According to this article, 6 "beloved" automobiles are about to disappear altogether.
The list includes some that don't really make much sense and a few that make perfect sense and make you wonder why other, similar makes don't disappear as well!
The curious "disappearances" include a two-seater from Honda (the S2000), the PTCruiser from Chrysler, and a Saturn (but then, the whole Saturn line is going away). These are headscratchers because they're not gas hogs or inordinately expensive vehicles, unlike the others on the list. The other three, a rich man's Lexus, the always ridiculous Hummer H-3 (well, the whole Hummer line is going dinosaur as well, but it's about time, isn't it?), and the equally ostentatious Dodge Viper, make more sense in this day and time.
Much like the current troubles of Toyota and their departure from what they know (small, fuel-efficient cars and trucks), these last three make perfect sense. Corporate CEOs make a lot of money to foresee market trends and respond before their markets dry up, don't they? Well, I'm not Kreskin and I don't make enough money to be a CEO, but I think anyone who buys gas on a regular basis could have predicted that gas hogs would lose favor in the market and done SOMETHING to ease themselves from the production of SUVs and full-sized trucks to smaller vehicles that meet current market demand!
I guess the "head in the sand" and "stick out the hand" plan was more their style.
Uhhhh......it's not mine!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Nice Coronation!
Well, wasn't THAT a nice coronation?
I'd call it an inauguration, but that's clearly NOT what it was. Inaugurations don't cost nearly as much as this one did and they're not nearly as full of pomp and circumstance as this one was!
If Obama cared as much about our troubles as he claims he does, wouldn't it have made more sense for him to downplay this event and do what he could to minimize it to save taxpayer money?
That's what I thought!
I'd call it an inauguration, but that's clearly NOT what it was. Inaugurations don't cost nearly as much as this one did and they're not nearly as full of pomp and circumstance as this one was!
If Obama cared as much about our troubles as he claims he does, wouldn't it have made more sense for him to downplay this event and do what he could to minimize it to save taxpayer money?
That's what I thought!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Old Liberals
Did you ever notice that the only old liberals you ever see are politicians or Hollywood elitists? I sure have, and I have a couple of ideas about why that is.
1) Almost EVERYBODY is liberal when they're young. They are full of idealism and hope and genuinely believe that there's plenty to go around for everyone if we'd all just pitch in and share with one another in love. Pretty lofty goal, but it leaves reality in the dust! No one, not conservatives, not liberals, not moderates, no NOBODY, does something for nothing! Everyone does what they do for what they'll get in return, which, in most cases, is monetary gain of some sort. Businesses call it profit; they don't operate so that they can be helpful, they do it for the health of their bottom line. When the young idealistic liberal comes to realize that this is how things work in these United States, they get more and more conservative and eventually wind up voting for those who best allow them to pursue their most profitable pursuits. The BEST proponents of liberal virtue are some of the most conservative people around; Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, etc., who earn billions in the free market and then give it away via charitable foundation or whatever.
2) Even though most young ideologues figure out #1 and are real, live conservatives by their 35th birthday or so, a lot of politicians of a liberal stripe are still ostensibly liberal at a very old age. Why is that? See #1!!!! They've figured out that their way to greater personal gain is via parasitism; they suck the life blood out of those who depend upon them for their very existence and then move on to a new batch of young liberals when the older ones figure it out! These so-called "poverty pimps" depend upon a large underclass of welfare honks who have nothing if it's not for the handouts of big daddy government. Very sad, but very real!
3) The third "class" of liberal in this country is the "Hollywood elite" crowd. They're the ones who make big dollars for acting, singing, writing, or whatever, and then cry long and loud about how insensitive it is for conservatives to insist that the underclass referred to in #2 get off of their lazy butts and go to work when the government should be doing more to help! Uhhh.....look, Mr. Hollywood; I know you pay taxes of some sort from the gross you earn, but you still bring home a lot more that I do. Instead of being so generous with my money, why don't you donate all of the proceeds from all of your films and live on my salary? You know....put your money where your mouth is! That's what I thought; as long as we're talking about someone else's money, it's okay to insist upon higher tax rates and bigger giveaways. When we start talking about YOUR money, it's a different story! Naturally, there's exceptions to this, but they're few and far in between! Paul Newman and Oprah Winfrey come to mind, but, like I said, they're the exception, not the rule! What REALLY riles me about this class of idiots is the sorts of things they say about CEOs or other corporate movers and shakers who earn a lot of money. "Uhhh....Hello, Mr. Pot? This is Mr. Kettle! YOU'RE BLACK!!!" At least when a CEO makes a lot of money, he's doing so in the practice of free market economics and he succeeds or fails at his own peril. If he does a poor job, the stockholders fire him! Frankly, much like his cohorts in Hollywood, who only have the earning power they generate in their own popularity, or the professional athlete, who's merely as good as his last season's statistics, the high-dollar CEO is only as good as the corporate profit he generates or does NOT generate and, frankly, I don't begrudge any of them a nickel of it as long as they shut up and stop telling ME that I'M immoral for not giving up MY whole check every other week!
So, there you have it. Now you know why there are no old liberals other than the ones I've mentioned.
1) Almost EVERYBODY is liberal when they're young. They are full of idealism and hope and genuinely believe that there's plenty to go around for everyone if we'd all just pitch in and share with one another in love. Pretty lofty goal, but it leaves reality in the dust! No one, not conservatives, not liberals, not moderates, no NOBODY, does something for nothing! Everyone does what they do for what they'll get in return, which, in most cases, is monetary gain of some sort. Businesses call it profit; they don't operate so that they can be helpful, they do it for the health of their bottom line. When the young idealistic liberal comes to realize that this is how things work in these United States, they get more and more conservative and eventually wind up voting for those who best allow them to pursue their most profitable pursuits. The BEST proponents of liberal virtue are some of the most conservative people around; Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, etc., who earn billions in the free market and then give it away via charitable foundation or whatever.
2) Even though most young ideologues figure out #1 and are real, live conservatives by their 35th birthday or so, a lot of politicians of a liberal stripe are still ostensibly liberal at a very old age. Why is that? See #1!!!! They've figured out that their way to greater personal gain is via parasitism; they suck the life blood out of those who depend upon them for their very existence and then move on to a new batch of young liberals when the older ones figure it out! These so-called "poverty pimps" depend upon a large underclass of welfare honks who have nothing if it's not for the handouts of big daddy government. Very sad, but very real!
3) The third "class" of liberal in this country is the "Hollywood elite" crowd. They're the ones who make big dollars for acting, singing, writing, or whatever, and then cry long and loud about how insensitive it is for conservatives to insist that the underclass referred to in #2 get off of their lazy butts and go to work when the government should be doing more to help! Uhhh.....look, Mr. Hollywood; I know you pay taxes of some sort from the gross you earn, but you still bring home a lot more that I do. Instead of being so generous with my money, why don't you donate all of the proceeds from all of your films and live on my salary? You know....put your money where your mouth is! That's what I thought; as long as we're talking about someone else's money, it's okay to insist upon higher tax rates and bigger giveaways. When we start talking about YOUR money, it's a different story! Naturally, there's exceptions to this, but they're few and far in between! Paul Newman and Oprah Winfrey come to mind, but, like I said, they're the exception, not the rule! What REALLY riles me about this class of idiots is the sorts of things they say about CEOs or other corporate movers and shakers who earn a lot of money. "Uhhh....Hello, Mr. Pot? This is Mr. Kettle! YOU'RE BLACK!!!" At least when a CEO makes a lot of money, he's doing so in the practice of free market economics and he succeeds or fails at his own peril. If he does a poor job, the stockholders fire him! Frankly, much like his cohorts in Hollywood, who only have the earning power they generate in their own popularity, or the professional athlete, who's merely as good as his last season's statistics, the high-dollar CEO is only as good as the corporate profit he generates or does NOT generate and, frankly, I don't begrudge any of them a nickel of it as long as they shut up and stop telling ME that I'M immoral for not giving up MY whole check every other week!
So, there you have it. Now you know why there are no old liberals other than the ones I've mentioned.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Division
From time to time, I read on several political chat boards and, after having done so for the last several weeks, I've come to one inescapable conclusion; this country is more divided after this past election than at any time I can recall, bar none!
So, what's causing this division?
First, liberals don't know how to win with dignity. When THEY win an election, they spend as much time and effort in gloating and posturing as they do in governing, which is NOT a good thing! Naturally, all that nose-rubbing causes animosity on the right and steels their resolve to NOT cooperate on anything at any time! THAT, of course, is counterproductive and leads to that old foe, gridlock.
You remember gridlock, don't you?
I think that the 'pubs would do what they can to cooperate is it weren't for all that gloating from the left, but, for some reason, they just can't help it. Maybe it's the same psychology that goes on in the sports world. You know; team 'A' which never beats team 'B' finally gets over and then the rhetoric gets ramped up to proportions epic, which merely steels the resolve to team 'B' to kick the crap out of team 'A' for another twenty years. I have a feeling that the current political climate is similar. The dems win the White House so seldom, they don't know what to do or how to act when they finally DO win one, so they engage in counterproductive behavior which sinks their own ship for another eight or twelve years.
Not very smart, is it?
Well, what would you expect from those who espouse a theoretical construct that is devoid of any semblance of common sense or reality?
In America, we have a capitalist economy. It requires several items to be in place to operate efficiently and/or properly. First, private enterprise must have incentive to operate. If some outside entity (i.e., the government) takes away all of that incentive with confiscatory tax policies, then entrepreneurs will take their marbles and go home. If enough of them do it, the government has nothing left to confiscate! Sadly, we're approaching the critical mass of just that scenario and what are we doing about it? Confiscating MORE money from entrepreneurs! NOT smart! Second, you must have an inexpensive source of labor upon which to base your manufacturing and agricultural base. Our inexpensive source of labor has dried up and has been replaced by VERY expensive union labor which, quite predictably, has sent our manufacturing base to a place where cheap labor IS available. Has anyone seen this happening?
