Ladybugs attack!

I'm going to get the creeps every time I see a ladybug now.....

Dennis Kucinich: People love their insurance company, Right?

Sarah Palin Explained!

Oh,now I get it.....

Fair Boundary Friday I: Drawn by whiskey-liver gentlemen

Back in 1999 (could have been early 2000), Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura got in trouble for telling David Letterman that the roads in St Paul were laid out by drunken Irishmen.

Some of the boundaries drawn during the 2001 redistricting process would fit the same description.

Take this map of congressional boundaries in Salt Lake City's Avenues Neighborhood. The gray is Congressional District 1 (Rob Bishop), while the white is District 2 (Jim Matheson):



So, Speaker Clark, how do these lines make any sense?

-Bob

P.S. Given that Drunk Irishmen is not PC, I solicited more PC termsfrom my twitter followers. The one in the title comes from MteeJ

Stadium of Fire Lies About Retiring a Flag

One of the most reverently patriotic things I have ever witnessed was a flag-retirement ceremony at a scout camp.

When I heard that Stadium of Fire was going to feature one, it almost made me want to attend. Yes, just for that moment.

So, imagine my shock that the ceremony was a fake.

Fifty thousand people stood in silence Saturday night as men in uniform brought a giant American flag into LaVell Edwards Stadium to be retired by incineration.

Or so the Stadium of Fire crowd thought.

In actuality, the 155-by-90-foot flag was not burned that night due to the toxins a nylon flag that size would have emitted, Provo Fire Marshal Lynn Schofield said.

"It would have been impractical to burn it in the stadium," Schofield said. "There is just no way you can burn that kind of a flag in that big of a group of people safely."

Event organizers originally planned for the no-longer-serviceable flag to be burned. But after talking to the fire marshal a few months ago, Stadium of Fire executive producer Brad Pelo said organizers realized that would not be possible in any type of container. After discussing other ways they could retire the flag, organizers did what they thought was most appropriate, Pelo said.

[...]

During the ceremony, the flag was put into a large, cauldron-like container, then flames appeared on its top. Many people teared up, including event emcee Glenn Beck, who emphasized to the audience what a special ceremony they were witnessing.

Last I checked, dishonesty was a violation of the honor code.*

-Bob

*Other lines I wanted to use there:

"False Patriotism -- the GOP Way"
"A Retirement Ceremony approved by Orrin Hatch, Maybe"
"Special -- in a short bus kind of way."

Letterman's Top Ten Messages Left On Sarah Palin's Answering Machine

I don't Fear Sarah Palin One Bit

Doug Gibson, for the Standard-Examiner's Political Surf:

I’m a big Sarah Palin fan. One of the things I most like about her is that she puts fear in many liberals. They mask their fear with hatred, loathing, scorn, invented scandals … a whole bunch of angry gestures. Some people call it Palin Derangement Syndrome, but Palinphobia works pretty well too. They can’t understand her and they most likely never will.

Fear? I don't fear her one bit. She's a joke.

Yes, I don't understand her. I don't understand why she threatens to go after people for telling the truth. Like when people pointed out that her daughter was engaged to a high school dropout. He left school after his Junior Year without a diploma.

It's like saying Sarah Palin doesn't use sports metaphors.

As JM Bell said, she "makes G.W.B. look like a MENSA member"

As far as political strategy goes, this is the most unwise thing that she could have done short of pulling a Mark Sanford. Well, the running away to Argentina without telling anyone part. Not the affair part. An affair is more recoverable than this.

Why?

Well, there's two Sarah Palin clips that are just made for opponents to make into a commercial. One is video of her talking about Barack Obama's lack of experience, with graphics over it stating her experience with 10 years in city government of a town of 6,000 and 2.5 years as Governor, forred by the words "and then it got too tough for her, so she quit." The other ad is from her resignation press conference with text asking if you want someone who couldn't handle the pressuregoing up against Russia, NKorea or Iran.

Oh, but you can see Russia from a small Island in her state, so it's OK.

But, if you think the "gotcha media" is bad ("Name one magazine or newspaper you've read this week), imagine sitting in a room with a worldleader with whom you disagree.

So, please, somebody, anybody, tell me why Sarah Palin is loved by so many people.

-Bob

Top 10 Reasons Sarah Palin is Quitting

I would imagine that we will hear the real reasons for Governor Sarah Palin's departure from the Governor's Office by the end of this week Nobody around her has the ability to keep their mouths shut. However, I won't speculate anymore on that course under threat of a lawsuit.

So, from the home office in Holladay, Utah, here are the top 10 reasons Sarah Palin is quitting being Governor:

10. She's not. April Fools!
9. She got Letterman fired and is taking his place. "heeeeeere's Sarah!"
8. Hiking the Appalachian Trail with Governor Sanford. (and by hking, I mean it in a G-rated sense.... ;))
7. With the economy in the crapper, she knows it will be harder to win as an incumbent. So, she'll run for Governor as the challenger in 2010.
6. New Show on TLC: "Todd and Sarah plus 5 plus 1."
5. New Show on NBC: "The Apprentice: Palin Edition" (New Catchphrase: "Yure soo Fired"
4. Another New Show for NBC: "I'm a Governor, get me out of here!"
3. [redacted on advice of legal council]
2. ESPN finally called to give her a shot.
1. Heard there is an opening to be King of Pop. Crazy Child Names is a prerequisite.

-Bob

Star Spangled Banner on a Baseball Bat

Star Spangled Banner, Whitney Houston

Stars & Stripes FOREVER! (Muppets Variation)

Soldiers Singing Army Song in Baghdad

Hey, Mr Shurtleff, What Day is it Today?

Last Time I checked, July 4th is known as Independence Day here in the United States.

There is a Patriot Day. That day is September 11. There is also a Patriots' Day, Commemorating the start of the American Revolution. That is in April.

So, I was a little confused when Mark Shurtleff sent me an invite to a Patriot Day Tea Party for July 4th: