"hoist by one’s own petard"

Some days this whole Blog thingy is just ridiculously easy. The whole enchilada is laid out for Big Bubba to add a dollop of his unique salsa and serve it up. Just point and shoot, Big Bubba, just point and shoot.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002.

hoist by one’s own petard


(pi-TAHRD) To be caught in one’s own trap: “The swindler cheated himself out of most of his money, and his victims were satisfied to see him hoist by his own petard.” A “petard” was an explosive device used in medieval warfare. To be hoisted, or lifted, by a petard literally means to be blown up.


The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Supreme Court? Or, Supreme Ignorance?

If you care not to believe that we are a religious people who founded a great nation according to the wisdom of our Father God you better stay out of our Temples of Government. The Supremes, rather than engaging in their idle speculations about how many angels are dancing on the pinhead of the "Establishment Clause" should be immersing theirselves in the writings of our Founding Fathers.

We know that George Washington was First in War, First in Peace and First in the Hearts of his Countryman. Could we also say that he was First to Thank God for the Bounty of his Blessings in the establishment of our great Nation? In his own words,


"....it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge."

He continued on to state the obvious. His sentiments were not only his but also the people at large in the new Nation. In his own words,

"In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow- citizens at large less than either. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency; and in the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their united government the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities from which the event has resulted can not be compared with the means by which most governments have been established without some return of pious gratitude, along with an humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem to presage."

In conclusion, in his own words,

"I shall take my present leave; but not without resorting once more to the benign Parent of the Human Race in humble supplication that, since He has been pleased to favor the American people with opportunities for deliberating in perfect tranquillity, and dispositions for deciding with unparalleled unanimity on a form of government for the security of their union and the advancement of their happiness, so His divine blessing may be equally conspicuous in the enlarged views, the temperate consultations, and the wise measures on which the success of this Government must depend." (Citation: President George Washington's First Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789; Records of the United States Senate, Record Group 46, National Archives)

George Washington, with a vision that spanned two hundred years of history, on 19 September 1796, told the young nation that,

"One method of assault may be to effect, in the forms of the Constitution, alterations which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown." (President George Washington's Farewell Address (1796)

Would the Founding Fathers be absolutely incredulous that the preferred instrument of destruction of this great Judeo-Christian Nation would be the Supreme Court of the United States? Our intellectual elite must be out of their ever loving collective minds. They actually believe that they are going to give us a brave new world by destroying our Nation's "dependence" on "superstitious religion." Failing to notice that communism has been totally incapable of destroying any religion they are pretentiously proceeding with their plans to eradicate organized religion as a factor in the life of our great Nation. My prediction is that they will destroy this Nation and religion will continue to be in the hearts of the citizens of this great Nation. That is unless we regain control to halt the destructive ways of the intellectual elite.

We need to prepare for the coming battle for Supreme Court appointments. We deserve the appointment, by President Bush, of candidates who reflect the values of the religious people of this Nation. We need to write our elected Senators and Representatives. Republicans need to get aggressive with the demoracists. They were in charge for forty years and they exercised power with an iron fist. Only the delusional believe that there is anything to be gained by playing nice nice with the demoracists.

Just a thought. What would happen if people holding copies of the Ten Commandments were to inundate our Nation's courts? I have spent some time waiting in the hallways of justice for my time to be in the court. I had this vision of people leaning against the wall, or sitting on benches, outside of the courtrooms holding a copy of the Ten Commandments like a live picture frame. Would that be against the law? Would we see law enforcement officials being ordered to take action? How far are we willing to go? The next time I have to go to court I am going to pin a copy of the Ten Commandments to my clothes like a note from mommy. I am old and crazy. I can pull it off.

Fashion Chic - The Other Condi Controversy

"Now comes Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

With her Oscar de la Renta scarlet silk gown, her knee-high boots and long jacket, her pastel Akris suits and jaunty flip, she's making women in Washington watch with a mixture of envy, awe and inspiration.

"I think she's amazing," said Mrs. Al-Sabah. "She is dressing feminine, yet she's serious-minded. I think she's got a lot of style." ("Dressed for the Capitol kill," By Stephanie Mansfield, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, June 27, 2005)

You could say that when it comes to Washingtonian femdress Ms. Rice does not follow fashion, she creates it. Another sign that this woman, who holds serious power within the Bush administration, is her own woman. She does not wet her finger to the wind and consult with the White House Social Office, Hollywood super stars, or brain dead pundits for her fashion direction.

