Hello again, blogfans!
Well, MDB and I are headed for Abilene again, this time to celebrate the beginning of deer season with her brother and family and to catch some of the local culture.
A big part of that culture is "get some!"
What's "get some?" Well, if you venture to Abilene district stadium for an Abilene High School home game and sit on the home side, you're sure to hear one fan in particular who, for no apparent reason, screams "G - E - T S - O - M - E - ! - ! - ! - !" as loud as possible all game long much to the consternation of the Abilene faithful. Having only experienced "get some" once, I apparently was not the only person there who had a hard time figuring out exactly what the boys were supposed to get, why they were only to obtain "some" instead of "all" of this precious commodity! As I sat a few short rows in front of GetSome, people sitting in front of us turned around, clearly dismayed by what they were hearing! I had to admit that I'd never heard anything quite like it, either! My host related that he'd had previous conversations with people about going to the games and had been asked where his seats were. When he answered "three rows in front and two seats over from GetSome," he almost universally got the following response; "Oh! I know RIGHT where your seats are!"
Hoo-boy!
So, what are the boys supposed to get? Well, I'm almost afraid to guess about that one, but I hope he's talking about some wins! Anything else might be a little risque'
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
I thought I was getting a bargain...
...when I filled up the truck last week and paid $2.49/gallon.
Today, gas is $2.19/gallon at the same station!
If (when) it goes below the $2.00 mark, I'll take a picture and post it here so my grandchildren will know that I was not lying!
Of course, they already think I'm telling a story when I tell them that there used to be "gas wars" and I'd fill up my Volkswagen for less than $2.00.
Uhhh....NOT $2.00/gallon.......$2.00 TOTAL!!!!!
Oh, and they'd give you a plate, or a glass, or an insulated mug, or some other little gift as their special "thank you" for shopping with them!
Oh....and another blast from the past; that was when some stations were still "full service" stations and most were part self-serve and part full service! If you pulled into the full service lane, a guy in uniform met you at the car, filled your tank, checked your oil, checked your tire inflation, and washed your windshield, all for only $0.10/gallon more!
That was a LOT, people! During "gas wars," I'd often pay less than $0.20/gallon altogether! In fact, I remember buying from the Shamrock in town and paying $0.159/gallon once upon a time!
My VW bug would run for two weeks on $1.60!!!!
Of course, that really WAS a different time. Not many people drove pick-up trucks in those days. If you DID drive a truck, you could expect to get 8 mpg regardless of engine choice, make, etc. Naturally, most people who drove trucks got the big powerful v-8 engines to go with them. If you bought the stock power package, which typically consisted of an in-line 6-cylinder engine of around 200 CIs displacement and a "three on the tree" manual transmission, you might do better; perhaps up to 20 mpg on the road! Remarkable!
As I said, I had a 1962 Volkswagen. It had a 1200 cc horizontally-opposed 4-cylinder engine that was air-cooled and a four on the floor transmission. I usually got around 25 mpg, which was pretty good for that day and time of poorly-tuned carburetors and manually-adjusted valve lifters! It had been painted using an aftermarket paint, so it looked like a German helmet or something! It was forest green metallic! I wish I still had that car today! It was awesome!
Well, that was then and this is now! Today, we're looking at the advent of socialism in America, which, quite frankly, is something I never thought I'd see in my lifetime. That's not to say that I didn't think it would ever happen; I just never thought I'd see it!
It's not hard to see socialism on the rise here in America and, with an increase in the practice of incrementalism by it's proponents, it's really not that hard to imagine that it's here so soon!
Uhhh.....what's "incrementalism?" It's the little by little "chipping away" of our objections to something that would have once been unimaginable! A good example; gay marriage. If someone would have said that I'd see openly and LEGALLY married gays in America 30 years ago, I'd have accused them of smoking the stuff from the evidence room! I mean, at that time, no one would have EVER admitted to being homosexual, let alone living an openly homosexual lifestyle! Now, not only have they slowly but surely come out of the closet, they've convinced a preponderance of lawmakers in the more liberal states that allowing gays to marry is a good idea! Well, that wasn't achieved all at once, but little by little over along time. That "little by little over a long time" thing is "incrementalism," and it's practiced more and more to achieve things that were once considered preposterous!
