Bad weather news

Monday had been windy and warm as was Tuesday. The forecast was for bad stuff.

I had watched the front come across the river on radar. The question was, would it kick to the north of us, as it often does, or would we get "it."

So Tuesday night around 11:30 I was watching the TV when the "No Signal" display came on. About 10 minutes later power was lost. About 10 minutes later the thunder and lighting was over powered by a roar that shook the house for maybe 30 seconds and then all we had was rain and rain and rain.

A quick look outside showed the Bradford Pear tree in front of the house was down across the driveway. Another tree was down about 100' away across the driveway. This one was about 18" in diameter. So we went to bed.

No place to go and the driveway blocked. No use to agonize over it.

Didn't sleep much. Come Wednesday morning a stroll around the grounds revealed no damage to the house but a total of 11 trees were on the ground.
Two were blocking the driveway. Three were down across the street in front of the house. The city was very prompt in getting at least part of them removed. The trees had taken down the cable TV cable and a light pole.

The power had came back on around 6:00AM but the cable TV was off until early Wednesday PM. The city showed back up around 2:00PM with a front loader/shovel to crush the trees across the road and stack the brush off to one side. At about that time the phone quit. No Internet. No Phone. No TV.

Things be serious.

Since then we have been busy with the 14" chainsaw. The 20" comes later. Cable came back on Wednesday PM but the phones were off until around 12 noon today.

The front loader had ripped the buried cable out of the ground while trying to use its stablizer feet to enable it to grab the tree across the road.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Kudos to the local cable TV folks. They proved that bad service from the cable company to be a false rumor. Same with the local utility folks. Even with almost all the power lines pole mounted and exposed to the falling trees and limbs they limited the power outages.

Through it all the cell phone worked. Not very well, but it worked. So much for all the worry we had about it back in the 80's.

ATT said they had over 800 trouble tickets. I have no doubt they had at least that many. And with lighting strikes going on you can't work on cable. At last not if you want to live a long life. But I can't shake the feeling that all of the telephone companies bought into the "with electronics you don't need maintenance people" BS and have down sized to the point that they can't react to a major weather related incident.

After the maintenance guy got here it took him about 30 minutes to get us back up and everything working.

Here are a few pictures.

And we were real lucky.

I sure wish Bush would quit harming the country.

This one is across the driveway.

This one is misleading. It is resting on about three other trees. Somehow it has to be cut out and dropped without killing one's self.

How'd you like to work on this tangled mess? Cut a limb under tension the wrong way and have your head taken off.

And yes, Bush has been widely blamed.

But I know it is Obama's fault.

OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Crisis and tulips and gasoline prices

I'm all crisiseed out. Between manmade global cooling, tornados in the tulips, Libya and Iraq and Afghanistan and Egypt and Syria and Palestine and $4.00 gasoline I'm just ready to say, "Aw shit."

How could all this happen to a bunch of nice people like us?

I mean all we want is for everyone to be free and lovable and rich and, and and...

Maybe it's because the world is full of shits who actually do hate us and all these people we've been busy feeding are tuning up to see if they can destroy us.

Hell, look at Obama. Deserted by two fathers, raised by grandparents yet somehow he was nurtured, clothed and supposedly educated.

So what do we get? A President who hates western culture in favor of the Kenyain Father who deserted him. Tell me. Go ahead and tell me we've been doing the right thing.

At least the Brits have not invited him to the wedding. I guess they have enough CDs.

I mean we must be insane. The whole damn country of us must be insane.

Why do I say this?

Because insanity is defined as expecting different results even though we are doing the same thing.

Tell me true. Why in the hell are we spending a deflated nickel on Libya? Someone tell NATO that we don't get any oil there and even if we did the assholes we're protecting will just rip us off.

Trump is right. If we win a war we should get the oil. How do we fire the Department of State???

"Hello? Hillary? Look Babe. I've got some bad news. You and the rest of the people who have been screwing up foreign policy for the past 60 years are fired."

"What? Severance pay? Look, this termination is for cause. Make sure everyone leaves the government property in place and have a nice life."

