The Real Reason Why the Elephant Symbolizes the Republican Party

Strength, dignity, intelligence... all nice characteristics upon which to base a symbolic mascot to represent the people who make up the GOP.

However, as evidenced by the photo, it is clear that there is another reason why the elephant symbolizes the Republican Party...

He's Definitely a Republican Elephant...

Go Ahead, Ask Me a Question

Ask Me Anthing

I recently set up a couple of Q&A sites through QHub, a company specializing in Q&A software for businesses and websites.

Anyone can set up their own free QHub at a subdomain of the main site. Just go to the homepage, sign up for an account and pick a topic and a subdomain for your QHub (for example: lamesubdomain.qhub.com).

I set up two different QHubs, one for domain names and one for Vitamin D3.

So if you have any questions about Vitamin D or domain names, please don't hesitate to visit my QHubs and ask away!

Questions about Vitamin D: http://vitamind.qhub.com

Worldwide Interest in Vitamin D3 Soaring

Worldwide Interest in Vitamin D3 Soaring

In light of new research that shed light on the myriad health benefits offered by Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol), the mainstream news media as well as scientific journals have finally caught on to this groundbreaking research, leading to an exponential swelling of public interest in the topic.

Esteemed Nurse Practitioner and Health Columnist Pamela Egan has been years ahead of the curve in making known the medical and scientific facts underlying the health miracle that is Vitamin D3 for quite some time now (at least several years now). She has written numerous articles appearing on many different websites (including her own - PamelaEgan.com), as well as in newspapers, magazines and health journals describing the differences between D3 and other forms of the nutrient, as well as why the former is so far superior to the latter.

Nurse Practitioner Egan has been on the forefront of Vitamin D3 research and deserves to be credited as a pioneer in the media, writing years ago what the medical establishment has only recently began to recognize and accept as fact, which has been partially responsible for the swelling of interest in the topic over the past few months.

Shown below is a 'Google Insights' graph, depicting the swelling of interest surrounding the topics of the benefits offered by naturally healthy levels of Vitamin D3 and the dangers of Vitamin D3 Deficiency over the course of the past six years (when Pam first began writing on the topic).

AR-15 Semi-Automatic Assault Rifle

Guest Post by Shea Collignon

Contrary to popular belief, the term "AR-15" is not an abbreviation for "Assault Rifle 15". Instead, the letters "A" and "R" refer to Arms manufacturer Armalite, and refer to the Armalite Model #15 semiautomatic assault rifle.

The AR-15 consists of separate upper and lower receiver assemblies, which are attached with two through-pins and can be quickly interchanged with no tools. The gun is based on the 7.62 mm AR-10, designed by Eugene Stoner of the Fairchild ArmaLite corporation.

In this photo, firearms enthusiast Shea Collignon allows his AR-15 to be photographed by itself during a recent target-practice session in Covington, Louisiana. The weapon had become over-heated, and the barrel needed some time to cool off before any more rounds were fired from it.

Semi-automatic versions of the AR can be purchased legally by civilian consumers in the United States. Fully automatic versions are available to military and law enforcement personnel.

AR-15 Assault Rifle

AR-15 Semiautomatic Rifle with C-Mag (Beta Mag)

FLASHBACK: GOP Will Repeal Obamacare if House Changes Hands

This post was originally published in March of 2010 on another site that is no longer online. It has been slightly modified from its original version.

March 20, 2010

Whatever House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrats in the House and Senate eventually either do or don't do regarding President Obama's healthcare reform proposal (commonly referred to as "Obamacare") is immaterial as to whether or not the bill (assuming one is passed) is ever actually implemented. The only real vote on Obamacare will take place this coming November, and it will be voted on by the American people themselves.

Consider the following:

In November of 1994 the U.S. House of Representatives saw an 82 seat majority for the Democrats become a 24 seat Republican majority overnight.  The Senate remained at 56-44, but with the respective parties swapping numbers (and control of the Senate).

