Mazurland Blog

Remember, Democrats are the "Nice" Ones

So I just got back from taking the wee one trick-or-treating around the neighborhood.  The wife stayed home giving out candy, while I did the door-to-door with little Snow White.  And we both (the wife and I) observed a truly disgusting (but not surprising, given what I know) phenomenon.  We got skipped over because of the McCain/Palin sign in our yard.

Seriously, how totally and completely screwed up do you have to be to stop your kids from getting FREE CANDY from a house just because they support "the other guy"?  And make no mistake, that's what it was.  The wife actually observed some kids about to go up the driveway, when the parents pointed to the sign and yanked their kids away. 

I apologize for the atypical tone of this post, but I'm just freakin' pissed off.  The character of people who are voting for Mr. Hope and Change speaks for itself. 

To be fair, two of our neighbors who had Obama signs were quite engaging and festive.  But what WAS interesting was that ALL of the McCain/Palin yard-sign houses had candy and people handing it out, while only about half of the Obama/Biden yard-sign houses did; the other half either had the joyless anonymity of a bucket and a "please take one" sign, or no candy at all.  I guess they just figured the Government would redistribute some candy from the kids who already got lots. 

Fondling Some Balls

Well, here I am in my hotel room in remotest northern Idaho. If you're wondering what I'm doing, don't get any weird ideas from the subject line. I'm catching up on my email and blog reading. If you're wondering what I'm doing during my 12 hour work days out here, well, the subject line probably captures a lot of it. Any time one is setting up a complex experiment that depends on loading and transporting tons of equipment, winching barges into precise locations, lowering equipment into cold, deep water, dealing with the demons in an out-of-control control system, and trying to get little details like the declination of magnetic north at your location, there are many moments of high anxiety, and many more moments of sitting around and scratching your itches while preparations slowly unfold. Many aspects of the experiment I'm doing were precisely laid out, with full knowledge that on test day there would be many things out of my control. Nothing is as I imagined it when planning the test. Operations unfold painfully slowly. Even previously tame test equipment can have a mind of its own. Things have to be improvised on the fly. And the weather is always the big question mark when working on the water. So much uncertainty. So many variables. Who knows what will happen?

I'm also watching the last days of the Presidential election unfold at some remove from my usual perspective. I've already voted, but the campaign goes on. I catch a little news early in the morning, then am incommunicado most of the rest of the day. I hear that Sarah Palin has visited Penn State, where I work, but I am 2000 miles away. It seems that the election is happening elsewhere, which, after this long campaign, is a good thing.

But the polls, which have been confusing for months, are more confusing than ever.  It seems like getting an answer from polls is like nailing Jello to a tree. So many variables. So many opinions. So hard to interpret. If it's as hard for you as it is for me to deal with the lack of perspective they offer, read Iowahawk's explanation of the current problems facing poll takers, poll interpreters, and poll consumers. As he tells it, taking and interpreting a poll can be a lot like trying to randomly chose colored balls from an urn where the balls either compete for your hand's attention, or try to duck away from our hand. And for a perfect object lesson in polling mischief, see Jim Miller's piece on how Gallup is keep all their balls in the air in order to get the answers people want to hear, the way they want to hear them.

Hank's Breweriana--Buffalo/Ontario Style

This is kind of a "teaser" post about my fetish for Breweriana.  I've had it all my life, but only in the last few years have I been able to start obtaining things that I've always wanted.

It started, like it did for many New Yorkers now in their 40's and 50's, with those famous Utica Club talking mugs; the German Schultz, and the smaller Irish Dooley.  Schultz and Dooley are still in my earliest memories, talking on the bar in Utica Club Beer Commericals. And they were joined by a whole cast of characters, Officer Suds being the most remembered. I have a 30 minute VCR tape of many of these commercials.

In 1982 Wanda bought me Schultz and Dooley for Christmas, her brother lives 20 miles from Utica and went to the brewery to buy them.

About 6 years ago, while my son WASN'T living in my basement, and before my diagnosis of Diabetes would severely limit my alcohol consumption, I was busy drawing up my plans to put in part of my basement an abbreviated version of the Riverside "workingmans" bars that I grew up in---shining shoes, and stocking coolers/hauling wings/cleaning up in the mornings.  Even then I was "(almost)Anything for a buck".

