Lies of the (LA) Times

From a story on Tom Heffelfinger (former US attorney for Minnesota) who had allegedly been targeted for firing:

"Part of the reason [for the targeting]....is that he tried to protect voting rights for Native Americans."

Read the story. There is zero evidence that this statement is true. Reporter Tom Hamburger is simply making an assertion that fits the Times' (and his, presumably) ideology.

Letter to the "Editor" #2

In your editorial on the Supreme Court decision on employment discrimination you claim the court interpreted the law "too rigidly". Incorrectly? Apparently not. To simple minds the Supreme Court is supposed to "fix" things, to right wrongs, and dispense perfect justice. That is NOT what the court is supposed to do. The court interprets laws and the constitution. The result may or may not conform with the LAT's sense of justice: that is, of course, irrelevant. The editorial ends: "Unfortunately, Congress is left to act because the Supreme Court has read the law so rigidly it has misread life." Fortunately, Congress makes the laws, not the court! You seem to be confused about how the branches of government operate.

Gitmo

One down, 399 (give or take) to go.

Why We Don't Trust Excessive Animal Lovers

Who is this?

"....he once made pets of mice, how he wept when his canaries sickened and died, how he gave nuts to the squirrels around the [house], how, when a huge crowd was gathered for the ceremonies in Vimy last summer a cur dog appeared from the forest and came through those hundreds of people straight to him."

Why it's none other than that infamous animal lover, Adolf Hitler.

As PETA and its ilk show, some animal lovers don't love human animals very much at all.

The above quote comes from this article in Time magazine.

These are the people who work for the AP

For the few of you out there who think the Associated Press is unbiased, we point you in the direction of this opinion piece in the LAT by an AP "reporter" defending Hugo Chavez's shutdown of the opposition TV station. Hugo Chavez: he's practically Pericles according to this guy. And yes, there were defenders of Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin in the US press, so this isn't out of the ordinary.

Apologies

To our many readers. We had houseguests and too many things to do so we haven't posted in a little while.

Finally, Some Good News

It's about time some hippies were sent up the river for this bullshit.

Are You A Pinko Commie?

• California is harassing Allstate over premiums
• House passes bill to make 'price-gouging' a federal offense
• We Can't Buy Coal Power in California!!
  

If you think all this is OK, then you, my friend, are a PINKO COMMIE!

Hurricanes and Religious Nuts

NOAA has predicted another big hurricane season this year, just like last year. Except they were completely wrong last year. We'll be keeping track of this to see how wrong they are again.
These hurricanes, or lack thereof, are the religious portents of the church of global warming.
We're always lectured by the faithful that we can't cite local, anecdotal weather when we mock their beliefs. But they always point to hurricanes and say..."See, the end is nigh, repent or be damned!" So in return we'll point out that we had a record breaking cold snap in Los Angeles with temperatures below freezing (It reached 19 degrees at our house). Also, while we have had some warm spells this spring we have also had unseasonably cool weather.

The Reformed Church of Anthropogenic Global Warming

Slate is about as hard headed and sane as liberals ever get, especially Mickey Kaus. So it is unfortunate that they have been running this feature on what YOU can do to stop the dreaded beast, global hotting-up. It is like talking to the most earnest, soft-headed communard (from our days on the hippie commune, hard to believe, we know). There is simply no awareness that they may be wrong, just pure joy that pseudo-science has given them permission to behave like socialists and kill joys.

Things We Don't Like

• Hugo Chavez
• Evo Morales
• Fidel Castro
• Commies
• Jimmy Carter
• Eco-fascists
• Global warmists (James Taranto's term)
• LA City Council
• LAPD Civilian review Board
• Federal Trade Commission
• A.N.S.W.E.R.
• bin laden
• Ahmadinejad
• Peace signs (the footprint of the american chicken)
  
• Syria
• Rachel Corrie

More later......