Even if Obamacare passes, Republicans can kill it at any point upon regaining control of the House by merely refusing to fund it.  All budgetary legislation must originate in the House and the majority party (and/or coalition) must vote to spend everything contained within the Federal budget.

The GOP could just draw up a budget that doesn't include any reference to Obamacare, and the Senate can either pass it and the President sign it; or even better, have it rejected by either the Senate and/or President and stall for as long as necessary before authorizing the government to spend ANY money. The GOP could refuse to pass a budget bill until certain budgetary items have been removed completely from the federal bankroll.

This means that before any bill could be passed, any and all federal funds alloctated to anything even remotely related to Obamacare, ACORN, Planned Parenthood, and other rogue legislation and non-governmental organizations would have to first be stripped from the budget.

Therein lies the beauty of a system of checks-and-balances. Even if the ruling party passes Obamacare against the will of an overwhelming majority of Americans, the electoral punishment will open the door for the Republicans to undo the damage and actually serve the people that elected them rather than subjugate them. That is, assuming they can pick up enough seats to retake control of Congress.

Eventually, the President and the Senate (if the Democrats keep their majority there --- and that's a big "if") would have no choice but to compromise with Congressional Republicans in order to fund any government program.

It will be quite interesting to see how things would unfold with House Speaker Boehner calling the shots instead of Nancy Pelosi. The Republicans must pick up a minimum of 39 seats currently occupied by Democrats and successfully defend their own incumbents as well in order for that (the GOP gaining a House majority) to happen.

The Democrats presently hold a 77 seat advantage in the House and a 16 seat advantage in the Senate, although the two independents both caucus with the Democrats, so it's really more like an 18 seat Democrat edge.

In 1994, the Democrats held an 82 seat edge in the House and a 12 seat advantage in the Senate. While it is feasible that the GOP could recapture both legislative chambers in this November's elections, doing so would require a repeat of the '94 landslide, which was and still is an unprecedented rebellion against incumbents, in this case Democrats.

The Republicans winning enough seats in this year's mid-term election to acquire a majority within the Senate is extremely improbable given the circumstances. It's not an impossible scenario, but realistically the party should not be disappointed if it manages to make a serious dent in the Democrats' advantage, positioning the party so as to be able to make a serious bid at retaking control in 2012, when the dynamics are more in the GOP's favor with more so-called "vulnerable" Democrats such as Mary Landrieu of Louisiana will be up for reelection.

As stated previously, if the GOP can just manage to retake the House it can stop Obamacare from ever being implemented in spite of objections from the President and Senate Democrats.

The question is not will the Democrats lose seats in this year's mid-term elections, but will they hang on to enough of them to be able to fund Obamacare (assuming they eventually get a bill passed)? 

On a side-note, even if no bill is passed, it may be too late to undo the damage Obamacare (and the Stimulus bill, the GM takeover and everything else Obama has done while in office) has done to the Democrats chances for reelection across the board, and they should still stand to lose a considerable number of seats regardless of what happens with the healthcare reform bill from this point forward.

Fat Lester Meets Karl Rove

This post was originally published in April of 2010 on another site that is no longer online. It has been slightly modified from its original version.

March 31, 2010

COVINGTON, LA - Fat Lester, the primary author of this weblog (not to mention its namesake) was recently blessed with the opportunity to meet Karl Rove, the brain behind George W. Bush’s two successful Presidential campaigns as well as his Presidency.

Mr. Rove is one of Fat Lester’s foremost role models, and a man whose work he admires tremendously. Not only has did he rise to the top of his profession - an extremely competitive and cut-throat one at that - he did so without ever graduating from college, a common theme among Fat Lester's role models (other examples include Rush Limbaugh, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs).

The meeting took place at a once-in-a-lifetime dinner featuring Dr. Rove and GOP political strategist Mary Matalin following a public book signing in Covington, Louisiana. Dr. Rove has been touring America promoting his new book: Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight. 

The event was held at a private residence just a few miles from Fat Lester’s home off of Three Rivers Road in Covington, Louisiana. At least 150-200 people were in attendance at the event, at which both Matalin and Rove spoke, with the former introducing the latter.

