Jean Chrétien

Surrounds himself with rude anti-Americans.

Here's a taste of the article :

PRAGUE - Prime Minister Jean Chrétien refused today to accept the resignation of his embattled communications director, Francoise Ducros, over her alleged remark that U.S. President George W. Bush is a "moron." Chrétien said Ducros had apologized to him for the furor sparked by a conversation she had with a journalist at the NATO summit in Prague.

"She was graceful enough to offer me her resignation," the prime minister said. "I have not accepted that."

Ducros, who did not appear at the news conference in Prague, told Chrétien she couldn't recall whether she made the remark but acknowledged she frequently uses the word "moron," Chrétien said.

"I know her very well," the prime minister told reporters. "She may have used that word against me a few times and I am sure she used it against you many times. It's a word she uses regularly."

And this is his communications director?? Sounds like an ignorant Frog to me...

More :

In Prague, Chrétien said Ducros has been a frequent defender of Bush, and took aim at reporters for making much of what he called a "private conversation."

"She defended many, many times the president of the United States," he said.

"And she reflected the position of Canada many times, that we have good relations. So she has apologized to me for the problem it's causing ... but we don't live in as civilized a world as we used to, where private conversations are private."

Yeah, well, we used to have a civilized neighbor to the north, one whose top government officials didn't spew vile anti-American slurs. I guess times are a-changin'...

Blogs To Check Out

Hootinan and Blogs-Of-War.

Dem Hopes


Via Kurtz.

BAM!

Powerful commentary.

ITALIAN WACKOS

March against the US, capitalism; support Palestinian terrorism, communist revolution.

LEFTIST IDIOTS

The boobs at TOMPAINE.com strongly endorse a Hart candidacy in 2004, but mock a Lieberman run. Are they nuts? Lieberman is just about the only nationally known Democrat with an ideology that is palatable to mainstream America. Hart is as washed-up as Fritz Mondale was. And look what happened in Minnesota...

Election Results

Looks like all three of my unlikely predictions came true! I certainly did a better job than Dick Morris.

Also, I had a strong feeling the GOP would be victorious in Vermont's race for governor, and it looks like I was right. Maybe I should start charging for this?

Three Shocker Election Predictions

Largent to lose in Oklahoma!

GOP to win Georgia Senate seat!

GOP to gain several seats in House!

Eww...

Students get a visual aid.

The Sniper

Hated, even by his family.

Look up "classless" in the dictionary...

...and guess who's pictured.

Wanna hear a joke?

What's the difference between South Africa and Zimbabwe? Five years.

Funny, right?

Now read this and this, and I think you'll find the humor rather quickly evaporates...

Some Recommended International Blogs

Dilacerator, Tim Blair, and Shoutin' Across the Pacific.

Jesse Jackson

A disgusting fool.

What I Saw At The Debate

I attended the Bush-McBride radio debate this morning at Universal Studios. I was accompanied by "SF", a female friend from work. SF is politically to the right of me a few steps (Like Jesse Helms to Jesse Ventura? No, more like Steve Forbes-2000 to Steve Forbes-1996...), but we both went as Bush supporters.

The morning did not start smoothly. Heavy construction on State Road 520 prevented me from arriving at her apartment as early as planned. When I finally got there, I had a forehead-slapping moment : I'd forgotten to bring my e-mail confirmation! We decided to give it a shot anyway, though I felt it was likely I would be listening to the debate in her Jeep while sitting in the parking lot.

We arrived on time, and proceeded to stand in a line for about a half hour (Hurry up and wait!). Our amusement consisted of gawking at some GreenPeace lunatics dressed in what appeared to be, I am not making this up, orange jumpers, like escapees from Sharpes. They were driving a solar-powered truck. Luckily for them, it wasn't rainy. Or at night.

After having our IDs checked (luckily, the e-mail was not required, though everyone else seems to have remembered theirs...) we boarded a bus for the short trip to the building where the debate was to be held. In front of us sat a VIP : the mayor of Miami Beach. SF recognized him, but to me he looked like your generic pol : expensive suit, well-groomed hair, personable body-language, gentle tone of voice. (Nice guy. And if he ever retires from public service, he could always make a few bucks as a Jose Canseco impersonator...)