What We Want For Xmas

Immigration

Some may have noticed our post on the immigration bill earlier. The assumption may be that we are 100% against immigration from Mexico and Latin America. Not so. We are ambivalent. Just as we believe capital should flow freely across borders so we believe, in theory, that human capital also should flow freely. But human capital is not the same as goods and services. A person who comes over the border can't be considered 'capital' if they end up imposing costs on our social services. As others, including Patterico, have pointed out these people are doing the jobs Americans won't because they have no access to welfare and other handouts. Once they are granted amnesty another wave of illegals will be required to do these jobs.
Another reason we oppose amnesty is that it is terribly unfair to the people who immigrate legally and follow the rules. We are a firm believer in the rule of law and amnesty undermines the rule of law.
Finally, we wouldn't even have this problem if Mexico could get its act together. Mexico has abundant natural resources and Mexicans have an entrepreneurial spirit, if given a chance. And it's not just corruption. Mexico's markets are fairly closed to foreigners and the economy is hampered by outdated socialist policies. It is irksome that the US must provide a safety release for the sheer incompetence and criminality of the Mexican republic.
That is why we have little tolerance for non-citizens "demonstrating" in the streets. Why don't they make demands on their own government?

Rent control

An editorial in this morning's LAT laments the decrease in rent "stabilized" (the Marxist-Leninist term for price controls) apartments in LA city. The controls only apply to pre-1979 buildings and also to new buildings if the older ones are demolished and rebuilt and rented out less than 5 years after renters are evicted. If a landlord waits five years and then rents after rebuilding, the apartments are no longer rent controlled. Now a landlord can rebuild and rent some units out at market prices if he has some "affordable" units for rent.
LAT editorials usually have a libertarian streak when it comes to markets but here they seem to be concerned that the "stock" of rent controlled units is dwindling. Price controls are never a good idea. They always result in shortages and other unintended consequences.
For example, the LA city council (which is filled with disciples of Joseph Stalin) constantly bitch and moan about 'condo conversions', that is, rentals ceasing to be rentals and going up for sale as homes. Why the hell do they think this happens? Could it have anything to do with rent control?

Jose Huizar

Jose is our city councilman.


As far as we can tell he hasn't done jack for Eagle Rock (our little corner of LA) since gaining office. If anyone knows different let us know. From all we hear he is totally unresponsive to his constituents (at least in this part of his district. he also reps East LA).

Hello? Anyone out there?

If anyone reads this blog, post something. We beg you, validate our existence. Let us know we are read and loved or read and hated---either way it's good.

Dad Post #1

Now that we're on the topic of children: our 10.5 month old son just ate an entire pear! Also, on any given day he's liable to eat his own weight in Cheerios.
The little guy has been a bit of a pill today, refusing to take his PM nap. Ah, sweet psychosis, here we come.

Myth debunking #1: Sugar and Hyperactivity

For all the misguided parents who believe that sugar causes hyperactivity, let us just say: it doesn't. Maybe you just suck as a parent. Haha, kinda kidding there.

ILLEGAL, You are all ILLEGAL!!

The LAPD does its job in MacArthur Park a few weeks ago and gets screwed by the treacherous media and pond scum politicos in LA. Guess we can add a few more decades to that federal consent decree which hobbles and neutralizes actual police work in the city.
Millions of people break the law by entering this country illegally and now Congress says: "Ah, that's OK! Keep on comin'!" (Meanwhile, we can't even buy an outhouse in Mexico---the most xenophobic country in the world).
WHAT THE F--- is wrong with this picture?!!!?
When the hell are honest f------- citizens gonna get amnesty for their crimes? Huh!?

Ferrari

Sidewalks

There are a lot of lovely things about LA. The weather, the mountains, the ocean, the flora, Griffith Park, Dodger Stadium, cool buildings and plenty of culture. But the streets and sidewalks are a disgrace. If you've ever been to the third world, picture the sidewalks and you'll know what we're talking about. The curbs are crumbling, weeds grow in every crevice, trees are tearing the walkway apart, and rolling a stroller down the sidewalk is life-threatening.
The wait for the city to trim trees is 7 years. SEVEN years! The wait for new sidewalks is 35 years! The average life span of a caveman!
The city of Los Angeles is not poor. So we will be looking at some things that Los Angeles spends its money on instead of streets and sidewalks.

