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Saturday, June 30, 2007

UK, Scotland Terrorist Attack Updates

I see the Religion of Peace has again peacefully demonstrated their ability of love and compassion and their ability to carry on meaningful dialogues rather than resorting to violence...I say this because initial reports are that the men in the Jeep looked "Asian/Middle Eastern" and the man who was on fire was yelling "Allah Akbar". These weren't Jews or Christians, people. This is Islam, the so-called Religion of Peace.

We stand with our brothers and sisters in the UK and Scotland during the horrific events that have unfolded in the foiled terror attacks over the past 48 hours.

Jeep burns and crashes into Glasgow airport ABC News

Asian Men Seen Driving Jeep BBC

Friday's London foiled car bomb: The Race for Evidence. BBC

Airport Attack Ruled Terrorism BBC

UK Threat is "Critical". BBC

Glasgow Attack in Pictures. BBC

Security Measures Stepped Up. BBC

Full Account of The Glasgow Attack. New Zealand Herald

U.S. Tightens Airport Security Measures. ABC News

U.S. Airport Security Tightened Prior to Independence Day Holiday. Bloomberg

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Farfour "Killed...Martyred" In Final Episode


"I'm looking forward to 72 rodent virgins," are reported to be his dying last words.

Farfour, the anti-Semitic, pro-Islamofascism mouse of Hamas Television was killed [Friday] by an Israeli Terrorist.

Farfour found fame and fortune with Al Aqsa Hamas TV after a post-Vaudeville career that spanned decades.

Best known as Slappy al-Rodentia in the late 1920s, his stage act consisted of mock suicide bombings decades before they became popular and anti-Semitic jokes and routines including, "Who's In The Oven", of which the comedy team Abbott and Costello years later would model their famous "Who's On First" routine.

"He was a funny, funny mouse," said Vaudeville veteran Henny Schliebovitz, 99-years old. "But he never knew his limits. He was always pushing the anti-Semitism angle. A lot of club owners refused to book him after a while."

Farfour had a two short-lived television series. "The Zyklon B-Colgate Comedy Hour" ran for two seasons, 1959-1961 and was yanked by the network for not being pro-terrorism and anti-Semitic enough. His unsuccessful sitcom, "Those Damn Jews", lasted for only one season in 1970. It was cancelled for not containing enough "hatred and anti-Semitism".

Ten years later, with the sitcom/adventure "Farfour Und Das Führer", he found success and international acclaim portraying a time-traveling mouse who befriends Adolf Hitler in the midst of World War II. The series ran for six years and was the number one top-rated television program in all Arabic countries.

NBC's "Saturday Night Live" caused heated controversy by having Farfour as the program's host in 1988. NBC was flooded with phone calls from people angry and upset with him hosting the program, but it turned out to be one of the highest rated "SNL" episodes of all time.


Farfour led a quite personal life, although rumors of alcohol, drug and spousal abuse run rampant. He voluntarily entered the Betty Ford Center for Drug Treatment And Alcohol Rehabilitation in 1993, but left the center only three days later vowing never to return.

And now...he's dead.

Says Schliebovitz, "he knew how to entertain, he was one of a kind. He just couldn't get over his hatred for Jews. He could've been a superstar, you know, another Barney or a Tinky Winky, but his appetite for anti-Semitism couldn't be toned down."

Funeral services, if any, have not been announced.

©2007

PBS Democrat Debate: NAFTA Hypocrisy

I watched the last fifteen minutes of the PBS Democrat Candidates Debate on Thursday night hosted by the articulate, bright and clean Tavis Smiley.

Get ready for a larger federal government than you could ever imagine should any Dem make it to the White House come 2008. He or she (and it'll be "she", being MrsSatan, bet on it) will make the growth of the Federal Government under Bush look like a small, Lego cabin constructed by your child.

The answer to virtually any question asked of the candidates invariably included the creation of a "program" that, under the Federal Government, would oversee whatever the problem is. Yeah, that's what we need - an even larger Federal Government than Clinton and Bush gave us. We're not quite regulated enough, are we?

John Edwards said he would have someone who would provide him with a briefing every day on the progress, or lack thereof, on the rebuilding of New Orleans.

Many audience reaction shots of Al Sharpton and Harry Belafonte included them applauding and nodding their approval to the words of the articulate, bright and clean Osama Hussein Obama. It was nice to see Sharpton and Belafonte looking
articulate, bright and clean.

It was interesting that every candidate said they would undo NAFTA - the North American Free Trade Agreement - the treaty that was enacted by Democrat President Bill Clinton. Really? You mean there's something that Bill Clinton did that isn't the best thing since sliced bread? Amazing!

If one today says they are against something they were for in the past, well - in the real world - we call these things "mistakes" or "errors in judgment".

So it was rather humorous to see the likes of Joe Biden and Chris Dodd say that if elected president, they would work to undo the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), that was signed into law in 1993 by EX President Bill Clinton. It is also interesting to note that at that time - 1993 - the majority party in the Congress was still weighted in favor of the Democrats since the "Republican Revolution" didn't happen until the November 1994 election.

Last night, Joe Biden basically said that signing onto NAFTA was a bad idea. Well, I wonder why he Voted FOR it?

Same with Chris Dodd last night, saying that signing onto NAFTA was a bad idea. Well, I wonder why he Voted FOR it?

I didn't hear Bill Richardson's answer last night if he thought NAFTA was a bad idea or not, but let the record show that he Voted FOR it.

Although Hillary Clinton MrsSatan wasn't in the Senate back in 1993 to cast a vote for or against NAFTA, her voting record on Trade Issues weighs more heavily towards trade agreements than against them:

* Globalization should not substitute for humanization. (Jun 1999
* Supports MFN for China, despite concerns over human rights. (Oct 2000)
* Voted YES on free trade agreement with Oman. (Jun 2006)
* Voted NO on implementing CAFTA for Central America free-trade. (Jul 2005)
* Voted YES on establishing free trade between US & Singapore. (Jul 2003)
* Voted YES on establishing free trade between the US and Chile. (Jul 2003)
* Voted NO on extending free trade to Andean nations. (May 2002)
* Voted YES on granting normal trade relations status to Vietnam. (Oct 2001)
* Voted YES on removing common goods from national security export rules. (Sep 2001)
* Rated 17% by CATO, indicating a pro-fair trade voting record. (Dec 2002)

John The Sissy Edwards wasn't in the Senate in 1993 and Dennis "The Urchin" Kucinich wasn't yet a member of the House of Representatives. I did hear The Urchin say in the Thursday night debate he would repeal NAFTA. I missed what The Sissy's position is on it now...or for the moment.

