Villains Vanquished

Rant on an Entitled Woman at the Circus

2011-02-22T13:49:00.005-06:00

Since becoming a mother and since my career kicked into hyper-speed I've not had much time to blog. That doesn't mean I haven't needed to vent my spleen - it isn't like I had a personality transplant - just that I've been using other outlets than the ol' Villains Vanquished soapbox.

I encountered a prime example of the sort of dragon I used to slay regularly in this space over the weekend, however. And, sword arm needing a workout, I feel the need to vent.

Now, I am generally polite to a fault. I'm the sort that still holds doors open for people - anybody really - say please and thank you, and generally grease the civic wheels with kindness. Yeah, so 1950's of me, but that's how I was raised. I preface with this introduction so you will appreciate the extremity of my dissatisfaction and the great control I exercised in suppressing my desire to put the Entitled Woman at the Circus out of her misery - with both barrels.

Here's the story:

My little family and I were headed to the Zor Circus in Madison on Saturday. We arrived early and easily found our premium "Reserve" seats which were five rows from the floor - three situated at the end of the row. We had time to kill, so we looked around and visited the concessions, you know the drill.

After a while, the show finally started, much to the delight of all. The first two acts come on and off, then finally the much-awaited Tigers rolled out onto the floor. This was the expected highlight of the show for my daughter who LOVES cats and routinely begs for one of her very own (the domesticated version, not the Seigfried and Roy kind). However, not 30 seconds into the tiger show, a line of people arrives and intends to come into the row we are sitting in and fill the seven vacant seats in the middle of the row. It is dark, so we can't see how many people are coming.... Each one files into the row, obstructing our view of the Big Cats, and before long it is clear that they've attempted to put 50 pounds of crap in a 20 lb sack - no way are 11 people going to fit in 7 seats. So, they start filing out of the row, again obstructing our view.

Once they start amassing at the end of our row again, a loud discussion ensues over who is going to sit where and with what child...finally culminating in their reentry to the row again, again obstructing our view. Those that had entered finally are seated and we get to finally sit and watch the show...until two minutes later when the lady-in-charge of these shenanigans decides to get out of her seat again and make her way back out of the row.

I admit it: I gave her the look. You know the one - the one reserved for misbehaving children, drunken husbands and mouthy teenagers. "You've got to be kidding," I said. "I'll be back" she sing-songed back at me.

So, she leaves the row again to discuss god-knows-what with the people that didn't fit in the row, then two minutes later interrupts us again so that she can go back to her seat - which is now filled by one of those kids that was on a lap. She arrives mid-row to find "her" seat occupied and turns to me to ask if I'll give up the seat where our coats and my purse are piled (since my daughter was on my lap so she could see over the tall adult in front of us).

I gave her the look again. I couldn't help it. Who did this woman think she was? Empress of the Circus? All I can say is, she gave off the impression that she was entitled to the seat that I had paid for and her fanny was so much more important than our coats and my purse. My temperment at that moment..., well let's just say we disagreed. I gave her the look again and said, "Yeah, NO." In that firm unyielding tone reserved for children threatening to finger paint the walls.

Unequivocal. No room for argument. Just Hell to the NO.

Unsurprisingly, this failed to satisfy the Queen of Sheba. So, she rallies her group and they interrupt us again by exiting the row yet again. This time, all of them left. Good Riddance!

Not only were they incredibly rude to us, but to all of the people sitting in the dozen rows behind us.

And, lest I be painted an uncooperative harridan, let me assure you we were in our assigned seats. And, she never contested that our seats were ours. I believe that they had seats elsewhere and waited for the show to start so that they could move down lower to the show. I guess they were special and somehow I failed to get the memo. No ushers were brought in to sort out the seating matter, leading me to believe Cleopatra knew she was playing a weak hand.

What is wrong with people these days? Assholes rallying in Madison because they don't want anyone to water down the sweet deal they've been getting where the rest of us pay for their seats in addition to our own and assholes at the circus expecting me to give up a seat I paid for so she could claim seats that weren't hers. Entitlement.

This is what is wrong with this country. Not enough people saying Hell to the No to the assholes.

Not me. Not anymore.

HELL TO THE NO!!!!!

/Rant

Isn't It Ironic?

2010-11-03T15:44:00.002-05:00

Yeah, I'm channeling Alanis.

This ditty goes out to Obama and all of his fainting O-bots (and those who lack the intelligence to think for themselves) note the emphasis on key passages which are mine:

"Ironic"

...

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought... it figures

Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything's okay and everything's going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out when
You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up
In your face

...

I find it poignantly ironic that when Obama went into office he was all arm-twisting backroom deals and "I won", leaving alternate viewpoints out in the cold. And, not just in the cold, but in the cold and objects of his own derision.

Even confronted with poll after poll pointing to the unpopularity of Obamacare, he pressed forward anyway. They didn't care what the vast majority of Americans wanted. They knew better. Obama knew better. And, then, even when pre-election polls and the surging Tea Party movement indicated that they had gone far far far too far, they double-down. He calls his political opponents "enemies." Says we'll be "seated in the back of the bus" (pointing out that this jackass is far more racist than anybody I know).

Well, now that the writing is on the electoral map, he still insists that this wasn't about him. No?

Wanna bet???

Now he calls for common ground??? Where was the common ground on Obamacare? Where was the common ground on the Stimulus from Hell?

Dear Mr. President, you deserve to get back some of what you've been dishing out so freely.

That would be delicious. Do you know what would be the topping on that sundae? The repeal of the monstrosity and generational theft known a Obamacare and somebody else in residence at 1400 Pennsylvania Ave. come January 2013.

BTW, Obama - you can SUCK IT!!!!

You know who lost last night???

2010-11-03T10:43:00.002-05:00

Barack H. Obama, that's who.

And the people of California.

And the nutty Obamabots who shout at people in the streets and get up in people's faces.

You know who won?

Our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren.

Fuck Obama and the white glowing unicorn he rode in on.

From the Mail Bag

2010-08-03T08:15:00.000-05:00

The Fence

Which side of the fence?If you ever wondered which side of the fence you sit on, this is a great test!

If a Republican doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a Democrat doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a Republican is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.
If a Democrat is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a Republican is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a Democrat is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.

If a Republican is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A Democrat wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a Republican doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Democrats demand that those they don't like be shut down.

If a Republican is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A Democrat non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced.

If a Republican decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A Democrat demands that the rest of us pay for his.

If a Republican reads this, he'll forward it so his friends know how to vote in November!
A Democrat will be "offended".

Dear Maximum Leader,

2010-07-07T11:33:00.002-05:00

Oh, how I love you! Now, would you mind terribly coming to Wisconsin and replacing/cleaning the monitor? There is a disgusting bit of fiber one bar mixed with spittle all over it, severely impeding progress. And that's a problem because I only have four screens, I can't be down one!

Still, I needed the laugh.

For the record:

Puppy pelts collected = 0
Wings successfully pulled from small flying insects = 0
Attempted de-wingings = wouldn't you like to know?!?
Gray hairs = oh, half a million at least

Here's the dealio: I'm trying to cut out soda and limit my sugar intake. Sometimes it is all I can do not to fling my body out the second story window and plummet the 12 feet to my... maiming. What can I say? Small town Wisconsin doesn't offer anything in the way of a plummet-to-your-death situation.

Thank you, my Maximum Leader, for brightening my day. I honestly didn't think anybody was still popping in to read this anymore.

phbllllttt!

2010-07-07T09:46:00.002-05:00

Not happy this morning. Not happy at all.

Tired. Achy. Want to cry a little bit.

Mostly want to go back to bed.

Do I look like IT? Do I look like Tech Support? How the atch-eee-double-hockeysticks do I know where or under what name you saved the file???

surely nobody's still reading this, right?

2010-06-28T13:55:00.003-05:00

Well, I haven't posted since January. I would have sworn it has been longer.

Life, she's sucking my soul. Zero free time.

But, now seems as good a time as any to remark upon the state of affairs in the nation.

1. Whaddaya know? SCOTUS backed up Heller with a reasonable answer to the Chicago gun ban. Freedom survives (sorta) another day.

2. Obama sure golfs a lot for a guy who can't figure out how to win in Afghanistan or plug a hole in the Gulf of Mexico. You know oil is still leaking, right?

3. Soccer? Haven't cared since high school, that's not likely to change.

4. I'd club a puppy for a candybar.

5. Did that make you laugh? We call that hyperbole in the writing biz.

6. I'm going to lunch. I will now imagine you talking amongst yourselves while someone pours coffee and cuts brownies. They are double-fudge pecan - enjoy!

Experiments with Ffffudge

2010-01-26T12:52:00.002-06:00

ARRRRRGh!

I am generally considered to be a reasonably accomplished woman. I sew, I embroider, I bake, I cook, I work, I write...

And yet, for some reason, fudge eludes me.

I've made fudge before, but I don't like my old recipe. It pale in comparison to the texture achieved by the fudge goddess (that's you, TP) and I aspire to do better.

I started by trying Alton Brown's fudge recipe because where I don't know fudge, I do know toffee and the key to toffee is process, process, process. So, I figured a guy who concentrated on the science and process would be the right place to start. Despite following the instruction very closely, my results were...not great. It resembled fudge in a general sense. The chocolate was in evidence, but the texture was both too grainy and too hard to be what I was aiming for. Oh, and did I mention it tasted burnt? Not good for the fudge lover.

So, I threw out that recipe and regrouped. I tried a two pounds of fudge recipe that featured marshallow cream, 5 cups of sugar, and a five minute boil. How could I go wrong?

The phone rang...and I forgot to let it boil. Natch. But, I figured, what the hell? I moved it back to the pan, warmed it back up, and boiled it until the time had run its course. Then, I poured into 2 prepared pans and let it cool down. When it was cool enough to move to the fridge, I did so.

It appears that last step may have been a HUMONGOUS mistake. Because, when I removed it from the fridge this morning to test my product...I couldn't slice through the stuff without considerable effort. What I have is more like tootsie roll than fudge. The flavor is better, but it clings to the teeth like you wouldn't believe. Basically, it isn't fudge.

I'm going to give it one more try tonight. This time, I'm going with the exact recipe on the back of the jar. And if I still fail?

I shall prostrate myself before the altar of the Fudge Goddess and beg her to take pity on me and give me lessons.

Nutty. Just nutty (though I prefer w/o nuts :) )

The Good Ol' Days

2010-01-26T08:52:00.002-06:00

Ah, remember the good ol' days?

When our biggest concern was hunting down bin Laden so we could bring him so old fashioned American justice?

When Sandy Berger's stuffing of sensitive documents regarding national security seemed outrageous?

When the USA was about strength and standing up to evil, spreading democracy and being a beacon of liberty?

Ah, yes. Those were the days.

Now we have a President who views his job as one of Chief Apologist, who bows down to the unelected leaders of other countries. We have a President who can't stop campaigning long enough to lead...We have a President who believes his own press and thinks his shit don't stink. We have a President who, in the face of OVERWHELMING public disapproval has decided to push forward with the rape and enslavement of our children and grandchildren vis-a-vis Obamacare. We have a President who is so desperate for supporters at this point, he's using astroturf to make it seem like the hoi polloi still believe in him. We have a President who, when faced with other Democratic leaders who tell him that 2012 is going to be a massacre at the polls like 1994, says "the difference between 1994 and 2012 is that you have ME."

That's some chutzpah, right there.

Let's see what his recent track record is, shall we?

Obama campaigned for Corzine in New Jersey...Corzine Lost.
Obama campaigned for Creigh Deeds in Virginia...Deeds Lost.
Obama campaigned for Coakley in Massachusetts...Coakley Lost.

All of these were states that Obama carried in 2008, most by wide margins.

What do you know? It turns out Obama's shit does stink!

Yeah, I don't think those Blue Dog Dems will be eating it much longer, if at all, if they want to hold onto their posts.

Schadenfreude is soooo delicious in the morning!

Did you miss me?

2010-01-20T10:41:00.001-06:00

I'm baaaaaaack.

Feeling invigorated by the Brown/Coakley results.

YEEEEE HAAAAAW!

The End of a Long Long Long Nightmare

2010-01-20T10:25:00.002-06:00

I don't think anybody still reads this blog, but I'm going to post anyway.

So, yesterday was big, huh?

Do you think Ted Kennedy is rolling over in his grave?

Taxachussetts elects a Republican to the seat he kept warm for so long. I'm giddy with joy, let me tell you.

Ever since the Obamabots started shouting at people in the streets and since chump change was counted in the trillions, I've been depressed.

I've felt since before The One was inaugurated that his "hope and change" was really "no-hope and chains." Irresponsible spending, to my mind, was enslaving the American people. I thought that only I and a few hundred thousand people remained that got the simple premise that you can't spend your way out of debt. I thought that I was alone in my belief that government should answer to the people and be limited in its power. I thought that I was alone in my view that this President and his Chicago machine politics way of breaking eggs and breaking arms was exactly the wrong thing for this country which has long been a meritocracy.

Learning that there are still sensible people in MA, why, it almost made me cry with relief. Maybe the next seven generations won't be enslaved by Obama's arrogance. Maybe this country won't turn into a banana republic. Maybe we can avoid this national year-long nightmare and return to some fiscal responsibility, roll up our sleeves, and do the hard work of getting this country back on track.

I, for one, am overjoyed at the news. I look forward to multiple repeats in November. There's a whole lot of dead wood in DC and I urge the national electorate to go to work with the pruning shears.

I can finally breathe deep again!

We're no longer living in the USSR!

Wake up and smell the results, Nancy, Harry, and Mr. President. It is time to stop acting like you are the Kings and Queens of the world and start listening to the people.

You serve at the pleasure of the American Electorate and we're done giving you fuckers a pass.

Retire, get right, or we're sending your asses home.

This One's for Theresa

2009-11-06T16:18:00.002-06:00

Dear Reader,

It has been nearly two months since my last post. I could indulge in mea culpas or we could just move past it and you could be grateful that there is something different at the top of the page.

My good friend subtly harangued me for not posting, so here's a sort of what-you've-missed post.

What has changed?

1. I'm busy as all fuck at work. I have a 8-month project that is nearing completion (done next Thursday, cross fingers, toes, elbows, etc).
2. I also have about a half dozen projects also in the works - all at work - which require, off and on, more of my time than actually exists in a given week.
3. I now write for a living, making extraneous blog posts about how much Obama sucks and schadenfreude over his inability to bring the voters if he isn't on he ticket extremely difficult.
4. My application has finally been accepted by the national office of the Daughters of the American Revolution. I'd like to take the credit, but items 1 through 3 above meant I wasn't moving forward very fast on this project. The lovely lady at my local chapter took pity on me and helped me find some additional information on my ancestor, and that pushed me over the line. Among the interesting anecdotes about my ancestor are the facts that he was appointed guardian of three minors back before 1776 in Orphan's Court - oh! and he is also mentioned in the Journal of Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon (of Mason-Dixon Line fame).
5. I'm in the process of writing my own murder mystery party thingy - Theresa, you can help me with that.

What isn't new?
1. I am still firmly of the belief that Obama isn't interested in keeping ANY of his campaign promises.
2. I am even more opposed to a national health care plan than I was a year ago...and the travesty, the generational theft that Pelosi, Reid, and Obama are pushing is the kind of thing that will take this nation 30 years to recover from. It offers little more than higher taxes, higher premiums, and less care. All for a trillion-plus bucks. On the other hand, the Republican plan (which doesn't get any press thanks to those in the MSM who are interested only in giving Obama his daily blow job), actually costs 6% of the Obamacare bill and reduces the deficit - don't quote me - this is what the non-partisan CBO said.
3. So, I'm convinced that Obama won't be happy until every person living in the United States is a Federal Employee. Merit won't matter, hard work won't matter. We'll all get a loaf of bread and a kick in the ass from the best president evah.
4. Did I mention, Obama sucks? Obama sucks donkey dick. He's not going to be happy until your child's grandchildren are broke. Flat busted.
5. But, I'm totally digging the fact that the Dems are in a death spiral. If you listen to the MSM, which we should start referring to as the OBJM (Obama Blow Job Media), you would think that Virginia elected a Republican governor by nearly 20 points has nothing to do with Obama, that New Jersey electing a Republican governor despite four - count 'em f-o-u-r - visits from The One on behalf of his crony, the incumbent Corzine. In point of fact, the tea parties were not astroturf, but real sentiment from regular folks who don't think Obama's agenda is the right thing for the country at this time.
6. I strongly suspect that more people will start to figure this out soon. A lot of people sort of live on their credit cards. But lately, they've been realizing that this is a poor way to get ahead, that eventually, all you are doing is paying the debt down. If regular Americans can't spend their way out of debt, I'm pretty sure a whole fucking government can't either, not even if it is lead by "Chocolate Jesus."
7. That last line was a laugh line, in case you missed it.
8. Let's see, I've been canning up a storm. Latest project was some apple pie filling delish!

That's all I've got for now.

I'm taking applications for co-bloggers, by the way.

God bless,

From the Voter Beware Files...

2009-09-16T12:24:00.002-05:00

All those proud Obama voters, here's a few hard knocks from reality for you...

Here's a significant new tax on the middle class despite The One's great promises that there would be no new tax...Joe Wilson was right - Obama is a liar.

(AP)The Obama administration has privately concluded that a cap and trade law would cost American taxpayers up to $200 billion a year, the equivalent of hiking personal income taxes by about 15 percent.

A previously unreleased analysis prepared by the U.S. Department of Treasury says the total in new taxes would be between $100 billion to $200 billion a year. At the upper end of the administration's estimate, the cost per American household would be an extra $1,761 a year.

Bend over and take it, boys and girls.

Oh, and speaking of huge new taxes under Mr. No New Taxes Obama, here's what a Democratic Senator has to say about Obamacare:

Senator Jay Rockefeller said of the Baucus Bill, "...[This] means that virtually every single coal miner is going to have a big, big tax put on them because the tax will be put on the company and the company will immediately pass it down and lower benefits because they are self insured, most of them, because they are larger. They will pass it down, lower benefits, and probably this will mean higher premiums for coal miners who are getting very good health care benefits for a very good reason. That is, like steelworkers and others, they are doing about the most dangerous job that can be done in America."

"So that’s not really a smart idea," Rockefeller continued. "In fact, it’s a very dangerous idea, and I’m not even sure the coal miners in West Virginia are aware that this is what is waiting if this bill passes."

So, Obama and the answer for most Democrats seems to be tax, tax, and tax again, all in a year where they promised no new taxes and have been spending money like Paris Hilton on Rodeo Drive.

But, don't forget, protesting these taxes and failed programs in waiting is racist. Don't be racist, just blindly bend over and take it.

Remembering: Graham Andrew Berkeley

2009-09-11T07:02:00.002-05:00

Today, I also remember Graham Andrew Berkeley in my part to assist with Project 2,996. Bloggers unite each year to remember those innocent lives lost on September 11, 2001.

Graham Andrew Berkeley was murdered when the plane he was on, United Flight 175, was the second plane to crash into the World Trade Center.

Graham was a Briton, born in Worksop Nottinghamshire, England to loving parents Charles and Pauline Berkeley. He loved life, this man with the amazing smile. As a young child, he showed a talent for music and took lessons. At the age of 14, he won the Shropshire Concerto Competition and became the leader of the school symphony orchestra at the same age. Equally talented in the more mundane of academics, music was his passion. He played violin and viola and studied at the Royal College of Music.

A bit later in life, he found himself working for a US software company in Germany. In time, his skills developed further and he became a programmer and analyst. Eventually, he moved to the United States to pursue his career. He settled near Boston and worked tirelessly for 10 years to get permanent resident status. He was finally granted this status in June 2001, just before his death.

He loved the United States and the freedom she offered. He loved the energy of New York City, where he was planning to move. The loved our open society and the many many friends he made along the way. This bigger than life character is missed dreadfully by co-workers, family, and friends alike who remember him as easy-going, a pleasure to work with. They remember an opera lover, a classical violinist, and a world traveler.

The families of the victims of 9/11 have left virtual memorials all over the internet to their lost loves. Graham's family and friends have done the same, but one thing is clear and rings from each entry. Graham's passion for life was inspiring. He grabbed hold and held tight, whirling and twirling, but always true to himself.

In the past eight years, I am certain that the pain in the hearts of those he left behind has lessened some. Not forgotten, surely, merely managed. There is no question that he is remembered, for in reading what has been written about him by his family, it is clear that he was unforgettable.

I want to close with quotes from his memorial service.

His brother, Chris, said this:

To us Graham was our ‘lark’, he soared high and made beautiful music.

His good friend and co-worker Doug Turner said this :

Every time there was a new business opportunity, by chance or by design, Graham and I seemed to be there together. Many people told us we were taking some big risks and making some bold moves. Well, I can tell you that for me, with Graham by my side, the risks somehow seemed smaller and I seemed somehow bolder.

I remember Graham Berkeley, who was cut down in his prime but who could teach us all about living life passionately. May he continue to soar and make beautiful music in heaven. We will hear him in birdsong.

If you want to remember Graham, please leave a comment.

Remembering: Sergeant Major Lacey B. Ivory

2009-09-11T07:01:00.003-05:00

September 11, 2001 was a day that I cannot forget. So many innocents were struck down as they were going about their daily routines.