That's what I thought!
What needs to happen to bring our economy back? We have to create incentives for business to flourish with lower taxes and a source of cheaper labor. THAT means that unions are going to have to swallow their pride and take wage cuts or face their new careers in the fast-food industry.
You want fries with that?
What it does NOT mean is that the government really has no place in any of it EXCEPT lowering taxes so the economy can get going again.
When are they going to learn?
So, what's causing this division?
First, liberals don't know how to win with dignity. When THEY win an election, they spend as much time and effort in gloating and posturing as they do in governing, which is NOT a good thing! Naturally, all that nose-rubbing causes animosity on the right and steels their resolve to NOT cooperate on anything at any time! THAT, of course, is counterproductive and leads to that old foe, gridlock.
You remember gridlock, don't you?
I think that the 'pubs would do what they can to cooperate is it weren't for all that gloating from the left, but, for some reason, they just can't help it. Maybe it's the same psychology that goes on in the sports world. You know; team 'A' which never beats team 'B' finally gets over and then the rhetoric gets ramped up to proportions epic, which merely steels the resolve to team 'B' to kick the crap out of team 'A' for another twenty years. I have a feeling that the current political climate is similar. The dems win the White House so seldom, they don't know what to do or how to act when they finally DO win one, so they engage in counterproductive behavior which sinks their own ship for another eight or twelve years.
Not very smart, is it?
Well, what would you expect from those who espouse a theoretical construct that is devoid of any semblance of common sense or reality?
In America, we have a capitalist economy. It requires several items to be in place to operate efficiently and/or properly. First, private enterprise must have incentive to operate. If some outside entity (i.e., the government) takes away all of that incentive with confiscatory tax policies, then entrepreneurs will take their marbles and go home. If enough of them do it, the government has nothing left to confiscate! Sadly, we're approaching the critical mass of just that scenario and what are we doing about it? Confiscating MORE money from entrepreneurs! NOT smart! Second, you must have an inexpensive source of labor upon which to base your manufacturing and agricultural base. Our inexpensive source of labor has dried up and has been replaced by VERY expensive union labor which, quite predictably, has sent our manufacturing base to a place where cheap labor IS available. Has anyone seen this happening?
That's what I thought!
What needs to happen to bring our economy back? We have to create incentives for business to flourish with lower taxes and a source of cheaper labor. THAT means that unions are going to have to swallow their pride and take wage cuts or face their new careers in the fast-food industry.
You want fries with that?
What it does NOT mean is that the government really has no place in any of it EXCEPT lowering taxes so the economy can get going again.
When are they going to learn?
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Now THIS is the kind of representation we should ALL have!
Our local Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb in Houston are Quantrell X, of whom I've spoken before, and the Congresswoman from the most gerrymandered district in the country, Sheila Jackson-Lee, who never misses an opportunity to find racism under every rock and who NEVER met a camera she didn't like.
At a recent news conference designed to lobby for government cash for Houston, Shirley and her crack staff (or staff on crack, whichever rings most true) displayed the signs pictured.
No child left behind?
How about no Congresswoman left behind? Did the spell check on the computer go down? Did anyone on the Congresswoman's staff not realize that one sign or the other MUST be incorrect?
You get what you vote for, I guess! 
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Well, THAT was a short eternity!
I got a pretty good chuckle earlier. It seems that, in Bullhead City, Arizona, eternity isn't nearly as long as it is elsewhere. In November, city officials dedicated a park honoring war veterans and lit an "eternal flame" to honor our war dead.
Mission accomplished!
When they got the gas bill in December, they promptly shut the flame down to save on expenses. It seems a one month supply was nearly $1000!
A really wise man once said that only a fool begins a project without considering the cost.
I think it was Jesus, actually! (Luke 14:28-30)
I pray that my eternity lasts longer than that!
Mission accomplished!
When they got the gas bill in December, they promptly shut the flame down to save on expenses. It seems a one month supply was nearly $1000!
A really wise man once said that only a fool begins a project without considering the cost.
I think it was Jesus, actually! (Luke 14:28-30)
I pray that my eternity lasts longer than that!
Bits and Pieces
Hello, dear blogfans!
Lots of stuff going on! School started back up this week after a two-week vacation with MDB, which was truly wonderful! Two weeks off is nice, but it's nice to get back to work as well. I know....I know.....
W-W-W-W-A-A-A-A-A-A-H-H-H-H-H-H!!!!!
Only two weeks? Why not a month?
It's my cross to bear!
Anyway, part of why it's nice to get back is the resumption of basketball. My A team is underachieving, but my B team got their second win of the year this past Wednesday and they're looking pretty good for the most part. The best part is that we got both wins with our starting center on suspension and we go into our district tournament this week at full strength. If we win on Monday, one more win puts us into the championship game on Thursday; it's the best tournament seeding we've had since I started coaching here!
I sure hope we can put a two-game winning streak together!
Meanwhile, I can't believe how blessed I am to be married to the most wonderful woman on the planet! She's so supportive, sweet, and understanding! She came to our game on Wednesday and then met me for dinner afterward. It was awesome and, even though I was bummed about the most one-sided call I've experienced in a very long time, being with her calmed me down and soothed my angst like nothing else can. God, I love this woman!
We had my kids over for Christmas during the holidays and my boys told me to start up a Facebook account to help us stay in touch, so I did. I've got all of 6 friends, I think, including my two boys. Meanwhile, MDB started one up, too, and now she's got about 40 friends or so.
It's SO not fair!
Just goes to show, though; EVERYBODY loves MDB! I'm just blessed that nobody loves her as much as I do and she loves no one else as much as she loves me!
She's at the Boat Show working for the second weekend in a row, so I'm holding down the home front, doing laundry and such and watching football. Pretty good game so far....7 to 7 with 12:05 to go in the half.
I wonder how many people are actually buying the "only government can fix it" line that Obama dropped the other day? Have we really sunk that low? Have we become so helpless and so completely dependent on the largess of our government that we simply cannot see any other way out? You know, back in WWII, we really dug ourselves out. The government got more involved that it ever had been before, starting all sorts of public works projects and handing out money on the dole at an unprecedented level and yet, we really didn't get out of it until the industrial might and resourcefulness of the American people kicked in and we started producing war material for WWII.
Anyone see a common denominator here?
We need to swallow our collective pride, take pay cuts where necessary, take jobs we would normally consider "beneath" us, and start producing goods, especially manufactured goods, again. Only when we manufacture do we prosper! We have gone from a manufacturing economy to a service economy. The dirty little secret is that, when our manufacturing base suffers, people can't afford to pay for the services that employ others and don't buy them!
You listening, Obama?
We need tax breaks for almost every aspect of the manufacturing sector, not a bunch of make-work projects that simply take money from one sector and redistribute it to another! We need to PRODUCE wealth, not steal it from one faction and give it to another!
It's going to be a long four years!
Lots of stuff going on! School started back up this week after a two-week vacation with MDB, which was truly wonderful! Two weeks off is nice, but it's nice to get back to work as well. I know....I know.....
W-W-W-W-A-A-A-A-A-A-H-H-H-H-H-H!!!!!
Only two weeks? Why not a month?
It's my cross to bear!
Anyway, part of why it's nice to get back is the resumption of basketball. My A team is underachieving, but my B team got their second win of the year this past Wednesday and they're looking pretty good for the most part. The best part is that we got both wins with our starting center on suspension and we go into our district tournament this week at full strength. If we win on Monday, one more win puts us into the championship game on Thursday; it's the best tournament seeding we've had since I started coaching here!
I sure hope we can put a two-game winning streak together!
Meanwhile, I can't believe how blessed I am to be married to the most wonderful woman on the planet! She's so supportive, sweet, and understanding! She came to our game on Wednesday and then met me for dinner afterward. It was awesome and, even though I was bummed about the most one-sided call I've experienced in a very long time, being with her calmed me down and soothed my angst like nothing else can. God, I love this woman!
We had my kids over for Christmas during the holidays and my boys told me to start up a Facebook account to help us stay in touch, so I did. I've got all of 6 friends, I think, including my two boys. Meanwhile, MDB started one up, too, and now she's got about 40 friends or so.
It's SO not fair!
Just goes to show, though; EVERYBODY loves MDB! I'm just blessed that nobody loves her as much as I do and she loves no one else as much as she loves me!
She's at the Boat Show working for the second weekend in a row, so I'm holding down the home front, doing laundry and such and watching football. Pretty good game so far....7 to 7 with 12:05 to go in the half.
I wonder how many people are actually buying the "only government can fix it" line that Obama dropped the other day? Have we really sunk that low? Have we become so helpless and so completely dependent on the largess of our government that we simply cannot see any other way out? You know, back in WWII, we really dug ourselves out. The government got more involved that it ever had been before, starting all sorts of public works projects and handing out money on the dole at an unprecedented level and yet, we really didn't get out of it until the industrial might and resourcefulness of the American people kicked in and we started producing war material for WWII.
Anyone see a common denominator here?
We need to swallow our collective pride, take pay cuts where necessary, take jobs we would normally consider "beneath" us, and start producing goods, especially manufactured goods, again. Only when we manufacture do we prosper! We have gone from a manufacturing economy to a service economy. The dirty little secret is that, when our manufacturing base suffers, people can't afford to pay for the services that employ others and don't buy them!
You listening, Obama?
