Friday Flashback

For all of you history buffs who like to remember and/or study how the America culture has evolved over time, here is something sent to me via e-mail:


High School Class of 1958 vs. 2010

Scenario 1:

Jack goes quail hunting before school and then pulls into the school parking lot with his shotgun in his truck's gun rack.

1958 - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.

2010 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.

Scenario 2:

Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.

1958 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.

2010 - Police called and SWAT team arrives -- they arrest both Johnny and Mark. They are both charged with assault and both expelled even though Johnny started it.

Scenario 3:

Jeffrey will not be still in class, he disturbs other students.

1958 - Jeffrey sent to the Principal's office and given a good paddling by the Principal. He then returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.

2010 - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin. He becomes a zombie. He is then tested for ADD. The family gets extra money (SSI) from the government because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario 4:

Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.

1958 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college and becomes a successful businessman.

2010 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang. The state psychologist is told by Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist.

Scenario 5:

Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school..

1958 - Mark shares his aspirin with the Principal out on the smoking dock

2010 - The police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug violations. His car is then searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario 6:

Pedro fails high school English.

1958 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English and goes to college.

2010 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against the state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English is then banned from core curriculum. Pedro is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario 7:

Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the Fourth of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up a red ant bed.

1958 - Ants die.

2010 - ATF, Homeland Security and the FBI are all called. Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. The FBI investigates his parents -- and all siblings are removed from their home and all computers are confiscated. Johnny's dad is placed on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario 8:

Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.

1958 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.

2010 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.


Note--I would have called this post the Friday Funnies. But when I think about it, this stuff really isn't funny anymore.

An Unimportant Quote

Supposedly, this is the latest press release from Al Gore.

Last week on his show Bill O’Reilly asked, “Why has southern New York turned into the tundra?” and then said he had a call into me. I appreciate the question.

As it turns out, the scientific community has been addressing this particular question for some time now and they say that increased heavy snowfalls are completely consistent with what they have been predicting as a consequence of man-made global warming:

“In fact, scientists have been warning for at least two decades that global warming could make snowstorms more severe. Snow has two simple ingredients: cold and moisture. Warmer air collects moisture like a sponge until it hits a patch of cold air. When temperatures dip below freezing, a lot of moisture creates a lot of snow.”

“A rise in global temperature can create all sorts of havoc, ranging from hotter dry spells to colder winters, along with increasingly violent storms, flooding, forest fires and loss of endangered species.”

You see, this is why Saturday Night Live is not that good anymore. In the old days, they would have been all over this. There is no way this goes without a skit.

In just a day or two, the system that is slamming me with ice right now will be in NYC and surely the producers will find this quote very amusing. 

But if that's not the case, maybe this flashback will help stir up the creative comedic storms (pun intended):



On second thought, maybe the skit has already been written.

PYY Storytime

Yesterday had no football game of any real worth to rant and rave on, so for all of the good little boys and girls who read this blog, I have a special treat to start your week off.

Here a more modern version of The Little Red Hen, as told by Ronald Wilson Reagan:



How long ago was this read on the radio?

How plain was it, back then?

Why are we still revisiting the same concepts today?

Will we ever see logic and reason replace fallacies and lies?

Read the story about the experiment conducted in New Harmony, Indiana. Had Lenin, Mao, Castro, or any other Communist leader in the 20th century ever had the sense to spend a few hours studying that microcosm of socialism in action, they would have seen the folly of implementing such a flawed system on larger masses of people.

But then again....maybe not.

Jihadist Smuggling At The Mexican Border Revisited

I am not much on linking back to previous posts to prove I was right about something. But this is one exception worth making--one that is imperative that we revisit, as we head deeper into this present legislative (and eventually election) cycle.

Way back when, I wrote some things about immigration that I thought was worth considering and well within the appropriate scope of the debate. One of the posts was what I think, very short and to the point. It dealt with this story, which was reported back in 2007.

The FBI is investigating an alleged human smuggling operation based in Chaparral, N.M., that agents say is bringing "Iraqis and other Middle Eastern" individuals across the Rio Grande from Mexico.

An FBI intelligence report distributed by the Washington, D.C. Joint Terrorism Task Force, obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com, says the illegal ring has been bringing Iraqis across the border illegally for more than a year.

Most of you, especially who come here regularly, can probably guess what I said back then and I still maintain that same stance now. But it gets worse.

