Answer: Because my 85 year old New Dealer mother is actually going to city hall to re-register as a republican because of them.

Q: How do we know the following take from Bill Kristol is correct:

First: the reaction to the deal-making. One friend e-mails, “uncharacteristically, I’m getting calls from relatives who want to talk about all the unseemly deals being cut to get the health bill through…that seems to have hit a nerve, as much as the price-tag.” That’s my sense too.

The belief that the fix is in is so contrary to the American concept of fair play that it’s going to make a huge difference. Sarah Palin closed her facebook post today with this:

The administration’s promises of transparency and bipartisanship have been broken one by one. This entire process has been defined by midnight votes on weekends, closed-door meetings with industry lobbyists, and payoffs to politicians willing to sell their principles for sweetheart deals. Is it any wonder that Americans are so disillusioned with their leaders in Washington?

This is about politics, not health care. Americans don’t want this bill. Americans don’t like this bill. Washington has stopped listening to us. But we’re paying attention, and 2010 is coming.

When an 85 year old lifelong democrats expresses an intention to go to City Hall to change their registration over this in the bluest of blue states that means trouble.

This is going to implode this congress.

Sarah Palin right again on death panels…

Our friends on the left continue to call it the “lie of the year” but for some reason these non-existent death panels are being protected by specific and extraordinary legislative language:

“it shall not be in order in the senate or the house of representatives to consider any bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report that would repeal or otherwise change this subsection.”

What does that section deal with? The Independent Medicare Advisory Board. These guys are going to determine what will be covered and what will not, who will get treatment and who will not. Dare I say it a “death panel”?

Sarah Palin dares to say it. Explicitly:

In other words, Democrats are protecting this rationing “death panel” from future change with a procedural hurdle. You have to ask why they’re so concerned about protecting this particular provision. Could it be because bureaucratic rationing is one important way Democrats want to “bend the cost curve” and keep health care spending down?

The Congressional Budget Office seems to think that such rationing has something to do with cost. In a letter to Harry Reid last week, CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf noted (with a number of caveats) that the bill’s calculations call for a reduction in Medicare’s spending rate by about 2 percent in the next two decades, but then he writes the kicker:

“It is unclear whether such a reduction in the growth rate could be achieved, and if so, whether it would be accomplished through greater efficiencies in the delivery of health care or would reduce access to care or diminish the quality of care.”

Though Nancy Pelosi and friends have tried to call “death panels” the “lie of the year,” this type of rationing – what the CBO calls “reduc[ed] access to care” and “diminish[ed] quality of care” – is precisely what I meant when I used that metaphor.

Amazing how this stuff that doesn’t exist keeps being propped up by the democrats in legislation. Her willingness to stand out front and say these things aloud is the primary reason why she is so hated and why she must be destroyed.

BTW look at google news, isn’t it odd that a a readers survey of a web site is being trumpeted as fact in paper after paper?

Jimmy Carter Apologizes to Israel!?!? Another Festivus Miracle!

Here is a story I never expected to be reading:

Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter has apologized to the American Jewish community for ’stigmatizing Israel’ and asked for forgiveness for his actions, the JTA reported on Monday.

“We must recognize Israel’s achievements under difficult circumstances, even as we strive in a positive way to help Israel continue to improve its relations with its Arab populations, but we must not permit criticisms for improvement to stigmatize Israel,” Carter wrote in a letter to the JTA.

“As I would have noted at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but which is appropriate at any time of the year, I offer an Al Het for any words or deeds of mine that may have done so,” Carter wrote, referring to the prayer said on Yom Kippur in which Jews ask God for forgiveness for any sins.

As you know I’m a big fan of confession, but I’ve never expected this one.

Who says miracles can’t happen on this magic day of Festivus?

I guess he wanted to preempt the traditional airing of grievances but I as said last year, I have teenagers, every day is for the airing of grievances.

Happy Festivus to all who celebrate it and have a nice day to everyone else.

Update: I’m no expect of Jewish Theology but I know a bit about Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. I’m a bit bothered by the reactions on this thread where I found the Carter story. Remember the rules:

I would remind all Christians of this little prayer that you likely pray every day:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one. Matt 6:9-13 emphasis mine

The next two verses are even more blunt:

If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions. Matt 6:14,15

Every time you say the Our Father (of you prefer the term The Lord’s Prayer) and you choose not to forgive you are condemning yourself. Christ was very explicit here. He meant to be. This is not an optional doctrine. These are the rules.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, the presence of one’s enemies will not make hell any more bearable.

