More on Poker

In my last post on poker I noted that:

Look at the size of the pots you win vs the size of the ones you loose. If your winning pots are all small compared to the pots you loose, then you should consider quitting that game, or change your strategy, if you can afford to. If not, quit.

To expand on this, what that means is that the other players, or at least most of them, can read you and cut their losses while maximizing their winnings. This goes back to "tells." Which I really don't pay a lot of attention to. Why? Because the really good players don't give any, and they also can give false tells. And since I don't play tournaments or No Limit, my exposure in any hand is equal to the bet and what the maximum number of raises is.

Notice I differentiated between "reading" and "tells." Reading is the ability to understand how the other person plays. Tells is information about "that particular" hand. And yes, reading does aid in tells. When I say, how the other player plays I mean is he loose or tight? Is he knowledgeable or dumb? Is he greedy? Does he call every time? Is he aggressive or passive? If a tight player makes an early raise I am apt to fold unless I can raise. If a loose player makes an early raise I am apt to just call or fold because the loose player plays so many hands you never are sure where he's at.

Now the previous is more complex than what I have written, but it should give you a start on the subject.

One of the things that I also get a kick out of is listening to the tournament announcers go on about "odds." Simply put, odds are based on what a result will be based on the number of cards available and the number of cards that can make a certain hand. I.e. if you have a pair before the flop the odds of flopping three of a kind (a set) is about 9 to 1. That is it will happen one time out of 10. Right? Wrong. Odds are based on thousands of hands played. Think of it as 100 times out of a 1000, or more. Said another way, in the long run they will be correct. But remember that in the long run we will all be dead.

But they are helpful in knowing what to do. If you have a small pocket pair and have to call a bet and two raises it is likely that you will have to make three of a kind to win. And given that your opponents have bigger pairs or bigger cards to make bigger pairs with, you may want to consider throwing that 33 in the muck unless the pot is big enough to make it worth your while.

Enough on card odds. There are many places on the Internet that will give you the various odds. Learn'em.

More later.

Who does this person think she is?

A Muslim Imam?? I mean really. Condeming cartoons is their job.

Haunani Apoliona, writing in her capacity as "Chairperson, Board of Trustees, Office of Hawaiian Affairs" (OHA) in a Jan. 24 statement demands: "The cartoon should be pulled and the secret author publicly identified." OHA's backers are calling and emailing businesses demanding they pull their ads from HawaiiReporter.

Link to the source article.
Link to cartoon.

Note to which one of you guys wins

the nomination. Keep this in your pocket.

Obama said. "I mean for the most part, I for example do not agree with a missile defense system,

Or maybe a good John and Jane commercial...

Scene: Breakfast table. Coffee cups in front of them. Both are reading the paper:

Jane: "Obama says here that he doesn't agree with a missile defense system."

John, lays down paper: "Oh really?"

Jane: "Yes. He said it. It's in the paper."

John, frowns: "Well, I knew he was anti-war. But now he is against self-defense of the country."

Fade to distant shot of a city. Suddenly there is a flash, followed by the well known nuclear blast cloud. Screen goes to static.

Voice over: "Think about it."

Link to source on Obama

Short Post

Question: Why did the Left and the MSM hate Rudy?

Answer: Because he could have beat them.

Advice to Rudy: Go to whoever sold you the strategy of waiting until Florida and thump them. A lot.

Pogo said

We have met the enemy and he is us.

He was a wise swamp critter.

One of our local talk show hosts has been in a morning rant about a private business getting a large chunk of change from the state, county and city to improve his business. The justification is, of course, that the "common good" will be served because it will make the area more of a "tourist attraction." This will result in oodles of additional business, more jobs and more money for the state through sales taxes.

In this case the amount is $50,000, which is chump change even for local government, but a fair stack of coins to most of us. To take a closer look, that would require collection of 9% in sales taxes on about $550,000 dollars in additional business to get the money back. The guy wanting the money is in the restaurant business, specializing in a very good buffet. I would say the price per meal is probably around $15.00. That would be 36,666 additional meals at $15.00 each, or about 100 meals... two people per table, 50 additional tables... looks doable. Right?

Well, maybe. But an increase of $550,000 per year in gross business is pretty large, so the pay back period would probably be two years, or more.

And then there is that "additional" matter. Simply put, if he doesn't "improve" his business, then won't the local people looking for lunch and dinner just go somewhere else?

Ah, but that's where the "tourists" come in. And if you believe his plan and theme for the attraction is sound, fine and dandy.

But evidently the owner has reservations, as well as the local banks... Otherwise he would have borrowed the money and got busy making more money without coming to the public trough. Wouldn't he??

As I said, smart critter that Pogo.

Too bad I can't say the same about us.

In case you aren't turned on

Michael Ramirez

Let me introduce him to you.

Bush fails on education

Pell Grants for Kids would support State and local efforts to increase educational options for low-income K-12 students enrolled in the Nation's most troubled public schools. Under the Pell Grants for Kids program, the Education Department would make competitive awards to States, cities, local educational agencies, and nonprofit organizations to develop K-12 scholarship programs for eligible low-income students attending schools that have not made adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind for five years, or that have a graduation rate of less than 60 percent.

Students in chronically underperforming schools could use scholarships to pay tuition, fees, and other education-related expenses at higher-performing out-of-district public schools or nearby private or faith-based schools. These scholarships would supplement aid already available through the Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies program and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which would follow the child.

Pell Grants for Kids is modeled after the highly successful Federal Pell Grant program for college students. The Federal Pell Grant program provides low-income students with financial support to attend any of more than 5,000 public, private, and faith-based colleges. The same choice, flexibility, and support now available to students seeking a quality college education should be offered to low-income families with children in chronically low-performing schools.

Link to source

This is like putting new furniture in a house that is burning. It is a total waste.

If you want to fix the school system, take the total revenue available, divide by the number of kids, and give their parents a voucher for that amount. Subject voucher to be used at the school of their choice.

When administrators and teachers start getting fired because their school is terrible you will see a remarkable change in their attitudes.

Until then you won't see squat.

Hogging or Graveling??

I had a friend of a mutual friend today email me today that they had just stocked a stream near his home that he was going "fishing."

That developed into a discussion of how to harvest fish. He favored dynamite and I favored an old magneto from a telephone. And when I mentioned hogging he indicated he thought I was referring to graveling. Perhaps.

Hogging is not for the faint of heart. The essence of it is to take a toe sack, strip off and walk in waist deep, or more, water along the banks of sloughs and streams, reaching up and under where the water has undercut the bank looking for enclaves where catfish have made their homes. You grab what you can, pull it out and put it in the sack. The question is, what have you grabbed?

As a youth I was always cheered by the assurance of my elders and peers that a snake can't bite you underwater. I later found that to be untrue, or perhaps the snakes of my youth had been convinced that they couldn't. Truth be known, I never unwittingly or knowingly grabbed a snake, and was known to quickly yield possession of the water to any snake I saw at any distance. However,on dry ground I was a deadly and dedicated foe to the cotton mouths and copperheads we saw at every turn. My memory of these dastardly reptiles and actual pictures are somewhat different, but then one can't be too careful when it is known that one bite will result in death within two minutes.

Moderation turned off

I finally figured out how to turn the "moderation" feature off.

So the several of you that complained that you didn't like to wait to see your comments published no longer have to.

Understand that I have no way to edit your comment, so if it contains ojectional words, etc., I can only delete. I am hopeful I will never have to.

Hussein Obama

is an honorable man. And he certainly isn't a Muslim. He only had two fathers who were, and he only went to a school that taught Islam for a few years. His religion now is Trinity United Church of Christ and there are only some biblical passages that he is unsure about. But Hussein Obama is an honorable man, full of good faith and now blessed by the Pope of Kennedy, so full of virture himself. And who can say that him getting 84%of the black vote in Nevada and 80% in South Carolina has anything to do with race? Who would dare to mention that because it brings in race, and no one dares play the race card. For Hussein Obama is an honorable man, and some things dare not be said.

Comes now Rezko, his friend, supporter and next door neighbor. The papers say that this man has many legal problems, but Hussein Obama is an honorable man. When he wanted to buy a house with an adjoining lot he could not afford it, but Hussein Obama is an honorable man so it is mere coincidence that his friend's wife bought the lot allowing Hussein Obama to buy the house, but Hussein Obama is an honorable man.

And who could find that strange? Certainly everyone would want to do things that help such an honorable man.

Now some say that his friend is a slumlord, a species that has been known to prey on poor blacks and whites alike, but Hussein Obama is a honorable man. The government says that his friend obtained his bail money from the Middle East, but Hussein Obama is an honorable man. It is said that a friend of his friend is an Iraqi billionaire who when he was denied a visa to enter the US, his friend asked certain Illinois officals to appeal the State Department's decision. Some have hinted that the Illinois official was Hussein Obama, but surely not, for Hussein is an honorable man.

Link

ABC News

Update: Some earlier readers may have noticed that I identified Obama's church as United Methodist. I have corrected it. My apologies to anyone who was offended.

Link to FNC

It must be the water in......

