President Bush Tax Cuts and Pro-Growth Plans are Working Sez US Commerce Secretary

Well, I'm not surprised about this. Liberals might be, but not to the millions of Conservatives, moderate Democrats and Republicans who believe in President Bush's plan on tax cuts and pro-growth efforts. U.S. Commerce Secretary, Carlos M. Guitierrez, said recently that the U.S. economy continues to improve and expand because of President Bush' policy on ensuring continued economic growth. This includes tax cuts.

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez today released the following statement on the GDP report which showed the economy grew at 1.1 percent in the fourth quarter and grew at 3.5 percent overall for
2005:

"The U.S. economy continued to grow in the fourth quarter demonstrating 11 consecutive quarters of GDP growth. Last year's growth rate of 3.5 percent demonstrates that despite the challenges of hurricanes and high energy costs, Americans are optimistic that the economy will continue to prove its resiliency and grow in 2006.

"The President's pro-growth agenda to keep America 's economy growing and U.S. businesses strong is working. Businesses are thriving, investing, and hiring. The economy has created two million jobs in the last year. Our economy grows when our workers and families can keep more of the money they earn. By adopting sound policies that help U.S. businesses continue to grow and expand, we will keep the economy moving forward."

As long as the economy is steadily humming along, we're better off than the rest of the world.

Kenny Walker - MIA?

Where is Kenny Walker nowadays? Kenny Walker was a deaf professional football player. The last place where Kenny worked was at MERIL in St. Joseph, Missouri after a follow-through in the attempt to contact him. He left MERIL several months ago. Rumour has it he's working up in Alaska?? This is a Texan we're talking about. How many Texans go and work in Alaska? Especially former professional football players? Hey, Kenny, where are you?

Ward Churchill and Yinishye Nasdijj - Blood Brothers?

What is it about authors of books or professors who proclaim themselves to be Native Americans but are not? Easy money? Recognition? Want attention? Indian wannabes? Yinishye Nasdijj, a fake name, is another recent addition to a list of fake Indian wannabes. But let's start with Ward Churchill.

As of late the investigation surrounding the scandal involving Ward "I-wanna-be-an-Indian" Churchill continues with the addition of two outside scholars to included as part of Colorado University's Investigative Committee. The IC is currently reviewing charges of research misconduct alleged against Professor Ward Churchill at the University of Colorado at Boulder. But two weeks later after the inclusion of two new outside scholars into the investigation Ward Churchill smugly smiles saying that the UC gave it their "best shot" and that he is "still here." Although the investigation is by no means over and is just starting but he still get "A's" from his students for his classes and he still gets his wampum. Recently in David Horowitz' Frontpage Magazine he called the investigation of Ward Churchill as the "Enron of the academic profession."

And now you thought this fake Indian thing was over after Ward Churchill? Apparently not. We have the next wannabe indian named "Yinishye Nasdijj." The difference between Churchill and "Nasdijj" is that Churchill's name is real while "Nasdijj" is not. Also, Churchill tried to look like an indian while "Nasdijj" doesn't but instead retained a fake Indian name of a "Navajo" descent.

Morris has suspected for years that Nasdijj is not who he says he is. A full-blooded Navajo and a professor of literature and Navajo studies at Dine College in Tsaile, Arizona, on the Navajo reservation, Morris is among the world’s foremost authorities on Navajo culture. Shortly after The Blood was published, he saw Nasdijj’s name listed on the national index of Native writers. Under the author’s bio, it said Nasdijj claimed his name meant “to become again” in Navajo Athabaskan. This came as news to Morris, who is fluent in Athabaskan. “There is no word Nasdijj’ in the Navajo language,” he explains. “It’s gibberish.”

"Nasdijj" was able to fool a lot more people than Churchill did, and for a long time, fooled US Publishing companies such as Ballantine books.

To catch "Nasdijj" as a fakery and a sham artist the investigion took documents like the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division, social security and other public records to come up with a real name for this wannabe Indian "Yanishye Nasdijj." The person turned out to be Timothy P. Barrus, age 55, who had a prior career writing gay pornography.

A North Carolina newspaper The News and Observer was able to confirm the true identity of "Nasdijj" one day after an article called Navahoax where the author, Matthew Fleischer, questioned the identity of "Nasdijj." The article made compelling arguments on the possibility that Tim Barrus' past was all a fabrication by drawing similarities between Barrus and "Nasdijj."

The author of Navahoax, Matthew Fleischer, tried to contact Tim Barrus a week earlier before the article came out. He was never able to get a hold of him.

When I approached Nasdijj last week, via e-mail after many attempts to find a working phone number, I received a quick reply from someone called Mike Willis, who identified himself as Nasdijj’s assistant. He told me that Nasdijj was high in the Sierra Madres of Mexico without access to phones or the Internet. He offered no sense of when Nasdijj might return, adding that it was “quite sad” that the author couldn’t “defend himself.” When asked for a phone number for either himself or Tina Giovanni, Willis did not reply. Shortly thereafter, Nasdijj’s Web site was taken offline and all mention of his daughter Kree Barrus was removed from the archives of Giovanni’s blog. The next day, that blog was also shut down and queries sent to Nasdijj’s e-mail address went unanswered.

