EvolutionRight

I've Seen This Before

2012-01-13T12:43:00.000-08:00

Resistance is futile.

EPA Penalizes Refiners For Failing to Use Fuel That ‘Does Not Exist’

{Bold: mine}

Companies supplying motor fuel will have to pay approximately $6.8 million in fines to the Treasury because they failed to “mix a special type of biofuel into their gasoline and diesel,” writes Matthew L. Wald of the New York Times.

However, the fine isn’t the worst part. The worst part is the fact that the refiners could have tried everything in their power to remain in compliance with standards set by the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, and it might not have mattered.

Why? Because there is not enough of this “special type of biofuel” to go around. In fact, with the exception of some scattered workshops and laboratories, “the ingredient, cellulosic biofuel, does not exist,” according to the Times report.

And the penalties go up next year. Remember that when you're paying over $4/gallon at the pump because the companies are going to have to come up with the cash for the penalties to pay those fines.

I ran into this type of situation with the EPA about 20 years ago with my old oil company. We had a customer with an underground storage tank that was old and leaking. We worked out a deal with the owner for a long term no interest loan to replace the tank as she only owned one well that produced about 3 bbls. per day.

It may be hard to remember, but the price of oil back then was around $8/bbl. and our crappy oil only got around $6/bbl.

This is where the EPA stepped in. In order for up to get the permits to replace the tank, we had to install some monitoring technology they wanted...problem was the technology did not exist.

So for another 15 years, when the company finally folded, the tank continued to weep.

New Look

2012-01-11T22:22:00.000-08:00

Hadn't been by in quit a while and they gave me new toys to play with so I desided to play and see if I like this style better.

Too Much

2012-01-11T21:16:00.000-08:00

Overwhelmed or just burned out. You pick. I just couldn't bring myself to post for the last few months. I think I'm over that now. The country, right this moment is in the middle of tearing itself apart over the next Republican nominee for president.

I, being a Non-Romney have been racking my self senseless trying to figure out who to support over the last month. I have arrived at no conclusion after Iowa, and New Hampshire outside of not voting for Luap Nor (that's Ron Paul for those outside the Empire), but I'd vote for him over Obama.

I'm coming back, so give me a day and I'll start posting again.

Dear Mr. President

2011-09-02T21:58:00.000-07:00

You are wasting my time.

The economy is in the tank (0 jobs created...or saved this month)and I was looking forward to your speech on creating much needed jobs...as soon as you finished your vacation.

Now that you have returned I am told that your speech will offer NO specifics, just an overview of what you think should be addressed to improve the job market.

We have heard this speech 5,632 times over the last three years and frankly it bores the hell out of me. Nothing but generalizations about "Green Jobs" ($535 million stimulus to Solyndra and still goes bankrupt), getting banks to loosen up credit to people that can't afford to repay the loan (my house lost another 1.5% in value this month due to foreclosures)and in typical Democratic logic, promising to reduce regulations that hinder companies from committing to new hires (enacting 5 job killing regs then delaying the implementation of 2 of them).

First you request to address a joint session of congress on the day the GOP debate is scheduled that includes the newest candidate that is racing up the polls (I'm sure you weren't even aware he threw his hat in the ring being you were so focused on creating jobs)which was rightly turned down, but you will accept doing it one day later...and you'll start really early so as not to interfere with the start of the premier MNF game.

If the conflict had arisen, I would have watched the debate, and if you haven't finished by kickoff, I'm switching to the game.

Decision Making

2011-03-03T10:42:00.001-08:00

OMG!!!

I'm listening to pResident Obambi do a presser with Mexico's pResident Calderon.

I swear these guys would have invaded Europe on June 7th at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

OMG! Reality Smacks MSNBC In The Head

2011-02-14T09:22:00.000-08:00

I'm guessing someone didn't vet this guy before they let him on.

Even though the LSM is celebrating the "grass root movement" (note: not anything like the racist angry populous movement in the U.S. called the "Tea Party") that has toppled Mubarak peacefully (so far) and left nothing but a military junta in it's place with no discernible goals, parties or what the hell they are going to do next.

Watch the faces of the hosts while this guy lays out the reality of what is happening, the disjointed reaction of Obambi and his people and that most likely the whirling blades of the ventilation unit hasn't met with the waste product yet.

And All Logic Has Now Left The Building

2011-02-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

From our cousins across the pond:

Shed owners warned wire on windows could hurt burglars

A spate of thefts in several towns and villages in Kent and Surrey over the past few months led to many householders taking action to protect their property.

Some have been warned by police that using wire mesh to reinforce shed windows was ''dangerous’’ and could lead to criminals claiming compensation if they ''hurt themselves’’.

Trespassing and burglary don't factor in. You are held accountable for some asshat cutting his hand trying to pry off the wire mesh from your shed so he can take your property.

F.E.T.E.

Super Bowl Sunday

2011-02-05T19:53:00.000-08:00

At the end of December, I bought a new 47" HDTV and I was jazzed that I was going to be able to watch the Super Bowl with a huge screen and surround sound...Up until about 5 days ago when it dawned on me I'm working days that weekend.

I get to sit in my crappy office with a 13" POS TV with lousy speakers having to scoot in and out to deal with the facility.

Sometimes life just sucks.

A Dear Old Friend Retires (Updated)

2011-02-03T21:50:00.001-08:00

After 8 years of dedicated service and support, an old friend is finally being put out to pasture. He sheltered me from heat and inclement weather. Let me know when something was going to whack my head unexpectedly. He's been run over by vehicles and skittered across the ground in sudden gust of wind. He and I have taken a lot of verbal abuse over our dedication to each other. I will miss him.

We stuck together longer than we should have, but it is hard to let go of a relationship that has, over the years made us just fit.

Now I have the "new guy", he looks just like my old friend did all those years ago, but we don't have the familiar comfort that existed before. At least not yet. Perhaps in a year or so we will find that ease of fit.

Update: Funny, but I was just on my Facebook page and realized my avatar is a picture from right after I first started working with my friend.

This Is Depressing

2011-01-27T08:03:00.000-08:00

Growing up in Los Angeles, trying to kill yourself sledding took a lot of forethought. You couldn't just grab your sled after school and wander to the closest slope. We had to load up our sled, toboggans and inner-tubes and drive up to the snow in Angeles National Forest(about a 30-40 minute drive from my home).

Those rare occasions that we could convince a Dad to haul us up into the mountains were rare, but we couldn't wait to get up there and careen down hills and dodge trees. I remember crashing into trees and not being able to stop and falling into the stream at the bottom of the run. Bruises, limps and gashes were a badge of honor for the next school day when you could brag about hitting that bump in the run at 100 mph and flying at least 1/4 mile before getting the wind knocked out of you on landing...right before you hit the tree.

Now it seems to be a thing of the past (via Outside the Beltway)

I understand why cities would ban this. Today people just can't recognize that when they do something that entails some risk, there is a chance of getting hurt. Well, maybe they do, but being they got hurt, someone should have stopped them from doing it, so they sue. Now, even if you are willing to take the risk, you can't.

It's sad that kids growing up now will not get to enjoy that rush of joy from being on the edge of disaster and living through it.

The Bill Just Needs To Be Tweaked

2011-01-20T20:10:00.000-08:00

Obamacare is basically good for the people, it only needs a few corrections...they tell us.

A 2,000 page bill that no one, including the idiot congresscritters, had a chance to read and is filled with directives like "the Secretary shall decided", which means we don't know what the hell was voted on. Now they tell us it needs a few corrections. We are going to end up with a 5,000 page bill filled with "replacing Article 5, paragraph 3" and "super-ceding Article 2, unless conforming to Article 5, paragraph 9, line 15".

It's going to give the Tax Code a run for it's money before it's corrected... and it will never be completely corrected because the brilliant congresscritters know nothing about health care or insurance.

This abomination just needs to be thrown away and rewritten from the beginning with clear rules and delineations of powers.

We're in a hole with this, digging won't get us out.

Repeal the bill!

How To Run Things

2011-01-12T09:56:00.000-08:00

Whoa! A Governor that isn't there digging out cars and running around delivering diapers to snowbound people because the damn people who were hired to do the job aren’t doing it?

The next Election is still a ways off (we just finished the last one), and I probably do not agree with Christie on some things, but this a politician who seems to know how to set up a system that works and that is a rare thing nowadays. No bs. No excuses. You want a reason for his decision, he tells you straight.

I’m not impressed with most of the “front runners” so far, they all look like McCain Lite to me. If he decides to run, I’m willing to take a close look. If he doesn’t commit to run…maybe…maybe we can draft him.

I Try To Help The Economy, And What Happens?

2011-01-04T20:25:00.000-08:00

I have been living the life of a monk for a number of months. I've (kinda) kept up with my bills...damn, when you get to my age, months roll by in what seems like days. I go to work and go home. Grocery shopping every couple of weeks. That's about it.

Over the months, I was able to save up a pretty good chunk of cash sitting in my checking account...so I decided to splurge on myself.

I bought a big screen TV (before Kalifornia could make them illegal), a blue ray player, plus some blue ray discs to play on them.

I decided that I needed new clothes, so I bought 3 pairs of pants, 6 new shirts, lotsa socks and underwear, pajamas, a belt, and new hat.

And a couple of other fun things.

Tonight I stopped on the way home from work to put gas in my truck...no problem. Walked into the mart to get a carton of cigs, and my card was declined...BIG PROBLEM!!! Didn't have enough cash (remember cash?) to buy a carton, so I blew it off. Went across the street to my liquor store to pick up some beers, declined again. I did have enough cash for the beer, but now I was a bit miffed. I knew I had more than enough in the bank, so the paranoids start to set in...the IRS is after me for something...someone has gotten my card number and...wait a minute...I've gone from normal spending of about $1K per month (mortgage not included) to spending close to 2.5K in about a week and a half...wonder if that could be the problem.

Went online when I got home, and confirmed that there was ample cash in my account, so I called the "Help line" and I have to admit, they were helpful! Inside of 10 minutes, my card was unblocked, so life can return to normal tomorrow...even though I'll have to get up 15 minutes earlier to buy cigs on the way into work in the morning.

I tried to help pull us out of this Depression, well, no good deed goes unpunished.

Biog News I Should Post

2010-12-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

My son, Chris, got hitched yesterday!!!

I only heard that he was engaged about a month ago. He meet a girl in his Company, fell in love and they were trying to figure out their next post so they could be together. They couldn't wait and got married.

I've now got the daughter my wife and I never had, and without having to go through the teenage years and worrying about them boys that are always hanging around.

Ain't she cute?

"Only Look LIke Terrorists"

2010-11-23T10:20:00.000-08:00

Once again the left proves that they only think about one's race making them the racists again.

From a Washington Post article by Eugene Robinson:

TSA outcry is really a call for profiling

He goes through all the explanations of why we should give up our rights and just submit to a total invasion of privacy and then at the end...the bombshell.

If we only search people who "look like terrorists," al-Qaeda will send people who don't fit the profile. It's no accident that most of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers were from Saudi Arabia; at the time, it was easier for Saudi nationals to get U.S. visas than it was for citizens of other Arab countries. If terrorists are clever enough to hide powerful explosives in ink cartridges, then eventually they'll find a suicide bomber who looks just like you, me or Granny.

I hate to break it to him, but there are a hell of a lot more to profiling a person than just there race.

Did they buy their ticket with cash? Are they acting odd? There are numerous indicators that someone should receive extra scrutiny outside of just "looking like a terrorist".

Unless we get pass this idea that ONLY Arab looking guys are going to be pulled aside, we will just continue to have to endure the sideshow that screening is today.

A Follow Up To My Last Post

2010-11-15T15:51:00.000-08:00

I spent the time since my last post thinking about how to just piss off the TSA, and I figured that getting in line and striping down to my boxers and putting my clothes into the baskets going through the x-ray machine might embarrass them enough. (I'm in my mid 50's and I could care less what other people think of my skinny, but not bad physique)

Turns out the German's beat me to it.

My next airline travel date is in February and if this prblem isn't worked out by then, drop by Burbank airport and watch the show.

I'm A Dirty Old Man

2010-11-13T15:01:00.000-08:00

Re: this Growing backlash against TSA body scanners, pat-downs

I am sick of these half-assed steps to getting to where they are going in order to travel by airplane!!! They insist that by going through these machines that no pictures are going to show up on the internet with enahnced pictures of the likes of Angelina Jolie, Megan Kelly, Jolene Blalock or Jeri Ryan.

I swear, if they would just quit the beating aroung the bush crap and go to the straight strip naked to get through security and board a plane it would accomplish two things.

1) no bombs or weapons on planes

2) the airline industry would be financially secure forever.

