Stage Two

The next part of our journey took us from Green Cove Springs, where the hospital is, to Jacksonville to the eldest daughter's house. We were planning on only staying a day or so and continuing up the coast, stopping off to see the wife's aunt in uncle in south Georgia, but we have been extended due to automobile issues. Nothing serious, in fact it's kind of good news.

My daughter had a Taurus that was having overheating problems and she was finally told the head gaskets were blown. She didn't have the money to fix it, she had another car, so she gave the car to me. The plan was to borrow a truck to tow it back to NC with and fix it there. Today I took a real good look at it.

The overheating problem was caused by the plastic expansion tank being cracked, the crack would open under pressure and vent all the water out and the car would overheat. The last time it happened the daughter shut the car off and had it towed to my son-in-law's job, where he took it to the mechanic who told them the engine was damaged.

I checked the engine oil, and there was no milk in it, which indicates the engine doesn't have any problems after all. I found another expansion tank at the junkyard for five bucks, the only one that was there out of about a dozen cars, so I'm thinking this is a common problem.

I would have put it in already, but on the way home from the junkyard the Pontiac started heating up. It turns out the radiator fan went bad on me, so I had to replace that before I went any farther. Thankfully it wasn't a difficult or costly fix.

Tomorrow I will put the expansion tank in, fill the radiator, start the car and let it idle for a half-hour or so and see if it overheats again. After that I will check the oil problem again. If there aren't any problems I will have about fifteen dollars in the car, five for the expansion tank and ten for the coolant.

I'm guessing that the car will idle fine in the hot Florida sun for a half hour with the AC on without overheating, I will see no bubbles in the expansion tank after I top off the coolant, the car will not blow white smoke from the tailpipes (both daughter and SIL tell me the car never did smoke), and afterwards the oil will be water-free.

If that is the case, I will feel bad for taking the car, and in fact I have already told them they can have it back if it's OK, but they will not hear of it. So if it checks out I'll get the plates for it just before we come back down to bring the wife back to stay with Pop after her treatments and I'll drive it back up north.

It will be a good replacement for the Pontiac which is showing it's age. The wife wants to keep the Pontiac for her every day car and save the Taurus for road trips since it's bigger (we have been taking the Aries station wagon for that purpose, but it has a broken air conditioner).

It will need a battery (because the one that was in it is now in the daughter's other car) and a full set of tires to pass inspection, but otherwise it's in good shape all around. I have a handful of cosmetic things to fix in the interior, one small dent near the gas fill door, and it needs hubcaps. I'm thinking trim rings and moon caps since it's a white car, that way I can watch the other drivers on the road freak out at me when they think it's an unmarked police car.

Of course that gives me a total of five cars after the old pickup gets put back together (including the one that my youngest daughter is driving). Funny thing is, they all have their niches. The Rampage is my daily driver, the Aries is my camping and fishing car (that's the one the youngest daughter is driving), the Pontiac is my wife's car, and the old truck has earned it's keep even if it never moves another inch. The Taurus will be the spare vehicle/family outing car.

Since the Rampage can fill the camping and fishing role (as long as it's just Christopher and me), and since the youngest daughter has driven the Aries fifteen of the eighteen months I have owned it, I might as well just sign the damn thing over to her. She can sell her Topaz since it has just been sitting all this time (it needs a tire to pass inspection, but why bother when she's driving Dad's car?).

So that's it for the saga of Things With Wheels...until next time. And my "next car" was a Ford this time, so the Big Three will be represented in my driveway (two Dodges, a Pontiac and a Chevrolet from GM, and a Taurus from Ford). I wonder if I will ever own a new car? Maybe someone will take all my old ones for a trade-in.

In real news Arlen Sphincter has finally come out of the closet. It's about time.

Stage One

I arrived at my Florida destination this morning just in time for SWMBO and Pop to go to the VA, get his eye looked at (the post op looks good, the cataract surgery was a success for the left eye, right eye happens in about a month) and go see MIL at the hospital.

Tomorrow we will go see MIL, I have to check the daughter's car out, and then we will start our meandering journey back home. We're planning a coastal trip rather than an I-95 one, it should be much more restful this way.

Of course today I got a message saying my photos from the Roanoke trip are in. I'll try to get some posted at the end of the week, along with any that I take this week that catches my fancy.

The news stories of the day are SWINE FLU PANDEMIC!!! and the idiotic trip of Air Farce One over New Yawk City.

First, less than 100 cases of swine flu in a nation of 300 million is not yet a cause for widespread panic. As I watched the news I was struck by the obvious attempts of the "reporters" to create a big issue (and thus a big news story) out of it, and the experts were all making variations on the "it's a cause for concern but not alarm" theme.

It's more severe in Mexico and overseas, which says a lot for both our standard of living and also for our much-maligned medical care system. Wash your hands and get a shot if you are in the at-risk demographic, other than that I've heard TheraFlu does wonders.

Second, Bambi claims he knew nothing about his airplane being used for a photo shoot. I'm not convinced. The "American Idol" president didn't know anything about a photo shoot involving the aircraft that becomes Air Force One when he's aboard, right. Pull the other one, it's got bells.

Be that as it may, the brain child that cooked up this idea needs to find new employment and the pilots that flew the mission rather than saying "Hey, this is a REALLY DUMB idea" need to be re-assigned to the "rubber dogsqueeze to Hong Kong" route.

A Slight Delay

I was going to post some pictures of the Roanoke trip, but unfortunately the film didn't show when it was supposed to. So, it will have to wait a while.

Next week will be busy, I'll be heading off to Florida Monday evening to pick up the wife and we're going to take our time getting back. It should be a nice relaxing ride.

MIL is not doing well, and Pop is having a hard time coming to grips with that. Not surprising since they have been together for 56 years.

Light posting next week due to the trip.

The Week In Review

It was a busy week.

My sister recently moved from an apartment to a townhouse, and in the process her dining room table became surplus. My wife wanted it, so arrangements were made to pick it up. Of course this was before the whole incident with the mother in law.

Anyway, on Thursday the three boys and I went to Roanoke to get the table and see Sister's new digs.

If you ever get a chance to travel four hours with three boys ages 4, 6, and 9, I highly recommend that you slit your wrists instead.

But, travel aside, we had a good time in Roanoke. I left my digital camera, so I bought a cheapie from Wallyworld only to find out that the reason it was so cheap is that it had no internal memory. I would have known that if I had read the package.

Fortunately I bought a couple of one-time use cameras as well, so pictures and a full write-up will be forthcoming when the pics are developed.

And, once I got the SD card installed into the new digital it was OK. Not great, but OK. I'll end up using it when we take our camping and fishing trips, that way the more expensive camera won't be at risk.

I also found someone that will actually do the body work on my old 62 Chevy C-10 instead of just talking about it. I really can't afford it, but at the price he quoted I can't pass it up either, and he takes payments, so it's all good.

