Stink-eye or wink?

It depends on what the meaning of union is.

No comment on the context; I'm no fan of unionism either. What about that face on Hillary Clinton? Is it a wink, or is Hillary giving someone the stink-eye?

To Fred Thompson: Please, please, please

James Brown and the Cape

Here is an open letter from the old feeder to Fred Thompson.

Fred,

Please reconsider your decision to suspend your campaign for the Republican Nomination. You wouldn't have to spend a dime to have the support of Republicans who can't bear the thought of supporting John McCain. It is tearing the party apart. There is talk of throwing the election. Its getting worse.

Its a shame the way our nominating process, helped out by the liberal media and the unwholesome 'good old boy's club' mentality of the party leadership, worked to piss on the conservative fire you started. Please, at least show up at the convention armed with a drop-dead conservative speech. You will have the nomination by acclaim.

The Republican party needs another shot of Fred Thompson.

The Plains Feeder

I've been a Fred Thompson supporter from the first Draft Fred movement. He's the real deal. If enough Republicans and conservative independents make it clear to him that we need him back in the running now, there might be a chance. Please, please, please!
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Do you remember the way James Brown used to end his act by collapsing? One of the Famous Flames would rush to cover him with a robe and help him off stage. After a long few seconds, James would throw off the cape and resume his frenzied show. This could happen several times. The crowd loved it. Click to watch Mr. Brown do his cape thing while performing Please, please, please!

Throw off that cape Fred. We're ready for the rest of the show.

John McCain wins Florida primary using his Republican act

Take that, Rush!

It looks like Senator John McCain has won the Florida Republican primary, in spite of looking and acting like a Democrat most of the time. Mitt Romney prayed campaigned mightily and looks to be a close second. Giuliani may well call it quits.

Our Party nomination process stinks on ice.
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Rush Limbaugh reference: this audio link to silly songs featuring John McCain by Paul Shanklin that Rush aired today.
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There is always some grotesque form of hope: Ron Paul is getting support from Arlo Guthrie. Bush hatred evidently cancels the Marxist thought that little Arlo was raised up on at home.

State of the Union Blinkers

Dick Cheney and Nancy Pelosi

The first blog I checked to read about President Bush's State of the Union Address was Michelle Malkin's; she doesn't drool like Pavlov's dog at anything a Republican says. Indeed, the title of her post is The State of the Grab Bag Address 2008. I'm guessing Michelle thought up the title before she watched the speech.

Here is what she concluded from liveblogging the address:

Nancy Pelosi final blink count: 1,002.
Dick Cheney final blink count: 2.

Well, everyone knows that Nancy Pelosi has had so many face lifts that she must blink her eyes more than most folks. Nancy's face is so tight her ears meet at the back of her head like the hip pockets of a former fat man's taken-in trousers. If she doesn't blink often enough, her eyes would dry out.

Dick Cheney actually blinks only a bit more slowly than other men his age. Its only by comparison to Nancy that his "blink count" seems too low. In actuality, Vice President Cheney's blink rate is regulated by an implanted blink-maker, like his heart pace-maker regulates his pulse.

Now I see that numerous bloggers are puzzled or fascinated by the Republican blink gap. Everything has an explanation; if you can't find one, just ask the old feeder.

The Mitt Whisperer

Mitt gets a tip
Clicking Mitt's picture might offend - Aw, go ahead

Local Omaha (KFAB) talk radio personality and near cool cat Scott Voorhees has been talking all morning about an incident in which Mitt Romney seemingly gets a prompt in his ear before answering a debate question. You might think Scotty was in OZ and had just had a peek behind the curtain, but he has a point. These debates are, to quote Elaine from the Seinfeld show, fake, fake, fake.

ABC News: Unfair to notice Hillary's "looks"

Too much make-up or not enough Bondo?

ABC News, in an odd article suggests that Hillary Clinton's appearance is "overly scrutinized". The writer quotes none other than Geraldine Ferraro to the effect that this emphasis on the candidate's looks is "sexist". Geraldine doesn't name exactly who is to blame for this blatant misogyny, but it seems to me that this is a case of the MSM criticizing itself. The only place I've seen unflattering photos of Hillary Clinton is in the news media.