Update 2: Speaking of grievances…

Isn’t that nice. Oh, in a not-at-all related story, Jimmy Carter’s grandson is running for Congress in a Georgia district that has a significant (at least for Georgia) Jewish population.

“Hey, I am really sorry for all that anti-Israel stuff I have been doing for years and years. I am also really sorry that I left that Holocaust thing out of my book on Israel and all the other things. Yeah, really sorry about that. Have you met my Grandson Jason, he is running for Congress and he really likes Jews.”

That gives an interesting twist to the story.

Hey Chris the civil war is over and we won…

…so maybe you could drop the moral superiority business on the most Republican war ever fought that you had no part in fighting or winning 145 years ago.

Kathleen Parker pushed that smear herself back in August during an especially insulting segment on why Palin fares well in the south while Obama doesn’t, but it’s a treat to see it paired this time with a blind assertion that the disintegrating Democrats are the true party o’ the people.

In fairness I shouldn’t say “we” since my ancestors were all in Sicily but I’m a Massachusetts man and the monument in the center of my city is a Union monument and the graves on the hill are full of Union dead, so I’ll say “we” with that stipulation.

The south is part of the union. If we didn’t want the south in the union we would have let them go. If you are looking for bigots, you’d better pull out a mirror.

How big is this story?

I don’t know but I have a sneaking suspicion that what is not said in this story is even more significant than what is:

Mayor Lisa Wong directed the city solicitor to hire a consultant to investigate a wide-ranging array of issues inside the police department, according to a letter dated Sept. 14, 2009.

what kind of issues?

Included in the list is “the use or misuse of internal disciplinary personnel files,” as well as the “thoroughness and effectiveness of, internal affairs investigations of the conduct of police officers.”

She also said the investigation should focus on “to what extent officers, especially higher ranking officers, have by action or inaction interfered with or otherwise impeded the effective management and administration of the department by the Chief of Police,” and “whether the conduct of any officer violated the Police Department Rules and Regulations, the Police Manual, and/or the General Orders of Policies and Procedures of the Fitchburg Police Department.”

I’ve talked about the problems our city has with gangs and drugs. Is there more than meets the eye? We will find out.

The American Papist is wrong and right at the same time

…concerning this story:

Last July, as you may remember, Christians in the Indian state of Orissa were subjected to severe persecution. A 22 year old nun was burnt to death, an orphanage in Khuntpali village was burnt down by a mob, another nun was gang raped in Kandhamal, mobs attacked churches, torched vehicles, and destroyed the houses of Christians. Fr Thomas Chellen, director of the pastoral centre that was destroyed with a bomb, had a narrow escape after a Hindu mob nearly set him on fire. All together, more than 500 Christians were murdered, and thousands of others were injured.

In an extraordinary development, a herd of elephants has travelled some 300Km to attack villages that were the worst persecutors of the Christians, leaving Christian homes untouched. See: Elephants attack in Orissa exactly one year after persecutions

Details are here:

The American Papist asks some interesting questions:

1. Who authorized posting this story as “news”?
2. Is it really a Christian sentiment to hope that our persecutors are being savaged by wild animals?
3. Is there any corroborating evidence to confirm that, as claimed, Elephants are rampaging villages?

These are all legit questions both concerning the event itself and the point about not having schadenfreude over the troubles of our foes, but he also says something that I found odd.

This is a terribly strange story.

Let’s take the idea that this is happening as started as given, why is this a strange story?

Biblically, in both the old and new testament there are precedents for this type of thing.

In more recent times two particular stories come to mind the first involves the order founded by St. Katherine Drexel during the rise of the Klan in the 20’s:

(1922) The Klu Klux Klan in Beaumont, Texas threaten to tar and feather the white pastor at one of Drexel’s schools and bomb his church. The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament began to pray, and days later a tornado destroyed the Klan’s headquarters, killing two members, including the “wizard.” They never bother the nuns or the pastor again.

If you want something with fewer casualties but the same “coincidental” effect we need go no further back then a few months ago…to August 21st. To Wit:

The inverted Cross atop Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis dangled from the steeple on Wednesday following a rare downtown twister as the ELCA Churchwide Assembly was in legislative session across the street at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

let me remind you of the details:

Consideration of the proposed Social Statement on Human Sexuality document was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, August 19, at 2:oo p.m.

