Leading Iranian commentator Amir Taheri writes about them today in the Wall Street Journal:
"Over the past six weeks, at least 118 people have been executed (many live on television), and four have been stoned to death. According to Saeed Mortazavi, the chief Islamic prosecutor, at least 150 more people, including five women, are scheduled to be hanged or stoned to death in the coming weeks.
... The campaign of terror also includes targeted "disappearances" designed to neutralize trade union leaders, student activists, journalists and even mullahs opposed to the regime.
... [In addition,] to intimidate the population, the authorities also have carried out mass arrests on spurious grounds. ... By last week, 40,000 were still in prison. Of these, 20,363 men and women are held on charges related to violating the Islamic Dress Code. According to the Deputy Chief of Police Gen. Hussein Zulfiqari, an additional 6,204 men and women are in prison on charges of "sexual proximity" without being married."
When are the "brave" feminist/liberal voices going to stop whining about trivialities in the US and start focusing their energy on REAL oppression????
...Holding my breath, starting...now!
Monday, August 6, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Question for all the peoples of the world...
Am I the only person on the planet who doesn't give a shit about Posh & Becks?
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Cats & Dogs
I've had it with "Cats and Dogs People."
You know the ones, the ones who have cats or dogs and treat them like they are really their children. The ones who bitch and moan all the time about how people with kids are constantly talking about their kids and then, in the next instant, go on a thirty minute rant about how their sweet little kitty "Mr. Boogiedown" won't lie on the window sill near the garage yet ALWAYS lies on the sill near the kitchen and how it's so weird and it affects his mood and he won't eat in the early AM, blah, blah, blah.
The same people who claim that owning an animal is just as hard and as challenging as raising a child.
Enough.
Now, if you cannot have children of your own, then I completely understand. I have no problem with people who substitute their love for a child they cannot have with the love of a pet. Godspeed...I will even attend your loved one's birthday party.
But if you CHOOSE to not have children and then CHOOSE to pour all of your available love into an animal that shits in a box or licks his or her own genitalia, then, I mock thee.
I had dogs and cats growing up and , as much as I loved them I never, ever mistook them for "little humans" or as my "little babies." They were animals and they were cool, but they were only animals.
Children are more interesting, challenging, time consuming, loving, rewarding, delightful, and life-affirming. Not even fucking Rin Tin Tin or Lassie could compete with the joy and challenge of raising a child.
Please, Cats and Dogs People, stop pretending they're the same...Stop pretending there's no difference...Stop pretending owning a pet is the same thing as being a parent.
It's not.
You know the ones, the ones who have cats or dogs and treat them like they are really their children. The ones who bitch and moan all the time about how people with kids are constantly talking about their kids and then, in the next instant, go on a thirty minute rant about how their sweet little kitty "Mr. Boogiedown" won't lie on the window sill near the garage yet ALWAYS lies on the sill near the kitchen and how it's so weird and it affects his mood and he won't eat in the early AM, blah, blah, blah.
The same people who claim that owning an animal is just as hard and as challenging as raising a child.
Enough.
Now, if you cannot have children of your own, then I completely understand. I have no problem with people who substitute their love for a child they cannot have with the love of a pet. Godspeed...I will even attend your loved one's birthday party.
But if you CHOOSE to not have children and then CHOOSE to pour all of your available love into an animal that shits in a box or licks his or her own genitalia, then, I mock thee.
I had dogs and cats growing up and , as much as I loved them I never, ever mistook them for "little humans" or as my "little babies." They were animals and they were cool, but they were only animals.
Children are more interesting, challenging, time consuming, loving, rewarding, delightful, and life-affirming. Not even fucking Rin Tin Tin or Lassie could compete with the joy and challenge of raising a child.
Please, Cats and Dogs People, stop pretending they're the same...Stop pretending there's no difference...Stop pretending owning a pet is the same thing as being a parent.
