Voodoo Warrior

All I've Got To Say About Whitney Houston

2012-02-14T17:36:00.003-06:00

Whitney Houston. All I hear from the media is how tragic her loss is. The trash media outlets who slammed her for years for her drug use are now crying over how terrible a loss it is. The A and B list celebs who continued partying in her hotel even after it was known she had been found dead there - because it's the Grammys, and we've got to party. Hypocrits.

I have a different take. What is tragic is how she took a great God given talent and threw it away for the sake of getting and staying high. The waste is tragic - the death just pathetic.

Appeaser-in-Chief Strikes Again

2012-02-14T17:30:00.003-06:00

A little reported gem popped out today in the background, as Leon Panetta tried to convince a very doubtful Congress that Obama's Pentagon budget cuts were appropriate and necessary.

Obama has directed the Pentagon to come up with a plan to cut American's nuclear arsenal by 80%. Yes, 80%.

This is not a cut from Cold War era level stockpiles, but from the current level (which has already been slashed by 40% of the inventory when Obama took office).

There is no deal with Russia or China for corresponding cuts. This is unilateral disarmament. This is Obama throwing our weapons away in the hopes of looking good to his kook fringe base, and our enemies around the world.

The man should be charged with treason.

Update - actual numbers have come out. Under the current nuclear arms treaty with the Soviet Union (according to Putin's wishes) allows us to have 1550 active inventory nuclear weapons. That includes nukes of all shapes and sizes and delivery methods.

Obama's announced target is to get us as low as 300.

A level that low has not been seen since the mid-50s, when we were just figuring out how to build the things in quantity.

There is absolutely no requirement under treaty for China, the Soviet Union, or anyone else to reduce their inventories by even 1.

Unhinged Lunatic Is One Of Obama's Good Buddies

2012-02-14T11:31:00.008-06:00

This guy is a freaking Nazi (and I don't use that term lightly at all). Meet David Brock.

Mr. Brock runs Media Matters, an internet website that promotes iself as a media watchdog group. In reality, it is the front for a group of far left wing kooks who use the internet to spread hatred, personal attacks, and lies about anyone who doesn't agree with their view of the path to a Socialist utopia.

Mr. Brock has regular contact with the White House, face to face meetings and weekly conference calls to coordinate strategy. Media Matters is frequently used as a 'source' to validate 'news' reports for the mainstream media. Recently, an employee of MSNBC admitted publicly that almost all of their material for their prime time 'news' and opinion shows is provided by Media Matters.

Mr. Brock is such a looney tune that he employs armed bodyguards to protect him from what he describes as 'right wing sniper squads'. The man is completely off his rocker. His closeness to the Obama Administration and his mush-brained liberal internet followers make him a danger.

The Daily Caller has done a series of investigative reports on this lunatic, his ties to the White House, and blatant personal attacks on anyone who he disagrees with. I suggest a visit to their site to take a look at who Obama considers a valued ally in his fight for Sociaism.

So, Samuel L. Jackson Is A Racist

2012-02-13T17:07:00.008-06:00

Actor Samuel L. Jackson came out and admitted he voted for Obama in 2008 because he was (and remains) black.

Voting for or against someone simply because of their skin color is nothing but racism, isn't it? We've heard constant complaints for the past 3 years about how anyone who voted against Obama, or opposes his policies has to be a racist. It's a tired staple of the Democrat Party - anyone who stands in His way is racist.

So, Mr. Jackson comes out and says he did what thousands, if not millions, of other people did in 2008 - voted FOR Obama because of his skin color. That means they voted AGAINST McCain because he is white, right?

I don't hear the NAACP, or LULAC, or MoveOn.org, or Obama Administration officials condemning Mr. Jackson for his racist comment. You don't hear much about it at all, do you?

Let me ask this ... if someone says they voted for McCain because he is white, they'd be branded an evil racist, wouldn't they? Of course, they would. If someone says they voted against Obama because he is black, they would be branded the worst kind of racist, equal to the old KKK members who burned crosses, wouldn't they? No question.

Mr. Jackson told the truth, which he should be commended for. He should be condemmed for the racist action itself. The fact he isn't being crucified in the mainstream media for this is completely expected, completely biased, and completely dispicable.

If you are a liberal minority, you can say anything you damn well please, no matter how racist or offensive it is.

Full disclosure - I respect Mr. Jackson for his craft, he is one of my favorite actors (no matter what color he is).

More full disclosure - I voted against Obama in 2008 because he is the closest thing to a Socialist ever to run for the office, and it was apparent even back then. I knew what was going to happen to our country, and wanted to prevent it. I'd have done so whether the man was black, white, brown, yellow, red, blue, green, pink, or purple with yellow polka-dots. His race doesn't matter, his politics and beliefs do!

Force Scores One For Us Old Farts

2012-02-13T07:24:00.006-06:00

John Force won the Funny Car class at NHRA's season opening race in Pomona this past weekend. The 62 year old driver scored his 134th event victory by defeating his teammate, Mike Neff, in the final race.

The race also saw the first Funny Car event for his youngest daughter, Courtney, age 23. She won her first round race, before falling in the second round. Team Force had 4 Mustangs in the 16 car field.

For fans of the US Army, Tony Schumacher took The Sarge into the semi-finals. Not a bad start following last year's disappointing winless season.

NHRA has some interesting changes surfacing for this year. The biggest may be that the Top Fuel team of Al-Anabi Racing fired both of its drivers from last year, Del Worsham and Larry Dixon, both of whom were championship competitors. In their place are two newcomers - very puzzling. Worsham took a position as crew chief on a Funny Car, while Dixon is without a ride.

Want To Get Rid Of Obamacare?

2012-02-03T19:04:00.003-06:00

Then here is what has to happen in this coming November's electtion:

Republicans MUST retain control of the House of Representatives. Expansion of their majority would be very helpful.

Republicans MUST take control of the Senate. If Democrats retain control, they can block any attempt by House Republicans to repeal Obamacare, or to even chip away at it.

The Republican candidate MUST win the White House. If Obama stays in office, he will veto any and all attempts to repeal or limit Obamacare, no matter what is decided in the House and Senate. Republicans will not have the majority necessarty to override his veto.

Even if Republicans take control of the triad, they MUST push through a repeal in the first year of the new administration. The longer Obamacare is allowed to be in place and grow, the more difficult it will be to get rid of.

If Republicans think they can sit around and wait to win the White House in 2016, then all hope of getting rid of Obamacare is lost. Any government program, no matter how hated, corrupt, or heinous it is, can't be gotten rid of once its beaurocracy weaves its tentacles through our government and our society. Obama and the Dems know this, and know all they have to do is fight a delaying action to make sure their crowning achievement in moving our country towards Socialsim will become permanent.

So, if Obamacare isn't gotten rid of by the end of 2013 or so, we are going to be stuck with it for the rest of our lives ... and our children's lives ... and their children's lives.

Jobless Number Shell Game - Updated

2012-02-03T11:23:00.007-06:00

January's unemployment numbers are out, and Obama is claiming credit for an incredible decrease of the unemployment rate to 8.3%

According to Obama's Labor Department, about 225,000 jobs were added in January.

Also, slightly less than 800,000 NEW unemployment claims were filed during the month.

People who lost their jobs outnumbered people who found a job by almost 4 to 1 in January.

Yet, the unemployment rate dropped from 8.5 to 8.3. WTF?

WTF is just more lying by Obama. The unemployment rate is going down because he keeps redefining what 'unemployed' means.

According to Obama's numbers, there were 2.5 million fewer people defined as being in the work force in January than there were in December. That's how you get a decrease in the unemployment rate while job loss is still far outpacing job creation. Who are those 2.5 million people, and why are they suddenly not part of the labor force?

If you use the unemployment rate calculation that was in place when Obama took office and applied it to today's statistics, you would have an unemployment rate of well over 10%.

Obama and his cronies are just flat assed lying to us. It will continue. Their target is to get unemployment to 7.8% or lower before September - just in time to create big pre-election headlines. It doesn't matter what they have to do to make it happen. It doesn't matter what the reality of the situation is. They control the numbers, they feed the headlines to their mainstream media supporters (who refuse to question the numbers), and the American public is fed a shit sandwich of lies and deceit for the one and only purpose of getting reelected.

Dispicable.

The Stupidity of the Komen Uproar

2012-02-03T07:24:00.010-06:00

The amount of bullshit flying in relation to the Komen Foundation stopping further funding of Planned Parenthood is an instructive lesson in liberal-think.

The Komen Foundation is all about fighting breast cancer in women, isn't it? Everyone who wears a little pink ribbon thinks they are battling this disease. Everyone and every entity that donates to Komen thinks their dollars are going towards defeating this killer. Right?

How many of those folks and corporations have been surprised to find that a good deal of the money they have been giving has been diverted for other purposes? Specifically, a large amount has been given away to Planned Parenthood, a controversial organization that supports 'women's health matters'. Planned Parenthood, currently under Congressional investigation for misuse of taxpayer funds.

Planned Parenthood, deserved or not, is the face of abortion in this country. Its primary purpose is to provide no questions asked abortions to any woman or child who wants one, for any reason. It does so under the guise of 'reproductive health', or 'reproductive rights'. They apparently provide some other health services, but those are overshadowed by their hard liberal stance on abortion.

Folks who donate to Komen have a right to have their money go towards Komen's stated purpose - fighting breast cancer. From news reports, it has been a shock to many folks to find their Komen donations have been diverted to an organization they believe engages in wholesale killing of unborn children. Private donations to Komen have soared since this news broke, donations from people who are very happy that their dollars are no longer going to be, in their opinion, used for purposes they are fundamentally opposed to.

I have read that Komen's grants to Planned Parenthood were to cover breast examinations for poor women. I am under no illusions that Komen's money was limited to that purpose. More than likely it was dropped into PP's general operating funds, and used to support all of PPs activities - not just breast screenings. I have no evidence of that, except it is what PP is under investigation by Congress for, and multiple news investigations that found evidence of it.

Bottom line for me is this. No matter what your thoughts on abortion are, if you are giving to Komen you are entitled to KNOW that your money is going to fight breast cancer - and nothing else. If you want to support Planned Parenthood, either to support their overall services or specifically their abortion services, you are free to give them as much money as you want.

The liberal-think lesson in this is that liberals or liberal organizations, such as Planned Parenthood, think they are absolutely right. No opinion other than their own is allowed. And, even folks who disagree with them have to provide the funds they need to further their own agendas. Folks who disagree with them are villified.

Update - Before I could even post this, the cowards at Komen have caved. Their Board of Directors has reveresed itself, saying that they will continue to funnel their contributor's money to the Planned Parenthood abortion factories. They caved in to liberal outrage. They will continue to allow funds contributed to fight breast cancer to be used to provide abortions.

OK. They can do that. However, this is now out in the open. Komen contributors now know what's being done with their money. I venture the opinion that a good number of those donors aren't going to send Komen anymore contributions, because they don't want their money to be used to kill unborn children. Those contributors have that right.

Liberals are going to be howling in the streets over their victory for 'women's rights'. A very worthy charitable cause, Komen's fight against breast cancer, will take a huge hit, because of their stupid decision to give money to PP in the first place, and then caving in to the political pressure and reversing themselves.

On This Day ... Forwarded

2012-02-02T09:04:00.002-06:00

From good friend Outlaw13, over at Threedonia, I'd like to share this:

"Feb. 2, 2007, I lost two friends and the nation lost two outstanding leaders and warriors. Rest in Peace, Keith and Jason, we'll never forget! Garyowen! See you at Fiddler's Green."

Sheriff Joe Biden Stops By For A Quick Robbery

2012-02-01T07:28:00.003-06:00

Sheriff Joe stopped by the DFW area yesterday. He appeared at a Democrat fundraiser at the Ft. Worth downtown Hilton, where he pulled in a reported $150,000 for Democrat campaign coffers. And then he was off ...

According to news reports, this was the ONLY thing he did on his stop in this area.

Since he did nothing 'official' in his capacity as VP, nothing at all to do with discharing the duties of the office, he (or Democrat officials) are responsible for reimbursing the governments involved for the entire cost of his visit.

The cost of the aircraft that brought him. The cost of his attending staff. The cost of the security details, both Secret Service and local escorts. All of this, according to Federal law, should be reimbursed, because this was a partisan political event that had nothing to do with his duties as VP.

Normally such visits are combined with some stupid little official appearance, like at a school, so that the VP's party can avoid the reimbursement. In fact, it has become so commonplace to do that that I doubt anyone has been tagged with a reimbursement bill for many years. However, in this case Joe couldn't be bothered.

Sheriff Joe or the DNC ought to get a bill for this visit. They won't. The taxpayers will pay several hundred thousand dollars for his visit, which netted the DNC $150K. This is nothing but theft.

Facebook Users - You're Being Spied On

2012-01-31T15:48:00.003-06:00

Facebook Users, beware. Your 'private' communications aren't private, and the information in them is being sold by Facebook.

Facebook is using something they call a 'sentiment analysis tool' to data mine all the various postings made by Facebook junkies. This tool can be tweaked to look for certain words or phrases, and report back findings. Those findings can be used by Facebook for whatever purpose they choose (you agreed to it when you signed up), including the sale of the information.

Facebook announced about a month ago, though not where most people would see it, that they are doing this with an eye towards the presidential race, and 'sharing' the information with Politico. Politico, a far left leaning 'internet news' outlet - is in reality a front for a bunch of left wing bloggers. I have not seen a breakdown of the financial arrangement. Politico then uses that information to support or disprove anything they want to say on their website, and there is nothing at all that prevents them from taking reported data and changing it to fit their political views.

The ACLU has come out and argued against this, strangely enough. Given their far left wing leanings, I am surprised that they would publicly attack something that is intended to further far left wing ambitions.

Just remember folks - anything you put onto the internet becomes public property, whether you want it to or not. Information you think is 'private' actually belongs to companies like Facebook, and Google - and they can do anything they want to with it.

Audi Has Had Enough Of The Teenage Vampire Craze

2012-01-31T13:24:00.003-06:00

German car maker Audi has made a new commercial, showing the world how it is using its new car technology to rid the world of these stupid, pasty faced teenage vampires. Outstanding work, Audi!

Her Highness Buys Some Essentials

2012-01-30T09:57:00.006-06:00

Her Highness, the Missus Big O, spent some time before Christmas shopping for a few essentials. According to The Telegraph, she and the Queen of Qatar visited a thrift shop called Agent Provocateur, located in Manhattan.

For their shopping spree, several blocks of Madison Avenue were blocked off. Apparently, they had the store to themselves.

Missus O spent a reported $50,000 in the store.

What does Agent Provocateur sell? High end lingerie (no pun intended). Take a look at their web site, you will be shocked at the prices.

I don't care what she buys to (hopefully) please her husband with. I do believe that she could have done so at a less exclusive store, and not spent quite so much. I would be very interested to know who paid for it - the trip, the security, the garments ... I have a hard time believing that the Big O would write a check that big himself.

The hypocrisy is truly astounding. This person, who tries to portray herself and her husband as every day middle class Americans fighting for the little people, blows $50 large on lingerie? The arrogance is unbelievable. These two truly believe they are Royalty. What do the 99% ers think about this?

Have you seen anything in the mainstream media about this? Of course not. Turn it around - if Sarah Palin had done this, it would be headline news for at least a week.

Update - spokespersons for Missus O have categorically denied that this took place. It will be interesting to see how this plays out - if it is false, then Agent Provocateur would seem to be lying. They came out and publicly stated that Missus O's visit was responsible for a substantial sales increase in the days leading up to Christmas. We will see ...

The NFL Ought To Be Embarrassed

2012-01-30T06:53:00.007-06:00

Yesterday's NFL Pro Bowl in Hawaii ought to be the last one the league puts on. What a disgrace. I can't believe the NFL has the audacity to lay a prime time turd like this and call it a football game.

For those few who actually tuned in, this was essentially a half speed friendly scrimmage. They could have been wearing shorts and playing two handed touch and it would have been more exciting. Watching the plays, you see the lines on both sides of the ball essentially stand up and visit with each other for a few seconds after the ball was snapped. Tackling - what's that?

It was so bad, the announcers spent a lot of the game talking about the lack of effort, and how they expected the game to get more realistic as it went on. It didn't.

The AFC won 59-41, but who cares?

The highlight of the game seemed to be the fact that computers had been placed on each sideline so that 'players' could tweet live to all their fans during the game. If I was an advertiser who bought time from the network during this 3 hour 'extravaganza', I would be asking for my money back. If I was one of the few who paid for a ticket to sit in the stands, I'd demand a refund.

All star games typically suck when it comes to the actual game, but this was a new low as far as I am concerned. If the NFL can't find a way to get the players to actually play a game, then there is no reason for them to continue to put this mess on the air.

Update - I read Roger Goodell's comments from the Super Bowel concerning the Pro Bowl embarrassment. He has clearly regonized it for what it was, andcame out and stated to reporters that the 'game' has to be improved, or done away with. Good for him - that's a strong statement for the head of the NFL to make about his own product. He3 said he has already contacted the NFLPA about it (no changes can be made to any game or format without the Player's Union agreeing to it).

Obama's State Of The Union Preview

2012-01-24T07:07:00.005-06:00

I can save you 45 minutes or so of your time tonight. Instead of watching His Highness deliver his State of the Union address, here's a shortened version:

The situation was a lot worse than we thought.

It's still all Bush's fault.

Republicans are rich racists.

I'm doing a great job, things are getting better.

Reelect me, and those rich bastards are going to pay for everything.

Give me four more years or we're all going to Hell.

Update - Did I nail this, or what? Of course, Obama is so predictable that anyone could have foretold this.

Surprises At Your Local Bookstore

2012-01-23T13:50:00.004-06:00

Parents - if you are in the habit of turning your young ones loose inside the local bookstore, such as Barnes & Noble, you might want to look around inside of that store first. You might be surprised at what is sitting on the shelves.

Finding adult themed books on shelves labeled for 'Relationships', 'Social Studies', 'Health', 'Lifestyles', etc, should in no way surprise you. Depending on the specific store and the mindset of the management, there can be some pretty risque and graphic materials sitting there within reaching distance of your young ones. You should also not be surprised that there is no one watching to make sure your young ones don't pick up those materials to spend some quality sneak time.

I was in a local Barnes & Noble this past weekend, browsing through the military history section. Right next to it was a section for 'Social Studies'. I saw a book end with the title 'Suicide Girls' sitting on a waist high shelf. Curious as to what that was all about, I picked it up. What was inside was very graphic photos of nude and semi-nude women, depicting a style called 'Suicide Girls'. Lots of tatoos, lots piercings, lots of dark makeup. The nudity didn't stop with breasts, which were aplenty. There was some very explicit full frontal nudity in it as well.

Now, I'm not a prude, and this kind of material doesn't offend me personally. However, having it on a shelf at or just below eye level of grade school kids doesn't seem to be the best of ideas. Even worse, this shelf unit was directly across a narrow aisle from the kids section. So, on one side of the aisle you've got naked chicks, on the other are reading assistance books for grades 1-5.

I found an employee, and asked him to come with me. I wanted to inform him of the situation. When we got about 20 feet away from the aisle, he said 'I already know what you're going to show me'. He was completely aware of it, agreed that it was a bad idea, and said that his management knew all about it. I asked why it hadn't been changed. His answer indicated that corporate had laid out the store, and local management couldn't change it.

Below is the cover of said book. Trust me, the photo is a lot more tame than what was inside the cover. It also was not the only book that would not be appropriate for underage readers in that section.

This specific store has a real problem with its subject section placement. However, you are very likely to find books that are inappropriate for children in any of these stores. So, know where those books are, or at least keep tabs on your kids, unless you want them getting a dose of unintentional sex ed.

What I Want To Hear From The Republican Candidates

2012-01-20T11:19:00.005-06:00

There is one thing that I want to hear from each and every Republican candidate remaining in the race. I would love to hear it from them while they are gathered, such as on stage at a debate. I want to hear this, and I think it is necessary for it to be said in order to unseat His Highness in November.

"No matter which of us is selected as the Republican nomineee, every one of us will rally behind that nominee, encourage all of our supporters to do the same, and we will do everything we can to support the nominee to kick out the current residents of the White House and pull our country out of the National Nightmare it is currently suffering through."

Anyone of them who wouldn't agree to say that ought to be booed right out of the building.

US Supreme Court Slaps Down Texas Democrats

2012-01-20T10:29:00.004-06:00

The United States Supreme Court ruled UNANIMOUSLY against Texas Democrats today, in a resounding defeat for judicial activism.

The center of the controvery is the Congressional district redraw mandated by the results of the 2010 census.

Republicans control the State Houses in Texas. The State is responsible for drawing districts for the US Congress. Since the dawn of time, redrawing of districts by the party in power has been a time honored way of protecting and expanding the ruling party's dominance. Is it dirty, yeah. Is it legal, yeah. Do both parties do it, yeah - whoever is in power sets the rules.

Republicans took the 2010 census data and drew a districting map that favored them retaining and possibly expanding Republican representation for Texas in the US House of Representatives. Is this a nice, fair thing to do - probably not. But, Democrats did it the last time they were in power in Texas, and so on back through our state's history. Its just the way things are done.

Democrats pitched a fit, from the Obama White House on down. They wanted a Democrat drawn redistricting plan put into place, which would gain them up to 4 seats in the US House, by drawing districts that guarantee almost 100% minority voting blocks. Obama's DoJ, led by Eric Holder, declared the Republican maps illegal. They went to a US District Court in San Antonio, which issued an injunction against Texas' plan, and instead drew their own districts. Yes, the court, staffed by three Democrats who have no election experience, drew up a redistricting plan and tried to force it on Texas. Obama's DoJ stuck its nose into the mess, saying they upheld the court's plan as legal and fair.

Texas took the matter to the US Supreme Court, which ruled that the San Antonio court had no business coming up with their own map. All 9 members of the Supreme Court agreed with the decision.

The Supreme Court did not rule on the legality of the Republican map, because that was not the issue before it.

The matter was returned to the Democrat controlled count in San antonio to redraw the maps, which is absolutely ridiculous. The matter legally belongs to the Texas State Houses.

Politics are a hard, dirty game. However, there are rules, and just because you don't like how something is being done, doesn't mean you can circumvent or disregard the rules (in spite of what the Obama crowd seems to think).

Democrats, you have been bitch slapped!

Need A Chuckle?

2012-01-20T08:14:00.003-06:00

Seems that we are overwhelmed with seriousness these days. If you want to see something funny for a break, check this out ...

http://www.sleepingchinese.com/

Nothing profound, nothing dirty, nothing political, nothing disrespectful ... just some funny pictures.

This Is What Republicans Need To Do More Of

2012-01-20T07:13:00.002-06:00

I didn't watch CNN's debate last night, because frankly, I thought it ridiculous to have two debates on competing networks a couple of days apart. But when I saw this on Youtube, I knew I had missed an historic example of how Republicans should be acting, how they should be defending themselves.

I don't believe Newt Gingrich is the best choice for President. However, he does have his moments, and here is one of them ... (repeated standing ovations richly deserved!)

Sheriff Joe Biden - World's Greatest Sport Fan

2012-01-19T08:31:00.005-06:00

Sheriff Joe once again showed the enormity of his intellect Wednesday at a Dem fundraiser in San Francisco.

He told the partisan left wing kook crowd that 'the Giants are on their way to the Superbowl.'

OK. San Francisco is playing New York this weekend for the right to go to the Superbowl. New York is, of course, the Giants.

Sheriff Joe obviously mixed up baseball and football (San Francisco Giants).

An easy mistake to make - they both use balls.

(this man is a heartbeat away from the Presidency ... shudder ...)

What Are The Rangers Smoking?

2012-01-18T17:16:00.006-06:00

The Texas Rangers announced the signing of Yu Darvish this afternoon. The Japanese pitcher will join the squad in time for spring training.

The contract is said to be 6 years at $60 million. The Rangers paid a $51.7 million fee to the Japanese league and his current team for the right to negotiate and sign him. So, his impact on the Rangers is almost $112 million.

Darvish is a strong performer in Japan. He is 6'5" tall, and only 25 years old. He is said to have good stuff, and is projected as a number 4 or 5 starter (on a starting staff that is not regarded as a strong one). I have seen very little of him, all the sports reports seem to replay video of the same 3 or 4 strikeouts over and over.

The Rangers declined to offer a new contract to their staff ace, CJ Wilson. CJ was not a super strong performer, but could be counted on for 15 wins a year, and to chew up a lot of innings. CJ signed with division rival Anaheim for FAR less than what the Rangers are spending on Darvish.

Japanese pitchers tend to not do so well when they show up in the Big Leagues. I can't remember a single one who has been more than average - with most turning out to be big disappointments. I have not seen anything yet that would indicate Darvish will be any different.

I don't get it - pass on a proven performer and tell us its because of the money, and then sign an unproven gamble for a far larger amount of money? I fear they've just screwed themselves.

TSA - Terminally Stupid A*Holes?

2012-01-16T15:40:00.011-06:00

I had the misfortune to go through the Corpus Christi International Airport recently. That's a very long title for an airport whose terminal isn't long enough to hold all of those letters. The entire airport has 6 gates, one of which is not in service.

This small facility has the most stringent, and perhaps most incompetent, TSA workers I have ever run into.

Leaving the city, I put my possessions into the bins for the X-Ray machine, just as I do every other time I go through an airport. I've got two TSA 'officers' standing over my shoulders while I am doing this. Apparently they are bored, because there is no one else in the security line.

"Sir, you have to remove your belt." I point to the tub that already holds my belt.

"Sir you have to completely empty your pockets." I show him that my keys and change are already in the tub.

"No, sir, your pockets have to be empty." I make a big show of removing my wallet and placing it into the tub. I cleverly beat the system by not taking out the handful of paper money still in one pocket. One of the TSA gentlemen standing over me picks up my wallet and starts thumbing through it. "Hey, you don't need to do that", I tell him, probably a little more forcefully than I should have. He puts it back down into the tub.

I am waved through the machine finally. It is not a metal detector, but one of the new MRI type machines that gives them a great picture of your junk. I don't care. Apparently they don't like the picture, and subject me to a more personal than warranted patdown. Pervert!

I endure without comment, and walk around to get my tubs. My laptop is grabbed by one 'officer'. "I have to inspect this". OK, I say. She steps over to the swab station. Another 'officer' picks up my shoes, and gets in line at the swab station.

"Don't touch anything, sir," I am admonished as I reach for my laptop bag.

After 'laptop swabbie' gets done, he hands me the computer, and then starts dissecting my laptop bag. Every pocket is gone through. 'Shoe swabbie' is having problems with the swab machine, from the looks of it - either that, or he's sneaking sniffs of my sneakers.

They pile all my stuff back up on the table. No 'thank you', or 'have a nice day' ... they just go back to waiting for the next victim.

I start to put my gear back in order. "Sir, you can't do that there."

I gather all my stuff, two trips worth, and carry it about 30 feet to a seat, where I am finally able to reassemble myself.

Fortunately, I was not in a hurry to catch the flight.

I had booked this flight 3 weeks in advance. It was not a one way ticket. My destination was a short haul, in state. I do not have a middle eastern name. I don't know whether these people were bored, or just plain power mad. I do know that 8 'officers' overseeing a one lane security checkpoint, with one machine, seems to be a bit of a money waste.

BTW - When I got home, I found that my bag had been tossed by TSA as well. Nothing was missing, but every bag, every zipper, every compartment had been opened and the contents gone through. I truly hope they enjoyed three days worth of dirty socks ...

In the interest of full disclosure, the above photo was not taken by me in Corpus. I can only imagine what that crew would have done if I had pulled out a camera!

Update - TSA, but not related to Corpus Christi. Somehow, a 65 year old woman passed through a TSA checkpoint in Terminal D at DFW airport, with a handgun in her carryon bag. From news reports, her bag went through the XRay machine, she passed through, retrieved the bag, and went on her way. Sometime later, someone saw the gun displayed on the machine's monitor. TSA personnel finally were able to locate her 90 minutes later. She had already boarded a plane, and the plane had backed away from the gate. They pulled her off the plane and had her go back through the screening process, where the gun was found. She was taken into custody. The incident started at 6:30am.

The woman is an attorney, and had an expired CHL. Her explanation, made public through her attorney, was that she forgot the gun was in the bag. The fact that she had a CHL and went through that training tells me she should have known better. How in the heck do you forget you have a .38 caliber pistol in your computer bag?

I've been through DFW checkpoints so many times I can't even to begin to guess how many. They are just as 'overmanned' as the ones in Corpus. How in the world did this woman take her bag through the checkpoint with a pistol in it without being stopped?

I saw an item during news coverage on this. TSA reported to Congress that they stop an average of 4 handguns PER DAY at security checkpoints in the US. Very few of those are intentional attempts at smuggling a weapon onto an airplane, which leads to the inescapable fact that a lot of people are just plain stupid.

More NAACP Race Baiting

2012-01-13T07:43:00.007-06:00

The city of Irving, Texas is having a difficult time with its school district. It has nothing to do with the kids or teachers.

It's about race.

Irving's racial makeup has changed over the years. The majority of folks who live there now (legally or illegally) are Hispanic. Whites follow, with blacks in third.

Irving's School Board has seven positions. They are elected district wide - all voters select all school board positions (called an 'at-large' system). This has become a point of contention. It is a fact that a higher percentage of Whites vote in down ballot elections (such as school boards) than Hispanics or Blacks, and so the school board members have almost universally been White.

Hispanics and Blacks have been in an uproar over this, stating that the racial makeup of the school board should reflect the racial makeup of the student population. (They seem to fail to realize that this is a product of the members of their 'races' not showing up at the polls in numbers that represent that racial makeup.) Hispanics and Blacks are pushing for the adoption of single member districts, where voters would only be able to vote on a single school board member. These districts would be drawn to pretty much guarantee a specific number of Hispanics and Blacks be seated on the school board.

Now, I am not going to voice an opinion on that. There are positives and negatives to both sides of that argument.

What I am thoroughly disgusted with is the race baiting that has been building over this.

The latest component - NAACP Irving leader Anthony Bond (for some unexplained reason) has weighed in with his totally logical, thoughtful solution to the issue.

He has called for students to be instructed to disrupt classrooms in protest of the situation.

"We've got to demonstrate to these kids that we're not going to let a bunch of white people dictate to the majority." - Anthony Bond, media interview regarding Irving, 1/13/12

Wow. So, according to a leader of the NAACP, a minority cannot exert pressure on a majority. That kind of throws the whole Civil Rights movement into the garbage can, doesn't it? Or, does that only apply when the people he thinks he represents are the majority? (Funny that the NAACP does not represent the race in the majority in Irving - Hispanics).

Can you imagine the furor that would result if a White person in a position of authority had said "We've got to demonstrate to these kids that we're not going to let a bunch of black people dictate to the majority"? Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would be fighting each other trying to get here first to lead the marches and riots in protest. Why is it OK for a black person in a position of authority to say it?

More Pasty Faced Teenage Boy Silliness Coming

2012-01-12T10:56:00.005-06:00

So, if your wives and daughters haven't had enough Vampire-gasms, or swooned to enough teenage boys pretending to be werewolves, be warned - more is coming.

Warm Bodies is due out on August 10th.

Nicholas Hoult, teen hearthrob, will play the character 'R'.

'R' is a zombie.

'R' falls in love with a human girl after he eats the brain of her boyfriend. The movie is said to depict the couple as they move towards each other, and learn to bridge the forbidden love of Zombie/Human. 'R' even re-learns how to speak.

No word on whether 'R' learns how to brush his teeth prior to snuggling up to his hottie. (Can you imagine his breath, walking aorund eating dead people without regard to oral hygiene?)

Seriously?

Marco Rubio - Republican Hero

2012-01-06T10:11:00.006-06:00

I hope this man ends up in the White House someday (first Hispanic President?) ...

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent a letter to President Obama, detailing in pretty harsh terms what he thinks of The Dear Leader's ability to run this nation. Worth a read.

Vice President Rubio in November?

http://www.humanevents.com/downloads-pdfs/1.6.12%20-%20Obama%20Debt%20Ceiling%20Letter%20-%20FINAL.pdf

Jobless Number Shell Game - Well Underway

2012-01-06T09:56:00.008-06:00

As I (and whole lot of folks who are smarter than me) predicted last year, the unemployment rate is going down. Figures just released show it at 8.5%. Expect it to be lower than 8.0% percent in the September time frame.

Obama has begun crowing about it, stating that it is great progress, we have turned the corner, we're headed in the right direction.

Just as predicted.

Does this mean the economy is getting better, and jobs are being created? Not exactly. What it does mean is that Obama and his cronies are massaging the numbers to make them fit what they need for re-election.

New jobless claims for LAST WEEK dropped to about 350,000. They have been hovering around 400,000 per week for many months. (This was touted by the Obama Administration and mainstream news as HUGE progress). What this means is that between 700,000 and 800,000 people are filing new claims for unemployment each month - meaning they lost their jobs.

Obama's bunch reports that about 200,000 new jobs were added last month, and that this is responsible for the dip in umployment. What the hell kind of math is that?

700,000 minus 200,000 is a net loss of 500,000 jobs for the month. How can the unemployment rate go down with a half million more people out of work?

Here's how ... Obama's bunch has been changing the definition of what being unemployed means. If you can't change the numbers, you change what numbers are counted.

People who have exhausted their unemployment benefits are no longer counted as unemployed. They are simply dropped out of the equation. Likewise, folks who find temporary employment when looking for a permanent position are not counted. Long term unemployed , those who have given up trying to find a job, aren't counted. Those on welfare aren't counted. Obama has dropped millions of people who are unemployed out of the equation, to make himself look better.

If all classes of people who were counted in the unemployment figures when Obama took office in 2009 were counted today, the unemployment rate that would be reported would be above 11 percent.

If everyone who wanted work and couldn't find it were counted, the true, actual unemployment rate for the US would be above 17 percent.

Unemployment rates for African-Americans, even using Obama techniques, is above 16 percent. Why is this man still a hero to the Black community?

(BTW - that 200,000 figure for added jobs last month included 50,000 temporary Holiday seasonal positions, positions eliminated this month.)

If this is confusing to you, ask yourself this basic question: HOW CAN THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE GO DOWN IF THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO LOSE THEIR JOBS IN A MONTH OUTNUMBER THOSE WHO FIND WORK, BY A MARGIN OF FOUR OR FIVE TO ONE?

Update - The figures for NEW unemployment benefit applications for last week have been announced - 399,000. That'a almost 400 thousand newly unemployed folks. No word from the Obama Administration on how this affects their magic 8.5 percent number ...

Coward-in-Chief Strikes Again

2012-01-05T11:10:00.008-06:00

Obama is singlehandedly castrating our military. What our enemies worldwide have been unable to do by force, he has chosen to do by pen. Unilateral disarmament. The ultimate goal of every left wing kook - a country without the means to defend itself and its allies.

Obama has, by himself, decided to redefine what our military is, and what it does.

This kind of morphing process happens occasionally as the shape of the world changes. It has been done after each of our wars. Usually, the cuts have been vicious, far too deep, and have left us in vulnerable positions. This time, though, Obama and his close circle of left wing kooks have made the decisions themselves, and the devastation that will result will dwarf all previous cutbacks.

Watch for the F-35 to be cancelled. Watch for the V-22 program to be halted. Watch for missile defense to be scrapped. Watch for work on new generation aircraft carriers to be halted. Watch for health and other benefits for retirees to be slashed. Watch for the number of people in uniform to be slashed even further than has been previously reported. Watch for incredible number of existing weapons systems to be prematurely retired, with no replacement. Watch for huge numbers of operational units and facilites to be done away with.

Obama can't do this just by himself. Congress controls the purse strings. Even though Obama can propose the cuts in a budget he submits, Congress does not have to accept it. He knows this, and will portray Congress' objections as more Republican obstructionism.

In a couple of related Democrat 'We Surrender' outrages:

Obama Administration officials have confirmed that they have offered to the Taliban in Afghanistan to release all Taliban connected prisoners currently held in Gitmo. This in return for the the Taliban opening an office in Qatar. No matter what the crimes were these terrorists have committed, they will be set free to kill again, just so Obama can claim to the world that he is pursuing peace.

The Washington Times reports that Obama told certain members of Congress last week that he is preparing to share classified US Missile Defense Technology with the Soviets. (Yes - I said Soviets. The two clowns running Russia are committed to resurrecting the Soviet Union.) For what purpose? What is this supposed to do for us?

What it will do is hand all the info needed to defeat our missile defense, a critical technology we have spent billions and billions of dollars on, to our enemies and potential enemies. The Russians are not our allies - we are just coexisting at this point in time. Russian allies ARE China, Iran, North Korea, the Taliban, radical elements in Pakistan. etc. How long will it take them to copy all that info and dispurse it to those countries and more?

Folks, there is no way to define this insanity other than TREASON.

Fiscal Insanity

2012-01-05T07:46:00.007-06:00

Our national debt is now over 15 trillion dollars. That means that every man, woman, and child in this country (either legally or illegally) is in debt to the tune of 48,000 dollars.

In spite of all the lip service Obama and Congress gives this incredible situation, spending by the Federal Government continues to increase unchecked. Remember all the grand statements about the debt ceiling deal last summer, how Obama and the Dems said that if we just go ahead and raise the limit to 15 trillion, give or take a couple hundred billion, that real debt reform and spending cuts would be enacted. He got the higher ceiling. No reform has happened.

Obama is about to formally ask Congress to once again raise the debt ceiling by another trillion or so - because we've already reached the ceiling increase agreed to last summer. Imagine that - Washington managed to put us further in debt by well over a trillion dollars in 6 months!

Current projections have us adding a trillion to the national debt EVERY YEAR from this point forward. No plan or proposal currently under evaluation will stop this.

Remember those automatic cuts that fell into place when the Super Committee failed? Over a trillion in automatic cuts, half of which come out of the Pentagon? Obama has plans for that money. He has already stated that money will be available for spending elsewhere - on his pet social programs. Those aren't cuts, they aren't payments to draw down the debt - he's just stealing it to buy more votes.

The nation's debt has exceeded its GNP. As a country, we owe more than we produce. If the country was an individual, it would meet the definition of bankrupt.