The party was great fun, as was getting to meet Karl Rove and Mary Matalin. It was certainly a night I won't soon forget.

GOP Strategist Karl Rove and Fat Lester perform the secret handshake

Stolen Van Crashes Into Uptown Home While Tenants Play GTA Inside

This from the 'you can't make this stuff up' category: The following is a true story of an incident that took place while I was living in uptown New Orleans while attending college in late 2002 or 2003.

Seven or eight years ago, I was attending school in New Orleans and renting the downstairs of a house near the uptown campus.  One cold night while my roommates and I were inside playing Grand Theft Auto on Playstation 2, a stolen van flattened the hedges in our front yard before plowing through the side of the house.  It came to a rest just a few feet away from where I was sitting.

Prior to its collision with the house, the van struck two cars while fleeing the scene of the initial theft.  One of the drivers caught up to the van when it came to a stop in the side of the house.  The driver of the stolen vehicle -- an overweight middle-aged woman -- attempted to flee the scene on foot but was successfully pursued by the driver of one of the hit-and-run victims.  The driver whose car was struck caught up to the woman and tackled her, and then held her down until police arrived.

The photo above is meant to help the reader envision what the scene looked like from the vantage point of my roommates and I.  It was not taken at the crime scene described in this post.

Castrate Pedophiles

People with sexual proclivities towards children should be neutered.  Taxpayers wouldn't have to foot the bill for their existence in prison, and society would leave nothing to chance in terms of the potential danger posed to children by that person living amongst the rest of society.

The exception would be instances of statutory rape in which the victim is within a year or two of the age of consent and the accused is within the same general age bracket as the victim.  The reason I would exempt these cases is that the perpetrators in cases such as these may not necessarily be engaging in "predatory" sexual behavior despite being in violation of the law.

If an 18 year old boy has sex with a 16 girl, it's a whole helluva lot different than a 38 year old man fornicating with the same girl.  In one case, a teenage boy is trying to get laid by a girl he could legitimately date based on their respective ages.  In the other case, a sexual predator is robbing a child of her innocence in a disgusting act of pedophilia.

In my opinion, the latter of these instances is a serious crime.  The former is a minor offense at the absolute worst.

Under the system I (and others) have proposed, the 38 year old would be eligible for immediate release from prison in he agrees to be castrated, either by way of chemical castration or the traditional manner, whichever the soon-to-be eunuch prefers.

For what it's worth, the state of Louisiana currently has a similar law in place that enables the state to castrate pedophiles if the offender agree.

Robert Johnson's Infamous Crossroads Deal with the Devil

Is the Devil real?  And did the late blues guitarist Robert Johnson really sell his soul to the Dark Prince at "The Crossroads" sometime in the early-mid part of the last century?

In this post, we will take a look at the legendary tale of Johnson's supposed deal with the Devil, while enjoying the songs allegedly written by Johnson while under the Devil's not so divine influence.  We will also take a brief look at some of the other famous musicians that have been inspired by Johnson's work, including Led Zepplin and Eric Clapton.

We know that Robert Johnson famously claimed to have encountered him at these mysterious crossroads.  While the exact location is a matter for debate, it is generally believed that is was somewhere in Southeast Louisiana (east of New Orleans) or Southwest Mississippi.  The alleged meeting is said to have yielded a deal in which Johnson sold his soul to the Prince of Darkness in exchange for becoming the most influential blues guitarist in the world's history.

As is typically the case when one bargains with Satan, the Devil is in the details.  Johnson died a few short years later and did not live to enjoy his new found success.  He recorded an album or two in a dingy, one-room studio and went on his way trying to stay a step ahead of the Hell Hounds on his trail.

On the album were a couple songs that forever changed music in America and have served as inspiration to most if not all of the great American and British musicians of the past 75 years.  Most famous among them is the song "Crossroad Blues," in which Johnson recants his meeting with the Devil in bittersweet terms.

Robert Johnson: "Crossroad Blues"



That song ("Crossroad Blues") has been incorporated into songs from dozens if not hundreds of Rock and Roll musicians including Eric Clapton and Led Zepplin.

