Texas Constitutional Election November 8, 2011 Voter's Guide (with Travis County & Pflugerville)

Yes kiddies, it's election time again. Once again I am putting my notes online in the hopes some of you will agree with me and vote my way. Once again I anticipate the voters in Austin will vote themselves tax hikes for no good reason. We'll see. This time we have TEN amendments to the basic law of Texas (the Constitution) because the legislators don't think they can get away with this stuff on their own, but maybe if they ask you . . .

The ballots are written so you are either FOR a measure or AGAINST it.

Proposed Texas Constitutional Amendments:

PROP. 1, CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Please vote FOR Proposition 1
The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a 100 percent or totally disabled veteran.

This is a question?

Dear Mrs. Widowofaveteran,

We are ever so sorry to hear about the loss of your recently deceased fully-disabled-veteran husband. Enclosed you will find a tax bill for $6,000 which you will have to pay every year from now on because he died.

Sucks to be you, eh?

Love,

Texas


PROP. 2, CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Please vote AGAINST Proposition 2!
The constitutional amendment providing for the issuance of additional general obligation bonds by the Texas Water Development Board in an amount not to exceed $6 billion at any time outstanding.

Because we don't owe enough money already, and your taxes for stuff you already have is too low? How about, stop spending so much on stuff we shouldn't be doing as a State anyhow, and then use the savings to pay for the projects they want to fund through the water development board.

PROP. 3, CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Please vote AGAINST Proposition 3 (and not just no!)
The constitutional amendment providing for the issuance of general obligation bonds of the State of Texas to finance educational loans to students.

You know why college is so expensive? Because the students can all get loans to pay for it. If everyone can get the money, then the supply of money is unlimited, and the cost skyrockets precisely because everyone can pay. They can already get loans from friends, family, pell grants, and other public and private student loan granting or guaranteeing bodies. This is one more thing Texas doesn't need to spend money doing, AND it will further increase the cost of higher education!


PROP. 4, CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Please vote AGAINST Proposition 4
The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to permit a county to issue bonds or notes to finance the development or redevelopment of an unproductive, underdeveloped, or blighted area and to pledge for repayment of the bonds or notes increases in ad valorem taxes imposed by the county on property in the area. The amendment does not provide authority for increasing ad valorem tax rates.

Non-lawyer speak: we want to allow counties to declare your old house on a prime piece of land to be blighted, then they can issue bonds to develop it to get more property tax revenues . . . AND jack up EVERYONE's taxes to pay back the bonds!


PROP. 5, CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Please vote AGAINST Proposition 5
The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to allow cities or counties to enter into interlocal contracts with other cities or counties without the imposition of a tax or the provision of a sinking fund.

They want to make it easier for cities and counties to incur long-term debt, in the middle of an economic crisis caused by excessive long-term debt. Hello?

PROP. 6, CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Please vote AGAINST Proposition 6
The constitutional amendment clarifying references to the permanent school fund, allowing the General Land Office to distribute revenue from permanent school fund land or other properties to the available school fund to provide additional funding for public education, and providing for an increase in the market value of the permanent school fund for the purpose of allowing increased distributions from the available school fund.

Unless someone can convince me otherwise, this sounds like a feel-good "Do Something" measure. I am almost ambivalent on this topic, but then I remember that the men of two hundred years ago were generally intellectually superior to modern government-school educated professional politicians, and I say "stick with the old way."

PROP. 7, CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Please vote AGAINST Proposition 7
The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to permit conservation and reclamation districts in El Paso County to issue bonds supported by ad valorem taxes to fund the development and maintenance of parks and recreational facilities.

Why, exactly, is the State and/or El Paso County in the business of developing recreational facilities? Especially why now, when one of the things crushing our economy is too much tax money being taken for too many non-government-related expenditures?


PROP. 8, CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Please vote AGAINST Proposition 8
The constitutional amendment providing for the appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes of open-space land devoted to water-stewardship purposes on the basis of its productive capacity.

They want to tax you based on what your land COULD do. IF you can't afford the higher taxes, you might have to lose your land. Then someone else will develop your land and pay the higher taxes. It doesn't matter that your father sweated for 60 years on your land. This sort of proposition is evil. It is couched in terms of "just another option for the landowner" . . . yeah, right.


PROP. 9, CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Please vote AGAINST Proposition 9
The constitutional amendment authorizing the governor to grant a pardon to a person who successfully completes a term of deferred adjudication community supervision.

To clarify: somebody does something StrongBad enough to be arrested and thrown in prison, but a soft-headed leftist judge gives them deferred adjudication. They keep their nose clean for a little while, and they get their crime pardoned. Then the next time they are arresetd, they are first offenders instead of repeat offenders. You know who doesn't benefit from this in any way? Law-abiding citizens, that's who.


PROP. 10, CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Please vote FOR Proposition 10
The constitutional amendment to change the length of the unexpired term that causes the automatic resignation of certain elected county or district officeholders if they become candidates for another office.

The law that this proposition affects was changed by a few days so there is a gap requiring resignation from one office to run for another. THAT law should be changed, maybe, but one month more or less in office is not going to make a huge difference, especially not so much that we should force people to resign for the sake of one month of what could turn out to be a failed run for elected office.

Travis county bond election

PROP. 1, TRAVIS COUNTY BOND
Please vote AGAINST Travis County Bond Proposition #1!
The issuance of $132,840,000 of road bonds, including, without limitation, related road drainage, bike lanes and sidewalks, and replacement and improvement of road bridges, and the levying of the tax in payment thereof.

They want to build bike lanes downtown and tax you for it. Do you use bike lanes in Downtown Austin?


PROP. 2, TRAVIS COUNTY BOND
Please vote AGAINST on Travis County Bond Proposition 2
The issuance of $82,105,000 of bonds for the purposes of constructing and improving county parks and the acquisition of land and interests in land in connection therewith, including, without limitation, the acquisition of open space park land; and acquiring conservation easements on land for any authorized purposes, including, without limitation, to retain or protect natural, scenic, or open-space values of real property or assure its availability for agricultural, recreational, or open-space use, protect natural resources, maintain or enhance air or water quality, or conserve water quantity or quality, and the levying of the tax in payment thereof.

They want to tax YOU $82 MILLION to be able to buy land for parks, and then not develop it. This is not what you want to spend your money on.


City of Pflugerville Charter Amendment Election
Pflugerville is trying to join the 20th century. I say let's go for it. When was the last time you looked at the official notices section of the Official Newspaper?