And I wanted to decorate it with the icons of those bars, most long gone. Simon Pure, Iroquois, Genesse, Molson, O'Keefe, Koch's, Carling,Utica Club, Matt's etc.  And I've bought a LOT of things to decorate down there. All I have to do is get my almost 28 year old son to move the hell out of the basement (for the 4th time) so I can get started.  Last time I got it cleaned and ready, here the PITA comes again.

So over the next couple of days I will be posting some pictures of my gear. When I'm done, someone should be able to come into my basement and feel like they just walked into a corner bar in Buffalo.  A refuge from the rednecks down here

They like music, Country and Western(both kinds), and if they're really out there they know 3 bands, Creedence, Skynyrd, and one that's not---and will drink any kind of beer, as long as it's BUDWEISER.  Nastiest tasting swill ever brewed IMO. 

I've got trays, old cans, bottles, pitchers, glasses, barmaid trays, mirrors, hanging lights, lite up counter signs, a collection of Tap pulls, all manner of stuff. And when my son is gone for good (Moving to Louisiana this summer once his breathalyzer ignition lock is off his car), I'll unveil the plans for the bar itself.  I also plan to put in a small pizza oven and a commercial fryer for wings.

More to come.......

FROM THE SJCI DESK

To the Mazurlanders who attended what the Buffalo Pundit not-so-lovingly refers to as "THAT SCHOOL ON KENMORE AV"---what he has against us I'll never know, he's not even a WNY native....

Got the Annual Report in the mail over the weekend.

Class of 1975-- only 21 of the 166 members of the class Marty and I graduated in gave ANYTHING.

Apparently Marty didn't--his name doesn't appear.  From our Group---Andy and I were the only ones who made a donation.  I'm sure Andy remembers his "4 year free ride" when he donates.  I have given them something all but 2-3 years of the last 33.  When I was in the Navy I sent them 20.00.  Now usually 150-200 a year.

What's bizzarre is our class donated a total of 12,052.00--not counting the BIG donors. But only 15% participation--that's not very cool. Too many guys who have good careers because of the start they got there have forgotten where they came from.

Ron Grimm (who I believe now runs the family construction company) donated 25,000.00 plus.  I guess they didn't include him in the total. Dave Nasca gave 10,000.00 plus.  Last I heard he was a bank president of some type, so I assume he's got it to give. Dave's on the Board of Directors. Remember how we complained when the BOD didn't want to relax the dress code??--Bunch of old fogies!!!---Guess that's us now.

Chris' class had 23 donors. Ron Moscati (who was in our German class) and Steve Grande (who used to hang with Chris as I remember) were large givers--Steve's a Chiropractor. 

Almost makes me feel bad that I only give 'em a buck and a half or 200.00 a year--but you can bet your ass if you make your donation in person, no matter what the amount---you're treated as a friend, no matter how old you are.  I found out what being a SJ man meant after Graduation  when my dad passed away. 6 of the Brothers and several of the lay teachers came and said a decade of the Rosary. It really meant a lot to my mom.

Outside, Br.Dominic (now passed away) told me that though I was a man now, "You'll always be one of our Boys".    Meant a lot coming from him, he specialized in breaking my ass.

They sure are doing a lot there---SJ has Canisius beat ALL TO HELL now.  MUCH better facilities and programs--actually very impressive--Mr Scott has done a hell of a job.  When you're next in Buffalo, stop by--the 20 odd minutes you spend there will be a lot of fun.

A First Time For Everything

As I hinted last month, I'm heading to northern Idaho for a week, maybe two, on a work-related field trip. I'm leaving early tomorrow. I've been to Idaho. Southern Idaho. And it was a very long time ago. I'm looking forward to seeing the northern part of the state, though the time of year would not have been my first choice. The Idaho Panhandle town where I'm staying is also close to another state I've never visited, Montana. If I have time, I might make a side trip over the spine of the Rockies and visit Missoula. That would make 41 states that I will have visited. I may also be able to sneak down to Oregon (that would make 42 states), or take a longer trip up to Alberta (that would be my 7th Canadian province). But I hope I can't make all those trips. It would mean that weather or some other factor was playing havoc with my experiments. I want them to go well, get them done, and get back home.