He took the cab away today and he will come back for the rest a bit at a time as he has the time and I have the cash. It will be good to see Old Frank back in one piece again.

Scenes Of The Lunatic Fringe

Sorry for the blurriness on some - OK, most - of the images, I really need to invest in a tripod. Click on any picture for an expanded view (necessary to read some of the signs).

The crowds packed the west lawn of the building in the area designated for the rally. I hesitate to call it a protest given the orderliness of the crowds.

The point of posting this particular picture is to show how the police, while present, weren't required for crowd control. More than one person walked up to them to thank them for their service and shake their hands. At first they seemed surprised, I don't think they expected that from the right-wing extremist whack jobs the DHS told them to be looking out for. At the end, while everyone was heading to their cars, the police blocked off a single street to allow the crowds to cross without having to fight traffic. Once clear of that single street, however, the crowds stayed on the sidewalks and obeyed traffic signs on their way to the parking lots. Not your typical protest as carried out by typical protesters, but that's the way we like it.

The Gadsden flag was in evidence all through the crowd. This particular flag was flown by the street, and given the enthusiastic honking of the motorists driving by, was well received.

Russ. Just Russ says they were there, but I didn't see any cameras or reporters myself. I didn't see any mention on the local stations during the eleven o'clock news, either, but I wasn't really watching closely. I did see the Fayetteville rally coverage on the "local" all-news-all-the-time channel, so at least someone was paying attention somewhere.

This was a family event, and there were plenty of kids about. Some of the older ones had their own signs, most of them along the "hey, that's MY money you're taking!" variety.

Makes me want to cry too, kid. At least you're getting a ride out of the deal. For now at least. Later on you can carry me, 'kay?

Nice thought there. History, failure to learn, failure to learn from.

The crowds were well behaved and orderly throughout the event. No one strayed into the streets to block traffic, something that seemed to be well appreciated by both law enforcement officers and passing motorists.

There were slightly more than a pathetic dozen people present, and of all the American flags at the scene not a single one was even so much as smoldering.

Someone should probably keep an eye on this radical extremist.

This one too.

Strangely enough, PETA was not there to highlight the plight of this poor, helpless animal. Won't someone please help?

Raleigh Tax Day Tea Party

The Tax Day Tea Party in Raleigh kicked off at 6:30, but I didn't get there until a bit after seven.

According to Russ. Just Russ the crowds had started gathering by 5:30, in plenty of time for the start.

Some items to note here, the crowds were polite
and no one was confrontational, the police were
there but looked awfully bored (just the way we like them), and no one that I know of got hauled away in chains.

This stands in stark contrast to Tom Tancredo's experience in Chapel Hill with the UNC students.

I didn't see any news coverage, but Russ has a picture on his post that shows a news van present.

Through the whole thing the honks of the cars driving by were constant. Even if they didn't have the time to attend, it seems the denizens of Raleigh were generally supportive of the event.

One of the things that really surprised me were the number of kids at the rally, not only those who were being carried but also those who were old enough to seem to know what was going on. Most of them carried signs, as you can see by the two young ladies in the tree.

The event was scheduled to go until 8:30, but at eight o clock the last of the speakers finished, led the crowd (badly) in a rendition of America the Beautiful, and everyone went peacefully to their cars.

US NAVY - UR DOING IT RONG!

Apparently you don't actually need SEALs, all you really need are dolphins.

Who knew?

Fake Turkey

Link to Hot Air, HT to Ace O' Spades.

New Link

Not because of a hope to take advantage of Rule Number 2, I just dig the dude's writing.

Like I said before, the links are for my convenience (mostly so I can find these places again) but if you enjoy them, all the better.

On FOX

Since I'm now a paid media shill (thanks Annie!) I was watching Fox News just now as they discussed the tea parties tomorrow. I must say that the leftists are making some pretty funny points.

First, the accusation that these are not "grass roots" but are being paid for and organized by, among others, Freedom Works. According to Freedom Works, they have helped with getting the necessary permits, but have paid for nothing, and would love to be able to claim credit for the whole Tax Day Tea Party phenomenon, but unfortunately can't.

(Note to self, rant for another day: why the hell do we need permits to exercise the first amendment right to peaceably assemble? Tie this in with the permits required to exercise the second amendment right to keep and bear arms.)

This is funny because no one complains when groups like ANSWER pay for and organize leftist protests, even going so far as to bus people in and pay them for their time to get them to protest, but if the right wing organizations just help with permits it's suddenly a huge problem. Hypocrisy, thy name is leftist asshat.

Next, the guest lefty "questions the timing" since Bush ran up gazillion dollar deficits year after year and the Right barely noticed. Apparently he hasn't been paying attention. Not surprising since the people on the Right have jobs, and so we don't usually have time for protests (and the ones we do have don't get the media coverage).

We just vote. Or not, as the case may be. Ask all those free-spending Republicans why they aren't in office any more. Actually, don't, because they think they just weren't successful appealing to the center. The real reason is, if we want politicians who spend like Democrats, we will just elect a bunch of Democrats. Or do nothing to prevent them from being elected, which amounts to the same thing.

But speaking of the huge Bush deficits, I would like you to direct your attention to this chart, which has been helpfully provided on several blogs:


Take a look at the actual deficits from 2004-2007. Although you wouldn't have known it from the regular mainstream media or from the leftist that was the guest on this Fox News segment, the deficits were trending towards the zero mark, not increasing. When the bailouts and other government interference bills were passed in 2008 there was much squawking by the right side of the political spectrum, but the squawking went unnoticed (apparently because there were no staged protests with anti-Bush content, so the MSM ignored it).

So, the last Bush deficit in 2008 ends up being 450 billion, and the first projected Obama deficit is going to be over 1.6 trillion. That seems to be a good reason to have an anti-tax rally.

I would also like to direct your attention to the 2002-2003 time span in the above graph. This is when the Republicans began to spend like Democrats, which ended badly for them. When President Bush finally found his veto pen things started to go in the right direction, but it was a too-little-too-late deal.

The "Most Ethical Congress Evah!" was elected in 2006 and took power in 2007. 2007 went pretty well, but 2008 is when things really started to go sideways. This ended badly for John McCain, as you might remember. Obama campaigned on reducing the deficit, reminding the voting public at every available opportunity that the Republican congress run amok had spent us all into the poorhouse.

A Democrat congress running amok will, on the other hand, spend us into peace and unimaginable prosperity. This will be the first time in history that spending will lead to untold riches, but the Obamiester is a lightworker, after all.

Make fun of us "teabaggers" if you wish, but we are hoping that our government will pay attention. That is why we are doing this, not to overthrow the government, not to topple the Obama administration, and certainly not for the spots on the six o'clock news.

See you at the tea party!

