Baseball season is almost here

Just because I used to be able to do things like this....



in my dreams.....

Glen Beck had better never get a ticket in CT

Ya gotta click here and watch this. Beck takes no prisoners.

The Obama God

You may not know this, dear chums, but I am one of the most humble people you will ever know of. Indeed there are times in which I am convinced that I know absolutely nothing about nothing.

But from now on when I feel exceedingly dumb, I will read this.

Last summer, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Mark Morford wrote that "Many spiritually advanced people I know … identify Obama as a Lightworker, that rare kind of attuned being who … can actually help usher in a new way of being on the planet."

Yes, this was written by a man who presumably graduated from college. Now, tell me how much your degree has fallen in value....

And in February, author Judith Warner used her New York Times blog to confess that “The other night I dreamt of Barack Obama. He was taking a shower right when I needed to get into the bathroom to shave my legs.”

Is there nothing that female Leftie authors won't tell us about their wet dreams?

Judy, Judy, Judy... Sweetheart, we just don't care.

"I’ll collect paper cups off the ground to make [Obama’s] pathway clear,” Halle Berry recently told the Philadelphia Daily News, “I’ll do whatever he says.”

Be careful Ms Berry, he says a lot, but needs a teleprompter or he becomes confused. Perhaps you and Ms Warner need to talk.

But the one that gets me up and going, no matter how convinced I am of my total inabilities...

Obama "walks into a room and you want to follow him somewhere, anywhere," George Clooney gushed to Charlie Rose.

George! Listen to me, George! George! He's a man for God's sake. Also see my advice to Ms Berry.

link

Power windows

You can also ride around during a hot southern day with the windows up to make everyone think you have airconditioning.

Hat tip to Jimmy M!

Your new GM car as designed by Obamie

The Obamieville!

Hat tip to Jimmy M!

Road trip!

Random thoughts from a road trip while on a road trip!

If this global warming gets any worse I’ll have to stop and put on my snow tires.

Denver has built a fantastic high speed train from the ‘burbs to down town…. Yet the train stops are evaluated and have no protection from the elements…. Yes, the plan was approved by the government….. Does that tell you what kind of car the Obamieville will be?

The driving habits of the average I470 driver in KC would get them shot in LA…. And I would testify on behalf of the shooter.

Anybody who has ever thought “tumbling tumbleweeds” a romantic phrase has never had them tumbling into the side of their car because of a 40 MPH cross wind.

If I stop to put on my snow tires will I be able to see the rear of the car in all this global warming?

Funny is discovering where you use to work has been converted into a game arcade…. Of course it always was a game arcade…..

Hotel and high speed internet is an oxymoron.

Traffic density is directly proportional to weather conditions.

Any vehicle that pulls three trailers should be called a train and have its own tracks and roadbed.

Did you ever hear tell of Sweet Betsy from Pike,
Who crossed the wide mountains with her lover Ike,
Two yoke of cattle, a large yeller dog,
A tall Shanghai rooster, and a one-spotted hog.

They swam the wide rivers and crossed the tall peaks,
And camped on the prairie for weeks upon weeks.
Starvation and cholera, hard work and slaughter--
They reached California 'spite of hell and high water.

Sad to say, the story ends badly…

This Pike County couple got married, of course,
But Ike became jealous, and obtained a divorce.
Betsy, well-satisfied, said with a shout,
"Goodby, you big lummox, I'm glad you backed out!’

Was it because?

A miner said, "Betsy, will you dance with me?"
"I will that, old hoss, if you don't make too free.
Don't dance me hard, do you want to know why?
Doggone you, I'm chock-full of strong alkali."

Sweet Betsy from Pike

And now you know the history of the first Valley Girl.

And the best song ever written about her Great Great Grandaughter…

Hollywood Nights

And finally…….

Whoever designed the transition from I105E to I5S should be slathered with honey and staked out over a colony of fire ants. Make those angry fire ants.

Al Gore's home during Earth Hour

Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" may have inspired many to participate in yesterday's "Earth Hour" by switching off their lights from 8:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., but maybe the former vice president didn't get the memo.

Drew Johnson, the president of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, decided to drive by Gore's mansion in Nashville at 8:48 p.m. and records that floodlights were on illuminating the driveway leading up to the main quarter.

"I pulled up to Al's house, located in the posh Belle Meade section of Nashville, at 8:48 p.m. – right in the middle of Earth Hour," he wrote on his blog. "I found that the main spotlights that usually illuminate his 9,000 square foot mansion were dark, but several of the lights inside the house were on."

He added: "The kicker, though, were the dozen or so floodlights grandly highlighting several trees and illuminating the driveway entrance of Gore’s mansion. I [kid] you not, my friends, the savior of the environment couldn’t be bothered to turn off the gaudy lights that show off his goofy trees."

If this surprises you then you probably believe in Global Warming.

Link



In the meantime the upper midwest braces for another blizzard and more flooding as the snow pack melts.



hotelsbycity link

(And yes, for the slower among you, the pic of Dallas is sarcasm. Gore's home is larger.......) hahahahahaha

Smart and smarter

The next time someone you know claims that real scientists don't believe in Global warming, show'em this.

FOR MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY the eminent physicist Freeman Dyson has quietly resided in Prince?ton, N.J., on the wooded former farmland that is home to his employer, the Institute for Advanced Study, this country’s most rarefied community of scholars. Lately, however, since coming “out of the closet as far as global warming is concerned,” as Dyson sometimes puts it, there has been noise all around him.

He has, of course, been subject to many attacks. But:

But in the considered opinion of the neurologist Oliver Sacks, Dyson’s friend and fellow English expatriate, this is far from the case. “His mind is still so open and flexible,” Sacks says. Which makes Dyson something far more formidable than just the latest peevish right-wing climate-change denier. Dyson is a scientist whose intelligence is revered by other scientists — William Press, former deputy director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and now a professor of computer science at the University of Texas, calls him “infinitely smart.” Dyson — a mathematics prodigy who came to this country at 23 and right away contributed seminal work to physics by unifying quantum and electrodynamic theory — not only did path-breaking science of his own; he also witnessed the development of modern physics, thinking alongside most of the luminous figures of the age, including Einstein, Richard Feynman, Niels Bohr, Enrico Fermi, Hans Bethe, Edward Teller, J. Robert Oppenheimer and Edward Witten, the “high priest of string theory” whose office at the institute is just across the hall from Dyson’s. Yet instead of hewing to that fundamental field, Dyson chose to pursue broader and more unusual pursuits than most physicists — and has lived a more original life.