According to the website of the Central Lutheran Church located across the street from the conference center, where the assembly was in session, the tornado passed through downtown Minneapolis near CLC at, you guessed it, approximately 2:00 p.m…

One blogger posted this quote:

“We trust that the weather is not a commentary on our work,” said the Rev. Steven Loy, who was helping oversee the convention.

That Blogger? The American Papist.

We are Christians, we believe in Miracles. As I’ve said before concerning Holy Communion:

as for transubstantiation the physics are identical to the physics of parting the Red Sea, Of Jonah and the Whale, the Feeding of the 5,000 and Peter’s healing of the cripple. Miracle of God. There is a long history of that kind of thing.

As a person who has been an eyewitness to at least one Miracle in person I’ve never understood why believing Christians have no problem believing all those other miracles but not Transubstantiation.

A Catholic should not find anything like this strange an an atheist really has to wonder about the odds. I think a firm belief in mathematical theory and probability really can really complement the Holy Spirit when it comes to convincing the doubtful.

As for what should happen assuming this report is correct? The Christians should take advantage of God’s grace offered and aid their now suffering persecutors, thus being living examples of God’s mercy and combined with the Chrism of the Holy Spirit produce conversions of both belief and action.

Something like this is also a source of temptation, first of “Spiritual Pride” and self righteousness, and secondary in terms of celebration. Both are deadly sins and are hard to resist, particularly if you have been the victim of the initial persecutions. Remember these words from Screwtape #6

The great thing is to direct the malice to his immediate neighbours whom he meets every day and to thrust his benevolence out to the remote circumference, to people he does not know. The malice thus becomes wholly real and the benevolence largely imaginary…

…All sorts of virtues painted in the fantasy or approved by the intellect or even, in some measure, loved and admired, will not keep a man from our Father’s house: indeed they may make him more amusing when he gets there

It’s important to remember this when tempted. The presence of an enemy will not make hell any more bearable.

Update: GirdyorLions links, thanks

Yeah, like that money will still be there…

You know I’ve yet to hear a single person make one of the most obvious points about this healthcare bill.

We all know that the bill front loads the taxes in the bill to help pay for the costs of the bill over ten years. We have a democratic congress that has increased the deficit with record speed sending money like drunken sailors (and a republican one before it that spent money like buzzed sailors, only looking better by comparison). In this bill we see giveaway after giveaway to pay off particular members and states.

Given these facts riddle me this:

Can somebody explain to me how they are going to prevent congress from spending that “extra money” over the next two years, especially with an election where large chunks of the majority are in trouble?

The fact is by the time the provisions of that bill kick in the front loaded tax money is going to be spent 10 times over before a single person is covered.

Elections have consequences, always remember we did this to ourselves.

One good idea among the payoffs

I was looking at Michelle Malkin’s list of payoffs in the Senate Healthcare bill. It’s a list that doesn’t inspire confidence, however there is one gem hidden in the manure. Who knew it would be from the socialist in the place?

The $10 billion, added at Sanders’ request, would also ensure there would be medical professionals to provide primary care by expanding the National Health Service Corps by an additional 20,000 slots. Doctors, dentists, nurses and other medical professionals who agree to work in areas where there are limited medical services get help paying off their school loans.

This is exactly what I was talking about in my post about containing healthcare costs.

Does it make this bill worthwhile? Of course not. But of all the things there are to hit over this bill, this one piece isn’t an issue for me.

If I had to pick one DC hero to get a movie

I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have been Green Lantern instead of Hawkman

I’m gonna try real hard to muster up some give-a-shit for this news item, which comes from our winsome and witty super-duper secret inside source, The Hollywood Cog, who tells me that Warner Brothers and DC Comics are developing a big-screen version of Hawkman.

Ah yes — when Hollywood starts tackling the fringe elements of the Super Friends, you know we’re in trouble. I don’t know a lot about Hawkman, beyond the fact that he’s not a particularly cool-looking superhero, but were DC to try to take Hawkman in a direction similar to what Marvel is doing with Thor, I could see Adrien Brody in the role

As a guy who used to have the first 4 appearances of Hawkman (Brave and the Bold 34) , grabbed the issues of his own mag and enjoyed his backfeature in Detective Comics during the 70’s. I think he is much cooler than Pajiba gives him credit. The golden age version (the one that isn’t an Alien) is pretty cool too.

He can carry a movie, I would like it but I just don’t know if modern movie goers would care for it.

