I'm Not Wierd, I'm Special!

One of the men where I work is big-time into radio-controlled car racing (he has been addressed as "Are you THE ____?" before, and he was). He has a stand on his desk on which he can set a car for maintenance. The stand is a block of heavy black foam with the letters "p-dub" cut into it, all the way through to the other side.

I read it, turned it over and held it up to show him, and said "qup-d!"
He said, "p-dub."
I repeated "qup-d!" and then he gave us the quote of the day, as he rubbed his face:

I swear VFD, you're so f*ckin' wierd sometimes.

Wifey Suspects Labor In Progress

My Darling Wife suspects that she is in the early stages of her labor to deliver #4 into the outside world. Any prayers my fellow Christians might offer up would be appreciated.

Where Incompetence And Radicalism Meet: The White House

Larry Kudlow was on Laura Ingraham's show today and he said that he thinks the charge of Incompetence against the senior officials in President Obama's White House sticks. She said what was worse than their sheer incompetence is their radical policy ideas. I am not sure if she missed the point, but she didn't come out and say it so I will:

The two go hand in hand.

If Obama's top advisers were competent to do their jobs, they would know that what can't work, will not work. But it also takes competence to be competent (duh?) so they literally can't realize that their idea will never work no matter how hard they try to Do It HARDER!

I like to try to avoid conspiracy theories until proved wrong. It seems to me that they are paving the road forward (to they know not where) with yellow bricks made of Good Intentions. I hope that we can hang on to the Republic until they are thrown out of power.

I Hope They Bring Cameras.

The press in the US has been effectively kicked out of the gulf coastal region. No pictures. No writing. No AIRCRAFT on which either could happen, or both at once. Why? Because Obama knows this oil spill is political murder on him, because he sucked at the whole thing since Day #9.

Finally, 70 days later, he has agreed to allow 12 foreign nations and private companies who were champing at the bit to help with the cleanup, to come clean up. No word on what conditions they might be required to meet to join the club. Also no word on what countries are being "allowed" in to help.

Why wouldn't they tell us what countries are going to come help the cleanup?

Because shut up that's why.

At any rate, I sincerely hope that we start getting some grainy-as-heck cell phone video of pelicans covered in oil and miles, miles, and miles of oil slicks on the sea and the beach, posted to Youtube, by the crewmen of the ships coming in to help with the cleanup.

Why would you want to see that?

Because Barry doesn't want you to. That he's against it is almost reason enough to be for it. Nevermind that if it were Bush, it would be a)Bush's fault and b) a violation of the Public's Right to KNOW!!!1! that he imposed a no-fly zone over the Gulf, and is not allowing reporters in to report what's (not) being done.

Physical Security At The Gas Pump

~or, Just Another Part of Living in Condition Yellow~

When pumping gas into your hot rod, do not put the fuel hose between you and the (unlocked, please) door of your car. If you need to get in the car in a hurry, that's a trip hazard (or a delay) waiting to bite you.

When looking for a new car, consider that if the fuel door is on the opposite side from the driver's door, that is one more thing you have working against you in a race to the driver's seat.

Not that it will necessarily ever matter, but you will be glad you were in the habit, if it ever did. . . .

McDonald Decision Delivered.

Talk about a mixed bag. So we get the 2nd Amendment incorporated under the 14th against the several States as well as the Federal government. That's good as far as it goes, but (like the first amendment) now we will have decades of lawsuits to decide just how far they can restrict your right to arm yourself without being unconstitutional. Well, thanks God for even so much.

FINISH CROSSING THE STREET ALREADY!!!

Last night I caught about two minutes of a "world's worst drivers" type TV show. In one case, a policeman was in hot pursuit of a speeder on surface streets, on a three lane road with a wide median and then another three lanes going the other way. The policeman was flying down the #2 lane. A car emerged from a street on the right side with the intent to cross over to the oncoming lanes through the median. Then the driver saw a police car coming, lights and sirens blazing. The driver's sheep instincts kicked in before their brains did, and the camera picks up a cloud of tire smoke from the #3 lane as the car comes to a dead STOP right in the #2 lane . . . smack in the path of the oncoming police cruiser. The cop swerved, but didn't have time to avoid the car entirely. The driver would have been dead, T-boned by the bull bar on the front of the policemobile, but for the quick reactions of this policeman. As it is, the police car picked up the corner of the sheep's car, and rolled. The in-car video recording had the audio from the officer "been involved in a collision" calling back to his dispatcher. My Darling Wife and I roundly criticized the idiot driver who stopped straight in front of the oncoming policeman.

Then, this morning on the way to work, I almost replayed the whole scene! On a road with two lanes, a left turning lane, and two oncoming lanes. I was in the #1 lane, and a minivan pulled out of a parking lot on the right, with the aim of turning left. Did the car turn into the left turning lane? No, that would be reasonable. The car STOPPED in the #1 lane in a 50MPH zone, waiting for a gap to clear in traffic before entering the turning lane!. Fortunately for all involved, I was going 1/3 the speed of the aforementioned policeman, and laid on the horn for about 50 yards as I hit the brakes. This was enough warning for the vintage driver to get all but the last couple of feet of his minivan into the left turning lane. That would be, STILL instead of pulling into the #1 lane of oncoming traffic, where there was a gap left for him already by the courteous drivers going the other way. The pickup truck beside me in the #2 lane saw a train wreck coming and slowed down to give me room. I didn't need it because the VFDmobile is pretty narrow, but it was nice to have the clearance.

Why.In.The.WORLD would you STOP in lanes of traffic when there is a left turning lane available for you to cross into? This can get you KILLED DEAD, people! Unless you want to be this guy, keep moving until you are no longer in the path of oncoming traffic!


Don't be that guy

Bombs. Time for Bombs.

Well . . . not quite time for bombs. It's getting to the point of Something Must Be Done, anyhow. This is America. You can't run national politics like you run Chicago politics, and you can't run border town police men like you do down there.

The drug cartels run Mexico. We understand that and don't like it. We really don't like how the Presidente de Mexico is trying to disarm the civilians in America because he can't crack down on crime in his own country. After I am elected President, the conversation may* go something like this:

********

President VFD: Hey Calderon, I've got a deal for you.

Presidente Calderon: Que tal, VFD?

President VFD: We're going to send two divisions to Matamoros. We're going to kick ass, take names, and hold the city with a regiment, then move on to Reynosa. Once we get all the way to Tijuana, we're going to push South until we get to Puerto de San Bonito or thereabouts. During this time, we'll be giving free arms to everyone who will take an oath of loyalty to the government of Mexico, and teaching them how to use them. Cash bounties will be put on the heads of major drug lords, and small-time dealers, smugglers, mules, and other traffickers will be shot on the spot. Corrupt local and federal policemen in cahoots with the drug gangs will be hanged in the town square of their jurisdictions. Then we'll leave, and God help you if you try to disarm all those Mexicans we just gave guns to.

Presidente Calderon: . . .

President VFD: Then, if you let the drug cartels take over your country again, we're going to steamroll through again and just annex it all the way to Guatemala. Your help in this matter would be greatly appreciated, but not necessarily required. Oh, and we'll be appropriating fuel from your refineries down there to operate our vehicles with it. Y'all have a nice day now!

********
*or not. You sometimes have to use a little more politically-correct speech with foreign dignitaries.

The whole situation is so unnecessary, but their culture was built up on different religious roots than ours. Mexico should by rights be a prosperous first-world economy, with their mineral resources and tourist attractions, and vast pools of willing low- and semi-skilled labor. Instead, you have drug cartels running gun wars in the streets and corrupt politicians from top to bottom preventing any real reforms. It's a real pity, but what are you going to do?

