Russia Cracks Down On Protestors?

Bears sh*t in the woods?

On the 31st day of the month, protestors gather to protest the Russian government. The russian government says "yah, uhm, someone else had the park reserved for an event that day" (every single time) and declares the protest illegal.

Riot police, beatings with truncheons, the whole works. Just like old times, eh Russia?

Russian oppression: what's the worst that did could happen?

Nuclear Power Does NOT REQUIRE Cap & Trade Passage!

Obama is leaving his dying 'healthcare' scam to twist in the wind. He is now pushing for Cap and Trade, a so-called environmental pollution reduction measure that would not only NOT reduce pollution, it would raise your electric bill $3000 a year. Think how little you can afford that, then think how little the whole country could afford it.

Cap and trade WILL crush the United States' economy. Sacrificed on the altar of "green" energy.

For years, some of us have been saying that the entire cure for our energy problems is nuclear power generation. It is clean, renewable, reliable, and SAFE. But the watermelon environmentalists declare that it is horrible. Obama is risking their ire (I hope he gets it in full, by the way) in an attempt to get his cap and trade regulatory scheme in place.

Wait, what? How is cap and trade related to nuclear power?

It doesn't have to be. It's a sweetener for the Republicans who haven't seen the handwriting on the wall about cap and trade. A vote for Cappin' Trade is a vote to kill your political career and they should all know it by now. Obama is trying to convince you that he cares to increase the amount of nuclear power plants as a way to reduce pollution. The press is going out in a full-court press to spin this just the way he likes it. This is a red herring.

The Cap & Trade bill has some loan guarantees for the nuclear power generation industry, to help them get some power plants kick-started. Obama knows full well two things: 1) we could underwrite those loans entirely outside of the framework of the environmentalist/communist cap & trade scam, and 2) these plants won't get built anyway. There are too many environmental regulations to overcome, to meet even the least ambitious of pollution reduction timelines. Then there is the question of what to do with the spent fuel.

For anyone with half a brain, this is a no-brainer. Every other country that relies heavily on nuclear fuel recycles it. Jimmy Carter got all scared of terrorists getting their hands on the fuel en-route and forbade it to be recycled. You shouldn't have to worry about how awful Yucca Mountain could be for the environment. You should just turn the spent fuel back into fresh fuel again. Simple, no? That's why, IF YOU STAY ON YOUR SENATOR, Cap and Trade doesn't have to pass. Tell them to get the nuclear plants on line WITHOUT cap and trade.

Good News/Bad News Re: My Rearview Mirror

My car's rear view mirror had a nasty buzz right at cruising speed (65MPH). Annoying.

I pulled the mirror off and tightened the screw that holds the works together. Should be good to go. I'll know after another trip to the car parts store to get some rearview mirror epoxy . . . because the mount broke off of the glass and took a little bit of windshield with it. :(

Bacon Bandages!

I am pretty sure there is a continuum of some sort involving guns, patriotism, libertarianism, anti-communism, and other Good Things here. I have noticed, to use an understatement, a certain fondness for bacon amongst the guns-n-common sense bloggers I read. For them, when there is a minor injury, we have:

Bacon bandages*.


When there is something slightly more disgusting, we have . . . BACON! Click this link and you'll have learned your 'something' for the day. I hope you have a strong stomach.

********
*Sure it's old but I just saw it for the first time.

Hey Let's Sell $6B in Arms To The Political Enemy of Our Most Important Trading Partner!

Yeah! That's a GREAT idea! Let's bill it as a way to fix up the trade defecits! What could possibly go wrong?

China likes to think Taiwan is part of China.
Taiwan likes to think Taiwan is Taiwanese, not Chinese
We get most of our cheap crap and borrow most of our national operating expenses, from China
We like Taiwan because they have fun things like liberty and capitalism

So what does the ham-fisted US. Dept. of State do? Why, they allow a $6B arms deal to Taiwan to go through. Have these people never heard of making deals through a proxy?


Here is my summary to date of the wisdom of the Hillary Clinton state department:

A Huge Story You May Not Hear About

One-month treasury bills selling at negative interest (again). People are willing to lose money, just so they have some place to park it. This is also the main reason why the DJIA is at 10,000 points: "What else are we going to do with our clients' money?"

Oregon's unemployment rate is going to get even higher (than the current 12.5%)

Obama rips lobbyists and then asks for their input (again!). The lobbyist class is like a rich sugar daddy's shack-up honey: "Sure he hits me sometimes but then he's so nice to me afterwards . . . ."

$1 Billion security costs may be required to give the world's worst terrorists the ultimate platform to spread their poisonous ideology on the world's stage again. Both sides of the political aisle are against this, but the President says so, so . . . .

No, You Don't.

Local politicians around the country have taken up the catch phrase "we have to do more with less" as they produce budgets that are larger than last year's while taking in less money in revenues.

You don't have to do more with less. You have to do less with less. You know the problem has become pretty bad when even the New York Times says the main budget-killer is UNION pension and benefit plans. Amazingly (for the NYT) they even pointed the finger at the reason for the union cost increases (Bloomberg).

Clue: Mayor Bloomberg (as if he'll read this): when you have to say in public "The bottom line is we don’t have any money" then you don't increase your budget. Duh?

The Proper Response To Violence . . .

If someone uses violence against you, the proper response in very many cases is more violence. Uncle linked this video up but with different commentary.

1) THIS guy was brandishing a gun. Pointing it at a thug to prevent him robbing you is not brandishing in this sense at all, which is why Utah seems to be on the right track working up this measure.
2) Guns should properly come out just before people start getting killed. A gun is not the same thing as calling people names, although that is about as serious as it appears this guy thought it was. Otherwise you stand a good chance of getting what this moron got.
3) If you are fighting someone who was pointing a gun at you, or at your friend, and you are holding a skateboard: Do not use your flesh to inflict trauma on the gunman. Don't use your fist or your feet. If you can, use the TRUCKS to make sure they end up on the ground and stay there. You saw this joker take the flat of a board to the head and it took a lot of the fight right out of him, but then they backed off using the skateboard on him. An assailant can fake a knock-out and pop right back up again when you back away; it's pretty hard to fake a split-open cranium and bleeding out all over the sidewalk.
4) If you are filming an event like this, Zoom in on the face of the gunman, then zoom out to show the whole affair. It makes prosecution and/or civil defense cases easier. Filming from behind a big tree wouldn't be a terrible idea. NOT filming the face of the person who deals a death blow would probably also be a good idea.

Late-Breaking News!

. . . or early, depending.

The times they are a'changin'. My company started with two guys selling trash (literally). Now they have a 90,000 square foot warehouse full of stuff, and nearly 30 people work for them. It's a long way to go until it turns into Initech, but we have to move beyond the days of excessive personal internet use on work computers sometime. For me, that time is now. I deleted all my non-work bookmarks on my work PC and spent the whole day (save lunch and state-mandated breaks) actually WORKING at work. It's not as much fun as otherwise, but it still pays the bills with a minimum of stress, which is great.

So. Either I'll be posting before you wake up, or after you get off work. Ah well, you shouldn't be hitting up my blog during working hours any more than I should, anyway ;)

Sad But Necessary: Driving Test For Old People.

Old people suck at driving. They can't see, can't move their heads enough to look around, get confused with the controls and have slooooooow reaction times.

Rick Bolka has the wrong perspective on the matter, but let's cut him some slack. His 17 year-old daughter was killed by an Elderly driver.

Right now, "the first level of defense is the driver," says Rick Bolka. "The second level of defense is the (driver's) family. The third level of defense is the (driver's) physician. We would like to see the state become the first level of defense. The government has a responsibility to protect its citizens."

No Mr. Bolka, the citizens have a responsibility to take care of each other. The citizens voice their opinion at the ballot. We have come to a crisis of increasing proportion. Because The Greatest Generation and the one that fought in The War To End All Wars (before the next war) both suck at self-awareness and responsible citizenry, now Rick Perry is considering a law to make the State of Texas check up on older drivers more often.

Good.

Personally, I think EVERYONE should have to pass a driving test on a parking lot, then on the open highway, every few years. Every other year may be too long an interval when you get past 80 years old.

********

When the people are righteous, there is no need of a law. When they refuse to stop driving after they have become a hazard to their fellow citizens, we need a law. Sad commentary on your generation, old people. Sad but true.

25% Unemployment Without The Bailout

So says the guy who was on watch when we started printing hundreds of billions of dollars to prevent the loss associated with risk-taking from reaching his friends at AIG. You would expect the people who steered us toward a decade-long depression to try to justify themselves, I guess. No more bucks stopping anywhere these days (since they took "Thou shalt not bear false witness" out of the schools).

