Tug's Blog

Smart Cars?

2011-02-23T04:52:00.000-05:00

The place where I work posted an announcement in their newsletter this month.

It read:

"You spoke, we listened...
Team members have asked if a special parking lot can be created specifically for Hybrid and High Fuel Mileage vehicles, and we at ( huge corporation that you have absolutely heard of) think that this is a great idea.
So, this summer, we will open a special new parking lot which will be restricted to Hybrids and vehicles which meet the standards for high fuel mileage set forth by the LEEDS List". (Whatever that is.)

First of all, NOBODY asked for this.

NOBODY.

The people I work with, almost to a man, drive big, huge, monstrous pickup trucks. The only reason they drive the size vehicles they drive is because nobody makes a pickup truck bigger than the ones they currently own, and as soon as Peterbilt comes out with a pickup truck, the parking lot where I work will be covered with them within days.

Second, the place where I work does not really provide the employees with anywhere to park anyway. The closest parking lot to the building in which I work is an eleven minute walk away, and we get ten minute breaks, and a half-hour lunch break. If you leave anything in your vehicle, you have to do without it until the end of the shift. (Which is ten hours.)

But I think it is a great idea.

I think that people who drive Hybrids and such SHOULD be segregated from the rest of the population, and not just in parking lots.

When you do the math, you will learn that you will NEVER drive a Hybrid enough to actually save any money, and more environmental damage is done building a single Hybrid than in building THREE HUMMERS. (Except that they don't build Hummers anymore, but you get the picture.)

And if you believe that they will pump one drop less oil from the ground because you bought a Hybrid, then I don't want to have to deal with you in traffic.

So, when I read that, I did what any logical, thinking, rational person would have done.

I went out and bought a pickup truck twice the size of the one I was currently driving. (A big, blue, 4-wheel drive GMC.)

And I plan to watch the Hybrid Lot when it opens, and to pay attention to who gets out of the Idiot-mobiles that park there, so that when I see them in the plant, I will know what to expect from them, and I will know not to trust them with anything too important.

Crack kills

2011-01-30T20:46:00.000-05:00

There is a plague which is wreaking havoc across our nation.

A horrible trend which ruins the lives of everyone who is exposed to it, and it must be stopped.

I see it everywhere I go, from work to church to Wal*Mart, and everywhere in between.

That plague is the plague of Crack.

Not the drug "Crack"...

Butt Crack.

Now, before you start, I don't go around looking at people's butts. I am not a pervert, or a peeper. I am just a normal, regular guy, trying to live in the world, and am cursed with a measure of situational awareness.

I understand the need to be fashionable, and to wear your "Skinny Jeans", "Low Riders", or 'Hip Huggers", or whatever you want to call them, and I know that the trend of saggy, posterior exposing pants and midriff exposing tops is probably here to stay, but I don't have to like it, and I don't have to keep quiet about it.

Nobody wants to see that.

Even if you have the prettiest one in the whole wide world, it's still your butt. Cover it up.

When the preacher gave the invitation this morning, I saw FOUR of them, shining out toward the congregation, right there LITERALLY in front of God and everybody. (Maybe that's why the preacher wanted every head bowed and every eye closed...)

And I cannot believe that these people are unaware that they are displaying four inches of plumber's butt to the world. I know where the waistline of MY pants is, and I know about where the Good Lord split me. If I cannot make the two areas overlap, I tuck in my shirt. (You're welcome.)

I know what to do about it though, and I want you all to join me.

Around my house here, there are about twenty little syringes. They come packaged with children's medicines.

I'm going to start keeping one on my person, filled with Baby Oil.

And when I see exposed Crack, I'm going to squirt Baby Oil right down it.

Maybe by doing that, I can make the crack flashers as aware of their crack as the rest of us are.

Maybe I can get them interested in keeping me from seeing it.

Maybe I can run fast enough while laughing hysterically to keep from getting beaten to death by someone with a slippery exposed crack...

Hmnn... Maybe this plan needs a little more work...

The Liberals Won?

2011-01-27T14:36:00.001-05:00

“It doesn’t matter who’s president because the Liberals won. In the 1960s, all the protest was on the Left because America was conservative. We have conservative politicians, we give conservative speeches, but on every major issue the liberals have won. We are a liberal country. You can go into the most conservative neighborhood in America and, you go into their home, talk to their kids, and their kids listen to the same music, talk the same way, dress the same way. Culturally we’re liberal.” - Jerry Springer on yesterday's Howard Stern Show.

Uhmn... Not quite, Jerry.

The Liberals have won on almost every major issue, that much is true. But these issues were not decided through a fair exchange of ideas, or a majority vote of the people, they were decided through the courts.

The Liberals did not win by winning the hearts and minds of the people, they won by forcing their ideas on the country against our will.

Liberalism has won by circumventing your ability to make up your own mind about how you want to live your life, run your business, raise your children, or with whom you will associate. The Liberals have won by usurping your Freedom.

That is why the energy for protest right now is on the Right.

That is why Liberal Talk Radio is unsuccessful.

That is why it is too early to declare winners and losers.

The game is not over, they just happen to have the ball right now.

Friends

2011-01-26T04:32:00.002-05:00

I have 33 friends.

At least that's what my Facebook page says. (As of now, anyway.)

I joined Facebook Saturday morning, and so far it has been a lot of fun. Some of my friends don't talk enough, and some of them talk... uhmn... a lot. There are a lot of people with whom I had lost touch, and I am very glad to have this resource with which to preserve those relationships. There are some people with whom I have absolutely no interest in re-establishing contact, but I still think about them from time to time, and I have been able to discreetly peek in on them without bothering them, or stirring up any confusion of any kind.

And there are some that I don't care enough about to even look for, and those, I have left alone.

All of these people are, or have been my friends, and my interactions with them over the course of my life have made me who I am, and will continue to shape me until I die, whether we stay connected or not.

This experience has caused me to think about what, exactly, friends are. I have known thousands of people, been close to a hand full, but really close to only a couple.

Lifelong, really close, fully trusting, unconditional, no agenda friends... I have one.

One friend.

God gave him to me when I was 3 months old, and we played together in the playpen together before either of us could walk or talk. God almost took him back again when he was 6 weeks old, when his mother was involved in a horrendous car wreck ( In those days, we didn't haaave all those fancy-schmancy child safety seats...) and he was very nearly killed. (I'm convinced he sustained severe brain damage, cause, the boy ain't right.)

But God didn't take him, I believe, partly because He knew that I would need him.

We weren't really close growing up. We lived about five hours apart, so we would see each other once a year, maybe, and I think that he and I slightly annoyed each other. We both were, and still are, show-offs and clowns, and we both crave the undivided attention of whatever room in which we happen to find ourselves, so there was a sort of natural competition between us.

But after he graduated from college and I moved into my little trailer on the outskirts of our home town, we discovered that we had some complimentary skill sets, and that the two of us working together could command twice ( at least ) as much attention as either could alone, and a partnership was formed.

He and I have laughed at each other, worked together, played together, written songs together, chased women together, retrieved broken down cars together, loaned each other money, and seen each other through all manner of physical and emotional trauma. When I wrecked the Turkey Truck, he was the second person to arrive at the hospital behind my wife, and he made it all the way into the X-ray room to laugh at me before Hospital Security threw him out. (He had wrecked HIS Turkey Truck two weeks earlier...)

Since I got married, we have drifted out of contact again, and I had seen him maybe twice in the past three or four years.

But on Saturday, completely independent of each other, with no idea that it was happening, he, in North Carolina, and I, in South Carolina, sat down at our computers, and started our Facebook pages AT ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME MOMENT.

And I believe that if I were to contact him tonight, and ask him to help me dispose of a dead body, the only questions I would get from him would relate to locating heavy equipment to make the process more efficient, and he would carry the secret with him to his grave.

Everyone needs a friend like that. I would never have made it without mine.

Let's Get Caught up, Shall We?

2011-01-24T14:13:00.001-05:00

Okay, let's see if I remember how to do this...

Okay... Drudge Report.

SUICIDE BOMBER ATTACKS MOSCOW AIRPORT?! 35 DEAD?!?
... Oh, wait... That's Russia. Never mind.

Wait, what's this?

GM's China sales pass US for first time in history?

Aren't there like a Trillion people in China? It's about time.
Besides, China buying cars from Government Motors is basically Communists and Socialists trading hats. Maybe the Chinese will buy enough American products to offset some of this debt some time in the next 200 years or so...

'Global warming' litigation may lead to 'hundreds of billions of dollars' in damages...

At last! Now maybe someone will be forced to prove the existence of Man-made global Warming beyond a shadow of doubt in a court of Law. (Wishful thinking?)

'Bug Mac' and lovely 'grub': food of the future...

I ain't eating bugs and worms... Not on purpose. Sorry.

OBAMA MAKEOVER: PRAISE REAGAN...

Ronald Reagan would kick your scrawny butt, Mr O.
You see, Democrats have never understood Ronald Reagan, or his popularity. They mistakenly believe that his electoral success and continued popularity was a result of Marketing and Packaging, and that the "great unwashed" bought into the advertising campaign. The thought that this many people agreed with Reagan's Ideology over theirs is so unbelievable to them that they can't wrap their heads around it.
When you see Obama saying he admires Ronald Reagan, understand that what he admires is what he believes to be Reagan's ability to fool you.

...outgoing CEO Schmidt gets $100 million

Good for him. There is not one among us who wouldn't cut the same deal for ourselves if we could.

Lieberman: 'Partisan Mud Fights' Hurt Self-Confidence...

Awwwww... Heat, kitchen, big-girl panties, yada yada yada...

Abortion Doctor Ran 'House of Horrors', Body Parts Lying Around In Garbage Bags...

ALL abortion Doctors run Houses of Horrors, body parts or not.

Well, that was fun. Seems not much has changed since last year... The world is still crazy.

Here We Go Again?

2011-01-24T00:42:00.002-05:00

Nobody told me that children will not allow you to think anymore.

I have no doubt that but for children, Cancer would have been cured by now, we would have time Travel, Cold Fusion, and cars that run entirely on stupidity, but the people who would have thought of these wonders had children, and were prevented from thinking them up.

I mean, I guess I knew it, but I hadn't really thought about it until I actually had some children, and tried to write a Blog with them in the house. (They are asleep right now.)

They are beautiful, and wonderful, and delightful, and I love nothing more than playing with them and watching them grow and learn... But they absolutely won't let me string two thoughts together into a coherent idea, much less type that idea into a readable Blog post.

But an unusual thing has occurred.

In an attempt to avoid losing contact with friends from work, and from Florida, and from North Carolina who, for one reason or another, have drifted in and out of my life over the past few years, yesterday I set up a Facebook page.

And almost immediately, several of my old Blogger Buddies came out of the woodwork, and I realized that I have missed Blogging, and the interaction that I enjoyed with friends and sparring partners within this forum.

So, here we go again.

I have no idea how frequently I will be allowed to compose and publish new posts, or how closely I will be able to monitor the comment threads, but I am at least going to try.

We'll see how it goes for a while.

For now, here are some pictures of the children.

(So you can see what I've been doing with my time for the past year.)

Bah, Hum-bug!

2009-11-29T22:44:00.001-05:00

I hate Christmas.

There, I said it.

Don't get me wrong... I love spending time with family and friends, I love watching C.J. open his gifts, and then play with the boxes. I love eating too much, wondering where we are going to put all of this new cra-... I mean, stuff we will get, looking at the lights, watching football...

I love all that stuff.

But I hate Christmas.

Bah, freaking Hum-bug.

Thursday night/Friday morning, my Wife and I stood in a line at least two-thousand people long (guess which end of it we were in?) outside Toys-R-Us to take advantage of the door buster sales (or get taken advantage of by the door buster sales, as the case may have been.) When we managed to wrestle the things we wanted away from the rest of the mob, we stood in line again, this time for nearly three hours, before we made it to one of the three cash registers to check out.

But, hey... We saved almost $60.00.

Then, we went across town to Kohl's, and repeated the process.

And then at Sears, and Home Depot, and by the time we got to Guitar Center, my Wife was too tired to spend any more time shopping, and we grabbed what we came for, and went home.

She says we saved a lot of money, but it sure seems like there is a lot of money missing from the bank account... I'm starting to question the definition of the term "saving money"...

Friday night we went to the Holiday Festival of Lights on James Island (Which was actually the Holiday festival of Traffic Jam.) More waiting in line, only this time in the car. And it wouldn't have been so bad, except that our car has a leaky heater core, so we saw the lights through a foggy windshield in a cold car that smelled like hot anti-freeze.

And I would get the heater core fixed, except that we spent whatever extra money we might have had on- well, you know what we spent it on.

Bah, Hum-bug.

Today, I was roused from my nap, and told that it was time to put up the Christmas decorations, so I had to get out of my nice warm bed, and climb up onto the very crown of the top of the roof to hang up lights that I will soon have to climb right back up there to take back down.

Sure are pretty, aren't they, Honey?

Beautiful!

Interesting footnote about these particular Christmas lights... They are the ones we had last Christmas in Spring Hill. So, I had to store them last year, pack them up and moved them to a storage warehouse in Spring Hill when we moved out of that house, and then bring them to Charleston and store them here, and then find them today and put them up. So these particular lights have not only been in my way for a couple of years now, but I have unpacked and repacked them, carried them up into the attic and back down again, rented storage space for them, rented a truck to haul them in, stumbled over and around them when there was no good place to put them, and now, climbed up on the roof to hang them up today.

The time, effort, money, and dangerous, hard work that would have been saved if they had never existed in the first place is staggering.

And I haven't even started with the Christmas Tree yet. That thing is going to be a monumental pain in the lower apparatus this year.

C.J. is two. The quickest way to get him to constantly bother something until it is completely destroyed is to tell him to leave it alone. I hope he doesn't become a victim of domestic violence because of the Christmas tree, but I don't know. (I can't make any promises about his Mama...)

(Just kidding.)

Anyway, enjoy Christmas while you've got it.

It will be much different after I come to power.

My Christmas policy will be a Birthday cake with "Happy Birthday Jesus" on it, you sing the song, and then watch the game.

No more of this tree-shopping-gift giving-hanging up lights Hogwash.

If you want to celebrate more than that, you can read Luke chapter 2, vs.1-20.

Merry freaking Christmas.

Cover Letter Blues...

2009-10-07T00:21:00.001-04:00

Well, Congratulations to me.

I have completed the Airframe and Powerplant Course at National Aviation Academy, completed my FAA written, oral, and practical tests, and am now a certificated and licensed A&P Mechanic.

I have extensive training, a license from the Federal Government, and absolutely no experience.

Which makes me the absolute most dangerous mechanic in the world.

And everyone who hires aircraft mechanics knows that.

So, the trick now is to bamboozle some employer somewhere into believing that I won't screw up bad enough to kill several hundred people and destroy a multi-million dollar aircraft before I actually learn something, and convince him that he should pay me for the priviledge of taking on the risk of letting me come near his facility.

There is almost nothing in the world that I enjoy less than looking for a job. I would rather put on a wet suit and a snorkel and clean chicken heads out of a drain in a processing plant than write a resume, and until I graduated last week, I had never heard of a cover letter.

But I have to write one now.

No project should be undertaken without first doing some research, so I went to my favorite web search engine (Gurgle) and typed in the phrase "aircraft mechanic sample cover letter". I got 496,000 results, and they all linked me to the very same sample, which basically read like this:

Dear Employer:
I used to build model airplanes when I was 12, so now you should hire me to work on your F-18s / 767s / A-380s.
I think my lame resume speaks for itself, and just by looking at it, you should be able to determine how lame I am.
I am looking forward to laming up the joint where you are as soon as possible.
When do I start?
Sincerely,
Joe L. Jobseeker (The "L" stands for "Lame".)

So that was a lot of help.

Then I decided to try a few drafts in an environment in which I am fairly comfortable writing... The Blogosphere.

Try these on for size...

Dear Sir:
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one person to resolve to maintain a more perfect union, establish housekeeping, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common expense, promote staying off Welfare, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle him, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that he should declare the causes which impel him to go get a job...

Nah. Too political.

Okay, check this out...

'Sup, Holmes?
I'm Hone-gray.
I need a J-O-B.
A.S.A.P.
I gots my licenses, I gots my certificates, I gots my work ethic, Yo...
So, the ball's in your court, Dawg...
Hit me up! My digits is on this Resu-mizzay.
A'ight?
Peace out.

Maybe not. Besides, I think one of the other students who graduated with me is pro'lly gone' use that one.

How about this one?

Dear Sir:
I am the greatest.
I am contacting you to make you aware of just how good I am.
I have no doubt that when you realize just how badly you have needed me for the past several years, you will stop at absolutely nothing to get me on your team, and that the mediocrity you have endured from the employees for which you have had to settle to this point can finally be put behind you, and that now, finally, greatness can ensue.
I am looking forward to reviewing your generous offer soon, and I hope that it will adequately meet my requirements.
It is my sincere hope that you and your company will be willing to avail yourselves of the benefits of my greatness, however expensive I may be.
Sincerely,
Tugboatcapn.

No, too subtle.

Here you go...

Dear Sir:
Out of concern for the state of the Economy and the rising rate of Unemployment, I am attempting to do my part to stamp out poverty and economic hardship in the world, starting here, at home.
I hope that you and your company will join me in this quest by hiring me to work for you.
Together, we can make the world a better place. (For me.)
Sincerely,
Tugboatcapn (A Global Citizen.)
(P.S. This letter is printed on recycled paper. Please ignore the grocery list on the back. Thank you.)

No, still doesn't feel quite right...

I don't know.

Maybe if I take a break and go wash the dishes or something, the right words will come to me...

We'll see...

I am open to suggestions...

Home Sweet Home...

2009-07-18T22:57:00.006-04:00

I am about to tear my computer down and pack it up, so I decided to write one last post from the happiest place I have ever lived.

My Wife and I have decided that rather than renew the lease on this place and then try to get back out of it in October when I graduate from school, we will move out now, and save the money.

She and CJ will live with her Dad in Atlanta, and I am going underground to my Tugboatcapn Man-Cave/Nut-Bunker in a super-secret location in the bottom of a sink-hole in West-Central Florida. (As soon as I figure out how to get running water there.)

I have been happy here.

I never thought I would live in a house like this one. I thought that houses like this were reserved for millionaires, or at least lawyers and doctors.

It is huge, by my humble standards. It has a pool, an acre of yard, two car garage, attic, Florida room, screened lanai, concrete driveway, and it is landscaped like a golf course. (Except that there is no windmill...) It is more like a vacation cottage than a house that people live in every day. (Again, by my humble standards.)

This has been the Sanctuary through some very trying times over the past two years.

This was where we lived when CJ was born.

This was where the second little Baby Tugboatcapn (who hasn't made his/her debut yet...) was... Well, you know...

(By the way, for those of you who didn't already know, Xena is expecting again. Due in mid January.)

This was where we weathered the storms, mourned the losses, celebrated the victories, made plans, dreamed dreams, raised a child, laughed and cried for the past two years.

It has been a happy place, a safe place.

A good place.

And on Tuesday, it will be an empty place.

I hope the next tennants love it as much as we have.

Because we have loved it.

And I hope that the next place we live will be as happy, as safe, and as good.

Goodbye, Home Sweet Home.

I will miss you.

Daddy...

2009-06-21T01:04:00.002-04:00

My Daddy is a Southern Baptist preacher.

That is the first thing to say when talking about him.

