We know what Sen. Barack Obama thinks about talking to Hamas when he said Jimmy Carter should not have talked to Hamas on his freelance visit to the Middle East recently. So you might be surprised at this headline at Timesonline, ‘Barack Obama sacks adviser over talks with Hamas.’ Seems his Middle East policy adviser was no stranger to Hamas.
For Barack Obama, it’s just another straw for general election camel’s back.
related link: Timesonline story
What’s up with this?
Subway, the sandwich restaurant, wants to hear your child’s story – unless he or she is homeschooled.
The national chain’s “Every Sandwich Tells a Story Contest” offers prizes and a chance to be published on the Subway website and in Scholastic’s “Parent & Child” magazine but specifically excludes homeschoolers:
It’s their marketing department, but if it were mine, I wouldn’t exclude that part of the population that is home-schooled. If it has anything to do with the grand prize itself, which is $5000 of athletic equipment for the entrant’s school, then what is stopping them from awarding the prize to what would be the entrant’s school if he/she were to use it? To me it would be a win win. The school would be happy to accept the donation, and the winner would be happy to have been responsible for them getting it. How great is that? That makes too much sense to me. A whole lot more sense than dividing up contestants by how they are educated, and excluding some. A little NEA’ish perhaps??
related link: Subway sandwich contest: Homeschoolers not wanted
updated 5/27/08
The cheesesteak. Can you think of a sandwich that carries more sway a
nd passion with aficionados? I can’t.
Some disturbing news out of Philly. Coming from a big win last month by being chosen the best cheesesteak in Philadelphia, John Bucci, 42, owner of John’s Roast Pork is now fighting preleukemia and preparing for a bone marrow transplant. Bucci’s spry 75 year old mother, Vonda, also a fixture at the shop, has a lot to deal with. And she will. ‘I have to have faith,’ she says. Vonda, our prayers are with you and your son and family.
On a much lighter note. What kind of cheese belongs on a cheesesteak? A recent survey showed American Cheese first, followed by Provolone. Cheez Whiz came in third. We use White American by default at Philly’s. IMHO, it offers the best blend of flavor for most cheesesteak lovers. Mozzarella is pretty good too but didn’t make the top three. As for the Wiz, I agree with Vonda at John’s Roast Pork. I prefer real cheese to a concoction made in a laboratory.
related links: The tender and the tough | Cheez Whiz is overrated for cheesesteaks
Is this primary season getting on your nerves just a bit? What makes ‘news’ nowadays is virtually anything that either candidate says becomes an issue of some sort of attack when in reality, they are not. Take Hillary Clinton’s statement below for example. I’m on her side (what did he say?) on this issue that ought to be a non-issue. In response to critics asking her to quit, she has said the following on more than one occasion.
“My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don’t understand it,” she said, dismissing calls to drop out.
Coming from someone who’s life’s dream is to become the President, from someone who, obviously, is not a quitter, not when it comes to the race for the presidency, what she said was not only true but are two good reasons to reject calls from others in her party for her to drop out of the race.
This controversy is a lot like what Geraldine Ferraro stepped in when she also correctly analyzed the political landscape as relates to Sen. Barack Obama.
Here is what RFK Jr. said about Hillary’s statement.
Clinton campaign issued a statement from Robert Kennedy Jr. on Friday night in which he said Clinton’s reference to his father’s death was “clear from the context that Hillary was invoking a familiar political circumstance in order to support her decision to stay in the race through June. I have heard her make this reference before, also citing her husband’s 1992 race, both of which were hard fought through June. I understand how highly charged the atmosphere is, but I think it is a mistake for people to take offense.”
Dang, here’s a headline that’ll get your attention. ‘Fourth foot discovered off Canada’s Pacific coast.’
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — For the fourth time in less than a year, a right human foot has been found off one of four different islands in the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia.
Police said Friday that they do not know if there are any links among the feet.
Rush comments on AP story that the cost of our backyard BBQ this Memorial Day weekend is up $6 over last year. Obama’s message. And Rush’s message, Grill away!
A good video of a favorite guitar player of mine. Joe Bonamassa, live on Dutch TV.
On the subject of high gas prices and the dog and pony show that Democrat senators put on in front of the leaders of the oil industry yesterday, a local columnist was chastising capitalism and these CEO’s with all the usual stereotypes and talking points that get the dumb masses riled. Things like these execs are robbing everybody and the title, ‘Capitalism at its finest.’ Hark! An educational moment has occured. Below was my reply to the writer.
Quick quiz: assuming a free economy, which is not the case in the U.S. as pertains to the oil industry, the most regulated and taxed industry on earth, but, in a free economy, if supply and demand are just a cliche as you say, then what or who really determines selling prices? Would you prefer that the government do that?