I know that a major portion of my income would be used to fly to and from places just so I could see naked women. (That's how guys think....surprise!)

WH rewrote Gulf spill report to support moratorium

2010-11-10T08:11:00.000-08:00

Bastards!!!

12,000 people lost their jobs because of some "creative" editing of the report on the Gulf spill, but hey, that's no big thing over protecting the environment.

The White House rewrote crucial sections of an Interior Department report to suggest an independent group of scientists and engineers supported a six-month ban on offshore oil drilling, the Interior inspector general says in a new report.

In the wee hours of the morning of May 27, a staff member to White House energy adviser Carol Browner sent two edited versions of the department report’s executive summary back to Interior. The language had been changed to insinuate the seven-member panel of outside experts – who reviewed a draft of various safety recommendations – endorsed the moratorium, according to the IG report obtained by POLITICO.

“The White House edit of the original DOI draft executive summary led to the implication that the moratorium recommendation had been peer-reviewed by the experts,” the IG report states, without judgment on whether the change was an intentional attempt to mislead the public.

And let's not forget the 1.8 Billion dollars lost to the economy. The drilling rigs that went away rather than sit idle during the moratorium that ain't coming back...particularly any that went to Brazil, paid for with US taxpayer money to do DEEP WATER DRILLING!

The WH is claiming it was a misunderstanding...there was nothing to misunderstand! The Eco-Nazis in this administration rewrote the report so it would be interpreted to back up their desire to stop oil exploration on our coasts.

Jobs lost, houses foreclosed on all over not letting a crisis go to waste. Effing socialists.

She Worked So Hard

2010-10-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

Call Me Senator from RightChange on Vimeo.

The Reawakening

2010-10-24T08:25:00.000-07:00

A sign that the people of this country are reawakening and once again standing up and proclaiming their pride in this country.

Hooah!!

Despare And Hope

2010-10-21T20:07:00.000-07:00

I caught this video on the tube this afternoon and it sent a shiver down my spine.

While cruising by the Rott this evening, I caught this and I got some stiffness back.

Vote! They haven't destroyed us yet.

I Want My Job To Go Union

2010-10-21T14:20:00.000-07:00

So I don't have to care about it anymore.

The other day I worked my normal 12 hour shift, got off, went home feed the dogs and, being it had been a busy day, went to bed early. An hour and a half later, my phone was going off. The power had gone off at work for about five seconds and when it came back on, the surge from one of our pumps blew a hold in a 8 inch pipe. A pipe that the site cannot run without.

So, it was back to work I go on a wet drizzly night.

My company lacks basic tools and supplies. In order to prop up the pipe that needed fixing, I had to pull the jack from my truck out to hold it in place and get to where the work needed to be done.

It took 7 hours to get the site back up to speed then I was able to go home, feed the dogs and get about 3 1/2 hours sleep so I could go back for an 8 hour shift. I even juggled the hours on my time sheet so that the company wouldn't get nailed for my working 20 hours in a day.

I really don't want my company to go Union, but after a day like that it would have been nice to just say "I can't help, the rules won't let me. Take it up with the Shop Steward". My co-worker and I were quit proud of getting everything running again and knowing that the company didn't lose too much production, as we were able to keep half the site running during the disaster.

Tea Party Hypocrasy?

2010-10-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

One of the canards thrown at the Tea Party crowd is that we are hypocrites because while we want small government, we don't want to lose our Social Security.

No, I don't want to lose my Social Security! I've INVESTED money in my retirement for 40 years now with government coercion. Give me the money removed from my paychecks, that is supposedly sitting in some lock box, and let me deal with it. I think I could do better than the 1.23 percent.

Even with the few working years left to me, I doubt I could come out worse.

I Guess My Boy Still Loves Me

2010-10-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

I received a package from my kid today. He's still stuck in Korea for another year and we don't get to talk enough due to the time difference, but I got confirmation the brat is still thinking of me...kind of a parent care package... or a bribe, I'm not sure which. He wants me to sent him two aircraft encyclopedias that weigh about 5 lbs. each.

I had asked for this when he first went over and for about it. His Division patch. He sent one regular and one cammo.

I guess I better haul my butt down to the post office and get those books off to him.

He had mentioned this once before, but with our typical 2 AM conversations, I had forgotten about this also. Some Army playing cards for the NorKos'

And then just as a added bonus he included a cool Tshirt

I Have A New Hero

2010-10-12T16:50:00.000-07:00

(Sorry, I have to use a link, the embed has an error in it.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1huvEAxd-Y

I wonder if she's a native Arizonan or a emigrant "Snow Bird" or transplant from Kalifornia. I know where I'd put moy money.

A Civics Test

2010-10-04T10:43:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this today: How Long Since You've Taken A Civics Exam?

I was a little leery going in, I haven't taken a test on anything in years, but was pleased with the results.

You answered 30 out of 33 correctly — 90.91 %

Average score for this quiz during October: 73.7%

From the summary of this test:

Seventy-one percent of Americans failed this basic test. The overall average score was only 49%, with college graduates also failing at 57%.

And I'm one of those dumb TEA Party ignoramuses that just understand what is going on in this country.

In Football People Get Hit

2010-09-29T23:22:00.000-07:00

You look at the play and tell me what was illegal or...anything that should have set off a brawl between coaches and parents. (The controversial play starts at 0:26 and sorry, CBSNews cannot get their embed correctly set up, gotta cut and paste)

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6910808n

Looks clean to me. Why the hell would someone put their kid into Peewee football and get freaked because their kid got clocked on a play?

I LOVE football, but I'm torn about Peewee leagues, because I can understand the love of the game, but I also take into account the damage that the sport can cause. However, two 90 +/- lb. kids running into each other doesn't equal two men at 250+ colliding.

Now because of the parents not being to act like adults two teams have no chance of making the playoffs regardless of whether they are good enough for the honor.

I hope the "adults" can at least tell their kids they should go through the season and win as many games as they can and IF they should have made the playoffs with their record, the parents were responsible for screwing up.

Inspiration

2010-08-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

After a month away from here I finally ran across something that got me worked up again. Since my Mom passed, I've been preoccupied with all the little things that crop up and have to be dealt with, and trying to do it long distance with my brother being I can't take time off of work until it's absolutely necessary for me to fly up there.

This morning I read a piece by Maureen Dowd. I really need to read her more often being she gets me pissed off faster than anyone, except maybe listening to Olberman.

Going Mad in Herds

Read her take on why a majority of the nation just doesn't trust Obambi and doesn't think he's actually up for the job.

The bookstore gave the president a copy of “Freedom,” a new novel by Jonathan Franzen about a dysfunctional family in America. This is apt, since Obama is the head of the dysfunctional family of America — a rational man running a most irrational nation, a high-minded man in a low-minded age.

The country is having some weird mass nervous breakdown, with the right spreading fear and disinformation that is amplified by the poisonous echo chamber that is the modern media environment.

[emphasis: mine]

It's the typical East Coast Elitism, "The peons are just too dumb to understand." Well, the people after finally getting the details of what "Hope and Change" entailed...do not like it one bit!

A commenter, Chris C. Riley of Seattle Wa. seems to be able to sum up nicely what the problem the p0easants are having with this administration.

If we’re not the ones we’ve been waiting for, who are we?

I am happy to be the first to provide an answer to this question. We are the chumps. We are the chumps that believe that appeasement is a substitute for defense. We are the chumps who believe that, while a for a family to attempt to spend its way out of poverty is idiocy, it is sound policy for a nation to do so. We are the chumps that believe that by turning the health care system over to the Federal Government we will simultaneously cut costs and improve quality. We are the chumps that believe that they way to ensure that African American children close the education gap with their white peers is to make sure that they are denied school choice and access to charter schools. We are the chumps who believe that if we smash the existing energy industry we will all get high paying government jobs as wind-mill oilers or solar cell squeegee boys. We are the chumps that believe that we can alleviate poverty by raising the minimum wage. We are the chumps who appreciate being forced to buy dangerous little lawnmower-cars by people who fly around in corporate jets to give speeches about our excessive use of energy.

We are a nation of chumps. Us chumps elected socialist Democrats in both houses of Congress and the White House. Us chumps(and our grand children) bought a multi-trillion dollar ticket to the most expensive three ring circus ever imagined. We chumps may have destroyed the most free and the most prosperous society in the history of mankind. At least we will ave earned a place in the history books

Poll: How many are flying the flag on your street today?

2010-07-05T08:54:00.000-07:00

Take the poll then view the results

Poll: How many are flying the flag on your street today?

I was disappointed.

4th of July

2010-07-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

Y'all have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Celebrate the creation of the greatest country to exist.

America, Why I Love Her

Mom

2010-06-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

Age 88 and at home in her bed holding my brothers hand, my Mom passed peacefully on today to be with my Dad and the rest of our family and friends that have gone before her.

She was a great old dame.

Her passing is not a sad thing. She's been sick for years and in and out of the hospital for the last two, but her complaints were minimal, she just wished she could get up and do more.

She was a stay-at-home mom all through my brothers and my young years, but when we got into Jr. High, she decided to go back to work. Her money was for fancy things for the house...and buying crap for my brother and I, and having someone to talk to beside the dog.

Mom told my brother yesterday that she had a good life and that even though she would like to stay around, she was ready to go.

Is This A Surpirise???

2010-06-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

I took a "test" today on "The Best Political Quiz" site. I gotta say, I was stunned by the result!

Well, It Didn't Take Long, Did It?

2010-06-26T14:42:00.000-07:00

The G-20 Summit started today and....

within hours the destruction starts.

Thousands protest summit in Canada; vandals smash windows, torch police car
Published June 26, 2010
Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) — Black-clad demonstrators broke off from a peaceful protest and torched a police cruiser in the financial district and smashed windows in a shopping district after veering off from the planned protest route.

A group, dressed all in black, smashed the windows of a bank, a coffee shop and some stores before heading to an area where Canada's largest banks are headquarted, smashing restaurant and shop windows there.

The roving band of protesters in black balaclavas then turned north and broke shop windows for blocks with baseball bats and hammers. They also broke windows at police headquarters.

Police with shields and clubs earlier pushed back a small group of protesters who tried to head south toward the security fence around the site of the G-20 summit. Some demonstrators hurled bottles at police.

And what is it that warrants all this destruction. (From Free Speech Without Focus
June 25, 2010 - 9:23 PM | by: Michael Tobin)

In the end, a staggering amount of money is spent on the manpower that maintains order while these demonstrators want to challenge it and I still don’t get the point. Most of the interviews I’ve done arrive at the goal of “Raising Awareness.” But in the attempt to raise awareness of everything, you communicate nothing.

A party for quasi-revolutionaries to wreck havoc on society is all this is. But don't worry too much. [emphasis:mine]

Toronto Police Sgt. Tim Burrows said authorities are quite pleased that the protests have been tame so far compared to what they've seen at previous summits. Hundreds of protesters moved through Toronto's streets Friday, but police in riot gear blocked them from getting near the summit security zone downtown.

Burrows said police will be watching splinter groups within the protest who he said have promised violence.

"From what we've seen in previous summits we're quite happy with what our protesters are bringing to the table with the exception of a few," Burrows said before Saturday's march.

"They've protested peacefully. There have been a few people that have decided that they wanted to step out of line and test our response and they found themselves where they should be."

Tame so far...setting a police car on fire and busting windows for blocks on end is considered tame now? Remember, this is just day one of two, but hey! grab the kids and attend after all according to a sponsor of the march:

The march, sponsored by labor unions and dubbed family friendly, was the largest demonstration planned during the weekend summits.

The Right Is Out Of Control

2010-06-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

Just look at the news today.

Judge Faces Death Threats After BP Gulf Oil Drilling Moratorium Ruling

‘Green’ Energy Company Threatens Economics Professor … with Package of Dismantled Bomb Parts

Toronto G20 summit: car with extra gas and weapons found; arrest made

G20 lockdown cuts into downtown business
Hotels are full but restaurant tables are empty

T.O. man charged with possessing explosives in G20 probe

What? WHAT?

Oh! These are lefties?

Well it's a damn good thing they aren't Tea Partiers, or we could have had some real damage done here.

Asshats

Truth In Advertising

2010-06-24T20:58:00.001-07:00

I think I may vote for this guy...he's honest.

Return From Rottfest

2010-06-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

Actually I got home four days ago, but I had such a marvelous time, working on not enough sleep that I lost one day. I loved being there so much, that I stayed over an extra day. The few extra bucks for "Business Class" paid off right there, being I could change flights without penalty.

The Rottfest was a gathering of some of the nicest, most interesting and informative people I have ever meet. An eclectic group for sure. A military doctor, a long haul truck driver, LEO's, teacher...not to mention all the myriad jobs we had each had in the past.

