk about Michaele prior to this).

Now Everyone’s in The House! All of the hair and makeup jobs being done, the Real Party begins. Michaele finally shows up with Tareq in tow. [Mary, BTW, has another tight top on, although the sweater from the first segment was even better!] Adding to this very combustible situation is the fact that Paul Wharton is on hand, in the presence of the Salahis, who allegedly just deadbeated his entire birthday party! Lynda and Michaele express off camera that it’s their desire to largely stay away from each other and not to engage in another verbal altercation as occurred last week. Paul Wharton, meanwhile, had a definite beef with Michaele, but he (to his credit) says that this is Ted’s Big Show, and so he doesn’t raise any issues with Michaele.

At one table, Cat is trying to mend fences with Stacie, and is also socializing with Lynda, who says off camera that she totally loves Cat. This is consistent with my view of Cat: She has rubbed people the wrong way, but I largely chalk that up to her being a Brit who has had some difficulty adapting to American culture (in much the same way I likely would have adapting to British culture, which is why I have never judged her). Lynda, Mary and Stacie all declare Cat to be their new “soul sister,” but then things break down (i.e. the normal course of things in the reality series world!):

As the ladies toast Cat's “new soul sister” moniker, Stacie’s friend Erika says that “apparently we have a new black girl in the group!” Cat doesn’t like that too much, off camera stating: “Oh my God, where did that just come from!” To me, an American, who views such a comment from Erika to just be a funny, non-serious remark that's a part of the joy of the moment, I was taken aback by Cat’s comment. But as observed in my coverage of this series before, Cat is having a tough time assimilating to our American culture. Her attitude in the States would be widely panned as bigoted (and probably deservedly so), but I still maintain that she’s from a completely different culture than us, and so I refuse to outright judge her at the moment.

Segment 6: Dinner Time at Ted's Party: The Erika and Cat rift is now accentuated! Cat, not appreciating Erika's "black girl" remark, walks right out of the party! Paul Wharton follows her. Cat views Erika as a “guard dog” designed to keep Stacie from getting too close to Cat (which, BTW, I think is utter and complete nonsense). Then Cat blasts out to Paul Wharton, “I am Not Racist!” Obviously, that reminds me of Tricky Dicky’s “I am not a Crook” line. When it gets so bad that you have to start spouting out such incredible denials, it typically means you are the very thing you are denying to be. I think Cat is likely bigoted, and that's something she really needs to work on ("racist" is an extremely harsh term which I rarely use and which is rarely appropriate – wish our two political parties would follow the same lead).

As a final note on this whole scene, Cat is trying to make nice with Paul Wharton, and she tells him, “you’re gay and your colored.” Memo to Brits: “Colored” has not been an appropriate word for at least 30-40 years in our country. Paul -- God love this cool gay dude -- disregards all of Cat’s British faux pas and apparent bigotry and still hangs around with her and befriends her. I really respect that.

Finally, we’re at the dinner table with an obviously drunk Tareq Salahi trying to deflect eating disorder rumors about his wife by claiming that she promptly put on an extra 20 pounds once they got married. Everyone off camera is going off on the Salahis (except her new friend, Stacie). Also off camera, Lynda comes right out and says, “Get rid of your husband, Michaele.” Personally, I think that comment from Lynda is very overbearing, because while I don’t like the Salahis at all, I do think they are in love. So what’s Lynda’s agenda? Seems obvious: She pretty much hates them both, and so she will say anything negative she can to try to break them up. In a nutshell: The Salahis are superficial and mindless, but Lynda seems dastardly destructive. Better watch out going forward, Salahis. End of episode.

Be sure to come back again next late Thursday night for my coverage of the next Over-The-Top Episode of Real Housewives of DC!

Everybody's Talking About It: A New Time Magazine Poll Finds That 24% of the Country Believes Obama Is a Muslim.

You want a succinct reaction for once? OK: The Time poll just goes to show that at least 24% of the people in the country are idiots. Now, that does not make me a liberal democrat. The liberal democrat believes that most of the people in the country are idiots. [How's that for quick and to-the-point?]

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2011799,00.html

Free Speech Outrage: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Calls for an Investigation of Those Who Oppose the Building of the Ground Zero Mosque.

(Full story linked at bottom). Does this mean that Creature Pelosi is prepared to investigate 70% of the American population? Let's get down to brass tacks right from the shoot: Threatening to investigate people for expressing a political viewpoint is about the most un-American act of which I can conceive. It's a direct assault on one of our most important and fundamental rights as human beings -- the freedom of speech, as protected and guaranteed by the First Amendment to our Constitution.

When you threaten repercussions upon someone expressing a particular viewpoint, such a threat is sure to have a chilling effect upon free expression, which should be intolerable under the First Amendment and in any free society. Such threats are purely Nixonian in nature -- harkening back to the dangerous days of the Tricky Dicky. It's also the type of device you'd expect to see utilized in a totalitarian regime. That just ain't America, folks.

But alas, I've noticed a very frightening pattern of this sort of thing from the far-left democrats who've controlled Washington DC over the past few years. From Obama's White House calling on citizens to report other citizens who have a "fishy" viewpoint on health care, to Pigsnout Waxman threatening to hold congressional hearings on companies reporting the increased costs they will face from the dems' health care monstrosity, we've seen this type of thing over and over. And it's as utterly outrageous and un-American as it gets.

Which brings me to my final point. If you've read this space from time to time, you may have noticed me sometimes referring to the present time as Scary Days and other similar phrases. I do not do so lightly. Never in my almost four decades on this planet have I seen something in Washington DC as truly scary as what I've seen the last 2 years: An extremist-controlled, out-of-touch party with an iron grip on power, coupled with a hapless opposition party content to just say "no" while rarely proposing any serious, concrete ideas or plans for what should be done.

