Guilt

John Edwards, though a thorough nogoodnik, is not guilty of any crime, as correctly decided by a jury of his peers. But Jon Corzine is guilty; he is a gonif pure and simple.

You can still

rent a German! In case you, you know, want one.

Happy Memorial Day

O brave new world

Excuse me if I don't go all starry-eyed over this prospect:

The police [in Vallejo, CA] went high-tech, investing $500,000 in cameras across the city that allow officers to monitor a larger area than they could before. The department deputized citizens to participate in law enforcement by sharing tips on Facebook and Twitter.

So the cops can sit in the precinct all comfy and cozy, watching television monitors filming the streets which it is their duty to patrol. How well has that worked in London? Meanwhile citizens can report their friends and neighbors to the authorities, just like in Hitler's Germany. No thanks.

Turkish suspicions

Oi vey!

Obama in French

Why does the President annoy me so? If I turn on the television and he is talking, I immediately change the channel. I was trying to figure out where this visceral reaction comes from. Today it came to me. A French phrase, for which we have no equivalent in English: He speaks en haut de bas. It actually means from high to low, but is generally considered to describe haughtiness-- the aristocrat looking down his nose at us peasants. It is infuriating.

New painting

The perfect man

What would my perfect man be like? Intelligent; Reads, writes and speaks fluent English; Showers frequently and cleans under his fingernails; Knows how to unclog a toilet; Looks? From average guy to Cary Grant--anything in this range is acceptable; Must weigh more than me; Likes music and movies; Does not listen to all Things Considered; Likes me. A lot. I could be more picky, but if anyone were more perfect, he would be too good for me.

Dilemma

My Keurig coffeemaker declines to make coffee. What do you do about an appliance that's too cheap to repair and too expensive to replace? There used to be a little old man in a little old shop in Rutherford, NJ, who would fix your small appliance for a small sum. Such enterprises no longer exist. I miss him.

A lot of work

A lot of work went into this comment, from my spam folder:

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The hell with the trees

The paper towel dispenser in my gym has a decal stating: "Remember, these are made from trees." I thought trees were a renewable resource. Apparently I was wrong. To the manufacturer of this dispenser: If you consider making items out of trees a criminal enterprise, stop. Go out of business. If you don't, shut up.

Teaching "innovation"

What public education system has this author observed? It doesn't seem to resemble the American system I am familiar with.

Knowledge that children are encouraged to soak up in American schools — the memorization of planets, state capitals, the Periodic Table of Elements — can only take students so far. But “skill and will” determine a child’s ability to think outside of the box, he says.

Who says American school children are being taught these things? They are not even learning the multiplication tables or how to write cursive. Instead, the curriculum is devoted to promoting self esteem, diversity, and political correctness. Our children are not being taught the basic skills they need to survive in our society, such as how to add, subtract, multiply and divide. We are educating them to become suckers. They are incapable of thinking anything through or expressing their opinions with clarity. You can't teach children to be creative. That comes from within. But you can equip them with the knowledge required not to be gullible fools. You can transmit our Western heritage.