There was three firearms instructors there, along with a pile of various long and short arms. Got to shoot a .45 and .40 semi-auto handgun, plus a custom built AR-15 ("Bad Karma") and 50 rounds through one of these bad boys:

An HK PS90

We even managed to break the indoor range we were shooting at. An armor piercing round got mixed into a clip and a weld on the backstop split. (I didn't do it!) I did get a couple on pointers on my stance and I didn't get yelled at for any mistakes in range etiquette or safety.

One of the guys offered to build a custom AR-15 for me at a price that is less than I could get a basic off-the-shelf one for here and I think I'd be a fool to pass him up on the offer.

I've already got my calendar marked for Rottfest 2011.

YeeeHaaww!!! An Update

2010-06-08T20:29:00.001-07:00

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I was heading to Texas for Rottfest 2010. I'm psyched for the trip and getting to meet the LC's that are going to be there...but (and why does there always have to be a but?) After I got my plane tickets, made arrangements for boarding my dogs and got the cash out of the bank needed for beer...er..for expenses, the "Check Engine" light comes on in my pick-up?

I swear my family seems to have a curse on it sometimes. When things are going smooth and you think you can relax and enjoy yourself for a bit....WHACK!!! something bad pops up at the last second.

Ah well. I'm not going to let it ruin the trip. The truck will be in the same shape when I get back. It'll just set back getting that HDTV I've been looking at for the last 6 months off a few more, and I'll have to keep using the semi-crappy battery eating Kodak camera for a while instead of that bitchen Nikon SLR I wanted to get for this trip.

If my truck is the biggest problem I have right now, I guess my life isn't really all that bad.

Have We Forgotten?

2010-06-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

I'm coming in just under the wire here, and it doesn't make me happy.

I knew that this anniversary of our countries finest moment was here, and yet I almost let it slip past. I forgot to put my flag out this morning, and even though I finally realized what this day was, I put off posting.

I am ashamed!

There was very little on the news today about a day that shaped my entire life.

That D-day could pass with such little acknowledgment of the sacrifices of the generation before mine makes me fear more for the generation that is coming behind mine.

What is this day? What did it mean to those in Europe that where waiting for someone to throw off the oppression of NAZI socialism?

I give you a video of a French citizen who, even though he had to go through an interpreter, needed to express his feelings about what America did for his country.

God bless our soldiers both past and present. May we always stand for right and to free those who are under fascist regimes.

May we not forget what they did, EVER.

Why Do We Bother?

2010-06-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

Once again our elected officials ignore the Constitution, the California State Constitution in this case.

California Assembly Passes Racial Preferences Bill
By La Shawn Barber • June 4, 2010 10:09 AM

[All emphasis:mine]

California legislators and the governor should carry a copy of the state constitution in their pockets and refer to it when writing and signing bills. It’s a useful guide, laying out what the people have a right to do and what the government shall not do. For example, Article I, Section 31 reads in part:

“The State shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.”

New law where things got crossed? No!

Thirteen years ago, 54 percent of voters passed Proposition 209, which added this language to the state’s constitution. But politicians act as though it doesn’t exist. Last October, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who swore to uphold the constitution, signed into law a bill that directs state departments to award government contracts to the lowest responsible bidder subcontracting 15 percent of the work to minority-owned businesses and five percent to female-owned businesses. The contractor who fails to do so will be rejected, even if he’s the lowest bidder.

Extra points for being not white or being a girl, being you know those people can't compete on their merits, and the hell with what it costs.

If you think that the lawsuit in the works over the above law would slow them down, think again.

The latest attempt to circumvent the law came yesterday, as the California Assembly passed a bill that would allow the (taxpayer-supported) University of California and California State University systems to consider skin color in admissions.

It doesn't matter what the Supreme law of the State says, theses elitists know better and in order to get an equal outcome, they write unconstitutional laws to attempt to achieve their goals. It doesn't matter that they tried this before and it didn't work, it just led to a high percentage of minorities dropping out of college because they were not prepared to handle the load.

If someone is not academically ready to go to University, that is what City Colleges are for. If you can complete 2 years at a CC and you've got the grades, then is the time to continue your education. Plus it saves a ton of money for all sides.

Even if racial preferences accomplished what social engineers and the professional civil rights industry hoped, they are discriminatory. Preferring one individual over another based on race means the other individual is passed over based on race. Has anyone read the U.S. Constitution and the Civil Rights Act lately?

As I’ve said so many times, I could recite it while comatose, the civil rights movement’s goal was to dismantle government-sanctioned and government-mandated racial discrimination. Blacks fought to be treated fairly as individuals protected by law, and not judged based on group membership. How things got turned around, where some blacks started demanding special treatment, is another topic for another post.

Nuff said

Love Your Children More Than You Love Death

2010-06-04T09:49:00.000-07:00

With the Israeli's interdiction of the "Gaza Flotilla" this week I decided to take a little tour through You Tube land and see what videos were around on everyday life there. We always hear about the starving children and lack of water and gasoline, and I saw LOTS of videos depicting this. The thing I noticed about most of the videos with his perspective was that they were put out by "Human Rights" groups to show that their getting "much needed" supplies to the dying people of Gaza.

I took me a while, but I did find these, all taken in 2010:

Gaza Grocery Store

Seems to be a fair amount of food there and nobody seems be rushing the store for supplies.

Drive Through Downtown Gaza

Lotsa single occupied vehicles there for a place that has no gasoline.

Then I tripped across this and I think I may have hit a a clue as to why these people are having a hard time fitting in with the rest of the world.

Muslim Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony

Starts out cute doesn't it? Then 50 seconds in you start questioning what these 5-6 year old kids are being "taught"?

What is your Path?-
Jihad

What is your most lofty goal?-
Death for the sake of Allah

Allahu Akbar...Huh?

Let's compare here:

Kindergarten Graduation Video

YeeeHaaww!!!

2010-06-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

Heading for Texas next week!

Going to Rottfest 2010 where I'll finally get to meet some of the people that I've been "talking" to for about 7 years now on the Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler. Outside of a couple of plane changes in Dallas, I've never been to Texas and I'm really looking forward to visiting. It should be a good time. Beer, guns, BBQ...not all indulged at the same time (Mheh!).

This will also serve as a scouting mission. I have seriously thought about retiring to Texas, but being I've grown up in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, I'm not sure how comfortable I'll feel in a place where they say if you stand up straight, you can see into Oklahoma. I did survive a year in Phoenix, so I've lived in a relatively flat area before.

The flight should be interesting. Burbank to Las Vegas, sit (gamble) for an hour, change planes, fly to El Paso, then to Dallas. Coming home is even more fun. I actually go east first, well SSE, Dallas to Houston, then to Las Vegas, sit (gamble) for an hour, then home to Burbank. I even upgraded to "Business Select" (woohoo!), which give me the elite privilege of boarding in the first hoard AND one (1) free drink. I also can bypass the line up to the security checkpoint, but I always arrive early (an ACD I developed at around age 30), so that won't make a difference flying out. Coming home, I'll have to trust my hosts to judge traffic getting me to the airport with time to spare.

The trip will only cost me only one vacation day, so with my work schedule (4 on/4 off)I still will have what works out to 21 days off, if I took them in a block. I just won't have any money to go anywhere. I'm hoping to go to Korea next April to visit my son and see some of the Far East. If I don't go while he's over there, I'll never get there. (Of course if the NorKo's go berserk and actually start a war...I ain't going). Looking at today's airfares to Korea...I'm going to rack up a sh**load of credit card miles to afford the trip.

Just have to set up boarding the dogs and I'm outta here.

On Edge

2010-06-02T09:11:00.000-07:00

I'm not sleeping easily these days.

Since March 26th, I've been a bit more on edge. I have a dog in this hunt. It's my boy. He's one of the 28,500 U.S. troops, facing 1,003,000 NorKo....and I'm hoping that his 540,000 ROK buddies are more motivated and better trained than I've been led to believe.

In the Koreas, Five Possible Ways to War

An Incident at Sea

Shelling the DMZ

A Power Struggle or Coup

An Internal Collapse

A Nuclear Provocation

When Chris enlisted I knew he could be put anywhere in harm's way, but Korea was one of those places that stuck him in a scenario that could go in any direction at any time. In the ME at least you know he's in a hot zone. In Germany, you figure he gets to travel and see some of the world. In Korea, even before the Cheonan, I was uneasy because it is soooo unstable there.

Our military is tied down in the ME, support is going to be slow getting to Korea if things go bad. Plus it looks like we are going to have to back Israel over the blockade incident which will require more assets committed there.

I guess I' just going to have to get use to restless nights for the next 14 months until his post is up. Of course I'll trade my anxiety to, at least, having things stay at the status quo.

An Alternate Reason?

2010-06-02T07:37:00.000-07:00

I was listening to Talk Radio on the way home from work this morning and they we discussing the L.A. County Supervisors vote on a boycott of Arizona.

L.A. County votes to boycott Arizona over immigration law

I suppose the only thing that surprised me was that the vote was 3-2.

It did get me thinking though. I was wondering what other reason all these cities and counties would have to protest a state trying to enforce the law?

It suddenly dawned on me that their motive might possibly be SELF PRESERVATION!!!

When this law kicks in, illegals are going to flood out of Arizona, and they ain't going back to Mexico. Where are they going to go? L.A., San Diego, San Francisco, Boulder, Austin, New York, Oakland, Seattle, El Paso and Columbus. All these cities voted to boycott and put themselves on the list that the illegals are going to head for because they know they can find sanctuary there.

Kind of a double edge sword here. These cities are already quaking under the weight of paying for the amenities given out. What's going to happen when those 450,000 vacate Arizona and take up residence in their new barrio then apply for food stamps, WIC, go to the Emergency Room, ect. ? Now that they've advertised (again)that they are willing to take in people that don't pay taxes...and if you make 25K or under, you don't pay taxes...hell my kid the last time I did his returns not only got back what he paid, they decided he should get MORE back on top of that. If it was at least "Zero Sum", I might not have gotten upset, but he got a bonus thrown in. The taxes I paid got redistributed to him, plus I was getting the pleasure of providing his room and board.

The weeks around July 28th (the enactment date of SB 1070) should be interesting.

Memorial Day 2010

2010-05-31T20:07:00.000-07:00

Today is a day to honor our fallen heroes. There are many posts and videos all over the net today doing that, so I decided to do something a little different. I wanted to post something on why we honor these fine young men and women. What it is about these people that deserve our praise and honor?

This video of Oliver North describes why.

God bless our troops!

Ask A Simple Question...

2010-05-25T12:08:00.000-07:00

From A-Mess-NBC:

CHUCK TODD: The curriculum in the Texas public schools just got a major rewrite. Critics say the new, more conservative curriculum is revising history and the revised Texas textbooks could soon be seen, actually, in classrooms all over the country. Evan Smith is the CEO and editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune. So, I have to ask, Texas is not the largest state in the union. Last time I checked, it was California. So, why is it that what Texas does with its textbooks gets, has a better chance of getting replicated in other schools across the country than what California does?

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/scott-whitlock/2010/05/25/msnbcs-chuck-todd-knocks-texas-conservatives-new-history-textbooks-e#ixzz0oyBi8BUa

[emph-mine]

Simple answer, Texas has money to pay for their textbooks, not IOU's.

Let's Boycott The Easy Stuff

2010-05-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

I'm sure we've all read this letter from Gary Pierce of the Arizona Corporation Commission:

Dear Mayor Villaraigosa,

I was dismayed to learn that the Los Angeles City Council voted to boycott Arizona and Arizona-based companies — a vote you strongly supported — to show opposition to SB 1070 (Support our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act).

You explained your support of the boycott as follows: “While we recognize that as neighbors, we share resources and ties with the State of Arizona that may be difficult to sever, our goal is not to hurt the local economy of Los Angeles, but to impact the economy of Arizona. Our intent is to use our dollars — or the withholding of our dollars — to send a message.” (emphasis added)

I received your message; please receive mine. As a state-wide elected member of the Arizona Corporation Commission overseeing Arizona’s electric and water utilities, I too am keenly aware of the “resources and ties” we share with the City of Los Angeles. In fact, approximately twenty-five percent of the electricity consumed in Los Angeles is generated by power plants in Arizona.

If an economic boycott is truly what you desire, I will be happy to encourage Arizona utilities to renegotiate your power agreements so Los Angeles no longer receives any power from Arizona-based generation. I am confident that Arizona’s utilities would be happy to take those electrons off your hands.

If, however, you find that the City Council lacks the strength of its convictions to turn off the lights in Los Angeles and boycott Arizona power, please reconsider the wisdom of attempting to harm Arizona’s economy.

