****EXCLUSIVE****MUST CREDIT JAWA REPORT*******

Who is Jessica Cutler, the Washingtonienne? No one, that's who. Surprised to find that Kevin Aylward is still following the story. Yawn.

If you must know a little about her and her relationship to Ana Marie 'Wonkette' Cox, check out Aylward's post. I'm sure he'll have more sordid details in the next installment.

When the story first broke the South Parkosphere (that's the South Park Republican blogosphere) had quite a fun time with this. I did, at least. There's just something intrinsically funny about a blogger who gets famous from linking to another blogger who's actual claim to fame is that she had anal sex with a Captial Hill staffer.

The real story goes something like this:

Girl writes blog: nobody notices.
Girl links other blogs: nobody notices.
Girl links blog of Capital Hill staffer, complete with sordid details of ass-sex for money: every one notices.
Girl continues writing blog, a lot more butt-sex references: MSM falls over self loving girl's blog, put her up as poster-child of blogosphere.
Nick Denton buys girl's blog: girl now hires interns to write for her.
Capital Hill whore poses for Playboy, gets book deal: a lot of Google hits for South Parkosphere because they all link to pics.

The rest of the story will read something like this:

World forgets whore, blogger still considered legitimate media voice: rumors of VH1 Surreal Life deal for forgotten whore, rumors of New York Times deal for blogger who got famous for linking to whore's story.

Yeah, that about summarizes it.

Posted by: Rusty at 05:30 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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Last night a handful of us conservative bloggers were spinning trying to confirm or deny an Arianna Huffinton story that said that Vice President Cheney was rushed to a Vail, Colorado hospital for heart problems.

Apparently, that story was poppycock. But, that's not stopping those darn liberals from saying that the White House isn't telling the truth and wishing death on the Vice President.

Despite the only facts in the case that Arianna Huffington could muster are highly speculative and also despite the fact that the VP was on a scheduled visit there these liberals still think the White House is lying.

This is a significant problem in liberalism today; throw out logic and only listen to stories that can be so easily dispelled that you have to attack others to maintain the fraction of an ounce of credibility the story had.

Fact of the matter is I think Arianna Huffington blew it on one of her first attempts to cover or create news. This could be a trend in the future for her (the next memogate starts at The Huffington Post?) and I wouldn't be surprised if she kept to her word despite the obvious fallacies in her story.

One thing is for sure, don't expect an actual apology.

UPDATE 1332 MDT: The Huffmeister has removed the comments from her site. That's really good and bad. It's good because it shows a higher moral ground than what I was expecting. It's bad because those peaceful liberals won't be able to spit their venom there anymore.

Have no fear. I have the entire page saved to my hard drive the last comment that I captured is timestamped at 1355.

UPDATE by Rusty: Yeah, it's kinda late, but Jeff Quinton wanted me to let y'all that he's following this too.

Posted by: Chris Short at 11:10 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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1 I don't take the HP seriously whatsoever. Since day one they have been thieves, ie, hotlinking to others pictures. They should just call themselves the DU Lite.

Posted by: William Teach at June 25, 2005 12:44 PM (IRsCk)

2 The reason Memogate was a thing is because it was CBS News. If it had been the Rocky Mountain Bugler or something, it would have been a much smaller story. At this point, Adrianna can print that she thinks the White House was built on an Indian burial ground and that the First Lady is possessed by a malevolent spirit if she wants to. Nobody would care. Hell, given her readership, I'm not even sure anybody would notice.

Posted by: Jeff Harrell at June 25, 2005 02:06 PM (KZlQC)

3 LOL. I wonder if someone was here at The Jawa Report before commenting at THP. A guy named Mike called her blog "DU Lite."

Posted by: William Teach at June 25, 2005 03:53 PM (HxpPK)

4 Of course, by deleting comments that show leftards for what they really are, they allow themselved plausible deniability in '06 when every little detail will be dragged under the campaign trail microscope. If they were sincerely objective, like Rusty is, then they would let all comments stand, because isn't deletion censorship?

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at June 25, 2005 04:10 PM (0yYS2)

5 think these people are the kind who watched every single episode of The X-Files and beleived it all????

Posted by: THANOS35 at June 25, 2005 08:00 PM (kDAye)

6 No bet Thanos, no bet. They LIVE the X-Files, black helicopters and all.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at June 25, 2005 10:24 PM (0yYS2)

7 These are the type of people a liken to the French Revolution: Demand justice, equality, democracy, etc, etc... Then, when you're in power, you start lopping the heads off of everyone who opposes you. Hypocrites.

Posted by: Zuke at June 26, 2005 03:05 AM (wcj6N)

8 "Then, when you're in power, you start lopping the heads off of everyone who opposes you." They not only murder those who oppose them, but also those who possess something they want. Most revolutions have a singular economic effect in that they tend to concentrate wealth in the hands of a very few individuals. This feature as much as any other illustrates plainly why the socio-fascist leftards must not be allowed to gain further power. Mark my word, we will be fighting them in the streets within five years at this pace. Buy guns, buy ammo, and be prepared to fight.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at June 26, 2005 04:49 PM (0yYS2)

9 ppiigfat ppoiuyrtkus fuk u

Posted by: BUSH LIES - SOLDIERS DIE at June 26, 2005 08:54 PM (FV4oJ)

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I'm not sure who William Kristol's little birdie is that told him that it would be Sandra Day O'Conner retiring, and not Rehnquist, but another little birdie tells me that Kristol is full of crap. My little birdie's name? My own two eyes.

