Almost No Reason To Drive To Jersey Anymore

Pennsylvanians used to love to drive to New jersey for at least one reason: the gas was way cheaper there (20-30 centers per gallon - no lie) and they pumped it for you- no self-service allowed by state law.

Was in New Jersey this morning and planned to get gas BUT they must have raised the state gas taxes cause the New Jersey prices are now the same as in Pennsylvania. So Now we Pennsylvanians have almost no reason to visit New Jersey anymore (unless we are going to the shore).

College Towns

If I had to do it all over again, I think I would have liked to live in a small college town. Was in downtown Princeton this morning for business meeting. What a nice town!!

If You Are A Simpsons Fan

Check out this link. It's an interview by the Simpsons Comic Book Guy with Mary Mapes. Very good stuff IMHO.

http://wuzzadem.typepad.com/wuz/2005/11/cbg.html

One Out Of Every Eight Classmates Killed

A friend of mine was at West Point this weekend for his kids' swim meet. He wandered around the campus and told me they have an area that honors every West Point grad who has been killed in action.

He mentioned the class of 1965 had about 125 names on the wall to reflect those killed since graduation. We guessed each class at West Point has maybe 1,000 cadets. If that is an accurate number, it means about one out of every eight cadets from the class of 1965 has been killed in action.

Those admitted to America's highly selective military academies are the country's best and brightest young people. Makes you stop and think for a moment. What would the country do without their talents, strength, and courage to put themselves in harm's way for all of us?

Lotta Fuss For So Few Viewers

I have read two columns in the last two days by fairly bigtime (Cheyney's favorite adjective for MSM as you may recall) columnists, Ruth Marcus and Froma Harrop. Both bemoaned Fox News' Bill O'Reilly and his campaign about companies, stores and ACLU-types trying to put the clamps on Merry Christmas.

Now, let's agree witrh certain facts....O' Reilly and Fox News probably get less than 25% of the ratings that EACH of the three MSM networks channels get. That means that if Fox gets 3 Million viewers, the other three MSM stations (ABC, NBC and CBS) get 36 million combined [ Fox = 3 Million x 4 (for 25%) x 3 stations = 36 million]. Put more simply, the three MSM networks gets 12 viewers for for every 1 watching Fox. Got that?

So why are these two writing about O'Reilly and Fox whose ratings are so insignificant compared to MSM networks. Perhap it disturbds them thatFox represents another voice. I believe the influence and reign of the Harrops and Marcus types is fast coming to an end, they know it and that pisses them off BIGTIME (I like this adjective too). How dumb do Harrop and Marcus look by writing about this issue if "Faux News" is so biased and irrelevant.

We Are Selfish & Lazy But Claim To Be Too Busy

I went out to take a walk and mail a letter. It snowed the other day so the curbs and streets are still messy and there are intermittent piles of snow where the town could not plow cause some of my neighbors (the fat and lazy family a few doors down) did not get off their fat butts to move their cars (street is always plowed since it’s a snow emergency route and you are supposed to to move your car when it snows so they can plow the street).

But I digress. I went out the door and some lady had gotten her car stuck in one of the snowpiles caused by the fat family when she tried to drive over a snow pile. I offered to push her car and just asked to not run me over by putting the car in drive instead of reverse. Her car was at a 45-degree angle to the curb and she could not speak English very well so I had reason to be a little concerned that any miscommunication could cost me. Anyway, by pushing and leveraging myself against a tree, and a little shoveling under a wheel, I got her car free. It was a little difficult pushing her car because she did not seem to realize she could assist my efforts by pressing the gas pedal. Anyway she was appreciative but I did notice no one else stopped to help her. Now, this is a busy street and at least 20-30 cars pass by every minute. She was out there at least 15 minutes cause I saw her before I left the house, would have helped her sooner but thought she went to her office to get some help.

I assume no one else stopped because “we are all so busy today”. IMHO, that attitude is a gigantic crock. People are not busier today; they are just doing more optional stuff so they think they are busier. There is no frigging way the average American today is busier than a working mother from the 1950’s or1960’s. Today, you have far fewer kids per family, much bigger houses, more bathrooms, more clothes, electronic banking, microwaves, buy take-out food or eat in a restaurant 3-4 times a week, own 2-3 cars per family, have the internet, make more money, own many more gadgets, and take longer and more expensive vacations and have many more career options!

