Tragedy Strikes the Boston Fire Department

This morning we will bring you the very latest on the two firefighters killed fighting a four-alarm fire in West Roxbury last night.

The website for the Boston Fire Department is here. The Massachusetts Memorial to Fallen Firefighters is scheduled to be dedicated on September 11th. You can support the memorial by buying a brick here.

UPDATE: A fund for the families of the two fallen firefighters has been created:

West Roxbury Fire Fund
Boston Firefighters Credit Union

60 Hallet Street

Dorchester, MA 02124

617-288-2420

There's A Sucker Born Every Minute...

..and they're all apparently registered voters in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

That's my conclusion in the Boston Herald after reading about the plan for another "short term" tax hike from the state legislature.

Support Illegal Immigrants--Eat More Fiber!

The lead of the Boston Globe-Democrat's story on a recent immigration enforcement action raises disturbing medical questions:

"Advocates for immigrants accused federal officials yesterday of rounding up regular undocumented immigrants..." (emphasis added)

The "regular" illegal aliens? As opposed to the "irregular" ones?

I realize there are many problems related to being an immigration criminal in the US. As renowned social scientist Phil Collins notes, it's no fun being an illegal alien.

But I didn't realize illegal immigration was so hard on the digestive tract.

That is what the Globe-Democrat is talking about, right? What else could the phrase "regular undocumented immigrant" mean? If the paper is trying to report on their immigration status, well, by definition every illegal alien is an "irregular" immigrant. So what's the point?

Then again, we're talking about a newspaper that censors its own pages to appease irrational Islamist morons, and intentionally uses the nonsensical phrase "undocumented workers."

So it's no surprise that we don't know what the Boston Globe-Democrat is talking about. The real question is, do they?

Sen. Craig Speaks...

"I am not smart, and I have never been smart."

"Too Small For A Republic, Too Large For An Insane Asylum"

That's how a Civil War-era legislator described South Carolina (and he may have had this young lady in mind), but I was reminded of this motto while reading this story from here in Massachusetts:

Mr. Pierce has an outdoor fireplace that he bought at Target and uses to grill hamburgers and toast marshmallows with his grandchildren. And while the fireplace is more than 50 feet from any of his neighbors’ property lines, smoke has prompted nuisance complaints to Fire Chief Robert P. Parsons.

Chief Parsons said firefighters have investigated the complaints and have not found evidence of nuisance smoke. But, he said, that does not mean the complaints are not valid.

The chief said he sent Mr. Pierce a certified letter dated Aug. 15 stating that he has received complaints from several of his neighbors who were not identified. The letter said that while the fires were found to be small and burning clean, wood smoke is considered an air contaminant under state regulations.

“Effective immediately the Fire Department orders that you no longer burn any wood outdoors in your outdoor fireplace …” the letter said.

Huh? No wood outdoors in my outdoor fireplace? Does that mean I have to move my fireplace indoors? Or should I be burning something other than wood?

It turns out, according to the fire chief involved in this story, that all campfires are illegal in Massachusetts. Every outdoor fireplace sold by Home Depot is a crime scene in the Commonwealth.

Why? Because the state Department of Environmental Protection has declared it. Why? Because they can. Why? Stop asking questions about put out that wooden match, you criminal.

More Free Speech Courage From The MSM

Remember when the Boston Globe-Democrat refused to run the infamous "Danish Cartoons" in their news pages--despite the fact that it was the biggest story in the world at the time--because (according to the Globe-Democrat) the free speech advocates who drew them were as bad as the Nazis and the KKK?

Here we go again.

More jokes! More comedy! More Muslims! Something's got to be banned!

And so the Washington Post (who also refused to run the Mohammed cartoons) dumped the lastest "Opus" comic because it made light of radical Islam. Why?

"Sources told FOX News that the strips were shown to Muslim staffers at The Washington Post to guage their reaction, and they responded 'emotionally' to the depiction of a woman dressed in traditional Muslim garb and espousing conservative Islamic views."

Now THAT'S how you run a newspaper!