The Sissy's position on Trade in the past is rather conflicting and self-contradictory. The Sissy is on record being against NAFTA in January 2004, but one month later flip-flopping on this issue noting he'd rather renegotiate NAFTA rather than cancel it:

* Renegotiate NAFTA rather than cancel it. (Feb 2004)
* Against NAFTA, against Chile trade, against Singapore trade. (Jan 2004)
* Voted YES on permanent normal trade relations with China. (Sep 2000)

The highlight of the evening was, of course, Joe Biden saying that he, “...spent last summer going through the black sections of my town holding rallies in parks trying to get black men to understand it’s not unmanly to wear a condom."


I bet Joe looked articulate, bright and clean, too, traveling the black sections of his town. A sharper guy one will not find.

©2007

Friday, June 29, 2007

Pelosi Popularity Plummeting

Speakeress of the House, Nanny Pelosi has some popularity problems according to the L.A. Times:

    A new poll of about 2,000 California residents reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's standing in her homestate is headed in the wrong direction: her approval rating has fallen 13 percentage points since March, to 39% from 52%.

    That finding, in the new survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, is of a piece with attitudes toward Congress in general in the state; 33% give the gang on Capitol Hill positive ratings, down 9 percentage points since the Democrats took control in January.



Awwwwww...Dat's So Sad! The frothing at the mouth, Looney Left Wing Base that worships at the Altar of Abortion and prides themselves at Cut And Run, Slow Bleed, Appeasement at Any Cost and the Blame America For Everything crowd must be urinating in their pants. Well...when aren't they?


Nanny Pelosi had been out of public view up until now so I figured she must've been in hiding, waiting for the Botox injections to take hold and the face-lift scars to heal...again.

Poor Nanny Pelosi. I thought she told us that "it will take a woman to clean up the House." Apparently, just like all the the uber-Liberals, she's full of hot expletive deleted.

©2007

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Stick A Fork In Immigration Reform



"A modest increase in call volume" shut down many Senate offices on Thursday morning, calls from voters and constituents voicing their opposition to the Immigration Reform bill.

From The Hill.com (same as the above link):

    Opponents of the bipartisan immigration reform bill that stalled in the Senate after a 46-53 cloture vote this morning said foes of the bill had flooded Senate offices with phone calls.

    “The Verizon telephone switch[board] serving the Senate is experiencing problems that are being exacerbated by this morning’s modest increase in call volume,” says the e-mail, which was sent at 9:45 a.m.

Why anyone thought this immigration bill was good law or be helpful in combating illegal immigration is simply beyond common sense.

There's no reason to believe that any illegal immigrant would jump through the absurd hoops in this bill to become a legal citizen.

The problem with this failed immigration bill is similar to the problems with gun laws and criminals. Creating more gun laws doesn't solve or remedy crimes committed by criminals with guns. Too many gun laws are already on the books and they are not being enforced. Creating another layer of gun laws and regulations will do nothing to reduce crime and criminals intent on committing crimes who possess a gun that they've illegally obtained.

Adding more laws and layers of immigration reform to the already existing laws - without enforcing the ones currently in effect - would have done nothing to alleviate the root of the problem.

An overwhelming majority of the American people have spoken. They were not impressed by the language in this new immigration bill. The Senate- and make no mistake about it, President Bush as well - didn't listen...until today when the Senate phone lines melted.


TVNZ headlines the defeat of this Immigration bill as "Bush Defeated On Immigration". Well, this defeat should make Liberals happy then, right?

This Immigration Reform bill was bad law. I'm glad it failed. It was something Bush really wanted to see enacted. Please take note, those of you affected with Bush Derangement Syndrome, who think that I blindly follow and support anything and everything Bush and the Republicans say and/or do: I'm glad this bill failed. I'm glad Bush didn't get what he wanted on this.

The American people, as Harry Reid is so fond of quoting, have spoken.

©2007
Other fine writers blogging on the defeat of Immigration:

GuyK: Amnesty Bill Bites The Dust
Layla Gonzalez at The Hill Chronicles: Shmanesty Dies In The Senate
Nuke Gingrich: Break Out The Sackcloth And Ashes
Big Dick: Support Your Local Wetback Bill Is Dead
Curt at Flopping Aces: Immigration Bill Going Nowhere

Thursday, June 28, 2007

John Edwards Is A Sissy

LiberTard Chris Matthews, drooling and perhaps in some sort of pre-diabetic shock, sand-bagged Ann Coulter on his program two nights ago with a phone call from Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Senator and Democrat presidential candidate John Edwards. I'm guessing this is nothing more than a desperate attempt by Matthews to garner some ratings and viewers for his unwatched program of unstoppable dysentery from his mouth.

Coulter didn't take the bait and good for her. She doesn't need me defending her. She's smart enough to realize when she's being set-up and make no mistake about it, Matthews had set her up.

John Edwards won't appear on FOX News and take questions from Chris Wallace, Brit Hume or Sean Hannity, yet, he postures himself as someone who can negotiate with terrorists, America-haters and those that want to hurt us and do us harm. He'd wet his pants in the presence of Ayman al-Zawahiri.

How is anything Coulter said different from that of Bill Maher saying a few months ago that he wishes that Vice President Dick Cheney had been killed by insurgents?

How is what Coulter said different from the mock and "fictional" documentary "Death of A President"?

John Edwards, as a trial attorney, did nothing but exploit the deaths and injuries of those he represented. Now, when he finds himself on the receiving end of just a tiny bit of what he spent his life doing, he has a hissy fit and puts his wife up to fighting battles for him against Ann Coulter.

It was only this past February when Edwards had his staff bloggers writing about hate on his site. This was downplayed by Edwards, of course, because it was hatred from Liberals directed at Conservatives, especially religious Conservatives.

See, this is how it works; the Left is allowed and permitted to say and display any and all types of hatred toward Conservatives and anyone else that doesn't goose-step along with them. But the Left immediately cries "foul" when the same is said about them. If you can't take it - and Dems can't - you shouldn't dish it out. But the Left always wants to have their cake and eat it too and Coulter, for one, will not let them get away with it. I say, good for her and others like her.

John Edwards has his poor cancer-stricken wife fighting his battles for him. No real man would behave like John Edwards.

John, don a sun dress and some lipstick and admit that you're a woman. Perhaps a tutu?




©2007

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Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Students Don't Have The
Same Rights As Adults

Morse v. Frederick, casually known as the "Bong Hits For Jesus" free speech case, was decided on Monday with the Supreme Court of The United States (SCOTUS) ruling 5 to 4 that student Joseph Frederick's right to free speech were not violated. BBC:

    A former high school student has lost his case in what is the US Supreme Court's first major ruling on students' free speech rights in almost 20 years.