Tea Party

The Raleigh Tax Day Tea Party is April 15th at the state capitol building on Wilmington Street from 6:30PM to 8:30PM.

I'll be there with my Simon Jester shirt on.

See you there!

Happy Easter

2000 years ago (give or take) Humanity was saved.

This afternoon Captain Phillips was.

Three pirates dead, one in custody, the good Captain and crew safe and soon to be reunited, and all is well with the world.

Happy Easter everyone.

On The Home Front

Mother in law is improving. She's still on the vent, but today she's being moved to a long-care hospital that specializes in respiratory therapy.

The wife is staying while I head back up north for the weekend. I'll come back after Easter to bring her car back to her, and I'll bring the youngest son and youngest daughter with me.

It looks like the wife will be here for 3 or 4 weeks, then she will have to come back home for a chemo treatment, a week to recover from that, and then right back down again.

When mother gets out of the hospital we will make plans to move them closer to the Refuge. That way we won't have to scramble if something new comes up. I know that will be better for the wife's peace of mind.

Following Up

The Maersk ship Alabama is now underway minus her skipper.

Her skipper is being held hostage by four pirates in the ship's disabled lifeboat.

The crew had bartered to exchange one of the pirates for the captain. The crew turned over the pirate, and the pirates reneged on their side of the deal.

(Cue Johnny Depp's character Captain Jack Sparrow saying "Pirate...")

Now the USS Bainbridge is on scene and the US Navy has taken over negotiations. My opinion is that their negotiating team should be US Navy SEALs*, but they have sent for FBI negotiators.

Maybe one of them will be Lon Horiuchi.

*Update - did I call that one or what?

Official US Navy photo

To The Crew

of the Maersk Alabama:

Well done.

Four Possible Future Darwin Awards

So, there are four guys wandering around the Texas countryside killing dogs, just for fun.

They motor up to this guy's house and kill his dog.

This guy takes offense at his dog being killed, so he chases the punks down and holds them for the Texas Rangers.

The four punks talk smack to him, saying they are going to hunt him down and kill him because he turned them in to the police.

Good luck with that. Have your life insurance policies paid up to date before you try it.

I notice two things, first that they got awfully brave when the Texas Rangers came along to rescue them, second that the Rangers knew immediately who they were talking to.

I'm guessing that the four punks wouldn't be missed much.

A Brief Interruption

Blogging will be light for the next few days.

My mother-in-law has been in the hospital for the past few weeks, and Saturday she went on a ventilator. As soon as SWMBO found out about it she loaded the car up and we went to the in-laws, that very night.

Mother has been having heart problems, which has lead to muscle weakness, and one day she fell and Pop was unable to get her back up. She's been in the hospital ever since, she's been depressed and that doesn't help. I think she's just sick and down and feeling useless, like no one needs her any more, so that's why the depression.

The good news is that her arrival seems to have done wonders for her mother, Mom was awake and waiting for us last night when we got to the hospital. We had visited earlier in the day but she was asleep and only woke up just before we left. I don't think it had quite dawned on her that we were here until later, so she was ready for us when we got back.

Pop is totally lost without her but he's putting on a good front. Wife and daughter cleaned up his house for him, wife promised mother to look after him for a while. I'm hoping that seeing wife gives mother a bit of heart and will speed her recovery.

It is quite likely that I will end up leaving wife here for a while and come back for her later. It will be hectic around the Refuge with her gone, but I think we can manage, and I think she will be of more use here until mother gets to feeling better.

Long term plans are to get them closer to the Refuge so that wife can look in on them every day. Pop says he doesn't want to deal with the snow, but he also agrees that maybe it's time, and the wife is not in an accommodating mood just now. They have resisted moving closer so far, using the excuses of the weather and that they don't want to "be a burden" on us (the wife is an only child), but wife has just about had it with excuses I think.

I don't know what the problem is with being a burden. That's why I had children, I fully intend to be a burden to all of them. Payback and all that. I might even live long enough to be a burden to my grandchildren, it all depends on how ornery I get to feeling.

Eldest daughter, on the other hand, has strictly forbidden either one of us from ever getting old. How are we going to be a burden if we do that, I'd like to know?

Anyway, light if at all, yadda yadda. Whadda ya want fer nothin?

You Don't Professionalize

Until you nationalize!

This is what happens when you have an organization that has authority without accountability.

This is also what happens when technology gets to the tipping point where it is no longer controllable by such organizations. Hilarity often ensues when the would be subjects refuse to act like subjects. This, by the way, is what's known as A Good Thing.

On a side note, any time I hear variations on the theme "if you have nothing to hide" it sets my teeth on edge. I don't have anything to hide, no, but I still don't want you pawing through my underwear drawer without a warrant. It's all about the whole freedom thing, you see.

Freedom is a scary thing. It requires you to make decisions, and to live or die by those decisions. Slavery is decidedly safer, but I'd rather be free if it's all the same to you.

And even if it's not all the same to you.

HT to Six Meat Buffet.

For those of you who would take issue with the statement that slavery is decidedly safer, when you are a slave you are a commodity, an investment, and only idiots would intentionally abuse their investments. And idiots don't get to keep their investments very long.

Change-up

I'm trying some new colors here at the Refuge. I like the black background, but it sometimes makes the script somewhat difficult to read. So, I've lightened the script, and I'm toying with changing background colors, maybe in something red.

Let me know what you think.

Give Me A Tall Ship

Looks like a good time to get that boat you have always wanted.

Not such a good time to get rid of one, though. It's definitely a buyer's market.

HT to Boortz.

April Fools

DJ sucks.

So does Bob.

And BoBo takes one for the team.

Happy April First.

And You Expected Something Different, Perhaps?

Take Ceaser's coin,

pay Ceaser's price.

GM is now Obama's beyotch, and they have the nerve to be surprised. Chrysler is the redheaded stepchild, and no one is surprised. Looks like Ford had the better idea after all.

<==rock

hard place==>

The 912 Project

From comments at The Rott:

"Ask yourself these questions:

Do you watch the direction that America is being taken in and feel powerless to stop it?
Do you believe that your voice isn’t loud enough to be heard above the noise anymore?
Do you read the headlines everyday and feel an empty pit in your stomach…as if you’re completely alone?

If you’ve answered YES, then you’ve fallen for the Wizard of Oz lie. While the voices you hear in the distance may sound intimidating, as if they surround us from all sides—the reality is very different. Once you pull back the curtain, you realize that there are only a few people pressing the buttons, and their voices are weak. The truth is that they don’t surround us at all.

We surround them.

At the origin of America, our Founding Fathers built this country on 28 powerful principles. These principles were culled from all over the world and from centuries of great thinkers. We have distilled the original 28 down to the 9 basic principles.

So, how do we show America what’s really behind the curtain? Read the nine simple principles.

If you believe in at least seven of them, then we have something in common."

I'm also installing a new widget. We will see how that goes.

