Music Monday

I've had a few songs running through my head the last week or so, so to purge them I figured I post 'em.

First one I got from the Imperial Tech Wizard at the Rott, DJ's site. It's an amazing A Capella rendition of Toto's Africa.

(I know it doesn't fit right, but big group you need the big screen)



This next one takes me back to 1979 to one of those "I wonder what my life would have been like if...?" moments.



The above always brings up the opposite side of a relationship.



This last one is one of those that just stick with you. The juxtaposition of acoustic and rap just amuses me. It gets in my head and stays.

He's Home...Or He Was Home

Chris landed at LAX right on time yesterday and I got to see him for about an hour (including the drive home)before he was off. First to the young couple next door. He's know Alexa his whole life and they're only about 6 years age difference. It really didn't matter, with getting his car legal, working that night then staying up until his flight got in, I was up for over 30 hours. That allowed me 4 hours of sleep before going back to work. When I got up, he was gone for his camping trip (home again Tuesday morning).

His tale of his trip home from Ft. Rucker confirmed my belief that the people of this country really do appreciate those who are serving. Of course he traveled in his ACU's and in Montgomery, they stopped at a 7-11 to get some snacks and a lady asked them where they were heading, she left, then came back inside and insisted on paying for anything he and his friends were getting..."No, Thank you ma'am, it's not necessary" was not an acceptable answer.

On the cross country flight, just before leaving the gate, the flight attendant moved him up to First Class. (Lucky little sh*t)

The thing that stunned him the most was while he was waiting for his gear to hit the carousel at LAX some guy came over and shook his hand and thanked him for serving. Chris was about dumbstruck. He told me that almost anywhere else in the country it wouldn't have phased him, he'd appreciate it, but in Los Angeles, he expected to be ignored, if not shunned.

He's damn proud of his Warriors patch:



and his 2nd Aviation Crest:



and I'm damn proud of him.

Home Tomorrow

Just talked to the boy. He's about 1/2 hour away from Montgomery Regional Airport where he'll get to spend the night sleeping on the floor. No USO's in Alabama. He'll hit the tarmac at LAX at 10:30 tomorrow morning which means I get to hang around work for 3 hours after my shift being work is 1/2 way to LAX from my house.

I spent the last two days getting his car insured, registered and smogged. Thank G-d for AAA. Chris should have handled this before he left, but didn't, so dear old Dad got to deal with it. I forged his signature so many times I can sign his name better than he can.

I'll only get to see him for about 2 hours because he's coming home dropping off his gear, loading up what he wants and is taking off for 3 days of camping with one of his buddies.

He got totally screwed on the Home Town Recruiter, his commander wouldn't let anyone tie their leave before deployment to an HTR, BUT... you can only do HTR right after boot and training.

Also, for reasons know only to the Army, he has to fly back to Alabama (on his dime) at end of leave to fly to Korea. Even though the plane flies from Alabama to LAX then to Korea.

Ah well, he'll be home for ten days, that's something.

Oh Fer Christ's Sake

One of those stories you read and go WTF!? How the hell could displaying the Globe and Anchor and patriotic sentiments on your car with window decals and bumper stickers be considered "advertising"?



Notice that, of course, political, health and other PC-like opinions are not targeted, just the military stickers and expressions of love of freedom. This reminds me of the thugs from the Black Panthers that were deemed not to be intimidating voters at the poles by standing in the doorway dressed in paramilitary uniforms, thumping a baton in there hand and telling people to get use to the country being run by blacks as not being worthy of prosecution. (one rule for thee...)

My parents lived in a HOA run development for a while. They thought they knew what they were getting into when they bought the house. One of the bylaws was that the front of the houses had to have a uniform apperance...no problem, they thought.

Their front door was half way up the side of the house and not visible from the street. There was no screen door originally and living close to the coast they wanted to be able to leave the door open to take advantage of the ocean breeze to cool the house, and couple of houses had been burglarized, so they installed a security screen door. Nice looking. After a couple of months they got a letter from the HOA stating that the screen door was out of compliance and had to be removed. You couldn't see this door unless you walked up the pathway and turned a corner. The reasoning was that it was the "front door" so it was considered part of the front of the house.

Idiots!!

It took another two months to get the bylaws amended to allow security screen doors (only off an approved list of screen doors), all the while my parents were racking up penalties, eventually set aside, for not removing the door.

The person who was trying to enforce this rule was the only one on the board that fought to keep her interpretation of compliance, the rest of the board and the homeowners all were for the change.

Cases of some busybody trying to exercise their supposed power over those they rule.

OK! Now I'm Starting To Worry

I posted a month ago that my boy was going to be stationed at Camp Humpherys Garrison, Korea. Tension with North Korea were high at the time, but back then it seemed like it was just one of those periods that we go through with them every couple of years.

Now it seems to be serious.

The Dear Leader Demented Asshole that runs the country is old and ailing and there doesn't seem to be an heir apparent lined up. They've already had a group of high officials "retire". The country has gone nuclear and has a semi-reliable transport system for it working. We're stuck in two wars on the other side of the globe...and in July, my son is going to be part of the trip wire in place to slow down the invasion if/when it comes.

Chris will be sitting about 100 miles from the DMZ...not a long distance for the NorKo's to traverse when they start throwing wave attacks across the border. I don't think the NorKo's beleive that Obambi will commit to defending South Korea (and frankly, neither do I), which will leave my boy in a bad situation.

If things go bad, I know Chris will be one of the best AirOps there, but 25,000 U.S. and 560,000 ROK troops they may have a rough time if a major portion of NorKo's 700,000 troops, over 8,000 artillery systems, and 2,000 tanks, postured within 90 miles of the Demilitarized Zone come pouring down the peninsula.

I Wouldn't Have Guessed This

I got a link to this quiz sight: Which soldier type are you?

You Scored as Special Ops Special ops. You're sneaky, tactful, and a loner. You prefer to do your jobs alone, working where you don't come into contact with people. But every once in a while you hit it big and are noticed and given fame. You're given the more sensitive problems. You get things done, and do what has to be done. You are competent, resourceful, and resiliant. "VULCAN NECK PINCH!!!" "owww.......(slump)"

Well maybe it does fit. It would explain why I love working graveyard shift. I'm at my job for 12 hours by myself, gates closed and no one to interrupt what I'm doing. I can pretty much decide my own project for the shift, or week. I'll pick up on a project from someone else if it needs to get done.

Bad news is that I could never be Special Ops. I learned from my son's enlistment that the color blindness he inherited from me would rule out any infantry assignment, but I'd give it my best if asked.

My God! They're Going To Do It Again!!

I heard last night that the government has taken over GMAC, the lending arm of GM. The news was that now they can make low interest loans on automobiles. Isn't this what happened to the housing industry?

Of course they'll be able to offer low interest loans...this is the government, they don't care if they make a profit...they don't even care if they lose money as long as the loan was given without any discrimination. It'll be more important that they have the proper percentage of minorities and low income loans so that no one is denied a loan just because they can't afford it.

