I've talked to many, many people about the upcoming election in the past few weeks and I've heard many, many stories. We spend a fair bit of time writing about politics on this blog and, lets be honest, we spend a lot of time preaching to the choir.
We don't try to hide where we stand, nor do most of our readers. A lot of us are single, dual, or even triple issue voters and we can get a little passionate about the subject. We are bloggers after all; spreading our opinion far and wide from our respective soap boxes comes easily for us.
This post isn't for the bloggers, or most of our readers. This post is for the multitude of people I've talked to; cashiers, service people, other parents, grandparents, and random people met along the way. Almost everyone I've talked to has some things in common, and almost everyone I've talked to has felt absolutely alone.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
If you are afraid to talk about politics at work, school, home, or in public, you are not alone.
If you recognize how polarized about this election EVERYONE BUT YOU seems to be, you are not alone.
If you refrain from talking about politics because every time you open your undecided or wavering mouth you get pounced on like fresh meat, you are not alone.
If you are afraid to put a bumper sticker on your car or a sign in your yard because you don't want to file the soon-to-be-necessary insurance claim, you are not alone.
If you find yourself on the opposite side of the election from your spouse (and I feel for you, A's dad), you are not alone.
If you thank God (or whoever) for the anonymity of the voting booth because then you can just tell whoever is asking that you are voting for "their" candidate, you are not alone.
If you feel disgusted by the options put before you, you are not alone.
If you'd like to find information on a given candidate but all you find is info delivered with a heavy and obvious bias, you are not alone.
If you've compulsively turned off you tv or radio every time a political ad comes on, you are not alone.
If you've stopped reading the newspaper, news sites, or blogs because you're tired of the pandering or vitriol, you are not alone.
If you think the dictionary definition of politician should be changed to "compulsive liar with a hand on my wallet", you are not alone.
If you've noticed this year's crop of supposed voter initiatives seems to be overrun with wolves in sheep's clothing, you are not alone.
If the voter fraud makes you angry but doesn't surprise you, you are not alone.
If you've fantasized of a political system where we randomly pull a name from the jury duty pool for every public office, you are not alone.
If you then realized they'd still find a way to rig the process, you are not alone.
If you can't seem to choose who to vote for, you are not alone.
If you are undecided because all you want is for a candidate to keep their hands off your life and not change anything, you are not alone.
If you've looked at the third party candidates and realized they're just as bad, you are not alone.
If you've had to resign yourself to voting AGAINST a candidate, you are not alone.
If you are disappointed, despondent, or disillusioned, you are not alone.
From what I've seen, you are in the majority.
Vote your conscience, that is all you can do for now.
Mel
Friday, October 31, 2008
If this is true, Italy need to be expelled from NATO
Fox News is reporting that Libyan officials claim the socialist government in power in Italy at the time of the 1986 air strikes against Libya, warned Ghudaffi on the day before the strikes, that the U.S. would be attacking them.
Full article here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,445450,00.html
The article has several details of the operation wrong, and of course the source is not necessarily the most reliable, so perhaps consideration should be given; however, if this story is true, Italy should be immediately expelled from NATO; the alliance under which this information was shared with them, and through which overflight permission was sought.
Full article here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,445450,00.html
The article has several details of the operation wrong, and of course the source is not necessarily the most reliable, so perhaps consideration should be given; however, if this story is true, Italy should be immediately expelled from NATO; the alliance under which this information was shared with them, and through which overflight permission was sought.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Interesting uniform concept
Blackhawk has a new combat uniform concept out there; the biggest feature of which (at least the one they are touting heavily) is an integrated tourniquet system.
Now, I have reservations about this, because there are many situations where tourniquets are an inappropriate response to an injury; and they tend to be applied inappropriately by inexperienced responders; but this gives a very fast option when it's a matter of life and death.
Even better, it can be done one handed, by the injured party. That in and of itself is an invaluable option.
Plus lots of great pockets.
Check it out:
Now, I have reservations about this, because there are many situations where tourniquets are an inappropriate response to an injury; and they tend to be applied inappropriately by inexperienced responders; but this gives a very fast option when it's a matter of life and death.
Even better, it can be done one handed, by the injured party. That in and of itself is an invaluable option.
Plus lots of great pockets.
Check it out:
The Obama Informercial
Firstly, no, I didn't watch it; though I've certainly watched some fun clips circulating now.
I HAVE however been scanning the blogosphere, the media sites, and talking to some people this morning who did, and I have to say the reaction is fascinatingly mixed.
For the faithful, their reaction seems to be "Oh my god, he was so great. I felt connected to him" etc...
The MSM seem to be busy using it as material for, shall we be delicate and say "self gratification".
But my interest is in the unconverted. Those who don't care for McCain or who are democrats but not Obama acolytes; and those who are just barely on the McCain side.
Universally it seem like their reaction has bee "The gall and arrogance of that man. Buying a 30 minute infomercial, and then worshipping himself for that whole time?"
You see, so long as Obama can deflect the attention from his arrogance, his lack of experience, his frankly ridiculous economic ideas, and frankly toxic social ideas... so long as he can be a blank slate for others to pin either their aspirations, or their dislike for the current republican administration on; he does very well.
However, once the unconverted see him, just him, being who he is... well, the reaction is very different.
The campaign may have thought this would be a great deal for them; hugely boosting their support. I disagree. I think this infomercial only shored up what support he already had. It didn't convert anyone new, and probably pushed a away a lot of uncommitted rural voters, middle America voters, small business owners.. basically all the people that Obamas philosophy explicitly rejects, hurts, or disdains.
I HAVE however been scanning the blogosphere, the media sites, and talking to some people this morning who did, and I have to say the reaction is fascinatingly mixed.
For the faithful, their reaction seems to be "Oh my god, he was so great. I felt connected to him" etc...
The MSM seem to be busy using it as material for, shall we be delicate and say "self gratification".
But my interest is in the unconverted. Those who don't care for McCain or who are democrats but not Obama acolytes; and those who are just barely on the McCain side.
Universally it seem like their reaction has bee "The gall and arrogance of that man. Buying a 30 minute infomercial, and then worshipping himself for that whole time?"
You see, so long as Obama can deflect the attention from his arrogance, his lack of experience, his frankly ridiculous economic ideas, and frankly toxic social ideas... so long as he can be a blank slate for others to pin either their aspirations, or their dislike for the current republican administration on; he does very well.
However, once the unconverted see him, just him, being who he is... well, the reaction is very different.
The campaign may have thought this would be a great deal for them; hugely boosting their support. I disagree. I think this infomercial only shored up what support he already had. It didn't convert anyone new, and probably pushed a away a lot of uncommitted rural voters, middle America voters, small business owners.. basically all the people that Obamas philosophy explicitly rejects, hurts, or disdains.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Quote of the day
Clay: {punches the hell out of Darby}
Darby: Huh... how many punches you got left in that hand?
Clay: {punches the hell out of Darby... again}
Darby: Ok... stupid question...
Darby: Huh... how many punches you got left in that hand?
Clay: {punches the hell out of Darby... again}
Darby: Ok... stupid question...
I Love Pecan Pie
Now don't get me wrong, I love me some apple pie, chocolate mousse pie, silk pie, strawberry rhubarb pie, and cheesecake (which is really a custard pie); but for my money, pecan pie is the best of them.
Now, the problem is, most folks (and especially most restaurants) dont make good pecan pie.
I don't understand it. How much simpler can a pie get. It's just sugar, syrup (corn, cane, or maple) butter, eggs, vanilla, maybe a little seasoning (at least a pinch of salt anyway), and pecans.
The sad fact is though, simple it may be, but most places screw it up.
To my mind, the perfect pecan pie isn't at all crispy or sticky. The filling should be a gooey, but not runny, tasty custard. There should be nuts in every bite, but not so much that they overwhelm the custard; which should be about an inch thick. The crust can be whatever you like; a flaky butter crust, a butter cookie crust, or a graham cracker crust all work for me; so long as they're moist. I can't abide a dry crust.
Serve it hot, with ice cream or fresh whipped cream, and some cafe au lait... damn fine.
Mmmmmmmm.... pie
Now, the problem is, most folks (and especially most restaurants) dont make good pecan pie.
I don't understand it. How much simpler can a pie get. It's just sugar, syrup (corn, cane, or maple) butter, eggs, vanilla, maybe a little seasoning (at least a pinch of salt anyway), and pecans.
The sad fact is though, simple it may be, but most places screw it up.