Last month, as some of you know, I went to the Supreme Court and sat in on a session. Let me tell you something about Rehnquist, he is in bad shape. No, very bad shape.

Not to sound too disrespectful to the Chief Justice, but he sounded very much like Darth Vader. No, not his voice, which was weak and could only be heard through many long pauses. Whatever breathing apparatus he had on, when combined with the microphone, really made me feel like I was in the presence of the Sith Master himself. Is there a way to type out that sound?

So, is it possible that Rehnquist is deluding himself into thinking he has a few more good years? Sure, anything is possible. I'ts just not likely.

This seems much more reliable:

According to a source very close to the Bush administration, US Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist has submitted his resignation to President Bush. Apparently they are waiting
until the Supreme Court's term ends this week to make this announcement .

It is simply a wild guess.

Anyway, I'm not all that worried about Rehnquist's succesor. In fact, I hope it's not Alberto Gonzales. He's way too big of a personality and seems to have a lot of self-confidence. The Court is now full of people who actually believe the total garbage that they are taught in law school about it being a 'co-equal' branch of government. Utter hogwash! A branch, yes, but certainly none of the founders thought of it as coequal.

No, what I would like to see on the Court is someone who is not all that confident, sits in awe of the other two branches of government, and who is easily bullied. I'm thinking maybe Dick Durbin?

Anyhoo, John Hawkins takes a good look at this, as does The Commissar who has a few more suggestions on a possible replacement. And consider this an official prediction.

UPDATE: Steven Taylor, who is much more of a Court follower than me, says:

On a side note: this is not the first place I have read that Rehnquist might not retire as predicted.

Posted by: Rusty at 11:15 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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William Teach, of the Pirate's Cove, invited us to put on our hip-boots and wade on over to dKos's place to see what the Bush=Hitler/loud-music=torture crowd is saying. But it's not the soul of Markos 'everything=torture' Zuniga I'm worried about. It's the normally lucid John Cole:

So Senator Durbin was forced to go to the well of the Senate to offer up a blubbering 'apolocorrection' after being cut off at the knees by Mayor Daley of Chicago. This was his second attempt to apologize for telling the truth...

And yes, John, Durbin's remarks 'really are that offensive' for those of us who have a connection to the tens of millions killed in the gulags, were the victims of Nazi extermination plans, suffered the fate of being an enemy of Saddam, or have friends with relatives massacred in Pol Pot's killing fields.

Anyway, as one of a minority of right-of-center bloggers who accepts Durbin's apology at face value let me also add that no such pass will be given to the unapologetic America haters, such as Kos who says:

Torture isn't a partisan issue. And by apologizing, Durbin caved to those who worked their best to turn it into one.

I would also suggest reading this interview with a Gitmo interrogator. As Bluto observes, the interview calls into question the accuracy of the information Durbin used as the basis of his accusation. Even so, I believe there is a legitimate discussion to be had on the proper limits of interrogation methods. However, you cannot have such rational discussion with the blame America first crowd which jumps to the worst conclusions at the slightest accusation of impropriety--especially when no consensus has been established on what exactly is an acceptable interrogation method when Americans are still in the line of fire.

I'm not against Congressional oversight of military prisons, as is their Constitutional duty in Section I, only partisan ploys to overhype with disgusting equivication instances of abuse with institutionalized genocidal mass-murder.

Kos finishes his post by seconding Steve Gilliard who says:

But Dick Durbin can go f*ck himself.

UPDATE: Risking the chance that I'll lose readers to a better blogger, here is a taste from a post Ace does in response to Andrew Sullivan. The argument is equally applicable to all the Leftists who are hyping alleged abuse at Gitmo. But seriously, you have to read the whole thing:

But he refuses to address the central question: If you're not going to employ any coercive tactics against terrorists, how the hell do you expect to elicit information from them -- information, mind you, that will often (if not always) save innocent human lives?

Are there any coercive tactics he approves of? If so, it is his duty as someone who fancies himself an intellectual braveheart and straight-shooter to announce what levels of coercion he's comfortable with and would approve of. The tactics he is currently so, well, gob-smacked about -- denying air conditioning, chaining to the floor, playing loud rap music -- seem fairly mild. So it does seem, at least by implication, that Excitable Andy approves of no coercive tactics against terrorists whatsoever during interrogations, apart from raised voices and lots of cursing.

Posted by: Rusty at 01:34 PM | Comments (56) | Add Comment
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It's stories like these that make me want to become an anti-immigration advocate. WaPo:

Sixteen foreign-born construction workers with phony immigration documents were able to enter a nuclear weapons plant in eastern Tennessee because of lax security controls, a federal report said Monday.

Controls at the Y-12 weapons plant have since been tightened and there was no evidence the workers had access to any sensitive documents, said the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees nuclear weapons facilities for the Department of Energy.

