Conservatives taking Europe by storm

Mr. Smith Wilders goes to Washington Brussels

Good news from the twilight of Western Civilization...

Right-leaning governments came out ahead in Germany, France, Italy and Belgium, while conservative opposition parties won in Britain, Spain, and Bulgaria. Far-right groups also made gains in Britain, Austria, the Netherlands and Hungary.

Many Socialists ran campaigns that slammed center-right leaders for failing to regulate financial markets and spend enough to stimulate faltering economies. But voters did not embrace their cause.

With more from the UK...

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's center-left Labour party finished third behind the anti-European U.K. Independence Party — a crushing defeat that cast more doubt on Brown's future. The Conservatives are expected to win Britain's next national elections.

Best of all, despised Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders' party made big gains, becoming the country's second most powerful party.

Wilders, who has become popular in the Netherlands running on an anti-Islam and anti-political establishment platform, promised voters he would be tough on immigration and criticised Turkey's bid to join the EU. "Should Turkey as an Islamic country be able to join the European Union? We are the only party in Holland that says, it is an Islamic country, so no, not in 10 years, not in a million years," Wilders said.

Like I said, baby steps. Now if we can only Geert our Wilders on here.

Tories taking England by storm

OK in the UK!

With Gordon Brown's own MPs calling for him to step down and the Conservatives stomping Labour and the Lib Dems across the nation, things are looking up in Britannia.

"...The Conservatives have taken Staffordshire, Lancashire and Derbyshire from Labour - which had run all three since 1981 - as well as Devon and Somerset from the Lib Dems.

According to the BBC's estimated projected national vote share - the Conservatives are on 38%, Labour on 23% - a historic low - the Lib Dems on 28% and other parties on 11%.

...."We have won almost every council we could possibly have won ... We have won councils we really didn't think we were going to win ... so I don't accept that these aren't extremely good results for the Conservative Party," [said Conservative leader David Cameron].

He said the results showed people wanted a "strong, positive and united alternative" to the government and were seeing the Conservatives as that alternative.

"Across the country what's remarkable about these figures and what shines out is it's the Conservative Party winning in every part of the country," he said.

So as another nation in Europe does a spectacular about face, we here in the States stumble merrily on down the road to socialism.

So much for any Obama bounce!

300!

Standing tall

Warm congrats to Randy Johnson, only the sixth left-hander in history to reach the big 300.

Randy is a class act, evinced by his family interaction after the win and his gracious, no-frills appearance with the press soon after. He represents the best in baseball, and watching the win last night on TV was an honor.

Here's to seeing more wins from this Giant of a man in the postseason.

Bill Gates wants you dead

Throw me a frickin' bone here. It's "population control," OK?

A bunch of billionaires just met in some dark corner recently to discuss how they can pool their limitless resources to reduce the number of people breathing air on planet earth.

The result...

There was “nothing as crude as a vote” but a consensus emerged that they would back a strategy in which population growth would be tackled as a potentially disastrous environmental, social and industrial threat.

“This is something so nightmarish that everyone in this group agreed it needs big-brain answers,” said the guest. “They need to be independent of government agencies, which are unable to head off the disaster we all see looming.”

Hey, it's all fun and games until someone loses a few billion lives.

But why meet under multiple layers of secrecy?

It seems they wanted "to speak rich to rich without worrying anything they said would end up in the newspapers, painting them as an alternative world government."

Totally. Wouldn't want to start any crazy conspiracy theories or anything. Might interfere with all the plans for global control of human destiny.

Bible study banned in San Diego County

Home is where the heart government is.

Holy shoot... I'm getting nervous over here. Seems like they're gunning for believers like never before -- outside the Roman Colosseum anyway.

Is planetary colonization available yet? Suddenly I'm dreaming of a shiny, solid-fuel rocket with "Mayflower II" stenciled on the side.

Networks announce fall shows

Wasteland

The season finales of everything worth watching are now behind us. (Don't get me started on the sucktacular mess that was '24' this season.)

And while I'm still reeling from the tragic loss of 'The Unit' from CBS's 2009 fall lineup, I'm prepared to move on with my life and start seeing other shows -- after a long and glorious summer of baseball, of course.

The short version on what the networks have going on? NBC and Fox are going down in flames, CBS is running on the fumes of past hits, and ABC is looking real, real good. Assuming your definition of "real, real good" is maybe three shows Splash might bother taking for a test drive.

"Flash Forward," "V," "Happy Town" (all ABC), "The Human Target" (Fox) and "Day One" (NBC's 'Lost?') are pretty much all I'm interested in sampling at this point. And I'm secretly hoping they all stink, because I watch too much TV already.

Now excuse me while I resume my email campaign to save 'The Unit' or revive it on another network.

Muslim Demographics

Get ready for some scary, scary numbers.

AP FACTCHECK: Obama is a big fat liar

You are getting sleeeepyyy, very sleeeeepyyy...

