To The Curb

I read this just before I had to go and walk the dogs tonight. And there is very little to do but think while walking dogs. So my conclusion?

With the new information about his former aide's lobbying firm, I'm finally convinced.

All the conservatives who have been railing against John Murtha's corruption over these long years were right. Those who were only railing against him since he stood up on the floor of the House and called Bush43's Iraq plans for what they were, which could only be summarized by a long string of four-letter words, will unfortunately feel the most justified out of them all. They would be the ones that are prominently mentioning his opposition to the AUMF.

The first sort will be the ones that stood more on principle. The second sort will be the ones who stand on partisan politics, and principles be damned.

I'm not much for solely being for partisan politics.

Let the investigations be opened, and let the sunshine in.

Vulgarity Ensues

There are times when I really wish I didn't have my self-imposed ban on cussin' and swearin' on this blog, for I would be saying very little, aside from quite a few choice four-letter words, after reading this.

A police officer was placed on administrative leave Thursday over a traffic stop involving an NFL player whom he kept in a hospital parking lot and threatened to arrest while his mother-in-law died inside the building.

Officer Robert Powell also drew his gun during the March 18 incident involving Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats in the Dallas suburb of Plano, police said.

Seriously, folk. Where the heck did this cop think they were going? No one does a pleasure jaunt to a hospital at night. If someone is in a hurry to get to a hospital, then they obviously will have a damn serious reason to do so. Therefore, it should be an automatic conclusion that something very wrong was in progress, even to a ticked-off cop wanting to prove that his unit was bigger than that of anyone else. And he was in such desperate need to prove it, he even drew his weapon.

Rule number one: You don't draw unless you plan to use it. Period. This was not a hostile situation on the parts of Mr. Moats and his family, but of the officer's own creation. His attitude and belligerence was the entire reason for any possible escalation that Officer Powell could have cited, and the police commanders of Dallas have the intestinal fortitude to be embarrassed and ashamed about it.

This is not a cop that should be on the streets, whether Denver or Dallas or Detroit or Dachau. If his atrocious behavior was not a clear indication of this fact, than his obvious failure to possess basic intelligence and analytical skills should be enough of a hint.

Pray that the Dallas Police Department fires him and runs him out of the city on a rail, if only to raise the average intelligence level in the city.

Could Someone Explain This?

Without using buzzwords, unprovable innuendo, or excessive talking points...

How the bloody hell is the economic stimulus package considered socialism?

Because until someone shows me why, I'm going to continue thinking of it as just about enough of a good thing. Taxes cut significantly, spending on long-tern infrastructure construction... It's got the whole ball of wax, the whole nine yards, and butters both sides of the bread at the same time, plus saws through nails and still can cut a tomato just like this.

Is it perfect? Not by a long shot, and not even if Senator McCain can carve some of the pure pork out of the bill in conference. Is it better than doing absolutely nothing? Arguably, absolutely nothing is what we should have done to a good chunk of the financial corporations we've bailed out, who should have been forced to sleep in the beds they made.

Various CEOs, CFOs, hedge fund operators, and their like-minded cohorts have caused this mess while drinking themselves under the table while yelling and screaming obscenities at the top of their lungs. And the average American taxpayer is picking up the tab, including breakage, as well as tipping the bartender very heavily in apology for our extremely drunk friend. (Those who are local attendees of the Blogger Bashes might draw a parallel to a certain night at Breckenridge Brewery during that big ice storm... Just saying.)

So why don't Mr. and Mrs. Average American Tax Payer deserve a break?

Please show your work.