PROP. 1, CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE
Please vote FOR City of Pflugerville Proposition 1
AMENDING SECTION 3.15 OF THE CHARTER AS FOLLOWS: Sec. 3.15(d). Effective date.
Shall the City Charter be amended to require that no ordinance imposing a penalty, fine or forfeiture shall become effective until the caption of the ordinance summarizing the purpose of the ordinance and penalty for violation has been published on the city’s official website or other electronic media that is readily available to the public in lieu of publishing one time in the city’s official newspaper?

PROP. 2, CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE
Plesae vote FOR COP Prop 2. Unless you think office workers need to have access to special appeals processes you don't.
AMENDING SECTION 4.05 OF THE CHARTER AS FOLLOWS:Sec. 4.05(d).Personnel Appeal Board.
Shall the City Charter be amended so that only commissioned peace officers that are regular, full time employees or regular, part-time employees of the City (excluding all other City employees, contract employees and any other commissioned peace officers that do not report to the Police Chief) may appeal suspensions, demotions or terminations to the Personnel Appeal Board?

PROP. 3, CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE
Please vote AGAINST Proposition 3
AMENDING SECTION 5.01 OF THE CHARTER AS FOLLOWS: Sec. 5.01(c). Registered voters list.
Shall the City Charter be amended so that a list of voters registered in the city shall be made available to the public by the Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector and the Williamson County Elections Administrator in lieu of the City Secretary?

This appears to be change for the sake of change, so NO.

PROP. 4, CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE
Please vote AGAINST Proposition 4
AMENDING SECTION 5.04 OF THE CHARTER AS FOLLOWS:Sec. 5.04. Canvassing.
Shall the Charter be amended to eliminate the requirement that the returns of any municipal election shall be delivered from the Election Judges to the City Secretary and the Mayor not later than twelve hours after the polls are closed?

We use electronic voting machines. There is no excuse for delay. Note that this used to say FOR but that was only because I had typed it up at ohlord-thirty in the morning.

PROP. 5, CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE
Please vote FOR Proposition 5
AMENDING SECTION 7.06 OF THE CHARTER AS FOLLOWS: Sec. 7.06(c). Publication of proposed or referred ordinance.
Shall the Charter be amended to require that a copy of any proposed or referred ordinance be published on the city’s official website or other electronic media that is readily available to the public in lieu of publishing one time in the city’s official newspaper and requiring that the caption of the proposed or referred ordinance be posted at City Hall at least fifteen days preceding the election?

PROP. 6, CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE
Please vote FOR Proposition 6
AMENDING SECTION 8.07 OF THE CHARTER AS FOLLOWS: Sec. 8.07(d). Texas Open Meetings Act.
Shall the Charter be amended to require that the City conduct all its meetings in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act?


PROP. 7, CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE
Please vote FOR Proposition 7
AMENDING SECTION 9.03 OF THE CHARTER AS FOLLOWS: Sec. 9.03(a). Annual Budget. Content.
Shall the Charter be amended to require that except in the event of an emergency under Section 9.04(b), the adopted budget must include an unencumbered general fund balance that is at least sufficient to cover three months of the city’s budgeted general fund operation and maintenance expense

I generally like reserve funds. You never know what might happen. Now, if they start trying to raid the cookie jar we will need to slap their hands, but this might be a good idea for just-in-case cash flow interruptions.

PROP. 8, CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE
Please vote FOR Proposition 8
AMENDING SECTION 9.03 OF THE CHARTER AS FOLLOWS: Sec. 9.03(c). Public notice and hearing.
Shall the Charter be amended to require that council post a summary of the proposed budget and a notice stating the times and places where copies of the message and budget are available for inspection by the public and the time and place for a public hearing on the budget in City Hall and publish the same on the city’s official website or other electronic media that is readily available to the public in lieu of publishing one time in the city’s official newspaper?

PROP. 9, CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE
Please vote FOR Proposition 9
AMENDING SECTION 9.04 OF THE CHARTER AS FOLLOWS:Sec. 9.04(b). Amendments After Adoption. Emergency appropriations.
Shall the Charter be amended to allow the City Council to suspend the three-month general fund operating reserve requirement in the event of an emergency by resolution and requiring the resolution to reference the emergency and provide a process and timeline for rebuilding the reserve?

PROP. 10, CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE
Please vote FOR Proposition 10
AMENDING SECTION 10.03 OF THE CHARTER AS FOLLOWS:Sec. 10.03. Enacting Franchise Ordinances.
Shall the Charter be amended to require that an ordinance granting, renewing, extending, or amending a public utility franchise be published on the city’s official website or other electronic media that is readily available to the public in lieu of publishing one time in the city’s official newspaper?

PROP. 11, CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE
Please vote FOR Proposition 11
AMENDING SECTION 11.02 OF THE CHARTER AS FOLLOWS:Sec. 11.02. Official Newspaper.
Shall the Charter be amended to replace the Official Newspaper with an Official Notice requiring that ordinances, notices and other matters required to be published by this charter, city ordinances, or State constitution or laws shall be published on the city’s official website or other electronic media that is readily available to the public in lieu of publishing one time in the city’s official newspaper?

Global Non-Warming Getting Harder to Deny!

The temperature plot for the last decade is a solid no-change ZERO increase/decrease average. But you don't get research grant money to continue to "study" anthropogenic global warming when the globe is neither warming nor cooling.


Image from WUWT

If you are still on the fence with regard to AGW, here are a few more points to ponder:

• If hurricanes increase in warm times, why were they worse a hundred years ago?
• Do plants contribute less of one greenhouse gas then there is more of the other?
• If the models are wrong, you get new models . . . and the models can't replicate the activity from polar vortices well at all!

Peak Oil: Depends On How You Spin The Numbers

The real story here isn't the story on the Watts Up With That page, it's the comments. The story itself says: zOMG PEAK OIL!!!1!

Then comes the comment section in which people who seem to know what they are talking about point out that the Peak Oil theory is, and has been, bad science.

My take: Peak Oil is a myth and we need not legislate by it...but I also think we should be going nuclear while oil is still easy to get. And for crying out loud recycle the spent fuel!

Dubious Call Pans Out 100%

Today is day #3 for #3. He's got the same tummy whatever's-wrong that a couple of the other children in the church nursery have come down with recently. Lots of #2 from #3's bottom. Early this morning I woke up at the end of a dream and the house stank. #3 at 3 years-old had got himself on the pot and into a clean diaper . . . but neglected the finer points of cleaning himself and the toilet seat, and flushing. But hey, the sheets were poo-free so WIN!

Anyway, this morning I stayed behind when my Darling Wife took the rest of the Zoo to church. I wasn't so sure it was necessary, but at least it keeps him away from the other finger-suckers in his Sunday classroom It's a good thing I did. During their drive to church, he had a little accident involving the necessity of keeping a diaper on him. Then again during the Sunday school hour; he made it safely to the toilet during the church hour. So. I wasn't sure it was necessary but it turns out to have been a good idea.

