Rural South Texas Life

And you say we're not headed...

2012-01-10T09:27:00.000-08:00

down the road to Nazi Germany?

Under the National Operations Center (NOC)’s Media Monitoring Initiative that came out of DHS headquarters in November, Washington has the written permission to retain data on users of social media and online networking platforms.

Specifically, the DHS announced the NCO and its Office of Operations Coordination and Planning (OPS) can collect personal information from news anchors, journalists, reporters or anyone who may use “traditional and/or social media in real time to keep their audience situationally aware and informed.”

http://rt.com/usa/news/homeland-security-journalists-monitoring-321/

You'll find the PDF of this (and some other interesting programs) on this page http://www.dhs.gov/files/publications/gc_1284657535855.shtm

Note that it SAYS only haiti and winter olympics.. Yeah, right, sure. Hey! I have some lovely oceanfront property in Iowa to sell you!

Why Democrats must go!

2012-01-10T05:59:00.000-08:00

Then listen to part 2:

Speaking of Michael Berry, his show is now on from 8 am till 11 am, central time, on KTRH am 740 out of Houston >> http://www.ktrh.com/main.html and then from 5 to 7 pm. A good show to listen to!

Winter Weather

2012-01-05T09:20:00.000-08:00

Winter in south Texas is strange. One day you have the heater on, the next day you have the air conditioner on because the humidity is high. Or in the same day (we've had that happen more than a couple of times).

There is some breaking news out of the Middle East:

The Pentagon to Send US Troops to Israel. Iran is the Unspoken Target

Evidently this is a blacked-out newsbit here in the US, although I haven't turned on the news yet today (watching Style instead).

Is this going to be another Iraq? When a country that *has* nuclear weapons threatens to invade, don't you think the country that the invasion is supposed to come, will *want* nuclear weapons? I've been reading some more Ron Paul, and I'm coming more to agree with his views.

I've also come to the conclusion that the US is an empire - rather like the British Empire of past years. Europe and Japan are (fairly) robust economies, why can't they do their own defense, instead of the US? And if your answer is no, please comment as to 'why not?' I keep hearing "if the US doesn't do it, no one will", which is kind of a silly position, its basically the same as thinking "If the government doesn't do it, no one will". Quite a few things would be better off, if the government *didn't* do it, and private sector did.

None of the candidates on the right or the left (except for Ron Paul) are for reining in, or limiting the government. Most of the Republicans are for expanding the Patriot Act (which tramples all over people's rights); and for expanding even further. The Dems are only a few steps ahead of the Reps for expanding.

On another note, I had a package of Fava beans in my freezer, decided to finally cook them up - the website for the company has Mediterranean recipes. Here it is >> http://www.ziyad.com/recipes Some interesting recipes, and you really should try Baba Ganoush. Its great with pita bread!

What is it about?

2011-12-25T04:23:00.000-08:00

Linus explains what Christmas is all about

I've noticed a lack of Christmas cards with scripture, manger scenes, etc. Not really that many overtly religious cards. I ended up having to go to Dollar Tree to find some, for a craft that we were going to do on Wednesday night.

For those who think God is just so much hooey, and that it's all fables - look at Chris Hitchins. He's an atheist no longer. I feel bad for his family, that he's gone...but again, I don't see how someone could say God DOESN'T exist. Just look around, and it plainly tells you.

Darn. while blogging, i burned a batch of sugar cookies. The dog is happy though, as he gets the too-dark cookies.

Funny how people get when you say that the ONLY reason Jesus was born, was for the salvation of men, so that they did not have to go to hell. Oh noes, that ugly word, hell. If not for that, it would just be another day.

What REALLY happened...

2011-12-15T05:38:00.000-08:00

to those OWS protesters at UC Davis. Was talking with a friend yesterday, found out what led up to the pepper spray. They were warned repeatedly, and chose to ignore the warnings. How many levels of stupid are there?

Would YOU stay there after having been warned a good number of times you were going to get sprayed?

On a lighter note, check out these cows.

OO I almost forgot! the Ant & the Grasshopper, the 2011 OWS version:

As you may recall, the original version is about an ant that works hard all summer to build its house and gather food for the winter. The grasshopper pokes fun at the hardworking ant, and chooses to dance and play all summer instead.

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper, on the other hand, finds itself without food or shelter, and dies out in the cold.

The moral of this age-old story: Think ahead so you can take care of yourself and your family!

The modern-day story is quite different. Here’s how it goes:

The ant works hard all summer to build its house and gather food for the winter. The grasshopper pokes fun at the hardworking ant, and chooses to dance and play all summer instead.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper marches down Main Street and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.

News reporters cover the story, broadcasting pictures of the shivering grasshopper

next to images of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. Citizens are stunned by the sharp contrast.

How can a country of such immense wealth allow this poor grasshopper to suffer? Kermit the Frog uses his fame and fortune to support the grasshopper with a new hit single, 'It’s Not Easy Being Green.'

Grasshoppers everywhere unite to fight for their rights. They march and shout, “Damn those ants! They took what belongs to us!”

Politicians looking for voters join the grasshopper movement. Together they condemn the ant, along with any politicians who support the ant’s success.

House and Senate leaders proclaim war against the ant, accusing it of building wealth at the expense of the poor grasshopper. They call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make it pay its fair share.

They draft the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act, retroactive to the beginning of summer. The ant is also fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs during gathering season.

With nothing left to pay retroactive and unexpected taxes, the ant’s home is confiscated and given to the grasshopper.

The story ends with colorful images of the grasshopper and friends enjoying the last bits of the ant's food at the ant’s table. The ant, however, is no where to be seen. It was forced to migrate to another location where freedom reigns.

The epilogue is not shown to children, however, because it could cause nightmares. Here’s how the final ending goes:

The following winter, the government-subsidized grasshopper neighborhood is abandoned and taken over by a gang of spiders. The grasshopper families who have not learned to feed themselves are once again in search of an ant community to take care of them.

Al Sharpton

2011-12-13T09:09:00.000-08:00

Recently from Saturday Night Live - I guess they only have occasional funny spots, unlike the 70s when the Not Ready for Prime Time Players, Dan Ackroyd, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Garret Morris, Chevy Chase, etc. I miss the old shows.

2011-12-08T13:07:00.001-08:00

I found a video, talking about obamacare and the constitutionality of the government forcing you to do something - say, buy insurance. He goes into some history of the government meddling into things (interstate commerce). This is the best videologue i've listened to so far on this subject.

I'm almost done Christmas shopping. I'm rather annoyed however, as our Walmart does not have *any* religious Christmas cards. They have "fun" cards, they have "inspirational" with snowy scenes, etc. But nothing religious. I had to go to Dollar Tree to purchase some. I'm rather tired of these politically correct, let's entirely shove religion out of everyday life, namby pamby aclu lovin red diaper doper babies.

This sums it up pretty well

2011-12-08T12:54:00.000-08:00

Wow!

2011-11-28T07:08:00.000-08:00

This looks like a lot of fun!

Well it's Cyber Monday, and I'm actually NOT shopping! Will wonders never cease?

Will the US return to the gold standard? or will it go to more of fiat money, only done by the IMF and UN? That was some of the discussion on Freedom Watch on Fox Business over the weekend. And is gold in a bubble, much as the housing was and dot.com too.. or is it just in reaction to the ever-expanding printing of money?

The Fed is unconstitutional, as congress is the one authorized to coin money , under Section 8 of the Constitution

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

Notice the word "coin"...not "print". Paper money was not considered. Lincoln did paper money during the civil war, and would not allow people to redeem their paper money for gold. FDR did even worse, outlawing the owning of gold - totally unconstitutional, both of them.

and yet progressives look up to FDR.

Really???

2011-11-23T04:39:00.002-08:00

While browsing the Washington Times this morning, I came across this nugget of joy:

Five armed Mexicans, with AK-47s, were 12 miles north of the US/MX border, hunting for Border Patrol Agents. First off, this represents an armed intrusion of our country, and no one says a peep about the porous border where this is happening, yet it continues. The Federal government's responsibility lies here:

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

That is from Section 8, Powers of Congress. It appears that the morons up in DC are falling down on the job, and when the individual states make laws to take up where the Feds should be doing the job, they get *sued* by DOJ.

Back to the first part of this post...so these Mexicans representing an armed incursion into another sovereign nation, went & had a firefight with the Border Patrol agents. At least two of them had their rifles at the ready position, and patrolling the area, where they encountered four Border Patrol agents - who identified themselves as such in Spanish, and opened fire on them, killing one - Brian A. Terry, who had been a Marine. I'll give you three guesses what the Border Patrol fired at the armed men...and it will shock you - BEANBAGS! Yep. We're arming our Border Patrol with beanbags.

After shooting beanbags, and Terry was dying, they *amazingly enough* thought to switch to bullets, shooting one of the men in the abdomen and the leg. (only one? I'd shoot, and keep shooting until all were down, but the other 4 ran away).

The guy indicted for the murder of the BP Agent, Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, was originally just charged with illegal entry - but then that was thrown out, and 2nd degree murder charges were preferred.

The Washington Times has this interesting bit:

The indictment also noted that Osorio-Arellanes had been convicted in Phoenix in 2006 of felony aggravated assault, had been detained twice in 2010 as an illegal immigrant, and had been returned to Mexico repeatedly.

The case has been sealed, including the judge's reason for sealing the case.

Oh, by the way, remember the Fast & Furious fiasco? Two of the AK-47s found at the scene were from that operation.

Eric Holder should be held liable for any and all deaths involving guns in that 'operation'.

By the way, if you use Kaboom cleanser, that stuff that sprays blue & turns white - wear protective eyewear that totally seals off your eyes. It will mess up your eyes, just being in proximity to the spray. This is found out from experience yesterday. I now have a blister on my eyeball :| and it feels really funny. And I wasn't even that close to the stuff, but spraying the tub and surround, evidently some of it gets around in the air, and will attack your eyes.

The Muppets comes out at the theaters today, we're heading to see a movie later!

Ron Paul Candidate Profile

2011-11-17T14:54:00.000-08:00

the only reasonable choice among the R's running, is Ron Paul, aka Dr. No, He Who Must Not Be Named, The Fringe Candidate Who Polls Above 30 Percent

http://reason.com/quiz/GOP2011/profile/ron-paul

Here are some good parts of it:

Spending/size of government/entitlement reform: Would return the U.S. dollar to a gold standard, effectively ending the central bank’s ability to manipulate the currency. Would also eliminate the central bank. Gary Johnson and Paul are the only Republican candidates giving serious consideration to cuts in military spending. Recognizes Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid as not merely economically ruinous but morally defective.

Personal freedom: Opposes abortion, but would leave regulation of it to the states. Recognizes the Second Amendment as a necessary check on tyranny as well as an expression of the right of self-defense. Opposes regulation of internet commerce and communications and has voted against bills aimed at banning online gaming, taxing internet commerce, policing sex offenders online, and requiring ISPs to answer to content bureaucrats (i.e. “net neutrality”). Paul’s position on most wedge issues is that they should be left to the states. Paul’s 2005 “We the People” bill would have prohibited federal courts from hearing cases on abortion, same-sex unions, sexual practices, and establishment of religion.

Immigration: Consistently supports stronger border enforcement. Argues that illegal immigrants strain public services more than they contribute to the economy, and advocates ending all public services to illegal immigrants and an amendment to end birthright citizenship. Would prohibit public money for hospitalization of undocumented immigrants but does not oppose letting charities take over these payments. His immigration position is rooted in the principle that a welfare state cannot coexist with open borders.

Education: Supports ending all federal support for and oversight of education. For this reason, he opposes school vouchers, which would place private schools under federal oversight. He does support education tax credits.

Campaign site: www.ronpaul2012.com

If he doesn't get the nomination for Rs this year, I'm sticking with the Libertarian Party, as the Republicans are only a step or two behind the Democrats in big government nanny state.

yet another idea!

2011-11-17T13:33:00.000-08:00

While reading over at Reason.com archives, I came across this nugget of joy in the comments on Public Healthy & the tyranny of the Common Good, from sarcasmic:

How many of those who are currently part of Red US are in fact dependent upon government plunder?

When it comes to a choice between standing up for principle and no longer receiving a wealth transfer (veterans pension check, government paycheck, Social Security check, Medicare benefit, unemployment check, Food Stamps, Subsidized Loan, paycheck from government contractor, agricultural subsidy, the list goes on), will they really stand up for principle?

Or will they be right there in the streets demanding what is "theirs"?

It reminds me of a sign that I had seen, I don't quite remember where online, but a senior with a sign saying "keep your government hands off my medicare". Um, really? Where does the "magickal money" come from? I'll let you figure that one out on your own.

I agree with Ron Paul - those on SS *right now* would still get their checks - those not on it yet, guess what, you get a lesser percentage say 5 years out from that magical age, and those 10 years out get even less. Those 20 years out, guess what - start saving and investing for your retirement.

I've started reading more of Ludwig von Mises' book on economics. I'm finding that I really enjoy learning about economics.

Here is your WHAT of the day:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8730133/US-man-impaled-through-eye-with-pruning-shears.html

Hurts just looking at that guys Xray.

Christmas is on its way

2011-11-10T12:09:00.000-08:00

I can't believe, the Christmas stuff has already taken over stores for the past month almost, and its' not even Thanksgiving. Next thing you know they'll be setting up displays around the 4th of July for Christmas!

How many of you love Christmas carols? I sure do - I grew up with records that my parents had - Bing, Perry, Hawaiian War chant (ok so i used to be able to sing that word for word) plus others. My parents listened to quite a few diverse types of music, ranging from big band to polka.

Here is one of my favorite songs, The Twelve Days of Christmas, only "as sung by Red Green"

Our church Thanksgiving dinner is coming up on the 20th of this month, and I am considering looking for a Turducken to bring, along with a regular roasted turkey.
A turducken is a dish consisting of a de-boned chicken stuffed into a de-boned duck, which itself is stuffed into a de-boned turkey. the only bones left in a turducken, are the leg bones sticking out of the legs - so it *looks* like a regular turkey, but surprise! when you slice into it. Also in the recipe I have (out of a Paul Prudhomme cookbook) there are three types of stuffings/dressings in it- one inside the chicken, one between chicken & duck, and another between duck and turkey. I've seen them in the freezer up at Prasek's in Hillje (they are even online, and sell gift boxes - I highly recommend them for any of their food) and they are not too highly priced. If you can, get the box of stuffed chicken breasts - We love them. Haven't tried the ones with cornbread dressing in them, but the ones with regular bread stuffing in them are tops!

I was browsing Armistice Day, and came across a World War I site. Quite interesting! Here is the link >> http://www.firstworldwar.com/ If you click on the left side "propaganda" you can view posters from various countries (select the country on the right side). I am browsing the US posters - to get to the next poster, click on the poster, and the next one will pop up. the US has 4 pages of posters. Some interesting ones there.

In Flanders Fields
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Spiders.. interesting

2011-11-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

I was listening to the Michael Berry show last week, and he was talking about a video...I *had* to watch it when I got home, and this is the vid:

On another note, Obama is doing by executive order what will not pass through congress/senate. Talk about being a usurper.

From Slave Narratives

2011-10-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

I have a Kindle, and over at Project Gutenberg, I found quite a few slave narratives, which were taken by interviews in the 30s. Quite interesting, and more than a couple of times, Raw Head & Bloody Bones was mentioned. I had to look it up - and found the story.

Here it is.

Back in the forest lived an old medicine woman and her razor back pig, Raw Head. Some people claim they even saw the pig walk upright like a human, but generally no one ever believed them. Each week Raw Head and the old woman walked into town like old friends. They would go to the mercantile where the owner would give the pig scraps and purchase items from the old woman. One week, the old woman showed up without her pig. The owner of the mercantile asked her where the pig was. The old woman replied that she didn't know.

When the old woman returned home, she decided to find out where the pig had gone. She conjured up some liquid on a plate that would allow her to see what she wanted to know. The vision she saw was of a local hunter killing her pig to sell to the local butcher. She could see her dead pig hanging, gutted and a pile of bloody bones nearby on the ground. The old woman knew what she had to do. She began chanting "Raw Head and Bloody Bones". At the butcher's building, the bones began moving and pulling back together. The head, that lay scraped and bloody, began to roll towards the bones. The old woman continued chanting, "Raw Head and Bloody Bones, dance!" The skeleton of the pig came completely together, and then it began wandering toward the hunter's home.

It wasn't long before the pig found the hunter taking care of his animals in the barn for the night. When the hunter heard the voice of the pig, he thought it was children playing a prank on him, and he said the person should step out in the open. The hunter didn't quite believe what he was seeing, but he knew it was pure evil. The creature was a glaring, snarling bloody skeleton of the pig. He ran to his front porch, but the pig beat him there. The hunter screamed into the night. No one but the old woman, his neighbor, heard him. A sound of loud crunching and slurping noises ensued.

Every full moon, the old pig can still be seen walking upright through town with the old woman next to him, heading towards the mercantile for his scraps.

According to wiki:

Bloody Bones is a boogeyman feared by children, and is sometimes called Rawhead and Bloody-Bones, Tommy Rawhead, or "Rawhead". The term was used "to awe children, and keep them in subjection", as recorded by John Locke in 1693. The stories originated in Great Britain where they were particularly common in Lancashire and Yorkshire, and spread to North America, where the stories were common in the Southern USA. The Oxford English Dictionary cites 1550 as the earliest written appearance as "Hobgoblin, Rawhed, and Bloody-bone".

Bloody-Bones is usually said to live near ponds, but according to Ruth Tongue in Somerset Folklore, "lived in a dark cupboard, usually under the stairs. If you were heroic enough to peep through a crack you would get a glimpse of the dreadful, crouching creature, with blood running down his face, seated waiting on a pile of raw bones that had belonged to children who told lies or said bad words.”

You can also read books online over at Project Gutenberg - and it's all free. Quite a few books there!

2011-10-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

So who's really paying what with taxes? And why is it "not fair" that some pay almost 30% while others pay much less? Fair would be everyone paying the *same* amount. Fair is treating everyone the same.

I was reading an article by Dave Ramsey on the Occupy Wallstreet people. He talked about how they're very vague, they want to get rid of the current system, and replace it with what? They're not sure. Some want something along the lines of the old Soviet system. There are no demands & goals. But these two paragraphs, under "Wealth Redistribution is the Answer!" really struck a chord with me:

I’ve heard a lot about wealth redistribution over the past few years, and I’m sure you’ve heard it too. Call it whatever you want, but this is how it usually sounds to most Americans: “We are the 99% of Americans who don’t have as much as the 1%, so we’re mad and think the government should take their wealth and property away so that I can have a piece of it. Wealth inequality is a moral breakdown! We should all spread the money around so everyone gets a fair share!”

I have my toughest critique for those who believe this: You are a thief. When someone takes my money and gives me no say in the matter, that’s called theft—whether they’re using a gun or the government. At the core of this demand is envy. And that’s not the same as jealousy. Jealousy just says, “I want what you have.” Envy is a different beast. Envy says, “I don’t think I can ever have what you have, so you shouldn’t have it either.” Decades of horrible economic teaching and the politics of envy have kept this monster alive and growing and moving forward.(bold added for emphasis - mine)

(quoting Bastiat in The Law, there are two types of plunder - legal and illegal...How is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime.

Then abolish this law without delay, for it is not only an evil itself, but also it is a fertile source for further evils because it invites reprisals. If such a law — which may be an isolated case — is not abolished immediately, it will spread, multiply, and develop into a system.

The person who profits from this law will complain bitterly, defending his acquired rights. He will claim that the state is obligated to protect and encourage his particular industry; that this procedure enriches the state because the protected industry is thus able to spend more and to pay higher wages to the poor workingmen.

Do not listen to this sophistry by vested interests. The acceptance of these arguments will build legal plunder into a whole system. In fact, this has already occurred. The present-day delusion is an attempt to enrich everyone at the expense of everyone else; to make plunder universal under the pretense of organizing it.

You can find the full text of the pamphlet by Frederick Bastiat HERE.

If you take off the stuff en/the_law.html you will find other writings of Bastiat. They're all on my to-read list.

BUT, when you point out to people that taking from one (by force) and giving to another, is stealing; or that the government, under the Constitution, has no right to do that, expressly or implied, you are called a hater of the poor.

And how do you avoid being poor? Working your tail off. How do you think most 'rich' people got that way? Very few inherit the money, most earn it. You can't get rich being a couch potato, watching Maury and the like on TV.

"but that's mean!" ... tuff bunnies. Life isn't fair, nor is it always a joyride.

I get told by some that I should have no room to talk - because I am a housewife, and don't work outside the house. However, hubby makes enough to support the family without needing me to work. I worked until we started having children, and raising them. Also called an anachronism, as I think that once you start having children, THEY are the most important job you can have - if you don't think you need as much STUFF to keep up with the Joneses, one income often will suffice. (But that's another pet peeve of mine - people putting 'wants' as 'needs'. There are only a few things we NEED. Most of what we have is a want. Funny how people used to get along fine without the stuff that is considered a 'need' nowadays.

Bullying?

2011-10-12T06:54:00.000-07:00

Are we really willing to go there? Define the 1st Amendment down to where only "nice" speech is allowed?

The KKK can yell stuff all they want, people can be as obnoxious as they wish, with WORDS. Once it crosses over into the actual physical realm, then it becomes something else.

Whatever happened to "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me"?

People didn't put up with bullies long when I was a kid - eventually you'd turn on them & get them good.

But it seems to me, with people making the government "their mother", we need *more* mothering, and laws to tell people they cannot use their God-given rights.

I was reading an article about bullying laws in NJ, and in NY state.

Evidently we have too much free speech. I am against these "anti-bullying" things going on in schools, towns, states etc. Who decides what is "bullying"? Telling someone they're an idiot? gee.. I guess I'd be arrested.

In New Jersey, schoolkids can call Crimestoppers Tipline to let on they've been bullied, thus getting the POLICE involved. Can we say "waste of government resources"?

In more nanny state news, here's something from The Telegraph:

No more balloons for kiddies under 8, and no more party whistles for the under 14 crowd.

what?? I guess water balloons are right out then! Someone might get hurt! or wet :P

According to Mayor Bloomberg of NY state:

There are powers only governments can exercise, policies only governments can mandate and enforce and results only governments can achieve. To halt the worldwide epidemic of non-communicable diseases, governments at all levels must make healthy solutions the default social option. That is ultimately government's highest duty.

WHAT??? This is such a lie, and you know what's REALLY sad, is that people will suck this down and actually believe it. People you would think would have at least a gram of common sense, and they believe this drivel.

This kind of goes to show how the US, overall (not saying everyone) is getting stupider. A nation of sheeple.

I'm starting to have serious doubts, as to whether this country can actually survive the coming implosion of government, as handouts grow greater, and those not receiving some form of gov't money swells.

It appears to me that self-reliance, and actually being responsible for what you say/do/ etc is totally out the door. And that's sad.

Funeral today

2011-10-11T15:35:00.000-07:00

The church that I go to, the guy that does the job of Treasurer passed away. His funeral was today. Makes me think ...what if hub kicks off first... lots of deep thoughts, not sure that they're even coherent enough to put down.

I know I haven't written much, and much has been going on. I have to go see the doc to see about this cough, so when I get feeling better I'll rant on about various things (Al Sharpton comes to mind!)

I also started crocheting Christmas presents, and I have a sweater made for a friend's neice, I think it turned out cute. Now just to find some thread to sew on the button!

Here is something that has been irking me for a while.. the "bullying" junk. This article has some good thoughts about it. http://www.federaljack.com/?p=119185

Cooler weather?

2011-09-24T12:12:00.001-07:00

Wow! it's *finally* under 100 for our daily temperatures here in S. Texas. About time. We can even shut off the AC at night now, and just start it up during the day. We did get some rain last week, which was really nice, but it means the ~~lawn~~ weeds have started growing again and need mowing.

We have been looking at cars for the youngest, now that she is working almost every day after college classes, and I'd really like my car back. I was informed being I had "tagged my car up with lots of bumper stickers" I wasn't due to get the new (used) car. We've been looking at the Toyota Yaris, which has a weird arrangement of the gauges being located in the center of the dash, not on the left like usual.

I've been re-arranging my kitchen lately, and staying offline more, doing more things like crocheting (think Christmas presents) and just general messing around. Reading alot more. I'm about halfway done with Benjamin Franklin's autobiography. It's quite interesting actually. It was one of the free books for Kindle that I found over at Amazon, and just finally getting around to reading. I have 176 books on there to read, and I've read probably 50 of them. Guess I'd better get hot!

We watched the debate the other night, and thought Herman Cain did a great job, Mitt even sounded good (which I know he would be obama-lite) and Rick Perry was just totally lost.

I don't know if you've looked into the Cain 9-9-9 plan, which I really like.

