The New Me

Wed   7 Nov 2007   11:32 by Kevin McGehee 48° and sunny in Coweta County, GA 6 comments [Get Offa My Lawn!] [Here's Your Sign] [Wackadoodle]

Encouraged by the warm wishes here by somebody‘s blogstalker, I went ahead and quit procrastinating on putting a new self-portrait in the sidebar. As you can see, my countenance is as uproariously joyful as always. And why shouldn’t it be? That’s me weighing less than when I graduated from high school. Update: It occurs to me my well-wisher in that other thread simply doesn’t get the joke. Hover your cursor over my picture and you should see a tooltip with the punchline. It’s been there all along, for as long as I’ve displayed a pic of myself here. ‘Nother Update, more than a month later: The pic discussed here has since been supplanted by one taken of me a few weeks later on top of the highest mountain in Tennessee. The tooltip mentioned above, having been made obsolete by the new pic, has been retired.

What a Great Day to Be a Republican
Wed   7 Nov 2007   7:40 by Kevin McGehee 31° and sunny in Coweta County, GA 0 comments [Here's Your Sign]	Hey, look! John F’n Kerry is back! John Kerry said Monday there might be a next time for his presidential aspirations… » Kerry says he’ll be ready next time The gift that just doesn’t know when to quit giving.

We’ll See Him on CourtTV

Tue   6 Nov 2007   8:22 by Kevin McGehee 58° and mostly cloudy in Coweta County, GA 1 comment [Alaska] [Here's Your Sign]

A North Pole Man has been charged with 11 offenses after leading police on a high-speed chase Thursday afternoon. Alaska State Troopers were notified about 6:45 p.m. that Kenneth Lerhman, 37, was inside the Fox General Store, 2226 Old Steese Highway, stumbling and unable to stand without holding himself up on the shelves, according to a criminal complaint filed in court. [...] Lehrman did not stop at the direction of troopers, instead heading toward the Johansen Expressway at more than 80 mph. Lehrman also drove over the median into the westbound lane on the expressway and ran several red lights, according to the complaint. While running a red light at the intersection of Johansen and Danby Road, he struck a Ford truck driven by William Byerly. Byerly and two passengers, Jennifer Byerly and Jason Kunishier, were taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for minor injuries. Lehrman continued toward the University Avenue intersection, where University of Alaska Fairbanks Police set up a spike strip. He avoided the strip and turned right on to University Avenue, where he was also seen driving into oncoming traffic. Fairbanks Police set up more spike strips further down the road, which Lehrman again avoided. One officer said he had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit by Lehrman’s truck at the road block, according to the complaint. As he continued southbound on University Avenue, Lehrman struck the rear of a 1996 Toyota 4Runner, pushing it into the rear of 2005 Honda CRV. No injuries were reported in that collision. After striking the 4Runner, Lehrman headed westbound on Geist Road. He then turned onto the Parks Highway, where troopers said he accelerated to a high speed, according to the complaint. He drove southbound on the highway for about one mile before he lost control of the vehicle while crossing the median into oncoming traffic. » Man leads police in long high-speed chase Every so often I catch one of those police-chase video shows on CourtTV. This chase has all the makings of a featured incident—it’s just too bad Fairbanks TV stations don’t have traffic helicopters. Update: Apparently some of this bird’s maneuvers have not been described. In Fairbanks at least, when you go westbound on Johansen Expressway and then turn right on University Avenue, you’re usually not heading south. I suspect that’s probably the same in most cities that have a Johansen Expressway and a University Avenue, that intersect. Maybe even in those cities that don’t. Furthermore, to get from westbound on Johansen Expressway to westbound on Geist Avenue, one thing you’re strongly discouraged from doing is turning on University Avenue at all. The overwhelming majority of those westbound on Johansen who want to go westbound on Geist, go straight through the intersection and voila! Assuming the light is green, of course. So, I’m thinking Lehrman must have found some way to reverse course on University Avenue. So maybe he really did turn right, only to subsequently be heading south. Admittedly, the degree of detail included in the article as it was published is unusually specific. If they left out an impromptu 180 somewhere along the way, I don’t think I’ll hold it against them. If it was an action movie, though, Fairbanksans would feel cheated if that one—on icy streets, yet—were left out. ‘Nother update: Strangely enough, in Fairbanks if you’re westbound on Geist Road and want to go southbound on the Parks Highway, you do turn right. So, it’s not as if it’s totally unprecedented.