So, how did socialism, an economic system once synonymous with communism and/or fascism, get to the fore in America? Well, it started with all of the public service stuff of FDR during the depression and became entrenched because of Social Security and later, Medicare. A whole generation of Americans were raised with the notion that taking sustenance entirely from the government was okay! So, in this day and time, it's suddenly not that preposterous to imagine everyone working for the government in some form or fashion.
Uhhh....repeat after me, people:
If I have no inherent reward for doing good work and building my profit-centers, I will surely not do good work or worry about making a profit!
That's why the Soviet Union didn't make it AND why China is more capitalist today than we are! People will not do their best when there's no incentive to do their best and an economy that's based on products and services offered for no other reason than boredom will be shoddy and hardly worth the material that's put into them!
Sadly, the Russian people had to learn this lesson the hard way, the people of eastern Europe had to learn it the hard way, and the people of southeast Asia are still learning it the hard way today!
We don't really have to go there, too, do we?
Today, gas is $2.19/gallon at the same station!
If (when) it goes below the $2.00 mark, I'll take a picture and post it here so my grandchildren will know that I was not lying!
Of course, they already think I'm telling a story when I tell them that there used to be "gas wars" and I'd fill up my Volkswagen for less than $2.00.
Uhhh....NOT $2.00/gallon.......$2.00 TOTAL!!!!!
Oh, and they'd give you a plate, or a glass, or an insulated mug, or some other little gift as their special "thank you" for shopping with them!
Oh....and another blast from the past; that was when some stations were still "full service" stations and most were part self-serve and part full service! If you pulled into the full service lane, a guy in uniform met you at the car, filled your tank, checked your oil, checked your tire inflation, and washed your windshield, all for only $0.10/gallon more!
That was a LOT, people! During "gas wars," I'd often pay less than $0.20/gallon altogether! In fact, I remember buying from the Shamrock in town and paying $0.159/gallon once upon a time!
My VW bug would run for two weeks on $1.60!!!!
Of course, that really WAS a different time. Not many people drove pick-up trucks in those days. If you DID drive a truck, you could expect to get 8 mpg regardless of engine choice, make, etc. Naturally, most people who drove trucks got the big powerful v-8 engines to go with them. If you bought the stock power package, which typically consisted of an in-line 6-cylinder engine of around 200 CIs displacement and a "three on the tree" manual transmission, you might do better; perhaps up to 20 mpg on the road! Remarkable!
As I said, I had a 1962 Volkswagen. It had a 1200 cc horizontally-opposed 4-cylinder engine that was air-cooled and a four on the floor transmission. I usually got around 25 mpg, which was pretty good for that day and time of poorly-tuned carburetors and manually-adjusted valve lifters! It had been painted using an aftermarket paint, so it looked like a German helmet or something! It was forest green metallic! I wish I still had that car today! It was awesome!
Well, that was then and this is now! Today, we're looking at the advent of socialism in America, which, quite frankly, is something I never thought I'd see in my lifetime. That's not to say that I didn't think it would ever happen; I just never thought I'd see it!
It's not hard to see socialism on the rise here in America and, with an increase in the practice of incrementalism by it's proponents, it's really not that hard to imagine that it's here so soon!
Uhhh.....what's "incrementalism?" It's the little by little "chipping away" of our objections to something that would have once been unimaginable! A good example; gay marriage. If someone would have said that I'd see openly and LEGALLY married gays in America 30 years ago, I'd have accused them of smoking the stuff from the evidence room! I mean, at that time, no one would have EVER admitted to being homosexual, let alone living an openly homosexual lifestyle! Now, not only have they slowly but surely come out of the closet, they've convinced a preponderance of lawmakers in the more liberal states that allowing gays to marry is a good idea! Well, that wasn't achieved all at once, but little by little over along time. That "little by little over a long time" thing is "incrementalism," and it's practiced more and more to achieve things that were once considered preposterous!
So, how did socialism, an economic system once synonymous with communism and/or fascism, get to the fore in America? Well, it started with all of the public service stuff of FDR during the depression and became entrenched because of Social Security and later, Medicare. A whole generation of Americans were raised with the notion that taking sustenance entirely from the government was okay! So, in this day and time, it's suddenly not that preposterous to imagine everyone working for the government in some form or fashion.
Uhhh....repeat after me, people:
If I have no inherent reward for doing good work and building my profit-centers, I will surely not do good work or worry about making a profit!