Phase 1 - Immediate Boost

As I have outlined, the following represent the minimum for feeding the economic engine and are the “low hanging fruit” offering the most “bang for the buck”
Reduce individual and business income taxes to a maximum 25%
Eliminate taxes on repatriated foreign profits and capital gains.
The capital gains tax is a wall separating those with ideas from those with money.
Why would we want to wall off those with ideas? That’s where we get business formation, job creation and innovation.
When companies sell products overseas they face double taxation when those profits are brought home (repatriation) to invest in America and pay its workers.
Companies don’t ship jobs overseas, Liberals ship capital overseas and the jobs merely follow.
Phase 1 - Enhanced Plan

Current circumstances call for bolder action.
The Phase 1 Enhanced Plan incorporates the features of Phase One and gets us a step closer to Phase two.
I call on the Super Committee to pass the Phase 1 Enhanced Plan along with their spending cut package.
The Phase 1 Enhanced Plan unites Flat Tax supporters with Fair tax supporters.
Achieves the broadest possible tax base along with the lowest possible rate of 9%.
It ends the Payroll Tax completely – a permanent holiday!
Ends the Death Tax.
Business Flat Tax – 9%
Gross income less all investments, all purchases from other businesses and all dividends paid to shareholders.
Empowerment Zones will offer additional deductions for payroll employed in the zone.
Individual Flat Tax – 9%.
Gross income less charitable deductions.
Empowerment Zones will offer additional deductions for those living and/or working in the zone.
National Sales Tax – 9%.
This gets the Fair Tax off the sidelines and into the game.
Phase 2 – The Fair Tax

Amidst a backdrop of the economic boom created by the Phase 1 Enhanced Plan, I will begin the process of educating the American people on the benefits of continuing the next step to the Fair Tax.
The Fair Tax would ultimately replace individual and corporate income taxes.
It would make it possible to end the IRS as we know it.
The Fair Tax makes our exported goods and services the most competitively internationally than any other tax system.
Phase 1 Enhanced Plan – Summary

Unites all tax payers so we all pay income taxes and no one pays payroll taxes
Provides the least incentive to evade taxes and the fewest opportunities to do so
Lifts a $430 billion dead-weight burden on the economy due to compliance, enforcement, collection, etc.
Is fair, neutral, transparent, and efficient
Ends nearly all deductions and special interest favors
Ends all payroll taxes
Ends the Death Tax
Features zero tax on capital gains and repatriated profits
Lowest marginal rates on production
Allows immediate expensing of business investments
Dividend deductibility will help retirees, improve accounting, and moderate stock-option driven executive compensation
Increases capital formation. Capital per worker drives productivity and wage growth
Capital formation will aid capital availability for small businesses
Features a platform to launch properly structured Empowerment Zones to revitalize our inner cities
We all know the Fed has tripled the money supply since 2008. They have been printing money out of thin air to finance the Obama spending machine. While true Fed reform that restores sound money may have to wait for my election, the best thing we can do now is to pursue policies that increase the DEMAND for dollars to help mitigate the risks associated with the increase in the supply.
Pro-growth economic policies equal a strong dollar policy

I think that with the Demoncats and Republicrats, that there is a very slim-to-none chance it would actually go through if he was elected. But at least there is someone who actually has a *plan* to get stuff working again.

Hmm. I wonder if we can pull the 'race card'... you just don't like his plan because you're racist ... LOL. I am not sure how he's doing on the straw polls. I know Ron Paul does pretty good.

AND on this final note: If you have a dog, try the Bil-Jac brand of dog food - you can get it at Petco and Petsmart. It's a bit less expensive than Blue Buffalo, but they use 10 lbs of chicken in each 14 lb bag of food. It kind of looks strange (at least the fat-dog food) because it's shaped like the little alfalfa pellets that you feed rabbits. I am a BzzAgent, and I am trying this food, and telling people about it. Rocket actually LOVES the food (which is surprising, he's picky) and he hates fat-dog dog food. It hasn't been giving him gas like Purina and many other foods do. I think I'm going to stick with this food. But I need to get one of those bowls that has the 3 pegs in it to keep him from bolting his food. Also found out I had been overfeeding him - for an 11 to 20 lb dog, 1/2 cup to 1 cup of food a day. Wow.. I've been just letting him feed off & on. keeping the bowl full. No wonder he is shaped like a watermelon with legs & a tail.

Socialism

2011-09-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

I was offline for a while, an old cable running from our antenna down rotted away and had to be replaced. I wrote this while I was without internet. Funny how you end up with (seemingly) more hours in the day when your net is down!

"True sociopaths, whether they murder their brother or rape their sister, have no remorse. They wish to push the order of things out of shape." This was a bit out of a book that was mentioned in the book I am reading by Michael Savage - the original book is "The Italian-American: Troubled Roots" by Andrew Rolle. Mr. Savage goes on to ask if the RDDB lawyers (red diaper doper babies) are trying to push society out of shape.

Socialism will not come rushing in with the face of Hitler, nor will Fascism come in with the face of Mussolini. Or the Communism of Stalin or Mao.

As Jonah Goldberg puts it - it will come in the guise of "smiley face fascism".

"think of the children!" is one thing that I think has been a large downfall of much of our liberty in this country. I have been watching more TV this past few weeks, and I noticed a commercial for an ADD/ADHD drug - basically turn your kid into a zombie, and everyone's happy. There ARE a few that are add/adhd, but not to the extent that its being diagnosed. Why is there such an upswing? Because kids today are planted on their butts on the couch, playing video games, instead of running around and playing outside with real games. Have them go outside and play a few hours of football, basketball, etc. They will be too pooped to act up. I remember growing up, if I wasn't doing my homework after school, I was outside. Mom limited TV to a bit of Saturday morning cartoons, and Sunday evening Carol Burnett & HeeHaw. And football. LOTS of football.

I was about 8 or 9 when Pong came out, on the Atari. My friend down the street, her parents bought one. It was good for about 30 minutes, but it was WAY more fun outside on the tire hanging on the tree, jumping off that into the lake, or just running around "discovering" things. All summer I was outside, and down at the lake every day. Fishing, swimming, taking out the paddleboat to the middle of the lake, turning it upside down & jumping off into the water. also, filling a canoe with kids, and then someone would get up on the sides & stand, and try to dump us all into the water. During the winter, it was hockey on the lake, skating, sledding, snowmobiling. (yes, you can fit 6 kids on a single snowmobile!) Drinking hot chocolate, laughing when swallowing, hot chocolate coming out your nose. (it hurts). if it was summer, I was outside doing something. Not sitting indoors.

I don't think my mom would have let me stay indoors. She thought getting out & doing things was important, even if it was having me go outside and weed the garden & see if there were any ripe vegetables. Or to go sit outside and decimate her rhubarb plants. (i love rhubarb, just pick it, and eat the stalk!)

I didnt have my girls hang out inside. On a really hot day, we'd stay in part of the day when it was bad, but we'd be outside, they'd be playing in the mud in the ditch, floating boats there, climbing trees, shooting BB guns (and shooting out our shed windows), throwing the hard pears off the tree in the backyard at an old doghouse to make holes in it.

When we had chickens, we'd get 2 to 3 eggs a day - 4 people cannot use all those eggs! I tried. One day, hubby had the girls outside, teaching them how to egg a house. They also learned how to wash egg off a house.

I ran across a blog recently, Free Range Parenting", and from reading it, it was how I was raised, and how I raised my girls. Some interesting stuff over there.

Yet another peeve of mine -

people complaining about "the crap pay" of 7.25 an hour, and how they would NOT take a minimum wage job, but prefer to just take the government's money. It's a JOB. There is no shame in taking a job, but there IS in taking money from the government. It seems to me that the shame in taking welfare has been done away with. People did not starve to death before we had the great welfare state. Churches, civic organizations, and private organizations did the job - and far better than a centralized beurocracy (I can't spell it, but I know how to pronounce it!)

Who is better able to judge what a locality needs, someone 3,000 miles away, pushing papers in an office, or someone who lives in the community?

Back to my peeve - I don't get why people who don't have a job, turn their nose up at a job? I get told that "being that you dont' work, you have nothing to say". The thing is, I don't *have* to work. My husband makes enough to provide for our family, without my working. And they liken that to welfare. I don't THINK so. When we need to pay a bill, we don't go to someone else and say "give us money so we can pay xyz".

To date, no one has been able to answer 'what entitles you to someone else's money?"

It seems to upset the seniors, as "we paid into social security all those years so it's there for us". Um, no, you paid in all those years, so that those who were retired during the time you worked could take your money. Now, its the people working now who are paying for your check.

Medicare is another thing that gets my goat. Talking to a lady at church...she had headaches. After 2 MRIs, a CAT scan, and several other tests, she said she'd just go see about an eye exam to see if her glasses were causing eyestrain. And it doesn't matter how much it costs for an MRI, as she isn't paying the tab.

THAT is the mentality that is causing medical costs to skyrocket, as the cost of insurance also. We have major medical - we pay for prescriptions, etc., with a high deductible. When I needed an MRI, we called around - it ranged from $380 to over $2,000. We went with the $380 one. I think that if there were HSAs instead of just covering everything, people would be more cost-conscious, and prices would come down, as the businesses would have to really compete for you. And get the government out of the healthcare/medical field. They have no business in it anyway.

A Cloward-Piven paper

2011-09-03T09:06:00.000-07:00

How can the poor be organized to press for relief from poverty? How can a broad-based movement be developed and the current disarray of activist forces be halted? These questions confront, and confound, activists today. It is our purpose to advance a strategy which affords the basis for a convergence of civil rights organizations, militant anti-poverty groups and the poor. If this strategy were implemented, a political crisis would result that could lead to legislation for a guaranteed annual income and thus an end to poverty.

This vomitrocious paper can be read in full here: The Weight of the Poor.

Funny, we still have poverty, despite spending trillions on it since the welfare state began. As Jesus said, "For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good..."

Up early on a Saturday

2011-09-03T05:36:00.001-07:00

I was rudely awakened by the 'poinker' who massaged me gently with his claws, and bit my nose :| What a way to wake up. Speaking of waking up, this is hilarious!

I used JP Sousa playing loudly on the boombox that I took into the girls' room - to this day, they still know the song I played, and can hum it. Either that, or some ice to the back woke them up also.

I'd be freaking out too:

Well... considering I don't like spiders, although when we moved our couch, there were BARN SPIDERS underneath it. Rachel and myself were whacking them with paperbacks for a while. I counted at least a dozen. Lovely, under the couch. They could have popped out at any time. And the cats were useless. Like when we first moved in here, we found out that the shed we have...has mice. They got into a couple boxes that we brought into the house to unpack. The cats sat just watching them, while hubby and I played "pool" with a walking stick from Mt. Fuji and the mouse. Corner pocket BAM!

I'm thinking back 23 years ago today...the day hubby and I tied the knot. We went to a cheesy wedding thingie in San Diego, had some woman minister, and taped music. His brother did the photography (and did a great job!). We had both rented, his tux and my bridal dress - evidently San Diego is large enough for that. I was so nervous, I laughed most of the time during the ceremony. Then we had our 'reception' .. it was 2 of Paul's friends, and his family. So we went off to Red Lobster, and I had dropped off the cake earlier in that day at the restaurant. Evidently someone wanted to taste the frosting, as there was a finger smear in the middle of it when they brought it out. We were in the glassed in part, so we could see them decorating the car lol. Had a nice dinner, then off to Disneyland Hotel. His dad had gotten us a room, they upgraded us to a suite, on the 8th floor. We ended up paying for another 2 nights there, and we got the same rate he had paid - employee discount rate. We went to Disneyland, but mostly hung out in the Hall of Presidents - because it was air conditioned. it was so hot those few days. Then up the coast of CA, along I5. Stopped in Gilroy (garlic capitol of the world) and tried garlic wine. It would be good for cooking with. The town smells of garlic. Then on to more wineries, a very nice time.

It seems like so long ago... yet not? I can remember specific things that we did that day - like stopping at Mervyn's to buy nylons and some makeup. Going to the florist to pick up the flowers I had ordered. How Paul looked that day. (young comes to mind!) Here is a picture from that day: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35523673@N02/3996212539/in/set-72157622551994198

Life is really strange how many turns and twists it makes. When I left home at 17, I had no plan in mind, no direction, no idea of what I wanted to do. I've lived in a van out in a state park down in Florida (bad time of life), spent years in the Navy, and then worked sporadically since I started having the girls.

The youngest has started college now (although her classes are just in town, so she lives here); another chapter of my life has begun I think. She's so busy with classes and work, that she is hardly ever home. Hubby and I only had a little over a year together before Kat was born, and now it's 'what do we do?'.

I guess we're older, wiser; but that really doesn't matter a hill of beans, when you think about what you've accomplished in your life.

ugh, now i'm getting maudlin, so I'll quit :)

Is it really wrong?

2011-08-30T07:55:00.000-07:00

I was reading this weeks article by John Stossel, and it started off with this:

We grow up learning that some things are just bad: child labor, ticket scalping, price gouging, kidney selling, blackmail, etc. But maybe they're not.

That got me thinking. People are against child labor...but when you need every penny/nickel/dime you can lay ahold of, why is it bad? I was reading an older book on Google books - I forgot the name of it - but in the early 1900s, those 10 and up generally worked. It wasn't until after WW2 that a majority went on to finish high school. I guess my parents were unusual, as on my mom's side, they all went to college, and on my dad's side, he went to a technical school. (he played football there) Should we abolish child labor in other countries? That would be making poor countries already poorer. Prostitution rises in countries where the jobs are less. So.. a choice. having kid selling their body on the street, or working to make Tshirts? Its a real no-brainer.

8th grade education was the basic thing, for "the greatest generation". Things were invented, unlike now = when everything is basically the same since then. Merely improvements on something already invented. Think about it. Ok, enough rabbit trail there.

What about "price gouging"? Who is to say what a "fair price" is, when the product is scarce? Of course the price is going to rise. Market value is related to how desired a product is, and the scarcity of it. If there's a lot of it, and it's desired, prices will stay low. As amount falls, prices will rise. (common sense).

Take those "price gougers" heading to a hurricane-stricken area with gallons of water. Are they supposed to sell the water for 74c a gallon? Or, do they take into account their time and trouble, not to mention gas money, for bringing it to that area? So what, you have to pay more...so you can get water/generators/whatever. Would it be better to NOT have those items? According to the gov't, it would be.

"being parsimonious is a form of greed" was one of the comments. Think about it.

1: exhibiting or marked by parsimony; especially : frugal to the point of stinginess
2: sparing, restrained
— par·si·mo·ni·ous·ly adverb

Origin of PARSIMONIOUS

(see parsimony)
First Known Use: 1598
Related to PARSIMONIOUS

Synonyms: cheap, chintzy, close, closefisted, mean, mingy, miserly, niggard, niggardly, stingy, penny-pinching, penurious, pinching, pinchpenny, spare, sparing, stinting, tight, tightfisted, uncharitable, ungenerous
Antonyms: bounteous, bountiful, charitable, freehanded, generous, liberal, munificent, openhanded, unsparing, unstinting

ok. think I've exhausted that rabbit :P

On another note, school vouchers for choice of education for your child. I think it's a good idea. But the only problem I forsee, is that the government will want to call the shots at any school accepting vouchers. Bad idea!

Look at this:

The LEA is the "Local Education Authority".. ie. the public school. Notice the wide gap between public and private/charter/whatever schools. Which one would be better used to educate children? Yet another no-brainer. And of course, the teacher's unions are all over this, saying that it's horrible that public schools are losing money through students fleeing. well DUH! Big FAIL for public schools.

Now for the taste buds - I made a nice strawberry shortcake for dessert last night, but I figured out do NOT make the full recipe when there are only two of you eating it. The shortcakes turned out huge, and youngest only ate 1/3 of hers. I started thinking about food, and being I was talking with a friend about food, this came to mind:

Chicken fried BACON. Complete with cream gravy. Hopefully the gravy is nicely peppered. Imagine the calories in that thing - a fat, deep fried in fat, served with a fat. An artery-busting thing!

What I learned today (and yesterday)

2011-08-24T12:32:00.000-07:00

A couple of interesting things I've found out - "meat glue" and energy consumption per capita. First, what I learned yesterday - meat glue. Sounded kind of weird, and when I first heard of it, I thought.. glue made out of meat? Kind of like jello?

Nothing of the sort. Its transglutaminase. Its an enzyme, from pig & cattle blood, and bonds proteins together. (think chicken nuggets) It's used in those, sausages, lunch meats, hot dogs all use it. But, what I've learned, is that it's also used for "steaks". I'd be rather PO'd paying good money for what I think is a slab of steak, and finding out it's only leftover chunks & stew meat slapped together with this into a "steak". Not to mention, the possibility of bacteria. I make sure the outside of my steak is brown, but I like a cold, red center (and lots of center). If I'm eating a steak that's of bits and pieces, it's no more safe even at medium rare than a hamburger cooked to that. That's why they suggest cooking your ground meat to well-done. Brown all the way through. I don't think anyone would like to have their steak done all the way through. YUK! talk about overcooked! But there is the usual scare-mongering of 'meat glue' although it's regularly used in food products.

Never thought you'd be eating paste again, like you did in kindergarten?

From Mike's Daily Apple (about health):

If you’re worried that the meat you buy contains transglutaminase, you can do a few things to avoid any potential complications:

Do what the guy in the video did and gently tug on your meat. If your steak comes apart, it’s probably “steak.” It’s probably best to perform the tug test before you pay for the meat, and most meat counters/butchers will allow you to inspect what they sell.

Just cook it thoroughly. I would advise against cooking your “steak” like a steak until well done, because, well, that just ruins meat, but a nice braise, crockpot stew, or soup would all work. Remember: it is meat and it is edible.

Ask. Ask your butcher, your meat supplier, or your waiter if the meat contains glue. They should know, and if they don’t (or if they’re unwilling to say), order something else or go elsewhere.

NOW for the interesting factoid I found -

We all *know* the US is the EEEEEEEEeevil energy-user of the world, and of course, Americans should live like Bangladeshians. The US uses 7,885.9 of KGOE (kilograms of oil equivalent). Sounds high? Let's see where it lies among the countries' usage.

Energy (oil) consumption per capita:

1. Quatar 19,466.0

2. Iceland 12,209.4

3. Bahrain 11,180.0

4. Kuwait 11,102.0

5. United Arab Emirates 10,354.0

6. Luxembourg 10,137.8

7. Trinidad & Tobago 9,736.0

8. Netherlands Antilles 9,057.0

9. Canada 8,472.6

10. United States 7,885.9

11. Norway 7,153.2

12. Brunei Darrussalem 7,062.0

13. Singapore 6,932.0

15. Finland 6,555.0

16. Saudi Arabia 6,068.0

17. Australia 5,897.5

18. lgium 5,891.7

19. Sweden 5,780.3

20. Oman 5,440.0

21. Gibraltar 5,432.0

22. Netherlands 5,048.8

23. Taiwan 4,621.0

24. Czech Republic 4,418.6

25. South Korea 4,415.4

26. France 4,396.8

27. New Zealand 4,218.0

28. Germany 4,187.0

29. Japan 4,135.3

30. Austria 4,134.7

By the way - Bangladesh comes in last, with 171.0

Weird, huh?

A Texan's Answer to Welfare

2011-08-03T09:37:00.000-07:00

I went to my email inbox, and got a nugget of joy from a friend a couple counties over. I'd wager there are more than just a few people who think this should go on.

This is is good. Read to the end. Should work in Washington also.

Put me in charge . . .

Put me in charge of food stamps. I'd get rid of Lone Star cards; no cash for Ding Dongs or Ho Ho's, just money for 50-pound bags of rice and beans, blocks of cheese and all the powdered milk you can haul away. If you want steak and frozen pizza, then get a job.

Put me in charge of Medicaid. The first thing I'd do is to get women Norplant birth control implants or tubal ligations. Then, we'll test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine and document all tattoos and piercings. If you want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, smoke or get tats and piercings, then get a job.

Put me in charge of government housing. Ever live in a military barracks? You will maintain our property in a clean and good state of repair. Your "home" will be subject to inspections anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360, then get a job and your own place.

In addition, you will either present a check stub from a job each week or you will report to a "government" job. It may be cleaning the roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing, whatever we find for you. We will sell your 22 inch rims and low profile tires and your blasting stereo and speakers and put that money toward the "common good."

Before you write that I've violated someone's rights, realize that all of the above is voluntary. If you want our money, accept our rules.. Before you say that this would be "demeaning" and ruin their "self esteem," consider that it wasn't that long ago that taking someone else's money for doing absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered self esteem.

If we are expected to pay for other people's mistakes we should at least attempt to make them learn from their bad choices. The current system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices.

AND While you are on Gov't subsistence, you no longer can VOTE! Yes that is correct. For you to vote would be a conflict of interest. You will voluntarily remove yourself from voting while you are receiving a Gov't welfare check. If you want to vote, then get a job.

Email to DC

2011-08-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

Ok...so I am FED UP with the rank stupidity, and gross neglect of common-sense that DC is doing - so I started emailing my senators - Kay Bailey Hutchinson, and John Cornyn.

I only remember a little of what I wrote to Hutchinson, but basically that you cannot go on a spending spree to Macy's one-day sale, planning on spending $1500, and spend $1000 and call that a spending cut. that it is insanity, and that I'm ashamed of the morons in Washington.

To John Cornyn, his handy-dandy auto reponder regurgitated my email to him - so here it is for your viewing pleasure:

Your Message:

What on God's green earth is having you vote for this monstrosity? I'm aghast at the spending you guys are doing up there. This is the crap that is forcing me out of the Republican party, as they are just now "democrat lite". What part of NO MORE SPENDING do you people up there NOT understand? If I had the chance YOU have to make a stand and say NO I would have jumped at it, but you rolled right over into their laps. If I used a credit card the way you guys spend up there, I'd be long dead before it was even paid off. You CANNOT CONTINUE TO SPEND MONEY. Start introducing bills CUTTING things, that would be state issues, according to the Constitution. When you were elected, you swore an oath to God to uphold it. Who cares what they think of you? Do what's RIGHT according to the Constitution and the oath you swore. You'd garner much more support if you actually took a stand like that. I'm thoroughly disgusted with the whole process. I can stand sausage making, but what this government has devolved to, the baseness, is something that is utterly vomitrocious.

This was just one little rant. I can't bring myself to call their offices, as I would probably be hung up on, for screaming epithets at them at the top of my lungs. Plus, raise my blood pressure beyond reasonable levels.

Tonight's dinner is baked tilapia, with crab cakes on the side, and steamed broccoli. When we flew to Boston for the marathon, we had a layover in Baltimore, and it was necessary that I try crabcakes. We went to the Phillips Seafood place there, and :O it was DELICIOUS! Don't bother with the appetizer crab cakes, go directly to the lump crab cakes, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

Here is the recipe they used (and I use now!)

Ingredients

8oz. Phillips Crab Meat
1/2 tsp. Phillips Seafood Seasoning (I use Old Bay, and more than a half tsp)
1 egg
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp. dry mustard
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. mustard (I use yellow sunshine mustard)
1 1/2 tsp. melted butter (i just cut off some butter from the stick that looks good)
1/2 tsp. parsley flakes
1/4 c. breadcrumbs or Ritz crackers, finely crushed (the exact amount of Ritz crackers is 7)

Preparation Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except for crab meat. Gently fold in the crab meat, being careful not to break up the lumps. Shape into cakes. Pan fry or bake at 375°F degrees for 12-15 minutes or until evenly brown on each side and reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

This is from the phillipsfoods.com website, which has lots of other crabby recipes.

I pan-fry mine in about 1/2 stick of unsalted butter, with a smidgen of olive oil thrown in there to prevent early browning of butter.

More Government Stupidity

2011-08-02T06:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know that is like saying the same thing twice - government and stupidity are basically the same thing.

The ruling class, who desires nothing more than to have the 'working class' et al be subservient to the almighty Fed, wants to make tractors, cotton pickers, other farm equipment in the same class as semi tractor-trailers. Yep, a commercial driver's license.

No more of a farmer or rancher having his kids help, if they are too young to have a CDL. Funny, friends of ours, their under 16 year old drove their F250 back and forth to the cotton fields, and was helping with the cotton harvest, the neighbor's kids would drive farm equipment when they were about 12, to help out the family.

Some of the stuff they would have to do:

Detailed logs would need to be kept by all drivers – hours worked, miles traveled, etc.

Vehicles would have to display DOT numbers

Drivers would need to pass a physical as well as a drug test – every two years.

More info found HERE on CDL.

It appears the Fed will not be satisfied until everything is nationalized and under their control.

From what it appears from a DOT's op-ed piece, is somehow because tractors use the roadways at times, it should come under their regulation? HERE is that op-ed.

This is just more big government, just "here to help you"... I think the farmers should give the DOT a collective middle finger, raised high.

Government default?

2011-07-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

Can it happen...again? Most likely. The government has defaulted before, and guess what...nothing horrible happened.

The US government defaulted in 1933, on refusing to honor gold bonds, and FDR confiscated all privately held gold.

It did it again in 1968, when refusing to honor silver bonds (remember those silver certificates?), and instead, they became worthless paper. Well not worthless, as they are collectibles.

In 1973, Richard Nixon defaulted on gold debts to other nations, with its gold obligations.

Did you realize that 2 trillion of this debt is owed by the Federal Government...to itself? Yep, the Fed has that owed. You know, the people that print the money, etc. The *unconstitutional* and *inflationary* and *devaluing the dollar* Fed.

“Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value… zero.” -VOLTAIRE (1694-1778)

Using the government's own calculator, for what $1 in 1913 (earliest year possible) compared to today's dollar - you will spend $22.80.

I wonder about 1980 price change from $20, as I could get 4 paper sacks of groceries at that price, compared to today's prices - $54.79

And I was buying basics. Soup, stripped chicken for soup, etc.

Compared to today's usual grocery trip for me, I spend around $125 to $150 (this includes cat food, dog food, cat litter, etc) I come up with $5.48 in 1913 dollars.

WHAT!

In 1969, Cornflakes: [1969] 12 oz, 29 cents. In 2011, 12 oz. costs $3.79.

I just found an interesting book on Google Books: Cost of Living and Prices of Food, GPO, 1904. It's free, and you can browse through it on your computer. I find it quite interesting. I seem to collect *more* reading :)

Enjoy your day, I will certainly be reading old statistics today. I've found that statistics and economics are INTERESTING! Who'da thunk it? Someone that used to sleep as much as possible during classes in high school (I was reminded last year at the class reunion by the guy I used to sit behind, to "hide me so I can sleep' in Russian History. I'm skeered to actually look at my HS transcript, it might be pretty darn poor!

Questions that need answers!

2011-07-26T13:56:00.001-07:00

I was browsing around earlier, and came across these gems of questions, asked in a Socratic manner, by Oleg Atbashian:

(he's an immigrant from the ex-soviet union)

Dear Americans, these are some questions I have collected in 16 years of living in your country. Please see if you can answer them for me:

If all cultures are equal, why doesn’t UNESCO organize International Cannibalism Week festivals?

Why do those demanding “equal pay for equal work” never protest against “equal pay for little or no work”?

Why has no politician ever run on men’s issues or promised to improve the lives of males?

If all beliefs are equally valid, how come my belief in the absurdity of this maxim gets rejected by its proponents?

Ever noticed that for the past thirty years, we’ve been hearing we have less than ten years to save the planet?

Once a politician labels the truth as hate speech, can anyone trust him to speak the truth afterward?