Meanwhile, let's hope we don't pull a Dorthy tonight and spiral off to see the Wicked Witch of the West.

OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Switchblade

This is kinda neat. Air ground support in a box.

Hat tip to Bill T!


OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

MacDonald's employment news

McDonalds Corporation announced plans Tuesday that include hiring 50,000 new employees throughout the nation.

According to KIVI-TV, the news of the fast-food chain’s hiring spree has already sparked interest all over the country.

Link

Wait! Those jobs are no good!

Or at least that is what the Dimicraps and their handmaidens told us about Bush!

While we all hope that the economy will strengthen, the White House’s all-out PR effort today on the economy fails to recognize how historically weak both wages and job growth have been. Most Americans have good reason to believe the economy is not working for them. We should not lower our standards to the point where our leaders can state that our economy is doing great when the typical worker has seen his or her wages drop in real terms over the last four years and when job growth is at historic lows for this stage of a recovery

Link

BTW - That was 1/6/2006 when the unemployment rate was below 5%.

They must be outraged over the current situation.

No? Now why would that be?
OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Obama panel to investigate high oil prices

I read where Obama has appointed a panel to investigate high gasoline prices.

Being the good citizen that I am, I always want to help us find truth, justice and the American Way.

To do this, please return to the day Obama was sworn into office. If you filled up with gasoline the price was $1.61.

Link to a chart of average gasoline prices.

Yes, Bush's and Congress' actions had broken the back of the speculators.

But from that low prices have risen steadily to the current $3.87, a $2.26 increase.

Now why have they done this?

5:45 a.m., Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Facing gas prices near $4 a gallon and a pivotal national election, congressional Democrats allowed a ban on offshore drilling to lapse in September

But times change, and on Tuesday, the Obama administration - with gas prices roughly half what they were and many Democrats’ having been swept into office - blocked offshore drilling plans put in place at the last minute by the Bush administration, including plans to open the national outer continental shelf for drilling.

Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar also announced last week that his agency would block drilling on public lands in Utah, criticizing the Bush administration for releasing its offshore drilling plan just days before leaving office.

Link to article.

So why did the President do that? Well, listen to what he had said the previous summer (2008).

MSNBC Video

Obama rambles on about how we are running out of oil, about how India and China are expanding. Then the interviewer asks, "...could oil prices help us?" Now, remember that we had just seen the highest oil prices in history. So the question was "could high oil prices help us?

So what did Obama say? That it would be okay if it was a gradual adjustment. We could help the people and our auto industry could adjust.

Now, do you understand why and what he did on February 11, 2009 and what has happened?

Obama actually thinks high oil prices are good.

At 2 minutes Obama is mocking anyone who drives a vehicle that gets 8 miles to the gallon. The man he's mocking responds that he has a big family. Obama is amazed and apparently put off at the news the man has ten children. Barry, who has never wanted for anything in his life, then says the father should buy a hybrid.

The man with ten kids who can't afford gas entirely due to Obama's policies he tells to go buy a brand new car.

Disgusting. Democrats are the party of the little guy. What a sick lie.

Bonus: At 2:40 Obama explains that they didn't change gas mileage standards through the law, they got everyone to agree to it. The first people that come to mind in his list of participants: auto workers. In other words, unions. But no, no, he isn't a Leftist or a socialist.

Link

OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Recycle or cry

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't
have the 'green thing' back in my day."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. The former generation did not care enough to save our environment."

He was right, that generation didn't have the green thing in its day.Back then, they returned their milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and
sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over.

So they really were recycled.

But they didn't have the green thing back in that customer's day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks.

But she was right. They didn't have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby's diapers because they didn't have the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts - wind and solar power really did dry the
clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters,not always brand-new clothing.

But that old lady is right, they didn't have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house - not a TV in every room.And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief, not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn't have electric machines to do everything for you.When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills
that operate on electricity.

But she's right, they didn't have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty instead of using a cup or
a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled their writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just
because the blade got dull.

But they didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn't need a computerized
gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space
in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful the old folks
were just because they didn't have the green thing back then?

Hat tip to Mike L!

OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Poker Stars, Full Tilt and Absolute indicted

In case you are interested in poker and have been under a rock for the past several days be aware that last Friday the FBI threw a large clod in the churn of PokerStars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker and a whole bunch of people associated with them and each other in various ways. Best I can tell they are indicted for money laundering, wire fraud and violation of:

TITLE VIII—UNLAWFUL INTERNET
GAMBLING ENFORCEMENT
SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Unlawful Internet Gambling
Enforcement Act of 2006’’.
SEC. 802. PROHIBITION ON ACCEPTANCE OF ANY PAYMENT
INSTRUMENT FOR UNLAWFUL INTERNET GAMBLING.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SUBCHAPTER IV—PROHIBITION ON FUNDING OF
UNLAWFUL INTERNET GAMBLING

If you are interested you can read the law here see page 69 and the criminal indictment here. There are also civil charges suing for billions and all the assets.

Many had thought that the 2006 law didn't really apply to poker. Why? Well the law says:

BET OR WAGER.—
a sporting event, or a game subject to chance,

And since the government had not previously demanded that the Internet sites block US players it made sense. Many based this on the belief that CA, which outlawed stud-horse poker in 1885, because it was considered a game of chance and that holdem was a game of chance. Thus when Holdem became legal in the 1990 time frame it was considered not to be a game of chance, but a game of skill.

Everyone was wrong. According to this article the only game considered a game of skill in CA is Bridge. Holdem had merely been ruled that it was not stud-horse poker.

So much more for what "everyone knows." And, of course, CA law is not Federal law.

But it remains interesting that apparently the Feds didn't go to the Internet gambling sites and say "US players are forbidden from playing." I mean, I don't think the Internet sites would have ignored that.

But it is reported that US players now trying to enter a cash game receive this message:

We are sorry but, due to government regulations, playing real money ring games is not allowed in your area.

I got curious so I sent them an email asking who in the US government had said that. They replied:

We regret to inform you that in light of recent developments,PokerStars is no longer offering real money play to US residents.

We are currently assessing the situation, and will communicate with all of our players as soon as possible

That's a non-answer to the question of "Who." They are either lying or else they are belatedly covering all the bases.

But I want to return to this.

BET OR WAGER.—
a sporting event, or a game subject to chance,

It is just possible that the Feds didn't push the issue because they didn't want to have to prove that poker was a game of chance which would have probably been a question raised by a law suit had the Feds told the sites to block US players.

Instead the Feds decided that they would just block new players from funding (buying chips) their accounts and old players who busted out. That would eventually do the same thing. From the law:

‘‘§ 5363. Prohibition on acceptance of any financial
instrument for unlawful Internet gambling
‘‘No person engaged in the business of betting or wagering
may knowingly accept, in connection with the participation of
another person in unlawful Internet gambling—
‘‘(1) credit, or the proceeds of credit, extended to or on
behalf of such other person (including credit extended through
the use of a credit card);
‘‘(2) an electronic fund transfer, or funds transmitted by
or through a money transmitting business, or the proceeds
of an electronic fund transfer or money transmitting service,
from or on behalf of such other person;
‘‘(3) any check, draft, or similar instrument which is drawn
by or on behalf of such other person and is drawn on or
payable at or through any financial institution; or
‘‘(4) the proceeds of any other form of financial transaction,
as the Secretary and the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System may jointly prescribe by regulation, which
involves a financial institution as a payor or financial intermediary
on behalf of or for the benefit of such other person.

In other words, their aint no way no how anybody can legally fund an account.

Apparently the people at the three sites who are indicted thought they could sneak through the back door.

OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

The partial truth, the partial whole truth and nothing but the partial truth so help me Obama

So much for the most transparent administration in the history of the world.

OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Inner Peace

If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat plain food every day and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,




Then you are probably the family dog.

Hat tip to Mike L!

OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

A single payer health care system

There is no such thing as a free market in health care and I am tired of hearing people talk about something that doesn’t exist.

We have state and national medical associations, insurance companies, and federal and state governments through Medicare and Medicaid that approve treatments and recommend prices.