Tim Barrus' website may have been taken offline but not out of sight. A Yahoo search engine cache results were able to show his websites (here, here, here and here). Just click on the "cache" link to get to the saved websites. The Yahoo cache results lacked any pictures using the www.nasdijj.com website address or the www.nasdijj.typepad.com website. Using the Google image search came up with a plethora of pictures with some of them being a bit disconcerting knowing now that Tim Barrus has a certain predilection for young boys (see here and here for the two website address image results).

Though incestuous rape may be difficult to trump, perhaps even more disturbing is Nasdijj’s tendency to sexualize teenage boys. A recent post on his Web site featured a nude photograph of the open anus and testicles of a supposedly cancer-ridden teenager. Nasdijj claims this was done in an effort to humanize the disease, but such pictures are often posted alongside graphic accounts of adolescent sexuality. Indeed, they are sometimes posted alongside naked sadomasochistic pictures of Nasdijj himself.

Besides Timothy Barrus' website, his wife, Tina Giovanni, hosted her own blogsite (see www.autism911.blogspot.com). After the author of Navahoax tried to contact Barrus and Giovanni a week ago Giovanni's blogsite suddenly went offline but only to come back online minus its archives which only shows the January 2006 archive.

A post from Giovanni in July 2005 shows a picture of Nasdijj’s daughter, Kree, and Kree’s husband, Steve, both of whom, Giovanni says, are teachers in La Paz, Bolivia. A follow-up Internet search reveals the December 13, 2004, meeting
minutes of the American Educational Association of La Paz, announcing the hiring of Kree Barrus and Steve Poole as teachers at the American Cooperative School in
La Paz. (A photograph of Steve Poole on the American Cooperative School’s Web site confirms that he is the same Steve pictured in Giovanni’s blog.) As for Giovanni, a records search reveals her legal name to be Tina Giovanni Barrus, with addresses in and around Taos, New Mexico. This obviously begs the question — who exactly is Timothy Patrick Barrus?

Tina attempted to erase this information found in her blogsite sensing that the author of Navahoax, Matthew Fleischer, was already on to her and her husband. First, Nasdijj’s Web site was taken offline and all mention of his daughter Kree Barrus was removed from the archives of Giovanni’s blog. Or so they thought.

A Yahoo cache holds the archived Autism911 blogsite prior to January 2006 going back to June of 2005 where it began. The name Kree Barrus can be found in Yahoo's cache. Although pictures will not show up in the Yahoo Autism911 cache a simple right click of the mouse with the cursor over where a picture would be and click on "properties" to get the picture web address that can be copied into the URL address bar of your browser.

After all that ruckus by the Barrus family over the many years that it finally caught up with them did Tim and Tina disapear. Another difference between Ward Churchill and Tim Barrus is that one disappeared and ran away from any media spotlight while the other seems to bask in it.

John Miller of National Review Online discussed in his January 27, 2006 article "Honest Injun?" saying that the incidence of fake Indians is almost "epidemic" here in the United States. A good read.

We have Ward Churchill, Tim Barrus and James Frey who should answer on why on what they've done in order to make a buck from their book writing endeavors.

How to Subvert China's Google Firewall - Falun Goog Style

Imagine the almighty Google with their famous "Don't be evil" corporate motto refusing to bow down to U.S. Government pressure to release some random search data but were on hands and feet acquiescing to China's overt, freedom busting search requirements? Something just doesn't add up here.

Earlier, Michelle Malkin requested photoshopped/altered Google logos from bloggers in the attempt to make a point about Democracy and freedom. But what bloggers, supporters and readers should do instead is to try and find ways to provide important web searching techniques on how to do search queries to avoid triggering China's national firewall. When doing search queeries in China using certain words or phrases will promptly disconnect the unfortunate Chinese web user from Google or the proxy itself. This would depend on where those Chinese web users are in China and how and the kind of search being done. Eyes are literally everywhere.

Bill Xia of Dynamic Internet Technology Inc wrote in 2004 on the Chinese search engine query results that he and others have done for public release over the internet. Bill provided materials and tips on what web users to expect from using the Chinese Google version in doing searches when done inside and outside of China and how to avoid such firewall problems. Bill has a reason why he is doing this.

Bill Xia immigrated to the U.S. from China during the late 1990s. Over time he saw how the Chinese government kept a tighter and tighter control over Chinese web users inside China. And because of that frustration, he and few others started Dynamic Internet Technology as way to help Chinese users get around the Chinese's firewall.

Bill Xia left China for the US in the late 1990s. He keeps up with events in his homeland, mostly online.He has been amazed by the rapidly growing number of people in China who can join him in cyberspace.But he has also watched as Beijing tries to keep tighter and tighter control over those Chinese web users. Mr Xia says he got fed up with the way the Chinese authorities control access to information on the web"I started realising the media controls in China. And then I realised the internet presented a great opportunity to get around those media controls," he said. In 2001, Mr Xia and some other US-based volunteers started Dynamic Internet Technology.The company helps Chinese web users get around China's firewall.