He knows God, and has lived his whole life serving the Lord, leading others to Salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, which paid the price for all our Sin.

He taught me by example, from my earliest remembrance, how to live for Christ on a level that most people never see. It goes way beyond going to church every Sunday, or paying your tithes, or teaching or even preaching. He showed me how to give my whole life to Christ to be used for His glory, and hold nothing back, because that's what he did.

He is a follower of Christ, but a leader of men. No matter where you put him, he is running things in short order, because everyone with whom he comes in contact recognizes that that is the way things should be.

I'm convinced that there is no task to be done in this whole world that my Daddy could not accomplish, and do a good job at, should he be called upon to do it. He taught me by example that I have the same amount of fingers and toes as anyone else, and if something CAN be done, I can do it.

My Daddy loves my Mama with every particle of his being. He taught me by example that when a woman decides to share her life with you, that is a big, big deal. She is to be protected, respected, loved above all other earthly things, and if you treat her that way, you will forever have a true partner who shares your goals and priorities, and will never betray you in any way.

My Daddy loves his children. He taught me by example that a man is supposed to provide for, lead, guide, and protect his children at all times with all that he has, whether there is anything left over for him or not. I never understood what being a Daddy really was until my son was born, but now I get it.

It's the toughest job you'll ever love.

I pray every day that I will be able to raise my children the way my Daddy showed me.

He gave me a gift that I will never be able to thank him enough for.

He taught me how to be a good, hard working, stable, loving, honest, Christian, happy, grown man.

He taught me how to be Daddy.

I just hope that I will be able to live up to his example.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

I love you more than you know.

Defining Definitions Down...

2009-05-26T18:56:00.004-04:00

Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who wants to live in an institution? - Groucho Marx

You know, I can remember a time when a rainbow was the symbol of God's promise to Noah that He would never again destroy the World due to Man's wickedness by means of a flood.

Now it seems to be a symbol that whoever owns this car/tee-shirt/lunchbox is a homosexual, and everyone else has to be notified.

I also can remember when you could say that someone was a "gay old fella" without alluding to the probability that he didn't really understand basic biology.

But over the last couple of decades, we have re-defined the word "gay", capitalized it, made a noun out of it, and created a whole new subject that everyone is now required to explain to their children, and usually way sooner than they would like to.

And then there's this...

Marriage: The social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc...

Has now become: A relationship in which two people have pledged themselves to each other in the manner of a husband and wife, without legal sanction (for now): trial marriage; homosexual marriage.

But the people of California (of all places) voted to put the brakes on the redefinition of a word which has meant the same thing since the dawn of Human Society.

From the San Francisco Gate...

California voters legally outlawed same-sex marriage when they approved Proposition 8 in November, but the constitutional amendment did not dissolve the unions of 18,000 gay and lesbian couples who wed before the measure took effect, the state Supreme Court ruled today.

Prop. 8 undid that ruling by reinstating the definition of marriage that the court had struck down, this time as an amendment to the state Constitution. The author of last year's 4-3 decision, Chief Justice Ronald George, said today that the voters were within their rights to do so...

In dissent, Justice Carlos Moreno, who joined the majority in last year's decision, said today's ruling accepted the separate-but-equal treatment for gays and lesbians that the 2008 ruling rejected.
"Granting same-sex couples all of the rights enjoyed by opposite-sex couples, except the right to call their officially recognized and protected family relationship a marriage, still denies them equal treatment," Moreno said.

Actually, it doesn't, because, unless I've missed something here, a gay man has exactly the same right to marry any woman he wants as a straight man does.

If the gay person chooses not to marry someone of the opposite sex, and instead chooses an alternate lifestyle with alternate rules and alternate benefits and alternate challenges, then that is their choice.

In California, anyway.

For better or for worse, the people of California have spoken. The losers - I mean, the minority opinion raised their challenge, and the Court, for once, declined this particular opportunity to play an activist role, and instead just did their job, which was, to determine whether or not the people had made their statement through proper and legal channels.

Which they did.

So, for now, the word "Marriage" still means what it has always meant.

Just like the words "Democracy", and "Freedom".

At least where this issue is concerned.

At least in California.

Barack Ford Obama Boards Marine One...

2009-02-09T17:43:00.003-05:00

Well at least he didn't try to climb in the window...

When The Going Gets Tough...

2009-02-03T20:26:00.005-05:00

The Obamas got going.

From AP News My Way dot com...

WASHINGTON (AP) - On the rockiest day of his young administration, President Barack Obama did what surely made him happy for a while.

He left.

With little notice, the president and first lady Michelle Obama bolted the gated compound of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in their tank of a limousine on Tuesday.
They ended up at a Washington public school, [reading "My Pet Goat" to] children who could not care less about the collapse of a Cabinet secretary nomination.

The article doesn't say whether or not President Obama explained to the children that his "Economic Stimulus Plan" (if it passes) will conscript them into indentured servitude for the rest of their lives, and that they will never, ever own their own labor...

Or their own pet goat, for that matter. (Unless their Senator can slip a "Pet Goat for America's Children" earmark into some future Emergency Stimulus Bill...)

People are dying in Kentucky, freezing to death in their homes, using their last fleeting ounce of strength to crawl to the window and peer outside, in vain, for a glimpse of FEMA workers who aren't coming.

The Economy is in a shambles, worst Economy in 250 years or more, the middle class losing their jobs, their very livelyhood, by the tens of thousands every day.

The preconditions which stand in the way of negotiations for America's surrender and the subsequent Peace, set by Terrorists and Rogue Nations all over the World, remain unmet.

Communist Healthcare, long lusted after by the VAST majority of America's Losers - uhm, I mean, by the losers of Life's Lottery has suffered a dramatic setback because of unfair Tax Policies (let's see how they work THAT one out...)

And where is President Barack Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho Obama?

Playing with children.

He could have done that without being President.

It's a great day to be an American!

Believe!

2009-01-27T17:49:00.001-05:00

No matter how weird your idea may be, believe in it and sell it, and it will work.

(At least on some level...)

(By the way, the drummer is great! )

Homework...

2009-01-19T18:57:00.004-05:00

Hi.

Remember me?

I know it's been a long time since I last posted anything, but I've been kinda busy.

But the truth is that I have actually been much happier these past few weeks just taking care of my own world, and letting the rest of the world continue on it's path into insanity without me. (Since there doesn't seem to be much that I can do about it anyway.)

For those of you who do not already know, I abandoned the Trucking Industry forever in June, and enrolled as a full time student at National Aviation Academy in Clearwater, Fl. I am over a third of the way through my 2000 hours of training, and will soon test for my FAA Airframe and Powerplant Licenses. I also plan to train for and obtain my Avionics License.

When all of this training is complete, I will be qualified to build and maintain any type of aircraft, no matter what size, as well as build and maintain everything from elevators to roller-coasters, or even work in the back shop for a NASCAR team if I want, or maintain any type of industrial machinery that exists in the world.

I'm third in my class (of 52 students). The only people ranked higher than me are two guys who have Helicopter experience from their military service.

I'm working very hard.

I have an incredible Wife who is ridiculously overworked and under-appreciated. Between looking after Caleb, working a full time job, keeping the house, doing her own schoolwork (she's studying for her Master's Degree), and looking after me, she can use my help. She needs me more than the Blogosphere does.

I also have a wonderful little boy who loves to play with his Daddy. He's fourteen months old now, and as busy as three monkeys.

And given my choice, I would much rather show him how the rocking horse works, or how to play with the dog, or get him another Graham Cracker, than argue on the internet with people who think they have already won, and who will not be enlightened, no matter how wrong they are.

And I can actually choose.

So the Blogs have taken a back seat. At least for now.

So (unless I change my mind), while the new President installs Tax Cheats as Treasury Secretary, hideously, sub-humanly ugly morons in charge of dismantling the Energy Industry, unqualified and conflict-of-interest ridden former First Ladies as Secretary of State, and thugs and hoodlums throughout his Staff, you guys will mostly have to sort it all out without me.

Personally, Im busy preparing to take advantage of the up-swing in a couple of years when the Country comes to it's senses again. (It's GOING to happen.)

And in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my life and my family, and not let the stupidity that has taken over my Country draw me down into the depths of depression.

So, I'll see you around. I have homework to do.

Presidential...

2008-11-11T01:23:00.004-05:00

I continue to be amazed at the class and statesmanship displayed by President Bush.

Obama Meets With Bush as He Weighs Policy Reversals

Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- President-elect Barack Obama met with President George W. Bush at the White House as his aides consider ways to undo many of the policies put in place by the U.S. leader during the past eight years...

Obama and his wife, Michelle, also got a tour of their future home hosted by the president and first lady Laura Bush.

If I were President Bush, I would have beaten Obama to a bloody pulp while the cameras whirred.

"Worst Economy in fifty years, huh?"

(KICK!)

"Eight years of failed policies, huh?"

(KICK... KICK!)

"Tax cuts for the Rich, huh?"

(KICK... KICK... STOMP!!)

Then, I would have slipped an un-registered hand gun into his pocket, and had him hauled away for attempting to assasinate me.

And while all this was going on, I would have had Laura slip a bunch of silverware into Michelle's purse, and had her searched on the way out.

And if President Bush was as evil and devious as the Left would have had us believe, he would have done it too.

Think about it...

If President Bush really had been lying on purpose about "WMD's" just to trick the United States into supporting his personal war against Iraq, do you really believe that none would have been found when we got there?

A President who is diabolical enough to mislead a Nation into war for his own purposes is certainly smart enough to have the Special Forces ship a container of Nukular weapons over there just ahead of the first wave of reporters, and put them on display for the whole world to observe and admire.

There is no way in the world that someone crafty enough to decieve all those hyper-intelligent Democrats into supporting the war in Iraq would have handed the Democrats, the Press, and the Lefty Kooks that stick to beat him with, year after year.

It just wouldn't have happened.

And President Bush did not knock Barack Obama down a peg today, either.

He treated Obama with dignity and respect, whether he deserved it or not.

And when Obama's people take their places in the White House in January, they will find that all the computer keyboards still have O's on them, all of the furniture will still be there, and there will be no grafitti on the walls.

And the Presidential Seal will be exactly the same as it has been.

The fact that the Obamas were treated as gracefully as they were today is a testament to the character of President Bush.

He deserves more respect than this country has shown him.

Happy Birthday Caleb!

2008-11-07T01:25:00.002-05:00

My little boy Caleb was born one year ago today.

Happy Birthday, buddy!

(I have video that I will post as soon as I have time to edit it.)

The Devil Is In The Details...

2008-11-05T18:38:00.002-05:00

Now that Barack Obama has been elected President, I have a couple of questions...

First of all, where do I go to pick up my "Spreading the Wealth Around" check?

I mean, is there a form that I need to fill out, or do they just mail it to me, or do I have to stand in line at the County Courthouse once a month or something?

What is the procedure here? (Obama wasn't real clear on all that during the campaign...)

Can I sign up for Direct Deposit? (That'd be great, wouldn't it?)

Another thing...

After January 9, if I need to go to the doctor, do I just go, and tell him to send the bill to the Government?

What is that address?

Or do I get a card or something?

What about when he raises my boss's taxes? Are they going to make a law that he can't lay me off?

Am I going to have to compete with all the soldiers who are currently serving in Iraq for the job I now have? Illegal Alie... I mean, Undocumented Americans too?

What if my boss just decides to retire and liquidate his business? (He has threatened to do just that...)

Am I guaranteed a job when that happens?

How, exactly, is all of this going to work?

All I know is that Obama had better come up with answers to these questions, and soon.

He made a lot of promises, and a lot of people are counting on him...

Don't let us down, Barack!

Congratulations!

2008-11-05T00:09:00.003-05:00

On behalf of Conservatives everywhere, I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to President-Elect Barack Obama.

The Democrats fought a good fight, and with the help of wonderful groups like ACORN, with the endorsement of groups like Hamas, the Weather Underground and Al-Qaeda, they have emerged victorious.

And they only had to spend six times as much money as John McCain did to get it.

So now we can all look forward to better days under the wise, articulate, and clean leadership of the Obama Administration.

We will soon enjoy reasonably priced (and Government run) Healthcare, the Oceans will cease to rise, the Environment will soon heal itself, and our Economy will finally get back on track.

We will all begin to enjoy the benifits of spreading the wealth around very soon, and I will no longer have to worry about putting gas in my pickup, or paying my mortgage, or anything.

Racism and discrimination is finally a thing of the past, and our brave fighting men and women will soon be re-deployed to somewhere safe.

What a great time to be an American!

My sincere hope is that the Media will treat Obama as fairly and report his successes and failures as accurately and objectively as they have those of the Bush Administration, and that now that the Republicans are truly the Minority Party, they will be every bit as cooperative and supportive as the Democrats have been toward President Bush.

Oh, and that everyone who voted for him never forgets ALL of the things that Obama promised to do for them, and that they hold him to those promises.

Congratulations, Barack Obama, and may God have mercy on your soul!

Tonight's Guest Bloggers...

2008-11-03T17:49:00.004-05:00

... The Democrat Party!

Despite the fact that they are consistently wrong about everything else, they have somehow gotten this one right.

Let me make this perfectly clear...

Tomorrow is Election Day.

I don't care what your personal ideology may be...

I don't care which candidate you support.

The important thing is that you just get out and cast your vote for John McCain.

The other guy is simply too shady, has too many problems, too many unanswered questions, and hangs with too dirty a crowd to be President of the United States.

You know it's true.

Vote for McCain.

Because, when faced with a choice between a Democrat and a Wealth-Spreading, Tax-increasing,
narcissistic Communist, the choice is clear.

McCain/Palin '08!

Keep the Change.

I Am Joe.

2008-10-27T00:14:00.003-04:00

I am Joe The Plumber.

No, I am not a plumber, and my name is not Joe, and I do not make $250,000 per year.

But I am Joe The Plumber, just the same.

In 2006, I quit my job as a company driver at a lumber distribution center where I made a little over $40,000 per year. I took my retirement savings, my personal savings, my grocery and rent money, and whatever I could borrow from family members, and put a down payment on a tractor trailer truck of my own.

Had things stayed the way they were, the payment would have been manageable, and I would have been very successful.

But they didn't.

When fuel prices doubled that year, the freight rates stayed the same, and I did several weeks of work for a man who just decided not to pay me for it. I worked harder and harder, for more and more hours each week, for less and less money, until January of 2008, when the finance company came and took the truck away from me.

I worked 16 hours in the truck the day they took it away.

I wound up right back in a company truck, only without the money that I had saved up, my credit rating shot to death, and still in debt.

I worked as hard as a man can work, and in the end, I would have been better off if I had taken a year off and played video games.

That's how it goes. When you take risks, you sometimes lose.

But - If I had been successful, I would have bought another truck by now, maybe two. I would have employed another driver or two, maybe a part time book keeper. My trucks would have provided work for a local mechanic, business for the local truck parts store, tire dealer, and fuel stop.

THAT'S "spreading the wealth around".

But I failed.

And nobody bailed me out. Nor would I have wanted them to.

You see, I know, because I found out the hard way, how difficult it is to be successful running your own business, and the people who make it work should be celebrated by the whole community.

Not labeled "The Rich", and attacked and expected to hand over ever increasing amounts of the rewards that they earn through their sacrifice, talent, or plain old hard, back-breaking and tedious work.

I will try again. Some day, I will again be self employed, employ other people, and spread the wealth around my community the way it should be done, and I will take the lessons that I learned the first time and build upon them so that I stand a better chance at success next time.

And I get very angry when I see others around me attempting to stack the deck against me before I get there, simply because they themselves are unwilling to take the chances , work the hours, shoulder the responsibility that I do.

I am Joe The Plumber.

And so are you.

Palin Too Naive For Office?

2008-10-14T20:59:00.002-04:00

Maybe the Left is right about Sarah Palin...

Maybe she actually is too naive and inexperienced for the office of Vice President of the United States...

I didn't think so until today, when I heard about this...

From The Politico...

Palin: Obama must ‘rein in’ ACORN

Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin suggested Tuesday that Barack Obama shares responsibility for recent reports of voter fraud conducted by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

“Obama has a responsibility to rein in ACORN,” Palin said during an interview with conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.

Palin said the group is responsible for the “unconscionable situation we are facing now with voter fraud” and attacked the Obama campaign for not addressing the problem after the McCain campaign sent a letter to the Democratic camp urging action against voter fraud in September.

If Sarah Palin actually believes that Barack Obama is going to lift a finger to restrain ACORN, or to counteract Voter Fraud, she is sadly mistaken.

That would not only go against decades of Democrat Party tradition, but would virtually assure Obama's humiliating defeat in November.

She may as well call for him to cut spending, or taxes, or call upon Americans to at least attempt to solve their own problems instead of trying to vote themselves money from one another's pockets.

Obama is not going to "reign in ACORN." He is going to give them a Billion Dollars once he is elected.

No matter how many dead people and cartoon characters vote for him because of them.

And if Sarah Palin believes that he will, then maybe she really is not ready for prime time.

Just like Obama.

Here We Go Again...

2008-10-03T00:56:00.004-04:00

"I believe that most Americans would agree on the problems this country faces and which the next administration must solve. They include the need, once again, for an economy that works.

The economy today is in very, very bad shape, the highest unemployment since the Great Depression, 50% higher than when [the current President] took office, raging inflation.

The latest wholesale price index is once again raising the specter of double-digit inflation. The purchasing power of the average American has slipped so much that it's now the equivalent of the purchasing power in 1965.

It's not getting better, it's getting worse.

All the leading indicators now point downward. Stock investors are losing confidence. Over $50 billion of value has disappeared from the stock market in less than a month.

We need a government that works, we need a government that cares, and once again, we have to get back at work on education, on health, on housing, on the environment, on energy. And we need a foreign policy that once again reflects the values and the beliefs of the American people. This will take leadership, and we need leadership, too.

The Republican administration, the Republican Party has had eight years to solve these problems. All of them have gotten worse.

The Republican ticket does not offer new plans for their solution but is engaged in a frantic effort to defend the past.

This nation desperately needs new leadership.

The [Democrat Presidential] ticket would offer a new generation of leadership dedicated to solving the problems I have listed, and that is the basis of our appeal."

Walter Mondale's opening statement from the Vice Presidential Debate against Bob Dole, October 15, 1976.

That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history. - Alduous Huxley

It's YOUR Money!!

2008-09-20T01:44:00.008-04:00

So, how does it feel to be a big-time Wall Street investor?

You are, you know... Whether you know it or not, you (and your children and grand children, and your children's children's great-grand-children) just invested over a Trillion (that's a one with twelve zeros after it) dollars in home loans for people who wouldn't have qualified for a loan of any kind, were it not for government meddling.

And the Left says that this crisis is the product of "The Free Market" running wild.

Well, it's nothing of the sort. As a matter of fact, this is about the furthest thing from what the "Free Market" would have done under any circumstances, save the ones that have been put into place by social engineering Democrats, and Socialist Activists.

We all know that a drowning man will drown you too, if you are not careful when you try to save him, and the American Taxpayer is about to be drowned while saving the drowning Mortgage and Banking Industry. (And it wasn't even the choice of the Taxpayer whether to try to save these entities. The people who made the mess in the first place just decided to use your money for this, whether you like it or not.)

Tomorrow, I will post again on this, and I will lay out the chronology and the process by which the Democrat Party and the Socilalists among us have set up this catastrophe, and how they profited both financially and politically every step of the way, and how they are attempting now to lay the blame for their own corruption and incompetence at the feet of the Republican Party, and President Bush.

