Two More Things to Love About Canada

Their fine institutes of higher learning and their great sense of humor. Click here.


Want to know where Canada is? Here, I've got a map for you....

Big thanks to Human over at Carbon Paper for this post.

I'd Pay to Watch This...

Ahmadinejad offers Bush TV debate
-Al Jazeera

The Iranian president has challenged his US counterpart to a live television debate.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the offer to George Bush on Tuesday.

Ahmadinejad said: "I suggest we talk with Mr Bush, the president of the United States, in a live television debate about world issues and ways out of these standoffs.

"We would voice our opinions and they would too. The debate should be uncensored, above all for the American public."
Full story here.

So we've got this...

“How much longer will the blood of the innocent men, women and children be spilled on the streets, and people's houses destroyed over their heads? ”
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
(Iran's president, referring to the war on Iraq in a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush)

versus this...

"If the Iranians were to have a nuclear weapon they could proliferate."
-George W. Bush
Washington D.C., March 21, 2006

I've got a feeling that a couple of readings of "My Pet Goat" just aren't going to be enough to win this debate.

Taller people are smarter: study

NEW YORK (Reuters) - While researchers have long shown that tall people earn more than their shorter counterparts, it's not only social discrimination that accounts for this inequality -- tall people are just smarter than their height-challenged peers, a new study finds.
Full story here.

Your honor, I beg to differ. The evidence simply doesn't support this wild allegation. Case in point, I give you exhibit A:

Weekend Music Video

Sorry I haven't been posting lately. Been pretty pre-occupied. And now I'm battling a cold. Hoping to get back into it next week. Hey look, a video...

Green Day - American Idiot

Patriot of the Month

For those of you eagerly awaiting PT's pick for Patriot of the Month, I have good news: you don't have to wait til the end of the month. This month's patriot wasn't hard to find. She blasted onto the scene with her court ruling last week. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Judge Anna Diggs Taylor...

Bush blasts court ruling on surveillance
By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer
Fri Aug 18

President Bush on Friday criticized a federal court ruling that said his warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional, declaring that opponents "do not understand the nature of the world in which we live."

"I strongly disagree with that decision, strongly disagree," Bush said, striking his finger on a podium to underscore his point. "That's why I instructed the Justice Department to appeal immediately, and I believe our appeals will be upheld."

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit on Thursday was the first to find the National Security Agency surveillance program unconstitutional. The program involves monitoring international phone calls and e-mails to and from the United States involving people with suspected ties to terrorists.

Critics say the surveillance program skirts the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which requires court warrants for domestic eavesdropping. The administration has argued that obtaining warrants from a secret court set up under FISA is a time-consuming process unsuited for the government's fast-moving war on terror.

The judge said the government, in defending the program, appeared to be saying the president had the "inherent power" to violate laws of Congress.

"It was never the intent of the framers to give the president such unfettered control," Taylor wrote in a 43-page opinion. "... There are no hereditary Kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution. So all 'inherent powers' must derive from that Constitution."

I shouldn't have to give out an award for someone in government doing their job, but these days it's such a rare occurrence, that I feel compelled to do so. Please click on Judge Taylor's picture for a brief biography.

Weekend Music Video

Flogging Molly - Drunken Lullabies

Bushism of the Week

"See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."

--George W. Bush, Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005

Mail Call !!!

I received a letter today from a concerned Christian. Want to see what it says? Sure you do...

Hello, friend! I advise you to examine (link to blog address was inserted here) Non-Incendiary Media. Also, I would like to remind you that a large population of the Christian church is not in league with George Bush or the political parties and loves you very much. Please do not insult or alienate these enlightened spiritual people!

Your friend,
Iron William Bunker <><
(I swear to God I didn't add the fish symbol next to his name)

And my response...

Dear Iron,

Or can I just call you William? "Iron" seems a bit over the top. How about Bill? Bill is a friendly name. OK? Good.

First Bill, thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I'm always happy to read responses from my readers, even if they're confusingly both positive and negative at the same time. Your response was so unique that I decided to do a whole post on it.

Secondly, while I appreciate the idea of you and other "enlightened spiritual people" loving me very much, I really don't give a rat's ass whether or not you support George Bush or if I've insulted or alienated any of you.

You see, it's quite simple, Bill. There's a little box at the upper right corner of this blog that says "NEXT BLOG>>". The next time you come across my blog or any other blog that insults you, your Holiness, please avert your eyes just high enough to click on that box, and all your worries will simply wash away (you know, kind of like the Catholic Church did with it's child molestation problem).

That's just one great feature about this whole blog phenomenon, Billy. You can read the ones you like and ignore the ones you don't like. Just like the way I took the time to look at your blog and decided that nothing there interests me, so, don't expect me to visit in the future. See how easy that was?

I've found that the most peaceful way to deal with anything one finds offensive is to simply turn your attention to something else. I'm sure even Jesus would have to agree with that.

Yours truly,
PTCruiser

NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this email without warning, warrant, or notice. They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President.

Flying? Hope You're Patient...

Chertoff discusses new security measures
By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer
Wed Aug 16, 2:59 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Airlines will soon be required to give the government passenger lists for all U.S.-bound international flights before takeoff, the nation's homeland security chief said Wednesday.

The new regulations, which could be in place by early next year, would make permanent a counterterror measure taken after last week's foiled plot to bomb trans-Atlantic flights.

"This is part of our border authority," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Full story here.

The secretary took a moment during the interview to show off his patented, new "Chertoff choke-hold" which will be incorporated into the new security measures as a way for airline employees to control unruly passengers. Have a pleasant flight....

Now Where Did I Put That Thing?