I can't wait to read about the Washington Post showing a Doonesbury cartoon mocking evangelical Christians to its born-again staffers and giving them veto power over the paper. When's that going to happen? Next week? Next month? When pigs fly?

I'm Back!

And I'm ready to rock. We've got:

--Angry Islamists, and the wonderful defenders of press freedom who are censoring themselves yet again to avoid offending them.

--Michael Vick, yet another black man unjustly punished for doing nothing more than committing a heinous, disgusting crime.

--Alberto Gonzales, one of George W. Bush's dumbest friends (and that's quite an achievement) finally gets justice at the Justice Department.

--That same US Justice Department is spending thousands of dollars to attend an event hosted by an Islamic group that's also an unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorism case.

And that's just the first HOUR of Tuesday's edition of the Natural Truth.

"Why Didn't I Just Shoot Someone?"

That's what Michael Vick has to be thinking right about now, given what husband-killer Mary Winkler got 67 days. That's my take, anyway, in the Boston Herald today.

NASA And Its Hang Ups

Imagine if Toyota tried to sell a line of cars that had a failure rate of 1 in 60. One of every 60 blew up when you turned the key or hit the brake pedal. How long would Toyota stay in business?

Imagine an airline that cancelled 10 flights for every five it got into the air?

Imagine a job where 1 out of every 50 employees was killed at work.

In other words, imagine…the space shuttle.

I was astonished when shuttle cheerleader Keith Cowing hung up on me in the middle of an on-air interview today. He now claims in his blog that he was "ambushed" by my questions about the disastrous space shuttle program, an odd claim given that NASA was literally debating what to do about yet another mid-flight problem with the space shuttle as we spoke.

Is it really a surprise to even the most devoted NASA brown-noser that the shuttle has problems? That this $500 million per flight death machine is considered by many to be NASA's greatest fiasco (which is saying a lot about an organization that accidentally slammed a vehicle into the surface of Mars because they forgot to convert miles to kilometers).

Cowing's performance was an embarrassment to himself and his cause, mostly because he could offer no facts. When asked to simply offer counter-arguments, all he could do was stammer "You've already made up your mind."

He objected when I argued that the shuttle was the most deadly transportation system as yet devised. So I asked him to help me with that math (7 passengers per flight, 118 flights, 14 deaths... ) That's when he hung up on me.

Here's the Natural Truth about the shuttle program:

It was supposed to cost $5-10 million per flight, and average a flight a month. It's $500 million per, and they can't get the thing in the air. Since 2003, there have been twice as many cancelled flights as actual lift-offs. When it does fly, pieces keep falling off.

No airplane, helicopter, automobile or bungee cord would be allowed on the market with a kill-ratio that matched the space shuttle. Out of every 60 trips, one blows up. Out of every 100 shuttle passengers, about 2 die. For comparison, there were 1.8 billion airline passengers in 2004, and just 428 died. That's .000000428 per 100 airplane passengers.

Cowing tried to argue that this death rate is actually pretty good given how complex the space shuttle is. That doesn't answer the question of why we're putting people in such an unnecessarily complex machine to begin with. It's the idea of the shuttle that's so dumb, and people much smarter than myself have been calling for this flying NASA jobs program to be grounded.

We don't need it. Space flight can be more simply, less expensive and with far fewer dead people. The Apollo program never lost a single astronaut in flight (three did die tragically on the ground). Even NASCAR has a lower fatality rate, and the drivers are intentionally engaged in risky behavior at 180 mph.

Anyone defending NASA even as pieces of the shuttle continue to flake off during flight should expect a question or two about the wisdom of continuing the deadly disaster that is the shuttle program.

If Mr. Cowing finds my questions difficult to answer, he should hope not to face any from the families of the 14 dead astronauts.

"We're Not Happy Until EVERYONE'S Unhappy!"

That's the motto of the modern American liberal. Read all about it in the Boston Herald today.

No, Not "Illegal"--They're "Undocumented."

They're just trying to get to work, to keep Boston's economy moving. Does it matter that they lack proper documentation? Does it really matter that what they're doing is technically illegal? Who are they really hurting?

So why, oh why, is the Boston Globe-Democrat persecuting them with this negative, mean-spirited front-page expose'?

