30 August 2008

And the VP Nomination Goes To...

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Jack Kelly from Real Clear Politics lists a few credentials. Conservative, gun owner, NRA member, shoots mooses, has her picture taken on a Harley, AKA Sarah Barracuda for her intensity on the courts during her high school basketball team years. Busted on Ted Stevens for his porkbarreling, oldest son is in the Infantry, mother of 5, and easy on the eyes.

Oh yeah, and she's driving the Libs crazy just for getting the nomination.

Well done, John. Well done indeed. I approve, and you have just earned my vote this November.

Don't screw it up.

28 August 2008

Colors

I don't have a problem with Barack Obama because he's black.

I have a problem with Barack Obama because he's red.

24 August 2008

23 August 2008

Oh, Yay.

North Carolina has apparently been designated as a battleground state.

This means that we will be inundated by political ads.

The gubernatorial race is also heating up, and Libby Dole's seat in the Senate is also apparently targeted as being a possible Democratic pick-up.

We are getting the ads depicting the Republicans as Bush-bots and the Democrats as spineless weenie-wimps.

My joy knows no bounds.

21 August 2008

The Suzuki Chronicles

I wrote two posts about a motorcycle that I was restoring last year, but there was supposed to be a third. I started the third as a draft, and I finally posted it.

Thanks to the peculiarities that is Blogger it posted on the day I saved it as a draft, and not today. So, without further ado for those who are interested, are the three parts of the trilogy.

Part one, Silence

Part two, Redemption

Part three, Rebirth

Thanks for your patience. Enjoy!

20 August 2008

Hammer's Jackpot Meme

I don't usually do memes, but this one from Hammer sounded good. So, here we go!

You just won the mega powerball jackpot to the tune of 150 million dollars (after taxes)

1. What would be the very first thing you would do?


Invest at least half of it. Second would be to pay off everything I owe.

2. Where would you choose to live?

I would build a house somewhere, probably in south Georgia or in Florida...unless the oldest daughter moves to NC, in which case the house would be here somewhere.

3. What kind of house would you live in?


Near my hometown of Clarinda Iowa is a large brick farmhouse built by the local loony bin. I would send architects there to study it, and build as close to a duplicate as possible.

4. What kind of car would you buy?

Car? As in, one? Let's be serious, shall we?

5. Where would you vacation?


I would take my wife on a whirlwind tour of the Med, specifically Spain, Italy, and all the other ports of call that I hit in 20 years of Naval service. We would spend a great deal of time in Italy because her grandfather came from there.

6. Would you have anything on your body fixed?

Not myself, but I'm sure the wife would have quite a laundry list.

7. What kind of hobbies would you engage in?

Rebuilding old cars, riding motorcycles, a few guns and a lot of model trains.

8. What charities would you donate to?

Make A Wish would be stunned by my generosity. I like MaW because one of the kids wanted to go big-game hunting in Alaska. They sent him over the screeching protests from the usual suspects. Their position was "It's the kid's wish, that's what he wants, that's what he gets. Period." So, I always give what I can to them.

9. Would you give money to your relatives?

I would set up trust funds for the kids and I would pay off all of my parents' bills.

10.Would you run away from your current life?

I would change my current life, but I wouldn't run away from it. I've invested quite a bit of time in it already.

11. Would you continue to work?

I would start a business with my son restoring old cars and trucks.

12. Would the money change you in any way?

I'm certain that it would. It would solve some problems, only to replace them with others. I would have to adapt to those new problems, and I'm certain that would cause changes.

16 August 2008

You Keep Using That Word...

I just got done watching an episode of Penn and Teller's "Bullshit" on HBO. I like this show because it takes careful aim at a number of sacred cows and gores them thoroughly. I don't always agree with them, but as Neal Boortz likes to say if you agree with someone 100% of the time, one of you is irrelevant.

The latest episode was about the peace movement, and the conclusion was right on the mark; namely that feeeeeeelings matter more than actual results to the moonbats who do the marching and protesting. Nothing surprising there, and they make the very valid point that the surefire way to spread peace is through crass capitalism.

During the show I was constantly amused by the assertion that the present administration is fascist. GWB is constantly referred to as Bu$Hitler, or is portrayed on signs with a little toothbrush moustache. Cheney and Rove don't escape the notice of the morons either.

Reports from the occupied territories deep in our colleges and universities reveals that many a leftist professor will rant and rage to his or her captive audience on a myraid of subjects, each with a common theme: the current administration is made up of closet Nazis, that the government under the current administration is fascist, and that a shot of hopey-changitude will make it all A-OK.

The irony, which is absolutely lost in the din, is that if our government truly were as fascist as they say, and if GWB truly were Hitler, and if Rove truly was Goebbles, and if Cheney truly was Himmler, on and on and on, the people who would protest would either be dead, in prison waiting to be dead, or cowering in corners afraid to speak like the gutless cravens they are. The only reason they speak, march, protest and lecture is because they know, deep down in their cowardly souls, that there is nothing to fear and that no harm will come to them.

As a side note, it's funny that the gun owners who are generally supportive of government but want it to follow it's Constitutional forms are in greater danger of the 3 AM door-kicking-in than the frothing lefties who claim to be against the government - or, more to the point, against this particular administration. Of course leftists are all in favor of more government, as long as it is the right kind of more government, harder, faster.

