Have I Been Bannned By Michael Mann?

Michael Mann is sparring with Mark Steyn over his hockey schtick. Steyn suggested the schtick has a non-regulation curve; Mann threatened to hip-check Steyn out of the rink, legally speaking. Steyn, in response to the threat of litigation, has said he'll need to inspect Mann's "climategate" emails jockstrap -- a jockstrap that Mann has been holding close to his scientific, er, vest.

Now, as regular readers of the Ball Bounces know, I'm a HUGE fan of Michael Mann. I thought I would give him a bit of encouragement, so I posted something along the following lines to his Adore-Me Facebook page.

"Why not preemptively release those emails now; that'll show 'em!".

Encouraging, right? Good advice, right?

Yet, shortly after I posted, my post was "disappeared", and there is no longer a prompt for me to post a new comment. I felt like I'd been "offed", encased in concrete, and thrown in the Penn State river.

Does this mean that I've been Banned By The Mann? Does this mean I didn't show sufficient reverence to the Great One? Does this mean that michael mann Himself read my post, thought about it, then pressed mannly finger to climate-heated keyboard and... bounced the Ball from the Mannoverse... forever?!

Has Mann given me the cosmic finger?! On the one hand, this means we are now cosmically connected -- I have had my own brush with The Great One. We are close! However, being banned leaves me feeling emotionally empty. It's a barren feeling, being banned is. It's like the Mannoverse I once inhabited and cavorted in, is now a sterile, dead wasteland of a burned out, lifeless universe. Ghost town city. I'm suffering. I feel sad, empty...

Can I sue?!

And that's the way the Ball got bounced.

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The GOP Convention: Democrats Put Their Best, Er, Foot Forward.

Protesters dressed as vaginas...

... no doubt insist they should not be viewed as sexual objects.

Legitimate rape?

Cover of Roman Polanski

A US legislator is in deep doo-doo because of uttering the phrase "legitimate rape". Anyone with half a brain would know what he meant -- an actual sexual assault vs. technical rape where a consenting partner or semi-consenting partner withdraws her/his consent and claims sexual assault or where two consenting persons have sex but one turns out to be underage. The left's Whoopie Goldberg made exactly this distinction when she contrasted Polanski's charge of having sex with a minor vs. actual or "legitimate" rape which she referred to as "rape-rape".

Whoopi got an entirely free pass on the matter. Not so the hapless US legislator, who is Republican.

Seems like a double standard to me. Perhaps if the legislator had been less articulate and referred to cases of "rape-rape" he would have got a pass -- but I doubt it.

PS -- I notice from the suggested links below that I'm not the first to note this.

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US Debt: Do The Math

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 01: The National Debt Clock, a billboard-size digital display showing the increasing US debt, is seen on the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 44th Street on August 1, 2011 in New York City. The House of Representatives successfully passed a bill that would reduce national debt and raise the national debt limit, though the bill still needs to pass the senate. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Quick now, how much is the US debt on a per capita basis? In other words, what is each joe or jane average's share of US government debt? Five, ten, fifteen thousand?

According to this article, total unfunded US government liabilities are 222 trillion dollars. The population of the US is 312 million. To keep it simple, let's knock off 90 million people as being too young, infirm, whatever, to take on their share of the debt. So, let's say there are 222 million people available to take on the 222 trillion dollars of debt.

How much is that per person? Hmmm.

222,000,000 is 222 million
222,000,000,000 is 222 billion
222,000,000,000,000 is 222 trillion

222,000,000,000,000 divided by 222,000,000 is $1,000,000.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, each able-bodied American's share of government debt and unfunded liabilities is 1 million dollars.

Unless I've made a major error here somewhere, I would say the US is in deep doo-doo.

And, since the government plans to add another trillion dollars to the debt next year, getting dooier by the day.

And that's the way the doing-the-math Ball bounces.

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Kelowna -- Gay Pride Yes, Right to Life No

English: A photo take in Kelowna, B.C. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

"Kelowna abolishes courtesy flag program after Right to Life asks to fly banner"

The flagpole outside Kelowna, B.C.’s city hall has played host to banners from numerous community groups since a process to open it to the public was formalized last summer. Even last week, organizers with the local Pride Week were allowed to fly their flag. 

But when city council faced a request from a local anti-abortion group for a turn, the city axed the program.

Defending the rights of unborn Canadians is controversial and divisive while promoting public sexual licentiousness is uncontroversially harmonious -- what could be more Canadian than a homosexual acting out in public, or more unCanadian than caring about the unborn?

