Just in case you have any question where No Holds Barred stands on the Second Amendment ... I think this parody by Jay D. Dyson of Sacred Cow Burgers provides a clear answer for both of us.
It's My 2 Cents: State Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries, (pictured) is at it again. Seems he's too busy knocking on doors to take time to share his views on 
important issues with The Spokesman-Review. Or, at least, that's what his wife sez. He won't talk to our reporters. Mrs. H doesn't believe the S-R would play fair in relating Mr. H's views to the public. I can see why she has a beef with me. Now that Rep. Charles Eberle of Post Falls has been defeated in his re-election bid and Rep. John Campbell of Sandpoint has retired, I believe Hubby Dearest is the worst member of the North Idaho delegation. But, hey, that's me. And I'm paid to have an opinion. The reporters are paid to report. It's no skin off my hide if Harwood passes up a chance for free publicity.
*CBS News duped again: Report on reinstituting draft cites urban-legend e-mails/WorldNetDaily: And the Lefties wonder why Fox News numbers are soaring?
*Bob Schieffer, the next target: In wake of 'Rathergate' scandal, thousands urge CBS newsman off debate/WND: Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
*Kerry team miffed about timing lights: Threatens to remove signal mechanism before debate begins/AP: The Kerry team should be miffed that it has fielded the worst Demo prez wannabe since Jimmy Carter in '80.
*Foreigners face tighter airport checks: Visitors from 'visa waiver' nations now subject to fingerprinting/AP: It's about time.
*Officials drop controversial debate topics: Students won't argue about abortion, homosexuality, stem-cell research/AP: Politically correct chickens.
An excellent site,
and picked with great care,
for those folks are used
to wind and hot air.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
In my QF6 roundup this morning, I wrote: What am I going to do when the election is over -- and I don't have J. Flipflop Kerry to kick around any more?
Washington D.C. is packed full of Democrats, Republicans, lobbyists, weirdos and hypocrites who are worthy of ridicule on a continuing basis. For sheer comedic value alone, Bush/Cheney is going to give us plenty to giggle about over the next four years.
Phil Corless
The CDA Blog
DFO: Thanks, Phil, I needed that. You're right. Can't wait to say what I really think of some of the goofy stands Dubya has taken ... on illegal immigration, for example ... and the budget deficit ... and outsourcing ... and ...
Dr. Fouche was my family Dr. for years. He has been the best Dr. that I have ever went to. He generally cared for us as people. He did not treat us they way so many Dr.'s are doing to day with the typical five minute visit and where is your insurance card? I got to know him very well. He is not a bad man, but a good person with a bad problem.
Lori Weatherford
DFO: Indeed, the voyeurism charge that Dr. Bill Fouche is now facing is a hard one for all of us who know the family and, in my case, admired his late wife, Colleen.
If I still wrote Hot Potatoes for the S-R, I'd give a big fat russet to the state Department of Lands and the U.S. Corps of Engineers for withholding public info re: HagaWorld's plans to dredge the Blackwell Island channel. The local bureaucRATs wouldn't provide a conceptual drawing of The Kingfish's plans to convert the island into an upscale big-boat sales, service and slip place. They say it's too preliminary. Earth to Lands/Corps types -- conceptual drawings are part of the public process. Have you already been shaken down by Hagadone's knuckle busters? You guys'd better shape up and play square. You're doing public biz. And this member of the public is watching.
1. David Horsey/P-I takes aim at Dubya and outsourcing here. (Caution: Liberal Content).
2. The Seattle Times provides the full text of that controversial ad by 
U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt claiming U.S. Sen. Patty "Osama Mama" Murray (pictured at what appears to be a religious revival meeting with an -- wink -- unknown fan) is weak on terror as well as the reaction from Murray's camp here.
3. Yippee-yi-yo ... you can find the third edition of the must-read Hauser Times on line, editted by irrepressible Frum Helen Back, here.
4. Jeff Wynn, chief scientist at the U.S. Geologic Survey's Cascade Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Wash., pegs the chance of a small Mount St. Helens eruption at 70 percent here.