And even more so:

Among Dyson’s gifts is interpretive clarity, a penetrating ability to grasp the method and significance of what many kinds of scientists do. His thoughts about how science works appear in a series of lucid, elegant books for nonspecialists that have made him a trusted arbiter of ideas ranging far beyond physics. Dyson has written more than a dozen books, including “Origins of Life” (1999), which synthesizes recent discoveries by biologists and geologists into an evaluation of the double-origin hypothesis, the possibility that life began twice; “Disturbing the Universe” (1979) tries among other things to reconcile science and humanity. “Weapons and Hope” (1984) is his meditation on the meaning and danger of nuclear weapons that won a National Book Critics Circle Award. Dyson’s books display such masterly control of complex matters that smart young people read him and want to be scientists; older citizens finish his books and feel smart.

Here, read the article. It's lengthy but worth the time.

Hat tip to cravat at the Tennesseean.

Congress to investigate Madoff

Subject: The Scandal Fix

Congress says it is looking into the Bernard Madoff scandal .

So the guy that made $50 Billion disappear is being investigated by the people who made $750 Billion disappear.

This should work out well.

Hat tip to Jimmy M!

Hillary is making Bush look good.. and the Left thought that impossible

And she was supposedly the world's smartest woman! I am inspired to write:

Dumb and dumber.

Mexico City, Mexico, Mar 27, 2009 / 04:59 pm (CNA).- During her recent visit to Mexico, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made an unexpected stop at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and left a bouquet of white flowers “on behalf of the American people,” after asking who painted the famous image.
The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was miraculously imprinted by Mary on the tilma, or cloak, of St. Juan Diego in 1531. The image has numerous unexplainable phenomena, such as the appearance on Mary’s eyes of those present in the room when the tilma was opened and the image’s lack of decay.

Link

Look, doesn't she have a staff to advise her? Sure she does! But it is evident that she is too cocksure, too impressed with herself to listen. Actually, I feel sorry for her staff, though they all be Demos and most likely Leftie Demos. I had too many bosses like her who flew into town to help and left after making things worse...

But that was just business. This is the country we are speaking of.

Hat tip to Urgent Agenda.

My home during earth hour!

hotelsbycity link

Do you think I would save any money if I went to CFL's??

Expanded from my comment in the Tennesseean

Why trampolines are dangerous in Denver

Hat tip to Shawn!

Staffers push Muslim new hires for Obama

Just when I think I can get rid of this picture....


along comes this....

CHICAGO — In a bid to get more Muslim Americans working in the Obama administration, a book with resumes of 45 of the nation's most qualified — Ivy League grads, Fortune 500 executives and public servants, all carefully vetted — has been submitted to the White House.

The effort, driven by community leaders and others, including U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., was bumped up two weeks because White House officials heard about the venture, said J. Saleh Williams, program coordinator for the Congressional Muslim Staffers Association, who sifted through more than 300 names.

"It was mostly under the radar," Williams said. "We thought it would put (the president) in a precarious position. We didn't know how closely he wanted to appear to be working with the Muslim American community."

Link

Now, here the Lefties had me all convinced that it was against the law to hire Repubs if Bush did it.... yet now the Lefties think it okay to hire Muslims if Hussein does it..

I guess the qualification is religion.

Who knew? What's a little theocracy among Muslims???? But wait.... Hussein isn't..or is he???

White man's burden.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Thursday blamed the global economic crisis on “white people with blue eyes” and said it was wrong that black and indigenous people should pay for white people’s mistakes.

Speaking in Brasília at a joint press conference with Gordon Brown, the UK prime minister, Mr Lula da Silva told reporters: “This crisis was caused by the irrational behaviour of white people with blue eyes, who before the crisis appeared to know everything and now demonstrate that they know nothing.”

I think he has a point. Consider the following.

Why did we take extraordinary pains to reduce collateral damage in Iraq? We could have just bombed Baghdad into oblivion, sent in enough troops to take the oil fields, secured them, helped ourselves with whatever dictator we decided to install in the new state of OilAmericaArabia and lived happily ever after.

I doubt we would have lost 50 men and by pumping and selling oil at $30 a barrel we would have saved the world from the theocrats in the ME and their other helpers in OPEC by destroying THEIR economy and maybe, just maybe, letting a democratic government come into being.

Can you imagine a world with 90 cents gasoline??

No doubt about it. We enabled Hugo and his pals in South America and other places.

Obama! The campaign continues!

Well it does attract some negative vibes...

What Obama means to Jon Dizoe Michigan, USA - 28 Mar 2009 Report Abuse
Means the end of the United States of America as we know it, hello Europe.

But then we have this...... Which wasn't directly responding to the above...

What Obama means to SHALANDRA COCKRELL Michigan, USA - 28 Mar 2009 Report Abuse
WHAT THAT SUPPOSET TO MEAN FOOL?JUST ANOTHER RACIST CRACKA TRASH TALK.SO WHAT IF I GET FOOD STAMPS.I GOTS 5 BABYS TO SUPPORT AND 3 OF THE BABY DADDY IN JAIL.SO OBAMA GUNNA BE MY BABY DADDY LIKE HE SAY HE WOULD.HE GUNNA HELP ME GET MY ESCALADE SOON TOO.RACIST CRACKA!

WhatObamameanstome Link

I smell deception in the second comment...plainer..... some Rightie is making fun of the Lefties... which leads me to wonder....... Do web sites such as this do more harm than good?

Maybe Weeder Gander will come back and give us his learned opinion.

Who's your daddy??

Hat tip to whoever sent me the pic.

Bare Pole Dancer Perfecto!!

This bare bear can do it! Get down, baby!



Hat tip to Shawn!

Blackberry Pearl??

Mike L sent this in.

Michelle Obama showed up Thursday as a surprise and welcomed volunteers at Miriam's Kitchen, a soup kitchen for homeless poor people not far from the White House.

Can't afford to buy food - not when you have to pay for the new cell
phone with camera...looks like the Blackberry Pearl!

