A Unique Commencement

Man, I hope that when I graduate, we have a commencement speaker that is as good as P.J O'Rourke. Writing in the LA Times today, he offered his own version of a commencement address. Instead of encouraging young graduates to go out and 'follow their dreams' and try to 'change the world' he offers more practical advice; telling them to go out and get rich, forget about 'fairness,' and learn the true meaning of the 10th Commandment.

Indeed. To quote his introduction:

"Don't moan. I'm not going to "pass the wisdom of one generation down to the next." I'm a member of the 1960s generation. We didn't have any wisdom.

We were the moron generation. We were the generation that believed we could stop the Vietnam War by growing our hair long and dressing like circus clowns. We believed drugs would change everything -- which they did, for John Belushi. We believed in free love. Yes, the love was free, but we paid a high price for the sex.

My generation spoiled everything for you. It has always been the special prerogative of young people to look and act weird and shock grown-ups. But my generation exhausted the Earth's resources of the weird. Weird clothes -- we wore them. Weird beards -- we grew them. Weird words and phrases -- we said them. So, when it came your turn to be original and look and act weird, all you had left was to tattoo your faces and pierce your tongues. Ouch. That must have hurt. I apologize."

Heh. Make sure to read the whole thing here, it's both dead-on and hilarious.

Rah, Rah, Wake Forest, Rah.....

86-73 - Read it and weep Dookies.



Yea, that makes for a pretty darn good day, if I do say so myself.

Oh, and just for the heck of it:



Go. Deacs.

It's Their World...

....you're just luckless enough to be living in it. Yes folks, welcome to the Lawyers' world, where being the only dipshit in the country who didn't realize that steroids were/are big business in MLB makes you eligible for some easy money. Because, clearly, since it seems likely that some of the big boys on your team took steroids (and you paid $25 for a seat to watch them play) you deserve a little refund (plus whatever else you can get out of it).

Heck, I suppose Vegas should now start taking bets on how long it is until some lawyer comes up with a multi-million dollar class action suit against one of these teams. Seriously though, I hate Barry Bonds as much as the next normal baseball fan (probably more so, since I'm a Braves fan, and Hammerin' Hank actually earned his place in history), but if you were naive enough to think that your team was immune from the rampant steroid abuse in MLB, well, let's just say that a ticket refund is probably that last thing you need to be worrying about.

Finally, I would just like to note how incredibly appropriate it is that the guy bringing this lawsuit is a fan of none other than the Evil Empire itself.

Damn Yankees.

Natural Selection - It Really Works!

This video brings to mind something that Darwin once said.....



....you know, the part about how less evolved members of a species tend to die off and not reproduce.

Stop Gun Abuse....Restrict Voting?

As I was reading through my rather large collection of quotes a few minutes ago, I came across this gem from Teddy Roosevelt:

"A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends on the character of the user."

After reading it, and giving it the usual, appropriate snicker, it got me thinking; and you know what, T.R just might have a great argument for 2nd Amendment Rights in there. Consider this: what do many folks on the left lobby for on the issue of gun-control? Well, they want stricter, more effective restrictions on gun ownership and use. Why? Well, it's very simple (they say), guns kill people; thus to stop the killing, we should restrict the people who use the guns.

Sounds like a plausible line of thinking, right?

Now, consider the following argument which I will pose to you. I want stricter more efficient restrictions on voting. I want fewer people to be able to vote. Why? Well, because, as any opponent of the Iraq War will gladly tell you, electing the wrong politician gets people killed. And, naturally, we need to restrict the people who enable this killing which, in a Democracy, means 'We the (voting) People'!! So, end the violence, restrict....uh, anyone who's not a college professor from voting!!! Yeah!!

The logic doesn't sound as plausible anymore, now does it?

I haven't given this particular argument a great degree of thought, so it could still have some holes in it; however, I always take great pleasure in turning anti-2nd Amendment folks' ridiculous arguments upside-down and couldn't resist the opportunity. At the very least, it's some food for thought!

Who Do You Trust?