Today's diet: Bananas, apples, and black tea. Ugh.

Fair Weather Protest Ends in 3..2..

We'll see just how dedicated the college kids really are to demanding more stuff from other people when they get snow dumped on them.

HA
HA
HA

It is going to be a long, cold, wet summer in New York. Enjoy it, losers!

Decoupling Theory Soon To Be Tested.

If you think the American and Chinese economies don't necessarily rise and fall together, or the European and world economies, you will have a rare opportunity: your theory is about to be tested In Real World Conditions. China: headed off the cliff, just in time for the Presidential elections. Europe: Bailout deal 100% ready to rock except for the fundamental portion of the deal is unresolved.

If you think the USA's economies can survive China, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Italy, and Spain all crashing at once while France and England are faltering, I can hope with you . . . . but I expect my long-awaited double-dip is going to be nasty. Here's hoping the global food supply holds out. You can't eat a CDS certificate.

After a Year, a Modified Position Statement

A year and change ago, I told you I didn't have a cell phone just like some of the world's richest and most powerful persons don't. Then I got a deal that was too good to pass up: two years of service and a new phone of my choice, free. No strings attached. It's who you know - no, you can not get this deal. So now I have a cellyphone.

The number, it is private. No, you can't have it when I apply for whatever service or licence, and no strangerman you can't have it either. One person calls me regularly, and one other person calls me in cases of exigency. That's about it. I keep the phone turned on most of the time so my Darling Wife can get ahold of me immediately in case of emergency. If I am talking to someone and my pocket rings, I press the "mute" button on the phone and keep talking. Ditto for during meetings. I do not check my cell phone voice mail, ever.

If you were on the "A" list, you would know how to get hold of me at your convenience.

My mobile is for my convenience; not yours.

********

Today at work, one of the young guns had a cellular telephone that would not turn on. It was treated with exactly the same degree of hand-wringing zOMG action as if something bad were happening and he couldn't get calls about it . . . but the only problem was temporary loss of THAT phone, in a building full of other phones all over the place. You will please excuse my total lack of sympathy.

Good News From Europe!

They have come to an agreement! They will continue to dig the hole deeper, and hope nobody notices until the next round of elections. Hopefully something good will happen by then!

1. IF the problem is too much deficit spending (and it is)
2. AND the solution proposed is MORE deficit spending (and it is)
3. THEN the solution cannot possibly save the economy of Europe.

They are pushing closer and closer to being left with only 2 easily-made choices: Break up the Euro zone, or devolve into tyranny in an attempt to keep it together. This, by the way, because it is "politically incorrect" to allow investors in bad investments to take their medicine.

Nothing to See Here

Mish picked up the story. Perhaps it will grow some legs after all:

Previously, if you submitted a Freedom of Information Act Request "they" didn't want to answer, you would get a legalese mumbo-jumbo response about what law they were following when not giving you your information (e.g., national security prevents release). A new rule has been proposed to codify what had been a dirty-little-secret method of turning down the occasional really obnoxious request:

If they don't want to release documents under a FOIA request, under the proposed rule they could just lie and say it doesn't exist. This, of course, comes under the freedom-loving President Obama who promised to have the most open and honest and ethical and horseshitty administration ever. Oh, wait . . .

Quote of the Day 10/31/2011

We had some guests over tonight. The babies were sleeping and it was past "call the cops on the noisy neighbors" hour, so we sent two Zoos worth of children from the backyard into a bedroom to watch a movei. Out comes #1 and says:

"Hey Dad, do you know where the first aid kit is?"

A brief discussion was followed by another of the children, this one a boy, who ended up going back into the room fully justified in his belief that he was fine, no band-aids needed.

New Fellow Gets Good Advice: Yet Another Plug for Pain Free

There was a guest speaker at my church tonight. At the start of his speech, he mentioned getting backaches, shoulderaches, etc. Knowing what I do, I started looking at him to see if he was off-balance. Sure enough, his left shoulder was riding a good couple of inches lower than the right side.

I asked him if he would get pains on one side of his back after exertion. Yes, he says. I asked if it were from an injury and he described a marginal parachute jump with more time than he liked with a cigar-shaped parachute, with a "sack-O-potatoes" style landing. He preaches in the way-back down in Mexico and there are no chiropractic practitioners there, but he will be pain free for a while after getting straightened-out when he comes to the States. Pete Egoscue says "a pain free, active lifestyle is the way you should expect to feel and live." Pain Free is JUST the ticket for this guy. I gave him the Cliff's Notes and he seemed very interested.

If you hurt, and you read books, you should read this book. Seriously.

Just Don't Care

Today is one of the days when all the huge astonishing news just goes right by. It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel blah.

I did, however, manage a personal first. I reported a truck to the State for being smoky. Smokey as in, clouds on acceleration between a steady stream while running, never ceasing to smoke, in the heart of a city that gets dinged by uncle sam for too much smog.

Meh.

Libya Jumps to Sharia

In a move that came literally out of nowhere, the wonderful modern peaceful people who murdered Qaddafi have announced that, in his absence, they'll be going straight to Sharia as a basis for their new national legal system. You know, the philosophy from the book that says to kill the Jews, Infidels, and Hypocrites? That one.

This would be in the nation where President Obama was instrumental in the notawar that got the dictator out of power without putting official Boots on the Ground in Libya. Without sending in an army, no surprise, we did not find any weapons of mass destruction that may have been sent from Iraq when Hussein knew the jig was up. We also did not find hundreds of "missing" cruise missiles. Funny how that works: don't go in person and you miss some minor details like enough weaponry to destroy Israel.

Let's all practice our surprised faces for when the new muslim government of Libya decides to take a few pot shots at Israel. And remember to NOT be outraged if President Obama only goes as far as making angry frowny-faces at Libya, instead of . . . oh, I don't know, maybe undertaking military action for a change.

Wait, that's not . . . oh hey football; nevermind about Libya, football is on!

Catholic Church Ignores Book of Revelation?

The argument might rather be, that they are trying to live up to their part in it. The reference is here. The word catholic means "universal" and they are only trying to fill such large shoes as that. Is it really going to far, that the organization proclaiming itself as Heaven's gatekeeper has an idea that there should be a super-national financial regulatory body? National sovereignty? Nuts to your sovereignty, OUR head of State speaks "in the place of the son of God" you small-timers!

The reason why everybody is only reporting "The 18 page document titled ..." is that this document is rather thick reading. Well I skimmed it and some of the reports you heard are true: this is the Vatican's pie-in-the-sky wishing for a one-world government, with a side of slightly more-practical wishing for a one-world financial regulatory and TAXING authority. They just want to offer their helpful suggestions to the upcoming G20 meeting. That it would be great if we gradually made a transition to a world-government model based on truth, justice, and the international-brotherhood-of-man way. Sure, some developed nations will miss out in the short term, but they ought to show solidarity with the third-world for the common good!

