Again, I apologize, I seem to have been missing for another week or so.  Life is like that, sometimes.  Chalk it up to some needed down time and a family reunion.

So one of the ‘big’ stories on my return to the blog world was the whole Rachel Ray kerfluffle over her scarf?

So initially I assumed there was some dark sinister message hidden in her headgear, but then I saw the picture you see to the right.

And I don’t get it.

Oh, I get the fact that it is somewhat similar to a kaffiyeh, the traditional Arab headdress worn by our enemies in the middle east.

But at the same time, it is a scarf, around the neck of a woman who hosts a TV cook show, and who has never to my knowledge made a single political stance on the war or on Islamfacism.

So the accusations that this was something nefarious fell on deaf ears here.

With due respect to the people who have taken a solid offended stance on this, I have to solidly disagree.  This was a much ado over nothing.

What concerns me is that this outcry has only served to once again make conservatives appear weak and shrill, and gives the impression that they will overreact to the slightest provocation.

While I agree that appeasement and Dhimmitide is a problem that needs to be watched,the conservatives appear to have taken it to a level that begins to become a witch hunt.

When we start jumping at shadows and shooting at phantoms, we set ourselves up for ridicule and derision, and like the boy who cried wolf, when the time comes to demand action for a more serious threat to our freedoms, we will not be listened to, and incidents like this will come front and center as the rationale.

Put simply, there are far more obvious and odious things to get worked up over.  This is what it looks like:  A scarf.  Nothing more.

The sexpresso craze I first blogged about here, and then again here, continues to grow and flourish here in the Pacific Northwest, the home of Starbucks, the unofficial caffeine capital of the US.

The concept is really a no brainer.  Dress the baristas up in sexy clothes and see if they draw business.

Duh.  Of course they will.  You don’t really think Hooters is still around for the food do you?  Seriously?

The latest craze started when a Bonney Lake mom, kids in the car with her, went through a Hot Chick-a-Latte stand, and the barista was wearing pasties. 

OK, that might be pushing it a bit, but then again some bikinis don’t cover much more.

She has decided to organize a protest.  All well and good, though voting with her wallet is usually the most effective.  I do have to laugh at her stated intention of starting a clothing drive…Ma’am, I don’t think lack of clothing is the problem here…

But really, all she is doing is drawing more of a crowd, and I doubt they will lose any business.

The whole idea is not a real uncommon one.  Why do you think cheerleaders hold car washes?  Why do all kinds of products have cute and sexy models? 

Sex Sells.  Our culture not only counts on it, it enables it daily with the things on TV, the things in magazines and the things we sell.  Surgeons make trillions selling beauty to the highest bidder, and our daily news and tabloids are filled with the escapades of the young, rich and lovely.

If you wanted to combat the tide of sexy baristas, you have to start a lot deeper in our society.  And if the tide turns, and their popularity, the ladies will re-clothe themselves and the gimmick will change.

On the whole, with a few qualifiers, I personally could not care less.  I do find one stand’s use of a 16 year old daughter to be a bit over the line.  And the pastie thing may be a bit much…at the least from a safety point of view.

The ruling comes as no surprise, really. 

The California Supreme Court, striking down two state laws that had limited marriages to unions between a man and a woman, ruled on Thursday that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.

The 4-to-3 decision, drawing on a ruling 60 years ago that struck down a state ban on interracial marriage, would make California the second state, after Massachusetts, to allow same-sex marriages.

Again, is anyone actually surprised?

The decision, which becomes effective in 30 days unless the court grants a stay, was greeted with celebrations at San Francisco City Hall, where thousands of same-sex marriages were thrown out by the courts four years ago.

And the issue will not go away…

It was denounced by religious and conservative groups that promised to support an initiative proposed for the November ballot that would amend the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages and overturn the decision.

And that brings up a serious question:  Is a mandate from the people really the important factor here?

So they vote to amend their constitution to ban it.  What if California voted in a measure to ban people of a race, and to do so by constitutional amendment?

The Majority may rule, but they are not always right.  Just something to thjink about.

My feelings on the issue hinge more from how the federal and state governments own marriage in the first place, rather than on moral or religious feelings.  So the ruling does nothing for me except on one level:  Once again the Courts are legislating from the bench, as the dissenting opinion makes note that the matter should be resolved by the legislature.

In a dissent, Justice Marvin R. Baxter said the majority should have deferred to the Legislature on whether to allow same-sex marriage, particularly given the increased legal protections for same-sex couples enacted in recent years.