But come on now. Was there 25% unemployment when the S&L crisis happened? How can you say with a straight face that 25% unemployment would have resulted by not spending $182B to pay off some private investors?

Yeah, VFD, where does he get off?

Shut up, that's where. You just sit there and shut your proletarian mouth and let your betters decide what to do with your grandchildrens' money. You teabagger*.

********
*Yes, it's a deviant sexual act. That's why they sneer when they call you that, instead of a tea party activist.

State Of The Union Fail?

While the Devout Holy Baptist White Southern Christian People Who Know Better Than You What You Should Do So We'll Make A Blue Law were in church, the Socialist-in-Chief was delivering his State of the Union address to a very juicy target full house of career politicians.

Apparently it was, shall we say, light on truthiness and factualityism. I hit up Instapundit and it was all about how much Obama's speech sucked. A supreme Court decision on the First Amendment was attacked and a Justice behind the president mouthed "Not True" at his words. Calls for a Presidential apology for lack of decorum! A complete lack of credibility on the spendulus & "jobs" bills. And of course, as we all expected, plenty of ideas for heavy-fisted top-down statist regulation of everyday operations of things-that-are-none-of-the-government's-business, in a futile attempt to make things better. Lots of not-quite-direct quotes from previous Bush SOTU speeches, and talk of inheriting stuff from Bush (not just the SOTU lines).

Great. The state of the union is . . . apparently a pretty crappy speech. I'm glad I didn't listen to it, even with all the outrageous moments there must have been. Hearing BHO talk makes me want to tear my ears right off.

Besides, I'm sure Laura Ingraham's producers will have cuts of all the lowlights tomorrow morning . . .

On This Day In History . . . Liberation of Auschwitz

The Russian army liberated the work/death camp at Auschwitz in 1945. I take this occasion to reiterate my Promise to all persons, everywhere: 1: If you say, in my hearing, that the holocaust never happened, I will punch you as hard as I can, in the mouth, if I can reach it. 2: If you are joking, you will be made to take it back. Forcibly, if required, see item 1, above.

[deleted]

I just deleted a dozen-ish old posts from here and redacted some information from a handful of others.

Why?

Because I got sent home from work today for:

Blogging during on-the-clock breaks (thought that was ok but I don't make the rules)

Copy/pasting text from stupid-customer emails (not supposed to do that, apparently)

Talking about [redacted] on the blog (the first rule about [redacted] is: you do NOT talk about [redacted])

So, The Management should be happy now. My budget, not so much.

Pity The Poor Unemployed!

To all those government "workers" who are upset about mandatory unpaid furloughs:

Unless you are arresting people, putting out fires, or teaching children, get over it. You're a parasite.
-Me, today

We'll all get along just fine without you for a day or twenty.

San Antonio Landslide?

A hill in a San Antonio neighborhood fell down a bit. This is only a problem because there were houses on it, and houses below it. Initial investigations can't find a permit for a tall, steep retaining wall holding back a pile of shifty clay.

Nice.

Several years ago, I heard a quote from someone from somewhere in South America (sorry to be so specific as to the source). They said that, where they came from, only the poor people lived on hillsides. The people in San Antonio paid a $10,000 premium for their elevated lots.

With Fiscal Responsibility Like This, Who Needs Wastefulness?

Let me see if I have this straight:

We increase the budget by 10% one year,
We increase the budget by 12% the next year,
Including a TRILLION dollar deficit, (update: 1.3 Trillion according to CBO)
Then we declare a freeze on increases to the budget,
But only on the slower-growing 17% of the budget.
Welfare and military spending are excluded.

Okay then. We're well on the way to a balanced budget I guess.

Astonishing News: 16.8% Existing Home Sales Drop

68% WORSE than the "experts" thought it would be.

This is more of the "unexpected" news I told you to look out for (hint: search this blog for "unexpected") The 'first time home buyers tax credit' was to expire last year in November. People who would have closed in December rushed to close in November. All the demand that was pushed forward by buyers looking for that credit, was sucked right out of sales the next month.

Just exactly like Cash For Clunkers.

This is further proof that the Obama administration financial team is a gaggle of deranged bunglers. I told you this would happen and I haven't even finished my Associates' degree yet.

VQ2 Sandeman Salt and Pepper Shakers!

One of my duty stations was at Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron Two. The VQ2 logo is a "Sandeman" figure, all black, on a red/yellow backdrop (the colors of the Spanish flag). Oh, the hardship of living in Spain for two years!

(Click any picture to see it full size)



I sent the following e-mail to the Command Master Chief. I wonder what response I'll get.

********

CMC,

As a VQ2 survivor, I thought this was neat. I figured the squadron might get a kick out of it if you haven't got a set like them. My company bought a collection of various bottles from an estate sale and these were included in the lot. Sandeman salt/pepper shakers, complete with clandestine filler holes.











********

If you want them, I would probably be willing to trade these off for a coffee mug with the VQ2 logo on it as above.

What Does Allah Look Like?

Allah is the name given to a stone. That stone was worshiped as a moon deity for generations in a shrine with no roof (along with 300 other idols) when Mohammed was born. He made up a religion that put Allah as the supreme deity, equivalent to the Jews' Yaweh. If you want to read the story from the pages of Islam's holy books, with insightful commentary, click on the page with this title, at this link: Islam in Muhammad's Own Words

In the heart of modern-day Mecca, there is a huge black box. It is sacred to the Muslims of the world. Only muslim men are allowed into the courtyard around it to pray. You have to be somebody to get inside to see the stone itself. Somebody like the President of Pakistan. Or his photographer. This is Allah:


(the black thing in the middle of the vaguely vagina-looking silvery bit)

Perhaps you can't tell from that shot, so let the President give you a sense of perspective. Here you can see just how truly impressive is the massive size, the unimaginable dimensions of Allah:



So there, that's what all the fuss is about. A little black stone with a penchant for torturing non-muslims in hell. Click the first link and read all about it before you get upset at me.

A big ol' hat tip to synthstuff.

Obama: Teleprompter for Address to Gradeschoolers!

I told you he was a light weight/empty suit back when everyone who was about to vote for him still hadn't got past his skin color.

The halfrican you people elected to President of the United States is so [deleted] smart he can't even memorize a speech to give to a handful of sixth-graders.



It's either that, or he can't be bothered. I mean, he can't be bothered to show up to jury duty, either. Something about he has a job to do. You know, because it takes a lot of preparation for ol' Tennis Match to get ready to read a speech someone else wrote, on the teleprompter.

Loser. He couldn't even have them lower the prompters on their stands so it would at least seem to some of the stupider children like he was looking at them. Plus, he's so brave he needs a Secret Service agent there in case an 11 year-old gets rowdy.

Predicting Solar Flares: Neat!

Solar flares cause potentially disastrous damage to electronic equipment, especially that which is floating in space. Given advance warning, some precautions can be taken to prevent widespread service outages.

Now a new technique has been devised that gives a 2-3 day warning period. That's time enough for even the US government to move its stuff to a less-exposed position (or whatever needs done). . . .

(Seen at the Millenium Ark website. There you may find a lot of interesting things and a few 'way out on the kook fringe. Go have a look.)

Police & Fire Department Layoffs: A Small Start

The real problem is over-generous pensions for civil service employees, crushing municipal budgets around the country. But it is becoming obvious that we the People are feeding too many mouths with our tax dollars. Police and Fire Departments are beginning to shed officers as the budget crises loom ever-larger. Next they will be laying off teachers.

This will not solve the budgetary problems in union towns. The unions will force the cities into bankruptcy and take whatever the judge will give them, or they will make VERY heavy concessions on pension and health care plan benefits. These are the only alternatives for a LOT of cities around the country. Vallejo was only the first of many.

Note: if the civil servants would all agree together, nobody need be laid off. Lower salaries and slashed benefits, especially at the highest level, could theoretically fix the problem. Don't hold your breath waiting for this kind of solution, though.

California Weather: From Bad To Freakishly Bad This Week!

California has been getting "weather". As in, inches of rain in days, in places that usually get inches in a YEAR. It is going to be possibly VERY MUCH WORSE this week. The high mountains are looking at TENS of feet of snow and 100-200MPH winds. The lower lying areas will be looking for 3-20"+ of rain on ground that is already saturated from last week's rain.

ALL of california. All week. NONE of the forecasting models show this as even slightly in doubt. The jetstream is going to be blowing in at 220knots at 8,000 feet. Make that, instead of 6 to 11 miles high, the jetstream will be coming in at a mile and a half high. It is blowing over El Nino's warm Pacific waters and picking up epic amounts of water as it comes. The military is moving assets out of the area.