That's why the Soviet Union didn't make it AND why China is more capitalist today than we are! People will not do their best when there's no incentive to do their best and an economy that's based on products and services offered for no other reason than boredom will be shoddy and hardly worth the material that's put into them!
Sadly, the Russian people had to learn this lesson the hard way, the people of eastern Europe had to learn it the hard way, and the people of southeast Asia are still learning it the hard way today!
We don't really have to go there, too, do we?
Saturday, October 25, 2008
If I didn't think I'd get shot or arrested....
...I'd carry my Bible and my gun down to the library tomorrow after church as I go to vote early.
After all, we're in a "crisis," right? Aren't we supposed to cling to our religion and guns during a crisis?
Well, that's what the man said, isn't it?
We're now less than two weeks to go until the most important presidential election of my lifetime. I hope that people have seen through Obama by now, but that may be wishful thinking. It's actually comforting to know that, despite the outcome, the country will survive. We made it through the Clinton years and the tax increases that he laid on us. We even made it through the Carter years though, honestly, I'm not sure how sometimes.
Despite the horrendous job Carter did and the damage that had to be undone during the Reagan years, four years of Obama may very well make the wheels come off altogether. I mean, even though Carter was a rube and a relative simpleton, he left the mechanisms essentially intact. Obama is talking about converting our entire economy into one giant socialist enterprise, starting with health care. Does anyone know how much of our economy is represented by health care?
The numbers are mind-boggling!
I have a few questions. If government is so totally inept in most of its functions, why on earth would we turn a fifth of the economy over to it? The last time I checked, our government couldn't correctly account for one individual tax account correctly! How on earth are they supposed to account for a couple of trillion dollars each year?
That's what I thought!
The sad part is, much like social security, once the lid's been pried off of that box, it can never be put right again; at least not without causing harm to a large portion of the population. I'm fully vested in social security, but I fully expect to lose all of it to the greedy, money-grubbing congresses of years past who've "borrowed" from the fund and so conveniently forgotten where that money came from; my back pocket!
I guess the Bible was right after all; the sins of the fathers will be visited upon his children up to the third and fourth generation! (Exodus 34:6-7).
Maybe we should have listened to those words of wisdom! There's another one in there that says if you don't work, you don't eat! (2 Thessalonians 3:9-11) Maybe that would have been a pretty good thing to follow as well! It sure seems like we've got a lot of people today who don't seem to know how to put in a fair day's work and don't seem to have any compunction at all about surviving on the largess of government!
Yes, I'd like to carry my guns and my Bibles down there when I go to vote. I have a feeling that the crisis has just begun and I may as well get used to "clinging" to them a lot more in the years to come!
After all, we're in a "crisis," right? Aren't we supposed to cling to our religion and guns during a crisis?
Well, that's what the man said, isn't it?
We're now less than two weeks to go until the most important presidential election of my lifetime. I hope that people have seen through Obama by now, but that may be wishful thinking. It's actually comforting to know that, despite the outcome, the country will survive. We made it through the Clinton years and the tax increases that he laid on us. We even made it through the Carter years though, honestly, I'm not sure how sometimes.
Despite the horrendous job Carter did and the damage that had to be undone during the Reagan years, four years of Obama may very well make the wheels come off altogether. I mean, even though Carter was a rube and a relative simpleton, he left the mechanisms essentially intact. Obama is talking about converting our entire economy into one giant socialist enterprise, starting with health care. Does anyone know how much of our economy is represented by health care?
The numbers are mind-boggling!
I have a few questions. If government is so totally inept in most of its functions, why on earth would we turn a fifth of the economy over to it? The last time I checked, our government couldn't correctly account for one individual tax account correctly! How on earth are they supposed to account for a couple of trillion dollars each year?
That's what I thought!
The sad part is, much like social security, once the lid's been pried off of that box, it can never be put right again; at least not without causing harm to a large portion of the population. I'm fully vested in social security, but I fully expect to lose all of it to the greedy, money-grubbing congresses of years past who've "borrowed" from the fund and so conveniently forgotten where that money came from; my back pocket!
I guess the Bible was right after all; the sins of the fathers will be visited upon his children up to the third and fourth generation! (Exodus 34:6-7).