To my mind, the perfect pecan pie isn't at all crispy or sticky. The filling should be a gooey, but not runny, tasty custard. There should be nuts in every bite, but not so much that they overwhelm the custard; which should be about an inch thick. The crust can be whatever you like; a flaky butter crust, a butter cookie crust, or a graham cracker crust all work for me; so long as they're moist. I can't abide a dry crust.
Serve it hot, with ice cream or fresh whipped cream, and some cafe au lait... damn fine.
My wife is in the kitchen making pecan pie right now. This is her first try.
I've made it before, but I freely acknowledge I'm no master; so I'm lettin' her do her thing and figure out how best to go 'bout it on her own.
I've made it before, but I freely acknowledge I'm no master; so I'm lettin' her do her thing and figure out how best to go 'bout it on her own.
Mmmmmmmm.... pie
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Capitalism DID NOT break. Capitalism DOES NOT break.
Capitalism has not broken, the market has not failed. Capitalism does not break, because it cannot.
Capitalism cannot fail, because it is not a philosophy or a construction, it is simply a systematization of reality.
Capitalism cannot break, because it is the fundamental mechanism by which things work. The universe would have to fundamentally change, for this fact to change.
Capitalism is a reflection of nature, and of human nature.
Capitalism can no more fail than gravity can fail. It can be temporarily resisted, it can be (and has been to a great degree) warped, but it cannot fail.
Capitalism cannot fail, because it is not a philosophy or a construction, it is simply a systematization of reality.
Capitalism cannot break, because it is the fundamental mechanism by which things work. The universe would have to fundamentally change, for this fact to change.
Capitalism is a reflection of nature, and of human nature.
Capitalism can no more fail than gravity can fail. It can be temporarily resisted, it can be (and has been to a great degree) warped, but it cannot fail.
Just wondrin if anyone else noticed...
"Chuck" last night had a shout out to Freddy Mercury in it (this is aside from declaring Rush was the music of the universe of course).
Aw hell....
One of our cats needs to be put down.
She has a cystic growth that can't be controlled. The vet has excised it before, but it grew back, and there's really nothing for it. He didn't call it a tumor, but rapid uncontrolled tissue growth... the distinction is lost on me I suppose.
We've been hoping it would either stop growing, or slow down enough that excising it every few months would work (a few months back the vet suggested it may possible to do so); but it's just grown too far too fast. Two weeks ago she was OK, but as of today the cyst has completely filled her sinus passages and has grown out one ear canal.
She can no longer breath through her nose, or hear properly; and she's disoriented a lot, She's also constantly scratching at it, and opening it up to bleed. At this point it would be cruel not to put her down.
The thing is, Mac, our older dog, he's about to the point where we need to put him down too (arthritis, and yes we've been treating him, and it worked for a few months, but he's just old). And the girls only lost their grandmother a few months ago...
We were hoping it would at least be a few more months... past Christmas maybe, for the girls sake.
just damn... I hate this.
She has a cystic growth that can't be controlled. The vet has excised it before, but it grew back, and there's really nothing for it. He didn't call it a tumor, but rapid uncontrolled tissue growth... the distinction is lost on me I suppose.
We've been hoping it would either stop growing, or slow down enough that excising it every few months would work (a few months back the vet suggested it may possible to do so); but it's just grown too far too fast. Two weeks ago she was OK, but as of today the cyst has completely filled her sinus passages and has grown out one ear canal.
She can no longer breath through her nose, or hear properly; and she's disoriented a lot, She's also constantly scratching at it, and opening it up to bleed. At this point it would be cruel not to put her down.
The thing is, Mac, our older dog, he's about to the point where we need to put him down too (arthritis, and yes we've been treating him, and it worked for a few months, but he's just old). And the girls only lost their grandmother a few months ago...
We were hoping it would at least be a few more months... past Christmas maybe, for the girls sake.
just damn... I hate this.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Blogger Chain Letters
It seems that a couple of folks have given me "Superior Scribbler Awards".
While I appreciate the regard, and I hope I'm worthy of it; I don't participate in such things.
These "awards" are essentially chain letters for a mutual admiration society, and I don't see the value in participating. That's what I have a blogroll for.
I'd love to say my blogroll is only people I read every day, and recommend to everyone; unfortunately that's not true at the moment because I've become lazy and haven't kept my blogroll maintained.
Then of course a few weeks ago blogrolling hosed itself, and is still hosed.
I have list of about 80 blogs... and not quite blogs (daily updated news/editorial sites etc...); that I open in a tabbed browser window every morning and work through during the day. Then I do it again in the evening.
I don't read anyone who doesn't update at least once a week; and generally prefer daily updaters, or thrice weekly updaters. There are a couple friends I keep on the blogroll who don't meet the criteria.
The only "linkers" I read regularly are Unc (Says Uncle), and the news sites. There are others who update less frequently that I check every week or two, or who I read whenever they are linked by someone else.
These are the cleaned up list of blogs I read, and would recommend to others; not including the blogs I keep because they are my friends etc...
There are a lot of others that I would include if they would just update more, or would update with more than just memes and filler more often (Geek with a .45, Heartless Libertarian, Speakertweaker, De Doc, I'm talking to YOU... and about 50 others... ).
I leave Ambulance driver and law dog on there because sometimes they update a ton, sometimes not for a week; but usually when they do, it's very good.
My blogroll "Recommendations"
Some might ask, "why don't I have Dr. Helen, Cranky prof, or Rachel Lucas, or Breda, or Sondrak, Agent Bedhead, LaShawn Barber, The Anchoress, etc... on there" .
Actually the only female bloggers I have up there are Tam, Connie, and LabRat from atomic nerds. Just a coincidence, nothing against women bloggers, or women who happen to be bloggers. I used to have all of those folks on my blogroll, but they didn't really capture my attention every day. I still read most of them all the time, but basically, every time they write something I want to read, someone else links it.
There's another big list of the occaisonal reads, like 10 ring, the Donovan (and his lovely wife Beth), Ace of Spades, Joe Merchant, Anthroblogogy, Dave Kopel, David Codrea, Gaypatriot, Jeff Soyer... yeah it's a big list. I check them once a week or so, so I don't recommend them to others as a whole (though on specific topics I do. Nobody better on gunrights than the Davids and Jeff Soyer for example).
Anybody have any recommendations for me? Or anyone who used to not update a lot, but has changed their habits so I can now blogroll them again? Let me know.
Oh and I have another list of about 30 news, editorial and opinion sites that I do the same with every day, and a third set of about 50 webcomics, and humor sites.
While I appreciate the regard, and I hope I'm worthy of it; I don't participate in such things.
These "awards" are essentially chain letters for a mutual admiration society, and I don't see the value in participating. That's what I have a blogroll for.
I'd love to say my blogroll is only people I read every day, and recommend to everyone; unfortunately that's not true at the moment because I've become lazy and haven't kept my blogroll maintained.
Then of course a few weeks ago blogrolling hosed itself, and is still hosed.
I have list of about 80 blogs... and not quite blogs (daily updated news/editorial sites etc...); that I open in a tabbed browser window every morning and work through during the day. Then I do it again in the evening.
I don't read anyone who doesn't update at least once a week; and generally prefer daily updaters, or thrice weekly updaters. There are a couple friends I keep on the blogroll who don't meet the criteria.
The only "linkers" I read regularly are Unc (Says Uncle), and the news sites. There are others who update less frequently that I check every week or two, or who I read whenever they are linked by someone else.
These are the cleaned up list of blogs I read, and would recommend to others; not including the blogs I keep because they are my friends etc...
There are a lot of others that I would include if they would just update more, or would update with more than just memes and filler more often (Geek with a .45, Heartless Libertarian, Speakertweaker, De Doc, I'm talking to YOU... and about 50 others... ).
I leave Ambulance driver and law dog on there because sometimes they update a ton, sometimes not for a week; but usually when they do, it's very good.
My blogroll "Recommendations"
- The Liberty Papers
- The Other Side of Kim
- Mrs. du Toit - Personal Effects
- Eternity Road
- Hog on Ice
- The Smallest Minority
- No Looking Backwards
- Irons in the Fire
- Nom de guerre: Rivrdog
- SayUncle
- Neanderpundit
- Whatever
- Vodkapundit
- LILEKS (James) :: Bleat
- Hell in a Handbasket
- The Countertop Chronicles
- Mr. Completely
- View From The Porch
- the munchkin wrangler.