Our country is slowly having its intellectual vigor and spiritual life blood sucked out by pseudo intellectuals and their mind numbing political correctness and conventional wisdom concepts. Politicians who can see no further than their own political future and reëlection will never throw theirselves on the "cultural grenades" that are blowing apart our nation. These folks won't even change the knot on their tie without public opinion polling and focus groups.

Perhaps this little bit of Condoleezza Rice fashion drama does suggest she could be an ideal candidate in 2008. I don't believe that it would ever happen, but, Big Bubba will state without any reservation whatsoever that if our choices were to be either the Ice Queen or Condoleezza Rice I would go with Condi.

Congratulations To All Who Come Here

I spent many hours yesterday researching possible forums. I repeatedly ran across the statement that non-threaded discussions were difficult to follow. There's some news for us. I find it incredible, however, that we have posted 117 comments mostly about Condoleezza Rice with a few digressions. It just further motivates me to continue to look for a suitable forum to eventually migrate to from here. I have actually seen a forum like everyone seems to favor. I just don't understand it yet. I find it amazing that there are many products out there that are not adequately presented to potential buyers. I think geeks assume their audience consists of other geeks and no explanation is necessary.

Big Bubba will persevere. Keep the leads coming. Neptune, I have either checked all of yours, or already seen it.

There Is No Sweetness in Hyperbole

Condoleeza Rice’s mother was a pianist thinking of the musical direction con dolcezza, with sweetness, when she named her only daughter. I am willing to endure an onslaught of hyperbole and idle speculation to say that I like this sweet girl. What objective, critical thinker would not like her? She was born in Birmingham, Alabama to a family of educators who refused to knuckle under to Jim Crow. The Rice family subsequently moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama so that father John could become the Dean of Stillman College.

Condi’s educator parents did not allow her to sit on her hands. She was encouraged to take lessons in skating, piano, ballet, French and other interests. Along the way she skipped first and seventh grade. The hyperbolistas question why Ms. Rice attended the University of Denver. Perhaps it was because when she was thirteen her father became a vice chancellor of the University of Denver. She was only fifteen when she entered the University of Denver to pursue a degree in piano.

She realized that she would never make it as a professional concert pianist so she started to explore other academic possibilities. She found her life’s work when she met Josef Korbel, a former Czech diplomat, who was the head of the University of Denver’s School of International Relations. Does the name Korbel sound familiar? Josef Korbel, refugee from Naziism and Communism was the father of Madelaine Albright.

Receiving her degree at the tender age of nineteen, she left home for Notre Dame where she received a Master of Arts degree in Political Science. She came home to the University of Denver to take her Ph.D. Her father had also received an advanced degree from the University of Denver.

Condoleeza became a Stanford assistant professor at 26 years of age. Stanford became her launch pad for her meteoric career in government service. She was an advisor to the George H.W. Bush administration on foreign policy and military issues. She returned to Stanford in 1991 and in 1993, became Provost. As Stanford Provost she was the number two official of the University responsible for a 1.5 million dollar budget and academic programs (1,400 faculty members and 14,000 students). Rice left the university in 1999 to become an advisor to the Bush Presidential campaign.

Condoleeza Rice most certainly does have the qualifications to be the President of the United States. She comes from a humble middle to upper middle class family. Father John is an ordained Presbyterian Minister. Rice has been quoted as saying, "I have a very, very powerful faith in God. I'm a really religious person, and I don't believe that I was put on this earth to be sour, so I'm eternally optimistic about things."
She obviously has expertise in foreign policy. The looking down the nose sniffing of the hyperbolistas that she is lacking in domestic policy skills is nonsense. She was the number two executive of a large institution. She managed a $1.5 billion budget. Stanford’s problems are America’s problems. Any similar large institution is certainly a microcosm of the country at large. It’s all a matter of scale, baby.

She is nothing if not a well rounded individual. Her celebrated love of sports, studied ballet as a girl, a capable pianist, and a teacher. She is also a concerned citizen of her community cofounding the Center for a New Generation, an after-school academy in East Palo Alto, California.