This is not sustainable. It cannot continue. There is no magic RESET button that some future President can push to make it all go away. This is a very real, serious problem, and the majority of politicians from both parties are hell bent on ignoring it. Pushing the can down the road for future generations to deal with. They don't want to address it because they are know that every cut will piss off a voting block. The few politicians who try to sound the alarm are branded right wing extremists, racists, obstructionists, Tea Party members ...

Update - Obama officially asked Congress to raise the debt ceiling by another 1.2 Trillion dollars. If Congress votes against the request, Obama has said he would veto and push it through anyway. I'm not sure how the President can veto legislation that is voted down and not sent to him for signature, but apparently He thinks His power is all encompassing ...

Scandal!!! Outrage!!! Oh, the Horror ...

2012-01-04T14:01:00.006-06:00

Whataburger, for those of you not fortunate enough to be in the right portion of the country, is home to one of the best hamburgers made by a large chain outlet.

One of the best aspects of a trip to Whataburger was a crisp order of fries, accompanied by their patented formula of ketchup. As close to Heaven as a french fry can get ...

As a trial, Whataburger has rolled out a new ketchup formula, Spicy. My understanding is it will be offered as an option, if public response is strong enough.

I hereby activate the Occupy Whataburger movement. All Whataburger ketchup lovers are hereby instructed to camp out at local Whataburgers, and demand confirmation that the original Whataburger ketchup will continue to be available! Stop a potential catastrophe before it occurs!

Actually, the Spicy ketchup has a hint of jalapeno in it, and it's pretty darned good)

Another Edict From His Lord Highness Obama

2012-01-04T09:54:00.017-06:00

President Obama is once again bypassing the will of the people (as represented by our elected officials in Congress) in order to further his far left wing kook agenda.

Meet Richard Cordray. Get to know him, for he will have a large impact on your life.

Richard Cordray will be a 'recess appointment' by Obama to become his 'Consumer Watchdog'. By using the political mechanism of the recess appointment, Obama bypasses the normal confirmation process that is undertaken by the Senate. So, Congress isn't going to get to ask this man any questions. He will not have to explain what his positions are, what his background is, what his plans for this newly created position will be.

Obama is appointing one of his buddies to a position created by a Democrat controlled Congress (Frank/Dodd Consumer Financial Protection Board) with a huge amount of power, without anyone else, including Congress, having any say in the matter. Obama is establishing Cordray's objectives, his reach, his powers, and no one else has any say in the matter.

Senate Republicans voted in December, every single one of them, to block the nomination due to the radical nature of Cordray and the far reaching powers he will receive. Quite a few Senate Democrats likewise have expressed reservations about the man and the position. There is no way he would have been confirmed for the position by the Senate.

Knowing this, Obama pulls an end run around Congress. This sounds like the behavior of a dictator, not a President. It really is no surprise.

Introducing Cordray as his appointee at a press rally in Ohio, Obama said "I refuse to take No for an answer ... I have an obligation as President to do what I can without them (Congress)". Thumbing his nose at Congress in an unprecedented power grab, Obama actually brags about what he has done, and in essence says that he will do whatever he wants, no matter what Congress has to say about it.

I'm sorry Obama, but you were elected President, not Dictator.

Later in the day, Obama's henchmen announced he would use the same tactic to appoint three union lackies to the National Labor Relations Board, bypassing Congress on this move as well. All three of these folks would never have passed Senate confirmation.

Cordray was the Attorney General for Ohio for 2 years (2009-2011), before being voted out of office. Before that, he held lower political positions in the state of Ohio. He is a lawyer by trade, and successful enough to have argued 6 cases before the Supreme Court, most of which were against business. His bio has no inidication of any experience in finance, or banking, or business.

This man is supposed to be the watchdog over all financial institutions in the United States. I don't see anything in his background that even remotely qualifies him to hold that position.

(In the interest of full disclosure, Bill Clinton and George Bush made use of recess appointments, in fact both of them made quite a few more than Obama has so far. However, I don't remember any of them being controversial, and they certainly weren't done as an open challenge to Congress.)

Update - The Federal Government is seeking a new employee for Cordray/Obama's new Consumer Financial Protection Commission. This employee will be the 'Invitation Coordinator'. The only task this person will have is to review the appearance invitations coming IN for members of the Commission. They are anticipating an overwhelming public demand for people on this commission to appear at events across the country. I don't know what the requirements are for the position, but it pays $103,000, plus full insurance and retirement benefits and 5 weeks of paid vacation per year. Wow - can I get a job sitting at a desk opening envelopes for six figures?

Un-f**king believable ...

What do you want to bet that it is filled by some Democrat bigwig's relative, or a campaign contributor's wife?

Update - Obama's DoJ issued a 23 page legal opinion paper to the public, affirming that Obama's appointments were legal. No surprise there, anyone who expected differently is smoking stuff stronger than what His Highness himself uses. The opinion changes nothing - those who support Obama continue to support him, and those who don't, don't.

Just another outrageous example of how the United States Department of Justice is just acting as a political arm of Obama's White House.

Good Old Fashioned Hockey

2012-01-03T13:31:00.004-06:00

So, for my first post of the New Year, how about some good, wholesome, family fun?

A compilation courtesy of our friends at Hockeyfights.com.

A couple of observations - you see a lot of Boston Bruins in this, a pretty accurate portrayal of them as the dirtiest team in the NHL.

Aaron Downey has the only lights out punch in the bunch. That's pretty much the highlight of his 3 minute Dallas Stars career.

I find it ironic that the NHL, like the NFL, is trying to cut down on hits to the head and the resulting concussions - and yet they still allow fighting to go on unchecked. Sure, the combatants get 5 for fighting, but you don't see any further punishment for being one of the two legitimate participants in a stand up fight.

Taxpayer Funded Help For Busted Illegals

2011-12-29T15:09:00.007-06:00

Obama's DHS, through its ICE component, has launched a 24/7 hotline intended to provide advice and information for illegal immigrants who are busted by local authorities. ICE agents will man the phones 24/7, providing service to illegals in several different languages. They will take information from the caller, and then send that information to a local ICE office for what they term 'immediate action'. What that action might be, other than going down and harrassing the local authorities and trying to prevent them from doing their jobs, is not explained.

Here's the official press announcement:

http://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/USDHSICE-23b1e1

So, the Obama Administration once again extends the hand of friendship to illegal immigrants in the hope of buying their votes, all paid for by you and me.

(And before anyone quips 'illegals can't vote', well, that's bullshit. Illegal immigrant votes are one of the biggest reasons Obama, his DoJ, and Democrats in general are so opposed to strengthening voter fraud laws, such as requiring a photo ID to be able to vote.)

As a Natural Born American Citizen, and a taxpayer who is paying for this service, can I call these people for help if the local authorities give me a hard time? Might be worth a call, just to hear how they decline the opportunity to assist me.

Republicans and Iowa - What Does It Mean To The Winner?

2011-12-29T09:48:00.005-06:00

Republicans and talking heads are all going crazy with the wildly fluctuating poll numbers heading into the Iowa primary next week. Each time a poll is released, there is a new front runner. Romney, then Gingrich, then Paul, then back to Romney, Santorum on the rise, Perry on the rise ... on and on.

It's as if Iowa is the 2012 election itself.

The only reason the results in Iowa are important is that it is the first state to hold a primary.

How important are the results? Does victory in Iowa give the winner the Republican nomination? Does defeat kill a campaign?

Victory ... No. The winner of the Republican primary in Iowa has gone on to secure the Republican nomination 4 out of the last 6 times there was not an incumbent Republican President. In 2008, Mike Huckabee won with 34% of the vote. Mitt Romeny was second, Fred Thompson (remember him?) was third. John McCain, the eventual nominee was fourth with just 13% of the vote.

Defeat ... depends on who it is, and how strong a showing in defeat they have. Iowa can weed out the bottom feeders, stop campaigns that have no hope before they go any further. For strong candidates, a defeat in Iowa will not cause them to get out of the race. There is no way any of the top 4 vote getters will give up (and no way Ron Paul will give up even if he receives 0 votes - he's such a loon).

I believe that Gingrich is done for. His flash in the pan stardom mirrors that of Herman Cain - initial interest, until his 'issues' start to come out and folks get to know more about him. Newt is sometimes brilliant, sometimes an absolute dunce. There are good reasons he was pretty much run out of politics in the 90s.

Romney just keeps plodding along. Polling numbers don't vary much, he's pretty much a known quantity. A few new items are popping to the surface now that are going to come into play on down the road, giving hope to his rivals of taking him down a few points. Romney is the middle of the road candidate - moderates like him, because he is not conservative. Conservatives don't like him for that very reason. If Romney ends up being the nominee, as looks likely, there is a very real danger of a vast number of conservative Republicans choosing not to vote in November - which will hand victory to Obama, just as it did in 2008.

Ron Paul is dangerous. His high poll numbers in Iowa are going to give his ego a boost and keep him in this thing longer, continuing to screw up the Republicans. He will ultimately drop out as a Republican, tell all his followers that no one who gets the nomination is worthy of voting for, and quite likely end up as running on a third party ticket. If he does that, Obama will win the election, because all the votes Paul sucks off will come from Republican ranks, thereby diluting Republican/conservative voting strength. Remember Ross Perot? Thanks to him we got 8 years of Bill Clinton.

Santorum and Bachman have no realistic chance at the nomination. I think they both know it, and are just waiting for a true frontrunner to emerge so they can drop out and endorse. It is too early for them to do so, because chances are good that they might choose the wrong bandwagon to jump on to, embarrass themselves, and guarantee they won't have any part in an upcoming Republican Administration.

Rick Perry, I think, is still going to be a force to reckon with as we move forward. He will do well to finish fourth in Iowa. He will be off the bottom of the board in New Hampshire. He may be middle of the pack in South Carolina. If his campaign can survive those early tests and get him by the first wave of dropouts, I think he has a very good chance of rising again to challenge Romney. That is, of course, if he doesn't keep shooting himself in the foot (or mouth, as the case may be).

A spoiler could be Donald Trump. His continued threats to run as an independent will have the same effect as if Paul runs on a third party ticket. He won't steal as many votes away from the Republican nominee, but every one he does take will come from the Republican side. You can be sure that if Trump runs, it won't be for political gain or cause, it will just be him stroking his own ego.

A Democrat dream would be for Romney to win the nomination, and both Paul and Trump to run on third party tickets. That would give Obama a landslide victory.

Republicans just have to realize that we do not have a strong, Reagan-like candidate to go up against Obama. Republican candidates have to realize this, and keep their egos from killing our chances. Stop with the negativity, stop with the personal attacks, get the hell out of the race if you have no chance. As voters, we have to understand that, and rally behind whoever the nominee is, for the one and only priority that we have to focus on is getting Obama out of office.

SOPA - Why You Should Be Very Afraid

2011-12-28T21:16:00.009-06:00

SOPA - the Stop Online Piracy Act, was introduced into the US House of Representatives this past October. HR 3261 is sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX). It's stated purpose is to allow law enforcement to go after those who pirate intellectual property, such as movies or music, and post them to the internet.

Laws exist to do this already. SOPA is a vast expansion, and like most big government projects, it goes way too far.

Instead of going after those who do the piracy, it goes after web sites and hosting services that the piracy moves through. Doesn't sound too bad, does it?

In actuality, what it can mean is that services like YouTube will go away. If they try to stay around, they will be responsible for making sure that each and every submission in no way violates any copyright. YouTube will have to research each and every video sent to it to make sure that someone in the chain, from the moment the video was created to the moment it was uploaded to YouTube itself, doesn't hold a copyright on the video or anything in the video. If YouTube is found in violation, in some way having missed some little piece of copyright material, whether the copyright is visible in the material or not, YouTube can be shut down by the Department of Justice, and its owners/operators sued or even jailed.

YouTube will not be able to operate under this. Likewise, Facebook goes bye bye. Google - if a search result pulls up something that is copyrighted, they are targets, no matter if they had anything to do with the material or not. Paypal could be shut down if they funnel funds to anyone who violates a copyright online, even if they have no knowledge of such a violation.

The bill requires anyone who has anything to do with the internet to become 'thought police' - in essence censors who will have to spend the time and effort to examine everything and decide whether to block the material or not, simply to defend themselves.

Supporters of this bill are the owners of intellectual property that is often the target of copyright infringement - movies and music mainly. Hollywood loves this bill.

Detractors are anyone who uses the internet to communicate, to research, to speak out, and to play.

SOPA will not accomplish what its stated goal is. It will not stop piracy - it can't. Most of the sources of pirated material is off shore - China, Indonesia, Mexico, etc. Any country outside of the US is outside of the reach of this legislation.

In addition, web sites that currently stream pirated material are on the move constantly. They change names, switch ISPs, move to other IP addresses frequently, in order to thwart authorities from prosecuting them. The wheels of justice are too slow to keep up with the real criminals. SOPA will not change that. What SOPA will do is provide well known, established, non-moving targets to the DoJ to attack - like YouTube.

This bill is internet censorship under the guise of commercial protection. It takes a legitimate concern, piracy, and blows it way out of proportion, giving the Federal Government powers that reach far beyond the stated purpose.

The list of potential targets for investigation is so large that a politically motivated DoJ (such as the one we have now) can easily pick and choose who they go after. SOPA can become a political weapon. Do you really think that Eric Holder would go after MoveOn.org, instead of Drudgereport? Can you say 'Fairness Doctrine' on steroids?

If SOPA passes and is signed into law, this Blog, and tens of thousands of others used to express free speech will go away, or be severely curtailed. This Blog would become text only, with no links, photos, or embedded content whatsoever. I couldn't post a photo, unless I knew exactly who produced it and had their explicit permission to reproduce it. I couldn't link to a YouTube video, because I would have no way of guaranteeing that no one along the chain had any claim to a copyright. What would be the point then?

If you enjoy the internet as it is, or count on it for your daily life, contact your Representatives and Senators, and express your outrage that Congress is considering this. The House Judiciary Committee has already held two 'public' hearings on the bill, one in November and one just before the Holiday break a couple of weeks ago. Didn't hear anything about those hearings or what was said in them, did you? Just like most of what the Federal Government is doing these days, they are trying to pass it quickly, without the public realizing what is going on. Once it is law, then it is too late to do anything about it. The Committee is supposed to hold more hearings on the bill after the Holiday recess is over.

Don't get me wrong - I am not a supporter of those who pirate music or movies. I am a supporter of modifying current laws where necessary to go after those who do the pirating, not this overkill approach that will have consequences far beyond the stated purpose.

Here is the text of HR 3261, if you are interested:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.3261:

Update - I am almost embarrassed to say this, but I apparently have the same thoughts on this as the Obama Administration. Obama's spokesman has come out and stated that they are concerned with the scope of SOPA and its unintended affects, and that they will be working with Congress to modify the legislation to refine the language to limit what it can do. Logical, and I hope they follow through.

Obama's Two Faced Arrogance On Display

2011-12-27T08:02:00.008-06:00

A 17 day Hawaiian vacation, completely paid for by the US taxpayer. 17 days off, burning through our money. 17 days seen on the evening news wallowing around in the surf, while millions of people wallow around in debt and unemployment. A vacation so important that the Missus Big O had to go a bit early, costing us even more money (two jets, two staffs, two sets of security. etc.).

And this man has the unmitigated gall to say he represents the little man against the rich?

If Obama was a white Republican and did this, the mainstream media would be roasting him alive. As it is, even some of his media buddies are questioning the 'wisdom' of this vacation...

I guess we should be thankful. At 4.1 million for 17 days, this is actually the smallest amount of our money he has wasted on a per day basis since he's been in office!

Not receiving nearly as much publicity as Obama's vacation, Nancy Pelosi is spending time in Hawaii over the Christmas break, in a $10,000 a night hotel suite. I have not seen any report detailing how much of her expenses are at taxpayer's expense. We are fortunate that she is not still Speaker of the House, or we'd be footing every penny for the trip, including her own US Air Force luxury jetliner and security details. If John Boehner did this, what would the media's reaction be to it?

Can someone tell me what law, what Constitutional provision states that the President and his family, his staff, and anyone else he wants to invite, get all expense paid vacations provided by the taxpayer? What statute declares the POTUS can take that vacation anywhere he/she wants, no matter what the expense, and for whatever length of time they want to?

Update - Keeps getting better. Missus O was spotted wearing a $2000 designer sun dress to church at MCAS Kaneohe Bay this past Sunday. No word on whether she, the taxpayers, or some wealthy one percenter Democrat 'donated' it to her. Way to inspire the downtrodden masses!

Your United States Navy - In Action

2011-12-23T07:14:00.004-06:00

The Obama era interpretation of the classic 'Welcome home, Sailor' kiss.

Photo credit, unbelievably, US Navy.

BTW - this was not a spur of the moment thing - it was staged specifically for the cameras.

What The Hell Is A Kardashian?

2011-12-22T07:38:00.004-06:00

Can someone tell me what the hell a Kardashian is? I keep hearing references to females with this last name, and I simply don't understand what they are.

As far as I can tell, they don't do anything, but they're famous? They don't sing, don't act, don't produce anything, so why are they famous?

Here in the Dallas area, we've been dumped into Kardashian-mania, I guess. The Mavericks hired Lamar Odom for their team from the Lakers, and he's married to one of them? I admit to not understanding why shots of this creature in the crowd dominates Maverick broadcasts now. This woman dominated local TV news coverage yesterday, because she set up a table in front of Dallas City Hall to sign autographs. Huh? What has she done to warrant 2000 people standing in line to get her autograph? (I will grant you that it was done for charity, and the event collected several thousand toys for kids - and that is a good thing - but why would anyone want this woman's picture?)

These women dominate the tabloids, both in print and broadcast so much that there has to be at least a dozen of them. I confess to not knowing how many there are, or what their names are - and I proudly state that I don't care.

WTF does it say about our society when people who do nothing but use up oxygen are held in such high esteem by so many airheads? (And no, I'm not talking about Obama, even though that statement is just as true about him!)

Mr. Holder, You Owe Me An Apology

2011-12-22T06:56:00.006-06:00

Our esteemed Attorney General, the highest law enforcement official in the United States, has told the world that criticism of him and boss Obama is all driven by racism. According to him, if you disagree with the Big O, you are a racist.

Mr. Holder, I disagree with almost everything you and your boss have done since taking control. Your policies, declarations, and actions have done horrendous harm to my country, and it is clear that you intend to continue your destructive goals. Now, do I hold those opinions because the two of you are black? Hell no. As I've stated in my writings before, I don't care what color you are, I would have the same opinions if you were purple, green, white, or pink polka-dot.

Mr. Holder, I do not consider myself a racist. I take offense at you calling me one. Your accusation is racist hate speech.

I demand an apology.

Government Waste - Why Do We Continue To Put Up With This?

2011-12-20T15:51:00.007-06:00

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) just released his now yearly report on the horrendous waste of our tax dollars going on in Washington. He details 100 of the worst offenders, and it will make your blood boil. Thank you, Senator, for continuing to show us what a bunch of crooks we've got running this country.

Why in the world do we continue to allow the Federal Government continue to raise our taxes, now worse than ever, when this is what they do with our money?

If you take the time to read through it, you'll find a preponderence of items listed originated with the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation - two organizations that should be wiped from the face of the Earth!

Warning - don't read this if you are easily upset ...

http://www.coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=b69a6ebd-7ebe-41b7-bb03-c25a5e194365

Here are a few gems:

- $740,000 given to Montana State University to study how wild sheep can be used to control weeds.