BP Is Not As Evil As Citgo

The gas station on your way to work with a BP logo is almost certainly not owned by BP. The gas station on your way to work with a Citgo logo is almost certainly not owned by Venezuela. They are both very likely to be owned by a small business person who wears their company colors and buys gas from them. The person running the store is not responsible for the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. The person running the store is not responsible for the tyranny of the people of Venezuela.

BUT

That part of the money the BP store owner pays to BP goes toward a capitalist concern. That money paid by Citgo store owners to Venezuelo goes toward a socialist concern. Would you rather support Capitalism or Socialism?

Then why are Citgo stores seeing an increase in revenue, and BP stores seeing a decrease? Because people refuse to think. If BP lets their chain retailers cut the price of a gallon of gasoline, I sincerely hope you will be a good Capitalist and go to the place you get the lower price.

If, that is, you have not already found that you get better fuel economy from a different station's product. Then you'll have to do the maths.

Stand By For The Liberty Grenade.

Over at Naked Capitalism, they are not at all impressed with the financial industry "reform" bill which has just passed. The general consensus seems to be that not a whole lot of anything has changed for the banking industry. This leaves me with one question:

What is it in the bill which will partially destroy the liberty of the individual but leave the largest and worst of the banksters largely intact? When it is found out, it will likely be very onerous indeed, and don't be surprised to find it has been set up so it is very nearly impossible to excise. It seems to me that either protecting the largest of the banks, and/or stealing your liberty, are the only things that might be accomplished by this bill. We'll see.

Paper Airplanes = Good Times

I just spent the better part of an hour making paper airplanes with #2.

He has been making a simple type I had showed him previously, in large volume. There were at least 4 of them made yesterday alone. I found a book my parents purchased for me when I was a boy, which describes in great detail how to fold a half dozen different varieties of paper airplanes. We made three types together, with me showing on my paper, then helping/showing him how to fold his. There are now at least 10 paper airplanes scattered about. I am about sick of folding paper airplanes for a while, but nobody tell him that. Some things you just have to do until you are done.

As Dr. Laura says: Kids spell love "t-i-m-e."

Quote of The Day 26 June 2010

Yeah, I almost got a real bad splinter in my kidney. -Me

I was telling one of my friends to not lean back in a chair in which he was leaning back. That particular type of chair is so made that the back legs tend to split and break, in such a way that a person falling on the broken chair in which they used to be sitting, might be stabbed in the back by the broken leg. It's very nasty, potentially, but as you could tell if you had been there, it makes for some pretty funny jokes.

Children and Guns In The Home

We recently had some guests in our home, and one of them told me he had just got a good deal on a Glock Model 22. I said "like that one" and pointed to where we keep one of our own pistols, also a G22, and the fellow said "yeah, like that one." The storage location is not highly visible, but it is highly accessible. We very frequently have people come and go (people I trust) who never even notice it is there. The Wife of another guest seemed to be politely astonished that we would keep a gun there with the children running around loose. The woman has had (to use a euphemism) difficulty with family in times past, so she knows how to keep her opinions to herself, but I could tell she was uncomfortable. I sent the following e-mail to her Husband (names have been changed, text is verbatim).

********

Guest,

I noted that Guestwife seemed to be concerned about the open storage of a pistol in our home. She is ever diplomatic, but I could tell she didn't care for the way we keep it. Tell her she need not be concerned. We are going with the strategy that worked for me and several other people I know who weren't killed in their childhood ;)

"handle it freely, but never play with it"

To satisfy their curiosity, when they ask, we allow our children (the older ones, not #3 yet) to handle unloaded guns until they lose interest. We don't make a big deal of their being around, and they are generally treated as other dangerous tools around the house. There is no aura of mystery about them, and no unsatisfied desire to do 'something' with our guns. Generally speaking, the children are much more interested in my screwdrivers, because they see me using the screwdrivers, whereas a gun boringly sits unused all the time. #3 just knows for now "no no for baby" and it is way, WAY out of his reach. ;)

In addition, before any handling is done, they are made to recite the Four Rules of safe gun handling, and during all handling, I am right there watching like a hawk. Plus, as he said when #2 finally got what I was driving at, they all know that unauthorized touching of guns = Big Spanks.

Finally, guns that are not being worn are stored so they require loading. The children have been tested, and none of them are strong enough to load the Glock you saw. My Darling Wife even has a little trouble with it. The main hazard with the kids and that gun is that they might drop it on a toe. No worries.

-VFD

********

That's right people, we have guns around the house. Guns with boolits in them. The children know that these are tools just for killin' people, and they leave them alone. When I was a boy, I left my dad's guns alone for the most part, and (like my children) I knew where they were and how to operate them from before I was a teenager. People give children too little credit . . . train them properly, and they won't kill anybody. That's not to say that the occasional heart attack won't be had by guests, but I'd rather startle someone and have arms near to hand, than fail to startle an intruder with one.

Pray For McDonald

The supreme Court has started announcing decisions for this term. They have not announced a decision (yet) on the McDonald v. Chicago case. There was some speculation kicking around the blogosphere about when the decision might be handed down, and who might write it.

Christians, pray. The Court has a way of taking the least-radical approach to deciding major questions, but this is THE case that will decide the fate of the majority of Americans' rights to bear arms outside of Federal districts like D.C.

Incorporation. Pray that the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution for the United States of America is recognized as fully incorporated into the 14th Amendment.

I Want A Machine Grenade Launcher!!!

Because my workplace is less-uptight than yours by a LONG shot, one of the guys had the latest catalog from HK firearms laying about. I thumbed through it, generally unimpressed until I got to the back, where you really have to be named "Department of _______" to be an HK customer.

Automatic grenade launcher. Looks like a plain-jane machine gun but it spits out 40mm grenades!

thoonk-thoonk-thoonk-thoonk . . . BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

DO want.

Staying Alive Pro Tip:

Don't get drunk off your [deleted] and threaten your shack-up honey with a rifle, then go out of your house with it, and refuse to drop it, when the Police show up. You might just get yourself deemed the victim of a Justifiable homicide.

Another Environmental Disaster That's Obama's Fault!

Let me be clear: President Obama does not give two cents about an Asian carp invasion into the Great Lakes. Not only that, but President Obama does not know that such an invasion is underway.

But the warning has been sounded, and we already have the money quote from Illinois Attorney General Mike Cox:

"Responsibility for this potential economic and ecological disaster rests solely with President Obama," Cox said. "He must take action immediately by ordering the locks closed and producing an emergency plan to stop Asian carp from entering Lake Michigan."

As with the oil spill, Obama will do nothing, until it is too late, then he will do too little . . . UNLESS you people remind him that Something Must Be Done! So, what are you going to do about it?

It's All About The Children The Money The Agenda

Let's review, shall we?

Government school teachers unions hate the idea of giving people the alternative of removing their children from government schools. This removes money (and therefore power) from the union. They are very quick to say that taking children out of public schools is worse for the children in a dozen different ways, so let's review, shall we?

The school voucher system in the District of Columbia:
Increases graduation rates: check
Hurts nobody: check
Costs only a third of what government education costs: check
Makes Sasha and Maliya go to school with the children of poor people: check

Being cancelled despite how great it works: check.

Why? Follow the (Democrat Union thug) money. The future of these children and the nation as a whole be damned, we're just not going to let these childrens' federal school dollars out of the teachers union dues-paying teachers' classrooms, and that's that!

Obama Really IS A Muslim?

It would explain a lot. It has a high degree of truthiness to it. There is no way to verify it, aside from taking the word of a high ranking Egyptian state official.