Be informed. Do your own research. Make sure that you know the real story.

The only way to solve a problem is to know what actually caused the problem in the first place, and to eliminate any influence those factors may have had.

This is the fault of Democrats, start to finish, and it is going to be the undoing of the American economy at best, and the World economy at worst. But it has happened, and those responsible (some of them) are the Economic Advisory Team of one of the candidates for the Presidency of the United States.

Our country has lurched violently into Leftism and Socialism this week, and I do not know what to do about it.

But SOMETHING HAS to be done about this.

These Taxpayer funded bailouts are the most outrageous thing that has ever been foisted upon the American People by our elected representatives, and we ought not put up with this abuse of power and corruption.

But we probably will...

After all, who has time for Revolution and overthrowing the Government?

We have mortgages to pay for...

Doomed?

2008-09-15T22:37:00.003-04:00

From MarketWatch Columnist Jon Friedman at CBS.com...

The Sarah Palin Phenomenon is doomed.

But it's not because of her lack of foreign policy experience or her deer-in-the-headlights look during part of her interview last week with ABC's Charles Gibson.

The primary reason why the Palin bubble will burst is that the media will decide that they are bored with her. They'll need to move to shine a light on a fresh issue or individual.

Is that a fact?

Well, then, Mr. Media Man... Tell us some more about how powerful and influential you are.

Let's take bets as to how many people will remember Sarah Palin's name in 100 years, and how many will not remember your's, Mr.... (wait, let me look again...) Friedman.

"We made her, and we will tear her back down at our leisure."

Well, from the way the big media has acted about Sarah Palin, she looks like about the very LAST thing that those guys wanted, from Charlie Gibson right on down. (By the way... Which interview did you watch, Mr. Friedman?)

Oh, and remember this...

She only has to last for another 49 days, 2 hours, 8 minutes, and 57 seconds.

56, 55, 54, 53...

The War Hero And The Community Organizer...

2008-09-15T16:49:00.003-04:00

“America needs more than a brave soldier. America needs a wise leader...” said Mr. Biden.

Really? Where in the world are we going to find one of those?

The Democrats are desperately trying to tie John McCain to George W. Bush. They will tell you that McCain voted with George Bush 90% of the time. (You would think that a lock-step partisan flunkie would have voted with the President 100% of the time, the way the Democrats voted against him...)

They tell us that a McCain Presidency would offer absolutely no change from the horrors of the Bush years, only more of the same...

They call McCain "McBush", and tell us that McCain is running for Bush's third term, and that McCain wants the U.S. to stay engaged in a bloody, hopeless struggle in Iraq for the next hundred years, no matter how many of our babies he has to send to the slaughter.

And they believe that they have a very good reason for telling us all this stuff... They believe that if they can only tie McCain closely enough to President Bush, that there is no way that McCain can possibly win the White House.

Here is the flaw in their logic, however...

Republicans don't hate President Bush.

Not the way that Democrats do.

And the reason that Conservatives were not particularly thrilled with McCain (until Sarah Palin came along), or with President Bush for that matter, was not because they were too much alike, or because they weren't religious enough, or any of that stuff...

It was because neither of them is conservative enough.

So, America needs a wise leader, huh, Mr. Biden?

Well, unfortunately, this time around, there doesn't seem to be one on either ticket. Not at the top, anyway.

So, we have to choose between a War Hero, (a real one, not the kind the Democrats tried to run last time, who threw grenades on himself until he was allowed to come home and wage war against his brothers in arms with the "Winter Soldier " campaign...), and a mealy-mouthed communist.

And, given those two options, I'll take the Hero, thank you very much.

Sarah Palin...

2008-09-05T17:38:00.005-04:00

From the Right: "Hooray! Huzzah!! YEEEEE-HAH!!!"

From the Left: "Boo! Hiss!! OH, MY [object of worship of either a religious or non religious nature]!!!"

Who is she?

Well, she looks sort of like the librarian in the video for Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher". She is either a woman of faith, or a Bible-thumping religious nut depending upon which side of her you happen to be looking at. She's a married mother of either four or five children, depending on whether you believe her, or the National Enquirer and Us Weekly.

Either she is the noble, responsible mother of (at least) one "special needs" child, who made the hard choice, knowing that the child would be afflicted with Down's Syndrome, to nevertheless bring that defective child into the world rather than kill it in-utero, and devote herself to it's care and well-being, or someone who faked a pregnancy to cover up the possibility that her daughter procreates like a herd of rabbits.

She is either a "working mother" who constantly juggles the responsibilities of Governor of a state with the aproximate land mass of any twelve other states you would like to add together, or an incompetent twit who cannot even keep her family in line, and abuses power in order to punish and persecute the ex-husband of her sister.

She is either a strong woman in a man's world, or a Conservative man in a woman's body, depending on whether or not you care about the opinion of the National Organization of Ugly Liberal Women.

She is either the saviour of the Nation, or the focal point of Evil in our time, depending on whether you call yourself a Conservative or a Liberal.

Either way, she is the Republican Nominee for the position of Vice President of the United States.

Personally, I like her. (Big shock.)

And, at first, it was difficult for me to put my finger on why I liked her. But then it dawned on me... She didn't tell me directly that she believed or stood for what she thought I wanted a candidate to believe or to stand for in order to get my vote.

She stated as obvious, undebatable fact the things that I believe to be true.

"America needs more energy ... our opponent (and his political party) is against producing it.

"Victory in Iraq is finally in sight ... he wants to forfeit.

"Terrorist states are seeking nuclear weapons without delay ... he wants to meet them without preconditions.

"Government is too big ...

"Congress spends too much ...

"Taxes are too high ..."

And so on, and so on, and so forth.

And she has proven through the way she lives her life that she understands the fact that if any substantive and worthwhile change is going to take place, someone, somewhere is going to have to do some work, some heavy lifting to bring it about.

No "free" healthcare and subsequent government programs to force you to the grocery store because you are "obese"...

Freedom to manage your own diet, even if you have to hunt it down and kill it yourself.

I was not, and still am not particularly enthused with John McCain...

But I will vote for him now.

I will vote for him because I want Sarah Palin, and a hundred more like her, in Washington, loudly and proudly proclaiming and fighting for the values and priorities that she has lived in her own life, and that represent the vast number of us out here who work every day, and love and support our families and our Country, no matter what their shortcomings may be.

The only thing I regret is the fact that she is on the bottom of the ticket, and not the top.

I, along with the rest of America, am still learning who she is.

But, from what I have seen so far, I can tell you what she is...

Sarah Palin is a strong, assertive, and successful American woman who didn't have to become a bitter, victimized, man-hating shrew to get that way.

She is exactly like millions of strong and successful women all across America that the National Organization of Ugly Angry Women and the Democrat Party not only do not represent, but do not in the least understand.

McCain/Palin will beat the socks off of Obama/what's-his-name in November.

Not because of what they promise us from the national Goody-bag, not because of how they look or how well they read from a teleprompter, not because of what someone in the Media, or on Talk Radio tells us to think...

But because of what Sarah Palin IS, and because of what, and who, she actually represents.

US.

Where's FEMA?

2008-08-28T06:20:00.002-04:00

Here we go again!!

Time to find out if anyone learned anything the last time...

You Get'chyer Wife Back, You Get'chyer Dawg Back...

2008-08-09T14:11:00.005-04:00

I just got home from Sonny's Barbeque, where I ordered too much, ate too much, paid too much, and brought too much food home.

I like Sonny's okay, although it is (in my opinion) a poor substitute for real barbeque, which can apparently only be found within a 50 mile circle of Lumberton N.C. (I am not a big fan of thick, sticky, tomato or molasses based BBQ sauces, except on ribs. Real BBQ is pulled pork, with a Vinegar based sauce. And don't try to give me that Lexington N.C. stuff either. That's just nasty...)

But once I learned to ignore the fact that it says "Barbeque" on the sign, and none is actually available there, I like the restaurant just fine.

We set the baby up in one of the institutional minimalist wooden high chairs from the restaurant, and fed him ham chunks from the salad bar, a grilled cheese sandwich, a handful or two of pulled BBQ chicken, and Nilla wafers while sad Country music played all around us.

And then something dawned on me...

I realized why eating there is not usually a happy memory for me after I leave.

It's the MUSIC!

Now I love Country music (in limited doses...), and I believe that the best songwriters in the world are writing Country music. There are some REALLY great songs out there.

But the music in Sonny's BBQ is a collection of every song you've ever heard that made you want to sit in the floor and cry!

"She fell down on the kitchen floor as the sig-nal died... And the pilot tried to pu-ull out of the dive... One... Last... Time..."

"Would'ja like som'more sweet tea, Darlin?"

"Boo-hoo-hoo, *sniff* Ah- hoo, hoo, *sniff, sniff*, I guess so..."

"An old man knealing all aloooooone... Plants his flowers in a gar-rarden of sto-one... For seven years now she's been goooone... But his devotion is sti-yill going straw-wong..."

"You wawnt som'more napkins, Honey?"

"*Sniff, sniff, snort*... Sure, thanks..."

"Daince little Jeeeeane, a prayer thatch'ya had... Was ainswered to-day, yore Mama's marryin' yore Dad!"

"Honey, them ribs are all ya can eat... Are ya ready for another slab?"

"No, thank you Ma'am... Could you either bring me an Ipod with some happy music on it, or a gun so that I can blow my brains out? Thanks..."

It's HORRIBLE.

I can't stand it. But then again, maybe my heart is too soft.

I'm sure that there are some people to whom that stuff seems to be the absolute epitome of fan-dadgum-tabulous music, just like there are some people who absolutely love sticky BBQ sauce... But BBQ and music are both very personal things.

I still wonder, though... Would I like Sonny's better if eating there didn't make me cry every time?

We may never know...

"We're Not Gonna Take It!!"

2008-08-07T22:02:00.006-04:00

I was watching television a couple of weeks ago, and I saw a very interesting commercial...

It was for the birth control pill called "Yaz!..."

It was interesting because the commercial depicted a bunch of silly looking women running around singing "We're not gonna take it!... NO! We ain't gonna take it!!"

And I thought, "How effective can a birth control pill possibly be if they ain't gonna take it?"

Then tonight, I saw the new commercial for the same product, and I realized that they had addressed the effectiveness problem...

Tonight, they were singing "Good-bye to you!... Good bye to you-ooh, woh wo-oh, goodbye to YOU!"

That's brilliant!

If you run him off, then you don't have to take it!

I want to know, who is the marketing genius who is running this advertizing campaign?

Where can I send my resume? I want his job. (Or her job, as the case may be...)

I mean, all you apparently have to do is pick an up-tempo eighties song, and make sure that you have enough stock footage of young women shopping and eating ice cream so that the fast-talking announcer guy can get the whole disclaimer in...

(The challenge would be finding an eighties song long enough for the disclaimer... "Side effects may include Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhea, Mood Swings, Weight Gain, Abdominal Swelling, Water Retention, Headaches, Back Ache, Muscle Ache, Heartache, Tooth ache, Temporary Insanity, Fever, Loss of Energy, Loss of Equilibrium, Irritability, Increased Appetite, Unusual Food Cravings, Spotting, Swelling in the extremities, Insomnia, Narcolepsy, Temporary Tourette's Syndrome, more Mood Swings, Loss of Appetite, Ear Ache, Bleeding from the nose and ears, Hair loss, Hair growth in unusual places, Loss of Teeth, Swamp-Ass, Spontaneous Human Combustion, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Short Attention Span, Autism, Epilepsy, Diabetes, Unreasonable Expectations, Poverty, Deafness, Blindness, Paralysis, Stupidity, Uncontrollable Flattulence, Fungus Nails, Shingles, Suicidal Tendencies, Obesity, Bulemia, Anorexia, Bitchiness, Loneliness, and Death.")

( Except for having a baby or two somewhere in there, aren't those the same symptoms as pregnancy?)

Whoever is doing these commercials is waaaaaay overpaid, and I could probably do their job for half the money, and still be better off than I am now...

And obviously, nobody is checking their work...

Humnn...

Greater Expectations...

2008-08-05T01:15:00.004-04:00

My Wife, Caleb and I went to Universal Studios Yesterday along with my brother and his family who are on vacation from North Carolina.

My brother is sixteen months younger than me and has four children, the oldest of which is in college, and the youngest is seven months old.

We loaded up both babies, and all the truck that goes along with little babies, and took them to a theme park in central Florida in August.

And everybody was hot.

Extremely hot.

But surprisingly, the babies got along better than any of the rest of us.

Caleb took a couple of long naps in his stroller, drank one hundred and seventeen sippy cups full of water (before he threw the sippy cup on the ground and we couldn't find it again...) and wet fourteen diapers...

His cousin Rebekah didn't even sweat. All day long, you could not tell that she was not in the living room. She was sweet, happy, and dry. (She didn't even turn red.)

We all had a great time.

I had not seen my brother for several months, and I have missed him a lot. He has been my life-long best friend. Living six hundred miles from him has been hard for me.

But I like it here, and he likes it there, so things are the way they are.

He told me about the first ride that he rode when he got to the park.

"It was AWESOME! First, you get into a little box, about 6x8 feet, and the walls are made of brushed Aluminum and glass, and when you get into the little car, the doors close, and you can't get out!

"Then, without warning, the whole thing suddenly drops like thirty feet!

"And when you get to the bottom, the doors open, and you get out, but when you do, you are in a whole different place than when you started!

"It's called 'THE ELEVATOR!'"

Apparently, it's a very popular ride, because they have signs posted everywhere, directing you to it...

I rode it twice myself, but I wasn't that impressed. Trust me, they have way more exciting rides there than that one.

But that's the thing about hype... If you buy into it, you will always be disappointed.

You see, Caleb doesn't know anything about hype, and his favorite ride at Universal Studios was crawling around on the floor at the Jurassic Park Discovery Center.

He had a great time, and he had no expectations about the experience, one way or the other.

Sometimes, I wish that I could be more like that...

I wish that I could just enjoy what is happening for what it is, rather than building the experience up in my mind before it happens, and then being disappointed when it isn't the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.

But I guess with age, we trade our innocence for experience, one little morsel at a time.

I hope that Caleb never loses the ability to be happy where he is, when he is there, no matter what is going on, or what was supposed to happen...

I hope that I can learn from him how to be more like that myself.

Look At The Polls!!

2008-07-28T23:50:00.004-04:00

While reading the Drudge report tonight, I found this headline...

USATODAYGALLUP: MCCAIN UP 4 AMONG LIKELY VOTERS...

And right at the top of the page when I clicked the link, I saw this disclaimer...

WARNING: Polls are snapshots of public opinion, not forecasts of far-off election days!

I remember no such disclaimers appearing above stories of how Obama may be ahead of McCain in the polls...

Here's a forecast of far-off election days for you...

When the Democrat is not ahead by at least double digits in polls of likely voters by this point in the election cycle, the Republican wins in November.

You see, the polls are creations of the News Media, which overwhelmingly support Democrats, and who use these polls as a kind of "Report Card" to guage how well their propaganda is working.

This particular poll appears on the Drudge Report on the same day the the AP reports that we are winning the War in Iraq. (And I know it hurt them to their very soul to have to say that.)

WINNING. Winning a War that every single Democrat was convinced that we (The U.S.) would lose, and that the loss of that War would propel them to political victory without question.

They wanted, needed their Country to lose a War so that they could make political hay out of it.
But alas, that has been denied them. They will instead have to try to sway the American Voting Public with their ideas, their solutions to the problems that We The People face every day.

And what are their ideas?

"We cannot drill our way out of high Gas Prices, we must TAX our way out of them!"

"We cannot privatize our way out of a Socialist Security collapse, we must TAX our way out of it!"

"We cannot expect the public to be responsible for their own healthcare, we must TAX them into Healthcare Security."

"We cannot expect the market to correct the mortgage crisis, we must TAX our way out of it!"

Name for me a Democrat solution to any problem that does not rely on new taxes...

Name for me a society in the history of the world that has taxed itself into prosperity...

Black Jesus Himself has proposed tens of billions of dollars in new taxes to fund his pipe dreams and social engineering.

Does anybody in America believe that these new taxes will only apply to the nameless, faceless "Rich"?

I don't think so.

I don't believe that logical, thinking people in America think that.

The truth is that "The Rich" don't really pay taxes in the first place, and everybody knows that.

"The Rich" run the corporations that we all work for, and when you raise the taxes on a corporation, they add it right in to the cost of business, and pass the increase right along to the consumer.

And "The Idle Rich" like Paris Hilton and Ted Kennedy don't really have an income, and "Wealth" is not taxed in America, only "Income".

Raising taxes on "The Rich" only hurts the middle class, and the working poor. It only hurts the people who are going to work every day, trying to make ends meet and support themselves and their families, and, God Forbid, create a little wealth for themselves and their progeny along the way.

And the more an American Citizen hates "The Rich", and votes his (or her) hatred into power in our Representative Republic, the more he (or she) shoots himself (or herself) in the foot, and cripples their own ability to accumulate wealth.

And the Democrat Party has built their whole electoral platform on hatred of "The Rich", and losing the War in Iraq.

A Chicken in every pot, Healthcare for Everyone, make "The Rich" pay, and George Bush lied.

Are you going to buy into that?

If you do, you are a fool, and have no understanding of how the world works, and you would be doing your fellow man and your Country a service by going out and getting drunk on election day rather than voting either way.

This Election is really a "No Brainer".

And I am no real supporter of John McCain.

I simply can recognize a train wreck when I see one coming, and Obama with a Democrat-controlled House and Senate is a train wreck looking for a place to happen.

Believe the polls if you must, but don't let the polls drive your decision.

The polls are meaningless.

Think for yourself.

No one who believes in the things that have made America great can really vote for the stupidity offered by Obama and his promises.

Not in good conscience.

"Mama..."

2008-07-13T12:22:00.005-04:00

Caleb's Morning Menu:

1 whole banana.
1 whole grilled cheese sandwich (crusts removed.)
1 4oz container yogurt (w/strawberries.)
10 whole graham crackers.
1 cup Cheerios.
1 4oz piece baked dinner ham.
10 oz baby formula.
1 Gerber Baby Carrot Pinwheel Cracker.
12 oz ice water.

He's eight months old!

This could get to be a problem reeeeeal quick-like.

Now, granted, we didn't sit him in the highchair and shovel all of this to him at one sitting. He nibbles and snacks all along during the day. We put half a graham cracker on the tray of his walker along with his sippy cup of water, and he eats some, drops some, mushes some into a paste using water from his sippy cup, and smears some in his hair. (As a matter of fact, feeding him is sort of like taking handfuls of food, and tossing it into a running fan.)

But the majority of what I listed above ended up in his belly.

And that is just this morning.

(He has almost completely given up on baby food of any type now. All he does with that is spit it back at you as soon as he knows he has enough of a mouthful to get some distance with it.)

It seems like his appetite has increased somewhat over the past few days. He may be building up to a major growth spurt or something. Any day now, I expect to kiss him goodbye in his crib in the morning before I leave, and find him mowing the grass when I come back home that afternoon...

He says his first official word now. He started on Monday.

Any guesses what the word is?

That's right! "MAMA."

After all I have done for that boy, all the sacrifice, all the late nights and long hours, this is the thanks I get. His first word was "Mama"...

I see how it is...

(He has another word as of yesterday... "Puppy". So you see where Daddy fits in to the equation here... Somewhere below the Dog on the list...)