Today, I remember Sgt. Maj. Lacey B. Ivory of the US Army as part of Project 2,996.

Sgt. Maj. Lacey Ivory was at work in the Pentagon like usual on that fateful day. When American Airlines flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, Sgt. Maj. Ivory was in a meeting in Lt. Gen. Timothy Maude's office. That man also perished that day.

By all accounts, the Sergeant Major was a very hard worker who greatly valued education. He worked hard and rose in the ranks, finally attaining a position in the Pentagon one year before his death. He pursued his education as he developed his career, eventually earning a Master's in Education with a concentration in counseling. His wife tells an anecdote about him earning the degree. He earned the degree in Germany while posted there but had been reassigned to Colorado Springs before crossing the stage to accept his diploma. He insisted, however, that he and his wife return to Germany for the ceremony, however. He wanted that moment that he'd worked so hard for. His wife also shared the Sergeant Major's plans to someday return to his hometown of Kansas City and help kids.

Lacey Ivory was from Kansas City, MO originally. He still has family in the Kansas City area and many still remember him fondly. Although, that is not something that is unique to Kansas City. In the 24 years he was with the Army, he and his wife Deborah traveled the country and the world. He made lasting impressions everywhere he went.

In researching this post, I came across so many people whose lives he had touched. His sister and nieces miss him terribly. Young recruits remember him warmly, speaking of his leadership and his love for his soldiers. They speak of him as a model soldier and an excellent role model. I ran across co-workers who missed his easy camaraderie. I ran across one woman who shared how he had served to help her in the most difficult time of her life: her husband's deployment to the Persian Gulf. The Sergeant Major helped her stay positive, reassuring her that her husband would come home safely.

This was the man. Professional soldier, leader of men, role model, student, educator, counselor, husband, father, beloved uncle and son.

He leaves behind his wife and two children, his mother, sisters, and nieces. God bless him and his family and all of the lives he touched.

I remember Sergeant Major Lacey B. Ivory. A hero in many respects.

If you remember Sgt. Maj. Lacey Ivory, please feel free to leave a comment.

Remembering: Francis J. Skidmore

2009-09-11T07:00:00.002-05:00

This is Francis J. Skidmore. As a part of Project 2,996, I have been honored with the responsibility of remembering him again this year along with two other victims of the heinous attacks committed on September 11, 2001.

I honestly wish that I had known Francis J. Skidmore.

In researching this memorial, I cried many times, and I didn't even know the man. From everything that I have learned about Frank, I feel certain that I would have enjoyed his company. Nobody speaks of him with anything but admiration.

Frank knew the real meaning of charity. He was a Eucharistic Minister and brought Communion to a homebound parishioner for 20 years. 20 years. That takes real dedication. Some people claim to be charitable, but Frank was the definition of charity. He gave of himself and his time. He worked tirelessly to raise money for his church's school and to bring comfort and aid to underprivileged families in Central Appalachia.

He was such a giving soul, in fact, that his work was recognized by his local Rotary Club. What we had in Francis J. Skidmore was a man dedicated to his fellow man. But there is more to his nature than that. Frank played Santa many times, bringing joy to the lives of children. It isn't hard to imagine him bringing that character to life, right down to the twinkle in the eye.
I imagine that his jovial good nature would have made him a wonderful grandfather. I have no doubt whatsoever that he was an amazing father. A "teddy bear", and I'm sure a great "Daddy." He must have had a terrific sense of humor, too. He urged his pastor to give break-dancing a try. What a guy! He had a joyful spirit and a charitable nature.

He was a loving husband to his wife, Katie, and a devoted father to his three children, F.J., Patrick, and Melissa. He treasured time with his family and didn't miss the moments in his children's lives. He grew from doting and guiding parent to friend as his children matured into adulthood. No doubt, for him, this was the best reward for a job well-done. There was real love there, you can tell from the faces.

Frank seems to be a man who lived his life to the fullest. A life of good times and family vacations at the beach. A man who defined charity and gladly did the work of God. I can imagine the pain his family felt at the loss of such a wonderful man. No doubt they struggle to live up to his legacy when, in fact, all he would probably wish for them is a lifetime of happiness free of want and hurt. A man so loving, so generous, would want the rest of us to live on. Live on, but never forget.

Never forget. Frank, I hope you are enjoying Cheeseburgers in Paradise.

Francis J. Skidmore was a victim of the September 11th attacks. He died on the 85th floor of Two World Trade Center when terrorists piloted United Airlines Flight 175 into the building between floors 78 and 84. These men may have thought they were on a mission from God.

Francis J. Skidmore really was.

I remember Francis J. Skidmore. If you remember him too, please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.

Same Old Annoying Song

2009-09-10T10:15:00.003-05:00

You know how every once in a while some song will become so popular that it is constantly on the airwaves? In the beginning, it was novel and fresh, but the more it gets played, the more you hate it. That's the level that ObamaCare has reached.

And, President Obama is to Billy Ray Cyrus as ObamaCare is to Achy Breaky Heart.

The President offered nothing new. Nothing.

He is still selling the same old bullshit, only this time he wrapped it in the arms of a dead Kennedy. Which, so you know, doesn't improve the smell.

He still has no substantial plan on how to pay for it.

He still hasn't addressed the fact that Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are already huge government-run programs of the same ilk that constantly on the brink of collapse.

He still hasn't given any thought to the majority of Americans who don't want this behometh of a fraud bankrupting them and their children.

The two big issues for me remain unresolved, namely tort reform and competition.

If you want a product to improve, you increase competition not increase demand artificially.

It doesn't matter what the product, competition makes us better. It makes us cheaper. Any idiot (except the President and key Democrats in Congress) knows this.

Let's go to the lemonade stand, shall we?

Imagine two little girls, Janie and Jenny, on the corner in any neighborhood. They are selling 8 oz. glasses of lemonade for $1.00.

Initially there is some interest as people like lemonade when it is hot outside. After a while, however, the two girls have a fight over what to do with their profit and Jenny leaves the enterprise and starts her own on the other side of the street.

Jenny knows the business and knows that the $1.00 price allows for a $0.90 profit on every glass sold. She offers her own glasses of lemonade for $0.80, deeply undercutting her former friend. Quite naturally, those that were flocking to the original stand begin to see the wisdom in paying less and Jenny's profits soar. In fact, she's selling more at the reduced price, with some people taking more than one cup on particularly hot days.

But, then Jenny's younger brother Max wants a new game for his xBox and sees his sister rolling in dough.

The next day, Max joins the girls on the sidewalk too, only he's offering more choices. You can now get pink or yellow lemonade for $0.70 and every second glass comes with a free brownie.

Janie is now virtually out of the market and must adapt her business model. She drops her price to $0.70 and adds water to the menu. Sales start to improve. What do you know, the laws of supply and demand work! She's still not doing as well as Max, but sales are improving.

Of course, Jenny is compelled to adjust as well. But, our girl Jenny completely rethinks her business model. Instead of the location she had previously claimed mid-street, she moves to the corner where she hopes she will draw more traffic. Second, she makes her lemonade stand a comfortable destination, adding an umbrella to provide shade and some lawn chairs. Her menu doesn't escape her notice either. She changes her cup size to 12 oz and moves the price to $0.60 - more for less. She's still raking in the dollars, even if she's cut her price and halved-again the quantity in every cup. Moreover, she brings out her Dad's fishing cooler, loads it with ice (a sunk cost), and starts selling fudgepops at $1.00 per unit. As a courtesy, she offers a free cup of water with every fudgepop sold.

What has happened here? Two things. First, competition has driven costs lower and required Janie, Jenny, and Max to do better or get out of business. Second, while benefitting from lower prices, the lemonade consumer has also benefitted from increased service (added comfort and menu items).

That's the way business works. It is a constant struggle to be better, faster, and cheaper than the other guy. You either compete, or you go out of business. There is no "right" to sales.

Why have I gone through this long-winded example?

Simply to point out that President Obama's big healthcare plan pretends that the immutable laws of economics don't apply to his magic carpet ride. He's wrong, and you and I will have to pay and pay and pay and pay for his mistake.

Obama's policies won't increase competition, it will force private insurance companies out of business. You need not take my word for it; Obama's healthcare plan architect has admitted as much and indicated that this is by design. That's the way they want it.

So, instead of having increased competition which will drive costs lower, Obama wants to limit supply. You know what happens when you limit supply? Prices increase. If Jenny and Max hadn't come along, Janie could have upped her price to $1.50 or $2.00 or more.

But, there's another problem with Obama's plan. While limiting supply, Obamacare also increases demand by insuring that people who don't want/need healthcare are required to get it and people who have no intention of paying into the system will draw from the services (read illegal aliens).

So, class, whether widgets or wood, what happens when you limit supply and artificially mandate an increase in demand? Anyone...anyone?

It is not a good thing for the taxpayer, let me assure you.

Obama's plan is the wrong plan at the wrong time. We can't afford it; our children can't afford it.

If you really want to drive down healthcare costs, a responsible plan would increase supply and cut costs. Tort reform. Increased competition. Competition will force improvements to quality and efficiency like it has in every other business.

But I guess Obama, Reid, Pelosi, et al were lighting up on the day they taught simply economics in high school.

The rest of us, those with brains in their heads, who now total a majority of Americans according to the polls, are going to have to pay for their bake time and it is going to cost us more than the money for the munchies.

Ready for Another Lecture?

2009-09-09T17:19:00.004-05:00

Sometimes I think this President is convinced that if he just keeps trying to sell shit, people will suddenly think it is lemonade.

Anyway, I saw this and had to steal it. With a nod to the Grouchy Old Cripple, Obama's latest cash-for-clunkers-esque program:

Yep, that just about says it

2009-09-09T11:38:00.002-05:00

So, here's a little anecdote that sheds significant light on who I am...

Yesterday, Bunny Boop and I are doing our normal thing. She's kicking around playing and I'm trying to start supper and straighten up around the house. Quelle suprise! There's a knock on the door.

I am reluctant to open the door to uninvited guests, but it was still daylight, so I figured, what the hey...

There is a man on my front porch dressed as a police officer, but no patrol car in the driveway or visible on the street. Okay.

He informs me that there was a break-in in the neighborhood last week and that the department is trying to canvas the area for any information.

Was I home last Thursday afternoon? What time do I get home from work?

So, after explaining that, gee, I don't get home until after 4 pm and most of the living space in the house is not street-side and my husband works nights, I start kicking myself. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Am I sure this guy is who he says he is? So, I just plunge in and ask him for his badge number, name, etc. I explain that I'm a bit nervous since I can't see his patrol car and I just told him when I get home and that we are frequently alone.

He left his car at the end of the street and, what do you know, he's been passing out cards all day and is fresh out. But, he told me that it was wise of me to be cautious and wrote down his contact information for me and showed me his employee ID that gets him in/out of the precinct.

So, I felt sufficiently relieved. (Not to mention the handgun I keep for rough men with bad intentions.) But, he points out to me that I'm the only person he's talked to all day that asked him any questions or sought to clarify that he was who he said he was.

Mind blowing.

An entire neighborhood of adults with children and they are all just taking at face value that the blue uniform is all they need to know. Some of them might have been able to see the squad car, so maybe that's okay. And, it is a smallish town (not as small as where I'm from, but whatever), so maybe some of them already knew him. But, it still surprises me that I was the only person that asked for his credentials.

Sheeple. Just so you know, I don't blindly follow anyone coughObamacough or blindly accept anything on faith. I use my best judgement, reasoning, and in the event I need to, defend myself to my last breath.

Wolves, there are easier targets, keep on moving.

I swear, you can take the Type A girl out of the office, but you can't take the Type A out of her.

R.O.U.S.'s

2009-09-09T11:28:00.002-05:00

Saw this article and had to link it.

They've found the fabled Rodents of Unusual Size!

No humans have ever settled in the remote crater, but the Bosavi woolly rat — a vegetarian rodent that measures almost three feet in length — calls the crater home.

Dr. George McGavin, head scientist for the BBC Natural History Unit, said the rodent is thought to live nowhere else in the world and appeared to have no fear of humans.

"It just sat next to me nibbling on a piece of leaf. It won't have seen a human before," McGavin said. "The crater of Bosavi really is the lost world."

Along with the three-pound rat, scientists say they have discovered many new creatures in the lush rainforest habitat, including the world's smallest parrot, a frog with fangs, a fish that grunts and a very hairy caterpillar.

So, we've got R.O.U.S.'s and pirates...I wonder when the Six Fingered Man will make an appearance or we'll discover the other terrors of the Fire Swamp.

Nothing seems "inconceivable" now that Obama's in the White House, I guess.

Remembering September 11

2009-09-02T08:33:00.002-05:00

Project 2,996 needs your help!

Each year, bloggers unite to remember the individual lives lost on 9/11/01. So far, only 687 of the victims have been claimed for remembrances this year.

Please, this is important. Take a few moments and sign up, please.

I'm personally remembering 3 victims this year.

You had to go there

2009-08-26T11:44:00.003-05:00

Look, I was going to stay above the fray. I was going to let the dead rest and the grief-stricken bear their sorrow without my commentary.

I didn't like the man's politics or his character, but I wasn't going to go there.

That is, until Democrats saw Ted Kennedy's death as a political opportunity. Robert Byrd wants the Obamacare healthcare bill renamed in Kennedy's honor. Pelosi is also promising that Kennedy's favorite cause will see passage of a bill.

So, since they couldn't let the man pass without bringing in politics, neither shall I.

I saw it on Ace of Spades and think we should change the name to honor Kennedy. Let's call it ChappaquiddiCare. Damn, wish I had thought of that!

Let this be a lesson to the Left. There are some who you shouldn't use as poster boys. And, of course, using a moment of grief to score political points is tacky.

Another Socialized Medicine "Success" Story

2009-08-25T19:11:00.003-05:00

For all the proponents of Obamacare out there, I offer up this lovely "success" story from that bastion of healthcare for all, England.

Man Collapses with Ruptured Appendix...Three Weeks After NHS Doctors "Took it Out"

Obama really is Christ returned to Earth - he can rejuvenate organs! They come back crap, but hey, a miracle is a miracle!

Key excerpt with probing, and probably unpatriotic questions (were he an American):

'I was lying on a stretcher in terrible pain and a doctor came up to me and said that my appendix had burst,' he said.

'I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I told these people I had my appendix out just four weeks earlier but there it was on the scanner screen for all to see.

'I thought, "What the hell did they slice me open for in the first place?"

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1208970/Man-collapses-ruptured-appendix--weeks-NHS-doctors-took-out.html#ixzz0PF9jAzNc

Very good question, Mr. Wattson. Methinks you have cause for a lawsuit. Maybe. Not sure of the law in jolly old England. Even so, this reeeeally sucks.

The next question is what exactly did they remove the first time? Seriously, dude? This is scary bad.

And, a cautionary tale to the rabid Obamabots who are still drinking the Kool-ade on The One's superhuman capabilities (or lack thereof).

In particular, this lovely tidbit is helpfully provided about NHS at the end of the article:

Compensation payments to NHS patients have risen by 20 per cent in the past year to a record high of £769million. At this rate more than £2million a day is being paid over claims against the Health Service.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1208970/Man-collapses-ruptured-appendix--weeks-NHS-doctors-took-out.html#ixzz0PFBEA6P7

I hope the money is adequate to those people's losses.

Must Read!

2009-08-19T15:37:00.002-05:00

Drudge was trumpeting this article by Caroline Baum this morning. It is delicious in its simplicity. I've placed an excerpt below, but you really should read the whole thing. Emphasis is mine.

Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- “UPS and FedEx are doing just fine. It’s the Post Office that’s always having problems.” -- Barack Obama, Aug. 11, 2009

...

The only way the post office can stay in business is its government subsidy. The USPS lost $2.4 billion in the quarter ended in June and projects a net loss of $7 billion in fiscal 2009, outstanding debt of more than $10 billion and a cash shortfall of $1 billion. It was moved to intensive care -- the Government Accountability Office’s list of “high risk” cases - - last month and told to shape up.

...

Impromptu Obamanomics is getting scarier by the day. For all the president’s touted intelligence, his un-teleprompted comments reveal a basic misunderstanding of capitalist principles.

For example, asked at the Portsmouth town hall how private insurance companies can compete with the government, the president said the following:

“If the private insurance companies are providing a good bargain, and if the public option has to be self-sustaining -- meaning taxpayers aren’t subsidizing it, but it has to run on charging premiums and providing good services and a good network of doctors, just like any other private insurer would do -- then I think private insurers should be able to compete.”

Self-sustaining? The public option? What has Obama been doing during those daily 40-minute economic briefings coordinated by uber-economic-adviser, Larry Summers?

Government programs aren’t self-sustaining by definition. They’re subsidized by the taxpayer. If they were self-financed, we’d be off the hook.

Llewellyn Rockwell Jr., chairman of the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, and editor of LewRockwell.com, put it this way in an Aug. 13 commentary on Mises.org:

“The only reason for a government service is precisely to provide financial support for an operation that is otherwise unsustainable, or else there would be no point in the government’s involvement at all.”

...

The public is left with one of two unsettling conclusions: Either the president doesn’t understand the health-insurance reform plans working their way through Congress, or he understands both the plans and the implications and is being untruthful about the impact.

Neither option is good; ignorance is clearly preferable to the alternative.

Obamacare on the Ropes

2009-08-18T08:48:00.002-05:00

One of the downsides of playing with the big boys is you don't have time for other things.

Blogging, sadly, is one of those things.

But, I have to take a moment and express my love, love, LOVE for Matt Drudge and his minions.

Currently on the Drudge Report are the following linked stories:

In the UK, that bastion of socialized medicine, a woman gave birth on the sidewalk because she was denied an ambulance. Lovely. Incidentally, this was the woman's fourth child. She went into labor early and knew from experience that there wasn't time to walk to the hospital or get a lift from somewhere else, as instructed by the maternity ward. Key quote:

"They said they were not sending an ambulance and told me I had had nine months to sort out a lift."

That's compassion for you. Coming soon to the US healthcare system, brought to you by Obama and the letters S, U, C, and K.

Next up in our Socialized Medicine Roundup...the Canadian socialized healthcare system is in such financial trouble that more than 6,000 medically necessary surgeries are proposed to be cut. That's not tummy tucks and Obama's famed elective tonsilectomies, that's medically necessary surgeries such as "neurosurgery" and "treatment for vascular diseases."

So, if your brain is malfunctioning or if your arteries are blocked and you live in Vancouver, pack your bags and book your flight to the USofA while you still can.

Oh, I know, the article is clear to point out that it isn't final, that these measures are just being planned. But, you know what? This is what happens with socialized medicine. Eventually you run out of money for critical services and have to start rationing care. What concerns me is the budget shortfall means serious cuts of the life-and-death sort. All sorts of jobs are expected to be lost as a matter of course, another bonus.

And yet, socialized, government-run healthcare is supposed to be the morally "right" thing, an imperative. It is what Dear Leader wants for all us hicks in the sticks. So, either Obama's been smokin' his breakfast, or he wants to consign us all to lines where we wait to die, suffering in pain the whole way.

Charming.

And, lest you start believing the White House spin that regular-joes protesting Obamacare at town halls are just imported hired protestors who are clearly plants because they are dressed too well to be believed, here's the proof in the pudding to the otherwise. The AARP has lost about 60,000 members since July 1 over their support for Obamacare. It seems our seniors don't all have dementia and aren't ready for Obama's plans to deny them care because they are nearing the end of their lives. Can you imagine? These unpatriotic grannies and paw-paws are not willing to just take Obama's shaft. Instead, they are doing what they can to make their point. Good on them. The AARP assures us that this always happens when they advocate controversial positions, that they lose 300,000 members in a normal month, etc. Still, enjoying a bit of schadenfreude with my poptart this morning.

As an interesting if obliquely related tidbit, comes the results of a Gallup poll indicating that Obama has made real progress...converting people to the Conservative cause.

Inform on Yourselff

2009-08-06T10:16:00.002-05:00

Soon to be Named President for Life, Barack Obama is urging all good Americans to inform on their neighbors for having an unapproved viewpoint on Obamacare and socialized medicine.

Hey, I’ve reported suspicious behavior in airports trying to keep people safe, so I suppose I need to be a good American and report on myself now, lest one of my far smarter and morally superior acquaintances does it first.

Here goes…

I have nothing but contempt for the President of the United States and Democrats in the House and Senate.

Contempt, loathing, hell’s bells, I’ve treated them all to brutal setdowns.

And I, personally, am vehemently opposed to Obamacare or ANY government interference or endeavor in healthcare, health insurance, or any further intrusion into my life.

This is a President who thought members of the military wounded in action should pay for their own recovery.

Do you honestly think he’s gonna give a damn about your kid’s heart, leg, or brain?

(And, if you do, I may have a real estate opportunity for you in coastal Kansas.)

Moreover, if any proposed healthcare system will not be the only coverage and care possible for our elected officials, including the President of the United States, then I feel it is not adequate for any child of this land.