Let’s see Hal Jordan as Green Lantern first.

I don’t mean to gloat but…

…how light were our snow amounts? My oldest did the front walk and sidewalk using a broom because there wasn’t enough for a shovel.

Ok Maybe it’s gloating a little but after last year we had that coming.

Hey Tucker, I’m still available!

My congratulations to Jim Treacher Sean Medlock for getting a Gig with Tucker Carlson’s new web site.

This is going to sound weird, but Tucker Carlson has just hired me to blog for his new “web-site,” which is found at the “U-R-L” http://dailycaller.com. I know! I know. I’m not sure I get it either. But it looks like I’m moving to Washington, DC as soon as I can get the truck loaded up.

He deserves it and the fact that Tucker grabbed him shows good sense, but I must confess given my situation I’m extremely jealous.

In case Tucker is still looking for guys for the Daily Caller, I’ll remind him that I’d be happy to work for him for $800 a week, if he only wants a part time guy I’d be willing to go part time for $540 a week.

Hey can’t hurt to ask.

I wonder if Violet will put up a follow up Coakley post?

Back in November my favorite atheistic liberal feminist blogger Violet Socks at the Reclusive leftist wrote this:

On your blog, in your comments, everywhere. That’s how memes start. Coakley’s got the courage and the convictions. She’s raising her head above the parapet, right now, when it matters. Just as she did last year when she endorsed Hillary Clinton. Just as she did when she refused to surrender that vote at the convention.

Martha Coakley for President.

As you might guess by my description of her Violet and I have a serious disagreement on Abortion. Yesterday she quoted a post at a blog called Confluence:

There were a multitude of permutations that would have succeeded in covering poor and sick people but the Democrats picked the one that is most likely to piss off their own constituents in the highest numbers. Congratulations, guys.

But this abortion thing? I gotta wonder why it wasn’t sufficient to stick the knife into health care reform without adding the agonizing poison. You should have never even entertained Stupak and Nelson no matter how much they howled and screamed. That’s going to come back to bite you. And no matter how much theater comes up on the floor of the Senate during debate in the next couple of days to try to remove the amendments and compromises, taking them out is not going to make this bill smell any sweeter. The jig is up. We see through the distraction.

The actual post is interesting philosophically but bottom line is the abortion language makes the bill unacceptable.

Today the Boston Globe has this story about Martha the righteous:

“Let’s be clear on what’s principled here,’’ she said at the time of her opponent, US Representative Michael Capuano. “If it comes down to this in the Senate, and it’s the health care bill or violating women’s rights, where does he stand?’’

Obviously feeling the pressure, Capuano pivoted a few days later and said that while he voted yes in the House, he would vote no on final passage if the abortion restrictions did not change.

Coakley used her stark position on abortion rights to appeal to supporters for donations; in an e-mail, she declared her decision to make her position “a defining moment’’ in her campaign.

Asked last week whether she would vote against a bill that went beyond current law in restricting abortion coverage, Coakley said, “Yes, that’s right.’’

In a statement to the Globe yesterday, Coakley said that although she was disappointed that the Senate bill “gives states additional options regarding the funding mechanisms for women’s reproductive health services,’’ she would reluctantly support it because it would provide coverage for millions of uninsured people and reduce costs.

As Newsbusters put it:

Coakley is such a self-serving hypocritical flip-flopper than not even the Boston Globe could spin this story to make her look good. In almost any other state, Coakley would have very little chance in the general election but, hey, this is Massachusetts we are talking about here. Democrat candidates for senator aren’t so much elected as automatically coronated.

I have thoughts concerning Ms. Coakley, they are similar to my thoughts about Scott Harshbarger. Neither are printable so I didn’t say a thing at the time of the first post. As I want to keep my sense of decorum I’ll continue to restrain myself.

But I can’t wait to read Violet’s follow up post on this subject once she reads the Globe’s story. I’ll wager it is going to be an interesting but not work safe read.

With the Health care bill meeting Cloture it’s time to revisit my favorite Onion story.

Morning Joe was dealing with the Onion today so in honor of that and Harry Reid’s success to impose Cloture it’s worthwhile to link to this highly relevant Onion story from 1997:

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND—World Health Organization officials expressed disappointment Monday at the group’s finding that, despite the enormous efforts of doctors, rescue workers and other medical professionals worldwide, the global death rate remains constant at 100 percent.