- Xavier Thoughts
- The LawDog Files
- The View From North Central Idaho
- Snowflakes in Hell - Where There's Snow, There's Firepower
- A Day In the Life of An Ambulance Driver
- Atomic Nerds
- Call me Ahab
- Monster Hunter Nation
- Les Jones | A Bouquet of Weeds
- MArooned
- Coyote Blog
- Random Nuclear Strikes
- Scott Adams Blog
- Stolen Thunder
- American Farmer
- Depleted Cranium
- The Daily WTF: Curious Perversions in Information Technology
- Car Lust
- Toolmonger
- Make Use Of: Cool Websites, Software and Internet Tips
- Lifehacker, tips and downloads for getting things done
- The Consumerist: Shoppers Bite Back
- Gizmodo, the Gadget Guide
- Engadget
- Engadget HD
- Engadget Mobile
- io9. Strung out on science fiction.
- Jalopnik: Obsessed With The Cult Of Cars
Some might ask, "why don't I have Dr. Helen, Cranky prof, or Rachel Lucas, or Breda, or Sondrak, Agent Bedhead, LaShawn Barber, The Anchoress, etc... on there" .
Actually the only female bloggers I have up there are Tam, Connie, and LabRat from atomic nerds. Just a coincidence, nothing against women bloggers, or women who happen to be bloggers. I used to have all of those folks on my blogroll, but they didn't really capture my attention every day. I still read most of them all the time, but basically, every time they write something I want to read, someone else links it.
There's another big list of the occaisonal reads, like 10 ring, the Donovan (and his lovely wife Beth), Ace of Spades, Joe Merchant, Anthroblogogy, Dave Kopel, David Codrea, Gaypatriot, Jeff Soyer... yeah it's a big list. I check them once a week or so, so I don't recommend them to others as a whole (though on specific topics I do. Nobody better on gunrights than the Davids and Jeff Soyer for example).
Anybody have any recommendations for me? Or anyone who used to not update a lot, but has changed their habits so I can now blogroll them again? Let me know.
Oh and I have another list of about 30 news, editorial and opinion sites that I do the same with every day, and a third set of about 50 webcomics, and humor sites.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Best Biden Interview Ever
She actually asks the questions we want answered.
Found via Michelle Malkin
UPDATE: The campaign retaliates by denying the TV station access for the rest of the campaign.
I think the news directors response was perfect.
Found via Michelle Malkin
UPDATE: The campaign retaliates by denying the TV station access for the rest of the campaign.
WFTV-Channel 9's Barbara West conducted a satellite interview with Sen. Joe Biden on Thursday. A friend says it's some of the best entertainment he's seen recently. What do you think?
West wondered about Sen. Barack Obama's comment, to Joe the Plumber, about spreading the wealth. She quoted Karl Marx and asked how Obama isn't being a Marxist with the "spreading the wealth" comment.
"Are you joking?" said Biden, who is Obama's running mate. "No," West said.
West later asked Biden about his comments that Obama could be tested early on as president. She wondered if the Delaware senator was saying America's days as the world's leading power were over.
"I don't know who's writing your questions," Biden shot back.
Biden so disliked West's line of questioning that the Obama campaign canceled a WFTV interview with Jill Biden, the candidate's wife.
"This cancellation is non-negotiable, and further opportunities for your station to interview with this campaign are unlikely, at best for the duration of the remaining days until the election," wrote Laura K. McGinnis, Central Florida communications director for the Obama campaign.
McGinnis said the Biden cancellation was "a result of her husband's experience yesterday during the satellite interview with Barbara West."
Here's a link to the interview: http://www.wftv.com/video/17790025/index.html.
WFTV news director Bob Jordan said, "When you get a shot to ask these candidates, you want to make the most of it. They usually give you five minutes."
Jordan said political campaigns in general pick and choose the stations they like. And stations often pose softball questions during the satellite interviews.
"Mr. Biden didn't like the questions," Jordan said. "We choose not to ask softball questions."
Jordan added, "I'm crying foul on this one."
What did you think of the interview?
I think the news directors response was perfect.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Metallica - an illustration of shark jumping
A few weeks back someone asked "when did Metallica start to suck".
Good question.
First, I don't think Metallica sucks. They are still miles better than most of the so called metal out there today.
Unfortunately, their current state is so diminished from when they were the best metal band in the world; that they suck in comparison.
Metallica doesn't suck; they disappoint. They've long since jumped the shark.
Ok, but when, and why?
I'd say Metallica really jumped the shark in the long period between "Metallica" and "Load" (ReLoad is essentially the second half of the Load double album).
Although many hardcore metalheads hated Metallica Metallica (the black album), I think it remains today the single best example of metal crossing over to a wider audience; and that isn't a bad thing. Metallica was still hard and heavy, but made the music somewhat more accessible to those who were not into the hardcore classical music based speedmetal, or punk based thrashmetal that Metallica had blended so well in previous albums.
I would say that they peaked with "Master of Puppets", which I still consider the greatest metal album of all time. Other than Damage Inc. every single track on that album is brilliant; a perfect example of Metallicas thrash/speed metal fusion (Damage inc. isn't a bad song, but it is more appropriate to an earlier era of Metallicas music. It's a throwaway almost garageband thrash track, and the album would have been better closing with "Orion").
Metallica then plateaued with "And Justice for All" and "Metallica". They were both musically and artistically excellent, but they did not quite reach the height of "Master...", nor were they an artistic stretch for the band. Both were exercises in refining their sound, and their technical abilities rather than reaching for new heights or breaking new ground.
You may attribute this change to the loss of Cliff Burton, but I think it was simply that the band found the peak of their possible achievements in "Master" and simply could do no better. Every band finds their peak, and declines (or breaks up, or both) it's the nature of the beast.
Now that I've said that, I'm going to almost contradict myself, by saying that it WAS Cliffs death that changed the band irrevocably.
The first major consequence was that Cliffs loss initiated a MAJOR change in James Hetfield... simply put, he lost his art. He had his anger and his pain, but Cliffs death seemed to have take the artistic passion out of him, and replaced it with a towering resentment for Lars, who to this day seems oddly false when discussing how Cliffs death effected him.
In fact, if you look at everything since, it seems clear that Hetfield is happiest, when he's reliving the early days of the band, as in Garage Inc.
You have to remember that Metallica is essentially two bands. James Hetfield and then later Jason Newsted, are thrashmetal punks to their core; whereas Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett are quintessentially speed metal.
This tension between artistic elements is what made their music great, and Cliff Burton who was a punk at heart, but was also a great lover of Jazz and Classical music (and speedmetal, which grew out of classical influences); acted as the bridge between these two elements in tension (This can be best heard in "To live is to die" and "(Anastehsia) pulling teeth").
Without that bridge, the magic mix was lost, and it was simply a tug of war between James and Lars.
"Master..." was the last album where those elements of speed metal and thrash metal were truly blended properly. "Justice..." was an exploration of the excesses of speed metal; complicated by the gigantic ego of Lars Ulrich (and corresponding anger of Hetfield) making the production of the album a sloppy, poorly mixed nightmare.
Bringing in Bob Rock on "Metallica" was really an attempt by the band to put that bridge back in place, and restore some of that "mix" lost when Cliff died; and to an extent it worked. Combined with the far more professional production that Rock provided, and his ability to mediate between Hetfield and Ulrich (mostly by making them hate him wore than each other), "Metallica" was the most balanced production the band had yet made.
Of course, that's the problem with it.
Metallica wasn't great because they BALANCED thrash and speed metal, they were great because they wildly rollercoastered around the entirety of thrash and speedmetal, even within the same song.
Bob Rock gave them a better produced, better packaged, GOOD album, but he also muted the excesses.... the ups and downs that make great art. There was no more rollercoaster... more like a freight train, running down a straight line at 90mph.
Make no mistake "Metallica" is a very good album, and has a couple of really GREAT songs on it... but it is... unmagical? I don't want to say uninspired, because the very personal lyrical content that Hetfield included is in many ways beautiful, painful, and entirely revealing... but it just doesn't have the spark that the first three albums did.
"Metallica" also marks the last significant artistic contributions that Kirk Hammett or Lars Ulrich would make to the music of the band.
The entire post "Metallica" discography is essentially Hetfields artistic choice, fueled mostly by his anger, resentment, and disillusionment. It has also moved deeper and deeper into a grunge and groove metal mode, without the classical speedmetal influences; and only occasionally breaking out into the hardcore thrash that Hetfields artistry and passion is rooted in.