Bloggers and supporters from around the world outside of China should look to this new company, Dynamic Internet Technology, as the answer to overcome China's severe restriction on free exchange of information, truth and facts. Google's latest faux pas, seemingly so, may have actually helped this situation. Rather than to heap disparagements on Google’s latest endeavor, even though they are a bit of a hypocrite on what they've done lately, we are probably facing the best opportunity to help ensure on our ability to forcibly export free exchange of information and ideas into China.

Now, if the U.S. Embassy can do the same thing in Cuba with a five-foot tall electronic message board up along the Embassy's windows as the United State's "pipeline" to spread the word of freedom and Democracy, why not show Chinese web users the same thing by giving them the tools and information they need to subvert the Chinese's Google version via the internet? Here's the link of an English version about Cuba's "crisis" from China's People's Daily Online. A little play of irony here.

Google can just gag on this for all we care. However, this is a pipeline we’ve been waiting for. This could be the silver lining in the sky that is now being cast as a darkening horizon.


UPDATE: Welcome Little Green Football readers! Don't forget to link my blogsite. It's time we help China with their problem on freedom. Donate your tips to Chinese web users.

UPDATE II: Welcome Michelle Malkin readers! Be sure to spread the word about this little known company. They need our help.

UPDATE III: Welcome Junkyardblog readers!

UPDATE IV: Atlas Shrugs has lots of good stuff about GOOGLE.

UPDATE V: Welcome Atlas Shrugs readers!

Google Goes a Gagging

While doing some preliminary researching at home using the Google search engine did I quickly find out it won't let you continue the search beyond page 1. It seems to be related to a glitch in the programming but Google search users may be led to downloading the free Google Desktop believing it may break the stranglehold to continue with their searching. Marketing Pilgrim has more on this as well as a cache picture of what it looks like. The question is, is Google purposely forcing users to download the free desktop? Only time will tell. I'm sure Google diehard users are jumping over to Yahoo search for the time being. You'd think Google would test this before going live? Bloggers are barely getting a hold of this.

What else is not working today on Google? Has Google gagged more than it could chew on?

UPDATE: Some readers suggest it may be a glitch related to the Chinese version.

UPDATE II: 4:18 PM (MT). Google removed the free download Google desktop. Search engine is now working.

Mexico's Military Increasing Armed Conflicts with U.S. Border Patrols

Check out Michelle Malkin on her story about the increasing Mexican armed conflicts on the U.S. side against the U.S. Border Patrols. Gun-mounted machine guns on trucks and SUVS by the Mexican Army or men in military clothes. This is not something that the U.S. Border Patrol can match in firepower. What is President Bush going do to do about this!

And if Mexico is denying, as Mark in Mexico reported, that none of their Mexican Army ever crossed into the United States, maybe it's time to photograph these guys and put them on the internet? Something like what we do for convicted child molestors by warning the community of a habitual offender over the internet.

Now, why not have people set up their own portable, self-powered "Border Cams" or video cameras and get them linked to the internet if they live close to the border set up by your average Joe Schmoe? Just point the camera toward any border and let the internet public help 24/7 on keeping an eye on those trying to illegally cross into the United States. Maybe get the night vision model and perhaps get a "rebate" from Chertoff for setting one up? Hello Certoff! Hello President Bush!

Does anyone know if this is feasible? Anybody an electronic whiz on this?

Iran, Surrounded On All Three Sides

Jason Smith of Generation Why? commented about how Iran is forgetting that it is surrounded by Iraq to the west and Afghanistan to the east. But one thing everybody is forgetting is a U.S. base in Qatar that is about 40 km from Doha and about 200 nautical miles southwest of Iran on the opposite side of the Persian Gulf. This U.S. Base has never been a secret. The U.S. now has the ability to cover the three sides of Iran - east, west and south.

Rare Snowstorm on Hawaii's Mauna Kea

Check out this rare snowstorm on Hawaii's highest mountain, Mauna Kea, at 13796' above sea level, is actually one of the world's tallest mountains -- some 33000' high when measured from its base at the bottom of the ocean. Although it is not unusual to have snow on Mauna Kea near the top. What's rare is having a bonafide snowstorm blanketing a few thousand feet of the mountain top all at once.

Go here for a time lapse of the observatory 4 days ago, 1 day before the storm where everything was dry. And then look at a time lapse 3 days ago, the day of the storm. You can see the first small wave come and then the snow melted quickly, and suddenly you can see a big snowstorm come slamming into the mountain top dumping the snow. And continue watching the time lapse 2 days ago when the storm begins to abate.



Click on thumbnail to expand.

Tory Wins, Liberals Lose - Redrawing Canada.

An earth shaking moment for Canada government when the Conservative Tory won the most of the seats ousting Liberals who held power for 12 years out onto the streets. Now, they'll have a Conservative Prime Minister.

Now, Canada's map will have to be redrawn to reflect the changes of what Canadian people want. The map below is before the election. No post-election map, yet. Let's compare Canada's map to the United States.