Next, the federal government has no business being in business. The fact of the matter is, they haven’t managed a successful program yet. Amtrak=Joke. Medicare/Medicaid=Broke. Social Security=Ponzi Scheme. United States Postal Service=Can’t run in the black. Cash-for-Clunkers=irresponsible, wasteful, un-“green” promotion that does little but steal from some taxpayers to enrich others while propping up the Government’s ridiculous adventure in automobile manufacturing.

If Cash-for-Clunkers ran out of money in less than a week, will Obamacare run out of money in less than a month?

I am deeply, vehemently opposed to mortgaging my children and my grandchildren’s future to provide healthcare to 7% of the population. It isn’t fair. It isn’t wise. And Obama and his galloping hordes can’t be trusted to do it. There is far too much corruption, too much pay-to-play, too much creep on my civil liberties. Joe the Plumber saw right through Obama’s socialist agenda and when he pointed it out, Obama’s thugs went rooting into Joe’s past, digging up dirt. Nevermind the fact that he wasn’t a public official, nevermind the illegality of their actions. This is Hope and Change. This is what we’ve been waiting for?

Instead of reading, considering, and debating bills we just vote, sign, and to hell with the consequences? Yep, that’s change.

Instead of reporting suspicious behavior that puts people’s lives in jeopardy we inform on people with unapproved anti-Obama opinions? Yep, that’s change.

Instead of providing a framework of government that allows people a chance to work hard and realize the American dream, we tax people until they are no longer economically feasible to socialized medicine then we put them out to pasture as drains on the system? Yep, that’s change.

Instead of recognizing the long-standing friendship shown to us by some nations we spit on them? Yep, that’s change.

Instead of standing up to tyrants and terrorists we embrace them, giggle, and agree that the USA is criminal? Yep, that’s change.

Of “Hope”, sadly, there is little.

Look, if you want some committee of government stooges deciding what you can and cannot do to your body, you are insane. The left has long been a firm voice for a woman’s right to choose what happens to her own body but are woefully quick to abdicate that right now. You are not going to have any choice anymore. If you are pregnant and it is determined that your child has a congenital heart defect and will be a permanent drain on the national healthcare system, will they make you abort it?

Suppose you are 65 years old, retired, and need very expensive surgery and very expensive medicine. As you are nearing the end of your lifespan, aren’t you a bad investment for those nationalized healthcare dollars? You don’t actually think they’re going to care for you, do you?

Even if you were magically able to poof! all the big, tough questions away, one problem remains and it is insurmountable.

We simply can’t afford it. Increasing taxes on the “rich” isn’t going to get it done unless you redefine “rich” to mean anyone making $30K or more.

It is irresponsible and it is a freedom-killer.

If that puts me on the “enemies of the state” list, so be it.

Be warned, though: I’m not likely to go quietly when you come to reeducate me.

Suspicious or Not, you decide

2009-07-24T22:15:00.002-05:00

Weirdness today at the post office.

It was Friday, so I was busy anyway. But, I really needed to get a package in the mail, so I left my desk shortly after 1 pm today.

I parked my car in the lot at the post office. The parking lot was completely empty, so I got a primo spot right in front of the door. Now, this isn't a huge post office. Just a small town one, so the parking lot holds 20 cars or so. Possibly fewer, but more than 15.

I grab my box and go inside. As I'm walking in the door, I notice a Hispanic man (18 to 24 years old) coming my way. I am only about five feet in the door, and he is about five feet from making his exit. I say "hello" and smile at him, but keep walking. I'm nice that way. I think people should greet one another pleasantly, even strangers. (Okay, not the creepy ones. If he/she maxes out your creep factor meter, feel free to scurry past and look away innocently.)

So, I turn the corner and head toward the window to post my package to New Braunfels, TX, but out of the corner of my eye, I notice that the young man has changed course and followed me back toward the desk. He doesn't follow me the entire way, of course. He stops a short way around the corner and turns to the wall to read a poster. Or should I say feigns reading a poster.

The gist of this poster could be gathered in two minutes by a slow reader. I got it in about 3 seconds. Look, it was mostly pictures. But this guy, he stood there pretending to read it for the entire 6 or 7 minutes it took me to complete my transaction.

And, before you start wondering if maybe English wasn't this guy's first language and he was using the poster as a study aid, let me point out two things.

First, a girl knows when she's being watched. She feels it.

Second (and third and fourth), if he was using the poster as some sort of self-quiz, then why did he suddenly decide to take this quiz after I walked by, and why did his quiz coincidentally end the moment I walked past him again on my way out the door. And, why did he react like he'd been caught stealing a cookie from my cookie sheet when I looked at him? (I'm a mother, I recognize this expression.)

Now, before you start to flatter me and say something to suggest that if he was observing me that he was probably just, you know, looking at something in the candy store, let me assure you that that can't be it. I was up at five a.m., this was eons after "fresh", ages past good hair, and an hour or two past "prime." I was tired, hungry, and in a hurry. These do not project "hottie" in any language I've ever heard of.

When I sensed that he was following me again, I quick unlocked my car and jumped in, locking the doors up tight before turning the key in the ignition. And then I chided myself as ridiculous. He was full daylight, the parking lot of a federal building...what the hell did I think was going to happen? And yet, I still can't shake the weirdness of it all. So I sat there in my car watching his retreat in my rearview mirror, my curiosity well piqued and my safety now assured.

I couldn't figure out where he was going at first. Remember, mine was the only car in the lot. Maybe he walked to the post office? Nope.

This post office is semi-attached to a sprawling strip mall. Maybe he was parked at a store and walked to the post office after concluding his business in the first shop? That would seem unlikely. You see, his car was parked outside of the post office property, but just across from it in the strip mall lot, nowhere close to a shop.

Imagine an empty shopping mall with four or five anchor department stores and hundreds of acres of empty parking spots. You know how employees park in the far away spots and leave the near spots for shoppers? It was like that. This is a strip mall, not Macy's. This is suburban Madison, not suburban Chicago. There just isn't a lot of demand for parking. Clearly, he was nowhere near any shop, inconvenient to any shopping. The only thing is spot was convenient to was the post office and only in a cop show stakeout sort of way. By that I mean, if you are going to stake out a post office, you probably don't do it from the parking lot.

I believe I was under surveillance. I don't know why. Maybe he's a wannabe spy nutter. Maybe he has a rich fantasy life as Double-Oh-My-Gawd. Maybe he's honing his skills to be a stalker.

The whole thing struck me as the height of bizarre.

What say you? Suspicious...or not?

This isn't the same as when I wake from a deep sleep suddenly, sure I heard something and check the house with my handgun in hand making plenty of noise so the bad guys will run. This was full daylight. Public building. I was fully conscious and not even on an antihistamine.

I did not imagine this.

So I ask again, suspicious...or not?

Annoying

2009-07-21T15:26:00.003-05:00

I'm slowly turning to an old curmudgeon.

There is a grocery chain here in the area that has a slogan that makes me gnash my teeth everytime I hear it. The slogan basically boils down to...

"Better prices from Better People, because we're employee-owned."

The moral superiority of that, well...it defines the experience of living in/near Madison, WI.

You should shop from Better People, afterall, and if you don't YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM.

It is the Cone of Shame for you, you vile user you.

My biggest problem with them is not the slogan, however. When we first moved to the area, I shopped at one of the stores once. Just once.

I decided that any place that hid the dairy case, in the Dairy State, was no place I had the time to shop. Seriously.

I went through the store in the normal fashion, following the prescribed layout and plan of traffic flow and never found the dairy. Where's the milk? Where's the yogurt? Where's the goddamn sour cream?

I was forced to ask one of the extremely unhelpful "better people" who pointed me in the right direction in a condescending manner that was extremely off-putting.

Haven't been back. Not even a little bit sorry.

I'm proud to be patronizing the Lesser People and propping up Corporate America.

Suck on that, Better People.

Nationalized Healthcare, Explained

2009-07-21T15:24:00.001-05:00

And, because I can't resist...

NO SOUP FOR YOU!

For the Record...

2009-07-17T08:12:00.002-05:00

1. I've never watched "John and Kate Plus Eight" and don't give a rat's ass about any of it.

2. Never a fan of Michael Jackson, though I did used to enjoy rollerskating to "Thriller." The whole thing there - totally overdone.

3. Why is it that it is so difficult to remove cherry stains? Egad! They are never going to come out of my favorite shirt...I soak and I soak, but all I've managed is a bit of fading.

4. Making sour cherry jam this weekend, hopefully. Ah, the taste of Summer!

5. The older I get, the grouchier I get. Gawd, I need some caffeine.

Phhbt.

2009-07-15T14:43:00.002-05:00

It has been forever, I know.

I've been neglecting you terribly. Why, do you know that when I opened the door three moths flew out? Also, there are cobwebs and dustbunnies everywhere.

What can I say? I'm not great at virtual housekeeping.

Dear lord, Darth Obama is going to ram through his next rape of our children and grandchildren with this lunatic Obamacare program. Our government, who can't manage the US Postal Service in the black, or Amtrak, or Medicare/Medicaid, the VA, or even Social Security, wants to get into another business.

Next thing you know, Obama will want to personally see to feminine troubles as well. I could even see him putting Bill Clinton in charge.

The more time goes by, I am utterly convinced that at the end of Obama's term we will all be broke, homeless, unemployed, and bleeding to death.

Good times. Why, it will almost be worth it to watch the fools that voted for him suffer...

ObamaCare

2009-06-25T14:32:00.000-05:00

Attention Gamers:

2009-06-10T09:24:00.003-05:00

SpySistah and I were talking yesterday and reminiscing a bit. She asked me a question that I couldn't really answer and I'm hoping that if anybody still reads this blog, maybe they'll have an answer.

Here's the lead-in:

Back in the day, SpySistah and I enjoyed computer games. But, they were a certain sort of computer game that I call extended problem-solving games. In particular, we played King's Quest and Police Quest and Leisure Suit Larry. In these games, you sort of had to explore until you stumbled upon the best way to proceed.

Do these sorts of games still exist?

I'm not talking about the Sims (no offense, total waste of time) or the build your own amusement park, etc. games.

I'm looking for a game with a real goal that you have to figure out on your own. And, I'm not talking about the sort of game where the structure is obvious and you simply have to press the right buttons in the right order to get to the next level a la Mario Brothers.

Do these sorts of games still exist?

Leave a comment if you have a suggestion...

Latest Moves by Our Brilliant President

2009-06-05T09:54:00.002-05:00

That title is sponsored by the literary function known as sarcasm.

The President's corporate tax changes are likely to force more unemployment as corporations take their businesses (and jobs) to more tax-friendly nations.

And, in the category of "New Diplomacy" (read: pissing on allies and cozying up to enemies and combative rogue states):

Jews in the West Bank are answering Obama's call to cease "illegal" building of settlements by erecting an "Obama hut." Which sort of puts me in mind to another President who had whole communities of ramshackle huts built during his term (Hoovervilles). Not to worry, Best President Evah still has plenty of time to beat the economy into a depression. Lord knows he's giving it his best shot.

Best part of the article:

"Obama, in his audacity, dreams that 350,000 Jews can be removed from Judea
and Samaria, but they are a fact that cannot be changed,"

Hey! Audacious dreams are the cornerstone of this Presidency! Realities, facts...not so much.

He's also managed to vex Angela Merkel on at least two fronts: GTMO and the global economic crisis. Again, the New Diplomacy mandates everything be turned upside down. Old, long-standing allies are the new enemy.

Add France to the list as well. The Obamas have snubbed a dinner invite with Mr. and Mrs. Sarkozy. Do you remember the days when we had a President who didn't try to piss off the good guys? Yeah, those were good times.

Why, I almost expect the next headline to be that Obama gave the finger to the Australian Prime Minister!

I hope all of that "love" from the Muslim world will make up for the bridges he's busy burning. Somehow, I doubt it.

Where was Sandy Berger?

2009-05-20T10:59:00.001-05:00

It is a pertinent question, considering his previous activities at the National Archives.

Particularly in light of this.

BREAKING: Obama is Messiah Afterall!

2009-05-15T13:39:00.002-05:00

I used to laugh and ridicule the Obamabots.

I used to snark and guffaw at the golden halos in the images of him, at the talk of him being "The One."

Now, I can admit, I was wrong.

He is The One.

How else do you explain His ability to resurrect the dead with His Stimulus?

/sarcasm

Mitosis, Has to be Mitosis

2009-05-01T09:23:00.002-05:00

After a great deal of consideration, I have finally developed an hypothesis to explain a phenomenon that is taking place in my home. I am sure that many others have experienced similar, if not the same phenomenon.

To talk you back to middle school science, I have latched onto mitosis, that most elegant process of cell division, to explain what I am seeing.

I am trying to follow the scientific process, (Thank you, Mr. Pilgrim!), but I'm falling down on the last few steps.

The scientific process says that you observe something in nature, pose an hypothesis to explain the observations, and then test that hypothesis, report on the results, and tweak/change your hypothesis based on the results.

For the record, this simple process has largely fallen out of favor in recent years. At least, that is, with those following Al Gore and the Church of Global Warming. Even so, it is the only process that makes sense to me, so that's what I'm going with.

Mysterious Phenomenon in Nature: Multiplication of Toys

Everytime I turn around, there are more toys in our home. Just yesterday, I encountered a new stuffed bear that I have never seen before. As the local purchasing agent of such items, I am immigration control and, don't tell Bunny Boop, but I am also The Grim Reaper. So it came as a shock to find an illegal immigrant in the toys yesterday. I began to wonder if perhaps it wasn't an illegal immigrant, but an anchor baby. Perhaps, somehow, the toys were reproducing.

But of course, this can't be sexual reproduction, right?

So, I began to look for other processes by which I was losing the battle for toy control. And then, it hit me: MITOSIS.

Or, something similar anyway.

Perhaps the bits and bobs of broken toys were migrating toward each other and joining in the creation of new toys.

Unfortunately, I can neither confirm nor disprove the hypothesis. The fact is, I simply don't know how to test it.

I could smash a bunch of toys and see what happens, but I suspect this would be the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand that spurred the Great War in my household.

Dark Days

2009-04-29T08:27:00.004-05:00

It has become clear to me that President Obama is dead-set on destroying this nation.

There is really no other explanation for his actions.

He bows and scrapes to the Saudi King, indicating that the United States is subservient to that country.

He listened quietly, taking notes, while Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega ranted at the United States at the Summit of the Americas, calling the US a terrorist nation. Of course, Obama has lots of practice sitting in a room and listening to hate speech, thanks to the oratory of his mentor and spiritual advisor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Obama lacked the courage to get up and walk out then and he lacks the same courage now. So much for "the one we've been waiting for."

He shaked the hand and had a good chat with dictator and thug Hugo Chavez, a man who has oppressed his own people, and done some nasty stuff to his political opponents, including forcing them into exile.

He offered a special deal to Russia, promising to jettison plans for missile defense in that region for their help with Iran. Of course, Putin's man Medvedev signalled that Russia wasn't willing to buy any cow when they could get the milk for free. Big surprise.

And, that is just the tip of the iceberg. He sent hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers into PTSD flashbacks by allowing Air Force One and two fighter jets to buzz Manhattan for a photo op. You see, they were running out of Air Force One postcards in the Whitehouse gift shop. Michelle sent a bunch to all of her high school and college classmates, so they needed to restock. Seriously now, nobody thought this might not be a good idea? Nobody thought this might be a giant fucking waste of tax payer money? You can't tell me we don't still have the negatives and can print more photos if we really fucking need them. This is ludicrous and just plain mean. NYC and the entire country was traumatized on 9/11/01. Clearly, Obama thinks we need to just get past it. Put it out of our silly heads.

I am not a New Yorker, never have been, never will be. But, I suffered that day. I cried. I didn't sleep for days. I can't even imagine how people who were actually there felt. People who lost friends and family and coworkers got to revisit the fear of that day, thanks to our fearless leader. Oh yeah, I know he has "apologized", but it all rings hollow to me.

This SOB is the worst President ever. EVER.

Obama has released the details of enhanced interrogation techniques and has signalled that those who authorized them will be held responsible. I guess all those lives that were saved in Los Angeles as a result of the use of these techniques should have been lost. Clearly, that's what Obama would have wanted.

He's forced bailout funding at taxpayer expense and has disallowed those firms to payback those funds.

He's spending money like a fortune-hunting bride from the trailer park. He's denigrating America and pissing on her prestige and history nearly every day. His "team" is the saddest sack of fuckups ever compiled, and that's just the ones that actually made it through confirmation!

His Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, referred to the events of 9/11/01 not as an act of terrorism or an act of war, but as a "man-caused disaster." Somehow I can't help but hear that as weak and offensive to the 2900+ people who died that day. This is the same woman, by the way, who is apparently convinced that those men who caused the disasters (not terrorists, but "failed pilots", I'm sure) came into the country from Canada - a contention that has been proven false. Also, Napolitano is apparently unaware that illegal immigration is in fact illegal. Bright shining star in the Obama constellation, that one. And, let's not forget her hit-job report released coincidentally to coincide with the tea party protests. That report, from Janet's office, basically branded any conservative an "extremist" and took specific aim at military veterans.

We've had a slew of nominees and potential nominees withe tax issues and at least one who had to bail out due to embarassing pending investigations.

We've had gaffe after gaffe from the President himself who has managed to piss off several of our chief allies, namely Canada, Australia, and the UK, while he's been busy snuggling up to dictators, thugs, and human rights abusers.

Instead of taking the high road and being polite to the outgoing President, he's exhibited a distinct lack of class and clear disrespect for the highest office in the land. George W. Bush was the elected leader of this country for 8 years, but Obama bad-mouths him in a way reminiscent of what Cinderella's ugly stepsisters did. What Obama fails to realize is that in doing so, he also runs himself down. He isn't rising to the occasion, he's descending into pettiness. He isn't lifting anyone up, he's running the USA down.

Moreover, Obama is setting a precedent. When the sun sets on the Obama administration, as it will do unless Obama takes a play out of the Chavez book, the person who follows will be free to fire away at Obama with both barrels. Throw everything at him, including the kitchen sink.

To his credit, Bush has a hell of a lot more class than Obama has ACORN workers. He has been quietly taking the brunt of Obama's attacks, letting the new President take the reins and do what he feels he must. This is what respect for the office looks like.

This is what class looks like.

This is what taking the high road looks like.

But, that isn't Obama's style. And, the country will be the worse for it. No amount of lofty speech and teleprompter-fed prose can change the impact of the words if all you are doing is bad-mouthing the people who elected you.

We can disagree. We can even disagree vehemently. But respectful people don't do this. And, if they do, they can and should expect there to be consequences.

Friday Fiction

2009-04-13T11:48:00.002-05:00

Yeah, it may be Monday, but I was traveling and didn't get to post this.

Silk has completed Chapter 4: Revelations

In case you missed it, you can find the previous chapters at the links below:

Chapter 1: Half of Two by Christina
Chapter 2: Collar and Cross by Me
Chapter 3: Emerald Eyes by El Capitan

Christina will post the final chapter soon.

This project has really sparked some creative juices. I hope we do another round.

President Obama, Scraping & Bowing

2009-04-09T10:01:00.002-05:00

President Obama denies it, but the video speaks for itself. Here is a man who won't listen to the other side of the argument, but who will bow before the leaders of other countries.

The facets of this President are absolutely staggering.

Insulted Americans? Check.
Denigrated and Demeaned American Prestige? Check.

We might be able to knock off for an early lunch and attend to the end of civil liberties by the end of the day!

Either he's bowing, or he had a rapid attack of menstrual cramps that quickly resolved themselves. Watch it again, his left hand is clearly visible on his lap. The White House's version of events doesn't square with the visual evidence. Watch it again, it is only 12 seconds long. That is no handshake.

An American President bowing, genuflecting, to foreign royalty...what's next?!?

h/t: Ace

Kidnapped, by PIRATES!

2009-04-09T09:00:00.002-05:00

Well, well, well.

It seems President Obama has a major test on his hands in the form of an American-flagged cargo ship that has been hijacked by Somali pirates. Those pesky Somali pirates! I imagine the Obamabots would tell you that they are just "misunderstood."

I call bullshit.

These are thieves, kidnappers, terrorists on the high seas. They have been interfering with global commerce for far too long. Other countries and companies have coddled the pirates, played along, paid "tributes" and "ransoms."

Did none of these people go to grade school? Don't they know what happens when you let a bully steal your lunch money? He comes back for it again tomorrow! This isn't brain surgery, folks.

Currently, the American crew has managed to retake the Alabama. The pirates are adrift on a speedboat, with no fuel, water, or food. They do have one thing, however: a hostage. They are currently holding the ship's captain, Capt. Richard Phillips, on their little speed boat.

I was speaking with someone about this prior to the release of updated information and I shared what I would do were I sitting in the Oval Office.

It might be overkill, but I'd send two battlegroups to the site. I'd have twenty or so (each of the US Naval ships present) to fire individual, single warning shots just off the bow of the pirate vessel. I would show them the precision with which we can deliver hellfire. I would then proceed to inform them that they have exactly five minutes to release their hostage, unharmed, or the next volley of fire will not be warning shots. Then, I'd broadcast the ticking of a clock.