(NOTE: To qualify as an official word, we have to be sure that he understands the meaning and can use the word in context. Whether he gets the pronunciation exactly right is less important, although he must get that pretty close most of the time for the word to count.

(For example: If he crawls after the dog saying "Pupupupup", and will sit up and look at the dog and try to repeat the word when we say it to him, "Puppy" counts.)

(You get the picture.)

Anyway, as long as he stays as happy, healthy and bright as he is right now, he can have whatever he wants to eat, as far as I'm concerned.

And I know that Caleb is WAY more important to me as a Blog subject than he is to anyone else who may visit here, but when I write about him, I don't get angry, I don't get disgusted, and I don't have 100 comment long arguments with people who have it wrong on almost every subject.

And since this is a hobby, then I might as well enjoy doing it.

Right?

For Sale...

2008-07-12T21:25:00.005-04:00

FOR SALE:

1993 Freightliner FLD 120 -

Blue W/ (Clean!) Blue Cloth Interior - 70 Inch Sleeper Bunk, Full Air Fairings - Cab Extenders - All Steel Wheels (11R22.5's) - Am/Fm - 10 foot tall Chrome straight 7 inch Smokestack, N14 Cummins (Mechanical Fuel Pump) - 13 Speed - Jake Brakes - 3:58 Rears - 239 Inch Wheelbase...

New Batteries, New Steer Tires, New Wet Line Kit...

Not Perfect - Needs minor work, A/C needs Freon, needs paint job, runs/drives great!

$6000.00* OBO - Serious Inquiries Only Please!

*Diesel Fuel NOT included!!

It's Not My Business...

2008-07-07T18:38:00.005-04:00

I am thinking of starting a business with my eight month old son, Caleb, as my business partner.

Caleb has, in the past two weeks, gotten really, really good at crawling, and at sitting up, and he can pull himself into a standing position if he has something to hold on to.

So, now, he has to be watched every single second that he is not in his crib, or his playpen. (And if he's awake in his crib, you had better go and get him, or he will try to climb out.)

He is fascinated by electrical cords, dirty shoes, the dog, dust balls from the floor, week-old cheerios from under Mommy's chair, books on the bookshelf, half-empty soda cups, the drapes, the trash can, computer keyboards... Basically anything that he can destroy, that can hurt him, or is too nasty for him to put into his mouth, and can be hidden in some obscure place where his Mom and I cannot find it.

The geniuses who built our house put an electrical outlet in the middle of the living room floor, and cleverly hid it underneath an X cut in the carpet. His Mommy plugs her laptop into it so that she can work in the living room, and watch him at the same time.

So, most of her day is spent watching him dig in the hole in the carpet, and taking the laptop cord away from him.

He goes after it like a robot.

So here is my business idea...

For a small fee, I will come and child-proof your house.

It should be easy... All I have to do is put Caleb on the floor, and within twenty minutes, he will show me every single thing in the whole house that a baby shouldn't have.

Then all that has to be done is remove all of the furniture, and place everything in the house on shelves at least eight feet from the floor.

Then, we nail all of the cabinet doors shut with twenty-penny nails, turn the electricity off from all of the wall outlets at the breaker box, and hire a maid to vacuum the whole house all day every day.

Then, your house will be child proof. (Mostly.)

But before I start this business, I need to have a lawyer or two to draw up a seventy-two page waiver releasing me from any liability if your baby still figures out how to hurt himself after we have child-proofed your house...

Hhmmn... Maybe this idea still needs a little work...

One Man's Labor Is Another Man's Treasure...

2008-06-30T19:55:00.004-04:00

“The best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.” - Benjamin Franklin

From Stuff.co.nz, (whatever that is...)

"Indiscriminate charity does not help anyone..."

"Human rights' are now the enemy of democracy, hard work and responsible living. They have inherently socialist tendencies. They are instruments of oppression and theft, in the service of laziness and parasitism. They sound the death-knell of a healthy society."

Read the whole article.

The rest of the World is slowly waking up, as the United States drifts ever further into a Socialist Nightmare.

Pay attention, folks!

For The Children...

2008-06-23T17:27:00.005-04:00

John McCain wants to KILL...

YOUR...

BABY!!

I'm sure glad that Barack Obama decided to avoid the "smear tactics" and "dirty politics" of the 527 groups...

There's no telling how nasty things would have gotten if he hadn't...

I was unaware that John McCain was campaigning on a promise to start drafting ten-year-olds.

And the last I checked, Military Service in the United States was still entirely voluntary.

So, Mom... What if when Alex is eighteen, he decides that he believes in his Country, and whatever cause we may be fighting for by then, and he decides to join the Military in spite of what his pasty-faced, frightened mom says...

Are you going to stop him?

How?

My Wife had a great idea for a response video to this one...

It starts with her chasing Caleb (in his walker) around the living room.

"This is Caleb", she says, wiping strained sweet potatos from Caleb's hands and head.

"He's my first, but most likely not my last.

"He is already a mechanic, and a talented problem solver at seven months. He can operate his walker like a pro, and turn on anything that has a switch.

"My husband and I plan to teach him about what is right with America, and to believe in and be proud of his Country, and to make use of the gift that he has been given by being born here.

"When he grows up, he will be a happy, well adjusted, successful person.

"Barack Obama wants to set up new Pre-Kindergarten Classes so that the purveyors of Marxist Ideology and Political Correctness can have access to Caleb's mind even earlier.

"He wants to eliminate the Homestead Exemption and raise the Inheritance Tax so that the Government can take away any resources that my husband and I can amass instead of letting Caleb use them and build upon them.

"Mr. Obama wants to cheapen Higher Education the way that High school has been cheapened by providing it for everyone free of charge, and free of responsibility.

"He wants to confiscate the fruits of Caleb's own labor when he enters the workforce by raising the Income Tax, and saddling Caleb with the burden of everyone's Healthcare.

"Mr. Obama, were you counting on Caleb to be a slave to your idea of a collective Utopia? Are you counting on him to help you set up your "cradle to grave" Nanny State?

"Because, you can't have him."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is my job, and the job of my Wife to take that little baby boy, and make a fully-functioning, capable grown man out of him.

And that is what we intend to do.

Caleb will be taught The Truth about the World, and about America, and the way things work, and how to be successful and happy within the parameters which exist here.

I will not allow him to be hobbled by the defective ideology of the leftists and morons who would support a political candidate as flawed and un-American as Barack Obama.

It doesn't matter. After Alex has been raised his whole life on a steady diet of Tofu and Politically Correct Marxist Pacifism, had worn a helmet when he rode his tricycle, went to Public School and did all of his Science Projects on the subject of Global Warming and went home to waste the rest of his day playing video games inside the house, Alex most likely will not be fit for Military Service anyway.

That is why, when they are both grown, Alex will most likely be working for Caleb. (Or someone like him...)

That is, unless Alex figures out early that his parents are clueless, and believes in something bigger than himself and his parents' narrow minded and self-centered priorities, and decides to make something of himself.

In that case, maybe he and Caleb can be golf buddies or something.

But that will be up to Caleb and Alex.

Cave Time...

2008-06-17T17:47:00.019-04:00

I've been getting along surprizingly well since my Wife left me.

I've done my own cooking...

A little cleaning...

Rearranged some furniture...

Even caught up on my sleeping.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(Just joking... Of course I'm not sleeping on the couch...)

(Not ALL the time, anyway...)-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, I'm not fooling anyone for a minute with this "Wife left me" gag, am I?

She did, sort of, but just for a few days. She took Caleb up the coast to visit with his cousins, aunts and uncles in Niceville and Gulf Breeze.

I stayed behind because I can't afford to take any more time off work. (Worst Economy since Julius Caesar, and all that...)

And I miss them.

Caleb is going to crawl any minute, and I am going to miss it.

But it's okay... They'll be back soon, and I will get to see it then.

In the meantime, I'm kind of enjoying this little bit of "Cave Time". You don't usually get much of that after the children come.

There are things about being married that nobody tells you. (Or at least, nobody told me...)

Nobody told me that after you get married, you don't really get to eat whatever you want anymore... Bologna, Vienna Sausages, Liver Pudding, Banana Sandwiches... These things are off the menu when a Woman is doing your meal planning and cooking. (Not that I'm complaining... I'm not sure why I was eating that stuff in the first place.)

But today, I decided that since I don't have to answer to anybody this week, I would have myself a Liver Pudding Sandwich.

Only I can't.

Liver Pudding was an item which appeared at our house probably three or four times per year when I was growing up. It's a kind of... well it's like... It's... Well, it's pork liver. Mashed into a pulp, with some corn meal added to improve the texture, a few spices added to improve the flavor, and then it's usually stuffed into a sausage casing to ruin whatever was improved in the other steps.

The very mention of the stuff is enough to evoke violent wretching sounds from my Wife.

I decided to go and get me some today.

But I live in Florida now, so I am denied access to such culinary delights as Liver Pudding, because the people down here have no idea what good food is. The woman at the Meat Market made a face and said flatly:"Never heard of it."

"Oh yeah? You know, this would be a darn good place for a Meat Market now, wouldn't it?"

So I made Chicken Salad instead.

When I am finally driven back to North Carolina where I belong, food will be what does it.

You can't get any here.

You can't get a decent Cheeseburger, no Sun Drop, no Liver Pudding, no Fat-Back... And the Bar-B-Que down here is a reddish, sticky, slimy substance with some type of meat-fibers strung through it. (I guess it's pretty good if you've never had the real stuff... BBQ sauce is Vinegar based, not tomato based, for crying out loud!!)

All that being said, I'm not losing any weight down here, so I guess it's all right.

My Chicken Salad was good, anyway. (Mayo salad, not lettuce salad... I am a man, you know...)

I just hope my Wife comes back home before my colesterol reaches lethal levels...

Maybe it's better that I couldn't find the Liver Pudding after all...

Help! Help! I'm Being Repressed!

2008-06-15T07:47:00.003-04:00

Priceless!!

The American Dream

2008-06-10T22:55:00.009-04:00

From the Transcript Of Barack Obama's Wesleyan Commencement Address, May 25, 2008:

"Each of you will have the chance to make your own discovery in the years to come. And I say “chance” because you won’t have to take it.

There’s no community service requirement in the real world; no one forcing you to care. You can take your diploma, walk off this stage, and chase only after the big house and the nice suits and all the other things that our money culture says you should buy.

You can choose to narrow your concerns and live your life in a way that tries to keep your story separate from America’s.

But I hope you don’t. Not because you have an obligation to those who are less fortunate, though you do have that obligation. Not because you have a debt to all those who helped you get here, though you do have that debt.

It’s because you have an obligation to yourself. Because our individual salvation depends on collective salvation.

Because thinking only about yourself, fulfilling your immediate wants and needs, betrays a poverty of ambition.

Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential and discover the role you’ll play in writing the next great chapter in America’s story."

The Chapter where America switched to Communism.

What is the "American Dream" to you?

Is it the possibility that you can someday own a home?

A big car?

A nice suit, nice clothes?

Lesiure time? Recreation? Retirement?

Who do you expect to give you these things?

We in America have the highest across-the-board standard of living in the entire World. Our "poor" enjoy more living space, a better diet, and more creature comforts than even the "wealthy" in most countries.

A large percentage of America's "poor" have color televisions, cellular phones, cars...

Some of the very "poorest" Americans are fat. (At least by the standards of most of the world.)

I am not "poor".

I'm not "rich" either. Not by American standards. But I do live in a nice house with a pool and a whole acre of yard, a garage, and a sprinkler system, in a neighborhood of homes almost exactly like mine. (Except for the yard. Everyone on my block is envious of the amount of land that I live on...)

I drive an old pickup-truck, but my Wife has an almost new car.

But today I worked 15 hours. Yesterday, I worked 13. Tommorrow, I will work at least 12, maybe more. (Probably more.)

My Wife is working as I write this, clicking away on her lap-top, educating Florida's little skulls-full-of-mush on the finer points of Geometry, on-line. (It's ten after eleven PM. She's been at it, off and on, since seven this morning.)

Do you believe that she does this because she cares whether or not Florida's meat-head children understand Geometry?

Do you think that I work all of these hours, tired, sleepy, hot and sweaty in a rough-riding raggedy, slow company truck because I care whether or not Florida Rock runs out of #57 Gravel?

Are you crazy?

Is the "American Dream" the idea that everyone can be equal?

Only if you are a Marxist.

Let me explain something to you.

I make decent money. So does my Wife.

Neither of us could care less about "the poor". We believe that anyone else could do what we are doing, and live the way we live.

We both put in the work, and pay the price for our lifestyle. We do not expect "society" to subsidize our way of life.

And we don't feel any obligation to "those less fortunate," or any "debt to those who helped us get here", rather than to be successful, and to make "those who helped us get here" proud of our success.

Let me tell you what the "American Dream" is.

America is the place where I can make more money, buy more stuff, live better than you, if I apply myself more than you do.

That's it.

Competition is the engine that drives Entreprenuership, Industriousness, Ingenuity.

Equality is Stagnation.

If everyone has everything, then nothing is special.

My responsibility to my community is to provide an example of what hard work and self reliance can provide.

I do not owe one minute of my labor to anyone but my Wife and Child.

To tell me otherwise is to make me a slave to the "Collective".

And just what makes Mr. Obama think that I, or anyone else, will keep working as long and hard as we do, when everyone is equal, no matter what we do?

Keep your Marxism, Mr. Obama.

You, and your supporters obviously have no concept of what America is, or what made Her great.

Let God Sort'em Out...

2008-06-07T03:46:00.004-04:00

From the UK Daily Mail via the Drudge Report...

Mother's anger turns to delight after her baby survives an abortion

Finley Crampton really shouldn't be here. Although his parents would have loved another child, they knew their baby could inherit a life-threatening kidney condition – and they couldn't take the risk.

After all, their first son had died of the condition and the second was born with serious kidney damage.

So when Finley's mother, Jodie Percival, became pregnant while on the Pill, she and her fiance Billy Crampton, 35, made the agonising decision to abort this child.

However, Finley had other ideas. And some time after the operation, Miss Percival felt a fluttering in her stomach.

The child had survived the abortion and thrived in the womb. 'I couldn't believe it,' said Miss Percival. 'This was the baby I thought I'd terminated.

Look at him. There's his picture.

Now, the couple is overjoyed to have him, and everyone says that he will most probably live a "normal life".

That is, until that fateful day (and it's coming...) when he asks the question: "Mommy, what is an abortion?"

Could you explain to one of your children that you didn't want him? Could you tell him that you tried to kill him before he was born, but NOW you love him?

If he hacks him mother to pieces with an axe when he's twenty, could it be considered self defense?

This is a heartbreaking and joyous story, and I hope that this couple are able to deal with this child, and the issues that their actions have created, and that he actually will be able to live a normal life.

But I wonder when I hear stories like this one if the people who say things like "Abortion is a terrible choice to have to make...", or "Who are we to force women to have unwanted babies?" really understand that if it wasn't a choice, people would not be forced to choose.

This is not the story of an unwanted baby. This couple wanted a baby.

But they wanted a perfect baby. (How many of us would be here if our parents had had that standard, and the ability to test us to determine our imperfections before we were born?

If Ted Kennedy's mother had known FOR SURE that he would someday develope brain cancer, do you think that she might have aborted him? (How far would the march toward American Socialism have been set back if that had happened?)

My son Caleb fed himself a whole little bowl of frozen yogurt with a spoon today, for the first time. Every day he learns something new, and he is so happy to be here that I cannot grasp the concept of having denied him the opportunity.

The opportunity to exist.

It is my job, as his father, to give him every chance to succeed and to thrive, to try to equip him to face the challenges that he will face in life to the best of his, and my abilities.

At no point in his development did killing him seem to me to be the best way to do that.

But then again, for me and for Caleb's mother, Abortion was never a choice.

Enjoy your abortions while you've got'em, people. This policy of national madness will come to an end someday.

Maybe not in the next four years, but someday.

Where Are We Going, And Why Are We In This Handbasket?

2008-05-30T00:04:00.004-04:00

I have decided to vote for Barack Obama in November.

It will be the first time in my life that I have ever voted for a Democrat for any office, and it pains me to no end that things have come to this...

But I'm going to do it anyway, because it has to be done this time.

I have put a lot of thought into this decision. It has been the most difficult decision about an election that I have ever had to make, but I feel that the choice is clear.

Republicans lost control of both Houses of Congress in 2006, and by all accounts, they are going to lose even more power this year. The estimates that I have heard put the Democrats gaining ten to twelve seats in the Senate, and predict at least a seventy seat Majority in the House of Representatives.

This puts the Democrats at the magic number of sixty votes in the Senate. The "Veto-Proof" majority. Enough votes to break a filibuster.

If a Republican President were to nominate King Solomon to the Supreme Court, the Democrats would not confirm him.

So the Supreme Court is lost, one way or the other.

Add to that the fact that the Republican Presidential candidate this time around is John McCain.

He not only has based his entire political career on siding with Democrats and opposing the agendas of the people whom I sent to Washington to represent me, he has gleefully engaged in "back-room deals" with the opposition and subverting the political process, he was the leader of the "Gang of Fourteen", and as such, usurped Presidential Authority over the Judicial Nomination Process, and has authored legislation which unconstitutionally restricts the right to free political expression and would throw our Borders wide open to a hundred million (or more) new immigrants, with the right to vote and collect tax-payer funded benefits as soon as they arrive...

He also embraces the Global Warming myth, and has stated that he will pursue an agenda of combatting "climate change", which means attacking the U.S. Economy, raising taxes on everything and everyone, and further screwing up energy production and delivery in America.

To paraphrase something that I heard my Dad say a long time ago, the world is crying out for some good, strong conservative leadership, but NOBODY wants a cheap immitation of a Liberal.

I cannot vote for John McCain.

And if I did, it wouldn't do any good anyway. We, as a Nation, are going to pursue the Liberal Agenda for at least the next four years, no matter who the President is.

On the substantive issues, McCain's platform is almost indistinguishable from Barack Obama's.

And the result of following this path of irresponsible, naive, and short-sighted legislation will be a period of National misery, crisis and economic disaster that will make us all long for the heady, carefree days of prosperity and plentitude of the CARTER ADMINISTRATION.

So now, the question becomes:

If there is going to be a disaster caused by the pursuit of a Liberal Agenda, who should own that disaster? The Democrats who caused it, or the Republicans who layed down and let it roll over them?

With my vote, I choose to put the blame where it belongs.

This is going to be messy, but I plan to do my part to see that the authors of the mess get the full credit for it. I will not give them a RINO to hold up as the representative of Conservatism for the rest of my life.

I will not vote for John McCain.

I am going to vote for Barack Obama.

And pray.

Ayn Rand Says...

2008-05-29T22:31:00.003-04:00

If some men are entitled by right to the products of the work of others, it means that those others are deprived of rights and condemned to slave labor.

Any alleged "right" of one man, which necessitates the violation of the rights of another, is not and cannot be a right.

No man can have a right to impose an unchosen obligation, an unrewarded duty or an involuntary servitude on another man. There can be no such thing as "the right to enslave."

-- Ayn Rand, "Man's Rights," The Virtue of Selfishness

With All Due Respect...

2008-05-21T18:53:00.003-04:00

Mike at "Mike's America" has written a very respectful, very statesman-like, well-wishing Blog post about Ted Kennedy's brain cancer. If that's what you are looking for, then click the link, and go over there.

Mike is a statesman, and has made a career as a diplomat.