While I don't see anything inherently wrong with publishing pictures of public figures without airbrushing out the wrinkles and softening the focus, I detect a veiled hypocrisy in ABC story. To wit, and I quote Mizz Ferraro:

Nobody is going to say they don't like how [Illinois Sen.] Barack Obama looks and nobody is going to say that about [former North Carolina Sen.] John Edwards.

Baloney! What about Barack's big, protruding ears? John Edwards' costly haircuts and his girlish primping? Where was Geraldine and her friends at ABC News when the liberals beat up on Florida's Katherine Harris for her 'looks' back when they were accusing her of helping George Bush steal the 2000 presidential election from Al Gore?

You know Hillary colors her hair, but when Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson used a little Grecian Formula, everybody took him to task over it. Don't forget prune-faced John Kerry's botox adventure which hurt his hopes for the White House more than the swiftboaters.

I won't even mention all the atrocious hair pieces male politicians think will make them look electable. If there is a double standard here, I fail to see it. And who cares what Geraldine Ferraro thinks about anything, anyhow?
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Rush Limbaugh, having been mentioned in the ABC News article, is stirring the "aging woman" pot on the air today. He figures recent photos show Hillary looking desperate and foolish.

Fred Thompson and Warren G. Harding

1920 Republican National Convention

Steven Stark at RealClearPolitics has an interesting scenario: Who Said Freddy's Dead? The premise is that we could see a brokered Republican convention this year. This happened in 1920 after none of the front runners could garner the number of delegates needed for a clear, swift nomination. Warren G. Harding got the nomination after 10 ballots. Mr. Stark suggests that a similar situation might be brewing this year, a situation that could mean that we haven't seen the last of Fred Thompson.
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As for myself, I'd love to see a rollicking convention with a real contest. Remember that Harding, low man as the 1920 convention started, went on to win the nomination and the White House. That year also saw the first national election in which women could vote.
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Note that the 'G' in Warren G. Harding stands for Gamaliel, a hoary old Israelite name. Gamaliel the Elder was a Rabbi and is said to have been the Christian Apostle Paul's teacher. I wonder if Harding's middle name plagued him as much as Barack Hussein Obama's Mohammedan middle moniker bothers him?

Omaha: another senseless murder spree or racist statement?

Broken clock or race murderer?

Local cats are already aware that a young lady was shot in the head and killed by a kid with a hunting rifle a hundred yards away late last Sunday. So far, there seems to be no connection between the 21 year old victim, Brittany Williams, and the man caught running from the scene with the rifle, Kyle Bormann, 18. Kyle evidently had recently come to Omaha, Nebraska from South Dakota, where he was wanted for punky dope charges.

Now, according to ABC News, the seemingly senseless shooting might be a sort of hate crime. Kyle is white and Brittany was black. It happened on the eve of Martin Luther King day. I hope not, but in any case we need to send this cat to hell ASAP if he's found guilty. You can get more details and vote on it at PYSIH. Eye on Omaha has several relevant posts as well.

Another Omaha blog the Minority Midwifery Student is authored by one of the murdered girl's friends. Her initial post on the killing: "My friend, Brittany Williams, was murdered last night. She's gone." MWS also links to Brittany's MySpace memorial.

You can't win them all

Fred Thompson can't get enough support for steadfast, no-nonsense constitutional conservatism, calls it quits.

January 22, 2008
For Immediate Release

Statement from Sen. Fred Thompson

McLean, VA - Senator Fred Thompson today issued the following statement about his campaign for President:

"Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."

Get ready for the Trendy but Professional Republicanists that now lead the GOP to build a platform that will come to resemble the Democrat more each day as the Minneapolis convention draws near. You can't win 'em all. Sometimes it seems like you can't win any.

Live better at your neighbor's expense!

You're Entitled!

Thats right! You are entitled to live better than you do now with no financial outlay on your part. Your neighbors will cover everything, whether they like you and the way you live or not. Why? Because its the law!