Overkill? Maybe, but those Navy boys deserve to have a little fun now and then. The fact of the matter is, these pirates are in a lousy bargaining position. They have one hostage. One. The are out of fuel, so escape is out of the question unless they give up their hostage, and we are unlikely to refuel them if he comes to any harm. They also don't have time on their side as they are out of both food and water. You can live several days without food, but without water, you're screwed. And, I suspect, before long the pirate leader is going to be facing mutiny from within the ranks.

There is another aspect to this, however, and it is why my response would be so forceful. I wouldn't aim my response for the pirates, they would be secondary recipients of my message. I would send a message of force, an emphatic "Don't Fuck with The Americans", if you will, mostly to Iran. Iran has been screwing with our ships too, feigning attacks like that that took out sailors on the USS Cole. To date, we've sort of put up with their antics. But the pirate thing offers an opportunity for the US Navy to show what we can do. Let's scare the crap out of the pirates and give Mahmoud Ahmadinejhad a moment's pause. We don't need permission from the UN to protect American sailors at sea or American shipments of humanitarian aid. We don't need a coalition to kill a speedboat full of Somali pirates. What we need to do is show the world that American Might has not been diminished.

The rest of the world may be willing to ransom their citizens and ships in a perpetual market of terror, but the United States should stand firm. We don't negotiate with terrorists on land, at sea, or in the air. There needs to be no doubt of the consequences if you fuck with us. Don't pick a fight with us, or we'll be scraping what's left of you off of the foredeck.

President Obama, busy kowtowing and bowing to Saudis and telling the world how bad American arrogance is, is unlikely to take this approach. Hell, everybody knows Hillary Clinton has more balls than Obama, so I'm not optimistic.

I still think a strong show of force would be a good idea though. And, I believe, Thomas Jefferson would approve. It was he who dealt with the Barbary pirates in much the same way. For far too long, American ships had done the same as French and British ships when traveling through The Med: they paid tributes to the Barbary pirates to protect against the enslavement of the crews. Jefferson sent in the Marines, fearing that paying any further tributes or ransoms would only embolden the pirates and bring about more attacks on American ships.

Here's an ironic twist for you: the US Naval ship on site at the current Somali issue is the USS Bainbridge. During Jefferson's presidency, the USS Philadelphia, captained by William Bainbridge, ran aground while patrolling Tripoli harbor and came under attack and was eventually taken and turned against the Americans. A year later, Lt. Commander Stephen Decatur lead the first American Marines in a spectacular raid on Tripoli harbor. They destroyed the Philadelphia and her crew remained enslaved, but it set off a sequence of events that ultimately resolved in 1815 with the ending of any tributes. The Algerians, Moroccans, and Tripolitans had finally been convinced we meant business.

Fighting was the right thing to do then and it is the right thing to do now.

And, lest you think I'm just some warmongering Conservative, I'll have you know my solution was at least measured and gave the pirates an opportunity to give up in the face of overwhelming odds. My dad suggested we just bomb the hell out of Somalia until the pirates realized that unless they acted, there'd be nothing to go home to.

Me? I think that's too much work. I think 20-well aimed warning shots fired from a fleet of Naval vessels and a five minute ticking clock will do the trick.

What will President Obama do?

Wring his hands and hope for the best? "Hope" for "change"?

The world is watching, President Obama, and so am I.

(Incidentally, the title of this post is from a very very very old comedy skit I saw once about a baby duck hand puppet that was kidnapped by pirates. It was hilarious, but I can 't tell you more than that. That was back in the days when She-Ra had her own cartoon.)

Why won't Obama let banks pay back TARP money?

2009-04-06T15:52:00.002-05:00

I say again, why won't Obama let rescued banks pay back their TARP money?

As a taxpayer, I say if the banks are ready to pay the money back, LET THEM.

It is NOT Obama's money.

If those banks are ready to stand on their own feet, why shouldn't we let them?

Come on, kool-aid drinkers, surely you have a pat answer to this one...

Obama's $163,000 Tax Bomb for Families Earning Less Than $250K per year - Yes, This Means You

2009-04-03T10:38:00.004-05:00

Get ready to feel the equivalent of nuclear taxation!

Stumbled upon this article in the Wall Street Journal. It didn't tell me anything I wasn't already keenly aware of, but I thought the kool-aid drinkers needed to sober up a bit about the coming tax consequences of their foolish infatuation.

Incidentally, the article is written by Michael J. Boskin, professor of economics at Stanford. The gist of the article is the lie that is Obama's "no tax increases for families earning less than $250K." It's pretty clear cut and you should read it all, but here are a few excerpts:

...

Mr. Obama's characterizations of his budget unfortunately fall into this pattern. He claims to reduce the deficit by half, to shave $2 trillion off the debt (the cumulative deficit over his 10-year budget horizon), and not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year. While in a Clintonian sense correct (depends on what the definition of "is" is), it is far more accurate to describe Mr. Obama's budget as almost tripling the deficit. It adds $6.5 trillion to the national debt, and leaves future U.S. taxpayers (many of whom will make far less than $250,000) with the tab. And all this before dealing with the looming Medicare and Social Security cost explosion.

...

Finally, what of the claim not to raise taxes on anyone earning less than $250,000 a year? Even ignoring his large energy taxes, Mr. Obama must reconcile his arithmetic. Every dollar of debt he runs up means that future taxes must be $1 higher in present-value terms. Mr. Obama is going to leave a discounted present-value legacy of $6.5 trillion of additional future taxes, unless he dramatically cuts spending. (With interest the future tax hikes would be much larger later on.) Call it a stealth tax increase or ticking tax time-bomb.

What does $6.5 trillion of additional debt imply for the typical family? If spread evenly over all those paying income taxes (which under Mr. Obama's plan would shrink to a little over 50% of the population), every income-tax paying family would get a tax bill for $163,000. (In 10 years, interest would bring the total to well over a quarter million dollars, if paid all at once. If paid annually over the succeeding 10 years, the tax hike every year would average almost $34,000.) That's in addition to his explicit tax hikes. While the future tax time-bomb is pushed beyond Mr. Obama's budget horizon, and future presidents and Congresses will decide how it will be paid, it is likely to be paid by future income tax hikes as these are general fund deficits.

We can get a rough idea of who is likely to pay them by distributing this $6.5 trillion of future taxes according to the most recent distribution of income-tax burdens. We know the top 1% or 5% of income-taxpayers pay vastly disproportionate shares of taxes, and much larger shares than their shares of income. But it also turns out that Mr. Obama's massive additional debt implies a tax hike, if paid today, of well over $100,000 for people with incomes of $150,000, far below Mr. Obama's tax-hike cut-off of $250,000. (With interest, the tax hike would rise to more than $162,000 in 10 years, and over $20,000 a year if paid annually the following 10 years). In other words, a middle-aged two-career couple in New York or California could get a future tax bill as big as their mortgage.

That's almost enough to make one start thinking about suicide...if Obama wasn't going to get you that way too!

INDICTED

2009-04-03T10:06:00.004-05:00

Former Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich was formally indicted yesterday afternoon on 16 felony counts by a Federal Grand Jury. The charges include:

racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, extortion conspiracy, attempted extortion and making false statements to federal agents.

He allegedly abused his office in numerous matters to seek money, campaign contributions, and employment for himself and others, in exchange for official actions, including trying to leverage his authority to appoint a United States senator, U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald said in a statement.

If you recall, this investigation has been going on for some time and picked up steam after little blue bird Tony Rezko was caged and then began to sing his little melody about dirty Chicago politicians.

The same Tony Rezko involved in a shady land deal with Mr. Barack Obama, President of the United States.

Obama tried to distance himself from all of the dirty crooks, racists, and terrorists among his friends. Bill Ayers. Rev. Jeremiah "Chickens Comin' Home to Roost" Wright. Antoin "Tony" Rezko. I'm sure we all believe that Obama didn't really "know" the Governor of the State where he was an elected official (first in the State Legislature and later as a Senator). I'm sure they really weren't as cozy as these pictures would seem to suggest. There's simply no way our esteemed leader is a crook. No matter what you might hear about an article that the NY Times spiked about his campaign finance.

Just keep drinkin' the kool-aid. That'll make you feel better. Probably.

Move along now, there's nothing to worry your pretty little heads about...

Friday Fiction - Chapter 3

2009-04-03T09:40:00.002-05:00

As expected, El Capitan has completed Chapter 3 of our Friday Fiction Experiment. He did a superb job, as we knew he would.

You can find it here.

If you missed the first and second installments, you can locate them at the locations listed below. Sometime soon, Silk will post the fourth chapter and Christina will bat clean-up.

Don't miss it!

Chapter One: Half of Two by Christina
Chapter Two: Collar & Cross by Yours Truly
Chapter Three: Emerald Eyes by El Capitan

Obama Lied! This time about taxes

2009-04-02T09:05:00.003-05:00

I have long felt that the Death Tax was morally wrong.

The Death Tax, for those of you who get your news from The View, is the tax on your estate after you die.

My opposition to it is pretty simple. You pay taxes, do your civic duty all of your life. At the end of your life, you've managed to scrape up a few pennies here and there which you want to leave to your family. It might be a business, like, say...a bakery or a medical practice. Or, it might be a farm with a significant amount of free and clear assets. You work all of your life to pay off debt while also paying your taxes, among them property taxes every year, and you think you've done right. But no! The damn government is going to get you one more time by destroying what you've spent your life creating.

Destroy? Surely not!

'Fraid so.

What else do you call a 45% tax rate? Hmm? That's not a friendly poke, that's a repeating stabbing in a dark alley!

George W. Bush and the Republicans worked very hard to kill the Death Tax. They knew that it decimates family farms, ranches, and small businesses. It was set to expire in 2010, but not anymore. Obama's got his greedy paws on Grandma's pocketbook.

Obama and the Democrats argue that they can't afford to kill the Death Tax.

That's rich in irony! Do you know why they feel they can't afford to kill the Death Tax? Quite obviously it is because they have been spending money like Paris Hilton at Fashion Week! They've been buying all kinds of unnecessary crap we don't need, or if we "need" it, we don't have to have it now. They've mortgaged the future of our children and our grandchildren, and now they've decided to go after Granny and Gramps too!

This is the very definition of fiscal irresponibility and the "redistribution of wealth" that is known by people who have studied forms of government as Socialism.

You doubt my claims? Let's take a look at the personal example, okay?

My family owns a farm in the Southwest. We farm somewhere around 15,000 to 18,000 acres, at least half of which is owned outright. All paid for. The rest of it is mostly rented ground that we've picked up by being exceptionally good at what we do. We take our responsibility very seriously and consider ourselves stewards of the land. We know that it is our job to care and protect the land for the next generation.

This farm is not just an investment. It is my father, uncle, and cousin's raison d’être. It is their life's work, their livlihood, and how they feed their families and the families of the 7 hired men and women we employ. Someday, I hope it will also be my husband's livlihood.

But at this rate, it won't be. Here's why:

Let's take a look at just the land assets that are owned. There are buildings, equipment, and the brand that would also be counted among the assets, but just the land outright will more than illustrate my point.

Let's consider the 10,000 acres, more or less, that were purchased by my grandfather and increased by my father and uncle. This land was purchased a long long long time ago and has been added to over the years, slowly. If this property were to be evaluated and valued because of a death, you would see a phenomenal number. Now, farmland in the midwest ranges widely in price due to fertility, water and mineral rights, etc. But, let's go with a figure on the low end of the range. The range is from $500 to $2500 per acre. Let's use $800.

$800 per acre on 10,000 acres is...$8,000,000.

That's not Conrad Hilton or Guggenheim money, but it is a serious sum, even if the the Democrats in Congress blow more than that on golf carts and aid to terrorists. If the owner of these acres died and it was taxed at the Obama-approved rate of 45%, the heirs are looking at a tax bill totalling $2,025,000. And, that's just on the land! It doesn't include any life insurance, investments, improvements, home, or other farm assets. How is this fair?

How is this even right? Is this The American Dream? Is this Obama's much-flogged Hope and Change?

How do the heirs even begin to pay this? There is no way, at least, no way to pay it and preserve the birthright. If you need to raise upwards of $2 million, you are going to have to sell off the assests. And guess what, it is kind of hard to be a profitable farmer these days, but harder still if you don't have any land on which to grow your crop.

But, of course, this isn't just about the land. There are other assets that get valued, like improvements to property: houses, barns, bins, elevator legs, warehouses, scales. There is equipment to consider: tractors, trucks, combines, grain carts, spray rigs, fuel islands, etc.

That tax bill has a way of ballooning up like you wouldn't believe. So, the heir may want to continue the family work, but has to gut the inheritance to keep a part of it. Did the Federal Government work 18 and 20 hour days, sweating, bleeding, and crying for 80 years? No. Did the Federal Government pay property taxes, income taxes, and sales taxes on the activity from that farm for 80 years? No!

The Death Tax is morally reprehensible. It is wrong. It is killing family farms and small family-owned businesses all over the USA. If you think that so-called "corporate farming" is an evil, that huge multi-national corporations have a strangle-hold on this country, ask yourself how that came about. Ask yourself how hard it would be to see someone appropriate your life's work. It's a lot like a kidnapping.

My father loves the land like he loves my sister and I. The farm is really an older brother. He was around before us, we've always known him. If I have to kill one of my siblings to pay for my father's death, is that right? Is it?

I don't think so. I put to you that I'm going to fire those 7 hired men before I kill my sibling. Then, I'll likely pare down on the other assets too, but it is hard to farm without tractors, planters, combines, etc. I'll do anything and everything to protect what my father, uncle, and grandfather worked so hard to build.

It's not personal, right? It's just business. But Congress and Obama want to perform an autopsy on my father and sell the parts to a medical supply house.

This is not right. It will never be right.

It is inconsistent with the American Dream, it is inconsistent with the tenets of freedom, it is an Obamanation.

Worst.President.Evah.

Update: I got distracted by phone calls as I was writing this and skipped over a section that I had intended to include. I have corrected that above.

Does Obama Own Stock in Best Buy?

2009-04-02T08:15:00.003-05:00

A good friend took me to task last night for not posting. Okay, she didn't really take me to task so much as remind me that I haven't taken the proverbial baseball bat to Dear Leader in sometime. In particular, and largely due to my posts about Gordon Brown and Obama's gift exchange, she was wondering my take on Obama's gift to The Queen.

My take? I think Obama owns stock in Best Buy and is in love with himself (or has been reading his own press).

This time, when Obama went to see the figure head of the nation that we count as our closest ally (or did, pre-Obama), he spent a bit more money, but the gift was ill-suited and celebrated Obama, not the Queen or the special relationship between our countries.

He got the Queen...wait for it...an ipod.

An ipod.

Like one of the wealthiest women in the world doesn't have one already! For heaven's sake, he didn't even spring for the iPhone, which is at least a bit more technologically advanced.

Nope. An ipod. An ipod, get this, loaded with audio of his speeches before the Democratic National Convention and his Inaguration. And, pictures from his inaguration. Now, he also loaded it with pictures from the Queen's recent visits to the USA, but she travels with an entourage and likely has all kinds of pictures in her royal scrapbook.

Who loves Obama, huh?

Again, the guy has zero class. Zero.

And, guess what? She already had an ipod, has had one since 2005. Did Obama think she was too old to be that hip? Did he think to totally impress Granny Regina or that she was so deep in her bubble she'd never seen one? What the hell?!? She has several grandchildren who are all very hip, surely that didn't escape him, right?

So, we must presume that this gift was not meant to please her, but to please him. Which is the very opposite of what a gift is supposed to do, but I guess it is to be expected from this joke of a president.

This is what happens when a bunch of kool-aid drinking, facebook checking, tweeting lemmings vote into office a vapid socialist. We look like idiots and we get screwed. It's like two-for-one night at the karaoke cathouse!

This is more than just a little embarrassing.

Feisty Fiction: Chapter 2

2009-03-25T20:33:00.003-05:00

As promised, my part of the latest incarnation of Feisty Fiction is now complete.

For the first chapter, go here. You need to read that first or the below won't make sense.

Go ahead, we'll wait....

Back already? Then here goes:

Collar & Cross

Jake Cole stared at himself in the mirror of the men’s room trying to figure out if circumstances were conspiring against him. He needed a long drag. And a scotch.

He knew he was alone in the cold room. The urinals were pristine white against the institutional teal of the tiled walls. The cold was pervasive, climbing his legs after seeping into his shoes and coming at him from the wall and ceiling too.

He turned his back on the mirror, again attacking the bizarre circumstances of the day, tempted to violate the prohibition and light a smoke. He decided against it. Suddenly, a warmth flooded through him, beginning in his belly and rising and spreading throughout. “Great”, he thought to himself. “I’ve survived all the bullshit so that I could have a heart attack in a fucking bathroom a mere six steps from the morgue. That’s efficient, if a sad commentary on my miserable existence.”

“Hey, Numb Nuts, turn around.”

Jake knew that voice. He knew it as that belonging to a dead man. Now he could add auditory hallucinations to his heart attack symptoms.

“Turn around, Partner.”

Against his better judgment, Jake turned around. He was still alone, except the face that looked back at him from the mirror was not his own. It was Dave.

“Hey, buddy.” Jake had no response. He wasn’t going to start talking back to his hallucinations. “I’m not a hallucination.”

No, but you can read my mind, clearly.

“And, clearly, you are still an asshole.” Dave said from the mirror.

“Okay, I’ll play along: How ya been, Dave.”

“Got fast-tracked, so, not bad. Thanks for what you said at the service, by the way.” Dave was smiling at him in that way that had always irked him.

“So, what, you were there? Listening?”

“Not exactly…I sort of got the cliff’s notes version.”

“Right. Well, what can I do for ya, Dave?” If he was going crazy, he was going all-in.

“Listen, they’re making a huge exception here and I don’t have a lot of time. You need to stake her out. You hear me? Stake out.”

“Right. Stake out. Just ‘cause I’m a little slow, stake out who, exactly?”

“You know who. The chick with the eyes. The Chateline.”
Jake blinked, then tilted his head, grimaced, and came back to center. Stake out the weird chick, he thought.

“That’s right.” Dave nodded from the mirror.

“You bringing the coffee?” Jake asked the image.

Dave gave him that look, the one that called him a dumbshit without using any words. Partners sucked.

“Okay. I’ll stake out the weirdo, just for you. She’s hot, maybe she’s not careful with her drapes. Anything else I can do for you from this side of the mirror?”

Dave’s final words were spoken into Jake’s head without the image’s lips moving. “Yeah. Be careful and…Patrick’s okay.”

Jake felt like he’d been gut-punched. Patrick, his son. He’d never told anyone his name for his son. Patrick. He choked back an unexpected sob as the warmth left him. When he looked up, Dave was gone.

A stake out for one on a tip from a ghost? He was going to need more than a single drag and a double. He needed a whole pack and a bottle.

***

Jake walked into the holding room where Lyric Chateline had been waiting while he communed with spirits in the men’s room. She sat on the far side of the table, very composed and very still. He felt the perverse need to make enough noise to break her out of her calm.

He slid the legal envelope across the table to her and she looked up at him with her big, needy eyes, one blue, one green. “Miss Chateline, your sister’s effects have been released. If you’ll complete the form inside, the ME will release her body to whichever funeral home you designate.”

She took it all in without responding.

He walked back to the door, but stopped mid-way, having rethought it. He turned and made eye contact again. She’d been watching him walk away. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”

She looked at him quizzically, as though not sure she appreciated the sentiment. He turned and speedily exited, as though the hounds of hell were after him.

It had been a very bizarre day.

***

Billy O’Toole rubbed his still-hot cheek. The unshed tear was still bright in his eye. He couldn’t believe that Father Jimmy had slapped him. He hadn’t been any slower than normal, so why did the priest hit him? It wasn’t fair. The Father had dropped the bible, not Billy. He pulled his robe back over his head, hung it on the peg, and ran out of the church, hoping to find the others.

Father James Francis DiCarlo was also removing his uniform. He couldn’t get it off fast enough. The collar seemed to be burning him. He pulled it from his neck and removed his black shirt, unbuttoning it quickly. He also pulled off his undershirt, looking down as he did at the place on his chest that ached.

There, burned indelibly in his pale white skin was a scorching red mark in the shape of a cross. The skin was tender to his touch and burned red pain when probed. His fingers gently touched his neck and found the same pain there, fiery, hot, unrelenting. The priest’s knees buckled and he went down.

***

He sat on the couch in their apartment, surrounded by silence. The only sound to break the quiet was the steady rasping of the knife on the stone. The blade slowly quickened, sharpening to a whisper.

The steady repetitive drawing of the knife, first this way, then that, helped him to focus his mind. She was late. He already knew that she hadn’t done as she’d promised. It still wasn’t done. He would have to make her understand. He would have to hurt her this time.

He paused in his work for another pull on his bottle. The fiery liquid burned all the way down to his belly. He used to feel it more sharply, but that was fading too. Like everything else.

Everything faded.

***

Jake crouched awkwardly on the camp stool that was usually buried in the trunk of his car. A cardboard box sat beside him serving as his coffee table, his thermos full of the piping hot solution to any stakeout.

The rest of his environs left a lot to be desired. The building had been condemned, but Jake was nothing if not resourceful. His perch on the fourth floor, in the corner apartment, gave him a perfect vantage point. Lyric Chateline’s apartment was just across the street. He could see into both her bedroom and living room.