If a politician gets elected by the poor on a promise to eliminate poverty, wouldn’t fulfilling his promise destroy his voting base? Wouldn’t he rather benefit from the growing numbers of poor people? Isn’t this an obvious conflict of interests?
How did the “war on poverty” end? Has there been a peace treaty or a ceasefire? Who is the occupying force and who are the insurgents?
Why weren’t there demonstrations with anti-feudal slogans under feudal rule? And under Stalin, no anti-communist demonstrations? And under Hitler, no anti-fascist demonstrations? In a free capitalist society, anti-capitalist demonstrations are commonplace. Is capitalism really the worst system?
If capitalism makes some people rich without making others poor, who will benefit when capitalism is destroyed?
If the poor in America have things that people in other countries can only dream about, why is there a movement to make America more like those other countries?
Why, on the rare occasions when Obama’s actions benefit America, does his base get angry? And every time his actions are hurting this nation, his base is happy? Who exactly are these people?

If cutting out the middleman lowers the price, why are we paying the government to stand between us and the markets?

If racial profiling is an abomination, what do you make of the last presidential election?

After Eric Holder called Americans a nation of cowards, what has he done personally to help the situation?

If diversity training benefits everyone, why do those classes mostly consist of white heterosexual males?

Why is a huge poisonous cloud over a volcano considered magnificent — but a smokestack over an American factory is ugly and harmful?
How many Kyoto Protocols are rendered pointless by one medium-sized volcanic eruption?
Why is burning gas in my car hurting the planet, but setting fire to housing developments in California is saving it?
Why does Hollywood glamorize drug addicts, criminals, liberal Democrats, and mentally challenged people? What do they all have in common?
How come Hollywood can always find a good side in thugs, but never in businesspeople? What was the last movie that pictured a self-reliant, industrious man as a role model?
If it’s capitalist greed that forces Hollywood to exploit the lowest human instincts, why didn’t the same greed force Hollywood to exploit America’s patriotism and make war movies showing the U.S. presence in Iraq and Afghanistan as a force for good? Wouldn’t one such film bring more green cash than all the anti-American flops in the recent years? Where was Hollywood’s capitalist greed then?

How come those calling Sarah Palin a “bimbo” often look like part of Paris Hilton’s entourage?

If there are no absolutes and family is an antiquated tool of bourgeois oppression, why is having gay marriage an absolute must?

Would you know from the media coverage that there are more sex offenders among public school teachers then among Catholic priests? How come the church gets the blame and the Department of Education doesn’t?

Why is the media so outspoken about sex abusers being priests, but avoids calling them homosexual pedophiles? Who are they afraid to offend?

Why do those who decry modern civilization never live far from shopping centers and why don’t grind their coffee with a stone ax?

If we are called a “consumer society” because we consume, why aren’t we also called an “excreter society” because we excrete? For that matter we also sleep, dream, talk, think, invent, play music, raise children, feel pain, get sick and die. Many of us work for a living. Why aren’t we called a “producer society” because we produce the things we consume? Who puts these labels on us and for what purpose?

How come the unselfish Americans hate their country out of personal frustrations, while the selfish ones defend America with their lives?

If describing terrorists as freedom fighters is justified by the journalistic principle of neutrality, what is the name of the principle that justifies describing U.S. troops as rapists and murderers?

When the media portrays the killing of terrorists as “slaughter of civilians,” while slaughter of civilians is portrayed as “resistance to occupation,” is the media really being neutral? Whose side are they really on?

If Hollywood types are so opposed to capitalism, why is there a warning against unauthorized distribution of their movies?

Why is experimenting on animals cruel, but experimenting on human embryos compassionate?

How come industrial logging is a crime against nature, but the destruction of forests by wildfires is a natural cycle of life?

Why do those who object to tampering with the environment approve of tampering with the economy? Isn’t the economy also a fragile ecosystem where a sudden change can trigger a devastating chain reaction?

Isn’t the latest economic crisis such a chain reaction?

Aren’t most of today’s social ills the result of tampering with social ecosystems?
Why is bioengineering bad, but social engineering good?

If Al Gore is right and our consumption of the planet’s resources is a moral issue, doesn’t that make genocide an ethical solution? How about an artificial famine? What would Al Gore choose?

If being a winner in nature’s struggle for survival is selfish, does being extinct make you an altruist?

Since our planet’s resources are limited, wouldn’t the ultimate act of environmental activism be to stop eating and starve to death?

How come those who hate humanity for its faults are called “humanists” but those who love humanity for its virtues are called “hate-mongers”?

If economic ups and downs are natural cycles, why is the downturn always blamed on unbridled capitalism, but the upturn is the result of a wise leadership of a Democrat president?

Why is there never a media story praising capitalism for the booming economy?

Ever noticed that those who demand “power to the people” also believe that people can’t do anything right without government supervision?

How exactly does dependency on the government increase “people power”?

Why is there never a headline that says “Government program ends as its intended goal has been achieved”?

How come so many anti-American radicals are wearing American brands, listen to American music, watch American movies, and play American video games on computers designed by American engineers?

Why do advocates for higher taxes have accountants advising them how they can pay smaller taxes? Wouldn’t you expect them instead to seek advice on how to give away more of their income to the IRS? Or at least not to hire accountants at all?

Can you name one person who paid the IRS more than he owed because he trusted the government to put his money to good use?

Did it occur to any of the 9/11 Truthers that a government conspiracy to murder thousands of people would have also included a plan to rub out a few troublemakers?
If U.S. oil companies own everyone in Washington, how come they allowed Congress to grill them for the alleged price gouging — and to broadcast it on C-Span?

Why didn’t Congress also grill Hugo Chavez, Vladimir Putin, and a guy named Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Bin Abdulrahman Bin Faisal Bin Turki Bin Abdullah Bin Muhammad al Saud?

Why are windfall profits a problem when they enrich U.S. companies that pay billions in taxes — but when Hugo Chavez uses the same windfall profits to fund Marxist guerillas in Colombia, it’s not a big deal?

If George W. Bush was an oil-thirsty dictator, why couldn’t he in eight years get permission from Congress to drill in ANWR? And why didn’t that failure in any way hurt his dictatorial reputation with the media?

If it’s true that the media emphasized bad news and harassed President Bush only because they competed for ratings, what changed now? Aren’t they worried that today’s emphasis on good news from the White House will destroy their ratings and make journalism irrelevant?

And finally, if all opinions are equal, how come a liberal who disagrees with a conservative is open-minded, but a conservative who disagrees with a liberal is a bigot?

I really can't say any more than these questions pose - Feel free to throw them at your favorite liberal!

Poverty in the United States

2011-07-22T10:51:00.001-07:00

That is the title of a paper by Heritage.org I am in the process of reading. Quite interesting, as the average "poor" household has:

In 2005, the typical household defined as poor by the government had a car and air conditioning. For entertainment, the household had two color televisions, cable or satellite TV, a DVD player, and a VCR. If there were children, especially boys, in the home, the family had a game system, such as an Xbox or a PlayStation. In the kitchen, the household had a refrigerator, an oven and stove, and a microwave. Other household conveniences included a clothes washer, clothes dryer, ceiling fans, a cordless phone, and a coffee maker.

this is poor? The "poor" today are living better than all but the richest people 100 years ago.

When I was growing up, we had a black & white TV, as color was expensive, and my mom didn't get a regular washer until 1976 - We had a wringer washer (remember those?) and I was the feeder for the rollers. Also we line dried our laundry. Hung them up in the basement when it was winter, so they'd dry. We had a microwave back in the 70s - ONLY because my dad was a salesman for Litton at that time. Only thing we used it for was making 'cinnamon apples' - scoop out some, put in those little red cinnamon candies & cook it. Mom never really liked them. After dad stopped working for Litton, we got rid of it.

We also didn't have air conditioning. Summers were hot, but never really thought about it, except for at night when it was so hot that a sheet was too heavy. We just left the windows open (and bats would also fly in).

My parents invested in a hydraulic log-splitter, put up signs all over, they would come cut down your trees that needed it, for free, as long as they could have the wood. My sister and I did the hard part - putting the wood on the splitter and piling up all the wood. Dad pushed the button.

I guess I grew up with Depression values in life - if you're looking for a job, and need money, you don't pass up jobs just 'because you don't like it' or you feel its below you. You take whatever job is available. My grandfather walked 15 miles one day to get a job during the Depression.

People didn't feel "entitled" to something, merely because they were alive, or lacked something. My mom told me of eating lots of french toast during the depression - her mom owned a bakery, and the bread that was way too old to sell, along with eggs & milk from her grandmother's hens & cow, made up their dinners. And lunches, etc.

Now, we have generations of people, just sitting about, getting (as the Dire Straits song goes) "money for nothing".

How do we define poverty? Is it just lacking all the doo-dads and goodies that over half the people have?

I don't have an Ipod, an Iphone, or anything fancy like that - I bought an 8gb mp3/vid player at Walmart at Christmastime, while they had them on sale for $39. Why should I pay lots of big bucks for a name?

Or an "adequate house"? What constitutes 'adequate'? For many in this world, even the ramshackle houses are quite nice compared to pieces of tin leaned up against each other.

Look at the house sizes over the years. Even in the US, it's increased greatly from the average of 943 sq ft in 1950, to 2,349 sq ft in 2004. I'm like :O

I guess my house would be an average house in 1950, as it is just a tad over 1100 sq ft. And it's sufficient for a family of four. A friend's family growing up, had a 4 bedroom house - grandparents - 1 room, parents - 1 room. 3 boys - 1 room, 3 girls, 1 room. And all of one bathroom. Hm. this is interesting: The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio. I don't have a garage, a half bath, and our "patio" is a carport.

People today say "xyz is a necessity". But what are we really calling a necessity?

Necessity -

3. Indispensableness; the state of being requisite. The necessity of funds to support public credit, no man questions. The necessity of economy in domestic concerns is admitted. No man can plead necessity in excuse for crimes.

another dictionary says: noun: anything indispensable

how many of our "necessities" are actually 'wants' or 'nice to haves'?

If you had the choice of paying rent, or paying cable, what do you skip? Or buying groceries, what do you buy, if you have a limited amount of money? I see people paying with the Lone Star card, buying lots of junk.. and yet look at this:

The average consumption of protein, vitamins, and minerals is virtually the same for poor and middle-class children. In most cases, it is well above recommended norms. Poor children actually consume more meat than higher-income children consume, and their protein intake averages 100 percent above recommended levels. In fact, most poor children are super-nourished and grow up to be, on average, one inch taller and 10 pounds heavier than the GIs who stormed the beaches of Normandy in World War II.

I'm often behind someone using that card, they are buying nice cuts of meat, brand-name sugary cereal, etc, and lots of...basically crap.

We eat alot of chicken (because it's not outrageously priced); we buy ground turkey rather than ground beef, as it is more than $1 less a pound. If you're not actually working or doing something to earn the money, it is ... held in less regard, I guess. You really don't care how you spend it. Did you know lobster, and food gift baskets can be bought with the Lone Star card?

Is this poor?

In 2005, the typical poor household, as defined by the government, had air conditioning and a car. For entertainment, the household had two color televisions, cable or satellite TV, a DVD player, and a VCR. In the kitchen, it had a refrigerator, an oven and stove, and a microwave. Other household conveniences included a clothes washer, clothes dryer, ceiling fans, a cordless phone, and a coffee maker. The family was able to obtain medical care when needed. Their home was not overcrowded and was in good repair. By its own report, the family was not hungry and had sufficient funds during the past year to meet all essential needs.

No, far from it.

Those saying "the poor need more help" are just deluding themselves...making themselves feel good... with other people's money.

2nd Day of VBS

2011-07-19T19:44:00.001-07:00

and we have a bit more than 33 kids that we had yesterday. I got the 4 and 5 year olds today. The primary class (8,9 year olds) girls only had one, so she took the 6 and 7 year olds in her class.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's class, as it involves some random food, a blender, and someone drinking said blended food. Foxtail girl drank blended chopped beef sandwich, baked beans, and a soda at church camp this year.

The story is of the young man who said "give me my inheritance now", spent it all on wild living, and had to go take care of pigs, live with them, and eat what they did. So.. pigs eat slop.. so the teenager that ~~volunteered~~ we talked into doing this, said as long as it had Dr Pepper in it, he'd do it. Woohoo! The other lady doing the class with me is bringing her blender tomorrow. I think this will be a lesson the kids will remember.

I'm kind of bummed about VBS, as the time allotted for the lesson, and learning the verse for the day, is NOT long enough. I'd re-work the time schedule to allot 45 minutes to 1 hour for classtime.

What is the purpose of VBS? (vacation bible school). To teach kids about Jesus and God, and get kids saved. THAT should be our primary focus. I've taught VBS on the navajo reservation, where all we had was a packet of visuals (4 cards per lesson), and the teachers book. Nothing else. Guess what, lots of kids came forward. Adults included. The purpose was not glorified babysitting, or giving them fun stuff to do (although they did a craft, and mostly the kids I had (6 and younger) had coloring sheets. We didn't have decorations, etc, no prizes each night (for learning a verse that no one had time to teach, but each kid got a prize anyway); they received a gift (a stuffed animal one year) on the last day of VBS. And we gave away lots of Bibles. THAT is the purpose of VBS. The games, snacks, crafts are nice, but that is not the focus nor the purpose of it. I have a feeling I'm gonna piss some people off by bringing this up to the preacher this week. I guess I can't please everyone, and today is not your day :P hehe.

I got a new bumper sticker for my car - "criminals prefer unarmed victims". Going to see about getting my concealed license.

WHAT?

2011-07-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

Ok.. I know I posted earlier about upcoming events here... but this article I am reading, is just %$@&#$!

I'm reading the 2010 Wastebook - Put together by Tom Coburn (R-OK), and I'm ready to scream. AND go to my legislators' websites & contact them with WHY IS THIS GOING ON? WHAT ARE YOU ACTUALLY DOING UP THERE BESIDES SITTING AROUND SPENDING LIKE A DRUNKEN SAILOR?

HERE is the PDF of the Wastebook.

Some lovely facts to turn your stomach today:

“Free” Grateful Dead Archive - (Santa Cruz, CA) $615,000

Agencies Pile Up Unnecessary Printing Costs - $930 Million

Studying World of Warcraft and Other Virtual Games - (Irvine,CA) $2.9 Million

Poems in Zoos - (AR, IL, LA, WI, & FL) $997,766

Shooting Range Armed with Taxpayer Dollars - (Las Vegas, NV)$15.68 Million

Internet Dating Study - (Stanford, CA) $239,100

Studying Male Prostitutes in Vietnam - (San Juan, Puerto Rico)$442,340

Teaching South African Men How to Wash Their Genitalia -(Los Angeles, CA) $823,200

FDA Employees Need Contractors‟ Help to Understand Backlogs - (Washington, DC) $1.08 Million

“Free” Harvard Courses for Federal Workers - $5 Million

And of course, ethanol. to the tune of 6 billion.

Federal Study Investigates Cow Burps - (Durham, NH)$700,000

Pedestrian Bridge Built Steps from Another Pedestrian Bridge -(Bothell, WA) $260,000

Study of Why Political Candidates Make Vague Statements -(Berkeley, CA) $216,884 (they can't figure this one out on their own?)

Transportation Enhancement Grants Used to Plant Flowers Instead of Repairing Highways - (Department of Transportation) $571 Million

Office for Retired Speakers of the House of Representatives -$440,955.87

anddddddddddd...the best for last... shrimp on a treadmill! Yes, imagine the US without a study of shrimp running on a treadmill. Makes me wonder if the shrimp was being chased by...a giant cup of cocktail sauce! After dumping a bit over $3 million into this, they came to the grand conclusion that: "... sick shrimp did not perform as well and did not recover as well from exercise as healthy shrimp."

is that a duh! moment or what? they even put on little duct tape "backpacks" on the shrimp to see if an increased load slowed them down. You can watch the shrimp here.

OH BOY! HERE is the NSF (National Science Foundation) idiocies. Including this gem:

create? One of the recent studies highlighted by NSF is “ground-breaking” research being performed at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research: “Exactly How Much Housework Does a Husband Create?” By the way, they've spent $60 million on this. How do you like your hard-earned dollars going to the government to be WASTED in this fashion?

These two PDFs really need to be gone over, and then...do what your gut tells you to do - Lambaste your legislators about this STUPID spending. The NSF *has* given us useful things, like the net, barcodes, cloud computing, MRIs, and vision care. but it has given us quite a bit of crap studies that shouldn't even be getting a penny.

I'd write more, but I have lots of housework to do (not all caused by the husband!) and my lamb for kebabs needs some garlic in the marinade :)

VBS is next week

2011-07-12T09:52:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year again - Vacation Bible School! I teach the 5, 6 and 7 year olds each year. I wonder how many kids I will get this year, and ack!! how many will NOT behave or listen? I have really noticed a difference in between the kids I taught on the Navajo reservation (I had around 25 in my class) to the group of kids I get here (around 15). The kids on the rez are better behaved, I *might* have some trouble with one, but just have a helper take him to the missionary, and they come back, apologize, and there's no trouble anymore. THEN, there's VBS at our church. Last time, I told the VBS head that I wanted to work in the kitchen next, as the kids just *would not* behave. Not as bad as the year we had the biting incidents. One of the kids bit my youngest daughter (who was a helper), another child, and she took him to the office to be taken home, he bit the guy that was taking him home.

I don't know if this is a reflection of American society on a small scale - these kids (except some of the younger ones) have BEEN in school, and know how they are supposed to behave.

I find this type of behavior reprehensible, and I completely fault the parent(s).

Is this a fall-out from the entitlement mentality? "I should have X merely because I am" is NOT a reason to receive anything...except contempt.

While I was in Medford May & June, while driving to Michaels for more yarn, or the grocery store, I would see many just standing on the corners, holding cardboard signs, begging. I really felt like yelling out the window "get a haircut and a shave, a bath, and get off your butts and find a job". Except that is kind of long, so I'd probably just cut it up to "get a job!"

One lady I saw by the Arby's in south Medford the whole time I was there. And they all looked like the people in those anti-meth commercials you see on Oregon TV.

Back to the upcoming VBS. I look forward to it each year, but as each day of it goes by, I dread going to church and having to deal with the kids. Can't do anything to any of them, because a parent might sue the church & you. I think some parents need to be taken out back of the woodshed and given an education.

I've learned how to crochet socks, so I've been busy making some for people for Christmas. Also found out, sock yarn is very easily chewed through by cats. 'The Devil' (previously known as "princess anna marie buttercup" likes to assist me in my crocheting. I just found a potholder I was making, separated from the cone of yarn :|

As for the blogosphere, I was reading an article over at Redstate, and came across a blog link that I followed - and wow, some good reading. I'm in the middle of her "Why taxes and welfare are bad" section here. Well worth a read.

Hope you guys have a good day!

I'm back

2011-07-07T04:36:00.000-07:00

Well I'm finally back. I returned to Houston last Thursday, got home Friday, and BAM! no internet! It got fixed Tuesday evening. Turned out the cable from the antenna had some slashes in it, and water got in, corroding the wire. So...I got quite a bit of crocheting done, and started watching my World At War DVD set. I'm up to DVD #5 now.

Watching CNBC this morning, 2 talking heads said that some in Washington are finally catching on to the fact that if they STOP SPENDING, they can actually meet debt payments including interest. But...they're worse than drunken sailors up there, so I really don't expect them to stop spending.

And those that are getting money from Uncle Sam (roughly 50% of the population) will not want THEIR share to get cut.. but it's okay to cut something else.

I forgot who it was, said to cut EVERYTHING by 43%, as that is the amount being spent over what is taken in. Sounds like a great idea to me!

dagnabbit, there are gnats... just inhaled one :| guess that's all for today. I don't see why the morons in Washington are so blind as to see you can't spend way more than you get, and keep on doing it, and expecting everything to turn out A-okay.

Archie Bunker's not happy with Obama

2011-06-15T18:30:00.001-07:00

This came in my email earlier today. Talk about the truth! (as I wait for All in the Family to start on TVLand)

After watching it, I went back to my email inbox, and came across one of the silliest things in a while that I've seen. Did you know ATMs cause unemployment? Seriously!

Think about it - you pull up to an ATM, and use that to make transactions... instead of gainfully employing a teller to do the work. And those eeeeeeeeeeevil vacuum cleaners, they make maids useless!

Check out what pResident Pookie says about ATMs and kiosks!

I wish I had listened to the radio show of his to find out this information of the intelligence that emanates from Pookie's brains...or lack thereof!

I am now 8 days from returning home to Texas. It will be nice to be home.

been a while

2011-06-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I last posted - I am ENJOYING the lovely weather up in Medford OR, and the low temperatures along with low humidity. MUCH better than at home, where the temps are around 100 with a high level of humidity.

Been avoiding much political stuff, but just today I got an email from a friend, about the pResident's new INVISIBLE plane!

Oregon-bound

2011-05-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

Well, tonight is the last night of AWANA, awards, then store, and then refreshments. Tomorrow I'll be jetting off to Medford, to go stay with my mother-in-law for a few weeks. She's having surgery the day after I get there, so she'll be off her feet (or at least on crutches) for a while.

Seems like everything happens at once!

There's been lots going on in the news, but to me, Geithner raiding the pensions and putting in government IOUs stands out as a big thing. That OBL shenanigan, I believe he's been daid for years, as all the purported videos of him since early 2002 have been frauds. Notice the obviously fake birth certificate is no longer in the news.

They are doing sleight of hand with the American public. Look here at my left hand, so you don't pay attention to what my right hand is doing.

Yet another biggie is what the Supreme Court has STUPIDLY, PILLOCK-BRAINEDLY, VOMITROCIOUSLY, decided.

...(t)he Kentucky decision "would create unacceptable and unwarranted difficulties for law enforcement officers who must make quick decisions in the field, as well as for judges who would be required to determine after the fact whether the destruction of evidence in response to a knock on the door was reasonably foreseeable based on what the officers knew at the time."

Hello? Fourth Amendment? I guess being the TSA, through regulation, has knocked so many holes in it, that it's going the way of the Tenth Amendment.

The Fourth Amendment reads:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Speaking of idiocy, over in Indiana, they're a bunch of retards too. (note.. I am not PC, and don't think I ever will be. I'm a blunt speaker, and I say what's on my mind (much to my husband's chagrin) If it's stupid, it can also be retarded.)

The brilliant minds over in Indiana (are they inbred there? Buck-toothed? Any teeth? Do they marry their sisters over there?) decided this:

In a 3-2 decision, Justice Steven David writing the official response for the court stated, if a police officer wants to enter a home for any or even for no reason, a homeowner or any other person can not do anything to resist or block the officers entry into a private home. “We believe… a right to resist an unlawful police entry into a home is against public policy and is incompatible with modern Fourth amendment jurisprudence,” David said. “We also find resistance unnecessarily escalates the level of violence and therefore the risk of injuries to all parties without preventing the arrest.” David Goes on saying a person arrested following a unlawful entry by police can still be released on bail and will be given ample opportunities to protest the illegal entry through the court system.

I would like to fill a small lunch bag with cat poop, put it on the idiot's doorstep, light it on fire, and ring the bell, then run & hide. Hopefully the moron would come out barefoot, and step into the same stuff that this ruling is made out of. Except the ruling is more bovine than feline.

I hadn't thought about flying, otherwise I would have gone to Zazzle.com and bought a Gadsden flag Tshirt to wear to the airports. My Tshirt that says "I love the smell of tar and feathers in the morning" has some holes in it. Guess its' time to replace!

As to the Geithner thing, figure as soon as they run through the money in government pensions, guess where they'll go next? Your IRA, your 401k, your anything that they can get their grubby mitts on.

Cookies!

2011-05-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night (5/18/11) is the final night of Sparks (AWANA club) - first awards, then store (where the kids get to spend the "bucks" they earned by attending, bringing dues, wearing their uniform, bringing their bible/handbook, and learning their verses); and refreshments. Being I was feeling all invigorated yesterday for some reason, I made a batch of peanut butter cookies. DANG those were tasty! So, for refreshments, I'm going to be making more cookies:

Peanut Butter Cookies (Betty Crocker recipe)

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 1/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix sugars, peanut butter, shortening, butter and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate about 2.5 hours or until firm. (I skipped this, and went directly to rolling them). Heat oven to 375ºF. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped into sugar. (stick the fork first into the dough, so that the sugar will adhere to fork) Bake 9 to 10 minutes, cool on rack. If you don't want them to get soft, don't leave them out (also they tend to get eaten quicker if you do)

OATMEAL SCOTCHIES (we love these!)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or grated peel of 1 orange
3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 2/3 cups (11-oz. pkg.) butterscotch chips (I'm trying Guittard chips, as they do not list artifical flavor in them)

Mix cinnamon, flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl. In another larger bowl, beat both sugars, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract together till well-mixed. Gradually add flour mix. Then stir in (carefully) the oatmeal, and then the chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls (I find ice tea spoons handy for this) onto a baking sheet (ungreased). Bake 8 to 9 minutes. Less for chewy, more for crispy.

Hubby didn't think he'd like those, but he did. A whole batch...downed in one evening!

And then I'm making toll house cookies - recipe is on the back of the package. This time I bought the mini chocolate chips. Maybe it will look like there are *more* chips than usual.. even though the amount of chips in the bags of regular & small chips are the same by weight.

Also making cupcakes, Funfetti ones, with vanilla frosting & rainbow sprinkles.

ACK!

2011-05-05T11:00:00.001-07:00

My whole long post, on what is going on! has! disappeared!

Here is the gist of it - ASK questions re: the OBL shenanigan. We're just supposed to take the government's word for it? No corpse, no photos, basically "we said it happened, just believe us, we're the government, we wouldn't lie to you".

On another note... WHO would you like to see waterboarded? I vote for Joy Behar and the rest of the harpies on the View, first. :)

a couple of things

2011-04-28T06:04:00.001-07:00

"Be very careful, indeed, with your call for the redistribution of wealth, and fairness," he said. "It always ends up with a mountain of skulls."

The above quote is from Michael Savage. Redistribution has killed many, and liberalism has killed many more than that.

Thomas Sowell says that "liberalism is totalitarianism with a human face". How true.