So who do you trust? Not in your personal life, but which professionals do you trust? Well, according to this recent poll, most Americans tend to trust people in the Medical field. Yes, that's right, in survey of 21 common/prominent professional fields, the top 5 most highly trusted professions were all in the Medical field! Lawyers? Well, they were down in the bottom half, and had a 'net high' rating of (no joke) -20%!! Ha!! That dismal number had them in a tie with U.S Senators in the honesty department. John Edwards must be proud.

Here were the top 5:

1. Nurses: 82%
2. Pharmacists: 69%
3. Veterinarians: 69%
4. Medical Doctors: 63%
5. Dentists: 58%

I guess this just goes to further demonstrate how out of touch all these Trial Lawyers really are. They spend all that time in court trying to portray Doctors as 'untrustworthy' and 'dishonest' folks; but, as the numbers seem to show, most Americans aren't fooled. They know who's really dishonest and underhanded - the Trial Lawyers! So, word to the wise for all the Trial Lawyers out there, when the American people have the same amount of confidence in your profession as they do in their Politicians; you're doing something seriously wrong.

D*mn It...Blog Issues

So, bad news on the Blog front: earlier this evening, while attempting to switch over to Blogger.com's new blog format, I seem to have lost my entire blog! So, I've created this new one in the meantime, and will just post here. I had my most recent posts saved, so I put those up below, and I have some of my favorite ones from months past saved, and I'll put those up over the next few days. Everything else should be about the same, minus most all of the old material.

I'm going to try to rescue the old blog....but I'm not exactly optimistic about its chances. Hopefully, I'll at least be able to get the old web address back; but, again, I'm not exactly optimistic about this. Hopefully, I'll get some new stuff up later tonight.

In my current frustration with all things Blog, I am comforted by the simple phrase: "shit happens."

What? You expected something more eloquent? ;-)

***Update***

Throught the magic of the internet I've been able to rescue a bunch of my old posts. I'm going to put some of them up over the next few hours.

**Update #2***

Ok, that didn't take as long as I thought....the 57 old posts (out of 80 something) that I could find are now up on this site with the same date as before. Will look for some of the others, but, again, I'm still not optimistic.

***Update #3***

Well, I seem to have recovered everything I wrote before about the middle of May, however, oddly enough, the newer stuff, from June - November of this year is what I've been unable to locate.

***Update #4*** (12/11)

Tried looking for some old stuff again today for the first time in a while and was able to find most of the ones from this past summer as well as everything from this past October. I guess I shouldn't have been so pessimistic, as of now I've recovered most of my stuff.

The English al-Jazeera

In what must be an effort to make it easier for all us infidels to understand how dumb we are the famed al-Jazeera network has now decided to do broadcasts in the English language. So, in case CNN messed up any of the translations, or if you were unsure exactly what their News broadcasts were saying, I've discovered a clip for you on YouTube.

So here it is.

Enjoy! ;-)

Reading Material

I don't usually post links to other blogs, speeches, etc. mainly because this is my blog; and I feel, as a result, that I'd rather stick to my material. However, this once I feel the need to break that format and link to a speech that I found and read last week. It was given on August 14 in Australia by Canadian columnist Mark Steyn. It's one of the best speeches I've heard/read in a while....

Link Here. Scroll down to where it says 'Mark Steyn:' in bold. That's the section I'm referring to.

Be forewarned, the speech is fairly long, and may take several minutes to read through - but it's well worth the read.

