29 June 2009

Hope?

From Australia.

Clinical trials to start soon in Melbourne.

HT: Ace O' Spades HQ

Doh!

I had to go take care of car registrations today.

They come in the mail and the wife usually sets them aside so that I can handle them online, after which she files them. They came in last month.

Due to the shuffle of her mom dying and her being in Florida off and on they got put on the table and ignored. When she saw them she was in a filing frenzy, assumed that I had seen and paid them, and filed them.

Today she needed the registration for the car because she was going to get her driver's license. The registration was for last year, because it had not been renewed.

Now, of course, they are a month overdue. So, today I got to pull my happy butt out of bed early so that I could drive to the next town over where the DMV office is (in the feedstore - no joke) and get the sticker for the car.

Tonight I get to go to work. It should be a lot of fun.

And that's life in my world. I hope yours isn't as crazy.

26 June 2009

American Girl

Rest in peace Angel.

Oh yeah, and some guy named Jackson died, too.

25 June 2009

Another One

Governor Mark Sanford is a feminine hygiene product.

That's really too bad, because I had a lot of respect for him because of the whole wont-take-the-porkulus-money thing. He could have gone far.

Alas, he was brought low by his own wanton lust, as have so many before him. He is just the latest in a long line of the reasons people consider the words "scumbag" and "politician" to be redundant.

My problem with him is the same as with Clinton, Edwards, Ensign and all the other jackasses, namely that they made a promise and didn't keep it. If they lie to their spouses they will lie to their constituents as well, and that is something that we should not put up with.

Yes, I know, "lying politician" is also a redundant statement. That doesn't mean we should excuse it when the proof comes up. I'm with Gonzo on this one. If he can't be trusted at home, he can't be trusted in the office either.

I have to respect his wife Jenny Sanford however, she wasn't one of the "stand by your man" wives who have shared the stage with their philandering spouses as they poured out their tale of woe. She gave him the boot two weeks ago, which is why she didn't know where he was.

In a statement released to the press she says the separation was intended to ultimately lead to a reconciliation, and that "I believe Mark has earned a chance to resurrect our marriage." Still, she let him face the music alone. What happens next is up to them, it's their personal lives and they deserve their privacy.

Thus endeth the political ambitions of one Mark Sanford.

This Week

Yesterday I took my new Father's Day grille over to "The Boy's" school for their end-of-year cookout.

Today my sister and her clan will show up.

Tomorrow is graduation day at the school. "The Boy" is not graduating, but since it's a small school all the students get involved.

Saturday I'll go back to work. I'll need the rest by then.

21 June 2009

Happy Father's Day

I hope all the fathers out there are having a good one.

I have to work tonight, so we had an outing last night with friends. A good time was had by all.

19 June 2009

Busy Day

I got some things done around the house today that the wife has been bugging me to do and found some time to take the boy out worm drowning. He caught a small fish that we took a picture of and threw back, and all I got was sunburned.

On the way home we talked about gossip and why Mom is so mad about it.

I got a new charcoal grille for Fathers Day (I'll be working Sunday) and I've been putting it through it's paces.

Tomorrow evening the wife and I will be going to a friend's house, and a good time shall be had by all.

Hope everyone else is having a good weekend.

14 June 2009

Gossip

There was a little dust-up at the Refuge today.

The youngest child is a special-needs child, both of his birth parents are mentally deficient and he has a problem reading. He's not stupid by any means, but he has a real problem putting letters together to form words.

He is also very social, and all the neighbors know him because he visits them all. He's a good kid, so the neighbors like to have him around. It's a pretty small community, so everyone knows everyone else, so the wife and I have never had any problems with letting him wander.

We recently gained a new neighbor across the street, and the boy being the social creature he is immediately went over and introduced himself. She is an older lady with a couple of dogs and he had a big time playing with the dogs. She had also invited him to go to church with her a couple of times, which he did.

My wife always had a sneaking suspicion that there was something odd with her though, and never trusted her for some reason. Today we found out that we are the target of gossip.

My wife, being my wife, confronted her with it. She is extremely apologetic, she never meant any harm, she was just concerned because he can't read, etc. The wife pointed out that if she was so concerned she would have come and talked to us about it, which she did not.

What she is, is a gossip.

For the most part gossip is malicious and slandering, and nothing good ever comes of it. It creates hard feelings and makes for bad neighbors. It introduces strife into a peaceful community. It hurts the innocent, in this case a ten year old boy.

I really hate gossip.

12 June 2009

Forget John Galt

The guy we need right now is Hank Rearden.

We need someone - anyone - who has the stones to stand up and say "I see what you're doing here, and I'm not going to play along."