Driving a car will be a RIGHT!!!

I wonder what name will be hung on the new "Peoples Car"?

We'll now be able to buy the overpriced piece of crap cars that the government will mandate GM and Chrysler/Fiat build in order to keep getting bailouts. More NINJA loans to people that can't afford the payments, but don't worry, the loan will be guaranteed by the government.

They keep saying they don't want to run business, but right now gov't controls banking, the auto industry, loan companies and insurance companies. Soon to control Health Care, salaries of ANY company executive (your salary won't be far behind) and the States of California, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts and any other high tax liberal state that is going to need federal money to continue to prop up their social experiments (so much for Federalism).

Ding Dong< The Wicked Witch Is Dead

After decades of having to put up with this shrew "representing" ME, I think I can finally see the end of this.

Pelosi, after all these years has had her equivocating and lying pile up so deep, she can't dodge it any longer.

Pelosi: CIA misled her on waterboarding

WASHINGTON – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi bluntly accused the CIA on Thursday of misleading her and other lawmakers about its use of waterboarding during the Bush administration, escalating a controversy grown to include both political parties, the spy agency and the White House.

"It is not the policy of this agency to mislead the United States Congress," responded CIA spokesman George Little, although he refused to answer directly when asked whether Pelosi's accusation was accurate.

But the House's top Democrat, speaking at a news conference in the Capitol, was unequivocal about a CIA briefing she received in the fall of 2002.

"We were told that waterboarding was not being used," the speaker said. "That's the only mention, that they were not using it. And we now know that earlier they were." She suggested the CIA release the briefing material.

She says she was informed that waterboarding could, but wasn't, being used at the first briefing. What the hell did she think they even brought it up for if the CIA wasn't considering it's use. If she believed it to be wrong at that point, why didn't she raise the point then?

I can tell you why. One of three things:

1) She really did get briefed on it and supported it. ("Are you sure we're doing enough?")

2) She did get briefed on it, but didn't want to look like the wuss she is about protecting, or caring, the citizens of the U.S. from another attack.

3)(most likely)She was there, but just didn't hear it. She was just stuck in another of those committee meetings that look good on her resume, and wasn't listening to what was happening around her.

She has now altered what she's said so many times, she can't even remember what the truth of the moment is:



She was just informed by her aide that a briefing had taken place...nothing important...nothing you should worry your pretty little empty head about Senator.

She now is accusing the CIA of lying to her and misleading Congress.

"Yes, I am saying that they are misleading - that the CIA was misleading the Congress," Pelosi said.

She's kicked a dog that isn't going to take it lying down. If she believes the CIA is going to let this aspersion on their reputation sit, she's crazier that I thought she was. I think it shows in that last clip that she's just treading water now with no shore in sight.

About Face

I don't know if Obambi has whiplash yet, but I can say that his rapid 180's have caused a major pain in my neck.

I've never trusted what any politician has said, but My G-d!!! In just the first 100 days of Obama's term, I'm having a hard time remembering any promise he made during his campaign that he hasn't reversed. (Well he did get his kids a dog)

IMMEDIATE withdrawal of troops "occupying" Iraq...that now turns out to be 18 months...the same time frame that Bush had.

Signing an order on his second day in office for the closing of Gitmo, then asking for the funds to do it and having no plan for how to carry it out. No idea of what they are going to do with the "poor innocent farmers that just got swept up on the battlefield and aren't so dangerous". Seems no one wants them in their backyard. Not ever the Euroweenies that were bitching at us about holding them.

As said by one of our allies: "If they are not so dangerous, you keep them."

NAFTA: He was going to "HAMMER" out a new treaty...now, that was "overheated and amplified rhetoric".

Electronic Surveillance: He was a agin it, now he's for it.

Lobbyists: There will be NO lobbyists in his administration...except for those lobbyists that are soooo damn smart we can't do without them.

Sacrifice:

May 2008

"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said.

Like I care whether other countries give me their OK. I think the Fwench should bathe more often and people who live in the desert should move their asses out of the desert to a place that they can grow food...but I'm not allowed to judge their stupid decisions.


January 2009

WASHINGTON — The capital flew into a bit of a tizzy when, on his first full day in the White House, President Obama was photographed in the Oval Office without his suit jacket. There was, however, a logical explanation: Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat. “He’s from Hawaii, O.K.?” said Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, who occupies the small but strategically located office next door to his boss. “He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there.

I'm born and raised in SoCal...O.K.? When my Heater/AC works, I run it at a temperature that just keeps the house tolerable. Right at that level where you wonder if you should put on a sweatshirt or not during the winter, or all the windows are open and there is no breeze, so seal up and get the house down to where you aren't just sitting on the couch sweating, say mid 80's in the summer. I pay for it with the wages from MY job. I worked for it and I'm not asking the Gov't to subsidize my utility bill. If it's too expensive, I'll put on the sweatshirt or shed clothing to compensate.

You don't want me sitting naked on the front porch with a beer in my left hand and a hand fan in my right, but I'm at that point in life that I will. Neighbors be damned.

On and on it goes.

On one hand I would like to beleive that Obamabi's maturing into the position, but I really fear we have a President that is a complete liar that will say anything to a particular group now and the opposite two hours later to another group. It's either that or he could was so incredibly naive while running for the office about how the world operated that we'll get four years of a man that has no stand, no plan and no goal other than having held the office.

Quit a while ago I just thought that his eligibility for being President was just an interesting sidetrack, but now I'm wondering. If he's willing to lie about so many things, perhaps he's lying about that. He's spent an awful lot of money on lawyers fighting off the release of his Birth Certificate and College Admission records. Something that would settle that "tout suite".

And Now For Something Completely Different

Back to Politics!

As I've mentioned before I really am an easygoing guy. I can take a lot of grief without getting ruffled. I have my values and beliefs and if you don't agree with me, I may think you're wrong, but mostly I'll turn the other cheek. If they want to be an idiot, that's their right.

However, over the last month I've HAD to listen to this ad:



Sounds great, doesn't it? Can-do Americanism!

Any time this comes on I scare my animals and the neighbors ask themselves "What the hell keeps happening over at that house?", because most people just don't remember this:



This is the real message. "You will do as we say or we're going to hit you with taxes and fees so hard you can't survive, Damn the consequences."

It doesn't matter whether the technology exists, or even if it can be developed. Doesn't matter if this "change" can be met on the bureaucrats schedule or not..we'll just punish you and reduce your income so that your R&D funds are gone. Most likely in taxes that will subsidize the "poor" (all of us after paying our utility bills) that can't afford $3/Kwh bills.

Don't consider that 70% of our electrical needs come from coal.

If you still believe that the eco-nazi's or "workers of the world" really want (or care) about "green power" read this:

Solar Energy Meets Greenies and Big Labor

A chance to go to one of their chosen power sources that will save the world...but there ain't no where they will allow it to be built.

The first problem was the squirrel, or more specifically, the Mohave ground squirrel, which is considered to be threatened. While the squirrel has never been found at the project site, nor was there any evidence it had ever lived there, it could decide sometime in the future to live there.