Death, a metabolic affliction causing total shutdown of all life functions, has long been considered humanity’s number one health concern. Responsible for 100 percent of all recorded fatalities worldwide, the condition has no cure.

I love the Nader “quote”:

“Why should we continue to spend billions of dollars a year on a health care industry whose sole purpose is to prevent death, only to find, once again, that death awaits us all?” Nader said in an impassioned address to several suburban Californians. “That’s called a zero percent return on our investment, and that’s not fair. Its time the paying customer stood up to the HMOs and to the so-called ‘medical health professionals’ and said: ‘Enough is enough. I’m paying through the nose here, and I don’t want to die.’”

Yeah it’s funny and the Onion as always is worth a laugh but the bottom line is still what the article says. Everyone dies. That includes me and you.

Boy, back to back post on death, I know I’m in a bit of a mood today but two posts in a row on death? Bad sign, but as Curley Howard once said: “The Morbid the merrier”

I guess the “free cigarettes” line would get this a R rating today.

The Brittany Murphy business reminds me of my cousin Bill

…My cousin Bill was 4 years younger than me. He was a diver and built like a rock. Like Ms Murphy he was at the height of health. And out of nowhere he just dropped dead.

It struck me particularly, not because we were really close, or the empathy I felt for his parents as any parent does with their child (of any age) dies, but because I have overweight and older. It seemed unreal to me that he would what just dropped dead when I am still alive.

It reminds me of one of the greatest sermons I’ve ever heard, it was at the Latin Mass at Immaculate Conception. The priest went over and over talking about people who suddenly died and stressed the importance of the sacrament of confession. The priest stressed two phrases that have really stuck in me:

We are not promised the next morning.

It is a terrible thing to fall under the judgment of a Just God.

One should not let worry prevent one from living life, but a smart person will keep these two phrases in mind.

After all Ms. Murphy was young, fit and well off, yet she wasn’t promised that next day.

NOTE: As I neared the end of this post I noticed this:

Brittany Murphy’s husband, Simon Monjack, told hospital staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center he did not want an autopsy performed on his deceased wife, multiple sources tell TMZ.

We’re told, however, despite Monjack’s wishes, the L.A. County Coroner’s office will perform an autopsy on Murphy. As we first reported, Murphy went into cardiac arrest this morning and could not be revived.

This suggests that there might be more to this than meets the eye. Time will tell. Doesn’t change the main point of the post.

A quick comment concerning the “Visor” business…

There are times when you want to just wear a visor but aren’t out to make a statement. I have a instinctive dislike for keeping political stickers on cars etc forever. I still see people with their 01-20-09 anti-Bush stickers (and I don’t like the replacement 1-20-13 stickers either, I think they are childish.)

T-Shirts are different since they are, well T-Shirts, but when the election season is done i don’t want to wallow in the memorbelia. As a winner you don’t want to gloat, and as a loser you don’t want to whine.

If you are at a political event that is different but outside of it. It’s just not classy.

If the left wants to push this business with Palin, by all means they should do so. It will not convince anyone but the choir.

Freedom means having the right to be wrong, and the right to make a fool out of one’s self.

Small bad laws are just as bad as big ones

A lot of the right (and some of the left) is outraged over the impending passage of the heath care bill it it’s current form (whatever that actually is).

As I said to my old friend the rightwinggamer in comments:

This doesn’t actually bother me all that much in the sense that I didn’t expect better from this congress and that as a nation we made the foolish decision to elect them. We did this to ourselves so we have to take our medicine.

I’m actually much more outraged by this:

Private recycling programs weren’t good enough because the city wants to monitor our compliance. If there are all sorts of different recycling bins, placed where shopkeepers want them, how will the people — AKA the government — know if the mandate is boosting our bag-related virtue over the 10% level? The unenforced mandate, mind you. Now, not only will the people know how many bags are recycled, the people will know how much the mere idea of being supposed to do something produces the intended result. Think there will be a decline from the current 10%? You don’t know Madison.

My beef is really with this line from the actual story Ann References:

Fines for failing to recycle bags range from $100 to $400 a year, but city recycling coordinator George Dreckmann stressed that the city had no intention of enforcing the law emphasis mine

There is nothing that irritates me more than passing a law you aren’t going to enforce, it is a waste of resources and time. Even worse such laws can be selectively enforced to pressure or punish people if the desire arises. And this is local government, a national government might neglect or overlook some things due to its sheer size but a local government is close to the people it should know better.