Now that over half of all US citizens are on the take its possible to vote as much money for yourself as you want. You have the power to vote for taxes that will make your rich neighbors finance your improved life.

Hillary Clinton has a dream.

Future Vision Blurry

The Lincoln Futura - 1955

The fifties futurists at Ford Motors failed to foresee the SUV or the luxury pick-up truck when they designed the Lincoln Futura concept car. I still can't see how elegantly dressed ladies like those in the picture were able to get in and out of the aircraft-like cockpit. The designers must have figured that practicality would go out of fashion in the future; the Futura couldn't carry a few bags of groceries or any kids, unless they went in the trunk.

The future as seen from 1955 wasn't plagued by eco-nuts or OPEC. Powered by a huge V-8 gasoline engine, the Futura wasn't economical. But, unlike most concept cars, the Futura had a long and productive life. In the late 50's, the car was used as the plot-piece for a Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford movie, It Started with a Kiss. It had to be repainted, as the original pearlescent finish (made with real pearls) didn't film well. Parts of the movie were made in Spain, where the old feeder happened to be living.

I was a car buff in those days, and I recall being singularly unimpressed with the Futura. Heck, I lived on the Avenida Generalissimo Franco then; world-class road racing events frequently ran right under my balcony. I was much too sophisticated to be impressed by a fat Yankee highway cruiser that looked like it was made of two Plymouth Fury hindquarters stuck together. Glenn Ford was no Juan Fangio, either. My favorite road car then was the Spanish Pegaso Z-102, a number of which were parked in my neighborhood. You can see many good Pegaso examples here. (The coupes were hideous.)

Futura with Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford

The Futura was then purchased by George Barris, the King of the Kustomizers, and left out on his back lot because it was untitled. In 1966, George was asked to make a Batmobile for the Batman TV series, and he used the Futura for his model. Clearly, the futurists at Ford had foreseen the parallel reality future of Gotham City, instead of today's ugly world of CAFE standards and officious eco-meddlers. At least we don't have to put up with the Joker.

Fred Thompson - He's for Change

Fred Thompson - He's for Change

I got an e-mail from Newt Gingrich's outfit today. I didn't have time to read it, but the hook line was something like "The Democrats are selling change. What are Republicans going to do about it?" He's correct, of course. America's desperate need for some magical but unspecified change seems to be at the root of all the best Democrat presidential campaigns. The MSM makes it appear as though Americans are buying into change.

I suspect that many Republicans, seeing what looks on its face to be a real grassroots desire for change, want some to sell themselves. As though change was ding an sich, a commodity that perhaps Republicans could label as New and Improved Change. Then the suckers voters would cross the midway to the Republican pork-barrel and snake-oil tent. I hope this isn't what Newt had in mind.

I think the Republican party should embrace change. I don't mean that cheap 60's I want to make a difference, change-the-world hippie horse-shit idea of change. I don't mean the ephemeral, unspecified change for the better, whatever that is type of change the Democrats are selling this month. I mean this: The Republican party should undertake the task of changing themselves into true Republicans once again. Its time to face up to our conservatism instead of pandering to every passing political fancy.

Ronald Reagan wasn't ashamed to be true to genuine conservatism. Every other US President in my memory was willing to pimp our Constitution for a vote or a legacy. All of 'em were panderers to one degree or another, Democrat or Republican, both Bushes included. (I don't remember Truman very well.)

The same charge applies to every viable 2008 presidential candidate save one. Fred Thompson won't trade our traditions for what happens to be trendy. He will bring our party back to its constitutional senses. That is a change that would be welcome.

Cop a laugh

Free Cat

This picture was posted at one of the goofiest blogs ever, "I Drank What?" The humorous blog is purportedly written by a California policeman who calls himself Pecadillo (sic - with only one c). I suppose being a cop in California might drive one crazy, and this blog is good evidence of that. His feature on eating dog meat is worth the click.

There was a farm cat population explosion at my place one summer. It was back in the 1970's, and it seemed as if every female cat on the farm had produced a huge litter. There were probably 20 cats, already too many, hanging around the out-buildings when the kitten boom struck. The reproductive urge was so great that the female cats with fewer kittens were stealing them from other litters. You couldn't turn around without seeing a cat skulking from one building to another with a kitten in its mouth. Folks started calling my place the Cat Ranch.