SF also recognized a three-person-strong contingent of University of Central Florida Young Republicans. (This, as I understand it, equals nearly 100% turnout...) At this point, we waited in another line to go through the metal detectors. (Had either of us chose to ask the candidates a question, there was yet another line awaiting us in our immediate future. Alas, we are both cowards. Well, at least I am. But I shouldn't get ahead of myself...) She was promptly wand-raped as a security offical rifled through her nearly microscopic purse with a gusto rarely seen among those not criminally insane. What he was expecting to find, I don't know. (Perhaps a single spore of anthrax? Because I doubt two could have fit...)

Now, having passed through the crack security, we entered the actual debate stage. Within seconds, SF was pulled aside by reporters from the Tampa affiliate of NBC. (Or was it ABC? Or CBS? Really, it's moot...) She was asked if she was an "undecided voter", and surprised me by responding in the affirmative. (Strictly speaking, this wasn't dishonest. After all, it was within the realm of possibility that governor Bush might have, say, ordered his security detail to turn loose water cannon and hounds on the crowd. This, in turn, just might have had an effect on her choice in November. Maybe.)

At any rate, they decided to record her pre-debate thoughts on camera, and then interview her after the event to see if there had been any movement. I, being camera shy (not to mention uninvited...), chose to grab a couple seats and wait. While waiting, I overheard a gentleman apparently from FrontPage Magazine talking into his cell phone, distressed that he had been unable to find a professional political analyst at the event. I contemplated offering myself as just such a person (and if you consider this site "professional", it wouldn't even be a lie! Well, at least not anymore of a lie than what SF told the citizens of Tampa-St. Pete...), but decided against it. The last thing I need is David Horowitz finding out I have a unique interpretation of "professional", and placing me in the same category, veracity-wise, as David Brock.

So. A few minutes later, I notice SF coming to join me. That's good, except the cameraman is following her and still taping. She proceeds to immediately berate me, on camera, for my choice of seats. I shrugged and muttered some ambiguous apology. (For all time, viewers on the West Coast of Central Florida will recognize me as "that pussy-whipped dude".)

We waited for a little longer, with nothing to amuse ourselves with other than a brief cameo appearance by the governor (aren't you suppose to take a bow after your performance?) and the sight of John Morgan of the law firm Morgan, Colling, and Gilbert. Infamous for his preachy and self-promoting commercials, Mr. Morgan looks absolutely Hobbit-like in real life. That's not to say he's particularly short, just that he looks like he should be short, or something.

Our boredom was interrupted by a gentleman seated in front of us. He decided to start a pre-debate debate amongst the audience members. Spewing forth McBride's talking points like a parrot on crystal meth, he was eventually silenced by the fact that he was completely surrounded by Bush supporters armed with actual critical-thinking skills. (Sadly, this guy was one of the handful of people selected to question the candidates. Though the information I received warned against asking loaded questions, this guy was armed with a verbal Saturday-night special. I guess he didn't get the memo...) He asked my political registration, and I replied, "NPA - No Party Affiliation." Then I was questioned who I was leaning towards, and why. Since I was expecting to watch a debate, not participate in one, I offered some non sequiturish ramblings about tax cuts and the President. However, the man completely wigged out when I said, "the state isn't really facing any major problems." Slipping into agit-prop mode, he spoke about the "crisis" in education, and offered a small amount of data to support his contention. (Curiously, these were the same points McBride himself ended up making. I guess this fellow got that memo...) I was going to respond with some comments about the anti-choice teacher's unions, or some such, when the people around me all started talking at once, using this opportunity to opine about the supposed causes and solutions of our education "crisis". (One of these folks, a "gentleman" from the University of South Florida, used the opening up of a high-minded policy dialogue as an excuse to try to verbally bukkake all over my companion. Unfortunately for him, she doesn't like assholes.) Sadly, this was to be the rhetorical high-point of the morning...

The debate was about to begin. Governor Bush and candidate McBride appeared, shook hands, and went to their respective podiums. In SF's opinion, "they both looked like they were going to throw up." A fair assessment, to my eyes. McBride was staring down, apparently reading his notes and doing some last minute cramming, while Bush was taking so many deep breaths, hyperventalation seemed a possibility. At last, the show got on the road, so to speak. McBride had won the coin toss, but had elected to give his opening remarks second. Not a very confident sign, and as his own people said after the debate, "he's not really a master-debater." I paraphrase, of course.