Maybe we can start a charity which donates unused minutes to the homeless and poor...or maybe even earmark some "stimulus" dollars for cell phones for the homeless who don't already have a Blackberry!

Nice idea Mike, but Obamie is limiting charitable deductions that you can claim on your income tax...

Empirical Study on the Effects of Aging

This is how I feel about it.



Hat tip to Larry P!

Bump and Update! Obama's Mandatory Volunteers for 250,000 strong National Civilian Security Service

BUMP AND UPDATE



The problem is, no believes Obama. He writes books and no one believes what he says. He associates with self-identified terrorists who acts as Marxists and no one believes that he agrees with the Marxists. He tells us on TV that he wants to redistribute the wealth, and no one believes.

And even tells us that he needs a "Civilian National Security Force" that is just as strong, just as powerful, just as well funded as the military... and nobody believes him. Let's review this.

Click on this for the video of Obama.

I mean, how could he put this together.

Well, welcome to HR Bill 1188.... It spells it all out. We will have a volunteer mandatory force. And it has already passed the House and is in the Senate to be scheduled for a vote.

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a plan to set up a new "volunteer corps" and consider whether "a workable, fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people" should be developed.

The legislation also refers to "uniforms" that would be worn by the "volunteers" and the "need" for a "public service academy, a 4-year institution" to "focus on training" future "public sector leaders." The training, apparently, would occur at "campuses."

The vote yesterday came on H.R. 1388, which reauthorizes through 2014 the National and Community Service Act of 1990 and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, acts that originally, among other programs, funded the AmeriCorps and the National Senior Service Corps.

It not only reauthorizes the programs, but also includes "new programs and studies" and is expected to be funded with an allocation of $6 billion over the next five years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Many, however, are raising concerns that the program, which is intended to include 250,000 "volunteers," is the beginning of what President Obama called his "National Civilian Security Force" in a a speech last year in which he urged creating an organization as big and well-funded as the U.S. military. He has declined since then to elaborate.

WND Link

Now I know, I know. World Net Daily can be a little hysterical from time to time, and besides that it is composed of people who believe in God, think we are a Constitutional Republic... all that kinda stuff... so maybe we should take it with a grain of salt.

So let's do this! Let's go to a government web site, and see what the Bill says.
Not, mind you, what I think, or WND thinks.... But just the words from the Bill.

Expresses the sense of the Congress that the number of AmeriCorps, VISTA, and NCCC participants should reach 250,000 by 2014.

Okay, fair enough. That's obviously the National Civilian Security Force he was talking about. Now, what else should we notice?

If we are talking about volunteers, why not call them "volunteers." But that isn't the word....

of AmeriCorps, VISTA, and NCCC participants should reach 250,000 by 2014

Such a simple thing, but if you mean volunteers and you are writing a law, why not write what you mean?

Congressional Commission on Civic Service Act - Establishes a Congressional Commission on Civic Service to provide recommendations to Congress on improving opportunities for individuals to volunteer or perform national service.

Let's look at the end phrase

on improving opportunities for individuals to volunteer or perform national service

Now that's strange. If they are talking about volunteers, wouldn't you just write:

"on improving opportunities for individuals to volunteer for
national service"

I mean, why the awkward wording? Why the "to perform?" Simple. Anyone reading it next year can see plainly that the act is meant to help people volunteer...... but if not enough do so.... be required "to perform."

Link

And why would Obama need such?

Anybody here ever hear of the SS? Brown shirts? They were the folks who established and ran the Nazis for Hitler. Now I know that puts me in the "Oh he's paranoid pile," but just sit down and start thinking.

And what is the other trait that dictators share? They are in front of the people continually. Have you been able to turn your TV on lately without seeing Obama??


THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF SENATORS WHO VOTED AGAINST THE BILL. IF YOUR SENATOR'S NAME IS NOT THERE THEN HE/SHE VOTED FOR IT.

Barrasso (R-WY)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Coburn (R-OK)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Graham (R-SC)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Kyl (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Not Voting - 1
Dorgan (D-ND)

Obamie of the Windy Arts

Greetings dear chums, I have been traveling a bit and unlike so many intrepid bloggers I don't find time to give you a hour by hour, or even day by day for that matter of my many pungent observations, although I know that by not doing so I have deprived the world...

But that doesn't mean I don't remain your ever faithful reporter.

In addition to miles and miles of interstate highways I actually saw miles and miles of high tech windmills, some even turning and a hi-voltage transmission line going off into the distance. I was cheered by that. And the fact that wind was about 35 knots may have played a hand in it. Knowing the area I also know that you can have:

Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.
-- "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," Samuel Taylor Coleridge

I mean I hate to be just so ungreen, but facts be facts. The wind doesn't blow all the times, and I just don't see how you can have a modern society based on energy sources that depend on temperature gradients and air pressure differentials.... And every time I bring this up, someone always starts talking about it working 90% of the time... battery storage.... etc., etc., etc.

One group of us is stupid and I don't think it is me and my group. Especially with Obamie talking about 10 million plug-in electric cars hitting the grid in 5 years. That means we are going to have to overbuild like crazy and we can't afford to overbuild in places that won't provide us a reliable supply of electricity.

The other point is that you can't just transmit electric energy over unlimited distances. Electric cables have resistance and resistance causes power losses.

Yes chums, even Obamie can not repeal Ohm's Law.

Best Texas Hold'em bad beat line from the LA Poker Classic

"I'm running so bad I think you only get 6 cards."

A bit of humor

The Best Smart Ass Answers of 2008!!

SMART ASS ANSWER #6
It was mealtime during an airline flight.
'Would you like dinner?', the flight attendant asked John, seated in front.
'What are my choices?' John asked.
'Yes or no,' she replied.

SMART ASS ANSWER #5
A flight attendant was stationed at the departure gate to check tickets. As a man approached, she extended her hand for the ticket and he opened his trench coat and flashed her.
Without missing a beat, she said, 'Sir, I need to see your ticket, not your stub.'

SMART ASS ANSWER #4
A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store but she couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked a stock boy, ' Do these turkeys get any bigger?'
The stock boy replied, 'No ma'am, they're dead.'

SMART ASS ANSWER #3
The police officer got out of his car as the kid who was stopped for speeding rolled down his window. 'I've been waiting for you all day,' the officer said.
The kid replied, Yeah, well I got here as fast as I could'
When the cop finally stopped laughing, he sent the kid on his way without a ticket.