This the same angst that so many in the country feel these days. This burning feeling down in the gut that it's all just slipping away -- that the America in which we grew up and have loved for our entire lifetimes may soon become a thing of the past, buried under the weight of massive government debt, social and economic collapse, and the disregard of basic and fundamental human freedoms. I didn't start this blog for no reason, and I don't say these sorts of things for no reason. Scary Days.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2010/aug/17/audio-rep-pelosi-calls-investigation-wtc-mosque-op/

Bullseye or Bull$hit? Target Gets Targeted, But Will Far-Left Group MoveOn.org Also Call For a Boycott of Obama For His Opposition to Gay Marriage?

Earlier this month, this space discussed Target's public apology -- in the face of pressure from groups on the left -- for having contributed $150,000 to a group supporting Minnesota gubernatorial Tom Emmer, who's a conservative republican and an opponent of gay marriage. (See first link at bottom). Apparently that apology wasn't enough for some, however, as MoveOn.org has started bombarding the airwaves with a new TV ad encouraging shoppers to boycott Target. (See second link at bottom).

MoveOn's boycott cry begs the question: Will the leftist group also call for a boycott and/or public denunciation of one President Obama for his identical opposition to gay marriage? Answer: Of course not! Because let's get this straight: To most of the American left, if you're a liberal and prominent member of the democrat party, opposing gay marriage is OK. But if you happen to be a corporation or a non-dem, then it's not OK. It's a form of mindless hypocrisy grounded in the blindness of political ideology and so common to those on both the far left and far right. And most of the time, they are largely oblivious to it. Must be an awful way to go through life.

And as for the boycott itself: If MoveOn.org is behind it, you can pretty much be damn sure (regardless of even what the underlying issue may be) that I'm going to be looking to do more shopping at Target than I otherwise would. I don't go there that often, although they do have some decent grocery prices. Methinks I may need to avail myself a little more frequently of those good buys. Stick that in your hypocritical little boycott and smoke it, MoveOn.org.

http://independentrage.blogspot.com/2010/08/target-apologizes-for-contributing-to.html
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41160.html

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service:France Surrenders to Social Conservatism?Or Is It Just Typical French Snootiness?

Reports from France are saying that French authorities have starting levying fines on tourists who traipse around in public without a shirt (link to full story at bottom). The stated reason of the cops and tourist town locals who support the fines: "They were sick of seeing Brits and other tourists displaying their 'hairy chest' in the streets."

But it doesn't stop with the hairy dudes: Female tourists are also being fined for wearing bikinis in public without a shirt on top. Apparently, however, at least the ladies get a warning to cover up before receiving a fine. And France isn't alone in these types of measures, as similar reports out of Spain and Italy have cops in those countries detaining and harassing tourists wearing bikinis or walking around shirtless.

So circling back to my question at the top: Is this France Surrendering yet again, this time to mindless social conservative sentiments, or is this just your typical French snobbishness towards non-French peoples? I think it has to be largely chalked up to the latter, since apparently it's non-French tourists who are being singled out for the cop harassment.

In other words, there's no indication that Frenchmen and their French lady counterparts are facing the same restrictions (even despite how stench-filled their shirtless bodies might happen to be in some or many instances). I've actually never had any real desire to go out of my way to visit France, but if I ever do then one thing's for darn sure: They will get to see me shirtless in all of my lily white, George "The Animal" Steele glory! (And I generally don't even like going around without a shirt -- never have!)

http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpps/news/french-police-to-fine-tourists-for-taking-off-shirts-dpgonc-20100816-fc_9199313

Kansas City Grandpa Packs More Than Geritol, Goes Dirty Harry, and Greets Would-Be Robbers at Front Door With .357 Magnum!

For anyone who's read this space from time to time, you'll know that I rarely talk about the Second Amendment -- it's just not one of my big issues. But I do fully support that part of our Bill of Rights, which I believe protects, at the very least, our right to own and possess firearms for use in self defense and third-party defense in our own homes against all the scuzbuckets out there who would love nothing better than to break, enter, steal, rape, maim and kill therein. And so it is tonight that I saw this story out of my hometown of Kansas City about the gun-toting Grandpa who sent two sleazewad robbers scurrying away with their cowardly tails between their legs (link to full story at bottom from my local KCTV-5's website).

This story begins with grandson Travis Keller heading into a local QuikTrip convenience store one night about a week ago for a chocolate bar and a pop (I call it soda, but I'm using the local vernacular). He made the mistake of paying for said items with a C-note. Likely receiving something like $97 back in change, Keller quickly drew the attention of a couple of sloths in the QT, whom Keller says attacked him outside for the dough. And they beat they holy hell out him too.

Just to add a little slimeball insult to injury, Keller says these two creeps hid in a ditch like the sub-human turds that they are, and emerged to again acost Keller as he struggled to try to walk home. Keller says they wanted inside his home and ordered him to take them there. But these two scums weren't expecting the likes of Grandpa Gordon Douglas!

Arriving at his front porch with the two crumballs, Keller made a polite little knock on the door, knowing that Granddaddy never answers the front door after dark anything less than fully tooled up!!! When these two jackwagon criminals got a load of the sight of Grandpappy at the door sportin' a .357 Magnum, those two slimes made a beeline for the hills faster than a couple of rats in the LA sewer system! (BTW, no arrests yet in these incidents, but I have a feeling arrests are not far off.)

I gotta say, this Grandpa is a real man, and certainly a man after my own heart. His words after the incident: "I'm very protective of my family. I don't get in anybody's business. I don't bother anybody, but if they come to my house where my family's at, come in my house -- they are very fortunate that they left alive."

Nice! Legendary pro wrestler and all-around tough guy Arn Anderson had a similar way of putting the same sentiment. 2B-A would always say back in the day, "When you mess around with family, it gets real personal real fast." Words to live by.