- $132,000 granted to redesign a show website for PBS, Jonathan Bird's Blue World.

- $499,000 given to the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Society for no reason anyone can identify.

- $80,000 to upgrade a street median in Washington DC.

- $339,000 awarded by the National Science Foundation to study weaving in Iceland.

- $5,180,000 to fund the construction of a Steamboat Overlook Interpretive Center in Louisiana.

- $923,000 awarded by the National Science Foudnation to study how robots can be used to help pre-schoolers learn to read.

- $592,000 from the National Institute of Health to study why monkeys throw their shit.

- $25,000 to transcibe a 6 hour love ballad for the Maldives Islands.

- $198,000 to UC Riverside to study whether using social media makes persons happy or not, awarded by the National Science Foundation.

- $18,800,000 for 160 grants nationwide for theaters to promote performing arts.

- $606,000 to Columbia University to study online dating.

- $160,000 for 16 professors to spend 5 weeks in Rome this past summer, apparently on vacation.

- $425,000 for a study on how to tell Indian (country of India) local level officials how to govern better.

- $52,000 for the USAF Academy to construct a pagan 'Stonehenge-like' outdoor worship location for cadets who worship the earth.

- $500,000 from the National Science Foundation for the creation of plays that explain scientific principles for children.

- $500,000 from the National Science Foundation to study how political information is disseminated on the internet.

- $610,000 to study the well being of people in other countries.

- $300,000 from the National Science Foundation to create a dance program explaining the origins of matter.

- $170,000 to study hookah pipe smoking habit changes in students.

- $182,000 to create an iPhone app to advertise Tennessee produce.

- $8,300,000 for a program to preserve covered bridges.

- $126,000 to study political campaign websites.

- $765,000 from the National Science Foundation to study how students use social networking.

- $492,000 from the National Science Foundation to study whether information in tweets is trustworthy.

And a whole lot more ...

Sheriff Joe Biden - Intellectual Giant

2011-12-19T14:07:00.006-06:00

Our illustrious, super smart financial cop on the beat, foreign policy expert, Defender of the Free World Veep, has done it again. In one of the most heinously stupid statements he has made so far (and that covers a lot of really stupid statements), he says the following to Newsweek:

"Look, the Taliban per se is not our enemy. That’s critical. There is not a single statement that the president has ever made in any of our policy assertions that the Taliban is our enemy because it threatens U.S. interests. If, in fact, the Taliban is able to collapse the existing government, which is cooperating with us in keeping the bad guys from being able to do damage to us, then that becomes a problem for us."

Uhhh Joe ... buddy ...

If the Taliban isn't our enemy, then just who in the hell is blowing up our soldiers in Afghanistan? Just who are the bad guys you are referring to? Republicans?

Update - this man is such an embarrassment to Obama that there are serious discussions going on in Democrat land about replacing him on the 2012 Obama ticket with HIllary. Yeah, its been talked about since Obama won the Democrat nomination in 2008 - but more and more Dem bigwigs are openly talking about it now. The Obama camp would love it. Not sure how the Hillary camp would react.

Who Is The Bigger Thief?

2011-12-16T14:49:00.004-06:00

Hmmmm ...

Difficult choice, but I think I'd have to vote for the guy on the left (for being the biggest thief, that is.)

The guy on the right only made off with 1.2 billion ...

From Hero to Unemployed

2011-12-15T13:03:00.004-06:00

The unemployed in this country are about to have their ranks swelled considerably.

Previously planned budget cuts for the Defense Department, coupled with the additional automatic cuts in defense triggered by the failure of the Super Committee, will result in approximately 1,500,000 job losses. These include members of the military, civilian employees of the Defense Department, and defense industry employees, folks whose positions will be eliminated.

The estimates come from Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

Defense Department spending cuts currently mandated by law total about 1,100,000,000,000 dollars over the next decade. A little over half of that was a result of the rigged to fail Super Committee.

Hell of a way to thank folks for risking their lives for their country.

I Am Sick Of The War Against My Religion

2011-12-14T15:57:00.004-06:00

I am not the most religious person in the world, that's a fact. However, I am a Christian, and I hold Christian beliefs. I am sick and tired of my religion being constantly under attack in this country by another religion.

I am talking about atheism.

Confused? Bear with me a bit ...

Atheism is a religion, just as much as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and all the other recognized religions of the world. Atheists would have you believe (pardon the pun) that they are free of religion, completely independent of faith. That is bullshit.

Atheism is the belief, the faith that there is no God (or Gods, as the case may be). Well, to believe that there is no God is in itself a belief, is it not? No one has empirical evidence of God's non-existance. No atheist can show me proof that there is no God. They may show me things they BELIEVE indicate there is no God ... they may present arguments they BELIEVE show there is no God ... but there's that nasty word again, belief.

To BELIEVE there is no God is just as much a religion as BELIEVING there is a God.

Here is my belief - people of all religions should be tolerant of people of other religions, as long as their religions do not cause harm. Atheists, a member of one religion, cause harm when they attack other religions. In this country, the targets are mostly Christian in nature, and the attack is always guised under 'freedom from religion'. Our Constitution does not guarantee freedom FROM religion, it guarantees freedom OF religion. Atheists are free to practice their religion. I am free to practice my religion. When atheists demand for removal of Christian symbols, or to prevent any Christian proceedings, their religion is attacking my religion. This is especially heinous during the Christmas season (after all, it is Christ-mas, isn't it?).

A common complaint by atheists is about exposing kids to Christian values in school. Even the word Christmas itself is under attack in our schools. Well, that's certainly not any worse than exposing kids to atheist values in school - they're both religions.

Atheists - back off. I don't try to convert you to Christianity. I don't care if you believe there is no God - that is your business, and I respect your right to hold your belief. Kindly stop attacking my right to to hold my belief.

And ... I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year - even if you don't BELIEVE in the reason for the season.

Iraq - What We're Leaving Behind

2011-12-13T14:50:00.009-06:00

Normally I don't have much use for the mainstream news, and certainly not anything that has to do with the NBC news organization. However ...

I was tooling around last night, bored with Monday Night Football's snooze fest and happened upon Brian Williams' Rock Center. Ted Koppell was presenting his first story for the new show, and it had to do with Obama's mandate that all US troops be out of Iraq by year's end. I only caught a piece of it, so went to NBC's site and watched the whole thing. It is scary.

There's a bit of anti-war politics at the beginning, which is to be expected. However, what follows in part 1 and part 2 should put a chill in all of us. The absolute lunacy of completely abandoning Iraq from a military perspective is clear to see, and it is amazing to see two liberal leaning journalists openly questioning why Obama is doing it.

The videos can be seen at: http://rockcenter.msnbc.msn.com/

Other things concern me as well, most from a military perspective. We are arming the Iraqis with up to date military hardware - in some cases superior to what our front line forces are fielding. Eighteen F-16 Block 52 fighters are on order, with statements being made about an additional 18. This model of the Fighting Falcon is superior to any the USAF now flies. C-130J transports, equal to the newest ones the USAF is receiving. New build T-6 trainers, equal to what our aviators are trained on. M1A1 Abrahms tanks. Weapons systems of all levels, and professional US civilian run training on all of it. We are leaving huge stockpiles of supplies, vehicles, and ammunition, along with billions of dollars of infrastructure - paid for by our tax dollars.

The goal is to allow the Iraqis to stand up to Iran by themselves. The reality is that Iraq and Iran are now closer than at any time since they fought their war. Iran is exerting its influence, and has openly stated that as soon at the US military is gone, they will exert even more influence. The Iraqi military and government are just as corrupt and two faced as the Pakistanis are. Chances are that the two countries will become allies against us, and we may fight our own weapons systems at some point in the future.

Our military forces are still deployed in foreign lands as a result of the outcome of WWII and Korea. We are not still in Vietnam because we lacked the will to win that war, retreated, and lost. Now we abandon a nation that is teetering on the brink of success or failure - as we define those concepts - so a liberal politician can fulfill a campaign promise just in time for the next election cycle. Our enemies are patient - they merely wait for us to give up and leave. It amazes me that anyone is stupid enough to believe we can just walk away while the issue is still in question without begging for the worst possible outcome to occur.

I sincerely hope this does not turn out as I fear it will. It would be very interesting to get a glimpse 10 years into the future and see how this ends up.

Now, Obama is getting ready to do the same thing in Afgthanistan, where the situation is even more tenuous.

Update - Within days of the last US troops' departure, the unraveling of Iraq may have begun. The country's president has issued arrest warrants for the Vice President. He has also issued statements that he may disolve the coalition government that the US had painstakingly put together. Huge suicide blasts in downtown Baghdad. It's very possible that nation will disolve into utter chaos very shortly.

Update II - Related. The Obama Administration announced it will continue pursuing direct negotiations with the Taliban in Afghanistan, making it one of their top goals for 2012. Obama is doing this in spite of objections from the elected Afghanistan government. The supposedly secret initiative was leaked to world wide news outlets.

Let me predict what the bottom line of these negotiations will be, from the Obama perspective:

"Hey, Mister Moolah Moolah. You keep your buddies in check for 2012. Make sure everything is very quiet leading up to my re-coronation in November. Once I'm locked back in for another 4 years, I'll pull our troops out as fast as I can, just like I did in Iraq, and you can do whatever you want. I don't care. Just let me get re-elected before you go nuts."

Am I being cynical ... yeah, I guess. However, I think this is pretty close to what he is wanting, even if he won't state it publicly to us.

Perry - Misunderstood and Misrepresented

2011-12-13T10:32:00.007-06:00

Rick Perry's latest ad - 'Strong' - has created a firestorm of criticism. All of that criticism is because folks either do not understand it, or are choosing to ignore what it actually says in order to cut him down.

His opponents and liberals all over the place are outraged at his denegration of gays and lesbians serving openly in the military. Problem is, that's not what he said.

He asks a simple question: In a country where gays can serve openly in the miltary, why is it that children aren't allowed to say a prayer in school, or even mention the word Christmas? If our society is open enough and tolerant enough to allow one, why not the other?

At no point does he say anything negative about gays or lesbians. Those who are freaking out about this either aren't listening to what he is saying, or don't care and just want to use it against him. Politics as usual.

More Amazing Government Waste

2011-12-08T14:44:00.008-06:00

The people who are wasting our money like this ought to be thrown in jail ...

Our tax dollars, over 250,000,000 of them, have been wasted by Medicare to buy penis pumps for men over the age of 65, during the past decade.

Yes. According to some stupid idiotic Medicare rule, Penis Pumps are valid ED treatments and are fully covered with taxpayer provided reimbursements.

This is ludicrous. It is beyond comprehension. It is infuriating.

My tax dollars are being wasted on sex toys for old geezers.

Why in the HELL are our taxes being thrown away on anything related to sex or ED for anyone over the age of 65? For the few folks who are still interested in fooling around at that age and have a problem doing it, shouldn't it be their own financial responsibility? Why in the HELL do I have to pay for old people to be able to have sex? Old folks - if you want to screw around, that's fine - but why should I have to pay for it?

Some enterprising thieves make out like bandits (pardon the pun) on this. One was caught buying the toys from adult shops for $25, rewrapping them, providing them to Medicare patients, and billing the government for $284 each. He collected over 2 million from Medicare before he was caught.

This doesn't even begin to address the hundreds of millions of dollars wasted annually by Medicare for other ED treatments, like Viagara, penis implants, etc. It wouldn't surprise me at all to find out Medicare is paying for porno DVDS, or Hustler subscriptions.

I do not blame the Obama Administration specifically for this. This is big government waste, fraud, and outright ineptness. It's been this way for a very long time. I do blame Obama for allowing it to continue - instead of trying to get rid of this waste, it is glossed over and he demands even more of our money to throw away.

Does this frustrate you? Do you get pissed off at the incompetence of the Federal Government? You ain't seen nothing yet ...

This is the same kind of lunacy and waste that will rule every aspect of your health care under Obamacare, when all control over your well being will be decided by a bunch of pencil pushers and a huge book of rules.

Obama's DHS' Latest Tool To Fight Terrorism

2011-12-06T11:45:00.009-06:00

This just really pisses me off ...

The Western Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission manages the homeland security program in 13 Michigan counties. This agency recently purchased and distributed new security equipment to the 13 counties, using federal money earmarked by the Department of Homeland Security.

The equipment included one Arctic Blast Sno-Cone Machine for each county. The machines cost about $900 each, for a total outlay of $11,700.

The Commission had specifically requested the machines, citing that "the snow cone machines can make ice to prevent heat related illnesses during emergencies, treat injuries, and provide snow cones as an outreach at promotional events". What these rocket scientists apparently didn't realize, or chose to ignore, is the fact that these machines do not produce ice - they merely take existing ice and shave it into a form that is usable for sno-cones.

There should be an investigation into this. If this was a dirty deal where tax dollars were funneled to someone's friend, or a political ally of someone on that Commission, then they ought to go to jail.

This is an outrage. Obama is screaming at us that he needs hundreds of billions of dollars more in tax revenue or the country will collapse. Bullshit. The government doesn't need any more of our money. It needs to stop wasting what it already steals from us! What is more outrageous than this one incident is that this kind of shit is pervasive throughout our government. The bigger the government, the more control they have over us, the more waste, the more fraud it produces.

I can see it now ... Achmed the Terrorist running out of his cave, shouting to his fellow martyr buds "Run, run away ... they're going to hit us with slushies !!!!!"

AND, by the way - do a google search on Arctic Blast Snocone machines, and you can find them all day long at $440 each. Our wonderful f***ing government overpaid almost $500 each for them!!!!!

Chris Christie Tells It Like It Is

2011-11-29T13:58:00.007-06:00

I like Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ). He's not conservative enough on some subjects for my tastes, but he's been a hell of a lot better for New Jersey than his Democrat (thief) predecessor. What he says here is just common sense, and he says it without regard as to how politically correct it is. That takes big brass ones in the political arena, and he is to be admired for that.

One thing I noticed in this clip, which was apparently shot in a large restaurant. Most of the employees moving around in the backgroud are African-American. They are all Republicans (unlikely), deaf (also unlikely), or exhibiting tremendous self control in not reacting to what the Governor is saying about Obama.

Update - Not to be outdone, The Donald goes off on Obama for inconveniencing New Yorkers, again. This is priceless!

Bawney Say Bye Bye

2011-11-28T12:58:00.008-06:00

Rep. Barney Frank has told the world that he will not seek reelection to a 17th term in the US House of Representatives. Anyone who has served that long in a very taxing (no pun intended) and high stress job has certainly earned their retirement, but the actual reason(s) are in question.

Frank, in his announcement, stated that he didn't want to campaign. Congressional redistricting, mandated by the 2010 census, caused Frank's usually safe Democrat district to be not so safe anymore. He would actually have to run a reelection campaign, instead of just claiming the seat he believes he owns. Experts looking at the 2012 elections had predicted a tough campaign for him to win 'his' seat. Apparently, Barney just didn't want to work for his position - or maybe he is afraid of the embarrassment he would suffer if he lost the election - a very real possibility.

There may be more to it than that - high profile members of Congress that suddenly quit usually have something about to come out that they are trying to quash. Another scandal? Is he going to reopen the gay prostitution ring that ran out of his basement a few years ago? Maybe open a parking ticket fixer service?

I don't know, and I really don't care what his reason is. Good Riddance. Our country will be better off without him in a position of power.

Barney Frank was one of the handful of people who started the mess that has gotten us into this economic disaster. He, Chris Dodd, and Bill Clinton sowed the seeds of economic devastation in the 90s, when they bullied the financial industry into giving loans to anyone who wanted them, no matter if they could pay them back or not. That legislation combined with their strong armed tactics created the sub-prime mortgage bubble.

Good riddance, you jerk.

Oh ... there is a downside to Frank leaving, if you can believe that. Frank has been the ranking Dem on the House Financial Services Committee. He runs the Committee when Dems have control of the House. That position is very powerful, and very dangerous in the wrong hands. The second in line for that post, and the default selection to become ranking Dem on the Committee is Maxine Waters (D-CA). Yes, that Maxine Waters - the one under multiple ethics rules violation investigations and one of the biggest race baiters the US Congress has ever known. The one who is insanely anti-capitalist, anti-business, and yes - anti-white. You can bet that business leaders all over the country are already calling Dem members of Congress lobbying to make sure she is not given the position.

Hopefully, Dem leadership in the House will select a more rational person to take that position - but it is doubtful, since doing so would bring down the wrath of the Congressional Black Caucus on them.

NBA Lockout Was Perfect

2011-11-27T13:50:00.006-06:00

The NBA lockout/work stoppage/strike was wonderful. Was it because the owners and players now have an agreement that will allow the season to happen? Did the players get a good deal? Did the owners screw the players?

No, no ... the results of the resolution make it well worth all the pain.

The Dallas Mavericks will play on Christmas Day to open the season. They will play the Miami Heat, the team they beat for the NBA championship - on nation wide TV. David Stern will present Mark Cuban and the team with their championsip trophy prior to the game. The Mavericks will receive their championship rings. The Mavericks will hoist the championship banner in the AAC. And ... LeBron and Dwade will have to sit there and watch it!

How sweet!

Update - Christmas Day may be the only day of celebration for the Mavs this season. Due to conditions of the new CBA, the rules on how much teams can spend on players have changed significantly. As a result, the 4 free agents the Mavs had on the team, Tyson Chandler, Caron Butler, JJ Barea, and Deshawn Stevenson, have all been allowed to sign with other teams. Mark Cuban has so far made no attempt to sign any of them, or to replace them.

His stated reasons are to get a youth movement going on the team - it is (or was) the oldest in the NBA - and to free up money to go after big free agents next summer. Logical, and you can't argue with his track record of success with the team. However, it does mean that this season is likely to SUCK for the Mavericks.

Obama's DHS - The Nation's Protectors

2011-11-23T07:11:00.005-06:00

Obama's Department of Homeland Security has sent us a video in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, intended to alert the American public to an imminent threat to our national security.

(In the interest of full disclosure, they sent this out via Twitter in a series of messages on the subject, with one message containing a link to this UL produced video.)

Does it concern being vigilant during this busy air travel time? Does it ask us to keep a look out for suspicious activity as we shop the crowded malls on Black Friday? Not exactly .....

Seriously? Frying a turkey is something the DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY must warn us about. What??? Is this a level red WARNING???

This is a wonderful example of how the left views us, the public - completely stupid and incapable of any independent thought. We must be controlled, and protected from ourselves. A few genious Ivy League liberals know what's best for all of us. Thank God we have such people in charge!

I feel so much safer!!!

BTW - No one can accused DHS of not having a sense of humor. On their official website, interspersed with their Thanksgiving holiday travel tips are hilarious, uplifting, side splitting jokes to make our DHS experience so much more enjoyable:

Unlike people who join the Navy, turkeys are destined to join the gravy.

When deceased turkeys are offended, do they roll over in their own gravy?

Turkeys take offense to 'laugh your head off''.

This, from the Cabinet level department responsible for overseeing everything related to defending our country. Billions of our dollars wasted each year on this bloated mess, and this is what we get!

Super Committee Fails, Democrats Declare Victory

2011-11-21T09:56:00.006-06:00

Well, no surprise on this one.

Leaders of the Super Committee have declared that they are at an impasse, and no deal will happen on the required defecit reduction prior to the Thanksgiving deadline.