    At issue was whether a school principal violated a student's right to free speech by suspending him for displaying a banner reading "Bong Hits 4 Jesus".

    Joseph Frederick unfurled the banner near to his school as the Olympic flame passed through Juneau, Alaska, in 2002.

    [...]

    Head teacher Deborah Morse, who destroyed Mr Frederick's banner and suspended him for 10 days, argued that the banner's message went against the school's anti-drugs policy and was unfurled during a school event to watch the flame pass.

The five Justices writing the majority decision included Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Anthony Kennedy.

Dissenting were Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, David Souter and Stephen Breyer.

However, Breyer - in part - concurred with the majority opinion.

Via the Student Press Law Center:

    Justice Steven Breyer filed his own opinion, in which he concurred in part and partially dissented. Breyer claimed resolving whether Principal Deborah Morse could be given qualified immunity from any monetary damages first meant the Court would not have to consider the First Amendment issue.

    Breyer dissented on the grounds that reviewing the constitutional question was not required. By denying Frederick's claims for monetary compensation and granting qualified immunity to Morse, there would be no need to visit potentially murky free speech claims, he said.

    "It's an interesting point. He says first of all Frederick would never win damages because of qualified immunity, and I think that's right," said Ron Collins, a legal scholar at the First Amendment Center's Arlington, Va. office. "Given the facts of the case, Frederick might not even win injunctive relief, so he never reaches the constitutional question. Breyer's opinion...strikes me as reasonable, not compelling, but reasonable."

The key word in this entire case is "reasonable" and it was "reasonable" for Morse to take the actions she did. This upsets many Liberals who have only a knee-jerk reaction who add the SCOTUS decision to a long list of imagined "wrongs" done by the Bush-Cheney Administration.

What's next...the Left claiming that the liberal Breyer, appointed by Bill Clinton in 1994, is part of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy? (chuckle).

Even the Leftward-leaning Stump Blog called the decision, "a common sense decision by the U.S. Supreme Court."



For those Liberals who are outraged with this decision, hop into the Wayback Machine with Mr. Peabody and Sherman and revisit
Tinker v. Des Moines.

Students - especially those under the age of 18 - do not have the same rights as non-students or adults. For instance, students under the age of 18 cannot legally enter into contracts. The behavior of students in schools, both public and private, usually must adhere to conduct and policies specified in Student Handbooks. Different standards apply to student and school newspapers than those that apply to private and public newspapers.

On the issue of liability, "the Court agreed unanimously that Morse should not be penalized." - The First Amendment Center.


Additional reading about how students do not have the same rights to Free Speech is at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and their Frequently Asked Questions about student rights with regard to blogging.

Students don't have the the same rights as non-students and adults. The Left is simply going to have to learn to live with, and accept, this fact of life.

©2007

Shocking Revelation:
Golf Balls Break Windows!

If you buy or build a home near a major metropolitan airport chances are you will hear the "noise" of jet airplanes overhead.

If you buy or build a home near railroad tracks chances are you will hear a train rumble by and toot its horn.

If you buy or build a home on a golf course chances are you may, from time to time, get a golf ball breaking one of your windows or hitting the siding of your home.

And homeowners on golf courses are upset about this. Unbelievable:

From AOL Sports:

    If you love playing golf and have always thought you'd love nothing more than to own a home right on a golf course, you may think again when you read a New York Times report on the downside of living near golf courses: Broken windows, and lots of them.

    That might seem like an obvious problem, but thousands of homeowners say that at the time they bought their houses, few if any golfers could reach their windows. Now advanced golf club technology makes every weekend duffer a threat.

The story appeared in the New York Times, titled: A Fairway View, but the Window Is Often Broken (if, for some reason, the NYT disallows the direct link to the story, just Google search the title).

    When she moved into her retirement condominium on a golf course, Eleanor Weiner admired the lush, pristine views of the fairways and greens, a landscape she never had to mow or maintain. Not long after, as she prepared dinner, a golf ball shattered the kitchen window, whistled past her head and crashed through the glass on her oven door. Ms. Weiner retrieved the ball from her oven and stalked outside to confront the golfer who had launched the missile.

    “He told me that’s what I get for living on a golf course,” said Ms. Weiner.

Uh-huh, yep - that's right Mrs. Weiner. What part of living on a golf course don't you understand?

Some people built their homes along the edges of the golf course after - years after - the course existed. But no, in our "I'm The Victim"-status mentality, it's not their fault. Idiots.

    Some people have become virtual prisoners in their homes [said Earla Smith].

Well, there's always Guantanamo Bay for you, darlin', if living on a golf course is making you a "prisoner". I'm almost certain no one is doing any golfing at Gitmo.

©2007

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Ed Schultz Attacks Air America

As I wrote HERE, it seems that Liberal Radio Talker Ed Schultz has scrubbed (i.e. removed) his MP3 file of his February 13, 2007, rant against Air America from his web site. The podcast of his rant was, for months, available to listen to, but now it's gone.

So click on the
on the bottom left of the screen and watch the movie, "Ed Schultz Attacks Air America".



This short film is also playing and appearing HERE.

©2007

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Saturday, June 23, 2007

Congress Hits New Low In Approval Ratings

A new Gallup Poll has the approval rating of Congress down to 14%. 14% ! Oh, (cough, cough, hack, spit, wheeze, cough)... Bwa-ha-ha-hardy-har-har (emphasis mine):

    PRINCETON, NJ -- The percentage of Americans with a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in Congress is at 14%, the lowest in Gallup's history of this measure -- and the lowest of any of the 16 institutions tested in this year's Confidence in Institutions survey. It is also one of the lowest confidence ratings for any institution tested over the last three decades.

    Gallup's annual update on Americans' confidence in institutions shows that confidence ratings are generally down across the board compared with last year. The public's confidence ratings in several institutions, including Congress, are now at all-time low points in Gallup's history of this measure. These low ratings reflect the generally sour mood of the public at this time.

    [...]

    The current confidence rating for Congress -- 14% -- is the lowest in Gallup's history for that institution. Although ratings of Congress have never been high, they were at the 40% level at the time of Watergate in the 1970s, and again in 1986.

    [...]

    Americans' confidence in the presidency has dropped concomitantly with the drop in Bush's approval ratings. In 2002, 58% were confident in the presidency compared to the current 25%. President Bush's job approval ratings have fallen from 84% at the beginning of 2002 to 32% today.

Hmmmmmmm....Congress has an approval rating of 14%. Bush has an approval rating of 32%. How does Bush-Cheney-Halliburton-The Military Industrial Complex always manage to pull off such "schemes"?