However, the DOE inspector general's office said in the report issued Monday that its field agents found "official use only" documents "lying unprotected in a construction trailer which was accessed by the foreign construction workers" at the plant.

"Thus, these individuals were afforded opportunities to access ... (this) information," the inspector general wrote. "We concluded that this situation represented a potentially serious access control and security problem."

The report, initiated by a tip in 2004, said the workers had fake green cards that certified them to work in the United States. Their cases were turned over to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency for deportation.

Posted by: Rusty at 01:07 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
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I just put this up at Conservative Thinking and would like to share it with you folks here:

Yesterday I experienced a problem that is happening more and more in America today; laziness overcoming the need to provide an appropriate level of customer service. This also goes hand-in-hand with work ethic and personal responsibility.

Posted by: Chris Short at 12:30 PM | Comments (44) | Add Comment
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1 Amen

Posted by: Howie at June 13, 2005 12:33 PM (D3+20)

2 I can relate to that, here at Home Depot they have the automated checkouts where you can scan your own goods, and pay etc. I overheard one of the cashiers that those machines were replacing 8 peoples jobs per shift. I kind of sympathized with that. However the next time at the store, I used the automated checkout and had bought a large piece of wood, and the machine requires you to place the item on the scales (bagging area) before you can scan the next item, the woman who's only job is to assist customers using the machine stood there and told me to place it on the scales, and when it fell over, told me again to try it. I asked her if I bought a load of bricks would i have to bag them too? The women can override the transactions need for bagging, by swiping her card, of course that was too much work to do. kind of hard to empathize with job replacement with technology when the technology has more customer service than the humans it replaced?

Posted by: dave at June 13, 2005 12:43 PM (fsJ2z)

3 I think laziness or greed are human traits...not particularly American. Sure, illegal immigrants will work their asses off doing jobs you or I would never want to do, but there are lazy ones too. Anyone who's worked in a restaurant in NYC will back me here. Who knows what makes people lazy...society? Family? Laziness is pretty pathetic, but who hasn't been lazy before? None of us. But then, should it be tolerated? No.

Posted by: osamabeenthere at June 13, 2005 12:45 PM (buka0)

4 Troll alert: Guys, if you have a second or two today can you help a brotha out and go to my "Leftist Bloggers" post?? One troll already, and I expect many more. Not that I think you guys like to smack trolls down or anything.... :-)

Posted by: Rusty Shackleford at June 13, 2005 12:49 PM (JQjhA)

5 Don't get me started about customer service these days. Most places act like they're doing you a favor by waiting on you!

Posted by: Young Bourbon Professional at June 13, 2005 01:53 PM (x+5JB)

6 OMG, you just touched a hot-button for me. It isn't a recent development though. I remember saying the same thing in the 80s. Unless an employer trains their staff to show basic courtesy, you may be on your own. The absolute worst are the summer-hires down at the New Jersey shore. They'll grunt just enough to take your order and give some form of change. These boys have that glassy-eyed look that makes you want to thank the owner of the burger stand for doing his part to employ the retarded.

Posted by: Gordon at June 13, 2005 02:06 PM (dEFhD)

7 You are bang on the money with this post, Rusty. Customer service has been steadily declining for years. I could come up with my own examples, but yours is just about as typical (unfortunately) as they come. Seriously, how hard would it have been to go into the safe to get a roll of quarters? Sounds like she acted as if the safe was in the next state. An argument could be made that "what do you expect for minimum wage?" at which point I'd say that at minimum wage you're pretty replaceable. People who work minimum wage and like being employed should remember that. And sure, I bet some illegals are lazy, but I'd say that most are pretty grateful for any job they can get their hands on.

Posted by: Venom at June 13, 2005 02:08 PM (dbxVM)

8 "People who work minimum wage and like being employed should remember that." Exactly. Hell, there's no reason to not make the customer feel like they WANT to come back to that particular business. This isn't rocket science. I was at a restaurant with the little woman for our anniversary and asked the waitress--a blond (no jokes here),probably about eighteen--for a glass of water (standard fare for most diners--yet this was a supposedly-upscale establishment!). So she brought me one without asking my wife if she wanted one as well. She had to ask her. This was near the end of the meal, when Blondie hadn't stopped by ONCE during the whole thing to ask how the food was, if we needed anything, etc. Yet we could hear her in another room, complaining about something. Ugh. Okay, I feel much better now. No need for therapy today.

Posted by: Young Bourbon Professional at June 13, 2005 02:19 PM (x+5JB)

9 Hahaha...you guys are cracking me up. Sure, we've all had bad waiters, but how many of you have been waiters? After that, a good one? I was a really good waiter when I was younger and made shit-loads of money because I was good. It paid for my first car and I hard-earned every buck. I remember clientele that were rude and no matter how fast, courteous or amazing the food was, they would stiff you or leave a few bucks on a $70 check. Nothing is worse than doing above and beyond and having your pay docked by some cheap asshole. The Restaurant still gets it's cut but the waiter is shafted. It goes both ways, as you know. I'm not saying any of you are rude & I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. If a waiter is being bad, I always check to see if they are alone and they are slammed, or if they seem upset about something...it doesn't hurt to ask if they are ok. You never know if one just walked in on a cheating boyfriend or a family member died. As a rule, I leave 20% unless someone is really being a dick. Anyway, had to say all that. I do agree that overall customer service is in decline, but don't take it out on those who just might be having a really fucked up day...they might just need a break. If they don't though...tip accordingly!

