Shire Network News #112 has been released (well, it was released on Christmas Day, actually). The feature this week is a conversation between 3 SNN contributors — Meryl, Damian and Brian of London — about the year in review. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

Below is the text of my commentary.

Hi, this is Doug Payton for Shire Network News, asking you to “Consider This”.

Former Senator George Mitchell released his report last week detailing the use of steroids and other controlled substances in Major League Baseball. The baseball world was rocked when names like Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and A-Rod were mentioned in the report. But, as is its habit, the mainstream media did not report the whole story.

Here, then, from the home office in Camillus, NY, are the top 9 revelations from the Mitchell Report you may not have heard about in the news:

9. All major news anchors have used steroids to keep that buff look for their viewers. (Well, except Katie Couric, who uses a different controlled substance; lilac bubble bath.)

8. Ayman al-Zawahri was on uppers during his last video, and seems to expect the viewer to be on them too, in order to stay awake for the whole thing.

7. The rockets being fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel use the secret ingredient Ketchup Gas because Hamas can’t get anyone to sell them mustard.

6. The Palestinians firing those rockets from the Gaza Strip have been dipping into the Ketchup Gas a bit themselves.

5. Congressional Democrats have been using Jedi Mind Tricks(tm) to convince their followers that the Iraq War is being lost in a big way. Dissenters are told “I find your lack of faith disturbing”.

4. Michael Moore was cleared of charges he uses Human Growth Hormone. Instead it was revealed he uses Three-Day Beard Growth Hormone.

3. When he was young, Barack Obama used…oh, wait. The Hillary Clinton campaign already revealed that.

2. When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits, he and Hugo Chavez sneak out for a late-night American Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate bar. Ah, the guilty pleasures from those capitalist pigs.

And the #1 revelation from the Mitchell Report you may not have heard about in the news:

Baseball fans will still pay inflated prices, and still go to the games.

Ah well, at least, here in the off season, you can still have a Merry Christmas. And indeed I can still say that here on Shire Network News. And to Brian of London, Tom Paine and Meryl Yourish, I hope you had a Happy Hannukah. See, we can all just get along.

Consider that.

Shire Network News #110 has been released. This week we ask Hollywood comedian and political commentator Evan Sayet when tinseltown’s conservatives are finally going to stage a parade down Rodeo Drive.. We’ll also hear from Meryl Yourish what she thinks of the Great Teddy Bear Incident of 2007. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

I did not submit a commentary for this week. But listen to it anyway. >grin<

Technorati Tags: Shire Network News, Evan Sayet, Meryl Yourish, Islam

Shire Network News #110 has been released. The feature interview is with Reut Cohen, a previous guest on SNN. She has decided to join the US Army, much to the shock of some of her friends. She speaks to us about the reasons for her decision, and the reactions she’s received – not all of them positive. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

The segment I submitted for show 108 was finally used this week, so you can click here to read it.

Technorati Tags: Shire Nertwork News, Reut Cohen, global warming

Shire Network News #109 has been released. The feature interview is with Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs about the whole giant argument going on within the anti-Jihad movement over cooperation with certain political groups in Europe. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

My commentary, that was not used last week, was not used this week, either. This blog “civil war” has really taken the fore on SNN, but I am assured that it will still be used. Stay tuned!

Shire Network News #108 has been released. This may be the last episode of SNN, at least for a while. This is from the website:

I’m afraid we have some bad news. For reasons which are detailed in the podcast, this is probably the final Shire Network News, certainly at least in it’s current format.

We seem to have gotten ourselves smack-dab in the middle of the Blog Civil War that’s going on, and we managed to get ourselves ripped apart by the gravitational forces. Yes, yes, we TRIED reversing the polarity through the deflector array, didn’t work.

In part, the reason why “Brian of London” and “Tom Paine” in Australia have come to truce and treaty and the parting of the ways is the subject of this weeks special and probably last feature interview.