SMART ASS ANSWER #2
A truck driver was driving along on the freeway and noticed a sign that read: Low Bridge Ahead. Before he knows it, the bridge is right in front of him and his truck gets wedged under it. Cars are backed up for miles.
Finally a police car comes up. The cop gets out of his car and walks to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says, 'Got stuck, huh?'The truck driver says, 'No, I was delivering this bridge and I ran out of gas.'

SMART ASS ANSWER OF THE YEAR 2008!!
A college teacher reminds her class of tomorrow's final exam. 'Now class, I won't tolerate any excuses for you not being here tomorrow. I might consider a nuclear attack or a serious personal injury, illness, or a death in your immediate family, but that's it, no other excuses whatsoever!'
A smart-ass student in the back of the room raised his hand and asked, 'What would you say if tomorrow I said I was suffering from complete and utter sexual exhaustion?'
The entire class is reduced to laughter and snickering. When silence was restored, the teacher smiled knowingly at the student, shook her head and sweetly said, 'Well, I guess you'd have to write the exam with your other hand.'

A BONUS EXTRA
A woman is standing nude looking in the bedroom mirror. She is not happy with what she sees and says to her husband, 'I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment'The husband replies, 'Your eyesight's damn near perfect.

Hat tip to Dave T

Get off your knees President Obama!!!!!!!

Obamie is either dumb or surrendering... or maybe both.



The following was sent to Iran with absolutely no fan fare within the us. You will see why. While we worry 24/7 over money, he is surrendering to Iran.

See the video link. His tone and posture is as a supplicant. What a shame. How disgusting.

"I would like to speak directly to the people and leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Obama said in a conciliatory tone that contrasted sharply with Bush's hardline approach. "We seek the promise of a new beginning."

Obama's willingness to talk to U.S. enemies like Iran has been welcomed internationally as a departure from what many saw as Bush's go-it-alone "cowboy diplomacy" epitomized by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Link

Video link

And what has Iran replied?

Ali-Akbar Javan-Fekr said: "The U.S. must atone for it's past mistakes toward the Islamic Republic of Iran and must make fundamental changes in it's policy. Differences between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue to exist for as long as Washington continues to blindly support the evil regime of Israel."

Ahmadinejad's spokesman also added: "The United States must discontinue it's violent behavior, it must stop arresting Muslims and must stop supporting terrorist groups around the world!"

Link

The sentence in bold expresses the same thing today as bin Ladin said 12 years ago this month in his interview with Peter Arnett, then of CNN.

Transcript of Osama Bin Ladin interview by Peter Arnett

REPORTER: Mr. Bin Ladin, will the end of the United States' presence in Saudi Arabia, their withdrawal, will that end your call for jihad against the United States and against the US ?

BIN LADIN:... So, the driving-away jihad against the US does not stop with its withdrawal from the Arabian peninsula, but rather it must desist from aggressive intervention against Muslims in the whole world.

Link

You know, Bush may not have captured bin Ladin, but he didn't offer to kiss his ass.

Expanded from comments I made in the Tennessean.

Obama's Plan to destroy veteran's insurance

Mike L has sent me an email containing information on Obamie’s plan to change the medical insurance program for veterans. It’s been kicking around the Internet for several days and has raised a stink.

Some of you know that I spent 10 years in Naval Aviation and still have very good friends who I served with, and some who retired. Some I served with never made it to retirement. One lies where we do not know and two others never saw their children grow up.

Others are dying at a natural rate and others I see from time to remember how wonderful it was to be young and celebrate our saving democracy from the Soviets. I trust you will pardon that bit of humor, but humor is one of the few things old men still can have.

So the military and how it is treated is of high interest to me, as it should be to every US citizen.

I never got around to commenting on this because it was being covered everywhere, and now that my anger has lowered to the point where I just won’t rant, it appears that Obamie of the Unknown Kingdom has wisely decided to withdraw.

But he will be back. That’s the way the Lefties work. When they hit fierce resistance they slink away and then come back. Again and again.

So to all of you who voted for this walking disaster to our country, I ask this question.

Do you support his plan to make veterans with service connected injuries who have private insurance pay??

It’s a simple question.

Pin the tail on Barney

The video that had disappeared like magic has reappeared. In it O'Reilly does an admirable job of pointing out to Barney that Barney screwed the pooch in July 2008and recommended Fannie/Freddie going forward, one of the worst, if not THE worst recommendation in the history of the world. Well, ok. Maybe telling everyone how safe the Titanic was safe was a wee bit worse.

What's interesting in this is that in Barney's sputtering defense, he claims that it was he, Barney Frank and his band of Demo donkeys that had the first opportunity to pass a bill to stop the problem after Obamie's Heroes lied enough to win in 2006 and take complete control of Congress.

Link to video. Pay close attention starting at about the 1 minute 50 second mark.

Now, how can you tell a Demo is lying? His lips are moving!

From an earlier post:

Shall we do something that the MSM can't seem to do? Use Google?

(From the source article) "The Bush administration today recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago.

Under the plan, disclosed at a Congressional hearing today, a new agency would be created within the Treasury Department to assume supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that are the two largest players in the mortgage lending industry.

The new agency would have the authority, which now rests with Congress, to set one of the two capital-reserve requirements for the companies. It would exercise authority over any new lines of business. And it would determine whether the two are adequately managing the risks of their ballooning portfolios.

The plan is an acknowledgment by the administration that oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- which together have issued more than $1.5 trillion in outstanding debt -- is broken. A report by outside investigators in July concluded that Freddie Mac manipulated its accounting to mislead investors, and critics have said Fannie Mae does not adequately hedge against rising interest rates." (End quote from source.)

"And before you say, "About time Bush did something," that was 9/11/2003.

Well, the Demos shot it down."

(From source article)''These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing any kind of financial crisis,'' said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ''The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.''

Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, agreed.

''I don't see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing,'' Mr. Watt said.(End quote)

Link to post with further links to NYTimes

You know, what I can't figure out is why the LSM can't do what I just did above and show it to millions? I am one old ROF who does this in my spare time when I feel like it. Look! This is important stuff! This guy sat right their and lied through his teeth! Yet he is in charge of the House Finance Committee and will get re-elected again in 2010 by the unknowing and uncaring voters in MA.