Posted by: osamabeenthere at June 13, 2005 02:36 PM (buka0)

10 A break? In my line of work you don't bring home to the job. I guess that's just me being an asshole again but why should I care if your sorry assed boyfriend humped your best friend? Where's my water, girl?!?

Posted by: Chris Short at June 13, 2005 02:41 PM (A12F8)

11 I find the underlying problem that has caused the laziness in the workplace to grow is the lack of "loyality". It used to be a company was loyal to their employees, and in return that employee would grow loyal to the company. I am proud to say that I myself have always remained loyal to any company I have worked for. I gave my best, I put the interest of the company ahead of my personal feelings, agenda, etc. Today you are hard pressed to find a company with any loyalty to you as an employee. You are expendable, replaceable, a burden on their bottom line. Many because of the economy (which is getting better thank God), many from their own work ethic and attitude. I found it alot easier to work hard and become irreplaceable ... and EARN the company loyalty.

Posted by: Jonathan at June 13, 2005 02:46 PM (M7kiy)

12 Jonathan...great points. I remember a time when people put their trust in the company they worked for. Those days do seem past. Chris Short: *in a bitchy waiter voice* Here's your water asshole! *splashes it into your face* hehehe...

Posted by: osamabeenvotin' at June 13, 2005 03:21 PM (buka0)

13 Just wait till you run into these same lazy jackasses doing (whatever the hell it is they do) your Blue Cross or Medicare forms... Sometimes, no matter how hard you work and how much loyalty you feel, you won't become irreplaceable, especially when they decide to just shut down a whole section of the company, in order to improve their bottom line. I managed to ride-out three downsizing, two wholesale management team changes, two corporate takeovers and three name changes before there was just absolutely nothing left of the original structure or people who might even harbor loyalty. It was an anachronism.

Posted by: -keith in mtn. view at June 13, 2005 03:31 PM (hgd/M)

14 This boils down to what people make. Pay people well, provide good benefits and treat them with respect and you get good customer service and good work ethics. From someone with experience in retail. Where we are at today in America- people get paid barely enough to make ends meet, there are no benefits or the bare minimum, and bosses treat workers like shit. The new American matra is profits over people. Stop complaining when the reason is because you want a cheaper product anyway which drives companies overseas for cheaper labor. It's all related dummies. End the war in Iraq, stop spending $500 billion for war and take care of your country's services such as health care and education and customer service will improve. You can't have it both ways.

Posted by: paypeople at June 13, 2005 03:31 PM (h0FT+)

15 I've had many good waiters--they tend to be very businesslike, older, MEN. Like in Europe, where it's not a kid's job.

Posted by: Young Bourbon Professional at June 13, 2005 03:32 PM (x+5JB)

16 wow paypeople why are you not out solving unsolved crimes? with a genius such as yours I bet we could have them all solved. why didn't anyone think of ending the Iraq war and bringing home the soldiers. you should get an award or something.

Posted by: dave at June 13, 2005 03:36 PM (fsJ2z)

17 YBP: There are career waiters here as well. Actually, the USA could probably learn a few things from Europe about giving our workers more vacation time and not enslaving us so much. Happy workers are more productive, no? Either way...I've had my share of shit jobs, for sure. Now I'm proud to say I run my own business so I don't have to answer to some asshole boss. I just need to make sure my clients are always pleased, which isn't that hard for me to do. Dave, you have to admit that paypeople has some valid points, even if you don't agree with them. Our economy could use some major switcharounds in attitude and structure as well as taxpayer money being spent in sorely needed places.

Posted by: osamabeenvotin' at June 13, 2005 04:15 PM (buka0)

18 I'm sure some of the blame could lie with the employer maybe not effectively communicating what is expected of an employee (such as what constitutes good customer service). BUT, I highly doubt that the bad service most of us gets on a daily basis is because some schmuck got dumped, or some other schmuck got into a bad fight with someone, etc. That's just WAY too coincidental to happen as often as it does. Frankly, I believe it's either because employees are ignorant of what's expected of them, or they don't care. Either way, it has to be fixed by an employer before I take my loot down to someone who gives a shit. It's in their best interests to make sure all of their employees know what good customer service is all about. It's not rocket science. Mind you, I'm not going to shit all over a waiter (for example) if I get shitty service (thinking in the back of my head of Fight Club and why you may not want to piss of the people that serve your food). I'd rather wait until the end, and then let the manager know. Tell him I'll come back once more, and if things haven't changed, I'm spreading the word they don't care. Simple as pie.

Posted by: Venom at June 13, 2005 04:55 PM (dbxVM)

19 I work for someone else ... He's ok I also work for myself on the side ... He's an Ahole boss ; )

Posted by: Jonathan at June 13, 2005 04:56 PM (M7kiy)

20 This country was built on the Protestant work ethic. Hard work was honorable, and a job well done honored God. Now we have the slacker work ethic, thanks to the undermining influences of secular humanism and anti-corporate Leftism. It's one of the consequences of the culture of victimhood brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Liberals.