As a final salvo, I will leave you with Grandpa Gordon's wonderful last words from this story, as he talks about his beloved .357 Magnum and its complete usefulness for the purpose for which he intends it: "It's 158 grain, and it'll stop you with one."

http://www.kctv5.com/news/24638481/detail.html

A Nation Gone to the Dogs (& Other Animals)? What Gives w/ All the Human Beings Recently Enduring Leashes, Dog Collars & Riding Crop Beatings?

Recently, as covered in my Ladies Panel (scroll down a little bit in the righthand sidebar column), we had Star Magazine publishing photos purportedly showing Angelina Jolie traipsing around in a dog leash. And lest we not forget the recent story out of Kansas (as covered in this space -- first link at bottom) about the daycare worker beating children with a riding crop. Now ABC News is reporting on another similar alleged incident:

ABC is airing a report this weekend concerning former aspiring Olympic swimmer Jancy Thompson, who has filed the fifth among a string of sexual abuse/misconduct lawsuits against USA swimming in recent months (second link at bottom). Jancy says that she was previously abused by her swim coach in Cali. She alleges that coacher would force her to don a dog collar and leash, and that he would even make her practice in such attire, holding said leash while she swam laps around the pool. Very pathetic stuff.

Seriously -- What is wrong with the people in the country these days (and for at least the past 10 years, perhaps coinciding with the meteoric rise of The Net in the late 90's)? Is mindless 2012 Doomsday prediction worry setting in full bore, or is it the equally paranoid apprehension over Hindenburg Omen scenarios of the imminent collapse of the stock market (third link at bottom)? Yawn.

I recently in this space reached a point where it has even started to become difficult to predict the typically very predictable moves and positions of the American far left. Frankly, I recently haven't been able to make heads nor tails of precisely what it is (if anything) that is currently motivating those people.

My suggestion was for across-the-board frontal lobotomies for democrat party loyalists everywhere. But the more I think about it, the more I think maybe the lobotomies and shock therapies should extend to an ever larger swath of the population! (Yes, all of these suggestions are largely tongue in cheek, but What the Hell already?). Get a grip, American nation. The world is not coming to an end, nor are we human beings regressing into lower species (even if the anecdotal evidence to the contrary may be aplenty).

[Postcript: How about me working in the JYD photo above? May the legendary Junkyard Dog, a.k.a. Sylvester Ritter, rest in peace. THUMP!]

http://independentrage.blogspot.com/2010/07/why-you-i-oughta-pound-you-with-riding.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/brian-ross-investigates-usa-swimming-sex-abuse-scandal/story?id=11396970
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10835851/1/hindenburg-omen-is-a-stock-market-crash-imminent.html

Obama Tonight Defends The Building of a Mosque Near Ground Zero. I Don't Agree and, Moreover, It's Very Dumb Politics.

Tonight, at a White House dinner to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, Obama is defending the construction of a mosque a few blocks from Ground Zero (hit Politico.com link at bottom for full story). Since I have viewed the mosque story (much like the recent California gay marriage decision and the Arizona immigration statute) to be primarily a matter of concern for an individual state in which I do not live, I have not commented previously in this space on the Ground Zero mosque. But with the national angle of Obama himself commenting on the mosque, I think it's now very fair game and I'm going to express my opinions (which I did set forth once recently on Facebook, but not here).

First, I don't think a mosque has any business being placed anywhere near Ground Zero. That location and area is a place of remembrance, not a place of worship. There shouldn't be any religious symbols or structures there. That includes mosques, synagogues, churches, temples and any other assorted worship site. The same goes for the pictured Ground Zero cross which apparently stood at one point there. To be blunt: Keep religion the hell out of Ground Zero!

Obama's stated justification for defending the mosque: "I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country." What a completely phoney and B.S. justification! I've read that there are many (I believe dozens) of mosques in New York City. No one is preventing Muslims in the Big Apple from freely practicing their religion, as guaranteed by my beloved First Amendment.

It's also clear that this mosque is being built not out of some noble motivation of providing another place of worship for local Muslims, but rather with the provocative intention of sticking it in the face of the millions and millions of Americans who view 9-11 as the most shocking and saddening event of our lifetimes and who do not blame America for 9-11 occurring.

In short, the intentions are all wrong, the location is all wrong, and construction of this mosque is all-the-way wrong. That said, I'm not going to get all emotional, lose sleep, or rant and rave endlessly about this issue as I've noticed the conservatives doing the past few weeks. Suffice it to say that I don't agree with it at all, and I'll leave it at that.

I'm personally more intrigued by politics involved here. With the November midterm elections just a few months off (and speaking now from a purely political perspective), I think tonight's statements by Obama are incredibly stupid politically. As Politico recites, a recent CNN poll found that 68% of those surveyed opposed the construction of the Ground Zero mosque.

Although obviously Obama is not up for re-election in November, taking more actions and spouting more words that go against the clear will of the majority of Americans does absolutely no favors for the dems facing House and Senate elections in a few months. And Obama even had an easy out here: Continue to remain silent on the issue or simply say it's largely a local issue in which he does not wish to stick his nose.

Even more fascinating is trying to figure out what the hell is going on behind the scenes at the White House these days. When press secretary Robert Gibbs last weekend made his statements criticizing the "professional left" (i.e. the hard left and ultra far-left "elites"), it was my very strong suspicion that those statements had been very planned and choreographed by the White House as the first step in disingenuously trying to come across as more "centrist" during the run up to the November midterms.

And I still think that probably is, indeed, the case. But that certainly doesn't jive with Obama's statements tonight. Perhaps try as he might, Obama is simply incapable of suppressing his leftist self for any sustained period of time? Your guess is as good as mine, but one thing's for sure: The next 2.5 months are certainly going to be a lot of fun to watch regardless of your political persuasion (or lack thereof).

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41060.html

Episode 2 Recap of the Real Housewives of DC!Birthday Parties & Fireworks Aplenty!