"14% approval rating of Congress." You mean the new Congress of Nanny Pelosi, Harry Reid, JimBobBobbyJimJimbo Webb and all the other criminals of the newly elected Democrat "majority"?

©2007

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No One Listens But They
Demand To Be Heard!

Every time Talk Radio Arbitron ratings are released Liberal, or should I say Progressive, - (Liberals don't like to call themselves Liberals and instead use the euphemism Progressive because it sounds far less nefarious and obfuscates who they really are) - Talk Radio is at the bottom of the list except in a very few select markets, not coincidentally in largely populated "blue" cities. The response from those in Progressive Radio is accusing Conservative Talk Radio of having a monopoly of the airwaves and not giving Progressive Talk a "chance" in markets dominated by Conservative Talk.

Advertisers spend their money where they can reach the biggest audience. This applies to any type of market and media. Advertisers will spend their money at a newspaper with a subscription rate of two-million rather than a newspaper with a subscription rate of 100,000. Radio, in all its forms - Sports Talk, Political Talk, Classic Rock, Hip Hop, Oldies format - is no different.

It comes as no surprise then, that Liberal Talkers do nothing but whine "it's not faaaaair" that their programs aren't being heard in markets where advertisers aren't going to spend their money on programs where listenership doesn't exist or where the audience is minimal. Minneapolis' Air American station, AM 950, is a perfect example of this. When AM 950 hasn't sold a 30-second spot, you'll hear either instrumental music or static/dead air for that 30 seconds.

Instead of earning their success and working hard for more stations and markets to carry their programs, Liberal Talkers want it handed to them via the Fairness Doctrine. It apparently doesn't occur to Lefty Talkers that the success of Conservative Talk Radio has come from earning it. Nobody handed or gave Rush Limbaugh several hundred radio stations carrying his program at the start of his Talk Radio career.

The argument that the consortium of companies owning Conservative Talk Radio is shutting out Progressive Talk is one that is false. If Liberal Radio was a huge and successful ratings-getter, advertisers would be banging on the door to buy time on those stations and programs. But this isn't happening and the reason is that Liberal Radio doesn't come close in reaching the audience and market that Conservative Talk does.

If owners of any media thought that broadcasting a howling hyena on the air would get tremendous ratings sensation, we'd all be listening to The Howling Hyena Show.

If I - or anyone else for that matter - invents a software system that puts Microsoft to shame, the product will sell itself, becoming the successful and dominant operating system in the market. If the product is substandard to what already exists, and I cry that I deserve the same treatment as what is already the dominant and successful operating system, then I'm nothing other then I'm Ed Schultz, whining about how no one will buy my operating system.

And this is how this column all came about, by listening to Friday's Ed Schultz show with his whining about how he can't get his Lefty Radio program into more markets and stations. Gee Ed, could you be part of your own problem? You do remember your on-air meltdown and tirade against Air America, a network that carries your program, don't you? Maybe calling them "rotten business people", "undercutters" and "mean, nasty people [who] suck" played a part in the lack of syndication of your show? It's also interesting to note that you pulled and removed your ranting audio clip from your site. Well, fortunately I have in its entirety and it's at the bottom of this post.

Hey Ed, why don't you work for it instead of asking for it to be handed to you via the government and FCC regulations? Ed, maybe you're simply in the wrong country. Maybe you should relocate to Venezuela and become a mouthpiece of Hugo Chavez. I'm sure Hugo would like that, and Ed, you'd have the most popular and listened-to radio show there.


What Liberal Talkers want in their demands for Talk Radio "regulation" is analogous to me wanting to enter an Olympic race and demand - since the Olympic runners are in top physical shape - that they run at a slower pace to give me a chance of winning. This is what's called the envy of ambition and success and Lefty Radio is filled with it.

In the interests of not letting Ed off the hook, the following audio clip is his entire rant against Air America. I am reproducing his podcast of February 13, 2007 in accordance with U.S. Copyright Fair Use Section 107, "including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching... is not an infringement of copyright." And I'm specifically citing "purposes of criticism and commentary", especially since you scrubbed this particular podcast from your site.

Ed, eat your own words. Then blame others for your tantrum and wonder why you're not on more stations? What an ass.
Click on the and listen to Ed's own words:






It's funny when Liberals cause their own pain and then whine and cry about it, isn't it?

©2007

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Friday, June 22, 2007

Sad Story Of Minnesota's
Department Of Health Gets Sadder

Earlier this week Minnesotans learned that the Minnesota Department Of Health - under the auspices and under the order of its Commissioner Dianne Mandernach - withheld critical information from studies about deadly cancers among Iron Range miners.

To recap, from WCCO News:

    Some health experts are criticizing a decision by the Minnesota Department of Health to withhold information about additional deadly cancers among Iron Range miners. But the state health commissioner is defending the delay.

    The Star Tribune reported on Sunday that the Health Department suppressed the research for a year, finally releasing it last March.

    The department discovered in March 2006 that a rare, asbesetos [sic]-related cancer had stricken 35 more miners. Seventeen cases had been previously known. All the miners have died.

    According to documents obtained by the Star Tribune, officials had planned last year to disclose the information. But state Health Commissioner Dianne Mandernach rejected those plans last fall.

Boy - it's a good thing this wasn't a study on the so-called health effects of second-hand cigarette smoke that was unilaterally delayed.

Developments this week include State Senator John Marty and U.S. Steelworkers are calling for an investigation into Mandernach's decision. (Marty is a Democrat, and I couldn't agree more with him on this issue.)

    Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, said the Senate Health Committee will take up the issue during a hearing next week.

    Bob Bratulich, director of District 11 of the United Steelworkers, said the Legislature and attorney general must determine whether there was a cover-up.

    "It is unconscionable, unethical, and probably criminal for a public agency to withhold information about a potential health risk to workers," he said.

Meanwhile - our idiot Governor, Republican Tim Pawlenty Hatch is standing by Mandernach, who he appointed in 2003 to the $108,400 dollar a year job:

    Gov. Tim Pawlenty backed up Health Commissioner Dianne Mandernach on Wednesday, even as Iron Range lawmakers called for her resignation over the yearlong delay in the release of data on nearly three dozen cancer cases among miners.

    [...]

    Iron Range legislators are incensed, and two of them - Rep. Tom Rukavina and Sen. David Tomassoni - held a news conference outside Pawlenty's office to call for her resignation. They were joined by Sen. John Marty, who heads a Senate health policy committee.

    [...]

    Union leaders and Iron Range politicians said the public, including 4,000 current miners, should have been told sooner about the new findings. Iron Rangers have long worried about health problems related to the mining industry, and male residents of northeastern Minnesota have come down with mesothelioma at unusually high rates since the late 1980s.