We need tax breaks for almost every aspect of the manufacturing sector, not a bunch of make-work projects that simply take money from one sector and redistribute it to another! We need to PRODUCE wealth, not steal it from one faction and give it to another!
It's going to be a long four years!
Friday, January 02, 2009
In Obama we trust
The day before yesterday, I saw the above image on the back of a car in front of me from a distance. Frankly, I thought it was some sort of Catholic saint image or something until I got close enough to see that it was in fact an image of our President-elect, Barack Obama.
Look, I understand the euphoria that goes with the "Finally! Our guy won!" sentiment. I even understand the hope that change brings, especially if you're one of the unfortunate people who've lost large amounts of your personal wealth in the stock market. I can even understand the hopeful anticipation that goes with the "I made a dumb choice and lost my house; I hope Obama's able to bail me out!" sentiment (even if it turns my stomach to think that MY tax dollars are going to save some irresponsible moron's house!).
What I CAN'T understand, and what I will never understand, is the out and out WORSHIP of this guy! Uhhh.....he's just a MAN, people! I haven't seen a red "S" on his chest! I haven't seen the nail-scarred hands! I didn't see a halo last time I looked! He's not a saint; he's not a god; he's not even an accomplished politician at this point! Well....he's obviously a SUCCESSFUL politician....but what has he ever DONE to deserve all of this praise?
Only time will tell. He may well accomplish some good, at which point I'll say, "You know what? Obama actually DID some good things! I sure am glad I was wrong about him!"
Until he does....I'll reserve my judgement and continue to wonder what on earth people see in this guy that's worthy of worship!
By the way, I worship the one true God who manifests Himself to us in three persons, the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit!
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Happy 2009!
Happy New Year, blogfans!
Unfortunately, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
In Illinois, that bastion of political righteousness, soon to be ex governor Blagojevich nominated Roland Burris, an African-American, to fill the vacated senate seat of Barack Obama.
Now, this opens so many questions, I don't even know where to begin!
First, I was unaware that one of the two senate seats from Illinois had been designated "black only." When did that happen? Second, does governor Blago...ch have a brain in his head? He's all but impeached, convicted, and removed from office. Does he really think this nomination will just be agreed and forgotten to smooth transition? Obviously, Burris doesn't think so; he's asked the courts to step in and certify the nomination before the ink's even dry! Does anyone (not living there) really take Illinois politics seriously? Finally, why is it that only African-American reporters are allowed to report this story? Perhaps there's no formal restriction there, but I haven't seen any non-black journalists reporting on this story! Even guest comments on it are coming only from AA commentators. I thought this was 2009? I thought we were past all of this "black only" or "white only" stuff!
The more things change, the more they stay the same!
On another note, the NCAA is apparently turning a blind eye to bowl participant perks, causing questions to arise from some watchdogs in the sports world. One commentator said something along these lines; "Let's drop the pretense; NCAA athletics is professional athletics and we should just accept it and treat these athletes for what they are and pay them in the open for their services."
Anyone price a college education lately? I thought a full ride scholarship WAS remuneration for their services? Let's not pretend like that little detail is insignificant; it's not! After all, for every NCAA athlete who is able to enter the NBA, the NFL, or some other major league sports organization and get paid to be a professional athlete, there's at least 200 who do not! That scholarship is their ticket to a bright future! It IS remuneration for services rendered!
Why the outrage over Israel retaliating in Gaza? Didn't Hamas start this squabble? Didn't they fire their little rockets into Israel, aimed at no one in particular? That's what I thought! So, when you poke the tiger, how can you feign surprise when he turns around and bites back?
Maybe everyone wants peace there ("everyone" being every non-Arab in the world at large), but there will never be peace there, at least not until the Arab world accepts that Israel is there to stay and stop all of this ridiculous effort to eliminate them.
If the antichrist won't even be able to get it done, how are your little rockets going to make it happen, Hamas?
May 2009 be a year of peace, prosperity, and love.
It's not starting out that way!
Unfortunately, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
In Illinois, that bastion of political righteousness, soon to be ex governor Blagojevich nominated Roland Burris, an African-American, to fill the vacated senate seat of Barack Obama.
Now, this opens so many questions, I don't even know where to begin!
First, I was unaware that one of the two senate seats from Illinois had been designated "black only." When did that happen? Second, does governor Blago...ch have a brain in his head? He's all but impeached, convicted, and removed from office. Does he really think this nomination will just be agreed and forgotten to smooth transition? Obviously, Burris doesn't think so; he's asked the courts to step in and certify the nomination before the ink's even dry! Does anyone (not living there) really take Illinois politics seriously? Finally, why is it that only African-American reporters are allowed to report this story? Perhaps there's no formal restriction there, but I haven't seen any non-black journalists reporting on this story! Even guest comments on it are coming only from AA commentators. I thought this was 2009? I thought we were past all of this "black only" or "white only" stuff!
The more things change, the more they stay the same!
On another note, the NCAA is apparently turning a blind eye to bowl participant perks, causing questions to arise from some watchdogs in the sports world. One commentator said something along these lines; "Let's drop the pretense; NCAA athletics is professional athletics and we should just accept it and treat these athletes for what they are and pay them in the open for their services."
Anyone price a college education lately? I thought a full ride scholarship WAS remuneration for their services? Let's not pretend like that little detail is insignificant; it's not! After all, for every NCAA athlete who is able to enter the NBA, the NFL, or some other major league sports organization and get paid to be a professional athlete, there's at least 200 who do not! That scholarship is their ticket to a bright future! It IS remuneration for services rendered!
Why the outrage over Israel retaliating in Gaza? Didn't Hamas start this squabble? Didn't they fire their little rockets into Israel, aimed at no one in particular? That's what I thought! So, when you poke the tiger, how can you feign surprise when he turns around and bites back?
Maybe everyone wants peace there ("everyone" being every non-Arab in the world at large), but there will never be peace there, at least not until the Arab world accepts that Israel is there to stay and stop all of this ridiculous effort to eliminate them.
If the antichrist won't even be able to get it done, how are your little rockets going to make it happen, Hamas?
May 2009 be a year of peace, prosperity, and love.
It's not starting out that way!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Amazing!
Hello again, blogfans!
This one will be short. I stand completely amazed at MDB and her recuperative powers! All day today, she sat on the floor and worked to catch up on filing. I sat for a couple of hours and helped, but my back soon prevented me from doing so any longer.
Uhhh....MDB had gall bladder surgery last Wednesday, for cryin' out loud!
I'm telling you! She's amazing!
How blessed am I?
I wish I could describe it!
This one will be short. I stand completely amazed at MDB and her recuperative powers! All day today, she sat on the floor and worked to catch up on filing. I sat for a couple of hours and helped, but my back soon prevented me from doing so any longer.
Uhhh....MDB had gall bladder surgery last Wednesday, for cryin' out loud!
I'm telling you! She's amazing!
How blessed am I?
I wish I could describe it!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Well, just call me Kreskin!
Okay...it didn't exactly require a professional mentalist to predict the demise of Romeo Crennel, but I called it here some time back. Cleveland football fans are tired of losing! Other teams and other organizations seem to be able to obtain good coaches and players consistently, so why not Cleveland? I think that's what Randy Lerner is trying to find out, so here we go again; another rebuilding project!
Bill Cowher, the former Brown's linebacker and assistant coach, and, by the way, a former Pittsburgh head coach as well, has already turned Lerner down. So, who's it going to be? Only time will tell.
One thing I do know is this; Brown's fans are among the most loyal in the NFL and they deserve a consistent winner or, at the very least, a team that is well-coached and consistently puts in the work and shows that effort on the field. We haven't seen that this year! How many cities in the NFL could survive the removal of their team to another city and insist that the colors, mascot and uniform of that team belong to the city and not the owner of the team? Green Bay? Pittsburgh? Perhaps. One thing's for sure; that's exactly what happened in Cleveland and those fans deserve better!
Bill Cowher, the former Brown's linebacker and assistant coach, and, by the way, a former Pittsburgh head coach as well, has already turned Lerner down. So, who's it going to be? Only time will tell.
One thing I do know is this; Brown's fans are among the most loyal in the NFL and they deserve a consistent winner or, at the very least, a team that is well-coached and consistently puts in the work and shows that effort on the field. We haven't seen that this year! How many cities in the NFL could survive the removal of their team to another city and insist that the colors, mascot and uniform of that team belong to the city and not the owner of the team? Green Bay? Pittsburgh? Perhaps. One thing's for sure; that's exactly what happened in Cleveland and those fans deserve better!
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Sticking it to "The Man!"
It's now well over a month since the latest presidential election and, having listened to what has transpired since then from Obama supporters, I'm convinced it was all about one thing and one thing only;
Sticking it to "The Man!"
Oh, you've heard it as well. People who claim to have voted for Obama going through a list of questions about his policies having NO IDEA what those policies actually are! In one instance, an Obama supporter was presented with a top-down list of McCAIN'S policies, right down to his choice for VP (Sarah Palin), and the Obama supporter was in favor of all of them! I've heard the same thing over and over on talk radio, primarily the Mark Levin show (an intellectual exercise I would recommend for any thinking American!), but also on Michael Berry's show. One supporter with whom I recently held conversation espoused staunch belief in our capitalist system with regard to the auto maker bailout, then turned right around and expressed out and out GLEE concerning the upcoming inauguration of Obama, the closest thing to a socialist candidate we've seen in my lifetime! The bottom line: Obama supporters in many cases, did not vote for Obama because they agree with what he stands for, but rather because of his complexion!
