Weapon of Mass Distraction

Master of My Domain

derekpgilbert — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 23:09:51 +0000

I’ve moved the blog back to its former address, www.DerekPGilbert.com.

Who Did Blackwater Cross?

derekpgilbert — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 05:31:44 +0000

Considering that the management team at the private security firm Blackwater USA is pretty well connected at the highest levels of government, I have to wonder whose toes have been stepped on for this to happen:

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of the private security firm Blackwater USA illegally smuggled into Iraq weapons that may have been sold on the black market and ended up in the hands of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, officials said Friday.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Raleigh, N.C., is handling the investigation with help from Pentagon and State Department auditors, who have concluded there is enough evidence to file charges, the officials told The Associated Press.

This follows the insistence by the government of Iraq that Blackwater cease operations in their country, in spite of the company’s contract to provide security for State Department officials there.

Somebody’s unhappy with Blackwater. Somebody with juice.

Back on the Blog

derekpgilbert — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 04:31:47 +0000

I’ve been spending a lot of time on the websites for our radio group, so my personal blog has taken a back seat the last couple of weeks. Show notes are now posted at the radio station website, which is where they’ve belonged since the beginning. From here on, this site will be reserved for my personal thoughts.

Russ Dizdar traveled from Ohio to St. Louis last weekend, and I had a pleasant evening with him and a few of his friends. They were in town for a conference on cult crimes and secret societies (he really knows how to party, doesn’t he?), and so our conversation over Mexican food at dinner was hotter than the salsa.

He’s thinking about a conference of his own in 2008. Keep an eye on his website for details.

September 6: The Hsu on the Other Foot

derekpgilbert — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 03:25:17 +0000

Hologram on the new North Carolina drivers license looks just like the logo of the Security & Prosperity Partnership.

Our weekly capitol report from Tim Murphy of NewsRadio 950 KWOS in Jeff City started things off this afternoon. The big news to the south this week is the demolition of the old prison there, which dates back to 1836. TIME once called the prison the “bloodiest 47 acres in America”, and one of our Off-Road Friday guests, Gil McDonald, believes that the site is a secret ET base.

Maybe the demolition is government retaliation against the ETs, part of Governor Blunt’s campaign to rid the state of illegal aliens.

Boone County Presiding Commissioner (and part-time barbecue judge) Ken Pearson joined us to talk about the upcoming vote on renewing the county’s quarter-cent sales tax, and then we talked with Todd Rauch, a rookie band dad with the Hickman marching band, about the band’s trunk sale Saturday morning at Hickman’s west parking lot.

The rest of the show was devoted to two main topics: What does Fred Thompson’s official declaration really mean, and should Sen. Claire McCaskill give up about $20,000 in campaign contributions she received from people connected to disgraced Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu — who, as of this writing, is again a fugitive.

Sen. McCaskill’s staff points out — correctly — that the people who donated the money to her campaign haven’t been accused of wrongdoing. Still, the appearance of impropriety is so strong here that the senator should dump the money on the first reputable charity she can find.

The Eagle 93.9 Intelligence Briefing:

• North American Union driver’s license created in North Carolina
• Jeff Harris critical of Toyota ad in state mailing
• Gov. Blunt signs bridge legislation
• McCaskill: A Paw is Not a Hsu

It’s Official

derekpgilbert — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 05:12:56 +0000

Fred Thompson Makes Announcement

September 5: Sex Criminal Wants His Porn Back

derekpgilbert — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 04:53:20 +0000

Sen. Larry “I Didn’t Mean ‘Quit’” Craig

Lots of calls this afternoon prompted by a story from California: A man in San Mateo who was just released from jail after being convicted of videotaping a woman and her daughter in their apartment is demanding the return of his porn collection. Apparently the Marin County police still have his 500 porn videos and 250+ porn magazines and he wants them back.