Maybe we should have listened to those words of wisdom! There's another one in there that says if you don't work, you don't eat! (2 Thessalonians 3:9-11) Maybe that would have been a pretty good thing to follow as well! It sure seems like we've got a lot of people today who don't seem to know how to put in a fair day's work and don't seem to have any compunction at all about surviving on the largess of government!
Yes, I'd like to carry my guns and my Bibles down there when I go to vote. I have a feeling that the crisis has just begun and I may as well get used to "clinging" to them a lot more in the years to come!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Be careful who you "Dis!"
Hello again, blogfans!
The prefix "Dis" is one of those that is constantly misused.
For example, if it's possible to be dishelveled, why don't we mention the opposite condition, to be "sheveled" more often?
"Bill looks particularly sheveled this morning, doesn't he?"
You don't hear that much!
If it's possible to be "disingenuous," why aren't people "ingenuous" more often?
If it's not nice to disparage, is it a good thing to "parage?"
If we find ourselves in discord, why don't we find ourselves in cord more often?
When we throw something away. we're said to discard that thing. What is it to card something?
If I treat you with disgust, is it a more pleasurable experience when I treat you with "gust"
When I'm discrete, am I a big blabbermouth when I'm crete?
Uhhhhh......I don't THINK so!
Now, this is not a universal phenomenon!
"Disinterested" IS the opposite of "interested."
"Disenchanted" is the antithesis of "enchanted."
Go figure!
So, if you think about disrespecting someone, remember that the opposite is to "respect" someone and not all "Dis" words have an opposite!
The prefix "Dis" is one of those that is constantly misused.
For example, if it's possible to be dishelveled, why don't we mention the opposite condition, to be "sheveled" more often?
"Bill looks particularly sheveled this morning, doesn't he?"
You don't hear that much!
If it's possible to be "disingenuous," why aren't people "ingenuous" more often?
If it's not nice to disparage, is it a good thing to "parage?"
If we find ourselves in discord, why don't we find ourselves in cord more often?
When we throw something away. we're said to discard that thing. What is it to card something?
If I treat you with disgust, is it a more pleasurable experience when I treat you with "gust"
When I'm discrete, am I a big blabbermouth when I'm crete?
Uhhhhh......I don't THINK so!
Now, this is not a universal phenomenon!
"Disinterested" IS the opposite of "interested."
"Disenchanted" is the antithesis of "enchanted."
Go figure!
So, if you think about disrespecting someone, remember that the opposite is to "respect" someone and not all "Dis" words have an opposite!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
I wish I could be more positive!
Unfortunately, my teams are really pretty pathetic right about now and there's no good way to sugarcoat it to make it more palatable.
We suck!
My 8th-grade team came out like gangbusters yesterday and put up 20 unanswered points to start the game....
....then the other team woke up!
At the end, we returned the 20 points, and another 13 to go with them and lost 33 to 20.
Can you say "four quarters?" That's good! I knew that you could!
Today, our little 7th-grade team gave up three touchdowns in the first half and lost 21-0.
The score would've been worse, but the other team called off the dogs and put the 3rd or 4th, or maybe 5th team in.
They hadn't won a game until they came to our place!
Then, to top it all off, my beloved Browns looked a lot less like the team that WORKED the Giants and a lot more like the team that lost to the Bungles last year to lose out on a chance at the playoffs. Kellen Winslow worked his mouth when he should have been looking for a place to hide and got suspended for his efforts. Derrick Anderson looked like, well, Derrick Anderson, and Braylon Edwards looked like "Evil Braylon" instead of "Circus Catch" Braylon. You know what I'm talking about; Evil Braylon drops wide-open passes that my 2 year-old granddaughter could catch. EVIL Braylon couldn't catch a cold at the rhino virus hall of fame! Circus catch Edwards catches balls with one hand between three defenders, stiff arms the strong safety and runs in for a TD with three Defensive Tackles hanging on to him.
That's not the guy who played on Sunday, though. "Evil" Braylon showed up just fine, though.
This week, we play Jacksonville. Jacksonville has a very effective running game. Cleveland has a problem stopping anyone who has an effective running game.
Can you say 2-5?
I knew that you could!
We suck!
My 8th-grade team came out like gangbusters yesterday and put up 20 unanswered points to start the game....
....then the other team woke up!
At the end, we returned the 20 points, and another 13 to go with them and lost 33 to 20.
Can you say "four quarters?" That's good! I knew that you could!