    "If it had been known a year ago we could have got a jump start on this," said Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, one of nine lawmakers to push for Mandernach's resignation. "I mean, these are people's lives on the line, and to delay it for a year makes no sense. I don't understand."

    Mandernach issued a statement apologizing for the tardy release of the data.

Here is an excerpt from her apology, too little too late, in my opinion:

    "As the head of Minnesota’s lead public health agency, I want to apologize for delaying the release of information about the deaths of 35 miners from mesothelioma.

    With the benefit of hindsight, we should have provided this information earlier. It was clearly the right thing to do."

I wrote last November why I would not support or vote for the re-election of Pawlenty. I cannot stand him. Something strange happens to Minnesota Governors after their first term. It happened with Rudy Perpich, it happened with Arne Carlson and now its happening with Tim Pawlenty. I dunno...maybe it's the water in the Governor's Mansion.

These days Pawlenty is occupied attaching his nose to the anus of Republican Presidential candidate John McCain. It's no secret that rumors abound that Timmy could be the VP on McCain's ticket. Maybe they can start a new party and call themselves the Straddler Party.

Dianne Mandernach needs to resign or be fired from her position as the State Health Commissioner, it's that simple. No one - no one - in the private sector could get away with what she did and keep their job - no one.

If you think like I do, that Mandernach should resign and/or be fired, here is who to contact:

Contact the MN Dept. of Health:
Phone: (651) 201-5000
888-345-0823 (toll-free for callers outside the metro area)

Contact the Governor's Office:
Telephone: (651) 296-3391
Toll Free: (800) 657-3717
Facsimile: (651) 296-2089
E-mail: tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us



The Idiot Pawlenty and Dianne "Let them eat cake" Mandernach

©2007

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Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Fun With Parasites And Other Icky Stuff

Warning: The following You Tube videos are not for the squeamish.

And now...on to the fun!


In this video, a woman from the UK returned from a vacation in Costa Rica with a parasite - a maggot (how lovely!), actually larvae- in her head transmitted by a mosquito carrying eggs from a
Botfly:



Original You Tube URL.

- - - - -


This person has a worm removed from their eye:




Original You Tube URL.

- - - - -


The anus of this person or animal (commenters at the original URL noted it didn't appear to be a human colon) is full of pinworms:




Original You Tube URL.

If you're not yet disgusted enough, read about
Guinea Worm Disease and View some images of the worm exiting the body.

Spaghetti, anyone?

Does The BBC Hate America?

Former BBC journalist Robin Aitken has written a book titled, "Can We Trust The BBC?".

He recounts the following story from a story in This Is London: (emphasis mine)

    Working at the BBC can be a strange experience. On occasions during my 25 years as a journalist with the corporation it was jaw-dropping.

    In 1984 I returned to BBC Scotland after covering the Tory conference in Brighton. The IRA had come close to assassinating Margaret Thatcher with a bomb and the country was in shock. Apart, that is, from some of my BBC colleagues. "Pity they missed the bitch," one confided to me.

    For three decades I was that rare breed - a Conservative at the BBC. In my time working on programmes such as Today and Breakfast News I couldn't have formed a cricket team from Tory sympathisers.

    As one producer put it, you feel almost part of an ethnic minority.

    We all know the cliched critique of the BBC: a nest of Lefties promoting a progressive agenda and political correctness.

    [...]

    In 1999 the news was dominated by Nato's war against Serbia. The BBC was supportive, in contrast to its sceptical attitude to the Falklands and the first Gulf wars.

    Why the difference? At the time Tony Blair enjoyed uncritical support within the BBC, as did President Bill Clinton.

    [...]

    Within the BBC, opinion ran strongly against the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

    Most staff felt war was unjustified; feelings intensified by their contempt for President George Bush.

    [...]

    It is worth bearing in mind what happens if someone at the BBC breaks ranks.

    In 2004, TV presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk wrote about the Arab people and asked: "What do they think we feel about them? That we adore them for the way they murdered more than 3,000 civilians on September 11 and then danced in their hot, dusty streets to celebrate the murders? That we admire them for being suicide bombers, limb amputators, women repressors?"

    Kilroy-Silk's TV career ended the next week.

    In a statement, the BBC's director of television, Jana Bennett, said: "Presenters of this type of programme have a responsibility to uphold the BBC's impartiality.

    [...]

    The BBC is a profoundly influential opponent of nearly everything conservatives believe, with the Right forced to accede feebly to the Left-liberal consensus.

I often link to stories appearing on BBC News. I also watch their half-hour syndicated news program which is aired in the U.S. mostly on Public Television Stations...no big surprise there. While I do detect a bias of it leaning leftward, I don't see the egregious examples noted by Mr. Aitken. This does not mean I doubt him or what he says about his previous employer.

It is not surprising at all that Tony Blair enjoyed a political career free from criticism in his homeland as well as the USA. Blair only became "Bush's poodle" when the Left - in both the UK and US - decided that that moniker would advance their political ideology of Liberalism.

Double-standards are alive and well anywhere and any place inhabited by the Left, sadly because it is all they know. They cannot compete in the arena of ideas and policy-making, nor are they able to accept that the answer or solution to a problem may indeed be proffered by someone who isn't a member of their team.

©2007

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

A Bumpy And Satanic Week Ahead?



This Thursday, June 21, marks the official start of summer. I know this is true and irrefutable because my Day-Minder Calendar says so, and it could never be wrong. This would also be what many refer to as
the solstice.

You may or may not have heard of Stew Webb. I've run across his name in the past while reading up on the latest conspiracy stories over the years. But there is no Wikipedia page or Answers.com page devoted to telling us much about who is Stew Webb. I also searched his name using "Stewart" and "Stewert". He does have a Website.

According to a link within Mr. Webb's site, this is a special time of the year:

    "June 21 and December 22 each year, Satanist, perform Human Sacrifices as part of their Satanic rituals. These are known as the "Summer and Winter Solstice".

    During these rituals an Human Infant is killed and sacrificed to Satan (Baphemet-the Goat Headed Demon), and the Satanist drink the blood of the Infant Human they sacrifice, and Baphemet appears before them and goes out to kill the enemies of those satanist who perform this Human Sacrifice."

Yes, the link to the above pertains to 2002, but he also writes on the link that George W. Bush - uh huh, the President - travels to Sedalia, Colorado's Kimball Castle to "[kill a human infant] sacrificed to Satan (Baphemet-the Goat Headed Demon), and the Satanist drink the blood of the Infant Human they sacrifice, and Baphemet appears before them and goes out to kill the enemies of those satanist who perform this Human Sacrifice."