If you get 10 feet of snow on a mountain and then a warm storm, you may suddenly have 10" of snow over several (dozen? hundred?) square MILES of land. All coming down several thousand feet of slope just as fast as gravity can pull it.

When they say on the radio there is a strong possibility of flooding, it is a euphemism. There is a strong possibility of The Land of Fruits and Nuts being washed right off the map. Highways washed out, whole cities falling to mudslides, and the harbors unusable for bringing in relief effort/supplies/whatever. There is a chance that the major ports of entry for EVERYTHING that the USA imports will be closed due to heavy damage for quite some time.

The country is not prepared for the negative economic impact it may see after the next two weeks of weather in California. Stand by to stand by, you heard it here first.

********

Excuse me for noticing, but California and espeicially the Bay Area (near/around San Francisco) are home to some of the morally-worst people in the world*. If you see reports of widespread death and destruction, especially in San Franfreako, remember: The same God that destroyed Sodom, Gomorrah, and all the surrounding cities and the well-watered plain of Jordan nearby, is still on the throne.

*Right out in public, too. If you don't mind some highly offensive pictures, go to Zombietime

Why Bother Even Fighting?

A colonel who was not on scene when his men acted appropriately is still fighting for his career, even though all his men have been cleared of wrongdoing.

A Ranger who shot a man who was lunging at him, in the presence of his translator, with corroborating forensic expert testimony, is currently rotting in jail.

Blackwater contractors who fired on our enemy in self-defense, whose case was DISMISSED are facing the prospect of the Obama administration appealing the dismissal.

This is craziness. Why have the Bush and Obama administrations refused to take the side of their own men? Answer: they hate the US Military and the Good that it stands for.

If there were truly a search for justice, these cases would never have proceeded to hearing, much less all the way through trials. The Commander In Chief (and his predecessor) is trying to "let the system work" which would be fine, IF the system were not full of people who hate brave, good fighting men. Persecution is NOT the American way. Especially persecution of our own people!

I Got HIGH!

(Very High) . . . levels of frikken cedar pollen and mold spores up my nose.

Fortunately it's just the kind that makes a headache. Not the kind that makes me feel like a fish.

:(

Obama's Broken Promises: Guantanamo NOT Shut Down.

Maybe it has something to do with the pesky habit of detainees from the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility returning to the jihad when we send them back where they came from.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that NO US State wants to take these enemy combatants into their criminal jails. Maybe because your Elected Heroes successfully got funding for the base closure removed. Whatever the case may be, today is the one-year anniversary of the day that the newly-minted President Barack Hussein Obama ordered that the Detention Facility:

" . . . shall be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than one year from the date of this order."

So, how's that whole "reality" thing working out for you, mister President?

Democrat Politics: Farouk Bribes Gilbert To Drop Out

This is astonishing, considering that we are talking Texas here, not Illinois. There was a multi-party race for the nomination to the Democrat aspirant to the Texas Governor's office. For those readers not familiar with Texas politics, here are the players involved.

Kinky Friedman: just no. He wants desperately to be important, but he is a walking freak show. His last campaign (for governor) was so serious that his slogan was: "Why the hell not?" He is running for Agriculture Commissioner now. He is accusing Gilbert and Shami of taking and giving bribes.

Hank Gilbert: was running for the Democrat nominee for Governor, and it was looking close between him and Farouk, but he suddenly dropped out of the Governor's race and now he wants to be the Democrats' Agriculture Commissioner. He suddenly switched from attacking Shami, to endorsing him for Governor.

Farouk Shami: Running for Governor. Immediately after Gilbert dropped out of the Governor's race, Shami donated $150,000 to Gilbert's campaign for Ag. Commissioner.

Gee, what an amazing coincidence

Write Your Senator: No More B. Bernanke!

I just sent the following as an e-mail to both my Senators. I wish you would do something similar. Let's celebrate the recent loss of a filibuster-proof (D) majority in the Senate, and push back when we see stories like this.

********

NO on Bernanke Re-Confirmation

Dear Senator Whatsyourname,

Ben Bernanke has no place at the head of the Federal Reserve. He has no place as a bank teller. He is an economic illiterate. If you do not place another hold on his nomination, please at least urge your fellow Republican (and Democrat) Senators to vote NO. We need this man gone.

It is easy to fear the devil you don't know, but it would be hard to get a candidate worse then Mr. Bernanke.

Air America: Don't Let The Door Hit You.

Air America: It's like National Public Radio, but suckier, leftwing kook-fringier, and with commercials.

Finally bankrupt financially, long after moral bankruptcy set in (on day one). If you have a strong stomach for reading whiney commentary about why they failed, go read the reasons they give on the linked announcement.

I would say "Good" except that now we will have to stave off a new push toward the Fairness Doctrine. Obviously the market is institutionally unfair, if Fox News is having such a gangbusters year, when AA falls flat on its face, being close-chased by the other alphabet networks. It couldn't be that nobody wants to listen to their progressive message.

John Edwards Is A Liar.

You knew that already, from the days when he made his fortune channeling the spirits of dead babies in the court room as a trial lawyer. The Enquirer had it right. He did sire a baby on one of his staffers. He denied being the father of the child for two years. That would include the time he was trying to become the frikken PRESIDENT. He was trying to be President with an unacknowledged bastard child out there. Hello? Blackmail risk anyone? He wouldn't have been eligible for a security clearance!

He's come clean finally. The problem is, you see, John, Anonymous never forgets, and never forgives. And votes (against you).

Overheard @ Work

A caller on the Dr. Laura Schlessinger show said something about a $5,000 bill for chemotherapy . . . for a dog. Cleaning Dude came by just then and I said . . .

VFD: CD, would you rather spend $5,000 for chemotherapy or get a new dog and take a vacation
CD: (looks at me like I've grown a third eye in my forehead)
VFD: . . . for a dog
CD: Chemotherapy for a dog.
VFD: Yeah, chemotherapy for a dog for $5,000
CD: I'd take a new dog and a vacation!
VFD: LOL
CD: Let me tell you, my first wife, she paid $600 for surgery on a dog, and three days later, the dog dies.
VFD: Did you get a warranty refund on the surgery?
CD: NO, the vet was not forthcoming with a refund.

Obama Is Wrong, Again. Again.

Let's prevent trading that only profits the big banks! That'll show 'em!

Prevent banks from making money, but demonize them for not lending money. Great thinking there guys.

Mish has a more verbose way of saying the same thing.

Patronage, A Bit of A Rant.

Warning: This Post Contains Somewhat Disjointed Ramblings. Read it or don't.

The Supreme Court says you can spend a brazillion dollars on campaign ads. You can only give a couple thousand to the candidate directly.

So, the logical conclusion goes, you need to have a political ally with deep pockets to win a campaign. The Democrats and other people supposedly in favor of "free speech" have their panties in a Gordian knot over this*.

Hello? How is it better for ONLY people who are independently wealthy in their own money, to be able to run for office? Oh, that's right, because the richest of the rich people in Congress are (D)s. Can't have any of those rough people running for high office, now can we?

Tolerance: Doing only the perverse things I like. Everything else is banned.
Free speech: Saying only the perverse things I like. Everything else is banned.

When McCain-Feingold was passed I just about pulled my hair out it was so blatantly unconstitutional. Now that it's proved largely ineffectual it's cancelled. The Republicans are better at getting grass-roots support anyhow, nevermind all the Democrat screeching about the Democrat Party being the party of the little guy.

*Let's see the objections from the Democrats when the SEIU and AFL-CIO pour money into attack ads against the Republicans who will be winning elections this November. I'm so sure that no Democrat will stand for the UAW paying for ads to support his campaign. Riiiight.

Look people it comes to this: There are no corporations. Corporations do not speak, and have no rights. A corporation is a legal construct. A group of people with a common goal get together, write a charter, and call it a corporation. Does it really make a difference if each member of the SEIU gives $2,000, or if the SEIU gives a million dollars in a lump? No, it doesn't.

Restrictions on corporate speech are restrictions on individual speech.

Yes the astonishing facts in this post are all true. No I don't feel like spending half an hour looking them up just so you can have a link to click on. Having stuff like this stuck in your head happens when you are constantly listening to the world going on around you.

Great Success! Failure! House Will Not Pass Senate Healthcare Bill

Her highness Queen Pelosi says the house will not pass the Senate version of the "healthcare" bill. Not enough Democrats are willing to destroy their careers for the sake of the President's agenda, apparently.

That leaves either cramming the bill through "reconciliation" where one member can remove any provision by simply objecting to it (extremely unlikely) or buying off one or more Republicrats in the Senate (in an election year, with the poll numbers on healthcare where they are, also unlikely).