5. IMHO-NW: The Idaho Statesman (Craig's misusing BSU center), Joe Zellers/Amnesty International (Idaho racial profiling), Joni Balter/Seattle Times (Washington shouldn't expand gaming), Collin Levey/Seattle Times (Women ignoring old Demo pickup lines), and Art Thiel/P-I (Ichiro's routine).
6. Few things are bigger and meaner than a mother grizzly bear. But a train is. A 15-year-old grizzly on a train trestle near Essex (east side of Glacier Park) lost a battle with a train Tuesday night, according to The Daily Inter Lake here.
7. With Mount St. Helens rumbling back to life, the Coeur d'Alene Press visited with Kootenai County residents who remembered the big blast in May 1980 here.
8. WSU Greeks got an earful about hazing from Dave Westol/Theta Chi Fraternity executive director, and Sara Gray/The Daily Evergreen was on the scene to report on it here.
I had an awful thought yesterday while driving back from Spokane. What am I going to do when the election is over -- and I don't have J. Flipflop Kerry to kick around any more? I mean ... the guy has been a big part of No Holds Barred since its beginning in mid-February. I don't want another virtual tie, in which a state like Florida holds us hostage for months. Been there, done that. I guess I could mope about the predicament. But I'd rather enjoy The Orange Wonder while I can. Tonight's the debates, of course. Six o'clock. Tune in. But don't turn on. Or drop out.
1. For your Political 'Toon Fix, Daryl Cagle & Co. provide their views of tonight's debates here.
2. Jay D. Dyson of Sacred Cow Burgers spoofs Flipflop's antiterrorism plan here. And, for your My Way Fix, you can find This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the New Fix: Army hits recruiting goal here, Poll: Persuadable voters key for Kerry here, Islamo terrorists kill 34 more children here, Rove: We have "a couple of surprises" for Kerry here, and Bush, Kerry line up for key first debate here.
4. Radio show host Hugh Hewitt warns the old-line media to play it straight tonight during the prez debate or their credibility will continue to dive a la Dan Rather. As an example of the prejudice, the old line media played up the fact that Dubya's hometown paper endorsed Flipflop but said nary a word about that orange glow that Flipflop adopted this week. Here's your Hold 'Em Accountable Fix.
5. If you tune into "Dr. Phil" today, you'll find out that Dubya and Laura are just like you and me (except richer and way more important) here.
6. Opinion Fix: Ann Coulter (Flipflop's political free fall), Robert Novak (Kerry's lies), Marvin Olasky (Peacenik Hatfield endorses Iraq war), Margaret Carlson (Why Bush looks good to women), and Don Campbell (A prescription for voter fraud).
It's been a hectic day due to blog problems and the late-morning run into Spokane. So, I didn't have my ordinary ebb and flow when it comes to the daily offerings of No Holds Barred. Sorry. Again, I'd like to remind you that I'll always warn you when I'm not going to be here. If the usual features aren't in place by the usual times -- or within an hour of them -- you can bet that the movable type is acting up. Or I just won a million dollars in the lottery and instantly retired. There's not much chance of the latter happening because I've never purchased a lottery ticket. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early. Well, at least early -- DFO
Big John Rook sends along a link to "The Ultimate John Kerry Ad" here.
Phil Corless of The CDA Blog tells his readers why you shouldn't take children to Silverwood Theme Park when Spokane radio station Wild 103.9 has control of the mike here.
*POW wives blast Kerry: New swiftboat TV ad latest salvo in media blitz against Democrat (WorldNetDaily): Flipflop (pictured in his dweeby NASA sanitation outfit) is about to discover that hell hath no fury like the wife of a POW who had to listen to his lies about the conduct of American troops in Vietnam.
*'I can't ... I'm Mormon' T-shirts too hot: BYU newspaper yanks ad as some perceive desire to sin (WorldNetDaily): Well, it sounded good on paper.
*Volcano advisory issued for Mount St. Helens (KIRO-TV 7): Do you remember where you were on May 18, 1980? I do. I was attending a church potluck at a member's home in Montana's Flathead Valley. It wasn't long before the ash hit.