Republicans stuck to their stance that the majority of the deficit reductions must come from spending cuts.

Democrats wouldn't budge, the deficit reductions must come from tax increases on 'the rich'.

As I've said before, this was doomed before it even started, and it was doomed by design.

Democrats are jumping for joy in victory, even if you don't see it publicly. The automatic spending cuts that their failure will trigger will fall mainly on the Pentagon, devestating our military - exactly what they wanted.

Republicans in the Senate and House are already working on alternative legislation to keep the automatic cuts in Defense from happening. It will pass the House and might even pass the Senate - there are some Democrats in states with heavy Defense industries that might actually stand up for their constituents.

However, Obama has already come out and publicly declared he will veto any attempt to stop or modify the automatic cuts.

What is sad is that this whole exercise happened at all. It was a sham, at least from the Democrat side. They get to claim they came to the negotiating table, and Republicans obstructed their efforts to reach a bi-partisan compromise. That's absolute horseshit, but they will certainly be claiming it, and the mainstream media will be helping them to do so. A wonderful by-product for them is they get to see our armed forces cut off at the knees.

Here is how this disaster gets averted - Republicans win both houses of Congress and the White House in November, and roll back the automatic cuts (along with Obamacare and a dozen other disasters His Highness has managed to shackle us with).

NASCAR's Perfect Day

2011-11-20T16:51:00.005-06:00

This is how a championship should be decided.

Last race of the season. The two contenders running first and second for the last 50 laps, the guy who finishes in front of the other wins not only the race, but the season long championship.

It is not decided by parts failure, gas mileage, or someone else's wreck. It is decided by two drivers who drove their hearts out, in brilliantly prepared machines.

The two of them end up tied in the points for the championship, it is awarded on a non-controversial tie-breaker. Very cool.

I really wanted Carl Edwards to win. Ford. Roush. Nice guy. Didn't happen.

I don't mind Tony Stewart winning. Owns his own car and team. Speaks his mind. Hell of a race car driver. Not Jimmy Johnson.

I cannot remember another championship in any form of sport that had a more perfect finish.

Hey RNC - Back Off!

2011-11-18T09:35:00.008-06:00

My recently departed mother made a few contributions to her local Republican electoral candidates in her home town. As the manager of her estate, I now see the results of these small donations in the mailbox.

Her name was added to the Republican National Committee's database of donors, and apparently passed along to several other Republican related organizations. OK, I can understand that.

What I don't approve of, and am pissed off at the RNC about, is the heavy handed nature of their constant badgering her for more money.

In the past few months, I have received a dozen or more mailings addressed to her from the RNC. Here are descriptions of some of the more interesting ones:

'Appointment Confirmation - Immediate Response Requested'

"Dear Ms. xxxxx. You know that your membership in the RNC is LAPSED. You have received notice after notice asking you to renew, but you have not. ... Ms. xxxxx, you have had many opportunities to renew your support for the RNC during the past few months. But I am not giving up on you. ...."

signed by the Chairman of the RNC, Reince Priebus

'PAST DUE'

A bill shaped letter addressed to my mother, with the words PAST DUE stamped in large red letters on the outside. Inside, something that appears to be a bill, titled "Republican National Committee, 2011 Septemter Statement".

'2011 GOP Presidential Straw Poll'

A two sided flyer, 2/3 of which is dedicated to how much are you going to dontate to the RNC in order to register for the straw poll.

'2012 Presidential Leadership Survey'

A four page foldout, made to look like a survey form. "This DOCUMENT IS REGISTERED to the individual named below, and must be accounted for." If you wish to participate in this 'survey' you get to choose how much your donation will be.

In addition, mailings from other conservative or Republican sounding organizations keep showing up, all asking for money.

I have tried to contact the RNC three times through their website, to get her name removed from their database. First, because she's no longer with us. Second, I don't want them to waste money sending stuff that will not be answered. And third, I am really pissed off at their pushy tactics towards their donors.

Mr. Priebus - I am a dedicated conservative Republican. However, the RNC will not get a single dime from me as long as you are leading the RNC, and while the RNC is using these kinds of bullshit strongarm demands to try and gain donations. Instead, if I choose to donate it will be directly to the candidate(s) of my choice. Trust me, sir - you are not helping to energize the Repubican voters this way.

Prime Example of Why We Need Tax Reform

2011-11-18T09:20:00.004-06:00

During a town hall meeting recenly, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) cited GE as an example of why we need serious reform to our tax code. He stunned the crowd with the following details:

GE's reported income for last year was $14,000,000,000. Through the use of loopholes in the tax code, deductions provided for by law, and preferential treatment from the government in the form of tax credits, GE paid no taxes on that income.

Everything GE did was apparently legal. GE's management performed their jobs by maximizing the company's profit and shareholder returns. They did nothing wrong.

Why isn't the Obama Administration attacking GE as a 'rich' tax evader? Why isn't His Highness referring to them in every speech he makes about his desire for wealth redistribution? It's simple - GE's upper management has made a very smart decision to suck up to Obama and his agenda. His policies have no bigger corporate cheerleader than GE. As a result, GE avoids criticism of its 'rich' status, no one is attacking their lack of paying taxes, and it continues to benefit from billions of dollars in government contracts. Smart business.

If GE had paid taxes of, say, 20% on their profits last year, that would have been almost $3,000,000,000 added to the Treasury.

BTW - GE's tax return, if it had been filed on actual paper, would have been 57,000 pages long!

United Perversion of Benetton

2011-11-17T12:52:00.006-06:00

Benetton, an Italian clothing company I have no interest in, has a long history of trying to generate interest in their products by producing controversial ads. However, their latest campaign hits a new low mark for disgusting.

Multiple digital hacked images of world leaders kissing each other. Sick, stupid, and it has no purpose other than to get the company in the news. On that count, its working.

Anyone who has read this blog knows what I think of our current President. No matter what my thoughts about the man himself, this is an intolerable insult to the Office.

I call for an immediate and complete boycott of all things Benetton. I will have no personal effect on this, since I have never, and never will, purchase any of their product.

Very Concerned About 2012

2011-11-16T15:49:00.011-06:00

The closer we get to the elections of 2012, the more apprehensive I get about what will happen. A few months ago, it seemed a lock that no matter who the Republicans nominated, they would wax the floor with Obama. Republican control of both houses of Congress seemed assured.

Now, not so much, for four main reasons.

First, the Republican nomination process, although still far from decided, has left a bad taste in the mouths of a lot of people. A few missteps, combined with a rabid determination by the mainstream media to destroy anyone that poses a threat to Obama has minimized the potential candidates.

Cain had no chance, no matter what the poles stated. Even before the manufactured sexual harrassment crap, the initial excitement of his freshness was wearing off. No matter his message, he simply doesn't have the credentials to hold the office, and that was becomming apparent. Cain should have a future in a Republican Administration - he's a hell of a lot more knowledgable about the realities of finance than most of the idiots occupying Obama's cabinet, that's for sure.

Perry came on with a flash, but his debate performances have been bad - no doubt about it. Will Republicans be so put off by his lack of polish that they ignore the fact he's the most qualified candidate? Time will tell. You would think that an electorate that has seen how much you can count on a slickster behind a teleprompter would be smarter than that. Perry has run the most successful state in the Union for a dozen years. Texas is the envy of almost every other state, and a whole hell of a lot of people have moved here to benefit from that. Is he perfect - Of course not. But he's a lot better than the other Republican candidates, and light years ahead of the moron currently in the White House.

Romney is the default candidate. He will be the nominee if no one else is left standing. He's no one's first choice. The good things about him are he is very presentable, and he is a completely known quantity. The bad things are he is not a conservative by any definition of the word. If he is indeed the nominee, it will be difficult for Republicans to generate excitement over it. Also, as bad as it is to realize this, his Faith will be an issue in the general election to a sizable number of voters.

Gingrich is showing more lives than a cat. He is a puzzle. Sometimes, he is one of the most brillian political minds in our country's history. Other times, he can't get his shoe out of his own mouth. Resurgent in the poles after having his candidacy declared dead more than once, he is bound to step in it again before the convention. He will not be the nominee. If for some reason he is, Democrats will tear him apart during the general election process on his character issues - deserved or not.

Everyone else is just jockeying for the political payoff their endorsement for one candidate will bring them. (Except Ron Paul, whose ego just likes to see him make an ass of himself every 4 years.)

It is too late for anyone else to successfully enter the race. What we've got to choose from is what we've got. The biggest key to the White House next year is going to be whether the supporters of the losing candidates fall in behind the winner, and make him their candidate. If they get pissed off at their guy/gal not being the chosen one and take their toys home, the election is lost.

What Republicans MUST realize, and must be made to realize by all the candidates even after the choice is made, is that getting Obama out of the White House is the overriding mission. No matter who the Republican is, that person will be a marked improvement. 4 more years of His Highness is not something our country can survive - it is that important to return him to private life!!!!

Second, the Democrat spin machine is already moving into high gear. We are flooded with reports of economic recovery, better jobs outlook, and Obama's success in ending two wars. There is no recovery - if we keep going the way we are being led, there iwll be no recovery. The jobs situation is not better - just because the number of NEW unemployed people dropped below 400,000 last month does not mean the economy is adding jobs. Folks, that means that about 400,000 people are losing their jobs each month - according to the government's own figures. Those figures are monkeyed with constantly, with the goal to get the overall unemployed rate under 9.00%. Almost every month you see a revision to the number of lost jobs released a few days after the 'official' release - and the figure is always revised upwards. The first, better, figure is what the media reports. The Obama Administration is trying every dirty trick they can to keep that number down - counting phantom jobs, counting part time jobs, underreporting jobless claims, etc. They know that no President has eve been reelected with an unemployement rate this high.

This spin is going to increase as we progress thorugh early 2012 and into campaign season. If you listen to the mainstream media next summer, you will think that the country's situation is great. It's a lie, a coordinated lie intended to fool the public into believing Obama's policies are beginning to work, and if we just give him 4 more years, we'll be back stronger than we ever have been.

Third - about half of the country is directly benefiting from Obama's policies. They love the message that His Higness spits out - the rich should provide you everything you need. Never mind that is impossible, even if every penny the rich ever have is redistributed. Never mind that if the rich are robbed to the point where they aren't rich, where will the money come from then? Never mind that the left is trying its best to create an entitlement state, where each citizen or non-citizen depends upon the government handouts.

If you have a President who tells you that he will give you whatever you need, and some rich person you don't know is going to pay for it all, you'd be pretty happy with that President, wouldn't you? Of course you would, at least until you start to realize that it was all a line of bullshit - and even then you'd believe his lies about what's causing the delays in their checks.

You also have a good number of brain dead people who voted for Obama in 2008 because he was black, or because they thought it was cool, who will do so again.

Fourth - The conservative wave that swept through Congress in 2010 has done what it could to stop Obama. Unfortunately, pretty much all they could do was stop him, because Dems still had the Senate, and he still has the veto pen. Republicans have been unable to fix anything, because the Senate refuses to any legislation passed by the Republican controlled House to become law.

Democrats are already portraying Republicans as the party of NO. The guys who just stand in the way and don't accomplish anything. Never mind that it is all they've been able to do.

What happened in 2010 is unlikely to reoccur in 2012. It is by no means a given that Republicans will gain control of the Senate, and some Democrats are even now predicting they will regain the House.

It is essential for Republicans to maintain the House, and gain the Senate if they have any possibility of reversing what Obama has done to us. If they only have one side of Congress, we will continue in virtual gridlock. If they have both sides of Congress, but lose the White House, Obama will veto any attempt to roll back his destruction.

As important as the sweeping change of 2010 was, 2012 is a whole lot more critical to the survival of our country. What seemed like a certain victory just a few months ago seems a little less certain each day we get closer to November 2012.

They Just Couldn't Help Themselves

2011-11-16T07:07:00.004-06:00

The left wing goobers over at the LA Times can't report a single thing without trying to put a liberal slant on it ...

In a report on the formation of a huge iceberg in Antarctica, they make the follwing statements:

"The formation of an iceberg is called calving, and although it's a fairly regular event - probably unrelated to global warming - scientists are awaiting this one with considerable anticipation. Icebergs this big calve off only about once every 10 years."

They take two scientific facts - the formation of an iceberg - icebergs this size are born about every 10 years - and manages to intertwine a reference to global warming.

Global warming, the man-made variety that is supposedly ending our planet, has reportedly been around for how many years? A couple of decades? I can say with a pretty large amount of certainty that there were large icebergs formed before 1990 ...

The new 'berg is a massive amount of ice about to break off the Pine Island Glacier, on the western edge of Antarctica. When it finally breaks free, it will measure about 308 square miles in surface area.

The Pine Island Glacier has been producing large 'bergs for much longer than man has been on Earth. And yet, somehow, these weasels find a way to interject a political agenda into a simple factual report.

This Isn't A Surprise, II

2011-11-14T16:11:00.004-06:00

As expected, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving Obamacare. As I undersatand it, the chosen case is the one put forth by Virginia, challenging the constitutionality of the law. A Federal Appeals Court ruled in favor of Virginia, which was immediately appealed by Obama's DoJ.

The case is to be heard in the March time frame. A decision is expected in June/July. The court has set aside a whopping 5.5 hours for arguments - which is a very small time period, but is actually lengthy in comparison to other Supreme Court cases. 1.5 hours of that is dedicated to arguments over whether finding one part of the law unconstitutional would void the entire law. Personally, I think putting an arbitrary time limit on what can be presented is bullshit, given the enormity of the issue. I mean, one sixth of our economy and our very way of life hangs in the balance, and these folks can't even put in a full day on it?

Heavy lobbying is going on by both sides currently. The left wants Clarence Thomas to recuse himself, because of hiw wife's ties to a lobbying group. The right wants Elena Kagan to recuse herself, since she was the White House's lawyer while Obamacare was being drafted and passed, and was seen publicly cheering when it passed. Either of these two recusing themselves will decide the case before it is even heard. If they both recuse themselves, the balance of power is unaffected.

When all is said and done, the issue, as I've said before, will likely come down the vote of one judge - one who is such a loose cannon no one can predict where he's going to land on any given issue. It is also likely to come down what the Court decides is the definition of 'tax'.

The Obama Administration furiously fought against any mention of Obamacare, specifically the individual mandate, being a tax, while the law was being being shoved through Congress. As soon as it passed, their tact changed - suddenly it could be called a tax, because that would give the Administration the argument that because it is a tax, then Congress has the power to levy it. Nowhere in the Obamacare bill is the word 'tax' mentioned. There are penalties and fines discussed, but not TAX.

Either side who thinks this is a slam dunk decision for their stance is engaging in some very wishful thinking. I know what this decision should be, but I don't have any idea if that decision will be made.

I also don't know what will happen in the aftermath. If the ruling goes against Obama, will he and Dem leadership in Congress abide by it, or will they just ignore it? If the law is ruled unconstitutional, does that instantly invalidate the law, or does Congress have to go back and specifically rescind it? If the ruling favors Obama, Republicans options are very limited. The only thing they can do is hope that they win both houses of Congress and the White House, in order to craft legislation repealing Obamacare. If they don't win all three, they will have to try to cut pieces of Obamacare off by cutting funding here and there - which will ultimately fail if Obama sits there with the veto pen.

An Open Letter to National Charities

2011-11-14T15:51:00.006-06:00

I am addressing this open letter to all National Charities, especially those that use compensated, professional fund raisers.

"If you have a professional solicitor placing calls for you to try and encourage donations, be warned - YOU'RE NOT GETTING A PENNY FROM ME!

Recently, a profesional solicitor placed 6 calls to my residence over a 48 hour period, two of which were after 9:00pm. The number was not blocked, but there was no ID. Normally, I do not answer calls like this, I let them hit VM. Of course, these folks didn't leave any message. After 4 calls, I tried to call the number - just a busy signal. On the 5th call, I picked it up, because I was tired of my phone ringing. The person correctly identified himself as a professional fund raiser for the National Kidney Foundation. I told him I couldn't help him, and asked to be put on the do not call list. Before I could get 'call list' out of my mouth, he had hung up on me.

The 6th call I answered, and ripped into the lady. I explained the previous call and what happened, demanded to be put on the do not call list. She said she would, but offered no apology or explanation.

I have not received another call from these people, so either they entered a note in their system on my phone number, or they did indeed put me on 'the list'.

I have three points to make.

First, I will not pay a professional fundraiser anything. I give to the charities of my choice directly, without paying an unknown percentage to some middleman's phone bank.

Second, if a charity is using a rude, pushy pro to try and drum up donations, you are barking up the wrong tree. Not only will you not get anything from that call, the person receiving the call is very likely to NEVER give your charity anything in the future.

Third (and completely unrelated to the phone call, but I'm going to mention it here anyway), if I see in the news that your President, officers, or employees are making large salaries, don't expect me to give you anything. I see no reason to give my money to an organization that pays its head people in multi-6 digit salaries.

In these days of tight budgets, lousy economy, and millions of unemployed, charities are scrambling to get donations. If you are pissing off the people you are asking to give you money, trust me - you are not helping yourselves!"

Veterans Day Message From Your C-inC

2011-11-11T11:05:00.006-06:00

During his comments commemorating Veterans Day from Arlington National Cemetary, His Highness let slip this little goodie:

"Over the next 5 years, over one million service members will be transitioning back to civilian life."

The mainstream media will be harping about this, how all the folks who have been fighting for our country won't be at war anymore. Peace, we're abandoning Iraq and Afghanistan, the whole world will love us, we don't need a military.

There's a more serious message there for our military members. Whether he meant to slip it in, or it was just a Freudian slip, I don't know ...

If the Dems are successful at destroying the Pentagon's budget, many folks who are employed (either full time or part time) by the military will be out of a job. The sad fact is many soldiers returning from combat will be told thank you, there's no place for you now, you are now unemployed. Members of the Guard and Reserves who count on their part time service as part of their income will find that their positions have been eliminated. The drawdowns have already started, and the big budget axe hasn't even fallen yet.

Not to mention all the civilian employees of the military, and the thousands upon thousands of people who work in the defense industry who are going to find themselves without a job.

Update - The Army has announced the elimination of 8700 civilian jobs by the end of FY 2012, mandated by budget cuts. It is hoped that most of these can be accomplished through early retirements and normal attrition. The cuts will affect installations in 37 states.

The Army is also facing a mandated reduction in force (RIF) of 27,000 soldiers by 2015.

Update - An estimated 1,500,000 people will be put out of work over the next 10 years due to budget cuts in the Defense Department, according to the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. These comprise 800,000 military members, 200,00 civilian employees of the Defense Department, and about 400,000 workes in the Defense industry.

Democrats and the Sham of Super Committee

2011-11-09T17:25:00.004-06:00

Democrats on the Congressional deficit reduction Super Committee have left the negotiating table, and are refusing to speak with Republicans on the committee.

Why?

Two reasons, both of which I have written about before.

First, and foremost, Democrats want this as a campaign issue. Even before Super Committee meetings began, Democrat leadership in the House and Senate publicly scolded their Republican opponents for being inflexible, and unwilling to negotiate. In an almost daily diatribe, all we heard in the mainstream press was some Dem talking head complaining that Republicans would not talke about increasing revenue, that all they wanted was to punish the poor and reward the rich. What bullshit!