It's not.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Spare Me Your Righteous Indignation
People of a "Left" persuasion love to rail against FOX NEWS as a Right Wing Propaganda Machine. To them, FOX NEWS is biased, un-balanced, and basically a mouthpiece of the GOP. To them, all other news outlets are fair, balanced, nuanced, right-down-the-middle, straight shooters looking for the truth in a world menaced by the lurking shadow of evil, domineering, right-wing, Christian, Lords of Death.
Horsecrap.
Even if one were to stipulate that FOX NEWS tilts right, the idea that it is alone in its bias is laughable...just like when Hillary Clinton tells us charming stories about how she and her husband tell loving truths while lying in eachother's arms on a beach blanket sipping wine, eating cheese, and staring out into a beautiful sunset.
The fact is, you can make a case that almost ALL other news outlets tilt to the Left. CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, PBS, ABC, CBS, NBC, USA TODAY, Washington Post, New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, etc, etc, etc.
The list, literally, goes on and on.
Case in point: A few weeks ago, following the Republican Presidential Debate, CNN had a panel that consisted of ZERO conservatives and Arianna Huffington and Paul Begala, two of the biggest bombthrowers of the Left.
Say what you will about FOX, at least they have the courage to match Libs with Conservatives...Something Bill Maher, CNN, and the rest may do well to adhere to.
In any event, please spare all of us the holier-than-thou caterwalling. FOX news is a straw man designed to allow the Left to distract everyone from the reality of their own biased news outlets.
Word.
Horsecrap.
Even if one were to stipulate that FOX NEWS tilts right, the idea that it is alone in its bias is laughable...just like when Hillary Clinton tells us charming stories about how she and her husband tell loving truths while lying in eachother's arms on a beach blanket sipping wine, eating cheese, and staring out into a beautiful sunset.
The fact is, you can make a case that almost ALL other news outlets tilt to the Left. CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, PBS, ABC, CBS, NBC, USA TODAY, Washington Post, New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, etc, etc, etc.
The list, literally, goes on and on.
Case in point: A few weeks ago, following the Republican Presidential Debate, CNN had a panel that consisted of ZERO conservatives and Arianna Huffington and Paul Begala, two of the biggest bombthrowers of the Left.
Say what you will about FOX, at least they have the courage to match Libs with Conservatives...Something Bill Maher, CNN, and the rest may do well to adhere to.
In any event, please spare all of us the holier-than-thou caterwalling. FOX news is a straw man designed to allow the Left to distract everyone from the reality of their own biased news outlets.
Word.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Faces the Facts
SUBJECT: ROD STEWART
Is he Cheesy? Absolutely.
Is "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" the worst song ever? Without question.
Is he now irrelevant and silly? No doubt.
That being said, I think you can make a credible argument that during his early years, namely as the lead singer of the Faces, Rod Stewart was the best lead singer in rock history.
You heard me.
Is he Cheesy? Absolutely.
Is "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" the worst song ever? Without question.
Is he now irrelevant and silly? No doubt.
That being said, I think you can make a credible argument that during his early years, namely as the lead singer of the Faces, Rod Stewart was the best lead singer in rock history.
You heard me.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Take it, my children, and do with it what you like!
For what it's worth:
I have a friend who is a big-time, and I mean big-time, player in the Chicago Business World.
This friend knows all of the polititians in Illinois, Governor, Senators, Congressmen, Mayor Daley, etc etc...He also knows many national political figures as well.
My friend is also apolitical. He is neither Democrat or Republican. He is only interested in his business and will work with polititians of either party. Power, not politics, matters to him.
Where am I going, you ask?
Obviously, in one of our recent discussions, Barak Obama came up. My friend has spent a lot of time with Sen. Obama. Dinners, biz meeteings, events, etc.
His assesement of Barak?
"He is, without a doubt, the emptiest suit I have ever met in my life. A complete nothing wrapped in a pretty, calculated package."
Just throwin' it out there...
I have a friend who is a big-time, and I mean big-time, player in the Chicago Business World.
This friend knows all of the polititians in Illinois, Governor, Senators, Congressmen, Mayor Daley, etc etc...He also knows many national political figures as well.