Obama admits he is a muslim? The lamestream media are understandably (because he their atheist messiah) doing their best to ignore the story so far. Let's see if they can manage to ignore it altogether. Maybe call your local network news outlet and ask the news director about it :D

Of course he must deny it to the English-speaking press, if he even acknowledges the story at all. Just remember that a muslim is allowed (according to Mohammed) to lie in order to further the cause of Jihad.

Radiant Barrier Working Like A Champ

My atticfoil.com DIY radiant barrier installation seems to be doing the trick. Twice in the last two weeks I have been in the attic when it was 90+ degrees outside. This used to be a recipe for misery, and a potent reminder of why I left Houston (where it feels like a summertime attic everywhere, 9 months of the year).

Both times I was surprised at how cool was the air near the attic floor. I did my work in (relative) comfort. Then I stood up and was shocked at the blast furnace coming out the gap I left in the foil at the top of the attic. The true test will be when it's 100+ degrees out and sunny, but for now I'm impressed at the temperature difference under and above that seemingly-inconsequential bit of film up there.

Between that and the new air conditioner, I'm almost looking forward to the utility bill this month. We're spending some quality time above 90 degrees outside. Here's hoping for a big whack off the electric bill!

Surprised At The Wrong Thing

Even with the US federal government giving away free money from heaven, home sales are falling off. The real estate industry says it is because they are not giving away enough free money. I say it is because the supply of homes is greater than the supply of people willing to strap themselves to huge debts during this period of economic depression. They are surprised that people are not jumping on board because of an effective 4.5% price reduction, during a time when prices are up 2.7%.

To restate: The government is giving a 3% discount on homes, paid by the taxpayers of America, and the People are still buying fewer homes. The real estate agents are surprised that the demand is falling. I am only surprised that demand is falling while the homebuying tax credit is still being given. Note that this is a TERRIBLE sign for the state of the USA's economy. The housing market is set for a mini-crash (a.k.a. a market correction) when the credit expires. If it is allowed to expire. They have renewed it once, and the keynesian clowns are making noise about renewing it again. Note: this helps no one but the real estate agents. The people who should be renters, who buy a home, are strapped for cash. If you don't believe it, drive through a a new housing development and see how many homes have bedsheets (or nothing) hanging in the windows instead of decent curtains. When these people put themselves under a fresh mortgage debt, it doesn't make them participate in the economy more, it makes them go bankrupt faster.

But what do the real estate agents and banksters care about that? Your loan will have been sold off to Fannie or Freddy long before that, and their cut will already be securely in the bank!

Supply And Demand In a World With Competition

When you price your product above what consumers feel is reasonable, they will stop buying it (movie revenues and legit DVD sales). When a competitor that looks legitimate comes out with a lower priced source for your product, they will use them instead of you as their provider. If you continue to refuse to use a reasonable pricing model and refuse to adapt to the changes in your industry (streaming content, home delivery), you will end up with news items like: Overseas mob-run websites allow you to stream pirated movies to your television for cheap.

If You Don't Know Your OWN E-Mail Address . . .

I got an e-mailed inquiry to the address at the bottom of this page. I replied to the message. Yahoo! even said the address was at an IP verified site. The e-mail BOUNCED. There isn't a website where that person's email address is registered.

Internet user pro tip: you're not going to be able to receive my responses if you use a fake email addy in your "from" field.

Lawsuit!

The people who are without a job since the moratorium on deep water exploratory oil drilling was arbitrarily imposed by President Obama have filed a lawsuit. They claim that the moritorium was arbitrarily imposed, and will lead to the loss of many jobs.

The government calls their claims speculative.

Console Me, For I Am Bereft

One of my sisters called me to get the middle names of our children. Grandfather is updating his family tree. He is updating his family tree on the occasion of the death of his wife, my Grandmother. She died of old, with the complication of frailty.

Oh, and P.S. my sister is getting a divorce for unrelated reasons. :(

What a load of good news was that phone call!

Is Obama Working Up An Impeachable Offense?

Mr. Kyle says Mr. Obama says, and I quote him quoting him:

Tthe problem is, if we secure the border then you all won't have any reason to support comprehensive immigration reform"

That may also be read: I am announcing an intention to be derelict in my duty as the chief law enforcement officer in the country. I don't care what it does to the country or my political or personal (jail-free) future, if it means my agenda is advanced.

The White House denies the quote is accurate. Would it really surprise you if it were accurate? Me neither.

Laura Ingraham pointed out that President Obama seems to forget that his job is to see the law enforced (remember his oath?) and that it is the People through their representatives in Congress assembled, who make the law, not he Himself.

********

Now aren't you black people who can't get a job glad you voted for the black guy, so he could then let in a bunch of illegal brown people and they could do the job you wish you could get?

VFD, That's Racist!

92% baby, 92%.

Not Helping Their Public Image

22 homes were illegally built in East Jerusalem by non-jews. There is a plan in the works to raze the homes and build an Israeli tourist center where they stood. This is not likely to help Israel's reputation with the Arabs all around them, or the racists all around the world. That said, nothing will help their reputation unless the hated jooooos all drink the purple kool-aid and/or shoot themselves in their hated jooooo heads. If all the jews were dead, then the Arabs would happily live in peace with their desecrated remains.

Note: this has been the muslim plan since Mohammed started his made-up religion. The muslim denies the jew's right to exist. The jew defends his right to exist. These are what may be referred to as differing first principles, and the two positions are irreconcilable. Therefore, I vote we support the only democratish state in the region, who also happens to be a military ally and longstanding friend of the USA.

Ah, Crap, Everything Is Late Today.

I woke up early and everything else today is late. Including my going to postings to the blog. Oh well, stand by for news!

How Not To Be A Racist

#1 has a spot on her face that I noticed just now, which is lighter than the rest of the surrounding skin. I mentioned it to her, and she speculated it might be where VFDKitty had licked her. I told her it didn't matter. She was giving me a hug, with her little head on my left shoulder . . .

VFD: Because, do you know what the color of someone's skin tells you about them?
#1: ???
VFD: It tells you what color their skin is, that's all!

Unlike what various persons might have you believe *cough*jackson*cough*sharpton*cough*, that's about it.

The Spill Is Obama's Fault (ish*)

Who picked the current heads of the Minerals Management Service and the Environmental Protection Agency? Who (if he were a 'the buck stops here' real-life Leader) would accept responsibility for the actions of his appointees?

And whose appointees' agencies allowed drilling to continue on the Deepwater Horizon rig working for BP under circumstances so bad that another company with similar well control problems reportedly stopped drilling on a well in 2006?

In other words, whose people should have seen this coming and prevented it?

Your boy.

*kind of. An investigation needs to be done before we start assigning blame and handing out privately-earned money from $20B escrow accounts.

People Who Should Be Fired: Here's One!

Kelly Beemer

Here (in Dallas) we have the case of a 27 year-old chick cop (well there's your first problem)

She went out drankin' at the club (2nd problem)

She got sideways and the Police were called.

The Policemen, instead of arresting her for public intoxication, wanted to drive her home to sleep it off.

hey wait a minute

No, it happens sometimes, even for non-police types. If you get a cool cop you might just get taken home, instead of to jail.

One of the men who responded to the call was her boyfriend

hey wait a minute

Anyway, she didn't want to go home.

She really didn't want to go home.

They got her in the car and she was complaining the whole time. Until she remembered:

I gotta gun here!

Officer Beemer, drunk as a skunk, drew her concealed pistol from its ankle holster, and discharged it in the patrol car.

The car was stopped and she was disarmed.

That last sentence is a bit euphemistic. Listening to the audio recording of the incident, the officers were shouting, pleading with her to drop the gun. Using her first name, because they were her friends and co-workers. It's pretty rough to listen to actually. It sounds like they might have been crying or nearly doing so, at the prospect of having to shoot this woman they cared for.