It’s with Filip Dewinter, leader of the Valaams Belang, the Flemish nationalist party in Belgium. As many of you already know, there has been a great disturbance in the Blog recently over the counter-Jihad movement cooperating with the VB and other European parties with questionable antecedents, such as the Swedish Democrats.

Shire Network News was offered the chance to put the tough questions to the man himself. And so, like idiots, we did.

And then…well, listen for yourselves.

For myself, “Tom Paine”, now that we seem to be in the Blogosphere equivalent of the week that Fort Sumter was fired upon, I reckon on lighting out for the territories for a spell, I figure I’ll be back when this has all blown over. And I’m sure all of us wish Brian of London great success with his family in their new country.

And perhaps it might be worth remembering that there’s a real enemy out there, and it’s not each other, m’kay?

Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

Below is the text of what my commentary segment would have been. Just think; you won’t have the opportunity to hear me sing “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport”. Consider yourselves fortunate.

UPDATE:  According to the site now, Tom Paine says that SNN isn’t going away, so you might yet hear this in an upcoming episode.

Hi, this is Doug Payton for Shire Network News, asking you to “Consider This!” The last time I did a Global Warming Update, it was for my very first contribution to Shire Network News back in April, so it’s about time for another one.The Nobel Committee says that, by raising awareness of global warming, the Prophet Al Gore (Peace Prize be unto Him) might have been instrumental in possibly stopping potential future conflicts over what may turn out to be scarcer resources. With that paper-thin connection to “peace”, they turned the Nobel Peace Prize into the Nobel “Leftist Accolade” Prize. Well, it may have already been that, if you consider that Gandhi of the Middle East, Yassar Arafat, was a recipient.

In any event, not everyone in the climate biz was thrilled to see the prize go to Al and the United Nations (which, incidentally, is a good name for a rock band…with apologies to Dave Barry). Dr. William Gray is a pioneer in the science of seasonal hurricane forecasts, and he’s called Gore’s film, “An Inconvenient Truth”, “ridiculous”.

Dr Gray, whose annual forecasts of the number of tropical storms and hurricanes are widely publicised, said a natural cycle of ocean water temperatures – related to the amount of salt in ocean water – was responsible for the global warming that he acknowledges has taken place.

However, he said, that same cycle meant a period of cooling would begin soon and last for several years.

“We’ll look back on all of this in 10 or 15 years and realise how foolish it was,” Dr Gray said.

OK, if we do realize how foolish it was, does that mean Al loses his prize? Nah, probably not. He’ll just say that all his “consciousness raising” fixed everything. Plus all the particulates from the exhaust of his private jets reflecting the sun. But if Dr. Gray is right, shouldn’t he get the Peace Prize for raising the consciousness about the natural cycles of the planet, thus keeping a whole bunch of global warming alarmists from fighting over who’s fault it was that they were wrong?

The next item pits one lefty special interest group against a few others. Greenpeace is suggesting to Australians that, in order to hold down methane emissions from cows, that Aussies eat more…kangaroo! Well, the vegetarians are already upset about cows, and PETA is sure to hate this, what with the “cutesy” factor of the roos. Think of all the brokenhearted children when a politically correct Christopher Robin starts eyeing Kanga, with a lean and hungry look in his eye. So now, let’s all sing the new anthem of Greenpeace.

Tie me kangaroo down, sport
Tie me kangaroo down
They taste better than cow, sport
Tie me kangaroo down

Finally, here’s the latest action by DARE. No, not the anti-drug group, the not-so-well-known “Democrats Against Renewable Energy”. Over the years, Ted Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Walter Cronkite, among other liberal luminaries, have been campaigning against wind power. That’s right, they’re so concerned about the fishing and boating industries (what one might call “Big Fish”) that they’ve actively worked against wind farms 5 miles off the coast in…oh, yeah, Nantucket Sound. Well, there’s your explanation. Wind power is good, unless it’s within the sound of my Sound. And again, it’s one set of lefties against another. Such entertainment value!