My friend is also apolitical. He is neither Democrat or Republican. He is only interested in his business and will work with polititians of either party. Power, not politics, matters to him.
Where am I going, you ask?
Obviously, in one of our recent discussions, Barak Obama came up. My friend has spent a lot of time with Sen. Obama. Dinners, biz meeteings, events, etc.
His assesement of Barak?
"He is, without a doubt, the emptiest suit I have ever met in my life. A complete nothing wrapped in a pretty, calculated package."
Just throwin' it out there...
Friday, April 20, 2007
Greatest Song ever
I go back-and-forth on this almost daily, if not, weekly. As of now, the Greatest Song Ever Recorded is "One Bourbon...One Scotch...And One Beer," by George Thoroughgood and the Deleware Destroyers.
Tomorrow it will probably be "Nobody's Fault but Mine," by Led Zeppelin, or "My Woman From Tokyo," by Deep Purple. But for today, it's all about Lonesome George.
Tomorrow it will probably be "Nobody's Fault but Mine," by Led Zeppelin, or "My Woman From Tokyo," by Deep Purple. But for today, it's all about Lonesome George.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Katrina, Virgina Tech, & Government.
One of the things that has struck me following the horrific murders at Virgina Tech is the same thing that struck me following the horrific hurricane that struck the Gulf Coast two years ago.
The common theme?
The sad instinct to look to government for answers to imponderable questions.
Fact: Katrina was a hurricane. A big hurricane. A scary hurricane. No government on earth could have prevented it, let alone the mighty US government. New Orleans was going to flood...it's below sea-level for christ-sake. People were going to die.
Fact: The sick, twisted murderer at Virgina Tech was going to kill people and he was not going to be stopped by government. To look for government to stop him, and others like him, is idiotic. We live in a free society. You cannot stop someone who wants to kill people. Va Tech even had tight gun laws.
Sadly, it seems, we have become too reliant on the Nanny State to take care of us. In reflecting on these tragic events, we look for answers from our leaders. We want to know why they didn't stop a hurricane or stop a diseased loner from wreaking havoc on poor, innocent people.
The fact is, in life bad things happen. Bad people kill. Bad storms damage.
Perhaps, in a strange way, these events will help teach us the lesson of self-reliance and the self-responsibility of living in a free society.
Sometimes, the answer is that there is no answer.
The common theme?
The sad instinct to look to government for answers to imponderable questions.
Fact: Katrina was a hurricane. A big hurricane. A scary hurricane. No government on earth could have prevented it, let alone the mighty US government. New Orleans was going to flood...it's below sea-level for christ-sake. People were going to die.
Fact: The sick, twisted murderer at Virgina Tech was going to kill people and he was not going to be stopped by government. To look for government to stop him, and others like him, is idiotic. We live in a free society. You cannot stop someone who wants to kill people. Va Tech even had tight gun laws.
Sadly, it seems, we have become too reliant on the Nanny State to take care of us. In reflecting on these tragic events, we look for answers from our leaders. We want to know why they didn't stop a hurricane or stop a diseased loner from wreaking havoc on poor, innocent people.
The fact is, in life bad things happen. Bad people kill. Bad storms damage.
Perhaps, in a strange way, these events will help teach us the lesson of self-reliance and the self-responsibility of living in a free society.
Sometimes, the answer is that there is no answer.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Welcome to Ruck and Maul!
Statement of Principles:
(Hat tip to Orson Welles)
I, Kemper Hoyt, promise to opine, pontificate, and present my points of view with utter candor and brutal honesty. Sentiment, bias, and spin do not and will not apply. What matters most at "Ruck and Maul" is truth.
Now let's get this be-atch started.
(Hat tip to Orson Welles)
I, Kemper Hoyt, promise to opine, pontificate, and present my points of view with utter candor and brutal honesty. Sentiment, bias, and spin do not and will not apply. What matters most at "Ruck and Maul" is truth.
Now let's get this be-atch started.
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