I may, at any moment, decide to live in Texas. Maybe I should start paying taxes and registering my car there.

Maybe Life Can Be Good

Damn! I was PO'd yesterday. I'm usually very easy going, but yesterday just seemed to be one turd piled on another...I'm much better now!

It turns out I got all worked up over things that settled out on their own. Two "Good News" things greeted me this morning. We start the 4/12 schedule next Tuesday (although that means I work five 8 hour day shifts then go right into four 12 hour night shifts back to back).

The other "Good News" thing is I am now straight Night Shift. (YEEEEHAAWW!!!) I have always been a night person. Even when I was young (6-14) I would stay up and watch Johnny Carson. I just like being up at night. 3:30 AM is when I thing about going to bed, not getting up.

I'll be working with the Foreman and he needs to be there on daylights, so this is Nirvana for me. The other crew rotates day and night. It'll probably change if we get our finances straightened out and they can hire another Operator, but today, I revel in my luck, due I'm sure to my clean and upright living. (Mheh)

It's always said that it's always darkest before the dawn, and that may be, but I do know that it's always coldest between 3:00 and 3:30 AM.

OK...Now I'm Getting Pissed!!!

Did you read yesterday's post?

If not you may now.

I was almost in a good mood about work. Now I'm just pissed and don't want to deal with two of the three guys I work with.

The guy I relieved this morning is the only one against going to a 4/12 shift and he moaned about it all though shift report. Not what I wanted to deal with at quarter to 5 this morning. When the Foreman came in, his understanding was one dissension and no schedule change (crap!). Later, when the Foreman talked to the owner, it was the guy will have to deal with it or he can quit. We'll hire back the guy we just laid off.

Fine.

Then my relief shows up and announces that he's not doing any work anymore and is not supporting the sked change (that he's lobbied for over the last year) because our health insurance is only going to cover the employee, dependents are out of pocket.

It's not fair (to him) because if he has to pay for dependent insurance, I'll be making more than him. He doesn't seem to grasp that because I'm single (separated) and my boy is Gov't property, starting this year, this bozo has been getting a yearly bonus that works out to him making a hell of a lot more than me over the last 5 years.

My company kept us on for over 6 months with no production, another year and a half when we couldn't produce enough to pay the bills and right now we have an income that can buy chewing gum OR baling wire...but not enough for both at the same time.

I am a human float switch!

I've effing had it with people that can't bend a little or grasp the reality of what's going on around them. I don't like the (lack of) Business Plan that our company operates under any more than they do, but I here I am, and I'm going to give my time on the job to making money for the company as best I know how. I'll carp as much as the next guy about how it would be better if I ruled the world, but I don't! So I get up at 3:30 AM tomorrow and drag my butt into work again.

Could be worse.

How?

Could be raining.

Good News...Bad News

I've still got a job for the time being.

That's the good.

The bad...I can't be sure for how long.

My company laid off one guy today, which sucks, but they are curtailing operation hours at our other sight and sending one of the Operators over to our yard (my sight produces more oil and gas).

A little more good news is that we're going on a shift schedule of 4-12's. Four days (7AM-7PM)--four days off--four nights--four days off. This has got to be better that the rotating shift I've been on for the last 5 years.

This is the schedule I've been living with (click to bigifiy if you want to see hell):



I'll still need a printed schedule to know when I'm where, but the 4-12's should simplify things a bit and I won't have to radically alter my sleep cycle on a weekly basis anymore.

Last night I was flopping from right side to left at least until 1:30 AM. I do remember watching "Red Eye" from 12 to 1, then dozing off after that, but I had to get up at 3:30 AM to make work by 5 AM. That makes for a llooonng day.

More bad news is that a percentage of our medical insurance is going to be shifted to the employees. The amount hasn't been set yet, but rumor is 20%. I can't say I'm thrilled about this, but I do still have a job.

Good News: I'll be working my shifts with someone I get along with. We know what's expected of the other and can hash out problems.

Bad News: My concern is our opposite shift. Are we going to walk into 4 days of the things that should have been done being left for us to do? I won't worry about it until it happens, but it's floating around in the back of my mind.

Unknowns: For the first time in my working career, I've got 3 weeks vacation..there is a rumor that we will be limited to two weeks. I'll find out tomorrow. The other unknown is I'm bottom of the list seniority-wise, unless they decide to count the 2 years I worked as a contract worker. In that case I'm 2 months ahead of the next guy. That will depend on who the owner and Foreman consider the most expendable.

If I get laid off, that's just the kick in the butt I need to get the hell out of California. I can be broke anywhere and I know I'll find another job somehow.

The Post

Chris finally got his post for when he finishes AIT.

I can't say I'm overly excited about it right now. He's being stationed in Korea at Camp Humpherys Garrison. That's about 55 miles south of Seoul.

I knew the job was dangerous when he took it, but with North Korea's "Dear Leader" redux about at the end of his life...I'm a bit apprehensive about my boy being a trip wire for world politics and/or war.

On the other side, looking at the base he's going to, it looks like they have built this one up to be equal to...or outclass...Riefenstahl, Germany as the premier overseas station.

TOUR OF DUTY (Pt. 1) USAG-Humphreys - U.S. Army in Korea - Camp Humphreys - Newcomer Video

That's part 1 of 3 and they make it sound like he's going to Disneyland. The film was produced last year, so maybe most of what they want to do is actually being done and will be completed before the budget dries up.

He graduates AIT June 5th and doesn't have to report to the Hump until July 17th, so depending on how much vacation time he wants to use, he may be home for over a month. I'm hoping he stays until the last minute to report.

Just Shut Up!!!

Political discourse from the left today:



Picked this up from BlackisWhite's new digs. (Update your bookmarks)

Blog Burst

I watched the TEA parties and the coverage (or lack thereof) over the last few days and have almost been able to shake off the doldrums that have clouded my soul for the last couple of months.

I ran across this today and can say I'm starting to feel a stirring of political fervor again.

What say you?

I Said What?

I just got done saying politics gave me a headache and what do I get in my E-mail from George Mellinger (a false internet friend) but a reminder of why I get these headaches.

I remember when this agency was created and the "absolutely must do now" goals this GOVERNMENT entity was established to deal with.

Let's see how it turned out:

Absolutely the funniest "joke" ever......"ON US !!!"

* Let it sink in.
* Quietly we go like Sheep to slaughter.


Does anybody out there have any memory of the reason given for the establishment of the
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ...... during the Carter Administration?

* Anybody?
* Anything?
* No?
* Didn't think so!


Bottom line . . we ' ve spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency ... the reason for which not one person who reads this can remember.

Ready???????
It was very simple
... and at the time everybody
thought it very appropriate...




The Department of Energy was instituted on 8-04-1977


TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.



Hey, pretty efficient, huh?????


AND NOW IT ' S 2009, 32 YEARS LATER ... AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS


NECESSARY DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR


THEY HAVE 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND APPROXIMATELY100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES


AND LOOK AT THE JOB THEY HAVE DONE!

THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY ' WHAT WAS I THINKING? '


Ah yes, good ole bureaucracy.





And NOW we are going to turn the Banking System & the Auto Industry over to them?


God Help Us !!!

We have gone from importing 23% (a crisis in 1970) of oil to make up what we need to 62% in 2009.

We've been paying 116,000 people bloated government salaries to dig us another 39% into this hole.

Maybe this year they'll get it right.

This and That

Haven't been around here much lately. Work has been moderately busy. We finally have all the wells running that we can at this time, but the "automated" controls still aren't working, so it keeps you moving, monitoring tank levels and gas pressures.

Politics just give me a headache these days. I watch what's is happening and sense where it's going...and I don't like it!

I finally found the damn cable for the camera to download the pics I took when I went out to see Chris. Of course I found it after I went out and bought a new one. The old one was right in front of me ("If it was a snake....", Oh G-d, I'm channeling my mother!). I'm not much of one for taking pictures, but for posterity, here are the ones worth posting.

This is the barrack that Chris was in at Ft. Benning:



He only wore his Class A's on "Family Day" which was the first time I got to see him after 3 months and he had a few dozen things he wanted to do on his first day of freedom. I didn't think about a picture until it was time to take him back to base, so it was dark and rushed, but I did remember, because he wouldn't put them on again to get another pic.



The next are of his graduation at the National Infantry Museum which opens June 19th. His was the first class to hold the ceremony there...in the rain...and with two platoons graduating at the same time.

The museum from afar:



Closer:

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The "Follow Me" statue now located in the main entrance to the museum:



Chris is last one in the right column in this one. Notice that our rough and tough soldiers are standing under cover while the families are stuck out in the rain. I looked like a drowned rat when the ceremony was done...and those 25 minutes were the only time it rained all day.



That night, after signing a form promising not to damage gov't property and delivering it to a certain location by a certain time, they let me have my son for 24 hours. We spent the day in Columbus so Chris could spend more of that fat paycheck from Uncle Sam that he couldn't touch for 10 weeks. Stayed one more night in that wonderful city and I got a chance to see my kid once more as I remembered him:



Drove down to Ft. Rucker the next morning and I managed to deliver him undamaged and on time. This is the last time I saw him when I dropped him off at his Company HQ:

Proud Parent Of A Soldier!

He's now officially a soldier. I had to sign a form taking possession and responsibility for my own son in order to drive him to his next post. He's government property for the next 3 1/2 years.

He's just happy to be out of Basic and at a regular post. He got stuck in a platoon with a bunch of screw ups that rebelled at authority. They were all going onto tech fields (no infantry), so they were all bright and some thought they knew more than the Drill Sergeants. The DS's thought otherwise and Chris paid for it. Chris and I had talked quit a bit about mind games and how to get through them before he went in, so he knew to just do what your told, when your told and it'll end in a few weeks, but he couldn't control the other guys.

He's bigger now, his shoulders are huge and he stands up straight all the time. He's an inch taller than me and I found myself standing up straighter while I was around him.

The Army has some interesting rules now. He had to be able to do 30 push ups in like a minute and a half, but the DS can't make them do more than 20 at a time in a certain time period, so he couldn't be pushed to do them and he just barely passed that requirement the day before graduation.

I've talked to him everyday since he got to Rucker and he's a lot happier. He has to have some dental work done and that made him miss his first class, so he's on hold for a week before he starts AIT (Advanced Individual Training)...an added week before he gets leave to come home.

I have to include his favorite pic from his "yearbook" of him clearing a .50 cal.

HOME!!!

I just got in. I've been on the road since 12 PM PST. 15 hours of travel time.

The trip was wonderful...stressful at times, but worth the headaches. Right now I am now jet lagged and worn out and surrounded by happy animals.

Back to work tomorrow afternoon (If the company is still there!).

I'll write about my journeys tomorrow (I have pictures, for now the agenda is grab something to eat and sleep.

Travel Stress

I'm sitting at home, I'm packed, showered and ready to go!

The problem is I've still got 3 1/2 hours until the airport shuttle picks me up and I'm a raving maniac!!! I just want to get going. I picked the earliest pick up time they offered so I'll get to the airport way early and get to sit there forever. My fear now is that being I worked graveyard, I'll fall asleep in the terminal and miss my flight.

I most likely won't be by here until Tuesday or Wednesday next week. If I have time, I'll try to check in Sunday or Monday when I visit my friend in Alabama. Like my missing a week is something new. You regular readers will just have to deal with this void in your day.

I still don't know when I'll be where, but once I'm out there, I'll have my own car and I've got a ream of "Mapquests" printed out so I should be able to find my way around.

I know I've said it before, but I can't wait to see Chris! I am dying to see how he's changed since the last time we were together. It only been two months, but it seems like a lifetime to me.

Music Day

I'm just going through getting everything done to leave SoCal for Georgia on Tuesday.

I'm doing laundry and trying to straighten the house up a bit before I go. That's a put on the radio and crank it time. These are just a few songs that went by and I thought I'd pass on to you. I like them, but I may not know what the message is, I just like the music as it goes by.

Sometime Around Midnight - The Airborne Toxic Event



Incubus - Love Hurts



Rise Against - Prayer Of The Refugee



Foo Fighters - The Pretender



No messages here, just music I turn up when it comes on.

4 Work Days To Go

I haven't been around here or any of the other sites I normally visit. I've been tying up all the loose ends I can for the trip to Ft. Benning. It's down to getting my laundry done and final packing.

My major concern the last couple of days was my auto insurance. I'm renting a car out there and needed to be sure I was covered. Something happened about a month ago that got me stuck in a series of cancellations and reinstatement's. It seemed that every third day I'd get a letter telling me to disregard the previous letter. It culminated in getting a cancellation with a check for $272 of unused premium, followed by a letter saying to disregard the cancellation, followed by a bill for $320.

THAT WAS IT!!! No more internet or telephone communications, I needed to talk face to face with someone. Within 10 minutes of sitting down with the very nice lady, it was determined that I owed $240, I should have "Uninsured Motorist" coverage ($21) and if I endorsed the check they had sent me, I would be rebated $11 for overpayment. More coverage and money back...how the hell does that happen?

I now can rest assured that I do not have to pay the $29 per day rental agency insurance...almost 1/4 of my yearly premium to cover 6 days. Can you say usury?

I've got someone to throw food at the animals, new jeans, new tennis shoes, new luggage, cash in my pocket and some money left in the bank.

I wrote Chris a long letter last night, then realized there was no point in mailing it. Chances are I'll get out there before the letter finds him. I won't let all that work go to waste, I'll just hand deliver it.

I Will Work Harder

That is the quote that has stuck with me for over 35 years since I read Animal Farm back in High School.

Back then that was a book on the curriculum. I liked it so much I asked my English teacher for more books on that subject. She pointed me to 1984 and Brave New World. Not only was she a babe, she would point you in a direction you showed interest in.

