Monday, June 28, 2010

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Don Rumsfeld-"Freedom"


Friday, June 25, 2010

Rummy on Freedom [Andy McCarthy]
Former Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld made remarks at a Pentagon ceremony today unveiling his portrait. Here is some of what he said:

Some might ask how our country has endured? Well, it should be no mystery. It is because we are a free people, blessed with a free political and a free economic system – Where we are: free to think and act; to believe and protest; to vote and petition; and, yes free to succeed, to fail, and to start again.

The night satellite image of the Korean Peninsula, my favorite as many of you know well, captured many miles above the earth, tells the whole story. Below the 38th parallel, South Korea is bathed in the light of dozens of cities, monuments to that nation’s freedom. In one of the most successful economies in the world, millions of South Koreans go about their work, creating opportunity and prosperity for themselves and their families. North of the DMZ is darkness. There live exactly the same people, with the same natural resources. But those millions of Koreans labor not for themselves or their families, but for a regime that enslaves them.

The stark difference between the free and the unfree is illuminated in that picture. The boundless energy of human beings is most assuredly not unleashed by governments of boundless power. That energy is unleashed only by free political institutions and free economic systems.

But because we are free, as a people, we face choices:

We can choose to engage with the world, strengthening alliances with our friends, expanding trade agreements, deterring potential foes, and taking the fight to them when necessary. Or we can retreat, or make the truly tragic mistake of modeling our country after systems that are obviously unsuccessful. If we choose the latter path, let there be no doubt, we are certain to fail the generations to follow.

On September 12, 2001, hard hats unfurled an American flag over the still burning and deeply scarred Pentagon. Joyce and I wanted to include that scene in this portrait because those traits of resilience and perseverance – while remarkable – are not uncommon for the men and women of this Department. They are what built and sustained this country. And they are what I saw every day in the men and women I served alongside in the months and years after the worst terrorist attack in our nation’s history.

To each of those who serve – military and civilian – or have served, and to your families, there will come a time when the achievements you’ve made, and the trials you’ve endured, will recede into history. But although time will pass, and memories fade, certain important things will remain always – your pride of service and the appreciation of a grateful nation.

This country – which has treated me so well, and which offers so much opportunity for us all – exists and prospers because the members of the United States armed forces, have stepped forward and volunteered to protect it. In a very real sense, America is their gift to the future.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Obama's Plan

By Allyn Root

Barrack Obama is no fool. He is not incompetent. To the contrary, he is brilliant. He knows exactly what he's doing. He is purposely overwhelming the U.S. economy to create systemic failure, economic crisis and social chaos -- thereby destroying capitalism and our country from within.


Barack Obama is my college classmate (Columbia University, class of '83). As Glenn Beck correctly predicted from day one, Obama is following the plan of Cloward & Piven, two professors at Columbia University. They outlined a plan to socialize America by overwhelming the system with government spending and entitlement demands. Add up the clues below. Taken individually they're alarming. Taken as a whole, it is a brilliant, Machiavellian game plan to turn the United States into a socialist/Marxist state with a permanent majority that desperately needs government for survival ... and can be counted on to always vote for bigger government. Why not? They have no responsibility to pay for it.

-- Universal health care. The health care bill had very little to do with health care. It had everything to do with unionizing millions of hospital and health care workers, as well as adding 15,000 to 20,000 new IRS agents (who will join government employee unions). Obama doesn't care that giving free health care to 30 million Americans will add trillions to the national debt. What he does care about is that it cements the dependence of those 30 million voters to Democrats and big government. Who but a socialist revolutionary would pass this reckless spending bill in the middle of a depression?

-- Cap and trade. Like health care legislation having nothing to do with health care, cap and trade has nothing to do with global warming. It has everything to do with redistribution of income, government control of the economy and a criminal payoff to Obama's biggest contributors. Those powerful and wealthy unions and contributors (like GE, which owns NBC, MSNBC and CNBC) can then be counted on to support everything Obama wants. They will kickback hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions to Obama and the Democratic Party to keep them in power. The bonus is that all the new taxes on Americans with bigger cars, bigger homes and businesses helps Obama "spread the wealth around."

-- Make Puerto Rico a state. Why? Who's asking for a 51st state? Who's asking for millions of new welfare recipients and government entitlement addicts in the middle of a depression? Certainly not American taxpayers. But this has been Obama's plan all along. His goal is to add two new Democrat senators, five Democrat congressman and a million loyal Democratic voters who are dependent on big government.

-- Legalize 12 million illegal immigrants. Just giving these 12 million potential new citizens free health care alone could overwhelm the system and bankrupt America. But it adds 12 million reliable new Democrat voters who can be counted on to support big government. Add another few trillion dollars in welfare, aid to dependent children, food stamps, free medical, education, tax credits for the poor, and eventually Social Security.

-- Stimulus and bailouts. Where did all that money go? It went to Democrat contributors, organizations (ACORN), and unions -- including billions of dollars to save or create jobs of government employees across the country. It went to save GM and Chrysler so that their employees could keep paying union dues. It went to AIG so that Goldman Sachs could be bailed out (after giving Obama almost $1 million in contributions). A staggering $125 billion went to teachers (thereby protecting their union dues). All those public employees will vote loyally Democrat to protect their bloated salaries and pensions that are bankrupting America. The country goes broke, future generations face a bleak future, but Obama, the Democrat Party, government, and the unions grow more powerful. The ends justify the means.

-- Raise taxes on small business owners, high-income earners, and job creators. Put the entire burden on only the top 20 percent of taxpayers, redistribute the income, punish success, and reward those who did nothing to deserve it (except vote for Obama). Reagan wanted to dramatically cut taxes in order to starve the government. Obama wants to dramatically raise taxes to starve his political opposition.

With the acts outlined above, Obama and his regime have created a vast and rapidly expanding constituency of voters dependent on big government; a vast privileged class of public employees who work for big government; and a government dedicated to destroying capitalism and installing themselves as socialist rulers by overwhelming the system.