This paragraph if no other should be plenty to let you know that the Pope is not going to be requiring the G20 to set up the NWO immediately. The goal is (empahsis is mine):

"A supranational Authority of this kind should ... be set up gradually. It should be favourable to the existence of ... free and stable markets ... well-functioning in support of sustainable development and social progress of all, and inspired by the values of charity and truth. It ... cannot be imposed by force, coercion or violence, but should be the outcome of a free and shared agreement and a reflection of the ... needs of the world common good. It ought to arise from a process of progressive maturation of consciences and freedoms as well as the awareness of growing responsibilities. Consequently, reciprocal trust, autonomy and participation cannot be overlooked ... The consent should involve an ever greater number of countries that adhere with conviction, through a sincere dialogue that values the minority opinions rather than marginalizing them. So the world Authority should consistently involve all peoples in a collaboration in which they are called to contribute, bringing to it the heritage of their virtues and their civilizations."

Charity and truth inspire no national governments and even fewer banks of any sort. To even express a desire for this sort of thing lets you know that a few crayons missing from the box. The only way men will ever get up a real world government is through bloody force, and even then it won't work well (keep reading in Revelation). When Jesus comes back, God himself will rule the world and prove that it can be done. Until then, it must be run by Men.

The problem (for now) is that, like all governments, it must be run by men. As Milton Friedman asked, where do you find such angels to organize our society?

Add It to the List

I am reminded by tonight's wikiwandering session that some things are so cool as to be desirable just because of what they are. I don't need another semi-auto rifle. I don't need another .30-caliber rifle. I don't need another hunting long range sniper rifle. Heck I don't even need another arguably historically significant rifle.

But I do want an M25.

The #Occupants' True Colors

Some people admire the "occupy" movement. Those people probably don't live next door to the occupation areas, and lack a sense of what is actually happening on the the ground. Those of us paying closer attention to the news got an extra-strong dose of the #occupy peoples' true nature in one sitting when scanning today's headlines at Instapundit. Here they are, distilled out from the rest of the news. See if you can spot any trends or similarities to anything in history . . .

"The movement is organized by anarchists, Code Pink, the American Communist movement, jihadists, anti-Israel, socialist, and anti- free enterprise interests. OWS folks are politically to the left of President Barack Obama."

This story only makes sense if you have read The Lord of the Flies. Click the pig picture.

They would prefer you did not report your rape case to the real Police.

This story only makes sense if you have read Animal Farm. Four legs good, two legs better!

Unsurprisingly, the actual 99% (differentiated from the self-proclaimed "99%") hates having to live nearby where these "protests" are in progress.

Yes, these are reports from all over the country in different "occupation" sites. The reason they all could be conflated is that the same types of people are organizing the 'movement' and the same types of people are showing up to 'protest'. Those who understand something of the nature of the ideological Left-wing will not be surprised. Alphabet news network viewers might be.

Hat tip for all these links: Instapundit

Next-Best: Estonia?

I have often wondered where I would take my family if America continues on its current trajectory. This puff piece from Spiegel Online makes a surprising recommendation: Estonia (?!) might be worth a look. Hmm...

Hat tip: Instapundit

Car vs. Wall @ 120MPH

Fifth Gear crashed an older Ford Focus into a wall at 120MPH. Cliffs: it's half as long as it was before. Survivability: zero. This is the same amount of force as a head-on collision at 60MPH, unless I am mistaken.

My boy Pat used to drive this car. Another friend saw a fatal offset frontal collision at these speeds in his rearview mirror. He said it looked like special effects from a movie.

You will watch this, and drive more carefully.

Hat tip: Instapundit

Not Only-Onesey Enough

Seriously? A local sherriff's deputy* IN UNIFORM was not allowed to wear her duty weapon in the presence of the lightworker. I would have been p.i.s.s.e.d if that happened to one of my deputies.

********

Or was it just that they didn't trust a black woman with a gun, knowing Michelle's temper? (rimshot)

*or some such, the article is not clear

Hat tip: Uncle

Numbskull

I caught half of the announcement on the radio news and I was discussing it with an ex-marine who works with me. I had heard "by Christmas" and "year" but not the full sentence about the planned timeline. We agreed that President Obama must have meant we'll leave Iraq by next Christmas, because there is almost no way to move out that many men and all their equipment in a month and a half. The orders would have had to go out several months ago, and no word of that happening has emerged (yet). To just up and decide to airlift out this many men would require large numbers of airliners constantly coming and going at all hours, from today until Christmas. Then there is the equipment. There are only so many planes that can haul HMMWV and Tactical Vehicles. The logistics of today's announced withdrawl timeline are very challenging to say the least.

Either the President is a fool, or he plans to work a miracle, or he plans to leave billions of YOUR tax dollars in Iraq in the form of a full corps worth of military equipment. I think the most likely scenario is that his teleprompter he decided to pull this stunt on a whim, and very many fighting men's families will be sad because Daddy will NOT be home by Christmas. Of course, most of the men won't hold it against him that he broke his word AGAIN - they will be happy to be home. They will be UNhappy to be leaving without finishing their mission.

Speaking of . . . what was the mission in Iraq anyway? How's that western-style democratic reform coming along? Don't you just love all that sweet, sweet low priced oil coming to us from Iraqi fields? Howabout all that peace and stability over there, eh?

Of course, it is entirely possible that President Obama wants to leave all our equipment behind on the bases we built on our own credit card, for the Iraqis to take over when we leave free of charge. Then we would have yet another islamist nation in the near vicinity of Israel with modern armaments. What could possibly go wrong?

********

There is also a more-disturbing possibility. Encouraged by the recent murders of a religious leader and the head of a foreign nation, President Obama may have decided to pull out of Iraq so he can pursue his latest strategy: Do whatever small acts of illegal war you like, as long as it gets the less-favored thug out of power.

When Worlds Collide

I used to make and service these. At my new job, sometimes we get this type of thing through, so I kept my eye out for one with my name on it. I never found any. Then I forgot to keep looking.

Six years later, the circle is complete. I was in NP's area to help him figure out a work-related question and saw one on the shelf. I turned it around and saw my initials on the label.

No comments from the peanut gallery that this unit was missing one cover screw and had the other screw loose.

Hot Rod Saved My Life!

THREE times in a day, the same way.

Here:



I was getting off the highway at 60MPH and some female in a brown older Chevy Blazer came out from the Fuddruckers parking lot on the frontage road. Slowly. Straight across #3 into the #2 lane. I kept my eye on her truck and sure 'nuff, here she comes doo-de-dum-doo in no big hurry to accelerate, right in front of me in the #1/off-ramp lane. Like I wasn't even there. My comment: "F-ing REALLY?!" As ex-police buddy LB says: "steer-steer-countersteer" and I was in front of her.