(If you're not familiar with this series, try this primer: http://independentrage.blogspot.com/2010/08/episode-1-recap-of-real-housewives-of.html)

Episode Synopsis: Conflicts between the Sassy Brit, Cat, and the American ladies are highly accentuated in tonight's new episode! And nobody likes Michaele, that much is clear! Plus the ladies' men have a Penis Conference!

Segment 1: It’s Michaele’s birthday! “People think I’m in my 30’s, but I’m old. I’m really old – I’m 44,” says Michaele. Funny, I would have thought older, actually! Maybe Stevie Wonder mistakes her for being in her 30’s, but unfortunately for her, I can see!

Her hubbie Tareq Salahi has a few birthday surprises for Michaele. First, she gets to choose from among various purses, shoes and jewelry that Tareq has had brought into their mansion. She is only supposed to pick out just a few items, but ends up choosing a whole couch full of stuff. “You just can’t so no to her,” says Tareq. Second, Tareq takes her out on the grounds and gives her a riding horse. Michaele claims she hasn’t ridden since she was a little girl, but she’s happy with the gift. She names the horse Sparkle.

Then we switch to Lynda’s apartment, where Lynda’s with KC, who’s an assistant to Lynda and also a girlfriend to Lynda’s son. Lynda says off camera that you have to be a “mad person” to be her assistant and says that KC really isn’t that person. They are looking at house listings since Lynda wants to buy a house and get out the apartment (which she says isn’t big enough for her family and all their friends).

In the suburb of McLean, we’re next at Mary’s house. Rosa, Mary’s housekeeper, has a hospital mask on and is cleaning up dog poop from the yard. Next Rosa’s inside vacuuming up a ton of dog hair from the stairway’s tile landing area. I’m no expert on dog breeds, but Mary’s dog looks some kind of part St. Bernard mutt. The dog certainly sheds & $hits a lot. Mary speaks Spanish to Rosa (saying that Rosa doesn’t understand English very well) and tells Rosa that it’s very difficult around this joint when Rosa isn’t around to clean up.

Then Mary starts dictating a laundry list of tasks for Rosa to complete, including shampoo the rugs, work on the dog pee stains (that mutt’s not fully house trained?!), and clean the walls. Mary says that the dog is actually daughter Lolly’s (age 23, who just moved back home) and is a bernese mountain dog (so it appears it’s not a mutt after all). The dog is called Kona (sp) and is female. Lolly says off camera that the dog has added a lot of stress to the household. Adding to things is that the dog does not seem well-trained. In addition to the housetraining issue, it won’t come when called and instead just starts barking.

Next we’re at the house of Cat (the sassy Brit), where she’s in the kitchen talking to daughters Jade (age 11) and Ruby (age 9). Cat tells them about her resolution last week to go horse riding with Michaele, and the girls say they just can’t picture mama on a horse. Cat is clearly irritated that Michaele made Cat do a “pinky swear” to follow through on the excursion. Next Cat gets together with Mary for lunch and starts in complaining about the “pinky swear” vow again. Cat wants Mary to go along on the horse ride, but Mary changes the subject. When Cat won’t let her off the hook so easy, Mary reluctantly says, “count me in.”

Mary’s daughter Lolly is then shown waitressing at this same restaurant. Mary explains to Cat that Lolly had been living on her own for a year with a boyfriend, but that it didn’t work out. Mary confides to Cat that she (Mary) is pretty stressed out about Lolly’s dog. Cat oddly comments, “I’m just looking forward to when my daughters leave home.” Cat says she won’t allow her daughters to live at home at age 23 – a claim that Mary views with pessimism.

Then Lolly comes by their table and Cat starts bustin’ Lolly’s balls about the dog hair issue! Lolly is a good sport, but off camera is none too happy (and Mary has a disgusted look on her face as well). Then Cat starts breakin’ Mary’s balls about allowing Lolly to live at home, about the dog, and about the large tip that Mary’s leaving for Lolly. A Real Charmer, this Cat!! Mary is very clearly pissed, but Cat seems oblivious!

Segment 2: Michaele is talking about her birthday presents with friend Paul Wharton, the celebrity stylist. Paul says he “loves” the horse’s name, Sparkle. Michaele is also helping Paul plan his birthday party, and they mull over the guest list. Likely foreshadowing later events, Michaele says that Paul can count on her to plan a great party with “no drama.”

Now we’re in the kitchen with Stacie and hubbie Jason. Stacie says she wants to invite some people to dinner at “Our Francis’” house, which is implied to be the home of one or both of Stacie’s parents. Jason is taken aback at the suggestion, as apparently whatever “Our Francis’” means, it’s going to be a real trip for the guests. Stacie says she’s thinking of inviting Mary, Lynda, Cat. At the suggestion of Cat, Jason says, “Oh Lord have Mercy.” Flashback to last week, when Cat offended Stacie by dissing Barack Obama for not RSVP’ing to her wedding invite and by saying that she holds George W. Bush in higher regard since at least he RSVP’d.

Stacie says that the guests “are going to see a down home, black family, Sunday style dinner.” (Jason, BTW, in this segment reinforced my initial impression of him from Episode 1: A very nice, easygoing dude.) Stacie then leaves a voice mail for Cat inviting her to the dinner. It seems clear that Stacie most definitely wants to expose Cat to whatever “Our Francis’” means, as she remarks that “they” (again, implying her parents or some other family member) won’t take any of Cat’s sassy British guff.

The Big Horse Ride: Mary is driving (with Cat) through an office park area that Mary calls (or at least it sounds like) “Tyson’s corner,” and Mary comments that her granddaddy had an option to buy all of this land but passed it up because he didn’t want to be so close to DC. Bad decision, it’s made clear. Anyway, Mary and Cat are on their way to take up Michaele on her offer to ride horses. Mary reveals that she first met Michaele when Michaele was a makeup artist at Nordstrom’s. “Oh yes, Michaele has definitely changed her station in life,” Mary rather nastily remarks.