Do you think that increasing crude oil supply will lower the price at the pump? Its a trick question, but please answer it anyway.
“If they’re so worried about demand, how about this one.”
You didn’t see it did you? They’re not concerned with demand. They know, even if you don’t, that the demand will do nothing but increase as our population, both legal and illegal, continues to grow. My private-school education tells me that when demand outstrips supply, prices will go up. Isn’t that what you are seeing at the pump or is it all just going into Hofmeister’s pocket?
I appreciate your frustration with the high prices. All we need is an energy policy that gets some.
–end of reply
One of the highlights of the senate hearing was this response from John Hofmeister, president of Shell.
“The fundamental laws of supply and demand are at work,” said Hofmeister. The market is squeezed by exporting nations managing demand for their own interest and other nations subsidizing prices to encourage economic growth, he said.
In addition, Hofmeister said access to resources in the United States has been limited for the past 30 years. “I agree, it’s not a free market,” he said.
H/T Troy Moon for the inspiration.
related links:Troy Moon| Big Oil defends profits before irate senators | Don’t blame us for prices – oil execs
On this day in 1870, African-American law professor John Langston delivered an influential speech praising 
the civil rights policies of Republican President Ulysses Grant. Langston (R-VA) would later serve as a diplomat in the Grant administration and then be elected to a term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
This and more history of the GOP that you won’t find in history books in government schools can be found at Michael Zak’s Grand Old Partisan blog. He also wrote the book, Back to Basics for the Republican Party, on the history of the GOP.
That’s an interesting question, one I’ve never given thought. Until now. The way ‘the party’ is going today, with the growing separation of conservative principles from its platform and their votes in Congress, it seems to me that the Republican party has left me behind. They’ve crossed the aisle on principles, making them about the same as Democrats that have none.
The troubling thing about this separation, which was really highlighted by the two attempts to legislate amnesty for illegals, is that these same republicans that we thought were conservative were simply riding the Reagan wave. That controversy exposed the ‘establishment’ republicans, who give conservatism a bad name. In reality, these folks were looking at conservatives as tools who brought them to power, and for that reason only. For them, ideology was a matter of convenience. Now that they are there and it is time to stand up for what they were chosen to do, they morph into Democrats to the point that ‘conservative democrats’ (I know, that’s why it is in quotes) are beating republicans in congressional seats that have been solidly republican for decades.
The base is ticked off. Having learned nothing from the shellacking they got in 2006 is reason enough to justify a (dare I suggest) CHANGE. Maybe they should all resign. Could it be any worse than what we have now?
related links:Republican Leaders Must Resign | H/T D equals S
Here’s a story with a happy ending.
On Thursday night, a would-be robber thought he had an easy target and showed his pistol. What he didn’t know was that businessman Leslie Morris had a gun too.
After all that happened, Leslie recommends . . .
‘I’m encouraging business owners to bear arms to protect yourself,’ Morris said. ‘I was prepared.’
Here! Here!
related link: Businessman’s concealed gun thwarts robber
Not satisfied that he has made a big enough fool of himself over Bush’s speech to the Israeli Knesset by behaving like HE was the focus of the speech and not the appeasers of 1939 or today, the presidential wannabe and Democrat front-runner Barack Obama is now accusing the President of “dishonest, divisive” attacks, all in the context of that speech. And Democrats are circling the wagons around him.
Obama has now become the pot calling the kettle black. How presidential? The fact that there was no attack on Obama personally or Democrats as a party isn’t going to prevent Obama to flat-out lie to the dumb masses about it. The media doesn’t think Bush was talking about Obama. Just Obama and democrats think this is the case.
The president referred to the leader of Iran, who has called for the destruction of the U.S. ally, and then said some seem to believe that we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals – comments Obama and Democrats said were directed at them.
After lying about Bush’s motivations for that speech, he continues . . .
“They aren’t telling you the truth. They are trying to fool you and scare you because they can’t win a foreign policy debate on the merits,” said Obama. “But it’s not going to work. Not this time, not this year.”
I thought Obama was done with debating? That’s what he told Hillary Clinton a few weeks ago. And someone should tell Barack that Bush is not running. McCain would be the best one to debate with. Or for a real challenge, Sean Hannity. But I digress. . . Who is ‘they?’ And what lies have ‘they’ said? Obama did not say either who was lying or what the lie was. And who is the ‘you’ in ‘fool you .. scare you?’ I don’t think the Knesset felt like Bush was trying to fool them or scare them. They know, more than he, what it is like to have to live with missiles and suicide bombers ruining your day.
So the one who is lying and dividing here is Sen. Barack Obama by taking this speech and telling us that it was directed at him and his party, and that it was done to divide the country. Is this Commander In Chief material?
related links: Seattle Times