There were hundreds of yards to the next car in front and behind, 1/3 a mile to the intersection where we were both going, and this was her way of getting to a red light to turn left. I flipped her off and she waved some meaningless sorry-wave back.

Here, later on the same commute to work:



Again, nobody was behind me, nobody in front for hundreds of yards. It was just me speeding along at 60 miles an hour. Coming up to this underpass intersection my spidey senses went off. I was like "come on spidey senses, you're messing around now." Then from the Southbound frontage road a little red compact sedan comes slowly across all the way into my #1 lane. Sorry for doubting you, spidey-senses! My comment: "D-mnit! AGAIN! AGAIN!" Sweeeerve around.

Here, on the way home that day:



I'm coming like a nightmare southbound on the frontage road in the #2 (right) lane. These jokers in a big new Ford F-250 pull out at a snail's pace into the #2 lane, again like I'm not even there. My Comment: "AGAIN!" Swerve around.

People, if you are going to head out onto the road, [deleted] LOOK AT THE STREET where cars should be coming at you, and then WAIT until the lane is not full of crashing death, or at least merge out in to an unoccupied lane.

Then, on the highway, somebody almost sideswiped my car with theirs when they changed lanes right next to me. I think if I hadn't been seen at the last moment big as life out their side window, they would kept swinging across all the lanes, right into mine. If I had a passenger I would have told them to roll down their window and slap the other driver.

Austin drivers SUCK at driving. The problem seems always to be that you are not as important as they are, so F you if you happen to be where they want to be.

Daniel Larison Hits A Home Run

The mission in Libya has succeeded, goes the popular narrative. Daniel Larison hit the nail square on the head and drove it home in one blow. If you don't understand why I don't like what just happened, here are several of the reasons succinctly laid out.

Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to see if this Larison person has written anything else of merit. I may have someone else to follow here.

********
Update, later: As if I didn't have enough to read, I just bookmarked Larison's blog: Eunomia.

Man Is Murdered, CIA Whistles, Looks At Sky

He was captured alive and wanted for trial in the International Criminal Court. He was murdered by his captors before his trial could bring out any interesting secrets.

Street justice, or foreign intelligence agency intervention? Does your answer change when you realize there was a French fighter jet AND a United States' Predator drone flying overhead when he was captured?

Oh, and here's a fun bit of sarcastic consideration for you: We spent $1.1B and got our less-preferred head of state killed without putting any "boots on the ground." We were able to do this, because the boots worn by CIA operatives in uniform is called Tactical Footgear, 1 Each; and the footwear worn by CIA agents in deep cover in Libya are SANDALS.

Boots on the ground, if it means uniformed troops walking around, is exactly ZERO different from flying a predator drone in from Nevada. The United States, under the 'leadership' of President Obama, has committed unprovoked war against a foreign nation, and aided the murder of that nation's leader. By way of contrast, in President Bush's war, we had a straight-up war, caught the guy, then he was duly tried for his crimes and killed by his own State.

Is this the change you were hoping for?

More News That Sounds Like A Joke!

We must not kill the endangered species. The world stops when we threaten them, no matter the cost! Wind power will save us from the evil, evil carbon. No matter the cost! Now a joke has become an in-real-life headline: Wind turbine power plant shut down at night for killing endangered bats.

You Are Not Supposed To Laugh

People protesting capitalists not giving away enough stuff have stuff stolen at the protest. Also, bums show up to take advantage of free food, clothes and blankets. Protestors don't mind the extra head count but don't care for the sex in the city (park) or the overdosing on cough syrup.

Oh, THAT's What a Capitalist Pig Is!

The people need water. Your company sells water, after buying it from the City, to the people. The people are not allowed to make wells or catch rain water for their household supplies. In your 1/3 of the City, they must buy from your Water Company. So, as a concerned citizen of corporate America, what do you do? Why, you charge them double what everyone else pays the other 2 water companies in town! Then you upgrade your infrastructure to make life easier on your profit margins, and call it a "green" upgrade. Green upgrades are expensive, eh? Must be time for a price upgrade too!

There are three water companies that serve Pflugerville, Texas. The most-expensive is trying to increase their rate by 2/3. The City (being made of people who live there) has told them to stick their rate increase where the sun doesn't shine. They'll have to be told again, and maybe a lawsuit will be involved.

But is it reasonable for a monopoly water company to charge $160/month for an average house's water and sewer bill, in a town with a LAKE built as a water reservoir, pushing double what the other companies charge?

Camping Says World To End. No, Again.

So skip your mortgage payments: The world is going to end on the 21st of October! Yes this very week, so go spend up your credit card supporting False Prophet Camping's failing radio network!

That some people stuck by him after the first prediction fell through is pretty sad. I hope the rest will desert him on Saturday.

Hat tip: Fark

Quote of the Day 10/12/2011

"you should lubricate that before you hammer it into your nose" -me

... right before this happened.

And So We Talk In A Circle

...and all agree that the other side is bad...

Law is proposed to prohibit bad people from being able to hold a job. Three blogs later you read it here. Mark of the Beast reference still applies.

But not to you, oh no, YOU follow all the rules! Being innocent, you have nothing to fear!

Shedlock Calls Another One.

Greece is going to default on some or all of its sovereign debt. This is a foregone conclusion because what must happen will happen. Now Mish has called Portugal as being up next. So:

When the headline comes that Portugal is blowing up, remember who says it is "unexpectedly" and then never listen to them for economic analysis and advice again.

Quote of the Day 10/17/2011

"You are absolutely right, I just called Barack Obama a jerk. And I did that, because he is a jerk." -Neal Boortz

No really Neal, don't hold back, what do you really think? The man has a way with words.

Obama Administration: Hiding Their Lies, Top-Down

Not only were they lying to you about global warming climate change, they knew they were lying, and went to such an extent to hide their lies as to make a whole separate cloud where they could exchange electronic communications in what they THOUGHT was a region beyond the scope of Freedom of Information Act requests.

They thought wrong. This is yet another huge, scandalous cover-up story for the lamestream press to ignore.

Pain Free Strikes Again!

A lady I know was having me help her through the e-cises for hand and wrist pain. She usually has crooked-y posture, and her knees point in while her toes point out. She went through the e-cises and walked around a bit, and said she still felt a pinch. I asked, she considered, and then she realized that she was feeling "different" after the pinch went away. She stood still, facing me, and...

Px: So when are we going to straighten out my feet?
VFD: (looks at Px feet)
VFD: Your feet are straight.
Px: (looks at her own feet)
Rx: Oh.

