The Irish National Drink

Thanks Earthling for reminding us... Guiness really is good for us.

And I can't believe that no one can give me any insight into the central valley martians! (scroll down)

Infosmells

Justene at Calbog is getting some trouble from a bogus business directory publisher, Infotel. Xrlq spells out all the details and the blogospherics keeps a running blog on her defenders from the Bear Flag League.

I'm not a lawyer, but I do have some expertise in this area. I sell yellow page advertising for the phone company.

One result of the breakup of Ma Bell in 1984, was the proliferation of independent or niche phone books. The phone companies were obligated, by law, to sell their directory lists to anyone who wanted to buy them. As a consequence, hundreds of business directories and independent yellow page companies exist is the USA, most of whom have a pretty weak product. A common practice is to copy your ad from the phone book and send an invoice asking you to verify the information is correct for the next edition of the book. The invoice is very plain looking and states in small letters "This is not an Invoice" and that the ad will be $365 annually. You sign that the info is correct and now you've placed an advertising order. Their success is based on the fact that the amount is small enough that the bookkeeper sometimes just pays the bill.

When Dan Lungren was Attorney General, he took action against some of these companies, but I don't have access to the legal journals.

I have had dozens of customers show me invoices over the years. These companies do a huge business, and bring absolutely no value to the businesses who list or advertise with them.

Justene, enjoy your travels and forget about these scumbags. The Bear Flag League rushes out to defend you.

Martians visit Central California

Late Sunday afternoon, my sister and niece and I drove back to Sacramento from LA along I-5. We were about half way through Kern County when we noticed lightening flashes in the distance. Strange, there was no rain. Stranger still, these flashes occurred every two to three minutes. Strangest still they continued for almost 2 hours. We were captivated ... what could this be? The flashes were centered around Merced or so. We discussed the possibility of a UFO invasion. Perhaps news has spread and visitors are arriving from outer space for the Schwarzenegger inauguration. We saw between 25 and 50 of these flashes as we traveled north. Traffic on I-5 crawled along --- only 75 to 80 miles an hour rather than 90 +. Eventually we passed it.

Anyone know what we could have been seeing?

Bear Flag League Scoops


Don't forget, get your red-hot BFL paraphernalia here.

And now, welcome to the newest members of the BFL...

Patio Pundit, The Review, The Window Manager, The Right Coast and Your Daily Prescott

More Things You Should Do in America

Today is Wictory Wednesday. Every Wednesday, I ask my readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush 2004 campaign.

What would you give to guarantee a Bush victory in 2004?

All I'm asking is that you click here and make a small recurring monthly contribution of $24, $54 or $104 to the Bush '04 campaign. It'll cost you much more than that if an ultra-liberal Democrat becomes president and vetoes any attempt to extend the Bush tax cuts beyond their 2006 expiration date.

If you've already donated and volunteered for the Bush campaign, then talk to your friends and enlist them in this battle for America.

If you're a blogger, you can join Wictory Wednesday simply by putting up a post like this one every Wednesday, asking your readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush campaign. And do e-mail to the Polipundit
so that he can add you to the Wictory Wednesday blogroll, which will be a part of the Wictory Wednesday post on all participating blogs:

You can check out the Wictory Wednesday Blogger's list on the Right side of this page.

My regular readers know that I've put together a list of the 100 Things You Should Do in California to accompany my application to serve on the California Travel and Tourism Commission. If you want to visit California and have loads of fun, be sure to check it out. And if you know anyone serving on Governor-elect Schwarzenegger's transition team, please lobby for my appointment. ;^D

It's been so much fun puting it together, that I've decided to start a list of Things You Should Do In America. Please add a comment with your recommendations --- what do you think tourists to our country should do to enjoy the unique American experience.

And here's another reason to support President George W. Bush, do it for the tourists!