According to 'Death by Liberalism', there is a vast spectrum of democide: it includes genocide, mass murder of dissidents, mass mortality due to slave labor; mass starvation due to seizure or withholding of food supplies; and deaths caused by ill-planned or ineptly executed government policy. It has accounted for up to 262,000,000 deaths over the past century. This is roughly 6 times more than those killed by all the wars in the same time slot.

The book "Death by Liberalism" is quite interesting. At the Amazon site, you can look inside the book.

I hope you all had a good Easter. We had an egg hunt at church Sunday, and the kids had a lot of fun. I ended up with 11 in children's church, it was nuts! Usually there are 4 or 5 children. There was barely enough room at the round table for all the kids to sit around. Then we came home after church, and I did a roast leg of lamb, with roasted asparagus.

Wow! I will NOT steam asparagus again, it is SO much better roasted!

Break off the woody part of the stem, lay in a single layer in a shallow baking pan, drizzle with olive oil, roll them back & forth to makes sure they are coated all over with oil (be sparing with the oil, you can always add more, not take away); sprinkle with salt (I have a sea salt grinder, put on the middle position), and pepper (again, another grinder, middle position) and put in a 450 oven for about 10 minutes. *drool* it is really really good! And the lamb turned out to a lovely pink inside, about 135, and hub said it reminded him of prime rib. Glad I didn't buy a small ham.

115th Boston Marathon

2011-04-21T10:19:00.000-07:00

Well, we are back from Boston. Had a really nice trip up there.

We went up to Houston last Thursday after hub got off work, and stayed at a motel by Hobby Airport, because our flight took off at 6 am (who the heck books a flight for 6 am???) So I woke up at 2:41.. :| and we got to the airport. I was REALLY surprised by the TSA guy, he was really nice. He must not have been on the job that long. I had forgotten I had those stupid quart bags of liquids in my backpack, so he had to look through it. AND I had 2 baggies. not allowed. He was nice enough to try to repack them in there so it would all fit into one, but there were still a couple things that would not fit. I told him being they were Clinique stuff, it was too expensive to just throw away. He asked me if I was traveling with anyone else, and he said we could wait for my husband (he had to return for his 2nd boarding pass at the kiosk) to see if he had room in his baggie for my stuff. I gave him a tract, he looked puzzled & said what is this? I told him it's a tract, and it's for you to read later when you're not busy. I wish I had gotten his name, and his supervisor, to tell the supervisor that this guy was really nice & deserved a raise. Did NOT have to go through Nude-O-Scan. I slept the whole way to Baltimore. That was the only leg that we were able to sit together.

In Baltimore, it's mandatory (or at least I told the hub) that we MUST have a crabcake! So we went off in the airport looking for a place to get them - Phillips Seafood is what we found. I first got the appetizer crabcakes, they were better than we get here, and were ok. Those are deep-fried. The waitress suggested the lump meat crabcake that is pan-fried. Said sure, and :O oh it was the BEST darn thing I have had! It's Ritz Crackers, lump crabmeat, and their own seasoning (comes in a can, celery salt & celery seed are the first ingredients). Ok, $25 later, we get on the plane to Boston. Paul was in the very front row, I was in the very last row. I sat next to a couple, started to talk to the wife (she was knitting, so that got us started), and it turns out that they were going to Boston for his 30th!! time running the marathon there. She gave me some tips on what side of the road to watch it from, and a good seafood place to eat (Legal Seafood).

In Boston, we stayed down in Braintree at the Motel 6 (darn expensive up there too), and we took the train/subway thingie called the "T" down there. If you do go up there, for more than a day, make sure you buy the 7 day Charlie Ticket - you can get all over Boston for only $15 a person. This also allows you on the buses that run other routes besides the T. Its a heck of a bargain.

Friday afternoon we took the T from the motel (a 2 minute walk from the T stop), down to Faneuil Hall, where they have Quincy Market, north & south market. We walked around and looked at stuff (Quincy Market has gobs of food vendors in it!) and we ended up walking across the street to Union Street, and stopped in at The Purple Shamrock to eat dinner. It was really good, and inexpensive. I had the broiled seafood platter (fish, scallops and shrimp) and Paul had the seafood fra diablo. The scallops are so very tender! Nothing compares to fresh seafood. The Red Sox were on the TVs all over the place (it was an irish pub).

Saturday, we got up & showered. My towel was very rough, and it felt like being bathed by a cat getting dry. :| We had breakfast at Quincy Market, there is a shop at the end that sells baked goods - bagels etc. We walked around and looked at stuff, then I picked up a guide book listing sights along the Freedom Trail, and we started off from Faneuil Hall to Boston Common. It was really interesting. We stopped off on the way by a Borders, at a bagel shop, for a bagel and a water. I took pictures of the statues commemorating the Irish Famine, people coming to Boston. Then we went on. We went through a couple of graveyards, one is where Samuel Adams, Paul Revere are entombed, and Franklin's parents. I got some photos of the gravestones. One thing was very interesting on those markers - there are many skeletons, and skulls with crossbones under them. I think that was the Granary graveyard? We walked along, and came to Old City Hall. There was a statue of Benjamin Franklin there, and some tables/chairs, so I got to sit for a couple of minutes. In Kings Church graveyard, the woman who is thought to be the inspiration for The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne is buried there - I have a photo of her headstone.

We finally got to Boston Common, and had to take the Green Line down to the Hynes Convention Center, for number pickup, Tshirt and bag pickup for the race. Wow was it busy! Paul got his #, Tshirt, bag and we went into the expo. Lots of vendors, and now Adidas has the marathon gear, so we were looking at jackets/tshirts, etc. with the marathon logo on it. He didn't find anything he really liked (the colors this year were green/black, and I managed to find a light hoodie (white with green stitching). Paid for that (darn expensive - $70) but even a regular hoodie was $50. We walked up & down Newbury Street for a while, looking for a place to sit, relax & get a cold one. We went to Charley's Saloon, had an order of O-rings, and a couple of beers. They had a horseradish sauce for them, I enjoyed it.

We ended up going back to Faneuil Hall, and eating at McCormick and Schmick's. White tablecloths, upscale restaurant. The maitre d'took us to a table, pulled out the facing chair for me, and dummy that I am, pulled out the other chair, and sat down. faux-pas! gah. felt like an idiot after sitting down. Guess upscale is not my cup of tea! Had a nice dinner however, I had the haddock with lump crab stuffing, with a lemon-butter/white wine sauce, with asparagus & spaghetti squash. It was one of the chef's recommendations for that evening. Each menu is only for that day - their seafood comes in fresh each day. It was a toss-up between that haddock, and the halibut from Sitka, Alaska (as I have been to Sitka). Paul had the penne with salmon, with a pink sauce. He said he wasn't happy with the selection of food, but he ended up enjoying his dinner.

Sunday, we split up - Paul stayed at the motel, while I went out walking the North End. I followed the red line (Freedom Trail) and went into the Italian section of Boston. Wow! nice architecture. I really like the buildings. It was alot of fun stopping at each Italian restaurant, and looking at the menu to see what was on there, as he wanted to have Italian that night, to carb-load for the race the next day. One restaurant I passed, La Familia Giorgio's, a guy came out & said they have HUGE portions, with really really good food. I went in & asked if they were taking reservations this week, he said no, due to the Marathon, however, he would see about taking one for me. But I really should have NOT declined, because later that evening, after 6, it was NUTS. Lines everywhere.

I walked up Salem St. in north end, till I got to Prince street, and walked across to Hanover. I was behind sumdood in a suit, talking to a family about a pastry place - Mike's Pastry - and that they had cannolis. I had seen people carrying about boxes that said Mikes Pastry, tied with string, and I love cannolis! So I get around the corner, and there is the line. Mike's is about half-way down the block, but the line moved quickly. Once you get inside, it breaks up into 7 or 8 different lines - just line up and make your way to where a string comes down from the ceiling. They have 17 different types of cannolis, plus other pastries, and gelato. The cannolis are $4 apiece, and the gelato is $4, however, the cannolis are huge, and the amount of gelato they put in the cup is a very generous helping. I picked up 2 cannolis - hazelnut, and pistachio, and a cup of tiramisu gelato. Kept walking north on Hanover, went past the Revere House and took some pictures. Sat on someone's stoop and finished off my gelato, then went a bit further north. Decided it was about time to head back to Faneuil Hall to meet hubby after his day of relaxation.

I remembered a place that had a sign that advertised 80 craft beers - so down the stairs to The Hideout I went. It's just below Durgin Park (a yankee restaurant) and they have a menu of their beers. Waited for Paul to get to the hall, turns out I have no cell phone service downstairs, so I had to go sit upstairs to get a call from him that he was coming into town on the T. We went back to the North End to look for a restaurant, but there were too many lines, and they were long, so we decided to return to The Purple Shamrock for dinner. He had the same thing as the other night, and they have a lobster dinner, complete with slaw & fries, for $15? $16? Anyway, it was delicious. Had a longneck, then returned to the motel.

Monday morning - Paul left the motel at I have NO idea what time, to get to the starting area early. His corral didn't start the race till 10:20. I woke up at 6:30 and he had already left. I showered (this time the towel was soft!) and watched the coverage of it on the TV. I watched the start of the wheelchairs, the elite group of women, the elite group of men start off. Watched the finish of all 3 of those - some exciting stuff! and when the 2nd corral started off, I figured it was almost time to leave. I had signed up for status texts on his times, and when I got the 10k status, figured it was time to leave for the race.

I had been planning on being at Heartbreak Hill on the 21st mile, however, the T was packed, and it took longer than expected to get on it. So I went to the Hynes Convention Center station, at the 25.2 mile mark. I had 2 cowbells with me, gave one to a kid to ring at the people, and I was at the railing yelling "1 more mile - you can do it" and shaking the cowbell like a crazy person :) The people that started walking, I yelled to them "get moving!" I had the camera in one hand, and the cowbell in the other. I saw a caveman go by (barefoot!) but I didn't manage to get a shot of him - or mucha lucha either. I did get a shot of the pickle suit guy, and a shot of the guy in a gorilla suit, however. Finally Paul came past, and I got a picture of him. Then I left there, and went to go get on the T back to Park Street (boston common) to meet him.

The T was PACKED. Only 5 people (if even that) could get on it. I said the heck with it, I'm going to walk! and came up on the other side of the road. Started walking, and taking pictures as I went. Walked about 2 miles to the T, and it was backed up so much, that the stairs leading down to it, was full. Said screw this, I'll keep walking. I kept asking directions, how to get to this street, and that street, and finally found myself back on the red line (freedom trail) at one of the cemetaries. Told myself I know how to get to Faneuil Hall now! and kept on truckin. Finally got there, after about 4 miles of total walking, and sat down outside the Best of Boston store. Was hoping they still had samples of their salt water taffy but they were out :(

Sat & waited a while, then Paul called & said he was on his way up there. He had said he wanted an IPA after the race previously, so we went back to The Hideout, and one of the other runners was there, eating surf & turf. We ended up eating there - really good food - bacon-wrapped scallops appetizer, Paul had the lobster, steak, baked potato and carrots, and I had the fried seafood platter. Turns out I do NOT like fullbelly clams, they have the same texture as mussels. yuck! but the fried scallops and shrimp were good. After, we took the T back to the motel & went to sleep.

Tuesday morning, we flew out of there. I was really surprised at Boston Logan, as the line for security, we figured at least an hour, but it was only 15 minutes at the most. We connected through Philly, and we split a cheesesteak. It was very messy. Got in to Houston about 4, and drove home. Decided to head to PMR before going home, to get some dinner. Yah! M, T, and W its' prices from years ago, so it was only $4.95 for a plate of cheese enchiladas, rice & beans. Then we finally got home. The kitten was very glad to see us.

I have yet to unpack. Guess I'll do that today LOL. Yesterday I uploaded ALL my photos from the Boston trip - all 153? 154? of them. Took from around 2:30 yesterday, after I picked up the dog and Mr. Fatty (the fat cat) from the vets, and finished uploading around 10 pm last night. Here is the link to the photos: my flickr set of Boston. Enjoy!

2011-04-18T07:14:00.000-07:00

Cheap lobster! We're up for the Boston Marathon, and the race has started today. Hub's corral has not started yet. The wheelchair racers, the first corral (of men & women) have started already. It's about time for me to go ride the T to the course, so I can go shake a cowbell at the racers. Will write about it later today, and our trip up here. Going to go by Heartbreak Hill.

More Nincompoopery!

2011-03-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

Okay.. I just can't let this go - 2 posts in one day, after a long famine of blogging! The nincompoop-in-chief, pResident Obama, says (with perhaps a single brain cell working):

"students should take fewer standardized tests and school performance should be measured in other ways than just exam results. Too much testing makes education boring for kids..."

Gee.. "One thing I never want to see happen is schools that are just teaching the test because then you're not learning about the world, you're not learning about different cultures, you're not learning about science, you're not learning about math,"

Uh, if they didn't actually LEARN then they'd fail the test...and not get passed onto another grade, unable to do the work. There were studies done, (my kindle is recharging, otherwise I'd be able to get you names & figures) of 'teaching the test' and that is *yet another* myth about schools.

He spoke to Univision Monday, about this 'not taking so many tests', and that 1 in 3 Hispanic students actually graduate from HS.

Lack of money for schools? Another myth. We've trebled the amounts given to schools, and the test scores have remained flat.

GAH.. idiots abound!

Nincompoops!

2011-03-29T06:41:00.000-07:00

I swear, there are nincompoops and incompetent fools everywhere - ESPECIALLY in government work! I can think of two excellent examples of this:

#1. The railroad people, replacing ties, and "improving" the crossings. One street, has a 4-inch drop when you cross the first rail, then crossing the one right after, is a 4-inch climb. Both drop off sheerly. I avoid that street at all costs now, after going over it once. It had been bad before, but now it's even worse. They've "improved" the crossing down through one of the main roads in town. Guess what. It's so "improved" that now they have signs up saying "rough crossing" and there is a giant hump in the middle of it, where before it was just a little bit bumpy. They're "improving" the crossing further down the road we take to get to our house. I had to drive 10 miles out of my way yesterday on their 'detour' because the crossing was closed. I can't wait to see how its "improved". :|

#2. The route they put in around the main part of town, to avoid going through there - They did that like 5 years ago. Each month it seems, they are fixing potholes. And not just little potholes. These are ones that will ruin your tire, or you could lose a small child in. They just finished "fixing" the latest potholes, and guess what? The patches are already crumbling into new potholes. They are working on the second leg of the route around the main parts of town, I think the same incompetents that did the first part are working on the second part.

I'd like to get RID of all incompetents in government. When you mention this on Facebook, suddenly the government workers rise up, get all snarky, and start calling you names. Go figure. Must be one of those incompetents.

Some games

2011-03-23T12:15:00.001-07:00

I hadn't thought about playing games lately on the computer, but there are a few I really like - Bin Laden Liquors is one! Found here, its a great shoot-em up game. But you have to avoid shooting that pesky hostage that likes to pop up just as you shoot the terrorist. You lose points for escaped terrorists, and for hostages shot.

Another fun game I found years ago, is the Cow Pie game. Found here. A steak drops out of the sky, and you have to shoot a cowpie out of the cow to smack the steak. You only get 10 cowpies per set.

Another one I like is Cat Bowling found here. I did manage to bowl a perfect game, however, if someone after you bowls a 300 also, your high score gets kicked and theirs goes up.

Kitten Cannon found here sort of disturbs me. I don't mind shoot-em up games, but for some reason this one does. My youngest daughter was pretty good at this game. There are other games available at Addicting Games, so you can manage to avoid your 'honey-do" list for a few hours and waste some time!

I so need this sign

2011-03-22T07:57:00.000-07:00

Although we don't have the long-haired cat that would hork hairballs all over the place (which is worse - stepping in a warm hairball or a cold hairball?) or the one that would overeat, then vomit it up (still could distinguish what cat food piece was what) then she'd go back and reload. Pets are so much ... fun?

A few oldies

2011-03-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

Remember this aftershave? I don't remember what it smells like, but I do remember the commercials for it!

Hmmm.. Winston is so...family-friendly:

There is so much going on...but I have been busy CLEANING and going through old tubs of quilting fabric to give to a friend. How the heck did I accumulate three 30 gallon tubs of fabric? I did find some cross-stitching fabric, linen, but I cannot see well enough anymore to do that :( I've taken up lots of crocheting, scrapbooking, and card-making. Now that the kids have moved out, I have a whole room for myself - my recumbent bike, some dressers to put my scrapbooking stuff in, a TV and I have to pick up a DVD player, so I can sit back there & mess around with my stuff, while having the tube on.

Here is a good recipe for French Onion Soup. I am out of white wine, so trying it with red wine instead.

The ALL NEW Cosmo mag!

2011-03-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

Al Quaeda has come out with a 'jihad cosmo" complete with tips on skin care, honey masks, etiquette, first aid, etc...and on the next issue, tips on waging electronic jihad. Oh boy. I doubt the covers of their magazine will be as racy as the Cosmo here in the states. No mostly-nkd woman on the front, with tips about sex with your man, or getting a better butt or something. No, this will be tips about helping your man blow himself up with a bomb, how to make a fanny-pack buttbomb, etc. Srsly.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365806/Glossy-Jihad-Cosmo-combines-beauty-tips-suicide-bombing-advice.html

gah...

2011-03-17T04:54:00.000-07:00

I've been busy the past week and a half..cleaning the church, and then cooking & cleaning for the Preachers Fellowship. Much has happened, with the earthquake in Japan, the resulting tsunami, and the nuclear plants having problems. Here is an interview with MIT Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering Ron Ballinger.

What's the worst-case scenario?

Well, first off, we can't have a Chernobyl-like situation. The system is designed so that as long as we keep water in there to keep it cool, nothing will happen. There are three levels of protection here. One is the fuel cladding, and if that's damaged then it releases radioactive material into the pressure system, which is a steel container. Then there's a containment vessel around that. What likely happened is that you had fuel damage, damage to the first barrier, which produced hydrogen in the primary system, and then to keep the pressure down they vented the hydrogen into the building that was destroyed.

What happens if all the water boils off?

Hypothetically, if the water all boils and evaporates, then the fuel will stay molten and eventually melt through the steel vessel. But that's already beyond a hypothetical worst-case scenario for me. The steel vessel is four inches thick, and they could always put seawater around the vessel, and that would keep it cool, so it can't melt. If you put a frying pan in water, you could put a blowtorch on the other side and it won't make any difference. Then you have the other containment vessel, with a concrete faceplate underneath that's between four and 10 feet thick. But melting through that is hypothetical beyond normal reasoning.

Radiation spiked at 1,015 microsievert per hour before the explosion. Is that dangerous?

No, that's about 100 milirem. It's high, but you get about 35 milirems on a trans-Atlantic flight. And if you live in Denver, you get about 50 milirems per year.

What is the dangerous level, and what happens when that level is reached?

The LD50—that is to say, the point when 50 percent of the people exposed will meet Jesus—is in the order of 250 rem, or maybe 400. A big number. Keep in mind, what they've been exposed to is 0.1 rem, and about 50 percent fatality is on the order of 400 rem. What would happen with that kind of exposure is that they would get sick. Radiation damage destroys the immune system. Most people who die of radiation sickness die of pneumonia or a cold, they die of some disease which they have but their immune system can't fight off.

Why is Japan distributing iodine tablets?

One of the isotopes of fission products, when fuel melts, is an iodine isotope, and it goes in your body through your thyroid. So if you take iodine tablets, the non-radioactive iodine goes to your thyroid, you bulk up your thyroid with iodine and it prevents absorption of the radioactive iodine.

What failsafes are there to prevent a meltdown?

A lot. First there's the SCRAM system, it automatically ejects the control rods into the core and shuts the plant down. That happened right after the earthquake. Then there's a number of core spray systems, which inject water to keep things cool. Then, if the system needs to depressurize, there's something called a suppression pool that it vents steam into. Then, when the system is depressurized there are other systems that inject water at low pressure. And then, worst comes to worst, there are pumps that can take water from the local cooling water supply, in this case the ocean, and just pump water in there. As long as there's water in there, it might be expensive for the utility to get it cleaned up, but everything is going to be fine.

If they're pumping in seawater, does that mean all the other failsafes failed?

The earthquake plus the tsunami destroyed all the power sources to run pumps and things like that. There are diesel generators on the site that are supposed to run for that purpose, but for some reason they ran for a while and then stopped, maybe because of the tsunami. Then they hauled a bunch of portable generators to run the pumps.

How good a failsafe is pumping in seawater?

The ocean's pretty big. But it's salt water, so from an operational point of view you're pretty screwed. If you get saltwater into the primary system, it's very hard to get it cleaned up. Salt water's not good for the materials, it requires pure water. So if they have to put saltwater into the primary system, it would keep it cool, but it would damage a lot of things and there will have to be extensive cleanup.

How will we know when the crisis is over?

The fuel has to cool down to the point where the water that's cooling it is below the boiling point. Usually when they shut one of these plants down to refuel they have to open it up. It takes a couple days to get the plant shut down to the point where they can take the lid off and replace the fuel. It might be a financial disaster, but no member of the public has been hurt, and I doubt anybody will be.

End of interview.

Okay. Back to the iodine bit. People on the ditzy left coast, are panicking and buying iodide tablets, and the 'illustrious' Surgeon General said that that 'was a worthy precaution'. However, those who actually KNOW what they're talking about, say that it's completely unnecessary, and causing undue panic. I remember from my time down in Radcon (many years ago) time x distance + shielding.. or something thereabouts. By the time that anything would come this far over the ocean, it would be just so much vapour, nothing to worry about. Hubby IMed me the Tuesday morning while I was serving breakfast at the Preachers Fellowship, he said that his boss had just left for town, as the Houston media was glommed down here with the "can it happen here?" bit. I remember for fun in the office, we'd eat several bananas for lunch & then sit in front of "the pig" to see it go on :).

People don't get that we get radioactivity from *everything*. Even other people. Temperature inversions. Fruit. Sunlight. They only hear the word "radioactivity" or "nuclear" and their brain seems to switch off.

The Preachers Fellowship went great - we had brisket with fixings Monday night, and Tuesday night there was a fish fry - sea trout (deeelicious!) with hushpuppies and stuff. Lots of deviled eggs were out for that meal. I think there were even some left over, which is terribly unusual, as we usually run out of those first off.

Spring is definitely here, as the "cold" temperatures we are getting now are only down into the 50s. I put my cactus back outside, hopefully some will bloom, but the golden barrel cactus, is supposed to be 12" across before it will bloom. My hibiscus did not make it through this winter, I guess I will have to pull out the dead stuff and put in new.

Not much else going on, I'm wiped out from a week of cleaning from about 8 am through 6:30 pm, with only a stop to run to DQ for a large diet coke, no ice; or a half a subway sandwich and then back to it.

Well...

2011-02-28T12:36:00.000-08:00

Ain't that special? I got called something akin to Fred Phelps, because I asked someone when they turned into an atheist? Evidently I'm *so cruel* because government workers need to actually pay into their pension and health insurance; and that much of the Federal government is UNNECESSARY, and unconstitutional. I provided facts & figures for my statements, yet no figures or sources were brought up in rebuttal, merely a slur on me & my character. Typical liberal. No facts? No problem, just attack the person, and perhaps they will not realize that the liberal has no argument that is based upon any type of reasoning except *insane* reasoning!

On the other hand,I was reading how 2/3 of Wisconsin schoolchildren (8th graders) cannot read at their grade level. This is pitiful. What's even worse, is that Wisconsin has some of the *better* rates as compared to other states.

WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON IN THIS COUNTRY? Are people raising a passel of brats (as Scarlett O'Hara termed them), or is it just we are reaping the whirlwind of the "ME" generation, who really don't give a damn about anyone but themselves, and what they can get?

And liberals say that conservatives are hateful? Hardly. How is it "hateful" for actually expecting personal responsibility etc. "hateful"? Black is white, up is down, bad is good.

I just gotta say something

2011-02-23T02:27:00.000-08:00

About this IDIOCY from the moonbat (see above) judge in DC that ruled Obamacare constitutional. Here is a paragraph from the ruling:

First, this Court agrees with the two other district courts which have ruled that the individuals subject to § 1501’s mandate provision are either present or future participants in the national health care market. See Liberty Univ., 2010 WL 4860299, at *15 (“Nearly everyone will require health care services at some point in their lifetimes, and it is not always possible to predict when one will be afflicted by illness or injury and require care.”); Thomas More Law Ctr., 720 F.Supp.2d at 894 (“The health care market is unlike other markets. No one can guarantee his or her health, or ensure that he or she will never participate in the health care market. . . . The plaintiffs have not opted out of the health care services market because, as living, breathing beings . . . they cannot opt out of this market.”). Thus, the vast majority of individuals, if not all individuals, will require some medical care in their lifetime.

The moron is a judge named Kessler. Substitute something else (food, sex, oxygen) and see if it works. No? Then it's a stupid law. and with stupid, I mean IN ALL CAPS, with lots of exclamation marks after it.

Has this become the nation of idiots, instead of a nation of personal liberty, and individuality? "1984" is no longer the manual for the near future - it is Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World". Here, just take your soma and be happy all the time.

Kind of late...but...

2011-02-23T01:55:00.000-08:00

I was talking to a friend...okay, well, trolling him (and he was trolling me), and we were talking about the tea party. About how some say "keep your hands off my medicare" and on the same sign - "no socialized medicine". WHAT??

Medicare IS socialized medicine! Talk about a reality delusion. Or rather, cognitive dissonance (Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously).

I didn't notice signs that were this blatantly...ridiculous, at the Tea Party Rally the town had last April 15th, but I think, that if polled, most that are older would say Heck no, keep your hands off my Medicare/Social Security, I paid into it, and I'm due it.

However, SS is a pay-go program, meaning when they worked, they paid for the retirees then. The workers now pay for their Social Security. And Medicare, they say "the employer pays part, and I pay part", its a fact that the person pays ALL of it, as they receive lower wages, because the employer has to take out part of their wage for it. Same with Social Security. Same with unemployment insurance.

Think, if all the money that you actually made, without government getting its grubby paws on it, how much you would actually get.

The friend I mentioned above is liberal, but we do agree on some things..such as the silliness of the above sign, and that when polled, quite a few of the tea partiers would not give up their SS/Medicare.