I just keep waiting for it. So far none of the bankers, oilmen, car execs, or other businessmen who have been called on the carpet in front of Congress have done it. Not a single one.

I would have changed all my accounts to the one bank that had the HMFIC that, when told by the Feds "You aren't leaving this room until you sign this and take the money" would have said "Buddy, you don't have the horsepower to keep me in this room." None stepped forward.

I would have bought all my gasoline from now on from the one company who's CEO, when called before Congress to get lectured on price gouging, would have pointed out that the US Government makes more money per gallon than the oil companies do. But not a single one did.

I have never bought a brand new car, but I was planning on a Challenger convertible. Now it will be a Mustang convertible instead. I appreciate the fact that Ford didn't take the money, but they didn't stand up for themselves when they were castigated for taking private planes to meet with the lawmakers either. None of them did.

Now health care lobbyists have been warned point blank to not even meet with Republicans. Appointed officials are being invited to quit or be fired in violation of the law. We rush headlong into Socialism while former and current socialist countries warn us of the foolishness of our actions. Example after example of government overreach has come to us by way of the bloggers, but the Mainstream Mediots remain silent.

On the other hand, tea party after tea party is held, and again the Mainstream Mediots remain silent. Pressure is building. How long before it breaks out?

The mid term elections are going to be held next year. If you want to make a difference, vote for Congresscritter and/or Senator. If the Republican party is not running a candidate (it happens all too often, sadly enough) look at the third party candidates, like the Libertarians or the Constitution Party.

It's our country, and we have only ourselves to blame if we do nothing as it all goes sideways.

11 June 2009

On That Note

It just gets sadder and sadder how Sarah Palin is such a threat to the liberals. Seven months after the election they just keep kicking at her. She's still a threat because she still draws big crowds. She's attractive, smart, likes guns, and speaks to "regular" people.

The Ivy League educated self-selected nobility just doesn't get why we ignorant rubes are so attracted to her. She went to a state university for pete's sake, and only has a bachelor's degree! Can't you morons see that she is TEH STOOPID?!?!?!? What's the matter with you?

She is their worst nightmare and must be destroyed. And not only destroyed, but as Robert DeNiro's character said in The Untouchables, "I want you to get this f*ck where he breathes! I want you to find this nancy-boy Eliot Ness, I want him DEAD! I want his family DEAD! I want his house burned to the GROUND! I wanna go there in the middle of the night and I wanna P*SS ON HIS ASHES!" destroyed.

And if she's that big a threat to them, perhaps we should really take notice.

That's Funny?

Letterman showed his old ass and is now getting some heat for it.

Just now on O'Reilly's show asshat apologist Alan Colmes said he probably just mistook Bristol Palin for her 14 year old sister Willow.

Because, you know, teen pregnancy jokes are funny when applied to 18 year olds, but just creepy for 14 year olds.

There's probably a good reason why Letterman still hasn't landed that "Tonight Show" gig.

10 June 2009

New Link

Home On The Range.

I think I'm in luv.

(My wife's idea of "roughing it" is a hotel without room service.)

07 June 2009

Tea Party, Part Two

There was another Tea Party in Raleigh on Wednesday, June 3rd. It didn't rate even a casual mention in the local media.

Next one is scheduled for July 4th, and if the good Lord is willing and the creek doesn't rise I'll be there for this one.

By the by, that's a new subversive link. Click at your peril (muahahahahaha! Mine is an evil laugh).

06 June 2009

D Day

65 years ago today Operation Overlord and Operation Neptune were launched, eventually resulting in the defeat of the Axis powers in Europe.

It was the largest single-day amphibious landing the world has ever seen, and when it was over 1,465 American boys lay dead or dying. Along with the British and Canadian forces, and including those captured and wounded, there were over 10,000 casualties out of a force of 160,000 men.

The invasions took part during a break in the weather, which partly accounts for the relatively light casualty count (the expected casualty count was estimated at 75% by British air commander Trafford Leigh-Mallory). The Germans had assumed that since the weather was not cooperative the invasions would not be able to proceed for another month at least, and some of them had actually taken leave during the time of the invasions.

Even with those high estimated casualties, however, the expected gains were deemed important enough that the casualty count was acceptable. With three words - "Okay, let's go" - Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower set into motion the machinery that would change the world forever.

And with those words, the young soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines of the Allied nations unleashed their wrath upon the Axis powers.

The world owes them all a debt that they can never repay.

Strolling Around the Net

I would like to introduce my newest blogroll addition, Gunslinger's Journal.

I happened upon Gunslinger's Journal through a post from Annie, and while I was there I read the list of definitions.