Hank Kimball, who, as far as I can tell, is not connected to Kimball Castle.

Webb also writes that he is, "Nationally know Federal Whistleblower."


Other allegations made by Mr. Webb include:

    "EX-PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH ORDERED THE MURDER OF ROSS PEROT During the 1992 Presidential Election."

    Or could it be the 150 mgs of prozad [sic] he takes daily?

Mmmmmmm - prozad...goes well with the Jolly Olly Orange Kool-Aid, I bet!



Now, I like a good conspiracy as much as the next person. For instance, Webb writes the following about Hillary Clinton:

    Hillary Lesbian Rodenhurst Clinton a.k.a 3rd Degree Witch has Incurable Herpies [sic]. Rumor has it Lesbian Rodenhurst was caught in [sic] bathroom stall with Carolina Panther cheerleaders. George W. Bush has Lethal Gonorrhea contracted from Jeff Gannon. Both Clinton and Bush considered major Biological Health Terrorists. Rumor has it Matt Dreck aka Matt Drudge operates as their pimp.



Now, this is just balderdash, except the parts about Hillary, all of which must be true.


Some of this or all of this or none of what Webb writes has something to do with Bush being a Skull and Bones member. John Kerry is a S&B member too, but he must be one of the good ones since Webb doesn't mention him - not that I could find.

You don't suppose Stew Webb is the brother of kiddie-p0rn writer cum Virginia Senator Jim Webb, do you?

Webb (Stew, not Jim) has organized all the Bush Crime Family (is this where Malloy gets his shtick?) operations into an easy- to-read flow chart. The only names missing from the chart are Rush Limbaugh and Muddy Mudskipper, so we know damn well this conspiracy is true!



At this page of Webb's site he writes the following about Bush and contrails:

    George W. Bush signed an executive order allowing NATO aircraft to fly over the United States of America. Every day these aircraft are spraying viruses, chemicals, antibodies, Aluminum, Barium Oxide, Nichol, known dried blood samples, and various other unknown disease causing chemicals upon the American people. This further is being done under U.S. Air Force "Operation Cloverleaf". Just look into the skies, contrails dissipate in a few minutes after hitting moisture. Chemtrails are left for hours and come down to the ground, poisoning our soil and American's health. Chemtrails spread as clouds. This is intentional and knowingly, causing death, and diseases, upon Americans.

A very scary and nefarious conspiracy, yes? And so Bush-(Karl) Rovian...why, only they could do something such like this to the American people. But...but...Dana Davis, writing about contrails in The Asheville North Carolina Tribune notes:

    The Tribune has conducted extensive research in trying to attain hard evidence leading to any information that could substantiate claims and theories related to chemical trails being laid in the wake of military planes in the guise of condensation trails.

    Parties on both sides of the fence are entrenched that their view is the correct one in this controversial debate. Chemtrail believers consist mainly of the “average Joe” and amateur sky watchers, while those who refute chemtrails, arguing that the cirrus formations are harmless contrails, consist primarily of physicists, NASA researchers, and other such scientists.

    [...]

    In Executive Order 13128, Clinton stated that disclosure of such military information would not be permitted if it were "contrary to national security or law enforcement needs."

(GASP) - so Bubba is in on the contrail thingy too? How diabolical! Boy, we really are a bunch of sheeple, aren't we?

Oh...and did I mention Webb says, among other things that Hillary Clinton is an Israel [sic] Mossad Agent? Well, now you know.

And some of you wonder from where the Kook Left Fringe gets their absurd information that they repeat as gospel?

As soon as anyone can prove this stuff, even about the Clintons, I'll be on your side and at your side. Until then...

... wait, if it's on the Internets, then it must be true...right?

I guess we should all be alert and keenly aware of where the President is and what he is doing this coming Thursday and Friday, right? Human sacrifice, anyone?

©2007

Monday, June 18, 2007

Minnesota Department Of Health Intentionally Withheld Critical Information On Cancer

This story is about as sad as it gets. I'd imagine if this were a private company - a tobacco manufacturer, for instance - all holy hell would break loose with the State filing multiple lawsuits.

The
Minnesota Department of Health deliberately withheld information and reports about cancer related to Northern Minnesota's mining region; WCCO News, (emphasis mine):

    Some health experts are criticizing a decision by the Minnesota Department of Health to withhold information about additional deadly cancers among Iron Range miners. But the state health commissioner is defending the delay.

    The Star Tribune reported on Sunday that the Health Department suppressed the research for a year, finally releasing it last March.


    The department discovered in March 2006 that a rare, asbesetos [sic]-related cancer had stricken 35 more miners. Seventeen cases had been previously known. All the miners have died.


    According to documents obtained by the Star Tribune, officials had planned last year to disclose the information. But state Health Commissioner Dianne Mandernach rejected those plans last fall.


    Mandernach told the newspaper that the department had needed time to plan new studies of mining and disease. She said that releasing the findings -- without having a plan for further studies -- could "excite and cause tremendous concern before you have all of your ducks in a row."


    But public-health experts say the department should not have waited.


    "Whether or not they had a plan in place is neither here nor there," said Dr. Ian Greaves, an associate professor of environmental health at the University of Minnesota who is an expert in lung diseases.


    "They're a public agency that serves the public, and I think it's overreaching to think they should take an attitude that they know best," Greaves said.


    The deadly cancer -- mesothelioma -- strikes the lung lining and develops decades after exposure to asbestos fibers. The findings have renewed concern about taconite dust and lung cancer among the 4,000 workers in Minnesota's iron-ore industry.

    Mine dust has long been a concern because some taconite fibers are chemically identical to asbestos. Mine operations also used commercial asbestos on such things as pipes and boilers, creating another source of exposure.

    In 2003, Health Department researchers found that 17 miners had developed mesothelioma between 1988 and 1996, and that commercial asbestos -- not taconite dust -- was a more likely culprit. Some critics said the Health Department didn't look hard enough at mine dust.


    According to department e-mails, memos and notes released under the state public-records law, the Star Tribune reported, officials worried about public reaction to the latest research, which covered 1997 to 2005.

    The Health Department has regularly released public-health research. Last month, the department quickly released another study based on the same cancer-tracking registry used in the Iron Range research. That study found no cancer clusters in Washington and Dakota counties, where groundwater pollution is a growing concern.

    State Rep. Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, serves on a committee that reviewed the Iron Range findings in April. He said he didn't know the release of the mesothelioma research had been delayed a year until a reporter called him. He said the Legislature should have been told earlier.


    "I know in the Dakota County one, we pushed for that in a very expedited manner," McNamara said. "I wouldn't want them to do anything different in the same situation, no matter what geographic area."