Eric Clapton: "Crossroads"



Led Zepplin: "Crossroads"

"Crossroads" does not began until about seven minutes and twenty seconds into the video. I would recommend skipping ahead until about the 7:20 mark of the video and letting it play from there.



According to some of the rumors that have circulated in the time since Johnson died, that meeting and that song started the modern trend of celebrities from the music and film industries selling their souls to the Devil in exchange for success.  Some people believe many if not most of them have made such a pact, others are a bit more skeptical. Others doubt the theory entirely.

The Devil Legend (Compliments of Wikipedia)

According to legend, as a young man living on a plantation in rural Mississippi, Robert Johnson was branded with a burning desire to become a great blues musician. He was "instructed" to take his guitar to a crossroad near Dockery Plantation at midnight. There he was met by a large black man (the Devil) who took the guitar and tuned it. The "Devil" played a few songs and then returned the guitar to Johnson, giving him mastery of the instrument. This was, in effect, a deal with the Devil mirroring the legend of Faust. In exchange for his soul, Robert Johnson was able to create the blues for which he became famous.

Various accounts

This legend was developed over time, and has been chronicled by Gayle Dean Wardlow,[31] Edward Komara[32] and Elijah Wald, who sees the legend as largely dating from Johnson's rediscovery by white fans more than two decades after his death.[33] Son House once told the story to Pete Welding as an explanation of Johnson's astonishingly rapid mastery of the guitar. Welding reported it as a serious belief in a widely read article in Down Beat in 1966.[34] Other interviewers failed to elicit any confirmation from House and there were fully two years between House's observation of Johnson as first a novice and then a master.

Further details were absorbed from the imaginative retellings by Greil Marcus[35] and Robert Palmer.[36] Most significantly, the detail was added that Johnson received his gift from a large black man at a crossroads. There is dispute as to how and when the crossroads detail was attached to the Robert Johnson story. All the published evidence, including a full chapter on the subject in the biography Crossroads by Tom Graves, suggests an origin in the story of Tommy Johnson. This story was collected from his musical associate Ishman Bracey and his elder brother Ledell in the 1960s.[37] One version of Ledell Johnson's account was published in 1971 David Evans's[disambiguation needed] biography of Tommy,[38] and was repeated in print in 1982 alongside Son House's story in the widely read Searching for Robert Johnson.[39]

In another version, Ledell placed the meeting not at a crossroads but in a graveyard. This resembles the story told to Steve LaVere that Ike Zinnerman of Hazelhurst, Mississippi learned to play the guitar at midnight while sitting on tombstones. Zinnerman is believed to have influenced the playing of the young Robert Johnson.[40] Recent research by blues scholar Bruce Conforth uncovered Ike Zinnerman's daughter and the story becomes much clearer, including the fact that Johnson and Zinnerman did practice in a graveyard at night (because it was quiet and no one would disturb them) but that it was not the Hazlehurst cemetery as had been believed. Johnson spent about a year living with, and learning from, Zinnerman, who ultimately accompanied Johnson back up to the Delta to look after him. Conforth's article in Living Blues magazine goes into much greater detail.[41]
The legendary "Crossroads" at Clarksdale, Mississippi.

The film O Brother Where Art Thou? by the Coen Brothers incorporates the crossroads legend and a young African American blues guitarist named Tommy Johnson, with no other biographical similarity to the real Tommy Johnson or to Robert Johnson. There are now tourist attractions claiming to be "The Crossroads" at Clarksdale and in Memphis.[42]
[edit] His own account

Johnson seems to have claimed occasionally that he had sold his soul to the Devil, but it is not clear that he meant it seriously, and these claims are strongly disputed in Tom Graves' biography of Johnson, Crossroads: The Life and Afterlife of Blues Legend Robert Johnson, published in 2008. The crossroads detail was widely believed to come from Johnson himself, as it would explain his high emotions and religious fervor in "Cross Road Blues" when simply hitchhiking at night; the myth offers a literal explanation.