Someone named Calvin Woodward at the Associated Press just got himself in a heap of trouble. And if his bosses don't get him, the multiple federal agencies no doubt pouring over his personal files right about now surely will. Nobody puts Baby in a corner.

Obama's budget "cut" in perspective

And people think I have too much time on my hands. At least this guy puts his to good use. This is sharp.

Iraqi government calls U.S. troops criminals

If we were fools to think Iraq could be turned into an American soul mate, it was a failure to acknowledge human nature. The Iraqi government and people appear to be total ingrates -- and corrupt beyond our reach -- already.

Iraq's prime minister denounced a deadly U.S. raid on Sunday as a "crime" that violated the security pact with Washington and demanded American commanders hand over those responsible to face possible trial in Iraqi courts.

The U.S. military, however, strongly denied that it overstepped its bounds and said it notified Iraqi authorities in advance — in accordance with the rules that took effect this year governing U.S. battlefield conduct.

We give them freedom, they want to lynch us.

This was a legitimate mission. These six detainees were Shiite thugs with ties to Iran. But at a word from (holy Shiite!) al-Maliki and hundreds of protesters, we dutifully turned them loose and retreated behind the wire with tail between our legs.

The end of a rogue leader like Saddam was necessary post-9/11, so taking him out was legitimate But wasting lives and money on so-called "nation building" appears to have been a total waste.

Meanwhile, in other "nothing's changed" news...

Elsewhere in Iraq, gunmen stormed two Christian homes in separate attacks in the ethnically diverse city of Kirkuk, killing at least two Chaldean Christians and one Assyrian, said police Brig. Burham Taib.

Justice won't be done in this case any more than it was in Afghanistan when the new and improved government we propped up with blood and American tax dollars proceeded to slap a Christian convert with the death penalty (reduced via insanity plea at the intervention of Condi Rice).

If this is the way it's going to be from now on, let's get out now. Ron Paul was right. America needs to look to her own interests, period. The rest of the world be damned.

Obama photo op sends NYC into 9/11 panic

He gives the Queen of England an iPod, her Prime Minister a pack of DVDs that won't play outside the U.S., and now this...

Sorry, but how is Barack Obama not flat-out the most clueless president ever, up to and including George Bush? (And, folks? Don't look now, but we're only 100 days into this cavalcade of fun.)

Promise Keepers goes girly

Looks like it's not just the government that thinks it can stabilize inherently unstable bubbles.

Remember Promise Keepers? The Christian dudes' organization is fading so fast they're turning to the ladies to keep them alive.

Only problem is, in my humble opinion, "PK" failed because it was a trendy self-help gimmick, like 90% of the rest of modern evangelical Christianity. Inviting women in to "challenge" their men sure isn't going to save it. Guys aren't wired for holding hands in a circle, let alone with their mothers-in-law.

How can you tell Ronald McDonald at a nudist colony?

Models are so fake

Here's another one to file under "Stuff I Wish I'd Thought of First."

It seems someone with arteries of steel went out and bought a bunch of fast food items to see how they compared with the glossy magazine version. And much hilarity ensued.

I think my favorite is the mentally challenged-looking Big Mac, though I actually felt sorry for the Arby's Beef 'n' Cheddar... If sammiches could talk, that one would be begging to be put out of its misery.

(Thanks to reader Patchy for the heads up. At least I think he's a reader... If not, he can take a flying leap and I'll take full credit.)

Philips 21:9 aspect TV 'heist' commercial

Whoa. Check this out. A commercial for some new super-widescreen TV apparently being developed by Philips. Can't speak to the TV, but the ad is spectacular.

Pot calls kettle black

CNN's Susan Roesgen isn't angry at the "bias" of Fox News. She's livid at the event itself. And as Andrew Breitbart points out, she's a reporter, not the commentators Fox had at yesterday's 700+ Tea Parties around the nation.

UPDATE: Don't miss the follow-up video, linked to in the comments below.

Summer schedule

Sorry for going AWOL the past week or two. Computer issues. Issues rectified -- I thought -- by the sweet new Toshiba laptop currently topping my lap. Only problem is, looks like I'm missing 20 gigs I paid for, so the saga continues.

But I have to say I kinda enjoyed the break. And I'm drifting more and more to a Facebook mode of blabbing lately. And now that baseball has returned (assuming no rain out for today, the true first day of summer, as the Giants play for the first time) expect the posts to be fewer and farther between from now through October regardless.

Which is as it should be. Now is the time for grilling and camping and road trips and kiddie pools in the backyard. Can't get much of a tan from flat screen radiation, right?

But speaking of baseball...did you catch that jackass Joe Biden during the Yankee game yesterday, talking about the troops?

"It's easy to forget about these guys. There's been a million of them over there by now, but it's not like they're your next door neighbor."

Well not in your neighborhood, Joe. You're a wealthy career politician, but we have more than one citizen soldier where I'm living.

Jack. Ass.

Sorry. Summer is no time for politics either. Couldn't resist a parting shot, tho.

Now if you'll excuse me, it's 20 minutes to game time!