I am a truck driver.

Now, I do not, nor would I ever wish brain cancer on anyone. It is a horrible disease, and apparently Ted Kennedy's case is inoperable, and most probably incurable. I have the utmost sympathy for both him as a person, and his family. My prayers are with them all.

But if brain cancer will remove him from the U.S. Senate, I'll take it.

Ted Kennedy has been the most effective and successful enemy of the ideals and concepts that made America great that the world has ever known.

Name any issue that you are angry about, and I can tie it to Ted Kennedy.

Mad about high gas prices? Ted Kennedy has consistently opposed any and all efforts and strategies to streamline the production and delivery of all types of energy in America for three decades.

Angry about the healthcare system? Ted Kennedy authored the legislation which set up the flawed HMO system (remember that?) and subsequently allowed healthcare costs to skyrocket for the past twenty years, while simultaneously training Americans to believe that someone else should provide their healthcare for them.

Immigration? Kennedy first began to monkey with U.S. Immigration Policy in 1965, by helping to push through the Hart-Celler Act, which was a drastic overhaul of Immigration policies in America. "The bill will not flood our cities with immigrants. It will not upset the ethnic mix of our society. It will not relax the standards of admission. It will not cause American workers to lose their jobs." Said Kennedy.

The bill, when put into practice, proceeded to flood our cities with immigrants, upset the ethnic mix of our society, relax the standards of admission, and cause American workers to lose their jobs.

Education? Kennedy co-authored the "No Child Left Behind" Act, which has been pointed out repeatedly to be one of the major failings of the G.W. Bush Administration. (Huh?) The decline of American Education has happened entirely since Ted Kennedy became a U.S. Senator, and he should shoulder his fair share of the blame.

He has consistently ignored the U.S. Constitution, and opposed at every turn the right of U.S. Citizens to keep and bear Arms.

He has been an outspoken and tireless advocate of U.S. embarrassment and defeat in the War in Iraq.

His stand on same-sex marriage should anger you whichever side of the issue you are on. He claims to support same-sex marriage, but has never sponsored any legislation attempting to legalize it. (Unless you count his usurpation of Presidential power through blocking President Bush's Judicial Nominees... But then again, Kennedy knows that the courts are the extra-Constitutional path of Liberalism into Law...)

And, despite the fact that he, himself, has been fabulously wealthy all of his life through no effort of his own, he has chosen to make a career of working tirelessly to place stumbling blocks in the path of any American who would seek to become wealthy through hard work, ingenuity, or investment.

And on, and on, and on...

And on.

Ted Kennedy has been in the Senate all of my life, and I have had no method of removing him.

The people of Massachusetts have for some unknown reason chosen to inflict him upon America since 1962, and he has opposed everything that I hold dear, everything that I believe in. I was not surprized to learn that his opinions and ideas emmanated from a diseased brain.

I, for one, will not be sorry to see him go. I do not wish him his pain. I wish him a speedy and comfortable departure. (And his inevitable eternal reward, whatever that may be.)

I suppose that I should at least try to say something nice about the man rather than simply trash him with a list of facts, since (as far as we know, ) he is a human being...

So, here goes...

As far as we know, he hasn't killed anyone in almost forty years...

Sorry. Best I can do.

Happy Trails, Senator Kennedy! Here's to the speedy relief of your suffering, and ours!

"That's Not Leadership."

2008-05-19T20:50:00.004-04:00

Despair.com

"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK...That's not leadership. That's not going to happen..."
- Barack Obama

Okay, Mr. Obama...

We live in the United States of America.

Our forefathers established the first nation in human history in which the power of freedom was fully unleashed, and as a direct result, we citizens of the United States of America enjoy the highest standard of living on the face of the Earth.

Not only is this high standard of living our birthright, but most of us do the work, and pay the cost every day to maintain that standard of living for ourselves and our families, not out of selfishness or greed, but because we recognize that it is our duty as citizens of this great nation, and guardians of that birthright to maintain, and even improve on it.

To tell me that I should care one whit about how other countries around the world feel about my lifestyle, much less that I should scale back my lifestyle, which is not only my birthright as an American citizen, but that I bust my butt sixty to eighty hours per week for, is not only an insult to me personally, but an open-handed slap at my Country, and the ideals and opportunities which have made my Country the greatest nation on Earth, and the envy, by your own admission, sir, of the rest of the world.

And the fact that you, Mr. Obama, flew to the engagement where you insulted me and my Country on a jet airplane, you live in a mansion, and have never worked a day in your miserable life by my definition of an honest day's work, and then have the nerve to tell me and my fellow citizens that we have to tighten our belts shows without question that you, sir, have no idea what true leadership really is.

If you want to lead America out of the Energy Crisis that we currently face, then get Government out of the way of the Energy Industry, and let them solve it.

And if a market for Environmental Clean-up is created through that, then let the market make someone rich by doing that.

Let us take a leadership role, as a nation, and show the world that we can not only maintain and improve our standard of living, but that we can do it cleanly and affordably, by embracing freedom, opportunity and the ingenuity of the individual, as well as the collective.

Let's lead the world by showing them what made America great in the first place.

But if belt tightening is the only solution you can embrace, then we all await your leadership on that as well.

When we see you living in a mud hut with no air conditioning instead of your mansion, riding a bicycle to Oregon to insult us and our beloved Nation instead of flying on a very comfortable jet airplane, and living on one bowl of rice every day, then you can point to your belt tightening leadership.

So, lead, follow, or get out of the way.

But don't tell us, the citizens of the United States, that we should follow the rest of the world into poverty and depression, just so that the rest of the world will like us.

The rest of us are not so weak.

Still Around...

2008-05-17T17:10:00.004-04:00

It's so hard to find time to Blog lately...

This past weekend, we went to N.C. to see the family and show off the baby, and a good time was had by all. (I don't care who you are, you don't have a prettier or cooler baby than mine, no matter what.)

Caleb showed off all weekend long like it was his JOB. He smiled, he sat up, he laughed, he played with his toys, he tried to crawl. He kept everyone near him smiling and laughing the whole time. He was quiet and happy in his car seat for the whole trip, and even sung quietly to himself while he rode.

We left N.C. on Monday morning, and spent the night at the top-secret Tugboatcapn Bunker in the woods near Atlanta Ga., and made the rest of the trip on Tuesday, returning home about 7:00 Tuesday night.

And then Wednesday, I got the Flu.

Some micro-organism has invaded my person, and has ever since attempted to convert me into a gigantic, walking, whining, complaining, dripping, coughing Virus.

But thanks to Ny-quil and Day-quil, and a very understanding and long-suffering Wife, I am still alive.

It's not like I don't think of things to write about, and God knows that there is plenty going on that needs to be commented on, but the truth is that I would much rather play with the baby, or talk to my wife, or, frankly, watch mindless television than to spend time arguing on the internet about things that I cannot change.

But I love Blogging.

So, whether it makes any difference or not, I am still going to try to post something every couple of days or so...

When I have the time...

And when I am inspired...

And if anyone cares...

Do Not Feed The Bird Brains...

2008-04-21T22:47:00.003-04:00

People used to tell me when I was young that you shouldn't feed birds.

This seemed cruel to me back then. We lived in the mountians of North Carolina, and sometimes there would be snow on the ground for weeks at a time. I felt sorry for the poor birds trying to find food through all that snow.

But it was explained to me that if you feed birds in the same place every day for any length of time, they learn that this is where the food is. If you start feeding them, you can never stop, or the birds you are feeding will stand around waiting for you to provide them with food until they starve.

Eventually I understood that the compassionate thing to do for the birds was to let them look after themselves, so that they never forgot how to.

Having said that, please consider this:

From the UK Daily Mail...

Raised on welfare, the 'Why Bother?' generation that doesn't want to work...

A "why bother?" economy has been created in Britain which has left thousands with no motivation to work, a report published today concludes.

The findings by the public services think tank Reform suggest that increased welfare dependency has made it more difficult for those on the lowest incomes to do better...

Means-tested benefits and higher taxes have reduced the incentives available to those on low incomes to better themselves, Reform says.

It concludes: "The unintended consequence has been a 'why bother?' economy in which a significant minority do not have the capability or motivation to succeed."

The article goes on to tell the tale of a family with ten members living in a three bedroom "council house" (whatever that is...), and none of them, for three generations, have ever worked.

And from what the article says, they are not the only family in the U.K. who are living this way. According to the article, they have become a drag on the National Economy.

But that's not their problem...

It's a problem for everyone else in the whole country...

Think about this when you hear the Democrat Presidential Candidates' speeches as they cross the countryside, heavily engaged in "Pander-Fest 2008".

When the government pays for everything for everybody, why should anybody do anything for themselves?

When everyone is on the public dole, and nobody works because it is more profitable to stay home and be a loser than to go to work, who will pay the taxes to support everyone?

The article says that the U.K. has made the mistake of feeding the bird-brains... and now they are starting to run short on bird seed...

The same thing is going to happen here, and soon, unless the American people wake up...

It can be avoided, but in order for that to happen, a few bird-brains may have to be allowed to starve.

Bitter...

2008-04-16T22:55:00.006-04:00

"And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." - Barack Obama

He was talking about the poor slobs in small towns in Pennsylvania and around the country who haven't had jobs in twenty-five years, and who (according to him) believe that the government has not done enough for them.

Well, I don't live in the "Rust Belt", but I do live in small-town America, and I am bitter.

You're doggone right, I am.

I'm bitter when I see my government planning to spend a trillion (or more) dollars of taxpayer money to prop up the mortgage industry and keep housing prices impossibly high in perpetuity, even though they have absolutely no Constitutional authority to do so.

I'm bitter when I think about the fact that I decided last year to rent a house rather than buy one, and instead buy my own truck and try to better myself through hard work, and then partly because of flawed (and again, extra-Constitutional) governmental meddling with the petroleum industry, fuel prices ate up whatever profits I could have realized, and my truck was reposessed.

Nobody offered to bail me out.

But now, I get to help bail out the millionaires at Bear Stearns.

I'm bitter because I am being asked to choose between possibly the three least qualified Presidential Candidates in the history of the United States. None of these people have any business anywhere near the government at all, let alone the highest office in the nation...

But I have to choose one of them... or not. I cannot in good conscience vote for John McCain, and neither can I vote for an unabashed Socialist panderer running on a Democrat ticket.

I still believe that the Constitution means something, and that it limits what the federal government can do for me, or to me, and no matter how good an idea it seems to be, or how many people think that they might benefit from government bailouts and interference in their (and my) life, the Constitution prevents MOST of what the federal government does now.

I'm bitter because none of the Presidential candidates seems to understand that.

I'm bitter because my nation, the greatest nation in the history of the world, seems to have forgotten how to win a war. Regardless of whether you agree with the reasons for going to war, we shouldn't be having this much trouble defeating an enemy that basically fights with sticks and rocks.

War is a terrible thing for all concerned. But if you are going to engage an enemy, for whatever reason, it should be so much more terrible for the enemy than for you, that they beg you to stop, and then for decades to come, any potential enemy you might face would rather do ANYTHING than have to engage you in armed conflict.

It's a simple concept. DEFEAT the enemy, soundly and without remorse or mercy, and then you will have peace.

Then comes the nation-building, the aid for refugees, the humanitarianism.

No one in our government seems to understand this, and I learned it on the playground when I was five years old.

These are just a few of the things that I am bitter about.

Not that the government hasn't done enough for me, but that the government will not leave me alone, and it screws up everything it touches.

So yes, I cling to my Constitutional Right to my gun, my religion, my expectation of border security and fair trade practices.

I cling to them because these Rights are under attack by the very people who are supposed to be defending and protecting them.

Obama is right. I am bitter.

And I have every right to be.

The Problem...

2008-04-15T18:24:00.004-04:00

What can I say?

I have been slack. Fallen behind in my ranting and raving.

But I'm back, so, here we go.

How much petroleum can you eat?

Who among us hasn't enjoyed a nice evening, hanging around with friends, tossing back a couple of quarts of 10w30 and enjoying an asphault burger hot off the grill?

Which one of us doesn't tear up when we remember how our dear old Mom slaved over a hot stove when we were young, cooking up a pot of home-made tar for our supper? (Sticks to the ole' ribs, don't it?)

I personally simply CANNOT get going in the mornings until I've had a steaming hot cup of diesel fuel...

Sounds silly, don't it?

We all know that we cannot eat or drink petroleum products...

You know what we CAN eat, though?

CORN!

That is, unless stupid Liberals among us mandate that we burn our corn in the gas tank instead of eating it...

From the New York Times...

Fuel Choices, Food Crises and Finger-Pointing

The idea of turning farms into fuel plants seemed, for a time, like one of the answers to high global oil prices and supply worries. That strategy seemed to reach a high point last year when Congress mandated a fivefold increase in the use of biofuels.

But now a reaction is building against policies in the United States and Europe to promote ethanol and similar fuels, with political leaders from poor countries contending that these fuels are driving up food prices and starving poor people.

Biofuels are fast becoming a new flash point in global diplomacy, putting pressure on Western politicians to reconsider their policies, even as they argue that biofuels are only one factor in the seemingly inexorable rise in food prices.

In some countries, the higher prices are leading to riots, political instability and growing worries about feeding the poorest people. Food riots contributed to the dismissal of Haiti’s prime minister last week, and leaders in some other countries are nervously trying to calm anxious consumers...

So, in order to solve a problem that does not exist, the Democrat-controlled Congress voted to burn the World's food supply in our cars (even though by all accounts, ethanol is horribly inefficient and almost impossible to transport), while insisting that we leave our own oil supplies in the ground so that we will not spoil the view.

REAL smart.

And get this-

The EU Commission on Monday rejected claims that producing biofuels is a "crime against humanity" that threatens food supplies, and vowed to stick to its goals as part of a climate change package.

"You can't change a political objective without risking a debate on all the other objectives," which could see the EU landmark climate change and energy package disintegrate, an EU official said.

So, basically, Liberals and Global-Warming Environmentalist Know-It-Alls all over the World are saying that they are willing to starve the poorest children on the globe to death rather than admit that they are wrong.

So, let's recap.

Oil is the cleanest, most efficient substance currently available for use as fuel, it isn't good for anything else, and we (The U.S., We The People...) have BILLIONS of barrells of the stuff right here at home, which we cannot access because of Liberals.

Corn is sadly inefficient in the gas tank, is an important part of a nutritious breakfast, but it is being burned by mandate of our Government while the children starve because of Liberals.

So, the problem isn't a shortage of fuel supplies, the problem isn't global Warming, the problem isn't high food prices.

The problem is Liberals.

The Southpark Scenario...

2008-02-07T23:44:00.000-05:00

From the New York Times...

Romney Exits, Saying He Has to ‘Stand Aside for Our Party’

Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who sought to position himself as the true conservative choice for the Republican presidential nomination, announced Thursday afternoon that he had ended his campaign.

His chief rival, Senator John McCain of Arizona, congratulated Mr. Romney on his efforts and reached out to conservative voters who had thrown their support to the former governor and whose support, Mr. McCain said, was “indispensable to the success of our party.”

So, the last remaining viable pseudo-conservative candidate has dropped out of the Presidential race, leaving the Benedict Arnold of modern politics as the standard-bearer of the Republican Party.

"What about McCain's voting record? How far right does he have to be?!?" says the other side...

My problem with McCain is not that he is not far enough to the right. He has sometimes voted for the right stuff, he says that he has all the right positions on the issues...

My problem with McCain is that he is a snivelling little weasel.

He is a political opportunist who has proven that he will side with anybody, say anything, and DO absolutely anything to accumulate power for himself, and if that means flooding America with millions of unskilled workers from other countries and legitimizing them in case they might someday vote for him, then he's okay with that.

If it means teaming up with the sworn enemies of his party, betraying those with whom he claims to agree, and then demanding that they support his presidential bid, then so be it.

If it means ganging up with a handfull of other republicans in the senate and cutting a back-room deal to undermine the power of the republican party and shift the power balance in the senate away from those who were chosen by the American Voters, then that's okay with him.

It's the Southpark Scenario.

The 2008 Presidential Election has come down to the American Voter having to choose between a Giant Douche, and a Turd Sandwich.

Choose wisely...

The future of your children and grandchildren is at stake.

The Real Question...

2008-02-05T20:13:00.000-05:00

It occured to me today that the question of why Conservatives hate McCain so much that they would rather see Hillary win the White House is the wrong question.

While it is an interesting topic for discussion, it is not the real question...

The real question is this:

Why would Mike Huckabee rather see Hillary Clinton win the White House than Mitt Romney?

By Special Request...

2008-02-03T22:50:00.000-05:00

Rich Bachelor, from whom I haven't heard in several months, asked a question on my last post, and I decided that the answer deserved a complete post of it's own.

"So, what do you make of Ms. Coulter hating McCain so much, she'd vote for Hillary? I understand, but on the other hand... I completely don't understand. What do you think?"

First of all, I do not recall Ms. Coulter stating whether or not she "hates" John McCain. She very well might, but Republicans and Conservatives usually do not base their opposition to a particular candidate on hatred. (Not even Ann Coulter.)

Republicans usually leave that particular motivation to, ahem... other parties.

The problem that Ms. Coulter has, and, for that matter, that I personally have with the idea of John McCain as the standard bearer for the Republican Party is that he is not a Conservative, first of all, and secondly, that he has no loyalty to the Republican Party. As a matter of fact, he seems himself to harbor a certain amount of hatred toward the Republican Party in general, and toward Conservatives in particular.

John McCain has undermined the cause of Conservatism at every turn, for most of his career. He makes a habit of collaborating with the most outspoken enemies of the Republican Party, and drafting and sponsoring legislation (McCain/Finegold, McCain/Kennedy, McCain/Leiberman...) which is diametrically opposed to the ideals which he now claims to embrace, in hopes of getting himself elected to the Presidency.

Also, he either does not understand the U.S. Constitution, has not read it, cannot read it, or does not care what it says. Either way, the outcome is the same. Nothing he has ever proposed is Constitutional, and the last time I checked, the Constitution is still the Law of the Land.

McCain/Finegold is an open-handed slap at the First Ammendment, and the very fact that President Bush signed that turkey into Law is an undeniable illustration of why Moderate Republican Presidents are a bad, bad idea.

The LAST thing this Nation needs is another Republican President who is interested in any way in "getting along with" or "reaching across the aisle to" Democrats.

I am, WE are Republicans and Conservatives precisely because we think that Liberals and Democrats are WRONG. Their very ideals are flawed.

They do not need to be compromised with, reached out to, or included in any way in the solutions to our Country's problems.

They are WRONG.

If they were right, then I/we would agree with them.

To compromise with Democrats is to include an element of WRONG into our solutions.

Democrats and their wrong-ness need to be proven wrong, shown why they are wrong, convinced that they have been wrong, and re-educated until they become Republicans, and therefore, right.

And if they refuse to come around, they need to be ignored, and excluded from the process of solving the problems that we, as a Nation face.

John McCain has no interest in defeating Democrats, or Liberal Ideology.

That makes him unfit to lead the party of Conservatives.

Apparently, everyone's memory is too short to recall that McCain flirted with the idea of switching to the Democrat Party just before "Jumpin' Jim" Jefferds changed himself to an Independent, thereby shifting control of the Senate away from Republicans (the choice of the American Voters), to the Democrats in 2001... Apparently no one can remember the fact that McCain was mentioned as a possible running mate for John F. Kerry in 2004.

Except for me, and Ann Coulter.