In "Me And The Devil" he began, "Early this morning when you knocked upon my door/Early this morning, umb, when you knocked upon my door/And I said, 'Hello, Satan, I believe it's time to go,'" before leading into "You may bury my body down by the highway side/You may bury my body, uumh, down by the highway side/So my old evil spirit can catch a Greyhound bus and ride."

The song "Crossroads" by British psychedelic blues rock band Cream is a cover version of Johnson's "Cross Road Blues", about the legend of Johnson selling his soul to the Devil at the crossroads, although Johnson's original lyrics ("Standin' at the crossroads, tried to flag a ride") suggest he was merely hitchhiking rather than signing away his soul to Lucifer in exchange for being a great blues musician.
[edit] Interpretations

The Devil in these songs may not solely refer to the Christian model of Satan, but equally to the African trickster god, Legba, himself associated with crossroads—though author Tom Graves deems the connection to African deities tenuous.[43] As folklorist Harry M. Hyatt discovered during his research in the South from 1935–1939, when African-Americans born in the 19th or early-20th century said they or anyone else had "sold their soul to the devil at the crossroads," they had a different meaning in mind. Ample evidence indicates African religious retentions surrounding Legba and the making of a "deal" (not selling the soul in the same sense as in the Faustian tradition cited by Graves) with this so-called "devil" at the crossroads.[44]

Folk tales of bargains with the Devil have long existed in African American and European traditions, and were adapted into literature by, amongst others, Washington Irving in "The Devil and Tom Walker" in 1824, and by Stephen Vincent Benet in "The Devil and Daniel Webster" in 1936. In the 1930s, Hyatt recorded many tales of banjo players, fiddlers, card sharks, and dice sharks selling their souls at crossroads, along with guitarists and one accordionist. Another folklorist, Alan Lomax, considered that every African American secular musician was "in the opinion of both himself and his peers, a child of the Devil, a consequence of the black view of the European dance embrace as sinful in the extreme".[45]
SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Johnson_%28musician%29#Devil_legend

In closing, whether you believe the legend about Robert Johnson and the Devil or not, most can agree that his musical accomplishments were unprecedented and have had a lasting impact on those who came after him.

I hope you've enjoyed this article and the accompanying music videos. On that note, I will leave you with two final songs by Robert Johnson that expand upon the mystique surrounding his alleged meeting with the Devil himself.

Robert Johnson: "Hellhound On My Trail"



This post would not be complete without the inclusion of the following song.

Robert Johnson: "Me And The Devil Blues"



For Robert Johnson, Eric Clapton, Led Zepplin and Satan, I'm Fat Lester signing off.

GOP Should Focus on Defeating Obama in 2012, Not Before

This post is in response to calls from folks on the right for President Barack Obama to resign, and also to those calling for his impeachment.

Don't get me wrong, I do sympathize with many of these people. I agree with many of the reasons they cite as to why President Obama should resign or face impeachment. I do not necessarily agree with all of them, but with enough that I normally wouldn't go out of my way to argue with them.

However, in this case, I believe the issue is one of strategy first and foremost. From a purely strategic perspective, I think that a Republican electoral victory in 2012 would be far more likely to yield more of the actual desired legislative goals than would likely become reality should the President resign prior to the completion of his term.

For starters, both Obama and Biden would have to resign in order for it to do any good. That scenario is extremely unlikely, as the Democrats would not sit idly while high-ranking members of their party put a Republican in the white house without an election. That said, an Obama resignation without one by Biden means a Joe Biden Presidency, which most Americans should agree is an absolutely terrifying scenario.

The damage the Democrats have inflicted upon America is done, and they're limited in how much more damage they can do before the next round of elections. While we won't be able to undo any of the damage without the Presidency at the very least (although it would still be difficult without the Senate), we can at least do damage control while keeping the issues that contributed to the 2010 GOP sweep on the table and in the forefront.

If Obama is President for the next two years, the Republican-controlled house can pass a new repeal of Obamacare every week until either it passes and the President signs it, or until the 2012 elections take place, whichever comes first.

