Dennis Miller nails PELOSI

Pelosi... man. How'd you like to go through life looking like you were perpetually witnessing the docking of the Hindenburg?

— Dennis Miller Show (@DennisDMZ) August 28, 2012

Follow Dennis Miller on Twitter - He is a riot

The Missing Piece

The DEMS and their sycophants at the NY TIMES must be hitting the Kool-Aid pretty hard.

Take a look at this article - " Do Democrats Have A Shot At The House" by Nate Silver

Here's the link - http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/do-democrats-have-a-shot-at-the-house/

He talks about a number of factors like all polling shows the GOP handily keeping control of the House, redistricting, hope that an improving economy will boost DEMS chances, blah, blah, blah....

What is CURIOUS to me as a reader is that he doesn't talk about the one factor that will compel all NOT to vote the DEMS into control of the HOUSE of REPS - NANCY PELOSI.

No one wants the Wicked Witch from SAN FRAN back in charge of the HOUSE.....no one.  That is because she presided over the most screwed up sessions of Congress on record.  The crap that went on under her "leadership" was pathetic.

So blather on DEM Dummies - Especially the NY TIMES idjits.

NO ONE is going to put that witch back in the roll of Speaker.  No how, no way.

Now maybe we can get Dorthy to drop a house on her......

San Francisco is going to the Dogs.....literally.

San Francisco is going to the Dogs...literally.

The home of Nancy Pelosi and known bastion of all things lefty-looney-liberal has a group of dedicated dog owners (puppy parents is the new term), forming a PAC to take on the city in making more parks open to our 4 legged friends.

This is a good thing and in a city where dogs outnumber children, they are a politically strong group. Data shows that pet owners spend just as much on their 4 legged children as parents do on human children. We are a country of dog lovers.

Now if we can just get a muzzle fitted to Nancy Pelosi, all will be well.


Dog Lovers Form PAC in San Francisco
Published October 03, 2011 Associated Press

There are more dogs than kids in the City by the Bay. So it stands to reason dog owners carry a lot of clout -- so much so they believe their endorsement can sway the upcoming mayoral race.

Dog lovers have formed a political action committee to promote the interests of their four-footed friends, namely space to run free in one of the world's largest urban national parks. And they are calling on mayoral candidates to defend their stands on canine affairs.

"We expect the dog vote to be a game-changer," said Bruce Wolfe, president of DogPAC, which held a forum attended by several mayoral hopefuls Saturday.

There are an estimated 150,000 dogs in the city, compared with some 108,000 children, according to the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the 2010 U.S. Census. More than 800,000 people are sandwiched into 7-by-7 square miles in the city named for St. Francis, patron saint of animals.

As more parents seeking new schools and lower housing costs move out of the city, more straight and gay couples, as well as aging baby boomers, are choosing canines over kids. San Francisco is renowned for its dog parks and, like Paris, many of its restaurants and shops welcome pampered pooches in their leopard-print sweaters and bling-ringed dog collars.

City officials typically can be found at animal fairs and forums. Debates over the funding of the city's Animal Control department and bans on the sale of shark fins and pet-store hamsters can turn into big brouhahas.

"Our four-legged family members and companions are some of the most important partners in life," said Wolfe, who has a disability and recently lost Charlie, his service dog of 10 years. "San Franciscans take their dogs very seriously."

Seven of the 16 candidates vying for City Hall's top job in the Nov. 8 election attended Saturday's DogPAC forum, where candidates were asked about the cost of dog licenses, trash cans in parks where owners can dispose of dog waste and pet-friendly rental housing for people who want to adopt foster animals.

Candidate Joanna Rees -- a venture capitalist with two dogs, Jack and Jill -- held her own "Bark in the Park" forum several weeks ago.

"Dogs are an important part of many families and neighborhoods across our community," said Rees. "Open lines of communication between City Hall and pet owners -- as with merchants, educators, parents, working families and other stakeholder groups -- are the foundation of good policy."

Some campaign websites even note where candidates stand on puppy policy.

"Making San Francisco a family friendly city means recognizing the multitude of ways in which we define families," City Attorney Dennis Herrera says on his site. "And in the city of St. Francis, that includes dogs and companion animals."

Herrera made national headlines in 2002 when he sued Petco Animal Supplies Inc. for the alleged mistreatment of animals after lengthy city investigations. The pet supply chain settled the lawsuit, and the rock star Pink sent her thanks in a photo pasted on his website.

Candidate John Avalos, a city supervisor, took the chance to take a swipe at his chief competitor, incumbent Mayor Ed Lee, who was not attending the forum and has been criticized for skirting some public events where he's thrown impromptu questions.