Who's the Real 'Evil, Warmongers'

So, its been a while since I've posted, and during that time the following occurred to me:

Democrats often like to call us Conservatives 'Warmongers' but a review of the last 100 or so years doesn't confirm that:

- Since 1898 America has been in 8 Wars: Spanish-American, World War I, World War II, Korean, Vietnam, the Cold War, and the First and Second Gulf Wars
- Only 3 were started by Republicans: The Spanish-American, and the Gulf Wars
- Of the 7 that have been concluded, despite only starting 2, Republicans have ended 5 (McKinley - Spanish-American, Eisenhower - Korea, Nixon - Vietnam, Reagan - The Cold War, Bush Sr. - Gulf War)
- The only War that was won without actual battle, the Cold War, was won by Ronald Reagan, a Republican
- The total number of deaths from all 3 Wars started by Republicans (appx. 5,150) is about seven times less than the number of deaths from the least costly War started by a Democrat (Korea 36,914)
- The 3 wars started by Republicans are (as a percentage of the GDP) the 3 cheapest of the 8 Wars

So, in conclusion, not only do Republicans actually fight less Wars than Democrats, but they are better at doing so, and they are much better at making peace. This does not mean we shouldn't have fought the Wars started by Democrats, au contraire. Rather, it goes to show that Democrats are in absolutely no position to criticize Republicans for being 'warmongers', 'illegally putting the troops in harms way', etc., etc. because, well, they're actually much better at those things themselves.

Trouble in the Neighborhood

As a student at Wake Forest, I have been paying close attention to the ongoing allegations of rape against members of the Duke Lacrosse team. This is not only due to the proximity of our two schools, but because this case has been (or at least should be) of concern to college students around the country. The actual legal case, as far as I can tell, is rather complex, and I will refrain from attempting to apply my not-so-expert opinion to it. However, as I have been following this case, several things I have seen in the coverage have bothered me, and I am compelled to share them.

First and foremost, what the hell ever happened to 'Innocent until proven guilty'??? ESPN, ABC, every newspaper and news organization, not to mention Duke University itself, has told this story, from the very beginning, as if the players had big red 'R's on their chests for 'rapists'. I know that the allegations are very serious, and I know it's not exactly 'cool' to go around defending potential rapists; but they have Rights too, and those Rights need to be respected.

Next, can we PLEASE stop talking about issues of race? If you listened to the media reports on this case during the first week or so, you might have thought that the alleged crime was saying the n-word. Let's remember, there is the possibility that a woman was raped here - and that's just a wee bit more concerning than a drunk college kid calling someone a nasty name. Furthermore, the locals in Durham aren't exactly helping, as they are all protesting because the woman is black. They seem more upset that it was a white man (allegedly) raping a black woman than that it was (or could be), well, a rape. I know that 'race issues' are extremely sensitive for some people, but priorities, folks, please.

Finally, perhaps one of the most annoying aspects of the coverage of the Duke Scandal is the all-out 'bash the rich' session that it has become. Seriously, can I stop hearing about how Duke Students are more 'privileged' than the surrounding Durham community? Maybe, just maybe, the reason the Duke students are so 'privileged' is because they worked hard in high school, were good students, did well on the SAT or were very active in their community and got rewarded with a slot at a top-notch University. Or perhaps the reason all those kids at Duke are so 'privileged' is because their parents worked hard and earned lots of money so that they could afford to send their children to a $40,000 a year University. Why is this kind of success a crime? I'm not saying the residents in Durham aren't hard-working or successful, but should they hate on the Dukies for being so? In fact, considering that about 17% of Durham residents don't even have a high school diploma, maybe they should start taking a cue from some of their (better behaved) neighbors at Duke University.

Well, that's it for now, maybe not the most politically correct of complaints; but honest ones nonetheless. I really hope that this case is solved quickly, although I doubt that will happen. It should be interesting, and let's hope that justice can still be done - despite the media circus that already surrounds this case.

World's Shortest Horror Flick

You read that right folks, just check out the link HERE and you'll get a chance to see the shortest horror movie in history. Seriously, it lasts just over a minute. The basic plot: a woman is at home by herself and discovers that an intruder is about to break in, the police can't get there in time, how will she save herself???

And once you're done watching that classic flick, remember the following:

"A gun in the hands of a good person is no danger to anyone except the bad guys."
~ Charlton Heston

The French Come To Iraq!

*Sigh* It seems that us Conservatives can no longer make fun of the French Army. After 2 strong years of holding out, they have finally decided to come support the War in Iraq, and display to the world the true might of their Armed Forces. In fact, you can see live video footage of their landings on Iraqi beaches HERE!

Muslims Get Taste of 'Down Under' Jails

Just in case you didn't notice, or were watching CNN complain about the lack of French compassion instead, something absolutely astounding happened today in Australia. 16 Muslim men, 7 from Sydney and 9 from Melbourne were arrested for plotting a terror attack. As it turns out, these men were apparently plotting a 9/11 type attack (at least in magnitude) in Melbourne. According to authorities, they had bombs made and ready for use, and were operating a 'mini-factory', of sorts, that they were using to produce more. Additionally, these terrorists are under the leadership of Abu Bakr, a man who is well noted in Australia for his extreme devotion to jihad and Osama bin Laden.

The fact that this plot has not only been discovered, but stopped, speaks volumes to the anti-terror forces in Australia. A great deal of praise and credit is owed to Australian authorities and police forces for their superb work in uncovering this plot. It is victories like these that demonstrate to us that the War on Terror is indeed winable; and that also help add to the sense of desperation that our enemies are rapidly begining feel.

Since late 2001, Australia and Prime Minister John Howard have been perhaps the strongest American allies besides Tony Blair and Britian. The fact that they can put a halt to this type of terror plot speaks highly of thier ability to be brilliant allies in the War on Terror. Furthermore, with the current debacle in France, it is extremely comforting to see a country that can actually deal with, and solve, its own problems. So kudos to John Howard and his government, and here's to many more succesful 'outings' of al-Qaeda plots, where ever they so happen to be.

Great Americanism

So, I have decided to post on an issue that may seem pretty irrelevant. This past summer, much ado was made about Discovery Channel's list of 'the Greatest Americans'. Of course, I made up my own list, and recent events have again sparked my interest in the topic. Thus, I have decided to post, complete with ever-so-brief statements of reasoning, my list of the 10 Greatest Americans. Here goes:

1. George Washington - The bottom line is that without this guy, I'd be a Brit.
2. Abe Lincoln - He could be here simply for his role in the Civil War, but his work on behalf of Civil Rights is, in the very least, noteable.
3. James Madison - His work on the Constitution was unmatched, but he saved his true genius for the Federalist Papers.
4. Thomas Jefferson - The Declaration of Independence is the masterpiece of this remarkable man's many achievments.
5. Ronald Reagan - They still say he didn't win the Cold War. Oh well, he never cared much for what they had to say anyways.
6. Benjamin Franklin - The original American statesman. And who wouldn't love a man that said beer was the proof God loves us all?
7. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - 4 words "I have a Dream....."
8. Gen. George S. Patton Jr. - If you're shaking your head at this one, please, just ask any Nazi.
9. James Watson - the structure of the DNA molecule was the greatest scientific discovery in American History.
10. Franklin Delano Roosevelt - despite the 'New Deal', he was the face of the Greatest Generation, and it takes some kind of leader to whip the Japs and Nazis at the same time.

Now, feel free to leave a list of your own, and to comment on mine. Anyone is fair game, from politicians to writers to artists, but please, try not to make a list of your 10 favorite relatives..... :-p

The Original

Well, after much thought (sort of) I decided to get into this whole blog thing. And of course, that means it will be purely political. I guess that I am doing this as a way to put my political opinions out there, and to (hopefully) be slightly humorous in doing so. This should not be very difficult as I have a multitude of strong opinions and politics is, in and of itself, a rather funny buisness.

The title is perhaps indicative of the blogs that you will see here. It is of course a takeoff from the flag of my great homestate of South Carolina, and as a result you will be seeing viewpoints that are pro- S.C and, of course, Conservative.

Now, it is important that I say breifly a partial hope I have for the Old Blue and Silver. I hope that Conservatives, Republicans and the like will come and agree and perhaps pick up a few points to use in debate. As for Liberals, Socialists, 'Gang of 14' types or even disagreeable Conservatives; I hope that you at least read, perhaps comment, but at least let me challenge your beliefs. I say this with the hope that one day, just maybe, you might see things my way.