UPDATE: The new widget was a loser. It was an "Intense Debate" comment host that I've decided I didn't like because it didn't give me enough control to my comments section. Sorry to have lost your comment, Hammer, but thanks for trying it out for me.

More New Hotness

On the links sidebar:

Velociworld (slightly NSFW for language, you have been warned)

Word Around the Net

Take a peek!

Simon Jester

Check it out.

HT: The Smallest Minority

Score!

Ha!

HT: Ace O' Spades

The Gauntlet Is Thrown

There has been the stories circulating about the flight attendant who asked a plane full of people if anyone knew even one of the five Medal of Honor awardees from the Long War.

One man knew one name.

By way of the Major comes this challenge. See what you can do with it.

And for the record, these are the five MoH awardees:

SFC Paul R. Smith, US Army
Lt Micheal Murphy, US Navy SEAL
MA2 Micheal Monsoor, US Navy SEAL
CPL Jason Dunham, USMC
PFC Ross McGinnis, US Army

Remember them.

And while we're at it, let's not forget our allies in this fight. These gents have been awarded the Victorian Cross by their respective governments. The VC is their equivalent to our MoH.

Pte Johnson Gideon Beharry, British Army
Trooper Mark Donaldson, Australian Army

Hand salute to Crunchie at the Rott.

Clash Of Titans

In this match-up, Darth Vader would totally kick Oba-teh-ONE!'s ass.

Afterwards he would extinguish the flaming corpse with a stream of his own urine (or not) while stating "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

Last Night

Last night I had a day off because I had traded days with a co-worker. That means I was home, and awake, for the four-hour presentation of "The Color of Magic" on the Ion Channel.

This was a TV adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Diskworld books "The Color of Magic" and "The Light Fantastic". It is the second of his works to be made into a TV film, the first one being "Hogfather", which was also shown in the US on the Ion Channel.

I thought that "Hogfather" was magnificent, and I thought that "The Color of Magic" was indeed magical. I can't wait for "Going Postal" to come out later on this year, it is supposed to be the third Diskworld film and I absolutely loved the book. If they do as well on it as they have done on the other two, it will be well worth the wait.

All in all, not a bad way to waste four hours on a Sunday night.

Musings Of A Cajun

Mostly Cajun has a piece up that I really must pass on, not really because of the subject matter (although that's a good reason to read the whole piece) but how he explains it in the opening. To wit:

"I used to be a bit sensitive about the use of “offensive” language on this blog. After all, my kids read it. but my kids are now 18 & 15, and I’m pretty sure they’ve heard just about any word that might pop up here, although they might not realize that their dad, nine years in the army and 32 years in heavy industry, just might not only know those same words himself, but had, in the course of life, strung said words together in colorful expressions befitting widely differing situations and emotions."

Having served with Marines on and off over a 20 year career, I have to say that I have at times been in a position to observe "colorful expressions befitting widely differing situations and emotions." There have been, as well, CPO's and First Class Petty Officers who were likewise masters of the craft, as well as more than a few junior enlisted that showed a fair degree of promise. I have, at all times and with varying degrees of success, tried to prevent such expressionism from coming home with me off-shift so as not to have to answer interesting questions from the kid's teachers regarding vocabulary.

So far the all time master has to be a certain Marine Staff Sergeant who shall remain nameless to protect the innocent. This man was such an experienced practitioner of invective that he demonstrated, on more than one occasion, a capability to speak for at least five minutes if not longer, never using the same phrase twice (although he may have used the same words in differing order), and never leaving any doubt as to the subject on which he spake, including but not limited to the person or personages involved, their dubious parentage, their dubious genus, their dubious genius, the inappropriateness of their actions and the unfortunate possible natures of their demises should he be witness to the inappropriate actions a second time.

I was shocked, shocked I tell ya, that the fine upstanding young men of our armed forces should ever use such language.

Hah. Now about that bridge...

What?!?!?!?!

"But in a way, it's heartening to hear our politicians stumble over words, mangle syntax and make inappropriate jokes. It shows politicians are human, too. Sometimes."

Yeah. Thank our lucky stars above we dodged that dumb-as-a-box-of-hammers Sarah Palin.

HT: Ace O' Spades, once more.

Well Done, Asshats

I am officially ashamed of my Navy.

HT to Ace O' Spades.

Avast Me Hearties!

I just got done reading this over at Hoosier Army Mom's place.

I wonder if she has room for a slightly used Airdale squid that used to be a Hawkeye.

O Happy Day

Hammer has returned.

Much Ado, Update III

The new Rush billboard is up.

Take a look.

And Since It's 3.14

It's also now National Pi Day.

Glad to see there isn't anything more important to do.

Back In The Beginning

I didn't really start this blog to be political, but it sure does have a lot of political stuff on it.

So now for something completely non-political.

Happy Steak and BJ Day!

The More Things Change

The more they stay the same.

What's funny about this is the rancor from the Left when President Bush said the Federal Gubmint would no longer pony up the money for stem cell research on new lines, that only existing lines would be financed.

From the howling you would have thought Bush had said the Government was outlawing all stem cell research, period. But, what he actually said is that there would be no new money for any research involving new lines, which requires human embryos to be created specifically for destruction. Research using existing lines was still funded at the previous levels. Of course this little factoid was overlooked, and Bush got no credit for it at all.

Now along comes media darling President Barack Obama, who signs an executive order that lifts the Bush executive order banning the creation of new lines. The heavens open, the light shines down upon all of us, Micheal J. Fox is miraculously cured (not really, but to listen to him talk when Bush signed the original executive order you would have thought he was sentenced to death upon the morrow) and The Anointed One takes his place at the right hand of God, having restored Science to it's previously exalted place within the firmaments.

On Wednesday the ban is back without fanfare. Just another one of the Bush policies that Obama has kept in place after making noise like he was going to change it, just another one of the formerly Bush policies that were horrible in the eyes of Fifth Column...pardon me, Fifth Estate...that now, since they are Obama policies, aren't so bad any more.

For some reason I am reminded of all the times I told myself "I'm never going to do that to my kids!" whenever my parents did something that I didn't like, and catching myself doing the exact same things to my own kids. They made a whole lot more sense later on when I understood them than they did way back then.

Hat tip to Ace O' Spades, and through them to Small Dead Animals.

Holidaze

There are quite a few holidaze coming up.

First, Friday the 13th is National Iowahawk Day.

Saturday the 14th is Steak and BJ Day.

And finally, Sunday the 15th is Eat a Tasty Animal for PETA Day.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Large Sigh

So Teddy Kennedy has been awarded an honorary knighthood.

One more thing that used to mean something, but now no longer does, to add to the junk pile, along with Nobel peace prizes, Pulitzer prizes, and Oscar awards.

Also, one more sign that the former Great Britain, no longer is.

Mary Jo Kopechne is still unavailable for comment.