Add it up and you've got the perfect Marxist scheme -- all devised by my Columbia University college classmate Barack Obama using the Cloward and Piven Plan.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Mr President-Jon Voight



From Washington Times:

An open letter from actor Jon Voight to President Obama:

June 22, 2010

Dear President Obama:

You will be the first American president that lied to the Jewish people, and the American people as well, when you said that you would defend Israel, the only Democratic state in the Middle East, against all their enemies. You have done just the opposite. You have propagandized Israel, until they look like they are everyone's enemy - and it has resonated throughout the world. You are putting Israel in harm's way, and you have promoted anti-Semitism throughout the world.

You have brought this to a people who have given the world the Ten Commandments and most laws we live by today. The Jewish people have given the world our greatest scientist and philosophers, and the cures for many diseases, and now you play a very dangerous game so you can look like a true martyr to what you see and say are the underdogs. But the underdogs you defend are murderers and criminals and want Israel eradicated.

You have brought to Arizona a civil war, once again defending the criminals and illegals, creating a meltdown for good, loyal, law-abiding citizens. Your destruction of this country may never be remedied, and we may never recover. I pray to God you stop, and I hope the people in this great country realize your agenda is not for the betterment of mankind, but for the betterment of your politics.

With heartfelt and deep concern for America and Israel,

Jon Voight

Friday, June 18, 2010

If Israel Goes Down, We All Do

“We must be aware of the superiority of our civilization, a system that has guaranteed well-being, respect for human rights and – in contrast with Islamic countries – respect for religious and political rights.”

more

Obama to file suit on AZ



Radical Obama Administration Will File Suit Against Arizona

He won’t secure the border — But, he’ll sue states that do.

The radical Obama Administration will file suit against Arizona over their new immigration law that upholds federal law. Governor Jan Brewer heard the news first yesterday from Ecuadorean television.

President Obama broke his word with Governor Brewer. He said he’d get back with the Arizona governor within two weeks about sending the national guard to the border.
He didn’t. But, he will sue her state.

More

As one of the commenters stated: "When was the last time the federal government sued a state for making a law to protect its citizens?"

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Alvin Greene, US Senator from SC


In our land of political correctness, we can't state the obvious. Especially when the person is a person of color. IE, black.

Alvin Greene is stupid. When I say "stupid", I don't mean it in the sense of name calling. I mean stupid as marked by lack of intellectual acuity. A state of mental numbness.

There's nothing wrong with being stupid. But just try to be honest and admit that. Mr Greene is stupid. He's an embarrassment to the democratic party.

Why Mosque on 911 Site

Saturday, June 12, 2010

New York Times, Geert Wilders


From Newsrealblog

One can always count on the New York Times to be biased and boringly predicable — traits which have rendered it to be the one thing it must dread becoming: irrelevant.

The Times article on the recent Dutch elections does not disappoint. Dutch elections would normally not garner even a back page passing reference, but when candidate Geert Wilders finishes a strong third place, doubling Party of Freedom parliamentary count to 24 seats, the world, and the Times, pays attention.Readers of NewsReal Blog and FrontPage know Wilder’s story well and we know reflexively that the Times will regurgitate the usual drivel in describing Wilders. Anti everything, extremist, far-right, and the inevitable linking to a neo Nazis such as the late Austrian politician Jorg Haider. (Can these Times reporters even try to be original anymore?)

Even the Times, however, can trip on itself; interesting nuggets can slip through the sensors that allow for amazing candidness and clear thought, even if by happenstance.

The Times calls on a Dutch academic to enlighten us to one of the secrets of Wilder’s success:

Dick Houtman, a professor of political sociology at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, said that Mr. Wilders had built on Mr. Fortuyn’s legacy, successfully avoiding the overtly racist language of far-right politicians in other countries by highlighting issues like freedom of speech, female equality and gay rights. “That serves to exclude Muslims from the Dutch political consensus,” he said. (emphasis mine)

Maybe this statement is too obvious for the Times to pick up on. But read it again. By being in favor of freedom of speech, female equality, and gay rights, Wilders serves to exclude Muslims from the Dutch political consensus! How dare he? Extreme indeed! Apparently to be part of the postmodern Western “political consensus”, too be inclusive of Muslims, we need to be against freedom of speech, gay rights and female equality?

Houtman, aware of it or not, has made a brilliant, if obvious, observation. In order for many Muslim immigrants to feel culturally and politically included in the West, most clearly in Holland, they need to exist in an environment that is not open to the pluralistic, open and free West of the Enlightenment of the past 300 years.

So when a Western politician like Wilders openly embraces the values of liberty, he is called an extremist, hate monger and radical with ties to neo Nazis. The elite class, currently in Washington and throughout the halls of Western academia and the media, feel it more important to be inclusive of Muslims then holding true to the values that created the most open and free society the world has ever seen. And to oppose this new orthodoxy makes one a criminal, as the Left hopes to make of Wilders.

We can thank the Times for offering some clarity on this issue. Who would have thunk it.

Sometimes I don't know whether to laugh or get angry. But I like when

Friday, June 11, 2010

Getting Interesting





THE WEEKLY STANDARD has learned that senior Obama administration officials have been telling foreign governments that the administration intends to support an effort next week at the United Nations to set up an independent commission, under UN auspices, to investigate Israel's behavior in the Gaza flotilla incident. The White House has apparently shrugged off concerns from elsewhere in the U.S. government that a) this is an extraordinary singling out of Israel, since all kinds of much worse incidents happen around the world without spurring UN investigations; b) that the investigation will be one-sided, focusing entirely on Israeli behavior and not on Turkey or on Hamas; and c) that this sets a terrible precedent for outside investigations of incidents involving U.S. troops or intelligence operatives as we conduct our own war on terror.

While UN Ambassador Susan Rice is reported to have played an important role in pushing for U.S. support of a UN investigation, the decision is, one official stressed, of course the president's. The government of Israel has been consulting with the U.S. government on its own Israeli investigative panel, to be led by a retired supreme court justice, that would include respected international participants, including one from the U.S. But the Obama administration is reportedly saying that such a “kosher panel” is not good enough to satisfy the international community, or the Obama White House.

While Obama can't come out and actually say what he thinks about Israel and America, as Jesus said, You know the tree by the fruit it bears.

