Lying and contractions

It seems to be conventional wisdom among investigators and interrogators that the use of contractions can be an indicator of truth. “I didn't take it” instead of “I did not take it.”

Two public examples of this that come immediately to mind:

President Bill Clinton: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."

President Richard Nixon: "I am not a crook."

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Drawing: Faces No. 146 analog-->digital<--analog

click to enlarge

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Drawing by Jack Brummet: Faces No. 54

Faces No. 54 by Jack Brummet - click to enlarge

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Evan Bayh slips a shiv to the President & Democrats, decides to make some real $$$, or maybe just run for President?

by Pablo Fanque,

All This Is That National Affairs Correspondent

I just wrote a 1,500 word piece about this topic that has now disappeared in Blogger. The title alone remains. How can you be angry about losing two and a half hours of work? Only a fool puts his full trust in a computer, as I've learned many times over the years. I remain the fool.

Let me just say after I lost all that profundity that a) Senator Mikulski is also rumored to be announcing she is stepping down this week; b) Evan Bayh caught both Harry Reid and BHO unaware of his plans (a nice public "Screw You" according to one pundit)); c) it is an amazing turn of events when a Senator with a $13 million war chest, way way ahead in the polls, and no looming sex or graft scandal throws in the towel; d) Huffington and others (like me) think he is biding his time for a run at the white house, of things go the right way; e) the Dems now stand the possibility of not only losing their filibuster-proof supermajority, but majority status period!; f) with a supermajority Obama was unable to pass any serioius legislation at all, let alone a health bill; g) this may not be a mortal wound to Obama, but unless he turns this around very very quickly, he could slowly bleed out well before 2012.
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The Head

A man was waiting for his wife to give birth. The doctor informed the dad that his son was born without a torso, arms, or legs. The son was just a head!

But the dad loved his son and raised him as well as he could. Eighteen years later, the son was old enough for his first drink. The dad took him to a bar, tearfully told him he was proud of him, and ordered the biggest, strongest drink for his boy. With all the bar patrons looking on curiously, the boy took his first sip of alcohol.

Swoooop! A torso popped out!

The bar was dead silent, then burst into a whoop of joy. The father, shocked, begged his son to drink again. The patrons chanted, "Take another drink! Take another drink!" The bartender shook his head in dismay.

Swoooop! Two arms popped out!

The bar went wild. The father, crying and wailing, begged his son to drink again. The patrons chanted, "Take another drink! Take another drink!" But the bartender ignored the whole affair.

By this time, the boy was getting tipsy. With his new hands, he reached down, grabbed the drink, and guzzled the last of it.

Swoooop! Two legs popped out.

The bar was in chaos. The father wept with joy. The boy stood up on his new legs. He stumbled to the left. He stumbled to the right. Then he stumbled through the front door and into the street, where a truck ran him over.

The bar fell silent. The father moaned with grief. The bartender merely sighed and said, "He should have quit while he was a head."

An astounding guitar performance by Tommy Emmanuel

A stunning YouTube video clip of Tommy Emmanuel playing his Guitar Boogie & Stevie's Blues at a show at Copper Mountain, CO. July 30th 2006.  Wow.


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Drawing: Faces No. 63 - Cube Farm, Section 11-B

click to enlarge

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Taking Up A Collection For President Obama

On my way back to my hotel in Washington, D.C., I was caught in a hellish traffic jam. I asked a cop walking between cars "hey, what's going on?"

The officer said "the President is depressed. He stopped his motorcade and threatened to douse himself with gasoline and torch it. He says no one believes his stories about the war in Afghanistan, or that his stimulus money will help anyone except corporations. His health plan is a joke. Even the press is piling on now, he said. So, anyhow, we're taking up a collection for him."

"How much have you got so far?" I asked.

The officer replied, "About 14 gallons, but I think a lot of folks are still siphoning."

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Drawing: Faces No. 29 - middle managers

Faces No. 29 by Jack Brummet - click to enlarge

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Joe Klein explains in Time why Sarah Palin is a threat

By Pablo Fanque, All This Is That National Affairs Editor

Joe Klein hit it on the head in this week's Time Magazine.  He was right about Clinton, and he's right about why Sarah Palin is geting traction with much of that same demographic. 

"I have a theory about Bill Clinton: his philandering worked in his favor politically, especially with a demographic chunk that usually shies away from liberalism: American working guys. It made him more accessible. Here was a fellow who got it on with faded lounge singers and then celebrated with a Double Quarter Pounder and fries at the local McDonald's. If that ain't pickup-truck nirvana, what is? Democrats haven't produced many such men of the people; they produce law-professor presidents, a theme Palin launched in Nashville that we will be hearing a lot more frequently in the future."

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Alien Lore No. 168 - Scientology and Aliens

I didn't realize that Scientology was, more or less, based upon Alien Visitors.  Scientology was started by L. Ron Hubbard in 1952 (the word means"the study of truth" in Latin), and is based on a belief--like many other religions--that man is"an immortal, spiritual being."

Their website is here.

Scientology believes that man's abilities are unlimited.  No one is asked to believe or accept anything.  "That which is true for you is what you have observed to be true."

In Scientology, The Thetans are immortal beings attached to human bodies that span multiple lifetimes. All humans consist of the body, the mind, and the Thetan itself, "which is the spirit, or you." Scientologists believe that the Thetans are the foundation of all human beings.

75 million years ago, Xenu, the alien leader of the Galactic Confederation, came to Earth to drop off a large number of alienns.   They set off a hydrogen bomb, which fused the Thetans to whatever was left of the humans after the H-bomb blast. 

The Scientologists, by the way, do not believe in psychology or psychiatry.  This is not completely shocking coming from a group that believes humans are the children of an H-bomb, cavemen, and a horde of aliens.

As you know, the church has a passel of celebrities as members.  Four that come to mind are John Travolta, Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, and Kirstie Alley.

Huh? I don't know why this works (or doesn't work, actually)

Do the following calculations:

Take 1000 and add 40 to it.



Now add another 1000.


Now add 30.


Add another 1000.


Now add 20.


Now add another 1000.


Now add 10.
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What is the total? Scroll down for answer..



















Is this weird, or what?   Did you get 5000?  The correct answer is actually 4100.  Try it on your calculator now. . .
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