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Thursday, January 31, 2013

Are we reaching a tipping point? The New York Times (finally) looks critically at Democrat Senator Bob Menendez.

If the New York Times is starting to look critically at Menendez, the rest of the lame stream media will start to follow.
As Robert Stacy McCain at The Other McCain noted, a jail bait prostitute story involving a U.S. Senator and a FBI investigation is news.  The New York Times has not gone there yet (focusing on the under-age prostitutes)...but by reporting the FBI investigation of Bob Menendez' good friend who also arranged the Dominican Republic sex romps, it is only a matter of time before the rest of the media starts running with this story.

As the Anthony Wiener story showed, the media will only give a Democrat so much slack.

SooperMexican does some GIF mockery of Bob Menendez.  
Update:
AoSHQ: Bob Menendez' friends...
Bob Menendez abused Dominican girls involved...
Why Bob Menendez might survive this...
Is Bob Menendez doomed? 

Caleb Moore RIP: Fatal snowmobile crash at X-games




My condolences to Mr. Moore's family.  I am sorry for their loss.


Democrat Senator Bob Menendez Dominican Prostitute Rule 5

Senator Bob Menendez (Democrat):  I have a bill in my pocket that needs some special attention!  

All of this demands a Rule 5 post.  As Stacy McCain notes, it is strange that a story about a U.S. Senator allegedly engaging in sex romps with under-aged prostitutes provided by a foreign person and some political donor in Miami (which the FBI is investigating) is not attracting media attention.  Not sure if the girls below were actually with Senator Bob (and they certainly do look well over 18 years of age), but they come from the Doll Palace escort agency web site.  Bob Menendez is reportedly being investigated by the FBI.  But Menendez does have support from women!  If you are into this sort of thing, it is not only "good to be the King," but good to be a Senator from the State of New Jersey!  Code word: "Chocolate"  

Update:  
SooperMexican does some GIF mockery of Bob Menendez.  
TOM:  Political Corruption involving at least a billion.  Where there is underage hooker sex involving a U.S. Senator, there is fire.  





Mahalia Jackson: Summertime and Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child


Mission Accomplished: Obama Adminsitration closing office tasked with closing Guantanamo Bay Terrorist Detention Center

Cuba Gate, Guantanamo Bay
Mission Accomplished?  I would have more respect for Obama if he just admitted this was a bad idea and that we are better off with Guantanamo Bay as a detention facility.  

Bessie Griffin: Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child


Rising Carbon Dioxide Levels, Fossil Fuels, and the Greening of Planet Earth

Der Park, Gustav Klimt (1910)
Instapundit had this article link that links to this article by Matt Ridley.  There are a lot of great links and data in this Ridley article.  If you have the time, I encourage you to check them all out.  

As carbon dioxide levels have risen over the last few decades, Ridley cites this source that plant life has expanded world wide (In the 1980s forest biologists started to report striking increases in the growth rates of trees and the density of forests: in Douglas firs in British Columbia, Scots pines in Finland, bristlecone pines in Colorado and even tropical rain forests) in response to CO2 increases (thanks in large part to fossil fuels):
There is no empirical evidence to support the model-based claim that future carbon uptake by plants will diminish on a global scale due to rising temperatures. In fact, just the opposite situation has been observed in the real world. 
Earth's land surfaces were a net source of CO2-carbon to the atmosphere until about 1940. From 1940 onward, however, the terrestrial biosphere has become, in the mean, an increasingly greatersink for CO2-carbon. 
Over the past 50 years, for example, global carbon uptake has doubled from 2.4 ± 0.8 billion tons in 1960 to 5.0 ± 0.9 billion tons in 2010 (see figure below). 
The observed global greening has occurred in spite of all the many real and imagined assaults on Earth's vegetation that have occurred over the past several decades, including wildfires, disease, pest outbreaks, deforestation, and climatic changes in temperature and precipitation, more than compensating for any of the negative effects these phenomena may have had on the global biosphere. 
There is compelling evidence that the atmosphere's rising CO2 content - which alarmists consider to be the chief culprit behind all of their concerns about the future of the biosphere (via the indirect threats they claim it poses as a result of CO2-induced climate change) - is most likely the primary cause of the observed greening trends. 
In the future, Earth's plants should be able to successfully adjust their physiology to accommodate a warming of the magnitude and rate-of-rise that is typically predicted by climate models to accompany the projected future increase in the air's CO2 content. Factoring in plant productivity gains that will occur as a result of the aerial fertilization effect of the ongoing rise in atmospheric CO2, plus its accompanying transpiration- reducing effect that boosts plant water use efficiency, the world's vegetation possesses an ideal mix of abilities to reap a tremendous benefit in the years and decades to come.
So maybe Al Gore really is not a hypocrite in selling out Current TV to Qatar oil sheiks.