Health care is a demand based business. It is not an option. When you are sick you don’t shop around for cheaper treatment, even if it existed. A heart attack demands immediate attention. There are no “Broken bones set Thursday Special(s)!”

So, my conservative friends let us quit lying about the subject.

And given that, through the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid, we have decided health care is a Right, the only question is how much we pay and how shall we pay it.

The amount should be enough to properly reward people who are smart enough to become doctors and nurses and dedicated enough to undergo the years of study and associated costs.

And that amount is more now than it was in 1950 when heart attacks were almost always fatal or the precursor of one in the near future. Improved positive expectations in any situation leads to a willingness to pay more.

So the issues are how much and how do we make the payment.

Now my Leftie friends will say, “Tax the rich,” and I admit that is a nice thought. The problem, of course, is that there aren’t enough rich, so what they mean is, “Tax everyone but the poor.” The problem with that is that no can define what poor means. Should it be the same as FIT? You know, a family of four making around $40K or less pays nothing?

The problem there is this. How do we insure those who engage in illegal activities, such as dope dealers, prostitution services and oil speculators pay their fair share? I mean if we say that a shot up dope dealer’s life deserves the same treatment as a postman supporting a family for four, shouldn’t the dope dealer pay? I mean fair is fair, isn’t it?

I say that we use a National Sales Tax collected at the RETAIL point of sale (this is not a VAT). To put some fairness into the collection we could exempt unprepared food, utility bills under $200, used cars over 4 years old and other items that impact the working poor more than the rich.

What shall we use as a system to deliver the care and administrate it? Well, we already have that in place. It’s called Medicare.

Now, that wasn’t hard, was it?












OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Obama explained

You gonna love this video!

Hat tip to Dave T!


OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

The President has a problem... and so do we

The president said he loves his life in the White House but doesn't enjoy some of the ways of Washington, such as the "kabuki dance" among political partisans before serious policy discussions begin. He also regrets his loss of personal privacy.

"I just miss - I miss being anonymous," he said at the meeting in the White House. "I miss Saturday morning, rolling out of bed, not shaving, getting into my car with my girls, driving to the supermarket, squeezing the fruit, getting my car washed, taking walks. I can't take a walk."

Link

Hmmmmmm. Let me see if I can help.

Resign.

There you go. A win win if I ever saw one!

OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Butterflies are free

I saw my first 2011 butterfly today.

It was a yellow and black and I immediately felt better. Butterflies belong to spring and summer and I could sure use some spring.

I was on the John Deere cutting the grass for the first time this year and I immediately stopped it and emoted:

Earth gets its price for what Earth gives us;
The beggar is taxed for a corner to die in,
The priest hath his fee who comes and shrives us,
We bargain for the graves we lie in;
At the Devil’s booth are all things sold
Each ounce of dross costs its ounce of gold;
For a cap and bells our lives we pay,
Bubbles we earn with a whole soul’s tasking:
‘T is heaven alone that is given away,
‘T is only God may be had for the asking;
There is no price set on the lavish summer,
And June may be had by the poorest comer.

And what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
..... James Russell Lowell

You believe that, right? I mean me emoting the poem.

I have my cabbage and onions set out. The bell pepper is set and the cucumbers planted and the crook neck squash planted. I am now agonizing over when I should do the tomatoes and okra. My wife says wait two weeks for both but I have consulted all my sources and think perhaps an early three or four tomato plants wouldn't be a bad thing.

It is sure to bring cold wet weather and perhaps a light frost.

But it's not to early for squash. Crook neck and zucchini to cook with the onions. Sliced tomatoes on the side with some butter beans topped with a slab of butter..hot corn bread cooked thin and sugar free.

Only Yankees put sugar in cornbread and all that do should be horsewhipped.

Baseball practice continues. The kids, being the highly trained athletes some of the parents think they are, have become bored making it necessary to hit some sharp grounders and throw some fast balls while they bat to convince them they need to practice, practice, practice.

"Pete Rose," I tell them, "one of the game's greatest hitters, took batting practice before every game." Problem is, they don't know, or care, who Pete Rose was. He has become a non-person as surely as if he lived in the old Soviet Union.