At Michaele’s estate, Michaele and Tareq are oddly sitting on director’s chairs on a mini red carpet in the middle of a field. Mary remarks off camera that she thought this was going to be an informal event, but the Salahis are clearly looking to put on “a show.” Mary seems a bit pissed because Michaele had told them to wear jeans, and yet Michaele’s wearing formal riding pants. (BTW, I had previously had very little attraction to Cat UNTIL I saw her in a tight jeans and tight T at the Salahi estate!)

Tareq (a devoted polo player) says he’s going to give the ladies a little riding & polo lesson. Cat is riding a horse called Uncle Buck, and she’s having difficulty picking up on the whole polo “whack the ball with the zany-looking mallet” thing. But Michaele has similar problems. Mary, who has more of a past riding background than the other two ladies, is obviously more comfortable on her horse and picks up the whole polo thing a lot better. At the end of their riding, Cat says off camera that she was actually surprised how much fun she had.

The riding being over, Tareq breaks out the “wine” for the ladies. But it’s actually beer in wine glasses! Cat and Mary seem visibly offended by the fact that the Salahis own a vineyard, but yet served the ladies beer. Michaele off camera explains, nonsensically, that the horse barn doesn’t “hold much wine,” and that they would have needed to drive up the road in order to get some wine (like I said, non-sensical: The barn holds beer, but can’t "hold" wine?!). (Note: I would have been more appreciative than the ladies, however. Give me a beer any time over a glass of wine. But then again, I’m much more the earth-like sort.)

Segment 3: Planning for Paul's Birthday Bash -- Michaele is heading to The Park at Fourteenth, a restaurant/lounge/club in DC. She’s meeting there with Sherwin (the manager of the joint) and other friends of Paul Wharton (including Charlotte, his publicist) concerning the planning of his birthday party there. It’s revealed that Michaele also planned Paul’s 30th birthday party, which received great compliments, but which also disappointed Paul because the venue would only allow 25 attendees. Michaele is relieved to learn from Sherwin that many more than 25 can be invited this time around.

Dinner at Frances'! Finally we learn whom the hell Francis (actually it’s spelled “Frances”) is!!! Stacie calls her “aunt Frances,” and Stacie explains that Frances was Stacie’s mom’s best friend and Stacie’s Godmother. Stacie further explains that her mom died when Stacie was 13, and that every week Frances would prepare a Sunday dinner for Stacie and Stacie’s dad. Stacie also indicates that Frances is quite the cook/chef. Stacie and others are starting to arrive at Frances’ house for the big Sunday dinner.

At Lynda’s apartment, she’s very excited about eating a “soul food dinner” at Frances’ house (since Lynda is from south Georgia originally, she explains). Lynda is waiting for her boyfriend Ebong (half her age) to pick her up and, in the meantime, is barking orders at poor KC to do this and do that as Lynda tries to get ready.

Back at Frances’ house, the food honestly looks to die for! A huge platter of hot wings and a giant pan of peach cobbler are shown! Stacie’s hubbie Jason can’t wait to dig in. Ironically, Cat the Bush-lover (LOL) is the first of the ladies to show up at Frances’. Paul Wharton next shows up, meeting Aunt Frances for the first time (realize he’s more of a Lynda & Michaele friend). Frances tells Paul that she’s drinking Scotch, while Cat is off looking for something to drink herself. She’s given some wine that she doesn’t like the taste of. Cat complains to Stacie about this, and Stacie is clearly offended. Lynda shows up late, with BF Ebong in tow. Lynda immediately takes to Aunt Frances, commenting that Frances could “definitely be a kindred spirit for me.” Then Mary and hubbie Rich also show up late.

Penis Conference! Stacie’s hubbie Jason takes the other male significant others – Rich and Ebong – downstairs to talk. Jason says that he’s excited that he has a patent on technology that “uses volume to measure the size of different body parts.” It’s called the Penile Volumetric Measuring Device. This is not fully explained at this juncture, but obviously it’s a device that will give a dude a measurement on the precise size of his penis. [Gee, I always thought a wooden ruler would be fairly good for that task, but who am I to question?] Rich hilariously asks, “is this where the white guy leaves the conference?” He further quips, “I’m not going to hang around and be ridiculed by you two – I don’t want to be hung out to dry.” [All three of these dudes are obviously nice, cool guys – which kind of makes me feel sorry for them, at least in terms of Rich and Ebong.]

“I think I’ve got something that could be really, really huge,” remarks Rich next, obviously intending the double meaning. Ebong off camera comments that he’s just “a little uncomfortable to be hanging out with three men talking about penis.” And Rich clearly feels no different. Jason starts back in: “We all know that size really does matter, right?” Rich, again exhibiting his sense of humor, quips: “You see, big guys never say that, but white Irish Catholic guys say that.” [My comment here: I must beg to differ with Rich: I’m a white Irish Catholic guy, but I have NEVER said that! – go figure!].

Then Jason starts talking about how size of feet and hands are predictive of penis size. On that topic, I’ve always read and heard that those are predictors, but what if a dude has huge feet and small hands, like me? You can just keep guessing on that one, because I’ll never tell (at least not publicly)! As the dudes head back upstairs, they joke about broaching the whole penis topic with Paul Wharton (and I ain’t touchin’ that one with a ten foot pole (no pun intended)! – not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Upstairs, It’s Dinner Time at Aunt Frances’. Jason is sitting beside Cat and asks her if she’s ever had collard greens like those served tonight by Frances. Cat equivocates and won’t give a straight answer. Then she’s introduced to the fact that many cooks, like Lynda and Frances, recycle their lard and vegetable oil from one meal into future meals.

Cat appears Very Disgusted at this suggestion and at the fact that she might now be eating food made out of second generation oil! Lynda comments off-camera that Cat seemed to be the only one at this dinner who seemed uncomfortable with the whole event. [Comment: I for one would have loved to have been at this dinner: The food looks great!] While everyone else is just finishing up dinner, Cat is looking to make a beeline to the exit! “It really was not my kind of scene,” remarks Cat off camera.