I know very little about Madison, nothing from direct experience, I live in a city that is broke and where violence and drugs are a real problem.

If these are the people I’d be dealing with rather given the choice I think I’ll stay here.

In both cases the voters put these people in, and in both cases we the voters will get what’s coming to us.

Sometimes your roll comes up; just a dusting

A few years ago at Foxwoods (my last time there) a fellow at the Craps table was dropping $100 chips on the 15-1 single roll line table. (most people play $1 on that line)

For those of you not familiar with the game, in addition to all the other bets there are single roll bets. You can bet on a 3 (as he was). If the three comes up on that roll it pays 15-1. If it doesn’t then you lose.

Since the odds of getting that 3 are 16-1 Gambler’s fallacy not withstanding most of the time you lose, but for whatever reason that fellow managed to hit on the third roll from and walked away with $1200 ahead after only a minute or so. I’ve been to foxwoods maybe a dozen times in my life and this is the only time I’ve seen it happen.

I live in Northern Worcester County Massachusetts. When a snow storm comes through almost invariably we get the majority of the snow as compared to Boston and the cape, but once in a while the storm comes more from the sea than from the land. In those cases like today’s storm Boston and the Cape get nailed and we get off much easier. Even rarer is the case when we get off with practically nothing.

Yesterday I was all ready. Bought a new shovel, ice melt, went to the 4 p.m. mass instead of the 8 a.m. as I normally do, parked the cars strategically in the driveway and kept track a weather.com. The indications were the snow would start around 5 p.m. (No snow) , then 7 (no snow), then 10 (no snow). When I went upstairs at 11 and still saw no snow I was pleased since my oldest was getting out of work at 11. I fully expected to wake up a fair amount on the ground and a lot of work shoveling to do.

Instead when I looked outside this morning there was barely a dusting on anything. Snow is coming down but not all that fast. In the hour I’ve been of bed not even an inch has accumulated.

It doesn’t happen often but it looks like I’ve rolled that 3. I think I might buy a lottery ticket at Romano’s this morning, gambler’s ruin not withstanding.

It’s quite a change from last year.

Blue Harvest: Amazon Review

My review of Family Guy’s Blue Harvest, it’s peon to the original Star Wars movie is available at Amazon.com here.

The sound track is first rate, the adaption is as true as it can get while giving each Star Wars character a specific twist particular to the family guy character that plays it. A sequel is planned so this won’t be the last of it.

But I’m a Cheerleader! : Amazon Review

My review of the 1999 film But I’m a Cheerleader staring Natasha Lyonne is available at Amazon.com. here.

To say that this film is the ultimate expression of the left’s stereotype of all things pertaining to Christians, Christianity, and their attitudes to gays is the understatement of the year. It has some slapstick and some laugh out loud moments but if you are a fan of this blog you likely won’t care for it.

It’s 85 minutes you’ll never get back.

Update: Robert Stacy kindly links and provides the illustration I didn’t. If you are coming from there and want to hear about something worth reading I suggest you check out Escape From Hell. My post on it is here, my Amazon review here, and a little excerpt follows from a post on the 2nd amendment.

“And that one?” I pointed to a man up to his chin in boiling blood. He was screaming in agony so his face was distorted, but he looked Oriental.

“New one,” Billy said. “Seung, something like that. Went out and shot a bunch of people in the college he was at. Allen, it puzzles me that a man can shoot thirty-two full-grown men and women before the sheriff’s men gun him down. You’re more his time, maybe you can tell me. Why didn’t someone just shoot the son of a bitch?”

I scratched my head. Billy’s viewpoint seemed skewed, alien.

“Five of ‘em where teachers,” Billy said. “They had to protect their kids. How could they now be armed? It’s as if someone has been taking away their guns.”

A great book, you should grab it with Inferno the first in the series.

Update: Thanks to the old grouch for catching a typo in the review. Spell check can’t catch everything.

Amazon review: Post it Super Sticky Labels (yes you read that right)

My Amazon Vine review of Post-it(R) Super Sticky Removable Color Coding Labels, 1 x 2.6 Inches Assorted Neon, Laser, 450 labels per pack (2700-P) , the review Everybody is dying for…Is available at Amazon.com here.

Why on earth am I reviewing Labels? Because I got them through Amazon vine since I needed labels and on the vine program you have to review 75% of the items you get.

You won’t notice anything earth shattering about these things but they work as advertised, they’re LABELS what do you expect?