dcthornton.com

Posting will be light due to my summer work schedule, plus I’ve been busy with home matters.

To those who’ve been waiting to see my response to the recent New York Times articles on Las Vegas, rest assured that I’m working on it as time allows, and it will be posted as soon as it’s ready.

Who’s teaching your children? Citizen Smash attended another anti-war protest taking place in L.A. and discovered that one of the organizers is an unabashed member of the International Socialist Organization – and a high school history teacher.

You know the drill…

Bill of INDC Journal attended a weekend protest as the father of Nick Berg was invited to help “speak truth to power". During the press conference following Michael Berg’s speech, Bill joined in with questions of his own.

Read the whole thing.

The nation’s 40th President ended his journey with Alzheimer’s Disease that led him into the sunset of his life today. He was 93.

An online memorial has been set up by the Reagan Presedential Library.

When Reagan was president, I was too young to vote, but I was fired up with misplaced hatred toward him. I used to believe the hype, and even stirred up a fuss when I wrote a pro-Mondale op-ed for my high school paper which viciously attacked President Reagan.

As I grew older, I came to respect his leadership and his achievements, even though I didn’t agree with them at the time. Also, I came around to regret that I wrote such a vicious screed.

When he announced to the world a decade ago that he was afflicted with Alzheimer’s, my respect gave way to appreciation for what he did as president, and deepest sympathies for his being stricken with an illness that I wouldn’t dare wish upon my worst enemy.

The announcement of Reagan’s passing left me with a lump in my throat as well. Regardless of what others may say of him and his life, he was a man who embodied statesmanship when America needed it.

I will miss him.

Obviously, it is no longer the elected Board of Supervisors that does, but the anti-religous (but pro-goddess) ACLU:

Los Angeles County supervisors on Tuesday ended an emotional debate over the symbolism of the tiny gold cross on the county seal by deciding to remove it rather than defend it against a threatened ACLU lawsuit.

Advised by county attorneys that the cross might not withstand a court challenge, the Board of Supervisors voted to seek a compromise with the ACLU – perhaps by replacing the cross with images of a Spanish mission and Native Americans. […]

“Where does it all end?” lamented Supervisor Don Knabe, who said that changing the county seal would be tantamount to “rewriting history” in a region shaped by Catholic missionaries. “I do not think we should capitulate. As the largest county in America, if we roll over, what’s next?”

But other supervisors indicated that they wanted to avoid a potentially costly court fight, which Gloria Molina predicted, “We are going to lose.”

The cross – along with a cow, a tuna fish, a Spanish galleon, the Hollywood Bowl and the Goddess Pomona cradling an armful of fruit – has adorned the county seal since 1957. The American Civil Liberties Union argued that the official insignia, which appears on everything from county vehicles and meeting rooms to employee badges and telephone books, was unconstitutional because it reflects “an impermissible endorsement of Christianity by the county government” and is a violation of the 1st Amendment.

In a May 19 letter, ACLU attorneys warned the Board of Supervisors to remove the cross or face a lawsuit.

“We realize this is not the most important civil liberties issue in our society,” Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU’s Southern California chapter, said Tuesday in an interview. “But it does make some people feel unwelcome. And we feel the county seal should be welcoming.”

Yes, I’m sure that a tiny, non-offensive cross symbolizing the missions built by Junipero Serra which helped established the region would offend a vampire or two…

Which makes me wonder if the ACLU lawyers who got L.A. County to roll over are capable of looking at themselves in a mirror – and finding a soul?

But they didn’t gripe about the front-and-center presence of pagan goddess Pomona possibly making some people feel unwelcome, mind you.

As a former Angeleno, I’m disgusted. The supervisors who caved in to the threat of frivolous lawsuits are nothing but P.C. cowards (Mike Antonovich and Don Knabe excepted), and deserve to be thrown out of office.

(links via Arguing With Signposts)

Master Sci-Fi author Ray Bradbury has a few things to say about “filmaker” Michael Moore and the misuse of the title from one of his classics. No holds barred.