Much Ado

Apparently there is some sort of hubbub regarding a statement that Rush Limbaugh made.

That in itself isn't so surprising. Rush Limbaugh often makes statements that raise a ruckus. It's what he does, it's what he has been doing for the better part of a quarter century.

Being on vacation, I was on a self-imposed blackout because I wanted to enjoy my time off, so I missed the whole beginning of the spat. I did catch the original statement, but the follow-up completely escaped my attention.

The upshot is that the Democratic Party is all butt-hurt about Limbaugh saying "I hope he (Obama) fails" and wants to steer the conversation in that direction. What they conveniently leave out, however, is what Limbaugh wants Obama to fail at.

Here, from the transcript, is what Rush hopes Obama fails at: "Look, what he's talking about is the absorption of as much of the private sector by the US government as possible, from the banking business, to the mortgage industry, the automobile business, to health care. I do not want the government in charge of all of these things. I don't want this to work. So I'm thinking of replying to the guy, "Okay, I'll send you a response, but I don't need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails." (interruption) What are you laughing at? See, here's the point. Everybody thinks it's outrageous to say. Look, even my staff, "Oh, you can't do that." Why not? Why is it any different, what's new, what is unfair about my saying I hope liberalism fails? Liberalism is our problem. Liberalism is what's gotten us dangerously close to the precipice here. Why do I want more of it? I don't care what the Drive-By story is. I would be honored if the Drive-By Media headlined me all day long: "Limbaugh: I Hope Obama Fails." "

And now, conservative and neo-conservative pundits are busting Rush's chops for how he said what he said. They are falling for the Democrat's plans hook line and sinker, they are ignoring what was said because of how it was said. And any time you engage the enemy on ground of his choosing, you are at a disadvantage.

What Conservatives should do is say "You were upset over how he said what he said. Poor baby. Now let's talk about what he said instead of how he said it." And then we should force the conversation to stay on that topic, WHAT was said, not HOW it was said. So far all I see is EPIC FAIL.

I want Obama to fail also. I want Obama to fail at implementing his socialist policies. I want him to fail at socializing medicine. I want him to fail at nationalizing the banks and auto industry. I want him to fail at destroying the coal industry. I want him to fail at absorbing my 401K into the Socialist Security system. I want him to fail at any socialist policy that he brings up, because history has shown that socialism is a dismal failure everywhere it's been tried. Anyone who is truly a Conservative, or a Libertarian Conservative, should want the same thing.

Yes, I hear you talking about the socialism lite that pervades much of Europe. Let me ask you a simple question, if Europe had to provide for their own defense instead of relying on the US, how successful would their socialism lite be? If the US were to withdraw all military and foreign aid, how long would they last? Their socialism exists and works only because we, the USA, has enabled it. What happens when we become one of the takers instead of the giver? What happens when Atlas shrugs?

Limbaugh, Colter, Boortz and Hannity are entertainers. They do what they do for the specific purpose of selling more books and attracting a larger listening and (in Hannity's case) viewing audience to garner higher ratings. It's how they make their living, and they are good at it. That does not make them "spokespeople" for the Republican party, but the Republican party should keep in mind that they are not talking to themselves. They are not selling books to themselves. They are not appearing at functions all by themselves to speak to empty rooms. What they are doing is providing the voice of conservative America, and if you are campaigning to conservative America you should listen to what they are saying. But they are not the leaders of the Republican party.

The people that should concern you are the elected ones that wish to be our masters. They, not Rush, are the ones who pass the laws. They, not Colter, are the ones that (selectively) enforce those laws. They, not Hannity, are the ones who levy, collect, and spend taxes. They, not Boortz, are the ones that make the decisions that affect each and every one of us on a daily basis.

Let's get back on target.

UPDATE: I could have said it like this guy, but this is a G rated blog. Mostly.

UPDATE II: Patterico and some others are missing the point entirely. Apparently they are engrossed in the either/or option, the two options being either 1) Rush hopes Obama fails to get the policies enacted, but hopes the policies succeed if they are enacted or 2) Rush hopes Obama fails to get the policies enacted, and hopes the policies fail if they are enacted.

Here's option 3 cupcakes. Rush (and me, and Gonz, and, going by the comments, Annie and BoBo, and - well, just about everyone that doesn't have his or her head up their own ass or who isn't furtively contemplating their own navels) hopes that Obama fails to get his policies enacted. Period. Full stop.

We hope he fails.

There is no "but if the policies are enacted he hopes that..." because if they do get passed it won't make a flying fornication at a rolling pastry what who hopes afterwards.

If the policies are enacted, they are GOING to fail, and fail BIG TIME, because that's what socialist policies do EVERY TIME there isn't someone with deep pockets to pay the bill. And America has no one left behind them to pay the bills.

Ergo, Options 1 and 2 are bullshit and not worth squabbling about.

Like I said before.

Back.

On.

Target.

UPDATE III: I just had to put up the picture of the Dem's new billboard. I like it! Hat tip to the Rott.

Scientific Breakthroughs

I guess navel gazing does pay off after all.

HT: Ace O' Spades, who works very hard to find the most important news stories of the day, every day, all day.

Next Stop

The Moonlite Bunny Ranch!

In an exchange between Megyn Kelly and AZ Rep Trent Franks during an interview on Fox News, Kelly revealed that a high-speed rail project included in the porkulus bill would run from Anaheim CA to the Moonlight Bunny Ranch in Nevada.

This allegation proves to be false, but I thought it was funny.

There have been stories regarding a high-speed rail project between Anaheim CA and Las Vegas NV, but this project had not been tied to the brothel, located 6 miles from Carson City, until now.

The actual project alluded to is the restoration of a bridge on the historic Virginia & Truckee Railroad, now a tourist line that runs from Carson City to Gold Hill, NV.

In Ms. Kelly's defense, she does say that there is no specific line-item for the proposed high-speed rail project between Anaheim CA and Las Vegas NV, and does not mention the V&T rail project at all. She does, however, make the mistake of tying the two projects together.

Rep Franks, on the other hand, talks about the issue as if it were actually a single project.

I don't expect this to stop the mockery. Kelly is a professional talking head and Franks is a Representative, so both of them should know better than to discuss something that they should have each independently investigated. To not have done so makes them appear as foolish as their individual detractors wish to portray them.

Obanomics

I remember seeing a cartoon of this type when Ronald Reagan was President. It showed him in Lil Orphan Annie costume dancing in the rain and singing "The sun will come out tomorrow..."

There were no mysterious figures standing behind him in that cartoon, though. He was all alone.

Reaganomics pulled us out of the miserable conditions brought on by the disastrous policies of the Carter administration. Indeed, the sun did come out, and it shone most brightly, with only a few storm clouds, right up until last year.