No, not illegal immigrants. Illegal parkers.

People without the proper documentation are parking in handicapped spots around office buildings in Boston's business districts. Some are using fraudulent documents (they actually belong to family members) to park illegally in these spots. They've got to be stopped.

Unlike people entering America without the proper documentation, or taking jobs from Americans without proper documentation, or collecting tax-funded benefits without proper documentation. That's all A-OK at the Globe-Democrat.

Just be careful where you park.

The Flintstone Factor?

The compressed presidential primary schedule has pushed everything forward this campaign season, and that includes the media. The "stupidest political story by a mainstream media moron" of the entire 2008 campaign has already been published.

"Fred, Fred, Fred: Thompson's Challenge Has A Name" reports on the burning question "Will Americans elect a guy named Fred?"

It's not a column. It's not a humorous op-ed. It's a (allegedly) news story. By a girl named "Monica."

No, not her. Here's some of Monica's "reporting.":

Fred.

We are trying to understand.

We are willing to admit that that some people find Fred Thompson, yes,
sexy.

But we still cannot understand what that means.

What does it signify that we, as a country, are choosing to deem yummy a
guy named Fred?

I wonder when Monica will write a piece about America's affection for a Democrat whose middle name is Hussein?

The Sergeant Shultz Theory Of Law Enforcement

Here's how the authorities in Oregon describe the crime:

As 15-year-old Dani Countryman struggled beneath Gilberto Arellano Gamboa, pinned to the floor with her pants down, he called on his cousin to help subdue the girl. Alejandro Rivera Gamboa responded by stepping on Countryman's throat until she stopped moving...Gilberto Javier "Gabe" Arellano Gamboa, 23, who is also known as Rivera Gamboa, and Alejandro Emeterio "Alex" Rivera Gamboa, 24, were arraigned Tuesday in Clackamas County Circuit Court on charges of aggravated murder.

Here's how the authorities responded when asked how they could have arrested one of these illegal immigrants four times in the past seven years for DUI, and yet he was able to remain in this country, to rape and murder a teenager:

"I've never asked somebody if they're legal or illegal," said Lt. Jason Gates, spokesman for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office. "It's none of my business."

Thanks, Lieutenant. I'm sure Dani's family is glad to hear that. Wouldn't want a criminal to feel uncomfortable, now would we?

The families of the three students lined up and executed by an illegal immigrant in New Jersey probably feel the same way. The same with the mother of the 13-year-old girl whose naked pictures showed up at the photo lab of a Virginia Wal-Mart, taken by an illegal immigrant now under arrest for child pornography.

And that's just the past week.

If you're saying to yourself "Thank God these crimes didn't happen here in Massachusetts," you may want to keep in mind that, thanks to Gov. Patrick and Mayor Menino, we have the same "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on illegal immigrants here.

UPDATE: And the Worcester is considering whether or not to post a "Criminals Welcome!" sign at the city limits.

Merv Griffin, RIP

Any guy who leverages "I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts" (see astonishing video of Merv's performance here) into one of the largest solely-owned media companies in history deserves to be remembered.

Plus, he wrote the most famous 14 seconds of music in TV history.

UPDATE! The Sky's Not Falling! The Sky's Not Falling!

While the geniuses at USAToday join the mainstream media in parroting the inconveniently inaccurate "truths" of Al Gore, here's the real news that you won't find in the Boston Globe-Democrat:

"NASA has now silently released corrected figures, and the changes are truly astounding. The warmest year on record is now 1934. 1998 (once called the hottest year on record) moves to second place. 1921 takes third. In fact, 5 of the 10 warmest years on record now all occur before World War II."

UPDATE: This posting, and our conversation about this news, has inspired quite a backlash in the email bag (michaelgraham@969fmtalk.com). Most of the emails insist that NASA hasn't updated anything and I'm making this all up. Let me help as much as I can.

First, the words in blue are links to my sources of information. Use them and you will find data and analysis from people much smarter than yours truly. You will also find the source NASA data, which I am linking here and here to speed the process for you.