Anyhow they got her disarmed.

The two officers who went to give her a ride home are on restricted duty and Officer Beemer is up on Class A (read: Really Bad) Misdemeanor charges for discharging the firearm.

They should be reprimanded. She should resign immediately in shame. If she doesn't, she should be fired if the investigation says what the press has published is true. And she should never be allowed to wear a badge for the State again, EVAR.

If you are going to go out drinking, leave your guns at home. Always.
Kelly Beemer. Remember that name, just in case.

Happy Juneteenth!

There are some holidays where "happy" is not the word to use. "Happy Memorial Day" makes me want to punch someone a little. Juneteenth is one of those days where "Happy" is appropriate.

I don't care if you're not black. There are (currently) more whites enslaved in Africa than there were, total, ever in the New World, blacks enslaved. Slavery is not a racial topic, it is a human topic. If you are a human, then Juneteenth is a day for celebration, and General Granger is a name you should know.

D.C. Has Gone Mad With SPAM!

First Joe Courtney and now Mark Kirk. At least Courtney (being a good Democrat) was trying to get me to sign up for more money from you taxpayers. Kirk wants me to give him somewhere between $25 and $25,000 so he can become a Senator.

Twice in a week I have received unsolicited e-mailings from Congressmen.

Kick bricks boys. When I want your opinion I'll give it to you. Get out of my inbox.

Clinton Announces Lawsuit Against AZ Law

. . . on ECUADORAN television. The US Secretary of State announced a HUGE DEAL lawsuit against a State which made a law because the Feds wouldn't enforce the matching national law, on a foreign national television interview. Have you heard about it anywhere but talk radio and the blogosphere?

Depending on which judge they shop this case out to, this could be a real humm-dinger, and it will certainly end up before he Supremes. If they decide the wrong way, it will be regarded in future years as one of the key incidents leading to the balkanization of the formerly-United States.

We'll see.

On The Excellence Of American Justice

If you think the justice system in America is bad, go have a look at how they roll over in Burundi.

Doc-Fix Is In Until The Elections Are Over

The Senate passed a measure that was left out of Obamacare because it made Obamacare obviously more expensive than Barry was claiming it would be. In a shameless political maneuver, they have put off lowering Medicare reimbursements to doctors until after the upcoming mid-term elections. They called it DocFix back then. Now the Communists at the Associated Press are billing it as a measure to protect the health care of senior citizens. It's still going to mean borrowing money from China at interest (to be repaid by our grandchildren, with interest) to provide current beneficiaries with medical care at a slightly less-insulting rate of pay for the physician involved.

Doctors hate dealing with the current government-run health care system (medicare) because it is a practice-crushing profit-killing bureaucracy that pays too little. When the same government that bankrupted Medicare is running your healthcare, do you really think those same doctors will magically be glad to deal with you?

Obamacare must be repealed, or America is lost. No it is not an exaggeration.

The Power Goes Out . . . What Do You Think Of First?

I was *ahem* conducting some business in the restroom when the power blinked out once, twice, for a second or less each time. Then once more. Then the lights stayed on. No worries! But what if they had stayed off? What is the first thought that runs through your mind when the electric power at your house is cut off?

zOMG I forgot to save the file!

zOMG American Idle cuts off with no TV power!

zOMG Pooping in the dark!

zOMG somebody about to break into the house!

What? Break into . . . now you're cracked

Been cracked. But seriously, you should at least consider the possibility. When the power goes out where I live, the first thing I do is think where the nearest firearm is. Usually it's in intimate contact with my hip. Then I stop, look, and listen. Think about it: nobody (well, nobody but me) has a land line telephone anymore. It's a good bet the main home phone in any given house is on a Voice-Over-Internet Protocol setup through the home computer or else it's a cell phone. Cut the computer's power, and the phone is out. To call 911 your victim has to have a cell phone handy. Do you keep your cell phone on you when you get home, or do you drop it on the bar with your keys and wallet when you get home?

So let's say your power goes out. Shush everyone and head for the nearest flashlight if you don't have one in your pocket. Put one hand on the grip of the nearest gun, and have a peek around the darkness and listen. Just stand still for a minute and look around. If a door comes flying off its hinges that's going to be fairly obvious. If a window starts to creep open, that might be less obvious. Do you hear anyone trying the doorknobs? If, after a moment passes, nobody is obviously trying to break your home, have a look out the windows. Is the neighbor across the street also sitting in a dark house? Maybe the residential power line has a blown fuse or transformer. Is the street light out? Maybe the electrical service to the whole area has been knocked out. Probably you're fine in either of those cases.

Yes, this call for caution applies during a storm also. Just because it's wet out, doesn't mean a Goblin won't try to break in to your home. Actually, a time of innocuous loud booming noises (thunder) would tend to make your neighbors think the shots which murdered you and your loved ones were just "noise" and nothing over which to be concerned.

IF there appears to be no sign of trouble, get your most powerful torch and switch it on. Point the beam UP to the ceiling. The light will reflect and refract, providing a gentle dim illumination, and generally be nicer to use than pointing the beam directly at whatever you want to be seeing. Plus, it prevents you shining the light in your Darling Wife's eyes.

Don't worry it's probably nothing sinister when your lights go out. But just in case, I strongly recommend keeping at least a pistola and a small flashlight handy. If you don't mind the extra burden, I think it's also a good idea to keep your phone, wallet, pocket knife, keys, etc. right where they were all day: on your person. Usually you won't need any of these items but the pocket knife. But if you suddenly need them, do you really want to have to hunt for them? Really?

Barry The Ignoramus Post Turtle

"And yet, time and again, we have refused to settle for the paltry limits of conventional wisdom. Instead, what has defined us as a nation since our founding is the capacity to shape our destiny -– our determination to fight for the America we want for our children. Even if we’re unsure exactly what that looks like. Even if we don’t yet know precisely how we’re going to get there. We know we’ll get there."President Barack Obummer

Translation: I am an ivory-tower elitist with no clue what I ought to do, but lots of fun new ideas to foist off on you people. I'm not sure what will happen, but let's go for it!!1!

What has defined our country since the beginning are the Christian principles upon which it was founded. Those principles were not extracted from the conventional wisdom, they came straight out of the Bible, and were translated into practical governance by men a hundred times better than Barack Obama, who does not understand the country he is now supposed to be leading.

The men who made our country, and the men who made our country great, had no qualms about what it would look like. They were wise enough to set us on a sure course, with a Constitution that might even survive President Obama running the show. They knew what Liberty looked like, unlike Barack Obama. Also unlike our current President, the man who became America's first President was not at all sure that he would "get there." When he pledged his life, fortune, and sacred honor, he knew it was at the hazard of all three. The noise you hear is General Washington, spinning in his grave.

No Thanks, We Got This.

I've got an independent commission studying the matter, so you guys can shove off!

Sean Hannity says we've turned down offers from THIRTEEN foreign nations to help with the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, not to mention all the businesses and private individuals who can't get anyone in The Government to listen to them trying to offer their time and equipment, even for free!

But Obama says he won't suffer from it politically.

********

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, the head of a multibillion dollar multinational corporation was excoriated today by people much his inferior, about his lack of knowledge regarding intimate details of the minute-by-minute goings-on at one of hundreds of work sites around the world. I can hardly believe the low quality of intellect on display in D.C. today. Don't make me run for Congress just so I can go stooge-slap the people who are already working there.

Well Thanks For Thinking Of Me, But . . .

