Terrorism By Any Other Name... "They (conservative talk radio hosts) operate under a terrorist threat: 'You vote for revenue and your career is over.' I don't know why we allow that kind of terrorism to exist. I guess it's about free speech, but it's extremely unfair." -Karen Bass (D-L.A.) Speaker of California's Assembly I fear that we have rounded the bend on our way to total cultural degradation. We now live in a society of functioning retards, educated at major universities, elected to public office, but capable of arguments no greater than a pissy ten year-old. Terrorist is the new catchphrase of these doltish creatures, to describe all the big meanies who don't ascribe to their values. And they're not sure what all those words mean in the Constitution, because there are a lot of words in that thing, but they know that they don't like all that free speech stuff, because it's just unfair. I don't think I've ever heard the First Amendment described as "extremely unfair". The Reality-Challenged just know that when the FCC passes that Fairness Doctrine, we'll be able to shut all those big meanies up! YAY! And then, we'll all eat ice cream from unicorn's butts and dance on rainbows made from the sweat of a gay men's chorus and the world will only know hope and change.
This is what it will be like someday. I had to take mom to the emergency room tonight and there I sat for six hours, in hospital purgatory. They admitted her to keep an eye on a patch of cellulitis on her leg. I was drained when I got to her apartment and I forgot what was waiting for me on the other side of the door.
"This is what it will be like someday," he whispers in my ear as I stand frozen in the dark. I was twelve and she was in the hospital the last time he spoke these words to me. I couldn't stop crying and I never went back to our apartment until she came home. "This is what it will be like someday." I'm twelve again as I stand in her apartment and I can't reach the light switch because my hand weighs a thousand pounds. He makes me look at her things through sickening yellow street light. This is her life and I can see remnants of her everywhere, but she's nowhere to be found. There's only the absence of color and the absence of her incessant talking, punctuated by laughter. She never seems to stop talking, but tonight there's only him mocking me. "This is what it will be like someday." My throat is tightening and my eyes begin to burn. I slap at the wall until I'm blinded by fluorescent light and he is quiet.
I throw her things on the desk and dash back to the door as he stands in the corner, smiling at my back. I hear him calling after me as I put the key back into the lock, "This is what it will be like someday."
New Independence Day Here's my speech for the Nashville Tea Party on April 15, 2009. No, I'm not speaking, but if I were...
Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto said of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor: "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." I say to you, Mr. Obama, the sleeping giant has awoken again and he is filled with a terrible resolve. Blindsided by the threat of Socialism, disguising taxation without representation as stimulus, and betrayed by our legislative branch, yes, he is awake. You have our attention Mr. Obama and our resolve to cast you from your spurious throne of Socialism in the name of a new world order. If you would like to do the honorable thing and tender your resignation for your reprehensible assault upon our Constitution and the sovereignty of this nation, the American economy, and your treasonous behavior with our enemies in a time of war, please come to Nashville, Tennessee today, April 15, 2009 and witness America's New Independence Day. We're having a little Tea Party in your honor.
And to Mr. and Mrs. Congress, it might do you well to remember whom you serve and to whom you must ultimately answer. I'd begin updating your resumes, because come November 2, 2010, all of you are going to feel this recession first-hand, the same as we do, here on "Main Street".
I would, in conclusion, ask that you look around you right now at the faces of these patriots, these statesmen, and, dare I say it: your brothers and sisters in Christ, and encourage you with great forcefulness, as Peter admonished the Thessalonians, to "Pray wihout ceasing". This will only get worse before it gets better, but through our faith in both God and this Republic, we will become a stronger, wiser nation. Thank you and may God bless you.
The more things change... The more they stay the same. My son, Christian, found this 1934 political cartoon from The Chicago Tribune on Digg today. I was amused and absolutely speechless. I forget how long this battle against the ignorance of Socialism has been raging. We are just it's latest players.
Back in the saddle again. My wife was offered free ad space in a new country women's magazine and she needed to submit her ad design by next week. I haven't thought about designing anything in about four years, but this opportunity intrigued me. I've always loved trying to communicate a concept through different printed mediums. I'm always chasing the answer to: what motivates us to act in a particular manner? What makes us reach out to grasp at that particular bauble and not the other one? I've always found that it comes down to our predetermined social values: what is heroic, what is beautiful, in whom do we do we put our faith?
I approached the ad in the same manner. Ernie has a thousand great shots. She also shoots everything from senior portraits to band photos, but I wanted to find what strips everything down to her core beliefs in photography.
This ad was for Ladies of Country Music. I was thinking of women/ music/ bands/ headshots? I sketched seven or eight thumbnails for the layout, but everything felt messy and cluttered. I didn't find sufficient inspiration until I came across a model's photos, named Hunter. I've always loved that photo shoot and those photos triggered all my design beliefs that were buried under TiVo preferences and Napster playlists.
I love to design in "3's", have tons of white space, and use strong imagery. Marketing research has found that people are fascinated by concept of "3": the beginning, middle, and end. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that sort of thing. Research has also estimated that the average magazine reader flips by an ad in less than one second. I prefer "idea words" and I hate clutter, so I always design to leave voluminous amounts of white space. The imagery is the bauble. I call it The Underwood Effect (similar to the Aniston Hair Effect of the 90's), because when you see it, you "want to go to there". If a woman sees a great shot of Carrie Underwood, they carry that mental image to a photographer and will always want them to reproduce it. The images of Hunter evoke, even in me, a desire to see that style of shoot reproduced over and over. It speaks to glamour and youth and beauty, and trigger that emotion which makes women say, "Make me look like that". I hope you enjoy it, I had fun making it.
Oh Danny Boy! Daniel Hannan, is an MEP for South East England. This is a speech he gave during Gordon Brown´s visit to the European Parliament on March 24, 2009. He has a blog: www.hannan.co.uk
Can we rent this guy in about a year? We'd just have to replace "Prime Minister" with "Barry POTUS". I really like this guy. Why does everything sound better in an English accent? Listen to that vocabulary, those amazing metaphors, and that delivery: bloodybrilliant. And there's not a teleprompter in sight! So, he memorized that speech. People can do that? And no, I don't know what an MEP is, but I'm still looking.
Just frigging craptastic. I wrote a blog in January about how quickly Barry POTUS could run our country over the Socialist cliff in his first 100 days. He's proving to be a nightmare come true in just under 60 days.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 1388, on March 18, 2009. It's a plan to set up a new "volunteer corps". Service will be mandatory for everyone older than an infant. There will be uniforms and school curriculum. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the programs involved in the plan are expected to be allocated $6 billion over the next five years.
My question: will we have to buy our own uniforms?
The burning question How are pirates made? The contacts were in the solution for four weeks, or was it two months? I just didn't want to have to wear the 3-D glasses over my eyeglasses. I ignored the milky run-off from the lens as I washed it.
"That can't be healthy," my brain said. "Shut up brain, keep washing. We're in a hurry!" I said. "Got a joke for you." "Leave me alone, we're working." "What does a pirate say?" "Shut up brain." The contact touched my eye: "ARRRRRR." "Exactly, dumbass."
My eye's still red and it still hurts to blink, but the build-up of eye goo has lessened.
Location: Hendersonville, Tennessee, United States
I am a terrorist. I am pro-life, support the Constitution, national sovereignty, secure borders, the Bill of Rights, freedom of speech, small government, and states' rights.