A Spectre Is Haunting the Democratic Field

Tue   6 Nov 2007   7:57 by Kevin McGehee 57° and cloudy in Coweta County, GA 0 comments [Here's Your Sign]

It is the spectre of eGray. Wherever it’s been tried, embracing driver’s licenses for illegal aliens—as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and most of the Democratic presidential field did last week—has been political poison, including helping cost one Democratic governor his office. Ever since the September 11 terrorist attacks, lawmakers who back licenses for illegal aliens have suffered, such as Gray Davis, the former California governor who was recalled in part because he signed such a bill. Those who have called for crackdowns are reaping the political rewards. “It’s a winner in a general election; I think it’s an absolute winner in a Republican primary; and I think it’s a winner even in many states in a Democratic primary,“ said Rico Oller, the former California state senator who sponsored the bill to repeal the driver’s license law Mr. Davis signed. The issue has come to the fore since New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, announced in September that his state would begin to issue licenses to illegal aliens who could present a valid passport from their home country. At last week’s Democratic debate, Mrs. Clinton fumbled on whether she supported her governor, but a day later her campaign announced she generally backs the plan. » Unsafe politically at any speed Her Inevitableness may not be so inevitable.

Gamble the Base?

Mon   5 Nov 2007   10:26 by Kevin McGehee 60° and fair in Coweta County, GA 0 comments [Get Offa My Lawn!] [Here's Your Sign]

Notwithstanding what I’ve already said about a prospective Giuliani presidential nomination, the fact is there are Republican voters who will contemplate withholding their vote if he is the nominee. Some GOP officeholders seem to be ignoring the implications of that—or perhaps hoping they can distract other Republicans from it. House Republicans see a 2008 ticket topped by former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani making congressional races in Democratic strongholds of the Northeast more competitive, improving the party’s odds for picking up the 16 seats to win back the majority. The popularity of the former mayor—polls in the region show Mr. Giuliani neck and neck with Democratic front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York—promises to put in play congressional races in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania—districts that typically vote Democrat. “He would make it possible to knock off [Democratic] first-term members of Congress,“ said Rep. Peter T. King, New York Republican, who has endorsed Mr. Giuliani. “He would bring out a lot of Republican voters and get a large number of conservative Democrats and independents.“ » Giuliani may boost GOP in Northeast races This is why House members typically don’t do well in running for president; they don’t understand what the reason is for nominating a particular presidential candidate—which is to win the presidency.

I Think W.C. Fields Said It Best

Sat   3 Nov 2007   7:21 by Kevin McGehee 38° and fair in Coweta County, GA 1 comment [Our Times] [Here's Your Sign]

Larry King claims that an unscrupulous insurance brokerage swindled him in connection with his sale of $15 million in personal life insurance policies. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court In Los Angeles, the 73-year-old television star alleges that he was targeted in a 2004 scheme hatched by the Maryland-based Meltzer Group. In his October 22 complaint, a copy of which you’ll find below, King charges that the insurance company convinced him to engage in a series of “highly complex life insurance transactions” that resulted in the CNN host’s purchase and flipping of insurance policies with an aggregate value of $15 million. In one instance cited in the lawsuit, King purchased a $10 million policy and, at Meltzer’s direction, immediately sold it for a $550,000 profit. » Larry King Rooked In Life Insurance Scam? As W.C. Fields once said, “You can’t cheat an honest man.“ It’s hard to imagine King going along with flipping an insurance policy for a half-mil profit without having first been blinded by the dollar signs in his eyes.