They're "Sticking it to 'The Man!' "
Here would be an interesting experiment. In 2012, let's present an obscure conservative candidate and, if that candidate does not happen to be African-American, let's present him publicly wearing black face make-up. Make him appear to be African-American in every way. I think it would be interesting to find out what kind of support he'd garner!
Meanwhile, Martin Luther King Jr. is turning in his grave. It's NOT about the content of one's character, apparently, but about the color of one's skin!
I think we Americans did not stick it to "The Man," but stuck it to ourselves.
Only time will tell!
Sticking it to "The Man!"
Oh, you've heard it as well. People who claim to have voted for Obama going through a list of questions about his policies having NO IDEA what those policies actually are! In one instance, an Obama supporter was presented with a top-down list of McCAIN'S policies, right down to his choice for VP (Sarah Palin), and the Obama supporter was in favor of all of them! I've heard the same thing over and over on talk radio, primarily the Mark Levin show (an intellectual exercise I would recommend for any thinking American!), but also on Michael Berry's show. One supporter with whom I recently held conversation espoused staunch belief in our capitalist system with regard to the auto maker bailout, then turned right around and expressed out and out GLEE concerning the upcoming inauguration of Obama, the closest thing to a socialist candidate we've seen in my lifetime! The bottom line: Obama supporters in many cases, did not vote for Obama because they agree with what he stands for, but rather because of his complexion!
They're "Sticking it to 'The Man!' "
Here would be an interesting experiment. In 2012, let's present an obscure conservative candidate and, if that candidate does not happen to be African-American, let's present him publicly wearing black face make-up. Make him appear to be African-American in every way. I think it would be interesting to find out what kind of support he'd garner!
Meanwhile, Martin Luther King Jr. is turning in his grave. It's NOT about the content of one's character, apparently, but about the color of one's skin!
I think we Americans did not stick it to "The Man," but stuck it to ourselves.
Only time will tell!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Here we have an annual paradox; the real reason for Christmas.
Humanists would have us believe that Christians borrowed a pagan celebration of the winter solstice and converted it conveniently into a celebration of Jesus' birth.
I say, what does it matter when we celebrate the birth of Jesus? The fact that we celebrate it and recognize that the reason for Christmas is that celebration is good enough for me!
So, where did all of this gift-giving stuff come from?
Right from scripture, that's where!
Matthew 2: 9 "After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh."
So, giving gifts at Christmas emulates the actions of the Magi, with one marked difference; the Magi presented their gifts to Jesus and WE present our gifts to one another!
Perhaps Christmas would be less commercial if we went back to presenting our gifts to Jesus and His representatives on earth. Who are they? Well, Jesus told us who they are!
Matthew 25: 34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "
So, how did Christmas go from what was intended to the debauchery it has become?
Matthew 6: 19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
We decided as a society and a people that we would ignore Jesus and store up treasures here rather than in heaven! Worse still, we do not worship God, but the almighty dollar instead.
And we wonder why our economy is collapsing? It isn't based on charity, hard work, and saving; it's based on the opposite of those things.
Happy birthday, Jesus! May we come to realize our error and return to You as a people and nation! - Amen
Humanists would have us believe that Christians borrowed a pagan celebration of the winter solstice and converted it conveniently into a celebration of Jesus' birth.
I say, what does it matter when we celebrate the birth of Jesus? The fact that we celebrate it and recognize that the reason for Christmas is that celebration is good enough for me!
So, where did all of this gift-giving stuff come from?
Right from scripture, that's where!
Matthew 2: 9 "After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh."
So, giving gifts at Christmas emulates the actions of the Magi, with one marked difference; the Magi presented their gifts to Jesus and WE present our gifts to one another!
Perhaps Christmas would be less commercial if we went back to presenting our gifts to Jesus and His representatives on earth. Who are they? Well, Jesus told us who they are!
Matthew 25: 34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "
So, how did Christmas go from what was intended to the debauchery it has become?
Matthew 6: 19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
We decided as a society and a people that we would ignore Jesus and store up treasures here rather than in heaven! Worse still, we do not worship God, but the almighty dollar instead.
And we wonder why our economy is collapsing? It isn't based on charity, hard work, and saving; it's based on the opposite of those things.
Happy birthday, Jesus! May we come to realize our error and return to You as a people and nation! - Amen
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Life is Short (I hate funerals!)
Yesterday, MDB and I attended a funeral. The lady was not well known to us, but, judging from the things said about her at the ceremony, she was a very fine lady, a great mother, a wonderful teacher, and a loyal and steadfast friend. Her husband, a former coach at the school where I teach, is somewhat better known to us. He coached there for over thirty years and then retired, settling down with his wife, Linda, fully expecting to sail off into many wonderful years of excitement and adventure. Tom's a great guy. Our football field is named after him and he was loved and respected for all of his years at our school. Every year, all of the coaches, past and present, have a big get-together at Tom's house to celebrate the school year and reminisce. This was the extent of our knowledge of Linda, but our brief exposure told us that she was indeed a fine lady and a wonderful wife to Tom.
Early on the 21st, a massive blood clot broke loose and caused a terrible and fatal stroke, stealing her from Tom at the tender age of 58.
Linda was Tom's second wife. His first also died very early in life. I'm not familiar with the circumstances of her death, but it left Tom alone and heartbroken for nearly ten years until he married Linda in 1992. Linda's death leaves Tom with grown children, a large house to himself, and a lifetime's worth of broken dreams.
We are not guaranteed anything except this moment. A wise man said, "tomorrow never comes," and he was right. We have to live in the present and let tomorrow take care of itself.
Praise God for the moments with which He blesses us! Praise Him for the time He's already given! Praise God for watching over us and putting people like my wonderful wife in my life and Linda in Tom's. God only knows why He took her, but He knows indeed, and we have to trust that He does all things for the good of those who love Him.
Pray that God will grant His peace to Tom; He needs it!
While I'm at it, thank God for seeing MDB through her surgery today and bringing her back to me safely today! God is good!
Early on the 21st, a massive blood clot broke loose and caused a terrible and fatal stroke, stealing her from Tom at the tender age of 58.
Linda was Tom's second wife. His first also died very early in life. I'm not familiar with the circumstances of her death, but it left Tom alone and heartbroken for nearly ten years until he married Linda in 1992. Linda's death leaves Tom with grown children, a large house to himself, and a lifetime's worth of broken dreams.
We are not guaranteed anything except this moment. A wise man said, "tomorrow never comes," and he was right. We have to live in the present and let tomorrow take care of itself.
Praise God for the moments with which He blesses us! Praise Him for the time He's already given! Praise God for watching over us and putting people like my wonderful wife in my life and Linda in Tom's. God only knows why He took her, but He knows indeed, and we have to trust that He does all things for the good of those who love Him.
Pray that God will grant His peace to Tom; He needs it!
While I'm at it, thank God for seeing MDB through her surgery today and bringing her back to me safely today! God is good!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Did I call this, or what?
Not long ago, I wondered here if it was just me, or was Toyota stupid for basically leaving their area of expertise behind and venturing into the land of gas-guzzling full-sized vehicles, a-la-Detroit.
This just in; Toyota is stupid!
According to a report on the CBS evening news this evening, Toyota posted its first operating loss in 70 years during 2008!
Well, let's do the math, shall we?
2008 is 63 years removed from the utter devastation and destruction of the Japanese empire via American atomic bombs and incendiary bombs in 1945. 70 years also encompasses a time since the post-war period, when buying Japanese was tantamount to buying from Iran, or Osama Bin Laden. It's also part of the time period that saw them evolve from a single model (called Corolla in America) to multiple models, all of which were renowned for their reliability and fuel economy. So, the first operating loss in company history begs a question, doesn't it?
If you survived all of that, Toyota, how on earth did you manage to lose money in 2008?
Well, I'm sure there's a lot of "reduced world economy" talk or "overextended credit markets" talk, or other blah, blah, blah, excuse, excuse, excuse talk, but I really don't want to hear it, Toyota! If you survived an atomic bombing, the utter and total devastation of your national economy, and the word "Japanese" being synonymous with "crap," and still managed to turn a profit, how on earth can a little economic turmoil in 2008 cause you to lose money?
You got away from what you know, that's what!
You made your money making small, fuel-efficient cars and compact trucks! Now, you hang your hat on a behemoth Ford F-150 wanna-be truck and not so fuel-efficient SUVs and luxury sedans? You got away from what you know, Toyota, and now you're paying the price!
This just in; Toyota is stupid!
According to a report on the CBS evening news this evening, Toyota posted its first operating loss in 70 years during 2008!
Well, let's do the math, shall we?
2008 is 63 years removed from the utter devastation and destruction of the Japanese empire via American atomic bombs and incendiary bombs in 1945. 70 years also encompasses a time since the post-war period, when buying Japanese was tantamount to buying from Iran, or Osama Bin Laden. It's also part of the time period that saw them evolve from a single model (called Corolla in America) to multiple models, all of which were renowned for their reliability and fuel economy. So, the first operating loss in company history begs a question, doesn't it?
If you survived all of that, Toyota, how on earth did you manage to lose money in 2008?
Well, I'm sure there's a lot of "reduced world economy" talk or "overextended credit markets" talk, or other blah, blah, blah, excuse, excuse, excuse talk, but I really don't want to hear it, Toyota! If you survived an atomic bombing, the utter and total devastation of your national economy, and the word "Japanese" being synonymous with "crap," and still managed to turn a profit, how on earth can a little economic turmoil in 2008 cause you to lose money?
You got away from what you know, that's what!
You made your money making small, fuel-efficient cars and compact trucks! Now, you hang your hat on a behemoth Ford F-150 wanna-be truck and not so fuel-efficient SUVs and luxury sedans? You got away from what you know, Toyota, and now you're paying the price!