Honestly, I can recall little specific from the hour-long debate. But here are some key comments :

• The final audience questioner, a high school senior from Melbourne, was a shrill little bitch, whining about having to, God forbid, take a state-wide exam (known as the FCAT) every couple of years. Her contention was that it is too easy and a waste of time. Well, I agree it's too easy, but many of your fellow classmates are fucking idiots who do find it challenging. And if they don't receive a passing score, they will hopefully receive the extra attention they so desperately need (or at least a handful of lead-free paint chips to chew on). And schools that consistently show themselves to be particularly inept at teaching their students the basic requirements of the FCAT will be punished, therefore providing an incentive for schools to make sure students actually learn things. Which, of course, is the whole point of a school.



• Bush was a stronger debater than McBride (who often giggled through his responses, when we wasn't stammering), but he had a tendency to end weakly. For example, when confronted about his opposition to gay couples adopting children, he summed up his points something like, "So, I'm, uh, against, uh, (whispering now) gay couples, um, (barely audible) adopting." Not exactly Churchillian...



• Remarkably, the "Beltway Sniper" was brought up by an audience questioner. (Funny. Neither one of the candidates looked like Kathleen Kennedy Townsend...)



• Bush rather effectively raised questions about the fiscal wisdom of McBride's plan to spend an additional eight billion dollars on education over the next seven years. McBride's plan to pay for it, a proposed fifty-cent-per-pack cigarette tax, would, according to members of his own party, raise only four and a half billion dollars in revenue over the same time period. The three and a half billion dollar shortfall would have to be rectified either by slashing the budget, causing cuts in needed social services, or by raising taxes in other areas. McBride calls pointing this out a "scare tactic". Well, either that, or the truth. Take your pick.



• The most uncomfortable point in the debate was when Bush not-too-subtly accused McBride of being a shill for the trial lawyers. (Which makes sense, since McBride is a trial lawyer...) McBride feigned moral indignation, and accused Bush of besmirching the good name (*cough*) of all lawyers. Bush responded (against debate rules, I believe) by saying he saw a "conflict" of interest. A small murmur ran through the crowd. (Sorry, folks; that was the high point...)



• McBride make the idiotic accusation that water is now more expensive than gasoline, and that this is Bush's fault. Well, commercially bottled water can be more expensive than petrol, yes. But it's rather more cost-effective to take a bath with water from the faucet than with either Aquafina or 87-octane. See, I could make the accusation that bed linens are now more expensive than gold. And that might be true, if the only bed linens you consider are those made from the crotch hairs of supermodels. But, if you go to K-Mart, you'll find some that are rather affordably priced. (Especially the Martha Stewart line : now 99% off! Just like shares of ImClone!)



• JEB! is really tall.

So. The debate ended, the candidates shook hands and the crowd got up to leave. Except for the interviewers, and interviewees. I had to wait for SF to enlighten people from Crystal River to Sarasota about how the mind of the "independent voter" works. Sickening. She's about as "independent" as Himmler at a rally for the National Socialists.

She waited for a bit in the throng of people trying to get either post-debate comments from the governor, or a simple handshake. Bush's handlers allowed 15 minutes or so of this. It turns out SF was, sadly, unable to meet the man. I hadn't tried, preferring instead to eavesdrop on the almost "Rain Man"-like mumblings of John Morgan, who was standing nearby.

We boarded the bus back to the parking lot. Just before reaching her vehicle, a gentleman from 580 AM interviewed her. I commented that she really ought to run for something now, with all this media experience under her belt. As we left the lot, we saw the GreenPeace wildmen waving to the passing cars. I flashed them a peace sign; no response. (Is sarcasm really that noticeable from a distance?) We drove back to her apartment while listening to the radio, as her sound bite ran during local news breaks, every thirty minutes.

Funny place and time we live in, really. The brother of the president of the United States, who just happens to be the sitting governor of a major state, is running for re-election in a surprisingly tight race. The party that controls the governor's mansion will have a big advantage in winning the state's electoral votes in 2004. Florida may very well hold the key to the next presidential election, as it did in the last. So, today's little radio debate might very well decide who wins the gubernatorial election, which in turn might decide who wins the presidency in two years. This was history I witnessed, a special screening, if you will, of the tiny factors, the metaphorical butterfly's wings, that will have an indeterminately large impact on which political path our nation, and to some extent the world, takes in the coming years.