Hostility to Hirsi Ali

The left’s strange hostility to Hirsi Ali

MARK STEYN: Nicholas Kristof is just the latest great thinker to talk himself into a rosy view of Islam

Despite being a bit of an old showbiz queen, I’m not much for the huggy-kissy photo wall of me sharing a joke with various luvvies. I make an exception on the bureau behind my desk for a shot of yours truly and a beautiful woman, Somali by birth, Dutch by citizenship, at a beachfront bar in Malibu at sunset. I like the picture because, while I look rather bleary with a few too many chins, my companion is bright-eyed with a huge smile on her face and having a grand old time—grand, that is, because of its very normality: a crappy bar, drinks with cocktail umbrellas, a roomful of blithely ignorant California hedonists who’ll all be going back home at the end of the evening to Dancing With the Stars or Conan O’Brien or some other amusement.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali can’t lead that life. She lives under armed guard and was forced to abandon the Netherlands because quite a lot of people want to kill her. And not in the desultory behead-the-enemies-of-Islam you-will-die-infidel pro forma death-threats-R-us way that many of us have perforce gotten used to in recent years: her great friend and professional collaborator was murdered in the streets of Amsterdam by a man who shot him eight times, attempted to decapitate him, and then drove into his chest two knives, pinning to what was left of him a five-page note pledging to do the same to her.


What would you do in those circumstances? Ayaan and I had repaired to that third-rate bar after a day-long conference on Islam, jihad, free speech and whatnot. That’s usually where I run into her, whether in Malibu or at the Carlton Club in London or at a less illustrious venue. Would you be doing that with a price on your head? Or would you duck out of sight, lie low, change your name, move to New Zealand, and hope one day to get your life back? After the threats against the Comedy Central show South Park the other week, Ms. Hirsi Ali turned up on CNN to say that the best defence against Islamic intimidation is for us all to stand together and thereby “share the risk.” But, around the world, every single translator of her books has insisted on total anonymity. When push comes to shove, very few are willing to share the risk. The British historian Andrew Roberts calls her “the bravest woman I know.” I would say she is not only the bravest but also, given her circumstances, the most optimistic. I have an unbounded admiration for her personally, but a not insignificant difference philosophically, of which more momentarily.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s great cause is women’s liberation. Unfortunately for her, the women she wants to liberate are Muslim, so she gets minimal support and indeed a ton of hostility from Western feminists who have reconciled themselves, consciously or otherwise, to the two-tier sisterhood: when it comes to clitoridectomies, forced marriages, honour killings, etc., multiculturalism trumps feminism. Liberal men are, if anything, even more opposed. She long ago got used to the hectoring TV interviewer, from Avi Lewis on the CBC a while back to Tavis Smiley on PBS just the other day, insisting that say what you like about Islam but everyone knows that Christians are just as backward and violent, if not more so. The media left spends endless hours and most of its interminable awards ceremonies congratulating itself on its courage, on “speaking truth to power,” the bravery of dissent and all the rest, but faced with a pro-gay secular black feminist who actually lives it they frost up in nothing flat.

The latest is Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times. Reviewing Ayaan’s new book Nomad, he begins:

“She has managed to outrage more people—in some cases to the point that they want to assassinate her—in more languages in more countries on more continents than almost any writer in the world today. Now Hirsi Ali is working on antagonizing even more people in yet another memoir.”
That’s his opening pitch: if there are those who wish to kill her, it’s her fault because she’s a provocateuse who’s found a lucrative shtick in “working on antagonizing” people. The Times headlines Kristof’s review “The Gadfly,” as if she’s a less raddled and corpulent Gore Vidal. In fact, she wrote a screenplay for a film; Muslim belligerents threatened to kill her and her director; they made good on one half of that threat. This isn’t shtick.

But Kristof decides to up the condescension. Of the author’s estrangement from her Somali relatives, he writes: “I couldn’t help thinking that perhaps Hirsi Ali’s family is dysfunctional simply because its members never learned to bite their tongues and just say to one another: ‘I love you.’ ”
Awwwww. Group hug! Works every time.

For more

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Getting Older-Staying Healthy



When I get older, especially retired, boy, by then I'll get in really good shape. I'll have all the time I want to focus on health, and watch out Jack LaLanne.

Doesn't seem to work that way, does it? My health are habits built over a lifetime. I'm not going to eat ice cream, drink beer, sit on my ass all day long and be healthy. Health is something I have to work for, to earn on a daily basis, and it's something I've been remiss at lately, and I don't like it. I admit, my diet is restrictive compared to most, but it's a diet I believe in, and makes me content.

I always thought, "Wow, once I retire, I'm going to have so much time to work on myself". When I'm at the gym, I see old retired guys working out, but as time goes by, I never see their body shape change. Their body shape hasn't changed and it won't be changing anytime soon.

My dear friend has just gotten health insurance. He's all excited because now he's going to get all the check-ups, medications, and X rays he desires. Unfortunately, I don't believe it's going to help him. I really think the answer is here, in living a life with a certain amount of asceticism. We have so many daily choices, and we're so rich, saying "no" must be done continually.

Brave Voice From the Left

Why don’t we see demonstrations against Islamic dictatorships in London, Paris, Barcelona? Or demonstrations against the Burmese dictatorship? Why aren’t there demonstrations against the enslavement of millions of women who live without any legal protection? Why aren’t there demonstrations against the use of children as human bombs where there is conflict with Islam? Why has there been no leadership in support of the victims of Islamic dictatorship in Sudan? Why is there never any outrage against the acts of terrorism committed against Israel? Why is there no outcry by the European left against Islamic fanaticism? Why don’t they defend Israel’s right to exist? Why confuse support of the Palestinian cause with the defense of Palestinian terrorism? An finally, the million dollar question: Why is the left in Europe and around the world obsessed with the two most solid democracies, the United States and Israel, and not with the worst dictatorships on the planet?

The international press does major damage when reporting on the question of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. On this topic they don’t inform, they propagandize. When reporting about Israel the majority of journalists forget the reporter code of ethics. And so, any Israeli act of self-defense becomes a massacre, and any confrontation, genocide. So many stupid things have been written about Israel, that there aren’t any accusations left to level against her. At the same time, this press never discusses Syrian and Iranian interference in propagating violence against Israel; the indoctrination of children and the corruption of the Palestinians. And when reporting about victims, every Palestinian casualty is reported as tragedy and every Israeli victim is camouflaged, hidden or reported about with disdain.