A scant ten years ago Canadian courts were forcing -- forcing -- municipalities to celebrate gay Pride against the wills and better judgements of mayors. Their beliefs were over-ruled and their consciences quashed by the know-better courts juggernaut.

Don't expect these same courts to come to the support of the Right to Lifers. The courts are ideological, they get to impose their social values on Canadians, and they get generously paid for life -- it's a great, soft-totalitarian gig if you can get it.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.

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Does Leaving Raw Bacon Around = Hate Crime?

"NYPD Probing Hate Crime After Bacon Found At Staten Island Ramadan Site"

Leaving raw bacon lying around is considered a hate crime -- by the same people (leftists) who defend flag-burning as "freedom of speech".


Don't get me wrong. I think it was a dumb thing to do. Unkind, etc. But the social rules that govern the left are hard to fathom. One action gets defended; a similar act gets condemned. If the bacon had been left at a police rally (as in "pigs"), would it be considered a hate crime, or protected speech? Presumably the mistake the perps made was leaving it raw. If they had burned the bacon they would have been OK, right?

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Diversity: The New Conformity

English: A picture I took of the "Welcome to Georgia" sign, 15 miles west of Bremen on I-20. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Georgia high school choruses not allowed to perform.  The reason? Not diverse enough.

Diversity: the new conformity.

PS. Don't forget to vote in the latest Ball Bounces poll.

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Ball Bounces Poll: Obama's Campaign Slogan: "Forward."

What do you think of Prez. Obama's 2012 campaign slogan: "Forward."? Is the US currently headed in the right direction to be moving "forward"? Or does forward simply mean, "into the future"?  As in, "the past lies behind us, the future lies ahead!!!".  Or does it have the desperate whiff of a communist Russia slogan, as in "last year was dreadful, let's not even think about it -- let's get outta here"?!

(And what's with the period? When you say Forward, shouldn't there be a bit of oomph to it, as in Forward march!!! I mean, is the US government not only out of money but out of exclamation marks as well??!!

Here, I'll donate one of mine -- ! -- take it.

Or is the slogan really "Forward - Full Stop", in which case, isn't it kind of lurchy?

Your vote counts at the Ball Bounces -- even if you're illegal!, even if you're white!, even if you're (gasp) Canadian !!!!

Vote now and vote often!

Forward!

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The Ball Bounces To The Toyota Service Shop -- And Comes Out Ahead!!! FINAL UPDATE: I drop the Vase

Basil Fawlty (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Ball bounced over to his friendly Toyota dealer in Charlottetown PEI for some annual servicing -- cabin air filter, oil change, tire rotation, rust check, a whack of fluids at the 150K mark. And, here's the deal. I got a coffee from their coffee-maker, and left without paying a dime!

I'm ahead!! For the first time in my life (channeling my inner Basil Fawlty) I'm ahead!!!!

updates to follow...

UPDATE1: I pocketed the keys by mistake, got a call around 2:00 pm, do I have the keys and I could I drop by with them. I do. While I am there, I help myself to another free cup of coffee!!!

I still haven't paid a dime!!!

Outgoing evil laugh:  Bwaahahahaha!

UPDATE2: I get "the call". I need a front brakes job, and will have to leave the car in overnight.

FINAL: I get the "pink slip". I drop the vase. Fluids, oil change, in-cabin air filter, headlamp, front brakes: $647 on the nose.

Minus two bucks for "free" coffee. D'oh!

And that's the way the vase-dropping Ball bounces.

Name The 2012 US Election Slogan Contest

America Alone (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mark Steyn's column in the Orange County Register is all about election slogans for the 2012. He thinks Obama's "Forward" suggests "More of the Same!". I think more like, "let's not even think about the mess we're in; let's get out of here!". The image that comes to mind is a car stuck in the snow  -- let's get this car in gear and gun the motor. Come to think of it, that's what five trillion dollars of stimulus was supposed to do. That's five trillion dollars in ice-melter down the drain. Or, the getaway driver after the bank robbery - "forward, gun it - let's get out of here!".

Steyn variously suggests:

"You're screwed, losers. Steyn 2012"

"Get real, you chumps. Steyn 2012"

"There's nothing holding the joint up. Steyn 2012"

Surely we can do better. Read the article, and then suggest a slogan for America.

Here're mine:

"Uncle Sam's Coming For You - Ball 2012"

"5 Trillion More! - Obama 2012"

"One Small Debt For Man; A Giant Debt-Load For Mankind - Ball 2012"

"Abandon Hope (And Change) All Ye Who Enter Here - Ball 2012"

Can you do better?

Oh yes, the Contest. The winning entrant will get a tax-free one-year subscription to the Ball Bounces!!!!!

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