Posted by: Carlos at June 13, 2005 04:58 PM (8e/V4)

21 osama, anyone can point out the door should have been bolted, once the horse is gone. It doesn't take a genius. now if he actually showed an exit strategy for the U.S I might have been impressed . I don't like how much money the U.S is spending in Iraq either, and I do think the money could be spent better. perhaps in up-armoring the rest of the vehicles and more body armor for our troops.

Posted by: dave at June 13, 2005 05:24 PM (fsJ2z)

22 Jonathan: You are funny as hell, man. Venom: Yeah, that's probably the best way...go where the service is good. That Fight Club shit is no lie...I've seen it myself. Piss, spit, hair, even dishwashing liquid...which I've heard that even a drop of it can give someone that shits real bad. Carlos, there is such thing as a Liberal with good work ethic. Just look at how hard the NY Times works to bring you stories to read! Hehe... I admit being anti-corporate corruption and think there should be laws to regulate them and make them more accountable. This doesn't make me hippie slacker shit though.

Posted by: osamabinwhatever at June 13, 2005 05:31 PM (buka0)

23 Dave...couldn't agree with you more. I think it's pathetic how much money is spent on military technology and we can't even provide enough armor for the troops where it's needed. Anyway, almost anyone's exit strategy is speculative right now, even if he gave one. The thing I'm worried about is once we're gone, what will happen...and will this whole war breed a new generation of terrorists? Another thing I'm always thinking about is...how long will it be before a similar group of terrorists like the ones in 9/11 get some nuke action going. 9/11 will be nothing if all of NYC is obliterated.

Posted by: osamabinwhatever at June 13, 2005 05:41 PM (buka0)

24 osama, I know their are hardorking Lefties and lazy righties, but they are the exception. The Lefty worldview fosters lethargy as a form of protest against the Man. And they have a point. It's true that if I don't own the corporation, why should I give it my best when said corporation is "corrupt"? Logically, I shouldn't. But the Protestant work ethic isn't based on logic, but on honor, respect, God, etc., i.e., values that are transcendent/religious, vs Lefty values that are purely utilitarian.

Posted by: Carlos at June 13, 2005 06:04 PM (8e/V4)

25 Protestants are also know for being pretty damn uptight and miserable as well! I'd have to say being a hard worker is a honorable thing. I don't translate to religion with it though. I also think people can have great values even if they are an atheist. Anyway, I'm too lazy to complete this post.

Posted by: osamabinwhatever at June 13, 2005 06:11 PM (buka0)

26 Osama, I recently finished a book called "Death Ground - Today's American Infantry in Battle" it gave some rather astonishing figures, this one shows the chance of meeting an infantry man vs. other professions. You are more likely to meet: post office worker (791,992) Lawyer (777,000) A prison inmate (444,584) News reporter (266,000) Librarian (195,000) A Musician (174,000) Amusement Park attendant (161,000) PR person (155,000) Professional Author (139,000) Department of Agriculture employee (128,324) vs. a serving Marine or Army Rifleman (estimate 100,000) He also points out how dangerous that is because we will inevitably fight a war where superior airpower, and cruise missles can't be used (evidently correctly predicted because of Iraq) I am worried Iraq may eventually fall to Iran, not just by war, but by penetration, by enemy Iran agents (which they said pre-war a lot of the Government had been pentrated.) I sat and read the archive of all the soldiers that had fallen in battle, and it's almost like Humvee's are mobile coffins. I think I read around 5/6 in 10 are killed in Vehicles, I know that there isn't much to stop the percussion of a 5,000lb bomb - but how much is the Presidents limo rated for?

Posted by: dave at June 13, 2005 06:21 PM (fsJ2z)

27 osama, Of course atheists can have good values, and professing christians can have lousy values, but not if they're being true to their respective philosophies. Hold on, isn't it you Lefty intellectual elitists who have been telling us all these years that religion/christianity is an opiate to manipulate the masses and make them good little subservient workers? For once I'm AGREEING with you Lefty elitists-- religion does make people better workers. But now you take it back because you don't like what the LACK of religion has done? It's turned people into a bunch of lazy slobs. Atheist values are by definition purely utilitarian, so I personally don't see the point for an atheist, who doesn't own the corporation and who believes we are ashes and dust, to work hard and give it his best. Evolution favors saving energy, not expending it for minimal returns. And the failure of international communism proves that individuals expending energy for the "good of society" is certainly NOT an atheist value. That's why it failed.

Posted by: Carlos at June 13, 2005 06:33 PM (8e/V4)

28 Dave...crazy numbers indeed. I guess they also depend on your geography quite a bit as well. I imagine being in a hummer is like riding around in a shrapnel bomb. Carlos...Sure, I think religion has been used throughout history to control people, but not always for making them good workers. I've also met some lazy religious people. An atheist can also be a extremely hard worker because they can be greedy as well...so they will give it their best for other reasons. I'm not anti-religion unless I think that particular religion is abusing power or unhealthy in practice. Communism failed because without competition, a very natural response is to be lazy. People and animals alike. Hence why I never give handouts to the homeless unless the person is disabled in a way which they can't work. If you can write a sign saying "Anything helps, God Bless" then you are literate and should be looking for a job. I might sound callous for saying that, but if I even give a guy food, it might leave him more money to drink or do drugs.