As his subject wasn’t yet home, Jake busied himself with an expert-level Sudoku puzzle. He could usually complete these handily, but found himself too distracted on this night. As he was pouring a warm-up, the lights came on in the apartment across the way.

Jake observed as the young woman put groceries away. He watched as she folded laundry. So far, just an ordinary stakeout: a complete waste of time. At 7:46 p.m., she pulled a salad out of the refrigerator and ate it standing up in the kitchen while watching some celebrity news program. “Dear God, spare me,” he thought to himself. Jake was keeping his notes scrupulously out of habit.

8:05 p.m. – undresses (no peek) and showers

8:21 p.m. – subject out of shower, in bedroom.

Giddy up! The towel hit the floor and Jake got a good view, thanks to his binocs, of a firm young body. Exhilarating as it was, it made him feel old and, if he was being honest with himself, a little dirty. Not so much that he looked away though. The perks of stakeout work were few.

Soon, the young woman was clothed again. She had turned out the lights in the bedroom and returned to the living room. After dispensing with the television by remote, she pulled her coffee table toward her and lit a candle. She got up to turn off the lights in that room, prompting Jake to switch to his other binoculars with the special night vision feature.

She sat on the couch with only the slight glow of a single candle to keep her company. Jake watched as Lyric pulled a manila envelope out of a bag on the floor. He knew that envelope, knew the contents well. Now we’re getting somewhere, he thought.

Lyric pulled a bulky object out of the envelope. The sweater. Had to be the sweater. She opened it reverently, laid it on the coffee table, then knelt on the floor. It looked to Jake, the way she dropped her head, as though she might be…praying? To a sweater? Right.

She brought her head back up and leaned over the table, blowing out the candle. Despite the darkness, there was still a glow in the room. It was faint, but clearly detectable with his binocs, and seemed to be emanating from the buttons on the sweater. Lyric stood and Jake watched as she began to remove her pants. Maybe he was in for another striptease? Not her pants, but…a belt? Jake’s phone rang and he reached for it on his makeshift table, flipping it open as he held the binoculars with one hand.

“Yeah?” he said by way of greeting.

“Detective Cole?” a female voice, a bit gravelly asked.

“Yes. Who is this?”

“Jane Emmert with the ME’s office. Sorry to disturb you, Detective. Uh, look, we have a problem and the ME told me to call you since you are the only member of PD to show an interest in this case.”

“What’s the problem?” Jake wasn’t getting a clear look at the happenings across the street. Was the belt glowing too?

“A body is missing. You were here earlier today with the next of kin. The deceased is…,” Jake heard the rustling of paper, “Pandora Chateline.”

“Does this appear to be a breach of security?” Jake was intrigued now, but it was likely some bureaucratic snafu.

“Not…exactly. Could you come down to the morgue?”

That belt was definitely glowing. Weird, but a missing body was actually worthy of an investigation while his current activities would fall under the headings of stalking, illegal, and the whim of a ghost.

“I’ll be there in about an hour.” Jake flipped the phone closed. He was reluctant to leave, but duty called.

***

He was hearing voices, his skin burned where the collar and cross had rested, and he itched. Everywhere, it was driving him mad. He rocked in his austere bed, the headboard banging rhythmically against the wall. He rocked harder, then harder still. His head beat on the wall, bangbangbang until he fell out of consciousness.

A siren marked the passing of an emergency vehicle on the street, waking him. He fought the heaviness of his lids and looked at the ceiling, one eye blue, one green.

***

There you go. I hope you enjoyed it. I'll keep you posted about where and when to find Chapters 3-5.

Feisty Fiction

2009-03-25T19:47:00.002-05:00

Last week, my good friend Christina asked me to participate in a little writing project. Regular readers may remember the Friday Fiction project, this is basically the same thing on a looser timeline.

Anyway, Christina invited a few of us regulars to start up a new round. She posted the beginning of the story last week. You can find it here.

I will be posting my part, the second chapter, very soon.

My favorite nautical primate, El Capitan, will follow up with Chapter 3, to be followed by Silk with Chapter 4 and then Christina will bat clean-up.

So, if you want a good read, keep watching this space. Or, not exactly this space, but one that follows it.

You know what I mean.

The Bonus Brouhaha

2009-03-20T10:04:00.002-05:00

Okay. So, if you've been paying attention, you are aware that AIG needed yet another infusion of cash at taxpayer expense. You are no doubt also aware that it recently came to light that a bunch of AIG execs were in for some huge bonuses.

Now the public and lawmakers are all up in arms about the waste of taxpayer money.

Now?!?

To quote my father: JESUS JUMPIN' CHRIST ON A POGO STICK!

Folks, your outrage is too little, too late.

You should have been outraged with the bailouts themselves. Or the spending bill that is masquerading as "stimulus." Or the fact that Obama's big savings plan was making wounded vets pay for their own recovery.

Bitching and Moaning at this late data about contractually mandated bonuses is like calling the fire department after the house has burned down. If you wanted to stop the bonuses, we should have let the firm fail. Or, stopped with just one or two handouts. Or, put requirements on that cash.

But passing this bill in the house which taxes those bonuses 90% is just wrong, flat wrong, in a multitude of ways.

For one thing, a 90% tax is overwhelmingly burdensome and un-American. For another, this bill is an ex post facto bill. This means that the law is coming after the arrangement. Simply put, this is Congress making something you did yesterday illegal and going after you for it. It wasn't illegal when you did it, but it is now. Anybody else see a problem with this?

I mean, besides the fact that Congress is explicitly prohibited from doing just this by The Constitution? Anybody else concerned that the bill is also pretty damn close to the definition of Bill of Attainder, another Constitutional no-no for targeting a single group too specifically?

Look, a 90% tax is wrong. Ex post facto laws are wrong. Bills of Attainder are wrong.

Perhaps next time, we actually read the bill before we pass it? Perhaps next time we don't rush through a 1,100 page "emergency" bill that nobody has read and then go on a four-day weekend.

The Democrats are responsible for this collosal failure. They hadta hadta hadta do something. As though doing something, anything now was to be preferred over doing the right thing later after due deliberation.

But no, good God no! Let's beat our heads against the wall. If we work up a sweat doing it, maybe the rubes will believe we're doing the right thing.

Look, I don't know everything. At least I can admit it. Those esteemed leaders in the Whitehouse, The House, and The Senate need to learn something that I learned a long time ago:

If someone asks you a question or asks you to do something and you don't have the answer or don't know how to accomplish the task, it is better to admit that you don't have an immediate solution/answer, but assure them that you are going to spend the time to get the right solution. Because rushing in with an anwer/solution that hasn't been fully considered or researched ends up making you look incompetent, and rightly so.

If you are in with your doctor, showing him a bump on your arm, which of the following would you prefer:

a. He quickly announces you have Anthrax and runs from the room screaming

or

b. says he isn't sure but that he'd like to run a few tests since he's never seen this before

More importantly, which is the more professional response that is likely to have a calming effect on the patient? Which approach is likely to gain you credibility?

Why are the Democrats in Congress (and some of the Republicans) and our esteemed Teleprompter-in-Chief taking approach A?

Are they really this stupid?

Oh dear. Asked and answered.

Excellent MUST READ!

2009-03-20T10:00:00.001-05:00

Reflections from the Hard Drive that Enables the Voice of the Leader of the Free World

(Barack Obama's Teleprompter has a Blog!)

So, any buyer's remorse yet?

2009-03-20T09:45:00.002-05:00

The question begs to be asked: Are you sorry yet, Obama voters?

On the one hand, you have bought yourself a President who, completely lacking in executive experience (he's never before run so much as a taco stand, let alone a country, government, etc.), is so overwhelmed that each day spotlights a new gaffe (or twelve).

For example, Gordon Brown's staff leaked the fact that Obama's super-fantastic Best Buy Bargain Bin gift...wouldn't play in the UK DVD player. Not formatted correctly. It's the insult that keeps on giving!

The country is reeling, reeling from economic difficulties. And yet, Obama is content to fill out his March Madness brackets instead of worrying about filling the posts at Treasury and giving Geithner (another clearly way out of his depth) some assistance. Dear Lord, Timmy needs somebody to bounce ideas off of!

So, Obama takes time off from his busy job of problem avoidance to visit Jay Leno. This just pisses me off. Is Obama promoting some movie that I'm not aware of? Is he starring in How to Fiddle While Rome Burns? In these dire times, is it really the best use of our President's time to yuk it up on late night television telling inappropriate "jokes"? I don't think so.

Obama is clearly not very good at his job, but I guess I feel like he owes it to the American people to at least give it a good try. For heaven's sake, if he didn't want to do the work, why the hell did he go through the election process?

Is President "Special Olympics" Obama really the more sensitive, diplomatic President you were hoping for? Really?

Slippery Slope to End of Freedom

2009-03-18T11:57:00.002-05:00

I am not a conspiracy theorist.

I am not a nut.

I am a reasonable woman, a wife and mother. A conservative.

My parent's instilled in me a work ethic, a sense of honor, a sense of personal responsibility. My father made sure that I understood the Constitution and our democratic republic form of government. He made sure that I understood it was my responsibility to be informed, have an opinion, and vote my conscience. I hope to someday instill these same values in my own daughter.

Yet now, I greatly fear for the continuation of the basic tenetsf of our civilization.

President Obama is working tirelessly to pulverize our freedoms. One by one, he's ticking off the liberties you and I have like some sort of grocery checklist.

Second Amendment: in the basket.
First Amendment: in the basket
Secret Ballot: in the basket

I am going to try to contain my emotion here, but I make no promises whatsoever.

President Obama, despite his protestations that he wasn't going to go after individual gun owner's weapons, clearly intends to do just that. He's de-funded the Bush Administration's measure to allow airline pilots to carry weapons in the sky, effectively disarming the last line of defense in the event of future hijackings. He seems to be saying that these people can be trusted with the lives of hundreds of people, drive what terrorists clearly consider to be a well-fueled ballistic missile, but not to pack a small handgun and ammo. Talk about a disconnect. I'm not sure I want to be on an airplane anymore!

More than just the armed pilots, we are now seeing the results of a measure that will severely curtail the amount of ammunition available on the domestic civilian market. You know that if law enforcement can't get ammo, Daddy's going to have a tough time and I guess Mommy is going to have to throw kitchen knives and rolling pins at her attacker.

It is disgusting, but no less than I expected from the megalomanical liar that is our President.

So, in a few years, we'll effectively be disarmed. Start hoarding ammo now, boys.

Next up, the First Amendment. Obama will not suffer criticism, will not tolerate alternate opinions. Joe the Plumber's treatment at the hands of Obama's loyal followers should have been heeded more closely. Joe the Plumber was the guy in Ohio who was out in his own front yard playing ball with his kid when Obama the candidate showed up on his street with a camera crew. It was Obama who approached Joe and Joe who asked the now famous question on economics. Obama's answer, about redistributing wealth, was a harbinger of doom. It was a deeply telling and deeply embarassing moment for Obama and he took a lot of heat for it. But, before the sun had set on that day, Obama's goons were already investigating Joe the Plumber's tax situation, his custody arrangements, etc. The were dead-set on getting the guy somehow. Why? Because he had the temerity to ask an honest question that Obama couldn't answer?

If only that was the only example! Rush Limbaugh has suffered mightily from the Obama Administration and is the primary reason that Democrats want the Fairness Doctrine back. Liberal media is a loser, has been proven to be a loser, but somehow, Limbaugh keeps succeeding. So, instead of bringing a product to market that has an audience, they are going to mandate what is available. This makes no damn sense, but Democrats never let a little thing like logic impede them. Did they stop at Limbaugh? Of course not! Rick Santelli and Jim Cramer got the same treatment, for doing nothing more than speaking their opinion.

You have to agree that this is wrong. You have to agree that short of shouting "fire" in a crowded theater and putting lives in jeopardy, these men have a right to voice their opinions in a public forum, be heard, and not see this sort of victimization? If you allow these things to happen, it is a slippery slope to there only being one opinion and anyone with the temerity to speak otherwise finds themselves in a woodchipper.

That is not freedom. That way lies dictatorship.

Let's move on to another sacred fundamental, shall we? Let's talk Card Check. Let's talk about how the Democrats want to elimate the need for a secret ballot. Let's talk about how utterly wrong this is!

Democrats and their Union campaign piggy banks want to eliminate the need for a secret ballot in the unionization process. That way, the tactics of intimidation are so much more effective, you know. Then, they can collect more membership dues, plump the pockets of more democrats, and take away more freedoms.

I've written about it before, I despise unions. I've never worked for one myself, but my husband has. The "good" of unions has long been outweighed by the "bad." Unions originally were about protecting workers through the power of numbers. No more. Now unions are about enriching those who are too incompetent to do real work at the expense of those who do and putting those same workers' lives in jeopardy all the while lobbying Congress for more power.

The union of which my husband was a member sucked in a huge way. Each month he paid dues, automatically deducted from his paycheck, and each year, never fail, it did no good. The union never actually helped him. The union worked very hard to make sure his work ethic and ambition never did him any good. The union worked very hard to make sure that his ability to solve problems never did him any good either. The union preserved the jobs of people who were high or drunk at work who by their very presence made the workplace dangerous. To the union, my husband was #12,606. And, there were 12,605 people more important than him, maybe a couple hundred less important. My husband has a work ethic. He never showed up late, frequently did any extra thing he was asked. Did he benefit? Of course not. He got the same raise everybody else got because that's the way the union wanted it.

The idiot who had to be retrained every few hours got the same raise.
The asshole who made the workplace a hostile environment got the same raise.
The lazy no-account bastard who showed up but managed not to accomplish a damn thing got the same raise.

Management might have identified the value in my husband's hard work, but the union saw fit that they never rewarded him for it. His only opportunity for advancement was in choosing a position of leadership in the union. Become a cock-sucking asshole? No chance of that happening.

So, imagine your workplace. Whether there are five employees or 500, imagine how you'd feel if someone was trying to unionize and you weren't allowed a secret ballot. Is that fair? Is that the American Way?

I would argue that is strongly the opposite, that it is diametrically opposed to the American Tradition.

It may not be the American Way, but it is clearly the Obama Way.

I urge you to contact your representation in Washington, DC and let them know your concerns.

For we are surely headed down a slippery slope to the end of the freedoms we regularly take for granted.

Must Read: 52 Days, 52 Mistakes

2009-03-13T15:28:00.002-05:00

Don Surber has compiled a list of some of Obama's most notable mistakes. You should go click and read it.

Don't worry, I'll wait.

Fantastic!

And, this by "Anna" from the comments on that post in response to a troll:

...your sainted leader is a wagyu-eating, thermostat-raising, teleprompter-reading, dvd-giving, non-stop-campaigning, terrorist-befriending, dictator-kissing, stuttering, leadership-impaired, history illiterate president on training wheels.

I’d buy you a clue, but Obama already has all my money.

Spot.On.

Hypocrisy

2009-03-13T13:10:00.002-05:00

Yes, this is another post about our Dear Leader.

I think my ire on this one is largely due to the fact that I was still red-hot under the collar yesterday about Obama's plan to make wounded vets pay for their own health care when I saw the Magical One on television talking about the economy.

I've looked and looked for a print article on his comments from yesterday's Business Roundtable, but I didn't find what I was looking for. Unfortunately, because some of us are actually working to make a living, I didn't then have time to search YouTube.

So, we're going to work from my memory. So sue me.

At yesterday's Business Roundtable, the conversation turned to the economy and our "Confidence Leader" made comments akin to the following:

He said that the economy would recover, but that we had to be "patient." He said that it was going to take "hard work" (a concept I doubt Obama is very familiar with, being a lawyer and politician and all) and that people were going to need to "save" more.

I call bullshit.

Obama is just talking a good game here. The fact of the matter is, those of us who have been following this sage plan for some time are getting screwed for it by Obama and his cronies in Congress.

I've been working since before I was 12 years old, but my serious wage earning started at that age. And, I've been paying taxes on those earnings when it met the minimum, too. Moreover, since becoming an adult, with a career, I have been saving a chunk of my salary in my 401K. I didn't benefit from a Harvard education, I went to a Big 10 school, so my starting salary wasn't on the same level as Mr. Obama's, but I did what I had been taught to do. I saved. I scrimped. I didn't spend beyond my means and then keep spending.

I could have done the big wedding hoo-hah, but instead, took the money that we would have spent and used it for a down payment on our house. When we built our house, we examined the options and decided only a fool would bet on the ARM. At the time, interest rates were at all-time lows, so we locked in a 30-year fixed on a house we could afford.

So, as far as I can tell, I've done everything right. At least, I thought I was. I was being patient and letting my investments grow quietly while I added to them on a regular basis. Yet, since this crisis began, I've lost a third. One full third of my retirement savings. Now, to be sure, Obama isn't responsible for all of this, but the Democrats of the Clinton era sure as heck are. The Bush Administration tried to put a stop to this, but Democrats the likes of Barney Frank and Chris Dodd put the kibosh on all of those efforts.

But the thing is, it is Obama's problem to solve. Bush inherited Terror, Obama inherits the housing and credit crisis.

When Obama tells me that what I need to do is the same thing I've been doing for years, but he rewards those who don't do the smart thing by bailing them out and making special deals for them on their mortgages, then he himself spends trillions of dollars on things that have a fart's chance in the wind of making things better, I call it hypocrisy.

Obama buys a fleet of golf carts and I pay the price.

I'm sick of it. Sick.Of.It. This President: Worst.President.Ever.

Full stop.

Obama's Team Greatly Out of Their Depth

2009-03-13T13:02:00.002-05:00

How else do you explain a FOURTH Treasury appointee to bail out?

My tax situation is clean, but for the record, I won't work for that man.

OH MY EFFING GAWD!

2009-03-12T15:19:00.005-05:00

DO YOU KNOW HOW DEEP AND WIDE OBAMA SUCKS?

Sorry for the all-caps, but this m-fer is such a giant a$$hole that I am unable to control the finger on the caps-lock.

Get this, you idiotic Obamabots. Your "dear leader", your big guy for all the "hope" and "change" and shit, so despises our American troops, that he wants them to pay for their own care ON INJURIES SUSTAINED IN BATTLE.

You bastard jacka$$. You ungrateful SOB!

I'm mad as hell, AND I'M NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE!

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki confirmed
Tuesday that the Obama administration is considering a controversial plan to
make veterans pay for treatment of service-related injuries with private
insurance.
...

No official proposal to create such a program has been announced publicly,
but veterans groups wrote a pre-emptive letter last week to President Obama voicing their opposition to the idea after
hearing the plan was under consideration.

The groups also cited an increase in "third-party collections" estimated in
the 2010 budget proposal -- something they said could be achieved only if the
Veterans Administration started billing for service-related injuries.

Asked about the proposal, Shinseki said it was under "consideration."

This man has nothing but contempt for the American military. What's next? Huh? What won't this jerk do? He's giving money away by the dump truck to all sorts of dubious causes, expanding welfare, and spending us into becoming Chinese subjects, but what the h-e-double-hockeysticks does he care?

Joe the Plumber will turn out to have been a modern day prophet. If only you kool-aid drinkers had engaged your brains, if only you had pulled your heads from their dark, cozy, fecal caves, maybe we could have avoided these things.

But, no. You had to vote for him because you are too damn dumb to read between the lines or recognize a steaming pile of shit when you step in it.

I blame the Obama voters. YOU DID THIS TO US. And YOU are responsible for Obama's piss-poor treatment of our brave fighting men and women. Abraham Lincoln is rolling over in his grave. Actually, he may return to the Whitehouse and haunt Obama for his "audacity."

What's next? Is Obama going to scrap the plans for memorials at the old WTC site and in Shanksville? Charge the victims' families for upkeep on the burial site? Why stop there? Let's charge the families of the victims of Pearl Harbor too!

I hope you are proud of the President now, IDIOTS!

You are Reprehensible, Mr. President. Reprehensible.

One More Thought: You know, the MSM vilified Sarah Palin in the general election over the false claims that she had required rape victims to pay for their own rape kits. The claims have been proven false, and were proven false during the general election. Did the MSM correct their error?

And here we have the Obama Administration doing something far worse, far more reprehensible, to a much larger group of people who are literally getting injured in service to their country. This amounts to Obama raping the troops.

There aren't enough curse words. I'm going to have to invent a few to adequately discuss this prick.

Help Me, Coburn-wan, you are my only hope

2009-03-12T12:02:00.003-05:00

This thing is likely to go viral, and it deserves to. I've shamelessly taken it from CalTechGirl who got it somewhere else. You must see it:

Darth 'Bama is sucking on his cancer stick in the corner, trying to ignore our impudence. He will soon be putting the far-away choke hold on all who question his imperial powers.

Another Obama Nominee Bows Out

2009-03-11T12:44:00.002-05:00

There's been too many to count, but now Charles Freeman has bowed out of consideration for the Chairmanship of the National Intelligence Council.

You should read Malkin's background (here and here) on why this guy sucked, by the way.

Unbelievable. Why, it is almost as if NOBODY in the Obama Whitehouse is actually working!