All we need to do now is get Al Gore up there to Cape Cod and see how “peaceful” things get. Then we could just sit back, throw another roo on the barbie, and watch the sparks fly, which I suppose would just contribute to more global warming.

Consider that.

Technorati Tags: Shire Network News, global warming, environment, Islam, Nobel Peace Prize, Al Gore, Yassar Arafat, Dr. William Gray, Dave Barry, Greenpeace, kangaroos, wind farms, renewable energy, Nantucket Sound, Cape Cod, Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport

One of the podcasts I listen to is Heading Right Radio with Ed Morrissey of “Captain’s Quarters”. He gets some great interviews, and last week (I’m behind in my podcast listening) he got Dinesh D’Souza and they talked about D’Souza’s book “What’s So Great About Christianity”. Fresh from his debate at King’s College with Christopher Hitchens, D’Souza covers a number of interesting topics from his book, including the truth about the Gallileo’s persecution, the limits of reason, why the recent increase in atheist apologetics, the supposed “war” between science and religion, thank-you letters to Portugese inquisitors, and other light topics. >grin<

Click here to listen to any of Captain Ed’s shows, and stick it in your podcatcher.

Technorati Tags: Ed Morrissey, Dinesh D’Souza, Christianity, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, atheism

Shire Network News #107 has been released. The feature interview is part 2 of last week’s interview with two free thinkers who have rejected the teachings of Muhammad and chosen another path; Adil Zeshan and Sheila. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

While I did submit a commentary this week, because the interview went long I was bumped until next week’s show. I’ll post the text then.

Shire Network News #106 has been released. The feature interview is with two ex-Muslims – Sheila (not her real name for reasons which are probably obviuous) who lives in the United States, and Adil Zeshan from the United Kingdom. They talk about why they left, and why the fear the reaction from their former compatriots.. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

Below is the text of my commentary segment.

Hi, this is Doug Payton for Shire Network News, asking you to “Consider This”.

“A chicken in every pot, and a car in every garage.” That was the slogan of Republican Herbert Hoover in his campaign for President of the United States. His promise of prosperity likely helped propel him into the Oval Office. Well, it looks like Hillary Clinton has taken that same promise and updated it for 21st century Democrats.

Her first trial balloon was the idea that the government would give each child a $5000 US Savings Bond when they were born. More than just a chicken in every pot, this would be a bond for every baby. But unlike Hoover’s promise of prosperity, which came with the assumption that people would earn those chickens and cars due to a healthy economy, Clinton is doing what liberals do best; giving “free” money away and taxing the growth out of the economy to pay for it.

But this trial balloon was made of lead. Apparently the legality of vote buying is not in question with most Americans. And so, with this attempt at pure, unadulterated socialism put back in the vaults of the Democratic Party, no doubt to be brought back out again in the fullness of time, Mrs. Clinton tried something less brazen.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton proposed tax cuts of up to $1,000 a year on Tuesday to encourage millions of working-age families to open personal 401(k) retirement accounts. The New York senator said the program would be paid for through higher estate taxes.

Now this is ironic on any number of levels. Let’s start with the obvious one; using “tax cuts” and “Democrat” in the same sentence. OK, OK, she does wind up trading one tax for another, but to not just seem to be giving away “free” money must have really hurt.

And what tax is she trading with? The estate tax! Otherwise known as “The Second Tax on The Stuff You’ve Already Been Taxed On When You Earned It”, it’s assessed on your estate when you die, hence a third, more well-known term, “The Death Tax”. Do you see the circle of life here? She gives you a tax break for retirement that she takes back from your heirs when you die. It’s the political equivalent of a perpetual motion machine. And it’s just as illusory. Or you could look at it as a forced loan from your children. Now there’s compassion.

And consider this; what she’s essentially doing is (get ready for this) partially privatizing the handling of retirement benefits! She’s not talking about a $1000 boost in your Social Security benefits, she’s talking about your own, personal 401(k). You gotta’ give her credit for coming around, even a little bit. But again, we’re swimming in irony here..