OC Register, Real Estate

I don't see how the OC Register can say we're out of the recession, housing prices will go up, when CA is broke, unemployment is high, and the fed spends over a $trillion per year more than it receives.


From OC Register

8.4% of O.C. mortgages 90 days late
June 7th, 2010, 3:43 pm · 9 Comments · posted by Jon Lansner
According to CoreLogic’s latest late-mortgage report, 8.40% of Orange County home-loan borrowers as of April are 90 days-plus late with their house payments. That’s +2.60 percentage points vs. a year ago. Also …
April OC CA US
90+ day delinquency (This year) 8.40% 11.60% 8.90%
90+ day delinquency (Last year) 5.80% 8.45% 6.03%
Percentage pt. chg. in delinquency
+2.60 +3.15 +2.87
Foreclosure rate (This year) 2.37% 3.14% 3.20%
Foreclosure rate (Last year) 2.22% 3.20% 2.46%
Percentage pt. chg. in foreclosure
+0.15 -0.06 +0.74
REO rate (This year) 0.35% 0.76% 0.57%
REO rate (Last Year) 0.45% 1.02% 0.58%
Percentage pt. chg. in REO
-0.10 -0.26 -0.01
Compare that change in delinquency rate to the national movement in a year of +2.87 percentage points vs. a year earlier or +3.15 percentage points in California.
2.37% of Orange County homes were in the foreclosure process; +0.15 percentage points vs. a year earlier.
0.35% of Orange County homes were repossessed by banks as REO (real estate owned); -0.10 percentage points vs. a year earlier.
Orange County 90-day delinquency rate is -3.20 percentage points vs. the state’s slow-pay rate and -0.50 percentage points vs. national pace
At right is a table showing how Orange County mortgage troubles compare to state and national payment woes.

Read this from Dr. Housing Bubble:
This has been the worst May on record dating back to 1962. Many Americans are finally waking up realizing that they have been scammed

Helen Thomas, MSM by Mark Stein

Gone... Going... Going... [Mark Steyn]
The departure in ignominy of Helen Thomas has been commented on below, and I don't have much to add, except how pathetic is this?

The Hearst website is temporarily down, thanks to the traffic hitting the site.

Helen Thomas was an unreadable and unread columnist, and the only time she generates so much traffic that it crashes the site is the announcement that her career's self-destructed. That tells you a lot about American newspapering right there. Good thing two columnists didn't say something dumb or the site could have been out for weeks.

Also:

I believe that if you rely on the print version of the New York Times, the first time you will learn about the Thomas controversy will be in tomorrow's paper. Assuming they cover her resignation.

Think about this. Those of you who read this blog, know the story about Helen Thomas. But if you only read the "paper of record", you would not find out about the story until tomorrow (if it comes out tomorrow). If one doesn't think there's a MSM bias.... Here's another question: Do you think it was the MSM that uncovered this story?


In other words, whether through bias or institutional loss of news instincts, the Times fails yet again to recognize not only a story, but, more importantly (at least for their self-preservation), that the story doesn't require them to get it out. So, as usual, Times readers will only hear it about when it's over. That seems like a winning strategy.

And:

Funny that you can get a video of Helen Thomas spewing her hate, but we can’t find one showing ugly names being shouted in a crowd at congressmen.

A guy with a flip camera just took out one of the most storied names in American journalism. Presumably US newspaper managements have been assured by Obama, Pelosi, Frank et al that that bailout's a-comin' any day now. The alternative is that they're inept timeserving mediocrities too dullwitted even to know they're going over the falls.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Andrew Carnegie


I'm reading Andrew Carnegie's autobiography. What a wonderful man he was.

I'm reading his autobiography via the iPad. I legally downloaded the book (almost 1700 pages) in a few seconds for free. There are a number of great books in my iPad library that are waiting my perusal. To me, this alone makes iPad worth its cost, if only as a reader. And that's not to mention, I can watch movies on it for free, email, play games and a myriad of other applications.

I'm not sure on the length of copyright law, (maybe 90 years or so), but I wonder how many authors who write a book would join me in saying ten years should be the max of copyright law? If I wrote a book (and I know I can easily go to the library and read it for free), I would want others to be able to take my ideas and use it as they wish after a span of say 10 years.

Onto Mr Carnegie. Here was a man born into poverty in Scotland and came to America. And became one of the world's richest men, through hard work and honesty. After he achieved his millions, he (along with his partners) sold the business which became US Steel. Mr Carnegie knew his business was set to prosper for years to come, (the very first year after he sold his business, it made $70 million profit), but he wanted to spend the rest of his life giving away his fortune.

When I read his book, I know I shouldn't compare myself to him but I can't help it. He was such a great man, I wonder if he would tolerate my presence. And please, I'm not saying that to belittle him in any way. And I don't mean to belittle myself, but sorry, I can't help it. He accomplished so much, enjoyed the company of brilliant men, and had endearing friendships.

These are the men who shaped America. Men such as Mark Twain, Oliver Wendell Holmes (I think the doctor, not his famous jurist son Oliver Wendell Holmes), men on both sides of the Atlantic.

He was devoted to his mother, father and family.

One of the things I most notice in his book are the pictures of the people (his friends and family). Not one of them is smiling. While it is normal today to take a picture with everyone smiling, no one is ever smiling in pictures from the olden days. I wonder if it is because life was so much more serious. The struggle for survival was indeed a struggle back then. A long life was by no means guaranteed. The fact is, he was wealthy in so many ways, friendship, money, and time. We are so rich today, that much of that is taken as a given. We don't even think about it. We're so rich that we don't even realize how rich we are.

