Gettin' The Hell Out Of Dodge

Heading to the cottage until next Wednesday evening. Posts will resume then, cheers.

From Their Cold Dead Hands

Yet another piece of not-so-progressive legislation has been proposed by the current administration. This beauty gives unprecendented immunity to U.S. gun manufacturers and dealers:

The Senate voted 66 to 32 to take up the gun measure, which would shield firearms manufacturers from lawsuits as long as they did not make or sell defective products..."Senator Frist is hellbent on helping the gun industry," the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, told reporters, adding, "This is his summer gift to a special interest group."...The bill would spare gun makers from lawsuits, filed by states and municipalities, that seek to hold them responsible for crimes committed with their products - NY Times

The White House issued a policy memo today stating that:

(Bill) S.397 would help curb frivolous litigation against a lawful American Industry... the bill would also safeguard our national security by preventing frivolous lawsuits against an industry that plays an important role in fulfilling our military's procurement needs.

According to some anti-gun violence groups the memo's ridiculously poor choice of language has singlehandedly deemed the following lawsuits as "frivolous":

-- Last year, the families of D.C. area sniper victims won a settlement of over $2 million from the Washington State gun dealer who could not account for the "missing" assault rifle used by the snipers and who "lost" over 200 other guns.

-- The family of Massachusetts slaying victim Danny Guzman, an innocent bystander shot on Christmas Eve 1999, is pursuing justice against a Massachusetts gun manufacturer that not only negligently hired criminals to work in its plant, but had such irresponsible security practices that it allowed them to walk out of the plant with guns that carried no serial numbers, one of which was used to shoot Guzman.

Michael D. Barnes, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence had this to say:

"These innocent Americans were victimized by reckless gun sellers who thought they would never be held accountable for putting guns into dangerous hands. The issue posed by this legislation is simple: Are President Bush and Congress on the side of these victims asserting their fundamental legal rights as Americans, or are they on the side of irresponsible gun merchants who care nothing about the fatal consequences of their conduct?"

It is interesting to note that 'criticial' Defense Department legistlation was shoved aside by the Republican Leadership (read: Bill Frist)to make room for the NRA drafted bill.

Is That A Rocket In Your Pants....?

Two men holding their 'rockets' live on CNN as Freudian psychoanalysts have a freakin' field day all over the world. Gawker envisions the topic of conversation as follows:

Guest: You see, Miles, if you gently apply pressure to the shaft while lightly grazing its base, the rocket will launch rather effectively.
Miles: But what about the danger of another explosion?
Guest: Oh, I am sure of it.

"I like to take foto-camera"

Mahir Cagri proves that the internet isn't just a refuge for hack-writers and porn freaks. His site is a shining beacon in a sea of craptacular garbagio. Here is the ultimate Turkish bachelor: I Kiss You!!!!!! (via Socialite's Life).

A Few Chickens And It's A Deal

I can't help but find this amusing:

Former US president Bill Clinton has been offered 40 goats and 20 cows for his daughter by a love-struck African government official...The dowry is a very generous one by the country's own standards. - SkyNews.com

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. 40 cows? Talk about a gift that keeps on giving. Mmm, dowry. Okay, I'm sorry that was a little cruel; I'm a wee bit pissy today. I will admit she's certainly better looking than she used to be.

The Loathsome Michael Bay

Pajiba's resident crusty bastard, Dustin Rowles, sums up his hate for Michael Bay in such a poetic way:

There is no director working in Hollywood today who is more responsible for the detritus we have to sit through summer after summer than fucking Michael Bay, who — along with his producer/partner Jerry Bruckheimer — created the overlybudgeted, plot-repellant, blow-some-shit-up blockbuster concept...Yeah, it’s Michael Bay’s influence that is responsible for the celluloid offal that permeates our multiplexes now, from National Treasure to Independence Day to that god-awful Godzilla remake. There is no director that I detest as much as Michael Bay, because it is he who epitomizes all that is rotten with a Hollywood studio system that extracts half a day’s wages from a family of four and offers little other than celluloid sewage in return. If it weren’t for my vehement desire to steer at least one – just one! – potential attendee away from a Michael Bay film, then I wouldn’t bother reviewing his films myself, so much do I loathe his mindless, sensory over-killing oeuvre.

Amazingly enough his review of The Island is pretty positive. All in all a very impressive piece of hate-filled writing.

FYI

Thought I'd let people know that posts will be kind of sporadic over the next 3 days. I'm training someone at work and unfortunately blogging isn't in my official job description.