Then Just Shut Up and DO IT

Wed   31 Oct 2007   8:11 by Kevin McGehee 43° and partly cloudy in Coweta County, GA 2 comments [Here's Your Sign] [Wackadoodle]

The United States’ second-richest man has delivered a blunt message to the Bush administration: he wants to pay more tax. » I should pay more tax, says US billionaire Warren Buffett Feel free, you senile old buffoon. If you can’t stand having so damn much money, there are billions of people who’d be happy to relieve you of the burden—you don’t need a fucking change to the goddamn tax code to do it. Somebody tell this sanctimonious coot the U.S. Treasury will accept voluntary contributions. Update: And here’s how: Gifts to the United States U.S. Department of the Treasury Credit Accounting Branch 3700 East-West Highway, Room 6D17 Hyattsville, MD 20782 H/t for the update: Don Surber.

Democrats, a Word of Advice:

Wed   17 Oct 2007   8:27 by Kevin McGehee 65° and cloudy in Coweta County, GA 2 comments [Get Offa My Lawn!] [Here's Your Sign]

...don’t try to tell Republicans whom we can and can’t accept as our party’s standard-bearer. It’s the middle of October and Rudy Giuliani is still leading the race for the Republican nomination. His old enemies in New York can’t understand it. “It’s totally unbelievable,“ said Charles Rangel, the dean of the New York Congressional delegation and a longtime adversary of Mr. Giuliani. “I refuse to believe that this could possibly happen to our country. I have too much confidence in our country to believe that this could really happen.“ [...] For the first months of his candidacy for president, prominent progressives in New York mocked the notion that a pro-choice, immigration-friendly serial husband with a history of opposition to guns would have a shot at the Republican nomination. » Rudy’s Doin’ It! They’ve been telling themselves all these years how bigoted and intolerant Republicans are, and now that they finally believe it, here we are throwing them a curve. Heh.

Xenu ‘08?—Maybe Not

Tue   16 Oct 2007   18:37 by Kevin McGehee 74° and partly cloudy in Coweta County, GA 0 comments [Get Offa My Lawn!] [Here's Your Sign]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Al Gore’s Xenu’s Nobel Peace Prize hasn’t translated into an increase in support for a presidential bid, a poll found Tuesday. Asked if they would like to see the former vice president run for president in 2008, people said no by a 54 percent to 41 percent margin, according to a Gallup Poll. That was about the same as last March, when people opposed his running 57 percent to 38 percent. Even among Democrats there was no visible surge of interest in Gore Xenu. In the new survey, 48 percent said they would like him to run and 43 percent said they would not. Last March, Democrats were in favor of him entering the race 54 percent to 41 percent—statistically the same as the new poll. » Poll: No Spike in Interest for Gore Xenu Bid ‘Tis a pity. If we don’t make him our president, how will he save the universe?

What Kind of Idiot Would APPROVE That Sale?

Tue   16 Oct 2007   10:15 by Kevin McGehee 66° and cloudy in Coweta County, GA 0 comments [War] [Here's Your Sign]

House Republicans have introduced legislation calling for the Bush administration to block the merger of a U.S. computer-security equipment company and a Chinese firm with close ties to Beijing’s military and a history of illicit exports and industrial espionage. Sen. Christopher S. Bond, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, meanwhile, said yesterday he favors the Treasury Department review of the merger, but does not want Congress to pre-empt the administration’s national-security investigation of the deal. The senator’s remarks and the legislation came in response to the announcement last month of the planned $2.2 billion purchase of 3Com, which sells hacker-prevention hardware to the Pentagon, by the investment company Bain Capital Partners and China’s Huawei Technology. » Bush urged to block merger Mind-boggling.

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