Somehow, I wish that everyday I could just meditate for 5 minutes on just how lucky I am to be alive, have my health, to see in a small way my place in the universe and to give thanks. Everyday. And to give thanks for each meal that I eat. For some reason, when I stop and give thanks before I eat a meal, it brings me joy. It's a special moment for me. I need to be aware of that and not be concerned by what others my think around me.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Dr Ozzy, Funny Stuff

The wisdom of Oz

He has survived plane and quad-bike crashes, drug and alcohol addiction, mental breakdowns and dysfunctional family life to become a world authority on pharmacology, neurology, psychology and hypochondria. Meet our new under-the-counter health columnist, Dr Ozzy


"Let me ask you a question, Mr Osbourne,” a doctor in America once said to me, after I’d listed all the heavy-duty substances I’d been abusing since the 1960s.

“All right,” I said. “Go ahead."

The doctor put down his notebook, loosened his tie a bit, and let out this long, weary sigh.

“Why are you still alive?"

I've often wondered the same thing myself. By all accounts I’m a medical miracle. When I die, I should donate my body to the Natural History Museum. It’s all very well going on a bender for a couple of days — but mine went on for 40 years. At one point I was knocking back four bottles of cognac a day, blacking out, coming to again, and carrying on. While filming The Osbournes I was also shoving 42 types of prescription medication down my neck, morning, noon and night — and that was before all the dope I was smoking in my “safe” room, away from the cameras. Meanwhile, I used to get through cigars like they were cigarettes. I’d even smoke them in bed.

“Do you mind?” I’d ask Sharon, as I lit up another Cuban the size of Red October.

“Oh no, please, go ahead,” she’d say, before whacking me with Good Housekeeping.

Then there are all the other things I’ve managed to not die from during my rock’n’roll career: like being hit by a plane (it crashed into my tour bus when I was fast asleep with Sharon in the back); or the time I got a false-positive HIV test; or the time when they told me I “probably” had Parkinson’s disease (they were wrong — it turned out to be a rare genetic condition, a Parkinsonian-like tremor). I was even committed to a mental asylum for a while. “Do you masturbate, Mr Osbourne?” was the first thing they asked me. “I’m here for my head, not my dick!” I replied.

And then there was the rabies treatment I had to go through after eating a bat — which you might have heard about once or twice. All I want to say is that I thought it was a rubber toy, swear on my 17 dogs’ lives.

Oh, and yeah, I’ve been dead twice: it happened (so I’m told) while I was in a chemically induced coma after I broke my neck in a quad-bike accident in 2003. I’ve got more metal screws in me now than in an Ikea flatpack thanks to the doctors and nurses at the NHS.

So, as you can imagine, when The Sunday Times Magazine asked me to be its new health-advice columnist — Dr Ozzy, as I’ll be known from now on — I thought they were taking the piss, to be honest with you. But then I thought about it for a while, and it makes perfect sense: I’ve seen literally thousands of doctors over my lifetime, and spent well over £1m on them, to the point where I sometimes think I know more about being a doctor than doctors do.

And it’s not just because of the lifestyle I’ve pursued. I also happen to be the world’s worst hypochondriac. I’ll catch a disease off the telly, me. Being ill is like a hobby. I’ve even started to diagnose my own diseases, thanks to Google (or I should say thanks to my assistant Tony, because I’m not exactly Steve Jobs when it comes to computers).

Understandably, the question I always get is: “If you’re such a hypochondriac, Ozzy, how could you have taken all those drugs?” But the thing is, when you have an addictive personality like mine, you never think anything bad’s gonna happen. It’s like: “Oh, well, I didn’t do as much as so-and-so — I didn’t drink as much as him, didn’t do as much coke.”

Now, that might be fine in theory, but in my case the so-and-so was usually a certified lunatic like John Bonham or Tommy Lee, which meant they’d put enough up their nose to march the Bolivian army to the moon and back. Another thing I’d always tell myself was: “Oh, a doctor gave me the drugs, and he must know what he’s doing — mustn’t he?” But that was ignoring the fact that I’d administered the stuff myself. And if there’s one thing I’m not, it’s a qualified medical professional.

Which explains all the near misses I’ve had: overdoses, seizures, you name it. Most of the time I blamed it on my dyslexia: “Oh, I thought it said 24 pills every two hours, not two pills every 24 hours."

The funny thing is, to my friends I’ve been Dr Ozzy for years — mainly because I used to be like a walking pharmacy. I remember back in the 1980s, when a friend came to me with a leg ache. I went to get my “special” suitcase, pulled out a pill the size of a golf ball and said: “Here, take this.” It was ibuprofen, before you could buy it over the counter in the UK. He came back a few hours later and said: “Dr Ozzy, you cured me!” The only problem was, I gave him 800mg — enough to cure an obese elephant. It knocked the bloke out for a month. That was in the old days, of course, before lawsuits were invented. I’d never do that now. Honest to God.

But it’s not just medication I’ve given to my friends. As strange as it sounds, a lot of people have asked me for family advice, especially in recent years. I suppose it’s because they saw me raising Jack and Kelly during The Osbournes, and they think I’m like the Bill Cosby of the undead or something. They ask me stuff like “How do I bring up the subject of sex with my kids?” or “How do I talk to them about drugs?”

I’m happy to help the best I can. The trouble is, when I talked to my kids about drugs, it was: “Can you give me some?” But I’ve become a better father since then, I like to think. I mean, during the worst days of my addiction, I wasn’t really a father at all, I was just another one of Sharon’s kids. But I’m a different person now: I keep fit, don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t get high — or least not on anything but endorphins.

I enjoy my family more than I ever have before: not just my five amazing kids (two of them with my first wife, Thelma) but also my four grandkids. Plus, after nearly 30 years, my marriage to Sharon is going stronger than ever, so I guess I must be doing something right.

When you live full-time in California, as I’ve done for the past few years, you often feel people spend so much time trying to save their lives that they don’t live them. I mean, at the end of the day, we’re all going to die. So what’s the point of always worrying about your health?

For me, the decision to change my life wasn’t really about my health. It was about the fact that I wasn’t having fun any more. As I used to say, I’d put the “wreck” into recreation. I was on clonazepam, zolpidem, temazepam, chloral hydrate, alcohol, Percocet, codeine — and that was just for starters. But morphine was my favourite. I didn’t do it for very long, mind you, because Sharon would find me passed out on the floor with the dog licking my forehead, and she put a stop to it. And thank God she did: I’d have kicked the bucket a long time ago otherwise.