Posted by: osamabinwhatever at June 13, 2005 07:57 PM (buka0)

29 Everytime I see American troops on the news, or giving interviews to Fox, I am amazed how focused they are. They have a job to do, and they are doing it. Compare them to what you see out and about these days. I get in my car and drive somewhere to make a routine purchase or do a routine transaction. I have to put up with slow, dingy, unhelpful people who act as though having to actually earn a living is a curse from hell. I believe that American young people are dividing into two types; those who work to get ahead, and those that "work" because they'll starve if they have to leave their parents' basement. And guess which side of the political divide each group is on? It's not hard to see that our slow, underperforming youth are reacting to the dismal "facts" they have been force-fed during their years in public schools. Everyone is a victim. Everyone is "oppressed". Capitalism and enterpreunership are evil.

Posted by: Scott in CA at June 14, 2005 09:56 AM (C2DKi)

30 Scott, that's a load of crap. Laziness knows no political bounds...if it makes you feel better to call liberal children lazy, so be it. I've been all over this country many times over and had bad service from all walks of life, race and politics. The only thing I've ever noticed is that rich kids tend to be well spoken, but not very motivated. You'll never find trust fund johnny giving you bad service though, because he's never had a day job!

Posted by: osamabeenhiding at June 14, 2005 10:09 AM (buka0)

31 Re: Paypeople "End the war in Iraq, stop spending $500 billion for war and take care of your country's services such as health care and education and customer service will improve" The French take great care of their country's services, that must be why they're famous for their excellent customer service. Oh...Wait....

Posted by: Jeremy at June 14, 2005 10:50 AM (ssh6o)

32 Quothe Carlos: "Now we have the slacker work ethic, thanks to the undermining influences of secular humanism and anti-corporate Leftism." I wouldn't blame secular humanism per se, but the forces that have hijacked it, along with many other originally inoffensive ideals, but I'm with you on anti-corporate leftism. The only goal of the left is to destroy Western civilization any way they can, and they've discovered that the best way to do that is to destroy its productivity. Just look at unions, for example, they vote leftist 100% of the time, and seem bent on destroying the very industries that they depend on for their living. Once they have managed to drive a company out of business, they somehow manage to blame the Republicans, through their media propaganda outlets.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at June 14, 2005 12:50 PM (0yYS2)

33 IM...why does everything have to be so black and white with you? Even the most insanely leftist person I know has no intentions of destroying Western civilization as you say. Your paranoia always seeks new heights. Weren't your parents in union jobs? Did they vote left? Liberals didn't make jobs go to Mexico, you know. Slacker work ethic is the product of deteriorating relations between workers and companies/business owners. They used to respect each other, but that is rare these days. Blame who you like, but blaming liberals is too easy. Everyone can be fucking lazy, and you can be too...so don't try and deny what is a basic human trait and blame it on a recent political movement or point of view.

Posted by: osamabeenhiding at June 14, 2005 01:02 PM (buka0)

34 Many of the secular humanists in history were indeed revolutionaries, and by definition, Leftists.

Posted by: Young Bourbon Professional at June 14, 2005 01:17 PM (x+5JB)

35 Just to share my worse experience with a waitress. The lady I was previously dating and myself went to Olive Garden in Carrollton, Tx. The waitress was serving two other tables besides ours. Both of those tables, the people there were dressed at a minium of Business casual. My date and I were dressed in b&t (blue jeans and T-shirts) for it was a weekend. She slapped down some menu's, after about 15 minutes returned and took our drink and dinner order. That was the last we saw of her until the check came, which was $25.23. I promptly gave her a twenty dollar bill, a five dollar bill and 1 quarter. After she took the money, we continue to sit for another 10 minutes when she came by asked if there was anything else we needed. I told her, that I was waiting for my 2 cents, which she gave me. Even though she gave me my 2 cents, I believe she also very clearly received my 2 cents also. I believe the main reason for her poor service was a self fulling prophecy. These two tables are dressed finer, so I will get a better tip from them, while these two in b&t will probably give me nothing. Since she gave us nothing, her prophecy was true. Usually I do start out with a 20% tip in mind, and will go up or down based on service.

Posted by: Butch at June 14, 2005 02:23 PM (Gqhi9)

36 Butch: Dressed in blue jeans and tee-shirts?! I would have thrown you out! Just kidding. Very good tactic, that. Nothing worse than elitism at an Olive Garden!

Posted by: Young Bourbon Professional at June 14, 2005 02:51 PM (x+5JB)

37 Attitude at OLIVE GARDEN!? Damn...they are five star, huh? Well, Butch. At least it was the bitch ignoring you and not actually digging into you. I'll tell you the opposite: Once I had a shifty little guy and his date bolt into a restaurant I worked at right as I unlocked the door for a delivery. We weren't open for another half hour, which I told him...but he insisted and I seated them early. He demanded rather rudely that I tell him the specials. No one knew the specials till about 5 minutes before we opened after they were faxed to us, so I couldn't tell him much in depth at the time (he wanted to know every single ingredient) and I couldn't get much out of the Mexicans in the kitchen with my so-so Spanish. The guy starts calling me an idiot and going off...I just stand there in amazement as he unloads insult after insult...then I couldn't help it: I started laughing. It was that unbelievable! My laughing pushed him over the edge and he told his shocked date that he wanted to "crush" me. Mind you, I'm 6 ft 1 and all muscle and he's a scrawny 5 ft 6. I told him, "You're welcome to come outside and try!" His date was freaking out on him, and I thought the bulging vein on his forehead was going to burst. He left saying he was going to the other restaurant we had uptown. I told him not to bother since I was calling them to have his service refused. That is the only time in all my years in the service industry that I had to deal with someone like that, unless you count being a club bouncer as the service industry.

