Testing bloggerdroid

Much better. Title and body section. No tags tho.

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Testing from android using iamblogger

NBC Admits Man Can Not Cause Global-Warming

I'm still lookig for the video, but NBC Nightly News Anchor Brian Williams admitted during his opening statement the other day that (paraphrasing), no matter how much we thing we run things, along comes mother nature to prove that she's still in charge, referring to the Icelandic volcanic eruption.

I haven't found the video yet, but his blog essentially says the same thing: "Just as we start thinking we're masters of the skies ... something like a volcano comes along."

Upgrading KDE SC 4.4 in Mandriva 2010.0

Not 403

Why I Didn't Vote For Mark Kirk In The Primary

From the Sun Times: Kirk retreats on repeal of health-care bill.

A Giannoulias spokeswoman pretty much sums it up: "It reveals that Congressman Mark Kirk is more interested in political calculations for his own personal gain[.]"

I had come around to giving him a pass on supporting Cap-and-Trade, hoping that he had seen the error of his ways and was now, more or less, going to take more conservative positions.

Much as I don't want Giannoulias in the US Senate, it might be worth it to keep Kirk out.

Earth Day Made A Difference!

OK.

I'm a big man. I can admit when I'm wrong.

I usually deride Earth Day as stupid, meaningless, & hypocritical. An hour when liberals (in theory) turn off the lights and TVs, and stop using their iPhones in order to Save The Planet(tm). And then immediately start doing all those earth-killing things as soon as the hour is up.

Well, this year, it appears that I was wrong about Earth Day.

According to the National Snow And Ice Data Center, arctic ice levels are hitting "normal" levels for the first time since 2001.

Thank you Earth Day.

An Open Letter To Russell King and Other Liberals

Dear Mr. Russell,

You recently wrote an open letter to conservatives, bemoaning all the supposed hate coming from them, and basically asking why we can't be more tolerant like you and your ilk on the Left.

After reading your shallow, hypocritical, ignorant letter, I feel that I have to respond. Responding to each and every point will take up way too much space, so I'll focus on your basic misconceptions. Rather than focus on the hate coming from the left, I prefer to attempt to open your mind. To show you where you are wrong. To challenge some of your misconceptions about conservatives. (Tho I do reserve the right to, at a later date, highlight all the hate that comes from the mainstream Left, as well as to point out your hyprocrasy and blatant errors.)

To begin, you need to stop echoing Democrat talking points and learn to think for yourself. I would suggest turning off MSNBC and CNN as a start. I would suggest that you start watching Fox News (which even Hillary Clinton thanked for its fair and balanced coverage during the Democrat primaries), but that may be too much of a shock to your system.

You begin by smearing all conservatives as closed-minded. We're all afraid of change, afraid and hateful of anyone not like us. I'm not sure what you really mean by those statements. What is "not like us" exactly? What does a conservative look like? I can only assume you think all conservatives are straight, white Christian males who own a gun. We probably all have blond hair and blue eyes as well. So, who's guilty of stereotyping, Russell? Your bigotry is revealing.

Rather than criticizing what you think is a conservative, perhaps you would be better off shedding your prejudices and researching what conservativism actually stands for. You have a tiny, myopic view of the world, and you would do us all a great service if you could try to understand why we actually oppose government intrusion into our lives instead of the blanket statement that we're all racists and haters.

To expand your narrow view of the world, perhaps you could start by visiting sites like GayPatriot, and GOProud. Yes Russell, gay conservatives. Hard to believe, eh? GayPatriot is even an official CPAC blogger. I would suggest that you start by reading up at those two sites. You would certainly be surprised to learn that an anti-gay speaker was booed from the stage at CPAC.

Yes, we have our nutcases, Russell (the anti-gay speaker just in case you haven't figured it out yet). But we shoo them away. We don't embrace them and ignore their hate because it's politically convenient.

I'll understand if you're feeling a little confused at this point. I mean, conservatives welcoming gays into their midst? What is the world coming to?

Have you heard of Kenneth Gladney? No? I'm not surprised. He is a black man who was selling "Don't Tread on Me" flags and buttons at a town hall meeting hosted by Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO). He was called a "nigger" and assualted by members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). This happened after the President urged his supporters to attend these meetings and the Tea Party protests, and to "punch back twice as hard." It appears that someone was listening.

See also Star Parker, a former welare queen opposed to Obamacare and government programs that portray themselves as helping the poor. She also writes a column at Townhall.

What about Joseph Cao, the first American of Vietnamese decent to serve in the US Congress? A Republican.

Bobby Jindal. Michele Bachmann.

What about Michael Williams, running for US Senate from Texas? Is he a hater too? What colors is he afraid of, Russell? Seriously. I want to know.