People of goodwill can disagree over the merits of SB 1070. A state-wide economic boycott of Arizona is not a message sent in goodwill.

Sincerely,

Commissioner Gary Pierce

I, for one, would look forward to the city of Los Angeles to stop taking electricity from Arizona. It seems that my city, Glendale, has 5 generators, 3 of which just sit idle because they have not been upgraded to the newer "Clean Air Standards".

They have been fired up in recent years though to get us through the brown outs. If we stop counting on Arizona's generation, want to bet that Glendale doesn't get an exemption to fire up those extra generators.

More money for my city, which like every city in Kalifornia, could use some extra cash.

Racial Profiling...Broken Window

2010-05-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

First off, I'd like to post a chart on who the illegal aliens are in this country.

For 2006:

So! If you're "brown skinned" and in this country illegally, you belong to the group that makes up 91% of the illegals in the country (Whereas illegal Canadians make up 0.00375%).

Who comprises the bigger problem here, and which ethnicity is more likely to run into contact with the police?

I can't wait for the ACLU and the SPLC to hit us with the "statistics" that point out that Latinos are being "disproportionally" affected by the law enacted in Arizona.

The "Broken Window" comes from the policy LAPD put into practice over a decade ago. "If you allow one broken window to go un-repaired, it drags down the rest of the community as more widows go un-repaired".

By ignoring the illegals here, we just allow more illegals to come with the feeling that they will be given a bye.

Then you get the lazy cops that don't want to do their job:

Police Chief Thomas Manger of Montgomery County, Md., in suburban Washington said he doesn't have the resources or the desire to enforce federal immigration violations by people who aren't disrupting the community.

"If they're not committing a crime here, frankly, I'm not sure how it enhances public safety to target those people for removal," he said.

Police Chief...this guy needs to be replaced yesterday. "If they're not committing a crime here,...", WTF? They have already committed a crime. Why is that so hard to nail down? Does this SOB tell his officers to ignore someone that doesn't come to a complete stop at a stop sign to not write a ticket, because they could be tackling real crimes? I bet not. ($$$$).

On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed the latest challenge to the law in federal court on behalf of labor unions and others.

ACLU and MALDEF, I'm not surprised, but NAACP? Every Black run Blog I've gone by seems to support the Az law. I know that the NAACP is founded on the principle of having their constituents kept in perpetual poverty or Sharpton and Jackson couldn't afford their $2000 suits for their TV appearances to condemn the racism in this country while they actually fight against their own race.

Tucson police officer Martin Escobar also filed a lawsuit, arguing there's no "race-neutral" criteria for him to suspect that someone's in the country illegally. Some say it would be impossible to enforce without relying on indicators such as skin color, clothing and accent.

Well Officer Escobar, quit!

If you can't do your job, in these economic times, there is somebody to fill in and do the extra work you don't want to do. Fuck! You ask for a license, like you do at every stop you make. If they have one, that's proof of legal residence...if they don't have one? You what? Let them go anyways...maybe just because they're brown?

They worry Hispanic crime victims will be too scared to call for help, or eyewitnesses will refuse to cooperate in murder investigations.

Let's look at "Sanctuary Cites":

Some of the 31 American cities are Washington, D.C.; New York City; Los Angeles; Chicago; San Francisco; Santa Ana; San Diego; Salt Lake City; Dallas; Houston; Austin; Detroit; Jersey City; Minneapolis; Miami; Denver; Baltimore; Seattle; Portland, Oregon; New Haven, Connecticut; and Portland, Maine. These cities have adopted "sanctuary" ordinances banning city employees and police officers from asking people about their immigration status.

Look at the crime rate statistics of these cities compared to the rest of the country. It ain't pretty. Even though there is is no way you will get deported, the crime rate is beyond horrific, and like was exposed last year, these cities when they do have to deal with someone who is a major felon and illegal, they put them on planes "on the honor system" that they will stay on the plane until they get home, or just put them on a bus to another city.

The members of MS-13 are more feared than the cops, so who is running the streets?

I know it's never going to be perfect, but get the border under control, get the bad asses out of my country and then...and only then should we talk about bringing the ungrateful illegals into the light.

And I Don't Blame Them

2010-05-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

The cactus in the photo at right planted along the Arizona border with California gives a pretty good indication of the reaction of that state to the boycott directed at them by the Los Angeles city council over the new immigration law. However, what is the opinion of folks in California? If a Los Angeles Times poll showed overwhelming support for the boycott, do you not think this would be front page news? Well, the results were overwhelming...97.6% of the respondents to this L.A. Times poll were opposed to the boycott of Arizona. The poll question: "Was the L.A. City Council right to pass a boycott of Arizona?" Here are the results:

Yes. Arizona needs to feel the consequences of enacting a bad law. 2.1% (378 votes)

Yes, though the boycott should be more of a symbolic gesture than an official measure. 0.4% (64 votes)

No, but only because doing so is probably illegal and not in L.A.'s interest. 4.2% (771 votes)

No. The city should mind its own business. 93.4% (17,030 votes)

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2010/05/14/la-times-downplays-overwhelming-result-own-online-poll-arizona-boycott#ixzz0o1cUeZFt

For my part, My son and I went to Phoenix for 3 days last week and took in a D'backs/
Dodger game and purchased food and gas.

While I was out there, I talked to some people and they are pissed that L.A. is telling them that they have no right to deal with a very bad and scary problem. I wish I had the results of this poll while I was there so I could point out it's just the liberal elitist's in government that are pushing the asinine boycott.

Some Fun

2010-05-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

For The Ones daily speech here's a little game to play to keep from falling asleep. the rules are simple:

Rules for Bullshit Bingo:
1. Before Barrack Obama’s next televised speech, print your “Bullshit Bingo”
2. Check off the appropriate block when you hear one of those words/phrases.
3. When you get five blocks horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, stand up and shout “BULLSHIT!”

Enjoy!

Truth In Advertising

2010-05-04T17:08:00.000-07:00

A Quote

2010-05-01T22:45:00.000-07:00

"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force."— Ayn Rand

I have got to read this book!!!

Leaving On A Jet Plane

2010-04-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

Instead of not posting because of laziness or nothing to write about, I'll most likely have an excuse for disappearing for the next five days. I'm heading north to the beautiful city of Beaverton, Or. to see my Mom and my brother.

Mom's not doing great, she's bedridden and the breathing problem she's had for the last 4 or 5 years has gotten real bad. She's in her mid eighties, so I figured I better get my butt up there. She's under hospice care with my brother taking care of her and a visiting nurse coming by to handle the hard stuff. NO MORE HOSPITALS!!!! by her orders.

My brother is suppose to be getting an internet connection by the time I get up there and I'm going to introduce him to the wonderful world of the net. He and my son are best friends and it will allow him to talk to Chris in Korea for free, so that was the selling point.

I know, it seems odd trying to get someone 50 years old to see the benefits of the net, but he thought he was off the grid until I told him about Spokeo.com. Most of the info is wrong, but mine was close enough to request they pull it off. (Go there and type in your name and see what data they have mined and assumptions made.)

Being this is a last minute trip the cost was a little steep, but I used a lot of the credit card miles I've racked up and being all they had left was first class it cost me $100 more, but it still works out a little less than a regular ticket. Now when I get home I'm going to have to go on a spending spree to build my miles up again so I can go to the RottFest in Texas this June.

Where There Is A Will....

2010-04-21T21:08:00.000-07:00

There is a way.

Clueless

2010-04-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

Back to the 50's?

2010-04-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

I just turned 56 yesterday. I don't want to go back to the 50's. I don't really remember much about it except having fun playing those now forbidden games of dodge ball, tag, musical chairs at school, and entertaining ourselves with playing war, and throwing dirt clod at each other.

I don't what to go back to the '60's either. Fun times. The Beatles showed up along with all those entertaining hippies, but by the end of the decade I was seeing the cracks between what the "Free Love" generation idealized and what happens in the real world.

The '70's, still mostly a fun time for me. I really, really fell in love for the first time...I actually got engaged, but we grew apart (bummer), but I started working regular jobs (in hospitals), making money and being able to support myself. Made a lot of dumb decisions that taught me about how life works. All the years of my Dad telling me that applying myself would reap benefits started to sink in, although America had hit a low. The Carter years of "don't hope for better because we're past our prime".

The '80's, I hit my prime I had a job that I liked, met a good woman and got married, bought a house, had what turned out to be a great kid, and the country rebounded under Reagan.

'90's...My life was stable, but things stared to change. Job that I liked, but my good woman started to phase herself out of the picture. The owner of my company, and best friend, died and the company was bought by a bunch of yahoo's that didn't understand the oil industry.

'00's, new job at a underfunded company, my wife and I separated, my boy grew up and joined the Army and left the nest.

'10's, we'll see, but it's looking ugly.

The reason for this?

I keep being told that Conservatives want to go back to a period they idealize. I don't! I've lived through five decades and some were good and some sucked, but I don't want to live them again or live them over and over. I love the advancements that have been made in my lifetime, however, I see the pitfall we are leaving to the future generations.

I want my grandchildren to enjoy these advancements, plus more, but with the debt we have already foisted on our children and with the shift to government directing where spending will go, My dreams that my grandchildren will have a better life than me is now just that, a dream.

As of today, I, my wife, and my son each owe $41,500 just to pay off the incurred debt. Ever run up a credit card debt and work to pay it off? It took me a long time to pay off an amount a hell of a lot less than $40K! And that was after I stopped spending. The government just keeps piling additional debt on us and telling us as soon as they can, they promise to stop spending and will pay off the debt....really!!! Any year now.

I am angry! I live on the front lines of what this country is turning to. ( A long read, but worth it) We are turning this country into a system where there are more bureaucrats and government workers than there are people actually producing something besides rules and regulations that they will tax or fine me with.

My Poor, Poor State

2010-04-15T03:07:00.000-07:00

I really do like living in California. It's a beautiful place and I've lived here my whole life, so even living in L.A. with it's overcrowding doesn't bother me too much, it's normal for me. However the politics and government of the state/county/city has me wanting to escape at the first opportunity.

Obamacare Passed

2010-03-21T23:52:00.000-07:00

NOTE: I wrote this two days ago, right after the vote to enact this POS and it took me two days to clean out all the really bad language.

To my son and my future grandchildren, I'm sorry.

My generation has saddled you with a bill that can never be paid.

Analysis: Health care's political lift uncertain

WASHINGTON – The initial blush of President Barack Obama's health care triumph immediately gives way to a sober political reality — he must sell the landmark legislation to an angry and unpredictable electorate, still reeling from the recession.

Voters may not buy it.

"angry and unpredictable electorate"...Hell yes we're angry. 60% of the people didn't want this bill to pass, but the congresscritters know better than us what we need. Unpredictable? I predict that us stoopids are going to wreak retribution on those that jammed this POS on us.

"We proved that this government — a government of the people and by the people — still works for the people," the president said late Sunday, beginning his sales pitch from the White House one hour after Congress passed the sweeping measure.

So sayeth "the one", they are working for the people, even though the people sayeth "NO!!"

Voters are furious. They hate Washington. They also detest incumbents. They're concerned most about the economy. And unemployment that's hovering near 10 percent. They're also split over whether Obama's health plan is good for a nation with enormous budget deficits and climbing debt.

How those variables play out is anyone's guess.

My guess/hope will be that these asshats get voted out of office at the first opportunity. With unemployment high and no new jobs (except gov't jobs, 16,000 new IRS agents to make sure you pay for Oabamacare). Oh, I get it, jobs created, but who pays the salaries of these IRS workers...the taxpayer, so we'll have to pony up more to pay for these new jobs that create nothing.

"It will end up being the smart thing to do politically because I believe that good policy is good politics," the president said Saturday at the Capitol.

The "smart thing to do politically", he said. Damn straight. Anytime you can give someone something for nothing, you've got a guaranteed vote in the next election.

Ahead of the vote, a Gallup poll showed more Americans believe the measure will make things worse rather than better for the country as a whole and for them personally. And most polls show most people don't like the plan although some surveys showed Americans giving high marks to individual elements.

The hell with the people and what they think. They actually bought into the idea that their elected Representatives where there to represent them. Most American's know that there are needed adjustments to health care coverage, but we also can figure out that putting more people into the system (a lot of them unemployed, be able to cover everything and we will save money, just isn't going to work out the way they are telling us.

Throughout the yearlong debate, the GOP derided the bill as "socialized medicine" and warned that it would be devastating. But Republicans may find themselves looking sheepish given that the status quo won't change for most people for years.

The only thing that changes right off is that our taxes go up. We pay for this for 5 years before the benefits kick in.