The blue and red state political map consisting of Democrat and Republican strongholds? Canada has a similar one except there are 4 different political leanings throughout on the Canada map.


Source:



The colors are different in Canada where the colors are opposite than that of the United States. That is, blue is red, red is blue when it comes to Liberals/Democrats and Conservatives/Republicans in Canada in relation to the United States political map makeup. The orange colors are the NDP folks equivalent to "pinko socialists" in American terms. Now, look at the New England area or the "blue" people that sits next to Quebec. The color is neither "blue" nor "red", but French Blue (light blue color on the Canadian map). This is probably due to the historical and political connection they had ever since America was discovered.

Quebec politics--even radical independentism--is marked by liberal social democracy rooted originally in Christian humanity and social justice. As one historian observed recently, "The apple has not fallen far from the tree."

However, in and around the city of Vancouver, you can see a small patch of red in Canada and blue in the USA. Once you cross the Fraser River through Vancouver, things turn Canadian Blue (American Red - Conservative/Republican values). Once you get beyond that point it's all blue in Canada (American red).

Now, do you notice the seemingly seemless border connections between the two countries in terms of political similarities? From looking at the two maps we can actually see the physical connections with our Canadian political kin such as between Minnesota and Washington states with our northern Conservative friends seen as blue (or the equivalent of the American red for us) and the American blue with Canada's red around the Great Lakes area. Also, beyond that there seem to be a thin connection between NY and Ontario and one between Detroit and Windsor where the a thin connection seems to exist via bridges.

So, in terms of influencing our neighbors with our ideology, borders do not stop the flow of ideas and political persuasions. There's a strong tie between the two countries based on our historical and political connections. But this time, Canadians had enough of the Liberals and voted for a Conservative Prime Minister this time. Deja Vu! It's 2000 all over again. Only this time it's in Canada. They even already started to cut taxes, too. Hmm, I wonder why? On January 21, 2006, two days BEFORE Canada's national election, President Bush did his Radio Address to the United States where he talked about his efforts on cutting taxes and how the U.S. economy grew because of it. Perhaps, Canadians heard President Bush' speech about cutting taxes did they decide to let the Tory have the chance to run the government for a change? And one day after the successful Canadian election, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil Karl Rove talked about the successful results of cutting taxes, too, in his speech to the RNC on January 24, 2006, one day AFTER the successful Canadian election, with the topic "Our Ideas Will Prevail."

Indeed. Canadians must have heard President Bush' speech? Clever.

Ok. For those who foreswore to move to Canada (more like "threaten to move") if President Bush won the 2nd re-election. Especially among the most visable, vocal and prominent Liberal celebrities.

Luckily, the countless celebrities who threatened to leave the country should Bush be reelected should have no trouble finding the money to relocate. Kim Basigner, Robert Redford, and even Larry Flynt were among those publicly stated that they would only stay in the country if Election Day went their way. Billionaire George Soros even went as far as to say he would enter a monastery should Bush prove victorious. Yet while the number of hits on the immigration website has increased, chances are there won't be a large increase in the number of Americans who immigrate to Canada, especially among celebrities.

These empty threats are nothing new- there were many celebrities who said they planned to move after the 2000 election but never made good on their promise. Perhaps the most infamous among them was Alec Baldwin, who quickly recanted after Gore's loss and publicly stated that he had never actually stated he would move, but rather only that if Bush won it would be a 'good time to leave the country.' He was far from the only celebrity to fail to keep his word. In fact, the only public figure to actually leave after the 2000 election was the now deceased Pierre Salinger, White House press secretary during the Kennedy administration. Before the 2000 election, Salinger said: ‘'If Bush wins, I'm going to leave the country and spend the rest of my life in France.'' He did just that, but he was not part of a mass exodus.

Maybe next time these celebrities will do better to promise to hold the breath until blue in the face unless the votes are recanted? Now, where are they going to move now? Mexico?

Hat tip on the map: Conservative Harry from British Columbia, Canada.

UPDATE: Welcome The Anchoress readers.

Ping Pong Battle. Uber cool!

Check this video clip out. A Ping Pong tournament that would make Forest Gump's ping pong child's play.

Who Is That Guy Flipping That Tire?

Well, that's me if you're wondering about the thumbnail picture in the above of a fellow flipping a 450lb tire. That picture was taken 2 months ago, so I've gotten better and little bigger since then. Having a 17-inch arm is no easy task. But it's not the size that counts, its the pure raw strength and power. As y'all might have figured it out, or not, I'm preparing myself for a strongman competition to be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico on May 20, 2006 for the High Desert Challenge II. Only 4 months away. Currently at 188lbs. I need to continue to put on more weight til I get to at or just under 200lbs to meet the under 200lbs weight category. Has anybody in the deaf community ever competed in strongman competitions before besides Andy Medak? A rare breed indeed.

Here are the events for my weight category (under 200lbs or "Lightweight" - LW). The picture you see below as taken by Mr. and Mrs. Clary. They are the ones to host Desert Challenge II.