*Poll: Public doesn't know Bush's positions from Kerry's (NewsMax): And you wonder why those attack ads work?
*Kerry misspeaks about 'inarticulate moment': Blames infamous comment on lateness of evening, but it was made at noon (WorldNetDaily): "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it." I they say Dubya can't talk.
So, did you hear the one about a coupla skinny dippers who were enjoying a swim at 9:30 last night next to Duane Hagadone's (pictured) world HQ on the North Shore? Seems they didn't care where they were swimming. Or who was looking. They were cavorting under a lamp post, too. I'm surprised the Hagadroid security guards didn't catch them. Remember that old cop drama that ended with the statement: "There's a million stories in this naked city." Well, we don't have a million stories. But we occasionally get nekkid.
1. Political cartoonist Eric Devericks/Seattle Times nails how I feel -- and probably how you feel -- about the rhetoric of the current prez/congress/local campaigns here.
2. I hate to do this to you long-suffering UI Vandal fans, but the Boise State Broncos are putting Idaho on the football map. USA Today visited BSU recently to write up the Blue Carpet Wonders who soon might be playing in a major bowl game around New Year's Day 2005 here.
3. Meanwhile, the Vandals are ready to put the worst behind them here.
4. "Ignoring a warning to abort the flight, a test pilot took a stubby-looking rocket plane on a corkscrewing, white-knuckle ride past the edge of the atmosphere Wednesday, completing the first stage of a quest to win a $10 million prize," writes John Antczak/AP, here.
5. An albino black bear in the Flathead Valley? Yep. And Montanan Rob Derby has the carcass to prove it. Rob's bear was the third albino bruin harvested in the Griffen Creek drainage area near Whitefish in the last 20 years here.
6. IMHO-NW: G. George Ostrom (Krag the Kootenay Ram), Joel Connelly/P-I (Bush-Cheney flipflops), Michael Shadow (Bush's rhetorical skill), Floyd J. McKay/Western Washington journalism prof (Back-door military draft), and Danny Westneat/Seattle Times (NASCAR race track).
7. Army Capt. Eric L. Allton, a Boise resident, was killed in Iraq Sunday when a mortar round hit him here.
8. U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt is using a photo of Osama bin Laden and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray's words to challenge his rival in a campaign attack ad here.
Sorry, the blog has been acting up ... and I've been in Spokane for much of the day. Bad combo. I thought the Quick Fix 6 had posted earlier today ... before I left. But it didn't. I just posted it. And I'll post other items as I catch up -- DFO
I don't have time this morning to bring you all the usual features because I'm going to Spokane in an hour. So, you'll have to make do with the Quick Fix Six until I get back in the midafternoon. Sorry. But my real job calls today.
1. For your Political 'Toon Fix, Paul Nowak looks at Gen XYZ's apathy toward public affairs and voting here, and Wayne Stayskal doodles about the war on obesity here. And you can find Guy Gilchrist's latest angel here.
2. Leno: "First he gets the Botox. Now he’s got the rich tan. Apparently the senator’s confused. The Miss America Pageant was last week. This is the presidential debates. In fact it was reported today Kerry got a bikini wax." And your My Way Fix: This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the News Fix: Feds: NYTimes reporter tipped off terror charity here, Martha Stewart to spend time in W. Virginia here, Poll: Debates key to 18% of vote here, Kerry: Bush the flipflopper here, 2 sentenced to death for Cole bombing here, and Baseball returns to D.C. here.
4. American snipers are doing their duty picking off Sunni Triangle terrorists way before their military mates have had breakfast. It's dangerous duty. But someone has to do it. And these guys are doing it well. Here's your Americans At War Fix.
5. J. Budziszewski, a University of Texas government prof, makes a compelling moral case for capital punishment for your Hang 'Em High Fix.
6. Opinion Fix: Myrna Blyth (Women don't trust Kerry), Kate O'Beirne (A post-Vietnam War hero), Walter Weber (Terri's Law), Al "Girlie Man" Gore (How to debate George Bush), and Kathleen Parker (Why Rathergate matters).