"If Hitler were still alive and walked through Brattleboro, I think the local police would arrest him for war crimes," Daims said.

Now, who do you think would say the above, and where would you think it would be said?

Kurt Daims, 54, of Brattleboro,(Vermont), the organizer of the petition drive, said Friday the debate to get the issue on the ballot was a good one. Opposition to the vote focused on whether the town had any power to endorse the matter.

"It is an advisory thing," said Daims, a retired prototype machinist and stay-at-home dad of three daughters.

Hey Kurt! Don't wanna pop your bubble, but we have an advisory thing every four years. It is called an "election." Now, your side lost the last 5 out of 7. You have another chance this year, where you will probably lose again because of antics such as this.

And it isn't "an advisory thing."

Brattleboro residents will vote at town meeting on whether President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should be indicted and arrested for war crimes, perjury or obstruction of justice if they ever step foot in Vermont.

That is a "you do this thing." Can you imagine your local police trying to get by the Secret Service? I guess you don't have friends on the local PD. ;-)

And BTW, Kurt. Calling Bush Hitler displays an amazing lack of originality. Every Leftie in the world has been doing that for the past eight years.

Stuff you couldn't make up

Her Majesty’s government is not alone in feeling it’s not always helpful to link Islam and the, ah, various unpleasantnesses with suicide bombers and whatnot. Even in his cowboy Crusader heyday, President Bush liked to cool down the crowd with a lot of religion-of-peace stuff. But the British have now decided that kind of mealy-mouthed “respect” is no longer sufficient. So, henceforth, any terrorism perpetrated by persons of an Islamic persuasion will be designated “anti-Islamic activity” Britain’s home secretary, Jacqui Smith, unveiled the new brand name in a speech a few days ago. “There is nothing Islamic about the wish to terrorize, nothing Islamic about plotting murder, pain and grief,” she told her audience. “Indeed, if anything, these actions are anti-Islamic.”

As an earlier Englishman wrote:

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in a rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.

"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean different things."

"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master -- that's all."

That Carroll guy had a way with words.


Link to source article.

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

WASHINGTON (AP) - A large U.S. spy satellite has lost power and could hit the Earth in late February or early March, government officials said Saturday.

Looks like Chicken Little was right.

May I suggest some possible crash sites??

Sunday morning blatherings..

Stallone's latest Rambo movie has opened to bad reviews, but The Big Guy has came to his defense.. The problem is that movie goers are the young and I would guess Limbaugh's demographics are kinda thin at that end... Of course the young don't read movie reviews so the results may be a wash.

In any event I will wait until the DVD is available on Ebay, at which point I will probably bid $7.00 plus $3.00 shipping. Not that I don't like Stallone, mind you, but watching him blow up the evil guys in defense of the "we won't fight" crowd always gets me to thinking.... Why?? All Sly will be doing is killing a few evil guys and in the real world the "we won't fight" guys will try to keep ammo and supplies from getting aboard the ship.... Repeat after me.... There is no cure for stupidity.

Speaking of movie reviews, I haven't read one in years. At one time I would scan one quickly to pick up some info as to what the movie was about. I didn't need any one's blessing to buy a John Wayne ticket. Now my filter is tuned to names. Names that I know are associated with anti-war ravings... That's right. If you insult the country and my intelligence, you won't get my money..............even on Ebay.

Speaking of demographics, it appears that Hussein has won SC with 80% of the black vote. I am sure he will be on TV somewhere this morning warning us all that no one should play the race card.

I still think that Hillary will win the Demo nomination, as does 99% of all the Talk Show meanderings I have picked up. Also notable is the warnings that If You Dont Nominate Who I Want I Will Pick Up My Marbles And Stay Home.

Proving again that it isn't just the "we won't fight" crowd who have a high quotient of stupidity.

Not that they will pay attention, but I would also tell the Right and the Repubs that Bubba is "rope-a-doping" them. The Repubs should remember that Bubba isn't on the ticket, and they should concentrate on Hillary. They should also stop the agonizing over Bill's BJ and perjury. No One Cares. People Lie About Sex To Their Spouses And To Everyone Else.

Question: What do you call a 40 something guy who gets a BJ from a 21 year old sweetie??

Answer: Lucky bastard......

Okay, okay. It's in bad taste. So shoot me..

And have you seen the bumper sticker?

"Monica's ex-boyfriend's wife for President."

The amazing thing to me about the "I won't play" nits, is that even if they don't like John McCain.. even if they don't believe he won't secure the borders as promised in his interview with Shawn Hannity after the NH primary.. Do they think Hillary will??

Enough. Someone has left a door open and I must close it. Global Warming isn't working as well as Algore has promised.

Lists Redux

"About 10 – 12 years ago I was on an airplane going someplace. The book I had with me was bad so I started playing mind “games.” In this case it was trying to remember every hotel/motel that I had ever stayed in. After awhile I took out my trusty portable and made a spreadsheet.

I have kept it up pretty well up to date and this morning I opened it up to add the trip to Pensacola. Now you may think it silly, and I couldn't’t argue with you, but I find scanning the hotels and cities, some with brief notes, great for bringing back memories. As I looked, I noted that there were 707 discrete line entries. Not number of “stays.” Not number of “nights.” Discrete line entries. Given that I had a tendency to stay at the same hotel time and again, and that many were multiple night stays….."

I thought of this last night when I was looking for a Marriott to stay near the OFCNFOEC next month. As I scanned my account I noticed this small message...

It’s been our privilege to serve you for 500 nights.

That's slightly over one and one third years. Figuring a maximum of 4 stays per week, that's 125 weeks which is two years, 5 months and one week. But who's counting?? No wonder I try to turn into every Marriott entrance I drive by.... My subconscious thinks I'm home... But I digress...

What brought all of this back was I couldn't find my reading glasses this morning. I mean those newspapers, in an attempt to save paper, have made the print at least 50% smaller...As I fumbled around I rechecked my shirt pocket and discovered they had magically appeared... Matter transport is a trait of reading glasses that is not well known outside of a select group of citizens...

The last time I observed the disappearance of vision aids was at a Marriott in the US. After a hard days work a bud and I enjoyed a nice dinner at a local bistro and finished off the night at the hotel bar....

When it came time to unpack..... never, never, never unpack in advance. It removes the element of adventure and surprise... Anyway, as he later explained, he discovered that he didn't have the soaking/cleaning solution for his hard contacts... So he just dumped them in a glass put in a little water and laid his weary head upon his pillows..

About three o'clock he woke up suffering from the result of several drinks, and even more wine... which yielded an intense thirst.. He made it to the bathroom, saw the glass... didn't notice the water... added water... drank water and swallowed contact lens. Since he had no back ups and was basically blind, getting him through the airport and home was something to remember...

I ragged him for years, but never told anyone else. He's gone now and I will never reveal his name.

After all, what happens on the road, stays on the road.

Oil and stuff

When the Demos won control of Congress in '06 I figured that, if nothing else, the price of gasoline would go down. I mean we had been told time and again about Bush's buddies in the business of crude... oil that is, Texas Tea... and well, what would make a Demo more happy than to rain on a Bush Bud???

Evidently attacking Bush appointees about such alleged crimes as firing ADA's and becoming confused about what they said on "Meet The Press" was more important than the citzen's pocketbook. But I digress.

I have long believed that the price of gasoline is set by a group of guys who secretly meet in a local Denny's, after driving around town and wrting down what is on public display at all the quickie marts and filling stations and doing such intensive research as:

"Morning Joe, how's business?"

"Wonderful Mike, we didn't slow down a bit when the price cracked $12.99."

In the meantime the world holds its breath to see if the Fed's interest rate cut will sand bag the river and the government's giveback will stem the tide. And while I hope, I sure don't know. As Brother Dave Gardner said, "Dear hearts, the problem is" oil.

More specifically the almost 100% run up in price over the past two years.

Now I don't believe in price controls. The last time we tried that, under Nixon it was, we wound up with inflation and shortages. But we could do something like pouring a few billion dollars into basic research on stuff like fusion, batteries, etc. It would be wasteful as hell but all government is wasteful. And it might work.

Building some nuclear reactors would reduce our dependence on imported natural gass and heatung oil.. Might have to kick a few environmental wackos in the butt, but that's a good thing.

Paying people to grow corn to make alcohol increases the price of corn meal and other food products. Doing it for sugar beets would be better because you can import all the sugar you want from a variety of places, and the world price wouldn't change that much..

But that won't buy you many votes...

So I wonder. Does our Congress want us to be free of the Shieks of Arabia? Or have they developed a secondary addiction.... to ME oil money?? Ask Bill Clinton. I think he gets about $10 million a year..... and just who is his wife???

The dog ate his homework... uh... vote

Barack Obama angered fellow Democrats in the Illinois Senate when he voted to strip millions of dollars from a child welfare office on Chicago's West Side. But Obama had a ready explanation: He goofed.

"I was not aware that I had voted no," he said that day in June 2002, asking that the record be changed to reflect that he "intended to vote yes."

And then....? and then....?