Nobody Wants to be Associated with the Obama Administration

2009-03-06T11:55:00.002-06:00

Obama's moved from his A-list of tax-dodgers and is now working on the B-list.

Unfortunately, they don't want to work for him.

Case in point,

Gupta no longer wants to be the top doctor.

And, Geithner's choice for Deputy of Treasury doesn't want the job either.

Or, perhaps they are afraid of the coming tax hikes and are happier being among the unemployed, safe in the knowledge that Obama's going to pay their mortgage and buy them gas to put in their BMWs.

The Obamas Lack Class

2009-03-06T10:16:00.002-06:00

So much for President Obama's much vaunted, much heralded goal of making the world love America again. Both he and his wife have managed to insult the Prime Minister, his wife, and the civilians of one of our oldest allies.

Quite naturally, I refer to the Obama's gaffes with respect to British Prime Minister Brown's recent visit to the United States, but the gaffes actually start before that.

When the Obama's first arrived at The White House, the British informed The President that he should feel welcome to retain the bust of Winston Churchill.

During President George Bush's term in The White House, the Churchill bust held a place of prominence and importance. Churchill, of course, was Prime Minister of England back in the day and an important ally during WWII. Churchill is revered by many in this country as well as in his own.

So, when President Obama told the Brits "thanks, but no thanks" and sent the bust back, it was shocking to many and downright rude to the Brits.

But, one small misstep by a new President is to be expected, right? Fine. Forget the bust. I'm sure that the Obama's will polish up the ol' Protocol for their first State Visit. Right?

Let's move on to the Obama's ill bred treatment of The Browns, shall we?

It is customary for leaders of countries to give gifts upon meeting for the first time. These gifts are usually treasures, other times just meaningful objects, symbols if you will. The first ladies get into this as well, often getting the children of the leaders gifts as well.

For example, Mrs. Brown, herself a mother just to boys, was reportedly thrilled to get to shop for the first daughters. Isn't that sweet?

Mrs. Brown brought matching dresses and necklaces for the Obama girls, purchased from a top U.K. retailer, and a collection of books by British authors. Really nice.

Michelle Obama reciprocated with toy models of...Marine One, which is reportedly available in the White House gift shop for ~$15.

No.Comparison.

Michelle Obama is cheap and apparently can't seem to get over herself. I mean, why didn't she just give Mrs. Brown a copy of Dreams from my Father? She probably could have gotten that pretty cheap at Barnes & Noble.

Cheap, classless.

But, maybe The President will do better, eh?

Maybe not.

The relationship between the US and Great Britain is often termed "the special relationship." Sure, our countries once fought on opposite sides, but a lot of history has filled the books since. The British are some of our staunchest allies. We share a lot of culture, language, and history. We know that when push comes to shove, The Brits are some of our truest friends. Obama doesn't seem to care all that much about preserving any special relationships, however.

As the first piece of evidence of this special relatioship between our two countries, The President's desk, The Resolute Desk, was a gift from Queen Victoria after we helped rescue the HMS Resolute from an ice pack. We had it refitted and presented to the Brits as a symbol of peace. When the ship was decommissioned, the Queen had two desks made from it and gave one to the U.S.

That's classy. That's the stuff of special relationships.

Prime Minister Brown, as his gift to Obama, gave an ornamental pen holder made from the timbers of the HMS Gannet (formerly the HMS President (!)). The Gannet was a sister ship of the Resolute. It's task was hunting down slave traders. So, this gift is chockablock with meaningful symbolism. You don't buy this at the gift shop at No. 10, for example.

Obama gave brown...a set of American classic movies on DVD.

That's like...a Best Buy gift card. It's TOTAL CRAP!

I wouldn't blame them if the Brits declared war right now.

One gift symbolizing centuries of friendship, one gift symbolizing the complete disregard for the other country.

Now that's diplomacy.

Why not? Obama's fucked me and you over. He's totally fucked our children and grandchildren. He might as well fuck the Brits too.

Our President is crap. Classless crap. And his wife is no better.

As a special note to any Brits that may read this: you are still special to many Americans, myself included.

Alias

2009-02-17T09:33:00.002-06:00

Got this one from Christina and couldn't resist.

1.YOUR REAL NAME: Redacted

2.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME:(mother and fathers middle name) Erica Lee

3.NASCAR NAME:(first name of your mother’s dad, father’s dad) Jim Glenn

4.STAR WARS NAME:[the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name] Chada

5.DETECTIVE NAME:(favorite color, favorite animal) Black Kitten

6.SOAP OPERA NAME:(middle name, town where you were born) Dawn Elkhart

7.SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav drink, add “THE” to the beginning) The Pink Captain Morgan and Coke

8.FLY NAME:(first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name) Daan

9.STREET NAME:(fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie) Fleur de Sel Caramel Chocolate Snowflake

10. PORN NAME: (1st pet’s name, street you grew up on) Brownie Deer Park

11.YOUR GANGSTA NAME:(first 3 letters of last name plus izzle) Chaizzle

13.YOUR IRAQI.. NAME:(2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, first two letters of your middle name, last two letters of your first name then last three letters of your last name) Aadaasman

14.YOUR GOTH NAME:(black, and the name of one of your pets) Black Omar

15. STRIPPER NAME: (name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) Coco Twix

LOVE IT!

-Coco Twix Out

Obama: Another Day, Another Broken Campaign Promise

2009-02-12T10:03:00.003-06:00

This is actually news from yesterday, but I ran out of time to post it. So, here it is.

Perhaps you heard that the "stimulus" bill (which is actually just a Democrat's wet dream of a wish list) went to conference to make the House and Senate versions match? Surprisingly, they managed to bang out a compromise very quickly.

Or, not surprising since the conference included ZERO Republicans and was held behind a closed door!

Obama's Pledge (from his own hopey-changey website, no less):

End the Practice of Writing Legislation Behind Closed
Doors: As president, Barack Obama will restore the American people's trust in their government by making government more open and transparent. Obama will work to reform congressional rules to require all legislative sessions, including committee mark-ups and conference committees, to be conducted in public. By making these practices public, the American people will be able to hold their leaders accountable for wasteful spending and lawmakers won't be able to slip favors for lobbyists into bills at the last minute.

No accountability, no compromise, no bi-partisan cooperation, no transparency.

Yep, that just about covers the "most ethical administration EVAH" claims.

How do you like the Democrats and their Fearless Leader now?

You let me know when you begin to regret voting for the liar, okay?

UPDATE: Ironic other promises, also from The One (same webpage)

Sunlight Before Signing: Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to
review them. As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days.

Shine Light on Earmarks and Pork Barrel Spending:
Obama's Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act will shed light on all earmarks by disclosing the name of the legislator who asked for each earmark, along with a written justification, 72 hours before they can be approved by the full Senate.

It's a three-fer! What a banner day! Obama breaks promise on closed-door legislation writing, bill rushing, and pork, all with ONE BILL.

I'm beginning to see why people call him "The One." The audacity of his hypocrisy is mind-blowing!

Obama: Economic Savior

2009-02-12T09:33:00.004-06:00

Heee!

Do you know what Obama and the Democrats have done for you? Do you, do you?

They've managed to find $13 a week more for you. Woo-hoo! Are you feeling it? Are you feeling STIMULATED?

It was good of them, really, to find you the equivalent to a movie and popcorn while they were spending all that largesse on more important matters like:

electric golf carts
ice-breaking ships
smoking cessation
Tribal alcohol and substance abuse
A swamp mouse
youth activities
etc.

/sarcasm

So...how are you feeling about that vote for Obama now, you stupid stupid bastards?

My Co-Workers Are So Lucky

2009-02-11T11:11:00.001-06:00

I brought in Coffee Caramel Creme Brulee for them to taste test.

Don't you wish you worked with me too?

Gag Me With a Spoon, I'm not falling for your cheap theatrics

2009-02-11T09:21:00.003-06:00

So. President Obama has been on tour promoting the bloated wish list the Democrats are calling "stimulus". You know, because support of the stimulus package has fallen to around 30% with the American public and The One has to put his magical glow on the thing to convince people that the steaming pile of dog shit is actually chocolate cream pie. Good luck with that!

Anyway, Obama's travels took him to Florida and we were presented with the image of Obama as Jesus. That's right folks! Get your first look at Obama's miracle healings here!

The only problem is, it was all so very scripted, so very convenient, so clearly staged.

I refer, of course, to the tale of Henrietta Hughes. Ms. Hughes is homeless and jobless, living in her vehicle with her adult son. At Obama's town hall meeting, she begged Obama for help. But, I have a few questions...

1. How did Ms. Hughes get tickets to the event? We know that Obama's team carefully vets every person in the room (something they don't bother to do, clearly, for cabinet nominees) and pre-approve any and all questions. So how is it that Ms. Hughes found her way into the town hall meeting?
2. And, how did she get such a primo seat in the front row? That's all more than a bit suspicious to me.
3. Moreover, the lady looked really well for someone who is living in her car. A two-hour drive in the Jeep has me looking the worse for wear, greasy and wrinkled. It is amazing how well she looks given her "long time" residency in her vehicle.
4. I find it even more curious that she could be there to bask in The One's light when she...might have been out looking for a job.

Now, don't get me wrong, I feel for the lady. But, the same national media that looked into Joe the Plumber's licenses and tax situation are surprisingly incurious about Henrietta Hughes. We don't know why she's homeless. We are just supposed to swallow the story and be moved by the way The One hugged her and made everything all right.

Sorry, it is all just a bit too contrived for me. Far too...traveling carnival.

Laaaadies and Genttttlemen: In the next tent - The bearded lady and the boy with two heads!

(That last is not a crack about Hillary or Harry Reid.)

(Or, is it?)

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin finds more information on Henrietta Hughes and her son.

Another I Told You So

2009-02-10T07:58:00.002-06:00

One of my long-held big beefs with Obama (and Clinton before him and Democrats in general) is this slippery slope of national healthcare.

I have explained this to a number of people and I have never understood the reaction of some of them. You see, the Obamabots that I have expressed this to fail to comprehend my salient points and the slippery slope.

I have long contended that if you are "pro-choice" you can't be for a national healthcare system. Why? Simple. If you believe that you have the right to determine what happens to your own body, you can't reasonably agree to cede that right to some nameless, faceless bureaucrat or computer program running the probabilities and making the decisions.

And yet, that is exactly what has happened!

In the god-awful pork sandwich that is masquerading as "stimulus", that which Obama is trumpeting we must pass or NEVER RECOVER, is a smoking gun of a trojan horse. (Emphasis mine)

The bill’s health rules will affect “every individual in the United States”(445, 454, 479). Your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system. Having electronic medical records at your fingertips, easily transferred to a hospital, is beneficial. It will help avoid duplicate tests and errors.

BUT...

But the bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective.

So, it won't be you or the doctor or the specialist or even the insurance company making the determination on your care. I hope all you pro-choice Obama supporters are happy. Welcome to the nanny state!

The idea driving all of this:

The goal, Daschle’s book explained, is to slow the development and use of new medications and technologies because they are driving up costs. He praises Europeans for being more willing to accept “hopeless diagnoses” and “forgo experimental treatments,” and he chastises Americans for expecting too much from the health-care system.

So, sucks to be you! We will treat with leaches and band-aids. If that don't fix you, suck it, Charlie! It has been decided that you are no longer cost-effective and shall be allowed to die. Say "Thank you."

Another of my long-held arguments was that this sort of bureacracy with regard to healthcare would make some people more "equal" than others. Old people, nearing the end of their lifespan, would not be priorities. Smokers, those who cling to unapproved lifestyles, would fall into this same category. And from there, it is a slippery slope to homosexuals, the overweight, those with high-stress jobs, etc.

Turns out, I wasn't too far off the mark:

Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them. That means the elderly will bear the brunt.

...

The stimulus bill would change that and apply a cost- effectiveness standard set by the Federal Council (464).

The Federal Council is modeled after a U.K. board discussed in Daschle’s book. This board approves or rejects treatments using a formula that divides the cost of the treatment by the number of years the patient is likely to benefit. Treatments for younger patients are more often approved than treatments for diseases that affect the elderly, such as osteoporosis.

In 2006, a U.K. health board decreed that elderly patients with macular degeneration had to wait until they went blind in one eye before they could get a costly new drug to save the other eye. It took almost three years of public protests before the board reversed its decision.

So, sorry Grandma, you are toast! The good news is that you will soon be joined in your final reward by your smoking homosexual grandson. Enjoy eternity!

So much for Obama's much-vaunted National Healthcare. It is exactly what I feared: a way to deprive us of the right to make the choice as it relates to our own health. Today, if I don't like the treatment my doctor is prescribing, I am free to explore other possibilities. But, if this item is signed into law, that will no longer be my right. Or yours.

Ah, the Obamanation!

Civil Rights Expanded! Now include rights to trespass, steal, litter, and destroy property of others

2009-02-09T15:38:00.003-06:00

Wow.

Just wow!

Here's the deal:

An Arizona Rancher is being sued for $32 million by 16 illegal aliens. Why? Because he violated their civil rights, or that's their story.

Roger Barnett's ranch is on the Arizona-Mexico border. And, since 1998, he has been fighting a battle on his property. Apparently, his ranch land is some sort of illegal alien highway. Over the years, he's had his vehicles stolen, home broken into, his property (fences, cattle) destroyed, and his land littered upon. Illegal aliens have stolen his water and defecated on his property.

But apparently, he's the one in the wrong. Apparently, he doesn't have the right to defend his home and his property. Apparently, he's just supposed to let these people trample on his rights because somehow, by some unknown virtue, they are more entitled.

THIS IS FLAT-OUT WRONG!

But, this is also Obama's America.

Over the years, Barnett got fed up and started defending his property. He put electric sensors on the illegal alien superhighway and started rounding up those that he caught and turning them into the border patrol.

Let's be perfectly clear: reports indicate that he hurt nobody. His "sins" include approaching a "group of illegal immigrants while carrying a gun and accompanied by a large dog" ON HIS OWN PROPERTY. He is accused of holding these trespassers at gunpoint and threatening to shoot them or loose his dog if they did not comply. Oh, lest I not be thorough, it is also alleged that he shouted obscenities and kicked a woman. Apparently, he spoke to them in English and Spanish, proclaiming that his dog was "hungry for buttocks."

The injustice here is that any judge would let this travesty go to trial.

These people were trespassers. Mr. Barnett has a right to protect his life and property. If these people are violating Mr. Barnett's property, he has the right to deal with them as he will. There is no law against threatening someone or shouting, even shouting obscenities. There is also no law against patrolling your own property with a dog and/or gun. So far as I can tell, these people have no case. None. This is a grab for attention, a grab for rights not enumerated, a grab for special dispensation for one class against the very real rights of another.

I am outraged on behalf of Mr. Barnett! How dare these people claim to be the victims! This is no different than the cases in England where murders and thieves sue their victims for damages!

Of course, this is Obama's America now: where your property rightsf don't matter if the color of your skin is the wrong hue.

Fight on, Mr. Barnett! We're behind you!

Must See Video: Obama with Subtitles

2009-02-05T16:30:00.002-06:00

SobekPundit shows you what Obama's really saying.

Go check it out!

And the Poor Choice Obama Nominee of the Day is...

2009-02-04T12:47:00.002-06:00

Hilda Solis!

Nominated for the position of Labor Secretary, Ms. Solis flouted House Ethics Rules.

Congratulations, Obama: Most Excellent Administration EVAH!

Solis was a co-sponsor in 2007 of the so-called "Employee Free Choice Act," the card check legislation that would effectively eliminate the secret ballot and destroy the ability of employees to make an anonymous decision (without fear of retribution) on whether they want to join a union. She was also a co-sponsor of the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act, legislation that would force states to allow public safety officers to form unions. At the same time, however, Solis was a board member of a pro-union organization, American Rights at Work, that has been lobbying Congress on both of these bills. According to a letter filed by Solis with the House Clerk on January 29, 2009, she was not just a director of the ARW, along with fellow travelers like David Bonior, Julian Bond, and John Sweeney, she was actually the treasurer. In other words, she is the official legally charged with the fiduciary duty of approving and signing off on all spending by the organization. And to make matters worse, she did not reveal to her colleagues in the House of Representatives that membership on her financial disclosure forms, which may constitute a separate ethical violation.
...
The Ethics Manual of the House of Representatives quite properly restricts the lobbying of members, stating on page 352 that they should not "take an active role in lobbying Congress on behalf of a private organization since that would conflict with a Member's general obligation to the public." That rule may be murky in some instances, but the role Solis played in ARW's lobbying efforts was not passive. In answering written follow-up questions from the Senate about ARW, Solis tries to cloud the real issue by arguing that members of Congress are allowed to serve without compensation on the boards of nonprofit organizations and that the lobbying prohibition only applies if she was "personally" supervising the lobbying.

Hey, Obamabots: You still basking in the glow, or are you starting to wake up?

h/t: Michelle Malkin

"Stimulus"...I don't think that word means what you think it means...

2009-02-04T10:42:00.002-06:00

I've sort of bastardized the quote from the title, but let's go with it.

The following is a listing of line items in the "stimulus" bill as provided by Senator Coburn's office. Michelle Malkin is all over this, but I know you won't click on the link. The snarky comments are mine.

* $2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zeroemissions coal power plant in Illinois that the Dept. of Energy defunded last year because the project was inefficient. Gee, yeah, let's throw money at something "inefficient." That sounds like a fantastic use of taxpayer money, sure to "stimulate" something.

* A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film. They've GOT to be kidding. How about a tax break if they'll stop making movies that cast America and Americans as the villains?

* $650 million for the digital television (DTV) converter box coupon program. NO! This money would be simply saved by eliminating the mandate to digital programming. Someday when the economy is in better shape we can revisit it. In the meantime, feeding and housing people is more important than Jeopardy and Wheel.

* $88 million for the Coast Guard to design a new polar icebreaker (arctic ship). We shouldn't really need this. If Al Gore's Global Warming is real, the ice will melt all on its own in no time, drowning us all in our beds. Now, if you're willing to admit that Global Warming is a scam and a lie perpetrated on the unsuspecting...then we can talk.

* $448 million for constructing the Dept. of Homeland Security headquarters. Not necessary! Obama has made the world safe again, just by virtue of standing in the sun. Just ask the Obamabots! For example, NPR is now claiming that al Qaeda has been decimated! All it took was a black man with no experience and a change of sheets at 1400 Pennsylvania Ave.! We can eliminate the entire department and start petting the unicorns now!

* $248 million for furniture at the new Dept. of HomelandSecurity headquarters. If we don't need the building, we don't need the furniture. My guess is they weren't gonna be shopping at IKEA anyway.

* $600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees. I have a better idea. To save the planet in light of Al Gore's Global Warming, they shall all be equipped with brand new Schwinns! We'll spend a fraction of the cost and do an even better job for the planet. Furthermore, the upkeep on the bicycles will be much cheaper, add to the longevity of the lives of Federal Workers, and set a really good example for the rest of us rubes to learn from.

* $400 million for the CDC to screen and prevent STD’s. How does this stimulate the economy?

* $1.4 billion for a rural waste disposal programs. Screw that!

* $125 million for the Washington, D.C. sewer system. This seems pricey. Is this really necessary?

* $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities. Umm..., no. This item can wait or hold out for some other benefactor than the American Taxpayer.

* $1 billion for the 2010 Census, which has a projected costoverrun of $3 billion. Hmm. Constitutional requirement, but perchance we could do it cheaper?

* $75 million for “smoking cessation activities” NO NO NO NO NO! This is NOT "stimulus."

* $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges. You are kidding, right?

* $75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI. NO! We are not expanding the Federal Payroll FOREVER and calling it "stimulus."

* $25 million for tribal alcohol and substance abuse reduction. Surely the tribes can do this for themselves with all of that casino money...

* $500 million for flood reduction projects on theMississippi River. This also does little to stimulate the economy.

* $10 million to inspect canals in urban areas. WTF?

* $6 billion to turn federal buildings into “green” buildings. If it is going to cost $6 billion, you can fahgeddaboutit. It's all a hoax anyway.

* $500 million for state and local fire stations. I can be reasonable. I'm gonna let this one go.

* $650 million for wildland fire management on Forest Service lands. NO! Not STIMULUS!

* $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities Somebody please explain to me how this stimulates the economy on a national level.

* $1.2 billion for “youth activities,” including youth summer job programs. Yeah, no. We've got all kinds of problems with adults finding jobs. Youth summer jobs are not a big concern.

* $88 million for renovating the headquarters of the Public Health Service WTH? This is really just a wish list, isn't it?!?

* $412 million for CDC buildings and property NO!

* $500 million for building and repairing NIH facilities inBethesda, MD Jumpin' Jehosephat! NO!

* $160 million for “paid volunteers” at the Corporation forNational and Community Service. It seems to me that "paid volunteer" is an oxymoron, particularly for a Community Service organization. Of course, since our President's a prior "community organizer", I may get grief on this one.

* $5.5 million for “energy efficiency initiatives” at the VA“National Cemetery Administration” Dude! We have more important fish to fry!

* $850 million for Amtrak. Okay - this just pisses me off. Amtrak is a horrible waste of taxpayer money. Privatize the puppy! Make it pay for itself and spare the taxpayers!