Funnily enough, it was the smoking that put me over the edge. I’m a singer, that’s how I earn a living, but I would get a sore throat then cough through a pack of Marlboros to the point where I couldn’t do gigs. It was ridiculous; the stupidest thing you could ever imagine. So the cigarettes were the first thing I quit, and that started the ball rolling. Now I take drugs only for real things, such as high cholesterol, depression or heartburn.

I can understand — sort of — if people think it’s more rock’n’roll to die young. But what really winds me up is when you hear: “Oh, my great-aunt Nelly smoked 80 fags a day and drank 16 pints of Guinness before bed every night, and she lived until she was 103.” I mean, yeah, that happens. My own gran lived until she was 99. But the odds aren’t on your side. Especially when you get to the grand old age of 61, like me.

Another thing that puts a bee up my arse is people who never get checkups, and never go to the doctor, even when they’re half-dead. I had my prostate checked just the other week, for example — I’m on a three-year plan for prostate and colon tests — and couldn’t believe how many blokes said to me: “Your prostate? What’s that?” I was like: “Look, chicks get breast cancer, and blokes get cancer of the prostate.” One guy even asked: “Where is it?” I told him, “Up your arse,” and he went: “How do they check that, then?” I said: “How do you think? It starts with a rubber glove and ends with your voice rising 10 octaves.”

My prostate guy here in Los Angeles says that every man over 50 will develop some kind of prostate problem as they get older, but only half will get tested. And yet nowadays you can cure prostate cancer if you get to it early enough. It’s the same with colon cancer. Mind you, I’m the first to admit that the preparation for the colon-cancer test isn’t exactly glamorous. They give you this horrible liquid to drink and then you have to crap through the eye of a needle until your backside is so clean, if you open your mouth you can see daylight at the other end. But it’s only because I got tested for colon cancer that my wife did the same — and her test came back positive. Thanks to that, they caught the cancer in time and her life was saved. So my first advice as Dr Ozzy will be: don’t be ignorant.

I haven’t always been a hypochondriac. When I was growing up in Aston, Birmingham, for example, our family GP was a guy called Dr Rosenfield, and I’d do anything to get out of an appointment with him — mainly because his receptionist was a woman with a full-on beard. I ain’t kidding you: a big, black, bushy beard. It freaked me out. She was like Captain Pugwash in a frock. And Dr Rosenfield’s surgery was so drab, you felt worse coming out than when you went in. Rosenfield himself wasn’t a bad guy, but he wasn’t exactly a comforting figure, either. I remember falling out of a tree one time when I was scrumping apples: I hit a branch on the way down, and my eye swelled up like a black balloon. When I got home my old man smacked me around the ear before sending me off to get my injury looked at — then Dr Rosenfield smacked me around the ear, too!

I rarely got any kind of proper medical care in those days, mind you. If one of the six Osbourne kids had an earache, they’d get a spoonful of hot chip fat down their earhole. And my gran would give us milk and mutton fat for croupy cough. As for my father, he had this tin in his shed. I don’t know what was in it, some kind of black greasy stuff, and if you got a boil on your neck he’d go: “I’ll get rid of that for yer, son.” And he’d slap it on there, and you’d be, like: “Not the black tin! Nooo!” But that’s all my folks could afford. Shelling out on zit cream from Boots wasn’t gonna happen when they could barely afford to get food on the table. My father was one of those people who’d never see a doctor. He’d never take a day off work at the GEC factory, either. He’d have to have been missing a limb to take a sickie; even then, he’d probably just hop into the factory like nothing had happened. I don’t think he got a single checkup right up until the end of his life — and by that time he was riddled with cancer. It was his prostate that gave up first. I don’t know why he’d avoided doctors, given that it was all free on the NHS, but it made me think the opposite way: if I go to the doctor now and there’s something wrong with me, they’ll catchit early and I’ll get to live another day. I mean, don’t get me wrong: I ain’t afraid of dying. Although it would be good to know where it’s gonna happen, so I can avoid going there…

Sometimes I think people in Britain don’t make enough use of the NHS because they’re too busy complaining about it. But Americans — who’ll queue up outside a sports arena for three days just to go to a free clinic — can’t believe the deal we get over here. I’ll never forget the first time I got an x-ray done in the US after my quad-bike crash. The doc came into the room, holding up my slide and whistling through his teeth. “How much did all that cost you, huh?” he asked, seeing all the rods and bolts holding my neck and back together. “A couple of mill?“A

ctually, it was free,” I told him. “I had the accident in England.” I almost had to call for a nurse, he got such a shock.

I just had my eyes fixed, having suffered from cataracts for years. I’m a new man in so many ways. I might be 61, but I haven’t felt so young since the 1960s. Aside from my eyes, the other big change in my life is that I’ve pretty much become a vegetarian. Seriously. It’s my new phase: brown rice and vegetables. I don’t even drink milk, apart from a splash in my tea. It ain’t because of the animals. I mean, I used to work in a slaughterhouse. You won’t see me marching over the frozen tundra, hunting down people who club seals. I just can’t digest meat any more.

I also saw that Food, Inc film the other day, which gives you a new perspective — not just on meat-eating, but on the whole animal-product industry. I mean, think of the entire population of the US, which is, what, 309m? Say 80m of them eat an egg every day: that’s a lot of eggs to squeeze out of a lot of chickens. And the way they do it at these megafarms is enough to put you off breakfast for life.

Not that I’m into any of that organic bollocks. People think they’re buying another day on this Earth, so they get ripped off. If you want organic, grow your own, that’s what I say. I used to do that when I was married to my ex and we had a little cottage in Ranton, Staffordshire. A veggie patch also happens to be a great place to hide your stash. Having said that, I’d always get stoned and forget where I had buried it. One time, I spent a whole week down the garden, trying to find a lump of Afghan hash. The missus thought I must just be really worried about my carrots.

I suppose when people hear stories like that, they might think I’m too much of a bad example to give advice. I wouldn’t argue with them — and I’d hate for anyone to think: “Oh, if Ozzy survived all that outrageous behaviour, so can I.” But d’you know what? If people can learn from my stupid mistakes without having to repeat any of them; or if they can take some comfort from the crazy things my family has been through over the years; or if just hearing me talk about colonoscopies makes them less embarrassed about getting tested for colon cancer, that’s more than enough for me. Dr Ozzy’s job will be done.

