Mayor Daley has a YouTube channel!

You can view his channel here.

As is probably to be expected tho, it looks like you can't leave any comments. At least not any comments critical of him.

I do, however like the way that "sri lanken sex girls" is a related video. :-)

Enjoy the warm weather while you can!

All I have to say is thank god for George Bush.

Just imagine how cold it would be without Global Warming(tm)!

Gaffetastic!!

Let the fun begin!

My First Obama Blog Post

So, from roblambert.com (among numerous other places):
"the country ... is changing"

What the HELL does that mean?

Maybe this?

Prosecutors said Hart, who is black, yelled "'White [expletive], [expletive] McCain--you white police can't do nothing anymore.'" With that, she reached through the window of a squad car and slapped a white male officer in the face, according to Assistant State's Atty. Lorraine Scaduto.

Full story.

Of course, this story must be fake, since handguns are illegal in Chicago.

Change.

Hope.

Racism at CBS Chicago

A letter to CBS7 Chicago:

I recently watched a couple of shows on TiVo (so these are from roughly a week ago), and caught a couple of "upcoming news previews" concerning a proposed illegal immigrant ordinance in Carpentersville. One was done by Diann Burns, and the other by Antonio Mora. I forget Mr. Mora's exact wording, but Ms. Burns' comment was about an ordinance that would supposedly "ban Hispanics" from a local town. Mr. Mora's comment was roughly the same.

Aside from making completely inaccurate descriptions of the Carpentersville proposal, I am disgusted by the blatant display of racism from both of your anchors. To assume that all Hispanics are in this country illegally is the height of ignorance. Worse yet is the portrayal of those opposed to illegal immigration as racist, as Mr. Mora and Ms. Burns themselves propagate an ignorant, racist lie.

Mr. Mora and Ms. Burns are a disgrace to your newsroom.
Apparently CBS7 (Wow. Imagine that. The network of Dan Rather!) feels that calling others racist is more important than accurately reporting the news.

From the Chicago Tribune:
In what experts said was a first for the Chicago area, two Carpentersville trustees have proposed that the village punish landlords and businesses that "aid and abet" illegal immigrants.
...
Their ordinance would deny business permits and village contracts for any employer who hired undocumented workers. It also would fine landlords $1,000 for knowingly renting property to illegal immigrants.


Notice. Nothing about punishing those who hire or rent to Hispanics.

To Senators Durbin and Obama

Specifically. Also to any Senator that voted for immigration "reform."

Dear Senator,

This is regarding your recent vote on immigration reform, specifically Senator Dodd's amendment S.Amdt.4089.

When you joined the US Senate, you took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. I am including that oath here for reference:
==
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
==

Senator Dodd's amendment states, among other things, that Mexico shall be consulted regarding any "additional fencing and related border security structures" along our southern border.

I would remind you again that you took an oath to support and defend the US Constitution.

Where in the Constitution does it say that we must confer with foreign nations about our border security? Where does the Constitution say that we must consult with foreign nations before passing laws? Where does the Constitution say that we must consult with foreign nations regarding our immigration procedures?

Whom do you represent, Senator?

American citizens? Or a bunch of foreigners?

Thank you

Letter is released to the public domain. Copy and modify as you see fit.

Here's the relevant text of Sen Dodd's amendment:

(b) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.--Consultations between United States and Mexican authorities at the federal, state, and local levels concerning the construction of additional fencing and related border security structures along the United States-Mexico border shall be undertaken prior to commencing any new construction, in order to solicit the views of affected communities, lessen tensions and foster greater understanding and stronger cooperation on this and other important issues of mutual concern.