Of those, according to transcripts of the proceedings in Springfield, he hit the wrong button at least six times

.

Anybody besides me thinking of nuclear trigger buttons???

Link to LA Times

The religion of peace

again asserts its rights to kill over insults.

....Geert Wilders has made the ten minute film promoting his belief that the Koran inspires people 'to do the worst things'. His views have inspired him to talk about a 'Tsunami of Islamisation' in Europe, for the Koran to be banned, and for Dutch Muslims to either give up their religion or leave the country.

He now needs protection.

He needs it. The last Dutchman to make a film which angered some ended up with a knife in his chest attached to a note insulting Jews and Christians. Theo Van Gogh's murderer, an Islamist, also attempted to behead his victim in the street.

The violence of the Danish Cartoon protests of 2005 roared around the world and resulted in dozens of deaths. Now, hearing of the Wilders film, the Iranian Parliament has warned of 'extensive repercussions around the world' if it's shown

It could all come to nothing, but it could get ugly. The Grand Mufti of Syria accuses Mr Wilders of 'inciting wars and bloodshed and he will be responsible'.

This in effect means, 'it's your fault if I'm violent' which is an interesting argument but not one which would stand up in a court of law. If someone insults your family and you hit them you are still guilty of violent physical assault.

Let me know when a Muslim leader decides to defend religious freedom and/or freedom of speech/expression.

I won't hold my breath.

msken wrote that

I should do a post or so on poker since my moniker is Poker Player...

In Texas Holdem, here is some basic information to start thinking about. If it is of interest, I'll do more.

The best way to double your money is to go the cashier's cage. Stop. Take out your money. Fold it over and put it back in your pocket. Go home. (Same will work for Craps, Slots, Blackjack, etc....)

The game was designed for the "drop." That's the money the house takes from each pot and drops down a slot. This pays for them to run a safe, honest, secure game.
Now the drop will vary based on the size of the pot, with a maximum amount. Let's say that would be $3.00.

Look at the number of hands you will play per hour. Multiply that times the drop and you have what you can't win. The typical mid limit game, say $15-$30, will have about 35 hands per hour. That's $115.00 that you can't win, but if you play no hands, you can't lose. If you play say 10 hands, that's $30 you can't win. Let's say you win 3 hands for a combined total of $400, less the drop, or $391. Let's say you loose 7 hands in which you have invested $400. Broke even, right? Wrong. You lost $9.00. To break even you need to win $409. Now I know that doesn't sound like much, but over time it adds up.

Note - A "fast" Internet game can run up to 80 or more hands per hour. So if you are playing on the net you will see a bigger impact.

BTW - Some casinos charge "time." Time is collected on the half hour, say $10, or $20per hour. That's $160 for a 8 hour stint, so you may need to think about playing more hands in a shorter period of time. This is one of the reasons "time" games are looser than "drop" games, irrespective of the dollar size.

Look at the size of the pots you win vs the size of the ones you loose. If your winning pots are all small compared to the pots you loose, then you should consider quitting that game, or change your strategy, if you can afford to. If not, quit.

Card value changes with the number of players. In a 5 handed game big pairs and big cards are more valuable than in a 9 or 10 handed game. But also consider this. If 4 people average seeing the flop in a loose 5 handed game and 4 people average seeing the flop in a medium 9 handed game, the result is the same, right? Wrong. In the 9 handed game there are more hands out, thus it is more likely that the hands will be better on the average. Big card value is inversely proportional to the number of players.

That's a start.

Once upon a time

there was a guy named Douglas Bruce who lived in Colorado Springs, CO. Now being an astute sort, and having lived in a state that was known for its boom and bust cycles, he observed that what happened during the fat years was that the legislature would start all kinds of new programs with the extra tax dollars, and then demand tax increases during the lean years to fund the "essential programs." The result being a never ending cycle of tax increases. (Sound familar?)

He became kind of a gadfly, flirting about pushing the simple concept that the state could not spend more than it's budget and that any surplus had to be refunded to the tax payer prorated based on the amount the tax payer had paid in the previous year.

What a country!

He was, of course, not well liked by the politicans, by the media and the special interest groups. In fact it seemed that his property was always getting inspected and fined...among other things. Now Colorado is an initative state. The citizens can change the constitution and add/remove laws by ballott. So after some years he got his idea on the ballot, and it passed. And it remained passed until Colorado got enough Californiaians moving in to change it back.

I thought of all this when I happened to see the linked story. I hope he did no permanent damge to the photographer..

and I glad to see he is still kicking around.

Anybody looking for a job??

Asnaco Enterprises
Accra, Ghana
West Africa

Hello,

I am Brian Clarke. I am the Managing Director of Asnaco Enterprises, a company which deals in African Prints, textiles, and fabrics. We are located in Ghana, West Africa. We currently seek to recruit overseas based receiver-agents who would receive payments on our behalf from our international clientele. We have clients in parts of Europe, North America and Asia.

We had to embark on this recruitment drive as a result of the difficulties we experience whenever we receive payments from our international clients. Due to a lack of supporting local infrastructure in our country, we are unable to receive payments via online payment systems, paypal and credit cards. Also the lengthy processing of international checks and other money instruments from foreign countries, causes cash flow problems.

As an individual would you be interested in acting as our receiver agent in your country on a part-time basis? All you have to do is receive payments from our clients on our behalf. For rendering this valuable service, you get to keep ten percent of whatever amount you receive from our clients, and send the rest to us as cash according to our payment instructions.

please note: you are not paying for anything and no one is asking you for any banking information. We only require your honesty and reliability.

If you are interested in our offer then send your full names, country of residence and mobile number when responding to this offer to the underlisted emailaddress:

Email:

We would respond with further details about this arrangement.

We appreciate the time taken by you to read our offer, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Regards

Brian Clarke
Managing Director
Asnaco Enterprises

I have eliminated the email address becaise I may decide to take it myself...

;-)

It's hard to imagine this

but for a mere 200,000 pounds sterling you can become an astronaut...


Source article.

I read science fiction in my youth and still do, though not as much. I also collect it and have about 2500 magazines plus books... Many go back to the mid 20's. As a young man I spent a great deal of time flying around in some Naval Aviation aircraft that looked as if they wouldn't get off the ground, much less fly....
So this has to go on my "bucket list." Now if the market will just cooperate..

And I have to wonder if they will serve domestic only wine??

Makes you wonder

about Hussein Obama when you read:

UNFORTUNATELY, in the anti-war frenzy now gripping much of the Democratic Party, one could say that there is nothing notable about the fact that Obama has hired anti-Israel foreign policy advisors, attends an anti-Israel church, and receives financial backing from anti-Israel billionaires. But even in this atmosphere Obama stands out - for not only does he theoretically support appeasement, he is actively advancing the interests of Islamists seeking to take control over a state allied with the US.

Kenya currently teeters at the edge of political chaos and civil war in the wake of the disputed Dec. 27 presidential elections. Those elections pitted incumbent President Mwai Kibaki against Raila Odinga who leads the Orange Democratic Movement. While the polls showed the public favoring Odinga, Kibaki was declared the winner. Odinga rejected the results and his supporters have gone on rampages throughout the country that have killed some 700 people so far. Fifty people were murdered when a pro-Odinga mob set ablaze a church in which they were hiding.

Kibaki is close ally of the US in the war against Islamic terror. In stark contrast, Odinga is an ally of Islamic extremists. On August 29 Odinga wrote a letter to Kenya's pro-jihadist National Muslim Leaders Forum. There he pledged that if elected he would establish Sharia courts throughout the country; enact Islamic dress codes for women; ban alcohol and pork; indoctrinate schoolchildren in the tenets of Islam; ban Christian missionary activities, and dismiss the police commissioner, "Who has allowed himself to be used by heathens and Zionists."

It would be nice if he addressed some of this. Don't hold your breath.

Link to source article.

The rumor that I have jumped out a window

is greatly exaggerated... I did spill my coffee when the market opened at almost 450 down.. but it has gained about 300 back..so the window is shut...for now... ;-)

Most of my time this morning was spent with AOL. If you have AOL you know that they are changing their virus and firewall protection, which is really MacaFee.. Anyway, the popup directs you install the new free software... So I did, but the Firewall didn't load... So I called AOL and after speaking with a guy in India he helped me remove all the previous anti-virus software and then I loaded the new with no problem. Why that isn't done automatically I have no idea.

Only took about two hours, some of it my fault....

Many people like to complain about AOL. Actually I think most of them are like Mac users, of whom I have found, many (but not YOU, dear reader)like to claim that Mac is worth the $1000 more they paid for a computer.. Having had both, I found the early Mac's had good, but limited applications, software and lousy hardware.

The only real hardware problems I have had with a Windows based portable was with one that caught fire while I was working away on a UAL flight.... The flight crew was very unhappy. Thank goodness this was pre 9/11 or I might still be in prison.. but I digress.

The tech this morning was very helpful. An Indian chap, he spoke good Standard English, but his Southern English was somewhat limited so our conversation featured many "repeat please."