I got an e-mail from Congressman Joe Courtney today, and the title was something about filing a claim for disaster relief, subsequent to recent flooding in his district. I didn't open it because:

He's not my Congressman (2nd District of Connecticut is a ways from Texas)

The flooding didn't affect my area

I didn't sign up for his e-mail list

I didn't ask for assistance regarding the flood damage I didn't suffer

Something smelled phishy, so I called his D.C. office and let them know what had happened. I expect to hear nothing back from them. Fun factoid: I also get spam e-mail from a brother in the US Army, from his army email address, AND from myself from my primary email address to my primary email address. Moral of the story:

If you e-mail me (at the address on the bottom of the page) make sure the title lets me know your e-mail isn't spam or phishing, or it goes straight to /dev/null without being opened.

Madness @ Work!

I was walking back to my desk to have lunch, and The General Manager of the facility (2 boss levels up) walked up next to me. I told him not to talk to me, I's at lunch. He said "ORLY, I can't talk to you?" and grabbed my arm & started fake-punching me right in my kidneys. I twisted out of his grasp & He started walking away. He saw me walking after him and said, "Nope, you can't talk to me you're at lunch remember?" and when I caught up to him, I put him in a rear naked choke and started to pull him over backwards. I didn't throw him because he didn't actually sucker punch me. Then we went & talked about engines for a minute with a guy who had a 550cc personal watercraft engine to list for sale.

Small company. It is good to work for a small company. Pull this stuff where you work and see what happens to both of you!

You Know It's An Election Year When . . .

A bill fails in the Senate because it would increase the Federal budget deficit. No, really!

Found: The Man Behind The Curtain?

If you, like many of your countrymen, were wondering who the heck was giving President Obama all his lame-brained ideas, you may stop wondering. It's John Podesta. So it appears we all need to be paying closer attention to the recommendations coming out of the Center for American Progress, if we want to be able to effectively fight the Socialism Obama is trying to foist off on us. Good to know.

I had a glance through their front page. It seems that, if the Center for American Progress is for something, you are pretty much guaranteed to be on the correct side of that same issue, by being against it. Approximately 100% wrong is what they are.

Something tells me, they won't be recommending we wean ourselves off foreign oil by building nuclear power plants and installing a Hydrogen fuel filling station base for running cars off clean-burning H2. But we should.

Make That TWO Unreasonable Refusals of Help

"I cannot say why they have not accepted the offer. That is a question for the US State Department."

So says the anonymous spokeswoman for the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change. Was she talking about the Obama administration's refusal of Dutch ships equipped with oil skimming equipment on day 3 after the accident? No, she was referring to the fact that we turned down an offer of HALF of the UK's stockpiles of oil dispersant chemicals at their cost price.

So, Hillary, What do you say? Nothing. Alright then.

********

That is now representatives of two foreign nations who were trying to help deal with what was obviously an international disaster, days before the President of the USA had said public word #1 on the subject.

Israeli Jets Given Overflight Permission for Saudi Arabia?!

Oh REeeeeealy!

Have a quick look at a map, and you will see that it would be very convenient for Israel to have permission to overfly Saudi Arabia on the way to turning Iran into a glass factory. It is rumored that such permission has been given. It is rumored such permission has NOT been given, and would never be. Let's go over a couple of pertinent bits of trivia shall we?

Saudi Arabia could not stop Israel from overflying its sovereign territory. Israel could pave Saudi Arabia and the Saudis know it.

Saudi Arabia doesn't like having a crazy guy with his finger on the Big Red Button for a neighbor any more than Israel does.

Saudi Arabia wouldn't cry too many tears if a competing source for oil were to be bombed off the world market for a while.

Israel is going to have to nuke Iran, probably sooner rather than later.

The message coming from the Saudi military is entirely likely to be different from the message out of the royal family. They are not quite as unified as the USA's establishment.

If the royal family gave lip service to airspace refusal, and the military gave airspace permission, the military's permission would win because the princes don't have the missiles, the military does

It would take less than an hour for Israeli jets to go across, drop ordnance on target, and then less than an hour again to go back across the Arabian peninsula. If the Saudi military wanted to save face in the Islamic world, they could be "oops, too slow" as the jews were flying over, and then protest loudly after the missions were flown.

This could be interesting. It could also be the start of Armageddon. Don't forget that one of our historic worst enemies is a big trading partner with Iran. Another of their trading partners is the world's most populous country with a spare 30,000,000 male citizens just waiting to become cannon fodder.

"Not That There's Anything Wrong With That!"

Jerry Seinfeld said this annoying phrase from time to time on his long-running sitcom. It always irked me.

Michael Savage tried to get the bathhouses in San Francisco shut down when he saw an epidemic developing (when they were calling it GIDS). From there we progressed to widespread AIDS all over the country, because it is just too much to ask people not to have anonymous 'raw-dog' sex with each other in public places.

The results of a new study have come out, and there is a much-faster test for HIV infection than the one that waits for your body to develop an immune response. It looks at the disease process before you have had time to develop antibodies. This gives the "MSM" fellows who are being tested a somewhat smaller window of time in which to infect each other in the bathroom at the airport (or wherever). The hope is, the HIV infection rate will be reduced.

You know how you can reduce the HIV infection rate? STOP BUGGERING EACH OTHER that's how.

********

And no, for the record, nobody has yet convinced me that the current thing they are calling HIV is the actual cause of AIDS. And no, I will not stop saying to stop buggering each other because it hurts your feelings. God said not to, and golly-gee-whiz if it doesn't turn out to be a dangerous thing to do (this story highlights only one among many reasons). Not that you will start doing what God wants because of it, but it does rather prove a point or two of mine.

You Never Want To Let A Good Crisis Go To Waste . . .

First Obama makes the oil spill worse by bungling incompetence or malice (it's hard to tell which), then he says it's almost bad like 9/11 was bad . . . then to show how serious he was about how bad it is, he goes and

(wait for it)

plays golf for 4 hours.

We sacrificed liberty and privacy to combat terror after 9/11. We didn't get rid of terror, but that's not exactly a defined target you can fight a Global War On ______

Tomorrow, stand by for President Obama to say that the oil spill in the gulf calls for "swift action" to prevent such disasters. He will renew his call for the Cap and Trade bill to pass the Senate. Not that the bill would do anything at all to prevent oil spills, but "you never want to let a good crisis go to waste" after all!

More Good News!

Here is a sampling of the stories you will not be seeing on your alphabet news channel's nightly news broadcast tonight:

New York will be able to borrow money to pay its obligations to its pension fund. The money will be borrowed from . . . (drumroll) . . . the same pension fund it will be used to pay! It's not a shell game, it's GOVERNMENT in action!

President Obama knows you State governments are having to cut back on your budgets. President Obama can't imagine State employees taking pay cuts and benefit package reductions to save money. President Obama can only imagine having to fire the most critical of employees instead of low-level functionaries. President Obama knows he can point an M4 at people in other States to "borrow" more money. So President Obama wants to ease the bankrupt States' pain to the tune of $50Bn at the expense of the taxpayers all over the country.

There is enough drug gang-related violence in Puerto Rico to warrant calling out the National Guard to back up the local Police.

And if that isn't enough good news, now comes word that the well casing possibly thousands of feet beneath the seabed is damaged, and that's why they stopped the top-kill procedure: it was leaking into the rocks outside the well, not plugging the well. That means if Obama dons his SuperPresident wet suit and swims down there with a cork to plug the pipe sticking up out of the sea floor, it will just shoot oil into the rocks and come up God-knows-where. Not that anyone is doing much to clean it up as it is, but oil leaking through the rocks is hypothetically worse than oil leaking through a pipe. This is also the reason they are not trying to close all the vents on the top cap: they don't want to make the leak into the rocks around the casing worse.