The Garden of Earthly Delight, Hieronymus Bosch (circa 1480-1505)

Louis Armstrong: Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child...


Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Reagan childhood home to be torn down for a parking lot for Barack Obama library?


Reagan's childhood home in Hyde Park, Chicago
to be torn down for Obama's Library?
This is very wrong, but I am not the least bit surprised.  I blame Thulsa Doom.

Update:
I get Michael's point, Ronald Reagan's primary childhood homes were in Dixon and Tampico, Illinois.  But this building in Hyde Park above was a home of Ronald Reagan (granted a minor one), so the symbolism of it being torn down for the Barack Obama Presidential Library parking lot still bothers me.  

Cop steals marijuana from suspects, makes brownies at home, freaks out and calls 911, hilarity ensues...

This may be the funniest 911 call evah.



Go Red Wings!

x posted at BSC News and Reddit.

Senator Bob Menendez (Democrat) is alleged to be linked to underaged prostitutes provided to him by a foreign donor...

Senator Bob Menendez (Democrat): He (allegedly) likes his prostitutes young...
Back in early November, Senator Bob Menendez was reported to have been partaking in prostitutes provided by a rich foreign donor.  That used to be a career killer for a Senator, but apparently it is now okay if you are a Democrat.

But as reported by the Daily Caller and TOM, now the FBI is investigating.  It is alleged the prostitutes in question were underaged.  A long time South Florida ally of Menendez suspected of  having provided underaged prostitues to him.

Menendez also hired a registered undocumented but registered sex offender to work as a member of his staff.  Facilitated sex parties by donors?  It is amazing how much slack a Democrat gets from the media in a sex scandal, and how opposite that is if the accused is a Republican.

Update:
Sister Toldjah:  Let's pretend for five seconds that Bob Menendez was a Republican...
AoSHQ:  Media embargo on Menendez sex romps, but he is honored for "empowering" young women (you really can't make this stuff up).
Moe Lane/Red State
Hypocrisy watch:  Bob Menendez called for firing Secret Service agents who solicited prostitutes.
Is Bob Menendez doomed?  

Michelle Malkin: How conservative bloggers fought back a false story...

Tiny Kiss: I wanna rock and roll all night...

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Separated at Birth Hairstyles...


Michelle Obama



Thulsa Doom

Contemplate this on the tree of woe...

Surfing record verified: Garrett McNamara rides 100 foot wave in Portugal

Separated at Birth: Marco Rubio and...?


I thought this was supposed to be a good plan?
Oh yeah, it's a good plan, 
you can trust me...













This is just depressing.  Not that the status quo is so great.  It is killing the GOP, along with a lame half hearted effort support at immigration enforcement that only further alienates the party and is worse than no enforcement at all.  But they came up with this?  No wonder the Democrats are so thrilled.

I am very much pro immigration.  What we should be doing as a nation is recruiting the best and brightest from around the world to move here--not encouraging more people who will go immediately to taxing our schools, emergency rooms, and insurance industry (in the form of uninsured drivers), and voting Democrat to get more government benefits.

Update:
TOM is right, this is just depressing!  The same sex issues does not depress me as much (hey even the Boy Scouts are in the same pickle at the GOP).  In actual numbers, this is a tiny percentage of immigration anyway.  The over all issue (immigration as a whole) is way bigger than that.
Legal Immigrants are not amused...
Here is Rush Limbaugh's interview with Marco Rubio (it is not all bad, go check it out).
Smitty:  Mr. Peace Prize Obama sowing some strife...
Shark Tank: Marco Rubio: Immigration reform savior or fraud?
Marco Rubio's charm offensive...
Erick Erickson:  I don't like Rubio's plan
Hot Air:  Push back from conservatives...
Dan Riehl: It won't matter
Ann Coulter:  Rubio's path to oblivion (funny her fat man, Kris Kristiekreme, probably likes it).
Michael Barone is not freaked out about it...

The Best Regional Hot Dog Styles

I generally avoid promoting beef products at EBL, for obvious reasons, but here are some of the best hot dogs available out there.  Here is at least one story on how these sausages in a bun got their name.