Today, our little 7th-grade team gave up three touchdowns in the first half and lost 21-0.
The score would've been worse, but the other team called off the dogs and put the 3rd or 4th, or maybe 5th team in.
They hadn't won a game until they came to our place!
Then, to top it all off, my beloved Browns looked a lot less like the team that WORKED the Giants and a lot more like the team that lost to the Bungles last year to lose out on a chance at the playoffs. Kellen Winslow worked his mouth when he should have been looking for a place to hide and got suspended for his efforts. Derrick Anderson looked like, well, Derrick Anderson, and Braylon Edwards looked like "Evil Braylon" instead of "Circus Catch" Braylon. You know what I'm talking about; Evil Braylon drops wide-open passes that my 2 year-old granddaughter could catch. EVIL Braylon couldn't catch a cold at the rhino virus hall of fame! Circus catch Edwards catches balls with one hand between three defenders, stiff arms the strong safety and runs in for a TD with three Defensive Tackles hanging on to him.
That's not the guy who played on Sunday, though. "Evil" Braylon showed up just fine, though.
This week, we play Jacksonville. Jacksonville has a very effective running game. Cleveland has a problem stopping anyone who has an effective running game.
Can you say 2-5?
I knew that you could!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Uhhhh......shake yourselves, people!
I've written many times before of my aggravation about the expectations and behavior of people in society today.
What am I talking about? The fact that people seem to want a great deal of privilege, but refuse to accept the responsibility that goes with it; the fact that people want all sorts of assistance from the government but do not want to pay for it themselves (Oh, it's okay if some mythic "rich" guy pays for it; but if we have to pitch in, THAT'S unfair!); and, the fact that people do not want to accept the consequences that go with their actions; they don't mind the misbehavior, but, when they get caught, they want to blame anyone and everyone else. Nothing they do is their fault, it's always someone else's fault or responsibility!
Frankly, I'm sick of it!
When we have a hurricane, everyone wants FEMA to rush in and save the day. The fact is, they not only want FEMA to rush in, they want them to PREDICT the outcome and be there BEFORE the storm! How ridiculous is that? One thing I learned during EMT training; if the scene isn't safe, don't go in! What good is it having two victims to care for instead of the original only? Pretty dumb, I'd say! Yet, that's what people seem to want; FEMA is there before , during, and after the storm to care for all of those folks who've been victimized by that big ol' mean hurricane!
You know what we did? First, we heeded the warnings and got out of Dodge! Second, we got back as quickly as possible and cranked the generator, saving all of our foodstuffs! Third, we got shingles at Home Depot and replaced the damaged ones as fast as practical so we wouldn't get additional damage from a leaking roof. Fourth, and probably most important, WE HAD PAID UP INSURANCE TO TAKE CARE OF WHATEVER DAMAGE WE SUSTAINED!!!!
Interesting concept, that insurance! Having a financial plan to deal with disaster that does not include any government involvement! But then.....why SHOULD I expect the government to rush in and help? It's not their house and it's not their money!
Well, at least for NOW it's not theirs!
What about charging the whole thing off to this mythical "rich" guy that the Democrats always want to pay for everything? We're not rich like him. We don't have the life of leisure and privilege that he has. Isn't it only natural to hate those who have more than we have?
Uh....no!
Frankly, I don't understand the hatred of rich people. Fewer than 10% of rich people got their money from inheritance (actually, I think it's fewer than 2%, but I don't remember the exact figure so I'll not quote it here). Even if they did.....so what? Wouldn't YOU like to be in their shoes? I guess that's what it is; we're jealous and we wish we had their life instead of ours, so we hate them without even knowing them.
Sounds a lot like prejudice to me! I thought Democrats were all about loathing prejudice in all it's forms! I guess it's okay to hate rich people, though. It's un-American to be wealthy and NOT pay far more into the system of welfare and failed dreams that's been set up by the Democrats.
Frankly, I never got a job from a poor guy and I don't think private enterprise would continue to exist in this country if the Democrats got their way. Everything would be run by the government and everything would be owned by the government.
Uhhh....welcome to China!
I guess I don't get it! Why would Democrats whine about how inefficient the government is on one hand (aren't THEY the ones who perpetually whine about what a poor job FEMA does?) and then cry when the government doesn't take over MORE of our lives and economy?
Doesn't make much sense in my book!