Friday, December 19, 2008
This just in!
T!he Cleveland Browns are not a very good football team!
Oh, and by the way, water is wet and the sky is blue!
After a 10-6 effort last year and high hopes for this one, my beloved Browns have taken a nosedive of mythic proportions. Romeo Crennel is going to wind up like his namesake. Well, I doubt he drinks poison, but he'll be just as dead professionally after his stint in C-Town!
The sad part is, the Browns actually have some talent and, if used appropriately, they could really turn their team into something special!
So, here's to the war-cry of Browns fans every year; Wait till next year!
Oh, and by the way, water is wet and the sky is blue!
After a 10-6 effort last year and high hopes for this one, my beloved Browns have taken a nosedive of mythic proportions. Romeo Crennel is going to wind up like his namesake. Well, I doubt he drinks poison, but he'll be just as dead professionally after his stint in C-Town!
The sad part is, the Browns actually have some talent and, if used appropriately, they could really turn their team into something special!
So, here's to the war-cry of Browns fans every year; Wait till next year!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
To bail or not to bail...
...that is the question!
According to this article, the Senate is about to cave as well, and continue the enabling that the market and especially the unions have started!
Anyone out there ever heard of K-Mart? How about Continental Airlines? There are numerous other examples, of course, but companies come out of bankruptcy all the time, restructured, leaner, and more profitable than ever. Why are the car companies, those bastions of endless charity for labor, any exception?
Why not ask why has the government been in the endless welfare business since the early 60's? Why Social Security? Why Medicare? Why any other government program that is ostensibly meant to help but only ends up causing dependants who are unable, or simply unwilling, to take the reigns of their own destiny?
The last thing the auto industry in this country needs is a government bail out. They DO need to rework their CBAs; they DO need to get leaner and start producing products that are fuel-efficient and stylish; AND they need to restructure their management and pay salaries to CEOs that are more in line with profitability (you know...those merit-based salaries that get foisted off on the blue-collar rabble!)
I hope Washington is listening! If they bail out the Big Three now, you'd better get used to the idea of them coming back every 6 months or so for more.
That's what happens when you serve as the enabler!
According to this article, the Senate is about to cave as well, and continue the enabling that the market and especially the unions have started!
Anyone out there ever heard of K-Mart? How about Continental Airlines? There are numerous other examples, of course, but companies come out of bankruptcy all the time, restructured, leaner, and more profitable than ever. Why are the car companies, those bastions of endless charity for labor, any exception?
Why not ask why has the government been in the endless welfare business since the early 60's? Why Social Security? Why Medicare? Why any other government program that is ostensibly meant to help but only ends up causing dependants who are unable, or simply unwilling, to take the reigns of their own destiny?
The last thing the auto industry in this country needs is a government bail out. They DO need to rework their CBAs; they DO need to get leaner and start producing products that are fuel-efficient and stylish; AND they need to restructure their management and pay salaries to CEOs that are more in line with profitability (you know...those merit-based salaries that get foisted off on the blue-collar rabble!)
I hope Washington is listening! If they bail out the Big Three now, you'd better get used to the idea of them coming back every 6 months or so for more.
That's what happens when you serve as the enabler!
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Change we can believe in?
You knew I couldn't let this one go; Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) was arrested today for numerous ethics violations, the largest of which was his alleged attempt to sell the vacated Senate seat of Barak Obama to the highest bidder.
The more things change, the more they stay the same!
What a shock! The governor of the state most known for the Daley machine and the deceased voting has attempted to auction a seat in the US Senate!
Great job, Democrats!
That's a change we can all believe in, right?
Uhhhh.....I don't think so!
The more things change, the more they stay the same!
What a shock! The governor of the state most known for the Daley machine and the deceased voting has attempted to auction a seat in the US Senate!
Great job, Democrats!
That's a change we can all believe in, right?
Uhhhh.....I don't think so!
Monday, December 08, 2008
W-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-H-H-H-H-H-H-!!!!!!!
According to an article I just read, Jennifer Aniston is "sick" of people caring so much about her life! W-A-A-A-A-A-A-H-H-H-H-H-!!!! Poor baby! I'd be willing to bet she's not tired of making $15 million a picture!
It goes with the territory, darling!
When they DON'T care anymore, you'll be doing the dinner theatre circuit making $100 a night if you're fortunate!
Meanwhile, stop whining and get over yourself!
It goes with the territory, darling!
When they DON'T care anymore, you'll be doing the dinner theatre circuit making $100 a night if you're fortunate!
Meanwhile, stop whining and get over yourself!
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Freedom OF or FROM religion?
We started an interesting discussion in Sunday School this morning regarding the chipping away of our rights by liberal judges and lawmakers, the ACLU, atheists, religious minorities, and others who, for some reason, resent the practice of our Constitutional rights in public! Let's review the religion clause of the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution, shall we?
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
For those in the groups listed above who seem to be challenged with regard to the reading of English, let me translate:
"no law respecting an establishment of religion" means that there will be no mandatory public religious entity like there was in England. People are free to worship as they choose!
"no law...prohibiting the free exercise thereof (religion)" means that the government, in it's multiple forms and entities, may NOT prohibit the free exercise of religion. That means that public displays of faith cannot be restricted unless those displays are intended to establish a mandatory state religion!
I've been living in this country a long time and, as long as I've been here, I've never had a government official knock on my door and say, "You and your family are under arrest if you don't come and worship at the local nativity scene," or "You must attend the Methodist church; all other churches have been banned," or "The worship of Jesus has been outlawed; from now on, everyone MUST worship this potted tulip!"
In short, I don't think I've ever been associated with an infringement of the 1st amendment, but I've read about plenty of them! A Houston judge being forced to remove a glass-encased bible from public property because it may hurt someone's feelings; A Florida Supreme Court Justice being forced to remove a monument with the Ten Commandments engraved upon it; Prayer outlawed in schools; An invocation in Utah outlawed because atheists, in league with the ACLU, insisted that it be stopped.
Where's my right to "free exercise?" What happened to the right of these individuals to worship as THEY choose?
It's time to take our rights back!
Sadly, it takes individuals of courage AND deep pockets to make it happen! The liberal Judiciary loves to hear cases like these! They love to chip away at our rights every chance they get! We need men of faith to stand up and men with resources to back them up before we can re-establish our rights of free exercise!
The only thing required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing!
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
For those in the groups listed above who seem to be challenged with regard to the reading of English, let me translate:
"no law respecting an establishment of religion" means that there will be no mandatory public religious entity like there was in England. People are free to worship as they choose!
"no law...prohibiting the free exercise thereof (religion)" means that the government, in it's multiple forms and entities, may NOT prohibit the free exercise of religion. That means that public displays of faith cannot be restricted unless those displays are intended to establish a mandatory state religion!
I've been living in this country a long time and, as long as I've been here, I've never had a government official knock on my door and say, "You and your family are under arrest if you don't come and worship at the local nativity scene," or "You must attend the Methodist church; all other churches have been banned," or "The worship of Jesus has been outlawed; from now on, everyone MUST worship this potted tulip!"
In short, I don't think I've ever been associated with an infringement of the 1st amendment, but I've read about plenty of them! A Houston judge being forced to remove a glass-encased bible from public property because it may hurt someone's feelings; A Florida Supreme Court Justice being forced to remove a monument with the Ten Commandments engraved upon it; Prayer outlawed in schools; An invocation in Utah outlawed because atheists, in league with the ACLU, insisted that it be stopped.
Where's my right to "free exercise?" What happened to the right of these individuals to worship as THEY choose?
It's time to take our rights back!
Sadly, it takes individuals of courage AND deep pockets to make it happen! The liberal Judiciary loves to hear cases like these! They love to chip away at our rights every chance they get! We need men of faith to stand up and men with resources to back them up before we can re-establish our rights of free exercise!
The only thing required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing!
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Popular posts
Hello, Dear blogfans, and Merry Christmas!
It's hard to know how obvious it is since I KNOW that it's there and you may not, but I have had a "hit counter" on this resource for some time now. What's nice about it is it not only tells me how many hits I get, it tells me the IP address of those looking in and where they came from if they came from some referring URL. Apparently (and strangely to me), there are a couple of posts that get a lot of hits; the one where I enclosed the image I call "NegJesus" (a negative that, if stared at for while, will give you the image of Jesus if you close your eyes) and the post I did called "sex education in Egypt" that details the attempt of a young Egyptian woman who decided to go through fertility treatments and have sextuplets to fulfill her desire to have a male child. Will the other five know they were unwanted? I can't help but wonder if she even cares. Another very popular post was a post about Maslow's hierarchy. That one, and the one with NegJesus, typically come in from Google image searches. Even though the uproar has long since died down, the most popular post EVER here was a post about the duo calling itself "God's Pottery," a group that was competing on 'Last Comic Standing." Some agreed that G'sP was bl
asphemous, while others berated me, stating that they were in fact advancing the cause of Jesus but chose to do so with self-deprecating humor rather than using a more traditional approach.
asphemous, while others berated me, stating that they were in fact advancing the cause of Jesus but chose to do so with self-deprecating humor rather than using a more traditional approach.All that said, I thought I'd re-post both NegJesus and the Maslow pyramid and see what comes up!
Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 01, 2008
The deer just keep rolling in!
Well, dear blogfans, MDB and I took another opportunity to travel up to God's country and take care of a little "deer business." We picked up the meat from the first one and then I took an opportunity to go out and fire my new rifle, a Remington 770 30-06.