As I also mentioned, I had to vote by absentee ballot, for the first time in my life. And for the first time in my life, I checked the straight party voting box. Oh, I've voted straight party before. But I usually go through and check each candidate's name individually. This time, I asked myself, "Why bother? When was the last time you voted for a candidate in the other party?" I also, for the first time, voted for a member of a "traditionally underrepresented group" for national office. It is unavoidable this year, unless you vote for a marginal candidate. But it's not like I've ever had anything in principle against voting for a candidate from that group (or from the other traditionally unrepresented group that is being represented this year). It's just that there hasn't, until now, been an acceptable candidate for a national office from this group (or the other). It's nice that I'll probably be spending part of the next two weeks close to my candidate's place of birth. (Unlike the other candidate from an underrepresented group, we're pretty sure where that is.) I sure hope she wins.

Too Much Information

I just joined the networking site Facebook the other day. Ben coincidentally wrote a post about his experience with Facebook. Ben's been on Facebook for some time. I've been circling around the periphery of networking sites for a while. I joined MySpace a couple of years ago because some people I knew had MySpace pages. I never really did anything with it, nor, from what I could tell, did the friends who had such pages. I don't know who uses it these days. Rock bands, Hollywood stars, pseudo-hip politicians, they all seem to have them. But what about the hoi polloi?

I also joined Gaia (previously known as Zaadz). It's a newtworking site for New Agey, bean sprout chomping, change-the-world namaste-droppers. I had to join it to be able to comment on my Uncle Tom's blog. And they don't just let anyone in. You have to send in an email averring your New Ageyness. Unlike what I thought when I sent my first content-free email to the registration address, they don't do this just to confirm that you're not a spambot. It's read by an actual human who wants to see that you have some plan to change the world. Or at least that you're not joining just to make fun of those who do, which was what I honestly swore to them. The Gaia network is peopled by a mix of earnest change-the-worlders, "Sante Fe" artsy types, self-absorbed vision-questers, lonely middle-aged hippies, and BS artists. And my uncle, who fits no category, and who is the only reason I visit.

I'm also in LinkedIn, a career networking site. No, I'm not looking for a job. I joined it out of curiosity after getting several invites from friends who are in it. I don't see the utility of it. I don't know how people actually use it. I haven't been barraged by people in the network for letters of recommendation or contacts to get in where I work. I doubt I'd look there if I were trying to hire someone. It's kind of a benign curiosity to me.

Back a couple of years ago, I'd heard of Facebook. It seemed to be for kids. And to a large degree, it was. It was limited to high school and college students. But a couple of years ago, Facebook opened up to the larger networking world. I saw no reason to join at the time. It still seemed mostly for kids. Both of my kids were "Facebookers". They networked, gossiped, shared pictures and stories, planned their social lives, all with the help of Facebook. My son showed me some of the things the site can do, and I was impressed. But I still didn't want in. Another thing to learn. A time sink. And, again, mostly for kids.

After my running club's recent 50 Mile Relay Race, people in the Club were posting pictures and stories about the race on their Facebook pages. Then a friend who organized a surprise birthday tailgate party for another friend before the last Penn State Game posted pictures of it on Facebook. So, I figured I'd have to join up just to get in on this. And so now I'm in Facebook.

I joined earlier this week. The Facebook interface is slick, but also a bit confusing. If you allow it, Facebook will rummage through your email address book and go out and invite all your friends to be part of your Facebook network. By morning's end, I was linked up with dozens of people. I set up my profile and added some goodies. But after going through all that, I'm not sure how much I'll use it. It seems as much an annoyance as anything else. Most of the functions it performs, I handle for myself by other, usually better means: blogging, email, telephone. It's also much easier for friends and mere acquaintances to try to snag you into internet time-wasters like game challenges, and meaningless chit-chat.

The first thing I noticed was, at least for an old guy newbie, there's just too much going on and too much to do. I can post photos, videos, spur-of-the-moment thoughts. I can throw stuff on my "Wall" and other people's Walls. I can have a rudimentary blog, but I already have a better one that's open to everyone. I can chat. But, I'm not a chatter.

When I first joined, one of my running club friends immediately commented that she was surprise it took me so long, and that Facebook was perfect for me. She started up a chat. She's a lively talker, usually saying the first thing that comes to her mind, and I don't think she really knows what a curmudgeon I can be. When she inadvertently commented that her new-found Christian faith was superior to her erstwhile Catholicism, I commented (knowing from her profile of her taste in music) that one of the benefits for me of remaining Catholic is that I am more insulated form Contemporary Christian music. Going for the trash-talk slam is not a "chat" thing to do.

The whole thing is just TMI. Too much information about me, and too much information for me to process. I know I can customize the interface, but that's one more thing to learn. I know things will probably settle down after the initial surge of invites. I know I could use Facebook to join other networks of people with similar interests. But I'm pretty much in that now as it is with this blog and the running club writing I do. I'll have to see how this thing evolves, but for now, Facebook is just too much.