With Obambi's kinda semi-definition of where he wants the country to go, there has been a lot of talk of socialism. I know I'm not the first to point it out, but I listen to their arguments about how it is for the good of the everyday worker, but I've watched my tax rebate get eaten up by the tax increases.

The gov't allows me to keep $600 of my paycheck this year....then they add $0.10 a gallon tax on gasoline (there's $82), cigs will cost me $550 more a year in added taxes...I don't have to go any farther, I'm already paying more in taxes than I get with the rebate.

I would say my taxes went up.

I just watched both of the movies of Animal Farm. They both leave out something and, of course, leave out or combine things, but between the two of them cover the book adequately.

"Animal Farm" 1954

Animal Farm 1999

Why I'm So Hot To Get This Trip Right

One of my best friends use to plan 5 days of things to do on a three day trip. No matter how many things you go to do, you always felt like the trip missed something because you only had time to do 3 or 4 of the 9 things he had scheduled.

I was always spontaneous and trusted my luck on things working out. They usually did, and still do, but as I've gotten older I don't have the patience to tolerate those little glitches that pop up. The last trip Chris and I took together a couple of years ago is a good example.

Road Trip Report: Tuesday, November 13, 2007

The drive into San Francisco from Portland is the pertinent part:

Bay Area

This will be my last trip there!!! Traffic sucks! We got into the area just after dark, it was foggy and really raining. We could see the freeway well enough, but nothing beyond it so I lost all sense of direction.

After a “brief” meandering tour of the hills of Berkley (I have no idea how we got there), we finally found Oakland. I should mention that I was so disoriented, that I actually stopped and asked for directions at one point, which at least got us headed in the right direction.

Due to a bunch of circumstances, I hadn’t reserved a motel. I paid dearly for this. There really isn’t a hell of a lot of motels in the area, and they’re spread all over the place. We hit six that were booked up, one that had one room at $109.00/night (HA!). We were getting farther and farther away from the stadium and I was just hanging onto my sanity due to fatigue and the stress.

I was really starting to wonder how comfortable the seats in the car were for sleeping when we spotted a Motel 6. Three rooms left and $114 for two nights. SOLD!!!

The place was crazy with Raider fans, but maybe because it was raining, it was quiet and we got a good nights rest.

Due to working with an overly flexible schedule and counting on luck, what was overall a good trip, for about 7 hours (7 PM to 1 AM), I was a raving maniac! Part of the problem was we were in my kid's new car and I didn't want to smoke in it which just added to dealing with the rain, lack of visibility and road fatigue.

I'm just going to reserve a room for two nights around Ft. Benning, if I need a third night, I'll figure that out when I get there. That'll give me a couple of days to deal with the next leg. I really don't want to impose on my friends in Alabama for more than 3 days, but if I need to, I will. I had one of my Frat brothers move in with me for 4 months while he did some underpaid apprentice program, and the guy I'm going to visit actually stayed at our apartment on my wedding night. (He slept on the couch you pervs!)

A bright light when Chris goes to AIT is that he will have internet access and we'll be able to Email each other. I just need to get out there and give him a hug and catch up on his life.

15 days and counting.

The Phone Gods Hate Me

Another Sunday, and another week that I didn't get to talk to Chris.

I don't know what was going on on his side, but I had my phone with me all day. He didn't get his cell phone, but tried to call me three times on a pay phone (I recognized the area code). When I'd answer...it would immediately cut off the call.

I'm really PO'd! It's down to crunch time and I could use some info on when he gets released from Benning and when he has to report to Rucker...how many nights do I have to be where?

I'm trying to get everything for the trip nailed down as much as I can so that we can just relax and enjoy the little time we have without too much stress. I'm flying all the way across the country to spend time with my son, that I haven't seen in over two months, and now I'm getting really stressed.

From his last letter he was in the "elite" platoon, but it sounded like the other platoons were total screw ups and his platoon just didn't screw up as much.

That he didn't get his cell phone today is an indication someone(s) in his platoon screwed up royally. That he was allowed to use the pay phone at the end of the day, says it probably wasn't him.

I've got the flight, I've got the car, I've got new luggage. I'm going to the South regardless of what happen with him. My friends in Alabama may just end up with a guest that will stay with them longer than they were led to believe.

There Are Lies, Then There Are Statistics

Last Tuesday they had the Primaries for the City of Los Angeles. On the Monday preceding, the Mayor (former gang member and 4 time failure at passing the State Bar) Villagiarosa, along with his flunky Chief of Police Bratton, held a press conference to announce that under their leadership that the LAPD had been brought up to just 150 short of the promised 10,000 police officers.

It wasn't until the following Thursday that someone asked who many more cops were on the street?

Turns out that yes, they've got a whole shitload of new cops, but being they've been laying off the civilian workers, the new "cops" are replacing them at the desk jobs with a net gain of ZERO cops on patrol.

G-d Damn lying politicians!! Villagairosa is already called the "11% Mayor" because that is amount of time he devotes to running this disaster of a city and he's got his eyes focused on being Governor in 2011. With the demand on his time to run his campaign, that should reduce his attention to L.A. to 0%.

Headin' South

It was touch and go for a bit, but I've booked my flight to Georgia for the 24th of this month for Chris' graduation from Boot.

I have "AAdvantage" tied to my debit card, so if I select "Credit" instead of "Debit" I get miles on every purchase. It doesn't change the way they rip the money out of my account, but I get "miles". I used some a year ago to fly up to Portland Oregon and I really wasn't impressed with the savings. It may have had something to due with my flights were booked on an affiliated airline (Alaska instead of American Airlines).

This time though, the total cost Bob Hope Airport (Burbank) to Atlanta and back...$31.00!!! $10.00 ticket fee, $20.00 because I had to get something straightened out over the phone instead of the internet and some BS $1.00 fee for who knows what. That's close enough to flying free that I can't bitch.

With this saving, I can afford to rent a car for the week no problem. Not only can I rent a car, but I won't have to go with an econobox for the 500 miles I'll have to cover (Atlanta to Ft. Benning to Ft. Rucker to Tuscaloosa and back to Atlanta). Driving that far on unfamiliar roads in what looks like iffy weather, I'll feel much better in a wide track, heavy sedan rather that an underpowered recycled beer can with skinny tires.

Ft Benning has on base rooms at $37.50/night, but my Army brat foreman pointed out that it's Federal property and "No Smoking In The Rooms!" I'd rather pay an extra $30/night and not have to deal with that.

I asked Chris what he would like to do on his free time and he said "IHOP and Papa Johns Pizza". I'm guessing he's a little tired of Army chow. Even still, he's gone from 142 pounds to 154. When he went in he needed to gain 12 pounds to meet his BMI, so he's cleared that.

From what he tells me, he's going through "Boot Camp Lite". They have made sure he knows which way to point the rifle, he can stand in formation and he can salute. They've done a couple of march and sleep in the field, attack a hill, march back. He's complaining that there are days where they just seem to sit around. His platoon is made up of guys that are going onto technical stuff for AIT, there are no infantry guys with them. When he goes to Rucker for AirOps training, the infantry guys get to enjoy Benning for another 6 weeks.