"As a mayoral candidate, I would ask the current mayor whether his Rose Garden strategy of avoiding debates and forums is keeping him from engaging with a group of real, engaged, and powerful San Francisco voters," Avalos said.

The big issue that has the city's dog owners on edge is an investigation by the National Parks Service as to whether it should close down great swaths of parkland in Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties where dogs are allowed to run off leash. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area, some 75,400 acres of open land and water, is nearly two and a half times the size of the city of San Francisco itself. The Park Service's proposed dog plan, which will be finalized next year, has elicited about 4,700 public comments on its website.

The Park Service is considering mandating leashes in some open spaces and fencing off some popular dog-walking areas. They and environmentalists want to protect some 1,200 native plant and animal species, including the Snowy Plover, a federally endangered shorebird.

The Golden Gate Audubon Society is working with the Park Service to find the right balance. Measures they're recommending would mandate that dog walkers be limited to three dogs each and that professional dog walkers be required to carry permits.

"It's hard to show people what's not there," said Mark Welther, executive director of the society. "But our people have been doing bird surveys in the Bay Area for 75 years, and time after time our bird-counters will tell us that in the areas opened up to dogs -- the birds have disappeared."

Fort Funston, a former military outpost of sand dunes and eucalyptus groves on cliffs that overlook the Pacific Ocean, is one of the most beloved dog parks in America. Dogs run free in joyous packs through trails that line the 35 acres of wilderness.

Wolfe and Sally Stephens, president of the dog owners' association, SF Dog, walked the Fort Funston trails last week and handed out leaflets to the dog walkers, urging them to attend the forum and help them decide which mayoral candidate they should endorse.

"It is miles and miles of smiles out here," Stephens said, as dog walkers cheered on Fritz, a plucky Dachshund who needs wheels on his hind legs to get around and keep up with his pack. "It's such a great community out here -- and people who don't have dogs just don't get that."

Paying Homage to " Bullitt " and Steve McQueen, the coolest dude ever.....

Cool.....the very essence of cool.....they did not come cooler than Steve McQueen.

Hands down. Coolest Dude ever. The Duke was "the Man" and Elvis was " the King" but Steve McQueen was *cool* even before we knew what cool really meant....His understated style and ability to make you want to be just like him was unmatched.

Who didn't want to be him in " The Great Escape?" He walked into that German jail cell with his ball & glove and basically said to the Huns, " Bring it on.." without ever saying a word.

1968 was an awesome year for autos, yielding my personal favorite, the 1968 Impala....love it. Wide, Long and Full of All American HP.

It also provided Ford Lovers with an exceptional new model of the Mustang, making it also larger, stronger and meaner.

IN Bullitt, Steve McQueen took us for a rip-roaring ride around San Francisco. Dirty Harry might had the big gun, but Steve McQueen had the wheels....pay homage to the legend...it is an awesome film with likely the best car chase ever filmed....

Usually, I would espouse that " Friends don't let Friends drive Fords" but in the case of Mr. McQueen, I will make an exception.

JANUARY 26, 2011
Chasing the Ghosts of 'Bullitt'
By MARC MYERS - WSJ.com
San Francisco

At the very top of Taylor and Vallejo streets here on Sunday morning, I stopped to take in the view. Idling in a 2011 Ford Mustang V6, I looked down through the windshield at the impossibly steep hill below, immortalized in the 1968 film "Bullitt" starring Steve McQueen.

Seated next to me was Loren Janes, 79, McQueen's longtime stunt double and the last surviving member of the "Bullitt" car crew. Mr. Janes drove the green Mustang in the movie's most daring and riveting scenes—the one down Taylor Street and the other along Guadalupe Canyon Parkway. I even brought along a CD of the "Bullitt" soundtrack for the ride.

Two weeks after the death of "Bullitt" director Peter Yates, Mr. Janes and I set out to honor him by driving the movie's chase route—cautiously. "Peter wanted everything about the chase to feel risky and rough," said Mr. Janes, whose stuntman credits include more than 500 movies and 2,100 TV episodes. "Peter never got cold feet about any of the stunts that coordinator Carey Loftin lined up. He knew that a memorable film needed to be on the edge."

"Bullitt" still ranks high among car-chase enthusiasts. Several websites are devoted to information and trivia about the 10-minute chase sequence. Others have posted "then and now" images of chase locations. In fact, fans can even retrace the routes thanks to an online Google map that a fellow afficionado has marked up.
On YouTube, the "Bullitt" chase remains chilling. The green Mustang and black Dodge Charger tear through urban residential neighborhoods, bouncing off hills like Hot Wheels cars and banging into each other along the way. Yates raised the stakes even further by placing cameras in the cars, creating a new genre in which the viewer becomes a queasy passenger.