Democrats want to be able to harp on this throughout the 2012 campaign to get Obama reelected, and they sincerely hope to retake control of the House and retain the Senate. Aided by the media, they will try very hard to convince the undecided voters that Republicans are the bad guys, the reason we are in this mess, and the only reason we can't get out of the mess.

Second, Democrats are salivating at the idea of the mandatory cuts that will take place, by law, if the Super Committee is unsuccessful. Every liberal's wet dream is to see our military castrated. The mandatory cuts would eviscerate the Pentagon's budget, and devestate our military capability for a decade or more.

So, Democrats never had any intention of being serious about the Super Committee, except in their intention to twist it and sabotage it for political gain.

Disgusting.

Update - Even as Republicans on the committee are making honest efforts at compromise (offering tax reforms and some hikes), Democrats continue to blow smoke up our asses. Their latest attempt - they want to count 'anticipated savings' from ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as the largest portion of the spending cuts that will be required to meet the committee's target. Those 'savings' will not be saved (in other words, NOT SPENT), instead being made available for spending elsewhere. Somehow, according to Democrats, that equates to spending cuts.

Practicing for the Zombie Apocalypse

2011-11-02T10:14:00.008-05:00

The amount of crap being sold and scarfed up by idiots preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse amazes me. T-shirts, Zombie killing kits, study guides ... It is difficult to tell what is tongue-in-cheek and what is serious. In any case, its just F***ing stupid.

At the local shoot em up range a couple of weeks ago, two young men were occupying the lanes next to me. They had on black tactical gear, combat style boots, and black T-shirts proudly stating they were with the Zombie Extermination Squad, Inc. I spied a hiked up four wheel drive truck, all black, in the parking lot with the same nomenclature spread across the windshield. Rather than using normal targets, these guys had posters with zombies and hostages printed on them. Each of them had a couple of tactically configured M-4s. Laser sights, red dots, 30 round mags - you'd have thought they were contractors preparing to go to Afghanistan.

I hope they were trying to sight those weapons in, because they had no idea where their rounds were going. At 50 yards, they were lucky to hit the target stand, much less the zombie. Zombies of the world are safe from these two! They're watching me put up 5 shot groupings in a 3/4 inch target dot at the same range. 'Holy S**t dude, how are you doing that?'

These guys have a running dialog with anyone who is unlucky enough to get within voice range, extolling the virtues of preparing for the coming zombie invastion. Yes, it must be real, because the government (CDC) came out with an official statement saying it is going to happen. Here, go to our website, and we'll give you all the information you need to survive. Listening to them, I had no idea if they were serious, just having fun, or tyring to peddle their crap.

And no ... I did not visit their web site.

How crazy is this - or better yet, how many people are trying to make money off of it? Here is a VERY small sample of zombie target manufacturers, as advertised in main stream shooting magazines. Very ghoulish (pardon the pun) ...

Zombie Ammo

Zombie Industries

BTW - I certainly do not endorse the 'products' protrayed by these companies, am merely illustrating the absurdity ...

Wanna Smell Like Rotten Tuna?

2011-10-27T11:21:00.004-05:00

If so, Glamour Queen Snooki has got what you need ...

How disgusting ...

New Democrat Tax Plan

2011-10-26T12:54:00.006-05:00

We're seeing the major Republican candidates put forth their plans for reforming the tax code. Most of them involve cutting taxes in some form. Horribly upset at these proposed injustices, Democrat leadership is working on their own reform plan, which they will unveil later. It is a simple plan, probably the flattest tax plan that can be imagined:

Everyone in America pays 95% of their income to the Federal Government, who in turn will redistribute that money to those who they think deserve it.

There are a few exceptions - folks who fall into these categories will pay no income tax at all:

Anyone registered as a Democrat Voter, and can prove they voted for Obama

Anyone belonging to any racial minority

Anyone classified as an illegal immigrant

Anyone of the Jewish faith, unless they actually support Isreal

Anyone who received a liberal arts degree

Anyone who is a card carrying member of a national union

Any government employee who also belongs to a union

Any current or former member of ACORN

Anyone who believed Rev. Wright's sermons were loving gospel

Anyone who works for DailyKOS, Move On, MSNBC, CNN, Huffington, or the other perfectly balanced, logical, and completely fair quaility news outlets.

Any intern that did NOT complain about Bill Clinton's advances

Anyone who believes 9/11 was justified, or caused by US action

Anyone who believes that our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan were simply attacks on peace loving peoples in order to steal their oil.

Anyone who makes under 100,000, and signs a pledge to support the Democrat Party for life

Anyone who makes over 100,000, and pledges to deliver one of these: A) yearly campaign donations of 5,000 or more, B) 25 or more manufactured votes per national election cycle, or C) perform on national TV, giving whatever false testimony the DNC provides to you as your own.

Anyone who will follow ACORN direction and actively participate in the Occupy Whatever movement for a minimum of 30 days.

Any person falling into these categories will receive monthly compensation checks from the government of such a size that they do not have to participate in any actual work. In addition, they will receive free healthcare, free tuition, free drugs, free abortions, free condoms, free needles, and free Obama campaign buttons.

Celebrate ... Gravy!!!!

2011-10-26T07:41:00.004-05:00

Today is the inaugural Chicken Fried Steak Day here in the Republic of Texas, as declared by the Texas House Resolution 1419.

A well prepared Chicked Fried Steak is one of God's favored foods. Tenderized sirloin, double dip battered, fried, and slathered with cream gravy ... yumm. Side of french fries, or mashed potatoes and pintos, fresh made rolls, glass of brewed ice tea ---- it just don't get much better than that.

Celebrate! Go out and eat one for lunch, and strike a blow against the First Lady's food nazis!

Occupy "Generic" ... Pathetic

2011-10-25T15:07:00.011-05:00

The occupy whatever movement is the most pathetic example of American left wing stupidity in action since the Vietnam War protests. Period. This is just a bunch of nutcases looking for something, anything, to protest and make themselves jackasses over. The whole point is to 'stick it to the man'. What they don't seem to realize is 'the man' is their guy!

A couple of examples, shamelessly stolen from threedonia ... (I'm not taking any credit, just passing them along)

The 'Kill Whitey' guy is a white guy, from the Occupy Albany, NY fruitloop gathering. Someone, please, give him his wish ...

Here's a good one ... Authentic Occupy Wall Street members, explaining to a person who grew up in the Soviet Union why Socialism is soooo much better than Capitalism. This will cause your head to explode. These are the people Obama claims to be standing shoulder to shoulder with (and that's one of the few things he's told us that is NOT a lie) ... Can we get these nice folks some tickets to the worker's paradise of North Korea so they will be happy?

Remember those TV public service spots with the frying egg? This, my friends, is your brain on liberalism!

Update - The country has had just about enough of these bums, kooks, and retards ...

Occupy Wall Street thrown out of their squatters camp because it had become a health hazard because of all the filth and trash. Refugees decide they are going to storm Wall Street itself, to shut down the Financial District. Fewer than 1000 of them show up, they shut down nothing. But, when the NYC Police try to remove them from the area they are trespassing in, they turn violent, and two Police are sent to the hospital with facial injuries.

A Washington DC Occupier has been arrested and charged with attempting to assassinate President Obama! The many is charged with shooting at the White HOUse with an AK-47, striking two windows. This has to be quite a shock to Mr. Obama - after all, he's claimed he's down with the Occupier's struggle,l he admires them, and he is with them.

A San Diego Occupier, using a bullhorn, yesterday called upon his gathering to offer a moment of silence to support their DC brother, who shot at the White HOuse, and then praised the man's actions.

Dallas Occupiers, thrown out of their location by a judge, got arrested on purpose. One of them told reporters they wanted to do it so they'd get on TV.

This 'Occupy' movement is nothing but a thinly disquised reason for all the anarchists, kooks, mentally unstable, drug users, perverts, thieves, and social misfits to camp out together and get on the news. There is no movement - because there is no real 'cause'. You ask 100 of these idiots why they are there, and you will get 99 different answers.

Obama Throws In The Towel

2011-10-23T02:14:00.004-05:00

So, now our esteemed leader has decided to declare surrender and retreat from Iraq by year's end. He actually will claim this as a foreign policy victory, a fulfillment of a campaign promise. Why did he do this?

1) First and foremost, to shore up his far left voter base. In spite of being in office for 3 years, he hasn't actually surrendered anything - until now. He's tried, but failed - Iraq, Afghanistan, Gitmo, civilian trials, enhanced surveillance, etc. Got to give the kooks their 'America Last' moment to keep them happy in time for the election next year.

2) A legitimate reason. The Iraqi government's decision not to extend immunity for US troops beyond this year. This is a big deal. If immunity couldn't be guaranteed, any piss ant 'court' in Iraq could charge soldiers for crimes - real or imagined - and throw them in jail. With as much anti-US sentiment as there is in the country (spurred by the Iranians), this would have been a way to embroil US forces in controversy.

What effect will this have? A lot, and in many different ways.

1) Other than the US embassy and 1500-2000 contractors, US military presence in Iraq will be gone. No soldiers, no aviation. If the Iraqis get in trouble, either against insurgents or against Iran, they will be on their own. They are no where near capable of taking care of themselves. Expect Iran to ramp up its efforts to destabilize the government, and for attacks on the government to rise.

2) All the infrastructure the US built will go over to the Iraqis, with no compensation. All the billions of dollars worth of bases and equipment we've poured into the conflict will be given away. What happened to all that oil and oil money compensation we were supposed to get?

3) Plans are currently in the works to reequip the Iraqi armed forces with advanced weaponry, supposedly so they can take care of themselves. State of the art goodies like C-130J transports (equal to the most advanced ones in US service), and F-16 Block 50/52 fighters (superior to ones in US service) are currently on order. It will be interesting to see if these are delivered, and if so who pays for them - Iraq or the US taxpayer. If Iraq falls into a Iran-like theocracy, what happens to that equipment?

4) Huge stockpiles of arms and equipment in use by US forces in country will be left where it is, and default ownership will change to the Iraqis. It would be very interesting to see an inventory of what we end up abandoning there, but of course that won't be made public over fears of the political backlash.

5) Allies and semi-allies in the region, especially Afghanistan, will see this
'commitment' from the US, and realize that they can't count on the US in the long run.Enemies int he area will be emboldened, getting one more historic lesson that tells them all they have to do is wait, and they will win when we run away.

Once upon a time, folks bristled at Iraq being compared to Vietnam. Well, with this master stroke by Obama, the conflict in Iraq comes very close to being a duplicate of Vietnam. Will it fall the same way - a couple of years after the US pulls out, the government collapses and the enemy we spent years, billions of dollars, and thousands of lives trying to defeat ends up winning. The parallels are certainly there, and they extend to the home front. Leftists in the 60s and early 70s wanted more than anything for the US to have its nose bloodied, to be run out of Vietnam as losers. The left now wants the same thing, although its not politically acceptable to attack the troops themselves as it was in the hippie years. Now the plan is to praise the troops in public, while undercutting their efforts behind the scenes.

8 years, almost a trillion dollars, over 4400 lost lives and thousands of others injured or maimed. All of that sacrifice pretty much thrown away by the politically motivated actions of our Coward-in-Chief.

Vote for deadmauSam

2011-10-18T11:23:00.002-05:00

'Stolen Valor' Heading to the Supreme Court

2011-10-17T15:59:00.004-05:00

The Stolen Valor Act was passed overwhelmingly by Congress in 2006, in response to an upward spiral in the number of cases where liars misrepresented military service - either service itself, or awards received during service. The practice of falsely hyping ones' war record has been around since the beginning of organized conflict. However, in recent times, high profile cases where people are trying to scam money or favor by claiming they are something they are not spurred action by Congress.

The Ninth US Circuit Court (the most liberal court in the land, located in San Francisco, of course) ruled that the law was unConstitutional. Somehow, in their twisted left wing sense they determined that lying was a form of free speech protected by the First Amendment. (Their decision, by the way, was 2-1, unusual because dissenting opinions rarely are produced by this radical activist bench). The Ninth then went on to block further judicial review by a broader group of judges. A survey of appelate judges that might have been asked to participate in that review showed that the vast majority of them would have sided with the law being Constitutional.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case. That group almost always picks up cases that involve Constitutional isses regarding legistlation. Previous Supreme Court rulings indicate that it should side with the law being Constitutional. Watch for a 5-4 vote, right down liberal/conservative lines.

Obama's DoJ finds itself in the uncomfortable position of having to defend the law before the Court. For His flunkies to have to fight against the Ninth, bastion of liberal activism, must grate against their very core. One hopes they don't tank the case on purpose in order to support the Ninth.

I hope that the Supreme Court does rule in favor of the law. Scumbags who try to profit in any way, shape, or form by lying about military service and/or decorations deserve a special place in Hell.

How Ridiculous Is This?

2011-10-16T14:16:00.011-05:00

The mascot for my daughter's university is called the Masked Rider. This character is adorned in black mask, hat, cape, and rides a black horse. It is most visible during football games, where it gallops out on the field, one hand in the air mimicking a revolver, firing up the students and players with the cry of 'Guns Up'.

This is so wrong on so many levels. It is offensive, and it needs to be recognized as the horrible insult it is. (Bear with me, and read this post all the way through before you pass judgement.)

The rider is caucasian, either male or female. This is an insult to African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Eskimos, Native Americans, Southwest Asians, Indians, Samoans, etc ...

The horse is always black. This is discrimination against horses of other colors and their owners.

The horse is run at a gallop across the artificial turf at the stadium. Causing it to run on anything other than natural grass is abuse of the animal, according to PETA.

The cowboy figure, making gun like signs with one hand, is offensive to Native Americans.

The use of a large animal (horse) is discriminatory against schools that have smaller animals as mascots, like A&M's collie.

The use of a fast animal is discriminatory against schools that have slower animals as mascots (Bevo, anyone?).

The Masked Rider is an obvious rip off of Zorro. Therefore, it is an insult to Mexicans who hold the esteemed Hollywood Hero as a symbol of their heritage.

The use of a college student as the rider violates professional cowboy union membership rules.

The horse's inevitable dumps on the artificial turf in the stadium are a direct insult to the manufacturers of the turf.

The use of a mascot in general promotes pride in school, both from students and alumni. Pride in a school is wrong. All schools should be equal, all educations should be the same. Everyone should feel exactly the same about their educational choices. No one has any right or reason to feel any pride in their school - to do so hurts the feelings of those who don't go to that school.

Is this ridiculous? Of course it is, and it is stated with a huge dose of sarcasm. However, there's nothing in here that is any more ridiculous than the incredible amount of manufactured outrage that we hear everyday from some group that feels it needs to be heard about some perceived injustice/discrimination/insult. What a bunch of babies we've become.

What Is Being Sold Here?

2011-10-16T13:55:00.006-05:00

Have you seen the TV commercials for the Fiat 500? If not, you're one of the few. Fiat has been force feeding us two spots featuring Jennifer Lopez for a little over a month now. Notice I said featuring JLo - very much on purpose. The commercials have very little to do with the car itself. You are supposed to focus on her and her songs playing in the background, and her 'life story' narration. The car is like a prop in a music video. There is absolutely nothing said about it.

Well, I've now seen one of these tiny roller skates in person, and I can confirm - it is every bit as ugly in person as it is on the screen. I guess its supposed to be a competitor for the Mini, but it isn't. There's no cute factor, it's just plain ugly.

The only thing that will sell this car is their association with JLo. Very smart on their part. It's a shame the intelligence behind the commercials wasn't involved when this piece of crap was designed.

A Pair of Tragedies

2011-10-15T17:04:00.002-05:00

I was celebrating my Second Amendment Right to shoot up a bunch of paper targets with my assault rifle style bang stick this morning (way cool, and very therapeutic, I must say) at the local shoot 'em up range. The place is run by three Vietnam vets (2 Army, one Navy, all non-coms). As I was setting up my stuff, I noticed one of the fellows, Mike, run out the front of the building, jump in his truck, and speed away. Didn't make an impression, figured he left his coffe pot turned on at home or something.

About 20 minutes later, one of his buds came out and announced on the PA system that Mike's wife had called, and that their son, a 20 year old Specialist in the Army stationed in German, had swallowed a bottle of pills. He didn't elaborate on what the result was, but from the look on his face, it wasn't good.

Suicides in the ranks always increase during time of actual conflict. I've seen a lot of coverage of suicide rates, especially in the Army during OEF and OIF. Lots of hand wringing and elaboration by talking heads about the cause(s) - but regardless, it is repititon of a pattern that has been repeated in all modern conflicts. If did not know this man, barely know of his father, so I have no idea what demons he was running from. He succeeded - he got away from them, and now his family will have to suffer the consequences for the rest of their lives.

Later in the day, I visited the lady who cuts my hair for a much needed whacking. She is big into horses and riding. Instead of the normal small talk about NASCAR and such, she told me of a young lady she had known through her horse back riding. 19 years old, beauty queen, champion rider, homecoming queen - beautiful All American girl. The only blemish was an 11 month old son out of wedlock.

A week ago, this experienced rider got on a new horse. Something spooked it, and it took off. She fell, her foot caught in a stirrup. A half mile later when they finally got the horse stopped, the girl's head was caved in like a burst melon. The worst part was her body was still alive - the parents had to make the gut wrenching decision to pull the plug later that day at the hospital.

I don't have anything profound to say. I was just struck by the opposites of their deaths. One threw his life away on purpose. The other had it jerked from her in a moment of tragic accident. The results are the same - two grieving families.

Be thankful for your days on this Earth, folks. You never know when it will end.

UT Boss Reacts to Aggie's Move to SEC

2011-10-10T11:59:00.003-05:00

Just released video, catching the head man at Texas University reacting to the news that the Aggies are departing to the SEC.

Paying for Rubbers

2011-10-05T19:18:00.004-05:00

There are all kinds of bullshit hidden in Obamacare. To paraphrase Nancy Pelosi's words, now that it's been passed, we're finding out what is in it - slowly, ever so slowly details are leaking out.

Obama's pet Department of Health and Human Services has decided to write regulations giving any FDA approved method of birth control to anyone who wants it, at no charge. Insurance companies have to cover it 100% with no co-pay. If someone falls under Obamacare, the government will spend our tax dollars to provide condoms and pills to anyone who wants them, whether they can afford to pay for them or not.

Add this to Obama's desire for all abortions to be provided to anyone who wants them free of charge, with no restriction at all, and it is pretty apparent that the Far Left believes they are the only ones who are qualified to run our sexual and reproductive lives.

My tax dollars are going to pay for someone's condoms? What bullshit!

Republican Field Narrows

2011-10-05T17:40:00.003-05:00

OK, so Chris Christie and Sarah Palin have now both announced that they will not seek the Republican nomination for President. That pretty much tells us that the currently announced field is what we have to choose from.

That field has two serious entrants in it, Romney and Perry. Cain remains a popular oddity, and Bachman has fallen off a cliff. The rest of them don't have a prayer, for whatever reason.

Perry has fallen on some hard times, with poor debate performances, and some generated racial bullshit. The man has some baggage that has to be dealt with, and it can be - if his fellow Republicans don't spend their efforts trying to cut him down.

Romney is at his most popular right now, which isn't all that high. He seems to the the candidate that may be left if all the rest self-destruct.