In the meantime gasoline continues to rocket towards $4.00 and our esteemed leaders appear totally unconcerned. They had rather argue over 2% of this year's budget and our Supreme Being thinks we should just buy new cars.

That's a Hooverism. Why?? Because Hoover said if everyone would just buy a new car the depression would be over.

While I'm on the subject, why do so many people think releasing oil from the Strategic Reserve would reduce prices?

Oh, I know that the theory is that oil is a commodity and an increase in supply is supposed to cause a drop in prices.

That only works when the pricing mechanism is not a monopoly backed up by speculators who bid up prices on rumors of shortages. We push 10 billion barrels into the system and OPEC reduces 10 billion barrels.

We don't have shortages. We have an increasing demand met by governments artificially matching the demand with a controlled supply.

That's called a monopoly. That's also illegal. Anybody for enforcing the law?

I haven't posted anything in a while that will let my ole bud Jondee claim that I am a racist. I can't let him down:

These are tough times for Minnesota schools. In Lakeville, for example, the school board recently announced wrenching cuts of almost $7 million. Ninety-four teachers will lose their jobs, arts programs will suffer and a school will be closed. There was wailing and gnashing of teeth, but the board set its jaw: There's not a dime for anything extra.

Unless you've got an ax to grind with white folks. Then the money spigots open. The Lakeville schools are sending a delegation of teachers to the 12th annual "White Privilege Conference" at the Bloomington Sheraton from April 13-16. The district is shelling out $160 a pop -- plus $125 a day for teacher subs -- for this "white guilt" festival.

Organizers say they expect attendees from a number of other Minnesota districts.

The conference is "built on the premise that the U.S. was started by white people, for white people," according to conference materials. Its mission is to get participants to confront their biases in a "journey in understanding white supremacy, whiteness, privilege, power and oppression," and to "agree to take action in [their] own circle of power."

Hat tip to Powerline.

I mean, only a racist would think that spending money on a white guilt conference when you have laid off teachers is wrong.

Right? Rightttttttttt!

And they wonder why we think educators are among some of the dumbest people in the land.

BTW - I've stayed at the Bloomington Sheraton. It's a classy joint.

"Teach, enjoy taking advantage of the tax paying citizens."

Keeping up with more from PowerLine, we find this from Indonesia, Obamie's childhood home.

Indonesia has long been held out as a country where moderate forms of Islam flourish. Perhaps so. But sharia law has been adopted in a number of areas in Indonesia. The effect was seen yesterday, when four people were caned in Aceh province on the island of Sumatra. The presumed offense was adultery, although commission of the actual act was not clear; the couples were punished, technically, for being in "close proximity." Here, a woman named Irdayanti Mukhtar is caned:

Can you imagine what they would do to Charlie Sheen???

Speaking of things Arabic... .

Startling Stories

January 1952

In January 1952 the Arab  world was not at the top of the US public 's worry list. That was held by then USSR. And any consideration that Islam got was as proxy players in the cold war,

Maybe we should have been paying better attention, eh?

The lead story by Murray Leinster was a fun fantasy adventure bit, totally forgettable. Leinster's real name was William Fitzgerald Jenkins and he wrote from 1918 into the 70's. He was a proflic writer who provided us with fun readable stories.

OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Be nice

The older you are and the longer you have been married, the funnier this is.

The wife and I were sitting around the breakfast table one lazy Sunday morning.

I said to her, “If I were to die suddenly, I want you to immediately sell all my stuff.”

“Now why would you want me to do something like that?” she asked.

“I figure that you would eventually remarry and I don’t want some other asshole using my stuff.”

She looked at me and said: “What makes you think I’d marry another asshole?”

Hat tip to Jimmy M!

OnTwitter I am Lesabre1 "Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper “Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt "Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

A German's View on Islam

Larry P sent this. I think it makes some very good points.

The author of this email is said to be Dr. Emanuel Tanay, a well-known and well-respected psychiatrist.

A man, whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II, owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism.

'Very few people were true Nazis,' he said, 'but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care.

I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.'

We are told again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that Islam is the religion of peace and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the spectre of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.