On the premiere date of “Fahrenheit 9/11″, I plan to watch the film version of Fahrenheit 451 instead. Movie night at my place!

(link via Ben Kepple)

From today’s paper:

Just keep it up, California Democrats. The Nevada economy thanks you for it.

“As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger crusades to make California more business friendly,” The Associated Press reported Monday, “Democrat lawmakers passed an array of bills last week that would impose a variety of fees and higher costs on businesses operating in the Golden State.”

The list of legislative meddling is mind-boggling in its expansiveness. There’s an increase in the minimum wage; a measure to allow workers to sue employers for not protecting them against harassment from customers; a bill allowing employees to sue their bosses for myriad other offenses; new fees on chemical manufacturers; mandates for global warming labels on new cars sold; and a restriction on the state doing business with companies that outsource jobs.

And we haven’t even mentioned the ban on teenagers using tanning salons.

It’s likely that Schwarzenegger will veto the above nonsense, but just in case if the Democrat legislature in Sacramento overrides him, Nevada will be happy to welcome business refugees from California (especially those technology firms…).

With the temperatures reaching into the 100s today, summer has officially arrived in Southern Nevada.

Kerry has claimed that foreign leaders are privately supporting his campaign for President. Hans Blix happens to be one of them:

Q: “Are you tracking the U.S. Presidential campaign?”
Mr. Blix: “I place my trust in the multilateralism of Democratic candidate John Kerry. And in any event, I think that the whole world should vote on 2 November because so much depends on the outcome of that vote.”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want the world outside of the U.S. to decide who will lead our country, let alone a disgraced U.N. weapons inspector who couldn’t even find his way out of an IKEA on a slow business day.

(link via Ravenwood)

Rather than create a Memorial Day post this morning, I’ve decided to link to far better ones from the blogosphere. Jeff Quinton of Backcountry Conservative is tracking postings from bloggers, and all of them are worth visiting.

Above all else, Memorial Day is not just about a day off from work (for some) picnics, and barbecues. It’s a day to reflect and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice that we may remain free. Before you repast today, please take time to remember and give thanks to those who made this day of liberty possible for us all.

The following is from today’s Memorial Day editorial in the Review-Journal:

Americans have two duties, each Memorial Day. The first is to remember those soldiers, and their sacrifice.

The second is to stand our own guard, to make sure the liberties they fought to protect are not abandoned, unnoticed, without a fight. Recall the words of Justice Louis Brandeis, who warned us in Olmstead v. the United States that, “The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.”

How many times, on sultry Memorial Days, have we listened to the best student in the class strive to intone Abraham Lincoln’s words, without really hearing in them our own call to action?

“It is for us, the living … to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced,” Mr. Lincoln said, “that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

The struggle in Iraq is, in some large measure, already resolved – precisely because this is not a nation that hungers for empire.

Our boys will come home from Baghdad. The Iraqi people will eventually decide their own fate. If history is any guide, they will not choose well.

Rather, the larger struggle for freedom in the world in our time will be decided right here.

“What kind of government have you given us?” Mrs. Powel asked Mr. Franklin as he emerged, at last, from the sweltering hall in Philadelphia.

“A republic,” he said … “if you can keep it.”

Read the editorial in its entirety. I agree with it 100%.

With the dedication of the new WWII memorial in Washington over the weekend, the local paper printed two articles featuring local residents who were part of “The Greatest Generation":

Las Vegas vets remember war

Las Vegan Joe Schwartz earned three Purple Hearts during World War II, including one for what he called a “million dollar wound” that sent him home for good.

But medals were nowhere to be seen on Saturday as Schwartz, 86, and others from Las Vegas who were wounded in battle attended the dedication of the National World War II Memorial.

To Schwartz’s thinking, the ceremony was not for him and other survivors but for the 405,973 who were killed as members of U.S. armed forces and the 12 million more who died before the monument became reality.

“These were fellas we partied with, drank with, raised hell with, fought with,” Schwartz said. “The point is, they were young men and we’re here and they’re not.”

“Those are the ones who were the heroes,” said Israel Schneider, 84.