LA Schools update

The schools in LA are so good the kids are burning them down.

Letter to the Editor #1---LA Times

Sir--
In regards to your editorial regarding foodstamps: what you fail to understand is that food stamps ARE an agricultural subsidy. The government is subsidizing food purchases! How do you think food stamps came into existence. Did Congress respond to the clamorings of the poverty-stricken? Not likely. Food stamps are for farmers!
And do you really think that food stamps do not "distort markets, heighten poverty in the Third World, and raise food prices for U.S. consumers"?
As for the ridiculous "food stamp diet" undertaken by grandstanding politicians, the food stamp program was never meant to pay for all the food purchased by an individual so the whole thing is a charade.

Sincerely,
Standard Oil

Slow Food

The Slow Food chief charlatan is at odds with the Ferry Plaza farmer's market vendors in San Francisco. His main complaint seems to be that the prices are astronomical. As a recovered organic farmer/vendor ourselves we agree that most farmers (like anyone else) sell at the highest price possible and sometimes collude with other vendors to keep prices high (illegal but who would investigate cute lil organic farmers?). Personally, we think this is fine. There is plenty of cheap produce to be had elsewhere.
Organic food, slow food, local food, whatever. It is all a SCAM! These all cater to well-off folks with more money than brains. The activist branches of these movements do great harm to poor folks' ability to buy cheap produce by agitating against technology (DDT, GMO, etc) that makes food cheaper, especially in the third world. These are the people who share responsibility for starving children in Africa.
So next time you have the choice, pass up those organic apples and BUY CONVENTIONAL!

Museum Apples

Standard Oil Factoid #1

Did you know....

Uranium nuclear reactors occur in nature. It's natural, so it must be good! Right?

Why Standard Oil?

Here at the standard oil blogspot we esteem the old monopolies of yesteryear and deride anti-trust law and the FTC. We also love cars and anything else that runs on petroleum. Standard Oil should never have been broken up. We know that seems crazy given how satisfied everyone is with the current status quo!
Do you know how fanatical in an almost religious sense anti-trusters are? Well, EXXON would be ESSO except the federal government forbade that moniker as it is a transliteration of the initials of Standard Oil: S.O.
When we were in junior high school our best friend was the great, great, great grandson of John D Rockefeller. We believe this fellow works for or serves on the board of the Natural Resources Defense Council. How low the mighty have fallen!
Anyway, as the name doesn't seem to be taken and we think it sounds nice for a blog and we love the old dead company we decided it worked for us.

Things We Like

• Guantanamo Prison
  
• Trans Fat
• Non-organic produce
• Gasoline
• Nuclear power
• George W Bush
• Eavesdropping on suspected terrorists
• Railroads
• Airplanes
• Big ships, tankers
  
• CO2 (can't live without it)
• Television (we're living in a golden age)
• non-hybrid CARS!!
• Lead, Uranium, Mercury (we love all the elements)
• Incandescent lightbulbs
• Red meat
• Police officers

That's all for now...

LAT and Wolfowitz

In the wake of Wolfie's resignation the LAT runs two op-eds on the topic, neither in support of him. Mark Malloch Brown, that corrupt nightcrawler from the UN (don't get us started), says its OK that he got forced out because the US shouldn't be allowed to choose the bank president. Hard to argue with that logic! Lawrence Wilkerson, an ex-State employee with an ax to grind, just rips Wolfowitz on general terms. The problem is, he was forced out on a make believe scandal that had nothing to do with what these guys are talking about, even if their arguments had any merit. Liars, scum, filth, troglodytes, orcs, succubi: these are the people who forced Wolfowitz out.