I know at this point I should insert a mini rant about "outsourcing." I am against it, but our current problems have nothing to do with a guy in India doing a job, but rather $100 oil, non-existent nuclear power plants and a country stupid enough to worry about polar bears instead of Aunt Jane's utility bill. And an educational system that seems to churn out an endless supply of people qualified only to work in fast food restaurants along with attorneys, journalists and education majors. The latter group also features many who are also not the brightest bulbs on the tree...
These become politicians and talking heads.

Moderating Comments

I am trying to fix this dohickey so that I won't have to moderate the posts. So far I haven't got it done. Please be patient.

Thanks

A Public Service Post

Have you ever noticed gals who sit their handbags on public toilet floors, then go directly to their dining tables and set it on the table? Happens a lot! It's not always the 'restaurant food' that causes stomach distress. Sometimes "what you don't know will hurt you"!

Mom got so upset when guests came in the door and plopped their handbags down on the counter where she was cooking or setting up food. She always said that handbags are really dirty, because of where they have been.

It's something just about every woman carries with them. While we may know what's inside our handbags, do you have any idea what's on the outside? Women carry handbags everywhere; from the office to public toilets to the floor of the car. Most women won't be caught without their handbags, but did you ever stop to think about where your handbag goes during the day.

"I drive a school bus, so my handbag has been on the floor of the bus a lot," says one woman. "On the floor of my car, and in toilets."

"I put my handbag in grocery shopping carts and on the floor of the toilet," says another woman "and of course in my home which should be clean."

We decided to find out if handbags harbor a lot of bacteria. We learned how to test them at Nelson Laboratories in Salt Lake, and then we set out to test the average woman's handbag.

Most women told us they didn't stop to think about what was on the bottom of their handbag. Most said at home they usually set their handbags on top of kitchen tables and counters where food is prepared.

Most of the ladies we talked to told us they wouldn't be surprised if their handbags were at least a little bit dirty.

It turns out handbags are so surprisingly dirty, even the microbiologist who tested them was shocked.

Microbiologist Amy Karen of Nelson Labs says nearly all of the handbags tested were not only high in bacteria, but high in harmful kinds of bacteria. Pseudomonas can cause eye infections, staphylococcus aurous can cause serious skin infections, and salmonella and e-coli found on the handbags could make people very sick.

In one sampling, four of five handbags tested positive for salmonella, and that's not the worst of it. "There is fecal contamination on the handbags" says Amy. Leather or vinyl handbags tended to be cleaner than cloth handbags, and lifestyle seemed to play a role. People with kids tended to have dirtier handbags than those without, with one exception.

The handbag of one single woman who frequented nightclubs had one of the worst contaminations of all. "Some type of feces, or possibly vomit" says Amy.

So the moral of this story is that your handbag won't kill you, but it does have the potential to make you very sick if you keep it on places where you eat.

Use hooks to hang your handbag at home and in toilets, and don't put it on your desk, a restaurant table, or on your kitchen counter top.

Experts say you should think of your handbag the same way you would a pair of shoes.

"If you think about putting a pair of shoes onto your counter tops, that's the same thing you're doing when you put your handbag on the counter tops" - Your handbag has gone where individuals before you have sneezed, coughed, spat, urinated, emptied bowels, etc!

Do you really want to bring that home with you?

The microbiologists at Nelson also said cleaning a handbag will help. Wash cloth handbags and use leather cleaner to clean the bottom of leather handbags.

Well, now you know. The next time a lady hits you with her purse go immediately to the ER.

....My thanks to Billy F!!

Guess they were wrong..

LONDON (AP) - Stocks fell sharply worldwide Monday following declines on Wall Street last week amid investor pessimism over the U.S. government's stimulus plan to prevent a recession.

According to all the blather from the Left I thought the EU was the currency of the world and the US meant nothing.

Looks like the world still understands who carries the load.

Reminds me of an old joke..

Prominent Democrats are upset with the aggressive role that Bill Clinton is playing in the 2008 campaign, a role they believe is inappropriate for a former president and the titular head of the Democratic Party....have told their old friend heatedly on the phone that he needs to change his tone and stop attacking Sen. Barack Obama,...

I guess asking someone to mention that blacks went for Obama by a 84% to 16% margin in Nevada is out of the question....

And that is understandable. He is the first black person to actually have a shot at the nomination. If I were black I would support him.

But the problem for the Demos is this. The Demos have long enjoyed a huge edge in votes from blacks. If they feel Obama has been treated unfairly will they stay home in November? Worse, will they start to ask.... which party has actually appointed the most blacks to high level positions???

Link to source article.

Democrats now have world wide

voting...

Well, it follows that the party that wants to extend constitutional rights to terrorists held in GITMO would want to have Internet voting from all over the world.

Members get a personal identification number from Everyone Counts Inc., the San Diego-based company running the online election. They can then use the number to log in and cast their ballots.

Why they are so concerned about primary voters when they tried to block Florida military votes in the 2000 Presidential election I really can't say..

As for security..

"The online system is incredibly secure: That was one of our biggest goals," said Lindsey Reynolds, executive director of Democrats Abroad. "And it does allow access to folks who ordinarily wouldn't get to participate."

What happens when they get a million votes with IP addresses Mexico??? China??

We've had no security breaches. We do constant monitoring," Steele said. Online voting "provides really a higher standard of security than is available in any other kind of system, including paper."

And the check's in the mail, the Beamer's paid for.....

Could we make that, "We've had no security breaches that we are aware of?"

Link to source article.

If you have read my profile

you know that I plan to die before I run out of money... My bud Mack E sends

....I heard a better retirement plan than the one you have.
Have the bank call you on the death bed and tell you your last check bounced.

Those Texans are always thinking..

;-)

Some help for the true believers

Now we all know that terrorism and the attacks of terrorists was invented by the evileeeee George W Bush and his helper, Sick "Shotgun" Cheney. But I doubt that many of you know how successful they have been. For a great overview, click on the following link.

Link to Global Incident Map

A good'un from Jimmy

Why men don't write advice columns.

Dear Walter:
I hope you can help me here. The other day I set off for work leaving my husband in the house watching the TV as usual. I hadn't gone more than a mile down the road when my engine conked out and the car shuddered to a halt. I walked back home to get my husband's help. When I got home I couldn't believe my eyes. He was in the bedroom with a neighbor lady making mad passionate love to her. I am 32, my husband is 34 and we have been married for twelve years. When I confronted him, he broke down and admitted that he'd been having an affair for the past six months.
I told him to stop or I would leave him. He was let go from his job six months ago and he says he has been feeling increasingly depressed and worthless. I love him very much, but ever since I gave him the ultimatum he has become increasingly distant. I don't feel I can get through to him anymore.
Can you please help?
Sincerely,
Mrs.. Sheila Usk

Dear Sheila:
A car stalling after being driven a short distance can be caused by a variety of faults with the engine. Start by checking that there is no debris in the fuel line. If it is clear, check the jubilee clips holding the vacuum pipes onto the inlet manifold. If none of these approaches solves the problem, it could be that the fuel pump itself is faulty, causing low delivery pressure to the carburetor float chamber.

I hope this helps.
Walter

Thanks Jimmy.

Why is the Left afraid of Rudy and McCain?

And they are. Just surf some of the Left wing blogs, KOS, MoveOn, TalkLeft, etc., and you will see that to be true.

My take on it is that they believe the religious Right will have no place to go, so they will vote for either and provide the edge needed for either to win in November. Now the Left may have a point in that elections are too often an exercise in holding your nose and voting for the best of the worst. But yesterday in South Carolina the religious Right had a clear choice, and didn't go for the ex-Baptist preacher. They also didn't go for Romney, who is the guy with arguably the best record on issues that supposedly are very important to them.... Marriage, abortion rights, gay rights, etc.

I find this simple. At this time security and national defense trumps social issues. McCain clearly beats Huckabee on these issues. He also clearly beats Hussein and Monica's ex-boyfriend's wife who is running for President.

And that scares the Left. And their water carriers, what's left of the Democratic party.

I think we are seeing the middle being redefined. The 2006 elections were as much about a general disgust with the tactics being used in Iraq as about the war. And as much as about the zillions being spent on bridges to nowhere as it was about corruption in general. And even then, the margin for victories in most of the races won by the Demos were razor thin.

In addition, many voters are seeing that we have two wars. One is a war against out right terror attacks, and one is a culture war. So the question is becoming, who will do the best job of preventing the Left from destroying Christmas while making sure that everyone else can enjoy their holidays. In addition, while Bush declares Islam to be a religion of peace, the antics of thousands of radical Muslims is starting to bring that into question in the minds of many. The wired world we live in makes actions speak louder than words.

Me? I think the problem is radicals, not religion. But what I still haven't got my hand around is this. Does the religion lend itself to radicalism?? But I digress.

Rudy's chief claim to fame is that he cleaned up NYC and that he handled himself, and the city, very well during 9/11. He also doesn't have the history of McCain on immigration and McCain Feingold hanging over his head. McCain does.