Unfortunately there are not enough people who remember...or maybe too many who choose not to remember...the long gas lines, the double-digit inflation, the double-digit unemployment, and the general feeling of malaise from 1976 to 1980. It was during this time that the term "misery index" became more than just an economic indicator, morphing into a painful reality.

What's funny is that Jimmy Carter campaigned on the idea that anyone (Pres Ford) who had caused the misery index to climb to such levels had no right to even ask to be President. By the time his mis-administration was over four years later, the misery index had almost doubled. (He had, of course, asked to be President again.)

Reagan pulled us out of the economic shambles not just by acting optimistic, but by doing the things that made the market react optimistically. Pres Obama seems to think that the rhetoric is enough.

The markets, however, aren't as optimistic.

Snow Day

Glowbull warmening. All over my house. About four inches of it.

For the fourth time this year (the third time was just a light dusting right after Christmas that I didn't post about).

We have been at the Refuge for 4 years come this April. It has snowed more this winter than it has in the three previous ones.

And of course, since I'm hardheaded, I didn't buy any salt or even a snow shovel because I figured the last snow would be it for this season.

The wife is pointing out that she "told me to get a shovel and some salt! When are you going to start listening to me?"

I'll go and get a shovel and we won't have snow again for 5 years. That's the way my life is.

But, the good news is I'm on vacation, so I won't have to drive to work in it.

Of course, the bad news is that no one else is, so I'll have to drive everyone else around in it.

Subtraction

It is with great regret that I remove JD Pendry from the blogroll. His link no longer goes to his site, and I can only guess that he has given up blogging. At least, I hope that is it.

Fair winds CSM Pendry. You will be missed.

The Numbers Game

I may be number 3 at Google, but on Yahoo I'm number ONE!!!

Which means that Samuel Johnson iz nao mah beyotch. On Yahoo.

Check out the guy at third. No, it's not me.

Some guy who is making a start at writing - books, that is, and on the internet no less - from what I glean from his site. Student and journalist, with a stint at teaching, moving off to Canada - probably not someone I would have much to agree with politically, but he is an aspiring SciFi writer so he can't be all bad.

Also, according to his tagline, he gave up a teaching career in order to write Internet books. For a living!

As the good Captain said, he "stuck a thorn in the Alliance's paw -- that tickles me a bit."

Besides, Jimmy Buffett and Stephen King aren't exactly in political lockstep with me either, and I love both of their works. And as Alice Cooper has said, if you are looking for political advice from an entertainer you are a loser.

Good luck with the writing Charles, and maybe I'll see you in the bookstores.

Taking Chance

I just watched the HBO movie "Taking Chance" starring Kevin Bacon.

Awesome movie.

From the very beginning, which is a blank screen with radio traffic of an ambush of a Marine patrol, to the very last, where LCOL Strobl gets back home to his family, the movie's pace is slow but determined - in the way that the marching of a ceremonial guard is slow and determined - and pays tribute to our fallen in a way that is sadly lacking from so many movies made lately.

There was never any part of the movie that made me want to hit the fast-forward button, and there were more than a few times the room got rather dusty.

Kevin Bacon does a superb job as LCOL Strobl. This movie is well worth the watch.

LCOL Strobl's words say it best.

"I didn't know Chance before he died. Today I miss him."

Fair winds and following seas PFC Phelps. We all miss you.

USMC Photo from Blackfive: Taking Chance Home

The Eagle's Eye

I have a new link.

Looks like a fairly new place, but so far it's looking pretty good!

Go take a look.

(I would have left a comment over there, but there seems to be something wrong with the word verification.)

And Now YOU

Must SNARFLE THE GARTHOG!!!!

Yes, I'm late to the game, I know. But, it's funny, and now there's an after action report of a sort, so it's worth checking up on again.

Other than that, no time for posting lately, so sorry about the deficit.

Today I saw something on CNN that made me too nauseous to post. Some Canadian halfwit was gushing about how wonderful it is that Teh One!!!1!! actually knew where Ottawa is (of course, that's after Jugears said Iowa. I wonder if he looked for Radar O'Reilly's house while he was there).

Blech.

Mesothelioma and Veterans

Anyone who is paying attention knows that I am a retired Sailor.

Also, anyone who has been paying attention knows that I served on USS Forrestal (CV-59), the first US carrier specifically built to handle jet aircraft.

Forrestal is undergoing decontamination work in preparation to become an artificial reef. One of the things that has to come out of the ship before that can happen is asbestos. Lots and lots of asbestos.

Asbestos was widely used on Naval ships for steam piping and boilers until the health risks were fully understood, and from then on there was a big push to remove the asbestos. The problem was that the removal process was often more hazardous than leaving the asbestos sealed in place.

As a result there were still many Navy ships that had asbestos, right up to the present day. As these ships are being decommissioned and scrapped, the asbestos has to be removed. This presents a hazard for the decommissioning units and for the shipyard workers involved in the scrapping and decontamination processes.

Asbestos causes a type of cancer called mesothelioma. Mesothelioma attacks the lining of the lungs, heart and abdomen. According to Allen Dutton, former bubblehead (submarine Sailor), retired LCDR (that's O-4 for my non navspeak readers), and current Veterans Benefit Counselor for the Mesothelioma Cancer Center, the VA does not always recognize asbestos related deseases.

That is why he has asked for the help of veteran bloggers. While my blog is not exclusively military, I will certainly do anything I can to help my former shipmates that may be suffering from these terrible deseases.

I have accordingly agreed to put the link on the sidebar, you can find it under the Mesothelioma and Veterans tag. If you are a veteran, or if you are a family member of a veteran, who is suffering from an asbestos related illness and needs help negotiating the VA process, visit the website.

UPDATE: BoBo and 454Monte are helping to get the word out.

A Plan To Fail?

"The John Galt Plan...will reconcile all conflicts. It will protect the property of the rich and give a greater share to the poor. It will cut down the burden of your taxes and provide you with more government benefits. It will lower prices and raise wages. It will give more freedom to the individual and strengthen the bonds of collective obligations. It will combine the efficiency of free enterprise with the generosity of a planned economy...

Tomorrow is here today-and what a tomorrow! With three meals a day for everyone on earth, with a car in every garage , and with electric power given for free, produced by some sort of a motor the like of which we've never seen! And all you have to do is be patient a little while longer!"

It would almost be funny, if it wasn't happening to us.

Another New Link

I had to link this guy just cause he's high-larious.

Content warning, not safe for work or small children.

You have been warned.

A Slight Correction

It has been brought to my attention that I am now number three, not five.

Thanks to all of my readers, intentional or not.

(You would think with all of that attention there would be a few more comments, but looking at some other sites I don't know if that would be a good thing or not.)

A Little Help????

I got this question from a reader:

Sometimes I get a little confused and need a little help, and I'm asking you for it. There's part of me that has a very tender heart and just weeps at things, and I need a voice of common sense, so help me here.