Finally, let me state for the record that I did not hear or see Ann Coulter when she stated that she would vote for Hillary over McCain, but I do agree with her.

As a matter of fact, I said it before she did.

If we are going to have Open Borders, Economically ruinous Environmental policies, Socialized Medicine, Higher Taxes, and run-away government growth and spending, then I want the Democrats to own these catastrophies.

Not a Democrat masquerading as a Republican.

I would vote for Hillary over McCain myself.

Not because I think she is a better candidate, they would both be disaterous...

But because I do not want my Party, and the Ideology for which it stands, diluted, perverted, and hijacked, and then blamed for problems for which we are not, and would never have been responsible.

McCain does not deserve, nor will he get my support.

For ANY office.

LEAST of all, the Presidency of the United States.

Hope this helped to clear things up for you, Bachelor.

It was good to hear from you again.

Quick Question...

2008-01-15T22:31:00.000-05:00

What is the chapter and verse from the U.S. Constitution which empowers the U.S. Congress to investigate Steroid use in Major League Baseball?

(I can't find it...)

Sad But True...

2008-01-15T22:18:00.000-05:00

WARNING: PARENTAL GUIDANCE SUGGESTED!!
(We are all adults here...)

This from The Onion...

Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

I think it sums it up pretty well...

The Paradox Of Politically Correct Politics...

2008-01-09T22:19:00.000-05:00

Have you been paying attention to the Primary Elections coverage?

Watching the debates?

Listening to the speeches?

Me neither.

No, I take that back... I watched the debates on Saturday night. (Most of them, anyway...)

McCain won New Hampshire (big deal...), and Hillary won the Democrat beauty contest there. (Because she cried.)

Before all of the other Republican Candidates pack it all up and go home, I hope someone will point out to them that New Hampshire has open Primaries, and a LOT of independent voters threw their support to McCain, but they are not Republicans.

John McCain is not the candidate for Conservative Republicans, and he will have a lot more trouble winning in states where he has to depend on the votes of Conservative Republicans.

Mrs. Bill Clinton has messed up and used the tears WAY too early. She can only go to that well for the reason she went there ONCE.

If she wants to use tears to get votes again, she will need a profound tragedy in her life in order to make it believable. (If I were Chelsea Clinton, I would vanish into thin air until after the election...)

From what I have been able to tell so far, all of the Republican candidates are trying to tell you that they are the second coming of Ronald Reagan without quite promising to do any of the things that Reagan did.

Out of the Republican feild, the candidate who is most like Reagan is Fred Thompson, but that is only because they were both actors and they both got a divorce.

All three of the Democrat candidates are promising to raise taxes on everyone but you, and use the revenue to put a chicken in every pot, a Band-aid on every boo-boo, and fulfill everyone's every little desire for a better life, all at taxpayer expense.

Oh, and to get us out the War in Iraq, for better or worse, sooner or later, even though that would make the United States the laughing stock of the entire World, and forever damage our ability to negotiate with any other country for anything.

It occurs to me that the Democrats have an especially difficult decision to make...

It goes beyond which candidate they prefer, which version of Stalinism and socialism they want to embrace, or which direction they want our troops to retreat in defeat from Iraq...

It's about how they, as individuals, want to be defined as people.

Are you a Democrat?

Then answer this question:

Are you a Racist, a Sexist, or BOTH?

Think about this very carefully, because these are YOUR labels, for decades now.

Which are you? With which label are you more comfortable?

If you are a Democrat, and prefer Hillary, then you must be prepared to explain why you have a problem electing a black man to the presidency.

If you prefer Obama, then why are you trying to suppress women? Why do you think that a woman is inferior to a man, and therefore unqualified and unfit to lead?

If you prefer Edwards, then you must hate women AND black people. How do you look at yourself in the mirror?

(If you support Kucinich, then you are a nut. Please surrender your voter card immediately, and seek professional help.)

Think about this very carefully, because whichever label you choose, you will wear it for the rest of your life.

Whether Obama, Clinton, or Edwards, it will not be Republicans who are keeping blacks/women/both down this time.

It will be YOU, Mr. Democrat.

I hope you are proud of your choice.

2008 - A Good Year already...

2008-01-01T10:09:00.000-05:00

I thought of writing a post this morning listing various New Years Resolutions of mine, and asking readers to list some of theirs, but I haven't really made any New Years Resolutions.

I try to live my life so that I am the person that I want to be all the time, and if I feel that I need to change something, I change it, no matter what the date. (I may not always get it right, but I do always try.)

2008 is going to be a year of solutions, a year of changes, a year of improvements.

It's going to HAVE to be.

I cannot say that I was sorry to see 2007 go. As a matter of fact, It couldn't go fast enough for me.

Don't get me wrong, 2007 was a happy year, and a lot of really cool things happened for me and my family during the past year...

But it was a hard year. The hardest year that I personally have ever endured.

But it's gone now.

And 2008 is here.

And my eight-week-old baby son, a few minutes after midnight last night, laughed out loud for the very first time ever.

What better start can a year possibly have than that?

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T09:35:00.000-05:00

Luke 2
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

Merry Christmas, everybody.

- TBC

Train of Thought...

2007-12-17T21:54:00.001-05:00

It's been a few days since I posted anything, so I thought that I would sit down and write...

Hold on, the baby's crying...

Okay, I'm back. As I was saying, it's been a while since... Hang on, I'll be right back.

Had to get the Wife a glass of water.

Like I said, It's been... wait a minute, I'll be right back.

Okay, sorry about that... Had to take out the trash.

Now where was I? Oh, yeah... It's been a while since... Hold on...

Okay, I'm back. Had to go change a diaper.

Anyway... Like I was saying, It's been... Hang on a minute...

Okay, I'm back. Had to go walk the dog...

Now, as I was saying... be right back...

Sorry. Dinner was ready.

Now, back to my post. As I was saying, It's been a while since I... Sorry, be right back. Got to go feed the baby for a while so that my Wife can finish the laundry...

Okay, now where was I?

Oh, yeah, that's right. It's been a while since I have posted anything... and it doesn't look like I'll get to tonight, either.

Be right back...

There's Your Trouble...

2007-12-04T18:20:00.000-05:00

"Senator Clinton is claiming basically the entire eight years of the Clinton presidency as her own, except for the stuff that didn't work out, in which case she says she has nothing to do with it," [Barack Hussein]Obama said in an ABC News interview.

According to the article from which I pulled that quote, Mrs. Bill Clinton is slipping in the polls.

But we didn't need the article, or even the poll results to know that... All we have to do is watch Mrs. Bill Clinton's behavior, and read her press releases.

Her Husband can't seem to understand why the Press doesn't report about her experience and her public life, but he isn't concerned enough about it to release the records of her activities in the White House when he was President...

He is, however, willing to talk about himself on her behalf at any opportunity...

One of her biggest financial supporters was indicted today by a Federal Grand Jury...

She saw fit to attack her leading rival for the Democrat Nomination over something he wrote when he was five...

Democrat Candidates for other offices around the Nation have begun to voice their concern for their own chances at winning election if she is the Democrat standard bearer in '08...

Despite undeniable U.S. success in the War in Iraq, she still refuses to apologize for voting to approve it (a stance which is sure to anger the Democrat Base...)

But her supporters can't seem to figure out why she would be slipping in popularity.

Don't the American People know how smart she is?

Don't they know what she will make the Taxpayer (whoever THAT is...) do for them?

Don't they know how important Socialist Healthcare is?

Oh, wait... HERE'S why!

"[Mrs. Bill]Clinton is running for president in a sexist culture that persists in seeing strong, capable women as suspect. " says Newsday.com.

"It's not that voters and her opponents think Clinton's experienced and competent, and they don't like or trust her. It's that they think she's experienced and competent and that's why they don't like or trust her."

She's not only a woman oppressed by a sexist culture, she's OVERQUALIFIED!

Keep thinking that, Dems...

Oh, how I want her to get the Democrat Nomination!

Please, please, PLEASE let her run!

It IS her turn, after all...

New Partner...

2007-12-02T19:47:00.000-05:00

I have set up a Blog for Caleb (known henceforth on the Blogosphere as "Milkmonster.")

If anyone is interested, they can find it at http://calebscorner-milkmonster.blogspot.com/ , Or "Caleb's Corner".

Needless to say, Comment Moderation is enabled there (he will read it someday...) but leave a comment anyway. I'll post it unless it is un-postable. (We all know how to behave...)

There will be news and photos for all those who are interested in Milkmonster's progress and growth, and when he is old enough, he will take it over and run it himself.

If I have the patience and time, and if he shows interest in maintaining it, I believe that it will be an interesting project.

I am writing it as if he is writing it himself, (yeah, I know it's cheesy...) but his mom and I can post for him, and I hope that eventually it really will be him posting.

It's his Blog, so it will be all about him until he takes it in a different direction.

Check it out!

To Catch A Tugboatcapn...

2007-11-23T09:33:00.000-05:00

My Wife's Aunt Cathy and her five year old daughter Amy came to visit with us for Thanksgiving, and they are staying through the weekend to help Xena with the baby.

(Which has made Xena very happy.)

Last night, I was entertaining Amy by sitting with her at the computer and visiting the various websites that she likes to play around on. One of these was TyGirls.com.

Now TyGirls.com has a free tour type deal, for which you have to enter the free secret code on the homepage.

Okay.

After we played the three or four games available there, Amy wanted to log in and play around on the password protected side of the website. She didn't have her own account, so we decided to call her sister, and get her username and password.

Piece of cake, right?

Her sister hesitated for a moment, and then told me that "I don't want you playing around on that account, because I use that password for everything."

And she wouldn't tell me her password.

She's TEN.

And I respesct that. She is absolutely entitled to her own password and privacy. I will never ask her again for anything like that.

But now we still can't get into the website.

So, I said to myself, "Self... We will just set up an account of our own, and then we can play around on TyGirls.com any time we feel like it!"

Okay, here we go...

Username: Tugboatcapn

Password: {Password}

Email: tugsemail@domain.com

So far, so good.

Zipcode, State, First Name...

Date of Birth: 05/26/1966...

Age: ... Uhnm... Forty One...

(Select One:) O Male O Female

Wait just a long-eared minute!!!

What in the world am I doing!?!?

Chris Hansen will be knocking on the door any second if I do this!

I had to cease and desist on setting up my own account at TyGirls.com.

I wish that we lived in a world where I could do things like this and no one would ever accuse me of something that I cannot imagine doing.

I wish we lived in a world where a five or ten year old girl did not have to worry about keeping her password a secret.

I wish that we lived in a world where there wasn't a monster lurking around every corner, within every website, behind every keystroke, bent on perverting, damaging and destroying our children...

But we don't.

So we have to be careful, and not just for our children's sake, but for our own as well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T06:49:00.000-05:00

As everyone with a public school education knows, the first Thanksgiving was when the Pilgrims held a feast to thank the Indians for helping them not to starve, and for giving them the continent of North America (which the Indians weren't really using anyway,) upon which this great Nation was built.

Right?

George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

"Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

"Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

"And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

"Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789." - George Washington

This was the first official Presidential Proclamation issued in the United States.

I'd say we were off to a very good start.

Happy Thanksgiving, folks!

The Adventure Continues...

2007-11-11T18:14:00.000-05:00

In the late nineties I took a couple of years off from driving trucks, and got a job working as a "Utility Man" in a manufacturing plant making fifty-five gallon oil drums.

I was one of about three people in the whole plant who was qualified to run every piece of equipment there, so if the Welder Operator didn't show up for work, I ran the Welder that day. If the Paint Booth Operator laid out, I ran the Paint Booth.

If everyone showed up, I worked on the loading dock loading trucks.

There was a rollerstrip that came off of the end of the assembly line conveyor belt, and I and one other man would get into the trailer and pick the drums up by hand, and stack them in the trailer, three high, and four across.

A 53' van trailer holds 318 fifty-five gallon drums, and we would load four or five trailers per day.

And at the end of a whole week of that, I was not as tired as I have been these last few days.

We brought the Baby home on Friday Afternoon, and my Mom and Dad, my Wife's Dad, My Wife's Aunt Betty, and my Brother-in-law were all waiting for us when we got here.

They cooked and cleaned, they brought us stuff, they changed diapers, rocked, burped, dressed and undressed the Baby, and offered advice, tricks and tips, and congratulations. (Which was great!)

And then they went home.

And Caleb woke up.

And nobody has slept since... Not here, anyway.

No, I'm exagerating... We sleep in fifteen or twenty minute stretches, two or three times in a given twenty-four hour period, so it isn't like we aren't getting ANY sleep...

And he is a pretty easy baby. If he's crying, check his diaper... No, scratch that. Don't waste time checking it, just go change it. It's dirty.

If he's still crying, make sure he's fed and burped, then swaddle him, give him a pacifier and rock him.

Piece of cake.

But the more tired I get, the more I begin to second guess that formula... (Could he be too hot/cold?... Is it too noisy/quiet/bright/dark in here?... Does he want his Mama/Grandma/Uncle/Aunt/Nurse?... Does he need Tylenol/Benadryl/Vaseline/Desitin Cream/Morphine/Heroin?)

But I'm overthinking it.

Diaper, fed, burp, swaddle, pacifier, rock, sleep.

Every time.

If only his Mama were so easy to take care of...

My Replacement Is Here!

2007-11-08T14:37:00.000-05:00

Meet Caleb.

At the time of this photo, he was about two minutes old.

He's seven pounds, twenty inches long, and perfect.

He is happy, healthy, and beautiful.

He looks like his Mama, and he looks like me.

And he looks like himself.

He was born on Tuesday, November 6th, 2007, at 18:26, by C-Section, after a long, hard night and day of Labor.

But now he is here, and everyone is very happy. Mom is doing great (though VERY tired), and Dad is completely overwhelmed.

There is so much to teach him, so much to show him... And so much to learn from him...

And I can't wait...

Rejoice with me!!

(Now, look at the pictures, while I cry...)

Temporarily Out Of The Office...

2007-11-05T18:56:00.000-05:00

We're sorry...

The Blogger you have reached is temporarily unavailable.

He has stepped out to help his Wife have a baby.

In case of a Blogging Emergency, please consult the list on the right hand sidebar, and choose a blogger from there.

They should be able to help you.

And again, we apologize for any inconvenience.

Ready Or Not!!!

2007-11-01T19:51:00.000-04:00

"WOW, EIGHT DAYS TO GO!!!" Said Trader Rick...

Uh, yeah...I should have updated that by now.

Actually, it's FIVE days to go.

I haven't talked about the pregnancy very much here, because frankly when I think about it I get so overwhelmed that I cannot put my thoughts and feelings into words.

First off, let me say that I have never been more proud of anything or anyone in my life than I have been of my wife these past few months.

This has not been easy for her. We had a false start last October, and losing that pregnancy was very hard on her emotionally. When we were sure that this one was going to be successful, she was so happy that she could hardly contain herself...

And at the same time very sad.

Her Mother passed away in May of '04 at age 52, and this would have been her first Grandchild.

She has missed her Mother so very much. There are certain things that a pregnant woman desperately needs to talk to her Mother about, and try as they might, no one else can quite fill that roll.

Another thing that my Wife has done that has absolutely made her my Hero is that she started working in June for Florida Virtual School, teaching Geometry on-line from home, and she still has not missed a day of work. (Even though she is LITERALLY nine months pregnant.)

Now, granted, she does not have to stand in front of a classroom crowded with America's children all day, but the workload is pretty heavy.

She has not complained at all.

And then there is the matter of the Gestational Diabetes. For the past few weeks, she has had to inject herself with Insulin three times a day, and has kept a detailed journal of her blood sugar levels, but she has it under control, and by all accounts, the baby is fine despite the problems she has had.

Last week the Doctor told her that she has gained a total of three pounds over her pre-pregnancy weight, and the baby weighed 7.3 pounds... She's absolutely beautiful. She is carrying the baby all out front. She's round, she's firm, she's fully packed.

Until this coming Tuesday. That's Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, D-DAY.

Because of the Sugar problem, the Doctor decided that we shouldn't wait for the baby to make the decision, especially since he apparently is like his Daddy, and is in no hurry to get the project started, from what we can tell.

So labor will be induced on Tuesday, November 6th, at 8:00 am.

And sometime later that day, my Wife will become Mommy to Mr. Caleb Michael [boatcapn].

And I will be Daddy, for the first time, at the ripe old age of forty-one.

Unless I die of a heart attack Tuesday afternoon.

Please pray for us.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

2007-10-31T19:50:00.000-04:00

Here's some candy for your ears.

(That's a GREAT costume, by the way... Scared me half to death!)

In my opinion, this (especially this version from season two...) is one of the coolest pieces of music ever.

Enjoy!

John Edwards For President!!

2007-10-29T09:23:00.000-04:00

From the Concord Monitor Online...

Edwards plans big for presidency
Candidate: $acrifice must be priority, too...
(Cool! We Americans LOVE sacrifice!)

John Edward$ $ay$ if he's elected pre$ident, he'll in$titute a New Deal-like $uite of program$ to fight poverty and $tem growing wealth di$parity. To do it, he said, he'll a$k many American$ to make $acrifice$, like paying higher taxe$.

Edward$, a former (1 two-year term) Democratic senator from North Carolina, says the federal government $hould underwrite univer$al pre-kindergarten, create matching $aving$ account$ for low-income people, mandate a minimum wage of $9.50 and provide a million new $ection 8 hou$ing voucher$ for the poor. He also pledged to start a government-funded public higher education program called "College for Everyone."

"It i$ central to what I want to do a$ pre$ident to do $omething about economic inequality. I do not believe it i$ okay for the United $tate$ of America to have 37 million people living in poverty," he $aid in a meeting with Monitor reporter$ and editor$ this week. "And I think we need, de$perately need, a pre$ident who will $ay that to America and call on American$ to $how their character."

Hey, Idiot... When are Americans going to demand a president who will call on America's POOR to show their character, and stop making choices and engaging in behavior in their OWN lives that lead to poverty?

Why is anyone still listening to this dolt?

The people of North Carolina were so impressed with how much he accomplished for them in the Senate, that after only two years, they decided that his work was done, and released him from further service as their Senator so that he could pursue bigger and better ambulanc... er... bigger and better things.

"I think if we want to fund the thing$ that I think are important to $hare in pro$perity, then people who have done well in this country, including me, have more of a re$pon$ibility to give back," he $aid. Later, he added: "There are no free meal$."

Oooooh, yes, there ARE!!

Like other Democrat$, Edward$ named hi$ top three prioritie$ a$ ending the war in Iraq, enacting univer$al health care and overhauling the American energy $ystem. "Tho$e are three thing$ in$tantly I would do," he $aid.

INSTANTLY. He would INSTANTLY do those three things.

He would then use the remaining seven years, eleven months, twenty-nine days, twenty-three hours, fifty-nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds of his presidency to give every American, (except you, there...) free pre-kindergarten, a free college education, free Section 8 housing vouchers, a chicken in every pot, and HUGE PECTORAL MUSCLES.

All at taxpayer expense, of course.

No, wait! At the expense of RICH taxpayers. (You know, all those Americans who have spare money lying around that they are not using, and probably wouldn't miss anyway.)

(Like, well, like John Edwards!)

I have a question...

When are these Democrats going to stop dragging their feet, and promise the American People what we REALLY want?

We want a Million Dollars.

Apiece.

It's as realistic as all of the other stuff they are promising...

The Democrat Plan For Your Paycheck...