Paying the piper redux

While driving yesterday morning I happened upon a talk show guy who was busy explaining the lack of fiscal responsibility, the entitlement mentality, etc. and etc., of the American public. He was also highly exercised over the fact that THE Reverend Jesse Jackson had gone to Memphis and suggested that the Mayor sue the banks over the subprime loan mess...

Left unsaid by Jesse was which banks and for what. And the intrepid host kept demanding to know "for what" and inviting "any lawyer" listening to call in and explain it to him. Along about then I surfed over to Glen Beck who was busy explaining that the world was ending and only he knew about it...

Note to Glen: Please give me advance warning so that I can get off the Interstate. That way when I shoot myself after being terminally depressed by you I won't crash into a school bus killing dozens of children and besmirching my reputation. But I digress.

Now I don't know if a lawyer called. They are well known to be reluctant about giving free advice. Besides, they were more likely to be on their cell phones racking up billable hours. BTW - I had a friend tell me that he knew a lawyer who billed for 30 hours a day...

That dog won't hunt, I said. I mean after remembering some of my own billable hours sheets and travel time logs I know for a fact that a day only has 28 hours. But I digress again.

But given that cities are suing gun makers and anybody can sue anybody I would guess the answer is, YES. And for some variation of malfeasance. Of course it will be promptly tossed out. But....if they can get it in the Fed's 9th district and tie Jose Padilla to it... well, they'd have a shot..

Now I yield to no man, woman or child my belief that the country would be much better off if THE Rev Jackson could be convinced to leave the country and do God's work in, say, Iran. But in this case he does have a point. Only a bank, could call a loan in which the interest rate charged is ABOVE the regular rate, "subprime."

I mean if my performance is poor, then I am sub par. If I am a contractor working for the prime, I am a subcontractor. So why should I think a subprime loan costs more than a prime??

And why would a financial company think that making a loan to someone who has problems paying their bills make sense? Especially if the cost of the loan is more than what folks with good credit is paying?

Let me see here, George. You can't handle credit, so I don't think you can handle a 5% loan, so I'll loan you the money at 6%... But don't worry, I'll set you up with a 3% Adjustable Rate Mortgage so that you can live it up for a few years... before that is, the ARM jumps to 5% and then 7% and you default... In the meantime I'm gonna bundle your mortgage with a lot of other such mortgages and sell them to some one else...

You know, George and Jane deserve what they are getting. But when did taking advantage of some one's stupidity become acceptable??

In the mid 70's the banks had a lot of low interest loans on the books, many were assumable by someone with good credit. So the loans didn't get paid off... In the meantime inflation kept driving up the interest rate that the banks had to pay to keep the savings people had in their institution and guess what. The outflow was more than the inflow and bingo.... they started failing... Of course the government stepped in and bailed them out in the midst of much sound and fury.

At that time the banks could claim that inflation wasn't their fault and the loans they had made were good solid loans. And that was mostly true.

This time the banks can claim only that they were trying to help people with poor credit get a home.

If that is so, then why did they resell the loans?? If you think that makes sense, I remind you of what that noted philsopher, Forest Gump said.

Stupid is as stupid does.

Paying the piper

About 30 months ago, mid 2005, if you qualified you could get a 30 year fixed interest rate loan of say, $200,000 at about $1200/month. Throw in taxes and insurance of about $600 a month and you have a payment of $1800/month.

Now once upon a time the rule of thumb was that the monthly payment for a family should not exceed 25% of family monthly income. So that $200,000 loan should be supported by income of $7500 per month or $90,000 per year.

To qualify for the loan you needed 20% cash down, or in this case, $50,000. If you didn't have it, but had say $25,000 and excellent credit they would loan you the $225,000 but would charge you mortgage insurance until you could show that the payments and appreciation had now established your equity value of 80% of the loan value. At that point they would remove the PMI, but would also stress that you should leave the payment alone. To build equity. The truth being, of course, that they aren't concerned for the borrower, but since they wanted to bundle the mortgage and resell it, the more equity, the better the deal.

Now over the years the monthly income to loan payment percentage has became smaller and smaller, the price of housing became higher and higher and credit for ALL purchases became easier and easier and guess what... the number of qualified fixed "best" rate borrowers became less and less..... Enter the subprime.

Subprime Loan
A loan that is offered at a rate above prime to individuals who do not qualify for prime rate loans.

Notes:
Subprime loans tend to have a rate that is 0.1% to 0.6% higher than the prime rate. Although the additional percentage may seem small, for mortgages and other large loans, this translates to thousands of dollars worth of additional interest payments.

And while I am not a genius, it seems obvious to me that if you can't qualify for a conventional loan of say, 5%, how can you qualify for a loan of 5.6%??

Subprime lending (also known as B-paper, near-prime, or second chance lending) is the practice of making loans to borrowers who do not qualify for the best market interest rates because of their deficient credit history. The phrase also refers to banknotes taken on property that cannot be sold on the primary market, including loans on certain types of investment properties and certain types of self-employed individuals.

wiki

Now while the emphasis has been on poor credit, the real culprit was average credit. The bills had been paid pretty much on time, the individuals had a good employment record… Comes the stretch. Only instead of stretching, we now have a Adjustable Rate Mortgage – ARM available for say, 3%. Sounds great. The payment is now in the $1200 range…. Principle, interest and taxes. But life is a beach and then you die….. That ARM is adjusted up 2% and the payment is back at $1600… in the meantime other debt has increased due to the spending on goodies for the new home, etc…. so now it has become a real stretch…. Toss in a 30% increase in energy costs, higher property taxes, higher insurance and the stretch has become a gasp. Then the ARM is bumped another 2% and the monthly is now around $1800… and the gasp becomes a scream. Toss in some loss of income…. No overtime say…. And the patient is terminal…

Now I’m not a forgiving type. These folks who over spent and exercised no restraint should pay for their mistakes. The problem is, the poison they’re taking is working its way up the food chain and getting to me. My portfolio has taken a 10% hit and I can’t really see the bottom. Especially since the market dropped another 60 or so points after hearing W’s plan. It is obviously not enough.

Why? Because those bad loans were bundled by the original bank and sold to another financial firm as an investment…. Let’s say that a bundle was sold for a million bucks… as the default rate goes up, more houses are foreclosed and put on the market… but the new price is less than owed, so the bundle is essentially of no value….or greatly reduced value…

Stay tuned folks. The aircraft has departed, but I don’t think anyone knows where it will land.

Notes on religion

During these serious times, people of all faiths should remember these four religious truths:

1. Muslims do not recognize Jews as God's chosen people.

2. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

3. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian world.

4. Baptists do not recognize each other at Hooters.

A hat tip to my old bud Jimmy who, from time to time, sends me a good'un.

TGIF

It's been a bleary week, confounded by conflicting pools of info in polls that, as NH proved, make little sense. John McCain, who is a personal hero of mine but not my choice as Pres, is supposedly in a tie with another ex-Baptist preacher from Arkansas while I hear no mention of Fred who, at least, makes me feel as if common sense has not completely left the planet.

The high point in humor for the week was hearing Hillary and Hussein pledge undying love for each other while blaming their love children, aka "Staffers" for all the mean things said about each other.

A close second was, and is, watching the nutso Left blogosphere attack Hussein because he admitted that Reagan changed the direction of the country and claiming that he was ready to change it back on course himself. They seem to think he is plotting a tax cut of epic proportions and will drill for oil in the Senate cloakroom. Reagan did, Hussein won't and we will destroy our economy before we dare admit that energy for people is more important that Habitat For Animals.

Speaking of Habitats, I have thankfully heard nothing from Jimmy C about Israel giving up and just dying quietly for quite a while. But no matter. Condi R has taken up the peace at all costs flag and was last seen waving it while W ponders what he has to do to kiss and make up with the thugs in Middle East..

Uh, W... You were on the right track.

And to think that I once thought she would make a good Madame Pres... Oh well, I once thought the Cowboys were back, the market would shoot past 14,000 and professional basketball actually had a meaningful pre-playoff season. (Ignore that foul called when the players were three feet apart...)

And to close on a low point we still have another day for the market to dive. I haven't read the overnights but everyone I have talked to is as nervous as the Bride of Frankenstein in an electrical storm after seeing the complete result of the good Doctor's work.

See you later. Keep the faith and since New York City has admitted to having a huge influx of Bed Bugs.....

Don't let the Bed Bugs bite!!

Every Repub I have ever known

likes to invoke the name of Ronald Regan. Now, as Jimmy Durante used to say,
"Everybody wants to get in the act..."

And that includes Barack Hussein Obama, who explains that, like we were in 1980, we are ready for change, and that he can make that happen.

You tube

Yes, he can by doing what he wants to do, which is surrender in Iraq and in the WOT.

I wish I could look this guy straight in the eye, if he can actually hold his eyes steady, and ask a simple question or two.

Hussein ole buddy, you are a Senator. A US Senator. And we have a war going on. Do you think you could something positive?? Like say, wearing a US Flag lapel pin?? Now I know you probably think the UN should run the country, and I know you probably cross the street before you walk by a military recruiting station... But don't you think that wearing a flag pin might just be the thing to do?? Or are you too good for the country?? Why are you ashamed to wear one??