Honestly, I think the last time Metallica did something great, it was on "Garage Inc." where for a few minutes James clearly felt like he was expressing himself fully, even though it was through other peoples music; and he and Lars were able to actually ENJOY playing with each other again.
Load... well, there is some excellent songwriting in load, and a few quite good songs, but overall it's missing inspiration. There's a lot of anger there, but no genius, no life to it. In Load, Metallica essentially abandoned their roots in punk, thrash, and speedmetal; and moved into a more hard rock, blues oriented structure. It's a simpler, more accessible, easier to play, write, produce, and sell music... but it just isn't as good.
It isn't really Metallica, it's almost numetallica.
St. Anger is just more of the same, only... angrier.
I've heard death magnetic, and I agree it's heavier than Metallica has been in years, but again there's no feeling to it other than anger and resentment.
Honestly, I think Hetfield should break up the band and either form a new thrashmetal band, or do some solo work; because this stuff is obviously not satisfying him...
...though really Metallicas artistic output since 1991 can best be thought of as James Hetfield with the support of Kirk Hammett and Lars Ulrich, rather than as Metallica (Newsted was ignored entirely for Load, and Trujillo has very little artistic input at all, though he is certainly a very strong bassist, and writes his own parts).
Good question.
First, I don't think Metallica sucks. They are still miles better than most of the so called metal out there today.
Unfortunately, their current state is so diminished from when they were the best metal band in the world; that they suck in comparison.
Metallica doesn't suck; they disappoint. They've long since jumped the shark.
Ok, but when, and why?
I'd say Metallica really jumped the shark in the long period between "Metallica" and "Load" (ReLoad is essentially the second half of the Load double album).
Although many hardcore metalheads hated Metallica Metallica (the black album), I think it remains today the single best example of metal crossing over to a wider audience; and that isn't a bad thing. Metallica was still hard and heavy, but made the music somewhat more accessible to those who were not into the hardcore classical music based speedmetal, or punk based thrashmetal that Metallica had blended so well in previous albums.
I would say that they peaked with "Master of Puppets", which I still consider the greatest metal album of all time. Other than Damage Inc. every single track on that album is brilliant; a perfect example of Metallicas thrash/speed metal fusion (Damage inc. isn't a bad song, but it is more appropriate to an earlier era of Metallicas music. It's a throwaway almost garageband thrash track, and the album would have been better closing with "Orion").
Metallica then plateaued with "And Justice for All" and "Metallica". They were both musically and artistically excellent, but they did not quite reach the height of "Master...", nor were they an artistic stretch for the band. Both were exercises in refining their sound, and their technical abilities rather than reaching for new heights or breaking new ground.
You may attribute this change to the loss of Cliff Burton, but I think it was simply that the band found the peak of their possible achievements in "Master" and simply could do no better. Every band finds their peak, and declines (or breaks up, or both) it's the nature of the beast.
Now that I've said that, I'm going to almost contradict myself, by saying that it WAS Cliffs death that changed the band irrevocably.
The first major consequence was that Cliffs loss initiated a MAJOR change in James Hetfield... simply put, he lost his art. He had his anger and his pain, but Cliffs death seemed to have take the artistic passion out of him, and replaced it with a towering resentment for Lars, who to this day seems oddly false when discussing how Cliffs death effected him.
In fact, if you look at everything since, it seems clear that Hetfield is happiest, when he's reliving the early days of the band, as in Garage Inc.
You have to remember that Metallica is essentially two bands. James Hetfield and then later Jason Newsted, are thrashmetal punks to their core; whereas Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett are quintessentially speed metal.
This tension between artistic elements is what made their music great, and Cliff Burton who was a punk at heart, but was also a great lover of Jazz and Classical music (and speedmetal, which grew out of classical influences); acted as the bridge between these two elements in tension (This can be best heard in "To live is to die" and "(Anastehsia) pulling teeth").
Without that bridge, the magic mix was lost, and it was simply a tug of war between James and Lars.
"Master..." was the last album where those elements of speed metal and thrash metal were truly blended properly. "Justice..." was an exploration of the excesses of speed metal; complicated by the gigantic ego of Lars Ulrich (and corresponding anger of Hetfield) making the production of the album a sloppy, poorly mixed nightmare.
Bringing in Bob Rock on "Metallica" was really an attempt by the band to put that bridge back in place, and restore some of that "mix" lost when Cliff died; and to an extent it worked. Combined with the far more professional production that Rock provided, and his ability to mediate between Hetfield and Ulrich (mostly by making them hate him wore than each other), "Metallica" was the most balanced production the band had yet made.
Of course, that's the problem with it.
Metallica wasn't great because they BALANCED thrash and speed metal, they were great because they wildly rollercoastered around the entirety of thrash and speedmetal, even within the same song.
Bob Rock gave them a better produced, better packaged, GOOD album, but he also muted the excesses.... the ups and downs that make great art. There was no more rollercoaster... more like a freight train, running down a straight line at 90mph.
Make no mistake "Metallica" is a very good album, and has a couple of really GREAT songs on it... but it is... unmagical? I don't want to say uninspired, because the very personal lyrical content that Hetfield included is in many ways beautiful, painful, and entirely revealing... but it just doesn't have the spark that the first three albums did.
"Metallica" also marks the last significant artistic contributions that Kirk Hammett or Lars Ulrich would make to the music of the band.
The entire post "Metallica" discography is essentially Hetfields artistic choice, fueled mostly by his anger, resentment, and disillusionment. It has also moved deeper and deeper into a grunge and groove metal mode, without the classical speedmetal influences; and only occasionally breaking out into the hardcore thrash that Hetfields artistry and passion is rooted in.
Honestly, I think the last time Metallica did something great, it was on "Garage Inc." where for a few minutes James clearly felt like he was expressing himself fully, even though it was through other peoples music; and he and Lars were able to actually ENJOY playing with each other again.
Load... well, there is some excellent songwriting in load, and a few quite good songs, but overall it's missing inspiration. There's a lot of anger there, but no genius, no life to it. In Load, Metallica essentially abandoned their roots in punk, thrash, and speedmetal; and moved into a more hard rock, blues oriented structure. It's a simpler, more accessible, easier to play, write, produce, and sell music... but it just isn't as good.
It isn't really Metallica, it's almost numetallica.
St. Anger is just more of the same, only... angrier.
I've heard death magnetic, and I agree it's heavier than Metallica has been in years, but again there's no feeling to it other than anger and resentment.
Honestly, I think Hetfield should break up the band and either form a new thrashmetal band, or do some solo work; because this stuff is obviously not satisfying him...
...though really Metallicas artistic output since 1991 can best be thought of as James Hetfield with the support of Kirk Hammett and Lars Ulrich, rather than as Metallica (Newsted was ignored entirely for Load, and Trujillo has very little artistic input at all, though he is certainly a very strong bassist, and writes his own parts).
Thursday, October 23, 2008
The Coming Constitutional Crisis
The following motion was filed in US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on October 22nd, and entered earlier today.
This is an amended filing from the earlier motions (as is clear from the text); based on the state of the case as of the 22nd.
Earlier, the Obama campaign filed a motion to dismiss, and a motion to prevent discovery. Neither of these motions have been granted.
The Obama campaign has not filed substantive responses to Bergs motions and assertions; and has missed several deadlines.
Theoretically, by the rules of civil procedure, the judge has to rule in favor of the plaintiff, unless he finds the plaintiffs motions have no merit; however the judge could decide to dismiss, or to hear the case instead.
Also, the plaintiff has requested a jury trial if summary judgement is not entered; and the Obama campaign failed to respond to this request; so if the judge decides not to enter summary judgement and instead hear the case, he is again required by civil procedure to order a hearing before a jury.
Judges have a lot of leeway within the rules, but if they decide to do something outside of normal practice that leaves a lot of room for appeal. I've looked at this judges rules for civil procedure (judges can set their own rules to a certain extent) and he is a hardcore stickler for the rules.
The Obama campaign clearly thought the judge wasn't going to take this case seriously, and that they could either get it dismissed our of hand, or delayed until after the election.
It seems clear now this isn't going to happen.
At this point, the Obama campaigns only response is to claim jurisdictional defect and lack of standing. They are saying that the court can't hear the case, and that even if they could, Berg can't bring the case. Their grounds for such assertions are weak at best.