And yet, it still really just is vote buying, if clothed in privatization. If at first you don’t succeed, buy, buy again.

So whatever happened to Hoover’s promise? Well, a scant 7 months into his administration, the Great Depression dashed all his plans for prosperity, proving once again that no matter the promises a presidential candidate makes, the future isn’t always perfectly predictable. (Just ask George W. Bush about the first September after he took office.)

The best a President or Prime Minister can do is make economic conditions as favorable as possible, so that if stock markets or buildings come crashing down, you will be in the best position to recover. Redistributing wealth through an inefficient bureaucracy isn’t the way to do that.

I’ll leave you with a quote talking about the state of the republic:

Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions – everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses

No, not our republic. This poet was talking about the Roman empire of the first century, but the results of relying more and more on government rather than ourselves are the same regardless of your time period. If Mrs. Clinton is elected President, perhaps we would need to update this observation just a little. The People may now be anxiously hoping for bread, circuses, and 401(k)s.

Consider that.

Technorati Tags: Shire Network News, Adil Zeshan, Herbert Hoover, Hillary Clinton, socialism, Social Security, bread and circuses

Shire Network News #105 has been released. The feature interview is with blogger and media analyst Richard Landes, about the latest developments in the Mohammed Al-Durrah case. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

Below is the text of my commentary segment.

Hi, this is Doug Payton, asking you to “Consider This”.

Last Wednesday, there was yet another Democratic party debate for the US Presidential nomination. Honestly, this whole campaign season started way too early for my tastes, but it does make for wonderful blog fodder. I mean, the more these folks talk, Democrats and Republicans, the better the chance that they’ll say things that let us see the real candidates, not just the ones their handlers want us to see.

Take John Edwards, please. In that debate, Tim Russert asked about same-sex marriage in general, and about a new “fairy tale” in particular that is designed for 2nd graders about two kings who get married. When asked if he thought this was OK, he said the following:

I don’t want to make that decision on behalf of my children. I want my children to be able to make that decision on behalf of themselves, and I want them to be exposed to all the information, even in — did you say second grade? Second grade might be a little tough, but even in second grade to be exposed to all those possibilities, because I don’t want to impose my view. Nobody made me God.

Well, to that last sentence, taken entirely out of context, I’d have to say a hearty “Amen”, so to speak. I mean, you’re not likely to hear someone on “Extreme Makeover, Home Edition” walk into their new house and exclaim “Oh my Edwards!”

But let’s go back and put the sentence in context. John Almighty has indeed decided that second graders should be their own moral agents, discerning all manner of right and wrong at the tender age of 7. Now, there are some moral issues that second graders should be able to recognize and, even if they make the wrong decision, they know it’s the wrong one. Whether or not to splatter little Katie’s white dress with black paint is one thing. I would think (I would hope) that even Mr. Edwards could figure that one out. It’s rather black and white. But does he believe that second graders are ready to make a moral decision about the rightness or wrongness of same-sex marriage?

Comedian Jeff Foxworthy has a game show in the US called “Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?”, where contestant compete against elementary school kids. Well it seems that Pope John the Democrat doesn’t think he qualifies to be the moral guide to a 2nd grader. I’m sorry, John, but if you don’t think you can do that, what makes you think you can tell me how to run my own health care, or what makes you think I can trust you with the tax dollars you want to give to charities?

I’ll tell you what, though; if that “fairy tale” “King & King” were about two brothers getting married, I have a feeling John would somehow muster from deep down inside him the courage to impose his views on Mrs. Hutchison’s class in room 107. Yes sir, that line in the sand would be drawn. This far and no farther! Something tells me that his alleged laissez-faire attitude towards his children’s moral education just might be shown for the veneer that it is. And using your children to pander to your base is particularly reprehensible.