And I’ll largely give her a pass on this one, because she’s not American. And make no mistake, Britain is a distinct culture from ours. If she was American, I would light into her for leaving early like that. But since she’s not, I’m not going to criticize too harshly. BUT she could learn a lesson from this: As the old cliché goes, When in Rome, Do As the Romans Do. If I was attending a dinner in Britain or Europe at which I did not feel entirely culturally comfortable, I would still stick it out until the end out of respect for the different culture and for the other attendees.

But apparently Cat does not have that ability within her character. And a further observation about Aunt Frances: From the tiny bit we see of her on this episode, I would feel so completely comfortable sitting down for a Sunday dinner at her abode. Probably too comfortable, in fact. I bet I’d eat so much that she wouldn’t be inviting me back anytime soon! [You folks out there who REALLY know me know that of which I speak! ;)] But I digress.

Stacie is very offended that Cat, in addition to breaking out very early, didn’t even say goodbye to Stacie before departing. Says Stacie (and I must agree): “What kind of home training do they teach folks in London!” Apparently about the same level housetraining that Kona The Dog received!

Next Stacie and several of the attendees head downstairs (the site of the prior Penis Conference) to vent about Cat’s awkward early exit. Stacie is fumin’! She says: “Cat is not used to being in an environment where it’s a majority black people.” Stacie further says that she really can’t sympathize with that since African-Americans all the time go to places where they are in the minority. Paul Wharton (African-American himself) speaks up for Cat and says that he’s a friend of hers, but he admits that she seems to lack the ability to connect with African-Americans.

Segment 4: Back to Mary's -- At Mary’s house, poor housekeeper Rosa is out there again wearing a surgeon’s mask cleaning up dog $hit. Rich is talking to Mary (whom, without makeup sitting there, frankly looks very bad – why would she allow herself to be shot in such a state for this reality series? No clue). Mary is telling Rich that she wants Rosa around more often (5 days a week) to clean up messes.

They also talk about how Lolly in her old place didn’t want to use the coin operated washing machine -- to which her Daddy Rich mocks her, “Yeah, Who Does Something Like That!” This shows that Rich (much to his credit) is at least somewhat in touch with the reality of ordinary people. And what does he get in response? Mary says: “If it came down to a choice between Rich [her husband] and Rosa [the housekeeper], it would be Rosa.” Very nice. Who needs enemies when we have spouses, right!? That was pathetic. Especially since Rich seems to be a very nice dude. [Although, I guess Rich never knew Arthur Godfrey or frolicked at the Kennedy compound! Oh, Rich is such a Plebiscite!].

Segment 5: Leading up to Paul's party -- Paul Wharton is worried about his birthday party. Michaele has apparently stood him up at a meeting and he’s concerned as he cannot reach her by phone.

At Lynda’s apartment, it seems that Lynda has ANOTHER assistant, named Robin (who’s all the way hot, with totally gorgeous blue eyes, amongst other features, BTW). Lynda comments for the first time that her “#1” modeling agency is going through tough times with the economy and all (truth be told, what sector of the private business world isn’t hurting these days?) Lynda is heard commenting on one model as being age 14, having a “football player neck” and having “a lot baby fat.” As Jackie Gleason might say – Very Nice Lady, this Lynda (NOT!).

Birthday Bash Time for Paul Wharton at The Park at Fourteenth! Cat shows up with bigtime photog hubbie and fellow Brit Charles (who has a great head of hair, BTW), followed by Mary & Rich, and then Ebong & Lynda. [OMG: Ebong’s like 2 feet taller than Lynda – he was described in Episode 1 as being 6’5, so does that make Lynda 4’5” and a dwarf? Not that there’s anything wrong with that.] Apparently the planner of this party, Michaele, is a no-show at the outset, which if very off-putting for Lynda (big surprise there!).

But then Michaele shows up in a limo (with police escort), all glitzy w/ hubbie Tareq in tow. Recall Episode 1 where Michaele bragged up that one of her favorite things to do is to “make an entrance” (frankly, I respect the hell out of that! – very cool). Lynda off camera takes offense to this entrance and accuses the Salahis of being deadbeats who don’t pay their bills (for the record, is there a worse thing in the world to be accused of? I don’t think so. I’d personally rather even be called a rat fink than a deadbeat, but again I digress). THEN Paul Wharton finally shows up for his own birthday party.

Cat says off camera that she does not like that she offended Stacie at the Frances dinner party. Cat expresses that she hopes that Stacie and her will get to know each other better in the future, because Cat thinks they could have a lot of fun. And you know what: I take Cat at her word on this one. As discussed previously, Cat IS from a completely different culture, and clearly has not been very exposed to the ins and outs of American culture to any great extent ever before. I definitely criticize a lot of her behavior this episode, but I’m NOT going to judge her.

Then Lynda starts grilling Cat’s British hubbie, Charles, about how he could work as a photographer for both the Bush and Obama administrations. His answer: “In simple terms, because I am not political.” Very cool Charles! Then they hilariously start a discussion about whether George W being an idiot (he was) – even though both Charles and Lynda seem to maintain that he wasn’t a complete idiot (Memo to Them: it’s OK to admit it!). It’s funny how Charles really wants to talk more about Bush, but Lynda seems more interested in eating.

Then Tareq starts beating the wine glass with a spoon to get people’s attention so that he and his wife can make speeches! Mary comments off camera that Tareq and Michaele are trying to turn this into THEIR event. Then Tareq points a corked champagne bottle at Lynda’s table, and she’s about to Go Ballistic about this until BF Ebong restrains her! But then the cork flies, and it hits Lynda right in her ass, which REALLY pisses her off!