Read the filings. If you don't believe me, go log in to P.A.C.E.R. and look at the totality of the case. Berg has affidavits from Obamas grandmother, officials from the Kenyan ministry of state, officials from the hospital he is alleging Obama was born in...
This is going to be messy. Even if the case is dismissed by jurisdictional or standing defect, it will simply be refiled immediately by someone who has standing (that shouldn't be hard to find) in the proper jurisdiction.
This isn't going away.
Whether the allegations are true or not, by not taking this case seriously, Obama is in trouble.
UPDATE:
Understand, I am making no claims as to the validity of the case; only that it has not been dismissed, and the Obama campaign is treating it as if it already has been.
By doing so, they have invited trouble they really don't need.
I’m inclined to think if the judge were going to summarily dismiss the case, he would have done so before Oct. 21st.
I have a feeling the judge will at the very least have a hearing on jurisdiction and standing.
If the Obama campaign address this only as a jurisdictional issue, or a standing issue, it’s going to come back.
Right now, the Obama campaign isn’t even arguing the merits of the case; and if they DON’T get it dismissed on the merits, the exact same allegations and information are going to be used to file cases from now, until he is out of office presuming he is elected.
I’ve spent the last three years arguing a federal case, responding to motions and appeals with no merit. Because our opponent had even the slightest validity in his cause of action, it was strongly advised BY THE JUDGE, that we respond to all motions in a timely manner; even though we had a motion to dismiss pending the entire time (it was eventually granted).
Until this case is heard on the merits, and dismissed on the merits, I think it’s going to be a MAJOR issue for Obama; even after the election, whether he is elected or not.
This is an amended filing from the earlier motions (as is clear from the text); based on the state of the case as of the 22nd.
Earlier, the Obama campaign filed a motion to dismiss, and a motion to prevent discovery. Neither of these motions have been granted.
The Obama campaign has not filed substantive responses to Bergs motions and assertions; and has missed several deadlines.
Theoretically, by the rules of civil procedure, the judge has to rule in favor of the plaintiff, unless he finds the plaintiffs motions have no merit; however the judge could decide to dismiss, or to hear the case instead.
Also, the plaintiff has requested a jury trial if summary judgement is not entered; and the Obama campaign failed to respond to this request; so if the judge decides not to enter summary judgement and instead hear the case, he is again required by civil procedure to order a hearing before a jury.
Judges have a lot of leeway within the rules, but if they decide to do something outside of normal practice that leaves a lot of room for appeal. I've looked at this judges rules for civil procedure (judges can set their own rules to a certain extent) and he is a hardcore stickler for the rules.
The Obama campaign clearly thought the judge wasn't going to take this case seriously, and that they could either get it dismissed our of hand, or delayed until after the election.
It seems clear now this isn't going to happen.
At this point, the Obama campaigns only response is to claim jurisdictional defect and lack of standing. They are saying that the court can't hear the case, and that even if they could, Berg can't bring the case. Their grounds for such assertions are weak at best.
Read the filings. If you don't believe me, go log in to P.A.C.E.R. and look at the totality of the case. Berg has affidavits from Obamas grandmother, officials from the Kenyan ministry of state, officials from the hospital he is alleging Obama was born in...
This is going to be messy. Even if the case is dismissed by jurisdictional or standing defect, it will simply be refiled immediately by someone who has standing (that shouldn't be hard to find) in the proper jurisdiction.
This isn't going away.
Whether the allegations are true or not, by not taking this case seriously, Obama is in trouble.
UPDATE:
Understand, I am making no claims as to the validity of the case; only that it has not been dismissed, and the Obama campaign is treating it as if it already has been.
By doing so, they have invited trouble they really don't need.
I’m inclined to think if the judge were going to summarily dismiss the case, he would have done so before Oct. 21st.
I have a feeling the judge will at the very least have a hearing on jurisdiction and standing.
If the Obama campaign address this only as a jurisdictional issue, or a standing issue, it’s going to come back.
Right now, the Obama campaign isn’t even arguing the merits of the case; and if they DON’T get it dismissed on the merits, the exact same allegations and information are going to be used to file cases from now, until he is out of office presuming he is elected.
I’ve spent the last three years arguing a federal case, responding to motions and appeals with no merit. Because our opponent had even the slightest validity in his cause of action, it was strongly advised BY THE JUDGE, that we respond to all motions in a timely manner; even though we had a motion to dismiss pending the entire time (it was eventually granted).
Until this case is heard on the merits, and dismissed on the merits, I think it’s going to be a MAJOR issue for Obama; even after the election, whether he is elected or not.
All Obama has to do is get a federal judge to make a finding of fact that he is a natural born U.S. citizen. Until he does that, I believe this will continue to be a problem.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
:CIVIL ACTION NO: 08-cv-04083
Plaintiff :
PHILIP J. BERG, ESQUIRE, ::
vs.
Defendants :
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, ET AL, ::
ORDER ON PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
THIS CAUSE came before the United States District Court Judge, Honorable R.
Barclay Surrick on Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment.
Having reviewed the Motion and any response thereto and for good cause shown, it is hereby
ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment pursuant to F.R.C.P.
56(c) is GRANTED.
This Court Declares Barack Hussein Obama a/k/a Barry Hussein Obama a/k/a Barack Dunham a/k/a Barry Dunham a/k/a Barack Soetoro a/k/a Barry Soetoro is not a “natural born” or “naturalized” United States citizen and is ineligible to run for and/or serve as President of the United States.
The Democratic National Committee is hereby enjoined from naming Barack Hussein Obama, et al as the Democratic Presidential Candidate on the ballot and both the Democratic National
Committee and Barack Hussein Obama, et al are enjoined from any further campaigning
on behalf of Barack Hussein Obama, et al for Office of the Presidency.
It is an ORDER of this Court that Barack Hussein Obama’s, et al name be removed from any and all ballots for the Office of the President of the United States.
BERG v. OBAMA et al Doc. 27
It is further ORDER of this Court; Defendants are to pay Plaintiff $48,300.00,
representing all fees and costs associated with this suit to date.
IT IS SO ORDERED
Dated: October ______, 2008 ______________________________
Hon. R. Barclay Surrick
United States District Court Judge
For the Eastern District of PA
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
:CIVIL ACTION NO: 08-cv- 04083
Plaintiff : PHILIP J. BERG, ESQUIRE, ::
vs. :
Defendants :
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, ET AL, ::
PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AGAINST DEFENDANTS,
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA and THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE
Plaintiff Philip J. Berg, Esquire [hereinafter “Plaintiff”] files the within Motion
for Summary Judgment and Brief in support thereof and moves this Court for an Order granting Summary Judgment to Plaintiff and against Defendant’s, Barack Hussein Obama [hereinafter “Obama”] and The Democratic National Committee’s [hereinafter “DNC”] on all Plaintiff’s claims pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 56(c) on the following grounds:
1. Plaintiff served Discovery by way of Requests for Admissions and
Request for Production of Documents upon Defendants, Obama
and DNC, on September 15, 2008.
2. Although Defendants, Obama and DNC, filed a Motion for a
Protective Order staying all discovery pending the Court’s decision
on a Motion to Dismiss, Defendants failed to serve Plaintiff with
any Answers and/or Objections to the Requests for Admissions
Served upon each Defendant, Obama and DNC. To date, the
Court has never issued any Protective Orders.
3. Failure to Answer or Object to Requests for Admissions within
thirty [30] days deems the Request for Admissions “Admitted,”
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 56(c).
4. Since the Requests for Admissions are now deemed Admitted,
there are not any genuine issues of material facts remaining and
Plaintiff is entitled to Judgment against Defendants, Obama and
the DNC, as a matter of law.
5. To date, Plaintiff, Philip J. Berg, Esquire, has expended
considerable time in pursuing this case. Accordingly, Plaintiff
requests counsel fees and costs. In the amount of $48,300.00.
WHEREFORE, for the above aforementioned reasons, Plaintiff, Philip J. Berg,
Esquire, respectfully requests this Honorable Court to grant Plaintiff’s Motion for
Summary Judgment against Defendants, Obama and the DNC as to all his claims and award counsel fees and costs to Plaintiff, Philip J. Berg, Esquire in the amount of
$48,300.00.