But there is actually some good news to report: Several billion barrels of oil have been found on land in the USA and they are being sucked out. Don't give the Sierra Club any ideas about turning the area into a wildlife preserve and those investors really just might make their 13000% RETURNS!!!!!1! (if they subscribe to the newsletter) Peak Oil theory proponents reportedly last seen mumbling to themselves in a corner of the room.

Um . . . That's Not Really Our Business Sir.

I know he claims his power is unlimited in certain areas* but I am pretty sure this isn't one of them. President Obama wants to set up a special account for people to be paid for damage claims rising from the BP oil spill. That is, he wants BP to set up an account, which will have BP's money in it, to be paid out as BP fills claims. Not taxpayer money. BP's money. But he wants it to be in a special account because he wants it to.

If you want to write up a special law for situations like this when a company goes bankrupt and damaged parties get preferential treatment when the company is paying claims, fine. But they're not bankrupt yet, and it's not our job to tell BP how to run their private accounts. Not until he nationalizes the oil industry.

Fun factoid: BP is not an American company, and therei s even talk of the UK nationlazing BP. Then that would be the President of one nation trying to bully a part of the government of another nation into doing so-and-so with that other nation's monies. That's the stuff wars are made of. Sure, it's hypothetical and a long time off even if it does happen . . . but the current "leadership" in the USA is so incompetent, I could see them tripping into a war like that. If you vote Democrat, remember, the polls next year will be in December.

*it's not, but he claims it is, and God forbid we should have to test him on that claim.

Beggar Thy Neighbor Fails To Pass (this time)

The Republicans got a bit of help during this election year, from the Democrats. The Republicans would like to not spend a few BILLION more dollars that we don't have. The Democrats are seeing the electorates' writing on the wall and starting to be shy about giving hundreds-of-dollars-per-citizen HANDOUTS to people just because they were lucky (?) enough to lose their jobs.

The Yahoo/AP story is of course full of sob stories of how hard it is to be someone without a poor sucker to pay most of your health insurance premiums for you. Notably absent from this article is any mention of the fact that it is simplicity itself to open up insurance to more competition, remove coverage mandates, and see the cost of insurance fall through the floor. Also not mentioned is where the money to pay for these "benefits" would come from . . . .

Why Every Adult Should Have A Battle Rifle:

When you see a marauding horde coming down the street in your neighborhood, shooting as they go, you can shoot back - IF you have your battle rifle. If not, you might find your city on fire for no good reason. A handgun may be the weapon of the underground resistance fighter, but a battle rifle is not without its place, even in a city of 250,000 residents.

Unfortunately.

Retail Sales "Unexpectedly" Drop 1.2%

Really? During an economic depression retail sales might be weak? What's next, a falling stock market?

. . . oh, wait. . .

Quote of The Day 09 June 2010

". . . it runs out when the problems go away."

Speaker Pelosi, asked when the Democrats' right to blame President Bush for everything runs out, had the above to say. Then she blamed Bush some more for things that are happening while Obama is President, as a result of what Obama does.

President Obama lacks this quality of a leader: he will not own up to things that happen on his watch, for which he is responsible*. His lackeys and boot kissers are happy to sing that song as well. Of course, Obama would never come out and say what Pelosi said. Next week, if this story makes the news, he will say just the opposite, in a very unconvincing tone of voice (while reading from a teleprompter).


********
* caveat: if there is enough outrage from the People and he can no longer deny it, he will give lip service to responsibility, hence he owns the crippled economy and the oil spill is also his to clean up . . . but note the continuation of 'doing not much to fix the problem' follows hard on 'owning up to the problem' which (as mentioned) only comes, if ever, after massive public outcry at the blame-shifting-to-Bush his fellow travelers try to foist off on us.

Winner for the "first place I found that has the video footage" award goes to: Mediaite (their transcript is wrong, the video matches my Quote).

And from Moonbattery, more inspired imagery:

BP Oil Spill Obama's Katrina?

Chairman Obama went on the TeeVee a few days ago and said the oil spill in the gulf wouldn't hurt him politically. Persons other than him have speculated that the spill will turn out to be his 'katrina'

Why? Let's see:

During his administration, it happened.

During his administration, the rig that was supposed to be inspected 12 times was inspected only 4 times, the last time by a trainee inspector

During his administration, there was a "too-cozy relationship" between regulators and the oil companies

The plan already in place, to burn off the oil in the amounts they first thought were leaking, was not followed.

Within days, a Dutch oil company offer to send dozens of ships to suck up the leaking oil from the sea, was turned down (possibly to mollify US trade unionists)

NINE days later (to bush's three after Katrina) he makes his first speech

Private companies offering to send or donate oil skimming and separating machines have been rebuffed

The first people we (he) did send to the spill site: lawyers

The biggest recipient of campaign money from BP: Obama

Louisiana begs them not to use dispersants underwater, and they do

Louisiana begs to be allowed to build offshore sand berms before the oil comes, and they are refused

AFTER the oil is landing, 1/4 of the berms are approved

A team of experts issues a report that is changed (to be euphemistic) to support a ban on more offshore drilling, contrary to their actual findings

Meanwhile, instead of being a visible, inspiring leader, BHO is busy continuing with the Wednesday night concerts at the White House, playing golf, not attending services at Arlington on Memorial Day, and generally not looking too concerned.

No, this couldn't possibly look bad for Obama politically. Not at all. Please note that, as the President is black, this post may be racist.

Abby Sunderland, Heroine: Pray For Her

You never heard of her before today, but she was someone to admire before today. A girl who is braver far than most of the general officers in the United States military establishment. She also has more sailing ability than most sailors twice her age. Knowing that the ocean neither hates nor loves her, and aware of the danger, she set out in January to circumnavigate the globe in a sailing vessel.

Alone.

At 16 years of age.

After her 17 year-old brother did it.

Their father is unsurprisingly a shipwright.

Some call it child abuse and/or endangerment to let her go.
Some say it is reckless self-endangerment for her to go.
Some say her bravery is admirable and the first to two sorts are cowards.

Her last communication was that she was in high winds and heavy seas. The nearest commercial ship was 400 miles away. When the nearest land is Reunion Island, you are well and truly in the middle of nowhere. I hope she merely lost her communications gear. The last I have heard, the beacon that signals her boat is underwater had not yet gone off.

Christians, please pray for Abby Sunderland.

It Won't Crush The Economy (Now) You Scaremonger!

The EPA is being used as a way for the watermelons to carry their agenda forward in spite of popular opposition, and in the face of science which says they are silly at best. They are going to regulate the very gas you breathe out of your lungs as a pollutant. EVERYTHING that anyone does, makes this gas be emitted more and more. So of course it is a thing to slap a tax on, and the Democrats are all over it.

Reading articles from Yahoo News is an exercise in finding out what the leftists in the press are trying to sell you . . . but they push headlines when I go to check my e-mail, so I do it sometimes anyway. This article is a sterling example. You have already figured out that CO₂ is not the bogeyman they told you it was, so CO₂ is never once mentioned, even though it is the main subject matter. Then, after most of you stopped reading already, they go on to say that critics say the new EPA rules will (to paraphrase) crush the economy. The closing sentence of the article is some petty tyrant in the Obama administration saying "Nyuh-uh! It won't hurt anyone even a little tiny bit, we exempted some businesses for a few years!" as if you should be reassured by this.

Hot Air has a bit more-insightful analysis.

This is not entirely unprecedented behaviour, although the last time I can think of, it was much more political than it was a power-grab. President Clinton's EPA had some rules on Mercury that were impossible, enacted. They were passed literally in the closing days of his Presidency because their only purpose was to make Bush look bad when he repealed them. Bush repealed them. Bush was derided as an environment hater, as intended. That was politics. This is much worse. In this, they want a hand in your throat AND your wallet. It will take some serious politicking to get rid of this mess.