The time for slacking up is NOT YET! Call your Elected Heroes and tell them you are against ANY comprehensive reform package. Fix only what needs work . . . don't mess up the health care plans of 200 million people because 10 million don't have insurance.

How To Dine Alone Without Feeling Awkward

Seriously?

This was the teaser headline on a Yahoo! article. I didn't even bother clicking on it. Do you go to a restaurant to feel validated, or to eat? If the former, go seek professional mental therapy. If the latter, just eat! Feel awkward, maybe, if your fat -excuse me- if your big-bones don't fit into a booth or break a chair. Other than that, you sit, order, eat, pay, and leave. See, how hard was that?

New RINO Elected, Steele Elated.

Brown comes with an (R) after his name, and that's what matters to prevent 'healthcare' from being passed right now.

But Brown is also reputed to be a RINO. This is better than a The People-hating commie [deleted] with a (D) after her name being the next Senatrix from MA, but let's not all start slapping each other on the back just yet. This guy is only a hard Republican by comparison and that's not saying much.

Also, for the record, I won't be breathing a sigh of relief over the failure of Obamacare until AFTER Obama gives it up. Neither should you.

Temecula, CA Not Doing Enough To Save Its Budget.

Temecula, california is risking the wrath of Das Union. They have dared to ask city employees for a pay cut. They need to demand employee benefit cuts like the rest of the country's cities and states need to, but that won't be probably until after a couple of years of falling municipal credit ratings. Still, it's a good start.

1 Year Later: Who's The Sad Clown?

Major initiatives passed: Zippo

Of course, The Huffington Post couldn't let the anniversary go by without saying somthing inane like

"Yet Obama has undoubtedly created a different climate in Washington -- one based on reasonable discussion and debate -- and expressed a desire to work with the international community, as he has eloquently articulated in his speeches abroad. On national security, the president has largely made decisions through thoughtful consideration of the different perspectives rather than the stubbornly instinctive decisions of his predecessor. On the environment, his administration represents a radical change from the Bush era and has resurrected important regulations that were dismantled by the previous president. Despite criticism that health care reform has been watered down by industry interests and political deal-making, the very fact that the issue is being taken seriously in the Oval Office after years of inertia and is on the cusp of insuring millions of low-income Americans is, in itself, a victory."

Lets fisk it to honor the anniversary, shall we?

Reasonable discussion and debate = the opposition party is shut out of committee meetings, and their bills are not allowed to come to the floor. Tone deafness to public opinion is also part of it.

Desire to work with the international community = bow to the emperor, the king, and the current enemy in war (islam). Read your teleprompter and that is eloquence* Surrender to the demands of the ex-soviets over your nation's promises to its allies.

Thoughtful about national security = delay for MONTHS when your commanders in theater say they need troops or they will lose the war. Also, when something happens here, delay any response for one day, come out too tepid the second day, then pound the podium with your fist and wear a Stern face the third day.

Radical on the environment = radical to the point of crushing businesses and the entire economy if he could. Clinton passed regulations on his way out of office that were ridiculously stringent so Bush would repeal them and look bad. Bush repealed them and Obama put them back because the environmentalist kook fringe told him he had to.

Bush couldn't get health care reform through the Democrat congress. The Republicans can't get any of their dozens of non-socialist-nationalized-healthcare health care bills on to the floor even for debate because of Queen Pelosi. This is not a victory.

********

*When I am elected, I'll have to lay off the teleprompter now. Of course, anybody could make less use of the things than ol' Tennis Match.

Brace Yourself for a Shock!

Allegations are surfacing of irregularities in the Massachusetts special Senatorial Election.

(as in, Ted Kennedy has only voted 3 times).

Please NOTE: no matter what the headline tomorrow, if Brown wins by only one or two percent, you may put it down that he has lost. If he wins by only 5,000 or even 10,000 votes, he has lost. Just like with Al Franken's election "victory" you will see juuuuuuust barely enough votes turning up in the car trunks of SEIU members, to push the Democrat over the top. You need to pray for a huge win for Brown, because a slim margin of victory is a loss, due to the corruption in the Democrat machine in New England.

And: if he loses, is it bad form for Scott Brown to address his concession speech to Marsha Croakley?

Do Want: Beretta Model 96A1

Click to See Full Size:


(Photo from The Firearm Blog)

Beretta 96: Good!
40S&W: Good!
Higher Capacity: Good!
Rail: Good!
Round trigger guard: Meh.
Removable front sight: Meh.
Captive recoil assembly: Meh.
Recoil buffer: Good!
Price: Er, um, well, you can buy me one for Valentine's Day!

The Ridiculous Trijicon Scripture Reference (non-)"Controversy"

For, apparently, ever, Trijicon has been putting very small, unobtrusive references to Christian scriptures on their parts. For example, on the ACOG you might find this:

(image from accurateshooter.com)

That arrow points to JN8:12 in a string of other alphanumeric gobbledygook TELLING YOU ABOUT THE PRODUCT. The lettering in question is on a combat optic gunsight, with an illuminated reticle. The verse alluded to is the Gospel according to Saint John, Chapter Eight, Verse Twelve. It says:

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

This was noticed by somebody the Mainstream Press™ (after Uncle mentioned it) causing somebody who hates Jesus to get all offended*. Click through to Uncle's place and read the (3-page) linked article for yourself. They go on about how unconstitutional it is, and how much money Trijicon makes supplying the military as they fight non-Christians in the Middle East. The tone of the whole article is very sinister. I was going to comment at The Firearm Blog in response to some comments there, but it just got too long. So here's my comment on the matter, as its own blog entry.

********

Trijicon embosses a small, unobtrusive reference to a bible verse about light, on illuminated-reticle combat optics. They are the finest optics you can give a soldier. We give them to our soldiers. Ipso facto, we have a State religion equivalent to the Church of England. You are persecuted TO THE DEATH(!!!) for not being a Christian in the US Army, because of this. This is the same thing as riding into a mosque with a crucifix and proclaiming victory over Islam in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen, because these letters are there.

No? It's just a string of numbers and letters with a colon in the middle? A private manufacturer not breaking any law or bothering anyone? Huh, I must have been mistaken.

At The Firearm Blog, SpudGun said:

"I’m not a religious man, but every time I miss a shot, I always say ‘Jesus!’, so I think it’s apt that they’ve put some Bible quotations on the scope. It’s not even a full quote, it’s just some letters and a few numbers which you could interpret in anyway you desire – if you want to give it a religious connotation then that is entirely up to you. Am I surprised there is an uproar? Not really, we live in a world where buildings aren’t allowed to have a 13th floor because it makes idiots afraid. Psst, don’t tell the ABC reporters that ‘In God We Trust’ is written on the money they get for coming up with non-stories."

and Clodboy said:

"As an atheist, I find this to be a pretty ridiculous non-issue – actually, it’s kind of a nice “personal” touch by the manufacturer (but yes, I’d also expect Christians to be fully tolerant if a non-believing manufacturer started his serial numbers with “G0D_D34D”)

On the other hand, I do find it kind of cynical to emblazon a piece of military hardware with quotes from perhaps the biggest peacenik in history – or maybe my bible translation is faulty and Luke 6:29** and Matt 5:39* were actually just talking about the importance of having an ambidextrous cheek piece on your stock ;)"

My comments:
Spudgun: I LOL'd
Clodboy's 1st paragraph: +1
2nd paragraph (and other commenters): You've missed it.

Jesus told his followers without a sword to buy one, when he was about to leave -he knew hard times were coming for them. He flipped the tables over in the court of the temple and used a frikken SCOURGE to drive out the money grubbing merchants. He said he wasn NOT here to bring peace, that he would (by his radical theology) even set family members against each other.

If Trijicon made a 1 meter-long sword they would probably put SWORD1MMAT10:34 on it, in small letters where you would probably not see it.

To say that Christianity and military hardware are incompatible, is highly inaccurate at least. This thing Trijicon is doing is cutesy, and if you miss the obvious reference to LIGHT on an ILLUMINATED reticle you're probably a graduate of government school. To get upset about it is just plain ridonkulous.


********

*The proper response to someone who says "I'm Offended!" is "I take offense at your taking offense!" (in a mocking tone if you can pull it off). If they say "Separation of Church and State!" then say back "What religion is being forced on whom, by whom, and prove it to me beyond a reasonable doubt." This is foolishness in the name of freedom OF religion, because those who fear and hate God wish to be free FROM religion, even if it is being practiced only by the individual.

**This is pretty ironic in itself, actually. The Gospels were not written for nations to comply with, but the individual. To expect a nation to avoid retaliatory violence because of a religious tenet, and expect that nation to avoid mixing Religion and State, is a bit odd. This is the sort of thing that happens when you start quoting the Bible out of context.