Big Bubba would be remiss if he didn’t indulge those who are driven to distraction by their race, your race and everybody else’s race,

"Not least, she is refreshingly, strikingly, at ease on the matter of race. For years she has faced questions about her skin color and sex: Have they been advantages, responsible for her rapid rise? Disadvantages? "I don't spend too much time thinking about it," she says. "I can't go back and recreate myself as a white male" to test this proposition or that. She has enjoyed "a wonderful life, a great life," graced by ideal parents, and "I have a very, very powerful faith in God. I'm a really religious person, and I don't believe that I was put on this earth to be sour, so I'm eternally optimistic about things." She is loath "to criticize any black person for how he or she has wanted to navigate being black in America, whether it's Clarence Thomas or Maxine Waters." She does allow, however, that she wishes the "black middle class would spend less time thinking about itself and more time worrying about the witches' brew that is poverty and race. That is something that those of us who are black and privileged have a lot of responsibility for." (Star-in-Waiting)

Other sources that I looked at,

Condi’s Official Government Bio

Condi’s Official Stanford Bio

Big Bubba Full Disclosure: I have been seen in public with black women. Twice this week.

Bush Beat Kerry at Yale

My friend e-mailed me the information below without comment or stating the source. We have seen most of this before. I found the part about comparative IQs most interesting and I have not heard that before. I liked the way the info was brought together. I thought that everyone, including the Duck, would find it interesting. Enjoy! Thanks and a tip of the ol' sombrero to J. Smith, San Antonio, TX. Sounds like a fake name, huh?


President Bush, who is routinely derided as a "moron" by embittered Democrats, earned slightly better grades at Yale University than Sen. John Kerry, the supposed Massachusetts intellectual.

According to college transcripts from the top Ivy League school obtained by the Boston Globe, Kerry was well on his way to flunking out during his freshmen year, receiving no fewer than four D's.

Kerry's intellectual deficit revealed itself in geology, two history courses and, most surprisingly for a top politician, political science.

"I always told my dad that D stood for distinction," the failed presidential candidate told reporters.

He showed a slight improvement in subsequent semesters, topping out with an 81 average his senior year. Kerry had a cumulative average of 76, or what some might call "a gentleman's C."

The president received just one D in his freshman year - a 69 in astronomy - to Kerry's four. His cumulative grade point average was 77 - a point higher than Kerry's.

Last year, when an analysis of Kerry's Navy aptitude test showed that Bush actually had a higher IQ, the top Democrat blamed his lackluster performance on drinking.

"I must have been drinking the night before I took that military aptitude test," Kerry told NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw. (Big Bubba Big Note: The press never made an issue of Kerry's youthful behavior, just that wild and crazy President Dude. Can you imagine anyone being young and crazy?)

President Bush suffered the same type of derision during the 2000 campaign, when critics regularly portrayed him as intellectually inferior to Al Gore.

Gore attended divinity school after graduating from Yale. But transcripts from Vanderbilt University showed that he received F's in five of the eight classes he took over the course of three semesters.

Gore left Vanderbilt without receiving a degree.

Fabula Canuckus Emendatio (Ooopsus)

I wanted to respond to some of the posts on the thread below. I know the Duck doesn't bother reading Canadian newspapers to back up his suppositions so I thought that Big Bubba the Munificent would do it for him. I couldn't get past this one story about a recent ruling by the Canadian Supreme Court. This one story started to really intrigue me the more articles that I read about it. I found some of the thoughts very interesting, in terms of the thread below, so I highlighted them in red. Seems to be trouble in the Socialist Paradise. Wonder why our Canadian cousins haven't noticed that world wide failure of socialism thingy that has been going on lately?

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The Supreme Court has handed down a landmark ruling that invalidates Quebec's ban on private health insurance and delivers a caustic critique of the shortcomings of Canada's public health system.

The court noted, Mr. Ducky, and Ms. Hillary, "access to a waiting list is not access to health care."

---

On the face of it, the federal position is clear. "We're not going to have a two-tier health care system,"said Prime Minister Paul Martin after the ruling came down.

But a two-tier system has been taking root and growing for years, and the federal government has taken no effective action to stop it.

Martin's own doctor, Sheldon Elman, is the founder and CEO of the Medisys Health Group, which operates a chain of private MRI clinics.
The Prime Minister's Office has stated repeatedly that Martin uses his public health card, not his own money, to cover any services he receives.
All the same, it's estimated there are more than 90 private clinics in Quebec. Many of them offer diagnostic imaging, vital for the early detection of tumours and cancer. Some offer surgery at fees which run into the thousands of dollars.