Unlike other best of lists, I will start with the absolute best and work my way down.  You can disagree if you wish, but you would be wrong.  Here is my criteria:  It has to taste good, it has to be consistently good, I have eaten there and I think about them years later, and it has to be a good value (over priced dogs are generally frowned upon).

Rachael Ray had a hot dog bracket.  It does not really work for me, but she does have some great hot dog places listed.

#1 Rutt's Hut Ripper:
A hot dog masterpiece.  Rutt's Hut Ripper, Clifton, New Jersey
"If this was in Brooklyn or even Philadelphia it would be packed to the gills with hipsters 24 hours a day. Thankfully it's in the middle of New Jersey."  
That is absolutely correct.  What I love about Rutt's Hut is it is actually hard to find.  It is in this waste land between highways.  It is an unassuming road house tavern that serves the best hot dogs in the world.  


The Rutt's Hut Ripper is a unique masterpiece.  It is that simple.  Fab Hot Dogs in Reseda, California does a simulation Ripper.

Maybe it is a Jersey Shore thing (I am willing to concede that is influencing me).  These dogs are more classics than unique masterpieces like the Rutt's Hut Ripper--but I have found them to be consistently great.  They are both a Jersey shore variant of Kosher griddle style (very similar to Nathan's Coney Island), except there is pork in these dogs (they are definitely not Kosher).

I have eaten at the original Nathan's and been disappointed (and the other Nathan's are worse).  Nathan's claim to fame is its founder worked for Charles Feltman who first started selling hot dogs at Coney Island around 1870.  Nathan's went into competition and undercut his own boss.

Katz' Deli in Manhattan makes a great Kosher style griddle dog too, but if you are going to Katz' you generally don't have a hot dog.  I have not been disappointed at Max's or the Windmill.  Bruce Springsteen has sung about both Max's and the Windmill.  Max's dogs are now a bit expensive, which could be a deal breaker.  But people pay for what they love.  
A Windmill Dog, Long Branch, New Jersey

The Windmill, Long Branch, New Jersey
Max's Dog, Long Branch, New Jersey
Max's Dog, simple, classic

86th and 3rd Avenue, Manhattan, NYC

A classic cheap dog with a tasty tropical drink
Papaya King is arguably not as great as some other dogs farther down this list, but a great value.  It is cheap, tasty, and consistently good.  Some of the other dogs farther down this list taste better.  But I will rank Papaya King #3 for a combination of value and location.  Julia Child claimed it was the best hog dog in New York.  Tony Bourdain loves it.  There was some updating of Papaya King in 2010 (they had a rodent problem) and I have not been back since. So I am not sure it will stay in this spot (I do not have a problem with the rodents, but too much upgrading can be bad).  But for past memories, I am putting it at #3.

#4 Pink's, Hollywood, California
A Los Angeles classic hot dog place that has been around since 1939.  As you would expect for a Hollywood joint, it has a wall of celebrity pictures and dogs named after celebrities (usually the type they actually order).  The line is long for a reason, the hot dogs are great.

Lot's of hot dog variety at Pinks

#5 Tail of the Pup
For classic roadside architecture alone, Tail of the Pup was worth a visit.  They also made great dogs.  Another Los Angeles classic.  It has had to move several times.  Unfortunately, it has not get found a new home (the building is in storage).  But I will rank it anyway, because I have eaten there in the past and just in hope it finally does reopen.

#6 (a tie) Chicago Style Dogs at Hot Doug's and Superdawg.  
Even though I am a Wisconsin cow, it pains me to admit Chicago has pretty good dogs.  But they are typically all beef and steamed which is generally not a favorite of mine.  I do, however, give high marks to the Chicago tradition of no ketchup.  Ketchup ruins a dog.  The poppy seed buns are also really good.
A traditional Chicago Style at Hot Doug's with the twist of caramelized onion
The duck sausage with foie gras was a Hot Doug's protest dog (it is really not a hot dog),
but apparently is popular enough to stay (I have not tried this one).  

Superdawg Chicago Style
#7 Ben's Chili Bowl, Washington, D.C.
A very good chili dog.  With their half smoke dogs.  Classically good.


A half smoke with chili and chips

#8 Newark Style Dog, Jimmy Buffs, West Orange, New Jersey 
An Italian pizza roll, with a deep fried hot dog, stuffed with grilled and
fried potatoes, onions and peppers.  

#9 Hot Dog Joe's Seattle Dogs
This is a very good regional style.  The dogs are very good, unpretentious, generally affordable, and they use cream cheese.  Ketchup is frowned upon, which is always a good sign. Traditionally its cream cheese and onion with a grilled Kosher dog on a decent bun.  They do focus on major sporting events.  And they also have portable stands and serve the bar crowd late night.