Second, this column by Mark Steyn lays out the story of the new data. As I said on the air Friday (and some angry Gorons can't grasp), this isn't new data from "some guy." The guy in question, Steve McIntyre, analyzed NASA's data, found the flaw, and contacted NASA who, begrudgingly admitted their error (begrudgingly) and then quietly updated the data.

It's not a blogger admitting that our temperatures have been flat for a decade--it's NASA.

What this means is that every time you hear some GPS (Global Panic Sh...er "Snothead") shout "1998 is the warmest year on record! This is the hottest decade ever!," they're simply wrong. Period. They don't have the facts.

I, for one, think it's good news that the Earth Mother isn't about to roast us to death for the sin of re-elected GWBush. The Left doesn't agree. As with Iraq, the only good news is bad news. Determined as they are to wish doom and gloom upon America, they will almost certainly announce that the complete lack of warming since 1998 is actually more proof of devastating anthropomorphic climate change.

They will continue to push for any and all virgins currently employed by the oil industry--if any--to be cast into a volcano post-haste.

Once you abandons science, everything starts to make sense.

Meanwhile, normal people will continue to ask the two questions that matter:

1--Are we sure that human beings are doing more to screw with the Earth's weather than, say, the Sun? (answer: No. We're not sure. We might, we might not.)

2--If we are having a significant impact, will the world be a better place if we spend trillions of dollars, throw millions out of work and slow the economic development of people currently living in mud huts, as opposed to letting the Earth do what it's going to do while we plant crops in Greenland (again). (Answer: We don't know that, either)

Remember the indisputable truth: The world has been warmer than it is today and colder than it is today, just since Christ's time. It will get warmer and colder again, no matter what we do. Nobody panicked when grapes grew in "Ice"-land, and nobody panicked when parts of modern Germany were abandoned during the Little Ice Age.

Why panic now? Why not just be honest, do the science and pay attention?

Oh, I forgot--the point isn't to save the world. The point is to hate America.

Never mind.

No English? No Problem! No Spanish? Uh-oh...

That's what one landlord told a business tenant because he only spoke English. He evicted him to make room for a business that served the needs of Spanish speakers.

If this happened in Spain or Mexico, it might make sense. But in AMERICA?

Unfortunately, it happens all the time.

Mitt Romney: Good Guy, Weird Religion. So What?

That's my take on the continuing Mormon-mania in the Boston Herald today.

And The Winner Of The "Ugliest Hawaiian Shirt" Contest Is...

Yours truly!

The other men of Greater Media Boston? Not even close...

Is It Time For A Bourne (Bridge) Ultimatum?

The "Cape Cod Canal" bridge over Route 28 -- the Bourne Bridge -- makes the list of "20 Most Deficient, Heavily-Trafficked Bridges."

Have fun at the Cape!

The Natural Truth From Minneapolis

It's only going to get worse.

Find out why from Popular Mechanics.

The NYTimes Discovers Media Bias

From my column in the Boston Herald today:

Even The New York Times, which loathes Murdoch, concedes that he knows how to run a media business. “When he introduced the Fox News Channel in 1996, critics said there was no room for a new entrant,” the Times reported. “Today, the network is profitable and has overtaken CNN in the ratings.”

And what a gross understatement. All of the top five prime-time cable news shows are on Fox. CNN is lucky to get two shows in the top 10, and one of those is always Larry King with yet another hard-hitting grilling of Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme.

“Overtaken?” Murdoch’s network kicks CNN’s media assets every week. The Times reporting is misleading to the point of - dare I say - bias?

The Massachusetts Highway Department Hotline Number

888-359-9595, or dial #321.

And thanks again to Mass Highway Commissioner Luisa Paiewonsky for joining us the show!

Michael Yon Knows Iraq

His reporting from the front lines is cheering our soldiers and breaking Harry Reid's heart. Read his work--entirely supported by readers-- on his website here.

Shut Up And Donate!

That's my advice to the pompous, preening celebrities who actually want to do something worthwhile. Stop whining about "BusHitler" and donate to Laura Ingraham as she rides in the Pan-Mass Challenge to defeat cancer.

It's as easy as clicking here.