I was reading a book on economics, and it was brought up that if you saved $1200 a YEAR, and invested it for the long term in stocks, you would (with compound interest) have MORE than you would get from SS, and you'd see around a 4% return on your money, v. 1.5% with Social Security. You'd be having double what you get monthly with SS!

I was like :O I can save $1200 a year from what hubby gives me for groceries, clothes and other stuff.

I'm thinking also of changing my bank, as the current one pays about 1% interest on checking, and a local bank that has 4? 5? branches in the surrounding areas, pays 3%. Even 2% more would be a few bits more. Plus they have an Itunes checking account...you get a $20 credit for Itunes when you sign up, plus (forgot if it's quarterly or monthly) Itunes credit. Plus 3%!

Today is Wednesday, during the school year,, so we have AWANA tonight. Oh the fun of little kids!

Idiocy in Wisconsin

2011-02-19T07:05:00.000-08:00

I say, fire their butts. All they are being asked to do is pay more towards their pension (they pay less than half towards pensions than private sector), and for health insurance. Gee... they're being asked to do what everyone else has to do.

Wah, waaah, waaah.

The average teacher compensation in Milwaukee is $105,000. Gee. That's for a 9 month work year. And they're *complaining* about it.

There was a vote last night on an amendment cutting 22 billion. 90 Republicans voted *against* it. Turncoats, is what I call them. Rep. Dan Lungren (CA-R) said that "across-the-board cuts are a lazy member's way to achieve something." What? I guess spending MORE is being responsible? hardly! Here is The Hill's blog on floor action: http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action.

Politics and unions. What a way to start a day, makes you want to vomit.

Hope you had a great day

2011-02-17T12:02:00.000-08:00

Hope your Valentine's Day went really well. We went to the Valentine's Banquet that the church has each year, and it was at a restaurant out in Freeport. I opted for the grilled catfish & shrimp. The cole slaw was FANTASTIC! The catfish was good, but the shrimp wasn't that great. I've had better before. They were kind of bland, and their cocktail sauce had very little horseradish in it. But for catfish & cole slaw, the place is great.

I was going through "my clippings" on my kindle - here is a piece from 'Liberalism is a Mental Disorder: Savage Solutions' by Michael Savage:

In the end, your tolerance of the intolerable is actually a reflection of your loss of clarity; your tolerance of virtually everything and your "anything goes" attitude is not a mark of liberalism, it's a mark of the degeneration of your ability to judge anything.

But this is also a good bit:

Universal health-care is a carrion call for the bottom-feeders out there who think I owe them a living. They think I owe them health-care, housing, a car, a chicken in every pot, and pot for every chicken! What gives them the right to reach into my pocket for a handout? I owe you nothing. I don't owe you housing, I don't owe you a job, and I don't owe you health-care. That is what Marxists have promised from the beginning of the Bolshevik Revolution. Sure, I might see a needy guy struggling to make it and choose to help him. But that's my decision.

That's from "The Enemy Within: Saving America from the Liberal Assault on Our Schools, Faith, and Military" also by Michael Savage.

From Godey's Lady's Book, Vol 42, January 1851, I found this:

Song of the stars: E. Pluribus Unum -"many in one". A national song by Thomas S. Donoho

The world, with delight,
Looks up to the starry blue banner of night,
In its many-blent glory rejoicing to see
AMERICA'S motto--the pride of the Free!

"E PLURIBUS UNUM"

Our standard forever!
Woe, woe to the heart that would dare to dissever!
Shine, Liberty's Stars! your dominion increase--
A guide in the batthel, a blessing in peace!

"E PLURIBUS UNUM!"

And thus be, at last,
From land unto land our broad banner cast,
Till its Stars, like the stars of the sky, be unfurled,
In beauty and glory, embracing the world!

From "The Soul of Man under Socialism", by Oscar Wilde

The fact is, that the public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything, except what is worth knowing.

From the Communist Manifesto (marx & engels):

Nevertheless in the most advanced countries, the following will be pretty generally applicable:

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
3. Abolition of all right of inheritance.
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
5. Centralisation of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.
6. Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of teh State.
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of teh soil generally in accordance with a common plan.
8. Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equable distribution of the population over the country.
10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, &c., &c.

Gee..the above sounds like what democrats have done, and want to do!

Here is a couple of bits from Dr. Laura (great advice!)

If you wish to stay together, commit to being your best dream, not your worst nightmare.

Before you speak, think first about whether or not this will add to happiness and peace. Better still, cut your communication 15 percent, and fill the other 85 percent of the time with touching a hand, offering a cup of coffee, a neck rub, a hug, a sweet compliment, and so forth. Remember -- TALK IS CHEAP and ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS...unless, of course, the words are mean or lies.

Steward Machine Co., v. Collector of Internal Revenue, 301 U.S. 548 (may 24, 1947). McReynolds expressed the enumerated powers principle when he wrote, "I cannot find any authority in the Constitution for making the Federal Government the great almoner of public charity throughout the United States. . . Can it be controverted that the great mass of the business of Government -- that involved in the social relations, the internal arrangements of the body politic, the mental and moral culture of men, the development of local resources of wealth, the punishment of crimes in general, the preservation of order, the relief of the needy or otherwise unfortunate members of society -- did in practice remain with the States; that none of these objects of local concern are by the Constitution expressly or impliedly prohibited to the States, and that none of them are by any express language of the Constitution transferred to the United States? Can it be claimed that any of these functions of local administration and legislation are vested in the Federal Government by any implication? I have never found anything in the Constitution which is susceptible of such a construction. No one of the enumerated powers touches the subject, or has even a remote analogy to it."

Here's a bit from "The Prettiest Snake in Hell", by D.J. Connolly (I highly recommend this book! it's slick willie's adventures in hell)

"The obama is venomous. But his bite won't kill you; it will just make you stupid."

From "The Virtue of Selfishness" by Ayn Rand:

Every achievement of man is a value in itself, but it is also a stepping-stone to greater achievements and values. Life is growth; not to move forward, is to fall backward; life remains life, only so long as it advances. Every step upward opens to man a wider range of action and achievement -- and creates the need for that action and achievement. There is no final, permanent "plateau".

From "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism", by Kevin Williamson

"The point of public education is, and always has been, to make members of the public better and more productive servants of the state -- and it is therefore unsurprising that socialists have taken up the cause.

And thus I come to the end of snippets of my clippings. There are many more, that are good, but it would take quite a bit of space to put them all here. Hope you enjoy things that I found interesting out of books I've read/am in the process of reading.

I'm in the middle of "Liberal Fascism", by Jonah Goldberg; "Sophisms of the Protectionists", by Frederick Bastiat; "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley; "Socialism: an Economic and Sociological Analysis", by Ludwig von Mises; Stealing from Each Other: How the Welfare State Robs Americans of Money and Spirit", by Edgar K. Browning; The Politicall Incorrect Guide to Socialism, by Kevin Williamson; "Basic Economics, 4th ed." by Thomas Sowell; and "Democracy in America, vol. 1" by Alexis de Toqueville.

and of course, a smattering of "The Prettiest Snake in Hell" for some fun.

Scary stuff, kids...

2011-02-09T10:31:00.000-08:00

I'm reading a short booklet titled "The Curses of Entitlement: 30 Frightening Consequences of Government Payments", and I ran across this statistic:

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the tax rates would have to be increased steeply to maintain future Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits. For the lowest tax bracket, the rates would increase from 10% to 25%; for those in the current 25% tax bracket, the rates would increase to 63%; in the highest bracket, rates would have to be raised from 35% to 88%. The top corporate tax rate would go from 35% to 88%.

*jaw drop* These are confiscatory rates, even more so than they are now, with stifling business. This would be almost up to the 90% tax rate that was once done. Imagine that. Out of every dollar you made, 90c would go to the federal government. This is outrageous!

Grrrrr

2011-02-07T05:53:00.000-08:00

This is Harry Reid on rights:

“What Republicans refuse to understand – or at least what they hope the people don’t realize – is that in America, we give our citizens rights. We don’t take them away. That principle comes first. It inspired this country’s founding, it has directed our evolution and it defines our promise."

Who gives citizens rights? Certainly not the government - we had those rights before it came along. God gives us our rights. Not Harry Reid and the rest of his ilk.

In other news, an illegal immigrant was told to "go to Mexico" for your surgery, as UTMB Galveston was not going to pay it. Too bad more hospitals do not do this. The story is here: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7416070.html. When people who are not Mexican citizens have emergency treatment in MX, they are told to pony up first, before they get the treatment. Not here.

I'm thinking quite a bit lately of "bread and circuses". What with what is going on in Egypt, Greece, etc. Because the gubmint doesn't give them enough. I'd imagine with hyperinflation here, people would be upset, but no civil unrest... until the TV shows Dancing with the Stars, and American Idol are interrupted, and other garbage on television. THEN people will riot, as they do not get their circuses.

I wonder about many people...why is this entertainment, and the lives of 'celebrities' so darn important to them? Its like they don't actually live in reality.

Back again...

2011-02-01T11:28:00.000-08:00

The company we get our wireless from, came out and messed around with it yesterday... guess what! My net works! I can upload photos to flickr again, use Facebook, and actually send out email. Thank goodness for Yahoo messenger on my phone - it kept me connected at least. I started going through email yesterday, and found these few things:

The PCNAA bill (Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act) monster has come back to life. This horrendous thing was brought up last year, co-sponsored by Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tom Carper (D-DE).

From IT Professional Services, we find this:

“The bill would grant President Obama unusually broad power to declare a “national cyber-emergency” at his discretion and force private companies that "rely on" the Internet, the telephone system, or any other component of the US "information infrastructure" including Internet service providers, search engines, and software firms to take action in response. That could include limiting or even cutting off their connections to the World Wide Web for up to 30 days. Anyone failing to comply would be fined.”

In addition to this monstrosity, the government wants ‘private business’ to start making “Trusted Identities” for the internet.
The NSTIC ("N-Stick") proposal (National Strategies for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace), which was release in draft form last June, proposes the creation of an online identity "ecosystem," which the report defines as "an online environment where individuals, organizations, services, and devices can trust each other because authoritative sources establish and authenticate their digital identities."

Uh, guess what. The internet is not *that* important. What did people do for years previously? Its not a necessity. Its a want, not a *need*. Many things we have today are wants. Sure, it’s nice to have, but as soon as the goons start tracking everyone online, it’s only another step into the police state that this country is becoming. Don’t think so? Seen what is going on with the TSA? Nothing like breaking the 4th Amendment rights that we have, NOT the 4th Amendment rights that the government allows us to have. Our rights came before government.

From The Law, by Frederick Bastiat:

The law has been used to destroy its own objective: It has been applied to annihilating the justice that it was supposed to maintain; to limiting and destroying rights which its real purpose was to respect. The law has placed the collective force at the disposal of the unscrupulous who wish, without risk, to exploit the person, liberty, and property of others. It has converted plunder into a right, in order to protect plunder. And it has converted lawful defense into a crime, in order to punish lawful defense…(t) law has been perverted by the influence of two entirely different causes: stupid greed and false philanthropy. ..(t)he nature of law is to maintain justice. This is so much the case that, in the minds of the people, law and justice are one and the same thing. There is in all of us a strong disposition to believe that anything lawful is also legitimate. This belief is so widespread that many persons have erroneously held that things are “just” because law makes them so.

Imagine that this fatal principle has been introduced (legal plunder).: Under the pretense of organization, regulation, protection, or encouragement, the law takes property from one person and gives it to another; the law takes the wealth of all and gives it to a few – whether farmers, manufacturers, shipowners, artists, or comedians.

HOW TO IDENTIFY LEGAL PLUNDER

But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime.

Then abolish this law without delay, for it is not only an evil itself, but also it is a fertile source for further evils because it invites reprisals. If such a law – which may be an isolated case – is not abolished immediately, it will spread, multiply, and develop into a system.

LEGAL PLUNDER HAS MANY NAMES

Now, legal plunder can be committed in an infinite number of ways. Thus we have an infinite number of plans for organizing it: tariffs, protection, benefits, subsidies, encouragements, progressive taxation, public schools, guaranteed jobs, guaranteed profits, minimum wages, a right to relief, a right to the tools of labor, free credit, and so on, and so on. All these plans as a whole – with their common aim of legal plunder – constitute socialism.

Okay. So much for the US of A not being a socialist country. Perhaps not socialist with a capital S, however we are well on our way.

You know how Amazon.com has their e-reader, Kindle? I found that it is free for the PC. You can download it, and all you have to do is register. How cool is that! You can read the rest of The Law, I think the price was 99 cents. Right now I'm currently reading FDR's Folly: How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression. Also New Deal or Raw Deal?. Both are very interesting. I also ponied up 19.99 for Thomas Sowell's Basic Economics, 4th ed. for my Kindle.

I learned that the gas lines that were so prevalent in the 70s, and basically KILLED OFF my beloved muscle cars, was the fault of governmetn meddling in prices. There was no less gas during that time than there had been previously, or after that. Sowell's book is easier to understand for economics than F.A. Hayek's The Road to Serfdom. Daniel Hannan (British MEP) has come out with a book The New Road to Serfdom. Don't know how that one is, but he has a youtube channel, and makes lots of common sense that is so lacking in today's overnments all over the world.

I also went over to Baen Books website, and got Monster Hunter International, and Monster Hunter Vendetta for my kindle. I'd read them in paperback, but I loaned those out, and still wanted to re-read them. They're books that are very hard to put down! Also to go outside in the dark afer reading them :) I was out by my car, and a cat came running up out of the dark. I almost screamed and ran to the house. They're darn good books. Larry Correia is the author, and Monster Hunter Alpha is due out this year...I'm really looking forward to it.

So ...

2011-01-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

What would you do, if you were a child, and was stealing candy, and the store owner confronted you, locked you in the store, and (reportedly) pointed a gun at you? Would you be thinking "OH CRAP I'd better STOP what I'm doing and NOT do it again!", or would you be thinking "I'll keep up with stealing, and move onto larger things later on in life"?

In League City, a convenience store owner, fed up with children stealing stuff, putting it in their backpacks and walking out, has drawn a line in the sand.

Would it make a difference if it was adults stealing beer? Teens stealing cigarettes? Children stealing candy? And WHY would it make a difference?

Stealing is stealing, and it's just flat-out WRONG.

I'd imagine if the gun part is true, these kids got a good dose of scared-straight (if they were scared) and it didn't cost them a thing :P

New Year's Day at the beach

2011-01-08T14:05:00.000-08:00

We stayed overnight at Karankawa Village down by the beach. Went out for a walk in the COLD weather - this was the first time I've seen the beach deserted.

Grrr I cannot upload any of the photos, but I did stop at McD's with my netbook and the flash drive and uploaded them while sitting and drinking a latte.

HERE are the photos.

It was about 50 that day at the beach.

Nutcase in the area

2011-01-06T08:00:00.001-08:00

*edited to add - there will be a press conference live on KKHA at 2 pm central time today, January 6th 2011. *

There is some psychotic who is threatening one of the school districts in the county. The Superintendent of Schools received this letter during the Christmas break:

Mr. Brown

Kidds should have a quite classroom to learn in. That is all my child wanted when my kidd told some kidds to shut up in class one day. My Kidd was latter hurt by the talkers.
Now if my rules are not followed to the letter I will cut you youngest girl f****** head off and mail it to her mother and that is all you will have to put in the ground.
You F****** bleeding heart Liberals have let the piece of S*** kidds run your schools.
Now here are my rules. Break one and see what happens. Let me be clear if anyone breaks the rules I will punish there kidds this goes for School Board members and kids.
Rules:

1. All rules are to be followed. No rules are to be changed to avoid punishment by me.
2. No talking unless told to. No exceptions.
3. Staff are to enforce all rules or there kidds will pay. Staff is anyone in any way works for BCISD.
4. There will be no limit to staff in any way to give detention after school you call it A.S.D.
5. A.S.D. will be in one place for each school and run by you 2 days a week "high school" other 3 days for AP's. No teachers run A.S.D. you need to know who your s*** heads are. No teacher has A.S.D. in there room I will punish them or kidd. ADS will be one our long for each school
6. Student who get A.S.D. Has that day and next to serve A.S.D. No exceptions.
7. Student gets 3 days detention in one week gets 3 days ISS and must serve A.S.D. on those days. No exceptions.
8. Studet in ISS must have parent sign in and out studet from school each day of ISS or pay $20.00 for each day of ISS. No exceptions.
9. BCISD has until January 4, 2011 to have a meeting with all staff and give each staff a copy of this letter. Letter to each student on new A.S.D. and the rule to it. Parents must sign letter. Students who do not return letter 48 hr. after they get it gets A.S.D. until signed.

P.S. If rule 9 is not followed I will kill a random student because you 2 girls will be well garded by then. I will continue to kill random students until you do. Your lack of student control has hurt my child and I am termanal and will only be with them for 18 months. School will not be a nightmare for them. This is for the best. I know people will hide the joy of what I have done not to seem as hartless as some will think I am.

This was the letter sent to him - the FBI & DPS/Texas Rangers are involved in finding this lunatic who sent this.

Tuesday school attendance was about 50% of usual. When I went to pick up children for AWANA Wednesday night, there were very few that came. I was told several would not be attending because of what happened with school. Every parent in the school district got sent home the letter with more from the superintendent about what they were going to do.

Tuesday afternoon they held a press conference, and you can hear the press conference, and the interview with the superintendent at KKHA. The interview is quite interesting. Haven't listened to the press conference yet.

An update to what was current as of yesterday - An additional threat has been texted to students at the high school, basically '1 rule broken, 2 girls die at the jr. high and two from high school'.

This is VERY upsetting.

What kind of psychotic would do this? I don't get the mind-set that would think that these sort of actions are okay. I'm glad we don't live in that district, but if security at all county schools have been ramped up just in case. If we did, guess what, back to homeschooling! Would suck for kidlet, as she graduates this year, and is #2 in her graduating class. She just can't seem to get past the quarterback.

Would you send your child to school while this was going on? They say that Texas law requires no more than 3 unexcused absences per year... otherwise you get to go explain in court why your child was not at school - but the parents have to decide if to have to deal with that, or the terror of having their child go to school. I'd say the heck with the court, kidlet wouldn't be going if we lived in that district. Or else, I'm gonna go sit in each class with her and keep as close as white on rice to her.

Recipe post...politics in post below...

2011-01-04T15:57:00.000-08:00

These are not your average potato pancake, the addition of onion, garlic powder and fresh parsley makes these different and so good! Make certain to squeeze out any extra moisture in the grated potatoes with your hands. The pancakes can be fryed hours in advance or even a day in advance and just reheated in the oven to crisp up. They freeze very well also, just layer between waxed paper. Yield is only estimated, depending on size of pancakes. This is one of the best recipes for crispy potato pancakes or latkes! For an extra crispy pancake, the grated potatoes must stay refrigerated totally covered in water overnight. Making potato pancakes requires a fair amount of oil, so make certain that you have enough oil to make this recipe.

makes 35-40 pancakes.

10 large potatoes, extra-large, peeled and coarsley grated (use Russets only for a crispier pancake)
1 medium onion, grated
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup oil

salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (optional or to taste)

cooking oil (for frying)

1. In a large bowl, place the grated potatoes and cover with COLD water.
2. Place in the fridge overnight.
3. The following day when ready to make the pancakes, in a large measuring cup or bowl whisk together eggs, oil, parsley, salt, pepper, garlic powder (if using) and chopped parsley; mix well to combine.
4. Drain the grated potatoes and then squeeze out as much moisture as you can with your hands.
5. Place the grated potatoes in a large bowl.
6. Grate the onion into the potatoes, and mix to combine.
7. Pour in the egg mixture into the potatoes; mix with a wooden spoon to combine well (I use clean hands for mixing).
8. Add in flour and more salt and pepper if needed; mix well to combine.
9. Heat a large frypan with enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan (you will most likely have to add in more oil when frying).
10. Drop by tablespoons into hot oil in the frypan, and fry until dark golden brown on both sides (there will be most likely liquid that gathers in the bowl as you are frying the pancakes, not to worry it's the juice from the potatoes, just keep mixing with a wooden spoon as you are frying).
11. Remove to a paper towel to drain.

I found this in the Frugal Gourmet's christmas cookbook..and tried it.. being I had been trying to find a recipe that TASTED like grandma's latkes. I finally found a recipe while scouring the local library. Serve with sour cream and/or applesauce. You can freeze what's leftover.

The big dilemma - applesauce or sour cream?

Not surprisingly...

2011-01-04T11:57:00.000-08:00

my internet still stinks. Blah!

On the political side, there are a few things of note:

Ezra Klein, who thinks highly of himself, and very lightly esteems the Constitution, bleats this screed:

that it (Constitution) was 'confusing' because it was written more than 100 years ago [He must be a product of the public education system!-D] and what people believe it says, differs from person to person, and ALSO depends on what they want it to say.

Also! (aghast look) that 'the Constitution has no bearing on anything'. WHAT? this guy, who supposedly went to college (guess where - CAL) and has a political science degree, must've slept through all his classes, or was the favorite provider of stuff for the bongs. And I'm not too sure that he didn't drink the bongwater, being *so* bright. So who gives this guy a job as a political blogger on a newspaper site? The Washington Post. Hmm.. I have a 2x4 that needs a job...perhaps put an application for it into the WP. Good chances of getting a job considering this guy they have.

I heard that the new Republicans are going to have the Constitution read on the floor, and entered into the record. It is quite possible that for many congressmen, senators, and other policy dweebs up there, the first time they've actually heard/read/know what's in it. Although they swear to 'uphold the Constitution', dollars to doughnuts, most don't know what's in it. Perhaps with this new crop, some sense will come in.

I was listening to the radio Thursday night, coming home from Houston, and heard about the amounts of disposable income relating to several income levels. Here is the chart:

I'd say this pretty much speaks for itself, and yet we hear, that we aren't doing enough for 'the poor'. How much is enough? How large does the welfare state have to be, when liberals can say "Okay, this is a large enough size"? I have a book hereabouts (not exactly sure which bookstack it is in at the moment), called "Never Enough: America's Limitless Welfare State". It's available at Amazon. If you have a kindle, I'd still suggest getting the hard copy, as it has quite a few charts in it, and unless you have a good magnifier, your eyes are going to scrunch up really bad trying to read the text on the bottom of those charts! (I'm having to use a magnifier on the charts on John Lott's book "More Guns, Less Crime" on my kindle.

You know, I always kind of wondered, why 'the poor' have internet, computers, cell phones, regular phones, large flat-screen TVs, all the goodies.

I hope ya'll had a great Christmas and New Year's Eve. For New Years Eve we stayed at Karankawa Village B&C (bed & cookies), in the Roseate's Roost. Man, that mattress was like laying on a cloud, that you could sink into! Walked on the beach the next morning, picked up lots of scallop shells, had to run from the water a couple times, and saw a blue-ish jellyfish laying in the sand. It was still inflated, and had some water swirling around in it. It looked almost plastic-y. Being it was in the 50s, the beach was deserted. No one even out on the pier fishing.

stupid internet

2010-12-08T01:50:00.000-08:00

Well it appears my net is working kind of ok, first time since last Wednesday. The radio transmitters were messed up in the podunk town they are situated in, that we receive our wireless from. I managed to do a lot of cleaning, and tons of reading. The past few days have been stuck to the Kindle, reading The Count of Monte Cristo. quite interesting, and if you've only seen the movie, I really suggest reading the book!

On a lighter note, paranoia is at a high point in Egypt, where they've had more than usual shark attacks in the Red Sea. From Reuters:

"What is being said about the Mossad throwing the deadly shark (in the sea) to hit tourism in Egypt is not out of the question, but it needs time to confirm," South Sinai Governor Mohamed Abdel Fadil Shousha was quoted as saying by state news site egynews.net

I see.. the Mossad is behind the shark attacks... to drive down tourism in Egypt. If you would really like a laugh, go to Jihadwatch.org's story about it, and read the comments below the story. The poisonous spiny Starofdavidfish has me cracked up this morning!

I woke up before 3:30 this morning, got up because of disturbing dreams, and then stayed up to watch the news, where I saw the above gem on the ticker underneath the commentatator on the show.

I'm heading back to bed, after letting you know about this *important* news item!

The Day After...

2010-11-26T11:03:00.001-08:00

I hope your Thanksgiving was good - we had turkey, stuffing, roast parsnips & sweet potatoes. Lots of leftover turkey, and the stuffing is already gone. Actually went to Walmart today to get the difference back on a new camera I purchased, because the price went down. They don't give you the difference...they require you to bring in the product, return it, then buy it again at the lower price. For those of you who overstuffed yourself on turkey & fixings yesterday, here is an appropriate song:

you went to the supermarket got your turkey wrapped in plastic
cooked it in the oven just right should come out fantastic
the whole family’s coming over you put on your evening gown
but creeping up behind you all moist and golden brown
it’s the zombie turkey coming to pay you back
you run up the stairs into the bathroom lock the door
you can hear her boney legs banging on the floor
she’s coming ever closer now, you look out the window to see
an entire neighborhood overrun by zombie turkeys
they are zombie turkeys and they’re coming to pay you back
she’s banging down the door now it looks like there’s no escape
you can’t outrun her because you’re fat and out of shape
if only you exercised more, ate less, you’d be thinner
what a terrible way to die to be eaten by your dinner
by a zombie turkey who has come to pay you back

Zombie Turkey

What does it entail?

2010-11-18T10:14:00.000-08:00

What do police do for a pat-down? I've seen pat-downs on TV, but generally, what does a standard police pat-down consist of? And is it a more intense one if you are putting them into jail?

I'd appreciate finding out. I'm leery of going to the local PD and asking them what their procedures are, and then over to the county Sheriff's to find out what their pat-down procedures are for those in striped pajamas. (and yes, in this county, they wear black & white striped PJs)

4th Amendment means nothing anymore

2010-11-17T08:40:00.000-08:00

Well, with the Nude-O-Scans in use at the airports, including the 2 I am going to be flying out of in April to head to the Boston Marathon *hubby qualified for it, is registered, we have our flight & hotel already booked*; I am seriously wondering *how many* get the SSSS on their boarding pass...And by refusing the dick measuring device, you get an "enhanced" patdown, which includes inside your waistband, touching the genitals, and not anymore back of the hand across the breasts. I'm wondering how police run their pat-downs before throwing someone in the back of their car. Is it more or less the same?

the 4th amendment reads:

Amendment 4 - Search and Seizure. Ratified 12/15/1791.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

I don't mind going through that metal detector. It doesn't pick up the 3 staples I have inside me from my gall bladder removal (xrays pick it up though. looks funny!)