And, no, don't ask me to "friend" you.

New Game For Thanksgiving

All Mazurlanders should enjoy this game. This 'un here will let you know what is like to be in an observation post and you're going to be over-run by the enemy. 

Enjoy and report scores in comments.  My best so far is 16,380--but I dance with Prince Xanax during the day. Your reflexes may be better.   

Prepping For The Big Game

Penn State's football team is having its best season in years. They are undefeated and currently ranked 3rd in the national polls, behind Texas and Alabama. Alabama had a tough game against Ole Miss last week, and was lucky to come out on top. Had they lost, Penn State would be number 2 and would be on track to go to the BCS National Championship Game. As it was, Penn State, with its 46-17 win over Michigan, almost leapfrogged the Tide in the polls, a rare thing in college rankings. And there lies the problem for Penn State.

A team's ranking is partly based on the strength of the opponents it faces and beats. Penn State has not truly been tested yet this season. They have beaten ranked opponents, usually quite handily, but not Top 10 teams. And they have usually had a slow start against the good teams, winning after adjusting, wearing them down, and running away with the game in the second half. That's pretty much what happened against Michigan. Michigan's program has seen better days. They are 2-5, their worst mid-season record in decades. But many of their losses have been close, they are always formidable at home, and Penn State had not beaten Michigan in 12 years. Michigan came out strong and looked like they might upset the Nittany Lions. At one point, the score was 17-7. But Penn State adjusted midway through the second quarter, bringing the score to 17-14 at the half. Joe Paterno and his coaching staff have shown a remarkable ability this season to adapt to their opponents during a game. By the end of the game, Penn State had scored 39 unanswered points, and had thoroughly demolished the Wolverines.

But it was that slow start that probably kept Penn State from leapfrogging 'Bama. Over the years, Penn State has been the victim of bad polling, sometimes due to a previous lack of regard for the PSU program, and once due to a leapfrogging. Penn State had several undefeated seasons in the 60s and 70s, but was not rewarded with a National Championship until 1982. Its program was considered strong, but it was thought that Penn State always played weak opponents. That changed for good when Penn State joined the Big 10 in the early 90s. But then in 1994, Penn State went undefeated and ended up #2 to Nebraska. They had been #1 for a week or so, but were leapfrogged by Nebraska when Penn State won weakly over unranked Indiana and Nebraska trounced its opponent. In those days, #1 was determined purely by polls. The #1 and #2 teams were not guaranteed to play each other in a post-season game, and seldom did. Penn State and Nebraska both handily won their bowl games, guaranteeing stasis in the rankings.

Now, with the BCS system (flawed as it is), the #1 and #2 ranked teams always end up playing each other for the National Championship. The tough part is getting to one of those top two slots. It generally requires a team to go undefeated. But could we end up in a situation where the top 3 teams are all undefeated, with Penn State out of the final game?

For Penn State, a lot comes down to this weekend's game. The Lions visit the Ohio State Buckeyes, the sole remaining highly ranked team on Penn State's schedule. OSU was ranked #2 until they were demolished by USC early in the season. The Buckeyes, 7-1, are ranked #9 and have played unevenly, winning some games convincingly, and others in squeakers. Some of Penn State's games have been slow starts, come-from-behinds, but all but one has ended up a convincing victory. (The game against Purdue, a 20-6 win, was closer than the others.) If Penn State wins convincingly, they could leapfrog Alabama. After this week, Penn State's remaining schedule is relatively easy. Alabama's isn't too tough either, but they looked vulnerable last week. And Texas? They have a tough schedule. They play the current #6, #8, and #23 before the end of the season. But they look almost unbeatable. Except maybe by Penn State in the BCS Championship Bowl Game.

By many measures, Ohio State and Michigan have two of the top five all-time collegiate football programs. Penn State is often also picked in the top 10 all-time. None of the other Big 10 schools comes close. That's why Penn State has had a hot rivalry with both Michigan and Ohio State since Penn State joined the Big 10. The depth of feeling is high, and is probably highest for Penn Staters against the Ohio State program. Here's an amusing video that demonstrates just how far some fans will go.