Critics slam faith elements in 'Knowing'

The Da Vinci Cage. (He said knowingly!)

I'm no Nicholas Cage hater by any means, but Knowing wasn't exactly on my radar. Looked a little too close to Next for comfort. But after all the brouhaha I'm more than a little intrigued.

"Knowing's" minimal discussion of faith and spirituality has made the critical corps apoplectic; the movie has been relegated to the land of hokey Christian cinema inhabited by clunkers like "Left Behind" and "Fireproof." Their revulsion is practically palpable. Instead of engaging with the text and discussing its contents in a reasonable way with an eye toward deeper understanding of the source material, critics have lashed out en masse and rejected a stylish thriller because they can't handle a mainstream film that deals with faith in a reasonable manner.

Movieguide confirms the faith-affirming element.

"...Very strong Christian worldview with some intentionally obtuse elements and characters that all conform to biblical hermeneutics, and controversial eschatology, but including a strong renunciation of a random universe (evolution) and an excellent example of reconciliation with overt message that “Jesus is the way, the truth and the life…”

Roger Ebert of course appears to have turned a blind eye to the religion in play but says it's the rare four-star shizzle nonetheless.

The one notable exception to this trend is Roger Ebert. In a four-star review, the critic wrote that the movie "is among the best science-fiction films I've seen — frightening, suspenseful, intelligent and, when it needs to be, rather awesome."

(Hat tip, Big Hollywood.)

'True Grit' rides again

Duking it out Coen Bros style

In the hands of anyone but Joel and Ethan Coen, I'd cringe at the notion of a True Grit remake. After what they did to The Ladykillers, I should still probably be cringing. But obviously these guys are brilliant most days. If anyone can deliver a picture to get the world excited about westerns again -- look what they did for archaic mountain music -- it's probably them.

NBC's Goliath fells David?

King me, NBC

So what's the deal with NBC's new show 'Kings'?

I saw a commercial or two, thought it looked interesting, but refrained from force-marching my already overburdened DVR into another full-season gig. I didn't realize it was based on the life of King David, set in the present (or is it future?), or I would have given it a spin.

From what I gather though, 'Kings' is just another kick in the nads for those of us crazy enough to take Scripture at face value. Turns out Israel is run by the Bush administration and Halliburton, David is a reluctant warrior, and Jonathan is (what else?) queerer than a three-shekel bill.

But here's the guy behind this abomination to explain his enlightened approach to Scripture and why you, good Christian, will support him if you're a good Christian.

World Magazine reviews the show here, calling David a "postmodern poster-child."

Even when he defeats Goliath, he doesn't do it for the Lord's honor and he doesn't do it with a sense of conviction; rather, like Forrest Gump, he stumbles into victory accidentally. A postmodern poster-child, there is no assuredness in David of his God or anything else. Of only one thing he is sure—that while he is a "good" person, as a hero he is a fraud. But this, of course, is what makes him the ultimate hero in a relativist worldview. Only because he knows he doesn't know anything for sure are we supposed to admire him. It is a sad, pale imitation of the heroism of the actual David: a man who knew his cause to be just because he fought on the side of the true God and, for the same reason, knew his victory was assured.

True, I'm prejudging based on a couple reviews and, y'know, the man's own words and all, but as a conservative Christian, prejudice is what I'm all about.

Three strikes you're out at the old ball game

Betrayed

Sheesh. Sorry for recommending the World Baseball Classic. (Outlaw 13 was right.)

I take that back. It had its moments. Thrills even, at least early on. Player patriotism -- those who chose the red, white and blue over team colors -- was inspiring and infectious. And Team USA played a heck of a lot better than last time even if the results were the same.

But the loss to Japan last night was disgusting. Inexcusable.

Jon Miller and company calling the game on ESPN used the words "handcuffed" and "betrayal" to describe what American fans might be feeling.

Totally.

And it's Davey Johnson's fault. Davey Johnson and his masters, the bulk of baseball's general managers who refused us key players: pitchers. Davey Johnson, the bulk of baseball's general managers, and players who dissed their country for the silk sheets of spring training.

I'd blame American fans, too, but they were burned by the WBC once before, so failure to show this time is at least understandable.

Still, was I the only one -- along with Evan Longoria -- who got goosebumps hearing "USA! USA!" last night? I understand we didn't even get that in Florida last week. Thank God we weren't playing Mexico yesterday. (Having lived in L.A., I can assure you USA Baseball is the permanent visiting team vs. any team south of the border. Immigration is a beautiful thing. But I digress.)

Check out Steve Buckley on all this, though I think he blames Davey J more than the equally culpable GMs. Johnson is nothing but a toady, a willing, sacrificial scapegoat for ownership.

No wonder Chipper Jones said he wouldn't be back unless fundamental changes were made to this whole thing. Listen up, baseball. Chipper speaks for the rest of us.

...Oh, who am I kidding? I just got a month of baseball in 30-degree weather, and I'll always be a sucker for the underdogs. I'll be back.