I don't mind my soon to be 18 year old daughter going through the metal detector. I do have a thing about her going through the virtual strip search *yes, those pictures are able to be saved, and transferred to another machine*, or being groped by some TSA goon.

The "enhanced" pat-down does not involve the back of the hand. it's fingers & palms, prodding you places only your gynocologist should be, or your doctor as a guy turns his head & coughs.

They've "decided" in their wisdom that 12 and under do not have to go through the Nude-O-Scope. How generous of them. What about those ages 13 up till they're 18? It's still illegal to view naked children, or take pictures of them. Also while going through there, you don't have view of your belongings (all of it, including wallet/purse, Ipad etc) on the belt.

People say "flying isn't a right - take some other transportation". Since when does MY purchasing a good from a company (an airline ticket) give the government the right to do a virtual strip search without any cause?

There is the National Opt-Out Day on November 24th. People will be opting for the patdown vs. the virtual strip-search. If you are flying that day, get there *extra* early, as I suspect the lines will move slower than they usually do on this day.

Oh, by the way, there are 2 different types of machines - magnetic wave, which produces a scan that you can't see the goodies in detail; and the backscatter xray, which *does*. With the backscatter, they can see your surgery scars on you. I suggest writing "f*** you" on yourself with a sharpie, if they can see your scars, they will be able to read your message to them. I am not sure if a black sharpie or a metallic sharpie would be best for this. Or cut out letters from foil and taping them on yourself to spell that out. And consider giving them a rude gesture with both hands while they are strip-searching you.

The TSA has a blog, written by "blogger bob" (such a nice generic name), and many questions are asked - but none are answered. Also lies and damn lies are posted on that site, as in "our machines cannot transmit, save, or print any pictures". The representative for the company that makes these machines says they can. "oh yes, believe everything the government says, they are only here to help you."

Don't think they are Nude-O-Scans? This is the image seen (in high-res) by TSA agents while you stand there with your hands in the air like a criminak being told "keep your hands in the air!" by a cop.

I really don't see why or even *how* people rationalize this. There have been suggestions for males that are Scots, drink Scotch, or even watched the movie Braveheart, wear a kilt.. just as they do back there...going commando. On the TSA blog, one poster asked if they could be taken to a private room, strip naked, and not have to be touched. No way, said TSA. You have to be subject to pat-down.

Again, how is this "reasonable"?

Elections are over now

2010-11-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

And Houston voted to get rid of the red light cameras. WOOHHOO! Each time I went under one, I'd wonder how many people flipped the bird to the camera as they went through a yellow light.

Proposition 19 did not pass in Kommiefornia. But the idiots got Jerry Brown in as governor.

Houston, where Bill White was the mayor before Annise Parker, got more of the vote in Dallas, and not much in Houston. Perry carried Houston.

For your viewing pleasure - this is the cat that is in the Fresh Step cat litter commercial, about how 'cats love boxes'.

More news out of Oklahoma about their outlawing of Shari'a law - CAIR (the unindicted co-conspirator of Hamas), is filing suit to have it ruled null and void. If they're "moderate", why should they not mind if shari'a is not the law? and with "moderate muslims", doesn't that imply merely by the word "moderate" that there is something inherently dangerous in Islam?

Tiger Pride Band

2010-11-01T17:08:00.003-07:00

These are some photos from the game against Bloomington...we won.. 59 to 12. They did not score until the 4th quarter - and it was their homecoming!

Darn. My internet has been really BAD these past few days.. so one picture is all you get - Louie the Tiger, and the youngest of mine on cymbals. She is in Colorguard, hence the uniform.

Tiger Pride Band

2010-11-01T17:08:00.002-07:00

This and that

2010-10-26T09:13:00.001-07:00

I was listening to Michael Savage the other week, and he has a new book out "Trickle Up Poverty: Stopping Obama's Attack on our Borders, Economy, and Security"

Ted Nugent did a review of it, said everyone should read it. I just read part of it on Amazon.com, via the "look inside" feature (so handy!) and in the Author's Note, this really struck me:

"America has gone from EISENHOWER to OBAMA in two generations...From JOHN WAYNE to LADY GAGA in two generations...From I LOVE LUCY to I LOVE LOOSELY in two generations...From STARLETS to HARLOTS in two generations..."

And he has other from - to statements in there. How far America has fallen. It's like the amoral-ness of today is so fashionable. And if you object, you are a prude, 'Victorian', et&. How is it prudish to say that such and such is WRONG and not right?

I think it started with the failure of the Depression generation, the WW2 generation, in not making their children work for what they got - i.e., they wanted their children to not have to go through want, deprivation, any hardship - way better than they had growing up in the Depression. Gave them looser boundaries, gave them things without requiring anything in return. And in turn, THAT generation that is known as the Baby-Boomers, only continued in excess, what had been given to them. They were so concerned with *self* that they really did not pay attention to what their children were doing/learning, etc. "Let it all hang out" and "If it feels good, do it" ruled the boomer generation, and they passed these values on down to their children. It takes up a snowball effect, rolling down a hill - you may start off with a small 3-inch diameter snowball, but by the time it hits the middle of the hill on the mountain, it is much larger, and by the time it hits the bottom it is HUGE. Are we only half-way down that mountain with the snowball? Can it be stopped somehow, and possibly reversed?

This subject I've thought on for years. I took an English Comp. class at the Junior College up in the next county when my youngest was small - and my essay was on 'Reaping the Whirlwind'. I was supposed to start off with a few ideas, and an outline. However, it *appears* that I cannot do an outline, I've tried and it always ends up NOT being what I ramble on about, so I just skipped the outline, and wrote out my essay in less than an hour. Kind of the way I rant oh here at times.. although it's been few and far between lately.

I am seriously wondering *why* these parents raised their children as they did. My parents grew up in the Depression (they were born in 25 & 28); and I know my mother worked at her mom's bakery, and they ate alot of french toast - old bread that did not sell, with eggs and milk from her grandmother's small farm. My dad's mother had a job, but as his father died when he was three, she had to take care of 2 small boys by herself. My dad told me that he remembered going to a church to get 'new shoes' one day with his brother and his mom - he said there were huge piles of shoes, and you tried on shoes until you found a pair that fit.

My parents I guess weren't of the type that gave you everything...but under our Christmas tree there were always lots of presents, even though they included such gifts as underwear, socks, pajamas etc. Items that were actually *useful* although I think my favorite was the giant (6 foot tall) dinosaur bone set made of styrofoam that you assembled.

It seems many of my generation were given alot - because our parents wanted us to not have to go through what they had, but it seems also that many of my generation also were not taught to raise kids properly, and it just went on from there, to that parents of today, that have small children, are clueless as to what to do with their kids. I am at the tail end of the boomer generation, the last year of it - so I'm not exactly sure which generation I identify more with. Actually I think the great-grandparents - parents of the Depression generation - as my mom dealt with us the way her mother did, and I raised my kids the same way.

Back to morals and the lack of them today. America is turning degenerate - and I feel like I'm swimming upstream, with the flow going against me. Is it just me, or am I loopy?

A Paragraph Or Two

2010-10-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I took the plunge, and bought a Kindle. I'm going through the ebooks classics - THE FREE BOOKS - and snagging the ones that look interesting. I found one this morning that I loaded, I don't remember if I paid 99c for it or not - or if it was free - anyway, if it was, it's definitely worth the 99c. Its an anti-slavery pamphlet, from Britain, written in 1812.

Here is the title: "American Slave Trade; or, An Account off the Manner in which the Slave Dealers take Free People from some of the United States of America, and carry them away, and sell them as Slaves in other of the States; and of the horrible Cruelties practised in the carrying on of this most infamous Traffic: WITH Reflections on the Project for forming a Colony of American Blacks in Africa, and certain Documents respecting that Project" by Jesse Torrey, Jun. Physician

From part of it, where it describes the locations of each state, and then it goes on to talk about the states in their governance:

This territory is divided into States, each of which is independent of all the rest. Each has its Chief Magistrate, its Legislature, its Judiciary, and its own Code of Laws. It raises its own internal taxes; has its own Militia; and is, in fact, an independent State, with the following exceptions; namely, that it has nothing to do, and can have no particular connextion, with any Foreign Nation; can make no laws with regard to external commerce; can make neither peace nor war; and is bound to join the other States in case of war or peace,, These matters are all left to the Congress, which is composed of a President, a Senate, and a House of Representatives. This body manages the affairs of the whole Country as far as relates to peace and war, and as far as relates to external Commerce, and to all connextions with Foreign Nations.

So that the Congress can make no Law touching the internal economy and jurisdiction of any of the States, each of which, may pass what laws it pleases, so that those laws do not contravene the common compact, contained in the document, or, act of Congress, usually denominated the Constitution of the United States.

Look how different it is from 1812 till now. It was something that I had to email to friends, and put on here for you guys to read. How far this country has fallen from its ideals, and a Constitutional government. The Constitution is specific on what Congress can do - and if it's not in there, it's LEFT TO THE INDIVIDUAL STATES. Hence the 10th Amendment. Later on today, or tomorrow (as there is a football game tonight to attend) I'll put some quotations from The Law, by Frederic Bastiat.

HMMM

2010-10-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

It appears I am not the only one who gave their kids a lemon when they were babies.

I got a Kindle, and have been busy reading older, out of copyright books on it. I actually went & bought 2 books at 99c each - the main one I REALLY like is The Law, by Frederick Bastiat. It is VERY good.

I was also re-reading Lost Rights, by James Bovard. And thinking that much of what the government does today, is completely unconstitutional. In '37, they came out with the idea of "the living Constitution", which is basically "the constitution can mean anything we want to make it say". Its crap. Its living, in that the ideals, the principles, the PLAIN MEANING is still alive today - it has been co-opted by those who wish to foist their ideals and socialism upon us.

I found this quote that I really like:

"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents." - James Madison criticizing an attempt to grant public monies for charitable means, 1794

I agree. Go check out The Law by Bastiat. I couldn't put it down.

Vandals get what's coming to them

2010-09-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

An older lady whose property has been vandalized by some "youths" finally had enough. They've set her garbage can on fire, her BBQ, and broken her windows before. She was coming home from the grocery store, and all her windows were broken. 2 boys were running away from the scene.

So later, they come back, start throwing bricks at her and shouting obscenities. What does the old lady do? BAM! pulls out a gun & shoots one (good shooting!).

The thugs were 12 and 13. The 12 year old was treated then they were both charged with aggravated assault. The old lady is NOT going to be charged - and she should not be anyway. Police had not responded to her other calls, and so, what do you do when police do nothing? You do what you have to.

Up in Houston, evidently porn killed the guy - "Police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found locked in a video booth at an adult book store on U.S. 59 in northeast Houston the day after he was seen entering the business."

Heh. I won't make comments about *that* one!

Here's stupid - a parking meter maid tickets a hearse - where? Why, because it was parked in the 'no parking' zone right outside a banquet hall. There was supposed to be the man's daughter's 25th anniversary party there, but with the death in the family, that was called off, and they had the funeral service there instead. The idiot parking maid was told quite a few times it was a funeral, including the hearse driver, a retired sheriff's deputy. Good thing they got it cleared up! Did I mention it was Sunday, and the streets were deserted, so it's not like they parked there because the parking spots were filled.

Back to a weapon keeping the criminals at bay: An 83 year old man makes would-be robber flee. He has a concealed carry permit for his .25, and he *will* not let someone take advantage of him, merely because he has a cane and a limp. A transient (since when are they transients? I call them BUMS) tried to rob him, knocked him down & tried to take his wallet. So the old man pulls out his gun and tells the BUM to get away from him. The dood ran away, but was later caught and charged with attempted strong-arm robbery.

I seem to be getting less & less tolerant of crime, criminals, etc. And the death penalty. What about having ONE (1) appeal, and then BAM, they're done for. None of this sitting around for 30 years like some murderer did. Why are we keeping them around? Let's clear out death row within 30 days, and then new ones can take their place - I think that would send a strong message to not step over that line. Also the death penalty for more cases - murder? 1 appeal, then off to the gurney. Or the gas chamber, whatever your state uses. Child molesters - death penalty. You get the idea. And what is prison for? nowadays it's used as "teaching them a new way" however, the idea of prison is *punishment*. Cruel and unusual? no.

been a bit

2010-09-25T01:30:00.000-07:00

since I posted. For some reason I've been getting up *early* like 4 am... of course it could be due to going to sleep around 9 pm!

This really pisses me off: Judge orders lesbian Air Force nurse reinstated.

Of course the ACLU is pushing this one. Sorry, you go into the military you cannot do as you like. They own you. You don't have the rights you did as a civlian. And this is against the UCMJ. You can't just pick and choose which laws out of it you will follow. This judge way overstepped his bounds. Judge Ronald Leighton of Tacoma, Washington, made his ruling Friday.
This guy is another Bush appointee. Think he was truly a conservative still? The judged ruled that it violated her due process rights and 5th amendment rights. This woman joined the Air Force in 97 and when her relationship with a woman was discovered, she was suspended in 04. This idiot judge ignores military law & says "there was no good reason for her dismissal". BAH. there are rules against this in the military. I guess next some bunko judge is going to rule for an officer fraternizing with an enlisted person.

They might be "exemplary officers/enlisted" however you cannot do whatever the heck you want and remain in the military. Hmm...5th amendment rights.. perhaps someone on a urinalysis could claim their 5th amendment rights were violated as their urine testified against themselves (i.e. they're druggies). BAH!

Speaking of druggies, there was news from Fox 2 up in Detroit about a gaggle of GM employees boozing it up and smoking pot during their lunch break:

We are having an enchilada dinner fundraiser for AWANA tomorrow at church so I have to make 2 or 3 pots of beans today - and tomorrow is Round-up Sunday...where we 'round up' those who haven't been to church in a while or those who show up faithfully - twice a year, Christmas and Easter.

Oh just remembered - I was reading a Thomas Sowell series of posts over at Human Events - titled "The Money of Fools". Here is the first part, Part II, Part III, Part IV.

I found this part most enlightening:

Among the many other catchwords that shut down thinking are "the rich" and "the poor." When is somebody rich? When they have a lot of wealth. But, when politicians talk about taxing "the rich," they are not even talking about people's wealth, and what they are planning to tax are people's incomes, not their wealth.

If we stop and think, instead of going with the flow of catchwords, it is clear than income and wealth are different things. A billionaire can have zero income. Bill Gates lost $18 billion dollars in 2008 and Warren Buffett lost $25 billion. Their income might have been negative, for all I know. But, no matter how low their income was, they were not poor.

By the same token, people who have worked their way up, to the point where they have a substantial income in their later years, are not rich. In most cases, they never earned high incomes in their younger years and they will not be earning high incomes when they retire. A middle-aged or elderly couple making $125,000 each are not rich, even though politicians will tax away what they have earned at the end of decades of working their way up.

Similarly, most of the people who are called "the poor" are not poor. Their low incomes are as transient as the higher incomes of "the rich." Most of the people in the bottom 20 percent in income end up in the top half of the income distribution in later years. Far more of them reach the top 20 percent than remain in the bottom 20 percent over the years.

The grand fallacy in most discussions of income statistics is the assumption that the various income brackets represent enduring classes of people, rather than transients who start at the bottom in entry-level jobs and move up as they acquire more experience and skills.

How true this is! If you've never enjoyed one of Thomas Sowell's books before, trot on over to Amazon, and get crackin! Have a great Saturday!

Omitted

2010-09-18T16:28:00.000-07:00

What is wrong with this quote? Can you figure it out? He did not 'accidentally' forget part of it, as it looks during that silence like he's sucking on a lemon. And we're supposed to believe that he's a Christian and not something else, like a scumbucket?

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Wow!

2010-09-16T16:41:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted! Fun stuff has started up now that skool is in for the kiddies. We started AWANA again this year, and we actually might get more helpers for Sparks Club. We have a lady now that is doing our paperwork/bookwork for us (yay! usually I left it for the following Sunday between services and do it then); one of the teenagers is no longer in Youth, she is in the College & Career Sunday School, so she is helping us this year. For a couple years, it was only me and my oldest daughter...then one of the ladies that was helping with the older girls came to work with Sparks (k-2nd grade) and my youngest worked with us - we have another girl that is no longer in the Youth, and she helps too. The kids get hard to work with when there's 20 of them, 3 of you, and you have to try to teach the non-readers their Bible verses, plus listen to others say their verses to get the sections in their handbook completed.

New this year! I am NO LONGER PAYING FOR EVERYONE ELSES KIDS. Hah! It feels so good to type that. I've sent home a letter saying that buying the child their handbook (if they don't already have one that they did not complete from last year) AND their uniform vest, plus dues for Sparks Club is NOT optional. Took a few hours of working on it, with the help of two online friends that tempered my bluntness and stuff. That was last week. This past Wednesdau night, I sent home another letter, and had help again this time - THANK YOU Sean & Savage!

This week's letter is what we do during our time at Sparks (I keep using Sparks Club so they will GET IT THRU THEIR HEADS *parents*) that it is indeed a club, with dues, uniform and a handbook and not just church like on Sunday. Two of the children (brother and sister) did come with their dues, 2 others have dues, and most just look at me blankly. I did talk to a mother later that evening and found out her child was given money for dues.. but she thinks he spent it at the store being he didn't have it later for Club. She was not too happy about that.

I spent 15 minutes last night just trying to get the children to stop screaming and yelling at each other in the van - the older kids are the ones that are so ...dare I say it? Out of control. If this is how these kids act in skools, its no wonder that teachers are sick of it. I find the behavior reprehensible, and when some babymama gets cheesed off that I happened to yell SHUT UP after 15 minutes of yelling sit down, be quiet, stop hitting him, stop screaming at her... I tell ya, if I heard of my kids acting that way for an adult that is in charge of them for a bit, I'd be MAD. Not at the adult...the ones doing the bad behavior. Last night I got back up out of bed, because my brain was just going and going...I now have a letter to parents for each of the kids that ride the van. I can't play cop AND drive the van at the same time.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT VAN RULES

1. Keep your hands and feet to yourself. No hitting, kicking, etc.

2. Use an indoor voice. Do not yell and scream at each other.

3. No swearing or threatening each other.

4. No fighting.

Not following the above rules will result in your suspension for two weeks from riding the van on Wednesday night. Repeat offenses will be permanent suspension from the van on Wednesday night.

I know that a few will get mad about this (kids) when they get ejected from the van, or drop the other kids off at the church except them, turn the van around and bring them right back home. Plus it will be a pain for whoever has to drive the van to their apartment - as I have to get stuff ready for Sparks and don't have the time to mess around when the kids are not behaving.

Is this too much to ask - for people to pay for their own kids' stuff for Club, dues, and for their kids to behave on the van? It really isn't fair to the parents that pay for their kids when the others feel they don't have to - I notice the kids will play football, soccer, baseball, softball, tball... plus money for beer & smokes.. but not have it for this. *facepalm*

Anyway...back to your regularly scheduled program...

There is a pretty big hurricane in the Caribbean, Igor (pronounced eye-gor hah!).. was watching the news - they said it was over 1000 miles across, and tropical storm winds were as far out as 300 miles from the eye. Channel 13 weather said on the news last night that we may get some rain out of it. Makes me wonder how big across Ike was, when it filled the Gulf of Mexico. Check out the tropical stuff (and your local weather & radar) at Wunderground.

A solemn day

2010-09-10T20:32:00.001-07:00

Today, in 2001, America was *really* made aware of the enemy. The first plane hit the WTC tower at 8:45 EST. I was dropping off my kids at that time at school at BCBCA, and slogging my way home in the station wagon, and promptly took a nap when I got home. I woke up and logged onto my desktop, and a friend said "turn on the news". 9:03 am. I woke up at 8:20 cst and logged on. I looked at the TV in astonishment "this is like a movie" "is this a movie being played out" "can this be real" "no way this is real". Yes, Virginia, there is a terrorist attack on the US and it just happened.

In in a few hours, in a nutshell - here is the timeline:

7:59 A.M. - American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767 with 92 people on board, departs Boston's Logan International Airport bound for Los Angeles International Airport.

8:14 A.M. - United Airlines Flight 175, a Boeing 767 with 65 people on board, departs from Boston's Logan International Airport bound for Los Angeles International Airport.

8:20 A.M. - American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757 with 64 people on board, departs Washington Dulles International Airport bound for Los Angeles International Airport.

8:40 A.M. - The FAA notifies NORAD's Northeast Air Defense Sector of the suspected hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11.

8:42 A.M. - United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757 with 44 people on board, departs from Newark International Airport bound for San Francisco International Airport.

8:43 A.M. - The FAA notifies NORAD's Northeast Air Defense Sector of the suspected hijacking of United Airlines Flight 175.

8:45 A.M. - American Airlines Flight 11 crashes into the north World Trade Center tower (1 Tower).

8:46 A.M. - Jet fighters are scrambled from Otis Air National Guard Base in Fallmouth, Massachusetts.

9:03 A.M. - United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into the south World Trade Center tower (2 Tower).

9:08 A.M. - The FAA bans all takeoffs of flights going to or through New York airspace.

9:17 A.M. - The FAA shuts down all New York City-area airports.

9:21 A.M. - All bridges and tunnels into Manhattan are closed.

9:24 A.M. - The FAA notifies NORAD's Northeast Air Defense Sector of the suspected hijacking of American Airlines Flight 77.

9:25 A.M. - The FAA orders shutdown of all airports nationwide, banning takeoffs of all civilian aircraft.

9:31 A.M. - President George W. Bush makes a statement from Emma Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida calling the crashes an "apparent terrorist attack."

This is only the capstone on the attacks that have been going on the past 1400 years since the inception of Islam. Call me "intolerant" call me "hateful" I will speak the truth. There is Dar al Islam, and Dar al Harb (house of war). WE are Dar al Harb. WE are the infidel spoken of in the Koran. We are lucky that many muslims today in the US are like the christians of today - LUKEWARM. In Revelation, we read:

Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

by the way, spue is vomit.

ok. Suffice that we are completely under attack, and war with (despite what our dhimmi-in-chief says) Islam.

As for the preacher down in Fla who is planning on burning the Koran. I'd lke to be there with a lighter & a bottle of charcoal lighter. I'll bring my smokey joe kettle, and start the charcoal with it. We cleaned out our bookshelves of algebra books, coming up with 10 redundant books. Off they were consigned to our burnpile. Math teachers did not rage, riot and kill people over it. Stephen King books were on there too, and some poetry books we had more than 1 copy of. I had quite a few fiction paperbacks to go on there.

Burning books? oh heaven forbid.. it was a way to get rid of them without trying to find a place to dump them off as being so many words on paper.

Muslims kill Christians, terrorize them, vandalize churches, tear up Bibles, use Bibles as toilet paper, yet you don't see groups of Christians rioting, burning down buildings, and killing people for ""the thought of touching a Bible".

And what would Jesus or Paul do with a koran? Jesus had no tolerance for false religion (driving out the moneychangers at the temple), or cursing the fig tree for not bearing fruit. Paul would speak against the koran. Can we do any less?

Speaking of WWJD about the koran, here is a good article by Tim Furnish. I agree. You may not agree with my stance on christianity vs islam, however, denying that islam is a totalitarian regime, is to stick your head in the sand like an ostrich. Jihad Watch, Robert Spencer's site, is a great place to get educated. There is Blogging the Quoran there, where they take the authoritative hadiths to elicidate what the Koran says, and the scholars have asserted over the years. Or just google blogging the quoran jihadwatch and see what comes up.

I get alot of *facepalm* from people I know...who feel this doesn't affect them. It does. And it will.

Labor Day 2010

2010-09-06T09:05:00.001-07:00

Well today is the Labor Day holiday and there is the 1st annual International Brewmasters Festival up at Moody Gardens in Galveston. Seems to be the only thing in town going on, besides Labor Day sales at stores. We were going to head to the beach today but it is rainy here.

I found a delicious recipe for sea scallops Saturday. The 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup white wine, I just poured in a medium splash of chardonnay. here is the page for Butter Fried Scallops. I didn't brown mine as dark as she had them, I was afraid of overcooking them. At the end, when it says turn off the heat & leave the pan set on the burner, I left it on for 3 minutes (timed it) and took it off. They were just right and really sweet. Wish I had bought more than a pound of scallops for that recipe! My husband is in training right now for a marathon (Wineglass Marathon up in Corning NY) so no bacon-wrapped until he's run it. My youngest has taken up running also.

We had our 22nd anniversary last week... hard to believe that we've been together 22 years! It doesn't seem like that long.. but again, then it seems like it's been forever that we've been together.

I was reading an account of the Bonus Army, at Acostia Flats. Don't know that bit of history? It was comprised of WW1 veterans and their families, who went to Washington DC during the depression to get now the money they had been promised in 1945. There is a button off to the right side about half-way down, that gives you a page that is an eyewitness account of that. Quite interesting.

On another note, a tropical storm has popped up in the Gulf - Hermine. So now I have that to look forward to! bleah!

Enjoy the long weekend.

Fox Business Block

2010-08-28T08:17:00.000-07:00

It comes on Fox news channel (360 directTV) at 9 am (CST) on Saturday morning. My husband bemoans the fact that it *used* to be all about business, but no longer - its political, with a bit of business thrown in as a bone at the end of each half-hour show. Me? I love the change! I'm hooked on watching this now - no longer sleep till late on Saturday mornings - I'm up to watch the shows. I think they replay Sunday night? Forbes on Fox, Cashin In, Cavuto, and Bulls & Bears. Half-hour shows, really informative.

Today is the rally "Restoring Honor", the one Glenn Beck is having on the Mall - where MLK stood & gave his "I have a dream" speech. Sharpton says that GB is 'hijacking the civil rights movement'. How? Honor is what MLK was after. Al Sharpton is running a counter-rally, and they will march to the Mall. I wonder WHAT is going to happen there.. being the left is sooo peaceful, and kind, and *never* runs amok.