The GOP can submit budget bills that dramatically reduce the size of the federal budget, forcing the Democrats to veto economic measures that will be wildly popular among the voting public.

They can pass legislation that they know will either die in the Senate or will receive a Presidential veto, solely for the purpose of forcing Obama and Senate Democrats repeatedly take unpopular measures in either the Senate failing to approve the bills or the President vetoing them.

They can only do all of this if Obama is President. Obama's resignation would generate unprecedented sympathy for him, while stifling any and all good will the Republicans have earned from voters in the past few years.

Even if he did resign, would a President Biden really be any better? They'd both need to resign in order for the GOP to gain any governing power from the move. Even still, the Dems would control the Senate and could filibuster anything the GOP wanted to get done.

If the GOP waits until 2012 to unseat Obama, they very well may win the Senate, perhaps even by a considerable margin. This would be crucial if the party seriously plans to repeal as much of the past two years as possible legislatively speaking. Remember, all it takes is 40 Senators or one President to stop legislation from becoming law.

In light of everything outlined above, it makes much more strategic sense to me for Republicans and Tea Party independents to actively work toward 2012 rather than push for a resignation or an impeachment prior to the next election cycle.

While an embattled Obama resigning amid shame and controversy might be enjoyable to witness, it would not necessarily help the GOP accomplish anything legislatively. In order to really repair the damage the Democrats have done since over the past four years, the Republicans will need both the Senate and the Presidency in addition to their existing majority in the House. Emotional gains at this juncture are not worth the potential costs, especially if they distract us from the primary goal, which should be to unseat as many of these Democrats as possible (Obama included) in 2012.

Sheriff Clarence Dupnik: The Name Says It All

Clarence Dupnik, the embattled Sheriff from Tucson, Arizona whose hateful and incendiary comments following the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords served as the spark that ignited the ensuing firestorm of attacks from both right and left (mostly from the left) that have now led to the politically-expedient calls for unity and for toning down of the political rhetoric that we are now hearing from President Barack Obama and others, is aptly named.

Sheriff Clarence Dupnik

Dupnik's rhetoric singularly turned a national tragedy into a massive feeding-frenzy of blame and finger-pointing.  Not long after Dupnik first opened his mouth and began spouting vitriol, his accomplices on the left were working tirelessly to try to link the shooter to Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Sean Hannity, George W. Bush, the Tea Party and others.

We were told to believe that it was hateful rhetoric coming from the likes of the people listed above that drove the shooter to insanity.  If Sarah Palin hadn't used a "bullseye" metaphor on her U.S. campaign district map, the shooter may never have gotten the idea.

It was Sheriff Dupnik himself that informed us of the link between the shooter and Rush Limbaugh.  Granted, he couldn't tell us how Limbaugh set him off (other than to lament that Limbaugh is on the air for three hours every day), and couldn't recall what Limbaugh said specifically that might have driven the shooter, we were nonetheless supposed to accept as Gospel that Rush is going around saying nasty things that can turn a deranged person homicidal.

Already, there have been increased calls for gun control on the left in the wake of the tragedy.  Democrats in Congress and the Senate are beginning to bring up the "Fairness" Doctrine in a favorable context once again.  The House of Representatives shut down this past week, postponing a plan to bring an Obamacare-Repeal bill to the floor and open it up for debate.

The opportunistic exploitation of the tragedy is in no way limited to the media name-calling and finger-pointing.  As the examples in the previous paragraph illustrate, elected representatives in the United States government were also quick to jump on the tragedy-exploitation bandwagon and saddle it with their own legislative initiatives (some more unconstitutional than others).

In response to this, conservatives have tried fruitlessly to point out that it was Obama who said "if they bring a knife to the fight, we'll bring a gun".  The have replayed incendiary remarks by Obama in hopes of illustrating the hypocrisy of the suddenly holier-than-thou President.  They have reminded everyone of all the left's vitriol. All of this has created the appearance that they're as guilty of politicizing the tragedy as is the left.