I had to go back to work today and they tried to depress me with doom and gloom crap going on there, but I'm going to be in a good mood for the next 4 weeks. It's going to be a shock when I get out there, to see my son transformed. He's gone from a slacker to a soldier in just a few months. A few weeks ago he was hot to get rated as a Paratrooper, but now he says that would be nice, but he'd really like to go for Pathfinder (DON'T TELL HIS MOM!!!).

Pure Patriotism

I was thinking about posting on a couple of documentaries I caught over the last couple of nights that I wanted to point out, but I was feeling lazy and thought I could do it tomorrow. Then I got a e-mail from a fellow blogger with a truly beautiful film that I had to post right now.

I'll start with my original videos and save the best for last:

“Speed and Angels” is the real “Top Gun”. It covers the last F-14’s to go through the training, also the only female Tomcat pilot. It covers the training for Navy pilots including Carrier landings. After watching this film, I would love to launch off a flattop, but I would be willing to forgo landing on one, especially at night.


"Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag" was an IMAX film, and I don’t care how crappy your monitor is, the photography is phenomenal. It’s got a real good back story and it focuses on my favorite plane (F-15 Eagle, baaybeee!!). The first 30 minutes (of 49) cover dogfights and air command and control… but then it really gets great. They go with a downed pilot exercise that really shows coordination of all the different facets available. They finish with a live bomb exercise that just freaked me out. G-d help anyone that goes against our military is about all I can say.

This last one I just had pop up in my email and I clicked on the attachment..The tears were flowing so bad, that I had to watch it again to pick up the pieces I missed the first time. What a beautiful bird to symbolize such a great nation!

Gemerational Theft Act

A very good article on the folly of the "Generational Theft Act" by Vox Day at WorldNetDaily:

Stimulus spelled out

Amidst the dire predictions of imminent catastrophe if Obama's stimulus package were not passed by the Congress, and equally dismal prophecies of how the stimulus will extend what is looking like a doozy of a depression, there has been a near-complete failure on the media's part to explain the core principles behind the fiscal stimulus to the American people. This is due to the near-complete ignorance of economics on the part of the mainstream media; one can hardly expect them to explain what they do not understand. Some readers may find it useful, then, if I attempt to rectify the situation.

Hey, they just report the news! People certainly don't expect them to do some research and find out if what they are told is true or that their may be people that disagree with what they are being fed.

In 1987, the new Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, averted a financial meltdown in the fall when he used a variety of aggressive monetary policies to inject liquidity into the financial system, temporarily driving down the overnight repo rate from 7.5 percent to 5.5 percent in a matter of days. Interest rates, as measured by the effective federal funds rate, were slashed from 8.5 percent in late September to 5.5 percent in mid-December. The success of his actions in stabilizing the financial system gave great credence to the Monetarist school of economics, epitomized by Nobel Prize-winner Milton Friedman, who had long asserted that management of the money supply was the key to preventing the economy from contracting.

Friedman had long blamed the Federal Reserve for failing to respond aggressively enough to the stock market crash of 1929, and in collaboration with his co-author Anna Schwartz, had claimed that a more aggressive lowering of interest rates would have prevented the Great Depression. Greenspan's successful navigation of the 1987 crisis appeared to prove conclusively that the monetarist thesis was correct, and in 2002 led to current Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke making a humorous admission in his speech made in honor of Friedman's 90th birthday.

Let me end my talk by abusing slightly my status as an official representative of the Federal Reserve. I would like to say to Milton and Anna: Regarding the Great Depression. You're right, we did it. We're very sorry. But thanks to you, we won't do it again.

But then something odd happened:

Similar rate-cutting actions were begun in July 1990, February 1995, May 2000 and June 2006 when signs of economic contraction appeared. However, as the cuts came more often and the target rates fell lower, it began to become clear that these liquidity injections were no longer having the desired effect of propping up stock, real estate and commodity prices. Now that interest rates are effectively at zero but the economy is still in the process of shrinking, the failure of the monetarist theory has become obvious, especially given the continued failure of the Japanese economy to respond to extreme interest rate-cutting following its 1989 crash.

It slashing interest rates stopped working, plus we had the example of Japan's economy tanking using this principle, but nobody can put two and two together.

The failure of monetary policy has caused many economists and politicians to return to the Keynesian school, which primarily concerns itself with fiscal policy. Just as the Federal Reserve's control of the price of money – the interest rate – is the primary tool of the monetarists, government spending is the primary tool of the Keynesians, or more properly, Neo-Keynesians, since even the biggest fans of John Maynard Keynes have been forced to acknowledge at least some of the fundamental flaws in his economic theories. The core of the Keynesian theory of economic contraction is a failure of demand to meet supply, or to put it more simply, people are refusing to buy enough stuff to keep the economy growing. This is why Neo-Keynesians like Nobel Prize-winner Paul Krugman worry about "the looming hole in the U.S. economy," by which he means the difference between what could be produced by the economy and what will actually be bought.

So now we go back to the "semi" discredited system that didn't work.

This next quote is long, but explains it with an easy to understand example:

Consider a hypothetical example of an economy in which there are 100 cars. Because a car lasts for 10 years, every year 10 cars wear out and are replaced. But things have been going well and people are getting wealthier, so five of them buy second cars. The three car makers each sell five cars, and there are now 105 cars in the economy. However, in the second year, there is a stock market panic due to the failure of the Madagascar cashew harvest, so the central bank gets nervous and slashes interest rates. Ten cars wear out, and 10 are replaced, but thanks to the low interest rates, the automakers can offer zero percent leases and other creative forms of payment, which encourage 20 people to buy second cars. There are now 125 cars in the economy. Interest rates stay low for the next three years, and people continue to take advantage of the new car-financing deals, until there are 185 cars in an economy that only required 100 five years before.

Then, an Icelandic bank bets heavily on the Norwegian cod harvest and goes under. The global stock markets drop, people feel less wealthy, and car drivers decide to reduce their automotive consumption. Ten cars wear out, as always, but instead of being replaced by new cars, they are replaced by cars that still have seven good years on them sold by two-car owners who decide they really don't need their second car anymore. The car economy shrinks by 10 cars to 175 cars, but even worse, the annual gap between the demand and the supply capacity is 30 cars. So, what is the solution?

The monetarists would recommend cutting interest rates, but since they are already low, that's not a viable option. (And then, there is the fact that because low interest rates caused the problem in the first place, they cannot reasonably be expected to fix it.) The Keynesians would attempt to stimulate the economy by having the government fill in the demand gap by buying 30 cars, but this will only put off the problem for a year since there will be 30 more used cars available to the 10 people who will require replacement vehicles next year. The optimal solution is the Austrian one, which is to leave the economy alone and wait for the extra cars to wear out. This may be frustrating to the would-be hero politician who wishes to solve the problem through decisive legislation, but it is the only solution that will not make things materially worse in the future.