We went out the first evening (Friday) and saw a really nice buck. It's hard to tell from so far away, but the height and width of his antlers makes me believe he was at least a 10-point. He was large in the body and well-defined, so I squeezed off a shot! Well, having not sighted in the gun, I missed by a substantial amount on the low side. Amazingly, when he stopped running, he turned on the hillside and looked back, leaving me a second shot! Well, that one missed low as well, so we spent the rest of that trip honing the scope on the new rifle.
Saturday morning at dawn, I saw a nice 8-point, so I squeezed of a shot and he dropped right in his tracks! The wind was blowing at probably 30+ mph, so I aimed a little left of his front shoulder. Having sighted the gun in a little high (probably 4-6"), I figured to hit the deer high on the neck or torso. The bullet actually struck him in the front of the neck, severing one or more of his carotids. At any rate, we loaded him up and prepared to take him to the field-dressing area when WWH's phone rang. It was his step-son, reporting that he had also shot a buck and needed help with it, so we took off for his location.
WWH's ss shoots a .243, which is a small caliber for deer hunting, but he did knock down a nice 10-point. When we rolled up to his location, he had his foot on the deer's neck and the deer, clearly upset, wasn't real pleased with his situation. Not wishing it to get up and run off, WWH shot it again, but it still wasn't dead. It rather reminded me of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, you know the part where the guy with the cart rolls by hollering "Bring out your dead" and the people throw a corpse onto the pile who promptly screams "I'm not dead, yet!"
This poor buck hadn't quite figured it out; he was dead, he just didn't know it!
So young ss pulled out a knife and attempted to cut it's throat, but he barely scratched it, so I think it was more of a torture than an attempt to put the deer out of its misery!
Regardless, we loaded it up and took it to the cleaning rack as well.
I field-dressed mine first, being careful to save the liver and heart (the heart for dissection purposes in my science classes), then we started on the finally-dead 10-point. A fine deer, to be sure.
Well, I'm out of buck stamps (it's a two-buck county), so when we go back to pick up the meat from this last one, I hope to get a doe or two just for the meat. We'll field-dress and skin those and do the processing ourselves.
Anyway, two 8-points is a pretty good first season if I say so myself! The best part was Saturday; I got mine so early, that I got to spend the rest of the day with MDB and SHE'S the only dear I care that much about anyway!
We went out the first evening (Friday) and saw a really nice buck. It's hard to tell from so far away, but the height and width of his antlers makes me believe he was at least a 10-point. He was large in the body and well-defined, so I squeezed off a shot! Well, having not sighted in the gun, I missed by a substantial amount on the low side. Amazingly, when he stopped running, he turned on the hillside and looked back, leaving me a second shot! Well, that one missed low as well, so we spent the rest of that trip honing the scope on the new rifle.
Saturday morning at dawn, I saw a nice 8-point, so I squeezed of a shot and he dropped right in his tracks! The wind was blowing at probably 30+ mph, so I aimed a little left of his front shoulder. Having sighted the gun in a little high (probably 4-6"), I figured to hit the deer high on the neck or torso. The bullet actually struck him in the front of the neck, severing one or more of his carotids. At any rate, we loaded him up and prepared to take him to the field-dressing area when WWH's phone rang. It was his step-son, reporting that he had also shot a buck and needed help with it, so we took off for his location.
WWH's ss shoots a .243, which is a small caliber for deer hunting, but he did knock down a nice 10-point. When we rolled up to his location, he had his foot on the deer's neck and the deer, clearly upset, wasn't real pleased with his situation. Not wishing it to get up and run off, WWH shot it again, but it still wasn't dead. It rather reminded me of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, you know the part where the guy with the cart rolls by hollering "Bring out your dead" and the people throw a corpse onto the pile who promptly screams "I'm not dead, yet!"
This poor buck hadn't quite figured it out; he was dead, he just didn't know it!
So young ss pulled out a knife and attempted to cut it's throat, but he barely scratched it, so I think it was more of a torture than an attempt to put the deer out of its misery!
Regardless, we loaded it up and took it to the cleaning rack as well.
I field-dressed mine first, being careful to save the liver and heart (the heart for dissection purposes in my science classes), then we started on the finally-dead 10-point. A fine deer, to be sure.
Well, I'm out of buck stamps (it's a two-buck county), so when we go back to pick up the meat from this last one, I hope to get a doe or two just for the meat. We'll field-dress and skin those and do the processing ourselves.
Anyway, two 8-points is a pretty good first season if I say so myself! The best part was Saturday; I got mine so early, that I got to spend the rest of the day with MDB and SHE'S the only dear I care that much about anyway!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
The one business that's booming!
Those of you who follow here on a regular basis know that I recently went on a deer hunt and bagged a nice little 8-point using a borrowed 30-06. That experience hooked me! Anyway, after that, MDB suggested that a rifle of my own may make a great Christmas/birthday present.
Who could argue with that?
So, as I do with all such purchases, I started researching, reading up on the different calibers available and the pricing structure of different manufacturers, including Mossberg, Ruger, Remington, Weatherby, and Winchester. After looking online and checking ads at different stores around town, I decided that the Remington 770 would be the best gun for me and I decided that the 30-06 would be the best caliber. Did you know that the 30-06 Springfield was used during WWII in the famous M-1 Garand rifle? Did you know that the venerable M-14 also used(s) the 30-06 and that that very rifle is making a comeback with the US Marine sniper service because of the power and reliability of the cartridge? How could such a well-known and renowned cartridge go wrong?
Anyway, Part of the research I did took me to a local gun show. The place was absolutely PACKED!!! You literally could not get down the relatively wide aisles without turning sideways! I found out that the .308 cartridge is basically the same as the 30-06 except that it uses less brass for essentially the same sized bullet. I also asked about business in general and found out quickly that gun sales are brisk and getting brisker! Each vendor offered the same reason; the election of Obama!
Apparently, the gun-owning and using public is VERY concerned that after Obama gets in office, their gun ownership rights will erode quickly and they may not be ABLE to purchase a gun as easily as they can today.
Well, I thought "Dan, that's one gun show; only one single anecdote." Knowing statistics as I do, I know the size of the sample determines the accuracy of results in most cases, so I didn't think too much about it. After all, these guys are TRYING to convince people to buy guns; what better way than to make people afraid that their 2nd amendment rights will be taken away! Anyway, as I said, I had decided that a Remington 770 would be the best gun for me and, lo and behold, Academy Sports and Outdoors has them on sale this week for a mere $429! So I called the local store and found out that they had ONE left, so I asked them to hold it for me and went down there this afternoon!
MADHOUSE!!!
At the gun counter, there must have been 50 people lined up or waiting for their background check to run through! I asked the guy if it was unusually busy today and he said "No, it's been like this every day for at least a month and there doesn't seem to be any sign of a let-up!"
A larger sample, folks!
As I waited for my own background check to clear, I must have heard the name "Obama" 100 times! Apparently, the guy at the gun show was right! People are scared to death that their 2nd amendment rights are going to be attacked and they want to get their guns NOW before it's too late!
I only wanted to get my own gun to deer-hunt with! Well, we're heading back to God's country on Friday, so I'll report on any further baggings afterward!
Who could argue with that?
So, as I do with all such purchases, I started researching, reading up on the different calibers available and the pricing structure of different manufacturers, including Mossberg, Ruger, Remington, Weatherby, and Winchester. After looking online and checking ads at different stores around town, I decided that the Remington 770 would be the best gun for me and I decided that the 30-06 would be the best caliber. Did you know that the 30-06 Springfield was used during WWII in the famous M-1 Garand rifle? Did you know that the venerable M-14 also used(s) the 30-06 and that that very rifle is making a comeback with the US Marine sniper service because of the power and reliability of the cartridge? How could such a well-known and renowned cartridge go wrong?
Anyway, Part of the research I did took me to a local gun show. The place was absolutely PACKED!!! You literally could not get down the relatively wide aisles without turning sideways! I found out that the .308 cartridge is basically the same as the 30-06 except that it uses less brass for essentially the same sized bullet. I also asked about business in general and found out quickly that gun sales are brisk and getting brisker! Each vendor offered the same reason; the election of Obama!
Apparently, the gun-owning and using public is VERY concerned that after Obama gets in office, their gun ownership rights will erode quickly and they may not be ABLE to purchase a gun as easily as they can today.
Well, I thought "Dan, that's one gun show; only one single anecdote." Knowing statistics as I do, I know the size of the sample determines the accuracy of results in most cases, so I didn't think too much about it. After all, these guys are TRYING to convince people to buy guns; what better way than to make people afraid that their 2nd amendment rights will be taken away! Anyway, as I said, I had decided that a Remington 770 would be the best gun for me and, lo and behold, Academy Sports and Outdoors has them on sale this week for a mere $429! So I called the local store and found out that they had ONE left, so I asked them to hold it for me and went down there this afternoon!
MADHOUSE!!!
At the gun counter, there must have been 50 people lined up or waiting for their background check to run through! I asked the guy if it was unusually busy today and he said "No, it's been like this every day for at least a month and there doesn't seem to be any sign of a let-up!"
A larger sample, folks!
As I waited for my own background check to clear, I must have heard the name "Obama" 100 times! Apparently, the guy at the gun show was right! People are scared to death that their 2nd amendment rights are going to be attacked and they want to get their guns NOW before it's too late!
I only wanted to get my own gun to deer-hunt with! Well, we're heading back to God's country on Friday, so I'll report on any further baggings afterward!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Odds and Ends
Occasionally, my mind just sort of wanders. Sometimes, wandering isn't such a good thing!
Politics is on the agenda, of course. Its hard to tell what Obama is going to do and what he's not going to do, but the Democrat majority in Congress has already set its sights on a few things that have been out of reach until the most recent election, such as the "Fairness Doctrine," federal law that would supercede concealed carry laws in the states, tax increases, and nationalized health care, just to name a few.