Did you ever hear of Iowa Jima, ole chap? Pearl Harbor? Gettysburg? Cemetery Ridge? D Day??

Those battles were fought under the flag you won't even acknowledge by putting a small pin on your suit lapel.

"And you want to change??? Change to what, Hussein??

Inquiring minds want to know.

And BTW. You couldn't carry Reagan's briefcase, much less unite the country.

The war must be over

I mean I never hear about it. To think that only six months or so ago Harry and Nancy P were declaring the war lost and condemning the thought of a new strategy... well... I hardly know what to say....

Actually I do. What we have here is not a failure to communicate, but a wonderful display of media bias and the Demo's belief that politics trump everything and the objective is to win at all costs, not the war, but political office.

Try this, and it isn't original with me.... Note that almost any news article you read that is negative about the person will identify their political party in the first few lines if Repub, not at all or much later if Demo.

But back to my point. I think this says it very well.

If you wanted to see the perfect example of the ethical and moral collapse of the Mainstream Media, you could not do better than a long article in the New Yorker of May 23, 2005. The article is entitled, "The Spy Who Loved Us." Written by a teacher at the University of Albany, named Thomas Bass, it's about a man named Pham Xuan An. Now very old, An was -- among many other things -- a correspondent in Saigon during the Vietnam War for Time magazine. He was apparently considered a particularly brilliant and well-informed correspondent and very well liked by his colleagues in the Western press corps during the war.

He was also a Communist spy, working for the North Vietnamese informing them of what he knew about American military plans, troop movements, political agendas.

He even helped the Communists win large battles by directing Vietcong and North Vietnamese troops against American and South Vietnamese forces. He helped plan the Tet Offensive of 1968, including helping the man who planned the attack on the U.S. Embassy. This was the offensive where thousands of innocent civilians were massacred by the Communists.

If the New Yorker is one of the flagships of the Mainstream Media fleet, they are sailing in maddeningly disloyal, contemptuous waters and obviously have been for a while. Small wonder the media gloried in Mark Felt and Watergate last week. In those days, Americans actually trusted the Mainstream Media. The New Yorker piece by Prof. Bass makes it clear how wrong we were. He's a fine writer but a man whose piece lacks any moral compass at all. And what of the fellow journalists in Saigon cheering him on? Now we know a bit more about why the war turned out as it did.

Link to article.

This time around the MSM has tried, but they haven't quite made it. This time we have the Internet, cable news and Talk Radio.

Talk Radio, of course, is under attack by the Left, and the Demos by claiming that it is unfair, and we must have a "Fairness Doctrine" in which a station must provide equal time to opposing views. That sounds great until you realize that it would just kill the shows because the stations wouldn't want to be involved in the complaints, lawsuits, government investigations that would be sure to follow,

Think about that the next time Obama says he wants "change." Think about that the next time Hillart wants "fairness."

Think about a world where the MSM controls what you see, hear and read. Think about this:

I don't Think US should be the Leader of the World

Link to article.

Dave sends me great games

Try this one if you really think you know geography!

Every now and then I convince myself that

I don't believe in executing murders. Then I read something like this:

Authorities allege that Chandler spent the last weeks of his life locked in a closet without food or water. Defense Darren Cantor and Ann England claim he died of a previous medical condition.

If the perps are convicted, and being the inventive type, you can guess what method I would use.

Back a few years ago I seem to remember the Repubs in Florida taking it on the chin, and rightly so in my opinion, for letting "excuses" like the one below exist.

"I pushed his hair back and saw that his ear was completely black, with no flesh tone," she (teacher's aide) said while tearing up. "So I asked him how it happened.

"He said, 'My dad (which he called Phillips) clobbered me'. I asked him if he was ever punished by 'time out' or by not watching television. He said his 'mom' and 'dad' (Berry and Phillips) would put him in a hot shower and turn it up as hot as it would get," she said, crying again.

Holm Elementary officials reported the bruising but the Denver Department of Human Services later called the report "unfounded," according to state Human Services records.

It appears that the school did its job and the bureaucrats did not. The Gov is a Democrat.

Watch this story disappear as fast as Denver snow when a down slope wind follows the bad weather.

Link to Denver Post

Of Vice and Men

More years ago than I like to remember I smoked. And, at that time, airliners had smoking and no smoking sections... On one fine day I was in First Class on a flight from Anchorage to Seattle and I indulged in my habit. Yes, I did. I smoked.

A few rows away sat two guys who also indulged in their habit... they knocked back about four or so drinks each before dinner, guzzled numerous glasses of wine with dinner and several after dinner drinks. In a word, about an hour out from Seattle, they were wacked, blotto, zapped, smashed. I know all this because they had had enough in the airport bar to believe they knew everying about everything, and should speak loud enough for everyone to hear their words of wisdom, and were giving us this as the boarded. Clowns are hard to miss.

They then ordered more. Which they received. Now, you may be getting ready to hear how I chastised the Flight Attendant for serving them. Wrong. I, who had a VO before dinner and a couple of glasses of wine with dinner, said nothing. In fact, I was nodding off when I glanced up to find a drunken oaf standing in the aisle at my row. (I was in a window seat and the aisle was empty.)

I don't remember what he said, something to the effect that my second hand smoke was giving him cancer.

"No," I replied, "you won't die of cancer. You will kill yourself and some other driver in an car wreck on the way home because you will be too drunk to drive."

(Actually I said something like: "You idiot. You're drunk. Sit down and shut up."
But that doesn't sound nice.)

At that point the Flight Attendant arrived and gently escorted him back to his seat and noted that he should remain there. Fortunately he did.

Whether or not he killed anyone on the way home, or caught lung cancer from my second hand smoke is not known by me.

I dredged that memory up while reading my "hotel/motels stayed at list." The hotel, if you are interested, was the Sheraton Anchorage which had a wonderful location almost across from the street from the Alaska Bush Club, a den of inequity where North Slope workers were known to spend huge amounts of money for the company of delectable looking young ladies... But I digress....

Years later I figured out that smoking was not made socially unacceptable by the thought that people where developing lung cancer, but because it stinks. It smells bad.

Now this isn't a defense of smoking. I quit 16 years ago and wish I had never started and wish that no one smoked and consider it THE most dangerous drug known. My problem is, if nicotine is bad for you, so is alcohol. So why tolerate, even celebrate one and not the other?? Why don't we demand drinkers take their drinks outside the restaurant?

The answer is simply this. They don't want to suppress drinking because it yields huge tax dollars and doesn't easily intrude into anyone's space. Tobacco also yields huge tax dollars, but it does easily intrude, and generates complaints from the "I'm a whiner generation." Ergo. All can drink in comfort, but not smoke.

So forget about the health issues. Forget about the carnage on the highways.... It was, is and remains, all about "me."

Internet courtesy

is mostly an oxymoron, especially on many of the blogs. But sometimes I think some people go out of their way to be insulted. And, considering today’s society that’s to be expected. We have people who don’t want the score kept in Little League, and heaven forbid that their school papers have red ink used in grading.

All of this leads to an unhealthy amount of self esteem. At some point we need to start telling children that their team lost because the other team played better and they made a 70 because they didn’t know the answers. As the old saying goes, rough seas make good sailors.

Perhaps that is why when you send an email to some people you get a response to fill out some form so that they can recognize who you are and accept your message. Look folks, if these people are so busy and so important that they demand I fill out a form, they obviously don’t have time for my message, so I just ignore them.

Now I know that these folks will plead that all they are doing is protecting their computer from spam, and from X rated spam at that. And they don’t want their children, who they share the email with, to see. With them I say sign up with an ISP that will let them use multiple screen names (AOL is one such), set up a screen name for the kid(s) and then use parental controls that will let them screen out who the kid(s) can receive emails from, IM with, and what websites they can visit. As for their email, Spam Filters do a good job, and if you don’t recognize the sender, then delete or open with care. Deleting, btw, takes about zero time.

Beyond that there are people who send group emails. Two or three reply and now you have three emails to the same people.. Two or three reply to the reply and now you have emails dribbling off the side of the hard drives…. If the replies have been snarky, then the situation becomes worse.

This happened recently to me. A friend copied me, I responded, etc., etc. Since I thought someone wanted to talk, and being a fan of Joan Rivers, I offered the use of this blog. And then I started getting emails telling me to take them off my mail list. And despite telling them that I didn’t have them on a list, several continued. (See above. Paragraph two.) I even made the point that we could discuss the issue on the blog with those not interested, not copied. Still did no good. One even got snarky about my writing ability. Besides the fact that he must like easy targets, I saw no evidence of thought displayed.

So as far as I am concerned, it works like this. If I get an email with my name and “30” others on it, and if I want to reply, then I will reply to “all.” Why? Because if the sender thought they should get the original, then they should get all the responses.

Up up and away....

I just got a look at my 2008 health insurance rate.... And guess what, it is up another 10%. I called the insurance commission and complained and they assured me that my company had exceeded its stop loss ratio (again) and that.... are you ready for this news flash.... health cost are up again... And here I had been thinking that all the Doctors were going broke..