Kubuntu Stuff

Penguin Liberation Front:
PLF & win32 codecs
PLF Main Site

Fix Konqueror Menus:
Kubuntu FAQ
Kubuntu Breezy comes with a simplified Konqueror profile to make things more use friendly compared to default KDE.
To get back to the default KDE profiles:
sudo rm -r /usr/share/kubuntu-default-settings/kde-profile/default/share/apps/konqueror
sudo cp /usr/share/apps/konqueror/konqueror-orig.rc /usr/share/apps/konqueror/konqueror.rc
Still a bit unclear as to how the default Kubuntu menus are actually less confusing and easier to use...

nvidia
$ sudo apt-get install nvidia-glx nvidia-settings
$ sudo nvidia-glx-config enable
Then...$ sudo vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf and comment (#) out the lines "Load GLCore" and "Load dri". Logout of KDE, CTRL+ALT+BKSP. See pretty nvidia logo screen. Play DooM.

SlashPink!

Ok.

This is definately one of the better slashdot April Fool's gags.

Preserved here for posterity.

Don't Belive Everything You Read in the NYTImes

So first, Dan Rather and Mary Mapes give us the fake Bush National Guard memos.
Now, in an article by titled "Judges on Secretive Panel Speak Out on Spy Program", the New York Times provides this little snippet (emphasis added):
Five former judges on the nation's most secretive court...urged Congress on Tuesday to give the court a formal role in overseeing the [NSA] surveillance program.
In a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the secretive court, known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, several former judges who served on the panel also voiced skepticism at a Senate hearing about the president's constitutional authority to order wiretapping on Americans without a court order. They also suggested that the program could imperil criminal prosecutions that grew out of the wiretaps.

However, reading the transcripts, it is clear that the FISA court judges raised anything but skepticism over the NSA program.
A few snippits from the hearing (emphasis added):

• Judge Kornblum: As you know, in Article I, Section 8, Congress has enumerated powers as well as the power to legislate all enactments necessary and proper to their specific authorities, and I believe that is what the President has, similar authority to take executive action necessary and proper to carry out his enumerated responsibilities of which today we are only talking about surveillance of Americans.


• Judge Kornblum (asked whether a law can infringe (or limit, change, etc) a President's Constitutional powers): I think--as a Magistrate Judge, not a District Judge, that a President would be remiss in exercising his Constitutional authority to say that, "I surrender all of my power to a statute," and, frankly, I doubt that Congress, in a statute, can take away the President's authority, not his inherent authority, but his necessary and proper authority.


• Judge Stafford (same question): Everyone is bound by the law, but I do not believe, with all due respect, that even an act of Congress can limit the President's power under the Necessary and Proper Clause under the Constitution.
  
• From (one of) Our moronic Senators from Illinois (Durbin AKA Turbin Durbin):
  
  Senator Durbin: Well, as we have heard it described--and I have not been briefed either, there are only a few Senators who have--it is the interception of domestic communications between people in the United States and those in foreign lands, and that strikes me as falling within the four corners of the FISA law as written.
  
  Judge Keenan: But you use the word in your introductory question and in that question, "domestic," and as I understand from the lay press, again, this is international, it is not domestic. So that's why I'm not in a position to answer, sir. (Ed: In other words, you blowhard, it is NOT a DOMESTIC SPYING PROGRAM! You even said so yourself: "between people in the United States and those in foreign lands." Sheesh.)
  
  Judge Baker: Senator, did the statute limit the President? You created a balance between them [in the FISA statute], and I don't think it took away the inherent authority that Judge Kornblum talked about.


• And on the admissibility of information in a court of law:
  
  Judge Kornblum: To be admissible, the evidence would have had to have been lawfully seized or lawfully obtained and the standard that the district judge would use is that, depending upon where this is, is the law in his circuit. In most of the circuits, the law is clear that the President has the authority to do warrantless surveillance if it is to collect foreign intelligence and it is targeting foreign powers or agents. If the facts support that, then the district judge could make that finding and admit the evidence, just as they did in Truong-Humphrey.

Well, seems to me from the transcripts, that the judges actually, for the most part, presented a case that the NSA program is entirely legal. Not even close to what the NYT reported.