The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Chris tian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honour-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. It is the fanatics who teach their young to kill and to become suicide bombers.

The hard, quantifiable fact is that the peaceful majority, the 'silent majority,' is cowed and extraneous.

Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 40 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.

The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.

And who can forget Rwanda , which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were 'peace loving'?

History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason, we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points:

Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence.

Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany , they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.

Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late. As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts--the fanatics who threaten our way of life.

Lastly, anyone who doubts that the issue is serious and just deletes this email without sending it on, is contributing to the passiveness that allows the problems to expand. So, extend yourself a bit and send this on and on and on! Let us hope that thousands, world-wide, read this and think about it.

OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Senator Graham has the facts explained to him

The following two videos have Senator Graham being soundly criticized followed by reading quotations from the Koran to demonstrate the gulf between Islam and Christianity. A Koran is then burned.

Do not watch if political uncorrectness bothers you.

Link1

Link2

My guess is that they will be gone from YouTube by 6AM 4/6/11.

OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Elephant walk

Elephants have long memories. And they always remember how they walk to various places.

And when someone builds a hotel blocking their path, well they just assert their rights.

Hmmm, this is new.

I wonder if OSHA knows about these steps.

We've been walking through here for hundreds of years.

No, a single American Plan is not acceptable.

I wonder if I will get points for this stay.

Someone sent these to me, I think Jimmy M or Larry P, but I am suffering from a senior moment... any way,  Thanks!


OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Mules, horses, Faulkner, Capote, Williams and Weird Tales.

"A mule will labor 10 years willingly and patiently, for the privilege of kicking you once."

--William Faulkner

We had mules. I remember two we had before my Father joined the Marines in a vain attempt to control a small part of his life. He had decided he didn't want to be in the army. If fighting was what they wanted then he thought the Marines best, or at least that is my guess at his motives because he never said why, or for that matter spoke much about what he did during the war. He was more forth coming about time spent in Hawaii waiting for enough "points" to send him home.

The mules were Pretty Boy and Peter Dick and they were a fine pair. I can remember riding in the wagon as they struck a trot taking us to town with him standing up while rolling a cigarette and never wasting a flake of Bull Durham.

After the war we had a team of horses and a tractor. Mules will kick and bite and horses bite and kick. Every now and then one of these, while being harnessed, would turn and try to take a chunk out him. Dad would hit the horse on the end of his nose and continue harnessing him. The mare, that's a female horse for you city folks, never did that. But she would kick on the odd occasion my dog decided to get too close to her rear hoofs.

She never hit the dog and the horse never bit my Dad.

I have never read Faulkner, Capote, Caldwell or Williams to any extent because I found them not of my liking, although Faulkner made many memorable quotes. I always felt that they were pimping Southerners. I found the introspection and hinted at incest and other nasty crimes around the corner too much by half again.

The Southerners I knew were busy trying to scrape a living from the soil or leaving the medieval sharecropper society for the northern cities and the promise of steady jobs.

Capote wrote some fantasy/horror stories. And I think Tennessee Williams' first published story, "The Vengeance of Nitocris," was in Weird Tales August of 1928.

Weird Tales predated Amazing Stories but it was horror/fantasy not science fiction although some writers moved back and forth between the two genres. If T and A was thought to sell space opera, then T and A with a bit of BDSM thrown in was just the thing.

Faulkner also wrote something to the effect that if you sat in the lobby of the Peabody hotel in Memphis long enough you would see everyone of any importance in the Mississippe delta.

Since I never got near the Peabody until long after Faulkner was dead he could not have been right.

Of course I didn't live in the delta, much less be of any importance.
OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson

Petareus should resign

I see that General Petareus has decided to condemn in the strongest terms the burning of a copy of the Koran by the nut case in Florida.

The General should remember that he is leading men engaged in a fight to allow that nut case to do exactly that.  So if he has a problem with that he should resign.


OnTwitter I am Lesabre1

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves.” - William Pitt

"Logic. There is little logic among the cultural elite, maybe because there is little omnipresent fear of job losses or the absence of money, and so arises a rather comfortable margin to indulge in nonsense." - Victor Davis Hanson