If you have chronic pain, you are doing it wrong. Get this book. If it offends you, try to ignore the evolutionism in the introduction, but read through the whole book. Then get to work fixing yourself. If your diagnosis is "arthritis" then you need this book. If the course of treatment is "surgery or pain meds for life" then you need this book.

Speaking for myself, I thank God for Pain Free! I used to have a knife in my knee, especially on cold, damp mornings. This book helped me to pull it out and keep it out.

If I Had A Business of My Own

It would have a sign like this on the door:



And in my business office, the shelf might look something like the shelf in my home office:

Thanks, How About A Lawsuit?

• Researcher finds security flaw in an Australian fund's network.
• Researcher runs an exploit to prove the point, turns results over to them.
  
• They say thanks
• ...and demand HE pay to fix it, as well as granting them access to his computer
• OR ELSE.

Commenter nurb432 sums up the cynic's response in succinct fashion:

"Lesson learned:
If you find a vulnerability, don't tell the people at risk, sell it or use it.
Either that or move to a less stupid country."

Hat tip: Slashdot

Now We Truly ARE Acting As The World's Policeman! BOO!

WTF America? I thought we elected a dude who was going to end the wars and bring the troops home! Now, in addition to sending (initially) a hundred special forces operators in to central African nations, last night we killed some al-Quaeda big-high muckety-mucks in FIVE air strikes in YEMEN!

They Said If I Voted Republican

. . . we would have more wars in foreign lands. We're sending special forces troops to MULTPIPLE African nations now? They say our men will only fight back. I'm so sure they're just going there to pet the local rabbits or whatever, and no fights at ALL will be provoked, and no military escalation will become necessary on our part.

Surely there's no attempt to get a good case of "don't kick out the Commander-In-Chief during this important election year war!" No, they wouldn't do things to get people killed to further political goals, would they? I mean, aside from a few hundred Mexican and American citizens with illegally-walked Fast and Furious guns... oh, wait.

Bonus points: We're sending troops to help Communists defeat some thug that claims to be a way-out Christian.

Seatbelts: Use 'Em!

It's no secret I'm a fan of making motor vehicle travel as less-un-safe as practicable. I just saw some people rolling around in a limousine. Seats sideways. No seat belts used. Driving down the road.

If you are rolling down the street in a car, and are not wearing a seatbelt, you are a dumbass, regardless of how nice the car might be, and how long is the sideways bench seat.

Always wear seat belts.

Seriously.

This person hit the nail on the head. Why is it that Firefox's developers don't care that their product is a giant sucking memory hole?

Answer: because you still use it anyway.

Boo!

California Unexpectedly Begins Confiscating Guns!

. . . oh, wait, that's the headline for a few years from now. The alternative headline is "california scraps long gun registry after it wastes billions of dollars, accomplishes bubkis" like they did in Canadanadia.

Registration of guns is only good for one thing: to make confiscation of guns (from people unwilling to use them) less of a logistical challenge. Just remember two key points, kiddos:

1. Never, ever, ever, but never put your guns on a government registry. Lie, if necessary, to accomplish this. The alternative is walking into the zyklon-b showers.
2. If someone shows up at your door and seriously demands your guns or your liberty, the time has come to give your guns up . . . to the last person alive and willing to demand them, after you demonstrate that the guns are functional. The expression is: "If you try to take our guns, we will kill you."

California, you suck for electing governor Brown. You DOUBLE-DOG SUCK BIG TIME for RE-electing Governor Moonbeam. You get what you pay for. Oh, and good luck getting your next set of LED gloves, partygoers.

Hat tip: Instapundit

Unexpectedly!

January 2012 headline: "Holiday" (read: Christmas) seasonal sales dissappoint/miss expectations. It's too bad nobody possibly could have seen this coming!
Mid-2011 Mish headline: shipping is down 15% vs. up 5%, holiday sales will be poor, possibly even down from last year.

Headline soon: Greece defaulted?! Who knew?
Well, everyone who understands such things knew, and here's what the end of the run-up to default looks like:



People buying Greek sovereign debt expect that they will NOT get all the money Greece is promising them. They demand a higher return on their investment. Today, you could buy a bond from Greece for $100 that would get you $163 one year from now if Greece didn't default. The market knows Greece will default and they will only get a fraction (if anything) of what they were promised, so they are charging WAY more interest. This is what they mean by "the market has priced in a default." (also from Mish)

Blindfolded Numchucks!

You will click this link and watch the video. Bonus dude hammering a nail into his nose.

What's That Noise?

This is the sound of a conspiracy falling into pieces. No wonder this was all over the news. ATF and Justice are going to be hurting pretty bad pretty soon. The list of demands in this new subpoena is both extensive and specific. The light apparently must also shine on the DEA.

To recap the cast of Project Fast & Furious/Gunrunner characters:

• ATF knew what they were doing, this is not a failed operation
• Multiple BATFE field offices were doing it (Tucson, Houston, Dallas, maybe some in Florida?)
• FBI was involved
• DEA was involved
• Secretary of Department of Justice knew or should have known

• . . . but the President was in the dark.
  

Riiiiiight.

ITCHY!!!

Congratulate me. I still have not scratched the poison ivy rash I got on my arm three days ago. In related news, long sleeves over rashy arms is a test of one's self-control, manhood, and sanity.

Boo.

********
In related news, reaching into our old school laundry washing machine (top-load, with central agitator) is rather more like the game "Operation" than one might like.

You're So Good!

Here is a handy little guide to show you just how great a person you are. There is some actual Science behind it, and the scale may be off a bit, but you get the idea. The main reason most people think they are hot snot is that they don't know how pitiful they are.



This has direct application not only to your spiritual/religious life, but probably to your academic, job, and family skills as well. Deal with it.

How to Think About Employment

The President promised unemployment wouldn't top 8%. Some people say the "real" unemployment rate is more like 12% depending on how you count.

Here is the wordy version (with charts) to explain the latter. The former was just fantasy.

Some People Might Say . . .

if the story were reversed, this would be considered "bipartisan activity reflecting the will of the People." Or do you not remember that ONE Republican out of hundreds in the House counted as "bipartisan" support for the Obamacare bill?

Well, now it's those baaaad-old Republicans blocking the Dear Reader's "jobs" bill. Nevermind that he has a majority in the Senate and can't even get everyone in his own Party to sign on.

Shameful reporting, tonight.

Then Again, Maybe I'll Just Let You...

It's nice to work with people who are good at what they do. However, there is a time to "let them do it" instead of trying to muddle through a challenge by yourself.