Links:
Powerline
Powerline
Powerline
The New York Times
Hearing Transcript

The internet is now officially providing better, more accurate news than the Old Media.
And they wonder why circulation numbers are dropping.

SUV Terrorist

Random thought:
Shouldn't the media and Democrats be playing up this guy who drove his SUV into a bunch of people in the name of Allah? After all, here is a case of a terrorist attack on US soil! Bush didn't protect us! What good are the Patriot Act and the NSA if Bush still can't protect us?!

AllPeers: The Firefox Killer Ap

Now this is just plain cool.

AllPeers

Basically, it's a Firefox extension that allows you to share files with "Buddy List." ie: Set up family members as peers, and then select pictures, etc to share with them.

Kinda like a mini-private-Napster+.

On a somewhat related note, Flock certainly has some interesting potentials as well.

"Secret" Searches

I've see this other places as well, but here's a nice writeup from drudge on Clinton's and Carter's orders to search & observe Americans without a court order:
CLINTON ADMINISTRATION SECRET SEARCH ON AMERICANS -- WITHOUT COURT ORDER

CARTER EXECUTIVE ORDER: 'ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE' WITHOUT COURT ORDER

Bill Clinton Signed Executive Order that allowed Attorney General to do searches without court approval

Clinton, February 9, 1995: "The Attorney General is authorized to approve physical searches, without a court order"

Jimmy Carter Signed Executive Order on May 23, 1979: "Attorney General is authorized to approve electronic surveillance to acquire foreign intelligence information without a court order."

WASH POST, July 15, 1994: Extend not only to searches of the homes of U.S. citizens but also -- in the delicate words of a Justice Department official -- to "places where you wouldn't find or would be unlikely to find information involving a U.S. citizen... would allow the government to use classified electronic surveillance techniques, such as infrared sensors to observe people inside their homes, without a court order."

Deputy Attorney General Jamie S. Gorelick, the Clinton administration believes the president "has inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches for foreign intelligence purposes."

Secret searches and wiretaps of Aldrich Ames's office and home in June and October 1993, both without a federal warrant.
==============
Not to mention Carnivore and Echeleon, which largely started under Clinton.

Munich

Obviously not having see the movie yet, this is still an interesting read, for some history if not the movie review:
http://americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=5085

Exerpts:
In real history, there is an enemy. The enemy is Islamic Jihad, although sometimes Jihad is called Militant Islam or Islamofascism. Jihad is a permanent war. This means Jihad excludes the idea of peace, but allows for truces (hudnas) to regroup, infiltrate, and attack again.
=====
Jihad—like fascism and totalitarianism - destroys the moral order of humanity.
=====
November 28, 1941, when Hitler made a pact with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem – the grandfather of the PLO – to effect The Final Solution-the extermination of all Jews from the face of the earth.
=====
[T]he Grand Mufti had declared Jihad on the Allied Powers...on November 25, 1941, and the United States of America was attacked two weeks later

Dems a bit unclear on the concept of "democracy"

Here's a nice quote from Democrat Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid:
"We've become like the House of Commons. Whoever has the most votes wins. It hasn't worked that way in 216 years," he said.

Uh, Mr. Reid, sorry to break it to you, but that's what democracy is.

Hattip: PowerlineBlog
The Washington Times

Happy Aids Day!

Marine Out Eight Bucks; Bush To Blame-Film at 11

On the lack of positive news out of Iraq:
National Review

The Marines "felt that it's not that the negative stories - like casualty reports - shouldn't be reported, but that we never hear what America is getting for this sacrifice. As one Marine put it, it's like if I spent $7.99 for a slice of pizza and the headlines the next day read, "Marine Out Eight Bucks!""

Cowards Cut and Run; Marines Never Do

'Nuff said.

Collusion between Sony and Anti-VIrus Vendors

Sony is now releasing CDs that install a root-kit (root-kit==bad) on MSWindows boxes. It has come to light that this root-kit gets by AV and Spyware scanners because Sony worked closely with AV vendors to ensure that their root-kit would not be tagged as spyware.