For years, talk radio, which is primarily conservative, has been a giant burr in the Democrats saddle. Talkers like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, and others, have given voice to the so-called silent majority and allowed them to bolster their opinions, few or none of which are available on the so-called "major" television networks. Since conservatives control the one outlet that the Democrats didn't want, they don't want the conservatives to have that voice, either! Look at the constant outrage over "fair and balanced" reporting on Fox, the network that now leads all others just because it leans conservative and mirrors the opinions shared by most Americans. In any case, Democrats are going to attempt, via the so-called "fairness doctrine," to silence talk radio!
Good luck with that, Democrats!
There is a reason those programs are so successful; people LISTEN to those shows and CALL those shows! Not only do they call and listen, they call and listen in record numbers! When Congress gets a load of the uproar that their attempted attack will generate, I have a feeling they'll decide to let that sleeping dog alone.
Then again, Democrats aren't too bright when it comes to this sort of thing, so they probably won't, much to their own detriment!
States passed concealed-carry laws as a hindrance to gun violence perpetrated by criminals, using the idea that law enforcement personnel cannot be everywhere and the possibility that there COULD be someone at the scene of a crime who's carrying a firearm other than the criminals may very well serve to give pause to those considering such crimes. I've not seen statistics to suggest that violent crime has been reduced in those states, but I haven't heard anything about gangs of gun-toting vigilantes taking the law into their own hands or violence randomly perpetrated by legally-carrying individuals, either. I know that liberals think that guns are responsible for death in this country, but those are the same people who'd like to deny that KNIFE violence in the UK is at epidemic proportions. Of course, carrying a gun in the UK is against the law, so, following the logic forwarded by the Dems, wouldn't it stand to reason that violent crime there would be practically nil? I hate to parrot worn sayings, but its not guns who kill people; its people who kill people and, quite frankly, someone who's bent on killing someone else will do so whether it be with a gun, a candlestick, a knife, a rope, or almost any other lethal object they can carry.
If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will carry guns!
Well, I've got bad news, Barack! I've got a constitutional right to own and BEAR a firearm. The only business in America that's really doing very well at all right now is the retail gun trade and YOU created that boom with your rhetoric, pandering to the left-wing of your party and their insatiable appetite for a communist state in America! Gun owners, and potential gun owners have RUN to gun stores to buy their weapons before you try to outlaw their sale!
Oh, and, by the way, (before a bunch of revisionists start trying to tell me that the 2nd Amendment only applies to the National Guard), I know that the first clause of the 2nd Amendment says "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state..."
Uhhhh....in the days when this country was founded (when the Constitution was written!) armed citizens WERE the militia! Therefore, in the context within which it was written, a militia WAS an armed citizenry!!! So I don't want to hear that the 2nd Amendment wasn't talking about an armed citizenry; that's EXACTLY what it was talking about!
Tax increases are coming, you may as well get used to it. I know Obama promised that taxes are only going up for people who make $250,000 or more, but, let's be serious. How many people MAKE that much money versus how much are all of his gigantic spending programs going to cost?
That's what I thought; it doesn't add up!
It doesn't really matter what Obama promised anyway! The Democrat-controlled Congress is going to forward their agenda and the far from mandate-earning Obama is going to go along to get along! He'll get his tax increases because his hero, Bill Clinton, got similar increases and managed to ride the good policy of his predecessors into prosperity. I really don't believe that America is ready for an all-out takeover of the health care system, though.
If he wanted to help health care along, he'd abolish Medicare and Medicaid and get the government out of the equation altogether so that the free market can operate on a level playing field again, but I know that'll never happen just like I know that if the government takes over the way he wants it to, Pandora will never get the lid back on THAT box again, either!
Think about the things that are screwed up right now and in nearly every case, government invention is the reason it's screwed up in the first place! Health care is messed up because the government sets pricing structure for a large percentage of the market, forcing health care providers to seek their profits from those of us who are NOT on Medicare or Medicaid. If they'd just get out altogether, providers would have to compete for business once again and that competition would lower the prices for everyone!
Supply and demand, baby! Supply and demand!
Banking is screwed up in part because of all the "fairness in lending" regulations imposed by the government! If banks could simply loan money to people who have the ability to pay them back, there probably wouldn't BE a banking crisis right now! But we live in a world today where the government is the jackboot that every citizen fears! If an accident happens at work, you have to worry about OSHA showing up and fining you! If you accidentally underpay your taxes, you can bet your last nickel that Uncle Sam will charge you more in penalties and interest than the original amount of the tax by the time you're finished! I could go on and on, but most everyone knows how screwed up the government is and most of us feel powerless to do anything about it other than electing a continual stream of clones to go to Washington telling us they'll do one thing when they go and then watching them get swallowed up by the tide of corruption and bad policy that Washington has become! I'm ready for a change all right, but more big government isn't the change I'm looking for, Barack!
Here's what I'd like to see; government run like a business! If someone isn't doing their job, fire them! If someone's job becomes antiquated, retrain them to do another one or lay them off if they can't be retrained! That's what happens every day in the real world! Why doesn't it apply to a government position? When revenues are down, companies pare back expenses, they don't increase their spending by a thousand times! Every agency in government needs to account for every nickel of tax money they get! If they're not spending it on a Congressionally authorized expenditure, it needs to be eliminated! I'm convinced that I'm paying plenty of taxes already. I'm convinced that most Americans are paying plenty of taxes already! I'm also convinced that the government is fat, and lazy, and spends WAY too much money and that it could and should get by on a lot less!
There; I'm done ranting! I hope Obama does effect change and I pray that it looks more like what I described and much MUCH less like what I think its going to look like!
Politics is on the agenda, of course. Its hard to tell what Obama is going to do and what he's not going to do, but the Democrat majority in Congress has already set its sights on a few things that have been out of reach until the most recent election, such as the "Fairness Doctrine," federal law that would supercede concealed carry laws in the states, tax increases, and nationalized health care, just to name a few.
For years, talk radio, which is primarily conservative, has been a giant burr in the Democrats saddle. Talkers like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, and others, have given voice to the so-called silent majority and allowed them to bolster their opinions, few or none of which are available on the so-called "major" television networks. Since conservatives control the one outlet that the Democrats didn't want, they don't want the conservatives to have that voice, either! Look at the constant outrage over "fair and balanced" reporting on Fox, the network that now leads all others just because it leans conservative and mirrors the opinions shared by most Americans. In any case, Democrats are going to attempt, via the so-called "fairness doctrine," to silence talk radio!
Good luck with that, Democrats!
There is a reason those programs are so successful; people LISTEN to those shows and CALL those shows! Not only do they call and listen, they call and listen in record numbers! When Congress gets a load of the uproar that their attempted attack will generate, I have a feeling they'll decide to let that sleeping dog alone.
Then again, Democrats aren't too bright when it comes to this sort of thing, so they probably won't, much to their own detriment!
States passed concealed-carry laws as a hindrance to gun violence perpetrated by criminals, using the idea that law enforcement personnel cannot be everywhere and the possibility that there COULD be someone at the scene of a crime who's carrying a firearm other than the criminals may very well serve to give pause to those considering such crimes. I've not seen statistics to suggest that violent crime has been reduced in those states, but I haven't heard anything about gangs of gun-toting vigilantes taking the law into their own hands or violence randomly perpetrated by legally-carrying individuals, either. I know that liberals think that guns are responsible for death in this country, but those are the same people who'd like to deny that KNIFE violence in the UK is at epidemic proportions. Of course, carrying a gun in the UK is against the law, so, following the logic forwarded by the Dems, wouldn't it stand to reason that violent crime there would be practically nil? I hate to parrot worn sayings, but its not guns who kill people; its people who kill people and, quite frankly, someone who's bent on killing someone else will do so whether it be with a gun, a candlestick, a knife, a rope, or almost any other lethal object they can carry.
If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will carry guns!
Well, I've got bad news, Barack! I've got a constitutional right to own and BEAR a firearm. The only business in America that's really doing very well at all right now is the retail gun trade and YOU created that boom with your rhetoric, pandering to the left-wing of your party and their insatiable appetite for a communist state in America! Gun owners, and potential gun owners have RUN to gun stores to buy their weapons before you try to outlaw their sale!
Oh, and, by the way, (before a bunch of revisionists start trying to tell me that the 2nd Amendment only applies to the National Guard), I know that the first clause of the 2nd Amendment says "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state..."
Uhhhh....in the days when this country was founded (when the Constitution was written!) armed citizens WERE the militia! Therefore, in the context within which it was written, a militia WAS an armed citizenry!!! So I don't want to hear that the 2nd Amendment wasn't talking about an armed citizenry; that's EXACTLY what it was talking about!
Tax increases are coming, you may as well get used to it. I know Obama promised that taxes are only going up for people who make $250,000 or more, but, let's be serious. How many people MAKE that much money versus how much are all of his gigantic spending programs going to cost?
That's what I thought; it doesn't add up!
It doesn't really matter what Obama promised anyway! The Democrat-controlled Congress is going to forward their agenda and the far from mandate-earning Obama is going to go along to get along! He'll get his tax increases because his hero, Bill Clinton, got similar increases and managed to ride the good policy of his predecessors into prosperity. I really don't believe that America is ready for an all-out takeover of the health care system, though.
If he wanted to help health care along, he'd abolish Medicare and Medicaid and get the government out of the equation altogether so that the free market can operate on a level playing field again, but I know that'll never happen just like I know that if the government takes over the way he wants it to, Pandora will never get the lid back on THAT box again, either!