The most aggressive private clinics operate in British Columbia, home province to Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh.

The Cambie Surgery Centre in Vancouver describes itself as "the largest and most technologically advanced private surgical facility in Canada" with six state-of-the-art operating rooms.

The centre's web site says it offers general surgery, laparoscopic surgery, gynecology, vascular surgery, neurosurgery, ophthalmology and other services.

Earlier this month the Copeland Healthcare Centre, also in Vancouver, announced it will provide clients with "unparalleled levels of patient care" for a $2,300 annual fee.

Facility fees are banned under the Canada Health Act. When asked Friday why he has not cracked down on the private clinics, Dosanjh said:

"On the issue of the private clinics, the Canada Health Act violations, you know, I wrote to all the provinces, I received a response from one or two, I haven't thoroughly reviewed those letters, we're awaiting response from others, we're talking to officials."

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It irks me that a prisoner can get quicker specialist consultations or surgery than law-abiding Canadians, but that's the law. Go bark to your MP about it.

Just last week, you may recall, a New Brunswick man who told police in Toronto he was planning a shooting rampage was jailed for three years. He wasn't actually going to kill anyone. The 44-year-old man, who had no prior criminal record, just wanted heart surgery. And he got it quickly while in custody.

Yes, he resorted to drastic measures to jump the queue, but people desperate for treatment will do extraordinary things. Some spend $50,000 to get surgery abroad.

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First, of course, we must ask the usual suspects on the left -- the "health care activists", the CBC commentators, the union leaders, the Toronto Star columnists, the professors, the Liberals and last but not least, the NDPers, some of whom are calling for the use of the notwithstanding clause to strike down the Supreme Court's ruling (and oh, the delicious irony of that) -- just what it is that you are all so upset about?

This is exactly what you said you wanted -- an activist, interventionist Supreme Court broadly interpreting the Charter of Rights (in this case, both the Quebec Charter and Canada's) and standing up for ordinary people when gutless politicians won't act.

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A year ago, supporters of Canada's government-run health care monopoly stood aghast as a Quebec doctor named Jacques Chaoulli and a hip-surgery patient named George Zeliotis presented the Supreme Court of Canada with an original argument. Medicare's waiting lists have become so dangerously long, they asserted, that legally banning people from paying for their own health care or purchasing private insurance violates the Charter of Rights' guarantee of life, liberty and security of the person.

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What the hell does it take for Canadians to rise up in outrage?

A group of relatively wealthy Canadian men and women, in black robes and powdered wigs, have ruled unconstitutional the law that bans the private delivery of medical services in this country.

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The case for marketplace solutions over a national health system was made at the forum by Sally Pipes, a conservative Canadian economist who heads the Pacific Research Institute in San Francisco. Some of her indictment of Canadian health care:

• Canada has a severe shortage of diagnostic machines, ranking 16th in computed tomography scanners and 20th for magnetic resonance imaging devices. Pipes' elderly mom couldn't get an MRI and had to wait six months for a CT scan.

• Waiting times for a referral from a general practitioner to non-urgent treatment by a specialist can be 18 weeks. Pipes' mom had to wait one year to see an orthopedic surgeon about her knee and then another year for a replacement. Then it wasn't the titanium prosthesis she wanted.

• If he were Canadian, President Clinton's wait for bypass surgery would have been six weeks, instead of the four days he enjoyed in the states.

• "Illegal" private clinics are popping up all over Canada to fill gaps in the country's rationed treatment. The prime minister uses one in Montreal, Pipes asserts.

• Some 250 Canadian doctors head to the U.S. each year.

• Canadians routinely cross the U.S. border for timely and effective health care and pay out of pocket, including top politicians.

"The Canadian health care system is that of a Third World country," Pipes said.

Why Can't We Be More Like Our Canadian Neighbors?

Yes, indeed, why can't we be more like those peace loving people to our North? Perhaps they wouldn't look down their ethical noses at us waving their moral superiority in our face if only we were more like them. Why can't we have a wonderful socialized medicine system like those wild and crazy Canucks? Why? Why? Why, what twisted perversion of fate has given us our obscenely expensive health care system while the Canucks don't have a care in the world with their marvelous cradle to grave health care system?