Looks like love...
#10 Slaw Dogs, West Virginia, North Carolina, Southeast USA
West Virginia is a state that takes its weenies seriously, although it is hard to take anyone seriously if they call a hot dog a weenie.   The slaw dog started in West Virginia but was quickly adopted in neighboring states.    It is definitely a recognized regional style.

I prefer kraut to slaw on a dog (because a lot of cole slaw is poorly made), but if the slaw is well made this is a really good combination.  Well made slaw is made with grated cabbage wilted with salt to remove moisture, and a minimum amount of dressing (the key to great slaw is it not being watery).  The slat method (you rinse most of it off before you do the mayonaise or other marinade) keeps the cabbage crunch too.  After a day of marination, slaw is at its peak and its half life is short.
West Virginia Slaw Map
The Home Wrecker is more than just slaw...
I have have had many slaw dogs, but have not had this one.
I am thinking a trip is in order.  I may be ranking
this dog much higher.  
North Carolina Slaw Dog


A simulated Slaw Dog at Fab Hot Dogs in Reseda, California
They may be the only west coast location
that also tries to do a simulated Ripper

#11 Hot Texas Wiener, Patterson, New Jersey
There is no Texas connection to this other than the name.  The Hot Texas Wiener was created in Paterson, New Jersey and has spread out to surrounding areas of North Jersey.  It is a deep fried dog,  served with chopped onion, mustard, and topped with a "chili" which was created by Greek immigrants.  With oregano flavoring, it is unlike a typical chili dog.  But it works fine.
Falls View Restaurant has a connection to the origins of the Hot Texas Wiener

Monday, January 28, 2013

Michael Bloomberg, ever the gentleman: "Look at the ass on her..."

It's good to be the King!  
No wonder he is for gun control, the peasants 
might storm Gracie Manson!
Well we all knew that Bloomberg was an ass [man} didn't we?  But he is also a pig (buried at page six of this long article of a Bloomberg protege Christine Quinn):
Later in the evening, the host interrupted me to point out that the mayor himself had just arrived. Did I want to meet him? Sure. My friend and I followed the host over, shook Bloomberg’s hand, and my friend thanked him for his position on gun control. Without even acknowledging the comment, Bloomberg gestured toward a woman in a very tight floor-length gown standing nearby and said, “Look at the ass on her.”
Bloomberg never disappoints does he.  He is just as big of a mendoucheous pig as you thought he was.

Update:
TOM notices that Bloomy is an Ass Man.
Bloomberg denies is all, says it is made up (so he is a liar too).
Mayor Ass Man challenges the media bitches who said he said this!  

Chicken wings for Super Bowl

Traditionally the hot sauce used is Frank's.  Dave's is great if you really want them hot.  
The historic creation date for Buffalo Wings was October 30, 1964, when owner Teressa Bellissimo was faced with feeding her son and his friends a late snack. Having an excess of chicken wings on hand, she fried up the wings, dipped them in a buttered spicy chile sauce, and served them with celery and blue cheese dressing as a dipping sauce to cut the heat. The wings were an instant hit.
Here are ten recipes for wings for the Super Bowl to get started.  Here is another one.  Here is Alton Brown's recipe from Food Network.  Experiment and create your own (for an Asian or Sicilian twist, try adding orange zest and a touch of cinnamon and fennel).

And how to get your wings crispy:  Use either peanut or grape seed oil (both have a high smoke point, which means they are optimum for deep frying).  Make sure the oil is hot (about 370 degrees).  Make sure the wings are dry and not frozen or really cold.  Dredge in flour, egg wash, more flour.  You can spice the flour if you wish, but do not over do the batter (otherwise the batter will cook before the wings are done).  Do not put that many wings in the oil at the same time (so the temperature stays hot).

Disappointing!  Shortage of chicken wings this year!  Fans cry foul!   If you see wings in the store, don't wait, get them.

Deep frying is really not that fatty if done right, but if it freaks you out you can bake your wings.  

Jimmy Buffett: Why don't we get drunk and...