Think about the things that are screwed up right now and in nearly every case, government invention is the reason it's screwed up in the first place! Health care is messed up because the government sets pricing structure for a large percentage of the market, forcing health care providers to seek their profits from those of us who are NOT on Medicare or Medicaid. If they'd just get out altogether, providers would have to compete for business once again and that competition would lower the prices for everyone!
Supply and demand, baby! Supply and demand!
Banking is screwed up in part because of all the "fairness in lending" regulations imposed by the government! If banks could simply loan money to people who have the ability to pay them back, there probably wouldn't BE a banking crisis right now! But we live in a world today where the government is the jackboot that every citizen fears! If an accident happens at work, you have to worry about OSHA showing up and fining you! If you accidentally underpay your taxes, you can bet your last nickel that Uncle Sam will charge you more in penalties and interest than the original amount of the tax by the time you're finished! I could go on and on, but most everyone knows how screwed up the government is and most of us feel powerless to do anything about it other than electing a continual stream of clones to go to Washington telling us they'll do one thing when they go and then watching them get swallowed up by the tide of corruption and bad policy that Washington has become! I'm ready for a change all right, but more big government isn't the change I'm looking for, Barack!
Here's what I'd like to see; government run like a business! If someone isn't doing their job, fire them! If someone's job becomes antiquated, retrain them to do another one or lay them off if they can't be retrained! That's what happens every day in the real world! Why doesn't it apply to a government position? When revenues are down, companies pare back expenses, they don't increase their spending by a thousand times! Every agency in government needs to account for every nickel of tax money they get! If they're not spending it on a Congressionally authorized expenditure, it needs to be eliminated! I'm convinced that I'm paying plenty of taxes already. I'm convinced that most Americans are paying plenty of taxes already! I'm also convinced that the government is fat, and lazy, and spends WAY too much money and that it could and should get by on a lot less!
There; I'm done ranting! I hope Obama does effect change and I pray that it looks more like what I described and much MUCH less like what I think its going to look like!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Well, it's been awhile...
...since I posted anything, so now's as good a time as any!
This is my favorite time of year, and my least favorite time of year. Right after football, I hold open tryouts for basketball. I usually pick up several guys who did not play football, which means they're not scheduled into the athletic period and they don't have physicals, all of which adds to the stress of trying to get the team organized and ready to play the first game, which happens to be this coming Wednesday.
As usual, I've already lost one guy to grades, and two of the guys who tried out and made the team decided to go into off-season instead, so, as far as that part's concerned, it's been pretty normal so far!
Here's the difference; this year, I've got 4 guys who are 6' or better, and several more who are pretty big by 7th grade standards!
It stands to be a good year!
More later....time to eat!
This is my favorite time of year, and my least favorite time of year. Right after football, I hold open tryouts for basketball. I usually pick up several guys who did not play football, which means they're not scheduled into the athletic period and they don't have physicals, all of which adds to the stress of trying to get the team organized and ready to play the first game, which happens to be this coming Wednesday.
As usual, I've already lost one guy to grades, and two of the guys who tried out and made the team decided to go into off-season instead, so, as far as that part's concerned, it's been pretty normal so far!
Here's the difference; this year, I've got 4 guys who are 6' or better, and several more who are pretty big by 7th grade standards!
It stands to be a good year!
More later....time to eat!
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Well, Obama won...
...and America lost.
Ought to give the "gimme-gimme" crowd a thing or two to crow about!
On Wednesday, my kids asked me who I voted for. Like most inexperienced young people, they were ebullient at the thought of "rich-people" financed handouts. I told them that, like most Texans, I voted for McCain. When they asked why, I told them that I don't think that Obama can deliver what he promised without a massive tax increase and, quite frankly, I work too hard for my money to have some pointy-headed liberal confiscate it from me and give it to someone who either cannot or WILL not work as hard as I do for it!
They couldn't disagree!
Despite my philosophical differences with Obama and his party, I intend to reserve judgement until he's been inaugurated and has had time to institute his agenda.
Unfortunately, I'm afraid it may be too late for the country by then, but what's a poor conservative to do?
Here's what I'M going to do!
I'm going to implore the leadership of the Republican party to return to traditional Party ideals; limited government, individual liberty and responsibility, and freedom to pursue financial well-being with little or no government interference. Of course, at the same time, I'm going to insist that they abandon the big government approach of the Bush years and get back to the Reagan approach.
You think anyone will listen?
I didn't think so.
Ought to give the "gimme-gimme" crowd a thing or two to crow about!
On Wednesday, my kids asked me who I voted for. Like most inexperienced young people, they were ebullient at the thought of "rich-people" financed handouts. I told them that, like most Texans, I voted for McCain. When they asked why, I told them that I don't think that Obama can deliver what he promised without a massive tax increase and, quite frankly, I work too hard for my money to have some pointy-headed liberal confiscate it from me and give it to someone who either cannot or WILL not work as hard as I do for it!
They couldn't disagree!
Despite my philosophical differences with Obama and his party, I intend to reserve judgement until he's been inaugurated and has had time to institute his agenda.
Unfortunately, I'm afraid it may be too late for the country by then, but what's a poor conservative to do?
Here's what I'M going to do!
I'm going to implore the leadership of the Republican party to return to traditional Party ideals; limited government, individual liberty and responsibility, and freedom to pursue financial well-being with little or no government interference. Of course, at the same time, I'm going to insist that they abandon the big government approach of the Bush years and get back to the Reagan approach.
You think anyone will listen?
I didn't think so.
Monday, November 03, 2008
catching up
Hello again, blogfans!
Well, it's time to catch up.
This past weekend, I went on my first-ever deer hunt. It was a hoot!
I'll grant you; it's not what I thought it would be. Whenever I've thought about the term "deer hunting" in the past, I thought about quietly stalking the brush for that elusive creature and "freezing" when the prey was cornered, leveling the gun and squeezing off a shot as the startled herbivore stopped to listen and detect the intrusion of an interloper. The reality is a little less dramatic!
In actuality, the hunter hides in a "blind" as deer gather at a feeder that has been stocked with deer candy (corn), waiting for said feeder to "dump" some of said corn at a pre-set time. Naturally, the deer have been "programmed" to gather at a specific time by setting the feeder to dump at the same time each morning and evening. The challenge comes in choosing a deer that is worthy of "harvest" and actually hitting the deer that you're aiming at!
It's not as easy as it looks!
On Saturday, we sat in a blind on a hill, picking through countless fawns, small does, and immature males. One large deer worthy of a bullet came into view, but there were too many cows close by (the rancher wouldn't appreciate the "collateral damage" associated with a ricochet or a poorly aimed shot!) and the wily buck only presented himself for very short periods of time, making a shot at him unwise at best, so no shot was taken.
Later in the evening at a different blind, I took a shot at a nice 8-point buck, but missed (apparently high). Naturally, all of the deer that had gathered scattered wildly at the sound of the shot, so the hunt was over for the evening.
The next morning, we took to the blind again and waited. As before, the gathering of small fawns, does, and young bucks came to the feeder first. None of these were suitable for a shot, so we waited. Then, finally, a stout but apparently somewhat young 8-point buck came into view, so I determined to take a shot at him. I breathed deeply, then let it out. Having missed high last time, I aimed at a point about 2" from the bottom of the chest, and squeezed the trigger. The 30-o6 roared to life and, as I watched through the scope, the deer fell in place.
MDB's brother, who was my very helpful and accommodating guide, suggested that we wait for about 10 minutes to see if anything else came up and, more importantly, to make sure that the wounded buck was dead. It didn't move in all that time.
Meanwhile, a second, much larger buck came up from the left of the blind. This deer was "Bambi's Daddy" to be sure! He had a massive rack of antlers, a large, thick chest, and great definition through his neck and hindquarters. In short, he was a buck among bucks! MDB's brother said "I'll take a shot!", so he leveled the gun, aimed, and fired.
I saw a cloud of dust about 15 yards beyond the great deer as he turned and scrambled for the hills!
We left the blind and searched, just in case he'd been hit and didn't know it, but there was no sign that he'd been injured in any way and no sign of a wounded deer anywhere near the shot.
A real shame!
In any case, we then went to retrieve the deer that I'd shot earlier. It was in the same place it had been all along. He'd dropped at the very spot he'd been standing when shot. Even though I aimed low, the shot hit him in the spine just above his shoulder, instantly paralyzing and killing him. MDB's brother said that we'd missed the hard part because of the spot where I'd hit him. Apparently, it's typical to shoot the deer and then wander around for long periods of time trying to find the spot that it fell. My deer dropped instantly, so there was no long search involved!
Then the hard stuff began!
We had to cut a small hole in the gap behind each hind leg (between the bone and tendon) and sling the deer through it's hind legs so that we could hoist it upside-down from a tree. Then, with the deer hanging from the tree, we had to remove it's male parts, slice it open from pelvis to throat, and remove all of the entrails.
Fortunately, I hit the deer in a place that killed the deer quickly but did not cause any internal damage to speak of, so this process was mainly bloodless and relatively clean!
Once the deer was "field dressed," we lowered it back into the back of the truck and headed for the processor!
I LOVE deer sausage and, hopefully, we'll get plenty of it from 8-point #1!
I can't wait to go again!
When we go to pick up the meat from this one, I hope to get a chance to go for another hunt! Perhaps that big 10-point will be waiting for me next time!
Meanwhile, it would be really cool if I had my own gun next time and a chance to sight it in prior to the morning of the hunt!
MDB says that she's excited! She now has a goal for a birthday present (you know...for the guy who has everything he ever wanted AND a case of chips!) and I couldn't be happier!
Woo-hoo! Life is grand!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Get some!
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'
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'
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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