Things You Should Do In America

Sleep with a moose in Glacier National Park, Montana
Do the shag in Myrtle Beach
Have a cafe au lait & beignet at the Cafe Du Mond, New Orleans
Run up the Rocky steps, Philadelphia
Cheer for the Cubbies at Wrigley Field, Chicago
Dig for quahogs (pronounced co-hogs) with your feet in the waters of Rhode Island.
Raft down the Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Take a wild ride on America II(America's Cup Contender), Maui
Eat green chile stew in Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico
Eat Beans and see a Rodeo with Real Cowboys at the Jersey Lilly in Joe Montana, Montana



What would you recommend?

My Enemies Enemies are My Friends?

What's up with former Assemblyman Mike Briggs getting in the race to oust Fresno's Junior Assemblyman Steve Samuelian? Steve and Mike are old friends from the CRA. Is Mike running because he truly wants to beat Steve, or are they in cahoots to try and split the anti-Steve vote?

We got Tickets

Thank heaven for my non-puntual sister. We're going out of town for a few days, and she was supposed to be here an hour or so ago. But she's not, the mailman arrived, my invite for the Schwarzenegger Swearing-In arrived, and I've called to reserve us some seats.

Yahooooo

Who's Running in March?

Just checked the Declaration of Intention list at the Secretary of State. This is where the potential candidates for the California legislature had to inform the public that they might run for office in March. The deadline was November 5th.

I was surprized to see that the list looks kind of boring. The only snappy new name I saw on it was Jeff Gorell. He'll be a candidate in Ventura County for the seat that Tony Strickland currently holds.

There are lots of good incumbents running for re-elect, or moving on up, but I thought we'd see alot of action, people running in districts where the reg numbers weren't that great, etc.

Does anybody know anything good about any other candidates?

Update: Oops, I forgot. If the incumbent does not file for re-election, there is a five day grace period for additional candidates to file. Or something like that.

Another Update: I asked my friends from the Bear Flag League to fill me in on the legislative candidates. I got the following e-mail from the Angry Clam

I know one of the dems running in the primary for my district.

His name is Richard Groper. Yes, Virginia, there really is a Dick Groper.

Here's a blurb on him:

RICHARD GROPER, 36, is white and a full-time professor of political science at CSU Fullerton. He also teaches part-time at UCLA. Groper is Political Action chair and public policy advocate for the California Faculty Association and a delegate to the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. He has a bachelor's from UC Santa Barbara and a master's and Ph.D. from USC. He is a life-long resident of the Assembly district, active in his community and local synagogue, Congregation Mogen David. Richard Groper for Assembly (ID# 1253586); Democratic consultant Fred Register is managing the campaign.

However, apparently he sucks as a professor, as evidenced by the sheer number of bad reviews he's received:

My favorite passage from the quotes:

Professor Groper is UCLA's biggest shame. Any positive comments made on this page were probably written by Professor Groper himself in attempt to salvage any sort of reputation as a serious teacher. Professor Groper is an irresponsible fool who has somehow gotten to the position where he can ruin other people's GPAs and academic progress. Lecture: Two hours of Professor Groper somehow working in alcohol and pornography jokes when discussing "research methods" What very very little research concepts he does mention, could be summed up in less than 15 minutes each lecture. Instead you sit and watch him ramble off inappropriate "jokes." This would be fine if he graded accordingly.

TAC

The Luckiest Guy

The LAT (or Dog Trainer) gets a few things right about Kevin McCarthy. He's lucky, he's fun, he's smart. You couldn't ask for a better friend.

We're Winning the Cultural War! How bout that!


The City Journal validates what we all know (or suspect) to be true, The combo of cable TV, the internet and the capitalist impulses of the publishing industry, have opened the doors for new ideas to bloom and grow.

Money Quote:

The Left's near monopoly over the institutions of opinion and information -- which long allowed liberal opinion makers to sweep aside ideas and beliefs they disagreed with, as if they were beneath argument -- is skidding to a startlingly swift halt.

Another indicator of the tide's turn are box office receipts and billboard charts of some of the outspoken liberal celebrities. George Clooney, Harrison Ford, Madonna et al, although still rich, aren't making the kind of money they would like.

Hat Tip to 4 Right Wing Wackos