One last thing: being a hypochondriac, I’ll never tell someone to just stop worrying and/or come back later if their symptoms get worse. In Dr Ozzy’s surgery, everything will get taken seriously. As I’ve always said to my own doctors, “One day you’re gonna be standing at my graveside while the priest is reading the eulogy, and you’re gonna look down and see the inscription on my headstone, and it’ll say, ‘See? I told you I was ill.’”

Get Rich Slowly


I don't know why I've never posted about this before. This post is about frugality, voluntary simplicity, living below one's means. This blog is a lot of fun for me to read. It's about people's everyday lives and what they do to try and live in harmony/balance. You can easily subscribe to the blog and read his daily entries. Of course the entries won't always be as good as this one, but you'll find that it's worthwhile and enjoyable at the same time.


A few years ago I had about $130 to my name and was struggling to balance a handful of part-time jobs with re-entry into college after 30 years away from higher ed. Going back to school terrified me. But my life was already turned upside down: I’d left a long-term marriage and run through most of my savings to support myself and my disabled adult daughter. Why not throw college into the mix? As terrified as I was, I knew that if I didn’t do it then I’d never do it.

For more

WMD-Iraq

Ha’aretz has revived the mystery surrounding the inability to find weapons of mass destruction stockpiles in Iraq, the most commonly cited justification for Operation Iraqi Freedom and one of the most embarrassing episodes for the United States. Satellite photos of a suspicious site in Syria are providing new support for the reporting of a Syrian journalist who briefly rocked the world with his reporting that Iraq’s WMD had been sent to three sites in Syria just before the invasion commenced.

The newspaper reveals that a 200 square-kilometer area in northwestern Syria has been photographed by satellites at the request of a Western intelligence agency at least 16 times, the most recent being taken in January. The site is near Masyaf, and it has at least five installations and hidden paths leading underneath the mountains. This supports the reporting of Nizar Nayouf, an award-winning Syrian journalist who said in 2004 that his sources confirmed that Saddam Hussein’s WMDs were in Syria.

For more

On Friendship, Death, Suicide



Have you ever been driving and a funeral procession drives by? And it seems to last forever? And then you think, "when I die how many will come to my funeral?".

And, I think, "Well, maybe my wife, if I'm lucky. My dog "Lady" too. They love me." And I think, "How sad, only my wife and my dog". But, I'm OK with that. In fact, with some of the arguments I have with my wife, I could scratch her off that very short list. So, I'm down to my dog. And while Lady is one smart dog, I don't think she's capable of making arrangements. So I guess I'll have to scratch her off the list too.

So I want to have a large funeral. And I thought it best if I prepare for it now. Would you my dear reader commit if I were to pay you in advance? Pray tell, how much do you think a few hours of your day is worth?

A former business partner committed suicide and a service was held today. We went on a boat in Long Beach and dumped his ashes with a biodegradable urn (very green, we were assured, it would dissolve because it was made out of salt. I wonder how much that little sucker cost).

Chris and I actually had a falling out when we dissolved (no pun intended) our business. We only spoke one time in the following years, though I still liked him. He was a good man. Chris was troubled and tried to commit suicide but was revived. The second time, he was successful. He knew he was going to end his life and leading to his death he gave away his possessions. He wanted to die and he did. I can't imagine what it was like to live in his head, but it must have been terrible to drive him to take such drastic measures.

The person who informed me of Chris's death was a previous girlfriend. She told me about the ceremony today, attended by around 30 people. Tears were shed, but the only one most effected was his daughter. Upon her first seeing me she had remembered me from years ago, (I didn't remember her), and I gave her a warm embrace. And I thought, "Wow, I'm like really not his friend, don't really know her, and this is probably the best hug she's gotten out of this whole gig".

Many of those who came were former clients of Chris. And those that worked with him, and others who were in the air conditioning business. Also his ex-wife, and just a few relatives.

And of course the minister. I'm guessing his cut to be around $500-$1000. He's the one who controlled the service, what there was of it, spoke some BS for around 3 minutes, and then a relative got to say a few heartfelt words.

(I go on notice here: When I die, there is to be no minister or whoever allowed at my funeral. I've never understood how in this most precious of time, remembering someone who we know and is no longer with us, we turn over the meeting to some mindless fuck who doesn't give a shit about the deceased and allow him to control the gathering. I'd rather those that are close to me, to say a few words about me, or tell a little story. I want someone connected with me, talking about me. And while the funeral might be about me, it's really not about me. It's about the people who come and how their life is intertwined with mine. Be sad, but tell stories that bring a smile to your face.)

So how many friends do I have. I have my wife. And I have one other friend. I have relatives, but being on the west coast, and they're on the east, I rarely see them and do not have close contact. So even though daily many people come into my life, if I were gone, for the most part it's no big deal.

I wonder how many people join clubs, etc., so that when they die, a lot of people will come to their funeral. Have you ever heard, "Wow, did you see how many people showed up at his funeral?"

Really, my wife and dog. My buddy Vic could fly down if he wants, but hey, don't bother. Pepe and Betty, my wife's parents. Good enough for me.

UCI, lick your chops. Your getting me when I'm gone. My wife thinks you'll be especially interested in my brain.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Paul McCartney Bashes Bush at White House



Read more at Human Events

Imagine the chutzpah of Paul McCartney. Invited to receive an award at the White House. In giving his speech he makes an incredible snide remark about our previous sitting president. Right there in the White House. My God, and nobody says anything.

Calderon, the President of Mexico, criticizes American law on the floor of the Congress and receives a standing ovation from members of the House. Then McCartney has the balls to receive the Gershwin Prize and he uses his speech to diss one our presidents, receiving enthusiastic applause from the audience.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Small Space Architecture

Little Drummer Boy

Observation


I went to a bar to watch the Lakers-Celtics game.

My friend commented women aren't as pretty as they used to be. I then mentioned, "Look around the room, what do you see?".

Years ago I would travel to The Balsams resort with my parents to spend a week with family and friends. Those times were the highlight of my life. Being around good, warm and generous people was such a joy. The conversation, the laughs and fellowship was elevating.