* $100 million for reducing the hazard of lead-based paint. It is hazardous, so don't use it in schools, homes, office buildings. There, I just saved us $100 million.

* $75M to construct a new “security training” facility for State Dept Security officers when they can be trained atexisting facilitiesof other agencies. Unbelieveable!

* $110 million to the Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer systems Riiiiiight.

* $200 million in funding for the lease of alternative energy vehicles for use on military installations. Dude! If our forces need transportation, I want it to be something with horsepower so they can either run down the bad guys or get away faster. Electric cars are not going to get it done.

* IDEA, Part B State Grants: Formula grants to assist the States in meeting the excess costs of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities.

* IDEA Infants and Families: Formula grants to the States to assist them in making early intervention services available to children with disabilities aged birth through 2 and their families.

* State Medicaid Bailout: $87.7 billion Through 3 different mechanisms, the bill would provide additional federal funds to state Medicaid programs over the next 3 years. This is nearly $70 billion morethan the governors asked President Obama for in December, and should be a loan to be repaid by the states.
Bad Policy
* Eliminates fees on loans from the Small Business Administration, thus pushing private capital toward unproductive businesses and away from productive businesses.

* Increases the definition of “youth” for certain summer job programs from age 21 to age 24.

* $160 million to the Job Corps program at the Dept. ofLabor, but not for job programs - rather, to construct, alter or repair buildings.

* Requires a government study on the impact of minimum wage laws on the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.

* $79 billion State Fiscal Stabilization (slush) Fund to bailout the States by providing billions of dollars for“education” costs of any kind.

* $47.843 billion is appropriated for a variety of energy programs that are primarily focused on renewable energydevelopment and energy conservation/efficiency. Not one dollar is appropriated to make fossil fuels more affordable in the near future. More than $6 billion of these funds go to environmental clean ups.

* Increases eligibility for “weatherization” assistance to households 200 percent above the poverty level.

* The “Making Work Pay” credit of $500 to every individual making less than $75,000 (or $1000 to couples making $150,000 or less) would pay people whether they are productive or not - akin to welfare.

* The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP - foodstamps) would temporarily suspend the 3-month limit for non-working adults to receive SNAP benefits, thus giving incentives not to find a job.

* Installs government as the creator of broadband deployment regardless of whether the specific local/regional market can sustain it.

* Funds new “green jobs” job-training program without eliminating inefficient job-training programs or consolidating duplicative job-training programs.

* $890 million to the Social Security Administration without any provisions to reduce improper payments, or any plan to increase solvency of the trust fund.

* Nothing requires the products that are purchased with these funds be here in America. Lithium ion batteries, for instance, are primarily made in Asia.

News Roundup

2009-02-03T10:21:00.004-06:00

I'm trying to post more, not that there is any evidence of it yet, but as part of my effort you will begin to see more posts like this one. Call it the shotgun approach to blogging, if you will.

First at bat? Iran!

Let's see, first up is news that Iran has successfully sent a satellite into orbit. So, Ahmadinejad is that much closer to "wiping" Israel "off the map." This must come as huge comfort to the Obamabots who were sure that the junior Senator had the cajones to stare down a madman. Why, it is almost as if nuclear weapons were sugar plum fairies! On the heels of that news comes the report that Obama has already been in talks with Iran and Syria. Remember, it was Obama who promised to meet with these terrorists and terrorist-enablers "without preconditions." That thought will keep the Obamabots warm as they are toasting marshmallows on a mushroom cloud, surely.

Some reports suggest that Obama was courting Iran and Syria long before he one the election, in fact, just after he had clinched the nomination. If true, then he is guilty of undermining and interfering with the Office of the Presidency. But, if the MSM isn't gonna report it, I guess we're not supposed to know!

Then comes the news that Obama's vetting team is horribly inept, either that or Obama's okay with people cheating on their taxes.

First, it was Geithner, Obama's nominee for Secretary of the Treasury, who had problems with his taxes. And it wasn't small stuff either.

It turns out Geithner incorrectly claimed summer camp for the kids as a dependent-care deduction.
...
He was sloppy, at best, in attending to his returns. Informed by IRS auditors that he erred on his 2003 and 2004 returns by failing to pay self-employment and Medicare taxes, Geithner did not then repair similar mistakes for 2001 and 2002. He came into full compliance on $34,000 in back taxes and Medicare payments only after Barack Obama signaled him as his Treasury pick.

None of which inspires confidence in the guy who is going to be in charge of all this. But, if you are a tax cheat, Geithner's service looks to bode well for you.

Next came the news that Tom Daschle, Obama's choice for Health and Human Services Secretary, had tax troubles of his own. Daschle failed to claim more than $100,000 in income. I guess he wasn't clear on the definition of "income", or something.

And, straying outside of Obama's immediate circle to the more fringe players, Carolyn Kennedy, entitled princess of the Left had to bail out of her bid to Hillary Clinton's Senate seat because of...wait for it...tax problems, among others. Are you sensing a trend here?

Is it just me, or do Democrats just not pay their taxes? This may explain why they are all about raising taxes - if you don't bother paying them or "forget" some of your income, what difference does a little tax hike make? It is all becoming clear to me...

Then, this morning, comes news that Obama's Chief Performance Officer nominee (whatever that is), Nancy Killefer, has withdrawn her candidacy. In her case, it seems, she failed to pay employment taxes on household help for a year and a half. A year and a half.

Do you remember the 'good 'ol days' when we only had to worry about Obama's crooked/murderous friends like Tony Rezko and Bill Ayers? Now we have a whole slew more with connections to Obama. Granted, they are mostly tax cheats and crooks coughBlagojevichcoughBillRichardsoncough, but still! Does Obama not have any honest friends or colleagues?

As of today, Obama is still standing by Daschle, but there are already calls for the President to withdraw the nomination. One thing is certain: had it been you or I in Daschle's shoes, we would be in jail by now...

Special rules for Democrats, you know, special rules for special people. No wonder Carolyn Kennedy feels entitled!

BREAKING: DASCHLE HAS JUST WITHDRAWN FROM CONSIDERATION FOR HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

Moving on...Obama's stimulus is on the rocks. The American Electorate is no longer drinking the kool-aid and starting to wise up to smell all of the...bacon. A recent survey found that "only 38% of those polled favor the existing stimulus proposal" while 37% want major changes and 17% reject it outright. Moreover, and perhaps most damning of all, 53% said the stimulus would have no impact on their own situation or would make things worse. Tough sell, Obama. Might be time to rein in Pelosi, Reid, and all the others.

Obama's also finding it very difficult to keep that promise about no lobbyists in his administration. He's keeping his promises by making "exceptions" to the rules. There we go again with special rules for special people. So much for Obama's much-vaunted "New Era of Responsibility", eh?

The Obama Administration is starting to look a lot like...The Blagojevich administration. Yippee! Four years of broken promises and blog posts of "I told you so". Should be fun!

Somehow, I doubt this was Obama's Grand Plan

2009-01-29T15:54:00.003-06:00

Public support for the boondoggle pork-pie that is the "stimulus" has slipped to...wait for it...

42%.

Yowza!

Maybe that's because, um, we're the poor SOB's who're gonna have to pay for Nan, Harry, and Barack's circle jerk?

Or, perhaps it is because common sense is returning to the electorate.

Either way, too little, too late.

Bankrupting a Nation

2009-01-29T11:44:00.002-06:00

So much for being the richest, most free country in the world.

I've been reading a lot about this latest stimulus bill. That term, "stimulus" is a joke. All it really amounts to is the economic rape of at least five generations of Americans. Democrats have put in every single pet project, no matter if it "stimulates" the economy or not.

For example, Pelosi's pet project of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of condoms. How, exactly, does this stimulate the economy?

And now, there is the interesting item in the bill which provides $335 million for STD Awareness and sex education.

For the record, I have no idealogical objections to condoms, STD awareness, or sex education. Rather, I don't think they are the best use of my money at this time in history. You also are not going to stimulate the economy by passing out more digital tv coupons, something that amounts to another $650 million. That's just nuts! Moreover, Acorn, the nonprofit which encourages election fraud nationwide, they get more than $2 Billion. That's billion with a "B". Because...election fraud is expensive and...stimulates the economy?

Fuck if I know.

$1.5 Billion for a "carbon-capturing contest" - who the hell is that going to employ, the judges? I'm pretty sure we could get Paula Abdul for a lot less.

$45 Million for ATV trail maintenance and rehabilitation.

$75 Million for Smoking Cessation. Give me the $75 Million and I'll get them to stop.

$600 Million for a new fleet of government vehicles. Something wrong with the ones we have?

$150 Million for the Smithsonian, which, okay, but not likely to stimulate the economy.

More:

Another “stimulus” secret is that some $252 billion is for income-transfer payments — that is, not investments that arguably help everyone, but cash or
benefits to individuals for doing nothing at all. There’s $81 billion for Medicaid, $36 billion for expanded unemployment benefits, $20 billion for food stamps, and $83 billion for the earned income credit for people who don’t pay income tax. While some of that may be justified to help poorer Americans ride out the recession, they aren’t job creators.

And, as to Obama's grand promise to spend the taxpayer's money wisely and with accountability, there is this nugget:

As for the promise of accountability, some $54 billion will go to federal
programs that the Office of Management and Budget or the Government Accountability Office have already criticized as “ineffective” or unable to pass basic financial audits. These include the Economic Development Administration, the Small Business Administration, the 10 federal job training programs, and many more.

I swear, the Democrats are slitting their own throats with all of this ridiculous crap!

Obama just might be "four and done."

As Scooby Doo Would Say "Ruh-Roh!"

2009-01-29T11:38:00.002-06:00

"Dear Leader" Obama has been denied.

Breaking News reports suggest that the judge presiding in the case of the accused mastermind of the USS Cole bombing has denied Obama's request for a halt to the trial.

Doesn't this judge know what happens to people who don't follow The One's orders?

Yikes!

How is Obama going to give each of these terrorists a kiss on the cheek, a pat on the ass, and a plane ticket to The Mall of America if people insist on prosecuting them?!?

Get with the plan, man. Don't you know that yesterday's "terrorist" is today's teddy bear?

No Class

2009-01-23T15:14:00.002-06:00

Even though Candidate Obama promised a new era of bipartisanship, should he emerge victorious, it seems President Obama doesn't feel the need for that.

When Republicans voiced their concerns over the stimulus bill and, among other things, millions of dollars for rubbers, the President reminded them why he didn't have to listen to them.

"I won." He said.

"I won."

Wow. Had George W. Bush ever said something this dismissive, it would have been in the press for 10 days. Code Pink would have had a rally!

But, if The One shows this lack of grace we are to understand that the opposition will only be tolerated so long as they keep their mouths shut.

How long? How long before the hoi polloi realizes who they've elected?

Something else occurs to me as well: this guy is much less likable when he's speaking from the cuff. Dare I say it? He's a jerk.

Obama Lied about Guns too

2009-01-23T11:34:00.002-06:00

How many times over the next four years am I going to have to say it?

I told you so.

If you care about your Second Amendment rights, click on the link.

I totally need to move to a Concealed Carry state. This is ridiculous!

Lie, lie, lie, that's all Obama does.

Perfect Metaphor

2009-01-23T11:28:00.003-06:00

I can't help but mention what happened the other day as it is a nice little metaphor for all of the bailout and stimulus that Obama has in mind.

We have a board game at home called "Masterpiece." It is all about buying and selling famous artwork. The play money for the game comes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, and 20 million dollars.

So, imagine my surprise when I catch the three-year-old feeding $10 million dollar bills into the toilet!

She seems to have the popular idea...

God, please save us from the politicians who are intent on "helping."

Please don't tell me you are surprised

2009-01-23T10:56:00.002-06:00

It is Day Four of the Obama Administration and, whaddaya know, the press is bristling under the broken promises.

These lackeys polished The One's knob on a regular basis and expected "transparency."

According to all sorts of reports, what the White House Press Corps is getting is more of the same.

It turns out, they were told that they were not going to be able to refer to some sources by name. They were also not allowed to interview The One on Inaguration Day. That exclusive right belonged to ABC for their sponsorship of a ball on Inaguration night, a scheme one member of the press claimed was akin to "pay to play."

The press corps was also peeved at not being invited to the re-do on Obama's oath-taking and the only recordings/photos of the event were from the White House photographer. The same was true of Obama's first photos of him behind the Resolute Desk. No press invited, "here's the photo, boys, sorry you couldn't be there."

It certainly comes as no surprise to me that Obama is guarding his image so closely. I mean, he's the second coming of Christ, The One, The Messiah, Bigger than the Beatles, etc. You don't want just anybody snapping pics of the Anointed One. For god's sake, next thing you know we'll be expecting him to be answerable to The People. The Obama doesn't answer to the hoi polloi, he governs by divine right, isn't that what I've read?

In the most telling exchange of them all, comes the news that on a quick stop into the Press Room to say hello, Obama refused to answer a question about the inconsistency with him hiring a lobbyist when he had sworn he wouldn't.

"Ahh, see," he said, "I came down here to visit. See this is what happens. I can't end up visiting with you guys and shaking hands if I'm going to get grilled every time I come down here."

I suppose Mr. Obama is just not prepared to answer questions about hypocrisy right now. Perhaps you can submit your questions along with one of those "any embarrassing things in your closet?" applications and see if you don't have an answer by...2012.

And, since we're discussing The President, let's face facts: he isn't going to chase down our enemies. I suppose we should start the clock until the next major terrorist attack on Americans. Clearly, Obama doesn't care how many of us bin Laden and his people kill. Acceptable losses to Obama, so long as we don't waterboard any murderous terrorists. Obama has put a moratorium on the trials at Gitmo. Maybe he'll actually bring all of those assholes into the States and put them in regular prisons. That way it will be so much easier for them to break out and kill more Americans. Good plan! Why, it is a wonder bin Laden didn't think of it!

Look, people, these people are not going to be rehabilitated. When we release them, figuring they are no longer a threat, they quickly return to the battleground. We are never going to stop them if we just keep sending them back to their killing. News out this morning is that al Qaeda's #2 in Yemen was, until recently, a member of the GTMO country club for rehabilitated jihadists. You can not treat terrorists like people with parking tickets! Do 3,000 more Americans have to die before Obama gets it?!?

Al Qaeda doesn't want to have tea parties in freedom, they are dead set, literally, on the extermination of Americans. Doesn't matter what color your socks or undies, whether you are a sympathizer or not: If you are an American, you must die.

Wake me up when The President grows a set, please. I've gotta go buy ammo.

If only "hope 'n change" came with a happy pill...

So much for the "post-racial candidate"

2009-01-21T08:32:00.002-06:00

Are you feeling all hope-y and change-y and shit?

'Cause I totally am. Why, my education has already leapt tremendously.

For example, until yesterday when Rev. Lowery spoke, I had no idea that the color of my skin made me wrong.

Lest you missed it, here is what the good reverend said:

"....help us work for that day when black will not be asked to give back,
when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can
get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right."

According to the good reverend, I am "wrong" merely by virtue, or perhaps the vice, of my skin color. Is it just me, or does this fall far short of Dr. King's Dream?

I mean, maybe I'm misconstruing here, but somehow I doubt he's making a call for all white people to become Republicans. Therefore, I am left to surmise that he is claiming moral superiority and finding white people lacking because of their skin color. Gee, that's almost...klan-ish of him.

Back in the day, there were some mindless fools who claimed African Americans were lesser beings, dumber, etc. because of their skin color. I have certainly never felt that way, but it appears that Lowery has turned that premise on end and concluded that white people need to make amends for being "wrong" and "get right".

We've come a long way, baby...exactly 2 centimeters by my estimation.

You know, I suspect that Lowery is just another Rev. Jeremiah Wright, "God damn"-ing "Amerikkka" at every turn and blaming "whitey" for all the supposed ills faced by the black man. Well you know what?

I have no trouble seeing past skin color. I am enlightened. I don't care about sexual preference, race, religion, etc. But I can't help but notice that the only people bringing up race are the Obamabots and Obama's legion of vile-spewing men of the cloth.

I am not going to attempt to "embrace what is right." Instead, I'm going to suggest that the racist get over himself.

You know, if Obama really wanted to bring the nation together, he totally whiffed.

Breaking the Bad News

2009-01-21T07:50:00.002-06:00

So...who do you think has the unwelcome task of having to break it to President Obama that simply voting "present" is not going to be enough to get this job done?

Poor sucker!

That's Style?!?

2009-01-21T07:41:00.001-06:00

Did you happen to see what Mrs. Obama wore to the inauguration?

Michelle Obama must be into estate sales, 'cause I swear she made that dress out of the couch my grandma had in her basement.

WOOF!

Weekend Events

2009-01-20T12:23:00.002-06:00

I was at a conference over the weekend in Chicago and had a great time. It had the very real potential of being a snooze fest, I'm not going to lie to you.

But, there were high points. I got to hear/see Dennis Hastert speak (Very cool) about personal responsibility and what to expect from the new administration. My husband and I went to ESPN Zone (very loud). I got to see The Beatles perform.

That probably shocks you. It did me. We saw a Beatles tribute band called American English. They were so amazing! They sounded just like the Fab Four, down to the way they spoke. We danced and had a great time, but were mostly mystified by the band's portrayal.

We partied at Navy Pier, had excellent food, it was a really good time.

Bunny Boop spent the weekend with "Gram" and is still doing exceptionally well on the potty-training.

We missed her, of course. Still, it was good to get away, however briefly.

And, here we go...

2009-01-20T12:11:00.002-06:00

There is a new President of the United States.

I don't know how you could have missed the news. The media has been in full-on circle jerk for two weeks. But, if you missed it, The Messiah is come. Kiss your ass goodbye.

But seriously, it is going to be a long four years.

The left saw fit to begin denigrating George W. Bush before he took office. I have seen fit to withhold my criticism until he actually took office, but now the gloves are off. I intend to pick pick pick and point out every flaw that comes along. Every error in judgement. Every broken promise. Every illegal act. You got it. I'm gonna be a regular pain in the ass.

And why shouldn't I? It is going to be my taxes that, in part, expand the nanny state to Obama's measure. Pelosi, Reid, Obama, Oh my! We are well and truly screwed.

I had the great good fortune to be in Chicago over the weekend (home of the Messiah himself) and heard former Speaker of the House Denny Hastert speak. It was very cool. He gave a good speech that was...pretty depressing to be honest. He listed a whole bunch of items on the Obama agenda, along with price tags, and by the end of it, I wanted to cry.

For those of you who may still be harboring some "hope" that "change" is coming, well..., get used to having nothing but "change" in your wallet. What was most remarkable to me was the overwhelming beneficiaries of the taxpayer's largesse. Let me assure you, it wasn't me and it likely wasn't you either. Well, as a nation, we are going to get just what we asked for. And learn that lesson again.

Are you feeling the glow yet? Was the Sermon on the Mount all that you had hoped?

Wanted: A Bailout from the Bailout

2009-01-13T12:59:00.002-06:00

I am sick to death of footing the bill for irresponsible Americans and irresponsible business practices.

I pay my bills - all of them.
I pay my mortgage, every month, on time.
I was smart enough to lock in a 30-year mortgage at a historically low rate, thanks largely to my excellent credit score.
I pay my taxes every year, filing early, usually in February.

I do not renege on my responsibilities. I am not a leach on the welfare rolls. I am a working mother and wife.

So please, somebody tell me why instead of feeling proud of my accomplishments, of living within my means and providing for my family in a responsible family, I feel like a chump.

Why am I the one footing the bill?

DAMN IT! I did not encourage dumb people to sign mortgages they couldn't afford. I didn't encourage banks to offer these silly poor-credit-risk mortgages. I didn't encourage the investment firms to buy the worthless paper they were written on. I certainly have long taken issue with the death-grip on which the UAW have on American Automobile Manufacturing and have little interest in helping them squeeze the American consumer further. I don't want anymore bailouts! NO MORE!

DO YOU HEAR ME, NANCY PELOSI? DO YOU HEAR ME HARRY REID? DO YOU HEAR ME MR. OBAMA? I'm done.

THERE IS NO LONGER ANY INCENTIVE TO ME TO BE A RESPONSIBLE, TAXPAYER AND HOMEOWNER. Why should I be the last chump in line at the trough, huh?

Why must I pay for the stupidity of others?

If you stub your toe in your bedroom, why must I buy you a popsicle, huh? Do we no longer bear any personal responsibility?

Is the government going to wipe people's asses too? Am I going to be required to buy the TP?

This free market girl is sick of all the handouts. You really want to help people? Let them fail, just once, and see how it feels.

Update on the Home Front

2009-01-13T09:59:00.002-06:00

Winter has officially worn out its welcome.

The weather here is exactly what I imagine when people say "when hell freezes over." It is bitterly cold, with temps between -1 and -40 with windchill, depending on the day. It is the kind of cold where you take shallow breaths to spare your lungs the shock of ice crystals forming in the little sacks. And, as if the bitter cold were not enough, the icing on the cake is the snow everyday that is complicated by blowing and drifting. It just isn't funny anymore.

Besides the constant pain in the ass that is the Wisconsin winter, things are looking up.