No matter which one pulls this out, there are a couple of things that Republicans MUST abide by. First, lay out your positions and let the voters choose. Stop the hack jobs and dirty attacks against other Republicans. All that does is diminish them, and hurt the GOP's chances in 2012. Second, no matter who wins the nomination, the entire party must rally behind and fully support the nominee. There has to be excitement, there has to be a concentrated effort to send Obama to the unemployment line next year. Obama is set up for a defeat of historic proportions, but in-fighting and complacency will keep our country under his boot for another four years.

Obama's Libyan Legacy?

2011-09-28T18:34:00.005-05:00

Details emerged this week about something that has happened in the chaos that has been Libya over the past few months.

20,000 brand new, Russian made and supplied, man portable anti-aircraft missiles are missing from warehouses in Libya. Uncle Mohammar had bought these lethal things over the past several years from our good friends in Moscow. Now, they have been stolen from unguarded locations by persons (at least publicly) unknown.

Speculation is either Iran or Al Qaeda got them, or maybe both. Either case is very bad news.

Man portable heat seeking missiles are terrorists' holy grail. A single person can operate it, and the weapon is capable of downing a jetliner from several miles away. The targeted aircraft won't know a thing until they are hit. Western governments all over the world have fought tooth and nail to prevent even a single weapon of this class from falling into terrorist hands. Now, we have the potential for 20,000 of them to be out there?

This should have been known about and dealt with. Western intelligence services had to know about the missiles' existence - you simply cannot hide a delivery of that many weapons. The locations where these weapons were stored should have been an A list target for US and NATO airstrikes early in the campaign.

IF the Obama Administration knew about these weapons prior to them being stolen, and they took no action to destroy them before they were stolen, that is stupidty and negligence of the highest order. If the Obama Administration didn't know about them, then there were some serious failures in the intelligence services - failures that need to be corrected, though it is far too late to stop this horse from escaping the barn.

The world just became a whole lot more dangerous.

10/24 Update - Ghaddaffi is dead, hunted down, captured, and executed. He certainly deserved it. But is Libya in a better situation now, at least as far as the rest of the world? The newly emerged leader of the rebels is a hard line Islamist, who has declared that Sharia law will rule the country. Any law currently on the books that conflicts with his interpretation of Sharia will be nullified. One of the first changes was to allow Libyan men up to four wives each. I'm sure Libyan women, who had just as much at stake in the rebellion as the men did, aren't feeling real good about this turn of events.

Couple this with what happened in Egypt, where a pro-Western government was overthrown and replaced with chaos run by the Muslim Brotherhood (also dedicated to a Sharia ruled state) and you've got the majority of North Africa now run by hard line Islamists. They join Iran and Pakistan. Turkey is moving that way. Syria teeters on falling, with Iran running the opposition. Iraq is shaky, and we're about to adandon it. Afghanistan is worse than shaky, and our current leadership shows no commitment to shoring it up.

Southwest Asia and the Middle East are well on their way to becoming a solid block of hard line anti-Western, very anti-US regimes, hell bent on making the world a radical Muslim paradise. How long will the Saudi peninsula be able to hold out against this wave? When will these radicals feel themselves powerful enough to try and push Isreal into the sea?

Oh, and by the way ... those missiles are still missing.

10/25 Update - The 'leaders' of pro-Islamic groups fighting to ascend to rule over Egypt have declared their intention of implementing Sharia law. The leader of one faction has gone as far as declaring himself 'The Enemy of Democracy" in a media interview. These groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, are calling for violence against Isreal, and are believed to be behind several recent terrorist attacks in the area.

The Obama Administration's embracing of the Arab Spring, cheering it on without taking any action to help form the future is leading directly to the rise of radical Islam in multiple countries that were once allies of the United States, or at least under control.

Hey, Iran ... Take Them Back, Please!

2011-09-21T20:00:00.005-05:00

Those two American hikers that were jailed in Iran for over 2 years have been released. Landing in Oman, the two gave a news conference, thanking the government of Oman for getting them released. No mention of the US, or the role our government played in securing their release.

Well, maybe there was a mention ...

"Two years in prison is too long, and we sincerely hope for the freedom of other political prisoners and other unjustly imprisoned people in America and Iran," said Shane Bauer, one ot the two morons.

Yeah, that's right. The first thing this a*hole did when he got loose and in front of a camera was bash his own country. Yeah, like the United States forced you three moronic idiots to take a hike on the Iraq/Iran border - essentially a war zone. Yeah, like the United States imprisoned you for over two years for your display of stupidity. Yeah, like the United States didn't spend a ton of time and money trying to get your stupid asses out of jail.

To the leadership of Iran - can we pay you to take them back?

My Father's Wingman

2011-09-21T07:08:00.002-05:00

I can imagine my father flying around Heaven now with a wingman. His brother, my uncle, passed away this past weekend.

Uncle OG had a long career in the USAF. Where my dad was a pilot, OG was a maintainer, commanding maintenance squadrons all over the globe. Two tours at DaNang, exchange tour with the RAAF, command of C-5 and C-141 maintenance at Travis, spook ops in Europe in RB-50s - he had a varied career. After leaving the service, he worked for Bell Helicopter.

I have a lot of respect for my uncle. I will miss him.

Godpseed, Unc ...

This is Why Obama Wants To Raise Our Taxes

2011-09-20T11:59:00.004-05:00

He's got to have mo' money so he can keep giving free sh*t to his homeys ...

Update - You'll notice that one of these links is now broken, and the message Youtube presents instead. Notice further down the blog, where they removed a link to a video that was damning to the Black Caucus. Youtube has developed a habit of deleting videos or other content that it or Democrats deem harmful to liberals and their causes. If you think that Youtube, or Google, or any other of these internet giants are completely independent when it comes to liberal vs. conservative, think again ...

You Really Need To Watch These ...

2011-09-15T11:59:00.003-05:00

Without a doubt, the two best 'Cocker Spaniels Eating Corn on the Cob' videos currently on Youtube. These ought to be headlining Tosh.O.

Fruit Salad, Anyone?

2011-09-13T19:14:00.007-05:00

I'm not sure why this bothers me, but it really does ...

I recently saw photos of the new president of a national organization at a convention taking the reins of his new position. The pretty photos of him and his wife showed him in a black tuxedo, with 3 full rows of decorations on his left breast. This seemed kind of odd to me ... former militarty folks usually wear their decorations on retirement versions of their uniforms, not on civilian attire. I looked closer at the rows of medals, and found that I could not identify a single one. I don't know them all, but I am familiar enough with the military to know what they should be - at least those on the top row.

As I looked through the magazine that had his infomation in it, I noticed photos of other, lesser in stature members of this organization, sporting various levels of these medals on their civilian suits. There were also a few ex-military members in the photos - their military decorations were easily identifiable.

Curious, I emailed this new president. To his credit, he emailed back very quickly. He stated that he had served in the military for a number of years, was proud of his service, but the decorations he wore in the photos and to all public events were from the organization itself.

Huh?

So, this prestigious organization makes up its own medals and decorations for its members, who walk around displaying them in military fashion. There are very impressive looking awards for years of membership - local, state, and national leadership positions - community service - even very sharp looking ones that merely denote one's membership in a state chapter of the organization. Said president has three rows, with what looks like a total of 25 different medals (it's hard to tell exactly, there are so many of them).

I'm sorry, but I think this is an insult to the members of our military.

Knowing what this organization is and what it stands for, I really don't believe they intend any slight against members of our military. Quite the opposite. However, I don't care. It is insulting to those who have and are serving, folks who have earned their decorations and awards defending our country while in uniform.

I recently attended the retirement ceremony of good friend Outlaw13. The decorations on his chest, including the Legion of Merit awarded to him at that ceremony, are recognition of his outstanding service to his country in the US Army over a quarter of a century. The six other military members honored at that retirement had their own sets of 'fruit salad', telling the tales of their travels and service - and in some cases, heroism.

Having seen that ceremony, and then seeing these photos of civilians waltzing around self decorated with a bunch of stuff they bought out of the organization's catalog was, honestly, upsetting. I don't find it as revolting as cases of stolen valor, where someone intentionally tries to profit in some form from misrepresenting their military service (or lack of) by wearing actual military decorations they are not entitled to, but upsetting nonetheless.

The photo is of the Legion of Merit, as awarded to Outlaw13 on August 26 - a real award recognizing years of outstanding and exceptional service to the US Army and our country.

This Isn't a Surprise ...

2011-09-08T17:25:00.005-05:00

A Federal Appeals Court ruled today that Virginia has no standing to challenge Obamacare, throwing out the State's two lawsuits. This was completely expected.

Those on the left will crow about this decision, saying it vindicates Obamacare. Those on the right will cry foul, and rightfully so.

The three judge panel that gave the ruling was comprised of two Obama appointees, with the other one a Clinton appointee. They may as well have been blow up dolls with rubber stamps in their hands - anyone who expected a ruling different than this from this panel was smoking something a whole lot stronger than crack.

Right leaning judges and courts are going to rule against Obamacare. Left leaning judges and courts are going to support it. That's just a simple fact - politics trump the law at every stage of our legal system.

This will not be decided until the Supreme Court hears it and rules. Once there, this issue is going to be decided by one man, a judge who waffles around between liberal and conservative stances. No one can realistically predict how this man is going to interpret the issue. 4 conversatives, 4 liberals, and this middleman ...

It is amazing that this incredibly large issue, one that has an effect on every single American and the future of our country, is going to be decided by the whimsy of one man. I kind of doubt that this is what our Founders had in mind ...

9/13 Update - A Pennsylvania based Federal Judge, Christopher Connor, ruled that forcing Americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty is unConstitutional, invalidating a key part of Obamacare. In addition, any provision of Obamacare that is tied to the individual mandate is also unConstitutional. Judge Connor is a Bush appointee.

Random NASCAR Musings

2011-09-04T11:12:00.006-05:00

A few random thoughts about NASCAR to bore you on Labor Day weekend ...

Jimmy Johnson, 2010 Champ, and the other 11 drivers who made the Chase last year, were invited to meet with Obama this week at the White House. 4 drivers declined the invitation, citing scheduling issues. While that may very well be, one would think that meeting the President would trump any small sponsorship commitments. UNLESS ... they don't particularly want to meet with the current President. Kudos to Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, and Greg Biffle for honoring their 'schedule conflicts'.

While reporting on TV about this situation, ESPN reporter Marty Smith referred to the drivers not 'meeting with Obama'. Not The President, not President Obama ... just Obama. I'm sure he was just trying to shorten his report by a half second.

Brad Keselowski. I've disliked with high prejudice this young man since he forced his way into NASCAR a few years ago. He was arrogant, had a tendency to wreck his competitors in order to improve his position and win races, and then whining and crying whenever someone treated him the same way. His father, an ex-racer with pretty much the same attitude, cried on national TV how the other drivers were trying to kill his boy - while ignoring the fact they were just trying to give his boy back a little bit of what he was dishing out.

Brad was involved in a testing crash about 4 weeks ago. He suffered a broken left ankle, sprained right ankle, and badly sprained lower back. He raced and won the NASCAR event at Pocono 4 days later. He finished 2nd the next week - third the week after that, and won last weekend's event at Bristol. He never publicly complained about being hurt. Public reports indicate he refulsed to let his crew do anything to his cars for his comfort that might have a negative affect on performence.

Brad's performance allowed him to win a DirectTV promotion, earning his charity of choice Paralyzed Veterans of America a donation of $200K.

I still don't like the man, but I sure have a lot more respect for him now.

Dale Jr. signed an extension with Hendrick Motorsports, keeping him in the 88 car through the end of 2017. This in spite of the disappointing record he's had with that team, and the fact he's a middle of the pack driver who has almost no chance of winning each weekend. Jr. won some races at his previous team, but has clearly lost his spark. So, why did Rick Hendrick spend millions to resign him?

Money. Junior Nation spends huge amounts of money each year on stuff with Dale's face on it. Companies compete to sponsor him, or get his endorsement. Hendrick stands to recover many times what he spent on Dale. It's about the money, and the fan base - not wins or performance.

No one is criticizing this signing. A few pundits publicly question his performance, but no one questions the deal.

Danica Patrick signed a deal to drive a car for Dale Jr. in the Nationwide Series full time next year. Included in the deal is a handful of races in a car for Tony Stewart's team in Cup. This in preparation for her going to Cup full time in 2013.

Patrick has one a single race in Indy cars, and that was a rain shortened event she was lucky enough to be in the right place when the rain came. She has never challenged for a championship, and very rarely is seen running in the Top Ten in any of the races. She has top level equipment, driving for Michael Andretti.

Patrick's deal has stirred a lot of negative comments form the pundits, almost all of whom (rightfully so) say she is not ready for NASCAR, that she has done nothing to prove herself, and has done nothing to warrant this deal or the attention.

So why did Dale Jr. spend a ton of money to bring her over?

Money. Patrick brings her enthusiastic sponsor, GoDaddy.com, with her. The guy who runs that has some pretty deep pockets. He seems to be a guy who loves to be in the spotlight.

So, Dale and Danica sign big deals, for pretty much the same reasons, with pretty much the same recent past. Why does one of them receive congratulations, while the other is cut down?

One is named Earnhardt.

Carl Edwards ended months of intrigue when he resigned with Roush Racing. Joe Gibbs Racing was trying very hard to get him to sign with them to drive the #20 Home Depot car. The offer was VERY lucrative, said to be in the $18 million dollar range for the first year. Carl kept Jack Roush and the rest of NASCAR on pins and needles for several months while he was courted - where he signed would have a great impact upon where several other high profile drivers would end up for 2012.

Carl chose to stay with Roush only after Ford Motor Co. stepped up and sweetened the deal. I don't know what they gave Carl to keep him in a Ford (money, stock, etc.) but it was enough to keep him a Ford man.

I've been a big Cousin Carl fan since he started with Roush, back in the Truck series. however, I was ready to spit on his name if he had deserted Roush, the man who gave him the shot and support he needed to break into the sport and become one of its superstars. However, he's still in a Ford, and I'm still a big fan.

Ford Being Targeted by Obama's Union Thugs

2011-09-02T16:25:00.012-05:00

The UAW has voted overwhelmingly (98% for) to authorize its leadership to strike Ford Motor Company in 12 days.

The UAW's contract with the Big Three auto makers expires at that time. However, part of the bailout agreement for Chrysler and GM prohibit strikes against the Union - which is ironic, since the Union owns most of those companies and would be striking against itself. Instead of strikes, those two companies will go to Federal mediation with the Union. Let's see ... Union vs. company owned by the same Union, mediated by government bought and paid for by the same Union. Wonder how that will turn out ...

Anyway, Ford didn't take any federal bailout. It is the only one of the three to post profits. It is am embarrassment to the Union and the Obama Administration. Therefore, it is a target. The Union goal is to shut the company down, to punish it for its success after shunning their Saviour. There will be no attempt by the Union to reach an agreement with Ford, until the automaker has suffered significant financial hardship. This isn't about a new contract, it is about teaching Ford who the real boss is.

This is what the left in this country thinks of free enterprise. A successful company that doesn't rely upon the government is evil - a target to be punished, if not destroyed.

In related news, the head of the AFL-CIO has announced the formation of the largest political Super PAC in history, specifically to support Obama's reelection bid. Super PACs are sort of legal ways for corporations and unions to funnel huge amounts of money to political candidates while bypassing the campaign finance laws. (Full disclosure - Repulbicans use Super PACs as well. However, none of them will come anywhere close to the size and amount of money as the AFL-CIO's will.) It should come as no surprise that that same head of the AFL-CIO has been a frequent White House guest, having been logged in for official visits more than 60 times since Obama took office. We have no idea how many 'unofficial' meetings took place off the books.

Good Grief. Between the AFL-CIO, UAW, and George Soros' money, how can there be any question as to who owns Obama and the White House?

Update - Whipping up a crowd of union workers before an Obama speech in Detroit on Labor Day, Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa had this to say:

"President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let's take these son of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong."

Hoffa was referring to the Tea Party.

Besides the horrible use of English, this is an out in the open threat of violence against Americans. What Jimmy Hoffa is this? 2011? Or back in the 1950s?

By the way - Obama said he was proud of Hoffa after he heard the incindiary remarks.

Update II - Not to be left behind, Sheriff Joe Biden was out trying to whip up the union troops over the Labor Day weekend. In front of an AFL-CIO crowd, he told them that they were the only non-Government entity 'keeping the barbarians from the gate'. Using the word war several times, he did his best to whip up a frenzy.

It is clear that this is a planned, concerted effort, orchestrated by the Obama Administration, the DNC, and union leaders. Its purpose is to incite union membership and get them to vote Democrat next year. They realize that the only chance Obama has to keep his throne is to enlist unions to do the dirty work.

Democrat bigwigs are ducking anyone who asks them for comment on these comments.

This isn't about workers. It isn't about benefits. It isn't about jobs. Well ... it is about one job - Obama's.

Update - Some more union magic happened yesterday in Washington State. About 500 members of a union stormed a harbor facility there, taking security guards hostage, threatening police with baseball bats and driving them off, and then destroying private property. After they were done with their rampage, they left and went back to their union hall, daring anyone to do something about it. No one has been arrested.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union believed it had the sole right to work at the facility, and was protesting that workers from a rival union were being hired. Not 'scabs' - a different union!

Obama's modern Big Labor at its finest ...

10/5 Update - Well, time to eat crow a little bit. Ford signed a new contract with the UAW. The only things I've heard about it publicly is that Ford promises to update/upgrade some of its plants, and create about 6000 new jobs. I haven't seen any nastiness (at least in public), no coverage of workers on picket lines, no rallies with Union thugs shouting 'Death to Ford'. Could this actually be an example of labor working in a reasonable way to iron out a new contract with management? If so, could it show how reasonable management can be when the Unions act in a civilized manner? I really hope so - it would be quite a change, and a welcome one at that.

Now Ford and OM have their deals, Chrysler is left to go.

Update - Well, I admit to eating some crow on this one. The UAW got deals with all 3 automakers, and not much was said publicly. I didn't see anything about Union members walking the picket line or behaving badly. I think the reason for this is the UAW leadership actually showed some common sense and realized that hitting the companies would have hurt their membership far worse than whatever concessions they might have had to give up for new contracts. No matter what the reason(s), this is a very good result for the US automakers and their employees, and the economy as a whole.

Smells Kind of Like OJ to Me

2011-09-02T16:05:00.003-05:00

The San Diego Caunty Sheriff has ruled that the death of Rebecca Zahau was a suicide.

Really?? Seriously????

Rebecca was found dead at her boyfriend's mansion. Jonah Shacknai owns the 27 room, 12.5 million dollar waterfront property. He makes his millions in pharmaceuticals (legal drugs).

Rebecca died two days after Shaknai's disabled son was injured in a fall at the same mansion. He subsequently died in the hospital a few days later. That death was declared an accident. Rebecca was looking after the boy at the time of that accident.

Rebecca was found hanging, completely naked, from the mansion's balcony. Her feet and wrists had been tied. Somehow, the authorities have deduced that the 32 year old woman stripped, tied her own feet together, placed a noose around her own neck, tied her own hands together, tied a shirt around her neck and stuffed part of it in her mouth, then somehow worked her way over the railing to fall and hang herself.

No suicide note was found. Rebecca had made detailed plans with friends for the next day to visit the son in the hospital and take him some things. No one since interviewed has said she gave any inkling that she was planning to end her own life.