Posted by: osamabeenhiding at June 14, 2005 05:01 PM (buka0)

38 osama pronounced from the mountain of his wisdom: "IM...why does everything have to be so black and white with you?" I like the contrast. People who only see in shades of gray tend to not be able to spot trouble coming, as everything blends together. "Even the most insanely leftist person I know has no intentions of destroying Western civilization as you say." True, not the spoken intention. In fact, most leftists sincerely believe that the values and ideas they promote would be the best thing for everyone. And why shouldn't they? After all, they are smarter than everyone else. If you don't believe so, just ask one! And if a few people have to be shot or starved to death to achieve those utopian goals, well, they should have just gotten with the damned program, shouldn't they? This ideology certainly hasn't worked out for the people of the Soviet Union, or Germany, or Cuba, or North Korea, et al, but why should anyone let reality interfere with a good ideaology? "Your paranoia always seeks new heights." True, I'm not satisfied with the fact that there are over a billion muslims in the world and most of them would love to see America fall. I want some black helicopters dammit! "Weren't your parents in union jobs?" Yeah, my mom was, until the union almost bankrupted the company with their constant strikes in the late 70's and early 80's. Everyone was laid off and the factory moved to Mexico. My mom was rehired as a quality control tech and had to fix the pumps that came in damaged. At half wages. Yay union! Thanks a bunch. My dad was in a couple of union businesses, like the International Mine Workers, until they too managed to destroy the mining industry, with the help of the envirowackos. Oh, and the IMW bosses stole all the union pension money, and the eeeevil mining corporations bailed the miners out. "Did they vote left?" They were Southern Democrats, which means they didn't think, they just voted. The South only started to recover economically when we started thinking and stopped voting for Democrats. Funny how that works. "Liberals didn't make jobs go to Mexico, you know." Let's review: Constant strikes for higher wages in a stagnated economy. Chronic absenteeism. Poor workmanship. Stolen pensions. Crushing environmental and labor regulations. Corruption. Shall I go on? Also, see a few lines up. "Slacker work ethic is the product of deteriorating relations between workers and companies/business owners." Funny how the "slacker work ethic" only really became apparent when companies started getting sued for "mental abuse" because bosses have to keep on lazy workers' asses. I've had employees before, and you get more work out of people when they know they can be fired if they don't work. In the Army, our we had a fine relationship with one First Sergeant; we knew he would murder us with his bare hands and eat our livers raw if we pissed him off. We were highly motivated and our unit was always combat ready. We didn't need to be hugged, we needed him to ride our butts to make sure we stayed in shape. You could always tell what kind of First Sergeant a unit had just by looking at the soldiers. Some First Sergeants were fairly nice guys, and had shitbird soldiers. Funny how that works. "They used to respect each other, but that is rare these days." Respect was never in the equation. I've worked for bosses who acted like they hated me, and I gave them a good day's work because I knew I had to. Employees should expect nothing more than a paycheck for their efforts. Employers are forced today to behave as if they love everyone, and managers are forced to attend all sorts of stupid feel-good seminars because of it. I know, I've been there. I got good work out of my people when they feared for their jobs. I learned a lot from my First Sergeant, and my dad, who was worse than my First Sergeant. "Blame who you like, but blaming liberals is too easy." I refer you to Occam's Razor. "Everyone can be fucking lazy, and you can be too..." I'm not lazy on the job, because I know that productivity is tied to pay. It's called economics, which liberals seem to have a hard time understanding. "...so don't try and deny what is a basic human trait and blame it on a recent political movement or point of view." I don't blame the libs for making people lazy, just for enabling them to get away with it through unions and over-reaching labor laws. You don't meet many liberals in jobs where pay is pegged to productivity. I wonder why?

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at June 14, 2005 06:14 PM (0yYS2)

39 YBP wrote: "Many of the secular humanists in history were indeed revolutionaries, and by definition, Leftists." There's Left and there's Left. The original Leftists were indeed mostly humanists, but that was France in 1789, and the Church was in bed with the aristocracy in conspiring to keep the people poor and powerless. They were also for market economics. Capitalists, even. Things changed. Today, secular humanism is just another institution hijacked by the fascism meme, and twisted to its purposes. Humanism in and of itself is a product of the Enlightenment, and modern Leftism is decidedly anti-enlightenment, so modern secularism really has nothing to do with the classical sort, just as modern liberalism shares only a name with classical liberalism. In both cases, dogma and orthodoxy replaced free inquiry and free will, and a fascination with fascism replaced the love of liberty.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at June 14, 2005 06:20 PM (0yYS2)

40 IM: Black and white can often be mislabeled and then you have "The Oxbow Incident". You have great points, but they always seem to go way too far. You simply can't fault all the problems in the world onto Liberals. Nor can a Liberal fault uptighty-whitey-righty for everything either. I feel like I can view both sides and see the good and bad parts of each...but why has America divided completely in half? I know my history, but damn it sucks that the Civil War doesn't seem over sometimes.