The only good news is, they couldn't even muster 60 votes for an EPA rule change amendment. This is (should be?) the death knell for Obama's Cap and Trade legislation, but the Democrats will probably try to cram it through anyway.

Movie Review: The Great Raid (2005)

I have added this to my personal collection. If you know how cheap I am, you know that is saying quite something. I'm not big on the phrase "A must-see film" but I do highly recommend it. The story is an inspiring one about a noble act done in the face of overwhelming odds. It shows a lot of what is great about America(ns) in a way that stirs admiration in the heart of a person who has not been thoroughly indoctrinated into modern anti-americanism. It also shows quite a bit of brutal behavior, some of which was justified, in graphic detail.

Not for viewing by children, expectant mothers, or the faint of heart. There are battle scenes which leave little to the imagination, and a couple of tear-jerking plot twists.

The Great Raid may be difficult to watch, but I imageine it was more difficult to live through the actual events . . . the movie is based on a true story.

Yet Another Reason To Buy American: Cancer Villages in China

My company makes tens of thousands of dollars per month recycling stuff that can't be reused or resold. We might make many more thousands of dollars per month, if we sold our recyclables off to China. We choose not to do so.

My family pays more for goods produced in America, or other nations with labor and pollution laws better than China's. We could save lots of money on lots of things we buy. We choose not to do so.

Because China is a third world nation trying to play in the deep end of the pool. They are kicking off the sh*tty part of the bargain to the countryside. Eventually, you get stories about whole towns going from none to lots of cancer cases after the river changes color, after the factory moves in to town.

When you buy your cheap junk from china, you are getting it cheap for a reason. Part of the reason is that they are killing people with environmental pollution.

Buy American.

Hat tip for the link: Moonbattery

The Anti-Incumbent Sentiment

Gee, I wonder why there is such strong anti-incumbent sentiment this election cycle? Could it be, among other things, a pairing of Democrat Chuck Schumer and Republican John Cornyn on a bill to require:

Showing of ID to buy a prepaid cell phone

Sellers to keep records of who buys what phones

and, simultaneously,

NO requirement of ID to vote/register to vote in many municipalities

Keeping records of mitochondrial DNA of newborns as part of an effort to build a DNA database of US Americans

News That Sounds Like A Joke

Obama's deficit reduction committee needs a larger operating budget, to figure out how to run the country on a smaller operating budget.

Sorry About Your Dinner.

MM and I were discussing the debacle that became of the Jew-hating Helen Thomas' career. We were exchanging IMs during a break at work. He mentioned that she was reputed to be somewhat less than good looking. I sent him this. His reply:

MM: Thanks you just spoiled my dinner.
VFD: Sorry but you did mention it.

Let's See You Say That To Their Faces Tough Guy

Raise your hand if you think President Obama could so much as land a single punch, if he ever did find out "whose ass to kick" (as he put it, in so many dignified words).

(crickets)

Yeah, me neither. He gives the distinct impression he couldn't kick his way out of a wet paper sack with "ass" written on it.

Not to worry, he has rough men with machine guns standing by in case anyone wants to kick his ass. And he would be just tickled pink if you didn't have a machine gun of your own.

The Most Open And Honest Administration . . .

It's not as if Obama himself is talking about restricting access to documents which would shed light on Elena Kagan's outlook on matters which may come before her on the supreme Court. No, her opinions on various subjects were written when she was working for President Clinton. He's the one who might prevent Senators from examining her record as part of the "advice and consent" portion of her nomination. Because suddenly Clinton is concerned about a violation of his Executive Priveleges if you get a look at the bench memos she wrote.

The people who have looked at them are saying she is a 'liberal' and this is causing an amusing reaction. People who would in years past have called themselves liberals are saying calling Kagan a liberal is an attack, and an insult. Remember: when you question what someone has said and/or done, and it puts a Communist/Socialist/Leftist in a bad light, it is a vicious attack.

And, in case the Kagan supporters on your local call-in radio show all start to sound the same, just remember that it's because OFA has (literally) put out talking points for them to parrot; they didn't actually all swoon for her at once.

Because there is no Internet, and you could never learn about these things, there is no possible chance of a public outcry or backlash.

Oh, wait. . .

Well, That Was Fast

Over the weekend, Helen Thomas' professional life fell apart. Today she 'resigned' and (I hope) she'll be hard-pressed to find anyone who will publish her work under her name. That's what you get for saying on TV what people usually only say at Klan rallies.

This is what is referred to as 'being hit with a clue bat' and it couldn't happen to a more deserving individual.

FYI: Don't Be Cutesy.

When the federal Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission sends you a request for documents, and you send them a billion pages of unrelated stuff, stand by for a subpoena.

Found Something For Obama To Do On The Coast!

I have been wondering why all the hubbub was being made about the way President Obama was busy with parties and fund raisers other things instead of leading the charge to clean up BP's oil mess. I mean, really, what do you expect him to do? Stand on the bow of a ship and look presidential?

Well, I found something he actually could do, and it would make a great photo-op and a strong call for volunteers in one fell swoop. He could go get a set of chopsticks and put blobs of tar into buckets like this family did instead of collecting shellfish on their vacation. Get a few thousand people out there with buckets collecting tar, and you'll make a small difference. Get a few tens of thousands out there, and it'll be a bigger difference. Get a few ships with suction pumps out there and it could make a huge difference.

So . . . why isn't anyone much cleaning up the oil?

Tired.

Staying up till past midnight makes me tired.
Being out in the sun makes me tired.

I was up late reading. I had the parking lot security detail during Sunday school this morning (thank God for clouds).

I think I'll try to have a nap for a change.

It Depends On Whom You Believe.

If you are a believer in Keynesian economics or a Socialist hiding in Keynesian clothing, the near and mid term future will be frustrating for your addled little mind. Quote of the day:

The Keynesian clowns will be howling that reduced stimulus killed the recovery. However, the reality is there was no recovery in the first place, only an illusion caused by unsustainable stimulus. -Michael Shedlock

If you are not reading Michael Shedlock's global economic analysis blog, you should be. If you are, you understand why I now have a post category label called "unexpectedly."

B.O.L.O. One Parts Car

I'm on the lookout for a parts car. I talked it over with my Darling Wife and she is down with the idea of spending just a couple/few hundred dollars on a car for parts. If you guys don't have a wife that will tolerate such shenanigans, you're really missing out! I'm looking for either:

1997-2001 Hyundai Tiburon
or
1996-2000 Hyundai Elantra

WITH a manual transmission in good working condition
WITH a running engine

I don't mind if it's wrecked, unless it's a real ball of steel. I've already passed on two cars locally on Craigslist because both had automatic transmissions. One was at the right price ($250) one a bit rich for my blood ($550) but both with autos.

If you are in the Austin/Central Texas region and have what I want, and want a couple hundred dollars CASH from a person who will put the bits & pieces to good use (instead of a couple hundred dollars from a wrecking yard) give me a holler.

Lost: An Hour At A Time In Front of The Idiot Box.

Lost is a television program with a cult-like devotion among the people who have been watching it from the beginning. Les Jones had a post about the finale of the whole show upcoming. I realized (again) that I have never seen a single minute of the show, as far as I know.

I have better things to do with my time than sit and stare at the box in the living room. Y'all go knock yourselves out, I'll be over here.

US Navy Has Frikken LASER Beam

. . . reportedly not installed on a shark, as yet.

This particular model finds, tracks, and vaporizes a drone target from a ship just as easy as you please.