Respectfully submitted,
s/ Philip J. Berg
Dated: October 22, 2008 ___________________________
Philip J. Berg, Esquire
Attorney in pro se
555 Andorra Glen Court, Suite 12
Lafayette Hill, PA 19444-2531
(610) 825-3134
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
:CIVIL ACTION NO: 08-cv- 04083
Plaintiff :
PHILIP J. BERG, ESQUIRE ::
vs. :
Defendants : BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, ET AL :
PLAINTIFF’S BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF HIS MOTION FOR SUMMARY
JUDGMENT AGAINST DEFENDANTS, THE DNC AND OBAMA
A. OVERVIEW OF PLAINTIFF’S COMPLAINT
Plaintiff is a life long Democrat who had always been proud of his Party.
Plaintiff is a licensed attorney in good standing and has taken an oath to uphold the
United States Constitution.
Plaintiff and many other citizens of the United States have donated money and time to Democratic Presidential candidates as well as to the Democratic National Committee, in reliance on promises and assurances made by the DNC in the Democratic Party Agenda. It provides that the Democrat Party’s goals, among others, are to “restore accountability, honesty and openness at all levels of government”, to “restore the Constitution and protect the civil rights and liberties of all Americans” and to “uphold the Constitution.”
To uphold the Constitution includes making sure that the Presidential candidate is eligible to serve as President pursuant to Article II, Section 1 of our United States Constitution and that such candidate runs a fair and legitimate campaign.
In vetting the Presidential candidate the DNC and FEC are required to ensure the
eligibility requirements pursuant to our Constitution are met and the Presidential
candidate, if elected, would be eligible to serve as President.
To be eligible and qualified to run for and/or serve for Office of the President of the United States a person must be a “natural born” citizen. United States Constitution, Article II, Section I.
The natural born citizen clause has prohibited many prominent Americans from becoming President, including Governor Schwarzenegger and former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Henry Kissinger.
The DNC has nominated Obama as the Democratic candidate for President of the
United States. There are many unanswered questions regarding Obama’s citizenship status:
1. Is Obama a “natural born” United States citizen?
2. Is Obama a “naturalized” United States citizen?
3. Is Obama a citizen of Indonesia?
If the answer to the first question is “yes” then Obama meets the citizenship requirements to be President. On the other hand, if the answer to the first question is “no” and the answer to the second or third question is “yes”, Obama is not eligible to be President.
Plaintiff has learned through extensive investigation that Obama is not a “natural born” citizen. Plaintiff learned that Obama was born at Coast Hospital in Mombasa, Kenya located in Coast Province. Obama’s father was a Kenyan citizen and Obama’s mother a United States citizen who was not old enough and did not reside in the United States long enough to register Obama’s birth in Hawaii as a “natural born” United States citizen.
Under the laws in effect between December 24, 1952 and November 14, 1986 (Obama was born in 1961), a child born outside of the United States to one citizen parent could acquire “natural born” United States citizenship if the United States citizen parent had been physically present in the United States for ten (10) years prior to the child’s birth, five (5) of those years being after age fourteen (14).
Nationality Act of 1940, revised June 1952; United States of America
v. Cervantes-Nava, 281 F.3d 501 (2002), Drozd v. I.N.S., 155 F.3d 81, 85-88 (2d Cir.1998).
Obama’s mother was only 18 when Obama was born in Kenya and therefore, did not meet the age and residency requirements for her child to have acquired “natural born” United States citizenship. Therefore, Obama may not be considered a “natural born” United States citizen.
There is no indication that Obama is a naturalized citizen either.
In response to requests from Plaintiff and the general public for Obama to
produce proof of his citizenship, Obama allowed the Daily Kos to post on their website an image of a Certification of Live Birth with Obama’s name on it purporting to be Obama’s birth certificate at www.dailykos.com.
This same image was also placed on Obama’s website, http://fightthesmears.com and on another website located at http://factcheck.org.
The image placed on these websites is of a Hawaiian document which is provided for children’s births in Hawaii as “natural born”, as well as births abroad, which have been registered in Hawaii, whether the citizenship status was “natural born” or “naturalized”.
Thus, the posting of Obama’s purported birth certificate did not prove Obama was a “natural born” citizen.
Further, the images placed on these three (3) websites were later discovered by Document Image Specialists to be altered and forged images.
It appears that Obama became an Indonesian citizen.
Plaintiff discovered through investigation that Obama’s mother married an Indonesian citizen, Lolo Soetoro who either signed a government form legally “acknowledging” Obama as his son or “adopted” Obama, either of which changed any citizenship status Obama had to a “natural” citizen of Indonesia.
Obama was registered in a Jakarta public school as an Indonesian citizen by the name of Barry Soetoro and his father was listed as Lolo Soetoro, M.A.
There was no other way for Obama to have attended school in Jakarta, Indonesia as Indonesia was under tight rule and was a Police State. Indonesia did not allow foreign students to attend their public schools and any time a child was registered for a public school, their name and citizenship status was verified through the Indonesian Government.
These facts indicate that Obama was an Indonesian citizen, and therefore, he is not eligible to be President of the U.S.
Plaintiff filed suit on August 21, 2008 seeking proof of Obama’s citizenship
status. Defendants, Obama and the DNC’s Answers were due on or before September 24, 2008.
Plaintiff filed a Motion on September 09, 2008 for Expedited Discovery,
Extensive Discovery, Deposition of Obama and Howard Dean, the DNC Chairman and a request for the appointment of a Special Master to be present during the depositions.
Defendants failed to respond or oppose Plaintiff’s Discovery Motion, which is still
pending before this Court.
On September 15, 2008, Plaintiff served discovery by way of Request for
Admissions and Request for Production of Documents on Defendants Obama and the DNC.
Instead of filing an Answer, Defendants, Obama and the DNC filed a Motion to
Dismiss pursuant to F.R.C.P. 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6), claiming Plaintiff did not have
standing and failure to state a claim which relief can be granted.
Plaintiff Opposed the Defendants Motion to Dismiss and requested to file an Amended Complaint.
Plaintiff filed a Motion for Leave to file an Amended Complaint and attached his
First Amended Complaint as Exhibit “A” on the early morning of October 6, 2008,
document number fourteen (14) on the docket.
On the afternoon of October 6, 2008, Plaintiff received a call from John P.
Lavelle, Jr., counsel for the DNC and Obama in order to meet and confer regarding
discovery pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 26(f). Mr. Lavelle
requested a stay of discovery pending this Honorable Court’s decision on Defendants Motion to Dismiss currently pending.
Plaintiff declined this request as Obama’s citizenship status is of National security as he is running for President of the United States.
Mr. Lavelle stated he was filing a Motion for a Protective Order staying
discovery pending a decision on the Defendants Motion to Dismiss. Shortly thereafter, Defendants’ Motion for a Protective Order was filed with this Court as document number fifteen (15).
This Court has not ruled on Defendants’ motion. The Presidential election is only two (2) weeks away. Obama is not a “natural born” citizen and is therefore ineligible to serve as President of the United States. As aresult, Plaintiff as well as many other United States citizens have been harmed and will continue to be harmed until Obama proves his citizenship status or withdraws as the Democratic Presidential candidate.
Plaintiff as well as many United States citizens will have been deprived of their constitutional right to vote for an eligible candidate and will lose the money they have invested in Obama in the elusive hope of “change”.
The citizenship status of Defendant Obama is a critical issue and of concern to
Plaintiff as well as the general public, which needs to be addressed prior to the
Presidential election on November 4, 2008.
Instead of satisfying Plaintiff and the general public’s concerns regarding
Obama’s citizenship status, or lack thereof, Obama and the DNC have chosen to litigate the matters in lieu of providing what should be simple proof. Defendants have filed two [2] Motions to Dismiss and a Motion for a Protective Order instead of simply solving the matters and providing the proof verifying Obama’s citizenship status.
The fact Obama is a U.S. Senator for Illinois and a Presidential candidate, he is open for public scrutiny and Plaintiff as well as all American Citizens have a right to question and receive proof of Obama’s citizenship status.
Moreover, Defendants have failed to answer Plaintiff’s requests for Admissions
in a timely manner, and those matters are automatically deemed admitted in accordance with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 36(a); McNeil v. AT&T Universal Card, 192 F.R.D. 492, 494 (E.D. Pa. 2000).
Therefore, no genuine issue of material fact exists regarding Plaintiff's complaint against Defendants. Plaintiff is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law.
B. REQUEST FOR ADMISSIONS SERVED UPON DEFENDANTS ARE DEEMED ADMITTED, THEREFORE, THERE ARE NO UNDISPUTED FACTS, SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD BE GRANTED IN FAVOR OF PLAINTIFF:
Request for Admissions were served upon Defendants, Obama and the DNC on
September 15, 2008.