And perhaps all this would last until society’s values changed and John would morph with them. “Marriages of 3 or more? Hey, no on made me God! Playing NAMBLA propaganda to babies in the womb along with their classical music? The rumors of my Deification have been greatly exaggerated!”

Now I’m sure that there are those who have been disagreeing that the whole same-sex marriage issue isn’t really a moral issue. I personally think it is, and I’d also note that the faith that John claims, from the Southern Baptist denomination, also sees it that way. John saw fit to bring God into the equation with his statement that he was not Him. But while it’s true that no one made John God, God did make John something; a parent. Just because you’re not God, it doesn’t mean that you can’t make decisions for your children. Indeed, who other than the parents are the primary moral educators of the next generation?

Unless, of course, you think it’s the state’s responsibility to do moral education, and handle all your health care, and micromanage the economy, and tax your way to prosperity. Well, at least according to the latest polls, John doesn’t look like he’ll be getting the nomination.

To that I say, “Thank Edwards.”

Shire Network News #104 has been released. The feature interview is with graphic novelist, Bosch Fawstin. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

Below is the text of my commentary segment.

Hi, this is Doug Payton for Shire Network News, asking you to “Consider This!”

MoveOn.org placed a full-page ad in the New York Times suggesting that General Petraeus might be called “General Betray Us”. MoveOn.org, who I assume supports the troops, just not their leaders, and who don’t question anyone’s patriotism, except when they do, says that “Iraq is mired in an unwinnable religious civil war.”

Now, by “unwinnable”, I imagine they mean that we can’t win, by stopping the fighting. And that’s certainly true, especially if you look at history. I mean, the British have been trying to stop Protestant and Catholic violence in Ireland for…. Oh, wait. They did manage to stop the violence. OK, well that’s a good thing, right?

The peace in Ireland came after 38 years of, shall we say, “occupation” by British forces. But MoveOn.org is shocked — SHOCKED — that “American troops will need to stay in Iraq for as long as ten years”. So perhaps peace after 38 years was not worth it? Talk about your short attention spans. Talk about your instant gratification culture. These guys must not keep their money in anything longer than a 6-month certificate of deposit. “The Cold War going to last how long? Ah, just give the Soviets what they want. A few innocent looking missiles in Cuba aren’t going to hurt anyone. Let’s just move on, and bring the troops home from Germany.”

(Oh, and we’d better not let them know that we still have American troops in Germany. I mean, can you imagine the reaction? I may be a mean-spirited wingnut, but I have my limits.)

And if there was any question — any at all — that MoveOn.org and the allegedly objective New York Times were on the same, viciously partisan side, here’s some information that should clarify things. The Times gave MoveOn.org a significantly cut rate on their “Betray Us” full page ad. The standard rate for that size an ad is $181,692, but MoveOn.org got theirs for a mere $65,000. That’s a about 65% off! That’s either because September is a slow ad month for the Times, or because, as one Republican staffer put it, they must’ve gotten the “family discount”. Actually, this rate is called the “special advocacy” rate, but is this discount available for conservative causes? If you ask the Swift Boat Vets for Truth, or the National Right to Life Committee, you’ll soon realize that this “special advocacy” rate is applied in a rather lopsided fashion. Got to keep it all in the family, as it were.

In conjunction with this, the Times has put out a new, sliding scale rate for political ads. The new schedule is as follows:

All Republicans: 110% of list price
Generic Democrats: 75%
BDS Sufferers: 50%
Daily Kos writers: 40% but the ad must appear in the Entertainment section
Michael Moore: No upfront charge. Instead, 13% of gross profits from the next movie
William Shatner: Name your own price
And an additional 5% off for each clever pun on someone’s name (which must appear in at least 48 point type)

At least we know where the Times stands; side by side with an organization, like MoveOn.org, that is willing to smear anyone for political gain. It runs in the family.

Back to you, Brian.

Technorati Tags: Ireland, MoveOn.org, New York Times, Bosch Fawstin, General Peter Petraeus