Tire Flip - 80 feet - 3 flips each.
All weight category, men flip 500, 800, and 1130lb tires. 90 seconds max.

The tires you see here will be the actual tires for the DCII.
For a perspective on size, take look at the 500lb, 800lb,
and 1130lb tires.

Keg Clean & Press Medley - timed (90 seconds max)
All weight category, men lift 100, 120, 140, 160, 180 and 200lb kegs

Conan's Wheel for distance (90 seconds max)
LW Men carry 500lbs

Truck pull with harness and rope. 80 feet, timed (90 seconds max)
LW Men pull full size truck,

Atlas Stones - timed (90 seconds max)
LW Men lift 180, 240, 260, 280.


The tire flip I expect to flip the 500 and 800lb tires. I regularly flip the 450lb tires up 12 times without much problems. So, the 500lb tire will not be a problem. The 800lb tire I hope to flip it at least once. I'll know more on how I can do with a 800lb tire once I get two more tires later on this week from the local landfill a dollar each for a 600lb and a 800lb tire. The 1180lb tire at this DCII contest is much too heavy for me and will probably be achieved by a heavyweight (over 260lbs). Maybe a very strong middleweight might do it if he weighs closer to 260lbs.

The kegs? I have no idea what I am capable of. I can do a strict military press with a barbell up to 215lbs so far, almost making a personal record of 225lbs. But handling a keg is very different from a barbell. There is sand and water inside of it so it'll "slosh" around a little. I'll know next month when I visit a strongman's house in Albuquerque and try out his implements. But I should be able to do the 100, 120 and 140lb kegs. The 160 might be a challenge. Never handled a keg. Should be interesting.

The Conan's Wheel? Never done it. This is what it looks like. In that picture, it's 550lbs while the DCII event calls for a 500lb Conan's Wheel lift. You lift it up with your arms while the pole rest in them and you go around in a circle for as long as you can.

Truck pull? Never done but it sure does look fun. But this is the one event that could cause you to end up puking because you'd be breathing so hard. Don't eat before a strongman event. Something like a banana fruit and little drink a few hours before the event.

Atlas stones? Never done it. This might be my weakest event since if you notice the table used to place the stones on, it's high up. Not good for a shorter person. Also, as you may have noticed, no handles! Uber hard to lift w/o handles. But I know a guy in town who owns two Atlas stones weighing 160 and 220lbs that I can practice on. He won't be back from his military duty until later this March. Enough time to try practice in April before the competition in May. But I'll get some first hand experience with the stones up in Albuquerque next month.

Why am I doing this? I've always wanted to try it. I've done powerlifting. So, why not strongman competition? Looks fun.

Now, you know who that guy is in the picture. Me! Click on my Deaf Strongman blog to see my ongoing journal as I improve and get stronger for the upcoming Desert Challenge II.

Your very own "Kokonut Pundits" guy flipping a

450lb tire. Picture taken in November 2005 at 180lbs.

Currently at 188lbs with 12 more pounds to go til contest time.

It's not often you have a guy with brains and brawn at the same time. Now, are you a wimp or what? Lifting pansy 15lbs dumbells ain't gonna help ya. You gotta play with the big dogs. Woof!

Old Age, Selfish Kids and a Duty to Die

It is just shocking to hear about other sons or daughters lamenting about how their seemingly spry and old parents who are living into the 80s or even 90s as being "burdensome." Financially, I'd understand in some ways but to blame the U.S. Government for not taking care of the Mom or Dad is going a bit too far when they have worked 40 or 50 years but end up on living on social security. The problem with this naive thinking from these "children" is that social security was designed to supplement planned savings, not act as a safety net, if you call it a safety net. Social Security was never meant as the sole source of retirement income. It was never designed it to be that at all. If anybody going to do any blaming, better start blaming the parents who never bothered to plan some kind of a saving, pension or investment (e.g real estate, house, bonds, stocks, etc) plan as part of their retirement plan, a nest egg if you will. And because of the parents' mistake for not planning properly for their retirement, their children often have to bear the brunt of supplementing the finances to take care of their aging parents. And because of that these "children" when they grow up they moan and groan that their Mom or Dad is now a burden on them and wish they just simply drop dead. Nice way of showing respect to their parents that way. I'm sure when Mom and Dad were younger who worked hard to raise and feed their kids' bratty, spoiled mouths probably wished they dropped dead, too. Insolent kids are they now.

But what really takes the cake is when former Governor of Colorado Richard Lamm who had lit a firestorm of controversy back in 1984 when he suggested that old people have a "duty to die" if they are ill lest they "soak up up precious health care dollars that should go to the poor, young and uninsured." Excuse me? Wasn't there a Star Trek:TNG show about that? A duty to die? Here, give Mom a gun and help her point the gun at her temple while her hands are still shaking.

A respected doctor, Thomas Sowell brings up this,

In the Hastings Center Report, described as a journal of medical ethics, a medical ethicist says that "health care should be withheld even for those who want to live" if they have already lived beyond the politically correct number of years -- which he suggests might be 75. He says that, after such a "full rich life" then "one is duty-bound to die."