Today as I was cleaning up a bit before going home from work, I heard NP say he had a challenging photograph to make, but he had 15 minutes (until close of business) to figure it out. I went over and had a look, and took a lens with me. Sure enough, with what he had, it was a tough shot to make. He handed me his camera and I fitted the different lens, pointed, shot, switched the lenses back out, and left him to finish what he was doing. The shot took closer to 15 seconds. He's learning, but he's still learning.

In related news, it is nice to be good at something!

Despised by the Despicable

Yes, I think he just called the Secretary of State a despicable person. But I'm pretty sure she already knows what he thinks about her. MBV laughs at the prospect of President Obama's Secretary putting him on a kill list.

If justice and liberty are dearer to his heart than his own life, there is no terror for the enemy of the State . . . especially if he is the enemy of the State because he seeks to instill justice and liberty IN the State!

Still, you might say a few prayers for his ongoing health and safety . . . .

It's Nice Working With You

I spent a few hours yesterday cleaning up some previously-untouched wooded land with a man who was a professional arborist. He did the job quickly and well, which is to be expected. He also made life easier on his helper (me) in the way he pulled out the branches and stuff he cut. He could have left it or just tossed it over his shoulder, but he laid it out of his way in a way that it was easier to deal with as I got rid of it.

Working on cars with my Dad, it is easy to tell he has been working on cars for a long time. The way LB brings me stuff at work, compared to when some other folks bring stuff, you can tell he has "been there, done that." When I help my Darling Wife get stuff ready for school, it goes WAY faster than when I get stuff ready for her by myself. The point is:

It is a pleasure to work and do business with people who not only know their craft, they are willing to make it easier on the people who work with them. If you have someone working with you, go easy on them by doing things in a way that helps the next guy. Make the world a better place, 5 minutes of time-saved at a time.

We Don't Need No Stinking Badges!

I had never read this before. I had heard the word Areopagitica before a few times in reference to the freedom of the Press, but never took the time to track down what it meant.

It took me an hour and a half to read, but it was worth the time. Set aside two or three hours (I can read pretty quickly) and read this speech. Then, the next time somebody mentions this smart idea they have of licensing bloggers, reporters, &c., you will understand that they are either ignorant or malignant. In either case, they are wrong.

A couple of quotes from Areopagitica to make a couple of points. The recent discussion about licensing bloggers does indeed come from people who think you are stupid.

"Nor is it to the common people less than a reproach; for if we be so jealous over them, as that we dare not trust them with an English pamphlet, what do we but censure them for a giddy, vicious, and ungrounded people; in such a sick and weak state of faith and discretion, as to be able to take nothing down but through the pipe of a licenser."

The argument that you people must have guardians over your information sources is as weak now as it was at the time of the Inquisition. Truth stands the test of time, and unless the proponents of licensure suspect they themselves are on the wrong side of the line, there is no reason for them to try to pursue this idea.

"And though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously, by licensing and prohibiting, to misdoubt her strength. Let her and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter?"
...
"For who knows not that Truth is strong, next to the Almighty? She needs no policies, nor stratagems, nor licensings to make her victorious; those are the shifts and the defences that error uses against her power."

The very first Amendment to the Constitution for the United States of America established the freedom of the Press. For those unfamiliar with the concept: requiring approval from the government to speak or to publish ideas is something only the worst of tyrants would seek to do. To quote one of the worse tyrants of modern times:

"Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas?" - Joseph Stalin

They Think You're A Dummy

The President's teleprompter writer has so little respect for your intellectual prowess that they have tipped his hand. They don't think you are smart enough to notice that they made the announcement, and/or smart enough to catch on when they are doing what they said they will do.

Years before his run at the white house, Herman Cain the radio talk show host said that leftists do three things when they are unable to win an argument: they SIN.

• Shift the subject
• Ignore the question
• Name call

The President announced a proposal he knew would never get past the Congress (the "jobs bill"). Then even his own Democrat party majority in the Senate didn't want to touch it with a ten-foot pole. The president's response is that he will have to run [for president] against a "do-nothing" Congress.

VFD, didn't he have a majority in both houses of congress for the first two years of his term?

You bet your sweet patootie he did, but that doesn't make a difference to someone who is willing to SIN when he can't win the argument. So the President sets up a bill the Republicans (*cough*anddemocrats*cough*) won't pass. The President, having previously done nothing noteworthy besides get elected, has no record of accomplishment. The Republican candidate will rightly blame him for lack of accomplishment of anything good in three years of being the President. The President will then turn sideways and point to the Congress and say "YOU people didn't let me do anything!"

The way to think about this argument is that Congress does what the People tell them to do, or they do what they think is necessary to win the next election. The people don't want what the President is trying to give them and your Elected Heroes know it.

So the President is going to run against a do-nothing Congress? The strategy here is to hope you are not bright enough to notice that the Republican candidate *cough*hermancain*cough* actually has done good in his life. You are going to hear "here's what I did, what did the President do?" and then the President will say "LOOK the goodyear blimp!" and you are supposed to look for the blimp. Then again, he did get elected on a slogan the last time, so how bright can you really be?

Well Ain't I Fancy!

Give me something fun and I'll likely play with it. Call this* "Towers on the Moon." It was a technical exercise that turned out to look neat, so there you go.

(630kB much bigger bigger version click here)


This is a pair of screws on the side of a roll of black electrician's tape. The smaller of the two screws is ~3mm from end to tip. I was playing with a new macro adapter lens at work. The adapter is for manual lenses and my lens is a "G" series so there is no aperture control; only minimum aperture is available. I had to shoot at f/22, which meant this was a long exposure, high-ISO shot.

The dark background was actually a fairly bright white, but the exposure is funky. It turns out my camera has a bunch of hot pixels at high ISO on long exposures. The color spots are not a good sign for the sensor as such, but I basically never use the camera this way, so it is still okay-enough for what we do where I work. If you don't see the colored dots, you didn't click through to the full size version.

*Two artificial habitats on the rim of a crater. The hot pixels remind me of stars ("my god, it's full of stars!") and the grainy high-ISO noise makes it look like a film shot from super-dee-uper far 'way.

Capturing The Stereotypical Moment

We went to NASA and acted touristy all day today. I felt a bit silly taking the same photographs everyone else who ever went to NASA also took, but I did get a couple of winners (if they turn out well in processing). The Red Telephone on an empty Control Room command station desk. Birds on a wire that held up a rocket, pecking at each other. People standing in the blast zone of rocket engines. My favorite picture of the day was taken twice, in a vain attempt to get a nice standard tourist shot.