I have given this poser much thought in the last two or three seconds and I think I know the answers to why we will never be like our Canadian neighbors. Hillary Clinton will never be President. Hanoi John will never be President. The man who drives off bridges will remain in an alcoholic fog dreaming of his halcyon years as a Private in the U.S. Army pulling Kitchen Police duties. He will keep trying to remember what was that other elected office that he wanted. Nothing changes. We will continue to pay the big bucks for our superior health care and the Canadians will continue to pay for theirs with their lives.

Big Bubba's Big Laugh Of The Day

No, silly, I am not referring to the William Jefferson Clinton interview by Greta van Sustern. It was a real hoot, but, not that. I am talking about the release of Hanoi John's Yale record. For the past five, six years the pseudo intellectual, progressive liberal demoracist crowd have been calling George Bush a dummy because Daddy got him into Yale and his GPA was around 2.0. Who’s your village idiot now, Bubba?

I wonder why the major media outlets don't have this story out there? Indeed! We know the answer to that one don't we? I think I heard this story on Fox (of course) before I left the house this morning.

Now I Don't Know What The Title Should Be

It was going to be "If It Is Thursday It Must Be Ad Hominem Day At FPM." Well I'll be dipped there didn't seem to be a single ad hominem attack directed at Ann Coulter. Could this be a change for the better? Well I suppose it is if you are fascinated by post toasties that float in the milk for way too long. When I checked FPM the last ten posts had nothing to do with the Coulter article. I estimate that better than half the posts had nothing to do with the article. It was idle chit chat, speculation and attempts to exchange e-mail addresses. That was despite Beaker2's message to the troops, (but the troops disregarded it):

1 Stay on topic
2 No sandbox taunts
3 No ethnic , religious or slurs against anyone except Libertarians. Just joking Mike
4 Back your points up with history.

As I previously noted there was also the little junior trooper longing for liars to be banned from FPM. If that works out, pal, move on to Congress with your brainstorm and do all mankind some good. Thank goodness Roberta banned me from the intellectual disaster that FPM has become.

Big Bubba’s Big Recommendation for your daily hilarity (after you read my goddess, Ann Coulter, of course) has to be Politics, Math, Gospel Confuse Dem Political Operative. Is Big Bubba the only one who has noticed that the demoracists are absolutely coming unhinged? Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean and Donna Brazile are all the entertainment that Big Bubba needs.

Memorial Day Plus Two

Go Spurs Go! That is what made me remember Memorial Day and this great country that many of us were, and are, privileged to serve. Peter M. Holt the CEO of HOLT CAT (the largest Caterpillar dealership in the United States) and chairman and chief executive officer of Spurs Sports & Entertainment is the great-grandson of Benjamin Holt the inventor of the Caterpillar. Peter is one of us. He served two years in the United States Army and served a tour of duty (twelve months) in Vietnam as a combat infantryman. He was awarded the Silver Star and three Bronze Stars for heroism. He also received the Purple Heart for wounds he received in combat. Hoo Rah!

When Pop took over the Spurs I thought he was a stiff. I thought he was a nobody. Then I was informed that he was a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. The icing on the cake was that he served in the United States Air Force Security Service. My father retired from Security Service. That was all I needed to know. I decided with a man like Pop the Spurs were going places. Hoo Rah!

One time I was going to attend a Hispanic Heritage Week luncheon at the Fort Sam Houston NCO Open Mess. The featured speaker that year was Henry Cisneros who was running for mayor. I had just returned home from Korea and did not know what was going on locally. I called my mother and asked her who Henry Cisneros was. She informed me that his father was an Army Colonel and Henry had graduated from Texas A&M. That was all I needed to know. Hoo Rah!

Today I found out that San Antonio, within the past few days, had its first native son casualty in Afghanistan. San Antonio native Lt. Col. Albert E. Smart II, 41, collapsed and died recently (date not given) of unknown cause. Today he joined about 107,000 veterans and their dependents at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetary. All sacrifice, for some it is the ultimate sacrifice.

Can you imagine 157 acres with 107,000 plus flags on graves and an additional hundred or so full size flags? Band, bugler and all the ceremonial honors. Speeches to remember those veterans who have passed on. I will be there someday with my parents, friends, neighbors and quite a few comrades in arms that I served with during my time of service, military and federal. Hoo Rah!