The reason we think we are oh so busy is we are generally just self-centered, selfish, lazy, fat, soft complaining Americans. The Greatest Generation would hate us but for the fact they are our parents. And believe me, they pray and hope we change our whiny ways so they can die in peace.

Speaking Of A Bipolar Passenger Disrupting A Plane

The airport shooting incident yesterday brought to mind the case of NFL player, Alonzo Spellman, who disrupted a plane while in flight in 2002.

Since Spellman was an enormous 6'6" and 320 lbs of muscle, he absolutely terrified in flight his fellow passengers, crew and pilots not to mention the cops who came to arrest him when the plane landed. ......

"Once on the ground, Spellman refused to disembark for about 10 minutes and repeatedly threatened the pilot, court records said. ''I can feel the adrenaline rushing through my hands. I am about to rip your throat out,'' Spellman told Capt. Robert Freund, according to investigators.

Part of his court sentence was that he could not fly again unless he took his medication. Here is the link to an old ESPN story about the case. Spellman was no run of the mill player..he was drafted in the first round out of Ohio State. I remember the case because he is just a local guy from over the river in South Jersey (Rancocas I believe).

http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/2002/0802/1413498.html

Pajamas Media- The Idea Was To Do Blog Coverage - Right?

I read a little this morning about Ann Coulter's visit to the University of Connecticut. She was supposed to give a speech but the attendees apparently shouted her down so she cut the speech short to only 15 minutes. I got this news via an Associated Press story in which the writer said (paraphrasing here) Coulter had once suggested women should not have the right to vote.

Anyway, the point of this post is to ask why there was no "blog" coverage of the event by Pajamas Media?? I thought one of the key reasons behind PM was to create this all-present and available news coverage from local bloggers. Just asking you know? Am I right?

FYI, here is the link to the AP story for your reading pleasure.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/12/07/D8EBR6D00.html

Who Will The Lawyers Sue Next?

This just in- the Eskimos have decided to sue America (the dastardly villains behind alleged global warming) because their homes (aka frozen frigging tundra) are melting.

Below I have provided the link to the news story.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/12/07/051207182757.ht1oak7y.html

That's One Way To Beat A Ticket

From The Philadelphia Daily News on 12/6/05 via A.P.

Hit by car, he gets ticket for jaywalking, then dies
A 73-year-old man who received a $5 jaywalking ticket after he was struck by a car later died of his injuries, Washington, D.C., police said yesterday. Charles Atherton, a former secretary of the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts that advises the government on architecture and design in official Washington, was hit Thursday while crossing busy Connecticut Avenue. He died Saturday night at George Washington University Hospital.

Although witnesses said he had been badly injured and unresponsive at the scene, police issued him the ticket. His family found it with his belongings when they went to the hospital. "We knew it was a serious injury, but we didn't know it was life-threatening," police Capt. Willie Smith told the Washington Post. He said officers would not have issued the ticket "if we knew he was going to die."

The Last Word On "Christmas" In the Public Square

Check out this rant by Foamy the Squirrel regarding the annual lawsuits over Christmas in schools, etc. Use the link below and a hattip to Instapundit.

http://www.illwillpress.com/xmas.html

Book Ends - One Scuzzy Republican & One Slimy Democrat

I have provided the link below to a story in the San Diego Union Tribune about a Democratic congressman who has paid his wife more than $500,000 to serve as his campaign consultant (in the last ten years or so). The story sounds just like the one about slimeball Tom Delay who had his wife and daughter (?) on his campaign payroll. You gotta just love it- they all treat their government offices like it's the family business. Here is the link to the article.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051204/news_1m4filner.html

Looks Like The Inquirer & Philadelphia Are Afraid To Say "Christmas"

In an editorial today, the Philly Inquirer salutes the "holiday" light display at Philadelphia's City Hall. Nowhere in the editorial was the word "Christmas".

I am not accusing the Inquirer of being politically correct; I can only assume the city decided to name the light display "Holiday" display. That's a little surprising for mayor John Street- I am not a fan but I did not think he would succumb to this type of PC overkill.

Here is the link to the editorial for your reading pleasure.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/13308359.htm