On another note, as I have my oatmeal cooking on the stove - if you like oatmeal, this stuff will rock your boat, McCann's Steel Cut Oatmeal.

GAH.. I find out more news on these 4 half-hour shows than a full day of watching the regular news - SC is paying for gov't workers to have lapband or gastric bypass - now people are pushing for the government to pay for ALL bypass and gastric operations to cut health-care costs. More of the gimme-gimme-gimme mentality.

Makes me want to puke.

Tomorrows another day

2010-08-25T19:52:00.001-07:00

and HOPEFULLY my doctor in Houston will be at the office tomorrow when I drive up there! Been cancelled twice before.. the knee replacement my doc had is kicking his rear.

Watching Psych, and thinking how much of a funny show this is. This is the 4th? season, and I enjoy it as much as I did the first. They have a new kid playing "little sean" on the opening. I guess the kid from previous years shot up and hit teenage years! the same kid plays Gus in the openings. This is a fun show, not serious, and a good cast. Ok i'm off to bed! see ya !

Watching Red Eye

2010-08-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

I DVRed Red Eye last night...and he (Greg Gutfield) had a good poll question:

Is Nancy Pelosi:

A. Evil

B. Insane

Check out Pamela Geller's piece here http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/08/pelosi-putsch-thug-politics-and-the-criminalization-of-free-speech.html and what on earth is Nancy Pelosi doing? she's seeing monsters under the bed.

Leave your vote in comments

Ninja Warrior

2010-08-16T10:57:00.000-07:00

This episode is on now. So far, no one's made it past the third challenge. This show has been on a marathon on G4, it rocks. Love watching this to see how they can handle the challenges. 4 competitors have bitten the dust on that challenge, and 1 more to go. Darn. the redesigned course was too much for those 5 in stage 3, but no one could make it past the cliffhanger.

On another note, cucumbers & onions marinated in vinegar & water, smell WAY better than they taste!

No toy for you!

2010-08-13T18:34:00.000-07:00

Watching Freedom Watch with Judge Napolitano, and he mentioned this lovely little bit out of the land of granola - California. Why is it the land of granola? Because it's populated with fruits, nuts, and flakes. That fine, upstanding Center for the Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has announced it will sue McDonald's, unless it stops putting kiddy swag in its little cardboard boxes. Why does the kid want to go to McDonald's? To get the loot! When that Beanie Baby thingw as going big, and McD's had the tiny bears, my girls wanted to go all the time to see what animal they could get this time (they didn't end up finishing their chicken nuggets & fries anyway), they were there for the goodies. And this was even from Chicken Nugget Child, who ate chicken nuggets no matter what restaurant we went out to. Now to top those kooks (whose interest are they serving?) - the Kommiefornians are out to take away the fries and put in fruits & vegetables.

Yep, those people who are banning the sale of pets, sodas, and bottled water - are now after the beloved fries of McD's.

"In San Francisco, newly proposed legislation would ban toys from most kids meals sold at McDonald's, Burger King and other chains unless the meals meet more stringent calorie and sodium limits. The legislation also would require fruit or veggies in each meal."

Santa Clara, south of SF, has already enacted this, but the San Francisco ban would hit hundreds of restaurants.

Yep, reduce the small amount of fries, and instead put in fruit, veggies, or a salad. Boy howdy, 6 year olds REALLY get excited over the prospect of a salad! Heh. One commenter here said that "putting veggies in a Happy Meal wont make the kid eat it any more than when I put it on their plates". How true. Gee. Imagine.. letting the parent make the decision, instead of those busybodies at CSPI. Some of their antics can be seen at Overlawyered.com. More can be read at Michael Fumento's excellent site, just put the name of the meddles into the search. This is a site I found 2 days ago, have been reading past articles since then. Great reading. THEN my husband tells me "oh, you found Fumento's site" WHY doesn't he tell me about good websites to read? He then tells me he's been reading that site for years! Blah! Husbands!

Another good site I found while on my websurfing around different topics typed into google search bar, is openmarket.org. HOLY COW how did I miss this site all this time - tons of good reading - so brew a pot of coffee, sit down, and prepare to open lots of rabbit trails in a new tab. I found out that tabs just kind of slide off the edge of the screen on my netbook - I had 20 open this morning at 4 am, while surfing about.

On the lighter, sarcastic, snarky side, someone asked me what was Ahmadinejad's first name...couldn't remember, so I asked google little window up there that is so helpful for finding stuff.. (its Mahmoud), but I found "this site - The People's Cube, with this section "Letters to Ahmadinejad"...

This really got me:

If you really want peace, you must write letters to world leaders - because how would they
otherwise know what's going on in the world?

WWII could surely be avoided if enough people were to sit down and write "Dear Adolf," pouring
their hearts into it. The takeover in Tibet might never have happened if more people would write "Dear Mao!" on their stationeries. Afghanistan might be at peace if in 1979 more people of good will had sent letters to Moscow addressed to "Dear Leonid!"

In today's world, public diplomacy dictates that all of us sit down and write "Dear Mahmoud!"

Now.. does this sound familiar from the "Can't we all get along" crowd? Hah! the letters start off with a letter from him to Bush (the original), and go onto ones to Mahmoud from people such as Kim Jong Il; Howard Dean; Kofi Annan; Lagos, Nigeria; Morpheus (of the Matrix), etc. The comments following the letters are pretty darn good too. Dear Mahmoud is the section.

Here is an article from the American Spectator on America's Ruling Class.

Enjoy the reading, and the giggles at People's Cube.

Entitlement Insanity

2010-08-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

Those are not my words - they are the words on the blurb on Judge Napolitano's Freedom Watch, on right now - about the 99'ers. What are the 99'ers, you might ask? Good question! Those are the ones that are up against the 99 weeks of unemployment...i.e. paid to not work, and demanding EXTENSIONS! Not jobs. They went & protested on Wall Street today (Thursday).. not going out and looking for a job - any job. From what I've read, people will not take a lower-paying job, a couple of them. Why? because the pay is "too low". well wah, if you're out of work, get a clue, and TAKE the job. Why turn up your nose at it? Because you can make more on unemployment?

My grandpa walked 10+ miles one day for a job in the Depression, on my mom's side. He did not get the job.. How many people are willing to actually do whatever it takes for a job, that say they cannot get a job? And then blaming "tax cuts for the rich", on their lack of a job, or lack of extension past 99 weeks. That is almost 2 dang years. Take something beneath you, and take a 2nd or 3rd job. Imagine, actually having to earn your money doing something you don't want to do.

I'll be called cold-hearted, blah blah blah, because I don't work - I'm a housewife, as *if that isnt work* and that we're lucky that my husband has a job.

I've lived out of a van, and worked doing whatever the heck I could to make money, *except that*, to earn a living, so I didnt have to suck off the government tit.

I really think the Depression-era people, that would have taken a job, ANY job, are spinning in their graves.

And if you believe ending the Bush tax cuts will affect "only the rich" guess again buddy. It directly affects YOU, no matter how much, or little you will make. The bottom tax rate will jump from 10% to 15%, a !!! 50% !!!!! increase. The top 35% will climb to 39.5%. The most affected, will be middle income and low-income workers. so who are you really 'sticking it to'? The current six rate brackets of 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33% and 35% will be replaced by five new brackets with the higher rates of 15%, 28%, 31%, 36% and 39.6%.

And 'sticking it to the rich' will affect you, because who starts businesses, hires people, launch new products, and hire YOU to manufacture them. So ending the tax cuts are only shooting yourself in the foot.

Feel like investing any of the money you may have hanging around? The tax rate will shoot up by a third on capital gains - from 15% to 20%, while if you own even a few low-priced stocks, and manage to get a few bucks off dividends from them, your tax rate on dividends will skyrocket 264%, from 15% to 39%. The death tax makes a comeback, if your estate (this includes ALL stuff, you house, any property you own, your furnishings, your vehicle, if you happen to own anything, it all adds up quickly, you'd be surprised at how much your stuff is worth, using government figures. And you've *already* paid taxes on that stuff, but it's going to be taxed again, when you leave it to your kids. Have a business? Many are not passed down because of the confiscatory tax rate of death tax (55% starting Jan 1).

And then there's death. That's a certain thing too. Just your nightly nugget of joy :P

anti-discrimination laws

2010-08-10T14:13:00.000-07:00

fly in the face of common sense. By classifying more and more people as a protected class, you are making ohwhattheheckistheword... Let's start by defining our terms (a most important thing!)

Discrimination, Websters 11th Dictionary:

3 a : the act, practice, or an instance of discriminating categorically rather than individually b : prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment

Hmm... Prejudiced.Let's look at the definition (same dictionary)

2 a (1) : preconceived judgment or opinion (2) : an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge b : an instance of such judgment or opinion c : an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics.

No, much of what goes on is NOT discrimination, and people screaming their rights are violated because they can't see their burrito at Chipotle being made, is just CRAP. Here is part of it from the AP: “because the restaurants’ 45-inch counters are too high. The company now faces hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.”

Because someone can't see their darn burrito being made, it's some kind of violation of their constitutional rights? NO its not. The government has been in the business of finding more and more 'rights' that are about as much of rights, as I am a chipmunk.

Check out the book "You Can't Say That! The growing threat to civil liberties from anti-discrimination laws". At the Amazon site, you can look inside the book - click on "look inside". I bought it, quite a good book.

I'm of a libertarian bent, and this blurb fits my views:

The libertarian concept of freedom of association is often rebuked from a moral/ethical context. Under laws in such a system, business owners could refuse service to anyone for whatever reason. Opponents argue that such practices are regressive and would lead to greater prejudice within society. Right-libertarians sympathetic to freedom of association, such as Richard Epstein, respond that in a case of refusing service (which thus is a case of the freedom of contract) unjustified discrimination incurs a cost and therefore a competitive disadvantage. Left-libertarians argue that such refusal would place those businesses at an economic disadvantage to those that provide services to all, making them less profitable and eventually leading them to close down.The libertarian concept of freedom of association is often rebuked from a moral/ethical context. Under laws in such a system, business owners could refuse service to anyone for whatever reason. Opponents argue that such practices are regressive and would lead to greater prejudice within society. Right-libertarians sympathetic to freedom of association, such as Richard Epstein, respond that in a case of refusing service (which thus is a case of the freedom of contract) unjustified discrimination incurs a cost and therefore a competitive disadvantage. Left-libertarians argue that such refusal would place those businesses at an economic disadvantage to those that provide services to all, making them less profitable and eventually leading them to close down.

Ok. I have to go cut up the cauliflower for tonight's dinner with salmon, so I'm done ranting. :)

What are rights?

2010-08-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

Is the ability to use the same streets? The right to prove oneself in the workplace, to succeed on their talent and drive alone; Handicap parking. I don't see police and signs barring people that are disabled from using those streets. According to Steny Hoyer (D-MD), "Bush signed into law 20 years ago one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation in recent memory."

He's saying its almost as important as the civil rights act of 1965.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Amendment 10 - Powers of the States and People. Ratified 12/15/1791.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

If anything, the states should have their own regulations, not FEDERAL. Go read what Congress' job is and isn't.

On another note, while I was up still at 2 am last night when Red Eye with the rodent came on, I should have just sucked it up & watched it - He wants to build a gay bar right next door to the mosque proposed in NYC 500 feet from ground zero. My first thought was "time for a BBQ shack that specializes in pork ribs!" with large neon pig, or a Pig Stand. Hm.. I was thinking of the Pig Stands of San Antonio, it appears that they are closing. Bummer. But something with a giant cement pig on top of the building. Maybe facing mecca also. Or a Hooters.

Why do I call Greg Gutfield the rodent? I look at him, and am just reminded of one.

“Qu’ils mangent de la brioche,” Marie-Antoinette. Let them eat cake. Contrast this with Michelle Antoinette. See the sameness?

Overspending...again...and again...and again!

2010-08-06T17:43:00.000-07:00

Remember how those stimulus dollars were supposed to create jobs, and foster hard-working people to get jobs? Look at how they're spending your tax dollars.

I was up early this morning, and watching Washington Journal on C-span, I flipped it on just as they were reading from a newspaper (I don't know which one!) about the unemployment rate in Michigan, and the fact that people are not taking jobs for $10 to $25 an hour, preferring to stay on unemployment for almost two years.

I was going through spam email, hoping for an email from the Kia dealer, on an under 9k Kia Soul advertised as a new car deal, and came across Ann Coulter's current column. Now, you may not like her, because she is *plain speaking*, or *in your face nitty gritty*, but in this article, you will find a nugget of joy:

Mr. HOWARD: I now move to take up House joint resolution No. 127.

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, resumed the consideration of the joint resolution (H.R. No. 127) proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

The first amendment is to section one, declaring that all "persons born in the United States and Subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the States wherein they reside. I do not propose to say anything on that subject except that the question of citizenship has been fully discussed in this body as not to need any further elucidation, in my opinion. This amendment which I have offered is simply declaratory of what I regard as the law of the land already, that every person born within the limits of the United States, and subject to their jurisdiction, is by virtue of natural law and national law a citizen of the United States. This will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers accredited to the Government of the United States, but will include every other class of persons. It settles the great question of citizenship and removes all doubt as to what persons are or are not citizens of the United States. This has long been a great desideratum in the jurisprudence and legislation of this country.

Anchor babies are NOT thought of in this law, but it was meant for the slaves, who often lived in the US, born in the US. Read for a fuller exposition on this important article.

This will be the linchpin of the coming elections, I think more than the economy. We cannot really do much with the economy, until we FIX and CONTROL our borders. Look at Arizona! I was looking at a Michigan newspaper earlier, they are considering a law resembling Arizona's. Debbie Riddle, TX state senator, will be introducing a similar bill up in Austin in this coming legislative session. Oklahoma and Rhode Island already have laws like this, passed in 2008...The California state law is STRICTER than the Arizona law, yet they ignore it in their own state, at their own peril. Sanctuary cities are a bad idea. The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act was supposed to 'end' illegal immigration, and made it illegal to knowingly hire illegals. With the E-Verify system in place, it makes it easier to spot the illegals and NOT hire them. However, some states are opposing E-Verify. Why? Because they are basically a sanctuary STATE, and really don't give a damn for the rule of law.

People will say "you're racist" for opposing illegal immigration, but you don't even have to specify a country illegals come from in order to get this epithet thrown at you. In Yahoo chat, let's see.. I'm a racist because I support the rule of law (immigration); a bigot (because I believe Jesus is the only way to heaven); oh yes, let's not forget "did you take your meds" if I ask a Muslim questions about their religion. I tell ya, some people's heads are in the ground so much, that it is scary. And to think people think I get political on Facebook! it's nothing compared to this blog hah!

I've started reading my Bible through for the year, I have some catching up to do as I started in March this year, so I will leave off for the night before I get on another tear and start ranting about the mosque that Bloomberg (the moron!) says should be built. Yep. Another slap in the face for the good ole US of A. More on that tomorrow, a bit of history for you guys probably around 6 pm central time. Until then, I'm off and will BBQ some bison burgers tomorrow early evening :D

Just a quick one

2010-08-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

to say that the photos are up at Flickr here, the new photos are in the three latest sets - class reunion, Summer 2010, and Ft Snelling. The videos I tried to upload and for some reason they are not working. Will have to figure that out another time. Am wishing evil things on my PA, who cancelled the prescription for migraine meds (he's a jerk), I managed to find some still left over from before. It is nice to be home!

Home again, home again, jiggety jig

2010-08-04T08:32:00.000-07:00

Heh. Well I had a great time Saturday night, got to meet spouses of a few people I had gone to school with. Here are my thoughts while sitting at the airport Monday afternoon:

Well, I'm up at the Minneapolis airport, and so far, no Sumdood. However, they consider a netbook a 'laptop' up in this airport, unlike Houston Hobby - they have NO signs saying take them out etc, unlike Houston Hobby also. Plus my backpack was overstuffed with books, papers, powercords, and so they had to go through it by hand. AND swiped my netbook with a little bomb wetnap and put it under some dumb scanner. WHY don't they profile at airports, I have NO idea, except it's politically correct to not do so, and you get smacked with charges of 'racism' even tho the morons doing the crap come from different countries. And they're not extremely white people with no tan. I think the only one paler than myself is my oldest daughter, and my youngest daughter, one tans, but doesn't go out in the sun, the other starts burning in 20 minutes like me. I'm one of the few that can slather on SPF 50 and still get a sunburn at 5 pm.

Saturday night's get-together at the country club was interesting. I couldn't locate it - I only knew of 2 golf courses in the area, and one was Lakeview where a friend and I used to go gather golf balls and sell them back to the club, and the other is a dinky place, with no 19th hole, where I used to go sledding down the big hills during the winter. Finally found it, after circling around in a large square and going past places several times. Finally found it, and had a great time that evening, seeing one lady I had not seen since HS - she didn't graduate with us (moved away) but came, and I'm glad she did.

You know, it seems like people are alot nicer now than we all used to be in high school. Some people you only knew by name and face, and they would not have deigned to talk to you in HS, and now, everything's leveled out. It's also strange to me, living in the same general area you grew up in. I left MN in 1980, and only moved back for a couple of months in 81, then left again.

It's also neat to see what people are doing now, how they've turned out from school. It was neat to see the people I had gone to school with from 1st grade on also. I was really suprised when one of the guys recognized me (Friday night), as I don't think I look like I did back then at all. Quite a few are living all over MN, from the southern end to way up north. One of the guys that graduated with me, Aaron, is an Elvis impersonator. Here is his Myspace page, with some videos on it. He also has a UFO show on blogtalk radio, found here. He's also an illustrator of children's books. How neat is that! A couple of the guys are PE instructors, coaches, etc. Really cool. One is a lawyer living up in Dallas. He's changed so much, as we all have. He's still recognizable as him, I think I mostly remember him from grade school, and he wasin German with me. Sat out on the patio and had fun talking with friends, found out from one, that in the class after lunch, I used to tap him on the shoulder, say "hide me, I'm gonna sleep' and crash out in Mr. King's class. Hmm.. no wonder I got a D in that class! And it is a subject that I am interested now- Russian history, go figure. Drove someone to his house, because his ride wasn't picking him up, and he had a few too many. Made sure he got in his door, and went back to the hotel and watched TV for an hour. I've been staying up late since I got up here, and waking up around 5. Looking forward to getting home, and relaxing. I have 2:40 before my flight, so I guess I will kick around the airport for a while here.

Well I'm back sitting at home in my comfy chair, and finally got a good nights sleep. I'm in the process of uploading photos to Flickr right now on the laptop, and then will have photos later tomorrow.

Still up in MN

2010-07-31T12:13:00.000-07:00

Well, Thursday was pretty good - I went to Fort Snelling, and now they have re-enactors, who portray people from the fort from the 1820s. Pictures will be coming when I return home, and can get my USB cord to download photos. I also got a video of the drill, loading, firing the guns of that time. It was warm, but not *hot*, but there was a good breeze. If you get to Minneapolis, I suggest you go visit Fort Snelling, and nose about there. Growing up, my parents took us there, but now that there are people telling you about life in the stone barracks, and the post commander (or his wife) telling you about the house, and family, makes it much more 'alive'. Dred Scott, his wife Harriet, were slaves of the camp physician there, Dr. Emerson, and lived in the kitchen that was below the quarters. It is a small room, and not a whole lot of space there. The soldiers quarters, each room held 3 bunks - 12 soldiers. They slept two to a bed. So "hotracking" I guess started back then. It still continues today in the military. The family quarters were also small, maybe 15x12, and 2 families would live in this space. Look at the houses of today, and how much room we have compared to then. The officers quarters were rather nice, however, usually the officers quarters are. They were not two to a room.

I also went to Minnehaha Falls, and had a bit of trouble finding it. I kept getting on the 55 highway the wrong direction! and then the signs stopped - for getting to the falls. So I drove around up & down a few roads, and then found Minnehaha Blvd. Went the wrong way for a while, and then turned around & went the other direction. FINALLY I got to where it looked like there were more cars parked (the public parking is metered, quarters and dollar coins only, a quarter is 20 minutes), the parking lots, you need a permit to park in.

There was a lovely alcove area that I walked under, with lots of birds, flowers and bees - evidently a great wedding spot! Took some pictures of flowers and bees on flowers, and then heard the falls, so I started down the stairs. LOTS of stairs. Took shots as I was going down, and got to the bottom, watched people on the side of the falls for a big, and then slogged back UP all those stairs. I was very glad for the bench that was up at the top.

Went back to hotel and took a shower, and then met a friend that I hadn't seen since high school at Mall of America. HOLY MOLY! That place is HUGE! She must have a way better sense of direction than I do, because I was lost. They have Nickelodeon Universe there now instead of Camp Snoopy in the center of the mall. The very center. That's about the only thing that I know where it is, apart from the aquarium in the basement. Yes, there's a nice, large aquarium! I went there in 2000, and it was really nice. 300 foot long tube that you go under, where fish & sharks swim overhead. And a shark (small) and sting ray petting pool. Found out sting rays feel like satin. Very soft and silky. BACK to the center of the mall - in that place is a ferris wheel, rollercoasters, and other rides. Plus a GANGPLANK that is on the 3rd floor level, that you get harnessed up, with a line holding you (in case you lose your balance), and walk out about 10 feet to the end of the gangplank. There is a net underneath in case your rope comes loose I guess. I couldn't watch, I got dizzy just watching people walk out on it!

Went to Bubba Gumps, talked for a good 3 hours, took our pictures with the person in the giant shrimp costume walking about, and then went to to Tigersushi. She hadn't had sushi before, so we had to go. hah! it was delicious. Skip the miso soup however, not very good.

Yesterday around 1, I drove out to where I grew up. the houses! I don't know what happened, but the McMansions have moved in. Housing developments galore. Went to the high school, and now they have an athletic center, the football field has moved, there are fields across the road where it used to be corn fields. At least the steps going up inside were still the same. Also I figured out waving at people is just something Minnesotans don't do. I drove past a walking path on the way back from the HS, and there was an old man walking with a cane. He was watching the car, so I waved at him. He just stared at me open mouthed, and turned to watch me pass. I guess they don't "drive friendly" here.

After that, went over to Lord Fletchers. Went down to the Wharf part, by the boats, and grabbed table, got some ice tea, and a raw veggie plate with ranch. Pretty good, they gave you lots of veggies. Watched boats go by under the bridges through the channel, gaped at the house fronts I could see across the lake (one had a 3-story glass window front), and just hung out. A friend & her husband showed up around 4:30, and we started looking at people to see if they might be classmates of ours. I don't know about you, but when I think of a classmate, I see them in my head the way they looked back in high school. There were like 4 people that I recognized instantly, because they still looked the way they did back in school. The rest it's like .. uhh.. What is your name? People started coming at 5, and then really coming in around 6 to 7. Ended up about 100 people there, from our class. Lots of beer and drinks were consumed (and when I say lots, many people were having people pick them up, or taking a cab). I was kind of surprised how many people smoked - people that never would have thought about smoking in high school, they snubbed the people that hung out in the back doors & smoked between classes or during lunch. And the language! I'm thinking 'geeze, I know I was bad in the navy, but did I used to talk that bad during high school?" One guy I talked to, every other sentence out of his mouth was "you've got to be sh****** me" I was like just :O There were very few that didn't talk like that. There was a bit of time when I sat there & was thinking 'why the heck am I here, these people are just out to get drunk and cuss up a storm". There were a few people I was very glad to see, ones that I had gone to school with from 1st grade on through 12th. Managed to get the slick lawyer's email address finally (he lives up by Dallas), and my oldest daughter lives up in Ft. Worth. Would like to stay in touch with him. Despite being a lawyer, he's a nice guy. Always smiling.

I drank WAY too much tea yesterday, and then when I had a Jagermeister and Red Bull last night the caffeine got to me. Messed with my head and my stomach. I left around 11:45 from Fletchers last night, but couldn't get to sleep until around 3 or 4, was too wired.

Tonight is the get-together at the country club, with a buffet dinner. I have to find out if it's business casual, or what. I'd just as soon go in what I'm wearing, but I did bring a dress. And not as much tea today for me! I drank decaf this morning, with my breakfast at Perkins. The internet is still sucky at the hotel where I'm staying, and I can't connect :|

Have a good evening :)

Up in MN

2010-07-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

Well, here I sit at Perkins restaurant, as the net at the hotel where I'm staying SUCKS bigtime. I can connect to their router just fine, just not after that. I can connect just fine here, so I'll sit here & drink coffee & eat breakfast. I forgot Perkins had eggs benedict, I will try that tomorrow :P I haven't had that in YEARS. Heh. Growing up, there was a Perkins in Wayzata, and we'd always refer to it as 'pukins'. But they have always had good food.

Here is a bit from my flight up here:

Well, so far traveling has been interesting. While at the airport, Sumdood sat next to me. WHY? There were plenty of areas that had more seats vacant, and he plops down right next to me. Do I have the nut magnet? Was "sit next to me" stamped on my forehead? The vegetable spring rolls I had for breakfast were tasty, but greasy. And expensive. But the fried rice was like $5, so 2 small rolls for $2.49 wasn't so bad. The Diet Coke was about the same price, but necessary. Like Dr Grumpy, it's a necessity of life. Right up there with air and food and stuff.

Well I just figured out why my flight to MN is 5 hours. Because we head from Houston to Birmingham, AL, then over to St. Louis MO, and *finally* up to Minneapolis. Actually, I'm hoping the very front row ends up empty, and i can snag one of those seats. Lots more leg room. Its not bad, but I swear these seats are getting smaller...Flying on a 747, at least the darn engine noise is not bad now at altitude than when it was when we were climbing. At least I'll get 3 servings of peanuts *grin* rather than just 1.

Sumdood is nefarious, by the way. Usually he is not seen, as you can google 'sumdood' and find out about his previous doings at ambulance driver, and lawdog files. He's usually involved in fights, beating someone up, and slipping away unknown.

The weather up here is great. I ran 'fan only' in the room last night, and had to get up and turn it off, because it was COLD. at 10 pm last night, it was 73 degrees.. This rocks!

Headed out to the lake area where I grew up, going to drive around the old neighborhood, to see how much it's changed again. When I was here in 2000, most of the homes that were there before are torn down, and huge homes built in their place. I remember mom telling me that they paid 50k for the place in 1962, and when they sold, an architect bought it, tore down what they had built, and put a huge house there.