Gotta roundup of sorts to end the work day (roundups are great when you dial up your brain for fresh words but only get a dial tone).
*Milt Nelson of Rathdrum passes along this poem ("Poor John Kerry") from Chuck Muth's Web site:
Poor John Kerry:
He throws away someone else's medals.
He drives someone else's SUV.
He marries someone else's wife.
And he inherits someone else's money.
I think we should all vote for him to go be president............of someone else's country.
*Kootenai County Clerk Dan English recommends this "great new voter information website sponsored by the Secretary of State" here. (BTW, Dan guessed correctly that he's one of my two Demo friends, and Mike Kennedy of John Kerry's Idaho campaign guessed correctly that he was the other. Actually, I have more than just two. But I can't think of anyone else at the moment.)
*Roman Catholic Don Morgan sez Catholics, which represent 25 percent of the electorate, are tipping big time for Dubya and offers this link to back up his contention that the prez election is over here.
*From RunnersWeb.com comes news that general registration for the 2005 Ironman USA Coeur d'Alene is now closed here.
DFO
All my Demo friends -- both of 'em -- are urging me to blog the fact that Dubya's hometown paper, The Lone Star Iconoclast (circulation 425), has endorsed Flipflop. Hey, I can take a dare. You can find the story here.
re: My Best of the Northwest lead-in comment today: "I'm still not accustomed to the thought of Dr. Bill Fouche being charged as a sexual predator."
Dave, in life, people make some bad choices... some real bad choices... you hope and pray that this was a bad time for him.... and most of all I am sure your Padre will tell you.... to pray for Mr. Fouche.. he is going to need a lot of them. Pray that he brings his life back around to what must have been a good person at one time.
Cis The Retired
DFO: Bingo.
re: "30" item last night about my sports boosterism: "The philosophy is simple. As long as 'my team' is winning, I'm on the bandwagon."
Good for you – I’m sick of self-rightous sports fans deriding those of us who jump on the bandwagon. They paint it as a bad thing, but in reality, it provides the motives for the team to build a winner. Consider – If a team sold out EVERY game, and had every game heavily watched on TV, then what would be the motivation for the teams GM to build a winner? If he puts a lousy team on the field and the money STILL rolls in, why should he try any harder? It’s the bandwagon fans that INSPIRE the GM’s to build a winner.
I think there are two rules of fandom:
1. The Rule Of Proximity – A person is honor bound to root for the local team. He need not be a rabid fan, but he must clearly pull for the local team. “Cold is the heart of a man who roots against his local teams.”
2. The Rule of Enduring Proximity – If you lived in another locale for a reasonable length of time, you can root for a team from that area to beat a team in your local area. If you want to.
Rooting for non-local team for any other reason is just wrong. Especially the “I root for
Scott Burrington
Liberty Lake
Don Morgan sends along the latest Electorial Vote projection here (but it's hard to believe that Oregon is tipping for Bush).
*New closing record for NY crude oil at 49.90 dollars (Turkish Press): Almost time to pump up the tires on the bikes in your garage.
*Italian and Egyptian hostages freed (Reuters): What?! The black-hearted, head-lopping, mother-raping and baby-stabbing Islamo-fascists have compassion for Italian femmes. Will miracles never cease?
*T. Chappaquiddick Kennedy: Bush made U.S. vulnerable to terrorist nuke attack (NewsMax): Michael Moore's political twin keeps his mouth running full throttle while his brain remains disengaged.
*Iraq Marine: Troops 'Terrified' of a Kerry Presidency: News skewed to make mission look like a failure and bolster Kerry candidacy (NewsMax): Out of the mouths of those in the line of fire.
*Springsteen knocks FOXNews, sez 'press has let the country down' (Rolling Stone): Another Lefty artist with an ax to grind about the Right.
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria is an associate editor and columnist for The Spokesman-Review. In that position, he writes editorials and columns, including his Monday Huckleberries column, 1999 winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Award.