While taking calls on this story today, Cosmo & JC, the morning team at our sister station Y107, got a call from a guy who calmly admitted that he’d served 32 months in jail for molesting a five-year-old girl. (He thinks the guy in California should get his porn back.)

Needless to say, quite a few people had creative suggestions on how to deal with the problem of sex crimes.

We also featured an entertaining bit of audio from Sen. Larry Craig (R-Id.), who left a phone message on the wrong machine yesterday. (Click the link above.) It’s painfully obvious that Craig didn’t really mean that he’d quit when he said he’d quit. This bozo doesn’t even have the decency to pretend that he needs to check into rehab.

The Eagle 93.9 Intelligence Briefing

• Sen. Craig reconsiders decision to resign
• New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin may run for governor
• Hulshof appointed to committee to investigate vote to give benefits to illegals
• Chris Kelly to challenge for Robb’s seat
• Concerned citizen to take math concerns to national panel

September 5: Sex Criminal Wants His Porn Back

derekpgilbert — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 04:53:20 +0000

Sen. Larry “I Didn’t Mean ‘Quit’” Craig

The Eagle 93.9 Intelligence Briefing

September 4: Al Garza, Det. Andy Anderson, Penny Smith

derekpgilbert — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 23:45:10 +0000

Al Garza

Detective Andy Anderson

Penny Smith

I had the honor of talking with a couple of men I really respect this afternoon, guys who each, in their own way, are standing up to defend the principles on which America was founded.

First, we welcomed Al Garza, Executive Director of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, back to The Drive. He talked about the situation brewing over in Kansas City, where “civil rights” groups La Raza and the NAACP are threatening to take their national conventions elsewhere. Why? Because K.C. Mayor Mark Funkhouser named 73-year-old Frances Semler, a member of the Minutemen, to the parks board.

Detective Andy Anderson stopped in to talk about the work of his Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force. It was a disturbing discussion, especially when he revealed that much of what they find on the computers of predators involves children as young as infants.

Penny Smith stopped in for her weekly “C & S Employment Solutions” segment. We had a good talk on how employers can keep employees happy and motivated. It was hard to avoid sports metaphors — so I didn’t.

The Eagle 93.9 Intelligence Briefing:

• Edwards backs mandatory preventive care
• Blunt touts cable bill during Columbia visit
• More utility rate increases may be on the way
• Nothing sad about the blues at Grant Elementary

Ve Know Vat iss Best for You

derekpgilbert — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 13:58:35 +0000

John Edwards reveals what universal health care means to him: Forced doctor visits.

“It requires that everybody be covered. It requires that everybody get preventive care,” he told a crowd sitting in lawn chairs in front of the Cedar County Courthouse. “If you are going to be in the system, you can’t choose not to go to the doctor for 20 years. You have to go in and be checked and make sure that you are OK.”

What’s the penalty for choosing to ignore your doctor’s advice after a mandatory visit? Do you get kicked out of the program? Would parents who choose not to give their children, say, Ritalin that’s been prescribed during a mandatory visit find themselves charged with child abuse?

August 30: The Not For Sale Campaign

derekpgilbert — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 13:39:50 +0000

Caleb Rowden and John Battaglia

Think “abolition” — if you ever do — and you probably think John Brown, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Abraham Lincoln. It was a surprise to me that slavery is still a problem in the 21st century, and so I was happy to welcome Caleb Rowden and John Battaglia of the Christian Chapel in Columbia to talk about the Not For Sale Campaign. They’ll host the NFSC at the Christian Chapel Wednesday, September 12 at 6:45pm.

The Eagle 93.9 Intelligence Briefing:

• Bomb scare at Hickman
• Pentagon probes whether US arms are being diverted to Turkey
• Pentagon OKs sale of skin mags on bases
• Hillary will dump crooked fundraiser’s cash
• New Arizona law chasing illegals out
• Internet crimes task force adds detective
• Columbia Access TV may go dark in October