Then there's consequences and actions. People today seem unwilling or unable to accept the punishment that goes with the crime! It was my rotten childhood, you Honor! It was my abusive husband, Judge! It was the stock market, my lousy boss, my horrible company, my terrible in-laws, my _________ (fill in the blank), my ___________ (fill in the blank), or my __________ (FILL IN THE BLANK!!!!). No one today seems willing or able to simply say "You know what? You caught me! I knew that was wrong, but I did it anyway. Give me the cuffs! I throw myself on the mercy of the court!"
Wouldn't that be refreshing, for a change?
Here's the deal, people! With privilege comes responsibility! If you accept the gifts you've been given, you have to accept the strings that go with them! If you vote for universal health care in America, I don't want to hear the whining the most assuredly will come when you have to wait in HORRENDOUS lines to get treatment! I don't want to hear about how horrible the health care system is if that happens, because YOU voted for it! If you did so because you liked the charisma of the guy who espoused that policy and voted out of ignorance, I STILL don't want to hear it!
It's your responsibility as an American to educate yourself about the issues! Don't blame someone else if you vote for Obama and GET Obama!; the most liberal candidate to run for president since McGovern!
More than that, don't blame ME! I'm voting for McCain even though he's probably going to lose. At least when the country goes to hell in a handbasket under Obama, no one will be able to say that I did it!
What am I talking about? The fact that people seem to want a great deal of privilege, but refuse to accept the responsibility that goes with it; the fact that people want all sorts of assistance from the government but do not want to pay for it themselves (Oh, it's okay if some mythic "rich" guy pays for it; but if we have to pitch in, THAT'S unfair!); and, the fact that people do not want to accept the consequences that go with their actions; they don't mind the misbehavior, but, when they get caught, they want to blame anyone and everyone else. Nothing they do is their fault, it's always someone else's fault or responsibility!
Frankly, I'm sick of it!
When we have a hurricane, everyone wants FEMA to rush in and save the day. The fact is, they not only want FEMA to rush in, they want them to PREDICT the outcome and be there BEFORE the storm! How ridiculous is that? One thing I learned during EMT training; if the scene isn't safe, don't go in! What good is it having two victims to care for instead of the original only? Pretty dumb, I'd say! Yet, that's what people seem to want; FEMA is there before , during, and after the storm to care for all of those folks who've been victimized by that big ol' mean hurricane!
You know what we did? First, we heeded the warnings and got out of Dodge! Second, we got back as quickly as possible and cranked the generator, saving all of our foodstuffs! Third, we got shingles at Home Depot and replaced the damaged ones as fast as practical so we wouldn't get additional damage from a leaking roof. Fourth, and probably most important, WE HAD PAID UP INSURANCE TO TAKE CARE OF WHATEVER DAMAGE WE SUSTAINED!!!!
Interesting concept, that insurance! Having a financial plan to deal with disaster that does not include any government involvement! But then.....why SHOULD I expect the government to rush in and help? It's not their house and it's not their money!
Well, at least for NOW it's not theirs!
What about charging the whole thing off to this mythical "rich" guy that the Democrats always want to pay for everything? We're not rich like him. We don't have the life of leisure and privilege that he has. Isn't it only natural to hate those who have more than we have?
Uh....no!
Frankly, I don't understand the hatred of rich people. Fewer than 10% of rich people got their money from inheritance (actually, I think it's fewer than 2%, but I don't remember the exact figure so I'll not quote it here). Even if they did.....so what? Wouldn't YOU like to be in their shoes? I guess that's what it is; we're jealous and we wish we had their life instead of ours, so we hate them without even knowing them.
Sounds a lot like prejudice to me! I thought Democrats were all about loathing prejudice in all it's forms! I guess it's okay to hate rich people, though. It's un-American to be wealthy and NOT pay far more into the system of welfare and failed dreams that's been set up by the Democrats.
Frankly, I never got a job from a poor guy and I don't think private enterprise would continue to exist in this country if the Democrats got their way. Everything would be run by the government and everything would be owned by the government.
Uhhh....welcome to China!
I guess I don't get it! Why would Democrats whine about how inefficient the government is on one hand (aren't THEY the ones who perpetually whine about what a poor job FEMA does?) and then cry when the government doesn't take over MORE of our lives and economy?
Doesn't make much sense in my book!