2007-10-25T21:21:00.000-04:00

Copied and pasted directly from the Committee On Ways And Means Republicans Website...

Press Release

Memo: McCrery on "Mother of All Tax Hikes"
October 25, 2007
By Ways and Means Republican Press Office

MEMO
RE: “Mother of All Tax Hikes” Bill
TO: Republican Members, Republican Staff
FROM: Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Jim McCrery

My Friends,

At a bipartisan Ways and Means caucus last night, Chairman Rangel outlined his long-awaited “Mother of All Tax Hikes” legislation. The basics of the package are simple: This is the largest individual income tax increase in history.

The bill will add a 4% surtax on Americans earning more than $150,000 a year ($200,000 for couples). That is on top of the scheduled expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. So, under Democrats’ plan, over the next few years, the individual income top tax rate in the United States will rise from 35% to 44%. By way of comparison, the other 29 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries – basically other developed nations - have an average top marginal tax rate of 35.7%. In fact, only five OECD countries would have higher top marginal tax rates in 2011 than the United States if the Democrats’ bill is enacted.

This crushingly high tax rate will affect approximately 10 million taxpayers directly - including those who report business income, like small business owners and farmers - but the damage will ripple throughout our economy. Because small businesses and family farms often pay their income taxes as individuals, this is a massive tax hike on the engine that drives job growth in this country.

In addition, the surtax is on adjusted gross income, not taxable income. This sounds like a technical issue, but it means that Rangel’s bill will erode the value of a series of tax deductions – including for mortgage interest, charitable giving, medical expenses, state and local taxes, and the standard deduction. And, because the surtax kicks in at $150,000 for individuals and $200,000 for couples, the bill creates a monster of a marriage penalty.

Chairman Rangel will claim that these tax increases go to provide tax cuts to 90 million Americans, but he is selling pure snake-oil. Many if not most of those taxpayers are getting a purely imaginary “tax cut.” Some of them are the roughly 20 million people that Republicans shielded with the Alternative Minimum Tax patch. Millions more are people who have benefited from the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, and only get “tax cuts” if you assume that the 10% bracket, marriage penalty, and $1,000 per child tax credit will expire. Others, like single people who will now be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, are getting a tax refund from the government even though they don’t actually pay income taxes.

It will take time to analyze this bill and sort through the data, but we know from the start that the 90 million figure is pure hokum. In fact, before you know it more taxpayers may wind up paying higher taxes – and fewer paying less - under Rangel’s plan than they did last year.
Which brings us to the larger fallacy of the Democrats’ “paygo” system. There is no need to “pay for” protecting taxpayers from a massive AMT tax hike. The government never meant for the AMT to affect middle-class Americans, and we have a responsibility to make sure it doesn’t. By arguing that preventing this tax increase requires us to raise taxes elsewhere, Democrats are trying to lock Congress into a system where we are guaranteed to raise taxes by $3.5 trillion over ten years.

That’s right. $3.5 trillion. The baseline that the Democrats are using for “paygo” includes revenue from an “un-patched” AMT and from the tax increases that occur when the 2001 and 2003 tax laws expire after 2010. Together they total $3.5 trillion over ten years. If we play by the Democrats “paygo” rules, that is the size of the tax increase we are imposing on the American people. That will hurt our nation’s competitiveness and cost us American jobs. The Rangel bill is the first step down a road none of us want to follow, and I urge you to oppose it strongly.

The Marketing Worked!

2007-10-23T23:51:00.001-04:00

I WANT ONE!

The Dyson Root 6...

I don't care if it works or not. It's a Vacuum Cleaner that looks like a Machine Gun.

And for a measley $149.95, it's too good to pass up!

Go get one NOW!

(If this doesn't appeal to whatever is manly in you, I don't know what would...)

American Democrats Come Out In Favor Of Genocide...

2007-10-19T00:19:00.000-04:00

From the New York Times...

Support Wanes in House for Genocide Vote

Support for a House resolution condemning as genocide the mass killings of Armenians in 1915 continued to weaken today as Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who only days ago vowed to bring the measure to the floor of the House, signaled that she may be changing her mind. [ about Genocide.]

Worried about antagonizing Turkish leaders, House members from both parties have been withdrawing their support from the resolution [ against Genocide], which had been backed by the Democratic leadership [ but is no longer being backed by them... A CLEAR sign of Democrat support for Genocide. ]

The measure [condemning Genocide]’s prospects were weakened further today when Representative John P. Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who [aparently likes the idea of Genocide, and] heads the Appropriations subcommittee on military matters, spoke out against it. [ Expressing his support for Genocide.]

“What happened nearly 100 years ago was terrible,” said Mr. Murtha, who has urged the speaker not to bring up the resolution [condemning Genocide] for a vote. “I don’t know whether it was a massacre or a genocide, but that is beside the point. The point is, we have to deal with today’s world.”

Even Left-leaning Bloggers are coming out to show their support for Genocide.

"It was only a couple million people, no big deal. The Jews should shut up about their holocaust too since it's been over 60 years." - toad734

Absolutely dispicable...

How do these people live with themselves?

Representing The Views Of His Constituents...

2007-10-18T23:26:00.000-04:00

Ladies and Gentlemen...

Representative Pete Stark-D, Ca.

And National Policy, by which we all will have to abide, is DAILY being created by him, and others like him, based on this type of blind hatred and rage.

They should make this guy into a Reality TV Show.

He should have Cameras and Microphones on him 24/7/365.

Let's get that Liberal Agenda, and the attitudes that it is based upon right on out there, for everyone to plainly see!

Thank you, Rep. Stark!

Today you did a service to your Country.

The Communists Are Under My Bed?!?

2007-10-18T04:30:00.000-04:00

A discussion over at Mark's place reminded me of this, so I looked the tired old thing up again.

I am posting it simply for the purpose of discussion.

Whle I do not believe that the United States has become a Communist Country (in the strict sense of the word), we do have a healthy dose of Communist, or at least Communistic policies firmly in place, and anyone who opposes the expansion of those types of policies is roundly demonized and villified as hating the poor, wanting to starve children, wanting to deny people life saving health-care, and so on.

So here it is:

The Ten Planks of the Communist Party

In the early 1960's during the days of the "former" Soviet Union, Russian Premier Nikita Kruschev pounded his shoe on the podium of the United Nations and shouted to the West, "We will bury you!" Fearing an invasion from the Reds, America proceeded to build the most awesome military machine in history. Unfortunately, we forgot to guard our political homefront from being taken over by socialist - communist - liberal activists who would gain office and destroy American law by process of gradually installing the Communist agenda within our legal system and separate branches of government.

The Communist program from the start has been one which sees their revolution of 1917 successful only upon total domination of the world. (See Brain Washing, A Synthesis of the Russian Textbook on Psycho-politics)

Americans, being the most naive people among the nations, now believe that Communism is dead because the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain have been removed. The ironic truth is that Communism has just switched names to become more "politically correct".

Today it is called international democracy.

The reason that the Berlin Wall came crashing down is not because Communism is dead but because they have achieved the planned agenda to communize the West, including America.

Washington D.C. has indeed become part of the New World Order of atheist governments. With the last vestiges of Christian law having been removed from "American government" over the last twenty years, there is no longer a threat of resistance against world Communism.

In reality, "American government" became part of the Iron Curtain, thus there was no more need for the likes of a Berlin Wall.

Once again, in their foolishness, the American public has believed the lies of their "leaders" who applaud "the fall of Communism", while they have sold out the country to anti-Christian, anti-American statutes and regulations on the federal, state, and local levels.

Posted below is a comparison of the original ten planks of the Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx in 1848, along with the American adopted counterpart of each of the planks.

The American people have truly been "buried in Communism" by their own politicians of both the Republican and Democratic parties.

One other thing to remember: Karl Marx was stating in the Communist Manifesto that these planks will test whether a country has become communist or not.

If they are all in effect and in force the country IS communist. Communism, but by any other name...??

1. Abolition of private property and the application of all rent to public purpose.

The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (1868), and various zoning, school & property taxes. Also the Bureau of Land Management.

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

Misapplication of the 16th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, 1913, The Social Security Act of 1936.; Joint House Resolution 192 of 1933; and various State "income" taxes. We call it "paying your fair share".

3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.

We call it Federal & State estate Tax (1916); or reformed Probate Laws, and limited inheritance via arbitrary inheritance tax statutes.

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

We call in government seizures, tax liens, Public "law" 99-570 (1986); Executive order 11490, sections 1205, 2002 which gives private land to the Department of Urban Development; the imprisonment of "terrorists" and those who speak out or write against the "government" (1997 Crime/Terrorist Bill); or the IRS confiscation of property without due process.

5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.

We call it the Federal Reserve which is a credit/debt system nationally organized by the Federal Reserve act of 1913. All local banks are members of the Fed system, and are regulated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

6. Centralization of the means of communication and transportation in the hands of the State.

We call it the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Department of Transportation (DOT) madated through the ICC act of 1887, the Commissions Act of 1934, The Interstate Commerce Commission established in 1938, The Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Communications Commission, and Executive orders 11490, 10999, as well as State mandated driver's licenses and Department of Transportation regulations.

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State, the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.

We call it corporate capacity, The Desert Entry Act and The Department of Agriculture. As well as the Department of Commerce and Labor, Department of Interior, the Evironmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Mines, National Park Service, and the IRS control of business through corporate regulations.

8. Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of Industrial armies, especially for agriculture.

We call it the Social Security Administration and The Department of Labor. The National debt and inflation caused by the communal bank has caused the need for a two "income" family. Woman in the workplace since the 1920s, the 19th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, assorted Socialist Unions, affirmative action, the Federal Public Works Program and of course Executive order 11000.

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the population over the country.

We call it the Planning Reorganization act of 1949 , zoning (Title 17 1910-1990) and Super Corporate Farms, as well as Executive orders 11647, 11731 (ten regions) and Public "law" 89-136.

10. Free education for all children in government schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, etc. etc.

People are being taxed to support what we call "public" schools, which train the young to work for the communal debt system. We also call it the Department of Education, the NEA and Outcome Based "Education".

Click here to learn how it all came about and here to see if YOU are a practicing Communist.

SOURCE: http://www.wealth4freedom.com

There you have it.

Anatomy Of An Ass Kicking...

2007-10-17T00:05:00.000-04:00

"The United States has alienated its allies, dismayed its friends and inadvertently gratified its enemies by proclaiming a confused and disturbing strategy." - Jimmy Carter

From the New York Times Dot Com...

October 17, 2007
Support Wanes in House for Genocide Vote
By CARL HULSE

Worried about antagonizing Turkish leaders, House members from both parties have begun to withdraw their support from a resolution supported by the Democratic leadership that would condemn as genocide the mass killings of Armenians nearly a century ago.

Almost a dozen lawmakers had shifted against the measure over the last 24 hours, accelerating a sudden exodus that has cast deep doubt over the measure’s prospects.

Some representatives made clear that they were heeding warnings from the White House, which has called the measure dangerously provocative, and from the Turkish government, which has said House passage would prompt Turkey to reconsider its ties to the United States, including logistical support for the Iraq war.

Until today, the resolution appeared to be on a path to House passage, with strong support from the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California.

It was approved last week by the House Foreign Affairs Committee. But this evening, a group of senior House Democrats had made it known they were planning to ask the leadership to drop plans for a vote on the measure.

The Democrats have clearly bitten off more than they, even with their sizable mouths, can chew here.

I still believe that the supporters of this idiocy should be imprisoned and charged with the crime of Treason. ( Whether they intended to alienate one of our allies by this or not is irrelevant. If I run over a child with my truck while groping for my cell phone in the floor, I am still responsible for the results of my actions, whether I intended to kill a child or not.)

There should be consequences for stupidity, even if you are a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

ESPECIALLY if you are the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Nancy Pelosi is third in line for the Presidency of the United States, behind the Vice President.

She has responsibilities beyond what is politically benificial to her particular political party.

But she does not conduct herself as if this is the case.

She sees herself as a Democrat Leader, not a servant of ALL of the people.

She, at least, should be removed from her position as Speaker of the House.

This whole attempt by her, and the rest of her party to disrupt the Supply Lines to our troops on the feild of battle is disgusting (at best,) and criminal (at least.)

If any of you who may read this will not join me in condemning this action, and calling for the punishment of those involved, then don't you EVER AGAIN tell me that you support the troops.

You DON'T.

(Hat tip to Mike from Mike's America for the Jimmy Carter quote.)

This Should Not Go Unpunished!

2007-10-15T22:15:00.000-04:00

NOW can we charge them with Treason?

If not, what more would they have to do?

Would they have to actually GO to Turkey and Iraq, and blow up bridges ahead of U.S. Supply Convoys?

Musical Interlude...

2007-10-10T22:42:00.000-04:00

The Ventures...

I never get tired of this song.

My dad used to play it on his guitar when I was barely old enough to walk, and it was one of the first pieces of music that I learned to play when I started playing guitar.

In this video, it looks like the guitarists are standing on giant marsh-mallows (and are afraid they will fall off).

Enjoy!

(BTW - Hat tip to Lone Ranger, who got me started looking for stuff like this on YouTube. Thanks!)

(Republican) For President!!

2007-10-09T20:45:00.000-04:00

From the Washington Post...

Bartlett Unleashed: On Flip-Flops, a "Dud" and the Guy With the Funny Name

"One of President Bush's closest advisers has a brutally candid analysis of the Republican nomination battle: Fred Thompson is the campaign's "biggest dud," Mitt Romney has "a real problem in the South" because people will not vote for a Mormon, Mike Huckabee's last name is too hick and John McCain could end up repeating 2000 by winning New Hampshire but losing the nomination."

I did not watch the Republican Debate this afternoon. I generally do not watch Party Primary Debates anyway.

Primary Debates are for people who want a "sampler platter" from which they can choose a neat little package for which to vote.

I pay close enough attention to the entire political landscape to know which candidates most nearly represent my views, and from there I rationally determine which of those candidates is the most electable, and the most likely to defeat the Sociali... uhmn, Democrat against whom he or she will be running in the General Election.

So far I like Fred Thompson, Rudy Giulliani, and Mitt Romney all about equally. They each have their strengths and their weaknesses, but any of them (in my mind) would be about as good as the other, and ANY of them would be better than Hillary (who is, without a doubt, going to be the Democrat Candidate for President in '08, regardless of qualifications.)

I will NEVER, NOT EVER vote for John McCain for ANY elected office, not even dog catcher, because (A) I don't think he has ever READ, much less understood the Constitution, (2) He is far too interested in what the Media thinks of him personally, and lastly but not leastly, he is old enough to remember when dirt was new, and has already been in Washington FAR too long.

Go home already. You've done enough damage, Mr. McCain.

Fred Thompson is the candidate that I WANT to like, but so far, he hasn't SAID anything. I like the way he talks, he looks presidential, and if he can handle the job, I believe that he could be a very impressive president. He claims to be conservative enough for me, and I believe that he would be able to effectively handle the attacks from the Left-leaning Media, and would not allow himself to be abused by them the way that George W. Bush has.

But at this point, it appears that he takes this whole situation as some sort of game, or perhaps as a part in a play or a movie for which he is auditioning, and at that against other actors whom he does not take as serious competition for the part.

He needs to tighten up.

I also like Mike Hickabee, on the surface. Still not 100% sure about his electability. He may very well be the best man for the job, but If he can't beat Hillary, we'd be better off to run someone with whom we don't completely agree, who can.

He still has work to do.

The overthinkers who pontificate about the Republican Feild seem to think that since I live in the South, I would never vote for a Mormon. They say that I would never SAY that this is the reason that I would not vote for Romney, but that I would instead claim that I refuse to vote for him because he "flip-flops" on the issues.

The truth is that I would as soon have a Mormon President as a Catholic, or a Methodist, or even a Baptist, and would RATHER have one than a Godless Liberal. (And would MUCH RATHER have a Mormon than a RELIGIOUS LIBERAL.)

Romney has given me no reason to not vote for him.

Of all of the candidates running for the Republican nomination, Rudolph Giulliani has most effectively proven himself qualified for the nation's highest office. When he was Mayor of New York City, he changed the place from a rat-hole by anyone's standards back to a place that people could be proud to say they were from. He presided with authority over the worst tragedy our nation has ever faced, literally from ground zero.

I have no doubt that he would take National Security and the War on Terror seriously.

I'm not too sure about his views about the Second Ammendment.

But, when questioned about Constitutional issues, I've never heard him give a wrong answer. I have no doubt that he knows and understands what is and is not Constitutional, and that he is not afraid to take a stand, even an unpopular one, if he feels that he (and by extension, WE) should.

That's a LEADER.

I like him.

Ron Paul... On some issues, he's dead-on. On others, he's a nut-ball.

If I want a nut-ball (on ANY issue) in the White House, I'll vote Democrat.

My hot-button issues have nothing to do with Religion, Abortion, or Socialized anything. I'll take care of my own Health Insurance, thank you, my Religion is my own business and I will extend to you the same courtesy, and Conservatives do not abort their children. (So, if the other side wants to self-eliminate, I will not stand in their way. They will answer to God for their sins, same as me.)

When it comes time to cast my vote in the primaries, I will vote for the most economically conservative, strongest on National Security and Border Security candidate that I believe can win the National Election.

And when the '08 Presidential Election rolls around, I will vote against the Democrat candidate, and pray for God to bless my Nation.

(Whatever that means.)

And I could not care less what any talking head says about any of the Republican candidates. (Not even a talking head who used to work for the President.)

How to Get Tazered And Dragged Away By The Police...

2007-09-24T18:36:00.000-04:00

Ask a Presidential candidate about the "Skull and Bones Society".

Life Happens...

2007-09-19T21:30:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks.

I quit my job last week, and have become a partial partner in a brand new trucking company. I have spent this week hauling loads, and setting up accounts at the various rock and sand mines in the area. I went on my first ever sales call last week, and not only got the contract, but got keys to the gate (so that we can deliver 27/7), and got the business at a higher freight rate than I was being paid working with the old company.

The down side is that it might be a couple of weeks before I get a paycheck. The up side is that (once the money starts to roll in) I will keep more of the money that I generate. (A LOT more.)

It's gonna be good.

I took a late load last night to an asphault plant near Tampa, and didn't get back to the yard until about 9:30, and on the way home (in my car) I was rear-ended by a 16 year-old girl on her way home from soccer practice.

She was aparently multi-tasking, sending very important text-messages with her phone while driving.

No one was seriously hurt, but my beloved Nissan Sentra is toast.

The back bumper, trunk and gas tank are packed up under it so tightly that the rear wheels will no longer roll.

I am as sore as a boil, but otherwise okay.

I took today off (my policy is to take a day off every time I total a car...), and took it easy, but tommorrow it is back to the grind.

Hey, check out my new Baby Ticker in the sidebar!

As Lorena Bobbitt said, it won't be long now!!

I Think I'm Going To Be Sick!

2007-09-11T21:36:00.000-04:00

(But not THIS sick...)

Are you tired of spending all of your money raising under-aged girls who do not appreciate what you do for them?

Are you tired of being poor and living in a trailer park?

Are you tired of watching your under-aged daughter mope around and complain about being unpopular?

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You Know How We Republicans LOOOOVE Slogans...

2007-09-11T05:28:00.000-04:00

I found this at Those Shirts.com...

Bringing The Troops Home...

2007-09-10T01:00:00.000-04:00

A warrior for God has been called home.

From Coral Ridge Ministries...