Got the word today That this is most likely force the owner of my company to implement a copay on our insurance premiums. Even with all the troubles our company has gone through, he still carried 100% of the cost, Medical, Dental and Vision, but he said this is straw that breaks the camels back. Thank you pResident Obama, you just reduced my income by $3,600 per year.

Is The Delta Smelt Saved Already?

2010-03-20T15:30:00.000-07:00

Remember this from way, way back...8 months ago?

California's Man-Made Drought
The green war against San Joaquin Valley farmers.

California has a new endangered species on its hands in the San Joaquin Valley—farmers. Thanks to environmental regulations designed to protect the likes of the three-inch long delta smelt, one of America's premier agricultural regions is suffering in a drought made worse by federal regulations.

The state's water emergency is unfolding thanks to the latest mishandling of the Endangered Species Act. Last December, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued what is known as a "biological opinion" imposing water reductions on the San Joaquin Valley and environs to safeguard the federally protected hypomesus transpacificus, a.k.a., the delta smelt. As a result, tens of billions of gallons of water from mountains east and north of Sacramento have been channelled away from farmers and into the ocean, leaving hundreds of thousands of acres of arable land fallow or scorched.

For this, Californians can thank the usual environmental suspects, er, lawyers. Last year's government ruling was the result of a 2006 lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council and other outfits objecting to increased water pumping in the smelt vicinity. In June, things got even dustier when the National Marine Fisheries Service concluded that local salmon and steelhead also needed to be defended from the valley's water pumps. Those additional restrictions will begin to effect pumping operations next year.

The result has already been devastating for the state's farm economy. In the inland areas affected by the court-ordered water restrictions, the jobless rate has hit 14.3%, with some farming towns like Mendota seeing unemployment numbers near 40%. Statewide, the rate reached 11.6% in July, higher than it has been in 30 years. In August, 50 mayors from the San Joaquin Valley signed a letter asking President Obama to observe the impact of the draconian water rules firsthand.

Who'da thunk that the species would be able to turn around so fast...or I guess the reality would be that the Dems are throwing the fish under the bus. Now the news is:

Buying Votes With Water

Politics: The water spigots are back on, at least temporarily, in California's Central Valley. Turned off to protect a tiny fish, they happen to be in the districts of two congressmen "undecided" on health care reform.

One could chalk it up to good fortune or just good constituent service. But in the middle of a contentious health care debate marked by Cornhusker Kickbacks and Louisiana Purchases, we may be forgiven if we find an announcement by the Department of the Interior regarding California's water supply a tad too coincidental.

On Tuesday, the Department of the Interior announced it was increasing water allocations for the Central Valley of California, a region that depends on these water allocations for local agriculture and jobs. The timing adds to our suspicions.

According to the Interior announcement, "Typically (the Bureau of) Reclamation would release the March allocation update around March 22nd, but moved up the announcement at the urging of Senators (Diane) Feinstein and (Barbara) Boxer, and Congressmen (Jim) Costa and (Dennis) Cardoza."

Blue Dog Democrats Costa, who represents California's 20th Congressional District (Fresno), and Cardoza, who represents the 18th (Stockton to Modesto), are both listed as "undecided" in the upcoming vote on health care reform, whether it be on the Senate bill itself or the "deem and pass" resolution known as the Slaughter rule, after Rules Committee Chairman Louise Slaughter.

What a coincidence!!! Two congresscritters with districts with unemployment rates running at 40% suddenly get the water they have been begging for the last year released just before the vote on Obamacare.

The 2-inch-long delta smelt, a fish destined for the Endangered Species list, plugs the drains releasing water to the farmlands. So to protect it, environmentalists filed lawsuits and the decision was made to restrict the water flow and safeguard the smelt, even if that meant turning some of America's best farmland into the functional equivalent of Death Valley.

So, until the Department of Interior releases it's next allocation update, the Delta Smelt is off the Endangered Species List, whereas Reps Costa and Cardoza were on the list and needed a little bakshish.

The Best Of Us

2010-03-16T13:08:00.001-07:00

A soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.

"But You Did Nothing For 8 Years!!!"

2010-03-16T00:50:00.000-07:00

Dropped by an old friends site today that I've neglected to visit for far too long. He had the proper response to the above meme:

When The Better Answer Is Still The WRONG Answer…

March 13, 2010 by Blackiswhite, Imperial Consigliere

Instead, the correct answer for every Republican faced with the OUTRAGE!!!!111!!! of leftist plant, member of the Fourth Estate, or Dhimicratic Lawmaker who employs the “YOU were in control for 8 years and did NOTHING!!!11!!!” meme is to look them in the eye, and say calmly, but firmly “You’re right. And do you know why? *pause, to make sure you have their attention* Because it isn’t for the FEDERAL government to address. The question that YOU should be asking yourself Mr. SEIU protester/Olbermann/Congressman Grayson is why you hate the Constitution, think you know better than the men who wrote it, or the wisdom of the voters and the legislators of your own home states? You keep trying to take power that doesn’t belong to you, and despite the Civil War’s net effect of shifting the balance of power between the Federal Government and the individual states, the states still are sovereign entities, and it is up to them to address this issue if the people of their states believe there is a compelling need to do so. Massachusetts showed the way on this, and yet you still persist in a nearly delusional belief that the Tenth Amendment no longer applies, and that we are empowered to forever expand special welfare for some and continue to call it “general welfare” for all. It’s time Congress confined itself to things within the grant of power specifically made to it in the Constitution.”

The More Things Change.....

2010-03-07T10:26:00.000-08:00

Bathroom Books - My library of magazines and books that sit in the bathroom to occupy 10 minutes that would be wasted. One of them is "Let's Be Heard" by Bob Grant. The lead page to the third section has this:

WHOSE GOVERNMENT IS THIS, ANYWAY?

The career politicians and bureaucrats, along with the pundits of the left, are currently wailing and keening over what the depict as dangerous "antigovernment" sentiment at loose in the land, but they're way off base. Most people believe strongly in our form of government. We just don't like how it has been perverted and contorted out of shape over the past few decades.

Our dissatisfaction has two main, related causes.

First, government does too many things we don't want it to do. In fact, the general drift of government activism has been to do things that help small minorities and special interests at the expense of the majority.

Second, every time the government does anything, it ends up costing us too much money. The costs nearly always outweigh the benefits.

In other words, the people who pay for government are the people whom government seems least interested in serving. You could even say that we pay government to do things that damage us. But we're not angry at government--just at some of the bozos who run it.

This was written in 1996, but sounds like it could have been penned yesterday.

Where I'm At

2010-03-07T01:21:00.000-08:00

Heard a song today and it hit home about what's going on in my life. For some reason I listened to the words and heard them all over again. This song came out back when I was in Jr. High so forgive me if the lyrics had kinda faded into the background.

No Flight For You, Achmed

2010-02-12T07:46:00.001-08:00

Truly unbelievable!!

Airport body scanners violate Islamic law, Muslims say

"It is a violation of clear Islamic teachings that men or women be seen naked by other men and women," reads the fatwa issued Tuesday. "Islam highly emphasizes haya (modesty) and considers it part of faith. The Quran has commanded the believers, both men and women, to cover their private parts."

The decision could complicate efforts to intensify screening of potential terrorists who are Muslim. After the Christmas Day bombing attempt in Detroit by a Muslim suspect from Nigeria, some have called for the use of body scanners at airports to find explosives and other dangerous materials carried by terrorists. Some airports are now in the process of buying and using the body scanners, which show in graphic detail the outlines of a person's body.

But Muslim groups say the scanners go against their religion. One option offered to passengers who don't want to use the scanners would be a pat down by a security guard. The Muslim groups are urging members to undergo those instead.

The only reason they are installing these body scanners is BECAUSE of the Muslims. If their religion says they can't go through a scanner like the rest of us are forced to do, then the simple solution they don't fly.

Solves two problems at once. They don't have to risk their modesty and I don't have to worry about some towelhead blowing up the plane. Flying is a privilege, not a right, so they can take their fatwa and shove it.

I'm Baaack!!

2010-02-10T08:49:00.000-08:00

All is well in my little piece of the world, I just took a break from blogging. The last month has been routine, but interesting.

I can now talk with my son over in Korea over the internet. The time difference is a bitch, but when I work graveyard it's something to do during that 1 to 3 AM lull. If I'm home, and up, we can use the webcams, though the video delay can be a little disconcerting if you pay too close attention.

It's good to be able to see and talk to him again.

My wife came through town a few weeks ago for a couple of days before heading back to Montana. It was good to see her again, but she's better off up there and I ain't going to live anyplace that has temperatures in the single digits. Not to mention there really isn't a thriving oil industry there.

Had to put my poor 19 year old cat "Belly" down. (I didn't name him) Cancer got him. Even though most of the time it was like we were two roosters in the same hen house, I miss the bastard.

Got another dog. A Pit/Lab mix. Sweet as hell, but she's 1 1/2 years old and full of energy. Shannon was loved by the family I got her from, but her training was a bit on the harsh side so she still cowers if I speak loudly to her. She'll fit in as she gets more comfortable. She's smart enough. Ralph, my other dog, was able to teach her the dog door in one day (Thank the gods)

Here is the best pic I've got of Shannon. If I crouch down to try to snap a shot, she's in my lap and all I get is a close-up of a dog nose. Got plenty of those.

Finally, Here's a pic of the mountains over my little valley from my drive home from freezing my butt of at work last night. 35 degrees at 3AM and for a SoCal boy that's more cold than I like.

That's how I like my snow...UP THERE. It's pretty to look at, but getting up and going out to dig my truck out before going to work...I'll pass.

The Rifleman

2010-01-13T13:28:00.001-08:00

I finally break down and get a new machine and what do I get hooked on? A black and white TV show from the '50's.

I went to HULU to find a movie to watch but ran into "The Rifleman", a show I loved while I was growing up. Lucas McCain was my hero. In those 30 minute shows I found a man who was fair, honorable, worked hard for what he wanted and above all loved his son.

In all the years I have watched this program, I had never known how Lucas and Mark got to North Fork, now I do.

Did you know Sam Peckinpah wrote and directed the original screenplay and a lot of the first year episode?

And for you rifle purists, I know that the show is set in the early 1880's and the rifle was produced in 1892...I don't care!

There are 50 episodes on Hulu if you'd like to go back down that trail.

New Toy

2010-01-05T16:15:00.000-08:00

I've been gone for a while due to getting a new computer. The last one lasted over 9 years, so I was due.

I am now involved in trying to get all the crap transferred from the old machine to the new one plus adding on some new toys.

I should be able to handle phone and video chat over this system, so I can really talk to my boy in Korea for free and if the video works, I can see what he looks like.

When You Think You've Heard It All

2010-01-01T21:35:00.000-08:00

From boston.com

But as a progressive, I would sooner lay my child to rest than succumb to the belief that the use of a gun for self-defense is somehow not in itself a gun crime.

DOUG VAN GORDER
Quincy

This idiot is not only a "progressive", he's a teacher! And not only is he a teacher, he's experienced the horror of being a helpless victim.

I AM a math teacher at Brockton High School, the site of a school shooting earlier this month.

I was mugged once. I was scared, and just wanted the situation to be over, but the more I gave into the demands of the mugger, the more he'd demand, until I finally decided that the next step could/would be to get rid of the witness.

That is the one "no holds barred" fight I have ever had in my life...hell, it's the only fight I've ever had, but the one thing I learned from that experience was that the second I fought back, the mugger was the one conceding position.

Current school security procedures lock down school populations in the event of armed assault. Some advocate abandoning this practice as it holds everyone in place, allowing a shooter easily to find victims.

An alternative to lockdown is immediate exodus via announcement. Although this removes potential hostages and makes it nearly impossible for the shooter to acquire preselected targets, it unfairly rewards resourceful children who move to safety off-site more shrewdly and efficiently than others.

Schools should level playing fields, not intrinsically reward those more resourceful. A level barrel is fair to all fish. [emphasis: mine]

If one dies, we all die, that makes life "fair". He recognizes the danger of sitting and hoping the police show up in time, but is willing to sacrifice the many for the few.

This asshole has to be one of those that worked to forbid games like Dodge ball and Musical Chairs because someone loses, either through guile, speed or luck.

Let's go back to the quote I cited at the top:

But as a progressive, I would sooner lay my child to rest than succumb to the belief that the use of a gun for self-defense is somehow not in itself a gun crime.

First off, I going to guess that this asshat has no children of his own. God help you if you did anything to hurt my boy. I don't care if he is 21 years old and bigger, stronger and faster than me, my duty is to protect him and do everything in my power to see that he lives a long life.