Answers and/or Objections were due within thirty [30] days.
Although Defendants filed a Motion for Protective Order on October 9, 2008, the
Court has never ruled upon their Motion and therefore, a Protective Order was not
granted and discovery has never been stayed.
Failure to Answer or Oppose Requests for Admissions deems them Admitted.
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 36, McNeil v. AT&T Universal Card, 192 F.R.D. 492, 494 (E.D. Pa. 2000), Goodman v. Mead Johnson & Co., 534 F.2d 566, 573 (3d Cir.1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1038, 97 S. Ct. 732 (1977); Siss v. County of Passaic, 75 F. Supp. 2d 325, 331 (D.N.J. 1999).
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 36 states in pertinent part:
“(3) Time to Respond; Effect of Not Responding.
A matter is admitted unless, within 30 days after being served, the party to
whom the request is directed serves on the requesting party a written
answer or objection addressed to the matter and signed by the party or its
attorney.
Plaintiff’s Request for Admissions served upon Defendants were simple and straightforward recitations of fact which could be admitted or denied and to which Defendants should have personal knowledge and familiarity. Despite the simplicity, Defendants failed to Answer and/or Object to Plaintiff’s Request for Admissions.
Since Plaintiff’s Requests for Admissions are based solely on Plaintiff’s Complaint which addresses Obama’s non-natural born United States citizen status (Plaintiff’s Request for Admissions served upon Obama are attached hereto as Exhibit “1” and Plaintiff’s Requests for Admissions served upon the DNC are attached hereto as Exhibit “2”), the fact that Obama is not a natural born citizen was automatically deemed admitted upon Defendants’ failure to answer Plaintiff’s Requests for Admission in a timely manner.
The admitted matter is conclusively established for purposes of the pending action. See American Auto Ass'n v.AAA Legal Clinic, 930 F.2d 1117, 1120 (5th Cir. 1991)
(conclusive effect of admission applies equally to matters affirmatively admitted and
those established by default).
Therefore, there are no issues of material fact that remain and Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment against Defendants, the DNC and Obama should be granted to all of Plaintiff’s claims.
Admissions of fact made under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure, Rule 36 are
“unassailable statement of facts that narrows the triable issues in the case.” Airco
Industrial Gases, Inc. v. Teamsters Health & Welfare Pension Fund, 850 F.29 1028,
1037 (3rd Cir. 1988).
For the above aforementioned reasons, Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment
against Defendants, Obama and DNC, should be immediately granted to all of Plaintiff’s claims.
C. SUMMARY JUDGMENT IS APPROPRIATE IN THIS CASE and
MUST BE GRANTED IN FAVOR OF PLAINTIFF:
Under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 56(c), Summary Judgment should
be granted to Plaintiff because there are no genuine issues of material fact and Plaintiff is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. 477 U.S. 242, 247 (1986), Arnold Pontiac-GMC, Inc. v. General Motors Corp., 786 F.2d 564, 568 (3rd Cir. 1986).
The Third Circuit Courts have considered the question of the proper interplay
between the granting of a Summary Judgment and requests for admissions and have held that failure to respond to properly served admissions permits the entry of summary judgment when the facts deemed admitted are dispositive. See Anchorage Assocs. v. Virgin Islands Bd. of Tax Review, 922 F.2d 168, 176 (3d Cir. 1990) (deemed admissions sufficient to support summary judgment); Freed v. Plastic Packaging Materials, Inc., 66 F.R.D. 550, 552 (E.D. Pa. 1975).
In this case, Defendants’ deemed admissions warrant the entry of a Summary Judgment in favor of Plaintiff because the deemed admissions address every element of Plaintiff’s claim and no genuine issues of material fact remain.
For the above aforementioned reason’s Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment
against Defendants, the DNC and Obama should be immediately granted to all of
Plaintiff’s claims.
D. CONCLUSION:
For the above aforementioned reasons, Plaintiff, Philip J. Berg, Esquire,
respectfully requests this Honorable Court to Grant his Motion for Summary Judgment against Defendants, Barack Hussein Obama and The Democratic National Committee, as to all of Plaintiff’s Claims.
Additionally, Plaintiff requests this Honorable Court to declare Barack Hussein
Obama a/k/a Barry Hussein Obama a/k/a Barack Dunham a/k/a Barry Dunham a/k/a Barack Soetoro a/k/a Barry Soetoro is not a “natural born” United States citizen and is ineligible to run for and/or serve as President of the United States.
Plaintiff further requests this Honorable Court to Order The Democratic National
Committee to remove the name of Barack Hussein Obama a/k/a Barry Hussein Obama a/k/a Barack Dunham a/k/a Barry Dunham a/k/a Barack Soetoro a/k/a Barry Soetoro from the Presidential ballot and to enjoin Defendants from any further Presidential campaigning on behalf of Barack Hussein Obama, et al.
In addition, Plaintiff requests this Honorable Court to Order the Democratic
National Committee and Barack Hussein Obama, et al to pay all fees and costs associated with this suit in the amount of $48,300.00. Plaintiff respectfully requests the Court to Grant Plaintiff such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.
Respectfully submitted,
/s Philip J. Berg
Dated: October 22, 2008 ___________________________
Philip J. Berg, Esquire
Attorney in pro se
555 Andorra Glen Court, Suite 12
Lafayette Hill, PA 19444-2531
(610) 825-3134
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I, hereby certify that Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment and Brief in
Support thereof, were served via electronic filing on the ECF System, this 22nd day of October 2008 upon the following:
John P. Lavelle, Jr.
Attorney I.D. PA 54279
BALLARD SPAHR ANDREWS &
INGERSOLL, LLP
1735 Market Street, 51st Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 864-8603
(215) 864-9125 (Fax)
lavellej@ballardspahr.com
Joseph E. Sandler
SANDLER REIFF & YOUNG PC
300 M Street, S.E. Suite 1102
Washington, D.C. 20003
Telephone: (202) 479-1111
Fax: (202) 479-1115
sandler@sandlerreiff.com
Robert F. Bauer
General Counsel, Obama for America
PERKINS COIE
607 Fourteenth Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005-2003
Telephone: 202.628.6600
Facsimile: 202.434.1690
Attorney’s for Defendant’s RBauer@perkinscoie.com
Barack Hussein Obama and The Democratic National Committee
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Gunblogger conference call with Missouri Governor Matt Blunt
Earlier today, I participated in a conference call with Missouri governor Matt Blunt, on the subject of gun rights, John McCain, and Barack Obama.
You may recall that recently, the Obama campaign worked directly with democratic party elected officials in the state of Missouri; engaging prosecutors and county sheriffs, to intimidate local media outlets, and prevent them from taking advertising criticizing Barack Obama.
Governor Blunt delivered a scathing rebuke of this blatant ethical misconduct (and violation of at least federal election regulations, if not federal law):
On the call with me were the organizers, Bryan Pick and John Henke from QandO.net, Jonathan Blank of the Cato Institute, Nicky Fellenzer from The Liberty Zone, Dave Kopel of the Independence Institute and DaveKopel.com, David Codrea of The War On Guns, JR of A Keyboard and a .45, Sebastian of Snowflakes in Hell, Cam Edwards of NRA News and the Cam and Company radio show, Bitter of The Bitchgirls, Dustin of Dustins Gun Blog, John Donovan of The Donovan, and Caleb of Call me Ahab.
It has been agreed that we can release the full audio of our conference call with the governor. I've put it up here:
Sorry, I cant get the embeddable streaming widget to work. Here's a link to the full file, and an embedded player that works, at archive.org.
Gunblogger conference call with Missouri Governor Matt Blunt
I have edited nothing from Governor Blunts comments; only the introductions and some chat between my fellow bloggers at the beginning and end of the call.
If time permits, I will post a transcript later.
You may recall that recently, the Obama campaign worked directly with democratic party elected officials in the state of Missouri; engaging prosecutors and county sheriffs, to intimidate local media outlets, and prevent them from taking advertising criticizing Barack Obama.
Governor Blunt delivered a scathing rebuke of this blatant ethical misconduct (and violation of at least federal election regulations, if not federal law):
Governor Blunt, who has decided not to seek re-election; has been campaigning in Missouri, and across the country, for gun rights, and for John McCain.
Gov. Blunt Statement on Obama Campaign’s
Abusive Use of Missouri Law Enforcement
JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Matt Blunt today issued the following statement on news reports that have exposed plans by U.S. Senator Barack Obama to use Missouri law enforcement to threaten and intimidate his critics.