In the present news cycle, we see this one from the Mail Online.

Let's excerpt the following from the article:

U.S. border guards got a surprise when they searched a Mexican BMW and found a hardline Muslim cleric - banned from France and Canada - curled up in the boot.

Said Jaziri, who called for the death of a Danish cartoonist that drew pictures of the prophet Mohammed, was being smuggled into California when he was arrested, along with his driver Kenneth Robert Lawler.

Before we go any further, the title of the article indicates this guy is a "controversial" cleric. I don't know how they come up with this stuff, but he's been kicked out of France and Canada (that ought to tell you something right there). I'd say he was a bit MORE than just controversial.

But I digress....and here is what we do know:

Four years ago in the federal legislature, the Democratic party was the party in power. Congress spent 75% or more of its energies crying racism, xenophobia, and paranoia.... and they were loudest whenever we heard of things like this. They knew it all. You couldn't tell them anything. They knew what was best for us, and that (at the time) was the pressing need to end war in Iraq, and close Gitmo.

I know fully good and well, this blog was only one of many sites that warned of impending consequences of turning a blind eye to a porous and uncontrolled border, because I read countless blog posts that carried this warning. So I am not being an egotist here, just a concerned citizen.

It's even more important to note that in this the midst of all of this massive world turmoil, it is not inconsequential or unrealistic to believe this still needs to be addressed. And it needs to be done sooner, rather than later. There is no doubt in my mind that many will use the civil unrest in both Tunisia and Egypt as cover, to export some people who want to harm this country in some way.

My biggest fear is that if we do not get more people to wake up to this grave error of philosophy, this will be an issue that may cost us dearly someday (and not too far into the future). Even though, we have made some good finds along the way... some have only failed because the plan failed.

Some were caught through hard work and attention...I am certain of this. But we got lucky on a few of them... with some damned close calls along the way. And even with all of this going on, there are still plots and subplots going on 24/7/52.

It only takes one instance of success to kill innocent people. It's not a pleasant reflection to look back on with any sense of integrity and be forced to come to the conclusion that it was preventable. This is why we need to be ready to confront the same arguments that the Democrats will most certainly once again make.... once anyone with an ounce of sense begins to call attention to stories like this.

They will say this is but one time. They will undoubtedly claim that this was the exception, not the rule. And... they will surely tout the fact that this man was caught.

So there, the system worked. Shut up and listen!!!

But when they do, please understand something here: For everyone we catch, ten or more may come in undetected. It may end up being someone who has been trained in Pakistan or Yemen, somebody who has a goal of becoming a martyr for jihad purposes, and someone who may get past everything that one point in time....well after we have exhausted our hard work and unearned luck.

One time...that's all it takes to have funerals and memorial services we hadn't planned on having. One time....that's all it takes to ruin innocent lives for a lifetime, all for an evil cause. But now that we who are concerned are supposed to have some voices in Washington, we need to remind those voices of our concerns through phone calls, letters, and e-mails.

We turned over Washington once, we can do it again. And we'd prefer to not be compelled to do it after an attack has taken place. But it's not just about an election. See if you can find one country in the world that does not make every attempt to protect the integrity of its own border. Name one that is content to allow any and everyone access to its landed territory, and its services without any documentation or reasonable purpose for being there.

Another Blast From the Past

While I do hear a certain unique sound in this tune, I also think it carries a bit of a Dylanesque quality. I don't think Ed Vedder sounds much like Mr. Zimmerman when he sings, but the structural components of this music/melody portrays the imagery that someone of his magnitude could capture.

Let me say that I am not necessarily a Pearl Jam aficionado but I think this is very good song, one that helped define an era of rock music.



As pensive and confusing the first piece may sound, this one is a little lighter. It's only lighter because the message supersedes the form. But even at that, I still think the form was pretty good. It's really hard to know why this guy didn't make it bigger than he did.



Enjoy.

Friday Funnies

This week we revisit 20th century history, in the days of which I was but a lad. This video has the voice of the man who was leader of the free world at that delicate point in time.....and suffice it to say, he had the nuclear suitcase with him.

First of all, we have to tip the hat to Greg for finding this historical relic. I had tried to locate it a long time ago, forgot out it, and then lost interest.

But now, just sit back and listen to the man who brought us the (cough, cough)"Great Society":

Put This On: LBJ Buys Pants from Put This On on Vimeo.