It might have been more productive to drive home the point that according to his friends, Jared Loughner was a radical left-wing liberal who didn't like the news, didn't listen to talk radio and had been obsessed with Congresswoman Giffords since before the inception of the Tea Party and Sarah Palin's rise to prominence.  I'd like to see a poll on how many people are aware of this fact versus how many believe that heated rhetoric played a role in the shooting.

In any case, all of this was in response to Sheriff Clarence Dupnik's hate-filled, partisan rhetoric in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.  Dupnik's words are what spawned all of that which is mentioned above --- from both sides of the political aisle.  Granted, the question of 'would it have happened had the Sheriff not incited it?' is very much a matter for debate.  I personally don't think it would have been anywhere near as bad had the initial reaction been more respectful of the families of the deceased and less intent on scoring political points.

What's in a Name?

In light of Dupnik's role in the post-shooting chaos that has gripped the nation, I couldn't help but observe that the sheriff appears to have been aptly named for the type of "work" he's currently engaged in (spawning heated, two-way rhetorical attacks in the wake of a tragedy).

You see, Dupnik's name draws from two different words, "dupe" and "nik".

Dupe

Dupe (French), according to The Free Dictionary, is defined as:

1. An easily deceived person.

2. A person who functions as the tool of another person or power.

Nik

Nik (Russian), according to The Free Dictionary, has two definitions as well:

1. One associated with or characterized by

2. Denoting a person associated with a specified state, belief, or quality

I'm going to refrain from explaining the significance of the definitions as they related to the man whose name they make up.  I like to think that you, my readers, are well able to figure that much out on your own.  If anyone really doesn't get it, please request an explanation in the comments and I will provide one.

In any case, everyone be double-sure to obey the laws out there.  There may be a sheriff lurking the streets who is associated with and characterized by his extreme left-wing beliefs, who is very easily deceived, and who functions as a tool of George Soros and the political left.

When Sheriff Dupnik asks for your license and registration, it's your voter registration he's really after.  If you just admit you were speeding, and tell him that it's Rush Limbaugh's fault you were speeding for getting your blood pressure up with his fiery rhetoric, he'll probably just let you go with a warning...

Sorry ESPN, Les Miles Still an LSU Tiger

It seems that every time the University of Michigan has a head football coaching vacancy, ESPN reports that Les Miles, head football coach at Louisiana State University (LSU) has reached an agreement to take over the Wolverines' program.

LSU Fans Show Support for Miles

Let me be perfectly clear: Les Miles is staying at LSU, not leaving for Michigan --- regardless of what ESPN has to say about it.

This has happened twice now.  The first time was in 2007 when Kirk Herbstreet reported that Michigan had hired Miles on the day before LSU was to take on Tennessee in the SEC title game.  LSU had to host an impromptu press conference the morning of the game in order to debunk the rumors.

Some speculate that due to the timing of the '07 rumors, Herbstreet's source may have been someone associated with the Tennessee football program.  The rationale is that by creating such a huge distraction for LSU the day before the game, the Tigers' focus would be elsewhere, giving Tennessee the edge in terms of mental preparedness.

Most recently, ESPN reported on Sportscenter that Miles was set to meet with Michigan officials and was poised to accept the position this time around if offered.  That broadcast aired January 10, 2011.  On January 11, LSU announced it had reached an agreement with Miles on a contract extension that will keep him a Tiger for the next seven seasons.

The identity of ESPN's source, as well has his or her motive, is anybody's guess on this one.  Sure, no proof exists that Tennessee was responsible for the first incident, but at least there is a clearly defined motive that makes sense.

In the second instance, the suspect and motive are notably less clear.  While certainly a head-scratcher, the mystery surrounding the most recent ESPN faux report hasn't done anything to quell speculation as to who was behind the rumor and why.  The article linked to below takes an in-depth look at some of the different theories that attempt to identify the source of the "leak", as well as the motive.

For more on ESPN's erroneous reporting of Miles' nonexistent plans to leave LSU for his alma mater, check out the complete article at Fat Lester's blog:  Les Miles To Remain At LSU (ESPN Gets It Wrong Again).