Hat tip: Sipsey Street Irregulars

Cut Me Off In Traffic Day Today!

It was either a city-wide holiday or I didn't get the memo in time. I don't know if this is how you people who go home at 16:30 always drive, but it was a humm-dinger of a commute going home an hour early today.

Not once, but TWICE within 10 miles, somebody decided that the left-turning lane was not where they wanted to be, and they cut over into the #1 straight-through-the-intersection lane with traffic going 50MPH past them. Directly in front of my car. When I say "directly" I mean "if I didn't hit my brakes I would have stove in the side of a car and a pickup"

Seriously, you can't turn your head or put down the phone or lipstick or whatever you are doing long enough to NOT smash my car into yours? I think they are trying to get me to stop leaving early from work. I'll have to go give my boss a purple nurple for hiring people to be bad drivers so I won't want to leave early.

Or something.

The Most Open And Ethical Congress EVAR

. . . well, at least the racist part of it Congressional Black Caucus, wants to make it harder to expose a crooked politician. Because justice is racist. Or something.

BP Oil Spill No Big Deal After All?

Boortz said on the radio today that the spill in the Gulf of Mexico is (so far) about 1/3 to 1/4 the size of the annual cumulative leaks into the world's ecosystems via leaking or wrecked pipelines, tankers, and other oil recovery, shipment, and refinery operations. And somehow the world has continued, year after year.

A caller pointed out that a Mexican company had a bigger spill in the same Gulf of Mexico when I was a baby, and the fisheries are intact.

The oil will eventually dissipate and break down, to the point of harmlessness.

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In related news, the big surprising news this week is that the BP oil spill oil is going to work its way up the East coast of the USA killing sea life as it goes. I am a little astonished to think that not everyone already understands that this oil is going to be distributed all over the world. EVERYONE will have a bit of it on his beach.

And, in the long run, everyone's beach will be just fine.

Remember, it's something huge that crashes, flaming, into the ocean, that wipes out a third of the living things in the seas. Not an oil spill. So relax. Oh, and don't forget to blame President Bush, because everything is his fault.

Madness @ Work!

It is a tradition in my company that, when someone is hired to do what I do, he gets a couple of days of training and then is let to sink or swim. If you don't have the required skills or the ability to glean them from your co-workers in three months, you will be cut loose. Okay, that weeds out the weaker performers.

But we just hired a new guy and there is no computer for him to work on. The last two days he's going around scraping the bottom of the barrel trying to get his own workstation together. He's making his own workstation. If that doesn't speak volumes about the kind of person you have to be to work here, you're not paying attention. I used to think anyone could do this job. Several sub-par hires have since fired proved me wrong. It takes a certain kind of duck . . . you have to let the insanity roll off your back.

I'll Take That As A "No."

(I heard these exchanges in audio from a White House press conference)

Reporter: Joe Sestak, can you tell us exactly what position he was offered?
Gibbs: (giggles like little girl)

I'm beginning to think that, incompetent as he is, Gibbs is actually a good spokesperson for this administration.

. . . later . . .
Reporter: (specific question about the scandal)
Gibbs: (tells him to look at "the memo")
Reporter: (protests that the memo doesn't address that question)
Gibbs: Right. Next question.

They won't answer your questions, because they are in Very Bad Trouble over this Sestak bribery allegation, and they know they are in Very Bad Trouble. The most open and honest aministration EVAR has circled the wagons against the Press.

And it may be only the beginning. There are at least two allegations coming to light, with proof or admissions from one or both sides in each case. When it happens so often that twice someone comes forward with proof, you have likely got a deeply ingrained (chicago style) mindset of "how can we make you go away." I reiterate my call: Someone needs to be going to jail for this. It would surprise me if everyone involved didn't fall on a sword before ol' Barry even gets a finger pointed at him.

From Inconveniences To Police Stings In One Generation

If you are of a certain age, you may recall when most people wouldn't be caught dead in a seat belt in their car. They'd rather be thrown clear in a crash, or else not be trapped in a burning wreck. It is no coincidence that although driving speeds were lower, the rate of fatal collisions was much higher then than now.

Then there was a big national campaign. Radio and television advertisements. In Texas, the Governor came out and explained to people that the proposed seat belt law would NOT be a reason the Police would stop you. Plus, only the driver would have to be buckled in. No, no, they would not be looking in your car to see if you were belted up, unless you were stopped for something else already. Obey all the other laws (the implication was) and you still don't have to wear a seat belt! And the people assented.

Somewhere in between then and now, it went from being a secondary offense to a primary offense (you can be stopped for not wearing a seat belt). Now, not just the driver, not just the passenger, but everyone in the car must be buckled up.

Now it is announced that deputies in Williamson County, Texas (i.e., Austin North) will be having a sting operation. A deputy, dressed as a bum with a sign that says "Click it or Ticket" (I hate that phrase) will be standing on the side of the road at an intersection. They don't run bums off around Austin, and the people largely ignore them, so this officer will be effectively invisible. He will look in your car, see you or one of your passengers not wearing your seat belts, and radio ahead to his partner in crime law enforcement. Then you will be getting a ticket with a fine of up to $250.

This transition took place in my own lifetime. Think about the minor inconveniences they are convincing you to tolerate because it's only a minor inconvenience. Think what would happen if it were made less minor. THAT's why you have to fight the Statist at every turn. Otherwise, you end up with parents unable to play with their children in a park or take pictures of ANYone's children, just in case. Your son can't buy a tire patch kit and you can't buy it for him, just in case. Spray paint in the car parts store is behind a stronger lock than boxes of ammunition. It leads to insanity of the type only a Statist could love.

Psalm 69:22 Applied

This is an application and possibly not a good one. As I was reading the psalm, the following occurred to me.

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Psalm 69:22 Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.

The "war on poverty" has been going for generations in America. We never really did have a big problem of dirt-poor type poverty, but look at how well we have cured American-style poverty (a.k.a. lower middle class/below poverty line living): Entire families for two and three generations that have NEVER worked an honest job. They couldn't survive without "welfare" payments if they tried. Not that they would ever try. They are trapped.

This outcome is not undesirable, depending on who's opinion you ask. I think it is a disaster.

No Posting Yesterday . . .

Last night the windows were rattling from the thunder. When there's a lightning storm, our computer and piano are not just off, they are unplugged. Even the modem is unplugged from the wall.

Overkill? Maybe, but it will keep the equipment safe in the event of a lightning strike.

What Did They THINK Would Happen?

At best, it was a botched raid gone bad. Poorly planned, poorly executed, poor strategy and with poor intel. At worst, it was an intentionally provoked incident by both sides. Both sides took the bait.

Nobody wins, but everyone has a new reason to point fingers and missiles at each other. And nine or ten "peace activists" who were fighting Israeli commandos boarding their ship are now dead. Dead for keeps. Turkey and other joo-hating nations are calling for the US to contemn Israel's actions. The US news media are condemning Israel. Fluster cuck.

Why would they board the ship in international waters? Why not disable and/or board the ship in Israeli territorial waters? Why not board en masse instead of one at a time? Why wouldn't they stop for the Jewish navy? Why not just let the supplies on board be inspected and passed on (like happens with tons of humanitarian aid moving from and through Israel every day)?

What did each side think was going to happen? Did anyone even stop to think?

Guatemala Could Use Some Help

Political differences aside, the people of Guatemala are just folks like you & me. Oh, and except for the way a volcano shut down the airport in Guatemala City, then a storm lead to flooding that caused scores of deaths, landslides, washed-away infrastructure, and a sinkhole that ate a whole building.

Not a good week. Christians, please take a moment or ten to say a prayer for the people of Guatemala.