NASA can't find original tape of moon landing

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
The U.S. government has misplaced the original recording of the first moon landing, including astronaut Neil Armstrong's famous "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," a NASA spokesman said on Monday.

Armstrong's famous space walk, seen by millions of viewers on July 20, 1969, is among transmissions that NASA has failed to turn up in a year of searching, spokesman Grey Hautaloma said.
"We haven't seen them for quite a while. We've been looking for over a year and they haven't turned up," Hautaloma said.

No need to panic, folks. I found it on Youtube.....

First Moon Landing 1969


And yes, I actually took the time to e-mail a link to the video to NASA...

To: public-inquiries@hq.nasa.gov
CC:
Subject: I found your tape...

Dear NASA,

I have great news for you. After a brief search of the internet, I have discovered your missing tape of the first lunar landing. It can be found at Youtube.com by clicking here, or you can view it at my blog by clicking here.

If you need any help finding anything else such as the keys to the space shuttle or anything of that nature, feel free to contact me. I'm always here to help.

Yours truly,
PTCruiser

NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this email without warning, warrant, or notice. They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President.

Castro Far From Dead, Celebrates 80th Birthday

Fidel's Personal Message to Extreme Right-Wing Cubans in Florida:

"I'm not dead yet, assholes. Stop partying."

In a major blow to Cuban expatriate nutjobs in Florida, Castro pulls the old Energizer bunny trick on them and leaves them wondering what they're going to do with all the luggage they purchased to go back to Cuba and bring the country to it's knees "just like the old days" ala Batista and the U.S.A.. Full story here.


This post dedicated to my friend, Celticfire. Good luck to you, comrade.

Weekend Music Video

Believe it or not, I actually auditioned for this band when I was in high school....and obviously failed miserably as evidenced by the fact that I'm not anywhere in this video. The lead guitarist and drummer (who I believe was only around 15 yrs. old when this video was shot) are really good. From what I understand, this group is still playing, but not with the original line-up. Watch for the rhythm guitarist in the white Death Angel t-shirt. That's Gus. My wife and I graduated from high school with him.

Death Angel - Voracious Souls

Bushism of the Week

"You took an oath to defend our flag and our freedom, and you kept that oath underseas and under fire."

--George W. Bush, addressing war veterans, Washington, D.C., Jan. 10, 2006

Party Favors

I still had some signs left over from this past weekend's painting party so, in keeping with one of my favorite sayings, "It is better to give than to receive", I decided to share them with the public yesterday....

Attention Democratic Candidates:

You Have Now Officially Been Put on Notice

(Reuters)Connecticut-

Sen. Joseph Lieberman narrowly lost a Democratic Party showdown to a relative unknown on Tuesday, sinking under a tide of voter anger over his support for the war in Iraq and President George W. Bush.

Six years after he was the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Lieberman fell in a tight Senate primary battle to wealthy businessman Ned Lamont, who had called him a cheerleader for Bush and urged voters to send an anti-war message to the country.

Lamont, whose last try for office was an unsuccessful 1990 run for the state Senate, led Lieberman 52-48 percent in unofficial but nearly complete returns. Lieberman conceded but said he would file petitions on Wednesday to run as an independent in November.

For your convenience, I've laid out a few simple steps for you to follow:

1. Grow a backbone. (If you're not sure what that is, please click here.)
2. Stop kissing ass. (This is especially true if that ass belongs to an ass. See photo opportunities on this page for examples.)
3. Failure to adhere to steps one and two may result in a sudden, unexpected change in careers for you.(Read news article on this page and click on title link to finish reading article.)

It's really that simple. Glad I could be of help and good luck in November....

September 1st Call to Action

Found this great idea over at Peacechick Mary's blog, Knock Knock. I'm hoping that all of my readers with blogs will take part in it as well....

From Impeach.net: Starting at noon on September 1 2006, major websites and blogs all across the internet will replace their front pages with the single word “Impeach” in simple white text on a black background. For 24 hours, web surfers and blog readers will see that word first when they visit their favorite sites. In this way, we hope to get the public talking about the one tool guaranteed by the Founders to restore our Constitutional Democracy.

Everything you need to join is here.

This is what your front page will look like on September 1st.

Good job, Mary.

Party Time!

Well, I held my first freewayblogger painting party this weekend. While attendance was low, spirits were high and at the end of the day, we had pumped out about 30 signs ready to go up on the Bay Area's roadways. I even came up with a few new signs...

We had a few laughs, talked politics and in general, got to know each other a little bit better and, of course, discussed the age-old question..."Why isn't everybody doing this?" We still don't have a definitive answer for that one.

At the end of the day, as the paint dried on the signs and we had one last beer together, I presented parting gifts to my attendees (much to their surprise)...

Voila!

Direct from the Paris runways, the latest in freewayblogging fashion. Why go out to hang signs in the same old drab jeans and a t-shirt? That look is sooo yesterday. If you're going to go out and educate hundreds of thousands of people, do it with flair! You'll look fabulous strutting your stuff on the overpass in this painfully bright orange vest and it has the added benefit of making you look like the guy taking down the signs rather than the one who's actually putting them up.

When I saw Scarlet's video, I thought to myself, "What that guy needs is a professional looking safety vest."

Use those vests, my freewayblogging friends and stay safe out there. I want to make sure we're all able to attend the next painting party.

Weekend Music Video

Rage Against The Machine - Bulls On Parade

Crank up the volume!!!

And Now For Something Completely Different...

Laird and Teahupo'o


Great video of pro surfer Laird Hamilton and friends at Teahupo'o (pronounced Cho-poo), a world-renowned surf-break on the south-east coast of Tahiti. This is an unbelievably powerful reef break. Heavy waves combined with a very shallow shoreline can mean serious injury or even death if you don't make it out of that tube. Enjoy.