Finally, the party turns to the subject of Paul’s Birthday. He talks about how he didn’t have many friends back in the day because he was gay. He talks about how he decided that he was going to get strong in his life, and not care what people thought about his gay lifestyle, and just try to make a lot of friends like those gathered tonight. Good for him.

Segment 6: Tempers Are Runnin’ HOT Between Lynda & Michaele at Paul’s Party! The Episode 1 dispute between Lynda and Michaele about Michaele having a eating disorder rears its ugly head once again. Then things break down into Michaele and Lynda bickering like a bad episode of You’re Cut Off!!! Here’s what’s pretty clear to me: Michaele is real piece of work, out of touch with most of us normal Americans, but I have seen absolutely no evidence of an eating disorder. What also appears clear to me is that Lynda really has it out for Michaele, and is therefore pounding this whole eating disorder angle.

Final Thoughts: I'm certainly starting to develop some general impressions of the people on this show. I have nothing critical to say about the men. Mostly nice guys. But the ladies! I really don't like Lynda at all, and Mary's not much better. The jury is still out on Cat, who is certainly having problems adapting to American culture. Michaele is an airhead and completely out of touch, but she strikes me as fairly harmless. Stacie seems decently grounded and really hasn't done much for which I would be overly critical. Be sure to check back next Thursday night/Friday morning for my Episode 3 recap!

Democrat Expresses Death Wish for Sarah Palin and -- Levi Johnston?! I Get the Typical Loony Left Sarah-Hate, But Why Levi of All People?!

Today Politico.com reported that dem New Hampshire House candidate Keith Halloran (pictured at left) posted a message on Facebook this week that expressed his (Death) Wish that Sarah Palin and Levi Johnston had been on the Alaska plane that crashed and killed former Alaska GOP Senator, career politician and all-around political fatcat Ted Stevens (see first link at bottom).

Here's my take on this: That the loony American far-left that controls the democrat party would express a Death Wish for Sarah Palin comes as absolutely no surprise. If you have even an elementary understanding of how those people think and the hateful way in which they view this country and anyone that disagrees with them, then Halloran's statement -- while vile, putrid and absolutely slimeballesque -- comes as no real surprise or shock.

But what's with Halloran's inclusion of Levi Johnston (whom Halloran refers to as "Levy" in his Facebook message) in this Death Wish? Johnston is a lackey, a flunkie, a punk, and a 24-7 attention-whore and Z-list celebrity (at best). Who knows if that idiot is even a republican or if he even has any coherent political viewpoints (I suspect likely not).

Besides, I would think that loony left-wingers would love Levi since he's a walking, talking PR nightmare for Palin and her family. So I'm struggling to understand why they would wish him dead. I'm actually dumbfounded for once. The best I can come up with is that we don't call these people "loony" for nothing. They certifiably need some help. Across-the-board frontal lobotomies might be the best suggestion.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0810/NH_Dem_wishes_Palin_ill.html
http://www.dublinjaffreyrindgedemocrats.org/democratic_ticket-nh.html

Pulp Fiction or Novel? Levi Johnston to Follow in Sarah Palin's Shoes, Run for Office, & Plaster It All Over Reality TV.

Seriously -- Is there any aspect of Sarah Palin's life or anything connected to her that isn't a three-ring circus and/or train wreck? And so it is today that Levi Johnston -- the on-again, off-again former fiancée of Palin's daughter Bristol -- announces that he's going to run for mayor of the small town of Wasilla, Alaska (I would presume as a republican, but who the hell knows -- link to full story at bottom).

Of course, Sarah Palin formerly held that same office, leading to the infamous line from the Obama campaign in 2008 upon Palin being announced as John McCain's VP choice: "Senator McCain has seen fit today to nominate a former mayor of a town of 9,000 as his vice presidential running mate." Many of us here in "flyover territory" took a fair share of offense to that statement and won't soon forget it, but I digress.

Well, ol' Levi is apparently determined not to run some boring, garden variety local mayoral campaign. That's why he's going to base a new reality series around his candidacy. "Loving Levi: The Road to the Mayor's Office," the show is to be called. The show is described as featuring "the trials and tribulations of America's most famous teen dad as he enters the world of politics while continuing to dabble in Hollywood." BTW, precisely what does it mean for one to merely "dabble" in Hollywood? It seems to me that you're either "in" Hollywood or you're not, and Levi certainly is not.

Regardless, Levi does seem quite full of himself as you might expect, spouting: "It's hard to figure me out. You've got to follow me around. I'm very different. I lead a crazy life. But [Loving Levi] will basically be both [my] worlds, my life life in Hollywood and back home, the real country boy that I am." But alas, since the Wasilla mayor's post isn't up again for election until 2012, Levi says that he may just have to tide himself over in the meantime by sitting on the town's city council (he's quite the presumptuous sort, no?).

One final line from the linked story also caught my eye: "Johnston also told Variety that he hopes the show exposes his true character." That one immediately reminded me of a line from Harvey Keitel's classic Winston Wolf character (as pictured above) in the motion picture Pulp Fiction: "Just because you are a character doesn't mean that you have character."

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/10/johnston-running-for-palins-ex-job-in-reality-show/

Hope He Gets the Full Tilt-A-Whirl Treatment Back in the Joint: Scuzwad Sex Offender Carnie Arrested on the Loose in Joplin, Missouri.

The slimeball at issue is 33-year-old carnie (errrr, carnival worker) William Cooldridge Oser, Jr. -- a twice convicted sex offender who's finally been arrested in Joplin, Missouri (link to two stories at bottom, neither of which has a picture of this creep). Check out the little House of Horrors that this sleazebait has perpetrated over the years, which is just as much of a grave indictment upon the grotesquely lenient and underfunded criminal justice system that has permitted this turdbucket to run around free in society:

In 1997, Oser pleaded guilty in Louisiana to aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated oral sexual battery involving relatives of his who were 9 years old and 11 years old. He was very lightly sentenced to a mere 10 years for such monstrous conduct, but even then only served four years before being paroled in 2001! Then Louisiana's lax monitoring of this scum allowed him to flee from the conditions of his parole to Florida to pick right back up where he left off. The State of Louisiana ought to be thoroughly ashamed of itself.