In conclusion, I would like to direct your attention to one of my earlier, and in my opinion one of my best, posts entitled simply "Peace".

Photographer: Randi Motson
Photo courtesy of Musicians and Fine Artists For World Peace

15 August 2008

Here We Go Again

I don't really consider myself a misogynist, there are so many out there who can more rightfully claim the title. But sometimes people really get on my nerves.

Let's review, shall we?

Jimmy Carter is the worst president ever, mkay? George Bush, for all his faults, doesn't even come close. He's a wannabe in the Worst Of category. Anyone who survived the seventies should be smart enough to know that, unless they are senile.

Global warming is not caused by anything that mankind did or will ever do. In fact, it's cooling off now, and has been for a while. Yes, I know it's hot outside, but it's summertime, and that time of year tends to be a bit on the warm side (except for the southern hemisphere).

George W. Bush won the election in 2000. Every Florida recount, including an unofficial one done by the newspapers, verifies this. Gore lost. Deal with it.

And finally, the World Trade Center towers 1 and 2 were taken down by two aircraft piloted by terrorists. They were not taken down by demolition explosives, and the aircraft were not piloted by Air Force personnel in trailers.

Sometimes it's enough to make you want to bash your skull against a brick wall.

12 August 2008

RTWT

J.D. Pendry eloquently states one of my own core beliefs.

"The simple matter is that as soon as we make ourselves dependent on someone or some entity to meet our personal needs, we sacrifice our freedom."

Truer words were never written. Thank you CSM Pendry.

07 August 2008

Brain Smashing Stupidity

By now everyone has heard about the incident on the bus where a passenger was killed and beheaded by another passenger.

The dead man was identified as Tim McLean of Winnipeg, Canada. His slaying was a horrific incident that I pray we will never see the likes of again.

As Ron White says, I told you that so I could tell you this.

The Westboro Baptist "Church" (who is from Westboro Kansas, is not recognized by any Baptist entities, and as far as I'm concerned does not deserve the title "church") apparently isn't satisfied with pissing off the families of dead Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines here in the United States.

They now plan to take their insanity across international borders to picket the funeral of Tim McLean.

Words cannot express the emotion I feel when I think about these subhuman excuses for oxygen wasters. The only thing that would keep me from flying into a homicidal rage if I should ever encounter them is the bedrock principle that the Constitution gives everyone the right to spout their verbal garbage, and I would rather live in a country that allows it than live in one that doesn't.

However, Canada being Canada, the Constitution does not apply there. Unfortunately the PSH over guns is worse there than it is here, so the likelihood that some of the protesters will be returning in boxes is vanishingly small.

I wonder if the Patriot Guard Riders have a Canadian chapter? If not, maybe it is time to start one.

Crass Commercialism

If I never see another hard-on commercial on the TV I would be a happy guy.

I don't want to know what you do when you aren't feeling "fresh" down there either.

But then again I think all prescription medicines should be banned from advertising on the TV at all. Every over medicated hypochondriac insomniac sees these damn commercials and go to their doctor saying "I need this medicine!"

No you don't, fatass. Put the cheeseburger down and maybe your cholesterol, blood pressure and acid indigestion would take care of itself. Then you could lose a little weight and your wife would be glad to blow you again to get a little of the chandelier hanging monkey banging for herself.

I think it should be illegal for ambulance chasers to advertise on the TV as well. But then again, I don't have much use for ambulance chasers in general.

If there ought to be a law, there ought to be a loser pays law. That would fix some of the problems at least.

06 August 2008

Constitutional Authority

There is a discussion on one of the mailing lists I belong to over the future of the East Broad Top Railroad

The long-time owners of the railroad have been bled dry over the last 50+ years operating this little Pennsylvania short-line as a tourist operation. They are to be commended for their efforts, but the burden is getting too great for them to bear. They are looking to sell it off.

The Friends of the East Broad Top, of which I am a member, is understandably concerned about the railroad's fate. The mailing list is alive with speculation and ideas.

One of the ideas being bandied about is a Federal bail-out, or outright Federal ownership. The EBT is on the National Registry after all.

I think it's a bad idea, because I don't see a Constitutional authority for such an option. For this I have been called an anti-Government Kool-Aid drinker.

I spent 20 years of my life in the service of my country, pledging an oath to defend and support the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. I tend to take that oath seriously, even though it's been more than 3 years since I was last bound by that oath. And since I did pledge my life to defend it, I figured it was a good idea to have at least an idea of what it says.

Surprise surprise, there is nothing in there that says anything about owning railroads. I made this point once before.

There is also nothing in there about a National Parks Service, about a Department of Energy, or a Department of Education. In short, the Feds do a lot of things that are not Constitutionally authorized, and I think it's a bad idea all around.

I'm not saying that some of these agencies don't have a good purpose (regardless if they are doing a good job or not), I'm saying there's no Constitutional authority for them. I regularly get flamed for such a radical notion, but it won't stop me from having it.

As I said on the list, I want the EBT to be saved. I just want it to be saved legitimately.

Photo from the East Broad Top website

02 August 2008

August 2

Happy Birthday To Me!