Now, when the hell is somebody gonna interview me??

MASSIVE TERRORIST ATTACK

In Bali.

I wonder what happened...

Did Senator Clinton visit Florida and go skinny-dipping?

Deterrence

Why it won't work.

Somewhat Scary Commentary

On Gore's speech.

The British Left

Some quotes from this article :
---
Laborite Alan Simpson called [Blair's] dossier [on Iraq] "deeply flawed."

"Sadly, I think Bush will hit Iraq in much the same way that a drunk will hit a bottle," Simpson said. "He needs to satisfy his thirst for power and for oil."

Parliament member George Galloway, whose visits to Iraq and dogged opposition to U.N. sanctions have earned him the nickname "the MP for Baghdad West," let loose another warning on Wednesday.

"If Bush lands half-a-million boots in Iraq, attached only to American feet and cheered only by (Israel Prime Minister) Gen. Ariel Sharon, he will end up marching through hell and many a Yankee Doodle Dandy will be going home in a plastic suit," Galloway said. "The wrath of the Arab masses will come pouring off the streets of their capitals like molten lava and who knows who will be scorched."
---
The Left wants to see dead Americans, folks. It's as simple as that. These folks probably danced in the streets on 9-11 along with their Palestinian allies.

JONAH

Here.

Humanities

Five tests taken. Five to go.

The results, so far : 96,96,100,100,96.

Yeah. I guess I'm a History Major now...

Pathetic

Groveling by Gerhard Schröder.

Sorry, pal. President Bush ain't Einstein, but he's got a good bullshit detector.

GORE

Shameless.

SMALLPOX

The government finally has a plan, but it's a half-measure. The vaccination process will only be implemented after a bio-attack. By then, in my estimation, it will be too late. The panic in the streets, accompanied by looting and hoarding, along with the riots at medical centers caused by terrified people demanding their meds now will rock this nation to its very foundation. The only sure way to prevent this is to innoculate everyone ASAP. But that ain't gonna happen...

MY PREDICTION : WRONG

Germany's Red-Green coalition government survives, for now. The FDP didn't do as well as I expected. Oh, well...

ARAFAT

Trapped again, like the rat he is.

French Troops

On the move. I wonder how long before they surrender?

Finally!

Someone who has been saying what I've been saying for years!

Here's the part I'm talking about :

"The age that a man, or woman, can earn a reasonable income has been steadily increasing as education has been dumbed down. The condition of basic employability that used to be demonstrated by a high-school diploma now requires a bachelor's degree, and professional careers that used to be accessible with a bachelor's now require a master's degree or more. Years keep passing while kids keep trying to attain the credentials that adult earning requires."

WHITE TRASH

Scum.

Disgusting

But true...

Bush Compared To Hitler!

By a German government official, no less!

Bush

Related to Churchill.

POTENTIAL HURRICANE THREAT!

To Florida's Gulf Coast.

Hmm

Is this a good thing? A bad thing? Or something else?

KURTZ

On Iraq.

Nick Nolte

More bombed than Tora Bora.

FLORIDA VOTING RESULTS

Looks like Reno lost, setting up a JEB vs. McBride matchup in November. But there is talk of a recount...

TERRORIST ATTACKS IMMINENT??

Attention : We are at ORANGE!

NORMAN MAILER

Full of hate for America. And that's why the Left loves him...

AND SO IT BEGINS...

Massive airstrikes a prelude to special forces? War before Election Day?

Our Friends...

...the Europeans.

Old News

But interesting.

Butch Reno

Looks like her support is collapsing in the run-up to the Democrat primary for Florida Governor. That's bad news for JEB, who would much rather face a hopeless Reno in the general election than a surging McBride.

The Lions

Picked to finish last. My, what a brave prediction!

Powell

To leave after Bush's first term.

Bad Dad

Crazed father tries to kill entire family, with mixed success.

VDH

On pacifists and fools. Same difference.

North Korea

The forgotten "Axis of Evil" member. But possibly the most dangerous.