Penn State Dog hates Ohio State

[HT - Vicky]

PISTOL PACKIN' LOOBY LOO

If you read (the better version) or saw the film adapation of the novel PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN A ROW from the 70's, you would remember the wife of the guidance counselor who was killing all the pretty girls after he ended his trysts with them was on his list as "LOOBY LOO".  Never heard that name before or since.  Apparently it's a British nickname.

This was sent to me by e-mail so I don't have the date, but it was printed up in the London Daily Mail.  I'm not a big reader of British Newspapers, but I know the  Guardian and the Independent are pretty liberal rags. I've not read much from the Daily Mail, but it appears they must be the conservative rage over there.

The following article over the American Right's newest and best loved heroine Sarah Palin was printed in the online edition of the London Daily Mail.  You can read the article and see another good pic of Sarah

RAT CHEER

A pistol-packin' Looby Loo:   the Left's worst nightmare

Frank Sinatra would have got the joke.  In the words of the great political
philosopher, they all laughed at Christopher Columbus when he said the world
was round.

They're all laughing, too, at John McCain for choosing Sarah Palin as his
running mate.  The usual suspects took one look at this pistol-packin' momma
and reacted like John McEnroe to a disputed line call:  you cannot be
serious!

Certainly, the pick came, as the Americans say, out of left field. But Sarah
Palin is centre stage now, and suddenly it's game on.

Stern, God-fearin', gun-totin' Sarah Palin.  Will she get the last laugh?

At the very least, McCain has got a wonderful sense of mischief - a quality
sadly lacking in most politicians.

The way the Left, both here and in America , are contorting themselves is a
joy to behold.    Sarah Palin is every Guardianista's worst nightmare.

It's reminiscent of how they used to patronize Mrs. Thatcher 30 years ago.
What did this small-town girl know about anything?

How could any woman expect to run a country and raise a family?  What does
she know about foreign affairs?

Of course, they weren't saying that a woman couldn't be Prime Minister, you
understand.  Just not this woman.

Shirley Williams would have been fine, but this ghastly, lower middle- class
Snobby Roberts woman from Grantham, of all places - AAARGH!

It's been hilarious watching the sisterhood tie themselves in knots over
Sarah Palin.

On the one hand she's a feisty, capable woman shaking up the political
establishment, while juggling a family and career.  I don't know how she
does it.

But on the other, she's a God fearing, gun-totin', good ol' girl.  She hunts
she fishes - she's a Republican, for goodness' sake.

Sarah Palin is every red-blooded redneck's fantasy figure, every randy
schoolboy's Mrs. Robinson.  She could have stepped straight out of one of
long-lost cousin Michael's Ripping Yarns.

Cheerleader,  beauty queen, dominatrix of the Harper Valley PTA, mother of
five, mayor,   governor and now a heartbeat away from the Vice-Presidency.

You couldn't make her up.  Law And Order's Fred Thompson, once a
presidential candidate himself, hit the baby seal on the head when he said
the Left were in a blind panic over what to do about Palin.

Joke's on you, left-leaner’s:  John McCain, displaying a sense of mischief
rare in politics,  with his choice of Sarah Palin, surrounded by her family,
as his running-mate.

What they are doing is what they usually do when confronted with something
which offends their world view - character assassination. Every 'liberal'
newspaper and TV network has sent hatchet men north to Alaska to dig for the
dirt beneath the tundra.

What they discovered is that 80 per cent of Alaskans think she's doing a
great job.

A supermarket tabloid is claiming she had an affair, which she denies. Apart
from that,  the worst the scandal-hounds have come up with is that Palin, as
governor, put pressure on a police chief to fire her former brother-in-law.

Given that said brother-in-law had beaten up her sister and threatened to
kill her father, I'd say that's far from abusing her office, she showed
considerable restraint. I'm surprised she didn't put a bullet in his head.

The big talking point is the pregnancy of Palin's 17-year-old daughter,
Bristol , who is soon to marry her boyfriend.  That's what I call a shot gun
wedding!

Still, it kills the wild rumor that Bristol is really the mother of Palin's
Down's syndrome baby, Trig.

You've just got to like a woman who calls her son after a character in 'Only
Fools And Horses'.  Although it's probably fair to assume she doesn't have a
working knowledge of Cockney rhyming slang, otherwise her daughter would
never have been christened Bristol .

When Palin talks about shattering the glass ceiling, the sisters are
supposed to cheer - except most of them suspect her idea of shattering a
glass ceiling would be with a both barrels blast from a 12-bore.

She epitomizes the 'God and guns' mentality at which Barack Obama and his
supporters sneer.  They use 'small town' as a pejorative term. That's not
how Middle America sees it.