In Florida in 2009, Oser pleaded guilty to lewd and lascivious battery (i.e. having sex) in a carnival trailer with a 14-year-old runaway girl. Florida should be even more ashamed of itself. In Florida, Oser received five years probation for that statutory rape and no prison time. Instead on incarcerating him, Florida shipped back off to Louisiana, which likewise let him roam around free again under the same "monitoring" program from which he had simply walked away previously.

And I'm sure you guessed it: He walked away again and joined back up with a traveling carnival (which I'm sure exposed him to a whole new crop of potential underage victims) until his very fortunate arrest in Missouri. He's charged in Missouri with failing to register as a sex offender (since apparently there are no further child rapes that can be pinned upon him at this time).

I'm going to follow this story closely going forward, and I'm going to raise hell if Missouri ships this slimeball off to Louisiana again. Missouri needs to throw the book at this scumjob and give him the maximum sentence for failing to register so that at least one state will actually get this jackwagon off the street and into the can where he belongs. I'm watching, Missouri. Please Show-Me something.

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/08/09/2138941/traveling-carnival-worker-charged.html
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20100807/NEWS01/8070334/1007/Carnival-worker-arrested-in-Joplin--accused-of-failing-to-register-as-sex-offender

Holiday Road! Her Majesty Lives It Up on European Vacation Last Weekend. Hope Michelle Amused Herself, Because NoOne Else Is.

Just more proof positive that this administration and everyone connected to it could not be more out of touch with the problems and concerns of the American people during these very dire social and economic times. Now, if you've read this space from time to time, you'll know that I'm not much on criticizing the First Lady or ever even mentioning the first family (except, of course, for the head honcho himself). So instead of going on one of my typical rants, I thought I'd link you (at bottom) to a particularly well-written and rather scathing indictment of Michelle Obama's European Vacation from Britain's Telegraph. Here's a little taste to wet your beak:

"The timing of this lavish European vacation could not have come at a worse moment, when unemployment in America stands at 10 percent, and large numbers of Americans are fighting to survive financially in the wake of the global economic downturn. It sends a message of indifference, even contempt, for the millions of Americans who are struggling just to feed their families on a daily basis and pay the mortgage, while the size of the national debt balloons to Greek-style proportions.

While the liberal-dominated US mainstream media have largely ignored the story, it is all over the blogosphere and talk radio, and will undoubtedly add to the President’s free falling poll ratings. As much as the media establishment turn a blind eye to stories like this, which are major news in the international media, the American public is increasingly turning to alternative news sources, including the British press, which has a far less deferential approach towards the White House.

The First Lady’s ill-conceived trip to Marbella and the complete disregard for public opinion and concerns over excessive government spending is symbolic of a far wider problem with the Obama presidency – the overarching disdain for the principles of limited government, individual liberty and free enterprise that have built the United States over the course of nearly two and a half centuries into the most powerful and free nation on earth."

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100050002/the-obama-presidency-increasingly-resembles-a-modern-day-ancien-regime-extravagant-and-out-of-touch-with-ordinary-people/

Sad Days for Independents & America: As Dems Push Even More Far Left, GOP Trends Even More Far Right, Talking Up a 14th Am. Citizenship Clause Repeal.

The latest republican noise on this front came today on Sunday morning TV from House minority leader John Boehner -- fresh out the tanning salon (he's the George Hamilton clone in the center of the above pic) -- who said that a repeal of the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause is "worth considering." That Clause provides that anyone born in the United States is a United States citizen, regardless of whether the person's parents are also citizens. Boehner isn't the first, as plenty of GOP talking heads (including John McCain) have been making similar suggestions in recent weeks.

I call it both ways, folks. Over the past 19 months, I have frequently pointed out just how radical far leftist the DC dem powerbrokers are. And I view the apparent "repeal the Citizenship Clause" movement from the GOP to be similarly radical far right. I look at the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause as being every bit as "Ma and Apple Pie," and at the core of what makes us a great nation, as even my beloved First Amendment, and most certainly the Second Amendment, as well as the other fundamental substantive rights extended to us throughout the Bill of Rights.

The Fourteenth Amendment and its Citizenship Clause date back to 1868 and the Reconstruction Era. The Clause effectively overruled the notorious Dred Scott decision of 1857, which had found that African Americans could not be citizens of the United States. And now the GOP is talking of repealing such an importantly historical piece of law? Whom do the republicans think they are? When the radical leftists of the democrat party spew their constant drumbeat rhetoric of GOP standing for such things as Grumpy Old white Persons, methinks even they do at times have a very valid point.

Now, all the GOP talk about repealing the Citizenship Clause appears grounded in the argument that it could help discourage illegal immigration from Mexico. Which is Right-Wing BS! The way we stem the flow of illegal immigration over the porous southern border (which I have little doubt has allowed dozens if not more Al Qaeda operatives into our country over the last several years) is very simple: Secure the damn border! But the GOP has little interest in doing that since it is bankrolled by powerful interest groups supportive of the cheap labor force that an open border brings.

So what do we get from the GOP? A bunch of lip service about securing the border (just like we get from the democrat party), couple with a real and bona fide focus on the largely anti-American measure of repealing the Citizenship Clause. Yes, I just accused the GOP of acting anti-American, but you'll find that's just sort of the way I roll.

As usual, the real losers in this whole equation are my fellow Independents -- that 40% of the country which is not very comfortable with either of these two extremist parties but yet incessantly much try, come election time, to choose between the lesser of two absolute evils. I started this post with a two-word phrase, and I shall end it the same way: Sad Days.

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/08/john_boehner_repeal_of_14th_am.html