Gonzales

AN editorial in the LAT suggests that if Bush wants Congress' cooperation to defend our country then the attorney general will have to go. How much longer will the democrat party and its media lapdogs hold national security hostage to their demands for trivial political points. We will say it until they prove us wrong: the democrat party cares nothing for the lives of American citizens, they only wish to damage Bush. If they put as much energy into defending this country as they do into targeting this administration we'd be much better off.
Gonzales appears incompetent and we wouldn't normally care if he goes, but you'd think the democrat party would be sated on the corpses of Paul Wolfowitz, John Bolton, Scooter Libby, etc, etc.
Come to think of it: it seems that the democrat party is saying: "You don't have the right to fire any of your people, that's OUR job!"

Jerry Falwell, RIP

Not the most timely post, we agree. But one of our readers expressed interest. In our opinion, Mr. Falwell was a bit of a blowhard but anyone who pisses off liberals is alright in our book.

Why?

Why write a rantblog when there are so many others? I realized this is mostly for me to get my antagonisms out. So whether anyone reads or not (more likely) is of no importance. It makes me happy and that's the most important thing in the world.

BS, or Eurotrash scum strike again

This is a big bunch of BS. Wolfowitz did nothing except try to make the World Bank better and this is how he's repaid. All of those Ivy league staffers and scum-sucking board members can suck it.

When you don't follow the news and then you hear that somebody resigned, you figure: they must have done something bad, real bad. But no, it's all a lie. People resign because they get railroaded by amoral slimeballs. And let us get this straight: they admit he did nothing wrong but he is being forced out anyway? The World Bank is a hopeless, worthless waste of money.

In our opinion, we should defund the World Bank.

And yes, short, snide spiteful comments linking to other people will be plentiful until we find time for some original research.

Go here for more on this disgrace from the Wall Street Journal.

LA Times

In what we hope to make a regular feature of this blog, we will note any items of egregious logic and flawed premises in our paper of record here in the Southland. Did we say ANY? No,no, no. That would take all of our time. Only the aforementioned items that interest us and that we feel the need to correct will be addressed.
This feature may take the form of a letter to the editor in the blog (we would never send one to the actual paper as we would not want to be targeted by some moonbat for harassment or worse), or just your run-of-the-mill screed in response to the juvenile scribblings found in the Times.

Global whining

It's true: some people say things much better than we can. Take Joel Schwartz on climate change at NRO:

"To the extent that human greenhouse-gas emissions are causing dangerous changes in the Earth’s climate, the best ways to mitigate those changes can only be determined by the same relentless application of science as we demand for the understanding of climate change itself. That means transparently defining measures of human welfare — the values side of the policy equation — and then carefully assessing not only the risks to human welfare of burning fossil fuels but also the benefits — as well the risks and benefits of geoengineering and of restricting people’s access to fossil-fuel energy."

Even if you are a true believer it is well worth reading the whole thing.

More intro

Things we will be writing about include (but are not limited to):

• The religion of global warming
• Energy issues
• The glory of unbridled capitalism
  
• LA Times
• LAPD
• Los Angeles politics and life
• Jihad
  
• Whatever politically incorrect thought occurs in our tiny brain

We should make clear that we are not a climate scientist, or a worker in the energy industry, or a businessman, or a professional media critic, or an ex-cop, or a political journalist. For people who are fully informed on these issues see other blogs such as Patterico's Pontifications. We are not politically connnected in any way, in fact we are a bit of a recluse. But we do read. We are proud to become one of the irresponsible bloggers who spouts off with no professional capacity to back us up.

Just let it all out.....

Aaaaaaaaahhhhh. OK, now I won't bother my wife or friends with my rants...unless they come here, of course. Don't expect well considered argument just anger, rancor and venom with the occasional gooey dad post.
One of my aims is to become a shill for the oil industry (haha) as a global warming skeptic. But there will be so much more: after all my wife subscribes to a daily fiction journal called the LA TIMES.

And now I have to feed my 10 month old son.