It was clear that the Fall would bring an epidemic of feline distemper or something, so I decided to thin them out. The lady of the house at the time agreed, but her idea was to round them up, take 'em to the vet and pay for their distemper shots. I was as tight then as I am now, so that costly idea went nowhere. The .22 caliber solution made more sense to me. Besides, half-wild farm cats aren't easy to catch. To keep the peace, I had to promise to try to give them away first.

Nobody in their right mind wants to adopt a farm cat. I made some "Free Cat" signs to put up in town, but nobody bit. So I came up with the idea of offering free food and beer one Saturday. I made new signs:

Spectacular Kitten Drowning!

Come to the Cat Ranch this Saturday for beer, barbecue and cruel entertainments.

Eat, drink and watch as dozens of cute, fuzzy kittens are mercilessly drowned in the water tank at 2:00 PM. Bring the kids!

Free kittens will be given away all day. Only dead kittens will be available after the drowning.

See you on Saturday.

Well, as you might guess, this idea didn't fly either. I figured the drowning ploy would soften folks up, but it just pissed them off once they found out it wasn't a joke. The big drowning was called off. As it turned out, nearly all the cats got distemper in the Fall and we had to shoot them. Its a cruel world if you can't laugh at it.
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Hat Tip: one of the Mickeys.

2008 presidential election issue #1: judicial appointments

Trust us, we'll make conservative appointments!

What kind of Supreme Court and Federal Judiciary do you want? An activist Supreme Court that usurps the legislature and pulls trendy laws out of some phantasmagorical penumbra of constitutional double-read, or a court that will staunchly defend our constitution from those that would use it to "change" America to suit their impossible utopian pipe dreams? Federal judges that undo everything that Congress does that doesn't fit their vision, or ones willing to follow the law?

If you are a conservative and concerned about this, you certainly won't be supporting any of the Democrat candidates. What about the Republican candidates? Will Rudy Giuliani appoint soft on abortion justices? Will McCain select justices that are OK with usurpations of free speech like his McCain-Feingold mess? Will Huckabee say, "Aw-shucks, she won't vote to ban handguns once she's on the bench."?

The only viable candidate I've seen so far that espouses strict construction of our constitution is Fred Thompson. I believe Fred would resist pressure to compromise on court appointments; the one presidential matter where compromise means the death of our republic. The three stooges pictured above are all too wishy-washy when it comes to constitutional integrity.

A bad choice for president lasts for four years at worst. A bad Supreme Court justice or federal judge appointment lasts a lifetime.
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Show that you care about the future of our republic: send Fred Thompson some money today! None other than Ragnar Danneskjold agrees: "Fred's Red Truck Fill-up - Only $23K to Go!! As of this writing, Fred is only $23K away from hitting his goal of raising $1 million by midnight tonight. Whaddaya say to dropping by Fred's site and showing some blogger love?"

Praised with faint damnation

Here's what Omababe, writing as dmr on Rangefinderforum has to say about the old feeder:

The guy who writes this blog is so far to the right that he makes Rush look like a BHL by comparison. It's on a local blog aggregator which I read so sometimes I can't ignore it.

I don't know what a BHL is, but its probably some kind of casual endearment in fashion with today's photon-box artists. I am flattered. Check out the very excellent work at Omababe's blog.
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Kodachromes! Between my Dad and I, we have thousands. We have been digitizing them for the last few years. There has never been a film so definitive of an era in color photography. Old National Geographic magazines had the Kodachrome look in ink. Someone will make it again.

Olympic cheat Marion Jones gets jail

Disgraced American sprinter Marion Jones

US Olympic sprinter Marion Jones has been sentenced to 6 months in the slammer for lying about her steroid use. The sports reporters at Voice of America don't cut her any slack:

Once the biggest name in track and field, the 32-year-old Jones is now destitute. She has been stripped of her medals from the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where she won three golds and two bronzes. All of her performances since September 2000 have been erased from the record books and she has lost millions of dollars earned from endorsements.

