Day: April 6, 2005

Unbelievable

En route to Rome, Clinton told reporters the pope “centralized authority in the papacy again and enforced a very conservative theological doctrine. There will be debates about that. The number of Catholics increased by 250 million on his watch. But the numbers of priests didn’t. He’s like all of us – he may have a mixed legacy.”

When you’re as self absorbed as Bill Clinton, comparing your legacy to the work of the Pope is as normal as vanilla pudding. It isn’t that Clinton feels guilty and needs to lift his self esteem whenever possible. Not at all. This guy really feels like his time in the White House was as close to the Second Coming as any generation will get.

But will anyone else pick this item up and talk about how arrogant Clinton is? Nope. Don’t expect his little comment to go any further than the index.html page at drudgereport.com.

Take a look at the kind of pope related items you can get right now on eBay, like this Marvel comic book.

Or my favorite, the Pope John Paul II Chicken Breast

You know…for kids!

Which will you choose? The red or the blue pill?

Sony patents “real life Matrix”

THE Japanese entertainment giant Sony has patented an idea for transmitting data directly into the brain, with the goal of enabling a person to see movies and play video games in which they smell, taste and perhaps even feel things, it was reported today.

The patent – based only on a theory, not on any invention – marks the first step towards a “real-life Matrix”, New Scientist says in next Saturday’s issue.

In the sci-fi film of that name, cyber-reality is projected into the brains of people via an electrode feed at the back of their necks.

In Sony’s patent, the technique would be entirely non-invasive – it would not use brain implants or other surgery to manipulate the brain.

The patent has few details, describing only a device that would fire pulses of ultrasound at the head to modify the firing patterns of neurons in targeted parts of the brain.

Something tells me that, in this Matrix, the “blue screen of death” would be a really bad thing.

I’ve seen this before, but today it showed up in my inbox again. Every time I read about some kind of political correctness psycho-babble, I think of the “good ‘ol days”.

To all the kid’s who survived the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s…

• We survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
• Our Mom took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes.
• Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
• We had no child-proof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets
• When we rode our bikes, we had no helmets.
• We rode in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
• Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
• We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
• We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE died from it.
• We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, and we weren’t overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!
• We would leave home in the morning and play all day as long as we were back when the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day, and we were O.K.
• We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
• We did not have Playstations, Nintendo’s, X-boxes, no video games at all, only 12 channels on television, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cellphones…WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
• We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
• We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
• We were given BB guns for our 10th birthday, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
• We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!
• Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment.
• The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

 This is pretty much how I grew up. It’s a different world today.

At the time of his death, the Pope had a number of product endorsement deals.

To finance the pope’s 1998 visit to Mexico City, the Archdiocese of Mexico City received corporate sponsorship from more than two dozen firms. The single largest sponsor was the Pepsi-owned Sabritas chip company, which paid $1.8 million for the right to use the pope’s image in its packaging. The Spanish-language play on words-“Las Papas del Papa” (-The Potatoes of the Pope”) was lost on absolutely no one. Equally obvious was the seemingly inescapable TV and billboard ads connecting the pope’s picture with Bimbo bread, a local cement company, and other joint promotions between the church and its corporate benefactors….

In 1999, the Vatican approved a licensing deal with Miami-based Siesta Telecom to issue a Pope John Paul II pre-paid phone card. The card comes with a signed certificate and the pope’s likeness on the card; the company already sells phone cards with the Virgin Mary’s picture on them.

(h/t Dean)

Dick Morris: Sandy rolls over for Bill & Hill

FORMER National Security Adviser Sandy Berger has now joined the pantheon of those who, in the immortal words of Webb Hubbell, have chosen to “roll over one more time” to protect Bill and Hillary Clinton.
 
This Hall of Ill-Fame includes Susan McDougal, Vince Foster, Monica Lewinsky, Johnnie Chung, former Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker and old Webb himself. What they each have in common is their silence and willingness to take the fall to protect the Clintons.

Alcohol “bad for breastfeeding“.

Via the BBC:

A US Chinook helicopter has crashed in south-eastern Afghanistan killing 16 people, at least four of them American crew, officials have said. The CH-47 helicopter went down in bad weather in the province of Ghazni, a US military statement confirmed.

The statement said there appeared to be no survivors, and two remained missing.

It was the eighth and worst air crash suffered by US forces in Afghanistan since they toppled the Taleban at the end of 2001.

How easy it is to forget about our troops in Afghanistan, and the sacrifices they make each day.

Via Chicago Sun-Times: Matthew Hale sentenced to 40 years in jail.

Matthew Hale, the avowed white supremacist convicted of hiring an FBI informant to kill a federal judge, was sentenced Wednesday to 40 years in prison.

Hale, 33, the self-styled Pontifex Maximus of a group that preaches racial holy war, showed no emotion but sat staring at the defense table.

In a rambling, sometimes wild argument in federal court, Hale said earlier Wednesday that he was innocent and no crime had been committed, despite his conviction for soliciting the murder of a federal judge.

Prosecutors say Hale should get extra prison time because his crime amounted to an act of terrorism.

Hale acted as his own attorney during the sentencing as he had for much of the trial. He compared himself to the judge he was convicted of targeting, Joan Humphrey Lefkow, saying they were both victims.

Anti Monkey Butt Powder. Right – you’re asking the question aren’t you? OK…fine.

What is “monkey butt”?

To start, it’s not always called “monkey butt.” It depends on what region of the country you’re in, and how the sport you participate in has tagged the condition. For motorcycle riders who DO call it “monkey butt,” it’s a blue collar term used by riders to describe the soreness, itching and redness that occurs when you ride and sweat on a motorcycle for hours. If your butt is so sore that you have to walk bowlegged like a monkey, you have Monkey Butt!

Anti Monkey Butt Powder is specially formulated to absorb excess sweat and reduce frictional skin irritation.
  
Ideal for butt busting activities such as truck driving, motorcycling, bicycling, horse back riding, and extreme sports. May also be applied inside footwear, under sports pads, and other areas prone to chafing. Indoors or outdoors, work or play, or on occasions when you sit on your butt all day, don’t let your buns get red, use Anti Monkey Butt Powder instead!

Any more questions?