    According to the Star Tribune, internal documents show that the Health Department drafted a news release in June 2006 about the 35 additional cases of mesothelioma, but planned to release it only if word of the findings leaked out.

    The newspaper reported the documents reveal that department officials were so concerned about a possible leak that they excluded two prominent University of Minnesota researchers from scientific consultation because they had been critical of the Health Department in the past.

    The two scientists are Greaves, the lung-disease expert, and Professor William Toscano, head of the division of environmental health sciences in the School of Public Health. In interviews, the scientists said they had never leaked anything.

    "People need to know this," Toscano said of the mine-disease findings. "I can't imagine people not wanting to know this information."


    The United Steelworkers, which represents many miners, shares that view.


    "It is a basic right to know what the government knows about exposures and problems that can affect your health," said Mike Wright, the union's director of health, safety and environment.

The action - or, more appropriately, the deliberate inaction - by the MN Dept. of Health is unacceptable, unsatisfactory, repugnant and reprehensible. Dianne Mandernach is no longer qualified or fit to be the Commissioner of the Department of Health and should immediately resign. If she refuses to resign, Governor Tim Pawlenty should fire her.

Contact the MN Dept. of Health and voice your outrage:

Phone: (651) 201-5000

888-345-0823 (toll-free for callers outside the metro area)


Contact the Governor's Office and voice your outrage:

Telephone: (651) 296-3391

Toll Free: (800) 657-3717

Facsimile: (651) 296-2089

E-mail: tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us


Dianne Mandernach, in her own words from the Dept. of Health Website:

    "Minnesotans can take pride in knowing we live in one of the healthiest states in the country. Our good health is due to many factors, including a strong public health system, excellent medical care, a clean environment, and health-conscious Minnesotans.

    We're continuing to work on measurable goals that will help us remain one of the healthiest states for years to come. We look forward to working with our many valuable partners in achieving these goals."

    - Dianne Mandernach,
    Commissioner

Except when achieving those goals - like the two excluded University of Minnesota studies - make your Department of Health look bad, right Dianne?

©2007

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Bill Clinton Scheduled To Make Speech
in Minneapolis On June 18



Bubba Visits Minnesota:

    President [sic] (...shouldn't that be "Ex"-President?) Bill Clinton Business Keynote Luncheon

    The Power Within Leadership Conference

    Join us on June 18th for what thousands of CEO's, Professionals, Entrepreneurs, Community Leaders and Achievers have described as the event of a life time. Also appearing: Stephen J. Dubner, author of the national best seller "Freakonomics" Event Hours: 12:30pm to 2:00pm Ticket Prices: $150.00, $250.00 & $1,500.00.

Parents, lock up your daughters!

Will Bubba have to register as a Sex Offender as per Minnesota state law requires while he's here? Just askin' ...

Veterans Against The War
Excluded From Parade


Groucho Marx

Groucho Marx said
"I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member." I wonder of Groucho realized the Hegelianism magnitude and profundity of what he said?

On Saturday, June 16, an anti-war Veteran's group was refused permission to participate in a Virginia, Minnesota parade, the Land of The Loon Festival.

According to the AP Story:

    "Three weeks ago they told us we could be in their parade," said Gary Sorenson, president of the Duluth chapter of the national Veterans For Peace organization. "Then on Thursday someone called and said we were uninvited."

    Sorenson said the local chapter has about 30 members. The group planned to pull its float in the Land of The Loon Arts and Crafts Festival parade in Virginia, about an hour west of Duluth. The float has a banner that reads, "For the mothers, for the the soldier, for the planet, no more war." It's pulled by a truck with a sign that tallies the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq.

Sorenson and other members of the group did what all good whiners do when they don't get their way; they contacted the ACLU. Even better, Sorenson and his group learned a lesson. The ACLU told Sorenson that since the parade is sponsored by a private group, the organizers and sponsors have the right to exclude whomever they want from the parade.

I'm not against people or groups who choose to exercise their First Amendment Rights in protesting the War in Iraq or any other war or issue. I'm not against civil disobedience by people or groups who have contrarian messages. I'm not for any deliberate attempt to silence dissenting voices. But no one or group has the right to insert themselves in an environment or forum - in this case a parade - sponsored by a private organization, promoter or patron.

Unsubstantiated allegations were made that the local chapter of Veterans of Foreign Wars refused to march in the parade if Sorenson's group was included. Jerry Trunzo, commander of VFW Post 4456, denied any such claim. Sorenson countered that parade organizers didn't want anything "politically controversial" in the parade. Well...maybe, maybe not..."he said"/"she said". Yadda yadda.

The simple answer to Sorenson Veterans For Peace perceived faux-discrimination is obtaining a permit from the city and having their own anti-war/peace parade, nothing prevents him from doing so. But then what I suspect - his motive of causing and wanting to create controversy - is removed from the setting and receives little, if any, publicity.

Groucho, somewhere in the afterlife - probably puffing away on a big stogie and having a darn good time with his cohorts - must be looking down from the heavens wondering why any group would want to be part of a parade that doesn't want them.

©2007

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Happy Father's Day

I wish a very happy Father's Day to all Dads out there. This is a day that takes on a whole different meaning and significance if your Dad has died or, for whatever other reasons, is estranged or absent. My Dad died in 1998 from Sudden Cardiac Death and I've missed him every day since then. He enjoyed life to its fullest.

During Memorial Day Weekends he and my Mom would travel to whatever city was hosting that years' Navy Reunion and spend time with friends that served in World War II. Those reunions ended a few years after my Dad died, there being too few members of that group to continue the get-to-gethers and those still alive no longer healthy enough to make the trip.

He enjoyed fishing, hunting, barbecuing, gardening, tinkering around; he loved his children and grandchildren and did all the other things that Dads do. He wanted his children to have a better life than he did, and for the most part we do, thanks in part to him, and our Mom, of course.

It sucks that one of the things on my to-do list - buying a Father's Day card - is something I no longer have to do; I'd rather it not be that way.

Happy Father's Day Dad - thanks for all the things you did for me and for all the things you did without - in order to make my life better.

Happy Father's Day to all Dads out there.

©2007

Friday, June 15, 2007

Bush Approval Rating Drops In Poll, Congress Approval Rating Drop Even Lower

President George Bush's job approval rating has sunk to 29 percent in a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll [...] The poll released Wednesday shows Congress' approval rating has fallen to 23 percent.

Same story, different source.

Bush has a 6 point edge over - at least since the tracking of Presidential Approval Ratings, since 1950 - over Harry Truman, who ranked the lowest approval rating of 23% . And note the chart on the link...Bush is the only - the only - president since 1950 to have an approval rating of 90%, followed by...his father, George H.W. Bush, coming in second with 89%.

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James Metzen, Democrat
Gets Off "Easy" On DUI Charge

Minnesota Democrat James Metzen, the President of the State Senate, received a sentence of 20 hours community service, a $300 dollar fine and one year probation for his arrest in May for DUI. Metzen was arrested in the early hours on May 23, shortly after the State Legislature had wrapped up its session. His Blood Alcohol Level was .15, almost twice the amount of the state's legal limit of .08.

Metzen apologized to his Democrat colleague's by saying he'd had
"a lapse in judgment."

In a surprising and shocking (at least to me) statement, the West St. Paul
chapter of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) called Metzen's sentence "too light."

Metzen joins other fine, upstanding, stellar, law-abiding, example-setting Minnesota Democrats who drive drunk, such as
Ted Mondale, Tom Rukavina and Duluth Mayor Herb "Don't call the police" Bergson.


Although unconfirmed, it is rumored that Metzen (center) celebrated his light sentencing by getting hammered at a local titty bar with fellow DUI'ers Ted Mondale (left) and Tom Rukavina (right). Bergson, apparently, was unable to attend.

©2007

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Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Harry Reid Not Popular, Will Tell You
What Kind of Car You Can Drive

Dem Senator from Nevader, Harry "The Milkman" Reid has only a 19% approval rating according to a brand-spanking new Rasmussen Poll. Now, I'm no math wizard, but I'm willing to bet the farm that 19% is well below the mid-thirties approval ratings for President Bush.

And the Dems plan to reduce the cost of gasoline? "Use Less!" Why, let's turn the clock back to the Jimmy Carter years!

From KXMC:

    The Democrat from Nevada discussed the Senate Democrat's energy legislation during a speech at the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank.

    And how are they going to do it? By telling you what kind of cars you can drive and what fuels you can use, of course.

    Reid said the Democrat's plan calls for new cars and trucks to get 35 miles per gallon by the year 2020. To cut down on imported oil, the proposal also requires an increase in the production of ethanol and other renewable fuels used by vehicles in the United States.

Always meddling in our personal affairs and willing to bring us back to the days of candle light and pre-historic means of life, the Dems are, aren't they?

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Tony Soprano Alive And Well,
Just As He Should Be

Fan reactions to Sunday night's conclusion of the HBO series "The Soprano" heavily weigh to disappointment. Feeling they didn't get a fair shake with the ending, fans crashed HBO's servers expressing themselves as disapproving of the ending. Apparently, many fans wanted to see Tony die, and this makes no sense to me whatsoever. Why on earth would anyone want to see Tony, a hero/anti-hero, get whacked?

The final episode of any long-running series - whether it's a sit-com or drama - can't be easy to conceptualize, let alone write, re-write, edit and write again.

The finest, best conceived, most creative series conclusion (in my opinion) belongs to "Newhart", with Dick Loudon (Bob Newhart) waking up in bed next to his wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette) within the context of his previous sit-com "The Bob Newhart Show", remarking to Emily, "you won't believe the dream I just had," explaining his strange dream about owning a Vermont inn. It was classic, genius, brilliant, and flawlessly ten-steps beyond sit-com creative writing; a standard set in gold for others to reach for but never grasp.

When the "X-Files" ended, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) were alive and well, ready to appear before fans in a feature film perhaps somewhere down the road. The only disappointment in the "X-Files" conclusion was the definitive death of the Cigarette Smoking Man.

On "24" the character of Phillip Bauer (James Cromwell) - Jack Bauer's dad - may indeed be alive. Sure, the oil rig was blown up, but the audience did not witness Phillip die on-screen. Since he didn't die on-screen, Phillip Bauer may indeed have escaped just before the explosions and resurface in future seasons.

When a character "dies" off-screen, he or she may not necessarily be dead. This is why television series use the plot device of a character supposedly "dying" off-screen. If they die off-screen, the writers always have the option of bringing back the character.

If you're old enough to remember, or watched it on cable reruns, you may recall that "Dallas" fans were asked to buy into the plot device of the 1985-1986 season, where the Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) character was killed off on-screen, as nothing more than a dream by his wife Pam (Victoria Principal).

It's not easy writing a final episode of a long-running, successful series, whether it's a sitcom or a drama.


The King Pin never dies. Never.

NBC's
"Crime Story" was another gem of network television. Before it had been decided if it would be renewed or not for a third season (it ended up not being renewed), the show ended its second season with a cliffhanger with the major characters in a small jet plane, crashing into the sea. For all we know Ray Luca, Pauli Taglia and Lt. Mike Torello are still treading water.

The high expectations - and underperforming conclusion - of the final episode of "Seinfeld" left its fans and audience "wanting". You don't suppose Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer are still sitting in the same jail cell that we last saw them in in 1998, do you? "Seinfeld" was a fantastic sitcom. The characters were left in tact so that writers could bring them back, probably for a "reunion show" which - as reunion shows go - would be a terrible idea.

The disappointment in the "Seinfeld" finale was that it had far too much of a "let's get every character on screen one more time and put on a show" type of feel to it.

Clones of successful programs, sit-coms and dramas alike, often fail because magic only strikes once. How many "24"-like clones have come and gone? "CSI" spin-offs are an exception to the rule and are successful because of the interconnectivity of the original series lending its parameters to similar stories in different cities combined with superb writing and acting. "CSI: Eau Claire, Wisconsin", however, would be a short-lived and instant causality.

Mary Richards, Lou Grant, Murray Slaughter, Ted Baxter and Sue Ann Nivens had a group hug on the final Mary Tyler Moore episode - all of them fired from WJM except for Baxter. Mary turned off the lights of the news room and that was that. Simple, easy, classy and elegant.

"Everybody Loves Raymond" closed its successful nine year series with the entire Barone family seated around the breakfast table in Ray and Debra's house. The camera slowly dollied away from the table. Fade to black and that was that. Again, simple, easy, classy and elegant.

While the potential for future financial rewards certainly had to be a motivating factor why Tony Soprano wasn't killed Sunday night, "The Sopranos" changed the way episodic television is done. "24" and the "X-Files" redefined series drama as well.

Yes, fan base expectations may indeed have been for "something BIG", but "Sopranos" creator David Chase didn't get where he is today by cheating the audience. I have a feeling we'll be seeing Tony and Company in a future theatrical release or even perhaps a series of HBO films and when we do, we'll be damn happy that Tony didn't get whacked Sunday night.

So it shouldn't come as any surprise or disappointment that Tony Soprano is alive and well, as should be, at the diner. And we're waiting to see what he does next. Something tells me we'll be reunited with Tony and none of us will be disappointed.

©2007

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