There's more. Another medical ethicist would consider extending the limit to 80 years but, after that, medical care should be denied to all who have "lived out a natural life span."

So, at age 75 years old somebody is going to decide that you had enough of your life and wants to terminate you? Now, somebody out there who is now a spry, lively thinking 72 year old will have about 3 years left before that person has a "duty to die" according to medical "ethicists" should that elderly person becomes ill and be a "burden" on society. Or more accurately, a burden on his or her children who would rather see you "drop dead." If Mom or Dad don't die at 75 or 80, the state will yank all medical priviledges hoping she or he will die faster as a result if medical ethicists have their way.

Be careful what you say now since you could be the receiving end when it's YOUR time to die if you reach a certain age or become a "burden." Respect Mom and Dad. Love them. They raised you. It's time you extend that same courtesy back. Stop being selfish. You'll die, too, you know. Life is a miracle with every breath one takes. Give them the support. It's Mom or Dad's decision to move on. Not you.

But hearing from people who hope their aging Mom or Dad to quickly "drop dead" so they can mooch on their will or get their real estate monies is absolutely repulsive. Maybe these "children" ought to drop dead instead? They might as well rob Mom and Dad now while they are still alive. No difference. This is probably true if the parents were especially mean and harsh with their kids and well into their adulthood. But if you have kids now, and you were mean or heartless toward them, then your own precious "wolves" will probably look at you like a sheep waiting for you to die one day, too. Only by that time the state will probably make sure it's your "duty to die."

A Rogue State (of Mind) - Osama Recommends American Author's Book, Sales Shoots Up

Michelle Malkin reports on the latest Liberals Gone Unhinged moments in the latest Amazon book review comments about a book called "Rebel in Chief." Next, the Kos kids and everything Liberals in between will be clamoring after Osama bin Laden's next-Oprah's-like-recommendation, sans without a tv show, of an American author, William Blum, on a book called Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower.

Washington-based Mr Blum, 72, said he was "surprised and even shocked and amused" by bin Laden's approval of his work. He added: "I was not turned off by his endorsement. I'm not repulsed and I'm not going to pretend I am."

Well, I would be repulsed. And reports have come in saying that because of Osama's "recommendation" the book sales have shot up according to one caller on the Rush Limbaugh show this morning. Look for the transcript after 4 PM today.

If you look at the latest book review comments "Rogue State" you could guess where these readers really stand. Right next to where Osama bin Laden stand right now (or perhaps already 6 ft under) in support of that book. Many commenters in Amazon give a 4 or 5 star (out of 5 stars) thumbs up review for that book. Hey, so does Osama! Cool. Next suicide bombers and terrorists will be hawking that book in Iraq.

Is Amazon commenting area a breeding ground for stuck on stupids or what?

WaPo Turns Blog Back On

Wonders of wonders, the Washington Post finally but somewhat unobtrusively turned back on their blog. No doubt after getting "tons of emails" about it. But from what Jim Brady said and the recent turning on the blog back on doesn't make any sense.

So we eventually chose to turn off comments until we can come up with a better way to handle situations like this, where we have a significant amount of people who refuse to abide by the rules we set out.

And what "better way to handle situations like this" than to turn the WaPo blog back on? Make up your mind Jim. This contradicts what you said earlier about point #1 that you and WaPo deny on:

I'll address the two main points being made, that 1) we're afraid of being criticized and, 2) that were no personal attacks, profanity or hate speech in any of the comments.

Why the 2 - 3 days shut down until you can figure out a "better way to handle situations like this"?

The comments in WaPo showed much of the readers' disgust of what Deborah Howell wrote about the Abramoff's scandal and WaPo's attempt at moderating the blog where Jim Brady finally yanked the whole thing because of so-called reems of "profanities" gracing the blog comments or because comments did not "meet washingtonpost.com's standards for community interaction." It has since been turned on. Some previous comments may not be there.

I did previous had the Yahoo cache of the WaPo blog but it has since disappeared detailing the comments. But WaPo Lies and Democratic Underground still have most of the WaPo blogs archived. Time to compare notes now on which comments were deleted with the WaPo blog comments now turned back and see which comments are missing and whether those comments really violated WaPo's "standards for community interaction." And what would those standards be, Jim Brady?

Chest Full O' Medals

As I slowly clean up and straighten out my blog, I added a "Chest Full O' Medals" a few days ago in the left hand column of this blog. Links to other well known blogsites that have linked to my blog articles over the past year of blogging. The recent ones were from Instapundit and The Political Teen blogsites that brought readers to my blogsite and netted an all time record hourly high and daily high hits among all deaf/hh bloggers within the deaf/hh community. A record that is sure to stay around for quite some time. Now, time to make some delicious German pancakes, bacon and smokie sausages.

Thank You Readers. New Records on Hits!