Hey, there are going to be a lot of fancy golf carts on the market next year.

Doing nothing is admittedly difficult in times of crisis. But it is always wise to keep in mind that there is no crisis so severe that government intervention cannot make it worse.

AAAAmen!!!

P.S.: See my new Debt Clock on the sidebar to find out what you owe.

Finally!!!!

I'm not superstitious nor and I a big believer in premonitions...BUT...Chris didn't call yesterday. I carried my damn cell phone with all day and when I went to bed at 5 PM (day shift, up at 3:30 AM), I tried to put my phone so it would wake me (no easy feat, once I'm out, I'm really out)on the off chance he called late.

He didn't, so I figured maybe they got in trouble and were denied phone privileges.

Today when I got to work and being it's one of those "kinda holidays", I closed the gates and decided to leave my phone on the desk. (I had a phone stolen out of the office a couple of years ago, so it usually goes in my locker.) It was one of those feelings of "Well, he works for the gov't, maybe they'll consider it a holiday and he could get his phone".

At 12:42 PST my phone went off, my heart raced a couple of beats, then while reaching for the phone, I'm thinking "It's probably some new bill my wife left me with", I look at the display and it says "CHRIS"!

That was the end of my shift report, I was 2/3's of the way through, but the rest could wait.

I got to talk to him for about an hour. He's doing well, put on 10 lbs., got the hell beat out of him with pugil sticks last Friday and loved it, Tomorrow he goes to the range and tries to qualify as Expert Marksman (two more on target this time and he makes it 36 out of 40, but he's going for 40/40), Friday they get so shoot heavy weapons... .40 machine gun, SAWs, .50 Machine gun and something else I didn't recognize, and he's just short on all the PT stuff they have to pass, but he's still got two weeks to go to get by those.

For a kid whose diet was very "selective", he says he likes the army chow, mostly. There are some things he looks at and won't touch, so he just grabs veggies bread and rice and figures he'll eat more tomorrow when there is something he likes.

God I miss him! Eight months ago, I wanted him to get a job and move out. Now I'm counting the days and pennies so I can fly all the way across country to be able to spend a couple of days with him at his graduation from Boot. Then the Army takes him back for another 6 weeks for training in his specific field. After that he gets 2 weeks off to come home before posting.

Dammit!!!

Out of 23 1/2 hours that Chris could have called, he managed to hit dead center of my 20 minute commute to work. I was at the interchange of two freeways, in the fast lane, with two cop cars traveling along with me. No talking on cell phones while driving and no place to get off.

I carried my phone all day in the hope that he'd get another chance to call, but I guess not. (G-d, I hope he doesn't think I screwed up.)

I'm in a major funk now. I know he's doing well, but I sense an undercurrent of "What the hell did I get myself into?" in his letters. He's all the way across the country, with a bunch of guys he doesn't know. His friends don't know how to write letters. They are so use to cell phones, text and E-mail that to sit down and write a missive is beyond them. Quick bursts of writing on one point, send it off and wait for the instant response, then the next round.

Ah, well. Next Sunday I'm working Days and if he calls about the same time, I'll still be at work.

Yeee-Haw!!!

Chris moved into the next phase of Basic on Friday. That means he should get his cell phone tomorrow and be able to call. It'll be the first time we've been able to talk since he got to Georgia.

I've got my cell phone charging and checked to be sure the bill was paid up so there are no glitches on my end. I try to write him at least every other day, but my life is just so damn exciting! How many times can you tell someone about what the stupid animals did (sleep, eat, poo)? I try not to bitch about work, but it has crept in a couple of times. He's got enough on his shoulders right now.

He just got through the gas chamber and swears that is the major thing that drives him to pass Basic this time. He didn't puke, but said his sinuses where plugged for two days after.

Now that he's in "White Phase" I'm hoping it gets a little easier for a while. I'm not military, but I'd guess this middle section will cover the things that are more specific and technical. Lot's of learning, but Chris is smart and will do fine. My worry is the final phase. I'm guessing again, but I'd bet they put you through the wringer there. You've been taught the basics, shown how everything works, now let's see if you can do it under pressure.

I'm just soooo excited that my boy may call tomorrow, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep well from worrying about missing his call. He's three hours ahead. What if he get's his phone early and calls at 8 AM my time? I'm on swing shift this week. and 8 AM is like 3 AM to me.

Now my next goal is getting the funds together to go to his graduation. I've already done the hard part and finagled the time off of work, I just have to get the minor things in order, like the flight, car rental, place to stay...how to pay for it.

If It's Friday...

It's raining and this storm pushed some nasty stuff in front of it coming in. It could be a cold that's got me, but it came on in minutes. I had been up for hours, feeling fine, drove to work and about 30 minutes before the rain hit, my sinuses were maxed out.

I'm not posting because the sheer magnitude of ineptness of the new administration just has me reeling. I can't beleive that someone elected President could be so clueless. Obambi can't find a single person for his cabinet, outside of the Republicans he selected, that doesn't have a tax problem.

Our patriotic duty to pay our fair share...yeah, right!

And this "Stimulus Bill"! Obambi thought he could just trust Pelosi to write it without administrative guidelines? 40 years of pent up socialism all rolled up in a bill that is suppose to get the economy under control? Nothing like telling people to work hard so we can tax the hell out you once everything is back to normal. Makes me want to work harder.

Right now I'm just sitting back and smiling at the silence of my lib friends and co-workers who are now realizing what they voted for.

I got a jones on for classical music today and just happened to run across this:

"Guitar: Impossible"

Keep Pressing 1

I ran across this article last night:

Nashville's English-only measure defeated
By Chris Echegaray • THE TENNESSEAN • January 23, 2009

Nashville listened to its leaders — the governor, the mayor, and a vast coalition of churches, businesses and universities — and defeated an English-only measure by nearly 10,000 votes in Thursday's special election.

No one predicted the massive turnout on the special election, one that inspired strong emotion from voters on either side. Ultimately, opponents said, the message that diversity is a good thing came through.

Ahh, yes. That "diversity" thing. The reason people don't bother to learn English while living in an English speaking country. The reason I couldn't communicate with half the people in the neighborhood I worked in, even though they had lived there for 20 years. They didn't need to learn English.

Baron said English-only measures are often veiled attempts against immigrants and non-English speaking groups. The argument over English-only found itself framed around Latinos and illegal immigration, but it also would have affected the thousands of refugees the federal government resettles in Nashville.

Yes, there are some idiots whose whole point is to pick on immigrants, but in my case that is not it. Come here legally, learn to talk to us,and I'll welcome you with open arms.

The problem I have is when I cannot get service or information here in Los Angeles in English.

At my old oil company I drove a small tank truck and needed a commercial drivers license. Having a clean record, I only needed to take the written test every four years, so I decided to swing by the DMV and pick up the commercial handbook and review it. They had it in Spanish and Chinese, no copies in English, so I drove to the next city...Spanish, Korean and Tagalog...no English. I did get a copy in the next city up the road, but now my boss is calling me wondering if I just took the rest of the day off.