The Logic Of War Politics:

The friend of my friend is my friend.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
The friend of my enemy is my enemy.

In related news:

The Cambridge (Massachusetts) Police Patrol Officers Association has endorsed Scott Brown in today's special MA election for US Senator. This, in spite of the fact that Marsha Marcia Martha Coakley's husband is a retired Cambridge policeman.

Nobody, Obviously.

Fer crying out loud. I was going through my notes and found this gem from a week or so ago, when the local weather was sub-freezing for a couple of days:

********

They had to put on the radio news yesterday an alert for the populace of Central Texas to stop calling 911 when they find a broken pipe. They said to call 311 instead. 911 was being flooded with calls, and the Fire Department was responding.

911 is for emergencies. A leaky pipe is not an emergency, unless you have an idea that the pipe is going to cause a street to cave in or something. My leaky pipe the other day, if I didn't know how to fix it, would have got me on the phone with a PLUMBER not the Emergency Services District!

If you don't have a phone book because you burned it to keep warm during The Great Freeze of 2010, that's fine. 411 will help you find a plumber. 311 is a non-emergency number for the Police, Fire Department, etc. They said to call 311 on the radio. I say "Don't call the police for a leaky pipe."

Who taught these people what the emergency services were for?

This Sucks (a little)

Elise Glink was talking about the soon-to-occur rise in mortgage interest rates on the radio this morning. When Uncle Sam finishes buying (with dollars borrowed at interest, from China) over a TRILLION dollars of mortgage-backed securities in a few months, mortgage interest rates are going to pop up. That is, right when my household budget finally starts trending toward a net-positive cash flow. by the end of the year, we could have 5% to put down, but . . .

. . .by then interest rates will not be at 4% any more. We got in several years ago, when rates were at previous historic lows. We wanted to get a refinanced loan at an even historickier rate*, but we didn't have a down payment. The cost would be additional interest, actually COSTING us money.

Oh well. Maybe by the time my children go to buy their houses (while paying off the MBS t-bills borrowed to pay down YOUR mortgage rate) the rates will be low again, and they will have a down payment..

*Yes I made it up. At least we are in agreeance about the truthiness of the subject of this post.

Small Things.

One of the men who attends my church is old. He doesn't complain, but you can tell he is always hurting. His shoulders have a limited range of motion. He sits on the end of the pew. I stoop down and reach a little farther, so he doesn't have to move too much to receive the offering plate from my hand. When I shake hands with him, I put my hand where his is, instead of making him contort to reach mine.

Pay attention to people, and have a care. Many small kindnesses can tend to pile up into generally kind treatment. Also, when you want to choke somebody out, don't.

Wait, what?

Two sides of the same coin. Consideration for the needs of others. Think about it.

Do Not Laugh.

Seriously, you're not supposed to laugh. . .

the floor collapsed at Weight Watchers as they gathered by the scales to see who had lost the most weight.

You also are not supposed to laugh that the room started to stink like a sewer due to a broken pipe under the floor.

I'll give you a throwaway line to not-read while you form a mental picture.

You are such a bad person. Stop laughing. I'll stop in a minute.

More power to you, if you are losing weight with the help of an organized program like Weight Watchers. I apologize for laughing that you all caused the floor to collapse. I'm sure it was from termites, or something.

Things That Don't Happen In Homeschool: One More

Three children, aged 5 and 6, under the watchful eye of their school teacher, escaped from class and went to try to fly to Africa. So two of them could get married. After they got done at the local toy store. They were caught and returned safely.

I can't help but note that this happened in Germany, a state very hostile to homeschooling. Because, you know, the children are much safer in government schools. Or something.

ClimateGate: Follow The Money.

So now the USA's Federal Computery Climate Warmist People are caught cherry-picking the data and fudging the numbers a bit too, eh? I wonder why they would do that? I mean, it's not like the people involved would be granted $541,184 of our (borrowed) stimulus dollars, right?

Oh, wait . . .

You already know the Goracle is in a position to earn hefty 8-figure sums on "cap & trade" scams. This is a different flavor of the same profiteering on the backs of the People, on a smaller scale.

. . . and, according to your nightly network news, it may as well have never happened.

A Larval-Stage Tyrant

Martha Coakley is one. You can have freedom of religion, just don't work in a certain job where it might conflict with someone else's whims.

I forgot to mention it the other day, so there it is. This is the larval stage of a tyrranical communist "comrade." There are lots of them. Most of them never become self-aware and molt their Democrat shells to become true Communists, fortunately.

As the saying goes, scratch a liberal and find a communist.

Busy. No Blogging.

The modem was busy, that is. My internet connection has been tied up all day with my shop computer. I think I have finally settled on a final set of hardware for a computer in the garage. After wasting a full day on a free computer that was terminally flaky. Anyway, it's up and running and just needs to be buttoned up now.

Some time in the future there will be a switch and a long wire running through the attic, but for now there's only one line to the internet, and it was busy downloading updates all day. So, no blogging before now.

The Most Open And Transparent . . .

Joe Biden is having a meeting about the transparency of his government.

The meeting is closed to the press and (of course) the public.

Okay, then. Nothing to see there, I guess. Not hypocrisy, that's for sure, or else it would be all over C-SPAN or something . . .

It Pays To Be Handy

I heard an ad on the radio on the way in to work, touting the benefits of a balancing valve for your shower. They went into detail about how this company will go into your wall and do some custom plumbing and put it back like nobody was in there, except now you won't get burned every time somebody flushes the toilet.

Then they said, as if this were a GOOD price, that this service would set you back between $850 and $1200. I did a quick search on eBay and the valves go for about $100, new, shipped. Plus another hundred for materials and you save a thousand dollars by doing it yourself.

Wow.

Madness @ Work!

The roof leaks. Big time. The contractor says the new roof will be on next week, but for now, one of the mens' computer stations is right under a roof leak. Where it has been for 2 years. It was raining this morning and the computer was draped in trash bags.

I asked IT Guy why it was still there, after we got a new computer installed at that location. His vehement response:

"NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS!!!"

To which I responded "And good morning to you, too, and a fine one it is!" Then I walked away, laughing. IT Guy, he gets a little stressed out sometimes. :)

You Can't See The Whole Internet.

But if you go to Moonbattery you can see some of the funniest political imagery out there.

If You Were In A Haitian's Shoes . . .

Imagine you live in a place where nobody has any extra money for construction. Everyone is either a corrupt government official or else he is dirt-poor. No savings. NO cell coverage, no land line telephones, no electric service to speak of. There are no police, and there is barely a small volunteer fire department. Then there is an earthquake that kills 100,000 to 500,000 people.

This is the situation faced by those who live under the corrupt government in Haiti.

The United States is flush with money (relatively speaking) and we ARE the world's police force. We got into this position because we are a Christian nation with a Capitalist economy replete with the private creation of wealth. Then we elected slightly soft-headed bleeding heart liberals who like to meddle.

Whatever the cause, we already have boots on the ground, giving relief to the people of Haiti. Love us or not, love him or not, thank God for the USA. If you can afford it, take a moment to donate a few dollars. If you can afford to donate, or if you can't: Christian, pray for the people of Haiti. It's a mess down there.

Obama Wants Punitive Tax For Operating Businesses In USA

"Some companies that didn't receive TARP funds would face the fee, the official said. The administration is using the argument that that every major financial firm in the U.S. is a beneficiary of government steps to bolster the industry."

Let's be clear about this: President Obama is a would-be dictator. A rather ham-fisted one, at that.

Several banks were forced to accept "bailout" money, and several wanted the money. The vast majority of banks in the USA got no TARP funds. Still they are part of the same industry. The argument that they also benefited from the bailout is very deeply troubling as a reason for taxing those banks who got no TARP funds along with those who did. Extra-troubling is the fact that GM, Fanny and Freddie are exempt from the tax. The Republicrats who need to be kicked out of office are afraid that the bonuses being paid (in accordance with legal contracts) are generating popular hatred of bankers in general, and so the bill is politically difficult to oppose.

If the non TARP-recipient banks who are being taxed, having benefited in an auxiliary way from TARP, is an excuse for stealing money from them at gunpoint, how about this: YOU benefit directly by not being stuck in a deep depression*. The TARP staved off the depression. Therefore, YOU, YOURSELF, need a tax levied against you. We'll garnish your wages a (just a little bit) for the next decade because you live and work in America, okay?

No? Think it's oppression? Think it's tyrannical?
You're right.

Special bonus: if you think this will cut into the bonuses of the CEOs of these banks you are fooling yourself. The banks will raise fees on YOU, the consumer. The banking customers, and everyone who does business with these banks, will suffer higher fees because Obama is under the mistaken impression that companies pay taxes.