I got news for all you folks who think you are getting it for free from your employer, and who will get it for free from Medicare when you retire... Aint so people. Me and my spouse's "free" insurance is near the $11,000/year mark and it aint gonna come down under the current management.

So what we need is National Health Care paid for by a sales tax. That way everyone uses, everyone pays. That would include the illegal alien, drug dealers... everyone..

Why the UN sucks

NEW DELHI (CNN) -- An Indian car manufacturer unveiled its much-anticipated $2,500 "people's car" on Thursday -- a four-wheel passenger vehicle which it hopes will provide a much-needed transportation option for the poor.

Sounds great, eh??

Chief U.N. climate scientist Rajendra Pachauri, who shared last year's Nobel Peace Prize, said last month that he was "having nightmares" about the prospect of the low-cost car

Don't want the huddled masses to be able to travel around, eh?

Heck, they may find their way to Bali..

Link to CNN

Ah yes, the race card

is played. I had been wondering how long it would take, now we know.

Obama has been inching towards for sometimes now. His calling forth the memory of MLK almost made it, but not quite. Instead it is has been left to Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center to opine that it was uneducated whites who caused the pollsters to miss their calls so badly.

There was an education gap, too. College graduates voted for Mr. Obama 39 percent to 34 percent; Mrs. Clinton won among those who had never attended college, 43 percent to 35 percent.

You know, I'd like to buy Andy a PBR and explain it to him. It would go like this.

Andy, the folks you are talking about are the backbone of this country. They work hard, pay their taxes, raise their families and actually join the military and defend our country.

Now stop right there, Andy, and understand something. The background these folks have is drastically different than the "college graduates" who you obviously think "did the right thing." You see, BHO's message has been "change." He paints some glowing picture of never never land where "change" is good. But you see, he never mentions that his change will be to raise taxes, cut and run in the WOT and, based on his removal of his American Flag lapel pin, a law to prevent anyone from wearing one. And for these folks you disapprove of, change usually is bad. Like, change the flat tire and hope they can scrape enough money to buy a new one. Like the company has changed owners... and most of you are fired... These are the folks who look reality in the eye everyday of the week and having known reality, flat out don't believe the BS that BHO has been passing out.

So yeah. When polled that probably grinned and told the pollsters what they thought they wanted to hear.

And when they voted they said, "To hell with this BS. Obama can change his message. This one isn't working."

Sometimes in life people get what they so hugely, desperately and totally deserve.
The pollsters just did. Good-O to every dude and dudette that lied to them. If they fail enough maybe they'll be forced to get a productive job.

mayorblair, this post's for you..

Here is your, or anyone else, chance to tell us all why Hillary would make a great Pres... I mean she doesn't even smoke cigars... (okay, cheap shot)..

But, based on the market results lately if she could show me how to make a quick $100,000 in the cattle futures market I might reconsider......

If I hear, read or see one more

analysis of Hillary tearing up, crying or whatever, I think I will sell out and move to outback Australia....

First of all I have seen real sure enough tough guys shed a tear. True it was for something more difficult than running for President, like remembering a dead friend, but I have seen'em do it.

Secondly, when you make fun of her all you do is make most, if not all, women angry. That's dumb on several levels.

First, you should remember that you don't get what you want from anyone by making them mad. That goes double for women.... who have always known what you want anyway.

Secondly, if you do prove that such acts make her unworthy of being President, all you have done is create another B. Hussein Obama voter. And, as I have noted before, Hillary would be a huge problem. Hussein Obama would be a disaster of gigantic proportions.

If you doubt my conjectures on this, remember that you are dealing with the Left who think doing something dangerous is standing up in a meeting and dissing Bush.

After all, they'll tell you that he has suspended the Constitution, hasn't he?? The elections in NH didn't happen, right??

This has been around a bit... but after

looking at the gaggle of Demos we have running for President, I thought it worth anoher look. It think it pretty well says it all.

We all have our disagreements with President Bush.. Immigration, U.S.
Attorney firings, Iraq , Darfur , etc., are all hot topics these days.
The following "speech" was written recently by an ordinary Maineiac [a
Resident of the People's Republic of Maine ]. While satirical in
Nature, all satire must have a basis in fact to be effective. This is an
Excellent piece by a person who does not write for a living.

The speech George W. Bush SHOULD give: BUSH'S RESIGNATION SPEECH

Normally, I start these things out by saying "My Fellow Americans."
Not doing it this time. If the polls are any indication, I don't know who
More than half of you are anymore. I do know something terrible has
Happened, and that you're really not fellow Americans any longer.

I'll cut right to the chase here: I quit. Now before anyone gets all
In a lather about me quitting to avoid impeachment, or to avoid prosecution
Or something, let me assure you: There's been no breaking of laws or
Impeachable offenses in this office.

The reason I'm quitting is simple. I'm fed up with you people. I'm
Fed up because you have no understanding of what's really going on in the
World. Or of what's going on in this once-great nation of ours. And
The majority of you are too lazy to do your homework and figure it out.

Let's start local. You've been sold a bill of goods by politicians and
The news media. Polls show that the majority of you think the economy is
In the tank.. And that's despite record numbers of homeowners, including
Record numbers of MINORITY homeowners. And while we're mentioning
Minorities, I'll point out that minority business ownership is at an
All-time high. Our unemployment rate is as low as it ever was during
The Clinton administration. I've mentioned all those things before, but it
Doesn't seem to have sunk in.

Despite the shock to our economy of 9/11, the stock market has
Rebounded to record levels and more Americans than ever are participating in
These markets. Meanwhile, all you can do is whine about gas prices, and most
Of you are too stupid to realize that gas prices are high because there's
Increased demand in other parts of the world, and because a small
Handful of noisy idiots are more worried about polar bears and beachfront
Property than your economic security.

We face real threats in the world. Don't give me this "blood for oil"
Thing. If I were trading blood for oil I would've already seized Iraq's
Oil fields and let the rest of the country go to ... . And don't give
Me this 'Bush Lied; People Died' crap either. If I were the liar you
Morons take me for, I could've easily had chemical weapons planted in Iraq so
They could be 'discovered.' Instead, I owned up to the fact that the
Intelligence given to me by the previous administration was faulty.

Let me remind you that the rest of the world thought Saddam had the
Goods, same as I did. Let me also remind you that regime change in Iraq was
Official US policy before I came into office. Some guy named ' Clinton'
Established that policy. Bet you didn't know that, did you?

You idiots need to understand that we face a unique enemy. Back during
The cold war, there were two major competing political and economic models
Squaring off. We won that war, but we did so because fundamentally,
The Communists wanted to survive, just as we do We were simply able to
Outspend and out-tech them.

That's not the case this time. The soldiers of our new enemy don't
Care if they survive. In fact, they want to die That'd be fine, as long as
They weren't also committed to taking as many of you with them as they
Can. But they are. They want to kill you, and the fools are all over
The globe.

You should be grateful that they haven't gotten any more of us here in
The United States since September 11. But you're not. That's because
You've got no idea how hard a small number of intelligence, military, law
Enforcement, and homeland security people have worked to make sure of
That. When this whole mess started, I warned you that this would be a
Long and difficult fight. I'm disappointed how many of you people think a
Long and difficult fight amounts to a single season of 'Survivor.'

Instead, you've grown impatient. You're incapable of seeing things
Through the long lens of history, the way our enemies do. You think
That wars should last a few months, a few years, tops.

Making matters worse, you actively support those who help the enemy.
Every time you buy the New York Times, every time you send a donation to a
cut-and-run Democrat's political campaign, well, dang it, you might
just as well FedEx a grenade launcher to a Jihadist. It amounts to the same
thing.

In this day and age, it's easy enough to find the truth. It's all over
the Internet. It just isn't on the pages of the New York Times or on ABC
or NBC News. But even if it were, I doubt you'd be any smarter. Most of
you would rather watch "American Idol".

I could say more about your expectations that the government will
always be there to bail you out, even if you're too stupid to leave a city
that's below sea level and has a hurricane approaching.

I could say more about your insane belief that government, not your own
wallet, is where the money comes from. But I've come to the conclusion
that were I to do so, it would sail right over your heads.

So I quit. I'm going back to Crawford. I've got an energy-efficient
house down there (Al Gore could only dream) and the capability to be
fully self-sufficient. No one ever heard of Crawford before I got elected,
and as soon as I'm done here pretty much no one will ever hear of it again.
Maybe I'll be lucky enough to die of old age before the last pillars of
America fall.

Oh, and by the way, Cheney's quitting too. That means Pelosi is your
new President. You asked for it.

Watch what these folks do carefully, because I still have a glimmer of
hope that there are just enough of you remaining who are smart enough
to turn this thing around in 2008.

So that's it. God bless what's left of America; Some of you know
what I mean.

The rest of you, get a life.

author: Keith A. Walter

Success is defined as getting what you want.

Happiness is defined as wanting what you get.

The Right has long longed for Hillary's head on a stick. She is haughty, difficult and just plain unlikable. And I certainly don't want her as President.