During WWII, Europe and the Pacific weren’t the only battlefields back then. Blacks in the military also fought the battles of segregation and discrimination during the war.

Veteran broke color barriers to join the battle

More than two years before Brooklyn Dodgers great Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier, Frank Barbee did it in the Army when he volunteered to fight alongside white soldiers in World War II.

Barbee was one of only 148 black soldiers in the so-called “Fifth Platoons” of the 69th Infantry Division who saw combat in early 1945 near the end of the Battle of the Bulge.

“In those days, there were two armies, the black Army and the white Army,” Barbee, 83, said in an interview at his Las Vegas home last week.

A tough, streetwise kid from Chicago, he was inspired by patriotism and tried to join the Army after the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. “But they wouldn’t accept me because I was black,” he said.

Then, just two years later, he was drafted to support the war effort in Europe.

Both articles are worthwhile reading.

The broadband connection was down for most of the weekend, which explains the light posting. But a cable modem replacement and a technical visit from Cox Communications later (the dowlink from the cable tap to the house had melted over time), things are once again smooth sailing.

Also, I had to prep the place for the hot summer months. I sprayed the perimeter of the residence for bugs, cleaned the patio, performed some minor plumbing fixes, and fixed the entry door. Although I still have to finish cleaning up before guests descend upon the house tomorrow afternoon, the place looks a whole lot better.

Today, I went and invested in an electric BBQ grill (due to HOA rules, I can’t have gas or charcoal grills on my patio, and grilling outside in the common area is definitely out of the question), and I’ll be assembling it and breaking it in tomorrow. I was wondering if anybody might have had any positive experiences with electric grilling and can share some pointers. Otherwise, I’ll just see how the diners react tomorrow.

Fellow libertarian sister Shay shared a recent newspaper article with some of her left-leaning friends.

“Voting for Bush is Voting Against Your People”

This is what the husband of one of my best friends told me yesterday, and my friend concurred. The husband also said, “Any black who votes for Bush should be strung up and shot” (I kid you not). Ouch!

Some folks seriously need to lay off the Haterade.

I received the latest issue of Reason in the mail today:

Granted, my first impulse was to run for the hills, but inside, I discovered that they miscalculated my average commute time, that I can easily get a credit card (yeah, right), and that my congressman voted to stop police raids on medical marijuana users (Jon Porter is a closet libertarian?? Whodathunkit!?).

However, I just learned on the back cover that my townhome community is slated for eminent domain, so I’m somewhat contemplating that hillside run…

(more…)

The cable modem went south yesterday, and has miraculously decided to get its act together (and saving me money in the process).

It’s going to be a light posting weekend, due to much-needed chores and R&R. But I’ll be around.

Al Gore performed to the bidding of his master, George Soros, today:

[…] Gore delivered a blistering denunciation Wednesday of the Bush administration’s “twisted values and atrocious policies” in Iraq and demanded the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and CIA director George Tenet.

Raising his voice to a yell in a speech at New York University, Gore said: “How dare they subject us to such dishonor and disgrace! How dare they drag the good name of the United States of America through the mud of Saddam Hussein’s torture prison!”

Meanwhile, Michele put together an abridged version of Gore’s speech.

The following people want to kill us this summer (click on each photo for more information):

Be safe. Be vigilant. Be on the look out.

(graphic and HTML code courtesy of Brain Shavings)

With rising gas prices upon us, Frank J. offers some conservation ideas.

One of those ideas has already been implemented at my workplace, and usually affects my assigned staff vehicle.

But on a serious note, I knew there was a reason why my grandparents would to keep a can of used cooking oil in the kitchen…

As a Las Vegas resident, I find it odd that whenever I find the time to turn on the TV, it seems that every channel has a show about…Las Vegas. When I lived in Southern California, the most I’d see on TV related to Vegas was a movie or two, give or take some tourism ads to get the L.A. Basin crowd into their cars and on Interstate 15 north.

I’ll admit, however, that “American Casino”, a new show from the people who brought us “American Chopper” might be worth watching….only to see if the Fertittas will get on each others nerves like the Teutels.