New and improved deer rifle.....................

Those deer are getting meaner and bigger every day.



Stolen from Dave T and a hat tip to him! And thanks to whoever that is posing with the rifle!

Flight 943 ditches in Pacific

Dave T sent me an email reminding me that about 56 years ago Pan Am flight 943 ditched in the Pacific Ocean. Watch the linked to video. And the next time you wonder what the Coast Guard does... well you will know!

Link to Video.

Stratocruiser

The great disappearing act of 2009

Last fall O'Reilly had Barney Frank on his program and flayed him, including playing a video of Barney last July telling everyone that Fannie and Freddie are great "going forward!"

Of course that was wrong and anyone with a lick of sense last July knew that Fannie/Freddie were in huge trouble, but there was Barney "Give me their names" Frank giving a buy recommendation...

A few minutes ago I went to my Fav list to pull the video up and post it in this ....but guess what? Yeah, you know.'

The video has been pulled because of "Violations of Terms of Service." You know, what is happening is plain to see. No evidence of Demo wrong doing shall be left in public view!

Expanded from my comments in the Tennessean.


Hat tip to the Houdini poster. Click here if you are interested.

Now Fannie and Freddie are passing out money! Hope Barney's friend gets some!

And the hits just keep on coming!

Fannie Mae plans bonuses of up to $1 million for 4 executives.

Fannie Mae said regulators determined that the bonuses were needed because keeping key employees "was essential to ensure our viability through 2010, which would allow Congress, the administration and other parties involved time to determine what the form and function of the company will be in future years."

Huh? In every company I ever worked for people got fired for doing a lousy job!

You know, after this, watching some TV today and hearing what Shep Smith said... I think it is time to get rid of all of'em! Demos, Repubs and all the others. None of'em are worth keeping, some are merely worse than others. Maybe we can get some action in the primaries in 2010.

And remember this. Barney Frank, who wants names, has a special friend who works at Fannie Mae. Talk about balls, Barney has a pair. Or else he has figured out none of the wussies around him will call him out.

Link to Barney

Hat tip to Edwards1949 at the Tennessean.

Shep Smith and Fox News says it best

I was going to write something (hopefully) cute about the assholes we have watched on TV all day, but I have decided that assholes really should not be insulted by comparing them to what has been displayed for all the world to see.

It was truly butt ugly.


And click here to Shep Smith and FNC nail these phoney four flushers to the wall.

The European Union and language

Months ago I adopted the canary, that bird used long ago as an early warning detector of deadly gas in mines, as a symbol of what is happening in Europe and what is coming our way. While he may appear in good health he is singing only to keep his spirits up as he readies himself to fly by the graveyard.

And no, I am not making the following up.

Euro chiefs ban 'Miss' and 'Mrs'

The politically correct rules also mean a ban on Continental titles, such as Madame and Mademoiselle, Frau and Fraulein and Senora and Senorita.

Never mind that words are supposed to have meaning and that "Miss" denotes an unmarried female and "Mrs" a married female, we must obscure and confuse, probably because there is no equivalent to "Ms" for men beyond the no longer used "Master" for boys and "Mr" for adult males.

Or perhaps merely because socialists understand that to confuse is to allow them to make up the rules as they go along.

I always supported using "Ms" in business as a formal and polite greeting indicating that the martial status has nothing to do with the business transaction, but this is stupid.

I am tempted to add, "I guess 'bitch' is out of the question," as a weak attempt at satirical protest but I am sure it would be misunderstood. Perhaps if I threw in "Prick" for men I might be saved. And yes, I thought of "ass" but that is asexual.

Wait! I have it. "Comrade" is perfect, denoting members of the Communist Party. I am sure some of the Euro chiefs would fit perfectly in the Moscow of say, 1950??

But it doesn't end there.

Officials have also ordered that 'sportsmen' be called 'athletes', 'statesmen' be referred to as 'political leaders' and even that 'synthetic' or 'artificial' be used instead of 'man-made'.

The guidance lists banned terms for describing professions, including fireman, air hostess, headmaster, policeman, salesman, manageress, cinema usherette and male nurse.

The "political leader" instead of "statesman" is a perfect example of what they want to do. In one swoop bin Ladin becomes equal with Churchill and Stalin with FDR.

I can only guess at the effort, time and money spent by these people in such work as this.

But, they have not always won.

Seven years ago, an attempt to amend noise laws came close to effectively outlawing bagpipes.

Obviously there are a number of English in the EU bureaucrats.

But they have had their successes.

However, a number of bizarre EU rules remain in place, including a directive stating that every pair of rubber boots must be supplied with a user's manual in 12 languages.

The older I get the wiser my Father becomes. I have heard him on several occasions when commenting on the intelligence and lack of common sense of some hapless individual... always a M. and never a Ms, Miss or Mrs., announce:

"He couldn't pour piss out of a boot without instructions on the heel."

I never knew Dad was that familar with buraucrats. We had so few on the farm.

Source link.

Hat tip to UrgentAgenda.

A Most Wanted Man - an appreciation

I just finished reading le Carre's latest novel and it, unlike some of his work in the not too distant past, doesn't disappoint. It is tightly plotted, moves quickly, and as in all of his novels presents a moral dilemma. How do we protect ourselves from terrorist attacks without harming those on the sidelines?

His answer is, of course, that we do not. The most wanted man in this case is blameless, being used by everyone who has caught him and then let him bribe his way free until finally he represents a fish so large that everyone wants him.

The novel is replete with a young female lawyer from wealthy parents who wants to protect him, a banker who loves her and through her recognizes his failures of the past and a security man who wants nothing to do with his peers in other parts of Germany's government and others. He only wants to turn the most wanted man to his own, more moral, use. There is, of course, the ugly American and the venal English, a mainstay of his that is almost boring but needed to move the story along.

I'm not going any further there because I don't want to spoil your read. It is interesting that le Carre seems to have came to the conclusion that the terrorists do not recognize individual guilt, only collective guilt so they have no problem killing any and all. But, like all those on the Left, and make no mistake he has become a full up member of the Left, he refuses to understand that what that means is that innocent people will be harmed on both sides and that the blame lies totally with the terrorists.