Consumers pay taxes. This is a $117B tax on YOU.

********

*The depression came anyway, and it will last longer because of the TARP program and the other 'bailout' and loss-prevention measures taken by the communists in the Bush and Obama administrations. This bit is for the sake of argument.

Jordan Wants Dead Sea Scrolls Back

One of the most historically significant proofs of the historic claims of the hated jooooo for his ancient homeland being palestine, (note the lowercase "p") the Dead Sea Scrolls, are currently in Jewish custody. They were seized when Jordan (with a few other MUSLIM nations) invaded Israel in a concerted effort to wipe the Jewish nation off the map in 1967.

Israel kicked ass and took names, as well as taking the dead sea scrolls, the West Bank, the Golan Heights, etc., as a result of PEACE THROUGH VICTORY in a WAR with her neighbors. You win in a war, you get the good stuff and the land. Hence the phrase "to the victor go the spoils"

Jordan is now saying it wants those scrolls back. If that is the case, they can have ANOTHER war of aggression and this time successfully invade Israel. Otherwise, kick bricks pal.

It is well within accepted standard practice for muslims to destroy historical evidence and then say it never existed, or proved something beside what it obviously proved. That's why the muslims have bulldozed parts of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to obliterate archeological evidence. It wouldn't surprise me if that's at least a part of the reason Jordan wants these scrolls in islamic hands again. Sure they might be put in a Jordanian museum again. . . how long before some mooj burns down the exhibit?

"Scrolls? What scrolls? Oh those scrolls . . . yes, they said that Islam is the Light"

Pray for Haiti

There was an earthquake.

Folks are talking about 100,000 to 500,000 people may have been killed.

Christians, pray for the people of Haiti.

Imagine 13% Unemployment . . .

Another from Moonbattery:

Your state has 13% unemployment. And four vans full of 58 workers are stopped and the workers are detained for being illegal aliens. And then they are released . . . at the jobsite where they were illegally employed.

Why, that would mean you were imagining life in Rhode Island!

"we're workers, not criminals" is a matter of perspective. If you think laws in general aren't worth the paper they're printed on, you think this is fine. If you don't mind a total breakdown of the republic where you illegally immigrated instead of improving the place where you came from, this is fine.


. . . Gee, I wonder why there is 12.7% unemployment in Rhode Island . . .

The Global Warming Debate Is Over

And we win. The Miskolczi Constant is our trump card.

The temperature of an earth-like planet varies around a constant temperature. The only way to change it is to increase or decrease the amount of energy coming in to the atmosphere. That is, THE FRIKKEN SUN makes us warm. Duh?

From moonbattery:

Scott Brown in MA Needs Your Money

The special election in Massachusetts is coming up fast. Most attention-paying people know this is a proxy vote on the 'healthcare' bill, so citizens around the country are trying to get him in the Senate by supporting his campaign financially.

Brown tried to raise $500,000 online yesterday and missed by +$750,000. He'll try again today, but I hope you people will help him miss his fundraising mark (high) again.

The Democrats disagree with Brown that it is The Peoples' seat in the Senate. It is by-god the Democrat Party's seat. Because they respect the will of the People so much, they are trying to finagle the rules so that Brown wouldn't be seated until the last possible moment: when he is officially certified by MA's government.

That gives them until maybe the end of the month to force the "healthcare" bill through to the President. A tall order. The only way it would possibly pass after Brown were seated (if he wins with your help) is if the House were to pass the Senate version unchanged, or the Demicans could convince a Republicrat to join them in the Senate. Neither is looking terribly likely.

If you contribute money now, Scott Brown could save America by being the 41st "nay" in the Senate. At the very least, Christian, pray.

Is it worth $5?

Spare The Rod . . .

Do you hate your child?

You might be surprised at the answer.

A study done here, but not reported here, says the same thing. You will NOT see this on your local news or network broadcasts in America, so don't bother looking. Of course, most Americans with a lick of sense know already that kids need a lick every now and then "when they really deserve it." What most don't realize is that if they would nip a problem in the bud, the children would rarely "really deserve it."

Hat tip to TFS Magnum

No Lead, Mostly Cadmium, All Fail!

At TFS Magnum I saw a spotlight on the Verry high kwarrity junk you get for your children from china: They stopped using lead in reaction to parental and legislative freak-outs a year or two ago, and started using (more-toxic) cadmium. The money quote from the Yahoo/AP story:

Twelve items had cadmium levels of at least 10 percent by weight. One piece had a startling 91 percent, and others contained more than 80 percent. The government has no restrictions on cadmium in jewelry.

Children can be exposed by sucking or biting such jewelry. But without direct exposure, most people do not experience its worst effects: cancer, kidneys that leak vital protein and bones that spontaneously snap.

Lovely. Still another reason NOT to buy Chinese. This time, at least, the lawmakers seem to be all over fixing the law to cover the Cadmium Loophole.

Retirement? Who Wants To Retire?

~or~ "Yet Another Bill Of Goods You've Been Sold By Pop Culture Morons"

When the Social Security Act was passed, 62 was astonishingly old. People dropped dead in their tracks at work from heart attacks at 57 and everybody was ok with that. You worked to support your family and you would be ashamed to take "charity" even from the government. Nobody (almost) collected Social Security benefits. The one guy that did, was, like, ancient and he died pretty quick anyway.

Then along came a longer life span, and people didn't like to vote for people who said "let's just keep this super-ancient people provision system solvent forever, and keep pushing back the Official Retirement Age." For whatever reasons, and I don't exclude mental laziness brought on by a lack of raw egg in the diet*, Social Security didn't keep up with the (longer life)times.

Now, people expect that they will be able to spend half their life working, and divide the other half between school and retirement. The benevolent "taxpayer" (the Forgotten Man) will take care of me! My standard of living should dam' well INCREASE after I stop making my own money! Well excuse me for noticing but

a) get the hell off my paycheck and
b) get a job, you hippie!

Blah blah all the cool stuff you can do in retirement. People's bodies run down and they die of age because you don't use your body enough in retirement. Your last year is your most expensive because you didn't WORK in the previous twenty! Keep working till you keel over instead of sucking on the public teat, and the medicare and social security budget woes suddenly disappear. Besides which you won't be bored. I plan to work until I can't, at which point I hope there will be the proper thing: care plans for people who can't work and jobs for those who can. Curbs for those who WON'T.

Ask me again in 40 years ;)

********

*yes, raw egg. To be drunk from a glass with raw whole milk, while standing in the full blazing noonday frikken SUNSHINE. Fer crying out loud.

Latin America Looking Ugly: Good For USA?

Venezuela is going the way of all socialist dictatorships. Having nationalized and spoiled the profitable bits and still not having achieved utopia, Chavez is trying to devalue the currency (by 50%!) without affecting prices at the consumer level. Good luck pal.

Argentina, famous for defaulting once already on their national debt, is also in deep doo-doo. The President(e) is stealing the peoples' retirement money and now also trying to take over the central bank. This will end in nasty fashion for whoever was foolish enough to invest in either of these countries. It may also drag the governments of the continent into a tailspin.

This, of course, sucks. At least it is giving authoritarian dictatorship and socialism a(nother) huge black eye as a theory of governance in the process.

Countries that hate us, and countries that hate our high prices, have looked to South America for their food and energy recently. We are a mess, but not as much as the other guys. It is just possible that (e.g.) China will look back North again to the place where food is, if not super-cheap, at least capable of being grown as reliably as crops can be grown, and then exported for trade.

That's us. IF we don't screw it all up with punitive import tarriffs (which it looks like the Obama administration is trying to do) we might have a way, however temporary, to get a leg up on economic recovery. By supplying the former customers of failed and failing nation states.

The guy at the top of the shit pile is on a pile of shit, but at least he is on top. Let's be that guy.

Madness On The Roads!

On the way up the highway this morning, I was passed by a car with one driver and one passenger. The passenger was a blow-up doll with a wig and clothing.

Then, closer to work . . .

The street is 2 lanes but widens to 3 to allow a right turn-or-straight lane about 5 car lengths from a stop light. #1 and #2 lanes are usually packed, but #3 is often empty. I was in the #1 lane, but changed to the #2 lane approaching the intersection. A car turned from #2 into the new #3 lane ahead of me, and I noted that another car in the #2 lane was sitting with their right turn signal on, waiting for traffic to clear so they could go around to the (almost-empty) #3 lane. I swooped on by and the car ahead of me in #3 turned right, leaving me at the pole position with nobody in front of me, in the #3 lane. The car with the turn signal on, gunned it. And slammed on the brakes immediately, because they were about 1 foot from accelerating straight into the side of a minivan that was already coming up from behind in the #3 lane. The driver of the van and I were both shaking our heads.

