Thank you for visiting Kaiser Permanente Health Care, where there's a two-shot minimum and be sure to tip your allergy doctor on the way out."
Welcome to Atlanta, where every car, sidewalk, gate and home is covered with the yellow pixie dust known as pine pollen.
Forget astrological signs, I'll stick to Chinese birth years. Here's what the Commie pinkos have to say about me, courtesy the placemat of a Chinese buffet. Born in 1975, the year of the rabbit (strangely enough, no mention of extraordinary breeding skills):
Luckiest of all signs, you are also talented and articulate. Affectionate, yet shy, you seek peace throughout your life. Marry a Sheep or Boar. Your opposite is the Cock.
Of course, were I a crass fella, those last two sentences would give me plenty of ammo.
Do you suppose that if Bush had taken illegal campaign contributions from China that the surveillance plane incident wouldn't have occurred? Do you suppose that the Chinese miss the days of getting in bed with Clinton?
Was that not the funniest - if not saddest - thing, reading that the Chinese people were upset by the state-run news media's propaganda? That the Chinese saved face by printing that the U.S. fully apologized just proves that the Left has a strange idea of the realities of our relations with the Communists.
What I do hope is that this situation shines a light on other American citizens who are detained in China without explanation for political reasons, such as Gao Zhan, taken into custody on Feb. 11 during a family trip to the country. Gao's husband and five-year-old child were also detained, kept apart, then released a month later. Gao remains, charged with espionage.
Such instances of Americans being essentially kidnapped by Chinese officials are numerous, as are the atrocities being committed against those who dare to practice religion in the nation. To the Chinese government, 'human rights' is an oxymoron, as theirs is on par with Nero in the history books. The U.S. must seriously consider whether we want to allow the Chinese to host the Olympics in 2008 (hell no) or join the World Trade Organization (maybe, with limits).
The Left has turned red in the face in anger over Bush's decision not to encourage standards in the U.S. be determined by the Kyoto Protocol, in which industrialized nations would agree to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5 percent from 1990 levels by 2008-2012.
I haven't heard much from the talking heads, though, that the Senate rejected the agreement 95-0 in 1997, in which , the vote approved a resolution, written by Sens. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), pledging not to approve any climate treaty that exempts developing countries from its strictures or does serious harm to the economy of the United States.
What you also aren't being told is that the industrialized European nations also have failed to ratify the treaty. Why should we? It doesn't have any teeth, and eight of the 20 largest emitters of greenhouse gases --- including China, Brazil and India --- are exempted from it.
Let me guess that you haven't read this anywhere:
More than 17,000 scientists -- including some 2,660 physicists, geophysicists, meteorologists, oceanographers and environmental scientists -- have signed a petition, drafted by Frederick Seitz, past president of the National Academy of Sciences, that states: "There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane or other greenhouse gasses is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth's atmosphere and disruption of the Earth's climate.
"Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments of the Earth."
Of course, that won't stop the same 2,000 doom-and-gloom scientists always given the press and who undoubtedly believe that a cow fart causes temperatures to rise five degrees a decade from proposing that we all live in huts in a rainforest.
Officials at The Masters - apparently overcome by some 'special' brownies left by Tiger Woods' best friends - have decided that next year several par 4s will be lengthened in order to rein in Mr. Woods' dominance of the tournament. Nevermind that he has won twice, but this last time he had to fight every step of the way. Nevermind that he already hits it the farthest and the straightest, so what Masters officials are really doing is making it field-proof for everyone but Tiger. As The Commercial Appeal's Geoff Calkins muses, it's like "the NBA thinking about raising the rim to slow Kareem Abdul-Jabbar." Maybe, secretly, they want Tiger to win seven Masters, topping even Nicklaus and increasing the popularity of their tournament?
Staying on the subject of sports (hey, politics is so dreary), the NBA has officially grown out of touch with the public. If ticket prices so high that only the leader of Bahrain could afford tickets for a family of four, then the allowance of zone defense will drive fans from seats quicker than you can say "half-priced beer."
Pro basketball players already stand around 90% of the game, most of which is made up of one-on-ones for every trip down the court, but this rule change will make it worse next season, as a zone promotes even more standing around and almost no inside play.
If the NBA wants to bring back the glory days of the 80s, it should promote a deft shooting touch that eludes the dozens of young players who can't make a basket outside three feet, especially those who chose to skip development in college and head straight for the cash cow of the pros. Until scores are routinely 115-110 again and players actually give a flip about hustle, count me out of this boring trainwreck.
Hate groups like the KKK are rightly castigated for any actions they commit detrimental to the public good. But what about the lack of press and the lack of derision by the Left to hate groups from their side of the political spectrum? Case in point: the Earth Liberation Front, using arson as a tool for environmental terrorism.
Their most famous target was a ski resort being built in Vail, Colorado, firebombed in 1998 by the ELF. Last September it was the Republican headquarters of Monroe County in Indiana. And before that it was another lab, a U.S. Forest Service research facility in Wisconsin. Following the release of a communiqué declaring, "This year, 2001, we hope to see an escalation in tactics against capitalism and industry," the group burned down the headquarters of the Superior Lumber Company in Glendale, Ore.
As the Wall Street Journal reports, "Thus far, despite ELF's extraordinary run of arson, public outrage hasn't caught up with the crimes, which the group boasts about on various Internet sites. Because its targets have been corporations, construction sites and research labs, there has been an inclination to dismiss the group as misguided idealists. But that's not the view they have at the FBI, whose Director Louis Freeh told Congress that ELF and its offshoots rank at the top of America's domestic terrorist threats.
"Far from going away, ELF seems to be inspiring new legends and finding new friends. Most recently it has found common cause with the self-styled Animal Liberation Front, whose cutesy-pie name belies its dangerous stunts. Though attacking fur outlets remains a favorite--earlier this week several sympathizers were arrested at Macy's on Long Island."
Hopefully it won't take a life being lost before the press and public pick up on the hate crimes of the ELF.
A Norwegian marine biologist has determined that fish can become seasick after investigating fisherman's reports of seeing cod vomiting in rough weather. Erlend Moksness of the Floedevigen Marine Research Station based his conclusion partly on personal observation of "seasickness" in fish being transported. Moksness said he saw fish vomiting in their transport tanks' choppy water, caused by rough handling procedures. He theorizes that three small bones in the ear of a fish aid it in finding its bearings in the water, and if these are disturbed, the creature can become disoriented and nauseated. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Some Vents for your pleasure:
Random site: Read a 'different' style of movie reviewing with Movie Juice.
Homer quote:
"America's health care system is second only to Japan... Canada, Sweden, Great Britain, ... well all of Europe. But you can thank your lucky stars we don't live in Paraguay!"