That last line is the best:

than succumb to the belief that the use of a gun for self-defense is somehow not in itself a gun crime

Using a weapon to protect the innocent...is a crime itself. (I'll bet a months wages this spineless sheep voted for Obama.) This guy, DOUG VAN GORDER of Brockton High School in Quincy, Mass. is not going to be like Liviu Librescu at Virginia Tech, he's going to be hiding behind your children hoping HE doesn't get shot.

Army Christmas Party

2010-01-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

My son posted this on his Facebook page, so I stole it.

This is from his "Office party".

Good Sign or Bad Sign?

2010-01-01T11:13:00.000-08:00

With my son being part of the trip wire defense of S. Korea, I try to keep up on what is happening over there. Now, Chris, who is around 100 miles from the DMZ never hears anything about what the North is doing. It seems the only time the camp goes on any type of alert status is when the South Koreans are protesting something (which seems to be a weekly occurrence).

So it piqued my interest when I read this:

N.Korea calls for end to hostile relations with US

SEOUL — North Korea on Friday called for an end to hostile relations with the United States, vowing to work towards a nuclear-free peninsula seven months after its last atomic test angered the world community.

The call was made in a policy-setting New Year joint editorial of the communist country's state newspapers. North Korean people must learn and memorize the editorial, which is seen as ideological guidance for the year ahead.

"The fundamental task for ensuring peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the rest of Asia is to put an end to the hostile relationship between the DPRK (North Korea) and the USA," the editorial said.

"It is the consistent stand of the DPRK to establish a lasting peace system on the Korean Peninsula and make it nuclear-free through dialogue and negotiations," the editorial said, according to Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

On the surface, this looks promising...BUT...I just don't trust them.

Our enemies know all to well that we have a weak administration that is happy to talk and talk, give unilateral concessions and tell us that "progress" is being made. Iran and North Korea have been yanking our chain for years buying time to continue their programs.

The other thing that worries me about this is whether this is a set-up? Life isn't getting better in the North, so why not talk peace and get the ROK to ease up and let us relax, then hit hard and fast.

I've not seen a scenario where the North could win a war, but it would be a bloody mess while it lasted.

On the flip side, it could be real. I would certainly love a very scary situation to go away and allow the families that have been separated for 56 years (my entire life) to be reunified.

That said, what would that mean to the 30,000 U.S. troops stationed there? Would they be pulled and sent other places? It doesn't make me sleep better having Chris in Korea, though I am proud of him. As a Dad, I'd be happier with him at Ft. Rucker in Alabama. It could turn out to be a frying pan/fire thing if he gets moved to the ME. He says he could use a deployment to a hot spot if he decides to stay with the Army and he is Gov't Issue, so where he ends up isn't up to either of us.

It's a new year, so right now I think I'll be a little optimistic and hope that this decade brings a little peace to part of the world.

Happy New Year, Y'all!!!

2009-12-31T20:54:00.000-08:00

2010

Damn!!!

I never thought I'd make it to the new century and now we're ten years past it. I've got to thank my son for that, he's the reason I've stuck it out this far. Actually far enough that I now have decided that I want to keep going as long as I can, although with this new Obamacare crap coming down, my waning years may not be so pretty, but I'm going to bitch and moan and tell all the young doctors and nurses that I tried to warn the world that socialized anything doesn't work.

Kicking and screaming, that's how I plan on going out. I'm not afraid of dying, I'll have the rest of eternity to be dead, so I'd prefer to hang around here a bit longer.

ALTHOUGH....

I had one of those songs get in my head for no reason today and if I don't purge it soon, death may not come quickly enough.

Or one of you may track me down and waste me for getting it stuck in your head.

2009: The Year In Review: Betrayal Edition

2009-12-31T20:16:00.000-08:00

Below is a pure cut and paste (I even stole the picture)of my friend's Blackiswhite's year end post. I post it here so that I have it preserved for posterity and I may stumble across it years from now.

2009: The Year In Review: Betrayal Edition
December 31, 2009 by Blackiswhite, Imperial Consigliere

Once again, we’re at that time of year when everyone examines the year that was with their clever lists, and wry observations. being neither clever or wry, I’ll simply point out where we weren’t a year ago, before the Dawn of the Age of the HopeyChangeyness (now with Skittles-crapping unicorns.)

A year ago, the government wasn’t the owner of two previously privately held auto companies, the largest insurer in the nation, or a large mortgage bank.

A year ago, our President wasn’t buddy-buddy with Chavez or Castro.

A year ago, we didn’t have a tax-cheat as Treasury Secretary.

A year ago, we didn’t have an Executive Order authorizing the immigration and placement of thousands of Palestinians in the U.S.

A year ago, U.S. taxpayers weren’t funding and facilitating abortions in other countries.

A year ago, five percent fewer federal employees made over $100,000.00 a year. It must be nice to get a raise in the worst recession in my memory…especially when you already have the job security of a federal employee.

A year ago, we had a President who wasn’t on record as thinking that the Constitution is “fundamentally flawed”.

A year ago, we had a President who did not bow deeply to the Saudi King and the Japanese Emperor.

A year ago, we had a President who did not avoid the Senate’s advise and consent role by appointing czars in places where they had never been before.

A year ago, we had a President who did not go out of his way to insult average Americans by casting aspersions on their values and the values of their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents.

A year ago, we did not have a Supreme Court Justice who completely and utterly disqualified themselves before appointment with repeated statements calling their integrity and impartiality into question.

A year ago, we did not have government officials threatening private investors who were trying to protect their legal rights in bankruptcy.

A year ago, we did not have a presidentially appointed self-admitted Communist in government.

A year ago, a government official would not have dreamt of quoting Mao in public as a favorite philosopher.

A year ago, our elected representatives would not have dared to ask constituents for ID before answering their questions, or used union goons and police to silence and remove constituents from public meetings.

A year ago, the conventional wisdom would have laughed at the notion that we need hundreds of billions of dollars in stimulus spending that stimulates nothing in order to turn the rising tide of unemployment.

A year ago, the government did not deign to set compensation levels for employees of privately held companies.

A year ago, the idea of government health care for all was the punchline of a Hillary Clinton joke.

A year ago, we didn’t have a President who has informed a whole sector of the energy industry that he wants to put them out of business.

A year ago, the EPA was not threatening to regulate carbon dioxide emissions if Congress doesn’t.

A year ago, INTERPOL could not operate on American soil without regard to the American Constitution and American due process.

A year ago, we didn’t have an attorney general who believed it was appropriate or necessary to try foreign terrorists in Article III courts.

A year ago, we had a President and administration that recognized that we were already in a war on terrorism, because the terrorists had already declared war on us.

A year ago, a statement to the nation about a terrorist act committed against Americans by the President was a duty, and not an annoyance.

A year ago, carbon dioxide was good because it helps plants grow, and not a pollutant requiring taxes by Congress that will be paid by energy consumers.

A year ago, in was understood that the government cannot force me to buy a government-approved health care plan with the threat of exorbitant fines and/or jail time.

A year ago, it wasn’t the priority of one political party to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars to a group of community activists that have engaged in voter fraud and other criminal enterprises…time and again.

A year ago, the government didn’t fire watchdogs who caught influential friends of the government with their sticky fingers in the government till.

A year ago, we had a President and Leader of the Free World who didn’t sit on his hands and “bear witness” to the brutal repression and murder of people resisting a totalitarian regime that is determined to destabilize the region it is in.

A year ago, we had a President who did not support a leader attempting a coup by vilifying the people who lawfully prevented it.

A year ago, we did not face a government that grows fat and belligerent on our tax dollar, while constantly threatening to take more of our money and freedom from us.

A year ago, we didn’t have a President that accused our soldiers of perpetrating war crimes for political gain, or declared police guilty of acting stupidly while admitting in the same breath that he didn’t have all the facts.

A year ago, dissent was the highest form of patriotism; now it’s racist!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2009-12-25T09:49:00.000-08:00

I haven't been posting lately because, even after my insisting I was going to get in the spirit of the season, it still took a couple of days to get out of my normal Grinch mood...I finally did. Just in time for a minor medical problem to crop up, which being a man, I ignored and denied until it became a big minor problem.

I got to visit our excellent local ER (Verdugo Hills Hospital) yesterday morning because I was in intense muscle quaking pain when I stood, sat, walked or lay down, and you should have seen me when I even contemplated transitioning from one phase to the other.

All is okay now, just semi-infrequent minor pains to remind me of what happens with putting off until tomorrow would be best handled today.

As to Christmas, I hope you have all enjoyed a great day with family and friends. I was hoping that Santa would have dropped off a nice shiny new conceal carry piece, but...maybe next year.

In that vein (and the spirit of the season) I'll give you this video (which, of course they won't let me embed):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TC2xTCb_GU

When Is The War Crimes Trial?

2009-12-14T20:18:00.000-08:00

I haven't heard anything about the impending trial at the Hague for Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the Useless Nitwits for waging a war that deliberately targets civilians.

Report: UN-backed Congo troops killing civilians

JOHANNESBURG – A U.N.-backed Congolese military operation to oust rebels from eastern Congo has caused more civilian casualties than damage to rebels, with more than 1,400 people deliberately killed over a nine-month period, human rights groups said Monday.

Well, you know there is always collateral damage, maybe these guys just can't shoot straight or it's hard to tell who the civilians are...Oh wait...

Human Rights Watch said it had documented "vicious and widespread" attacks against civilians by soldiers and rebels between January and September. Soldiers being fed and supplied with ammunition by the United Nations have killed civilians, gang-raped girls and cut the heads off some young men they accuse of being rebels or supporting the enemy, groups said.

"For every rebel combatant disarmed, one civilian has been killed, seven women and girls have been raped, six houses have been burned and destroyed and 900 people have been forced to flee their homes," British-based organization Oxfam said.

I thought the Useless Nitwits were the good guys, the ones we are suppose to turn our sovereignty over to?

"The U.N. peacekeepers are being put in an appalling situation where they are supporting an army that is attacking its own population," it said.

The allegations come the same week the U.N. Security Council is to deliberate on renewing the peacekeepers' mandate.

Kevin Kennedy, spokesman for the U.N. mission in Congo, said the Security Council has repeatedly expressed support for the offensive against the rebels and for the Congolese army despite "all the risks involved and the potential consequences of cooperating with the FARDC (army)."

And yet...there is no condemnation of this august body supporting genocide.

Protecting civilians is the primary purpose of the U.N. peacekeepers, but they have struggled with a contradictory mandate that also requires them to support the Congolese army.

"Struggle" with a contradictory mandate. And what would that be? Look at them disapprovingly then writing a nasty After Action Report?

It shouldn't go on too much longer now:

Congo's President Joseph Kabila has asked the U.N. to draw up a schedule to withdraw its forces, which have been in the country since 1999. The biggest U.N. accomplishment was overseeing Congo's first democratic elections in four decades, held in 2006. Kabila would have the peacekeepers withdraw before new elections scheduled for 2011.

Then the real killing begins.

I"m Going To Enjoy Christmas, Damn It!!!!

2009-12-12T20:32:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I dropped in to full Grinch mode for the season...again. I love Christmas..at least I use to, but for the last five or six years, I get so far and the mood falls away. The commercialism, the fights about even recognizing the holiday, the long cold nights all conspire to put me in a bad mood.

I'll still read the news, which is depressing, but try to remember that I have a job, a house, a kid who is doing well and count my blessings instead of what is pissing me off. Congress goes on their vacation soon, so nothing should get passed until next year.

The last couple of years have been particularly bad. No family around to share the season with, and for the first time in five years, I didn't have to work days. This year I have to work night shift, and my friends in Phoenix invited me to share it with them and my Godson, who is coming home from Louisiana, but I can either go out before Christmas and miss him by one day, or I get there a few hours after he flies home.

BUT, I've decided to put all the negatives behind me. When I finish my day shift on Thursday, I'm going to put up my Christmas lights (I may even turn them on) and get a tree, granted, a little tree, my creche, just some things to remind me that this is a special time and I do have a lot of things to be thankful for.

Merry Christmas to one and all!

Now That There Is Just Funny

2009-12-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

Got this through an Email and just had to pass it on:

This was this guy's first boat and he was taking it to the lake, but he

wasn't quite sure of the correct procedure for launching a boat off a ramp.

However, he figured it couldn't be that difficult to do, so he stopped by his

Union office for advice, and they just told him...

"Don't let the trailer get too deep in the water when you're launching your boat".

Well later on, he couldn't understand what they meant by that, as he just could

barely get his trailer in the water!

Here's a picture worth a "thousand' words!

Your gonna love this guy!!!

Some people shouldn't be allowed to get married, have children or vote!