I went to the Mall of America yesterday afternoon, and met a friend I had not seen in 30 years there. It was great fun as we caught up on what we had been doing. It seems like many of the people I went to school with still live in the area, Minneapolis, or surrounding, and it just seems *strange* to me, living where you grew up. I haven't lived in MN since late 1980, and have lived in 9? states since then, for the longest time in Texas.

Headed to Lord Fletchers this afternoon. They have a walleye dinner there. I haven't had walleye since I left MN! Seriously thinking about getting that. It seems they have changed the interior too, I am seriously disappointed about that.

There is a Mill Museum up here, the old Gold Medal factory - the largest flour mill that there used to be. Thinking about going there today before Fletchers. Have a good one!

A Hop, Skip and a Jump

2010-07-28T03:37:00.000-07:00

That is a short trip... I'm returning to the homeland (Minnesnowta) for my 30th class reunion. A 5!! hour flight. I'm bringing a Brad Thor book to read. Perhaps I should bring Vols. 1&2 of The Gulag Archipelago, so I don't run out of reading material, and have to resort to in-flight magazines. Hubby & youngest will have to fend for themselves while I'm gone, and I'm hoping those dishes magikally wash themselves while I'm gone (evil I know, leaving them some dishes to wash!)

I have net access while at the hotel (free wifi) and an indoor pool - so the basic comforts are taken care of.

The place we are having the Friday night get-together, used to be fashioned indoors like Ye Olde English Inn. Dark wood timbers, cream colored walls, etc. Heavy furniture. No longer. I looked at the website, and now it's insipid green interior. Bummer. I was looking forward to seeing it again. as my parents would take us there like once a month on Sundays after church, for lunch. I remember delicious steaks there. The Wharf (the outdoor dock area) has increased in size, and boat mooring capability. Now it's football-field sized, with lots of docks for boats. It would be nice, but there is some sort of swimsuit finals competition going on that same evening. Guess the male half of the class will be otherwise occupied.

I recently read a good book, titled "You Can't Say That! The Growing Threat to Civil Liberties by Anti-Discrimination Laws". Very interesting, I recommend it. See if you can get it used, as I read it in a day. Another good book is "Never Enough - America's Limitless Welfare State". That is a good question - when is it enough? When is it large enough? When has it spent enough? I think I'll take this one with me to re-read on the way up to MN. Well hub wants his laptop back, so I'm out till later on this week. Have a good one!

Haiti

2010-07-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

Remember the earthquake? A nurse's blog that I have listed to the side, she went down there to help out. She is back now from there, and the past few posts have been about her time down there. HERE is the link to her blog. Go check out her posts. GuitargirlRN is her blog - keep up with what happened to her down there - you can see on the side of my page when she's updated it. She doesn't post daily, but she does post.

Ut oh...forced servitude coming

2010-07-27T01:54:00.000-07:00

Slavery rears its ugly head again in the United States - bet you thought slavery was a dead dog, lying in the mire of yesteryear.

A bill, introduced by Charlie Rangel (D-NY), will turn US citizens into slaves for the government. How? By *obligatory* service, either in the military, or civilian service.

We read:

To require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service, either as a member of the uniformed services or in civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, to authorize the induction of persons in the uniformed services during wartime to meet end-strength requirements of the uniformed services, and for other purposes.

This was introduced, and was given to the Committee on Armed Services. Right now I wish I had Cspan-3, as they cover the committees.

further:

(3) The term ‘national service’ means military service or service in a civilian capacity that, as determined by the President, promotes the national defense, including national or community service and service related to homeland security.

And he's bringing back the draft. Fun, ain't it? The civilian service is for 2 years, but that can be extended, for compensating any time lost for training for any cause. Also by the consent of the member, in case of emergency. Lovely, isn't it? What if they give you a year's training time? that is THREE years spent in gov't service.

You would be mentally and physically examined to see if you are fit for service, either military (normal) or civilian service.

You're a conscientious objector? Tuff bunnies. You're out of luck. There is *no* objector status for the civilian slavery. You can in the military, then they will put you in a non-combat job. When I was in the Navy, a guy said he was a conscientious objector, said he would not work for the military. Last I knew, he was picking up trash on base.

The bill says:

SEC. 109. CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION.

(a) Claims as Conscientious Objector- Nothing in this title shall be construed to require a person to be subject to combatant training and service in the uniformed services, if that person, by reason of sincerely held moral, ethical, or religious beliefs, is conscientiously opposed to participation in war in any form.

(b) Alternative Noncombatant or Civilian Service- A person who claims exemption from combatant training and service under subsection (a) and whose claim is sustained by the local board shall--

(1) be assigned to noncombatant service (as defined by the President), if the person is inducted into the uniformed services; or

(2) be ordered by the local board, if found to be conscientiously opposed to participation in such noncombatant service, to perform national civilian service for the period specified in section 104(a) and subject to such regulations as the President may prescribe.

There are no co-sponsors to this crazy bill. Here is a link to the Committee on Armed Services. See if one of your congresscritters are on there, and contact them to get rid of this nutso bill.

Hey, maybe Obama is going to do something about (the real rate) of unemployment, and just make people work for the government. And! how do they propose to PAY these people that are working for the government in civilian service? By higher deficit? 2/3 of all monies going out of the gov't are for entitlements...just what we need. More government, and more spending, and more spending MONEY WE DON'T HAVE.

Funny, I spend money I don't have, and the bank levies a $35 charge on my account. The government overspends, and there is no consequence whatsoever. Flogging! that's the answer. Any deficit spending, the congress/senate/president gets flogged.. publicly. 39 lashes. EACH.

The 13th Amendment proscribes what Rangel is proposing, as far as a civilian force goes:

Amendment 13 - Slavery Abolished. Ratified 12/6/1865.

1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

a long day...

2010-07-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

I've been doing alot of reading since getting up so early. Found lots of good reading on this "tax" that is coming out of the Obamacare - or is it a tax? First, they said it was constitutional under the Commerce Clause - *however*, they are trying a different tack, so they trotted out that it's a 'tax'. But then again, is that Constitutional? I found an interesting abstract about this very subject.

"Willis and Chung demonstrate how I.R.C. § 5000A – the HEALTH CARE ACT penalty – is an unapportioned Capitation Tax, violative of U.S. CONSTITUTION ARTICLE I, Section 9. As they demonstrate, the "penalty" is – at least on its face - a tax. To be a Constitutional tax, it must be an Excise Tax, an Income Tax, or a proportional Capitation Tax. Through the process of elimination, they demonstrate the penalty is none of these.

Others convincingly demonstrate the "penalty" is unconstitutional under the Commerce Clause. They argue the "penalty" is indeed a penalty and not a tax. Willis and Chung pick up where that argument leaves off: if that argument fails and the Court finds this is a tax, it is an unconstitutional unapportioned Direct Tax."

Doesn't that make you smile? I wonder how Obama et al will try to wiggle out of this one.
Its flat-out Fascism - one of those lovely children of collectivism - that things are pubicly owned, and a facade of privately run. That's what the Obama administration is going to turn insurance companies into.

I found an an interesting article at www.bannedbooks.com/, that states:

"Government-business partnerships. A third defining characteristic of economic fascism is that private property and business ownership are permitted, but are in reality controlled by government through a business-government "partnership." As Ayn Rand often noted, however, in such a partnership government is always the senior or dominating "partner."

Darn, this is a good article. It's definately recommended reading! Even though it was penned in 1994, much of this is coming true in today's administration.

On another note, I've been told I'm horrid for merely saying the word "fag". To me, they're mis-using the word, by *only* accounting it as slang. I guess I should "look at her queerly". Not that I would *try* to tweak someone's nose that way, but the misuse of words, and the abuse of them, just drives me loco. But then I'm intolerant that way. I hold people to the meaning of the words they say, and from what I've seen, that is not popular.

Oh yes - yet another ADD minute for you:

Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, proposed yesterday that people seeking unemployment benefits or welfare undergo drug tests before they can receive benefits.

But of course, this would make *way* too much sense, so of course we can't do that. The ACLU is against drug testing for recipients. I think, although our civil liberties are something to be prized, if you're going to take money from the government, you'd better be prepared to give up something to the government (your urine). A bill was started in Lousiana about this, however, it was not gone over, and just died. Liberals probably think "good riddance to bad rubbish", however, I know there are Democrats out there that support drug testing for welfare/unemployment.

And now for something completely different:

(Cut to Inspector Praline.)

Praline: Hello again. I am at present still on film, but in a few seconds I shall be appearing in the studio. Thank you.

(Cut to studio. A door opens. Inspector Praline looks round door. )

Inspector Praline: (to camera) Hello. (he walks in followed by Superintendent Parrot and goes to desk) Mr Milton? You are sole proprietor and owner of the Whizzo Chocolate Company?

Milton: I am.

Praline: Superintendent Parrot and I are from the hygiene squad. We want to have a word with you about your box of chocolates entified The Whizzo Quality Assortment.

Milton: Ah, yes.

Praline: (producing box of chocolates) If I may begin at the beginning. First there is the cherry fondue. This is extremely nasty, but we can't prosecute you for that.

Milton: Agreed.

Praline: Next we have number four, 'crunchy frog'.

Milton: Ah, yes.

Praline: Am I right in thinking there's a real frog in here?

Milton: Yes. A little one.

Praline: What sort of frog?

Milton: A dead frog.

Praline: Is it cooked?

Milton: No.

Praline: What, a raw frog?

(Superintendent Parrot looks increasingly queasy.)

Milton: We use only the finest baby frogs, dew picked and flown from Iraq, cleansed in finest quality spring water, lightly killed, and then sealed in a succulent Swiss quintuple smooth treble cream milk chocolate envelope and lovingly frosted with glucose.

Praline: That's as maybe, it's still a frog.

Milton: What else?

Praline: Well don't you even take the bones out?

Milton: If we took the bones out it wouldn't be crunchy would it?

Praline: Superintendent Parrot ate one of those.

Parrot: Excuse me a moment. (exits hurriedly)

Milton: It says 'crunchy frog' quite clearly.

Praline: Well, the superintendent thought it was an almond whirl. People won't expect there to be a frog in there. They're bound to think it's some form of mock frog.

Milton: (insulted) Mock frog? We use no artificial preservatives or additives of any kind!

Praline: Nevertheless, I must warn you that in future you should delete the words 'crunchy frog', and replace them with the legend 'crunchy raw unboned real dead frog', if you want to avoid prosecution.

Milton: What about our sales?

Praline: I'm not interested in your sales, I have to protect the general public. Now how about this one. (superintendent enters) It was number five, wasn't it? (superintendent nods) Number five, ram's bladder cup. (exit superintendent) What kind of confection is this?

Milton: We use choicest juicy chunks of fresh Cornish ram's bladder, emptied, steamed, flavoured with sesame seeds whipped into a fondue and garnished with lark's vomit.

Praline: Lark's vomit?

Milton: Correct.

Praline: Well it don't say nothing about that here.

Milton: Oh yes it does, on the bottom of the box, after monosodium glutamate.

Praline: (looking) Well I hardly think this is good enough. I think it would be more appropriate if the box bore a large red label warning lark's vomit.

Milton: Our sales would plummet.

Praline: Well why don't you move into more conventional areas of confectionery, like praline or lime cream; a very popular flavour I'm led to understand. (superintendent enters) I mean look at this one, 'cockroach cluster', (superintendent exits) 'anthrax ripple'. What's this one, 'spring surprise'?

Milton: Ah - now, that's our speciality - covered with darkest creamy chocolate. When you pop it in your mouth steel bolts spring out and plunge straight through-both cheeks.

Praline: Well where's the pleasure in that? If people place a nice chocky in their mouth, they don't want their cheeks pierced. In any case this is an inadequate description of the sweetmeat. I shall have to ask you to accompany me to the station.

Milton: (getting up from desk and being led away) It's a fair cop.

Praline: Stop talking to the camera.

Milton: I'm sorry.

(Superintendent Parrot enters the room as Inspector Praline and Milton leave, and addresses the camera.)

Parrot: If only the general public would take more care when buying its sweeties, it would reduce the number of man-hours lost to the nation and they would spend less time having their stomachs pumped and sitting around in public lavatories.

Announcer: The BBC would like to apologize for the extremely poor quality of the next announcement, only he's not at all well.

Parrot: We present 'The Dull Life of a City Stockbroker'.

Washington Journal

2010-07-21T04:59:00.000-07:00

This morning, the idiot Rep Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) is on. According to her, Obama has created *more* jobs than were created during the previous 8 years, and he hangs the moon each evening. The *horrible* military contractors are giving incentives to top producers, and so that is eeeeeeeevil, because they are 'being paid with taxpayer dollars'. She is the subcommittee chair in the Intelligence Oversight & Investigations. They are busy looking at contractors, and the US has been safe since 9/11 because of Obama. GAH why do I persist in watching this show? At least she is off now, and the airwaves are safe.

Woke up at 1 am, laid in bed till 2:45, got up, a whole lot of nothing on television. There is a Cspan 3, but we don't get it. Wish we did.

On another note, the world's largest gummy bear. Sure, you need one..get several! "This five-pound beast is the equivalent of 1,400 regular sized gummy bears and packs a whopping 12,600 calories." wow. Imagine the sugar rush.

Ok another ADD minute. Was reading over at Overlawyered about disabled rights. Actually, (and this will not be a popular opinion), is that the ADA, and other acts should not apply to private businesses. Government operations, sure. Does the government have the right to tell you who you should do business with? That's basically what it comes down to.

Check out the book "You Can't Say That! The Growing Threat to Civil Liberties from Antidiscrimination Laws". Very good book, compelling evidence to show that our freedoms are being infringed upon.

Being I have been up since 1 am, I'm headed back to bed & get some sleep :)

Just another day

2010-07-19T17:24:00.001-07:00

in south Texas, HOT, muggy, and today, rainy. Well not hard rain, but the sprinkling type of rain that is just annoying. Got soaked yesterday heading back to church from lunch - it was POURING cats & dogs. Of course it let up after I get in the building, but if we had waited at the restaurant till it stopped, we would have been late for afternoon service.

Afternoon service? yes, instead of people driving back to town for an evening service, the preacher just arranged it to be slid up to 2 p.m., being people come from other towns. We live out of town a good 20 minutes, so just avoiding all that driving, either we bring lunch, and eat there, or go out to a restaurant in town & eat. Makes it fun, as we go out to lunch with friends and have a nice time. Preacher yesterday said when he wanted to change it to 2pm, he was being told it was because he wanted to get home & watch the football game. hah!

I'm sitting out on our patio (used to be a carport, but now it's a patio), and it's dribbling bits of rain here and there. I can hear it dripping off our roof, and the fig tree by the shed. The first fig crop is almost all gone - there are a few really ripe figs, and a few overripe figs squashed on the leaves. We have three fig trees, and one is huge - taller than our house. I haven't done anything with the figs this year, and I kept missing the guy that picks up our trash, that his dad could come get all the figs he wants. This fall, when the main crop is in, will let him know. We are too far out for regular trash pickup, but this elderly guy whose kids/grandkids live with him, runs an old sided truck to pick up trash from rural areas. Nice guy, have talked to him about the area when he was young.

My fancy hibiscus is blooming again...here is a picture from earlier this spring:

Its a very sultry evening here, barely a wisp of a breeze. The smoke from the barbecue is curling up straight, with only the occasional flare-up of flame. sultry = TOO DARN HOT AND MUGGY! I'd go sit inside, but then the chicken would be perverse and start on fire.

I'm looking forward to fall.

Self-Esteem/level playing field

2010-07-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

From an article at Jihadwatch.org, comes this nugget of gold:

We live in the Age of Ekwilism in this country, in an Age of Levelling that in matters of intellect, and the transmission of knowledge, rivals - though prompted by different reasons - what the Soviet or Chinese Communists at their most malevolent sometimes managed to implement.
And part of the Ekwilism of the Age is the growth of Self-Esteem studies. The Self-Esteem in question does not come from any effort or perceived merit on the part of those who are encouraged simply to believe in their natural wonderfulness.

I didnt know what Ekwilism was, so I had to Google it. The National Review has this about it:
Paduk took possession of this theory, called "Ekwilism," and made it the basis of a national movement which proclaimed that social and economic equality were nothing without an equality of consciousness. That was to be achieved by enforcing spiritual and mental uniformity upon his native land "through the medium of the most standardized section of the inhabitants, namely, the Army, under the supervision of a bloated and dangerously divine state."
Ekwilism was probably the only triumphant fascist movement that comic strip as one of its chief inspirations.
Source
Sooo... being we ARE in an age of Progressivism/Socialism/Communism (all children of Collectivism!), the term Ekwilism fits.

As for the self-esteem that is put as the utmost to be taught to children today in schools, ranging from preK to 12th grade, and beyond, it is pure and total CRAP.

Self-esteem comes from accomplishing things, and doing well. Self-esteem should *not* come from being told you are great, good, whatever. Self-esteem does not come about from who you are, but what you do.

Not scoring kids baseball games, so that one team does not lose, or banning some schoolyard games because someone "might feel bad". We are so worried about kids' self-esteem, that we short them in life experience, and the real world, instead of the fake world created for them - the 'safe' bubble where nothing will ever go wrong, no one ever loses, or fails.

In Ottowa, a soccer league made the rule that if a team gets 5 points more than the other team - THEY automatically lose, the losing team WINS. Is this stupid or what? The full story is HERE.

"According to the league’s new rules, coaches of stronger teams are encouraged to deter runaway games by rotating players out of their usual positions, ensuring players pass the ball around, asking players to kick with the weaker foot, taking players off the field and encouraging players to score from farther away."

I guess soccer players like Pele would have gotten no play at all with these rules. The 'leveling the playing field' theory doesn't work well in sports, and it doesn't work well in life, being no one is equal to another in ability, in brains, in anything like that. We are equal in the sense that human beings are valued equally, but no one is equal in regards to what we can do/think up. I guess MENSA members must let DENSA members in :P as it would be too bad to keep out those of lower IQs. (I have no idea if there is a DENSA, but it would be the opposite of MENSA).

The leveling-the-field effect is going on today, in everything - from schools to money, to the workplace, etc.

From the "Level the Playing Field" organization, on the "about us" tab

"Work hard, get ahead. This is the way it's supposed to happen; it just doesn't happen this way for everyone. That's the part that's unfair. No one should have to work twice as hard to get half as far. "

No one should have to work twice as hard, to not get as far as someone else? The Progressives want equality of outcome - No matter your talents or ability.
I really don't know what to say in reply to this...I'm speechless, that someone can be *so stupid* as to believe in equality of outcomes, and the 'self-esteem must be taught at all costs' stuff. They're not just misguided, they are deliberately flouting common sense, and actual life, to bring about the Utopian view.

Actually, I am glad everyone is not equal in stuff - it makes for interesting blog readings ( like The Lawdog Files - a hoot!), or someone's scribblings online, or innovations in science, the arts, etc. We all can't be Rembrandts, it would be a very dull world if it was, and the awe they inspire in our lives would just *go away*. Life would be rather hum-drum without those bright stars in life, and history.

Banana Akbar!

2010-07-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

I was going to go on a bit about the self-esteem being the main thing taught today in schools, but then I was reading Facebook, and found this instead...another ADD moment!

Taliban training MONKEYS for jihad

The Taliban in Afghanistan is evidently tired, and want to sleep in, or do something else like rape little boys (google 'dancing boys of Afghanistan atlas shrugs' and check out the news story + read comments)

Anyway, back to jihad monkeys - the official newspaper of the Communist regime in China, they have this news story, about that.

They quote an unnamed British news agency as the source, and

"Reporters from the media agency spotted and took photos of a few "monkey soldiers" holding AK-47 rifles and Bren light machine guns in the Waziristan tribal region near the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The report and photos have been widely spread by media agencies and Web sites across the world."

I'd say this is something straight out of Weekly World News, the National Enquirer (although they were correct in the baby scandal of John Edwards), or the Sun. You know, one of those varied tabloids seen at grocery store checkouts. My vote is for the one featuring Bat Boy.

"An American official responded that the Taliban forces have started training "monkey soldiers" after suffering heavy losses, implying that they have exhausted their tricks."

From what I've seen from the news, the losses go one way then the other. And the Taliban is being supported by around 75% of the Afghan people.

Further on in this story, is this golden nugget:

"Ironically, the initiators of "monkey soldiers" are the Americans. Between the 1960s and the 1970s, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) trained massive "monkey soldiers" in the Vietnam War and dispatched armed monkeys to dangerous jungles to launch assaults on Vietnamese soldiers. Today, the Taliban forces have given the American troops some of their own medicine."

Really? Monkey soldiers used by Americans...Must be more of the super-secret-squirrel super duper black ops. Emphasis on squirrel.

According to the article, the monkey soldiers are supposed to rouse PETA, to start lobbying for us to get out of there & leave Afghanistan alone.

Which is kind of funny, as PETA said nothing when Palestinians used a donkey to carry explosives and be exploded as a suicide bomber in Israel a while ago. I even went to the PETA website, and clicked on "contact PETA" and reported cruelty to animals... figured at least THAT is a valid cruelty thing. Of course PETA does nothing, says nothing.

Check out the full article about monkey soldiers here.

Another goofy thing - remember when "glue traps" were the "animal-friendly" way of trapping mice, the 'nice non-lethal way'? Evidently they are now "evil" and you should just let the mice have free run of your house! "glue traps are now some of the cruelest products on the market". Geeze like you really want a squeaking mouse in your house, either stuck on the glue trap, (before you rap its pate firmly with a hammer) instead of the nice quick death regular old mousetrap baited with peanut butter (make sure you keep those baited traps out of places your cat or dog can get to tho!) PETA makes no sense, and I think most people can agree, that animal cruelty is to be avoided, and not something one aims for, but they take it to the level of ridiculousness.

This ADD minute is coming to a close, going to go start typing out my post for tomorrow, about the 'self-esteem' that is taking over this country.

I can't keep up...

2010-07-10T18:25:00.000-07:00

with all the different things going on that I read online, to blog about. But this BP spill, is something... Obama is planning on taking his THIRD vacation since it started (days before the White House said it happened, according to Coast Guard logs); he says he wants an a$$ to kick...yet he does nothing, like revoke the Jones Act temporarily, so that foreign ships may come and help. He's turned down help from countries who have experience, and the needed equipment for this... On the news the other day, I heard that out of 2000 craft, only 400 were dispatched. And the White House is keeping photographers/reporters away, 20 meters. He's trying to blame Bush, however, the Bush White House issued over 800 violations to BP, the Obama administration gave BP an award. The MMS was a laugh (they were too busy surfing for porn evidently); and Obama is the #1 individual recipient of BP money. Strange bedfellows.

I read a blog post today over at Bloviating Zeppelin, (whatever a bloviating is!) about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and are we there to win or just hang in there. From his blog:

I don't doubt the American Soldier, not for a microsecond. I don't doubt his commitment, his courage, his valor, his strength, his honor, his obedience, his history. Make no mistake; it is the American Soldier that is, essentially, the savior many times over of this planet and of freedom.

But I am thinking that, if we refuse to support them logistically, if we fail to provide them with a clear mission, with clear and logical rules of engagement, with the equipment they need at the front and at home, if we fail to support them when they are injured, if we fail to support their families when they have shed blood for this country and proffered the ultimate sacrifice -- but mostly -- if we bind their arms and blind their eyes and still shove them out into a hail of fire and IEDs. . .

If we bind them politically and reign them in and keep them from winning. . .

. . . then is it not time to stop the further loss of our good young men and women in the military?

Is it not time to let what must be, be?

If we are not going to remove and ship oil from Iraq . . .

If we are not going to send Killer Squads into Pakistan to eliminate bin Laden . . .

If we are not going to kill five terrorists for every one soldier killed, and put their bleeding heads on sharpened sticks in public . . .

If we are not going to assault mosques and ventilate the Taliban and al Qaeda in what is, essentially, just another building . . .

If we are not going to tolerate collateral damage or casualties in any way . . .

If we demand perfection from our soldiers and expect lawlessness from our enemies, then prosecute our soldiers for being human . . .

Then we have committed ourselves to defeat and allowed our good men to die. And therefore, no more good men should die if we lack the political will to kill the enemy. Lots of people. People who deserve killing no matter where they be, no matter how they dress.

For Christ's sake, people, we refuse to even call the enemy "the enemy." We use euphemisms.

And then, maybe then, it really is time to pack up and go home.

My niece is a Marine LT in Afghanistan right now. She said in an email update, that her husband (a Marine Capt) is about 3 hours away from her, also in Afghanistan. My nephew (yes - another Marine) was in Iraq, with a group of MPs. Why are they over there? In Pakistan, 68% view us as the enemy. According to the Koran, Muslims are commanded NOT to take Jews or infidels (those not Muslim - and to some Muslims, those who do not believe as they do) for friends. One interesting thing about the Koran, is the doctrine of "abrogation" - "None of Our revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar: Knowest thou not that Allah hath power over all things?" (Qur'an 2:106). The Mecca verses on violence, abrogate the earlier peaceful Medina verses. So the earlier verses of talking of 'people of teh book' peacefully earlier, are abrogated by later Suras... here is the main chapter that deals with infidels (us).

I'm really starting to wonder WHY we are over there.. Saddam is toppled, Kurds are free to be killed by Sunnis and Shiites, and WHY are we sending money to Pakistan, a place where women are stoned for the great crime of being seen in public walking with a man. I found an interesting bit on Pakistan. Seems they're far and away the country with Google Trends, in searches for child sex, and other perverted stuff. The link is safe, it's a news story about it.

The democrats are not backing up our military, and our country is entranced by the morons in Hollywood, Lindsey Lohan et al. It seems lots of people really don't pay attention to what is going on in the world.

On a happy note, I acquired my latest: bottom model. Comes with a concealed carry belt bag. However, the slide lock.. Evidently my thumb strength REALLY sucks, as I cannot get it to go...TG? Any ideas? I have a box of ammo, and the youngest is anxious to get a chance to kill some diet coke cans also. Hub is like "you didn't go grocery shopping BEFORE you went wildly spending your money!". Beans and rice, and whatever's in the freezer this week :)