Hannity

Without Colmes.

STATS

Hopeful ones, at that.

Jonah Goldberg

Amuses.

The Derb

Tackles race in America. And likely quite a bit of hate-mail over the next fews days...

Disgusting Hypocrisy

Naturally, the UN is involved.

"[A] few thousand U.S. casualties"...

...is General Barry McCaffrey's guess of the cost of an invasion of Iraq. Of course, this is the fool who fought Clinton's "War on Drugs", so what the hell does he know?

Oh My!

I'm in love.

A Green Light?

Saddam dabbles in international terrorism.

Our Friends...

...the Palestinians...

Central Florida

Under attack!

I empathize...

...with this poor lady...

NEW PREDICTION!

McCain, with Hagel as his running-mate, will make a go at the White House as Independents in 2004. You heard it here first!

If you only read one thing today...

...read this.

Here's a sample :

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A few thousand black demonstrators rallied on the Mall in Washington on Saturday to demand that the U.S. government pay blacks reparations for slavery and decades of discrimination.

"I want to go up to the closest white person and say, 'You can't understand this, it's a black thing,' and then slap him, just for my mental health," Charles Barron, a member of the New York City Council, told the crowd.

The demonstrators, numbering about 2,000 to 3,000, came from all parts of the United States, many traveling by bus from as far away as Texas. With the U.S. Capitol in the background, they chanted "Black power! Reparations!" and "Start the Revolution!"

"Apologize White America," said a sign carried by one demonstrator.

Barron, a self-proclaimed "elected revolutionary," said if the government did not act swiftly he personally would storm the Treasury Department and take the money for reparations.

As If We Needed...

...anymore proof that leftists are mush-heads : Susan Sarandon speaks!

The money quote : "You're so lucky in Ireland, England and Spain. Everyone there already knows what it's like to have inexplicable terrorist violence."

Huh? I guess I'd have to have read Marx to understand...

The Brits

And Iraq.

A SAGE

This intriguing stock theory is said to have originated from the desk of John A. Millard of Shearman & Sterling in New York:

"If you had bought $1,000 worth of Nortel stock one year ago, it would now be worth $49.

"With Enron, you would have $16.50 of the original $1,000.

"With WorldCom, you would have less than $5 left.

"If you had bought $1,000 worth of Budweiser (the beer, not the stock) one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the cans for the 5-cent deposit, you would have $107.

"Based on the above, my current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle."

Bush

And Racial Preferences.

Interesting

Anti-war commentary.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"You can't spell 'dishonorable' without 'honorable'" - Homer Simpson

Saudi Arabia

Worse than Iraq? This fella thinks so.

PART TWO

Of Goldberg's column.

PART ONE

Goldberg.

YES!

I got "A"s in both my classes during the summer term!

Gore

A well-known liar.

The "Vacation" Begins

Here.

The Deep South

Is in deep shit.

AMUSING LIMERICKS

Here.

ARKES

On abortion.

Dreher

On a good Democrat.

Ledeen

On Iran.

GOLDBERG

On Iraq.

LOWRY

On Welfare Reform.

GOLDBERG

On Europeans.

Impromptus

Here.

Jail This Sicko

And throw away the key.

Massive Vacancies

At the Border Patrol.

SAVAGES

From sub-Saharan Africa? Nope. Illinois.

IRAQ HEARINGS

Here.

Interesting

A coin's story.

IRAQ

Are they about to re-invade Kuwait?

NEAR MISS

At the US Embassy in Kabul.

He's A Loon

That's why I like him.

Gary Condit

Loses it.

REPORT : OSAMA LIVES!

Here.

FUNNY!

Here.

Lieberman Hints to Gore : Please Don't Run!

I'm not a huge fan of Mr. Lieberman, but he is, at heart, a moderate. If McCain somehow won the GOP nomination in 2004, and Lieberman got the Democrat's nod, I'd have a difficult time deciding.

I'd have to see who the Libertarians and the Reform Party nominated before making a final decision. It'd be a tough call.

Kurtz

On Bush.

More On Iraq

A more detailed piece on the "Baghdad-first" plan.

October Surprise?

Maybe. This plan looks like the best yet.

James Traficant

Here.

GREAT ARTICLE!

Stupid Vs. Evil.