Sunday, January 27, 2013

Glenn Beck wants to build free market "Bartertown"



This comment made me laugh out loud:


Adjoran  15 hours ago

While I have sometimes smiled at Glenn Beck's sudden discoveries of ideas and principles I knew forty years or more ago, much in the way a child's wonder pleases me, the idea that he could so much as bring the "Vision thing" to a project to build a "self-sustaining city and theme park hybrid" - whatever that even means - is laughable.
He talks about "freedom" and "American dreams" but no colleges or GAP stores allowed, and the "free" citizens will be funding "learning" centers for public officials from around the country.
Mr. Beck, you keep using that word "freedom." I do not think it means what you think it means.
One area not addressed in the article linked is the financing. I'm guessing he is at least $1.999 billion short of his goal so far, and doubt the pledges he does have are firm.

I would suggest Mr. Beck read Island at the Center of the World. It chronicles the rise of the New Holland colony in America and how the free market attitudes of New Amsterdam had a profound influence on the economic philosophy of the other American colonies.  The Puritans in New England had planned communities.  They failed.  While the British may have eventually taken over the Dutch colony, its culture survived (although Nanny Bloomberg is doing about all he can to drown it like a dolphin trapped in the Gowanus canal).  

h/t to Smitty and Wombat Socho

Jack McNiece, D-Day Paratrooper, Last of the "real" Dirty Dozen dies...

RIP and Thank You
RIP and thank you Jack McNiece for your service, and your inspiration

h/t:




Tragedy at Brazil Nightclub, at least 245 dead: I love fireworks, but using them indoors is almost always a bad idea...

Just before the fire broke out...
just like Rhode Island
Victim receiving first aid outside the Kiss Club in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sol, Brazil
This is just a horrible story.  
The cause of the fire is not yet known, however, some media reports claim the blaze was ignited by a firework set off inside the club during the band's performance.
Local newspaper Diario de Santa Maria reported that the fire started at around 2am.

Club security guard, Rodrigo Moura, is quoted in the paper as saying the venue was at maximum capacity of between 1,000 and 2,000. He said partygoers were pushing and shoving to escape.
Ezekiel Corte Real, 23, was quoted by the paper as saying he helped people to escape. 'I just got out because I'm very strong,' he said.
Factually it appears similar to the Rhode Island club fire which killed 96 back in 2003.

This is a story that happened just a few hours ago.  So expect better reports as time passes.  RIP to those who died.  

Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke Jr. is encouraging citizens in a radio PSA to get armed and get training...

Sheriff David Clarke Jr. 
It is very good advice.
I’m Sheriff David Clarke, and I want to talk to you about something personal…your safety. It’s no longer a spectator sport; I need you in the game, but are you ready? With officers laid-off and furloughed, simply calling 9-1-1 and waiting is no longer your best option. You can beg for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed, or you can fight back; but are you prepared? Consider taking a certified safety course in handling a firearm so you can defend yourself until we get there. You have a duty to protect yourself and your family. We’re partners now. Can I count on you?
Milwaukee's Mayor Barrett, Democrat, responds to this sound advice by Sheriff Clarke by lying about it. Mayor Barrett claims that the Sheriff is discouraging people from calling 911. That is not true. Sheriff Clarke says: "Consider taking a certified safety course in handling a firearm so you can defend yourself until we get there."

Update:
Barack Obama blames GOP for not compromising (no Mr. President, the problem is you and your gun grabbing Democrats).
Bill Clinton is showing some better political smarts on this topic...

U2: Gloria


Saturday, January 26, 2013

Eurythmics: Missionary Man


French troops advance on Islamic terrorists and rebels in Mali

One of the new oppressors we face: Meet U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz

U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz:  One of the New Inspector Javerts...
After going after Reditt founder Aaron Swartz to the point of driving him to suicide, U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Carmen Ortiz tries to seize a hotel from its owner because some guests were busted for drugs there.  Thankfully she failed, but not after forcing the owner to shell out considerable funds in attorney fees.  Turns out her true motivation was the property was not leveraged with debt, so it would have been a windfall for her department.

And of course it is not just Ms. Ortiz.  Environmental prosecutions are out of control.  They decide who is guilty or innocent and use their government power to crush those individuals.  Often times they are guilty of criminal or unethical behavior, considering themselves above the law.  Innocent acts are made criminal.  Normal use of your property is treated as a criminal act.  And God forbid you fall on the wrong side of politics on a criminal charge.

We have to stop these pathological personalities from reaching higher office.  The only way to do so is get the word out and inform your representatives that this sort of behavior by government officials cannot be tolerated.   And yes, we have to go after the biased media too.

Update:
She should be blamed
A line has been crossed
Hackers take over government websites to avenge Swartz
Glenn Reynolds: Due Process When Everthing Is A Crime...