This one in particular caught my eye:

"Collaborators: This refers to the Liberal-Left anti-war, anti-American, anti-Bush boneheads who say things like "war never solved anything" and expose national security secrets, or support those who do; who pretend to be against terrorism, but don't want to profile young Muslim men; who go to foreign countries and bad-mouth America; who vow to leave America if Bush is elected, then don't; who believe that America is the problem and not the solution to the world's problems...at the same time they insist that America SOLVE all the world's problems, but only in ways that are not American; who are rich and fat and happy and blame the hard-working, struggling, productive Americans for making the rest of the world poor; who believe that morals are relative and non-binding for themselves, but gleefully point out in mock outrage the human failings of people with whom they disagree; who believe the First Amendment applies only to themselves; who believe that the Constitution is a set of suggestions, not the Law of the Land, and can be trampled, twisted, i.e. "interpreted" in any way that fits their agenda; who believe the framers and founders of America were evil white men, to whom they owe no debt of gratitude; who think that America is the worst country in the world but won't leave to go to that other place that is so much better...which they never exactly identify; who believe that America's success, prosperity and power are not the result of high principles, hard work, dedication, good ideas, faith and sacrifice, but luck, and theft; who believe that somehow it's the magical dirt of the land mass that is America that generates prosperity, technology, wealth and power, not the people and the culture; who would rather see America punished, blamed, battered and bloodied by the rest of the world than lift a finger to defend her; who would rather see America LOSE A WAR and American troops BLEED AND DIE than see George W. Bush succeed." (emphasis mine)

It reminded me of one of my earliest, and in my opinion still my best, post entitled "Peace".

As I stroll about Al Gore's Intertubes, I am reminded again and again of the inherent truthiness contained within that post.

I just wish I had the answer to the question of what to do about it.

05 June 2009

This Week In History

67 years ago yesterday the US and Japanese fleets met in battle at a place called Midway Atoll.

When I got my EAWS wings we were, of course, required to know the pertinent facts about the battle of Midway.

The significance of Midway was that the US Navy was able to achieve parity in forces with the Japanese, while simultaneously depriving Japan of her skilled naval aviators. For this reason Midway is known as the turning point of the war in the Pacific, even though the Japanese juggernaut would continue for several more months.

(The significance of the earlier battle of Coral Sea, incidentally, is that it was the first time in history when naval forces engaged and the surface ships never saw each other. It was the first time carriers went head to head, and was waged completely from the air.)

Ensign George Gay had the dubious honor of being the only aviator to survive from Torpedo Squadron Eight, and enjoyed a front row seat for the destruction of three of the Japanese carriers from his spot in the water. He was rescued by a PBY flying boat 30 hours later.

The battle commenced on June 4, 1942 when nine Army Air Corps B-17s dropped bombs on (and missed) the Japanese transport group, and ended on June 7, 1942 when Admiral Spruance ordered the disengagement and subsequent withdrawal. During the course of the battle four Japanese fleet carriers were sunk at the cost of one American carrier, the USS Yorktown (CV-5), and the destroyer that was providing damage control assistance to her, the USS Hammann (DD-412).

Admiral Spruance is sometimes condemned for not continuing the engagement and destroying the retreating Japanese fleet utterly, but others will point out that the reinforcements on the way included the 18 inch guns of the battleship Yamato, and that the Yamato would have engaged at night while the carrier aircraft were chained down due to the darkness (military aircraft were not equipped for night fighting at the time).

It must be remembered that at the time US servicemen of all branches served in-theater from beginning to end, and the only way out of the battle was due to injury or death. Today our deployments are limited and units are rotated in and out.

It was a different time, a different enemy, and a different fight, and we learned much from their example. Let us pray that we never have to witness the devastation of another world war.

04 June 2009

The Modern World

I just got into this Facebook thing because my son-in-law (the one in Wyoming that I've never met) sent me an invite so I could see pics of the grandkids.

Much to my surprise I know a lot of people on Facebook. And me being such a Neanderthal, who knew?

The only problem is that there are so many things - applications, games and so forth - that I really don't know what all to allow and what not to.

Of course, once I get it all figured out things will change again and leave me in the dark all over again, snuffling around in my cave looking for the two rocks I had to bang together to make sparks.

If you're here via the Facebook link, well this is my page. Have a look around and leave me a note in the comments to let me know you were here.

03 June 2009

What A Week

An abortion doctor gets killed and all of Christendom is apparently responsible.

Meanwhile a Muslim convert that kills one solder and wounds another is acting alone.

And apparently, according to Playboy, it is now OK to brutally rape women - as long as they are conservative women.

Sometimes it's hard to keep up, with the way things change so quickly.

Of course if you have been watching anything other than Fox, you are probably only aware of one of these stories.

HT to RSM at The Other McCain.

Is It Just Me?

Or does anyone else see this...

and think of this?