Since he is approaching 80 I doubt he will change all that much. But one can hope that the man who brought us, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," "The Honourable Schoolboy," and "Smilety's People," and seventeen other very readable works will resolve his conscience before he goes into that not so good night.

A need I think we all have.

South of the border,,,down drug war way

President Obama is considering whether to grant emergency requests for National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border, as drug-related violence spirals out of control in the country's southern neighbor.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday that Obama has received "specific requests" for troops along the border, and the president acknowledged to a group of reporters the day before that he was weighing the option.

"The president has committed to reviewing those requests," Gibbs said. "I don't know from (the Department of Homeland Security) of a timeline of a recommendation or a decision on that, but I know that he will certainly take their (request) under advisement."

Fox News

The governors are the Commander In Chief of all National Guard Units. So Hussein can't do anything unless the governor agrees that the President can federalize the troops. So if the governor thinks he needs troops along the border, all he has to do us call the National Guard. Same for NM, AZ and CA.

So this request puzzles me unless the Governor of Texas is looking for political cover and federal money. That would be silly. The former will do him no good and he could get the money without turning over control of the troops to Hussein who might very well decide to establish a 1500 mile long 3000 mile wide demilitarized zone patrolled by Mexico..

Plus the thought of Hussein moving mobilized US Army troops around the US bothers me. He might decide to arrest Limbaugh or other critics and....

Historical type link

Yeah, I know it is silly. But then that's what the Jews said...

Hat to Guillermo in the Tennessean.

Late Night Special

Well, late night for old men. We need our sleep so that we can rise in the dawn to drink coffee and figure out how we can trick ourselves into believing that we are doing important things.

We’ve all sat around and giggled at the gross mistakes Hussein has made in picking people. The names of the ones who have withdrawn, those who have been confirmed after being shown as not who a reasonable person would want have become legion.

The question becomes, why? Bad vetting explains only so much. I think there is a deeper reason.

Smart managers pick smart employees. Heck, I always tried my best to hire people who knew things I didn't because their knowledge then became my knowledge and their skills my skills. I did not need more of "me."

And I don't want to claim too much for myself, because it took me quite awhile to figure that out. And they must be loyal. This comes from shared interests, goals and an understanding that they will be rewarded and protected.

So why this crowd of flawed people who are now showing all the signs of being people he did not have to pick?

Obama is a narcissist, probably developed by the rejection of his father and then his step-father and the conflict between his grandmother and mother in his teen years.

To the extent that people are pathologically narcissistic, they can be controlling, blaming, self-absorbed, intolerant of others’ views, unaware of others' needs and of the effects of their behavior on others, and insistent that others see them as they wish to be seen

Link

He is a "controller" and as a controller he will try and micro manage everything and will hire people who he feels he can control. Whether or not they or loyal they will give lip service and attempt to do what they think he wants.

For example. Limbaugh is a huge source of negative comments. Obamie doesn't like that. Thus his minions move to attack Limbaugh.

A move reasonable people correctly see as stupid, but less stupid than insulting Gordon Brown because he represents colonial England in Hussein’s mind.

On the other hand we see him trying to ingrate himself with the Muslim world because he sees it as a powerful figure in his life. i.e. His father.

Psycho babble? Maybe. Maybe not. And that’s scary.

Expanded on a comnment in the Tennessean

The Pied Piper

There was a Pied Piper who said “We live in the greatest country in the world. Help me change it!”

*And the people said, “Change is good!”

Then he said, “We are going to tax the rich fat-cats,”……

*And the people said “Sock it to them!”

“and redistribute their wealth.”

*And the people said, “Show me the money!”

And then he said, “Redistribution of wealth is good for everybody”

*And Joe the plumber said, are you kidding me?”

And Joe’s personal records were hacked and publicized.

*And one lone reporter asked, “Isn’t that Marxist policy?”

And she was banished from the kingdom!

Then someone asked, “With no foreign relations experience, how will you deal with radical terrorists?”

And the Pied Piper said, “Simple. I’ll sit down and talk with them and show them how nice we really are and they’ll forget that they ever wanted to kill us all!”

Then the Pied Piper said, “I’ll give 95% of you lower taxes.”

*And one, lone voice said, “But 40% of us don’t pay ANY taxes.”

So the Pied Piper said, “Then I’ll give you some of the taxes the fat-cats pay!”

*And the people said, “Show me the money!”

Then the Pied Piper said, “I’ll tax your Capital Gains when you sell your homes!”

*And the people yawned and the slumping housing market collapsed.

And he said, “I’ll mandate employer- funded health care for EVERY worker and raise the minimum wage.”

*And the people said, “Gim’me some of that!”

Then he said, “I’ll penalize employers who ship jobs overseas.”

*And the people said, “Where’s my rebate check?”

Then the Pied Piper actually said, “I’ll bankrupt the coal industry and electricity rates will skyrocket!”

*And the people said, “Coal is dirty, coal is evil, no more coal! But we don’t care for that part about higher electric rates.”

So the Pied Piper said, “Not to worry. If your rebate isn’t enough to cover your expenses, we’ll bail you out. Just sign up with ACORN and your troubles are over!”

Then he said, “Illegal immigrants feel scorned and slighted. Let’s grant them amnesty, Social Security, free education, free lunches, free medical care, bi-lingual signs and guaranteed housing.”

*And the people said, “Ole`! Bravo!” And they made him King!

And so it came to pass that employers, facing spiraling costs and ever-higher taxes, raised their prices and laid off workers.

Others simply gave up and went out of business and the economy slowed even further.

Then the Pied Piper said, “I am the Messiah and I’m here to save you! We’ll just print more money so everyone will have enough!”

But our foreign trading partners said, “Wait a minute. Your dollar isn’t worth what it was. You’ll have to pay more.”

*And the people said, “Wait a minute. That’s not fair!”

And the world said, “Neither are these other, idiotic programs you’ve embraced. You’ve become a Socialist state and a second-rate power. Now you’ll play by our rules!”

*And the people said, “What have we done?”

But it was too late.

If you think this is a fairy tale, open your eyes and ears. It’s happening RIGHT NOW!


Hat tip to Larry P!