I don't know. I wasn't there. However, it seems to me that there are far easier ways to end it all than what the Sheriff is trying to convince us that Rebecca did. If she killed herself out of grief over the boy's accident, surely a note would have been found. Could it be that the wealth and status of the boyfriend/father/property owner might have been a consideration?

Update - A forensic pathologist is questioning the ruling of suicide, noting that the autopsy showed injuries to the top of the woman's head - injuries that would have happened if she had been hit on top of the head. Nothing about the method of 'suicide' would account for those injuries.

Obama's Investment in Green Jobs - Really Paying Off

2011-09-01T18:55:00.009-05:00

Fremont, CA based Solyndra, a manufacturer of solar panels, was touted by President Obama last year as a prime example of how investment in green technology was going to generate untold gazillions of jobs. Obama and other politicos visited the company for photo ops and speeches.

Solyndra closed its doors yesterday, filing for Chapter 11. 1100 people will lose their jobs. The 1000 additional jobs that Obama had announced that the company was going to add never materialized. A half billion dollars of Federal money, our tax dollars, was loaned to the company by the Obama Administration. That money was spent by the company, and is gone - completely wasted.

Solyndra follows two other solar panel manufacturers into bankruptcy in the past month. Spectrawatt, of NY, filed for Chapter 11 on Aug. 19. Evergreen, of MA, filed 4 days earlier.

All three companies cited as reasons for failure being their inability to compete with Chinese companies producing the same products for 40% cheaper.

Renewable energy products and companies will become important in our society when the technology becomes effificient enough and inexpensive enough for mass deployment - and when they can produce enough energy to justify the expense. The Federal Government cannot speed this up through artificial regulation or by pouring billions of our tax dollars into companies that are doomed to failure. Free enterprise will be the answer.

Update - the FBI raided Solyndra's HQ on 9/8, executing mulitple search warrants. What they were looking for wasn't released. I wouldn't be surprised if we find out that the owners made off with a bunch of our money.

There is also discussion about relationships between Obama campaign operatives and company executives, and over 20 visits by those company executives to the White House.

Never fear, Obamaites ... Your henchman Holder will ride to the rescue and squash any real investigation.

Update II - Emails and other evidence has come to light indicating that Obama Administration officials knew of financial problems at the company prior to issuing the half billion dollar loan.

Congressional Black Caucus - Full of Hate Mongers

2011-08-31T12:35:00.009-05:00

The Congressional Black Caucus. Listen to the following clip, in which multiple members are captured at public events spitting out hate speech. The vile crap these people are spewing forth is unbelievable - until you actually hear it. This is like listening to a bunch of Rev. Jeremiah Wrights ...

These are elected officials in the United States Congress. The fact that they can attack folks that they don't agree with using pure hatred amazes me. The fact they tell complete lies to their constituents in order to whip up support amazes me. The fact that mainstream media ignores it, giving them a pass, amazes me.

If I'm not mistaken, all members of the CBC are Democrat. Also, if I'm not mistaken, a Republican African American member of Congress was denied membership in this group, because of his party affiliation. Apparently, if you are a Republican, you can't officially be black.

This is not limited to top tier politics. This kind of rhetoric is rampant in our nation, all the way down to the local municipal level. It is sickening that those whose parents may have been victimized by racism have turned out to be the biggest racists in the country.

Some of what you hear on this clip is definitely hate speech. Some of it directs people to break the law. Both of these are violations of the law, no protected free speech. Why is no one calling these people out? Why is Democrat leadership in Congress completely silent on this? Why are none of them being prosecuted for inciting violence? Ask Eric Holder. Ask Barack Obama. Ask Harry Reid. Ask Nancy Pelosi.

You know, I have never heard anythying even approaching this level of hate coming from anyone who purports to be in the Tea Party. If it had happened, you can be certain that it would be plastered all over mainstream media outlets for days on end.

Obama keeps telling us that the rhetoric in Washington must calm down, that Republicans must stop fighting his efforts and stop speaking against his policies - so that the country can get itself out of the mess its in. Mr. President, may I suggest you direct those words towards those who are a lot closer to you.

Republicans - take these clips, and play them non-stop as part of the 2012 campaign. Show the country what serves as 'Democrat bi-partisanship'.

Update - I stand corrected. There is one Republican member of the CBC, Rep. Alan West (R-FL), one of our Republican Heroes. However, he has threatened to leave it due to these horrific comments made by his fellow members.

Time For Republicans To Chose

2011-08-30T17:59:00.002-05:00

The race for the Republican's choice to face Obama in 2012 is starting to clarify. The field, which has been crowded with also rans, looks like it is going to come down to Rick Perry versus Mitt Romney, with Michelle Bachman on the fringe. Everyone else is pretty much done for, and we should start seeing a lot of them drop by the wayside in the coming months.

The danger for Republicans is the tendency for the candidates to attack each other. So far, it's been pretty mild, except for some squawking by Ron Paul and Bachman. Rep. Bachman, who was leading some before Perry entered the race, has in particular picked up her sniping.

Here's what Republicans need to know, and need to do. The goal is to get Obama out of office next year. No matter which Republican does it, the country will be much better off. This race is dropping to two principles. The rest of them need to quickly get out, and stand side by side to do whatever has to be done to ensure victory. Perry and Romney need to present themselves, their platforms, and their vision for our country, and let the Republican voters decide which of them should lead the party. They should not attack each other. There should be nothing negative in their campaign for the nomination. This will be a difficult, if not impossible, thing for them to do, since it is the natural tendency of those who are trailing to start negative attacks to try and catch up.

Candidates, keep the negatives and attacks for the true enemy, Obama.

As to the candidates, I personally lean towards Perry. He has done a very good job for my home state, Texas. I don't agree with everything he has done, but I can say that about anyone who has held office (Bush and Reagan included). Romney is a good candidate, and would be my second preference. He is not conservative enough for me on some things, but overall he is competent and has a good head for economic matters. My ideal ticket would be Perry for Pres, Romney for VP, with a commitment from them that Romney would become the economic 'czar' (replacing Bozo the Biden, who's supposed to be Obama's economy sheriff). Unfortunately, that won't happen - I don't think Perry or Romney would let their egos accept a VP role.

Bachman would have been my choice for VP, but the last couple of months of listening to her shrill attacks has soured me. Her best place is as a non-ticket attack dog, focusing on getting her fans to concentrate on supporting Republican efforts to oust Obama.

I have a high opinion of Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) for the VP slot. A second generation Cuban immigrant, he is a fiscal conservative, very charasmatic, and a strong personality.

The same can be said for the rest of the field, and a couple of non-runners that loom large - Palin and Guilliani. Close ranks quickly behind the nominee, no negative against fellow Republicans, and attack Democrats with no mercy between now and the election next year.

C'mon guys ... Perry/Rubio, and the rest of you close ranks and start the real battle!

There Is Someone Stupid Enough To Fall For This?

2011-08-29T19:23:00.005-05:00

No comment about Obama or the Democrats in this one ...

From the local bubble-headed bleach blonde (came on at 5, told us with a gleam in her eye ...) comes this gem.

A new scam is targeting unsuspecting (read stupid) people in the DFW area.

A young black man approaches you in the parking lot of a convenience store. He calls you over to the trunk of his dubbed out Chrysler 300. He takes out a Fed-Ex shipping box. He pulls an iPad, completely covered in bubble wrap out of the box for a couple of seconds, and then pushes it back in. He then offers this iPad, one that he 'found', for a couple of hundred.

The iPad is really a piece of plastic, with a border made of black electrical tape, and a printout of an iPad screen taped to the back. The bubblewrap is enough to camoflage the fake for a quick glimpse.

You would like to think that no one is stupid enough to fall for this. However, the news story indicated that police already had upwards of 50 reports of people being ripped off in this manner.

Seriously?

The Bush 9/11 Interview

2011-08-29T06:53:00.002-05:00

NatGeo debuted their hour long interview with President Bush last night. I am sure it will be replayed many times, and is available on NatGeo's web site.

It was well done, apolitical, and tells a great deal about that day and the immediate aftermath from his perspective. It is well worth watching. For those on the Right, it will confirm our opinion that he was the right man to confront our enemies. For those on the Left, it might help explain some of what has been mis-represented about what happened that day.

Have a Tissue Handy ....

2011-08-23T16:08:00.007-05:00

This has to be one of the most powerful, saddest images I've ever seen ...

Petty Officer Jon Thomas Tumilson was one of the service members who lost their lives when the Chinook helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan on Aug. 6. Tumilson was a SEAL.

Petty Officer Tumilson's funeral was this past Friday. From The Des Moines Register:

"Family members followed Tumilson's ribbon winning Labrador retriever, Hawkeye, into the service. Hawkeye later accompanied his new owner, Tumilson's close friend, to the stage, where the Lab dutifully dropped to the floor to listen."

I'm having a hard time writing this ...

Courtesy of This Ain't Hell, via Outlaw13 ...

Maxine Waters - Racist Hate Monger

2011-08-21T17:14:00.010-05:00

Maxine Waters (D-CA) is a real piece of work.

Last week, she verbally attacked her savior, President Obama, for not being liberal enough to satisfy the people she cares about - blacks, latinos, and union members.

She also used a 'rally' to voice her opinion of the Tea Party. Notice that a good number of people in the audience are wearing purple SEIU (union) T-Shirts. This little gem was recorded on Aug. 20 at a 'community rally' in Inglewood, CA.

And Democrats have the gall to complain that the Tea Party's complaints about government size and spending are 'hate speech'?

Oh ... a question for Maxine. If you hate white people and conservatives so much, why do you insist on wearing that stupid looking white lady's wig?

Update - Mainstream media coverage of this incident has not exactly covered this up, but neither has it come down on Waters hard. Most talking head pundits on the left try to explain it away as understandable rage against the evil Tea Party and how its radical hatred of all minorities is somehow equal to Nazi Germany. Its like 'yes, she shouldn't have said that, but we understand why she did'.

More double standard. Can you imagine what we would be hearing if a conservative, white Republican stood up in front of a bunch of supporters and yelled "The NAACP can go straight to Hell"?

NOTE: I don't mean this posting to sound racist. It is very difficult to complain about a racist and the injustice of a double standard, without sounding like a racist in the process. I don't care who it is or what they are attacking, speech like this from any elected politician is unacceptable. It just really pisses me off that the left gets away with it, with just a nod and a wink,wink from the media that loves them so much. If a Republican had done something like this, every media outlet in the country except for Fox News would be screaming in outrage for their immediate resignation.

A Real Man's Car, Updated

2011-08-21T11:21:00.005-05:00

As I posted back in March, Steve McQueen's Porsche 911 was put up for auction. It sold at a Monterey, CA auction on Aug. 19th. The selling price was $1,375,000.

Similar cars, without McQueen's pedigree, sell in the $50,000 range.

The car appeared briefly at the beginning of McQueen's movie Le Mans, with him driving it through the French countryside.

This continues to prove the perceived worth of McQueen's legacy. 4 years ago, a 1963 Ferrari 250 once owned by the late actor sold for $2,300,000, about five times what it would have sold for without his name connection.

Men on Football - Rejoice, Football Is Back!

2011-08-16T20:20:00.005-05:00

Several cable channels have been showing reruns of 'In Living Color', Keenan Ivory Wayans' comedy sketch program from the early 90s. A lot of it looks juvenile now, but there was some serious comedic insanity turned loose on us back then. Homey the Clown ... if you don't know who that character is, you owe it to yourself to go out and youtube him.

For daughter unit, who had never seen the program and didn't understand it, I present the funniest comedy sketch I believe I have ever seen. Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier starring in "Men on Football", January 1992.

This skit aired during halftime of Superb*wl XXVI, on a competing network. I couldn't believe what I was seeing when it was live.

Welcome back football, it's good to see you again!

Perry For POTUS

2011-08-14T14:42:00.006-05:00

I am ecstatic that Rick Perry is running for President. Republicans all over this country should be as well. Having this man in the White House would go a long way towards getting our country back on the road to recovering from Obamageddon.

We're going to learn a lot about him over the coming months. We're going to hear a lot of negative about him, mostly made up political bullshit. Count on it - Dems are already attacking him, for they know he is a serious threat to them.

I invite you to read the text of his announcement speech in South Carolina. It is just a speech, but it is a very good one. (Don't discount the impact of speeches in this campaign - remember, an empty suit talked his way into the White House in 2008 by reading pretty speeches someone else wrote off of a teleprompter!)

Here's a snippet:

"In America, the people are not subjects of the government. The government is subject to the people. And it is up to us, to this present generation of Americans, to take a stand for freedom, to send a message to Washington that we're taking our future back from the grips of central planners who would control our healthcare, who would spend our treasure, who downgrade our future and mico-manage our lives."

full text at:

www.rickperry.org/news/text-gov-rick-perry-presidential-announcement-remarks/

Is Ethanol Turning NASCAR Green?

2011-08-14T09:38:00.007-05:00

NASCAR is using an ethanol blend fuel this year at its races. A special blend of high octane E85 (15% ethanol, 85% gas) is being used. It is being touted as part of NASCAR's push towards a more green footprint. That push is part legitimate effort, part public relations.

An expected, but not publicized result of this has been a reduction of fuel mileage by about 15% in NASCAR races. A car that used 100 gallons of gasoline last year uses 115 gallons of E85 this year to go the same distance.

NASCAR will start using fuel injection next year. After decades of staying with antiquated, but well understood carburetors on its engines, teams will be forced to go to the large expense of changing to injectors. One of the selling points the series is using for this change is an increase in fuel mileage of about 15%.

So, fuel consumption comes out as the same as it was last year, before E85 signed a marketing agreement with NASCAR. A 'greener' solution would have been to use gasoline with injection, resulting in higher mileage ad lower fuel use.

It just strikes me as ironic that with all this green and high technology going into the sport, the end result is a wash, fuel wise ...

Some Suggestions For The Super Committee

2011-08-13T08:59:00.013-05:00

The members of the Super Committee, the folks who are tasked with coming up with 1.5 trillion dollars in spending cuts before Thanksgiving, have been announced:

Senate:
John Kyl (R-AZ)
Rob Portman (R-OH)
Pat Toomey (R-PA)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
John Kerry (D-MA)
Max Baucus (D-MT)

House:
Chris van Hollen (D-MD)
Xavier Beccera (D-CA)
James Clyburn (D-SC)
Jeb Hensarling (R-TX)
Dave Camp (R-MI)
Fred Upton (R-MI)

Their task is monumental, and they have been set up for failure before they even start. Failure is what Democrats are hoping for - if an agreement does not come out of the committee that cuts the requisite amount of spending, then that much gets cut automatically, with about half of it coming out of the Pentagon.

Well, not that they will pay attention, but here are some common sense items that would serve well as a starting point. I don't know if doing these would add up to 1.5 trillion, but they certainly are a waste of our money. I'm going to put these in general categories:

Foreign Relations:

Cut contributions/payments to the United Nations by 50%. Half of the money we give to that corrupt den of thieves is lost to waste, fraud, or outright theft. If they complain, invite them to leave and find somewhere else to infest.

Cut off all foreign aid to any country that is recognized as a state sponsor of terrorism, a violator of human rights, or is actively engaged in efforts detrimental to United States' interests.

Cut off all aid to any country that invests in United States' debt. It is simply a waste for us to give money to countries that turn right around and loan it back to us, with interest.

Cut off all humanitarian and monetary aid to countries like those in Africa, who constantly drain millions of dollars from us without any tangible result. Aid can be restarted when governments of those countries prove that the aid is being used for its intended purpose.

Elimination of all overseas grants/payments to any country or entity supporting the exploration or production of energy resources, unless the United States is guaranteed dollar for dollar compensation in free energy supply, plus interest.

Federal Government:

Immediate cut of 10% of the Federal Government work force, excluding uniformed military personnel.

Immediate 10% pay cut for all Federal Government employees, excluding uniformed military personnel.

Immediate rollback of all pay increases and bonuses received by Federal employees over the past 3 years, excluding uniformed military personnel.

Immediate staff reduction for all members of Congress by 25%. Elimination of all publicly funded positions related to political affiliation, electioneering, and fund raising.

Elimination of all personnel and expenditures in NASA on projects not specifically related to AERONAUTICS and SPACE.

Elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts.

National Institute of Health - strict oversight by an independent, bi-partisan, even split Congressional panel that will specifically authorize any and all expenditures for research and other programs. Complete elimination of any expenditures for anything outside United States' borders.

Elimination of all subsidies provided to manufacturers of any product, unless that product is declared to be an essential foodstuff. No more oil and gas subsidies, no more dollars for corn/ethanol producers.

Elimination of the Department of Homeland Security. Get the functions back to the organizations where they can be done correctly and efficiently. Stop wasting tons on money on this bureaucratic mess.

Elimination of the TSA. Replace with proven, private security contractors for a much more cost effective, efficient security screen.

Elimination of all funding/aid for illegal aliens.

Eliminate taxpayer funding for fundraising/electioneering trips by politicians. If a trip by a politician contains ANY fundraising efforts, the cost of the entire trip, including support and security, must be paid for by that politician or his/her party.

Overseas trips by Executive and Congressional staff members to be limited to essential personnel only at taxpayer expense. Subject to independent audit by Congress, with prison based penalties for infractions.

Limits on the number of vacation days the President/Vice President can take per year. Limits on the number of those days that can be spent outside United States' borders. Violations to be paid for in their entirety by the politician or his/her party.

Elimination of tax payer funded vacations by White House staff or families, unless the President is participating.

Top to bottom review of Defense, with a mandatory cut of 10% of total spending. There is that much or more waste and rendundancy in that budget that can be eliminated.

Complete elimination of base line budgeting and automatic COL increases to any Federal budget department/item.

Elimination of cost plus contracts signed by the government and contractors. All contracts should be fixed price, with bonuses and penalties for early/late delivery.

Entitlements:

Increase Social Security and Medicare retirement ages to 67.

Increase the dollar cap on Social Security payroll taxes to 200,000.

Immediate rollback of Obamacare in its entirety. A few of the provisions in it are worthy of consideration - they should be brought before Congress for debate and vote as seperate legislative items.

Taxes:

Complete overhaul of the US Federal tax code. Lower tax rates across the board, with elimination of almost all deductions. Increasing the tax base into lower income brackets, so that the 50% of the population that currently pay no income tax will pay a proportionate level of tax. Elimination of any tax 'refunds' to anyone that does not pay any tax. Elimination of loopholes that allow individuals and corporations to avoid paying all or a mojority of the taxes they should. Elimination of offshore tax shelters and entities that allow money to be improperly shileded from taxes.

Cut the IRS by 50%. Aggressive simplification of the tax code and enforcement will make half of that agency redundant.

That is by no means a complete list, but just a starting point to the cuts that need to be made to get our fiscal house in order. Being realistic, almost none of these items would make it through the committee.

The Most Intelligent Thing To Ever Come Out Of Barney Frank

2011-08-10T12:42:00.003-05:00

Listen closely at the 4 second mark of this clip. 'Nuff said ...

Update - Somehow Barney the dinosaur convinced youtube that the video was a hoax. Info I have seen indicates it is not. In any case, Barney got his panties in a wad enough to convince them to pull the video. You can still see it if you want to, just go to youtube and search "Frank Farts". I do have one question - if it is a fake, why did MSNBC pull the original as well?