Do I Get Credit(s)

2009-12-10T02:27:00.000-08:00

Under ~~Cap and Trade~~ Crap and Tax and/or the EPA diktat on reduction of Green house gases along with whatever BS they come up with in Copenhagen, would I get credit for sending my son to a different country and reducing the amount of energy used in the U.S.? Or could I get hit with an tariff from South Korea for exporting a pollutant to their country?

Could the tax credit offset the tariff, or will one be significantly higher than the other and it will cost me anyway?

If CO2 (breathing) is a greenhouse gas, am I going to have to pay a C&T tax/EPA fee on my animals? Food, water and license for them I understand and pay for willingly, but if I have to pay $100/year because they exhale...well, the dog can stay, but the cat goes...the bird...we'll see.

Christmas Comes Early

2009-12-09T21:02:00.000-08:00

I'm gonna live forever.

Beer could be the new weapon against cancer

MEN now have another excuse to go down the pub thanks to new research suggesting that a compound in beer may prevent prostate cancer.
Tests showed that the ingredient, xanthohumol, blocked a biological pathway that allows prostate cancer to be fuelled by the male hormone testosterone.

The disease is commonly treated with drugs that act in a similar way.

Xanthohumol is a powerful antioxidant derived from hops. It belongs to a family of chemicals called flavonoids found in fruits and vegetables that are known to have anti-cancer properties.

Previous studies have already suggested that xanthohumol may block the female hormone oestrogen's ability to stimulate breast cancer. Scientists now believe it may have a similar effect in men.

In laboratory tests, the compound blocked the molecular "switch" that allows testosterone to trigger changes in prostate cells that may lead to cancer.

This Is Boid

2009-12-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

That is Boid. He's my computer companion. He sit in his cage kinda behind me at my computer desk and talks to me...constantly.

He really isn't "my" bird. My son was working at a pet store a few years ago and even though we had two cats and two dogs, he decided he needed his own pet and brought the bastard home. I was not thrilled.

Like most teenagers, he was never home and we felt sorry for the poor little creature being stuck alone in Chris' room all time, so we hauled him out to the kitchen and stuck him on top of my filing cabinet.

I had never been around birds before and all I knew about them was they crapped a lot and were noisy. Well he does crap a lot, but noisy he ain't. Outside of mild chirping, either at me or his reflection in his mirror, he's pretty sedate.

There is his once a day freak-out. He'll hang upside down from his perch and rapidly "exercise" his wings, then clamber all around his cage screaming, but this last only about 2 minutes and then he just goes back into chirp mode.

He did escape once about 6 months after we got him. Front door open and bird out of his cage, he saw sunlight and headed for it. Gone in 15 seconds. I just wrote him off as crow food.

The next day I was working in my driveway and kept thinking I heard him, so I started calling his name and every time I said it, he'd chirp back, I just couldn't locate where it was coming from. He'd spent the night in our neighbors eucalyptus tree two door down. I got an extension ladder and managed to catch the bastard. I guess once out in the wide open, he decided his cage seemed a lot less confining.

With my boy in the Army for the foreseeable future, I guess the bird is mine. It seems like all my animals somehow just get dumped on me, but I love them all.

Cockatiels live about 25 years, so I don't know who gonna last longer.

I'd bet on Boid.

It's Cold........As Hell!

2009-12-08T08:12:00.000-08:00

This SoCal boy just about froze his butt off last night at work. I've said before that having been born and raised here that anything under 65 degrees is heavy jacket weather for me. It got down to 34 last night, so needless to say, my rounds where done at high speed. It was across the yard, check, adjust and scoot back to the office. Luckily nothing went wrong that required hanging around.

There is snow on the mountains over my house which made for a pretty drive home. That is one of the things that I really love about living here. You want snow? From my house you drive up Angeles Crest Hwy and you can visit it within 30 minutes. Decide you've had enough wet and cold...30 minutes and you're home again.

I've actually gone to the snow in the morning and to the beach (about 45 minutes in the other direction) for the afternoon. The water was too freaking cold to go in, but we could lie out on the sand and work on our skin cancer.

I've been home for almost an hour and my toes still hurt.

Next couple of nights are suppose to be the same, then some rain is forecasted to come though, but I don't care about the rain because I'm off.

In Rememberance

2009-12-07T08:06:00.000-08:00

So long ago. Oh Lord, may we remember the sacrifices of our Fathers, Grandfathers, and now our Great Grandfathers who stood up to defend this great country and may we prove worthy of that sacrifice.

Amen

Bookmark

2009-11-29T21:07:00.000-08:00

Ran across this at Human Events and wanted to have it marked so if/when I cruise by here again I'll run into it.

Want to know what the Founder's thoughts were on the 2nd Amendment, what is a militia, how much they trusted government? Read this:

From the Horses' Mouths: The 'Politically Correct' View of Our Founders
by Bob Heinritz
11/24/2009

A teaser:

"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."
Samuel Adams, during Massachusetts' U.S. Constitution Ratification Convention (1788).

Is It Still 2009?

2009-11-28T19:47:00.000-08:00

Where the hell did I go?

I said I'd be gone for a few days ...18 days ago.

Had a great time in Phoenix. My friend is not a political junkie like me, so we didn't discuss much politics, and the few things I brought up, we agreed on, which made for short conversations on those subjects.

ME: "Congress is screwing this country royal!"

Friend: "Yep."

ME: "Yep. Need another beer?"

When I got home, I still had five days off and I was in a good mood, so I avoided the news and just skimmed blogs for the next week.

Back to work was night shift...long, boring and cold, then 4 days off and the depression of being alone for Thanksgiving set in. My Mom and brother in Oregon, the wife in Montana and my boy in Korea. There was something good to lift my spirit, my neighbor made me a nice pumpkin pie, which I scarfed in one sitting. (Thank you Alexa!!)

Chris did actually call me on Thanksgiving, the first time I've heard his voice since he left, but I was paranoid of how much it cost him to call, so I kind of cut him short. He wants to come home for a friends wedding in May, and even though I'll probably only get to see him a few hours, I want him to have the cash to make the trip.

I'm getting no joy from football (again) this year. My Raiders...suck, ASU...sucks, any team I decided to root for, just to pick a side, they choose that game to play their worst.

This imbecility out of (surprise) Joy Behar,s mouth got me wound up:

While Whoopi was funny, I couldn't believe that none of them (at least in this clip, and NO! I don't watch The View) really didn't understand that this weekend, the "start" of the Christmas shopping insanity, is the point where stores start to make their profit...going from Red ink (loss) to black ink (profit).

The fact that Behar didn't know what it meant and "ASSUMED" it had some deep racial connotation to it just shows this woman knows nothing about bookkeeping or economics.

Damn near 11 months of running a store and you only make profit on that last month of the year. Working around the Christmas holiday and having to open up your business at 4AM to draw in that extra sale to make the rest of the year worth while.

I just wish the damn liberals could grasp the fact that "Black" can mean something other than a racial pejorative. Most of the time "black" is just a color.

Like You'd Notice

2009-11-10T19:49:00.000-08:00

Going to be gone a few days.

I'm bouncing around the house trying to pick up, clean up and pack up so I can get away from here for a few days. My neighbors are going to throw some food at the animals while I'm gone, so as of Thursday morning, I'm outta here!

Four days in Phoenix with some friends that I neglect way too much. Steve is one of my few really close friends, he dates from my attempt at an education at ASU and his lovely...saintly wife, who was is college sweetheart, knows what happens when we get together and try to prove we are still the same as we were (OMG!!!)30 years ago. Of course she knows Steve and I aren't in our 20's anymore and while we brag about all the beer we are going to down...the spirit is willing but our bodies just ain't going to cooperate. Two guys asleep on the couch watching a movie with a PILE of 4 or 5 beer cans (on coasters) strewn before them. (Yeah, laugh it up Pam)

It's just a trip to get out of L.A., but i can ignore politics and responsibility for four days, hell I don't even have to rush home. I don't go back to work until Friday night.

On The Fort Hood Shootings

2009-11-08T08:44:00.000-08:00

I have been watching the coverage of the murders that occurred at Ft. Hood for a few days and getting increasingly outraged at the spin the press has been trying to put on this!

First thing was Obo's incredible insensitivity to what occurred. His first statement where what had happened came at a time that interrupted a speech about what a good time they all had at the White House Tribal Nations Conference. (Oh, and Obo-wan, he received the Medal of Freedom..not the Medal of Honor...and you gave it to him just two months ago you dumb fuck!!)

Obo is going to give his condolences and comfort the grieving families...next Tuesday, after he has a few days rest at Camp David from ~~campaigning~~ being President. I guess his schedule is really full and the biggest attack on the U.S. since 9/11 just happened at a bad time.

Now as far as Major Jihadi, there are so many things about this POS, blood is shooting out of my eyes!

First,the Army knew this guy had problems and either ignored them or feared some perceived backlash for calling an anti-American terrorist bastard out on his statements justifying the killing of Americans because he had Palestinian heritage and worshiped a pedophile prophet (racial profiling).

He was using his authority as a doctor to try to convert people to Islam and was reprimanded for it.

They keep referring to him as the "ALLEGED" killer (or gunman, or perpetrator)...The SOB was taken down with the gun in his hand shooting at the cops!!!! He was the only one around, outside of law enforcement, with a gun in his hand! We now have to wait for ballistics, let him sue if it's wrong.

His cousin was going on about how he was being "picked on" about his religion, but I really have to wonder if it wasn't a case of Captain Jihad spouting off about the rights of suicide bombers to "fellow" soldiers and their reaction to someone telling you that you're the one who caused the problem and deserve to die. Kinda like the atheist bringing up how he feels that "piss Christ" is a legitimate piece of art to someone he knows is a Christian and being shocked that they vehemently found it offensive.

While this POS has received (what will be remembered as) the finest medical care in the world, when they get him patched up, just put his ass in with his buddies at Gitmo...or Minnesota...or wherever they're going to water board the bastards next year.

Although he hates this country because they are oppressing "his people/religion", he is more that happy to be in the Army and have them pay for his schooling and give him a salary, when asked to fulfill his contract and do what he was trained for, he decides he really didn't think that doing the job they hired and trained him for was ever going to be necessary.

Sum'bitch!!! It's the same as "Conscientious Objectors" that enlist, use up resources, then say they didn't understand that they might have to deal with putting their butt on the line and protecting the country that gave them the education and/or training for their job. (I'll just leave now and use those taxpayer dollars to further my career).

Anyone who pulls that shit should have their degrees or certification revoked, let them start over on their own dime (future gov't financial aid for education is also forbidden).

Finally, I really want to point out that this pond scum is responsible for the deaths of 14, not 13!!! Francheska Velez, who had just got back to the U.S. from Iraq three days before and was pregnant was killed...along with her child.

Latest News From The Front

2009-11-06T07:57:00.000-08:00

Chris just got back from a week long field exercise and posted a pic on his Facebook page and I'd like to pass it on.

Damn! He's still tall and thin (not really skinny anymore), but the size of his arms are amazing.

Any women dropping by, he's conservative and single. LOL

I Now Officially HATE This Effing State!!!

2009-11-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

I kinda went into hibernation this last week. Five busy 12 hour shifts in a row just about did me in. I actually slept for 20 hours straight after the final (and hardest)shift.

Yesterday when I finally felt up to checking some news, this is what I run into:

California Outright Steals Worker's Money

LA Times:

Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento - Starting Sunday, cash-strapped California will dig deeper into the pocketbooks of wage earners -- holding back 10% more than it already does in state income taxes just as the biggest shopping season of the year kicks into gear.

Technically, it's not a tax increase, even though it may feel like one when your next paycheck arrives. As part of a bundle of budget patches adopted in the summer, the state is taking more money now in withholding, even though workers' annual tax bills won't change.

Think of it as a forced, interest-free loan: You'll be repaid any extra withholding in April. Those who would receive a refund anyway will receive a larger one, and those who owe taxes will owe less.

These SOB's are "borrowing" my money INTEREST FREE to supposedly dig themselves out of the hole they put us in. They won't cut anything, but just keep on spending...probably adding more spending on top, and next April when I file for my refund...they'll still be broke.

I will come close to actually breaking even being whoever calculated the Kalifornia Tax Table for withholding must have graduated from a UC skool, I've always had a little extra State withholding taken out once I realized I was paying about $300 every April. I just have to cancel that extra withholding and the numbers should work out about right.

Dedicated to My Son

2009-10-27T22:53:00.000-07:00

You get 'em Kid!

STARK RAVING MAD!!!

2009-10-27T19:47:00.000-07:00

This is a personal rant about what a WONDERFUL day I had today, so feel free to skip it if you like.