“St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch, St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer, and Obama and the leader of his Missouri campaign Senator Claire McCaskill have attached the stench of police state tactics to the Obama-Biden campaign.
“What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words, the party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment.
“This abuse of the law for intimidation insults the most sacred principles and ideals of Jefferson. I can think of nothing more offensive to Jefferson’s thinking than using the power of the state to deprive Americans of their civil rights. The only conceivable purpose of Messrs. McCulloch, Obama and the others is to frighten people away from expressing themselves, to chill free and open debate, to suppress support and donations to conservative organizations targeted by this anti-civil rights, to strangle criticism of Mr. Obama, to suppress ads about his support of higher taxes, and to choke out criticism on television, radio, the Internet, blogs, e-mail and daily conversation about the election.
“Barack Obama needs to grow up. Leftist blogs and others in the press constantly say false things about me and my family. Usually, we ignore false and scurrilous accusations because the purveyors have no credibility. When necessary, we refute them. Enlisting Missouri law enforcement to intimidate people and kill free debate is reminiscent of the Sedition Acts - not a free society.”
On the call with me were the organizers, Bryan Pick and John Henke from QandO.net, Jonathan Blank of the Cato Institute, Nicky Fellenzer from The Liberty Zone, Dave Kopel of the Independence Institute and DaveKopel.com, David Codrea of The War On Guns, JR of A Keyboard and a .45, Sebastian of Snowflakes in Hell, Cam Edwards of NRA News and the Cam and Company radio show, Bitter of The Bitchgirls, Dustin of Dustins Gun Blog, John Donovan of The Donovan, and Caleb of Call me Ahab.
It has been agreed that we can release the full audio of our conference call with the governor. I've put it up here:
Sorry, I cant get the embeddable streaming widget to work. Here's a link to the full file, and an embedded player that works, at archive.org.
Gunblogger conference call with Missouri Governor Matt Blunt
I have edited nothing from Governor Blunts comments; only the introductions and some chat between my fellow bloggers at the beginning and end of the call.
If time permits, I will post a transcript later.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Wond'ring Aloud
"Wond'ring Aloud"
Wond'ring aloud --
how we feel today.
Last night sipped the sunset --
my hands in her hair.
We are our own saviours
as we start both our hearts beating life
into each other.
Wond'ring aloud --
will the years treat us well.
As she floats in the kitchen,
I'm tasting the smell
of toast as the butter runs.
Then she comes, spilling crumbs on the bed
and I shake my head.
And it's only the giving
that makes you what you are.
Wond'ring aloud --
how we feel today.
Last night sipped the sunset --
my hands in her hair.
We are our own saviours
as we start both our hearts beating life
into each other.
Wond'ring aloud --
will the years treat us well.
As she floats in the kitchen,
I'm tasting the smell
of toast as the butter runs.
Then she comes, spilling crumbs on the bed
and I shake my head.
And it's only the giving
that makes you what you are.
Saturday (October 25th) will mark the 40th anniversary of the first full album released by Jethro Tull.
Now I'm not normally one to wax overmuch on a single band or artist... Elvis or the Beatles notwithstanding (and that's about the cultural impact, not the music). I do have my favorites of course and I talk about them some, but most music just passes me by... as it passes you by too I'm sure.
Of course there are those artists and albums which are different. That have an impact. That change you.
Tull is different.
When I was a teenager, I built my own apartment in the house that we rented from my grandfather. It was a 90 year old (at the time) house, two main living floors with an attic and a basement; split up as a two family house. At the time, my mother, my brother, my aunt Maureen and I lived in the upstairs half, and my aunt Susan and her husband Carl lived in the bottom half.
The basement was unfinished... would have been hard to have it otherwise, since it was literally carved out of a solid granite hillside; and the other side was aggregate blocks (kind of like concrete except instead of sand you use granite dust and granite pebbles); and the whole thing was taken up by a massive heating oil tank, and the two furnaces and water heaters... with just enough room for two pairs of washers and dryers, and a door to the outside...
It's amazing the little details you remember about your childhood isn't it.
Anyway, because the house was built into a hillside, the basement had an entrance on one side, and there was a front entrance at the top of a flight of entry stairs, and another entrance around the other side of the house; that opened into the back stairs.
Those back stairs went from the basement all the way up to the attic; separate from both living floors, by their back doors. That way both apartments had access to both non living floors without having to pass through each other.
Well, when I was 13, we took the attic, which was the size of the entire house (about 50x50 square) and converted it into an apartment for me. I walled it in so that instead of extending all the way down to the outside walls of the house, I had six foot walls. That left a huge storage space in behind the walls (that we used quite effectively), and about a 30x30 living space for myself.
Importantly, I also thoroughly soundproofed the whole place. You could set off a bomb up there and no-one would have heard it.
I built my own furniture in there; set up my own library, my own workshop... my own life. It was my own apartment with my own private entrance...
A place away from my family. A place I needed... it would have been bad otherwise... worse maybe I should say.
I've mentioned this before, but my teenager years were... not good. Oh I had some good times, some good friends; but my life in those years... I've talked about my mother, my brother, and my aunt before... I'm not sure how I made it out of there sometimes.
My family was bleeding to death around me, and trying to drag me down with them... and I was busy on my own trying to dive down a different, but just as deep... maybe deeper... hole.
I needed to escape. More than anything... and I did, as soon as I could; but those years in between... I would escape where I could, when I could.
Anyway, I had this jury rigged stereo. An early Sony five disc CD changer I'd picked up for free as broken, and fixed myself. It was playing into some junk bookshelf stereo... I think it was an Aiwa maybe?
At any rate it sounded like playing music through two tin cans. So I jumpered into the clean channel on my Fernandez guitar amp and cabinet... it was an interesting effect. It could easily fill up my world with sound... and I built it into the headboard of my bed (a waterbed, that I'd also built myself).
Hey, I thought it was cool at the time.
I've been an insomniac since I was five years old; but when I was a teenager, my sleeping became markedly worse. I would sometimes go days without sleeping; then sleep for 12 or 14 hours.
When I couldn't sleep.. when my brain just wouldn't let me rest; I would just put on five albums on repeat, as loud as I could stand, to drown out my brain:
Jethro Tull - AqualungThe sound would just pound out my mind. Drown out the thought, the trouble, the pain, the anger... just let me sleep.
Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick
Deep Purple - Machine Head
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV
Pink Floyd - Wish you were here
I would leave them on repeat, and they would wash over me for hours and hours. Filling my world with sound, and driving out everything that made me not want to be there.
That helped keep me sane... or at least as sane as I am, whatever that is.
There were other, darker and harder times; and darker, and harder music to go with them. It was then that I really became a metalhead.
... but it always came back to those five albums. Over and over, for years.
Still today, when I hear those first flute notes from "Thick as a Brick", it takes me somewhere else.
One of the moments of pure joy in my life, was a few years back: I had just come back from Ireland a few months previous, but my life was pretty chaotic. I was traveling all over, doing contract work, and my mother was in ever worse and worse shape... and my brother moved back 'round and started sucking off my mother again...
I'd picked up my black 5 series a few weeks earlier, and had just put the new stereo in with Sirius satellite radio (10 alpine components inside, going into 500 watts on 4 digital channels; plus 1000 watts into 2x12" alpine R2s); and then had to go to New York for two weeks on business.
Well, I was really stressed out, burned out.. coming home I was just in one of those moods where you ask "Why the hell am I bothering doing this".
I got out into the long term parking, and started to head for home... but instead I took it out on a night drive up highway 89, from Phoenix up through Prescott; and I was really wringing it out.
I got out past Wickenburg, and had the radio pumping, trying out the Sirius, on the classic "vault" station, the DJ started up the whole album "Thick as a Brick"
Really don't mind if you sit this one out.
My words but a whisper your deafness a SHOUT.
I may make you feel but I can't make you think.
My words but a whisper your deafness a SHOUT.
I may make you feel but I can't make you think.
And I just flowed. That way that sometimes, if you're lucky, you can get where everything just fits together. Motion to motion, thought to thought.
It's like it's all in one piece; and you start in one spot and 45 minutes later you're 6o miles away, and you know and remember and feel every second and every foot of that 60 miles; but you really have no idea of time or distance passing.
That's what I mean when I say some music is different. Some music moves you. Jethro Tull is different.
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