24 Update - R rated words

2 charged after search of DC tech office

WASHINGTON – A District of Columbia employee and a technology consultant were charged with corruption Thursday after a raid on the former office of a city official who now works for President Barack Obama.
The charges were formalized in a federal court hearing as the FBI finished searching the city's technology office, which was led until recently by Obama's new computer chief, Vivek Kundra.

Yusuf Acar, the acting chief security officer in the city's technology office, was ordered held without bond pending a hearing Tuesday. Prosecutors said $70,000 in cash was found during a search of Acar's Washington home and that he posed a serious flight risk.

I mean, who could make this up? A black Prez, Muslim names with lots of cash... a Prez named Hussein....who names this guy his computer chief...

Would it be out of line for me to say:

Whatinthefuckinghellisthisshsitthathusseinkeepsdoing?

Link

Wish I had said that!

In a time where so much is being made about our first black president, Ann Coulter made the following observation in her column of 2/25/2009:

"But as long as the nation is obsessed with historic milestones, is no one going to remark on what a great country it is where a mentally retarded woman can become speaker of the house?”

Hat tip to Ann C and Bill T!

Ducks and geese and airplanes

My thanks to everybody who sent me this. Supposedly it is a wanted poster from PETA. It proves that a picture is worth a 1000 words.

I was looking at it when I remembered being in an Allegheny Airlines BAC111 years ago when we hit a goose on one wing's leading edge on approach into TRI-CITIES. The BAC111 was well known to be underpowered and the thought of having impeded airflow over the wing was attention getting.

But the pilot merely announced he would be landing a little faster than normal and slicked it in without even a bump.

That stirred the ole memory pods up a bit.

The above is a French Caravelle. I think it was like the third or so commercial jetliner. I don't know how many airlines flew them, but United did for sure.

Back in the late 60's or maybe it was the early 70's, UAL flew them from Newark. The old Newark with low laying concrete terminals, no Jetways and questionable air conditioning.

During that time frame they had what they called "Smokers." Based on the old "Smoker Boxing Matches," "Men Only" nights at the club... in theory no women were allowed except for the flight attendants... I can't remember for sure but I "think" they passed out free cigars...on the flight which departed around 5PM to Chicago.

That thumping sound was the PC Police Person hitting the floor............

On one fine day I was strapped into a window seat in the first row... I think everything was single class... On take off a piece of plastic fell off the overhead and cut a very small gash in my forehead. The Flight Attendant gave me a cold compress and when we got to Chicago a Customer Service rep apologized and gave me a free ticket for a flight from/to any place in the continental US.

And I didn't even think about suing and United didn't engage two law firms in the matter.

My Lord how times have changed!

Doing business back then was a little different than now... I always stayed at a Holiday Inn not too far from the airport. I wouldn't say that the security was high, but they actually had guards on each floor. I asked one of the guys on the front desk if that had solved their problems and he said it had cut the TV's being stolen down to one or two a week...

Now days TV's are so cheap no self respecting thief would hoist one.. well, maybe a flat screen...

Your life is over! Now give me your money!

German mathematician who died 450 years ago gets letter demanding TV licence fees
Adam Ries, a German mathematician who died 450 years ago, has been sent a letter demanding that he pay long-overdue television licence fees.

Link

And you think government can fix the economny by getting bigger!?

Global what??

Middle of March, temperature below freezing, sleet and snow possible.

Should have my garden ready for cabbage, potatoes, lettuce and early tomatoes but it has been so wet and cold that the ground just lays there, staring at me.

This global warming is killing me, killing me.

What killed Wall Street.

Enough of the easy stuff.

The link will take you to an article that explains what happened to Wall Street.

It is very hard reading.

Link

Read it and learn how stupid the people making millions really were... or how crooked...


Hat tip to cravat at the Tennessean.

Life of a salesman

Truest picture I have ever seen.



But to be honest, I don't remember a life line!
Hat tip to Mike L.

Who voted for Obamie

Now you know.

A report says high school students aren't very good with American history.

On a recent test, a majority of seniors thought Lincoln's Gettysburg address was ALincoln@gettysburg.com..."

I have no doubt. None at all.


Hat tip to Dave T.

Some advice for Warren Buffett

Buffett said the nation's leaders need to support President Barack Obama's efforts to repair the economy because fear is dominating Americans' behavior and the economy has basically followed the worst-case scenario he envisioned.

"It's fallen off a cliff," Buffett said Monday during a live appearance on CNBC. "Not only has the economy slowed down a lot, but people have really changed their habits like I haven't seen."

Uh Warren look. Can we talk? Now we all know that you are a Democrat and that you supported Hussein... and you may have been, at one time, a very sharp finance guy..

But all things come to an end. And when you say support Hussein because it is fear that is driving the markets... well... yes, except it is the FEAR of Hussein's policies and statements that has ran the market down 20% since he was elected.

Now, see the difference??

Link

Italian Tom Sawyer

Tomato Garden

An old Italian man lived alone in New Jersey . He wanted to plant his annual tomato garden, but it was very difficult work, as the ground was hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison.
The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament:

Dear Vincent,
I am feeling pretty sad, because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here, my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like in the old days.
Love, Papa

A few days later he received a letter from his son.

Dear Pop,
Don't dig up that garden. That's where the bodies are buried. Love, Vinnie

At 4am the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son.

Dear Pop,
Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love you, Vinnie

Blame Mike L.

Coup d'etat by Obama?

I'm not this parnoid... yet. But You will have to admit there's some truth in this.

“My biggest fear,” writes Hosquatch, “is an attack from within....Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, John Murtha, Arlen Specter...does anyone have faith and confidence in these legislators? this nation has ALREADY suffered a coup d'etat, and the man in the Oval Office is a usurper bent on crashing this economy and destroying this society so he can morph it into the socialist entity he envisions, with the financial backing of anti-capitalist George Soros and other such men.”

Link

Sounds silly until you stop and think. If you want to destroy any country first you must destroy its society. The best and easiest way to do that is to destroy the economy and the best and easiest way to do that is to destroy its markets... and its banking system.

Who will buy bank stocks when the government speaks of nationalization?

Who will buy health care company stocks when the government speaks of nationalization?

Who will buy energy stocks when the government speaks of higher taxes and more regulation?

Who will buy utility stocks when the government speaks of adding taxes of $40. a ton, or more, to coal burned?

Who will buy manufacturing stocks when the government is talking cap and trade and adding huge costs.