And how about the man you love to hate....Dick Cheney? You know, that hateful man, the one John Edwards and John Kerry felt completly comfortable telling us all that his daughter is a lesbian, as if that somehow matters to conservatives. The same Dick Cheney who opposed the Federal Marriage Amendment. The same one who supports repeal of Don't Ask/Don't Tell.

Both he and his daughter have been welcomed with open arms at conservative events.

Weird, huh?

Then there's Katrina Pierson, who spoke at the Dallas Tea Party last year. Someone who Janeane Garofalo for some reason labeled a racist. Katrina even politely invited Janeane to attend the Dallas Tea Party last Independence Day. For some reason Janeane didn't show up.

Finally, I would suggest that you actually attend a local Tea Party. Rather than sitting there in your living room listening to Keith Olberman tell you how evil and racist all "those people" are, show up and see for yourself what's going on. See who is attending.

You are the coward. Rather than debating conservatives and our ideas, you label us racists, thereby eliminating any need to actually debate. After all, we're all just a bunch of sheet-wearing, ignorant, bigots. Why should you waste your time talking to people like that.

So come on Russell. Put aside your bigotry and prejudices and open your mind.

We'll all be better off if you do.

Testing Blogilo

Just a quick test of blogilo.

Biden: Obama Was Wrong About The Economy

So now VP Biden is saying that everyone was wrong about how bad the economy really was:

Biden tells "Meet the Press" that "everyone guessed wrong" on the impact of the stimulus, economy was worse off than anyone thought.

Backs away from the estimate that the funds could create or save 3.5 million jobs, instead promises 600,000 by the end of the summer.

So, all the geniuses like Tax Cheat Timothy Geitner, who just HAD to be confirmed because NO ONE ELSE could POSSIBLY handle the economy like he could...was wrong.

Naturally, this means that we need ANOTHER massive stimulus package.

The numbers don't lie. The Obama economic plan is a failure.

Domestic Terrorism

So many news outlets are calling the guy who killed Dr. Tiller a "terrorist," and are trying to link him to Rush, Hannity, etc.

I guess the reasoning is that association with a murderer/terrorist will tarnish the images of said conservatives.

I have yet to see Bill Ayers comment on this situation.

Bush Is Right Again

Powerline again:

Obama and Cheney are the two biggest supporters of Bush's policies. Cheney with his vociferous defence and Obama through his actions.

Sotomayor: Another Beneficiary of School Choice

Reprinted in full from Powerline (emphasis added):

A friend informs me that if Judge Sotomayor becomes Justice Sotomayor, she will join Clarence Thomas as the second current Justice whose origins include poverty and a single parent family. Judge Sotomayor is a Catholic school product. She attended the Blessed Sacrament School in the Bronx and then Cardinal Spellman High School.

Justice Thomas also graduated from Catholic schools. There are no Justices from poor, single parent families who graduated from public school.

My friend wonders: how many other future Supreme Court Justices could attend Catholic school if the president supported vouchers? And how many potential high achievers will not advance as far as they otherwise would because, in the absence of vouchers, they are trapped in failing schools?

Atlas Shrugged

From Pravda no less:
American capitalism gone with a whimper

It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blind the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?

These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters.

Then came Barack Obama's command that GM's (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of "pure" free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.

So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a "bold" move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK's Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our "wise" Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.

Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper...but a "freeman" whimper.

So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set "fair" maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.

The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.

The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.

Stanislav Mishin

TEA Day In California

Yesterday, California voters overwhelmingly defeated massive tax increases as a way to fix the state's bugget problems.

The only measure that passed? One that bars increases in the salaries of public officials when the state's budget is in deficit.

More:

Schwarzenegger has called for cuts that would hit every corner of the state. He announced plans to lay off 5,000 of the state's 235,000 workers and has proposed slashing education by up to $5 billion, selling state properties, borrowing $2 billion from local governments and potentially reducing eligibility for healthcare programs.

Worst-case scenarios also call for the release from state prisons of up to 19,000 illegal immigrants, who would face deportation, and the transfer of up to 23,000 other prisoners to county jails.

Good. Maybe a good start on the healthcare front would be limiting access to US citizens.

Mounting An ISO Image

From the command line:
# su -
# mount -t iso9660 -o loop disk1.iso /mnt/disk

Automatically at boot, in /etc/fstab:
/path/to/disk1.iso /mnt/disk iso9660 user,loop 0 0

The directory /mnt/disk needs to already exist for both methods.

Barack And The Pirate

From the Obama flickr stream:

I really wish GWB had had the opportunity to do something like this: Meet with a fake, funny pirate just after meeting a man held hostage by real, killer pirates.

I really doubt we'd be seeing comments like "Best. President. Ever." Or "Beautiful shot !!"

Maybe he can have Biden dress up as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed next!

"LOL"

Biden Reveals Location Of Formerly Secret VP Bunker

Could this man be any stupider?