There is such an emphasis on bilingual employees now at gov't agencies, that while the civil servant may be able to speak English, you can't understand them and half the time I'm not so sure they really understand what I'm asking.

Just Fun Today

Work is good. I'm on graveyard shift (which I like), and I've just missed the rains that are passing through. Nothing on TV at night so lots of cruising the net and reading between rounds, which are every 20 minutes right now due to trying to sell natural gas and having to manually operate a valve to keep the pressure and flow right. No biggy, it's something to do.

A couple of thing I ran across:

Why engineers have dogs



Just a song that was hanging in my head this morning

Incubus - Love Hurts



Think I'll go buzz the ATM. I'm going to start pulling cash out to shove in an envelope for my trip to Georgia for Chris' graduation from Boot. If I don't start setting the money aside in small chunks now, I'll spend it somewhere else and come March I'll be scrambling.

White Is The New Black

Somehow, I don't think MLK had this in mind.

You don't disqualify someone because the are other than white, you now disqualify them because they are white.



Though the country is deep shit economically, all this taxpayer money being laid out doesn't...shouldn't go to the most qualified workers...it needs to be spent for "high social return".

The official Federal policy now is "It doesn't matter whether you are the most qualified, you just fill the quota of the right number of people of that ethnic slot that needs to be filled.

According to Rangel, the States that have to count on these projects are going to have to abide by the number of minorities and women hired for that project in order to get the money to do the job that needs to be done.

The Feds will have to make sure that the "formulas" are met.

Rangel also pointed out that they don't have to worry about the "Middle Class" as they will be working too hard to pay attention to this boondoggle...until they lose their job due to this reverse discrimination.

A little thing that makes me wonder: Construction worker = Union.

Why would they target one of their base?

Perhaps with the taxes Congress plans to impose, they know these existing middle class workers are going to be a wee bit upset that they are expected to pay more taxes to fund the give-a-ways?

By then, they will be the ones laid off with no job and counting on Gov't largess to get them through. The new guys will just think these taxes (45%...70%) are what we pay to live in this country. (you did know John Lennon moved to the U.S. to avoid the 70% income tax of Great Britain, while telling us what shits we were for having such a capitalistic society?)

Socialism has come to this country. What you earn is not yours. The house you bought can be taken "for the good of the community", the job you've held for the last twenty years may be in jeopardy because your company is a percentile under the minimum of minorities needed to qualify as acceptable.

Fun With Taxes

I had my Geithner moment this year.

My wife did the taxes two years ago, gave me the forms (State and Federal)to sign, and after cringing at the amount due, signed them and I thought that was over.

Last year, with my wife gone, I did the taxes. With only one income, we were getting money back (both State and Federal)for the first time since I can remember. Silly me!!!

Turns out she "neglected" to send in the checks to pay the owed taxes, so I got letters stating not only would they not rebate my overpayment, they were garnishing my wages to collect the past due amounts (plus penalties and interest).

Odd thing though, they garnished the total due (plus penalties and interest).

The State of California, finally realized what they did (overcharge me and forcibly took more money than they were "owed"), so they issued me a credit of $550 on this years taxes for their overcharge (NO interest or penalty to them).

The really fun thing about this is the State of California is broke, so being my financial situation hasn't changed, I should be getting a refund again this year, so I should get another refund of around $500, there is no money in the state treasury to pay me, so they are going to give me an IOU (no penalty or interest).

$1000 owed me by an agency, that refuses to pay me the money they owe me and there ain't squat I can do about it.

That $1000 would pay for my trip to Georgia to see my son's graduation from Boot.

The Feds have done the exact same thing. I just haven't had time to figure out how much they've screwed me for. Rough guess...about $3500.

Phone Call From Boot

He started Thursday, they were suppose to get phone privileges on Sunday, BUT, "someone stole" something so privileges where suspended. Lot's of time standing in formation, after little sleep for 4 days waiting for the thief to fess up to the crime.

Chris sensed that nothing had really happened, it was a test. It was a message that any behavior by one person deemed unacceptable to the Sgt's would be paid for by the whole platoon.

He got his phone back Monday for two hours, but when he tried to call me (4 X's), I was at work, cell phone in my locker, so he'd try my number, call someone else to try to get my work number, then try me again. (I told him to enter my work phone, but...) By the time he finally got me the DI's were yelling at them to turn in their phones.

For some reason about 2 hours later, they were reissued their phones for 2 hours and he called me again.

He's really tired (sleep deprivation), he's pissed at the gung ho assholes, and he's been issued an ancient weapon.

Sleep Deprivation: He remembers my stories from going through "Hell Week" in a Frat (ΘΔΧ), and how they used waking you up constantly with only an hours sleep, kinda screws your reasoning processes. I did it for one week, he has about 4 weeks to look forward to.

gung ho assholes: The guys who are sure the Army is what they are here for...they volunteer for Team Leader duty..."they'll be Sgt. by the end of Boot". The Team Leader's job is to make sure their detail is awake for their 1 hour duty at 0200, but they screw up and get the guys up at midnight. When everyone is up, dressed and ready to report, they realize they don't have to report for 1 1/2 hours, no time to go back to bed, so they're up. What should be a two hour duty is now 4+ hours. We agreed that either the DI will point out the error of his ways, or his "team" will let him know.

issued an ancient weapon: His rifle is old!!! He's already figured out the proper sequence of whacking it on one side during assembly, then whacking it on the other to get the bolt to work properly. He is very happy he spent time learning how to clean my guns.

There is the typical mental BS they put them through, He has to know the SecDef (The Right Honorable Robert Gates) and all the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was scared to death that they would change today (the Inauguration of Obambi), but I assured him that with Gates still three, nothing will change for a week or two.

He graduates March 25, I'm trying to find the monies to fly out there to be there, and by G-d, I think I may pull it off. I've got 3 weeks vacation this year and I'd only have to use 3 work days. My Foreman is an Army brat and realizes this is an important day and said he'd do what he can to clear it, even though there is a ban on vacations until June. I have a five day "long change" on the end of his graduation, so as long as I'm in the South, I have a chance to visit a very close friend in Birmingham, Al.

Outside Of What Would Have Been a Good Article

Admit It: The Surge Worked
By Peter Beinart

Nobody can even write a conciliatory piece saying that some things went right without that last little dig. And this one pisses me off more than any other:

Convinced that the Reagan years had forever vindicated deregulated capitalism and unfettered American might, the Bushies blithely dismissed liberals who warned about deregulation...

For Gods sake look at the records!! Bush actually pushed for regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It was the Dems that stopped it. If those regs had been put in place, this collapse wouldn't have happened.

The Reason For My Fear

The Only Thing We Have to Fear . . .
is Obama.
by Fred Barnes

Presidents with strong nerves are decisive. They don't balk at unpopular decisions. They are willing to make people angry. President Bush had strong nerves. President Clinton, who passed up a chance to eliminate Osama bin Laden, did not. Obama is a people pleaser, a trait not normally associated with nerves of steel.