Whoa! What a day on Friday it was. Thanks to Instapundit, The Political Teen and all other bloggers who used the trackback links to guide readers to the Kokonut Pundits blogsite regarding WaPo's blog drama. And as a result I get a record hourly high of 1200+ hits per hour which resulted as the day wore on a record high for the day of a total of 5311 hits. This goes without a doubt the all time hourly and day highs on hits on my blogsite for any blogsites within the deaf community. These records will probably remain unbroken for some time. What a day!



Peak Hourly High ................Day Record

Thank you readers. Ya'll come back now, hear?

UPDATE: Image shack has removed my image of the counter hits and so I used an archived version of my blog piece but the graph is smaller. You can still see the graph and get the idea.

ACLU Wants You to Turn Over to Terrorists' Demands

Hey, check out Generation Why? about the ACLU's terror-friendly lawsuit on suing the NSA's for protecting Americans from acts of terrorisms on our freedom loving soils. Read how far ACLU is willing to go to make sure that acts of terrorism will continue on our soils. Read his link where you can go to do something about this and a way to protect the security of our great Nation of ours.

Deborah Howell Failed to Get Rid of Comments in WaPo Blog

UPDATE!: Go here first "WaPo turns blog back on" before reading the below blog.

It's really funny and somehow not so surprising about readers' response when WaPo did an article recently this Sunday about the Abramoff's money trail prompting angry cries from unhinged Liberals toward a left-leaning WaPo news media of all thing. Enough so to get the attention of the Drudge Report. Article writer Deborah Howell, Washington Post Ombudsman, wrote recently in response to angry readers where the WaPo blog had to shut off the comments.

I've heard from lots of angry readers about the remark in my column Sunday that lobbyist Jack Abramoff gave money to both parties. A better way to have said it would be that Abramoff "directed" contributions to both parties.

Jim Brady goes further trying to explain here rationale in erasing all of the comments. It's a Jim Brady thing here, I digress, but it was Howell who wrote about the Abramoff article. I think both parties went the wrong way with this thing by agreeing (together, I suppose) to shut it down and delete the whole thing.

But there are things that we said we would not allow, including personal attacks, the use of profanity and hate speech. Because a significant number of folks who have posted in this blog have refused to follow any of those relatively simple rules, we've decided not to allow comments for the time being. It's a shame that it's come to this. Transparency and reasoned debate are crucial parts of the Web culture, and it's a disappointment to us that we have not been able to maintain a civil conversation, especially about issues that people feel strongly (and differently) about.

With WaPo's very large reader base why did Deborah Howell or Jim Brady expect "civil conversations" from people with diverse backgrounds, beliefs, opinions, party affiliation and personalities? Especially from people who perceived that WaPo attacked their own Democrats and expect a "reasoned debate" thereafter? Either Deborah Howell or Jim Brady need to find the time to sit down and be the moderator or not and let it go like some blogs do, theoretically so.

Regardless, Liberals were up in arms when WaPo reported that both Democrats and Republicans received Abramoff's tainted money.

Lobbyists, seeking influence in Congress, often advise clients on campaign contributions. While Abramoff, a Republican, gave personal contributions only to Republicans, he directed his Indian tribal clients to make millions of dollars in campaign contributions to members of Congress from both parties.

Records from the Federal Elections Commission and the Center for Public Integrity show that Abramoff’s Indian clients contributed between 1999 and 2004 to 195 Republicans and 88 Democrats. The Post has copies of lists sent to tribes by Abramoff with specific directions on what members of Congress were to receive specific amounts.

The real killer to this whole thing? Abramoff's had lists sent to tribes telling them or directing them on what members of Congress were to receive specific amounts. WaPo even reported this back in 2004.

The fees and $2.9 million in federal political contributions Abramoff advised the tribes to make, two-thirds of it to Republicans, have led to battles in some tribes. Some tribe members question why their leaders approved such payments.

Abramoff also directed tribes to donate to several obscure foundations that appear to have no connection to Indian concerns, including a think tank in Rehoboth Beach, Del., set up by Scanlon.

The revelations led to Abramoff's ouster in March from Greenberg Traurig, the law firm where he led one of Washington's most successful lobbying groups. Greenberg Traurig said it acted after Abramoff "disclosed to the firm for the first time personal transactions and related conduct which are unacceptable to the firm."

And what did Liberal readers do in WaPo's comment area? Well, being extra nice was probably not quite the picture when it came to responding to WaPo's article and, assuming it was the case for Howell or Brady's motive, their weapons of mass deletion attempt. There are no definitive proofs since the ones in question (e.g. profanities) were deleted en masse, supposedly so. One commenter said:

Deleting comments changes nothing. Pay attention to your readers - we ultimately are the ones that keep The Post in business, and we would sincerely like to see our paper restored to its former glory.

And no wonder. WaPo had better take some lessons from the L.A. Times dropping share prices.

But wait! All is not lost. The remaining comments are not gone where Deborah Howell, Jim Brady and WaPo (as in "we" in Jim's letter) tried to blink them out of existence. Surprise, surprise, surprise! (Gomer style). They just went somewhere else where you have to dig to find them. You can now find those mass-deleted comments that are now cached in Yahoo search (January 17 th- 18th WaPo blog comments) while Democratic Underground has the January 19th comments archived here, and WaPo Lies have the January 15th - 16th comments archived. Those bots really do work fast. Deborah Howell simply didn't move fast enough. And funnier still, I don't really see any foul language post-WMDs. Just a lot of heavy criticisms lobbed in Howell's direction about the heavy deletion that would've been worthy to be left alone for posterity sake on the internet.