Look in your mirrors people. You may not want to look too closely into the car next door, but at least look at your mirrors. Preferably, also turn your head BEFORE you start a lane change, because a motorcycle (or VAN) might be where you want to put your car.

"Employment" Set To Rise In 2010

When you fall off the tail end of your unemployment benefits, you are no longer counted as "unemployed." When you go from CFO at $95,000/yr. to Burger Flipper at $23,000/yr so you can pay the grocery bill as you live with your cousin, you are no longer counted as "unemployed." For these reasons ONLY, is the unemployment rate holding steady around 10% (which is a disastrous number in itself).

Look for that number to improve "unexpectedly" after March of this year, when 971,000 people are hired to count illegal aliens and dead people as part of the next decennial census of the US population.

. . .

to be followed, I am sure, by "unexpected" declines in employment, once the census completes and STILL nobody is hiring new employees in the private sector. . .

The timing on this, by the way, is setting up a Perfect Storm to blow Democrats out of office in 2010. "Economy bad = incumbents must go!" The stimulus funds-generated make-work will have dried up. Everyone will see that the Demicans have not fixed our problems with raw Hope. The unemployment number is going to spike as we round out 2010. That may well be what pushes us over into the double-dip of this depression, if we aren't in it already.

Okay, how?

The US economy is constructed entirely on the faith of the people in the USA, in the soundness of the economy in the US. It is, quite literally, based largely on nothing. Let people see a huge hole in the bottom and we'll suddenly be "unexpectedly" sucking wind, big time. Gee, it's too bad no-one could have foreseen all this . . .

Your 401(k)?

I thought I had mentioned ideas like this before but a search of my old posts says not, so . . .

You know your 401(k) and/or IRA plan? The one where you put in your own money and then take it out again when you retire? The one you had invested in stocks and is worth 1/2 what it used to be? The one you know has the potential for both risk and reward?

Yeah, the government would like for you to not have that. Specifically, the Statists at the top would like you to instead buy promissory notes from the US Treasury. Because they would never do anything to make those notes worthless, like inflation. Oh wait. Also, they would like to have you buy Treasury notes at gunpoint, but that comes later. For now it's just a "public comment" period on ways to encourage you to change your evil risk-bearing 401k into a nice, safe, steady income stream *cough*treasuries*cough*

The article full of euphemism is at businessweek. But there is alot of click-through action to get there from Uncle's blog. A page mentioned along the way is this anti-reassuring piece about Argentina's bad ideas about retirement money.

They want to make everyone buy treasuries. They also want to make everyone buy health insurance from the government. Whose money do they think it is, eh? Are you recognizing communistic tendencies yet?

Is this the change you were hoping for?

The Fear Of The Lord Is The Beginning of Wisdom

~or~ "Children Should Be Afraid Of Their Fathers"

Fear is fear. Fear is not equal to respect. Fear is not the equivalent of respect. Some folks will tell you that "the fear of the Lord" in the Bible is intended to mean respect, reverence, and honor for the Lord. I am here to tell you it is not. Fear, in this context, means fear.*

Now my children, #1 especially, don't respect me.** They don't know what respect is, much less understand it, much less have it for me. But my children fear me, and this is proper; and let me tell you why.

Because their fear is the beginning of wisdom. My kids are too young to understand that they ought not to do something because it is wrong. They don't care that we will be disappointed in them if they let us down. But my girl knows that if she does something she is not supposed to do, it is going to hurt when Daddy hears about it. She is afraid of the consequence, and so she behaves (usually) appropriately. At this point I don't expect reverence from her -that should come later. Right now what I want is simple obedience, which is brought on by her fear. This is the beginning of her wisdom.

How many of you (by show of hands) have never used a tablesaw? Of those of you who have never used a tablesaw, how many of you do not know that a tablesaw is dangerous? So. We know that if we touch that spinning blade it will hurt us. We fear that blade even if we have never used the tool. I have used table saws. I have used bandsaws, routers, drill presses, etc. and I have a very healthy respect for them, now. When I was young, I did what I had to do very carefully and minded my thoughts and my fingers with utmost caution, out of fear, and this was the first stage ("the beginning") of my wisdom when it comes to power tools. To be quite clear: using a table saw for the first time is scary. It would be foolhardy, to be unafraid of a tablesaw without a proper respect for its power.

I used power tools more and learned more about them. As my understanding matured, my fear gave way to respect. I am no longer afraid that I will lose my fingers due to a slip-up. I do what I should do now because I respect the danger and know what makes it more dangerous. I also know what will moderate the danger.

As a child grows, and their relationship with their parents matures, their fear (in a healthy relationship) will also become respect. They understand the benevolence of their parents and understand what brings punishment vs. what brings reward.

But why should we fear the Lord? Doesn't he love us and care for us, and actively seek the good of those that love him? Yes. But before you respect him and live daily as he would have you to do, you need to FEAR the Lord. Why? Because only God can send you to Hell. Displease me and might not talk to you. I might even sock you right in the kisser. Displease God and he can condemn you to the lake of fire forever. You will be forever burning but never burned up. Always dying and in torments, but never dead. Always suffering. Fear the one who can do this to you. Fear God. It is the beginning of wisdom.

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*Fear in the Bible can also mean respect. Sometimes it's both. Read the whole Bible through a few times like I have, then see if you have a definite answer on the topic.

**I wrote this out long hand in June of 2004, which makes #1 all of about 2 years old at the time it was written. The situation is changed, but the principle has not.

Good News: The House Is Back In One Piece..

Bad News: after I spent 5 hours inside the wall and under the kitchen sink, replacing the broken 1.5" PVC drain pipe in the outside wall of the building.

The day started off normally:

01:00 Windows XP says it will take approximately 39 minutes to finish installing on my shop computer, which is being rebuilt along with the reorganization of the garage.
05:00 #3 whines in his sleep, wakes me up. Teething or pissing, one. He doesn't wake up.
06:00 #3 wakes me up again with his whine.
07:00 #3 wakes me up again
07:30 #3 wakes me up again
08:00 #3 wakes me up again, I wake up my Darling Wife who slept through the night as usual, and she goes to tend to him.
10:00 Wake up to a breakfast of huevos con chorizo. Windows says, after I tell it what to do, it will only be another 34 minutes
11:00 #1 is excited at the ICE!!!!1! on the slide in the back yard. I patrol for more ice and find the baby pool has some ice in it. The trash can has some ice in the bottom of it. These are all very exciting, but not nearly as much hassle as . . .

icicles coming from under the siding on the corner of the house by a hose bib, where the kitchen sink is mounted on the inside of the wall. Great. I think we have had a leaking pipe for quite some time because the edges of the crack in the pipe were all black and nasty. With the freeze, it's pretty hard to miss the ice forming on the outside of the bottom of the siding, from the broken-drain-drips from when we ran the dishwasher last night.

Did I mention it was cold outside? The low was around 20ºF and if it broke 40º today I'd be shocked.

Well, 6 hours later, the siding is back on the house. I have some spare 1.5" PVC fittings and pipe (rule: ALWAYS buy more than you need for that job) and there is no longer a 1" x 2" HOLE in the drain pipe from our kitchen.

Cost to DIY: $30
Cost to have a plumber do it: 5 x $60/hr. + $50 weekend charge + $50 for materials + tax.

Thank you Jesus for letting me be handy.

Internet In The Car

~no, thanks~

I drive when I'm driving. Me on a hands-free cell would be a pretty lousy conversation, because I'd be stopping between words all the time to, you know, drive. Now Ford's Sync will be giving us internet in the car. With some drivers, listening to directions from a GPS navigator or changing radio stations is too much. Now you're going to be rolling down the road doing web searches?

I don't do mobile electronics aside from the radio, which I pretty much set-and-forget; changing CDs mostly happens at a stop light.

I have had exactly one experience speaking on a handset while driving. LB handed me his phone, on which he had called my Darling Wife, to tell her I'd be home a few minutes late. That is, he almost tossed me the phone as I was driving in heavy traffic, so that I could be the first one on the line. He dialed and gave me the phone as it was ringing.

It took approximately zero seconds for me to realize that shifting, steering, holding a phone, driving while thinking enough to have a conversation, braking, and working the clutch, simultaneously, was too much. I got as much as half a grip on the phone, put it near my head and hoped the microphone was near my mouth. I told my lady to talk to LB, and threw it in LB's general direction. It's probably lucky the window was closed. He gave her the message for me.

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The cell phone companies need to cancel your ability to talk and drive with their existing technology, because if they don't, it will be forced on them by your Elected Heroes.

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Internet in the car: A Very Bad Idea.