A statement from USA Track and Field head Craig Masback said the sentencing 'concludes a sad series of events.' Masback said Jones's case graphically illustrates the wages of cheating in any phase of life.

Or, perhaps Ms. Jones case illustrates the wages of getting caught cheating. She got a seven year ride at the top. I still think the whole steroid era deserves an asterisk. Same goes for the coming wave of genetically engineered athletes.

Debra LaFave: still too good-looking for jail

Debra LaFave - not willful enough

Debra LaFave must be back in the news, the Plains Feeder SiteMeter was unusually high yesterday. Evidently Ms. LaFave, a former teacher who admitted and was convicted of having sex with a 14 year old student, has been providently spared any prison time for violating terms of the house-arrest she received for her crime.

Its my contention that Debra is just too damn cute for prison. From Tampa Bay Online:

Conversations with an underage girl that included handshakes, hugs and slaps on the derriere were in violation of Debra Lafave's house arrest, a judge determined Thursday.

Still, Circuit Judge J. Rogers Padgett ruled, the violation was neither willful nor substantial. Lafave, therefore, will continue house arrest under the current conditions. Had the violation been more serious, Lafave could have been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Lafave, 27, smiled brightly as she walked from the courthouse Thursday afternoon, her parents and lawyer by her side. John Fitzgibbons, her lawyer, said he would resume efforts to get her final year of house arrest commuted to probation.

I note that Ms. LaFave has never had to appear before a female judge. It could make a difference, many of the female judges I've run up against have been cruel, heartless martinets.

Kelsey Peterson, a Nebraska teacher similarly accused of extracurricular sex with a 13 year old student, probably won't be so lucky. In my opinion, poor Kelsey just isn't good-looking enough, even by Nebraska standards, to avoid jail. I wonder how tall Kelsey is?

Iron my shirts!

Cow-eyed Hillary pledges to iron for Bill

The "Iron my shirt" idiots came out of retirement to heckle Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire. You may recall that "Iron my shirts" was a comical anti-feminist slogan back in the day when Hillary was wearing paisley. I can't help but wonder if Clinton didn't hire these lame-boys to spice up her teary campaign. I guess she figured it would be less obvious than her planting supporters to ask fluff questions at her rallies was. Wrong again, comrade Hillary.

Michelle Malkin has a good analysis with background on the perpetrators of the heckle.
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Ask: Do you suppose Hillary ever ironed Bill Clinton's shirts? Do you think Slick Willie can still put the cow-eyes and big grin on Hillary's face?

The Forbidden Photograph

National Archives - Charters of Freedom

The old feeder has always been contrary. Going to high school in Virginia made it easy to visit places like the National Archives. Its an impressive stone building just off the Mall and displays the original Declaration of Independence, US Constitution and Bill of Rights. Back then, they made a big deal of pointing out how these documents could be dropped down into a bomb shelter in seconds so the Rooskis couldn't nuke them.

The cats that ran the place didn't allow photography in the Rotunda of the Charters of Freedom. There was a prominent sign. The high school feeder was also an amateur photographer, having moved on from being a shutterbug. The no photographs rule seemed more like a challenge than anything else.

The only reason they didn't want pictures taken was the flashbulbs everyone had to use in those days. Light, it seems, inevitably fades old documents, so the less of it, the better. Besides, flashes would only glare off the glass, distract the other pilgrims and detract from the dim, solemn dignity of the place. I laid my plans to get the forbidden photograph using available light, like Henri Cartier-Bresson

I sneaked in a small 35 mm camera loaded with Tri-X-Pan and braced it against a stone pediment for the fairly long exposure. A small f8 aperture provided sufficient depth of field. The guard looked away and I coughed to cover the shutter noise. The film I cooked in an extra strong, heated developer, pushing the ASA to about 1,000, yielding the grainy picture you see here.

It doesn't take much to entertain me. Never has.

Monkey business: Fred Thompson won't play

Drudge Composite - Where is Fred?