Then there's consequences and actions. People today seem unwilling or unable to accept the punishment that goes with the crime! It was my rotten childhood, you Honor! It was my abusive husband, Judge! It was the stock market, my lousy boss, my horrible company, my terrible in-laws, my _________ (fill in the blank), my ___________ (fill in the blank), or my __________ (FILL IN THE BLANK!!!!). No one today seems willing or able to simply say "You know what? You caught me! I knew that was wrong, but I did it anyway. Give me the cuffs! I throw myself on the mercy of the court!"
Wouldn't that be refreshing, for a change?
Here's the deal, people! With privilege comes responsibility! If you accept the gifts you've been given, you have to accept the strings that go with them! If you vote for universal health care in America, I don't want to hear the whining the most assuredly will come when you have to wait in HORRENDOUS lines to get treatment! I don't want to hear about how horrible the health care system is if that happens, because YOU voted for it! If you did so because you liked the charisma of the guy who espoused that policy and voted out of ignorance, I STILL don't want to hear it!
It's your responsibility as an American to educate yourself about the issues! Don't blame someone else if you vote for Obama and GET Obama!; the most liberal candidate to run for president since McGovern!
More than that, don't blame ME! I'm voting for McCain even though he's probably going to lose. At least when the country goes to hell in a handbasket under Obama, no one will be able to say that I did it!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Sorry (pant...pant...) I've been a little busy
It's now nearly two weeks since I posted anything here, but I've had good reason(s).
First, I really haven't had much of anything to say.....
Second, I've been busier than a one-legged man in a jumprope contest.....
Third, read one and two.
Actually, there's a lot going on, so let's start with sports:
Jesus is coming back tomorrow; the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (oh, okay; I know they dropped the "devil" from their name to try and attract the over eighty crowd to their home dates, but they'll always be "devil rays" to me!) are ahead of the BoSox in game 5 of the ALCS and look like a shoe-in to win the American League pennant. A Rays v Phillies world series?
Better check the clouds tomorrow to make sure the sign of the Son of Man isn't blatantly displayed there!
Next, two HIGHLY unlikely things happened in football this week. First, on Monday evening, my beloved Browns absolutely THROTTLED the defending world champion, the undefeated New York football Giants. That was a big enough surprise, to be sure. Then, yesterday, my little 8th-grade "B" team won THEIR first game of the season by the astounding score of 7-0. Yes, boys and girls, my defense pitched a shutout! Woo-hoo!
We actually did some things well, too! After we scored our touchdown at about 2 minutes into the second quarter, our little kicker was kicking into a strong wind, so I called him aside and said,"Carlos; you aren't gonna get much distance against that wind, so let's kick it onside. Which way do you want to go?" He said "Left," so I called the rest of the kickoff team together and told them what we were going to do and then reminded them that, after 10 yards, a kickoff is a live ball, meaning that it's just like a fumble. Then I asked them if they remembered the fumble drill, which brought a rousing "Yes SIR!!!", so I told them that it would be just like that drill.
Carlos kicked the ball a perfect distance (about 12 yards), the left side of the kickoff line covered it perfectly, even knocking one guy away from the recovery, and one of our guys fell on it at about the 45 for wonderful field position and a real opportunity to run away with the game.
Well.....it was a great opportunity anyway!
At work......that's where the jumprope contest has been going on!
I usually stay pretty busy during the season in any case. This year has been worse than usual. We HAD three main academic "thrusts" last year; "Rigor and Relevance," SIOP, and Safe & Civil Schools. This year, we've still got those, but we added CHAMPS, the DATE grant, and the 21st Century grant. In addition, they asked me to mentor one of the new ACP teachers, so I'm doing that (AND all the training that goes with that) in addition to all of my regular duties AND coaching.
Juggling all of this stuff is about to drive me insane!
Well, actually, it was fitting together pretty well until Ike butted in. I had training or some other duty on five consecutive Saturdays, but nothing I couldn't handle. Then two of them got cancelled due to Ike and all of them wanted to reschedule for exactly the same day!
Sorry, folks. I gave my clone the day off and I can't be in two places at once!
Anyway, I'm taking a weekend off this weekend. All I'm going to do is finish the storage building in the back and move stuff from the garage into the building. Can you say "walk through the garage? That's good......I knew that you could!"
That's not what I'm looking forward to, though! In a couple of weeks, MDB's brother invited me up to God's country for a deer hunt. It'll be my first and I'm REALLY looking forward to it!