"Obama, speaking to about 200 House Democrats at their annual retreat at the Kingsmill Resort and Spa, dismissed Republican attacks against the massive spending in the stimulus.

"What do you think a stimulus is?" Obama asked incredulously. "It's spending — that's the whole point! Seriously."

Ok, now this is really dumb, but THAT (as silly as this is) makes me feel a little sorry - I mean, he seems so stupid, he obviously doesn't know what he's doing at all.

BUT - and this is where I'm running into trouble - I remember what you just posted about this guy making it so that all the charges were DROPPED on the bombers of the USS Cole. And THAT makes me say "Evil." Not just stupid and ignorant, but evil.

At the same time, even that might be ignorance, but - what do YOU think? I'm a cynic, I want to say evil, and I'm willing to accept that we don't quite know yet whether he's stupid or evil, but that Cole thing? That smacks of evil to me.

Maybe we just don't know for sure yet. But I don't want to give the benefit of the doubt where none is due either.

Let me know what you think. Thanks.

My reply:

I don't think he's evil. Stupid, naive, and misguided, but I truly don't think he's evil.

You know how they say that good intentions pave the way to Hell, well every misguided government program has a well meaning idiot behind it. As far as the Cole goes, the idiots truly believe that war is bad and killing is bad and it would be better to bare your own throat to the assassin's blade than to fight back. I don't understand that thinking, to me anyone who thinks that can't have more than two operating brain cells and those cells must not have spoken to each other in years.

Anyway, they think that the military tribunals are somehow unfair and the terrorist suspects will be railroaded; that the use of waterboarding is torture and any confession extracted under torture is inadmissible; and so any future trials need to be held under the aegis of the US courts system. These are the people who elected Obama, he made them a promise, and he is honoring it.

Obama made the call that any ongoing trials be halted for a review, and the top dog judge in charge of said trials made it happen. That doesn't mean that charges cannot be brought at a later date, and in fact I believe they will be, which is why I posted Justice, Interrupted rather than Justice, Denied. However, I also believe that the new charges will be made in civil court and any evidence gathered by use of torture (yes, I believe that waterboarding is a mild form of torture, but I also believe that if it works it should be used for a wide variety of reasons) will not be admitted. In other words, I believe the terroristic son of a bitch will walk, and I truly hope that someone from those dead 17 Sailor's family is standing by with a scoped rifle when he pops out of the courthouse.

But, getting back to the people out there who truly believe it is better to submit to the assassins blade than to fight back: I cannot believe these people to be evil, but the fact is they are protected by the very system they protest against. In their worldview there is no "violent but protective (US Marine) vs violent and predatory (common street punk)", there is only "violent" and since all violence is bad, all who engage in violence is also, by definition, bad. These are the people that Orwell was talking about when he said they slept peacefully because of dangerous men ready to do violence on their behalf.

(More of this here, where Kevin does a much better job explaining it.)

To me the mark of evil is the intent to do harm against those who have not done , nor intend to do, harm against you. Ergo, Arafat, evil; Bin Ladin, evil; any one who purposely uses a religion as an excuse to do violence, evil; but anyone (Obama) who assumes passivity will prevent violence is merely stupid, not evil, and should be put somewhere in a padded cell where the banging of their heads against the floor won't cause permanent injury. The intent for harm against innocents is the key.

The refusal to protect oneself is suicidal, but in my view not evil. I just do not choose to join them in their suicide, and so I will defend myself. If that means I save their lives in the process, and that they fear and hate me for it, then so be it. They must draw breath to express that fear and hatred. And since they will do no harm, their hatred is impotent.

I don't understand these people; in my mind they don't have the faintest shred of logic and they will be the playthings of whatever master will have them. I will not be a slave, not to any man or master. At the same time they do not understand me, but they can't do anything about it. I, and my brothers in arms, remind them that there is a black force of evil in this world, that it is not all fuzzy bunnies and warm sunny days. This scares them, and I believe that is why they hate me and those like me.

I am strong enough to bear their hate. I refuse to bear their burden.

I hope that helps.

UPDATE: A second reader asks, "At which point does ignorance become evil?"

I can only answer that ignorance becomes evil when the outcome is determined without a doubt to be harmful to the innocent, and yet the decision is not made to change course.

If, as I believe will happen, the closing of Gitmo and the induction of these terror suspects into the US Criminal Courts system results in the terror suspects being let free (even though the military has plenty of evidence to convict if the military tribunals had been allowed to continue), resulting in these same terror suspects end up killing more Americans in more terror attacks; and the decision is not made to revert back to military tribunals that would result in removing these terrorists from circulation permanently; then evil is present.

I say this because at that point it should be clear that the path that was chosen was incorrect, and the refusal to correct it will lead to more harm being done to more innocents. Refusing to correct the mistake is a conscious decision that will lead to the harming of innocents. Therefore, the intent to harm innocents (through inaction) has been achieved.

Justice, Interrupted

I'm glad I'm not a family member of one of the seventeen Sailors who died on the USS Cole, because I would be going to jail soon.

Susan J. Crawford, the judge overseeing the Gitmo cases, has dropped all charges against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, an Al-Qaida operative who is suspected of helping to plan the USS Cole bombing, without prejudice. This means that charges can be filed at a later date.

This was done to comply with President Obama's directive to halt military tribunals in terror cases. Army judge Col. James Pohl had scheduled an arraignment in the case in defiance of the directive.

In a show of either brazen stupidity or arrogant surety, President Obama plans to meet with the Cole families on Friday.

I wonder how much time you would get for kicking a President in the crotch?

UPDATE: The family of FCFN Gary G. Swenchonis Jr. refused to meet with the President. Their story is here. I tried to leave an encouraging comment there, but had problems seeing the verification word. So I will say here what I tried to say there:

I was on USS George Washington (CVN-73) the day the Cole got hit. They were in our battle group. The Cole Sailors fought valiently to save their ship, their efforts were heroic, their losses were staggering. I will never forget them. I never knew any of their names, I know one now.

God bless you, and your family. There will be Justice for the seventeen Cole Sailors who paid the price that day, either in this world or in the next. I pray that it will be in this one.

UPDATE 2: The names and faces are here, at the USS Cole memorial site.

By The Numbers

According to Nine Percent Nan, we should all be unemployed now.

In a speech she said that every month we don't have a stimulus bill, 500 million Americans lose their jobs.

There are only 303 million American citizens, according to the latest census.

Funny how I didn't hear that on NBCBSABC, the Washington (com)Post or the New York Times. Nope, I had to go to the "other" media for that gaffe. I'm sure that if Condi Rice, Sarah Palin, or GWB had said such a thing we would hear it non-stop for the next forever as an example of how "box of hammers" stupid all Republicans are.

Right back at'cha. Hey dumbass, Doctor Frankenstein's monster called. He said he expects your botox'ed ass back at the castle by six to fix his dinner, ya stupid bitch.