As Mr. Janes and I drove around the city, three myths were shattered. First, despite the hype, McQueen did not do his own driving in the movie's most dangerous scenes. "Steve was a great driver, but he was only behind the wheel for about 10% of what you see on screen," said Mr. Janes, who was McQueen's stunt double from 1959 to 1980. "He drove in scenes that required closeups—but not in the ones that could kill him. Steve always asked me first whether a stunt was too dangerous for him to take on."

The second revelation was that Mr. Janes was the stuntman who hurtled down Taylor Street in the Mustang and repeatedly sideswiped the Charger on the Guadalupe Canyon Parkway at 90 miles per hour. For years, Bud Ekins was assumed to have been that driver. "I was working on another film at the time, so Bud drove the early scenes before I arrived on the set," Mr. Janes said. "Many assumed he had driven them all, which wasn't the case."

And the third revelation? The chase's most breathtaking driving scenes are terrifying in real life, even for someone who grew up in 1970s muscle cars. As we began to descend Taylor Street's first sheer hill, Mr. Janes offered a warning: "Don't even try going down here the way I did. Our cars were heavily modified with racing shocks, special overinflated tires and skid bars on the underside. A factory car would come apart on impact if you sent it into the air here."

Point well taken. The pitched angle and approaching stop sign at Green Street forced me to inch down the hill's first leg at 15 mph. In the film, Mr. Janes hurtled down these hills at 60 mph in pursuit of the Charger, using each level intersection as an asphalt ski jump. "Traffic was cleared for us then," Mr. Janes noted. "We didn't have to worry about trucks and pedestrians—the way you do."

Fine, but how did he send the Mustang into the air? "I gunned the engine just as the back wheels leveled off at the cross streets," Mr. Janes said, not noticing that I had rolled gingerly through the stop sign to gain momentum.

As my rear wheels leveled off at the intersection, I hit the gas moderately. The Mustang surged forward, and I could feel the car trying to take flight where the flat surface ended abruptly and the hill resumed. "Feel it?" Mr. Janes asked coolly. "Any faster, though, and this car will take off, leaving the underside damaged when we come down."

At Union Street, the next intersection, I gunned the engine lightly again. This time the Mustang lifted a little more and settled back down harder. I asked Mr. Janes how he managed to avoid being tossed around in the cockpit like a marble. "When I left the hill, I pushed back into my seat using the wheel. That held me stable," he said.
In the movie, the Taylor Street sequence ends with the Charger hooking a hard left on Filbert Street and the Mustang following. As we near Filbert, I asked Mr. Janes how he made the turn while traveling so fast. "I started turning the wheel about three-quarters of the way down and fishtailed off to the right," he said. "Otherwise I would have overshot the turn or flipped."

Born in Sierra Madre, Calif,, Mr. Janes was a high-school calculus teacher when he was discovered by one of his students, whose father worked at MGM. The student knew Mr. Janes was a gymnast, former Marine and skilled swimmer. He suggested that Mr. Janes offer his skills for a 90-foot stunt dive off a cliff on Catalina Island for an Esther Williams film. Mr. Janes's stunt career was launched with that perfect dive in 1954.

In 1959, Mr. Janes met McQueen on the set of TV's "Wanted Dead or Alive." His first stunt as the actor's double required him to dive through a barn window, roll to his feet, vault over two horses, land on McQueen's animal and ride off. "It went flawlessly," Mr. Janes said. "From then on, Steve wanted me on all of his pictures."
After driving down Taylor Street, Mr. Janes and I toured the other chase locations. In the Mission section, we re-created McQueen's U-turn and zoom up York Street. Next came Potrero Hill, where the two cars tear down Kansas Street starting at 20th Street. I peeled out there.

We even drove out to Guadalupe Canyon Parkway, about 20 minutes from San Francisco. In the movie, Mr. Janes sideswiped the side of the Charger multiple times in an attempt to drive it off the road. "Bill Hickman, the great stuntman, drove the Charger," he said. "Bill and I spent a long time working out those bangs in advance."
When the filming of "Bullitt" ended, McQueen offered Mr. Janes one of the three tricked-out Mustangs used in the film. Mr. Janes passed, fearful he would always want to drive it too fast. "Besides, I already had this," he said, removing a 1964 Rolex Submariner from his wrist. On the back was an inscription: "To the best damn stuntman in the world. Steve."

Mr. Myers writes about jazz, film and the 1960s at JazzWax.com.