Now, forgive me since I didn't have the time to read all those hundreds of comments, literally so, but I've not found any profanities directed at Howell by using the find word search. Although a couple of "d" words were used for context purpose.

A lot of complaints were stemmed around about the weapons of mass deletion effort by Howell and/or Brady that went on and on and on for a few days. I counted 56 times the word "deleted" was mentioned, 15 times for "delete," and 22 times for the word "deleting." Most of them were about commenters' complaints of why their past comments were deleted. But as expected many went completely unhinged if you take the time to read the Yahoo cached comments (January 17 th- 18th WaPo blog comments archived) while Democratic Underground has the January 19th comments archived here, and WaPo Lies have the January 15th - 16th comments archived.

What's the deal Deborah Howell and/or Jim Brady? Why can't you just leave the comments up as a matter of record for your readers instead of trying to blink them out of existence? You can stop the comments by turning them off. Not by erasing them in the attempt to save face. Actually, you lost it now with the Yahoo cache now linked as well as other bloggers who have caputured WaPo's blog comments on various dates so we can see the fine examples of what happens when readers go unhinged. The Liberal ones, I mean.

UPDATE: Welcome Instapundit readers! Thank you for stopping by. Pass this around. Deborah Howell, Jim Brady and WaPo will need to do some more explaining now.

UPDATE II: Welcome The Political Teen readers!

Keith Wann - a CODA Comedian

Check out this comedy ASL clip of Keith Wann who is a Child of Deaf Adults (CODA). Keith is an acclaimed ASL performing artist who is beginning to get some serious attention after a few years of comedy travels. While you watch the clip a voice interpreter can be heard in the background for those in the audience who can hear. After you are done with that, check out his other clip. If you have a funny bone for ASL comedy, he's the guy to guffaw over with. Maybe share a few heaving throws off the starboard side of a Alaska cruise ship this July with him on his next scheduled comedy trip.

Who is this guy? Well, Keith was born hearing to Deaf parents in California where he grew up living in both the hearing and Deaf worlds that led to his own stylistic way on becoming a stand-up comedian catering to both deaf and hearing audience, at the same time. All done in ASL. And, of course, can't do without the traveling interpreter, too.

Hypocrite Hillary on War?

Hillary is taking a tough talking cowgirl stance about Iran last night in a very presidential-like demeanor (for 2008, that is):

"I believe that we lost critical time in dealing with Iran because the White House chose to downplay the threats and chose to outsource the negotiations," Clinton said.

But going back 2002 Hillary Clinton was urging every possible efforts to use the U.N. to avoid war.

When New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton voted to authorize war in 2002, she said that she wanted the U.N. to insist on unfettered weapons inspections in Iraq. "I will take the president at his word that he will try hard to pass a U.N. resolution [for unfettered inspections] and will seek to avoid war, if at all possible," Clinton said in the Senate during the prewar debate. She added she would vote to authorize war "because bipartisan support for this resolution makes success in the United Nations more likely, and therefore, war less likely."

Diplomacy, negotiation, sanctions, U.N. resolutions, and threats lasted 12 years with Iraq. Now, since diplomacy and negotiation have obviously failed, sanctions against Iran are the next step but therein lies a problem. The E.U. does not want to risk losing oil imports from Iran and China and Russia are adamant on making sure they don't lose that oil by not agreeing to the sanctions.

But two key U.N. Security Council members that carry veto powers — China and Russia — have multibillion-dollar oil and natural gas projects hanging in the balance, and China depends on Iran's imports to quench its oil thirst.

"I have a hard time seeing how oil investments could be targeted given the interests of Russia and China," said Julia Nanay, a senior director at PFC Energy in Washington.

Iran wants to sign a major oilfield deal to give China's Sinopec a stake in the giant Yadavaran oil field in southern Iran, which could require investment of at least $2 billion.

And Russia's Lukoil holds a minority stake in the Anaran field in western Iran near the Iraqi border.

China has blocked Security Council efforts to sanction countries like Sudan, where China has a huge oil deal. Sudan's Darfur region is beset by widespread violence between fractious rebel groups, government forces and a government-backed militia.

If Hillary insist on playing cowboy then she should listen to the moonbats' cries considering that we dealth with Iran only but a few years of diplomacy. Maybe Hillary should listen to her baying constituents and try diplomacy for another 4 years or so? President Bush is still keen as ever about the threat of Iran. The Bush pick of Undersecretary of State at the U.N. John R. Bolton made sure about the message of how serious Iran's threat is to the United States and the world. That is by no means "downplaying" the theat of Iran.

Hillary continues to lie, distort and pretend to be the tough talking cowgirl but at the same time wears the royal crown as the Queen of "Stuck on Stupid."