Does it seem like the news media, both the mainstream and the not-so-mainstream, are ignoring Fred Thompson's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination? I made the above composite of Matt Drudge's 'flash' headlines for yesterday and today. Note that Fred isn't mentioned for his strong showing in the Iowa caucuses (or is it cauci?), or anything else. I guess Matt figures Fred's steady progress and solid values won't capture the attention of his audience. I don't think the media hates Fred, its just that Thompson refuses to engage in the type of political monkey business that makes flash headlines and clever sound-bites.

Fred hasn't flip-flopped on the issues, hasn't changed his position due to poll results or any recently experienced epiphanies or 'eye-openings'. Fred hasn't suffered a setback or gained from a sudden case of voter infatuation. Fred hasn't had any nasty temper tantrums, hasn't said anything shockingly weird or outrageously stupid. Fred doesn't wave his bible around. Fred wouldn't even participate in the puerile show of hands that the Des Moines Register thought would pass for a debate. In short, Fred gets little ink because he won't play along with the political monkey business the media thrives upon at the expense of informing the electorate on the coming election.

If you want to know where Fred stands, check out his website. He has some great videos where he clearly addresses the issues - without any monkey business.
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Please take a moment to vote in the Read-Mor 2008 Presidential preference poll. It is scientifically adjusted for bias and wrong thinking. Ron Paul isn't even excluded.

Omaha cop/writer: on the scene at Omaha mall murders

Omaha Police Sergeant Jeff Baker was one of the first cops on the scene of the Westroads Mall shooting spree here in Omaha, Nebraska. Sgt. Baker wrote his first impressions of what he saw, published by the Omaha World Herald as: Personal account: Officers came face to face with horror.

Now the OPD veteran has put his creative writing skills to work on a more detailed account published as an exclusive by PoliceOne.com: An officer's first-hand look at the Omaha mall shooting. It starts out with: "After 20 years in law enforcement, I thought I’d seen it all." Its a good thing the crimes didn't happen on a dark and stormy night. My lame criticism aside, I found the story insightful, especially with respect to how cops are trained to deal with this sort of on-the-job unpleasantness these days.
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Would you believe this nasty murder-suicide committed by a hateful and self-indulgent broken clock of a young man now has its own Wikipedia article? Excerpt:

An hour before the rampage, Hawkins' mother gave the Sarpy County Sheriff's Department his suicide note which stated, "I just want to take a few pieces of shit with me... I'm gonna be fuckin famous."

I guess the overgrown brat was right.
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Addendum: Sgt. Baker just e-mailed to let me know that he's a blogger. Check out The Battle Site, aka DefendUsInBattle.org. If you think the "separation of church and state" constitutional issue is being used to secularize our culture unnecessarily and unwisely, you will like Jeff's stuff.

Man of the Year - 2008

Fred Thompson

I support Fred Thompson for President in 2008. I have no reservations about the man, and I believe I have exercised more than due diligence in vetting Fred. I find him to be not only intelligent, well-educated and sufficiently experienced, but to be steady and level-headed. Of the other front-running candidates, regardless of party, not one of them has ever been at once both steady and level-headed.

All of the major contenders seem obsessed with becoming the next President of the United States. All but Fred Thompson. The other candidates are driven by radical agenda or megalomania. Not Fred Thompson. Take a step back and review what you already know about each of them. Don't they appear as grotesque caricatures of the persona they work to project? Take one more step back and some of them start to look a bit unbalanced or deranged. Steady? Level-headed? Fred is the only one.

Fred has what it takes to dominate when confronting a fanatical Mohammedan Mullah or a Mexican Government mobster or any of our enemies. Thompson looks and sounds like he has cojones. The rest of the lot leave me cold; our enemies see in them only as easy marks.

Because I support Fred Thompson and I run the feedlot, I have unilaterally named him the Plains Feeder Man of the Year for 2008.
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Beldar has a fine post, I'm With Fred, which I recommend highly. It answers these questions:

• Why now?
• Why Fred
• Why not Mitt?
• Why not McCain, Giuliani, or Huckabee?

Couldn't have said it better myself, Beldar.