Posted by: osamabeenpostin' at June 14, 2005 07:29 PM (buka0)

41 "They believed that if they sent enough plaintive letters and picketed enough embassies that they might eventually make the world a granolarific place, with peace, love, and tofu for everyone. Well as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions." IM and Osama: I thought of secular humanists when I read these excellent lines of yours from another post (regarding the Left). They're the ones who want to build a modern Utopia--look at any of there "declarations" from the last seventy years. Most if not all are die-hard liberals (Paul Kurtz, Bertrand Russell, Carl Sagan) in league with groups like American Athiests, who sponsored the Godless American March and endorsed (surprise!)--John Kerry. There's Left and there's Left, but in the end there all the Left. (Sorry to be black and white, Osama.) I don't think you're paranoid about threats from Islamofascist, IM. Where you see political differences, I see spiritual ones. Doesn't mean I wouldn't appreciate your services and help if it did ever come to fighting. The enemy is the enemy. Also, I don't think that a person has to hate someone to kill them. I think that I could respect their humanity and the fact that they are made in the image of God (we'll disagree here) but then dispatch them to their just rewards. C.S. Lewis describes this when he discusses his WWI experiences. Pax to you and yours. YBP

Posted by: Young Bourbon Professional at June 15, 2005 08:39 AM (x+5JB)

42 YBP: Interesting points...but I never see the black and white with good vs. evil since I think both lurks in either extreme. That would probably make me a horrible soldier because I'd hesitate too often, plus I have a real problem with authority, hehe... I almost view religions in the same way...some good and bad elements in most of them. I may have no declared faith, but I recognize and try to learn from all the amazing qualities I find in each. Paranoia can be dangerous though, and can result in some really nasty shit...that's why I'm always trying to bring another point of view to the table with IM, because we don't live in a Mob-acracy and I've never been convinced that American Muslims are guilty before being proven innocent. I think there is a healthy amount of suspicion one can have in these times, but I worry about IM going too far, that's all. Oh, and for the record I eat red meat, but use a French press for my coffee...but don't even go there because the Italians invented the device before the French used it!

Posted by: osamabinwhatever at June 15, 2005 10:06 AM (buka0)

43 Osama, who's coming around to the light, wrote: "IM: Black and white can often be mislabeled and then you have "The Oxbow Incident"." That's why it's important to be well informed and objective. "You have great points, but they always seem to go way too far." I have to hyper-emphasize facts to get people to pay attention. I never, ever, exaggerate or falsify though. "You simply can't fault all the problems in the world onto Liberals." True, I blame Conservatives for almost half. Like the war on drugs, for example. You can't make war on drugs, only people. I think the apporoach is only making things worse. Being a libertarian atheist gives me a lot of freedom to be objective. "Nor can a Liberal fault uptighty-whitey-righty for everything either." They often try though. "I feel like I can view both sides and see the good and bad parts of each...but why has America divided completely in half?" It's always been like that, since Goerge Washington left office. "I know my history, but damn it sucks that the Civil War doesn't seem over sometimes." It never will be really, only the names of the players change.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at June 15, 2005 10:55 PM (0yYS2)

44 YBP wrote: "I don't think you're paranoid about threats from Islamofascist, IM. Where you see political differences, I see spiritual ones." And they are spiritually inclined to kill us. "Doesn't mean I wouldn't appreciate your services and help if it did ever come to fighting." If you need me, I'm good at house-to-house. "The enemy is the enemy." Amen brother. "Also, I don't think that a person has to hate someone to kill them." I only require that someone poses a threat. Emotions play no part really. In fact, emotions are a liability in combat. "I think that I could respect their humanity and the fact that they are made in the image of God (we'll disagree here) but then dispatch them to their just rewards." I'll send them, where they end up is not my concern. Like the T-shirt says, Kill 'em all, let God sort 'em out. "Pax to you and yours." And to you.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at June 15, 2005 11:02 PM (0yYS2)

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Although it's somewhat tame, this story is consistent with the notion of the new .XXX domain. In Naples, Florida, Pedro Sandoval Avendano has been charged with voyeurism for taking photographs under a woman's dress at the Coastland Center Mall last Saturday.

From the Naples Daily News:

Reports say the woman, whose name was not released because it is a sex crime, was shopping at Old Navy in the mall when she saw Avendano come up behind her and take a photo from underneath her dress. He did this two more times before the woman reported it to the store manager.

The woman told police that she saw him take another shot from underneath another woman's skirt outside of the store. The woman was able to identify herself in the photos for police.

To take the thought a step further, just what does a police officer say to the woman when asking her to identify the evidence. "Uh, Ma'am, if I look up your skirt, would I see something like this?"

Companion post at Interested-Participant.

Posted by: Mike Pechar at 03:44 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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