When I'd come back home, and begin my driving around, (I do appliance repair), I was always discouraged between what I left and what was now my norm.

So with last night and the bar patrons. Bald heads, excessive tattoos and foul language. That's the norm.

I remember when I started my college career at Cerritos college. I was older than the other students and I often wore a tie to school. That's just how I was raised. All through my school years I wore a tie. At Cerritos JC, it was a matter of derision for some of the students.

But I've become californianized. My uniform of choice are jean shorts, and a white t shirt. (Purchased at Goodwill for $1.99.)

From Eric Hoffer

The chief difference between me and others is that I have plenty of time--not only because
I am without a multitude of responsibilities and without daily tasks, which demand
attention: But also because I am basically without ambition. Neither the present nor the
future has claims on me.


What I like reading about Eric Hoffer was that when he died it took the person cleaning out his room 1-2 hours to do so.

Here's another Hoffer quote:

Some people have no original ideas because they do not think well enough of themselves to consider their ideas worth noticing and developing.

Jews, Blockade


My mentor, Dennis Prager, asked who is morally right in the Jews shooting the "activists" after landing on the boat.

As we all know, the whole world stands against Israel.

So, my dear reader, I ask you, who is morally right, tiny Israel or the world?

For me, this is how skewed our world has become. Our moral compass is being recalibrated as never before.

It's my hope that most of you who read my blog, side with the small minority. Israel, I stand with you, my brothers and sisters.

And if you too stand with Israel, I am proud that you read my blog.

David Horowitz-Nihilism

“Critical theory” – the coy self-description of the ideological Left – self-consciously describes itself by the totality of its rejection of the existing social order, in identical fashion to old-style Marxists (Marx himself was a “critical theorist”). The explicit agenda of critical theory is to undermine the credibility and authority of the status quo in order to prepare its annihilation. The task of undermining communal assumptions and stabilizing faiths is not incidental to the radical critique, but is its corrosive essence. It is what the theory intends. Yet, like the Marxist-Leninists of the past, critical theorists never confront the moral issue posed by their destructive agendas: What can be the rationale for weakening and ultimately destroying a system as liberal as the existing one, if no better has been devised?

Without its adherents noticing, the theoretical argument of the Left has been emptied of content by the failures of socialism. For what is the practical meaning of a socialist critique in the absence of a workable socialist model? In fact, there is none. By adopting an impossible standard, it is easy to find fault with any institution or social system under scrutiny. The ideal of socialist equality, for example, may or may not be admirable. But if social equality cannot be realized in practice, or if the attempt to realize it necessarily creates a totalitarian state, then the idea of such equality can have no significance except as an incitement to destructive agendas.

To raise the socialist ideal to a critical standard imposes a burden of responsibility on its advocates that critical theorists refuse to shoulder. If one sets out to destroy a lifeboat because it fails to meet the standards of a luxury yacht, the act of criticism may be perfectly “just,” but the passengers will drown all the same. Similarly, if socialist principles can only be realized in a socialist gulag, even the presumed inequalities of the capitalist market are worth the price. If socialist poverty and socialist police states are the practical alternative to capitalist inequality, what justice can there be in destroying capitalist freedoms and the benefits thy provide? Without a practical alternative to offer, radical idealism is radical nihilism – a war of destruction with no objective other than war.

– The Politics of Bad Faith: The Radical Assault on America’s Future

Chris Christie-Teacher's Union

Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey, I've come to greatly admire. In this brief clip he explains the battle for his state's survival. This really is the kind of man we need to see on the national stage. Eloquent, thoughtful, and he cares.



Public Unions-CA Bankruptcies

This, from Poweline

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has only been on the job since January, but he is already engaged in a death struggle with New Jersey's public sector unions. He is articulate, combative, committed, spirited. He does not shy away from the fight. I don't think we've seen his like in quite a while. If he survives and/or prevails, he will be an unstoppable force.

I can't get enough of the guy. In the video below, he addresses his issues with the New Jersey teachers' union at a town hall meeting in Robbinsville. I'm not entirely sure what all the shooting is about; here is a Star-Ledger story with some relevant background.

For readers who are new to this series, let me repeat my explanation of the title. In Volume V of Martin Gilbert's monumental biography of Churchill (Winston S. Churchill:The Prophet of Truth: 1922-1939), we learn that an enormous poster appeared in the Strand and at other prominent points around London in the last week of July 1939. Placed by an advertising agent who was anxious "to get people thinking of the reinstatement of Churchill," the poster asked simply: "What price Churchill?" (A photograph of the poster can be seen here.) On July 25, 1939, the Daily Mirror noted: "The writing on the wall? This giant poster is causing considerable comment."

By the same token, in my mind, videos like the one below raise the question: What price Christie?



I would also like to repeat this footnote. Even Churchill had his doubts about the outcome of the Battle of Britain. While he was driving home from Buckingham Palace on May 10, 1940, after having received the King's appointment as prime minister, Churchill said to an aide: "I hope that it is not too late. I am very much afraid that it is. We can only do our best."

In the decisive Cabinet meeting of May 28, Churchill addressed members of the government who were considerably less resolute than he was: "I have thought carefully in these last days whether it was part of my duty to consider entering into negotiations with That Man.... And I am convinced that every one of you would rise up and tear me down from my place if I were for one moment to contemplate parley or surrender. If this long island story of ours is to end at last, let it end only when each one of us lies choking in his own blood upon the ground." The effect on his colleagues was electrifying.

Commenting on this episode in Churchill on Leadership, Steven Hayward writes: "[F]rom time to time, and especially in a crisis, the genuine leader must simply exert his personal force and summon up his willfulness." Watching the video of Governor Christie in Robbinsville discussing his battle with the teachers' union, one senses that he has absorbed this particular Churchillian lesson (not that he wouldn't appreciate a copy of Hayward's superb handbook for inspiration).

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Christians blow up more people

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH0YYic_JpY&feature=player_embedded

This guy is so fuckin stupid. And he believes this shit. When God made assholes, this idiot was first in line.

I'm going to the dictionary right now. look up "stupid", and see if his picture is there.