AN OIL FIELD PRIMER:

The production site I work at has been having problems for about the last 3 1/2 years. The oil wells that bring fluid up have an average cut (water to oil ratio) of 97%. For every barrel (42 gallons in the oil field...I don't know why), we get 32 barrels of water that we have to do something with. Normally we shoot this waste water down another non-producing well at about 1100 psi with the idea of flushing oil through the zone towards some of the producing wells...at least that's the theory. The ideal thing is to produce the maximum amount of oil while being able to get rid of the water so everything stay balanced.

MY COMPANY:

We have severe injection limitations.

The owner wants to produce a sh*tload of oil, as do we all, but he always wants to run the wells that bring the most oil which also bring up the most water. We Operators have come up with 9,000 combination's of maximum oil production and still get rid of the water, but he keeps insisting that "ON PAPER" we should be able to run this new combination that he's worked out.

It doesn't.

WHY I'M STARK RAVING:

Yesterday, the day Operator decided he would run over balanced and "hide" some of the water productions by shunting some of it to a stock tank, thereby getting the production numbers up for his last day on shift.

Well, he forgot to close the shut at the end of his shift, and the night guy after about two hours noticed the production for those two hours was equal to what we normally do in a day. It took him about an hour to find the valve that was cracked.

When I got to work this morning I had 417 bbls (17,514 gals) in the stock tank and and an unknown amount of water that had skimmed from the stock tank to our shipping tank, contaminating the oil (we cannot ship oil that has more than 3% water).

That worked out to another 123 bbls (5,166 gals)...that means I got stuck with 540 bbls (22,680 gals.) extra water to get rid of...and still try to produce oil, so shutting all the producing wells down is out of the question.

My Foreman called in sick this morning (good thing...bad thing?), so I got to make all the decisions about what wells to keep running and what to shut down. I managed to get rid of about 200 bbls but I left my relief right on the edge of disaster, and that is something I just don't like to do.

As an extra added bonus the company that handles our pipeline wasn't completely happy with the accuracy of the machine that records how much oil we ship out and wanted to run another test...out of any day to do this they picked a damn good one. I got us passed even though the bastards showed up 2 hours before they said they'd get there. (Damn, I'm good!!!)

This is not the first time that that Operator has pulled this crap, and I got to talk to the owner about what happened during our morning telephone report. This Operator is the first to talk about "team work" and is also the first to leave you hanging and the first to complain about others not doing something HE feels should have been done. I hung his ass this time, he screwed three people trying to make himself look good. He even left a note saying he would work OT during a guys vacation, not a full shift, but he'd come in for two or four hours....to help out. Damn, if I'm there for 8 to 10 hours, I might as well work the 12.

There...I feel better, tomorrow is another day with more problems and I'll get through it just like I did today.

Sanity In California?

2009-10-25T01:04:00.000-07:00

It won't do any good, but at least somebody stood up and said it.

I've got to feel for Lockyer, a Democrat, who has finally come to the conclusion that spending more money doesn't solve the problem of not having the money to spend, and when 3/4 of the stuff you're spending it on is "junk". The man, belatedly, has shown that he does care about what is going on (could we see a conversion to the Dark Side here?).

Universal Health Care Will Make The World Better

2009-10-24T21:25:00.001-07:00

I have a very close friend from my attempt at a college education, who is now a PhD in Psychiatry and is an avid proponent of Universal Health Care. I'm agin it and he's fer it, so we don't discuss it in detail often, because we both just piss off the other guy, and our friendship is deeper than this one issue.

He did send me an unsolicited mass Email:
Responding to lies about health care reform

By the way, there is nowhere in the legislation that outlaws private insurance. It just makes another option available. Gee, for people who are supposedly so much into free enterprise, you would think they would appreciate the value of a little competition, especially from a competitor that is as lame (so they say) as the government.

I did respond:

First off, let me make clear that though I am registered Republican, I'm really not. I am a Conservative and Federalist. You may say I'm a Libertarian, but some group took over that title and I don't agree with all they espouse.

We know you and I have different views on reforms for Health Care, so I just want to point out some things. (and I won't hate you if you still disagree...you effing commie, statist, socialist, fascist, nazi bastard!!!!!)

The common point I believe we have is Health Care needs to be reformed.

Like all things the government gets involved in, they start making rules about something that they have little or no knowledge. Their concern is how it plays with enough of the people back home to get reelected.

The problem I have with this bill is that IT ISN'T EVEN WRITTEN YET!

They cranked out something as fast as they could with huge holes in it (to be filled later), and expect us to take their word that it'll all work out right. I don't trust them, they won't give up their health care program to join this miracle of legislation (and the Unions and Federal employees are exempt also).

Everywhere this has been tried, it doesn't work.

MEDICINE AND HEALTH:
Here’s a Second Opinion

I don't see where the country with the highest approval and survivor rates has to go down to a lesser system. How about we bring them up to ours?

It will be different this time? Give me a break. Look at Oregon's state run medi-care.

(Funny video, and it makes the point)

I'm going to close this out with the words of the man that wants us all to enjoy this utopia of medical miracles that awaits us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XTi-WdOu2s

I know reform is needed, but details would be nice and Obambi is still in campaign mode and the Dems won't give details and won't let the Repubs even suggest ideas... and 52% is not a mandate.

This exchange took place back in August, and I haven't heard from him since.

Today while bored out of my mind, I was goofing with the internet and ran a search on my friend to see if I could get a hit...I did, and this is what I found on his web site:

Why do you charge so much?

Because our fees look high, people often think we make extravagant amounts of money. In reality, we know skilled tradespeople who earn more than we do. By the time we pay our office overhead, absorb unpaid bills, and cover the costs associated with being a psychologist (licenses, insurance, mandatory continuing education, etc.), there is not as much slack as you might think.

In addition to being clinicians, we also are in a business where our livelihood depends on getting paid for our time and expertise. Since we dedicate large blocks of time to each individual client, the amount of time we have is limited. Furthermore, the expertise comes to us at a high price, with many years of study, sacrifice, and poverty. We also face the constant need to keep up to date and further our training, and we carry a large amount of responsibility as health care providers.

Nonetheless, our fees are much lower than other professionals who also sell their expertise. Lawyers, for example, often charge two to two-and-a-half times as much as we do. Physicians often charge less than we do per contact, but you only get a few minutes of their time. If you look at the hourly rate, theirs is much greater than ours.

Frankly, we value what we do, and we hope our clients do, too. If you are going to pursue psychotherapy, you need to think of it as an investment -- an investment in your life. For less than what you might pay to put new carpet in your home, you can improve the quality of your life, have better relationships, and feel more at ease with yourself.

[emphasis mine]

I know this man, and I know he cares about his patients and wants them to be better, but I also know he has a nice house, and a business that he'd like to keep. I just wonder what his opinion is going to be when Psych care is included under health care and the government sets the price..."your fees are $X per hour, but as a cost saving measure, we'll pay 3/4$X per hour this year until we're over budget next year and then...we'll see how much we have to reduce it then.

Everythings Amazing and Nobodys Happy

2009-10-19T18:51:00.000-07:00

How quickly we become numb to the miracles around us.

Along with the things mentioned above that have occurred in my lifetime: color TV...Stereo records...DVD's...Microwave ovens...satellites...Teflon...Permanent Press clothes...organ transplants...joint replacements...nuclear power...

60's Justice

2009-10-11T22:16:00.000-07:00

Growing up I loved "Dragnet", and "Adam 12".

The more things Change....

Football Sunday

2009-10-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

I'm a Raiders fan.

I was thrilled that my team was going to be on TV today...until the game started. Down 31-7 at halftime, that was the end of my hopes for anything close to a descent season, and I guess CBS agreed as they switched to a different game.

It's going to be another loooong season.

The other thing with football that bothered me today was regarding the news that Rush Limbaugh was interested in partnering in ownership of the Rams. The Players Union voted that they were against his owning a team.

Some NFL players wouldn't work for Rush's Rams

Word that Rush Limbaugh is interested in buying the St. Louis Rams has some African American football players swearing off any future employment with the team.

New York Giants defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka and New York Jets linebacker Bart Scott say they would never play for the Rams if Limbaugh owned the team.

Kiwanuka told the New York Daily News, "I don't want anything to do with a team that he has any part of. He can do whatever he wants, it is a free country. But if it goes through, I can tell you where I am not going to play." Scott said, "He could offer me whatever he wanted, I wouldn't play for him. . . . I wouldn't play for Rush Limbaugh. My principles are greater and I can't be bought." Just what the hapless Rams need: Quality players who refuse to play for them.

Yeah....Right.

Truth to Power Mr. Smith.

Too Funny

2009-10-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

These people were always finding water all over their pool deck and furniture, every time they came home, after being away for a few hours. They thought the neighborhood kids were watching for them to leave, and using the pool. However, they could never catch them doing it. So they set up their video cam. This is what they recorded.......

HT to my Facebook Friends Sareda and Linda

This reminded me of one of my dogs, Tori, a Shepard/Collie mutt that I had in High School. My parents had a pool and Tori loved to swim! So much so that in the dead of winter (if there is such a thing in SoCal) when it was night, 40 degrees and the pool wasn't heated, would run out the dog door, jump in the pool, swim a lap, run back into the house...then shake off.

Good thing I loved her, because there's nothing better than a damp dog getting the foot of your bed soggy on a nice winter evening.

10,000 Hits

2009-10-07T07:54:00.000-07:00

I finally hit a milestone! Last night at about 11:45 PM I got my 10,000th hit. It took a while (3 years 10 months), but I made it. This will be my 537th post, so I average one about every two days. I'd like to do better, but I doubt that's going to happen. Actually I'm surprised I've kept it up this regularly, this long.

Thanks to all of you that drop by, even the pervs looking for 16 year old Mexican virgins (about 85% of my hits).

They Said We Were Nuts

2009-10-05T07:38:00.000-07:00

Got this over at Sig's place.

It's downright creepy!

During the campaign when his photos started showing halos behind him and women started fainting at his speeches we kept saying this was too much of a cult of personality and deification of the man, and we were told how wrong we were. Well now they are addressing their grievances to him in the form of payer.

Deliver Me!!

The Astounding World of the Future

2009-10-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

WTH happened to that world that was promised us while we were growing up?

I really believed we would be a lot closer to "The Jetsons" than we are.

A Celebration! UPDATED

2009-10-02T00:02:00.000-07:00

My Son turned 21 year old today.

I cannot express how proud I am of him. He has become a fine man.

UPDATE:

In the fine Army tradition, his mates at "The Hump" helped him celebrate his birthday by teaching him not to mix beer, soju (Korean vodka) and Wild Turkey.

The pic below is his signaling that it was a lesson (hopefully) well learned and long remembered.

A Simpler Time?

2009-09-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine over on Facebook posted this:

I wish I had a teacher like Red had, and I wish there were more "celebrities" like Mr. Skelton who could broadcast their love of God and Country today.

Even Banks Are Anti-U.S.

2009-09-23T04:06:00.000-07:00

Was I stunned that this happened...No.

Does it bother me...You bet!

Bank of America Flag Controversy Illustrates Dangers of Blind Obedience

Last week, a Bank of America branch in Gaffney, SC stirred up controversy by removing American flags from an adjacent sidewalk. The bank later returned the flags, which were intended for a funeral procession for a fallen Marine. But the city isn’t about to forgive the bank

This happens again. I don't understand how an American company can be worried about showing some patriotism, when they didn't even have to put the flags out, is so worried that they might "offend" someone. Who exactly is going to be offended by honoring a fallen soldier being brought home to rest?

I've sent a letter to BofA telling them that they cannot count on my business, EVER!

I am curious as to when you are going to change the name of your bank?

Obviously with the actions of your branch in Gaffney, SC you are afraid that displaying the American flag in honor of a war hero's body being brought home.

"...branch Manager Brandy Tate, who told her the bank’s policy did not allow flags for fear of “offending a customer.”"

What customer is it that you beleive is going to be offended by the display of our countries flag?

“We want to ensure the community knows how deeply proud we are of the men and women who have sacrificed so much in service to our country. The bank does fly the American Flag at our locations throughout the country and flags were displayed in front of our banking center in Gaffney the evening prior to our dedicated Marine returning home. We deeply apologize for any misunderstandings. “

The only misunderstanding here is what country you do business in and that we are the last bastion of freedom that allows any semblance of free trade.

I currently bank with Citi, and I can say I'm not happy with their ability to handle business, so I have been looking around to move my accounts elsewhere. With this news, I can say that BofA has dropped to the bottom of the list.

Since the hippies burned down your branch in Isla Vista in 1970, you haven't stood for anything that might create controversy,

Keep the BofA, just call yourselves "Bank of Anonymous" as you are in fear of someone thinking that you represent America.

Good Riddance.

Maybe it's time to let them know how the people feel again.

FETE