Micro-managers and their clothes..... you have to love them.

A Fallen Protector

Police officers are never fully trusted or appreciated.

Here in Indianapolis, we have one who has been trying to use the legal system to wrangle out of a drunken driving charge while on duty, one that resulted in the death of an innocent man and serious injuries to two others.

We have had rogue undercover narcotics cops raiding suspects' homes, taking money found, keeping the drugs and selling them.

We have seen overzealous cops who have arrested people who may have deserved to be roughed up because they thought they could whip the officer during a police action, but in no way deserved to be pummeled mercilessly well after they had been neutralized.

It's just like any other urban police force in the nation here in the Midwest, we have some who lie, cheat, and steal, all behind the cover of a badge. In the midst of their corruptions, we all know well that it is these cops that usually make the news.

But for the most part, the majority of police officers on the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department are people like anyone else. They are fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, and many good friends to other people they know. They get up everyday and work hard to make the place they live in safer, from people who care nothing for others or their properties.

Is someone breaking into your house? Who do you call?

Someone stole your car? Who do you call?

The list can go on, but the fact remains that these people volunteer to put their lives on the line everyday. They put on their uniform, walk out that door to go to work, not knowing what they will face on that given day. Their enemy wears no uniform, therefore they cannot be easily identified.

Last Sunday, one such officer did just that.

He woke up to the alarm, got ready, got dressed, and left his home. While out early that morning, he made a traffic stop. It turned out the car had been stolen. As Officer David Moore approached the car he had stopped, a man jumped out and shot him four times, quite possibly a couple of times after he was down and unconscious.

Since that time, he has been hanging on by a thread in a local hospital. After he was stabilized enough to get an MRI to determine the extent of his injuries, it was learned that nothing could be done to save his life. So the family had to make preparations to donate his organs and take him off life support. They had to make a lifetime's worth of decisions in the course of the last 24 hours, for a tragic event that just happened three days ago.

This morning before the sun came up on the city, IMPD Officer David Moore died. Mr. Moore died because someone didn't want to go to jail for something he knew he did wrong. He died because a bad man shot him for doing his job.

No charges have been filed yet in the case, but the suspect is in jail for robbing a Dollar General Store in the ensuing moments after the shooting. He did this, knowing the entire police force would be distracted at the scene where he had done his dirty lowlife deed.

My sources tell me they are building a good case against the depraved bastard who perpetrated this act. I just wish they could put me in a room with him for a few minutes, and go get themselves a cup of coffee. I wouldn't kill him, I promise.


ADDENDUM:

By all accounts I have heard for a variety of sources, this guy was one of the good ones. Check out the video and/or read the story at this link.

Recommended Reading

PYY isn't the biggest blog on the web, nor will it ever be. But just because your bloghost here does not adequately promote this site, does not mean we haven't had our share of intelligent readers.

So for you all who make this a daily or weekly stop, go over the Althouse and give this essay a good read.

HT: GM Roper (he didn't post on it, I nabbed it off of a Facebook posting)

Putting The Moscow Attack Into Perspective

The world is once again aghast at the carnage brought on by a simple, bomb-toting coward. But should this really come as a shock?

Take a look at a little timeline of attacks in Russia.

I counted 23 attacks on this list that was so nicely put together by the Associated Press. I counted 20 of them since 9/11.

We all know that Russia is very instrumental in helping Iran develop nuclear technology. We all know that Russia has been supportive of anti-Semitic forces in the Middle East. One would think that it would be enough to garner some favor in the jihadist world that includes Hezbollah, Hamas, and countries that sponsor such messengers of hatred and vile influence.

But it hasn't. Has it?

Until the civilized world can come to terms with the fact that radical jihadists (and the states that sponsor them) have no friends (other than other blood-thirsty killers who use violence to advance their warped and twisted theology), no nation will be safe.

Today's attack on innocent and defenseless people goes far to prove this claim, quite well. It only goes to show there are enemy forces who care nothing for any other culture, no matter how much that culture's government kisses the feet, rings, and asses of evil men.

Another Blast From the Past

What would you do if you won a million dollars or more in the lottery?



First, I would have one hell of a party:



Then, I'd pay everything off, save the rest in an annuity, and start banking everything I could for the next few years.

If I could do that, I'd retire early.

Oh well, that's why it's known as a dream for a buck.

Enjoy