A Note On Links

My links are here strictly for my own convenience. They are either blogs that I read every day or they are blogs or other sites I like to keep tabs on. Some of them are gateways to other blogs I read every day (like AD, for example, where I get to several daily reads after I get done perusing his scribblings) and some are one-stops.

If you are getting here by following your visitors logs, welcome. If you like what you see feel free to come back, if not it was good having you that one time. I'll be looking in from time to time, and now you know who it is that's crowding your bandwidth.

And speaking of links, check out The Endive. It's an Onion-esque take on the news with a Conservative slant.

Lookie! Linkie!

A few new links being put up on the sidebar.

First is The Smallest Minority, a blog that I visit regularly by way of a link on Ambulance Driver. It's about time I put a link here so that I don't have to go 'round and 'round the interwebtubies to get to it.

Next is The Rights Project, a newish blog that The Smallest Minority has just linked to. I found it interesting, and hopefully good things will come of it. Good luck to John Galt from TRP, and welcome to the interwebtubies!

Matt G is another Texas lawman that blogs on Better and Better.

And the fourth is an industrial electrician that goes by the handle of Mostly Cajun.

There are a couple of more from the AD blogroll that sooner or later I'll get around to adding, but for now that's good.

Interesting

I found this on MSN.com today.

I found it interesting that the subject would be raised at all.

I found it interesting that some would call for the end of Black History Month.

I agree with Morgan Freeman.

I agree with Teddy Roosevelt, too.

I wonder where it will lead. My guess is nowhere, since certain people have a vested interest in keeping things the way they are.

But it is interesting nonetheless.

Groundhog Day

I hate this movie.

The reason I hate this movie actually has nothing to do with the movie itself. It was because of the first cruise I did on USS George Washington, we got into Norfolk in late December - I believe it was the 20th, but I'm too lazy to look it up - and the winds were too strong to dock us.

At 25 knots of wind the carrier turns into a gigantic sail. The tugs are unable to control the ship when the winds are that high, so they can't push the ship against the dock without risking severe damage to ship and dock.

So, for two days we sat in the basin, probably 300 feet or so from the pier. For two days our wives, girlfriends and significant others waited on the pier for us. They looked at us, we looked at them, and we both waited.

For two days the skipper of the ship caught a helo off the ship every night to go home while we plotted nefarious plots against the helicopter and pilots.

And for two days some wiseass played this movie on the ship's movie channel.

And that's why I hate this movie.

Happy Groundhog Day everyone!

Blood For Congressional Pay Raises

To the tune of 93K. Each. For "petty cash."

And we are supposed to be OK with this because "It's for the Constituents!"

Un-frakkin-believable.

HT to The Intellectual Redneck via Ace O' Spades.

Official Announcement

The official brewery of the Refuge is Sierra Nevada.

I highly recommend the Pale Ale and the Celebration Ale.

Don't blog drunk.

I'm Number Five!

on Google for "last refuge of a scoundrel" word search.

Not bad for a little blog that nobody will admit to reading.

The back story is that I was looking through my Sitemeter and found where someone from Unitive Electronics, where I used to work (don't worry guys, no one will find out from me...oops), did the search. So, I hit the link and there I was, sixth from the top but the first two are from the same web site. Therefore, I am number 5!

Thanks for checking in guys. Drop me a line in comments some time.

Call To Arms

Here's an interesting bit of legislation.

Might be worth a call/letter/email to your duly elected representatives.

That is, if you are smart enough to know how many and who they are.

If not, don't vote.

Attribution

Why The Gun Is Civilization.

By Marko Kloos.

Not by Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret), whoever the hell he is.

Not by Col. Jeff Cooper.

Marko.

Kloos.

Get it right.

New Link

SarahPAC.

Check it out.

HT: Ace O' Spades.

UPDATE: The story has hit MSNBC's First Read. From the comments left there I see that she still has her fan club.

My favorite comment so far is by Rick from NC who says "we don't elect trailer trash in this country."

How does he explain Bubba Clinton?

Day 3 And Beyond

There's the Obama that we all know and love!

First he takes a jab at radio king and conservative icon Rush Limbaugh:

"You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," he told top GOP leaders, whom he had invited to the White House to discuss his nearly $1 trillion stimulus package.

Then he shows his hopey changiness to Eric Cantor of Virginia:

In an exchange with Eric Cantor (R-Va) about the proposal, the President shot back "I won," according to aides briefed on the meeting.

"I will trump you on that."

I can imagine the fury that would have ensued if a Republican President had said that to Democrat minority leaders.

Rush Limbaugh did not miss a step in returning fire, giving a statement to Byron York in the NRO:

"If I can be made to serve as a distraction, then there is that much less time debating the merits of the trillion dollar debacle," Limbaugh explained.

Rush also took the opportunity to point out that the attack was straight from the Alinsky playbook, and revealed this quote from the meeting:

"If we don't get this done we (the Democrats) could lose seats and I could lose re-election. But we can't let people like Rush Limbaugh stall this. That's how things don't get done in this town."

Whew. There for a minute I thought maybe this guy would turn out all right, or at least not so bad. I guess that danger has passed.

Hat tip: Ace O' Spades.

Day 2

President Obama started out well, signing executive orders to prohibit his own ex-administration officials from accepting lobbying positions for two years after leaving the administration and freezing the salaries of his own top aides.

"Families are tightening their belts, and so should Washington," said the new president.

The anti-lobbyist EO replaces one enacted by President Bill Clinton at the beginning of his term prohibiting his ex-administration officals from lobbying for five years, and canceled by him at the end of his term.

Other EO's that President Obama signed included one cancelling the order signed by President Bush, which allowed past Presidents to keep their papers secret under executive privelege.

I have also heard reports, although I can't find the links to prove it, that he is going to be looking at government agencies and programs with an eye towards removing those that don't perform or that have outlived their usefulness.

The last President to do that was Ronald Reagan.

We can hope, at least.

Epic Fail To Follow Rule #1

Rule #1 being, all guns are loaded.

Look folks, it's a play. A live stage production. Just how convincing does the gun have to be?

Cap guns can be made to look enough like the real thing to be suitable for live stage productions, and when they go BANG! it's just a noise, nothing more.

Added to that, they are a lot cheaper than the real thing.

The gun owner, she who supplied a live weapon for use as a stage prop, should be thoroughly thumped about the head and shoulders and then have all of her firearms confiscated. If you don't know how to play with your toys, you don't get to have them.

The actor who fired the shot should likewise be beat about the head and shoulders. If you don't know what it does, leave it alone.

With that being said, it sure added a touch of realism - real gun, real bullet, real blood.

The good thing is that everybody got to go home and no one wound up in a box.

Goodnight

What do you want to bet that this guy had his first good night's sleep in eight years?