What about a full gainer with a twist?

i.e. a backflip done while moving forward.

In Defense of Lobbying

By Charles Krauthammer

Friday, February 29, 2008; Page A19

Everyone knows the First Amendment protects freedom of religion, speech, press and assembly. How many remember that, in addition, the First Amendment protects a fifth freedom -- to lobby?

Of course it doesn't use the word lobby. It calls it the right "to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Lobbyists are people hired to do that for you, so that you can actually stay home with the kids and remain gainfully employed rather than spend your life in the corridors of Washington.

To hear the candidates in this presidential campaign, you'd think lobbying is just one notch below waterboarding, a black art practiced by the great malefactors of wealth to keep the middle class in a vise and loose upon the nation every manner of scourge: oil dependency, greenhouse gases, unpayable mortgages and those tiny entrees you get at French restaurants.

[...]

Lobbying is constitutionally protected, but that doesn't mean we have to like it all. Let's agree to frown upon bad lobbying, such as getting a tax break for a particular industry. Let's agree to welcome good lobbying -- the actual redress of a legitimate grievance -- such as protecting your home from being turned to dust to make way for some urban development project.

There is a defense of even bad lobbying. It goes like this: You wouldn't need to be seeking advantage if the federal government had not appropriated for itself in the 20th century all kinds of powers, regulations, intrusions and manipulations (often through the tax code) that had never been presumed in the 19th century and certainly were never imagined by the Founders. What appears to be rent-seeking is thus redress of a larger grievance -- insufferable government meddling in what had traditionally been considered an area of free enterprise.

Good lobbying, on the other hand, requires no such larger contextual explanation. It is a cherished First Amendment right -- necessary, like the others, to protect a free people against overbearing and potentially tyrannical government...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/28/AR2008022803232.html

So, you think you can trap me into a discussion of Blue Dog Democrats, a subject which induces a heretofore unknown degree of lachrymosity in me, when I could be Hawking?

Not on your tintype Mrs. Haversham!

I got a new set Dunlop D-220's, a new 530 chain (which I riveted myself!) and a 2-tooth larger rear sprocket. The bike was just tuned and dynoed at 100 hp and 73ft.lbs. torque. (Please don't tell me "torque is cheap"- I know better.)

The sky is a little overcast, and I got a ticket last week which is gonna put paid to my liscence anyway, so what the fuck- I got nothin to lose! Did I ever have.

Even now, I can hear my wife praying for my ride, say, any of you geniuses know what a "hisdemise" is? Cause that's what she's asking Him for.

And I thought I had nothing to live for, frankly, and then I saw this:

http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/Transit-Jacket-p-20133.html

and matching pants which zip to the jacket. About $1600 for the set! Yow! Gore-Tex Leather!

Oh, I've got leathers, but these are really something And Made in VietNam!!! (I have a wonderful 3/4 leather motorcycle jacket made in Afghanistan- (whenever I wear it I feel like shooting NFL stars.)

Good lobbying, on the other hand, requires no such larger contextual explanation. It is a cherished First Amendment right -- necessary, like the others, to protect a free people against overbearing and potentially tyrannical government...

Oh, C'mon, LWM, if you ever spent any time in Santa Clara you would know that corporations are people, too!

Return the Eggs! Return the Eggs!

I found a picture of Derbig.

http://www.ohvec.org/galleries/people_in_action/2003/02_01/index.htm

and a 2-tooth larger rear sprocket.

It's always about size with you guys. ;-}

A "hisdemise" comes right after the catechism of "insuranceupdate".

If you're really lucky, there will be a divine intervention and the worst that will happen is that Jebbie will assign someone to come tweak your wenis.

(He's really taking his Forum Arbitrator role to heart)

In a barroom dive, on the bathroom cubicle wall... at Capital Hill.... maybe a foul-word, two, or three is scribbled by a white collar crime syndicate? huh. Kitt? They dig in a wood outhouse goo pooh pile. gross.

In a sleaze dive where the bribes are exchanged, no shake hands.

okay. Be nice? Politicians make a big splash in the crappers commode.

Politico's don't wash post-digging, each 'otters' behind. Quick. Flush.

The toilet~hand needs a scrubbing. What slush, and hush cash.

The fica matter is foul-stench (Steny Hoyer) to clean blue skies.

The McCain gang remind me of a drunker at a barroom. Whores.

The wedding ring is taken off because of a complaint? Ring Pinches?

Happy Memorial Weekend. I'm off to the wild blue sea. A old bad joke?

`

The lobby frauds wobble up to steps at Capital Hill. A pizza pie guy ask,

Steny Hoyer, Do you like seafood? The wise guy clown is munching dough.

Then~; Steny declares, `yes. Then : A pizza eater opens the mouth. `See food.

Great column.

It just ticks me off to no end everytime I see in print what I already know is happening. One of the reasons I supported John Edwards in the Primary was because of his position on fighting lobbyists. This revolving door BS and lobbyist control in D.C. must stop.

I watched Ralph Nader this morning and I have to say that listening to Nader I have to admit that I am in agreement with him on the issues. It's actually painful that I'm too afraid to support him because I don't want to hand the election to McCain. After Nader I then watched Richard Viguerrie talk about what's wrong with both Democrats and Republicans. While I'm much closer to Nader on the issues than I am to Viguerrie I must say that even he made more sense than John McCain. Watching both these men got me thinking about the Fall campaign.

I'd really like to see the Green Party & Libertarian Party included in the Fall debates. They both have a lot of good positions and I think their inclusion in the debates would actually force the Democrats and Republicans to debate ISSUES that they might otherwise ignore. I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this because they are even more fearful than I am about having a third party candidate gum up the works. They don't even want to hear them speak much less vote for them.

We all talk about Bush and the Republicans playing the terrorist fear card and they do, but aren't all of us also guilty of playing the third Party candidate fear card? Why are we doing this to ourselves? How can we ever expect things to change if we allow our own fears to prevent discussions that can lead to meaningful change?

I'd love to see some of the blogs talk about why we are all so fearful of hearing different points of view in the debates because I think until we stop being afraid of third party candidates that we will continue to find our choices limited to electing corporate Democrats or corporate Republicans. I think until we have some Green Party and Libertarian Congressional representatives challenging the Democrats and Republicans that we will never be able to break the grip of the lobbyists.