Ever since Al Gore’s lie-fest misrepresented this it has continued to grow until the face of the cute majestic polar bear has become the face of the Eco Alarmists.

Every day I see Tv commercials bemoaning the plight of the mighty creatures, sad music plays while a momma bear leaves her cubs on the melting ice and swims off into the sea.

What they don’t tell you is that is normal behavior, and has nothing to do with climate change at all.

While Al Gore scares you into believing the bears lead a doomed existence, the reality is the populatoin of the bears is about 4 times what it was 60 years ago.

Rather than being threatened, the bears are flourishing.

So what prompted the US to declare them threatened?  A fraud by the Eco Warriors.  Nothign more.

As Michelle Malking notes:

It’s been in the works for quite some time, but now the decision is official. Polar bears have been listed by the Bush Interior Department as a “threatened” species. This is the first listing attributed to global warming.

What’s really going on here?

Kenneth Green at AEI exposes the politics behind the eco-radicals’ polar bear campaign and the consequences:

Listing the polar bear as a threatened species would have significant public policy consequences. It would set a new precedent, representing the first linkage of species endangerment with global warming. Such a listing would basically wall off the entire Arctic region to exploration, resource extraction, and development–at least by U.S. companies–and a threatened species listing would give environmental groups the ability to sue future U.S. governments to force them to reverse climate change by whatever means necessary.

There is little doubt that such lawsuits would be filed quickly. According to the NRDC:



Listing the polar bear guarantees federal agencies will be obligated to ensure that any action they authorize, fund, or carry out will not jeopardize the polar bears’ continued existence or adversely modify their critical habitat, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be required to prepare a recovery plan for the polar bear, specifying measures necessary for its protection.

…

All along the Obama-maniacs have used racism as their trump card.  Any criticism of him was racist, pure as simple. 

So according to this piece at the NY Daily News, that is also why Hillary won’t quit:  Racism and bigotry.  So be happy all you non Obama-maniacs, according to this, the secret is out and the only reason you do not like him is because you are a racist bigot.

 Ugly truth why Hillary Clinton won’t quit (emphasis mine)

While the case for Hillary Clinton to stay in the race is shakier than ever, one ugly reason for staying in could be found Tuesday amid the ruddy, sun-kissed Hoosiers who cheered her on to victory at the Indianapolis Speedway.

With Clinton posing alongside pioneering Indy speedster Sarah Fisher,

…a young white girl…

there were almost no African-Americans to be seen. Many in the white, working-class crowd were simply not ready to back Barack Obama - for reasons that are disturbing.

“I’m kind of still up in the air between McCain and Hillary,” said Jason Jenkins, 32, who cited information from a hoax e-mail as a reason to spurn Obama.

“I’ll be honest with you. Barack scares the hell out of me,”he said. “He swore on the Koran.”

So they single out one crank who believed that idiotic email.  So if whites don’t trust him for his alleged Muslim faith and his skin color, how does he attract any at all?

Obama did manage to pull in many white voters, but still encountered similar sentiments from a man who refused to shake his hand at a diner in Greenwood, Ind.

“I can’t stand him,” the man said. “He’s a Muslim. He’s not even pro-American as far as I’m concerned.”

Such feelings leave Clinton and the Democratic Party in a tough spot. With the largest number of remaining delegates now being party insiders, they have to decide if Obama can overcome enough of that antipathy - essentially deciding if enough working-class whites will back away from the black candidate, whether because of the false Muslim rumors, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright flap or old-fashioned racism.

I’ve been offline for a week, and when I come back, what awaits me?  The most ignorant stupid thing I have seen thus far this year.

Fla. Teacher Accused Of Wizardry: Man Made Toothpick Vanish In Class

Teacher Jim Piculas does a magic trick where a toothpick disappears and then reappears.

Piculas recently did the 30-second trick in front of a classroom at Rushe Middle School in Land ‘O Lakes.

Piculas said he then got a call from the supervisor of teachers, saying he’d been accused of wizardry.

“I get a call the middle of the day from head of supervisor of substitute teachers. He says, ‘Jim, we have a huge issue, you can’t take any more assignments you need to come in right away,’” he said.

Piculas said he did not know f any other accusations that would have led to the action.

The teacher said he is concerned that the incident may prevent him from getting future jobs.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

What the hell is wrong with people?  Seriously!

On a happy note:  This does make Seattle Schools look pretty good, so at least we have that.

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