Who will buy retail stocks when the government is raising taxes that will leave people with less to spend?

Husein of Iraq could not have done as much harm to America as Hussein of We Don't Know Where has done.

Above an expansion of my post in the Tennessean.

Obama and Hoover

And you thought he was kidding.



Herbert Hoover said:

"The motor manufacturing companies have all launched their spring models. There is nothing that provides widespread employment more than automobile construction. Every person contemplating buying a new car this year can make a real contribution to employment by putting in his order now even though he does not take immediate delivery."

Link

Obama said:

“What you’re now seeing is profit and earning ratios are starting to get to the point where buying stocks is a potentially good deal, if you’ve got a long-term perspective on it," said Obama.

Link

Above an expansion of my comment in the Tennesseean.

New Book of the Bible discovered by Obamaites

FIRST BOOK OF BARACK OBAMA
OBAMA IS MY SHEPHERD,
I SHALL NOT WANT.
HE LEADETH ME BESIDE STILL FACTORIES.
HE RESTORETH MY FAITH IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
HE GUIDETH ME IN THE PATH OF UNEMPLOYMENT.
YEA, THOUGH I WALK THROUGHT THE VALLEY OF THE BREAD LINE,
I SHALL NOT GO HUNGRY.
OBAMA HAS ANOINTED MY INCOME WITH TAXES,
MY EXPENSES RUNNETH OVER MY INCOME,
SURELY, POVERTY AND HARD LIVING WILL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE.

THE DEMOCRATS AND I WILL LIVE FOREVER
IN A RENTED HOME.
BUT I AM GLAD I AM AN AMERICAN,
I AM GLAD THAT I AM FREE.
BUT I WISH I WAS A DOG
AND OBAMA A TREE.

Hat tip to Zbcki at the Tennessean

Fligh 1549 Cited for illegal actions.

Preliminary Accident Report FT 1549. Captain held responsible for unauthorized actions which resulted in crash says F.A.A..


Subject: NTSB Report on Flight 1549

----------------

NTSB report on Flight 1549

US Airways violated Federal migratory bird regulations by hunting geese with an A320 Airbus jetliner, claim anonymous government sources. The pilot of flight 1549, Air Force veteran and avid hunter Chesley B. Sullenberger, tried combining both of his interests by bagging a brace of geese over the wetlands near New York's LaGuardia airport after takeoff, on his way to Charlotte, North Carolina.

The imported European $77 million A320 airliner is not certified for either waterfowl or upland bird hunting, so it was not surprising that the aircraft malfunctioned. When he realized that both New York and New Jersey State Game and Fish enforcement officers would soon be approaching, Captain Sullenberger unsuccessfully attempted to hide the plane in the Hudson River.


The crew and 150 passengers were chilled and shaken but unhurt. Most were simply grateful to avoid spending the weekend in Charlotte.

National Transportation Safety Board inspectors rushed to the scene, and reportedly found no Duck Stamps on the downed aircraft's fuselage. Captain Sullenberger has not been charged, but is being held incommunicado at an undisclosed location.

PETA is urging the government to prosecute the pilot for double honkercide and poaching, and the animal rights group is expected to file a civil suit on behalf of the flock. The two victims were undocumented aliens, according to sources close to the investigation, Canada geese who had over-stayed their visas. Their goose gang scandalized their quiet Queens
community by squatting in local cemeteries and golf courses, parking on the grass, cooking strange-smelling food and throwing wild parties late into the night. Neighbors say police dogs were called out on several occasions.

Such incidents have triggered a wave of anti-Canada goose sentiment, but at this time revenge or hate crime motives are not suspected in the US Airways bird bashings.

Forensic examination of the avian corpses continues, and technicians are analyzing the two cadavers under heat with chestnuts, prunes, and Armagnac. NTSB inspectors have contributed a supply of testing fluid, a 2005 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling from Alsace. We will update this story as entrees details become available.

Blame Mike L.

Andrew Jackson

"There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare [children] to them, the same [became] mighty men which [were] of old, men of renown." Gen 6:4

I am reading again of Andrew Jackson. Either our most misunderstood or most understood President. But either way, the most unappreciated President by the sages of our modern times. He fits not in their sophisticated world of politics. Yet how could you not love a man about who John Meacham writes:

“Jackson was fond of well cut clothes, racehorses, dueling, newspapers, gambling, whiskey, coffee, a pipe, pretty women, children, and good company.”

There is enough there to make him acceptable in my world yet that doesn’t even scratch the surface. He was also a man who, heading the first and ill fated, military movement to New Orleans during the war of 1812 and summoned to return was told by his Doctor:

“By now 150 of Jackson’s men were sick, 56 could not set up, and Jackson had a total of eleven wagons for the trip.”…..As they prepared to move out, the Doctor Samuel Hogg asked Jackson what he was to do.

Jackson did not hesitate. “To do sir? You are to leave not a one on the ground.”

“But the wagons are full,” Hogg said, “and they will not convey more than half.”

“Then let some of troops dismount, and the officers must give up their horses to the sick….Not a man, sir, must be left behind.”

Hogg took Jackson at his word, and asked for the General’s own horses, which Jackson handed over. In wonder and admiration his men watched (Jackson)…press on.

“I led them into the field… (and) I will at all hazard and risks lead them out.” (Jackson wrote his wife.)

How elegantly and simply stated, and not from a press conference at 5PM but from the middle of the wilderness some place in Mississippi with no one but his character to bear witness.

Yes, there were giants in the land in those days. Now we have twerps who seek to use problems as an opportunity to enslave us. If Hussein had been there he would have condemned society and then rode away, leaving men on the ground.

To the Tennessee politician Felix Grundy, he (Jackson) said, “As long as I have friends or credit, I will stick by them. I shall march them to Nashville or bury them with the honors of war.”

If you ever need an example of leadership or why men will follow some men to their graves in a cause they see as great you need look no further.

Yet now we have politicians who not only will not serve in the midst of danger, they won’t even pay their income taxes. Yet Hussein employs them and the Senate, to their everlasting shame, has approved them.

To either Jackson’s or the Senate's good fortune, the man they called “Old Hickory” is dead. Was he not I have no doubt that he would visit them and I doubt if his disapproval would be limited to mere words.


Quotes from, "American Lion," Jon Meacham, Random House circa 2008.