Symantec and MicroSoft are among those who allowed Sony to own your computer.

Full story is here:
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20051113164717817

Good commentary here:
http://lobby4linux.com/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=19
"If after reading this, you do not immediately investigate at least the possibility of switching to Linux (or Mac), you are hopeless. You either work for one of these companies or your belly is so bloated with their Kool-aid that you are permenantly poisoned."

I would say switch to Linux, as Apple still keeps a lot of their code secret, and they themselves are a big proponent of Digital Restriction Management (DRM).

Switch.

Now.

Dems Lie About Saddam-Terror Connection

From the 1998 Clinton indictment of bin Laden, Count 4:
Al Qaeda also forged alliances with the National Islamic Front in the Sudan and with the government of Iran and its associated terrorist group Hezballah for the purpose of working together against their perceived common enemies in the West, particularly the United States. In addition, al Qaeda reached an understanding with the government of Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq.

From Powerline Blog

The Complete Military History of France

A short history of France (from the Don & Roma page at WLS.
- Gallic Wars: Lost. In a war whose ending foreshadows the next 2000 years of French history, France is conquered by of all things, an Italian.
- Hundred Years' War: Mostly lost, saved at last by female schizophrenic who inadvertently creates The First Rule of French Warfare; "France's armies are victorious only when not led by a Frenchman."
- Italian Wars: Lost. France becomes the first and only country to ever lose two wars when fighting Italians.
- Wars of religion: France goes 0-5-4 against the Huguenots
- Thirty Years War - France is technically not a participant, but manages to get invaded anyway. Claims a tie on the basis that eventually the other participants started ignoring her.
- War of Devolution: Tied. Frenchmen take to wearing red flowerpots as chapeaux.
- The Dutch War: Tied
- War of the Augsburg League/King William's War/French and Indian War - Lost, but claimed as a tie. Three ties in a row induces deluded Frogophiles the world over to label the period as the height of French military power.
- War of the Spanish Succession: Lost. The War also gave the French their first taste of a Marlborough, which they have loved every since.
- American Revolution: In a move that will become quite familiar to future Americans, France claims a win even though the English colonists saw far more action. This is later known as "de Gaulle Syndrome", and leads to the Second Rule of French Warfare; "France only wins when America does most of the fighting."
- French Revolution: Won, primarily due the fact that the opponent was also French.
- The Napoleonic Wars: Lost. Temporary victories (remember the First Rule!) due to leadership of a Corsican, who ended up being no match for a British footwear designer.
- The Franco-Prussian War: Lost. Germany first plays the role of drunken Frat boy to France's ugly girl home alone on a Saturday night.
- World War I: Tied and on the way to losing, France is saved by the United States. Thousands of French women find out what it's like to not only sleep with a winner, but one who doesn't call her "Fraulein."
Sadly, widespread use of condoms by American forces forestalls any improvement in the French bloodline.
- World War II: Lost. Conquered French liberated by the United States and Britain just as they finish learning the Horst Wessel Song.
- War in Indochina: Lost. French forces plead sickness; take to bed with the Dien Bien Flu
- Algerian Rebellion - Lost. Loss marks the first defeat of a western army by a Non-Turkic Muslim force since the Crusades, and produces the First Rule of Muslim Warfare; "We can always beat the French." This rule is identical to the First Rules of the Italians, Russians, Germans, English, Dutch, Spanish, Vietnamese and Esquimaux.
- War on Terrorism - France, keeping in mind its recent history, surrenders to Germans and Muslims just to be safe. Attempts to surrender to Vietnamese ambassador fail after he takes refuge in a McDonald's.

Let's face it. When it comes to war, France gets rolled more often than a Parisian prostitute with a visible mustache. They've been beaten so many times there's no fight left in them.
The question for any country silly enough to count on the French should not be "Can we count on the French?", but rather "How long until France collapses?"

But never fear - The French are always there when they need us!