I had been walking #3 around showing him the sights with three year-old appropriate commentary, and we were almost done for the day when a couple of JSC employees walked through. One was an elbow-grabber/guide for the other who could not hear and probably could barely see. The other was walking around in a fool-a-first grader moderatly-cheesy gen-u-wine SPACEMAN SUIT zOMG GETAPICTURE!!!1! So the Zoo lined up in front of the "astronaut" who gave a lame thumbs up or something for the two-hundredth time that day. #1 and #2 stood and faced the camera, smiling like good little tourists. #3 was incorrigible. He stood there in front, turned 3/4 away from the camera, slack-jawed, staring up at the "gold" face shield on this guy's costume helmet. The elbow-grabber and #1 and #2 all told him he was not being a good stereotypical Say Cheeser, and he was physically rotated to face the camera. By the time I could get a second shot off, it didn't work and he was back to the astonished gaping at the spaceman's helmet. We laughed at the whole situation and called it a photo.

I wished many, many times that I had brought my work camera. I'm going to have to sell some stuff and get a real camera.

********
In related news, how jaded am I? I was standing there photographing genuine world history and thinking about the fact that there are a million other photos unlooked-at on hard drives around the world, taken by other tourists in exactly the same circumstances.

Houston to Austin: Driving Comparison

We just drove back from Houston to Austin. We left the far side of Houston before rush hour and hit serious traffic on the near side. Let me give this to the people of Houston: them drivers don't play. If there's a speed limit, they drive it if possible. They leave something like safe clear following distances between cars. When you put on a turn signal they don't zoom up to cut you off. If they pass you, it's done at a rate of speed that makes sense (no snail racing). If you are near, they will not drive into you. They take off from lights at a reasonably high rate of acceleration. There is no jamming of brakes. There is no cut-you-off-and-slow-down action. The people of Houston have places to be and don't dick around getting there. It was almost like driving with a million of myself on the road.

Then we got closer to home and the jackassery started. We were cut off within a car length so the car that cut us off could go zero miles per hour faster because the car in front of us was going the same speed as the car in the "passing" lane. We were very nearly passed on the right on the SHOULDER by someone in a hurry to turn off the highway. These incidents were within two miles of each other, just past the "AUSTIN 30 MILES" sign. I started to mutter badwords under my breath and my Darling Wife wondered out loud what was going on . . . then we realized that these were Austin drivers.

Oh well, it was nice for the dayandahalf we were in Houston, anyway.

That Was A Mistake!

Never test-drive a car you could never afford.

In related news, if your family snapshot-taking camera is something you have to fight to make good pictures with, never take your production camera home. Now I REALLY wish I had a better camera of my own. Oh well. Step 1: pay off debts.

Source of The Mondays: De DEBIL!

I figured out why people will sometimes catch a "case of the Mondays" - the Devil uses his people to poke at God's people on Monday for going to Church and doing well on Sunday. Sometimes. Sometimes you just get what you get.

In related news, congratulate me: I didn't lose my cool at anybody, all day long. Don't ask my car how I drove. It is as my Pastor sometimes says: some of us have to try harder than others to be nice.

Keep Tied Thine Own Strings!

Branching off from the discourse on the rights to life and property.

IF you are capable of supporting yourself, you should. It's your life, and it's your job to keep it up. IF you have a job, it is your responsibility to spend only what you can bring in. IF you have children, it is for YOU to support hem.

We know that children are expensive. We know that sh*t happens and you sometimes end up with children you can't support on your own. We know groceries aren't free and somebody has to pay to keep your heater running. If you find yourself disabled or between jobs and without the ability to support yourself and your family, we care. There is CHIP, there is WIC, there are various welfare programs from the State and your local church.

If you take from these programs, you are taking little bits of other peoples' very lives. It is not polite to kill people, even if they are down with the agenda. It is up to you to decide to give, or take, but it is (as they say) more blessed to give than to receive.

Yes, there are ways to get money from other people directly, and through the food banks, the church and the State. But you ought not to take from them if you can avoid it. You are your own responsibility. Your children are your responsibility. If you can avoid making children you can't afford, it is incumbent upon you to do so. If you have to take a second job to keep food on the table, it is for you to do it instead of making someone else do it for you so their money can pay your bills.

Is your life worth more than the life of another man? Are your children worth more than mine? By what right do you take the things provided by others? Are you superior?

You are a man. Your life is worth as much as another's, unless you are evil in which case you are worth less.

I think I am not expressing this properly, but my point is something like this: Because you are "only" another human of equal value to your fellow men, it is an act of nearly unspeakable arrogance for you to accept aid that you do not absolutely need to take. If you can any way legally provide for your responsibilities in this life, you should strive so to do, before taking from the lives of other people

Crooked? These Guys? Never!

The Environmental Protection Agency did a bad job on the studies, had one of their cronies on the panel, failed to release the studies to the public, and then clearly failed to apply logic to their assessment of their rulings's economic impact. They were studying whether the gas you produce as you breathe out is poison. It has been declared poison, and the EPA regulates it. At the time, one man in the agency was vilified for speaking out against the scientific farce underway. Turns out he was right.

Now is the time to write your Congressman. The economy of our nation is about to be crushed under watermelon* regulations. And they are planning to do nothing about it. Congress MUST force the EPA to re-do this ridiculous study, properly. If they do that, the result must be different or there is no point in having an America anymore.

That the timing of the EPA's declaration is highly political should not be a surprise. The Obama administration is crooked as . . . well, crooked as a Chi-town politician. Sad, but not surprising.

********

*watermelon: green (environmentalist) on the outside, red (commies!) on the inside

New Alabama Law Great for Alabama School Children!

Everybody is always crying about how they want lower class sizes. Alabama just passed a law that has lowered class sizes by 2% in some parts of the State, and now they are complaining?

Anti-illegality campaingers have long said that illegal aliens will self-deport when local laws make it difficult for them to live normal lives without being caught breaking national immigration law. The immediate effects of this new law proves the theorem to be true in some cases.

Sob stories abound, but here's the bottom line: class sizes are shrinking because parents are taking their children out of the schools. If they take their children elsewhere, preferably wherever the parents have legal residency status, then it is extremely likely that the children will be back in school in short order, wherever the parents end up taking them.

That the children suffer upheaval in their lives is the PARENTS' fault, not the States'. Good for Alabama.

********

You think that's controversial? Howabout this: I hope those lawbreaking Mexican parents stay in the USA and work, paying sales taxes and property taxes (through their landlords' tax bills) and DON'T get caught being illegally in the U.S. I hope that they put their efforts toward homeschooling their children. It is theoretically possible that this law could lead to BETTER education for these children because they will be homeschooled. Of course (stand by for the really insensitive controversial bit) if they just pull their children out of school and stop their education altogether, the parents should be arrested for neglect, serve prison time and then get deported. The children would of course be made wards of the State, which would counteract this positive effect of the new law: The State would put them back into school, raising class sizes again!

Deport the parents. Let them deal with their own children, wherever they came from.