John Mellencamp wrote his hit song  ' Small Town '  as an ironic take on
Hicksville , USA .  He even performed it at an Obama rally earlier this year

Back at you: Democrats say Sarah lacks the experience for the top job - but
neither do Obama or Biden have it.

But that hasn't stopped Middle Americans adopting it as an anthem.
Mellencamp must be just as horrified as Springsteen was when Ronald Reagan
purloined his anti-war  “Born In The USA”  as a campaign song.

It's not that the Americans don't do irony, as European 'sophisticates'
always maintain.

It's just that sometimes, my dear, they don't give a damn. A good song is a
good song - and to hell with the message.

Most Americans were born and raised in a small town.  Her values are their
values.

The mantra from the Obama camp is that she lacks the experience to be VP.
In truth,  she has more executive experience than either Obama or his Neil
Kinnock-impersonator sidekick mate Joe Biden, neither of whom has ever run
anything.

But, wail the skeptics, what about foreign affairs?  Admittedly, Palin has
never slagged off her country at a mass rally in Berlin .  But Alaska 's
next door to Russia . She's got more experience of dealing with Russians
than anyone outside of corporate hospitality at Stamford Bridge .

Who is Putin more likely to be wary of  -  Barack  'we must negotiate with
dictators' Obama, or Looby Loo  packing heat?

To paraphrase the Duke of Wellington, I don't know what she does to the
enemy, but she scares the life out of me.

Palin reminds me of the old joke about what's the difference between the IRA
and a woman with PMS?  You can negotiate with the IRA.

What she does have in spades is experience of the energy industry - the
number one concern right now. Palin would drill, drill and drill some more -
polar bears or no polar bears. And when the oil companies got greedy, she
imposed a windfall tax. Unlike Gordon Brown, who'd keep it, she gave every
Alaskan a $1,200 rebate.

With all the hoop-la, it's easy to forget that she's running for
Vice-President,  not President.   Not yet.

Sarah Palin:   The next Margaret Thatcher?   Time will tell...

That's what really frightens her condescending opponents. Not that we've a
leg to stand on in Britain . We've got Harriet Harman a chewed fingernail
away from the top job - and she's never shot a moose in her life.

Remember, they all laughed at Margaret Thatcher.
But ho, ho, ho, who had the last laugh?=============

Last Laugh, indeed.  The Iron Maiden proved to be the right person in the right place in the right time in history, just as Winston Churchill, George Washington, George Patton and many other people seem to have been.

I pray nightly for a McCain-Palin Victory---The liberals will be falling on their swords all over the country, and I will smile a contented smile for days.

He Said It, We Didn't

There's a wonderful post on Red State this morning, authored by all the Red State Directors.  It shows independents, liberal Republicans and even some Conservatives why we don't need to give Barry Hussein a "Chance" in the most powerful job in the country.

Of course, with Obama in the White House, and the Democrats with filibuster proof majority in the Senate (which hasn't happened since the last great mess--the Great Society), and a majority in the house, they'll have us down the road to a European style Socialist government. 

One of the goals for these Marxist leaning legislators and their executive would be the Fairness doctrine.  Even Hitler knew the best way for your propaganda to succeed is to eliminate the propaganda of your opposition.  Rush, Hannity, O'Reilly, Coulter and Co---Look out---Barry Hussein wants you out of business. 

After his loss in the Kentucky Primary, Barry Hussein blamed Fox News:

"I am convinced that if there were no Fox News, I might be two or three points higher in the polls," Obama told liberal journalist Matt Bai. "[T]he way I’m portrayed 24/7 is as a freak! I am the latte-sipping, New York Times-reading, Volvo-driving, no-gun-owning, effete, politically correct, arrogant liberal. Who wants somebody like that?" ..."I guess the point I'm making," he went on, "is that there is an entire industry now, an entire apparatus, designed to perpetuate this cultural schism, and it's powerful.

Yes, the MSM doesn't like an opposing opinion in the marketplace.  They have their control of ALL forms of Media.  NBC has decided to keep their acronym, but I think they're looking to change the name of the network to "NOTHING BUT BARACK", just so everyone knows where to get "All Barack, All the Time".

You can read the whole article, which has many embedded links OVER YONDER, or as Bill Engvall would say to Marty---HERES' YOUR FREAKIN' LINK, SON .

Speaking of which, where's the rest of you knuckle-heads?