First, I really haven't had much of anything to say.....
Second, I've been busier than a one-legged man in a jumprope contest.....
Third, read one and two.
Actually, there's a lot going on, so let's start with sports:
Jesus is coming back tomorrow; the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (oh, okay; I know they dropped the "devil" from their name to try and attract the over eighty crowd to their home dates, but they'll always be "devil rays" to me!) are ahead of the BoSox in game 5 of the ALCS and look like a shoe-in to win the American League pennant. A Rays v Phillies world series?
Better check the clouds tomorrow to make sure the sign of the Son of Man isn't blatantly displayed there!
Next, two HIGHLY unlikely things happened in football this week. First, on Monday evening, my beloved Browns absolutely THROTTLED the defending world champion, the undefeated New York football Giants. That was a big enough surprise, to be sure. Then, yesterday, my little 8th-grade "B" team won THEIR first game of the season by the astounding score of 7-0. Yes, boys and girls, my defense pitched a shutout! Woo-hoo!
We actually did some things well, too! After we scored our touchdown at about 2 minutes into the second quarter, our little kicker was kicking into a strong wind, so I called him aside and said,"Carlos; you aren't gonna get much distance against that wind, so let's kick it onside. Which way do you want to go?" He said "Left," so I called the rest of the kickoff team together and told them what we were going to do and then reminded them that, after 10 yards, a kickoff is a live ball, meaning that it's just like a fumble. Then I asked them if they remembered the fumble drill, which brought a rousing "Yes SIR!!!", so I told them that it would be just like that drill.
Carlos kicked the ball a perfect distance (about 12 yards), the left side of the kickoff line covered it perfectly, even knocking one guy away from the recovery, and one of our guys fell on it at about the 45 for wonderful field position and a real opportunity to run away with the game.
Well.....it was a great opportunity anyway!
At work......that's where the jumprope contest has been going on!
I usually stay pretty busy during the season in any case. This year has been worse than usual. We HAD three main academic "thrusts" last year; "Rigor and Relevance," SIOP, and Safe & Civil Schools. This year, we've still got those, but we added CHAMPS, the DATE grant, and the 21st Century grant. In addition, they asked me to mentor one of the new ACP teachers, so I'm doing that (AND all the training that goes with that) in addition to all of my regular duties AND coaching.
Juggling all of this stuff is about to drive me insane!
Well, actually, it was fitting together pretty well until Ike butted in. I had training or some other duty on five consecutive Saturdays, but nothing I couldn't handle. Then two of them got cancelled due to Ike and all of them wanted to reschedule for exactly the same day!
Sorry, folks. I gave my clone the day off and I can't be in two places at once!
Anyway, I'm taking a weekend off this weekend. All I'm going to do is finish the storage building in the back and move stuff from the garage into the building. Can you say "walk through the garage? That's good......I knew that you could!"
That's not what I'm looking forward to, though! In a couple of weeks, MDB's brother invited me up to God's country for a deer hunt. It'll be my first and I'm REALLY looking forward to it!
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Hilarious!
You've GOT to see MDB's blog "speaking the same language"! It's hilarious!
Here's what happened. We were watching the Biden-Palen debate the other night and it was nearly over when Biden was asked if he regretted anything or would change anything he's done based upon his experience. Naturally, he launched into a lengthy explanation of how he'd change the way he viewed judicial appointees. Nearly finished, he inadvertently did one of the best porky pig impressions I've ever heard. I wasn't sure I'd heard it quite right, so I paused the DVR, ran it back, and repeated it. It was so funny we ran it over and over again! You can click here to see the exchange for yourself!
Well, MDB got out her camera and recorded it and now you see the fruits of her labors on her blog!
Hilarious!
Here's what happened. We were watching the Biden-Palen debate the other night and it was nearly over when Biden was asked if he regretted anything or would change anything he's done based upon his experience. Naturally, he launched into a lengthy explanation of how he'd change the way he viewed judicial appointees. Nearly finished, he inadvertently did one of the best porky pig impressions I've ever heard. I wasn't sure I'd heard it quite right, so I paused the DVR, ran it back, and repeated it. It was so funny we ran it over and over again! You can click here to see the exchange for yourself!
Well, MDB got out her camera and recorded it and now you see the fruits of her labors on her blog!
Hilarious!
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