But if you had to choose between her and Barrick Hussien Obama, who would you choose?

One wants power but knows its limits, what it can, and cannot do. She also knows that the world is an evil place, and though unacceptably weak on national defense has indicated that she would fight.

The other is totally naive, believes that if we just talk we can all get along, stopped wearing an American Flag in his lapel and in general is untested in any significant way.

Hillary would bring huge problems.

Barrick Hussein Obama would bring unmitigated disaster.

Say a little prayer for Hillary boys and girls. Or we may find out that success wasn't what it is cracked up to be.

Can somebody tell me

that if man made Global Warming is real...how come...

University of Oklahoma geophysicist David Deming, a specialist in temperature and heat flow, notes in the Washington Times that "unexpected bitter cold swept the entire Southern Hemisphere in 2007." Johannesburg experienced its first significant snowfall in a quarter-century. Australia had its coldest ever June. New Zealand's vineyards lost much of their 2007 harvest when spring temperatures dropped to record lows.

Given the number of worldwide cold events, it is no surprise that 2007 didn't turn out to be the warmest ever. In fact, 2007's global temperature was essentially the same as that in 2006 - and 2005, and 2004, and every year back to 2001. The record set in 1998 has not been surpassed. For nearly a decade now, there has been no global warming. Even though atmospheric carbon dioxide continues to accumulate - it's up about 4 percent since 1998 - the global mean temperature has remained flat. That raises some obvious questions about the theory that CO2 is the cause of climate change.

Yet so relentlessly has the alarmist scenario been hyped, and so disdainfully have dissenting views been dismissed, that millions of people assume Gore must be right when he insists: "The debate in the scientific community is over."

But it isn't. Just last month, more than 100 scientists signed a strongly worded open letter pointing out that climate change is a well-known natural phenomenon, and that adapting to it is far more sensible than attempting to prevent it. Because slashing carbon dioxide emissions means retarding economic development, they warned, "the current UN approach of CO2 reduction is likely to increase human suffering from future climate change rather than to decrease it."

Climate science isn't a religion, and those who dispute its leading theory are not heretics. Much remains to be learned about how and why climate changes, and there is neither virtue nor wisdom in an emotional rush to counter global warming - especially if what's coming is a global Big Chill.

Link to Boston Globe

I would think that you would have not stops and starts and blips and flips, but a slow steady increase. After all, that carbon dioxide doesn't just disappear. It gets absorbed by trees and the oceans. The earth itself acts as a carbon sump. Are they telling us that it is suddenly absorbed and then released??? That doesn't make sense, but then there has been so much about this that doesn't make sense that I think it time we tell Algore that his church his closed and he needs a new gig.

I think he would make a great salesman for Hadacol. At least it delivered the feel good it promised.... 24 proof booze will do that.

Wikipedia

I wish we could elect Newt

but there is no way. He just tells the truth:

So then you look at Saudi Arabia. The fact that we tolerate a country saying no Christian and no Jew can go to Mecca, and we start with the presumption that that's true while they attack Israel for being a religious state is a sign of our timidity, our confusion, our cowardice that is stunning

.

And then...

We have given it away to both Democrats and Republicans. It is fundamentally different from the national news media. When asked the question "Do we have an obligation to defend the United States and her allies?" the answer is 85 percent yes. When asked a further question "Should we defeat our enemies?" – it's very strong language – the answer is 75% yes, 75 to 16.

The complaint about Iraq is a performance complaint, not a values complaint.

When asked whether or not al Qaeda is a threat, 89% of the country says yes. And they think you have to defeat it, you can't negotiate with it. So now let's look at al Qaeda and the rise of Islamist terrorism.

And let's be honest: What's the primary source of money for al Qaeda? It's you, re-circulated through Saudi Arabia. Because we have no national energy strategy, when clearly if you really cared about liberating the United States from the Middle East and if you really cared about the survival of Israel, one of your highest goals would be to move to a hydrogen economy and to eliminate petroleum as a primary source of energy.

Now that's what a serious national strategy would look like, but that would require real change.

Read the rest and see why he is a giant among midgets.

My thanks to Larry P and Familysecuritymatters.

When I decided to do a blog I swore a solem

oath that I would never do a post on dogs. But this one is just too good, and too true, to not post.

An old, tired-looking dog wandered into the yard. I could tell from
his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home. He followed
me into the house, down the hall, and fell asleep in a corner.
An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.
The next day he was back, resumed his position in the hall, and slept
for an hour. This continued for over a week.
Curious, I pinned a note to his collar: "Every afternoon your dog
Comes to my house for a nap."
The next day he arrived with a different note pinned to his collar:
"He lives in a home with ten children -- he's trying to catch up
on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?"

My thanks to Mike L.

The following was sent from

mayorblair to a large number. I am reprinting it here and inviting all to respond.

"Ron Paul is smarter than the rest of the Usual Suspects put together (Rep & Dem's). If only the biased Republicans would stop and listen to the guy, he would be so in front of the rest that he would be getting ready to lap the field. Fox Noise is nothing but a voice for the Republicans. Fair and Balanced - Don't think so!!

I'm an Ind. and Paul makes more sense than than any of the others. I hope we have a third party candidate, then we will see who really cares about this country.

'cudabob"

Frankly I think Ron Paul may have some ideas that sound good, but every since we had airplanes that can cross the Atlantic, foreign policy consists of more than trying to shut the door.

I'm a sucker for puns...

It was Visitor's Day at the Lunatic Asylum.

All the inmates were standing in the courtyard, singing "Ave Maria."
They were singing beautifully.

Oddly, each of them was holding a red apple in one hand and tapping it
rhythmically with a pencil.

A visitor listened in wonder to the performance, and then approached
the conductor. "I'm a retired choir director," he said. "This is one of
the best choirs I have ever heard"

"Yes, I am very proud of them," said the conductor.

"You should take them on tour," said the visitor. "What are they
called?"

"Surely that's obvious," replied the conductor.

"They're the Moron Tapanapple Choir."

My thanks to Mac!

Soon you won't get to argue over the thermostat

“The home thermostat's role is destined to become increasingly more significant as upcoming code changes in California's Title 24 and Demand Response regulations are implemented. Thermostats will need to receive price and emergency signals from utilities and adjust conditions in response to these signals.”

Jimmy Carter wanted us to put on a sweater.

Now the government is ready to make us put on a sweater. Or take off our sweaters… Or open the windows.

Let’s face it folks, the only reason the utilities would want to sent signals to your thermostat in your home is to control it. And they admit it.

"Further complicating the mix is the increasing number of strategies that have been either envisioned or encouraged for future California homes. These strategies include:

the DR-responsive home, where reducing peak power demand is the primary goal of the thermostat;
the floating home, where careful design of thermal mass and solar design ensure acceptable comfort with mostly passive controls;

the smart home, where a dense network of sensors and automatic controls ensure that the home meets occupants' comfort needs with minimum occupant input; and

the ultra-healthy home, where narrow environmental conditions are maintained to address medical requirements (such as allergies).

In spite of these anticipated new responsibilities, today's programmable thermostat has been notably unsuccessful at achieving its original goal of reliably saving significant heating and cooling energy."

Link

Memories and lists.

About 10 – 12 years ago I was on an airplane going someplace. The book I had with me was bad so I started playing mind “games.” In this case it was trying to remember every hotel/motel that I had ever stayed in. After awhile I took out my trusty portable and made a spreadsheet.

I have kept it up pretty well up to date and this morning I opened it up to add the trip to Pensacola. Now you may think it silly, and I couldn't’t argue with you, but I find scanning the hotels and cities, some with brief notes, great for bringing back memories. As I looked, I noted that there were 707 discrete line entries. Not number of “stays.” Not number of “nights.” Discrete line entries. Given that I had a tendency to stay at the same hotel time and again, and that many were multiple night stays…. Well, I think it is easy for me to say that I spent at least five years of my life in a hotel or motel.

That, and $7.50 will get me a glass of wine at most hotel bars…..as long as I don’t go too “up scale.”

But, the list is great for bringing back memories. And most are good.

Like checking into the Westbury in Brussels with no shirts, socks or underwear. They had been kept by the laundry/cleaner in Moscow because the block water heater had failed and the authorities said: Visa expires. You go. We'll send your clothes.

To my pleasure I discovered true service as various establishments visited my room to sell me the items I needed. I had never had a custom made shirt before, but I had six snow white ones and two blues that fit perfectly in less than 48 hours... They, and the underwear, were made of cotton fabric so tough that they lasted for years.

The stuff they had kept in Moscow? I got all of it in about three months. All washed and spotlessly clean and neatly folded. Including the suit.

Heads I win, Tails I win.

Over at TalkLeft there is a posting on how, at one of the gatherings of the Demos, a coin toss was used to deterimine the winner.

And these are the people who want to run the country??

Link to TalkLeft

I think these are the same guys

I hired to take out a sink and tub/shower and replace same.

And the results were about the same.

After breaking a cold water pipe one tried to hold his finger in it while the other was yelling "Where's the cutoff!"

Thanks to my bud Mike L!!