DR. D. JAMES KENNEDY DIES:

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA., (September 5,2007) — Founder and Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Succumbs to Complications from Cardiac Arrest.

Dr. D. James Kennedy, founder and senior pastor for 48 years of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (CRPC) in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., passed away peacefully in his sleep at approximately 2:15 a.m. at his home with his wife and daughter by his bedside, following complications from a cardiac event last December.

He was 76.

Dr. Kennedy was a voice of Truth for many, many years, and as far as I can tell, his theology was spot-on.

He will be sorely missed, but we must rejoice for him because he is now basking in the Glory of God's reward, and enjoying the treasures that he laid up in Heaven.

His Earthly battles are over.

Manipulating Ignorance, The Favorite Pass-Time Of Democrats

2007-09-10T00:26:00.000-04:00

"With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed. Consequently he who moulds public sentiment, goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions. He makes statutes and decisions possible or impossible to be executed... " Abraham Lincoln

From the International Herald Tribune...

Democrats make pre-emptive strike on Iraq reports
(That means that the reports are GOOD for America.)

WASHINGTON: Leading Democrats on Sunday preemptively assailed the expected findings on Iraq due this week from the top U.S. general in Iraq as "dead, flat wrong" and said that President George W. Bush's calls for continued patience there would simply extend an "unconscionable" and "completely unacceptable" policy.

The pointed comments from the Democrats, including Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and a presidential hopeful, and Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, seemed designed to undercut the impact of the much-awaited reports from General David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad.

"This president has no plan how to win and/or how to leave," said Biden, before whose committee Petraeus and Crocker will testify on Tuesday. He said that Bush was putting American troops "into the middle of a civil war to maintain the status quo," adding, "that is unconscionable, and he's wrong."

But Republicans laid down their own markers. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said that the troop increase was "undeniably working" and that "the only way we're going to lose this war is to have politicians in Washington undercut the surge."

Rather than withdrawing, he said on Fox, "Now's the time to pour it on."

Let me ask you a question.

Would you rather the United States WIN the War in Iraq, or LOSE it?

Do you have any doubt what the Democrats are trying to do here?

Is it working?

Are you willing to let them do it?

Michael Moore: "I've Run Out Of Ideas."

2007-09-09T00:32:00.000-04:00

Michael Moore had ideas?

From Brietbart.com...

Moore takes parting shot at Bush in rockstar flick.

Filmmaker Michael Moore on Saturday predicted a landslide victory for the Democrats in the 2008 presidential election, but is taking no chances, rallying US liberals in his latest documentary.

"The potential for a (Democratic) landslide is enormous. People do not want to vote for the Republicans," he told reporters at the Toronto film festival premiere of his "Captain Mike Across America."

"The United States is a liberal country," he insisted.

"The majority of Americans are liberal. They hate that word and they'll never use it, but if you ask them, 'Do you think women should be paid the same as men; do you think that we need assault weapons laws; do you think the minimum wage should be raised' ... the majority of Americans take a liberal position on every issue, except capital punishment."

But voters were simply not presented with a strong-enough Democratic candidate in Kerry, he said. "They don't want to go into a polling booth and vote for a weenie for president."

Really?

Ask me those questions. Never mind, I'll ask myself.

Tug, do you think that women should be paid the same as men?

Tug: "Absolutely. My Wife makes more money than I do, and she doesn't work as many hours. I think that this is very unfair. Never mind that she invested in a college educataion for herself, she shouldn't be paid more than a man, no matter what."

"Actually, I believe that excellence should be rewarded, even at the expense of mediocrity. Sex does not enter into the equasion."

Tug, do you think that we need assault weapons laws?

Tug: "Absolutely. I believe that each and every American Citizen over the age of 18 should be required to own an assault weapon, and a supply of amunition. Those of us who can afford that type of thing should be allowed to own BlackHawk Helicopters, Tanks, and even Battleships and Aircraft Carriers. The purpose of the Second Ammendment is not to permit us to protect ourselves from one another, nor to allow us to hunt game, it is to allow us to protect our Freedom from oppressive Government.

"So if the Government can have a Nuclear Weapon, then I should be allowed to own one as well. Any governmental restriction on my ability to do so is a violation of my Constitutional Rights."

Tug, Do you believe that the Minimum Wage should be raised?

Tug: "Absolutely. I think it should be $250.00 per hour. (And time and a half for overtime.) America's Teenagers need extra money in order to pay the high tuition costs for College, which have been caused by Government loans and Pell Grants. The more Teenagers who can pay their own way through school on their own, the less Government money they will need. (Look into who it is that actually works for Minimum Wage.) "

Are these "Liberal" positions, in the modern sense of the word?

But then again, this was Michael Moore, and as far as I can tell, he has only ever had two ideas in his life.

1.) Tear down America.

2.) Tear down President Bush.

So, if he is indeed out of ideas now, that is a good thing.

Brilliant!

2007-08-27T23:10:00.000-04:00

God makes some women beautiful so that they will not starve to death.

In Your Face, Defeatocrats!!

2007-08-22T21:38:00.000-04:00

From The Guardian Unlimited... (Tomorrow's issue, no less...)

Bush: There will be no pullout from Iraq while I'm president...

President George Bush sought to buy more time for his Iraq "surge" strategy yesterday by making a risky comparison for the first time with the bloodshed and chaos that followed the US pullout from Vietnam.

Making it clear he will resist congressional pressure next month for an early withdrawal, he signalled that US troops, whom he hailed as the "greatest force for human liberation the world has ever known", will be in Iraq as long as he is president. He also said the consequences of leaving "without getting the job done would be devastating", and "the enemy would follow us home".

The speech was aimed primarily at what White House officials privately describe as the "Defeatocrats", the Democratic congressmen trying to push Mr Bush into an early withdrawal. The issue is set to come to a head next month when the US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, gives a progress report to Congress.

Gen Petraeus is expected to say that the surge has produced military successes but that there has only been limited progress on the political front.

Let's see here...

The Military campaign has produced success, but there is only limited progress on the political front?

Could it be that the way to win wars is to send in your Military, and have them kill people and break things until the bad guys stop shooting back?

The time for diplomacy and politics comes after the war has been won or lost.

Politics has never in the history of armed conflict won a war.

Stick to your guns, President Bush.

Those of us who love our country are still behind you.

At Last! The Culprit Is Discovered!

2007-08-21T23:25:00.000-04:00

Achtung!!

From Der Speigel...

Norway's Moose Population in Trouble for Belching

"The poor old Scandinavian moose is now being blamed for climate change, with researchers in Norway claiming that a grown moose can produce 2,100 kilos of methane a year -- equivalent to the CO2 output resulting from a 13,000 kilometer car journey."

I KNEW that human beings had very little to do with Global Warming...

The Scandinavians are on the trail of it, however...

"Norway has some 120,000 moose but an estimated 35,000 are expected to be killed in this year's moose hunting season, which starts on September 25, Norwegian newspaper VG reported."

Let's just hope that the Anthropogenic Global Warming Zealots do not decide to use this method of controling Global Warming themselves...

Are Hummers bullet proof?

Bloomberg: 'Nobody Will Elect Me President'

2007-08-20T20:57:00.000-04:00

At last a Presidential Candidate is saying some things with which I can completely and whole-heartedly agree...

And The Rats Begin To Jump Off The "Get Out Of Iraq" Boat...

2007-08-20T20:49:00.000-04:00

"People may be upset. I wish I didn't have to say this...

(The United States needs to continue with its military troops surge) "at least into early next year, then engage in a gradual redeployment. … I know it's going to cost hundreds of American lives and hundreds of billions of dollars.

"One, I think we're making real progress."

"Secondly, I think the consequences of pulling back precipitously would be potentially catastrophic for the Iraqi people themselves, to whom we have a tremendous responsibility … and in the long run chaotic for the region as a whole and for our own security."

- Rep. Brian Baird, Democrat, Washington, 3rd District.

Life Is Good...

2007-08-07T21:43:00.000-04:00

I realized today that I have done very little to explain the long break in my posting last month, so if any of you are interested, I'll tell you a little about what is going on.

My Wife and I have relocated.

With the new baby coming in November, the old house was just a little too rustic for our changing requirements, so we have forsaken the privacy and freedom of a rural existence in favor of the luxury and convenience of suburbia.

For the first time in my adult life, I now live in a house which was actually constructed right where it sits, rather than being manufactured in a factory. I still park the truck at the other place, but the palacial 800 square-foot doublewide now sits empty. We have moved in to a modest 2200 square-foot 3/2/2 stucco w/pool and spacious Florida room on 1 acre (+/-) lot in [CENSORED], a deed restricted community. Minutes from schools and shopping and whatnot.

The baby is very active, so the Wife stays tired most of the time. Sometimes after she goes to sleep at night, I put my hand on her belly and feel him kicking, swimming, practicing his mixed martial arts drills, or whatever it is he does in there.

We went to the local big-box store and created our baby registry on Sunday. I found a little khaki ball cap about as big around as the bottom of a mayonaise jar for $1.99. It looked exactly like the ones that I wear constantly. I scanned it in, and at that moment it hit me that I really am going to raise a little boy who will want a hat like the one that Daddy wears, and a truck like the one that Daddy drives, and a guitar like the one that Daddy plays.

And I think that's pretty cool.

I have been working a lot of hours lately, but I love my job, so I guess it's okay. I had a short day today (12 hours...) and I hopped into the pool as soon as I got home. The Wife and I splashed each other, floated on our pool noodles and generally played like children for about an hour and a half. She then cooked chicken fingers and mac and cheese for dinner.

If anyone had told me when I was five that when I grew up, I would work all day and then splash around in the pool as long as I wanted, and then get to eat chicken fingers and mac and cheese, and that I could even mix my Ketchup and Mustard together no matter what it looks like, I would have said "Nuh-uhhh! Grown-ups don't get to do things like that!"

But we do.

And it makes us just as happy as we thought it would.

God has blessed my Wife and me in every way I can imagine, and He would be displeased with me if I did not enjoy myself among these blessings.

Life is not easy, but it is good.

And that is wonderful.

Wipe Out!

2007-08-05T12:55:00.000-04:00

My Wife and I were watching this on TV when it happened.

This has to be one of the most amazing things I have ever see. When he loses the board, you want to run out there and try to catch him.

You can watch him working the problem in his head on the way down... Can't reach the top of the ramp... Going to fall... Okay... Get the feet down... Tuck the arms in... Try to minimize the damage... IMPACT!... Glad my socks were clean...

I wonder if I would be able to keep my head like that...

He walked away, though, with bruising to his lungs and liver and a broken wrist, but otherwise unhurt, and it occurs to me that he will be more famous for the fall than he would have been if he had perfectly done whatever he was planning to do.

I love the X-Games...

Bonds Hits Number 755!

2007-08-05T01:54:00.000-04:00

Whoop tee flippin' doo.

What would the record be if Hank Aaron had done the amount of steroids that Bonds has done?

Change Of Heart...

2007-07-29T00:38:00.000-04:00

Okay.

The Libs finally got to me. I have been converted.

I no longer support the War.

Now what?

Thoughts On Talking Donkeys, Talking Elephants, And Talking Dogs...

2007-07-26T21:43:00.000-04:00

Did you watch the CNN-YouBoob Democrat Debate the other night?

Me neither.

I was amazed that the potential candidates for the most powerful position in the world are frightened to appear on the Fox News Network and spew their talking points before an actual newsman, so they chose instead to go to CNN and answer questions from snowmen, sock puppets, and animated cartoon characters.

It appears that the gavels of power are indeed in the hands of America's children.

While listening to the ensuing coverage of this nonsense in the days since, I have been reminded of a story that I heard a long time ago, but has stuck with me...

The story tells of a man who saw a classified ad in the newspaper which read: "FOR SALE: Talking dog, 10 years old, $10.00. Call (telephone number.)"

The man was intrigued, so he dialed the number and asked if the ad was for real.

"It is", replied the voice on the other end. "Come on by and check him out."

So the man drove to the house where the supposed talking dog was being offered for sale, and knocked on the door.

He was invited inside, and offered an opportunity to talk to the dog before he made his decision.

After exchanging pleasantries with the dog (who could indeed talk, and very well...) he asked the dog how he learned to talk.

"Well," the dog began, "when I was a puppy, I was trained as a seeing-eye dog and assigned to a sweet old blind woman who lived in New York City. She believed that I could learn to talk, and spent several years patiently working with me. I finally got the hang of it."

"Where is she now?" the man asked.

"She was killed in the World Trade Center Bombings on 9/11. I managed to dig myself out of the rubble, and began searching for her, but I never found her."

"That's so sad!" said the man, almost in tears.

"Yes... I was, however able to save the lives of seventy-four survivors who were trapped in the rubble. Because I could talk, I was able to direct rescuers to the exact spot where people were buried, and even comfort the victims while they waited for help to arrive.

"After that, I joined the Army, and went to Afghanistan to fight in the War on Terror. I was able to learn the language over there, and move among the Taliban Fighters, learn their secrets and plans, and report them to the American Forces. I pulled two tours of duty, and was given the Congressional Medal of Honor."

"Amazing!" exclaimed the man. "How did you come to live down here in Florida?"

"Well, by this time, I had faced death so many times, and done so much during my short life, that I began to wonder what it would be like to be a regular old dog, and live with a normal family as their pet. I ran away, made my way down to Florida and retired, so to speak. "

The man turned to the man who was selling the dog. "That's the most amazing story I have ever heard! I'll take the dog. I have one question, however..."

"Okay," replied the seller. "Shoot..."

"Why would anyone in their right mind sell such an incredible dog for only ten Dollars?"

"BECAUSE HE'S A BIG FAT LIAR!!"

It doesn't matter whether you are listening to the first potential female President, the first potential black President, or a talking dog...

You'd best be sure that you understand exactly what is being said, and whether or not you can rely on it before you decide to buy anything.

Obama and Elders - The Art Of Masturbating Above The Neck...

2007-07-23T21:27:00.000-04:00

WARNING - EXPLICIT CONTENT!!

From CBS Snooze dot com...

Study: Ritalin Stunts Growth
Research Shows That After 3 Years On ADHD Medication, Kids Are Shorter And Lighter Than Peers

After three years on the ADHD drug Ritalin, kids are about an inch shorter and 4.4 pounds lighter than their peers, a major U.S. study shows.

The symptoms of childhood ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) usually get dramatically better soon after kids start taking stimulant drugs. But this benefit may come with a cost, says James Swanson, Ph.D., director of the Child Development Center at the University of California, Irvine.

"Yes, there is a growth-suppression effect with stimulant ADHD medications," Swanson tells WebMD. "It is going to occur at the age of treatment, and over three years it will accumulate."

So, aparently Americans are faced with an important choice...

We can either raise short little shrimpy children who pay attention, or normal sized monsters who behave like wild animals.

Or, maybe there is a third option, a plan which would not only keep school-aged children calm and focused, but would have the added benifit of cutting the profits of the Big Pharmaceuticals Corporations who manufacture the Drugs which keep our children subdued so that they do not drive us crazy... And the visionary who has formulated this plan is none other than Barak Obama.

Last Tuesday, Obama told Planned Parenthood:
"I remember him (Alan Keyes) using this in his campaign against me, saying, "Barack Obama supports teaching sex education to kindergarteners... And -- you know, which, I didn't know what to tell him. But it's the right thing to do. You know, to -- to provide age-appropriate sex education, science based sex education in the schools."

Which then prompted none other than Joycelyn Elders out of her hole to announce:
"I agree with Mr. Obama to the full capacity. I feel that we should have age-appropriate, scientifically based evidence, sex education taught in schools from kindergarten through twelfth grade."

She went on to proclaim:
"To teach them that there are certain places on the bodies nobody is to touch. If they do, they should tell somebody, and if somebody is touching them in ways that makes them feel uncomfortable, you know, so much more sex goes on above the neck than it does below the waist."

Which brings to mind an earlier quote from Elders regarding what she and others believe "science based sex education" to be:
"In regard to masturbation, I think that that is something that is a part of human sexuality, and it is a part of something that perhaps should be taught."

It's so simple!

Don't drug your Kindergarteners... Teach them to masturbate!

That ought to keep them busy, as well as focused, for years!

We could teach them from the Starr Report, and that way they will not only learn what sexual practices will not prevent them from serving as President, but they will also learn the Politically Correct uses for Tobacco Products, and the importance of making sure that they clean up their own messes.

And, if they get the hang of that "above the neck" part, we could cut sexual activity below the waist in half!

Brilliant!

What would we do without these wise and enlightened Democrats to solve these problems for us?...

Now all we need to complete this plan is a Universal Eyeglasses Program.

They're going to need them...

Nightmare!

2007-07-20T19:30:00.000-04:00

For the Left, that is...

Have they started killing themselves yet?

No?

Well don't worry... When the magnitude of what is about to happen finally sets in, there will be much weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth among the Democrats...

I mean, think about it...

PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY!!

And from what they are going to do to President Bush, the proceedure could take MONTHS!

But there is a bright side for the Bush Haters out there...

With Cheney holding the reins of power, the Troops will be coming home a whole lot sooner...

Back To Normal...

2007-07-11T06:40:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the extended period of inactivity...

Xena, Sydney and I are finally settled into the new house, and are developing a new routine. We have internet, cable and phone service up and running, so you can probably expect regular Blog Posts again starting tonight.

Just wanted to post a little update.

I will provide a more thorough explaination later, with pictures of the house and what-not.

Thanks for checking by!

See you later!

- TUG

Happy Flag Day!

2007-06-14T20:11:00.000-04:00

Everyone please stand, place your right hand over your heart, and say it out loud with me...

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Now, that felt good, didn't it?

Be An Environmentalist! Buy A Hummer!

2007-06-12T21:52:00.000-04:00

Rush mentioned this article today on his show... (transcript here...)

From The Recorder Online...

March 7, 2007
Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage
By Chris Demorro

"The Toyota Prius has become the flagship car for those in our society so environmentally conscious that they are willing to spend a premium to show the world how much they care. Unfortunately for them, their ultimate ‘green car’ is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer...

"Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles...

Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist’s nightmare..."

Read the whole article. It's very enlightening.

It goes on to explain that the Prius will not last long enough for you to EVER realize any savings on Gasoline because with a projected 100,000 mile lifespan, you will never offset the added cost of a Hybrid over a conventional internal-combustion engine powered car.

What they leave out of the story is the fact that a used car that has already been built causes absolutely no additional incidental Environmental damage. When you objectively look at pure economics, it is way cheaper and more Environmentally sound to buy and drive a four year old Cadillac than to buy a new Prius. (Not to mention a lot more comfortable.)

(Use your heads, people...)

Do you really want to preserve the Environment?

Are you really interested in the discovery of Alternative Energy Sources and a reduction of our dependence on Foriegn Oil, and Fossil Fuels?

Then Use Oil.

Burn Gasoline. As much as you can, as often as you can.

As a matter of fact, stop reading this right now, and just go drive around the block for an hour or two. (In the biggest, longest, most comfortable Gas-Hog you can find.)

The sooner all the Oil is all gone and there is absolutely no more Gasoline to be had anywhere in the World, the sooner the Alternatives will appear.

And that is the only way it will ever happen.

Attempts at Conservation only prolong our misery, and postpone the inevitable.

So if you are really serious about saving the Environment from the Evils of Fossil Fuels, do your part to get rid of them, once and for all.

It's the least you can do!

Quick Question...

2007-06-05T03:37:00.000-04:00

Is there a way that the American People could Impeach the whole Government?

Just askin'...