Why Google Sucks, Reason 2,034: Catering To Terrorists

Currently making the rounds of the internet: Google has a "bug" that prevents autocomplete for a specific search term.

This is a bug, my tailfeathers. They are afraid of insulting islam in even the slightest way. You (should) already know that Google is willing to bend on being the finder of all kinds of information to all people everywhere, based on government restrictions. Now we find out they seem to be willing to bend to pressure from terrorists also. I saw somebody mention that Bing doesn't censor autocomplete terms for "islam is." What I didn't see (yet, today) is a comparison with Bing, side-by-side. So I made one.

Google has not fixed their little "bug" yet, by the way . . .

Google vs. Bing "religion is" search autocomplete suggestions: (click to embiggen)


Is Bing going the other way? Hmm. . . .

Note that I had to enable autocomplete in Bing and I never use the autocomplete in Google. I find the feature an amusing nuisance, but sometimes it is amusing, so I don't mind it in most applications. At least it's not as bad as MS Word "fixing" your spelling as you type (grr...). This also highlights one of the differences in approach between the two companies. Google is supposed to be where you go to find anything. Bing is supposed to help you make decisions and so, as a google-esque search engine, currently, it sucks. This playing politics at Google is really getting to me. I'm trying to use other search engines, but google is the best so far and I need to find esoteric information ALL DAY at work.

( . . . when it comes to that, I guess I should find a new place for my blog, too!)

Oh, and for the sake of thoroughness, I went ahead and hit Yahoo! also. I guess they just put themselves on top of my list of search engines to try out . . .

SKS Rifle Trigger Job DIY Instructions (Lots of Photos)

Your SKS needs a trigger job. You want a smoother, lighter, crisper trigger pull. You don't want to pay someone else to do it.

Click here to go to my full writeup on improving the trigger on an SKS.

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If you don't appreciate having to click through like this, I apologize. I hate teaser pages also, but I hate redirect pages even more.

I am afraid the non-obvious title is causing my SKS trigger job DIY to fly under some search engines' radar. The instruction page has been up for quite a while, and I don't want to give the old writeup a more obvious name. Google names blog pages after the page title. Everyone who has bookmarked or made shortcuts pointing to the trigger job DIY page (including me) might find themselves with "404 page not found" error.

US Americans to Travelers From 14 Other Countries:

"Welcome to the party, pal!"

So you treat Americans like criminals and they tolerate it, for saaaaafety. You treat people flying in from 14 other countries like criminals and they bitch & moan.

I think we're the ones with the problem, not them. I also think it's pretty stupid, when you can travel from country X to country Y, THEN fly here, to treat ONLY people from country X like criminals.

But liberalism is a mental disorder. Guns on every plane, in every passenger's holster. No nekkid-body-showing, genetic disorder-inducing super-expensive Terahertz ray scanners required. Bomb sniffers are great but dogs are cheaper. You know what really worked the last time we had a problem with Jihad? Killing a jillion muslims until they all calmed down, that's what. But you can't say that. Because liberalism is a mental disorder.

Quote of The Day 01/05/2010

If, By Transparent, You Mean Secretive; or in the alternative, if you mean a transparent power grab full of pork and bribery.

"There has never been a more open process for any legislation" -Nancy Pelosi, regarding the Democrats' "healthcare" bill negotiations behind closed doors.

If the Massachusetts race doesn't break that majority this month, and nobody shoots any Democrats, November 2010 is going to be a huge turning point in the history of American liberty. For the better or for the worse remains to be seen.

What, Me, Agreesive?

On the way to work today, I scared the pants off another driver, I think.

There's a spot where you slow from 50 to 40MPH, where there is an intersection. This is an undivided 2-lane road, and the intersecting road is also undivided, with two lanes. My lanes keep going, the other street has stop signs on both sides. Cars stack up a little bit, because this is a busy intersection at rush hour. Sometimes they take unnecessary risks to get onto the street on which I drive.

I have mentioned before that I have a superbly fast mental reaction speed. I am also pretty good at on-the-fly calculus with regards to "is my car going to hit that other one?" type situations.

A car pulled off the side street and turned right (in front of me, in the same direction of travel) and was fine. A Honda Odyssey hesitated and turned left (in front of me, heading for the opposite direction of travel). I did the calculations and saw that, unless they jammed the brakes, my car would clear their rear bumper by at least a yard as I went by at full speed. I guess they weren't so fast with the calculations.

They hit the gas and the unloaded drive wheel was laying down a strip of rubber from when I was 20 yards away. As I passed, the minivan was well into the other lane and safe from what would have been a pretty nasty collision if I weren't such a good calculator . . . but the tire was still squealing and their engine was still beating its heart out (5000RPM?) as I went by.

I LOL'd.

If you want to cut somebody off, getting on the gas is a good idea. A better idea is to wait for another gap in traffic where you don't have to cut somebody off. Next time you might not be so lucky, and end up buying me a brand spankin' new car.

Not that there's anything wrong with that! ;)

Madness @ Work

I was glad, when I found this, that I couldn't plug this in.
I was working on an oven, and went to plug it in. The plug wouldn't fit. I went to examine the plug more closely and saw the conductors ALL BARE inside. The insulation was totally degraded. I pulled the shell off the plug and found this:



Both live legs were bare, loose, and touching. Note that someone had already been in here, seen the ground wire coming apart and taped it up again. They should have replaced the cord but oh well.

I figured, ok, I'll strip this back a little and see if I can still use the cord. . . no such luck.



The other end was in similar condition.



Surprisingly, the oven to which this was connected works great.

Madness @ Work: Healthcare Edition

Man #1: Man, I'm completely against this healthcare thing.
Man #2: Yeah, no shit. At least right now when I break my head I can go to the ER and get something
Man #3: Hey that's what I did!*
Man #1, Man #2: LOL
Man #3: . . . and they gave me a $1,600 bill

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*This is much funnier if you already knew that Man #3 had got drunk and split his wig hitting a barstool or something on the way to the floor, and woke up in an MRI scanner.

The Most Open Administration EVAR!

Debates will be on C-SPAN!!!1! (some of them, the not-so-important ones)

So the House bill is 990-ish pages, and the Senate bill is 2,700-ish pages with 300 pages of last-minute amendments. The Democrats are meeting privately, no Republicans need show up, to try to work out these hugely-different bills destined to destroy 1/6 of the world's largest economy in the name of The Greater Good.

The Republicans are nowhere to be found. Ingraham's staff called all the Senators and a handful of Congressmen from the R side, and NONE OF THEM would go on the air to try to stir the pot.

Well, they need to 'shit or get off the pot' if you ask me. The "off the pot" part comes this November. Call your Elected Heroes and tell them to get in front of a frikken camera saying NO on "healthcare."

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Bonus: CNN pleads with the administration to open up the "debate." White House says they haven't seen the letter." (hat tip: War On Guns

Pay Your Programmers!

From the Daily WTF?com

If you hire a programmer
Be sure to pay him
Or Else Your Files
May be deleted
YASRSLY.

Click the link to see it for yourself

Why Welfare Programs Will NEVER "Work"

If a government gives some sort of material aid to persons "less fortunate" in hopes that the recipient will somehow turn out alright in the end, generally speaking it will not work. A long-term improvement in someone's life requires a fundamental shift in the mentality that got them so low they needed public assistance in the first place.

Along with material aid, there is an additional requirement: righteousness.

If someone does not have the proper mental outlook, no amount of "give a man a fish" will result in "he'll eat forever." You have to Do The Right Thing for yourself financially, because you are right-thinking. Doing the right thing = righteousness.

This is a biblical precept.

"Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly"

If the government agents giving away money were bible-believing, they would understand that social welfare programs are only "give a man a fish." Without a Christian outreach, giving -even out of charity- by private organizations and individuals also will not help much.

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Once upon a time, my pastor led a church in a bad part of Houston. He mentioned once that there were no rich people in his church. People would come broke like all their neighbors, get saved, straighten out their lives and finances, and move uptown and go to another church.

You can get out of the ghetto. Hanging from the government teat will not do it for you. Becoming a Christian might.

Now you are really pushing it. How does becoming a Christian make you not-poor?

Because the person who was poor, was poor by choice whether they realized it or not. Nobody put a gun to your head and forced you to make terrible economic decisions driven by your own lusts. If you will abandon selfish, desire-driven activities and follow the advice a credit counselor would give, you would end up in much better financial condition. To do that, you need to be a new person, literally. Only becoming a Christian will make you a new person every time.

Other ways will work, sure. But nothing is as reliable as God. This is why private charities actually work to get people straight, while the governments efforts are continually plagued by lack of effectiveness and budget shortfalls.