Vice President Joe Biden, well-known for his verbal gaffes, may have finally outdone himself, divulging potentially classified information meant to save the life of a sitting vice president.

According to a report, while recently attending the Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, an annual event where powerful politicians and media elite get a chance to cozy up to one another, Biden told his dinnermates about the existence of a secret bunker under the old U.S. Naval Observatory, which is now the home of the vice president.

The bunker is believed to be the secure, undisclosed location former Vice President Dick Cheney remained under protection in secret after the 9/11 attacks.

A few corrections are now required up above:

• Biden told his dinnermates about the existence of a formerly secret bunker
  
• The bunker is believed to once have been the secure, undisclosed location

More:

In December 2002, neighbors complained of loud construction work being done at the Naval Observatory, which has been used as a residence by vice presidents since 1974.

The upset neighbors were sent a letter by the observatory's superintendent, calling the work "sensitive in nature" and "classified" and that it was urgent it be completed "on a highly accelerated schedule."

Residents said they believed workers were digging deep into the ground, which would support Biden's report of a secret bunker, but officials never confirmed the purpose of the work performed.

Oops.

Nothing is classified or sensitive once Biden knows about it. It wouldn't surprise me to see him accidentally leak the "torture" pictures in the near future.

Thanks, Joe.

Now Obama Terrorizes Citizens of LA

A magnitude-4.7 earthquake rattled the Los Angeles area Sunday night, marking the strongest quake to hit LA since July. Experts also called this the largest natural disaster caused by a politican since George W. Bush caused Hurricane Katrina to slam into New Orleans in August of 2005.

Stop Wasting CDs When Installing Linux

Since, I've run out of blank CDs, I needed to find a way to install Linux some other way. I can't even count how many CDs I've thrown away because each one becomes worthless 6-9 months later when a new version is released.

Fortunately, if your BIOS supports it (and most newer ones do), you can also boot from a USB thumb drive. Then install Linux from a second thumb drive containing an installation ISO image. The ISO image can also reside on the local hard drive, but since you might end up formatting the entire drive, it's easier to just put it on a second flash drive.

Before you begin, make sure that the thumb drive is formatted ext2 or ext3. vfat (the default for USB keys) may work, but an NTFS formatted key definately causes problems. Just reformat it as ext2 or ext3 to be safe.

For Mandriva, you need to get the boot image for the release that you're going to install. Go to a Mandriva FTP site, and browse to /i586/install/images or /x86_64/install/images depending on your CPU architecture. The USB boot image is called all.img. Save this file somewhere on your hard drive.

Creating the USB Boot Device
To create the boot device, you must copy the boot image to your usb drive, using the dd command, not the copy command. To do this, plug in the drive, but do not mount it. To check where the drive is attached you can do one of two things. The first option is to open up /var/log/messages and look at the output generated when you plugged in the key. This will tell you where the drive is attached. The other, easier way is to open up Mandrake Control Center->Local disks->Manage disk partitions and look at the tabs at the top of the page. The thumb drive will (usually) be the only unmounted drive, and will often be the only other drive listed on most desktop systems. In my case the drive device node is /dev/sdb.

Next, open a konsole as root, and change directories to the location you saved the all.img file. Enter this command: dd if=all.img of=/dev/sdb In some cases, you may need to include the partition number as well: dd if=all.img of=/dev/sdb1 Adjust as necessary for your particular situation.

If creating the boot drive from within MSWindows, you will need WinImage.

Once that is done, you can reboot with the flash drive installed. During the boot process, it is usually a good idea to go into the BIOS and make sure Boot From USB Device is enabled, and that the flash drive containing the boot image is selected as the first boot device. Setting this up varies by motherboard. Older systems can not boot from a USB device, and a BIOS upgrade may or may not be able to remedy this situation. My ASUS A8V did provide a BIOS upgrade that added this functionality. Your mileage may vary.

Once the install screen comes up, plug in your second flash drive, and select Install From Hard Disk. From there enter the location of the ISO file, and away you go!

I recommend installing the Mandriva Free dual arch ISO. Once that is done, log in as root, and run urpmi task-kde4. From there login to KDE, and then using Mandrake Control Center, install all the other programs that you need. This results in a very small, quick system, with a full KDE4 install, with a minimum of running services.

It's also a good idea to visit easy urpmi to get all your software sources setup correctly. Just follow the easy directions and you're set.

The next experiment will be to do this with a Ubuntu based distribution: eBox Platform. Hopefully I can use the same boot device.

A final note: Be sure that there is no information on the thumb drive that you want to save, as the dd command will destroy some existing data on the drive. You have been warned.

Democrats Obstructing Obama's Programs

Out of curiosity, will the 50 Democrats who voted against Obama's Afghanistan War funding bill be labeled as "obstructionists"?

I highly doubt it.