We are making huge advances on the potty-training front. Bunny Boop occassionally has an accident now and then, but her successes far outnumber her failures. Her temperment has also improved. She's talking up a storm and soaking up far too much information for my comfort.

I have a new treadmill that is keeping me active since only crazy people go outside in this weather, and...I've become addicted to 24. I had heard it was good, but I bought the first season on iTunes the other day. I can't believe I haven't been watching this all along!

Oh well...

A REAL Movie Star

2009-01-13T09:42:00.002-06:00

Being the mother of a 3-year-old does not afford one a lot of free time. Even so, Prince Charming arranged a babysitter for Sunday afternoon and took me to the movies and then an early dinner.

We saw the movie of his choice, Gran Torino.

I wanted to see this film, but mostly because I like Clint Eastwood. Did I have to see it in the theater? No. But, my Prince wanted to see it and I'm angling for a companion for a movie of my choice.

First off, the film is AMAZING. I laughed, I cried, I nearly wet my pants. It is THAT good. And, as opposed to most films today, it met the critical test. That being, after paying the price of admission and buying two sodas and a large popcorn, we didn't feel like we'd been cheated. Seriously! You get $30 invested and you expect something for your time and money. This movie delivers. You will not regret your full-price ticket.

So, now that I've recommended the film, let me share with you the thing that kept going through my mind as I watched Clint Eastwood on the big screen.

"This guy is a REAL movie star."

I couldn't help but be impressed by Eastwood. And, that is to say, he didn't surprise me. As I said, I am a fan of his work. What impressed me is the fact that Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Tom Cruise, Will Smith...couldn't have done what Eastwood did. Oh, they are all pretty on screen, but Eastwood is gritty. Eastwood is a man. Clooney, Pitt, and all of those metrosexuals in Hollywood that grace the covers of the tabloids don't appeal to me. They are gloss and body butter and ego where Eastwood is...real. There is nothing vapid about Eastwood the man or his performance. This man is blood, sweat, callous, and grit. He knows how to get into a saddle, knows how to handle a firearm, knows how to treat people. Clooney, Pitt, and all the others are as flat as the image in their mirrors and quite pale by comparison.

You don't go to see an Eastwood film because Eastwood is beautiful, although he appeals to a woman who appreciates a real man, but because he excels at his craft. In Gran Torino, Eastwood's character is a veritable grouch. He's offensive and mean, downright nasty in some cases. And yet, Eastwood makes us love him. We intrinsically know where Eastwood's character is coming from. It isn't that we sympathize, we simply recognize Eastwood's character as one of the good guys. A flawed good guy, but definitely one of the good guys.

Pitt, Clooney, Cruise, et al...don't have it in them.

What we need in Hollywood are some actors and lot fewer celebrities.

Holy Frijole!

2009-01-10T00:03:00.002-06:00

This girl has been super busy of late.

Everything between Christmas Eve and...yesterday is a blur. It has just been crazy!

Santa Claus came to town. He brought a new kitchen set with a big red bow for Bunny Boop. She was delighted. She also loves her new puppy. Relax! It is a "Fur Real Friend", a teacup yorkie that sits in a little purse and yips. Very cute. He spends a lot of time in her kitchen.

We also celebrated Bunny's birthday. She had an icecream cake and it was very low key. She got some play doh and a Fisher Price Cool School computer (which was a HUGE hit) and, most surprisingly, a dress up trunk of Disney Princess costumes that she loves. We have five or six costume changes per day, easy. She's actually better at walking in heels than I am! She's forever chattering on about her necklace and her jewels. She won't take off the tiara...it's been fun.

Winter shows no signs of abating. We've had snow, then ice, and finally more snow. For the friends of ours who are still harvesting tomatos from their home gardens and the 75 degree weather in Pasadena, I'll trade either of you. I've got a ton of snow with your names on it. Just tell me where you want it delivered!

Work is still good. Busy, of course. The market has been very volatile, but it is good to be busy.

Okay. Checking out...

Notable

2008-12-23T11:01:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, Bunny Boop went the whole day without any "accidents."

Not one. Not a single one!

We are really starting to make progress!

Meme Time

2008-12-16T14:20:00.002-06:00

Another lovely meme! They are so good for useless posts. This one I picked up from El Capitan.

Do you remember your first favorite song? If so, what was it? It is difficult to remember that far back. But, I would guess that it was either Rhinestone Cowboy or The Most Beautiful Girl.

What do you refuse to eat? Raw meat is the big one every since I took Microbiology 101.

Have you ever injected any kind of drug before? Um, no. I'm not the kind of girl who takes unnecessary risks.

Do amusement park rides make you sick? No, but to be honest, I haven't been on an amusement park ride since 1988.

Who is your favorite Star Wars character? As a chick, I have to say Leia. She's the only female character a female my age can identify with. But, if you want to piss off a geek, answer this question "Jar-Jar."

What kind of cheese do you put on your sandwiches? I like baby swiss, but mostly it is cheddar or slices of American.

What was the first thing you ever learned how to cook? Kraft macaroni and cheese. And hot dogs.

Did you ever collect beanie babies? No, missed that boat.

When was the last time you got a haircut? A month ago.

Have you ever been to a bachelor/bachelorette party? Threw one. Total waste of time.

Where are you most ticklish on your body? Back of my knee.

Have you ever bailed anyone out of jail? Technically, no.

What's the last board game you played? Wow. I don't recall. It was probably Public Assistance.

Do you still own any VHS tapes? Yes. I really need to have a garage sale.

Do you shop at JC Penney's ever? Yes. I don't love it, but I do it.

If there was a real Jurassic Park, would you visit it? No. Those velociraptors scare the crap out of me! I'm also unlikely to jump out of a plane or swim with sharks.

Do you ever read the newspaper? No. C'mon! Newspapers are dead, man. The news is old before the paper is folded at the press.

Do you eat your mac & cheese with a fork or a spoon? Fork.

Is there any medicine/pill you take everyday? Yes. Thyroid med and vitamin.

How many 20 dollar bills do you have on you right now? None. Broke one this morning though.

Would you do meth if it was legalized? NO! For heaven's sake, who wrote these questions?

Do you think Obama will be assassinated? Actually, yes. But I believe it will happen on foreign soil and I believe an extremist Muslim will be the one to do it. I also believe it will be the act that reinvigorates the Left's anger over Terrorism.

Have you ever made out with someone and then never saw them again? Made out, no. But I kissed a guy and never saw him again.

Do you drink egg nog? Rarely. Like, once every 5 years or so.

What are you wearing? Slate trousers, blue v-neck sweater, diamonds.

Swimming in Unfamiliar Waters

2008-12-16T11:26:00.002-06:00

My wonderful husband and I have been married almost six years. The time has really flown, but I'm still no closer to fitting in or understanding my in-laws.

I've groused here before about the differences and miscommunications that have come up, most specifically between me and my mother-in-law, most recently about the Thanksgiving pie incident.

For the record, I've moved past the pie. No sense bleating on about it since we're another family holiday farther down the road and I have all new material for my complaints. Right? Here goes...

Why is it, please someone tell me, that we must all drive out to dinner in one vehicle? Here's the deal: we were all going out to supper to celebrate father-in-law's birthday. It was the big seven-oh. My mother-in-law insisted that all 8 of us could squeeze into her minivan. Now, I didn't see how, and offered to drive a second vehicle, but there was no way that was going to happen. Instead, we all had to quite literally squeeze into the minivan. Most of us were dressed up, but it mattered not. We had to take one vehicle. This meant that one unfortunate individual had to crouch on a cooler between the two seats in the middle of the cabin. Did I mention this is Wisconsin and we're all wearing bulky winter coats? So, we're crammed in there like sardines, one of us teetering precariously on a very hard seat, and we're all baking from all the body heat and from multiple layers of winter coats. It is unbearably hot and not fun.

Why couldn't we take two vehicles if multiple parties were willing to be a secondary designated driver, hmm? Surely this was not about saving the money on gas, because if that were the case we wouldn't have driven to this particular locale for the meal. No, I have a theory, but I'm going to hold back on that for now.

So, we arrive at the first stop, a bar, for pre-dinner drinks. I am not a big drinker, never really have been. It isn't that I have some moral issue with alcohol, I simply don't enjoy it much. The fun is short-lived and not worth the price you have to pay. More importantly, however, it cuts the evening very short. If I drink, it is like starting a clock counting down to my early nap. If I have a drink at 7 PM, I'll be asleep by 8:30, 9 PM at the latest. So, I usually don't drink much and it is fine because it means my husband always has a designated driver.

Anyway, at the bar, I am strongly urged by mother-in-law to have a drink. Weird, right? So, I tell my husband he can order me a drink and he makes a quiet comment to the waitress to make sure they aren't too free with the liquor in my glass. After our drink, we all go to the next stop for supper. We again all sit down and once again, I am urged by mother-in-law to have a drink. This time, however, I refuse. I've already had one, and I know my limits. She is not pleased. We have our meal and although others are ordering additional drinks, I do not. I know it doesn't please her, but I refuse.

Prior to this, just as we were arriving at the restaurant, the waitress showed us to our table. I claimed a seat, leaving room for my husband to sit next to me. I have my coat off and my butt planted in my seat. My husband is preparing to sit next to me. I have left room for the guest of honor to sit in the middle of the table, next to his wife, all of this on purpose.

Huge hue and cry! My god, you would have thought I'd tried to perform a circumcision right there in the salad bowl! My mother-in-law protests vehemently and demands, DEMANDS!, that I come down to the other end of the table and sit with the women. Like it's the sixth grade, with boys on one side of the gym and girls on the other. I am mortified! Here I am a 35-year-old woman and she is shouting at me in a relatively nice upscale restaurant as though I'm an errant 3-year-old playing with the condiments!

Sometimes I can't control my tongue, I admit it. This was one of those times. "What, I'm not allowed to sit next to my husband? What the hell?!?" I said. "Am I not in possession of the necessary equipment to sit on this end of the table?!? What?" My protests fall on deaf ears to all but my husband. I am required to change my seat and move into the seat now vacated by my father-in-law, next to my mother-in-law. My husband, because he loves me, maneuvers himself into the seat I was previously occupying, so now father-in-law is at one end of the table and no longer the center of attention. I'm kind of peeved about the whole thing, so when mother-in-law asks why I wanted to sit down there, I simply tell her "I'm used to a more balanced table, you know, boy-girl-boy-girl, with the guest of honor accessible to all guests."

"Who sits like THAT?" She asks...

And, there you go. That right there is it in a nutshell. The problem I have adapting to the culture.

Ah, but you know that isn't where the story ends.

We needs must, of course, have the after-dinner drinks.

At this point, I now NEED a drink. And, even though it is going to put me to sleep, I order one. I slurp it down fast, hoping to put the evening to bed, so to speak.

We all get back home after once again riding crammed in the minivan and it is time for more drinks. Again, to disapproval from the mother-in-law, I refuse. I was falling asleep on the ride back, so I don't need anymore alcohol. Furthermore, somebody needs to be sober, just in case, you know? Might as well be me.

The next morning, we go over to mother-in-law's house for Christmas. It is 9 am and once again, I find myself refusing a drink. "How about a Bloody Mary? Or, I can make a mimosa. It is just orange juice and champagne..." she assures me. I refuse. I know, that if I start drinking at 9 am, I won't be awake when it is time to open gifts. Furthermore, I skipped breakfast, so I'd be doing champagne on an empty stomach, a sure way to guarantee intestinal distress. You would have thought I'd pissed in her cheerios. It doesn't please her when I don't drink. I don't get it! Why do I have to drink to give her a good time?

So, a little while later, after we've opened gifts, I am entertaining my somewhat unhappy child. She wants a nap and to go home. She's not pleased with the need to delay our departure and I'm trying to keep emotions on an even keel. Mother-in-law sees me in the living room and insists that I join the party in the kitchen. Frankly, I'm not sure why. They are playing some gambling game and drinking.

You now know how little I drink, let me assure you, I gamble even less.

I don't have a problem with it, I just don't enjoy it. I enjoy getting something for my money, it is as simple as that. I don't enjoy any part of gambling, and that's that. Combining the alcohol with a game of chance does not sweeten the pot for me, it makes me certain that I don't want to be there.

By the end of the visit, I was really frustrated. Mother-in-law tells me what to drink, where to sit, what to do...just when did I become her Polly Pocket? Did I check my free will when we entered the county? What's up with this? Why does she get all weird about my not wanting a drink? What's the deal with the need for me to not be in conversation with a man? Is she secretly Amish? I don't get it.

But, everytime we visit, this is what happens. It is almost as if I'm not supposed to have a brain, or if I do, a chemical depressant is required to put me in my place. Am I not supposed to have opinions about "men's stuff?"

Am I crazy, or is she just nutty?

HELP!

My theory is that she's a control freak. She wants to control how people get to a destination, where they sit, what they drink, when they pee, etc. It is the only thing I can come up with that explains this stuff. It is the only common element that I can find in our little run-ins: everything is up to her. The rest of us are merely here to do her bidding. Now, that might go down easier if you've lived with it all your life, but I'm new to this medicine. I don't like it, it's bitter and very hard to swallow.

What do you think?

Blagojevich, Rezko, Obama, Oh MY!

2008-12-10T15:47:00.002-06:00

Damn!

It so totally sucks to be Obama yesterday and today.

On the one hand, you are the President-Elect and people can't smell the shit you are shoveling. On the other hand, your neighbor and buddy in a sketchy land deal, Tony Rezko, is singing like an Italian diva and another crony has just been arrested on Federal charges. Guilty or not, he's from your home state and it speaks to a level of corruption that can't help but taint your office, even if only by association.

And this girl, for one, suspects that it goes much deeper than association.

Still, you have to feel almost sorry for The One. He's getting an early taste of the fall that cometh.

But, you know, even Jesus got nailed to the cross. I guess The One may just go the same way.*

*(For the record, I'm just riffing on the whole "The One" with the halo, the Christ's Second Coming craziness from the Obamabots).

Forgive Me, Readers, for I have not blogged

2008-12-10T14:51:00.002-06:00

It has been, what?, a week since my last post.

Things are finally, finally, slowing down for me.

Christmas shopping is done, though wrapping remains to be done.
Christmas cookies are baked, sorted, and shipped to deserving recipients.
Christmas letters are written, addressed, and in the mail.
Work is mostly caught up, though there is always more to do.

I need to give a shout out to my good friend Christina who sent me a lovely hand-knit scarf for my birthday. It is absolutely as beautiful as I would have expected, knowing her to be a type-A personality like myself. It is good to have good friends.

Speaking of good friends, we had dinner out with friends and family this weekend to celebrate my birthday. We had a wonderful time. It is nice to go out every now and again.

Speaking of lovely gifts, SpySistah gifted me with the bounty of a subscription to Cuisine at Home and Bon Appetit. We'll be stimulating the creative process on a monthly basis now! Yippee!

And now, to the depressing bits...

Fucking crap weather. It is December 10, still 10 days from "winter", and by my husband's yardstick, we've already had 20 inches of snow.

I can not even begin to express how UNfunny this is. We are well on our way to breaking last year's record 100+ inches of snow. The whole point of "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" in Wisconsin is to make you forget about the 7 months of winter. This year, that concept was a colossal failure. The 100+ inches of snow is still vivid in my brain, like it happened yesterday.

Of course, I was stuck at home yesterday, snowed in, but even so!

Seriously, this makes me believe that sometime this winter we'll be hearing stories of "snow rage". And, it reminds me of this post from last year, which was funny at the time, but isn't so much so now. It alarms me that I'm already at Stage 4 or Stage 5.

We might discover a Stage 8 yet!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T13:23:00.002-06:00

You've been waiting, what, an eternity for this post?

I apologize. By way of explanation, all I can offer is this: I've been really effing busy.

Monday was my birthday. I'm 35 now, so...that's all I have to say about that.

Thanksgiving was a treat. And I mean that with the maximum allowable amount of sarcasm.

Let's see, Bunny Boop was sick on Wednesday before Thanksgiving, pukey and what not, requiring me to telecommute from home that day.

She got better in time for us to travel on Thursday morning, but by the time we got back home a few hours later, the husband was sick. He was better by mid-day on Friday, but by Friday afternoon, I had the creeping crud. Yeehaw. So, it was a holiday of puke buckets for us.

Anyway, I've started my holiday baking and am nearly done with my shopping, so things are looking up.

None of that, however, is the primary reason for this post.

I have a story that needs sharing. I've been sitting on it until I could find time to post, and here it is.

As you may have gleaned from my meandering posts over the years, I am something of a baker.

I bake. I'm good at it. People exclaim over my goodies!

So, six weeks ahead of Thanksgiving, I offered to make pies for the dinner in the rented hall that is my in-laws traditional holiday bonanza. I was rebuffed. Not in a mean way, just in the, well...you'll have to call so and so and get it approved.

Look, I'm not looking for a mortgage here or a billion dollar bailout, so I let it slide. If they don't want my pies, fine.

Anyway, five weeks later, we are called and informed that we've been tasked with the veggie tray. I wanted to make pies, and now I get to buy prewashed veggies and open a jar of pickles and a can of olives. Keeping up?

Again, whatever, right?

But, we arrive first at the hall on Thanksgiving and I am afforded a very good view of the entry of everyone else arriving. Every woman who arrives brings a dessert. Every. Single. One. And that should tell you something, considering they rent a hall.

But, the icing on this figurative cake came when my sister-in-law showed up with a half-eaten, left-over cake.

Maybe they already had the dessert table covered when I called six weeks ahead (knowing these people, however I doubt it. I suspect that they hadn't thought that far ahead at that time). But, knowing they turned down my pies only to agree to her leftover half-eaten cake REALLY pissed me off.

I'm not going to be baking for these people again any time soon.

Am I over reacting? Possibly. But I also know these people. I suspect they just didn't want me showing everybody else up.

Okay, I'm done being bitchy for a moment.

BREAKING NEWS, MUST CREDIT VILLAINS VANQUISHED

2008-11-11T17:28:00.004-06:00

Blogosphere, WI - BREAKING NEWS: OBAMA ADMINISTRATION LEAKS PROPOSED FORM 1040

Unnamed sources have leaked to this reporter a copy of the new President-Elect's administration's proposed changes to the 1040. Calls to the Office of the President-Elect were not immediately returned.

See below.

Chief among the new items is the section dedication to "Redistribution of Wealth" which allows taxpayers to choose to send their increased taxes to a number of initiatives including a line item to invest in artists who use symbols of American aggression in their artwork, the education of the children of hostile nations in advanced nuclear physics, chemistry, and biology, funding a civilian national security force, and to build the eventual Obama Presidential Library. Republican leaders were were reportedly not surprised by this turn of events.

Scared yet?

Look at the label, folks.

(if anybody can tell me how to make the images bigger, I would appreciate it)

Dear Anonymous

2008-11-06T14:13:00.002-06:00

We here at Villains Vanquished kindly request you cease and desist your attempts to squelch free speach in a private forum. Whatever words we choose to use, they are still our choice until Herr Obama makes that illegal.

Furthermore, the blogosphere is an open society and there are numerous places where you can peddle your ideas and leave me to mine.

DELICIOUS!

2008-10-30T13:11:00.002-05:00

Just a little cartoon to make you chuckle.

h/t: Grouchy Old Cripple

Political Poetry 5.0

2008-10-27T12:11:00.002-05:00

There once was a pol from Illinois
Heralded by the MSM as a Golden Boy
Halo on his head,
Reading Marx in bed,
But this country, he intends to destroy

Ambition and Ego led him to run
Lieing, Cheating, no foul deed left undone
Mistress in Hiding
Media Chiding
He’ll do whatever it takes to win this election

Half the pop are convinced he’s “The One”
Despite assurances of him taxing a ton
Expanding the welfare state
The end to real debate
Then, he’ll come for your gun

When it comes to experience, he’s got ZERO
Bill Ayers the terrorist is his hero
Crooks and cons
Racists and Dons
To his friends goes all your hard earned dinero

Don’t vote for Obama to Win
Don’t be charmed by his grin
Socialism is bleak
Our enemies will find him weak
And your wallet will only contain your chagrin

Obama's Wealth Redistribution Plan in Practicality

2008-10-27T07:33:00.002-05:00

Got this in the email box...

Yesterday on my way to lunch at Doe's, I passed one of the homeless guys in that area, with a sign that read "Vote Obama, I need the money."

Once in Doe's my waiter had on a "Obama 08" tee shirt.

When the bill came, I decided not to tip the waiter and explained to him while he had given me exceptional service, that his tee shirt made me feel he obviously believes in Senator Obama's plan to redistribute the wealth. I told him I was going to redistribute his tip to someone that I deemed more in need--the homeless guy outside. He stood there in disbelief and angrily stormed away.

I went outside, gave the homeless guy $3 and told him to thank the waiter inside, as I had decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy looked at me in disbelief but seemed grateful.

As I got in my truck, I realized this rather unscientific redistribution experiment had left the homeless guy quite happy for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn.

Well, I guess this redistribution of wealth is going to take a while to catch on, with those doing the work.

I guess Obama's plan really won't fix everything, huh?

Just a Thought...

2008-10-27T07:30:00.001-05:00

If Europeans like Obama so much, let them elect him.